Unlucky Day

So, Friday the 13^th isn’t the only day to be wary on the calendar. Apparently, Wednesday the 13^th can be just as treacherous.

On Wednesday the 13^th of January, I got a call from Weasel. I anticipated him asking if he could go to so-and-so’s house, but instead I hear “I hit a car.” Of course, I ask if everyone is okay (especially my baby boy) and want to know where they are. I am not too far, so I head straight over there.

And this is what I find:

 

Weasel came over a hill and this lady was waiting to turn left and was stopped in the lane. He wasn’t able to stop in time and slid into her car. It was drizzling and the roads were a little slick. He was fortunate enough to hit someone who was nice to him. She could have been yelling and screaming at him, but instead was understanding and compassionate.

Well, his car is no longer drivable and is presumably totaled. We watched it get towed away and headed home.

I had to hurry and feed the girls, because we had to leave for gymnastics class in about 30 minutes. On the way there while waiting at a stoplight, I hear the car behind me start to slide on those slick roads… right into me!

So now my car has been hit! This poor girl that hit me was pretty shook up, and her car looked a lot like Weasel’s just a little while earlier. I tried to be as compassionate as the person that hit my son. These things just happen.

Best part about all of this… now Weasel has to find a job to pay for his deductible! AND I am demanding better grades in school as a way to make it up to us! Of course, I won’t hold my breath.

Prepare yourself… the next Wednesday the 13^th is in October 2010.

Enable Cookie

Today is Cookie’s birthday! My littlest baby is now 3-years-old!

And she seems to know that she is getting bigger. If you try to tell her that she is too little to do something, she responds that she is big! And she knows this because she can hop like a bunny. Apparently, actual little kids cannot hop like a bunny. She can even demonstrate her amazing hopping abilities, if you doubt her.

Of course, her growing up does not alleviate any fussing or arguing with her sister. Pumpkin and Cookie can still fight about who gets to open the door, or who gets to carry the bag, or who gets to get their hair done first. Everything can still be a race, and Pumpkin always beats Cookie… but she does have two years of development to her advantage.

I would like to say that I know exactly what it was like being the baby sister. My older sister was always the prettier one, always the more social one, always the one that won the races, always had more friends, etc. But I came back with a vengeance.

So you’d better watch out, Pumpkin… it’s just a matter of time before she teaches you a lesson or two. And you might want to be a little nicer and maybe let her win once in a while. We don’t call her Cookie for nothing… she is a tough little cookie. She’ll beat the crap outta you in a few years, if she thinks you deserve it.

Happy Birthday, Cookie!

Enlarged Heart

We did not plan on having Boog; she was a surprise. And even though I was devastated at the time to find out that I was pregnant when I was 20-years-old, I soon came to find out it was the best mistake I ever made.

I remember how much I loved that little girl when she was just a wee baby. I always felt like I had the great ability to love more than normal people, and this was true of my first child most of all. Boog was spoiled by her grandparents, her daddy and her mommy. She was always so cute and so happy. You couldn’t help but smile whenever you were around her. It was like her aura was happy.

A little while later, we intended to get pregnant with Weasel so that the two kids would be two years apart. Before he was born, I found myself feeling so sorry for that little baby inside me. How could I possibly love it at all? I already loved Boog with all my heart, and there couldn’t possibly be much more love in me to share with this new baby.

Well, it turns out I was wrong. I didn’t need to share my heart at all. It seems that as soon as Weasel was born, my heart doubled in size… sort of like the Grinch, except mine started out large. And he was a boy! It is so true what they say about Mommy’s and their little boys. He is just a little more special in an entirely different way, just because he is my boy. But God knew to only give me one boy. They are not as much fun as the girls. He won’t let me paint his nails and he hates to shop. That’s no fun.

My heart has since quadrupled in size with the birth of Pumpkin and Cookie. And being in my mid-thirties when I had them (versus my young-twenties with Boog and Weasel) makes everything different. I appreciate things in them that I barely noticed with my first batch.

I feel like my heart is four times the size of a normal heart. I have so much love in me for all of my kids. It’s sort of amazing when you think about it. I hope that at least one of my offspring is reading this. Just know that you are loved terribly. And even though I know I am not the perfect mom, probably not even close, you could not possibly wish for a mom that loves you more. It just can’t be done.

Bun in the Oven or Bum in the Oven

Some of you may remember my bitch-post about how my mother would not retire. Well, good news… she is retiring September 1. (Although, I’ll believe it when I see it)

I realized that these nine months until she retires will be like the nine months of a first pregnancy, except she will be the baby that comes home.

1^st month:

PREGNANT: Realizing your life is getting ready to significantly change

RETIREMENT: Realizing your life is getting ready to significantly change

2^nd month and 3^rd month:

PREGNANT: Mood swings with the changes of hormones from the baby

RETIREMENT: Mood swings with the changes of hormones from coincidental menopause

4^th month:

PREGNANT: You start to feel it move more and more, reminding you this is really happening

RETIREMENT: You start to feel removed more and more, reminding you this is really happening

5^th month:

PREGNANT: The pressure on your bladder gives you the urge to go more often

RETIREMENT: The pressure on your life gives you the urge to go on vacation more often

6^th and 7^th month:

PREGNANT: The weight makes it hard to deal with pain in your neck and back

RETIREMENT: The wait makes it hard to deal with your pain-in-the-neck boss on your back

8^th month:

PREGNANT: Time to party with baby showers

RETIREMENT: Time to party with happy hours

9^th month:

PREGNANT: Counting the days because you are so ready for it be over

RETIREMENT: Counting the days because you are so ready for it be over

FINALLY:

PREGNANT: For the first time in your life, you have a baby to care for and dedicate the rest of your life to.

RETIREMENT: For the first time in your life, you have yourself to care for and dedicate the rest of your life to.

 

It’s about time, Mom.  I hope you don’t have a miscarriage!

Absence Makes the Heart Less Worrisome

I figured out a very important thing about kids living outside the nest. When they aren’t nearby, you don’t worry about them as much. This is funny to me, as I would have thought it would be the complete opposite.

I learned this important lesson as Boog is home for the holidays. She had a bad day and wasn’t in the best of moods. She left rather abruptly one evening and then didn’t come home that night. And then she wasn’t answering her phone or responding to text messages the next morning. This went on until early afternoon.

She’s hurt, or kidnapped, or worse… I just know it!

Part of me was 100% sure that nothing was wrong, while simultaneously another part of me was 100% sure that something was seriously wrong. I didn’t know which part to listen to, so I decided to calmly panic. It was officially time to start worrying.

So, I called the non-emergency number to find out how I can see if she was involved in an accident or something. I felt like a crazy mom. They confirmed she was not in jail, and her car was not involved in any accidents or citations. I called a couple of hospitals, just to check. You would think that not finding her would be good news, but I found myself almost hoping that she had been hurt. At least I would know where she is.

Finally, she called me back. She was safe, just being careless… or more accurately, she was being carefree. And I was being too protective.

I realized that if she was back at college, she would probably be missing for several days before I even noticed, much less worried. I’m trying to let my oldest daughter grow up. I’m trying to treat her like an adult. But, in my heart, she will always be my baby girl, no matter how old she gets.

And really? None of this would have happened if she would have just answered her phone! So is it really my fault?

Factory is Closed!

I recently made a very important, albeit obvious, decision in my life… no more babies.  And on Monday, I took action on that decision.  I burned down the factory and tore up the roads.  Or in medical terms, I had laser ablation surgery and a tubal ligation. 

The laser ablation burns the inside of factory so there will be no more monthly visitors.  (I know… awesome, eh?)

And if that wasn’t enough, tying the tubes make it so the eggs can’t get to the old baby factory – unless they have some very advanced GPS device and find another path.  I can just hear the little ovarian Garmin now saying “recalculating” in her condescending little voice.  But even if those little eggs manage to get to the factory, there will be no place for them to park. 

So, no little sons to ride motorcycles with for Hubs, no more little brothers or sisters for the older ones to pester, no more cribs, no more bottles, no more diapers.  Well, all of this is true until I become a Grandma.  But surely I have years until that happens (right, Boog?).  AND no more hormones for mom!

I even asked Hubs at the hospital if he wanted to reconsider the possibility of having any more kids in the future.  Without hesitation, he said no.  He recommended that if we ever changed our mind (yeah, right), we could adopt.  Good answer, Hubs.

The only scary thing is the “no hormones” part.  Although I’m glad to be going purely natural now… I also have nothing to blame any moodiness, weight gain, facial blemishes, or even chin hairs.  It’s just all me. 

Scary.

A little late…

First and foremost, Merry Christmas to all of my readers!  I’m sorry I neglected to wish it to on Christmas.  But I think I was able to see most, if not all, of my readers in person anyhow.

It’s been a terribly busy holiday season.  I had a neighborhood party, work party, family party… not to mention shopping, decorating and cleaning.  Whew… I’m pooped. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I hope that Santa brought you everything you wished for!

Hoppy Holidays!

Please Rise…

So, Weasel was cited for skipping school in October (I know… things have changed a great deal from I was a kid). He received a ticket from the police officer and yesterday was our court date.

We are in there with a bunch of other juveniles; most of them were there for assault or possession of drugs or the like. Great bunch of kiddos, obviously. One of them even claimed she was late because her parole officer didn’t give her the appointment information. Wow, really?

I did not feel like my son’s being caught walking onto campus after skipping school was in the same league as these thugs, but oh well. We waited for an inordinate amount of time for our case to be called. Apparently, they take the repeat offenders first. You would think they would want the worst offenders to have to wait the longest, adding to their pain. But I suppose that just makes too much sense.

The prosecutor told us that the fine for the violation was $69. Weasel had the option of pleading guilty and paying the fine; pleading no contest and going to a class, doing community service AND paying the $69 fine; or go to a jury trial. Um… we’ll just take the fine.

When we finally talked to the judge (about 1 ½ hours into our ordeal), she gave Weasel quite the tongue-lashing. She was downright scary and rude as far as I’m concerned. All of this was excessive considering his offense.  He just skipped a class… and it was GYM! This seems like more of a parental issue anyhow. And she didn’t even seem to notice how handsome or charming Weasel was. To top it all off, she actually raised our fine to $70. Thanks, Your Honor.

I do not think her approach of making the process scary enough to keep Weasel in school was very effective. I left there just angry at the system, not awed by it.

Besides, I think that Weasel is actually more scared of his Mom.

As it should be.

Flakes in Austin

Yes, there are supposed to be flakes in Austin today.  Not just your typical Austin Weird, but actual flakes of snow… which is weird all by itself. 

It has been reported lately that we should expect snow this morning.  I will admit that it is cold outside, but snow?  I can only remember a handful of times that it has actually snowed in Austin.  Even if there are flakes in the air, they rarely make it to the ground and accumulate. 

And really, why couldn’t it have snowed early this morning so that I could have stayed in bed and “worked from home” instead?  Doesn’t Mother Nature know that Austinites freak out when there is anything on the ground.

You can tell by the local news coverage that even the mere possibility of snow is the only thing newsworthy right now.  Even if they discovered a cure for cancer, the snow forecast would still be the lead story.

So, cross your fingers.  If it does indeed snow, I’m making a itty-bitty snowman!  Pictures to be posted later.  Bring on the hot chocolate!

Big Time Now!

I am now officially in the big leagues.  I have my own domain name:  www.viewfromthelilypad.com

Oh yes, I’m big time now. 

Bow accordingly.