Deep thoughts on a Monday...

First of all, here's something funny:
Yesterday at church, I was on my own because Josh's shoulder is still bothering him. Anyway, I was trying to hold Samuel on my lap, and keep J.J. and Trey quiet and stop them from running around the chairs chasing each other. I was trying to explain to them that we're in Jesus' "house" and He wants us to be quiet, etc. Anyway, lately both boys have been having an issue with "talking back" to us when we tell them anything. So when they do this, we've been putting a drop of hot sauce on their tongue. It works REALLY well. Anyway, so at church I told them both to be quiet. J.J. immediately pipes up with, "No YOU be quiet Mommy!" (I know, how can such a little angel be such a smart mouth?) So I told him, "Uh oh, what happens when you talk back to Mommy?" A puzzled look crosses his face and I can tell he's thinking something over. After a minute he asks me, "Does Jesus have hot sauce too?"

I love my boys so much. They are crazy and loud and so full of personality I can't believe it. Sometimes things get so hectic with my job and all the household stuff, running errands, taking the boys back and forth to school, etc. I know I don't enjoy the little moments with them as much as I should. Yesterday I was folding about 8 loads of laundry and watching the boys play in the family room. Samuel was standing holding onto a chair. Suddenly he let go, very deliberately, and stood on his own for about 15 seconds. His little legs were a little shaky and he was trying his hardest to balance. But he didn't fall, and then he very carefully held back onto the chair.

Anyway, for some reason that made it SO real to me that my boys are growing up faster than I know. It seems like yesterday I held Samuel in my arms for the very first time, now he's trying to stand on his own already. He'll be a year old in a couple weeks! This is probably my last baby and I feel like I just missed his entire babyhood. I was too busy worrying about getting my work hours in, making sure I caught that sale on diapers, and stressing about the dirty kitchen floor.

I'm going to really try to enjoy my boys more. I can't guarantee I won't still stress about...everything. I am a VERY high stress person in general and let's face it, it would take a miracle get rid of my anxiety level. But these boys are only little once and I don't get a second chance to enjoy them!

Dear Old Navy,

I love you, but I’m going to have to kill you. You see, two days ago I received a little present in the mail from you. A new bill from a credit card that we had cancelled a year ago, or so I thought.

Now I know your employees sound oh-so-chipper on the phone, and they are probably wearing matching Old Navy sweaters they just bought for $24.50, and singing little songs from your obnoxious commercials in between phone calls. But when I spent hours on the phone with them last year dealing with other fraudulent charges, and then kindly ask them to cancel the card completely to avoid more identify theft, well, I guess I expected too much.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my mail 2 days ago to find a new bill with brand new fraudulent charges. And although I’m sure the person who rang up $200 worth of girls clothing on our card must have been in dire need, I have all boys, Old Navy. So clearly, this is not acceptable. And since I can’t afford to buy my OWN children clothing from your store, well I certainly am not going to pay for some little girl in Ohio to walk around school dressed to impress.

Thank you for assuring me that the charges would be dealt with, we would not be held responsible, and for canceling the credit card. Again.

Now I won’t keep away from you forever. Because let’s face it, I love that in your store I wear a size 6, when in the rest of the free world I clearly do not. And really, who doesn’t need a little self-esteem boost every now and again? But be warned, you are on notice Old Navy.

Sincerely,
Christy

Out of gas...

With everything going on lately, I've felt like I'm running out of gas, in a figurative sense. But that doesn't mean that I needed to run out of gas literally too.

Last Wednesday, I was driving "B" to school. Now, I KNEW I was running low on gas. In fact, I even specifically grabbed my wallet while we were walking out the door, because I planned to stop at the gas station right after I dropped "B" off. But as it turns out, I was too late.

It might be funny to run out of gas when you're in high school, young, stupid, and driving a 15 year old beater car. But not so funny when you're in the left turn lane, directly in front of your son's elementary school, you're in a minivan, you have 2 of your kids in the car...oh yes, and let's not forget the GIANT line behind you of other minivans, SUVs, and even a school bus trying to turn left to get all the rest of the kids to school!

Now I'm catching dirty looks from all the moms behind me, who probably are so on top of things that they had full tanks of gas in their vehicles. I of course turned on my hazards and rolled down the window to try and wave people to go around me. Nobody moved. Meanwhile, I quickly call my sister to come rescue me. "J" was home doped up on drugs and unable to drive! So I didn't know what to do. By now my boys are getting anxious (actually just "B" because that's how he is). It's now 5 minutes before school starts and I still have the school bus trapped behind me! So what do I do? I get out, and try to push this: (this one looks a lot cooler b/c it's black...)

while wearing a pair of these:

(flip flops)

Obviously I was not successful. Those minivans are heavy. I probably moved it about 6 inches. Luckily some man in a business suit pulled over, ran across the street, and helped me get it out of the middle of the road.

So I guess I can check that off on life experiences huh?

I Love to Save

I am a coupon/deal hunting fanatic. This is a greatgrocery deal I got yesterday. Not the best deal I've ever gotten, but still I'm pretty happy with it! It's all about being happy about the little things in life right? haha...

Shopping trip yesterday:

3 boxes Hamburger Helper
10 lbs. ground beef
4 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2 boxes Kix
2 bags Doritos
2 dozen large eggs
2 gallons 1% milk
1 loaf wheat bread
6 cans Progresso soup
8 Red Baron frozen pizzas
4 lbs. grapes
___________________
$49.96

Surgery Day

SURGERY: It went well. The doctor said everything went fine, except he did say the first suture device he tried to put in broke! These things are supposed to be virtually unbreakable. So he had to get a new one to put in him. That's...not very reassuring. But I'm going to not think about that and just think positively. All of that aside, Josh is fine, resting today like he's supposed to and hopefully will continue to do the rest of the week. The shoulder itself isn't hurting him so much today as the actual incision is, which I think is normal. So I will continue to set my oven timer and give him Percocet every 4 hours!

Some highlights of Surgery Day:

1. Surgery was supposed to be at 1:30. The doctor was running behind so it wasn't until 4:30 that they actually put him under! 3 hours waiting in a hospital for surgery = not so much fun.

2. The crazy lady coming out of her anesthesia right before they put Josh under. We're talking, screaming, cussing, craziness. Again, not so relaxing right before you're about to go under the knife!

3. Me having to make small talk for an hour with a man who told me all about how his ex-wife cost him a quarter million dollars, and how he was "bangin' a 36 year old woman". Why? Well, he did buy me a soda when he didn't have change for my $5, and he told me I looked like I was 23, when we all know I'm closing my final lap toward 30. Also, his girlfriend was the crazy lady from #2.

4. Josh coming out of anesthesia. Hilarious. Huge happy grin on his face as I'm walking up, then said, "Hey! I married you!" Also he told me he loved me, so I guess it's true!

5. Bubba seeing his Daddy walk in the house, his bad shoulder/arm was inside his button down shirt, his good arm was in the sleeve like normal. Bubba said, "Daddy! They cut your arm off!" It took awhile for us to convince him otherwise, he wasn't necessarily believing the iodine stained arm/hand under the shirt was his Daddy's real arm...

6. While I was getting the bed ready with pillows and such for Josh to lie down, Josh was using the bathroom. I was nervous about leaving him alone because he was really dizzy and kept tipping over while we were walking. Anyway, Josh knew I was worried and so while I was in the bedroom, suddenly I hear the shower doors banging really hard! So I RAN in there, afraid had had fallen on his shoulder he'd just had surgery on, only to find him standing there, perfectly fine, with a smile on his face, saying, "Haha." If he hadn't JUST had surgery, I would've decked him.

At this moment, I am baking a chocolate cake at the patient's request. Why? Because someone brought the nurses a chocolate cake yesterday and we watched them eat it for 3 hours while we waited...for 3 hours...while Josh was fasting for his surgery! Pure torture for the poor guy. So I promised him I would make him one today!

Just as I suspected.

Your Issue Profile: 44% Obama, 56% McCain

Truth be told, you're not really satisfied with either of the candidates. You could vote for either of them. You are the typical coveted swing voter. You may want to narrow yourself down to a particular set of issues in order to pick your president. Or start looking at third party candidates. One of them might suit you better.

Should You Vote for Obama or McCain?

Josh Update

So after a lo-o-ong weekend where I tried to keep Josh heavily medicated, Tuesday finally came around. I called no fewer than 6 doctors to find one who could see him that day, as opposed to their next available appts. that were next week.

The doctor said that he had 2 choices. Let it repair on its own, which would mean that bump in the picture below would be permanent, or surgery to move the collar bone down and repair the ligament, and the accompanying risks that go along with any surgery. It was totally up to Josh. I felt like punching the doctor but that's a story for another day. Or maybe not, no need for me to get riled up again. Anyway, long story short, Josh decided on surgery.

You see, Josh has a very very very very strong aversion to any kind of deformity. Can you imagine what he would feel like having that bump permanently? Also, he read a lot of stuff online about how if you don't have it repaired, you can actually hear and feel the protruding collar bone "clicking" and "popping" and "rubbing". Although those things wouldn't necessarily hurt, it would be disturbing. Especially since he is already counting down the days until he can return to jiu jitsu-ing. Also, if he did allow it to heal on it's own, there was the possibility that he would still be having pain a year from now, and end up having to have surgery anyway. Only if he waited, the ligament would not be able to be repaired, and instead the surgery would involve cutting off the end of the collar bone. (ew)

So anyway, surgery is Monday afternoon. I hope it goes well! I hope it's the right decision. Only time will tell!