Going on a Ride-along

Tomorrow is new year's eve. I have never cared about new year's eve and tomorrow isn't any different. I usually stay hidden away from all the drunk drivers and can't even remember the last time I made it to midnight!

But tomorrow I'm going on a ride along with hubby. He works graves. I'm really looking forward to it. The grandparents are coming over to stay with the kiddies. It's also their last night here. They are driving back to California Friday morning. That should make for a pretty interesting day. After I wake up tomorrow morning to go to work, I won't get to sleep again until Friday morning.

But with four kids, doubt I'll get much sleep. The kids are going to be in heaven though when I tell them they get to play xbox ALL DAY! I think that'll be my only chance! At least I'll have all weekend to recover!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Preparing for another day with the parents

Yesterday wasn't as bad.  Mom didn't pick on me, but frankly much of the damage has already been done.  Maybe I'm being selfish.  Nick and I don't get very much time to ourselves.  Of course I look forward to seeing my parents, but I also look forward to being able to spend time with my husband, without the children.  He has tonight off, and I don't think we'll be able to do anything together!

I did, however, decide that I AM going to go on a ride-along with him on New Year's Eve whether my parents watch the kids or not. I have a backup plan (thanks Kym)!

And now I'm trying to think of something for all of us to do today, sans Nick, who got home from his shift at 7:30am!  He needs some sleep.  

Thanks for listening to me vent!

I guess Al Gore is right. Global warming is going to kill us!

Plants use carbon dioxide to make oxygen
People breathe oxygen and make carbon dioxide
If we cut carbon dioxide, plants will die because there is not enough to keep them healthy
If plants die because there is not enough carbon dioxide, they won't produce oxygen
If there is no oxygen, we will die.

I guess Gore is right.  Global warming is going to kill us!

Christmas is over and I'm ready to take down the decorations.

Christmas is over and I'm ready to take down the decorations. I'm not sure exactly what happened. I was really looking forward to my parents' visit. I hadn't seen them since last May.  But my mom has been, well, a bitch since they got here last Sunday.

Then on Christmas Eve, she just kept picking at me and picking at me until I finally snapped.  First she wanted to help me fold clothes.  I know, sounds great!  How could I complain about that?  But I'm trying to bake for Christmas Eve and have a fun pizza making dinner with the kids.  It's our family tradition.

Obama makes detour to Auschwitz on the way home from Copenhagen #tcot

Turns out Obama stopped by Auschwitz on his way home from Copenhagen.  He thought he would spruce up the Whitehouse for Hanukkah.

Hey Al Gore, here's a poem for ya!

This morning I woke up with a heavy heart.
This Government is ripping my country apart.
They tell me I'm bad because I exhale.
They tell me I'm bad but will I continue to wail...

Give me liberty or give me death!

I will fight for our rights,
I will fight to the end.
I will fight so my children can comprehend
The reason we are the greatest country on earth.

We will not be lied to, we will not believe.
The lies we are told, you will get no reprieve.

Your abhorent behavior, forcing your agenda onto me
You will be punished, you just wait and see.

Save the baby humans!

Condensed version of world history

I just received this in an email.  I don't know who to attribute it to, but it's too cute to not share!

For those who don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1 . Liberals, and
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed. 

My Annie was sick last night

My poor little baby. This was her first night being sick like that. She woke up about 3am and managed to get sick in her brother's room, my room, the bathroom and kitchen! She finally fell back to sleep around 4:30am.

Then, at 6:30, she woke up, bright eyed with color in her cheeks and was ready to take on the world!

I have a real question on HCR that is too long for twitter. Please read and respond #tcot

Ok.  So they say that if you lose your job you won't lose your health insurance.  What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that I get to keep my health care and continue to pay what my portion was while I was employed, or does it mean that I can keep my health care but have to pay 100% of the premiums?

If it's the latter, what if I can't afford it?  Am I then forced into the public option?

I really don't know the answer and am looking for information.

I thought I was a Mom. When did I become a referee?

It's Sunday night. I'm exhausted.  Here is a quick synopsis of my weekend in all it's glory.

"Ryan stop yelling.  Nicholas stop fighting with Colby.  Nicholas stop fighting with Ryan."  Annie wants to go play outside so I get her all bundled up because it's only about 25 degrees (so much for global warming).  Ryan and Annie go out back to play.  Colby and Nick fight over the xbox.  Colby gives up and goes to play on the computer.  Ryan comes in and starts whining that he wants to play on the computer.  Colby gets mad and throws something at Ryan's head!  "Colby, go to your room.  Ryan, stop yelling.  Colby, come down here."  Colby comes down and I talk to him about throwing things at people and Ryan tries to hit Colby.  "Ryan, go to your room and STOP YELLING."  Annie, who had come in with Ryan, wants to go back outside but she has managed to take all of her clothes off, so I get her all bundled up again.  And I'm just getting started....

Things My Annie Says

Aniella, also known as MyAnnie, is 2 1/2 years old.  She is, to quote her grandmother, "A Pip."  That is basically a nice way of saying she's a handfull, independent, or even downright obnoxious at times.  You know, a typical 2-year old.  Anyway, she never stops talking.

Ever.

And sometimes she says some pretty cute things (at least they're cute to me).  So I've decided to share them when she does it.  One of my favorites actually got me in trouble about a week ago.

One evening a couple of weeks ago while my husband was on vacation, we were just hanging out at home.  Normally he would have been on his way to work at this time.  The doorbell rings and Annie jumps off the couch and screams at the top of her lungs, "PIZZA!!!!"  My husband looked at me and said, "Order pizza much?"  Then to make it worse, when I answered the door the pizza lady asked me how the kids were doing!  I cooked the following night.

Making informed decisions is more important than making random decisions

I just had a great Tweet-versation with a woman who had very opposite views than myself.  It made me remember how important it is that we all need to understand both sides of a debate, or we can't possibly make an informed decision.  It wasn't that we were trying to change each other's minds, but rather just explaining our point of view.  Sometimes the stereotypes we have about each other really cloud our vision.  We often latch on to one word someone says and then take it completely out of context.

Debate is healthy. Screaming is not.  Just because you listen to someone and try to understand what they are saying, doesn't mean you have to agree.  It just means you are taking the time to listen and understand.  I'm just saying!  ;)

H1N1 in my home - an Update

Well, it seems like it was a false alarm. Nicholas' temperature never went above 101.5, and that was only for a short time, and it mostly hovered around 99-100. I kept him home from school for a couple of days. This morning he was at 98 and felt great. So back to school he went.

But now Annie has a cough. Typical. Isn't the beginning of the school year wonderful, with all of the new germs they pick up? sheesh.

I can't see my Twitter Home timeline

I know I haven't been on Twitter very long, but I have found it to be very addicting now that I've got the hang of it. And now my Home page timeline isn't working. It's been down for about two hours now.

I feel so naked! Please, Twitter, please restore the tweets!

This is what I call bad product placement!

I hope this comes out okay. I know these ads change regularly, so I couldn't just post a link to the page. Hope you can read it!

H1N1 hits my home

Got a call from the school that Nicholas has a fever.

Just this morning I was talking with my mom, saying that I didn't think I was going to get the H1N1 flu vaccine.  By 11am, though, I was on my way to pick up Nicholas from school.  He has a fever... and supposedly was exposed to H1N1 from someone in his class.

I had researched the vaccine and found some interesting information.  Apparently when the government asks big pharma to quickly produce a vaccine, big pharma requests immunity from lawsuits because they claim they haven't had time to properly test the vaccine.  Back in 1970's, the government asked big pharma to quickly make the vaccine and it turns out that the vaccine can cause Guillian-Barre Syndrome.

Sometimes I'm a real dork!

So I'm at Nicholas' baseball game but I really don't feel well at all. So I decide to stay in the car because I didn't want to get anyone sick. Annie wants me to turn the radio on, so I do. Now, I had no idea that the battery would die after only 40 minutes! Damn.

SNL Obama's Accomplishments Jack and Squat

This is a Saturday Night Live Video poking fun of Obama and his lack of accomplishments so far. It is laugh out loud funny. Watch it and share with others! It's too funny.

Ross McKitrick: Defects in key climate data are uncovered

Ross McKitrick is a respected environmental economist. Two days ago, on October 1st, McKitrick wrote THIS ARTICLE about the flawed data, known as the Hockey Stick graph, that has been used as the main source of information regarding global warming. The Hockey Stick graph was created by a US Climatologist, Michael Mann.

For many years, scientists who tried to replicate the study could not. None of them were able to replicate the Hockey Stick graph that depicted the spike in the rise of temperature.

It turns out that although a large sample of tree cores was taken, only about 12 of the cores were used. When you add the rest of the tree cores into the data, the graph does not look like a Hockey Stick at all. It is in line with the rest of the graph. No Hockey Stick. No spike in warming.

This is so important right now to know the truth. If we are misinformed, we will make decisions that will impact future generations and cost them trillions in unnecessary taxes. Please take time to read the article.

So Disappointed in People. Common Sense is Gone

Every day I am more and more disheartened. When Whoopi Goldberg says "It wasn't rape-rape", and Jimmy Carter says that animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, I start to feel more and more defeated. What is wrong with people these days. Why is it that if I disagree with Obama I must be a racist?? Why can't it be that I don't agree with his policies and the road he is trying to take our country down? What in the world is rape-rape, and why isn't it as bad as rape? What if it was your daughter when she was 13 years old? Would you be okay with it and say it wasn't so bad?

Come on people! Where has all of the common sense gone?

I promise to raise my children with common sense, instill in them a sense of right and wrong, common courtesy towards others, compassion and with a strong moral compass. Please join me!

Jon Gosselin is a Moron

So TLC drops him because he's an idiot, running around town with different women, ignoring his children and slamming his wife. So instead of thinking that maybe, just maybe, his behavior caused this and apologizing, he goes on a legal rampage trying to delay his divorce and stop the show that is putting food on his children's table. Does he seriously think people are so stupid to believe that he is doing this for their welfare? Since when does he care about their welfare, I guess after he finished screwing the babysitter in the house while the kids were asleep!

Not only that, but does he have another job lined up for him to make sure he can keep a roof over their heads and food on their table? Probably not! A responsible parent would not cut off their source of income until another one was available! Oh wait, he's got a new show in the works about Divorced Dads, that's right! Talk about a train wreck!

Maybe he can be a runway model for Ed Hardy! Last weekend I saw a really neat carseat cover and almost bought it until I saw it was Ed Hardy. Made me think of Jon Gosselin. I specifically didn't buy it because I didn't want to think of him every time I got in my car!

What a douche!

An Obviously Miserable Couple

On again, off again, I really don't care either way. But this picture of Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake SCREAMS miserableness! Can you say Publicity Shot? It looks like they decided to take a stressful walk just to show people they're together. Odd

Activists are Whining Again about their Messiah

Unbelievable. I am so annoyed right now. This stupid article showed up on MSNBC today. Apparently the left wing Socialist babies sucking Obama's tittays, ehem, Activists are complaining about a poster in a STRIP CLUB depicting Obama as the joker. Are you kidding me??

Apparently they don't remember this picture of Bush depicted as the aforementioned joker, printed in July of 2008. I don't remember the picture of Bush causing any whining, crying and sulking protests from Conservatives.

I am so sick and tired of the left complaining that their Messiah Obama is being targeted because we are racists. I'm not a racist. I'm a realist. I can see what he is doing to this country and I don't like it. I don't care if he is black, white, orange or purple. He is single handedly ruining the United States as it was designed to be.

And now, with everything going on, he's trying to get the Olympics, in of all places, CHICAGO, his the home of corruption. I wouldn't be surprised if he rehires all of the ACORN workers to pose as a Welcoming Committee for the Chicago Olympics!

Flippin Typical - NO HOT WATER!

Our water heater is on the fritz again. This time water is leaking everywhere, looks like from every place a pipe is connected! Darned thing is only 7 years old. I don't think that's a long life for a water heater. So tomorrow I get the joy of taking an ice cold shower. I am sooo not looking forward to that. I don't handle cold water very well.

Fortunately I got all the kids bathed, except for Ryan, before the hot water ran out. I really hope we aren't going to need a new water heater. That can't be cheap and I don't have the extra funds for a new one right now.

So I can already see tomorrow not starting off very well. Cold shower, going back to work after a mini vacation, yuck. I think tomorrow has BAD MOOD written all over it. If I'm smart, I'll get up a little early to make myself a nice cup of coffee instead of waiting until I get to work. I think I'm going to need it!

Clean House makes me clean my house

Every time I watch this show, I end up cleaning my house! My house looks nothing like these homes, thank goodness, but something about this show compels me to start cleaning! I've also started a cleaning calendar to keep me on track. Every Saturday I have a list of items to do. Some items are done every week, some monthly, some every six months and so on. It's based on a cleaning chart I found at RealSimple.com.

Anyhoo, I've watched a ton of design shows, but Mark Brunetz is my favorite designer. He makes every home look beautiful. He doesn't do any of that wacky, weird colored, outlandish designs that don't go with any other room in the house. He makes the entire house flow and look calm and relaxing. I really wish he would come do my house. I am really not good at designing at all!

But then again, every time I do something nice to the house, the boys are right there to break it! To date, they have broken a metal bunk bed (bent the frame), their closet doors, our bannister (it's loose, will have to have it fixed), a drawer in the refrigerator, clogged a toilet with a toy and broke all the screens in the house (Nick has since re-screened every window for me). Needless to say, they keep me on my toes!

Christian vs Muslim - Double Standard

First, let me say that I one of the great things about America is freedom of religion. But Christians are being targeted more and more often. I just want to know if anyone told the Muslims they had to pay thousands of dollars like the Christians in San Diego were told!

Frustrated!!

I am so frustrated right now. I feel like I've been in the terrible two's for 9 years now! I am so ready to be finished with them. The constant temper tantrums, screaming and crying. It is so hard to listen to day in and day out. Don't get me wrong, of course I love all of my children, and Annie really has an incredible personality, but when she is ticked off, she brings the thunder!

See, when you have 1 child, and that child is playing peacefully with a toy, or outside, then there is peace in the house. With 4 kids, the chances of them all being happy at the same time are very slim. And it's never the same one who is sad, mad or upset about something. And as soon as he is better, another one is right there to take his place.

So tonight I'm going to make an easy dinner, keep the kids outside as long as possible, and try to relax. Breathe in, breathe out!!

California freeways

Ever notice how all of the freeways in California are referred to as "The..."... The 405, The 110, The 5. What's up with that? Here in Colorado, they start with "I..." I25, I70, I'm sure it stands for Interstate. "The" doesn't stand for anything. I personally think they are referred to with "The" in the beginning, because they deserve such a distinguished title.

Now, I know what you're thinking. California freeways are a nightmare! Yes, I know, but that is because they are so full of cars. It's really not the freeways that are bad, it's the cars. One thing I've actually learned from living in Colorado, is that the California roadways are actually designed quite well. Entrances and exits are fairly standard, meaning you know they will be on the right side of the road most of the time. In Colorado, freeway entrances have no rhyme or reason. In California, lanes are typically the same width apart! You would think that something like that would be standard. Not so, just try driving on I25 through the Tech Center. Nightmare!!! The cars get sooo close to each other. I hate driving through it.

Anyway, I apparently did way too much freeway driving here yesterday, because all I could do was think about how much more organized the engineers in California make the roadways! I never thought I would admit to something like that!

Best Laid Plans

We had good intentions. Our first plan for the night was for Nick and me to go see Brad Paisley. We don't get out much without the kids and thought this would be a great evening out. A few weeks back I was talking about getting tickets and the new guy at work said he could get them for us. Great! Two weeks later, he says the tickets will be at will call. Two days ago he says he can't get them. I'm thinking the new guy is gonna be a short timer! Anyway, we decided that we would have a family night instead. This would be special because Nick normally works Friday nights.

Then, last night, actually, 5:30 this morning, Nick calls saying he's going to be late because he had a big arrest and had lots of evidence to book in. I don't hear from him again until 12:30pm! He's just on his way home. He worked 16.5 hours! I knew where this was headed... He says to wake him up when I get home with the kids and we'll go see a movie. I wake him up at 6:00pm, and he asks for another 45 minutes of sleep. How could I deny him when he was out keeping the streets safe the night before! So 45 minutes goes by, and I just can't do it. I couldn't wake him up.

So here I am and it's 9:15pm. The kids don't seem to mind, though. 3 are playing upstairs and one is playing video games down stairs. Fortunately Nick is on vacation this week as well, so we will have lots of time to spend together. I just couldn't seem to wake him up after such a long night at work.

Now we are planning on trying to have a date night again next Friday. I'm not sure what we are going to do, but hopefully it will involve leaving the house! Maybe go to the drive in!

Carrie Fisher is my new Hero!!!

Carrie Fisher had this to say to all the stuck up, snobby haters out there who have nothing better to do but pick apart women! Yea Carrie for sticking up for yourself!

Is Unsustainable the new IT word?

I don't want to get all political, but I'm going to post a couple of links...

Cuba says their free health care system is unsustainable.
Canada says their free health care system is unsustainable.

So basically, Cuba and Canada both used the word "unsustainable." The cost is too much of a burden for their governments to handle.

I bet most people, Democrats, Republicans and Liberals alike, would agree that our health care system needs to be overhauled. But why in the world would we do something that other current governments say is not working for them?

All I can think is that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

Colorado Weather

Well our trip to the park lasted a whole 10 minutes. I know how Colorado weather is. I should have waited it out... When we got to the park, it started raining, so we ended up leaving. By the time we got home, the sun was out! At least there wasn't any fighting while we were out! I'm going to try to find something different for us to do on Sunday. Something we haven't done before. A new adventure.

Goin to the park

So I'm going to take the kids to the park today. This SHOULD be fun, you would think. It's beautiful outside, there is a picnic table, huge open space, a play area, a trail and access to the Platte River. I always have grandiose ideas of how much fun we are all going to have doing some activity I've conjured up. I always think ahead of what we're going to do, how we are all going to laugh and get along. But for some reason, it never seems to play out that way. The kids fight, I get mad, the kids fight some more, I get mad some more, then we end up leaving, probably after being stared at by more than a couple of people. We all end up frustrated and ready to go home! Then the cycle repeats itself the following weekend.

I am determined to have fun today, though! Why I think today will be any different, I'm not sure. But I'm going to try!

The Testing Game

"I love the terrible twos, I love the terrible twos, I love the terrible twos!" I keep telling myself that. Actually, I do love the terrible twos, which makes me think I just might need more meds! Today Annie is playing the Testing Game. You know, when you tell your child not to do something and she starts to do it anyway, and turns to look at you to see if you are serious or not.... But I digress... So my husband worked last night; he's on graves. He gets home around 7am, just as the rest of us are waking up. I try to keep our home as quiet as possible, but with 4 children, well, it is just never quiet here. But some days are louder than others. At first Annie is playing quietly, pushing one of her brothers' toy tanks back and forth on the couch pillow. I look at her from the side of my eye (I can't let her see me looking at her or she will scream at me), and am happy that she is playing so nicely. Then when I least expect it, she pushes the tank as hard as she can and lets go, sending it flying off the end of the pillow and onto our floor, making a horrendous crash, which brings me back to the Testing Game. I quickly tell her not to do that. She picks up the tank and starts playing quietly again on the pillow. As I watch her, she slowly turns her head and looks at me with a devilish grin on that angelic face. She starts to shove the tank again, but catches it at the last minute, faking me out, grinning at me the whole time!

This sweet, delicate little girl who can't even complete a full sentence yet is faking me out, seeing how far she can push me, what she can get away with. I try not to laugh, because the second she thinks I think she's funny, the game goes into overtime!

Starting Over

All of my old posts were, well, really old. So I thought I would start new with a new look and new posts. My new goal for this blog is to just share my everyday experiences, often hilarious, in raising 4 children and being married to a Police Officer. Let's just say that while my days may seem routine, they are often filled with the unexpected. If I end up with any readers, I hope that I can make you smile a few times!