What did you say?

OK this is a test.  The picture to the right is a what?  


You probably said Peacock but you would be wrong!!  According the Ladybug this is a Teapot.

OK next question....


This is called?


Nope not an elevator it's an Alligator!






Imagine how long it took me to figure that one out when she kept telling me she wanted to go to the library so she could go on the alligator.  


She can now say Peacock but sometimes gets it confused at first try (Says Peapock LOL), and she can say elevator too.  To be honest I know she's a little slow with her speech and her pronunciation needs work but she's a lot better now than she used to be!  At least strangers can usually understand her without needing me to be an interpreter for them!


We have two male peacocks that live in the field behind us.  They are noisy creatures and I hear their poo stinks but they don't poop anywhere by my home so I am ok with it.  I keep wondering if they are gay or just loser male birds who can't find a female to keep them warm at night.  I may never know.

I was watching TV and it just came out....

I got Ladybug a new blanket the other day and surprised her at school with it.  It's a Ladybug Pillow Pet Blanket.  It's her new favorite blanket and matches her favorite Ladybug Pillow Pet.


I was sitting here at my computer desk, on the phone with my mom, talking to her about the blanket and audio books, when Ladybug comes in, panties in hand.  She comes up and starts talking to me.


"Mommy, I pee peed in my panties, I'm sorry." she says.


"Hold on Mom." I say, "Ladybug, why did you pee pee in your panties?"


She says "I was watching TV and it just came out."  


I tell my mom, "Did you hear that?  She pee peed in her panties.  She says that she was watching TV and it just came out."


My mother is rolling with laughter.  I tell Ladybug to finish going potty (she only peed a little bit) and get new panties.  


I tell my mom, "I can understand if she said Mommy, I pooped in my panties.  I thought I had to fart but it was poop.  But I can't understand how pee pee can just come out!"  


We got off on a side thought.  I have chronic sleep problems.  To be honest they are embarrassing even though I know they are out of my control.  I will have to get in to that at a later date... that is a blog to itself.  


I was telling her that I was just so excited lately about her getting herself up in the night to go to the bathroom and how I didn't have to remember to do it before I went to sleep anymore.  Sometimes I would forget.  


Hubby would be in the room watching tv and ask me "Hey, don't you have to get her up to go to the bathroom." 


I would say, "I don't wanna.  Hopefully she will be ok tonight." 


Now sometimes she would be fine.  She would go the whole night without an accident and it would be wonderful.  So I stopped getting her up myself and let her do it on her own.  But then there were the nights that I would amaze my husband.  Around 1 o clock in the morning she would come into my bedroom crying.


"Mommy I pee peed in my bed."  She would say.


Now she's not worried about her sheets but very concerned that she might have peed on her favorite blanket.  Usually somehow she missed (lucky for me).  


Hubby is still watching TV at this point.  I am sleeping but I am a mom so I am always "on".  I get out of bed, lead her back to her room and proceed to change her sheets.  If this was a good night it would go like this.  


1.  I would gently lead her back to her room, leave her light off. 
2.  Get her new panties.
3.  Strip her sheets.
4.  Check her blanket to see if it's wet.   
5.  If it's not, I send a prayer of Thank You to the God of Night-time Accidents.
6.  I put a new sheet on the bed.
7.  Tuck Ladybug back into bed.
8.  Turn on her Pooh CD.
9.  Give kisses and hugs while reminding her that if she has to go potty that it would be best to do it in the toilet not her bed.
10.  Take all the wet stuff to the washing machine, put fabric softener into the machine, soap, and turn it on.
11.  Go to my bathroom to wash my hands.
12.  Fall back into bed and answer Hubby's question of "What happened?"  with "I changed her sheets." 
13.  Quickly go back to sleep.


Now I can usually do the above in less than 5 minutes, then quickly fall back to sleep.  


It's it's not a good night it goes like this:


"Mommy I pee peed in my bed!"

1.  I would gently lead her back to her room, leave her light off. 

2.  Get her new panties.

3.  Strip her sheets.

4.  Check her blanket to see if it's wet.   

5.  It's wet.  I internally curse the Gods of Night-time Accident's and wonder what I did to piss them off.

6.  Console Ladybug that she will be ok in her "back-up blanket" until the other is clean.  

7.  Search for sheets (with the light off). 

8.  Try to remember where the F the F&*ing sheets are.  

9.  After searching for about 2 minutes in the dark finally remember that I washed the sheets the other day and try to remember if they are in the dryer or somewhere in the laundry pile of things to be put away.

10.  Curse the Laundry Fairies for not doing their job that day.  

11.  Go to my room.

12.  Turn on my light to look in the laundry pile from hell for two minutes.

13.  After finding nothing I turn off the light. 

14.  Check the dryer.

15.  Turn on Ladybug's light.  Check the drawers under her bed.

16.  Check the closet to figure out that the F&*ing sheets were put away in the first place, just in the wrong spot.  

17.  Put the sheet on the bed, while cursing my rotten luck under my breath.

18.  Tuck Ladybug into bed.

19.  Turn on her Pooh CD.

20.  Give kisses and hugs while reminding her that if she has to go potty that it would be best to do it in the toilet not her bed.  Because Mommy doesn't like having to get up in the middle of the night to search for sheets and deal with pee pee.

10.  Take all the wet stuff to the washing machine, put fabric softener into the machine, soap, and turn it on.

11.  Go to my bathroom to wash my hands.

12.  Fall back into bed and answer Hubby's question of "What happened?"  with "I changed her F&*ing sheets." 

13.  Quickly roll over pretending to sleep because I am too mad to sleep, mostly at Hubby for not getting off his a$$ and helping me or knowing where the F&*ing sheet was to begin with.

14.  Go to sleep (about 30-45 minutes later) after having a bowl of cereal or milk and cookies.  

Sigh... These were the nights of my life.  I think I might have just jinxed myself... 

I wonder where the sheets are tonight....

Ladybug's Proud Potty Moment

I have been very thankful lately.  I have been thinking about all the stages that I have gone through as a mother with Ladybug.  We have the first stage of breastfeeding and diapers (I kinda miss those days).  The second stage of ear infections, antibiotics, diarrhea, and changing to cloth diapers to help with the rash.  The third stage of starting to potty train during the day.  The forth stage of potty training at night.  I am finally done with the latest stage and can proudly say that Ladybug officially "sleeps through the night" most nights, with rare accidents!!  


Good Lord this child used to wet through two night diapers a night.  When she finally started to tell me she wanted to wear panties to bed instead of diapers I figured, "Sure we can try it."  I would get her up and carry her to the bathroom in the middle of the night, at first it was several times a night.  Then it dwindled down to once a night before I would go to sleep myself.  Then all of a sudden she started to get up herself and go potty by herself and take herself back to bed!!  Yeah!!  This is a proud moment in my life.  


So in celebration of this wonderful life moment I wanted to go down memory lane and tell you a little story about Ladybug's Proud Potty Moment.


We started potty training Ladybug back when she turned 2.  We were making some progress when we found out that we had to move because the owner of the house we were in was losing the house to foreclosure.  Potty training pretty much stopped then, due to the stress of finding a new home for the 7 of us, close to work and schools, as well as affordable.  We found a great house at the end of a dirt road in the same town.  It fits the 7 of us with room for my sanity (most days).    


After packing, moving, and some unpacking (I am still not all the way unpacked because I figure as soon as I do we will have to move again)... I decided to try again.  Ladybug was a cloth diaper child at home and then regular diapers/pull ups at daycare.  Daycare jumped on board with me and off we went.  


One evening while I was taking a shower, Ladybug was in my room watching a TV show.  I heard her say, "Mommy! Blah blah blah blah blah!!"  with a lot of pride in her voice.  I asked her what she said and she repeated it, with a lot of pride but I couldn't understand her.  I told her to come closer so I could hear her better.  She came in the bathroom and said it again but with the noise of the shower and her being young and not talking clearly I couldn't understand what she said.  So finally I opened the shower door and asked her "What did you say?"  


She puffed her chest up with pride, smiled really big and said, "Mommy!  I pee peed on your purse!!!"  


"You WHAT?!?!"  I asked loudly.  


"I pee peed on your purse!!" she said with a little less pride.


"You're kidding me!!"  I said with more excitement.  


At this point I think she realized that I wasn't happy with her choice pee pee place.  I told her to go get my purse and then to go get her Daddy in the other room.  Hubby didn't seem to be as alarmed as I was about the whole thing.  I told him to get out of the room then if he wasn't going to be helpful.  When I was done (a short time later) I wiped it off with a clorox wipe.  Thankfully it's leather and didn't soak in.  


Here's the thing.  My purse was on the ground by my desk.  She had to move it where she ended up peeing on it, take off her panties, squat and pee.  How she thought this was a good thing is beyond me.    She peed on the purse and the floor mat for my desk chair.  I nearly slipped and fell on my butt when I was looking for the spot she peed on.  Lucky for me she missed the carpet.  


I still figure my husband would have been more upset had it been something of his that she peed on.  I was very irritated with him for a while.  A couple weeks later, as he was putting on the clothes he sleeps in (he keeps them on the floor in the bathroom) he noticed that they were wet.  He came to me to ask why they were wet.  Since she hadn't had her bath that night yet I figured she peed on them.  


My Mama always told me "Paybacks are a &itch".  Glad he got to learn that lesson.  Maybe he will learn to be more sympathetic... I won't hold my breath.   

Cassie's Surprise

I know I come by my distrust of my teenagers honestly, through my mom.  When I did something that was "wrong" (not sure how else to put it) then it took forever before I could gain back her trust.  That was worse than any other punishment that she could have given me.  But I would never ever ever dream to do something like this after everything Cassie has been through.  Maybe she doesn't understand how worried I can get.  Maybe she doesn't get that when something happens (when she's not where she's supposed to be) I think the worst.  I can't help it...I am a mom.  It's the old adage "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst" that most mothers live by.  It's because I can remember what my mother went through with me (and I was a fairly good kid) that I feel ok with how I feel with my kids, when they do something stupid or wrong.


So, I am sure you are thinking, "Get to the point!  What was Cassie's surprise?!?!?!"  Well, I am getting to that. "Patience is a Virtue."  (I am better than I used to be with being patient but damn it's hard sometimes, I guess I never fully learned that virtue.)


Let me paint the picture.  Today is the day before Mother's Day.  Now last year during this time (right before Mother's Day) I was having a very very very hard time with life in general.  I felt very under-appreciated by everyone in my house.  I was very depressed about it and quick to temper about a lot of things.  To be honest, I felt like leaving with Ladybug and never looking back, but I didn't.  I stayed, I didn't quit, and I am so glad that I did.  Come Mother's Day, my girls and husband did a wonderful job of making me feel liked, loved and appreciated.  I got hand made cards from Blue and Cassie with notes inside (Blue wrote a long one that made me cry).  Pink helped Ladybug make me a card too.  Hubby bought a card and hand wrote a note there as well.  It's almost like that was the best Mother's Day I could have so I don't really expect any other Mother's Day to top that one.  


So Hubby asked me all week what I wanted to do for Mother's Day. I didn't know really.  Yes I wanted a pedicure (did that yesterday, already smudged the paint darn it), wanted to get my hair done (have an appointment for Wednesday), but he wanted to know about going out to dinner or something.  So he lined up Pink as a sitter for Ladybug and we planned for Home Town Buffet, a place that has a multitude of food for every palate.  This morning Ladybug and I went to JCPenny and bought her a dress with a coupon I had for $10 off $10 or more (awesome and my most favorite kind of coupon), then went to Walmart to pick up Sidewalk Chalk, Milk and other things for the house.  After we got home I swept off the back porch, did the dishes, made lunch and gardened for a couple hours before getting ready for my "date" with my hubby.  


Now, I noticed that Cassie had been gone for a while at this point, so I asked Blue where she was.  She said she went for a walk.  I thought, "Ok... whatever" but was kind of worried.  She doesn't have a cell phone so there was no way to get a hold of her.  We left for dinner.  We got back about 2 hours later (hey, when I have a sitter I will take two hours to eat any day) and Cassie still wasn't home.  Now, I know that Cassie has a boyfriend.  She used my cell phone to text her friends and I do what any other mother would do, I read the text messages.  Hey, if she's not smart enough to erase them, then I figure it's fair game!  From reading these text messages a few days before today, I know that she planned to spend some time with said boyfriend (whom I have never met!) this weekend at the park.  I told her earlier in the week that since her grades were still poor and she was missing assignments that she couldn't go out.  I figured she either was having more suicidal thoughts or took off to hang out with the boyfriend thinking I wouldn't notice she was gone.  (How dumb do I seem to you?)


Blue said that she said she was supposed to be back in 20 minutes, two hours or more had passed.  I text messaged her two friends and her boyfriend asking if they knew where Cassie was.  It's funny, she told her boyfriend that she was using her sisters phone, not her mothers, LOL.  What difference does it make?  I got an instant reply from one of her friends saying that she didn't know but would check around and let me know.  (Always have liked that friend!)  I got a reply back from the boyfriend saying that she left to get a Mother's Day gift for me and wanted it to be a surprise.  (OK, that's sweet but Jesus did she have to do it that way?!)  I asked if he knew where she was and when she would be back because she had been gone for a while and I was worried about her.  He told me (texting) that they were at Starbucks and would be bringing her back now.  

OK, so now I know she's with her boyfriend, but got me a present.... what to do, how to act, do I yell, say nothing??  I worked through my frustration with Hubby (to be honest, this has sometimes made me more mad, talking things out with him because he sees things very differently from me.)  I decided that when she got home I would talk to her about this calmly, outside, so Ladybug couldn't hear us (she is very nosy when people are being talked to).  


Hubby told me when the car pulled up, I waited at the screen door.  I noticed that an older woman was driving (that got her points for not being completely stupid and meeting up with him by herself).  Both Cassie and the BF got out and came to the door.  She said "I wanted this to be a surprise.  I got you a $10 Starbucks gift card for Mother's Day."  I wasn't sure what to reply.  I said "Thank you but after your friend leaves we need to talk, ok?"  She said "I brought him here so he could meet you guys."  (Wow again not completely stupid!)  I said, "Oh, Ok, let me get your Dad then."  I told Ladybug, who was watching from the screen door, to get her Daddy.  I went back inside to put a dress on Ladybug (who was getting ready for bed at this time and therefore was just in panties, not exactly the type of outfit she should wear to meet someone.)  We went back outside and talked a bit with the boy.  He's a sophomore and apparently a bit of a loner, he has greasy hair (so him and Cassie match, as Ladybug would say) and dresses in baggy clothes.  I don't know if he's a good kid or not by this first and only meeting, but he gets some points for coming up to meet us, but then again loses some for not meeting us before he took her out.


After the boy left, I sent Ladybug inside to read stories with her Daddy and I took Cassie for a short walk so we could talk.  I told her "I am not angry, I was worried.  You should have told your Dad what you wanted to do so someone would know where you are at."  She said she was sorry, didn't mean to worry me but wanted it to be a surprise.  I am glad for the thought but would prefer not to have the trip in my head that I had when I noticed she was still gone.  


It's not easy being a Step-parent.  I always joke with Cassie that she needs to always refer to me as her "Evil Step Mother".  (Always said with a smile.)  I know how teens think of their parents.  I remember thinking poorly of my parents.  You always figure you will do thing different, better.  And I am sure, as parents, we hope they do learn from any mistakes we make.  Of course, I think I was an adult before I confronted my mother saying "Well your perfect, I can't be like that!"  I figured everything that she had ever done came easy, not that it was years of practice that made it look so easy.  Now we call/email each other when we do something that is particularly stupid, therefore making the other person laugh and feel better about themselves.  I'm still not convinced that new things come easier to her than me, but that's not the point.  


I like that arrangement and can only hope that when my girls do leave (and no Mom, Ladybug will not be the first one of my kids to leave) that they keep in touch with me as often as I do with my mom.  I work hard to be here for them, to nurture, support, and give them the love they deserve.  They better damn well keep in touch when they are grown, have families of their own and need have issues!  I could use the laugh I am sure.  Paybacks, are a bitch.  (Smile!) 

Ladybug Hunter

As of April 15th the official Ladybug Hunting Season started.  My little girl was out there daily hunting down her favorite bug friends, putting them in her "Ladybug House" with grass, sticks, flowers and dirt (I wasn't aware of dirt until later).  I found a Ladybug Tent (see pic) at Wise Buys for $9.98!  It's a great construction and couldn't have been found at a better time.  Ladybug's previous tent that she got from my parents on her birthday broke and couldn't be repaired (like Humpty Dumpty).  The poles on this tent are a lot better suited for little girl playing.  She loves her tent and it's even tall enough for me to play inside.  


My hunter comes home from school every day and would put on her Ladybug stuff (her house that's on a necklace string, her Ladybug watch that you can put ladybugs in) and would run outside to the "ladybug grass".  This girl seems to be able to spot a ladybug at 10 yards or more.  I am impressed.  I try to limit the number that she can keep per day and we release them daily so they can get food etc.  She gets mad when the dog knocks the ladybugs off the grass so she can't find them.  


I have got to admit it's fun to watch her collect the ladybugs and it seems like this ladybug season is shorter than last season and we don't seem to have as many ladybugs as there were last year.  Maybe the Mommy Ladybugs warned the baby ladybugs to stay away from the Ladybug Hunter House.  I can imagine them telling the baby ladybugs bedtime stories about this little girl who comes out while they are eating dinner, snatches them, puts them in a plastic container with other ladybugs who "take advantage" of you.  (There are a lot of piggy back rides in her ladybug house).  I know I have aphids on my roses but the darned ladybugs are on the grass instead. I don't get it.  


I hope if I am reincarnated that I don't come back as a Ladybug.  Oh, she doesn't hurt them and they are released alive and well but still.  I can imagine the trauma the poor things go through before then. Like when Ladybug put the ladybug house on one of her swings and they were freaking out!!!  Poor things were crawling everywhere trying to get away from the earthquake.  I am sure there was ladybug puke everywhere.  We have since discussed being very careful with where we put the ladybug house when we aren't putting ladybugs into it.  I think it's helped.


I am looking forward to another day of ladybug hunting and gardening.  Hopefully it will be cool enough this afternoon to do them.  If not, throwing the frisbee to the dog should be nice.  Also wanted to try to give the smelly dog a bath.  Am going to try tomato juice, letting it dry on her and then washing it off.  Hopefully that will help.  

Dog Share

You have heard of Time Share, Job Share, and Spouse Share (Wife Swap), I participate in a program that I like to think as Dog Share.  All the benefits of having a dog, without any of the disadvantages.  I think I may have mentioned that the neighbors dog comes over and visits.  She actually spends most of her time here during the days.  It's funny, when I drive up from an errand and pass by her house she will race us back to our place, cutting across the field to beat us there.  She is pretty smart too, one of my other neighbors doesn't like her at all, his dogs bark at her and he doesn't like that, so she always takes another way so they won't bark at her.  It's kinda nice to have her around.  She usually lays down somewhere outside and waits for someone to come or go, to play with.  I try to take some time out daily to do that, even if Ladybug isn't home with me.  We keep toys, snacks and other things like that here for "our" dog.  The neighbor who shares the dog with us would love it if we would keep her but we aren't supposed to have dogs.  This dog is used to sleeping inside and since she tends to smell (even right after a bath), that's not happening.  So until the neighbor gets rid of her, I am a proud participant in the Dog Share program.