I finally got the whole Twilight series today...I started New Moon at 5pm..I'm on 175 now..
Dont expect to hear much from me until Sunday.. I'll likely be reading a book a day..

I'm officially a Twilight geek now.. I am SO into it! I cant even imagine where book 2 is leading to right now, and I LOVE that. Usually by page 100 of any book I can typically guess the ending & be right.. not the case here!! Unfortunately, someone on a message board didnt put a SPOILER ALERT in front of a post & I do know something that will be in book FOUR. Which basically sucks ass.. but.. I'm trying to ignore it, unsuccessfully.

Happy reading!!!!!!

...Mike wants Wii..

and then..when he gets that Wii...


..I want a Wii Fit.

If you need our current address to send said Wii & Wii Fit... please, PLEASE..just let me know.

Thank you.

As we all know...

Mike & I have both banned ourselves from cutting our poor childs hair.

SO!!! Andy went & had a pro do it today ( a monther of several boys, of course!!!)

Here he is before....

AANNNDDD...

AFTER!!!!!!!!!!

She did an AMAZING job!!!! Mike said he did SO well, he didnt cry or anything!! WTG Andy!!!!

I am a victim of the Target/Britax Scandal!!!

Well.. Let me see..

Sunday I thought was about the best day..E-V-E-R!!!

I got 2 pairs of Kitson boots for $19.99 each at Gabes..

THEN I got basically a $300 car seat for $43 shipped from Target.com!! Andy has out grown his car seat in Mikes car & they are SO expensive to get a good, safe seat. I skimp on myself, but never my kids, ESPECIALLY when it comes to safety, like car seats. Only the best for my kiddos.. So to find a Britax for $43 was a MIRACLE.

And you know what they say..if something is too good to be true..It usually is.

Lets just say..I personally know of over 200 really pissed (ex!!) Target shoppers as of Monday... And those are JUST from cloth diapering associations. I spoke to several "Target Team Members" and was basically told "Sorry, go buy it for $200.. thats outr ACTUAL sale price" even though my order had already been processed.. They claim it was supposed to be $43 OFF the original price, not $43 in general.. HOWEVER.. A FEW peoples orders slipped through, so SOME people go their $300 seat for $43.. every one else's order just dissapeared with a ageneric email that eventually followed.

There are Facebook groups, Cafemom groups, messages board, etc over ridden with angry mothers.I'll say.. I'm ticked too.. but now, I'm just more angry at the lack of customer service, when I finally got an english speaking supervisor on the phone, he was rude, bored & annoyed sounding. I get it..I bet he WAS annoyed by that point..but a SALES job means being nice.. Believe me..I know its hard..but its your JOB. I didnt even get offered an apology.Just a flat, bored tone of sheer annoy-ism..

So now, I've been searching high & low trying to find the best car seat possible now, for the least amount of money. Andy flat out does NOT fit in his seat anymore. We cant safely wait any longer,I've been trying to stretch until Christmas but it just isnt an option any longer. I finally decided on the Nautilus from Walmart, $122 with 97cent shipping.. Thats $20 less than if I drove to Target & picked one up right now. And realistically, as tall as Andy is, this seat will last him until he is 10 years old, or can ride with oput a booster. It IS a better deal for us, but I dont like being "taken" and I beleive Target took quite a few people.. and quite a few people are PISSED.

Stupid Target...I'm on a Target Ban for as long as I can manage... BOO TARGET!!

Thats all =0)

I have lots more to say about lots of things, but Ryan just woke up.. So.. Ta Ta for now my friends..

And remember..We no longer like Target..

It will be hard.. but I'm going to try to stear clear as long as possible.. Not that they will notice or care..but damnit, in my head, its *doing something*!!!!

As requested...HOP BALLS!

OOkkayy..

Finally..its here, the long awaited.. HOP BALL REVIEW!!! ((insert WHOOPPWHHOOPPP here))

My mom took Andy for dinner the other night.. I was laying on the floor with Ryan while Mike folded some laundry & it hit me.

I CAN BLOW UP THE HOP BALL!! ANDY ISNT HERE!!!

I was excited..to say the least. Mike got out the automatic pump thingy that we use on the air mattress & we pumped this baby up!

I hopped on.. and..... I fell off.. on my ass.. It needed more air..

So.. we pumped again... and I just sort of stumbled on my ass...

More air... FINALLY.. I HOPPED!!!!!!!!!!! ..Sort of.. it was no "three feet in the air" like the website says though...


This is my view (listen..you can hear it sticking to the floor..Nope, that isnt my ass sticking to the ball..THAT came later..)

Thats me..hopping along in the hall.. Its pretty hard to hop and take a video.. I might add..And no.. I'm not that fat that I was squashing the thing..It STILL needed more air..but I lack a little thing called...PATIENCE.. So.. I hopped anyway.

Ryan digs the hop ball too... He thought it was hysterical when I held him on it by himself.. Its very very very hard to hold a baby on a hop ball & take a picture.. all by yourself..so.This is the best I got.

Thats right.. No makeup.. free Miller High Life shirt & sweatpants.. Getting a mustache ride..
(I cant believe I'm putting this here b/c my family reads this but omg.. how could I NOT..LOOK AT HIM! He's got the handlebar stache!!!!)



another unsuccessful try..

So.. oh we half bounced.. damn me & my impatience... I will say this..I actually LOL'd..Yes..I laughed OUT LOUD.. All alone by myself as Ryan watched me from the living room & I said..and I quote... "WWHHHHEEEEEE!!!" and then died laughing because.. I am alone, by myself.. 24 years old, in my hall way, bouncing on a giant plastic ball & saying WWWHHHEEEE.

Let me tell you. that thing IS a work out.. I broke a sweat bouncing around.. And you reallyu do get a good butt/thigh work out..I felt the burn!!!
So yes..I bounced around in my underwear..those sweatpants got very hot.. ok??? And I also will say..the ball DID in fact stick to my ass when I stood up from bouncing..and that made me laugh too.. I called Mike to tell him, I thought it was so funny.

I also may have called out "whhooohhoooo" at one point.. I dont remember..Things get a little fuzzy..

I've been asked several times..so I'll add quickly..No..my boobs didnt knock me out. FYI ;-)

Then, worrying Andy would come home & steal my sunshine, I stuffed mustache man in my closet, with a blanket over him..

And then yes... the next day..I shut the bedroom door while Andy napped & bounced for a minute.. And it was fun..and mine. ALLLL MIIINNEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

I give Hop Balls an A+. One I find the "correct amount of air" as the website discusses, I fully do believe I will bounce.... not 3 feet..but perhaps one, off the ground. Maybe if I get back to my once tiny statue..I COULD bounce 3 feet off the air..but uh.. Not for now.
And if I never do reach maximum height, the excitement & happiness of feeling like a child again were worth it all in their own!!!

A boy & his cat.

Well.. Mike went to pick our kitty up from her "surgery" today.

He said he waiting in line behind 2 people & when he came up, they said "Fluffy?" ( the name we gave for her) he said Yes..and then a doctor and a few nurses walked out somberly..

They asked "Your here for Fluffy??"

Yes.. Mike said.. This is where he told me "It was like, taking your mom to the hospital & they were about to tell me she didn't make it!!"

They told him that Fluffy has had a positive test for feline leukemia.. and they are REALLY sorry.. So Mike says "like,..cancer??" They explain it as an autoimmune deficiency, and that she needs to come back in 2 weeks for more blood draws so they can send it off to a more comprehensive facility to be tested to be sure. So Mike says "..Autoimmune..like.. AIDS???"

They tell him "Yes..sort of .. feline AIDS"

Mike comes home & tells me "Dude..shes got the HIV" ( pronounce HIV..not H-I-V)

WHAT!?!??!?!?!?!?

Basically, if she catches a cold, she could die from it. She got it from her mother, who before she died got all wonky, got a cough & basically went nuts. Feline leukemia attacks the neurological system when very far gone.. Coughing is a symptom.. So.. our little kitty was born into this sad cruel disease.

I cant lie..For the first few hours, I looked at Fluffy with new eyes.. I mean.. shes sort of like a transsexual hooker whose got an STD!!!

We always thought she was a boy..until she got pregnant.. by some random guy she likely met in a back alley ( or..her brother..eh!) so..she puts out for anyone, obviously.. And well..now we know..she's got the FIV!!!! That dirty kitty...

I think most of my shock was that "now we have TWO indoor cats" If we let her back outside, its a death sentence for her. She will catch a cold, or a sickness from the other cats that roam our redneck hood and..well.. die. And as Mike said "I spend $80 on her..shes not going outside to die damnit"

So, after the appropriate research ( no, humans cant get it, no dogs cant get it.. Max is neutered so unless they fight & draw blood or bite.. he wont get it either) I feel ok.. She potentially could live a very long life, as long as we keep her healthy & keep her from getting sick. I will add this though.. According to her papers & online..FIV and cat leukemia are 2 different things, which often coincide..She technically doesn't have cat AIDs.. she has cat leukemia..but it sounds WAY more dramatic to say that our cat not only had an abortion but shes got AIDs too.. So.. Yeah.. I'm always one for dramatics! =0)

We have a new cat..And I got to name her..

HER name.. is Chuck.

On a completely unrelated note..I read the entire Twilight book today. All 498 pages.. from 8am to 3pm.. I'm a fast reader.... Obviously..

I really want to go see the movie, the book was AMAZING!! I see what everyone raves about! One of the things on my "To Do" list is to see a movie by myself.. I am thinking this might be my one.. We shall see!

Argh.

Well..Mike just dropped "Flussie" off for her..big day...

And I decided to clean the crap out of the closet... yes..AGAIN.

Why, you may ask?? WELL! Let me tell you..

Last night my mom took Andy to her house for dinner so I..... BLEW UP MY HOP BALL!!!!!!!!!!!

That is a WHOLE different post in itself, which dont you worry, will come soon. BUT! Now I had to.. well.. hide it!!! Its mine & I'm not sharing damnit, so until Christmas comes & Andy gets his.. mine will remain hidden except for when I sneek into the bedroom alone to hop around on the floor. (And yes..I have already done this..that thing is a GOOD work out!!!!)

So!! Its too big to hide under my little table where I hid the exercise ball Andy is obsessed with so I stuffed it in the closet with a blanket over it for last night.. This morning, I opened our ONE hall closet & tackled the mess that I call "Mikes hording of junk given to him by people"

Yes.. You see.. My dear husband can not say NO. People give him stuff.. often with the "we were just going to throw this away but I thought I'd give it to you instead" which is OH so sweet..and Mike just CANT say NO. It doesnt matter if he will NEVER EVER EVER even touch the thing, he will say "Oh wow! Thanks!!" and then KEEP it. SERIOUSLY..People he meets at SCHOOL..even our NEIGHBOR give him random CRAP!!!

Not "Oh wow thanks!!" and then donate it to GoodWill later with out them ever needing to know..

Nope..I love my sweet sensitive husband, but he attaches love to objects.

While he does have great parents, he didnt have the childhood, or connection or, in my opinion, secure, wanted feeling that children deserve, as unfortunately, most children of divorce wind up with at some point in their life, so now.. He seems to attach the feeling of being loved or cared about to people giving him THINGS.

Please dont get me wrong, I'm not "dissing" Mikes family yo.. I'm just saying, that in general, often children who come from divorced families wind up with their own issues, or insecurities, or sadnesses from that divorce & lack of 2 biological parents. Not always, but from what I've seen, quite often.

We've been working really hard on it, trying to remind him that the memory isnt in the sweater, or the ball, or the shirt, but the memory is with HIM. After his step dad, Greg passed away Mike held on to all of his old clothes.. Thats totally okay, but it got to the point where Mike had no room for more clothes ( that fit him) and he was getting rid of clothes that he wore, and clothes that fit him, to keep 5 identical shirts that are 3 sizes too big & he never wore. So, we took some time to take pictures of objects/clothes/etc and to make a little "memory piece" out of his 2 favorite shirts & donate the rest to people who could really use them.Which, in the end Mike said he felt good about, because he knew that Greg was a giver too, and we both remember one time he tells us about these pretty glass coasters we have "If you have them use them. Dont just keep them around, actually use what you have." And Mike felt that giving them to people who would be able to use them, was a good thing in the spirit of Greg.

I'm lucky he's such a sweet, caring, thoughtful man. I hope I dont sound like I'm complaining.. I'm complaining more about the massive amounts of things he is hording in the TINY amount of storage space we have.. Which is ONE closet. A SMALL one..closet..We use my moms basement for storage right now & I cant even tell you how much stuff down there, are Mikes things that I could bet money on, he doesnt even know what is in there!!

SO.. The whole point of this.. duh.. I've been trying to stress to Mike .. NO BIG CHRISTMAS GIFTS.

I personally, would really like to ask of people to only get each child ONE toy. Pamela gave the suggestion to ask for people to put money towards an extra year of Preschool for Andy,which I LOVE. I also like the idea of Gymboree/Little Gym/etc classes for the kids.. We dont NEED more toys.. Both boys have a savings account, both kiddos have a college account. I'd MUCH rather, while we are in a SMALL house and they are young, have people give to this type of thing.. in a few years the kids will "know" and have gifts they actually ask for.. I'd like to be able to do this while we can get away with it, so to speak. My family has always done "Christmas Lists" where you write down a few things you'd like.. As a kid, mine was always changing..making sure my BIG #1 was at the top of my list!! I just figured, everyone did that? I mean.. why would someone want to get you agift that you dont need/want/already have/dont have room for??? I would much rather get someone something they actually WANT or can use.. Right??

I already over did it on the gifts for the kids.. not in quantity. but a select few special toys that are bigger than I'd prefer.(Damn co-op pricing..) I've passed the word on "SMALL gifts!!!" to my family, but then Mike told me that his family doesnt do that.. No lists, no mentioning of what people would like, etc..

And I was suprised..I guess I thought Christmas Lists were something most people did..I mean.. When you "go see Santa" dont kids have their little list in mind to tell him what they want??

So, it got me wondering..Do you do Christmas Lists?? I know I read in a magazine one lady keeps a Word document all year & adds little notes to it when she comes up with an idea through out the year so she can pass it on to family & I thought that was a great idea! No doubles of toys, everything you KNOW the person will like!!Right??

Am I just crazy???? I might be.. I go from "Man this closet has alot of junk.." to wondering "Does everyone to Christmas Lists??"

...I often wonder if other peoples minds work the way mine does..or if I'm actually crazy...

The world may never know.