Signs of Spring.

Girls on swings.

Short sleeves.

Sprouting tulips.

Bare Feet.

Sun streaming through the trees.

Bald Heads.

Bald heads? How’d that get in there? Oh yes, I remember. Shawn’s spring haircut.

In my last post I had a picture of Shawn playing basketball with my nephew, Alex. When I first uploaded the picture, I noticed something weird about my husband, but I thought maybe it was the lighting. Then last night when he was standing in the kitchen, I noticed it again. The top of his head is going bald. In. A. Circle. In other words, if we don’t take action soon, he’ll be sporting the haircut on the far right here:

I knew this was inevitable, because, well…my father-in-law has that same hair style. When we were eating supper tonight, I broke the news to the girls, that Daddy was going to have the same haircut as Grandpa Tom. They didn’t take it well, their mouths actually dropped open.

Honestly, when I pointed it out to Shawn last night, he didn’t take it well either. It probably didn’t help that I asked him if he knew “how much time we had?” I guess we’re not going to wait around to find out. If you’ll excuse me now, I have a head to shave.

OCD, Nerd Herds, and Long Island Iced Teas.

Happy Sunday everyone!  I have to make this fast, because I think if Shawn finds out I’m blogging, he’s going to be pissed.  For the past 2 days he keeps saying over and over “We have so much to do.  We just don’t have enough time.  We need more time.”  Whatever dude.  I have no idea what he’s talking about.

Here is this week’s edition of “Getting to Know You.”  If you want to play along click over to Mann Land 5, and link up!  This week’s questions were submitted by Ian from The Daily Dose of Reality.  You should definitely head over and check him out, but don’t be afraid of his picture or buttons, they’re not for real.

1.  Why did you start blogging?

Honestly, I had stalked blogs for a long time, but when my cousin Hillary started blogging, then I had to.  We’ve spent our whole lives copying each other, it’s just how we roll.

2.  Who’s the one blog friend you would want to meet most “in real life?”

Wow, I can think of several!  To start with, I want to meet Jen from “The Tale of Two Coins.”  Jen has an amazing story, and she is such a strong and inspirational woman.  She actually lives in Michigan, so we are planning on meeting, hopefully sometime soon!  I would honestly love to meet all of my bloggy friends, but I’m going to pick just one more, and that’s "Semi-Slacker Mom."  She always has crazy shenanigans going on with her kids, and if she weren’t blond, I would swear we were sisters separated at birth!

3.  Why are you always concerned with losing that “extra 10 pounds” when chances are your husband tells you that you look just fine the way you are? 

Well, because my husband’s opinion doesn’t count.  Just kidding.  Well, kind of.  Honestly, I’m not trying to lose weight, but when I was it was mainly because I didn’t like the way it made me feel, inside and out.  When I could feel my ass moving when I walked or my belly rolling over my jeans when I sat down I found it disgusting.  I also feel like being active and healthy sets a better example for my daughter’s.

4.  What’s the one thing you wish guys could understand about you?

Hmm…  Well, I wish my husband in particular, could understand OCD.  I know he gets really frustrated with me about some of the things I do, but seriously, there’s nothing I can do about it!

5.  Tattoos.  How many do you have and how many are visible when you wear your “everyday” clothes?

I have 2.  One is a butterfly on my right hip area.  It was only about the size of a quarter to begin with, but after 2 kids and too much tanning, it is basically gone.  The other one is on the inside of my right foot.  It’s the Chinese symbol for “Mother.”  I love this tattoo, and you can definitely see it if I’m wearing shorts/skirt/capris. 

6.  What was the best year of your life and why?

I had to think about this one.  I would have to say the year I turned 21.  Obviously I turned 21 (Hello, Margaritas!), I graduated from college, that summer I met Shawn, and that Christmas I got engaged. 

7.  Name three things you would do if you were a man for one day.

I would play with myself (not whack off, but just walk around grabbing and adjusting all day).  I would play xBox 360 for several hours while wearing a headset and yelling at my nerd herd on xBox live.  And, I don’t have a third one.

8.  What’s your alcoholic drink of choice that usually raises a few eyebrows?

Probably a Long Island Iced Tea, but to me this isn’t even an eyebrow raiser.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered one and had the bartender say “Whoa, hardcore.”  A co-worker of mine also always gives me a hard time for ordering them, what’s the big deal?!

 

I hope you had a great Sunday!  Here are a few pictures from mine:

The girls hunting for Easter eggs.

My Mom made this bunny cake for the kids, it was so adorable!  It may have been her greatest creation ever, sorta like my rainbow cupcakes!

Alex shooting hoops with Shawn on quite possibly the world’s oldest basketball hoop.  Alex was actually shooting hoops with Grandpa, but Uncle Shawn had to be called in to lift Alex up for a slam dunk!

Last, but not least, baby Ethan!  He had on a U of M hat my parent’s brought to the hospital when he was born, it was so cute!  My sister thinks baby Ethan is the “prettiest” baby she’s ever seen.  I’d have to agree, his eyes and eyelashes are absolutely unbelievable!

Feel Good Friday

Does everyone know “The Girl Next Door?” No, no, no. Not these “Girls Next Door!”

This Girl Next Door!

On Fridays she hosts “Feel Good Friday.” For all the details on Feel Good Friday, you can click here. Long story short, there are 5 prompts you can choose from to write your post about, and they all have to do with being positive! It’s just a nice way to start the weekend with good and happy thoughts! So, click on over, and play along!

Before I get to my actual post I wanted to tell you that I’m specifically choosing to participate in Feel Good Friday this week, because the last week and a half has been a very hard week for my family. I went back and forth as to whether I would write a post on this, but I’ve finally decided just to say a little bit about it because I know there are people from my hometown who read my blog and wonder about what happened.

A little over a week ago my Dad was in a car accident. A motorcycle collided with my Dad’s truck head on, and that man was killed instantly. The morning after the accident, we found out that the man who died was my Aunt’s brother. While the accident was not my Dad’s fault, you can imagine how hard this is, for everyone involved.

That’s all I really want to say for now. Except, that I would ask you to pray for the family of the man who passed away, and for my Dad as well. So, the prompt I am choosing for Feel Good Friday is to list 5 things that make me really happy this week.

1. I’m happy that my Dad is alive and that he wasn’t injured in the accident.
2. I’m happy that my Dad was able to meet and talk with the wife and children of the man who died. I’m also happy that they have been so caring and compassionate towards my Dad, and that they know it wasn’t his fault, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
3. I’m happy that on Sunday we are getting together at my parent’s house to celebrate Easter. I’m so excited to see my two baby nephews, and my favorite little nephew “Bubba!”
4. I’m happy that the sun is shining, the 10 day forecast proclaims temperatures near 70, and that spring break is almost upon us!
5. I’m happy that because spring break is almost upon us, the countdown to the “Lainey Doll” has begun…which means no more fielding questions about “How many more days until we go to the American Girl Doll Store?”…which means less gray hairs for me!

Happy Friday to everyone. To close, I wanted to share a picture with you of my Dad:

P.S. I'm planning on doing a Q&A post soon! If you have any questions for me or for my hubby, there is a link at the top of my page where it says "Ask me Anything!" There's also a button on the right hand side of the page you can use too! So, ask away! Please leave your name and/or blog with the question if you want me to link back to you.

Wandering Wednesday: How I met your Father.

Yesterday Erin did a post about how she met her husband, which reminded me that I wanted to do a similar post.  Or rather, my Mom wanted me to, well, kind of.  I’ll get to that.

Let’s see.  I graduated from college in May 2001.  I was still living in my hometown, where unless you want to marry someone you went to high school with, the eligible bachelor population is rather scarce.  Blind dates were out of the question, as the last one I went on was set up by my sister (she came along too w/ her bf) and my date was still wearing his shit-kickers from milking the cows and he later asked me if I had accepted Jesus into my heart. 

With great trepidation, I decided to try online dating.  This was huge, because in 2001 online dating was not exactly as popular as it is today.  Basically, my Mom was convinced that online dating would lead to me being raped, murdered, and left for dead.  She was wrong on all counts, but I suppose it was possible. 

I first posted an “ad” on the excite.com personals (which I don’t think they even have anymore).  Within days there were probably 50 dudes wanting to tap my ass go out on a date.  However, dial-up internet made it impossible for me to weed through all the losers. 

So, I took the ad down and decided to answer an ad instead.  I think my search criteria was:  male (seeking female, duh!), between 25-30, non-smoker, never married, and no kids.  Naturally, I picked the most attractive guy and sent off an email (to Shawn).  He wrote back, we exchanged several emails, and he asked me to go out several times before I decided to finally go for it.

To say I was nervous was an understatement.  Obviously I had dated and had boyfriends before, but this was different.  I was 21 and he was 27.  He had a real job, a town house, and 2 cars.  I drove an hour to meet him (which sounds bad, but I think that was my choice) and I met him in the Home Depot parking lot. 

Not to get off track, but a month or two ago Alivia asked us where we met and we told her we met in a parking lot.  The next week she told my Mom that “My Mommy and Daddy met in a parking lot!”  My Mom may have gotten after me for this, I guess she thought that it made me sound like a hooker. 

Back to the parking lot.  I met him there, but then got in his car to go on the date, so I’m not exactly sure how that was any safer?  Don’t tell my mom, mmkay?  We went to the zoo, then to TGIFriday’s for dinner, then played mini-golf, and then we went to a park for awhile.  We talked for a long time at the park, and Shawn told me he had been married before.  What?  He said he had it posted on his ad (which he later showed me), so I’m not exactly sure how he showed up in my search results.  He should have been weeded out!  I’m just sayin.

After the park he took me back to my car, but then asked me to come to his place to watch a movie.  I went, but again, don’t tell my Mom!  The movie we watched I wouldn’t exactly consider a first date “type of movie.”

The funniest part was that during the whole movie Shawn’s stomach was making those weird fart noises that are inside your belly, but will never come out.  Do you know the ones I’m talking about?  (He’s going to kill me for writing this!)  He kept going to the bathroom, which was annoying because he had this weird roommate who everyone was convinced was a child molester. 

Needless to say, he regretted asking me to come over for the movie and there was no kiss.  He didn’t try to kiss me on the second date either, so I was all “are you gay, or what?!”  He said he wasn’t, and we kissed, and the next day he sent me a dozen roses to prove he wasn’t gay. 

Our first date was in July, we got engaged in December, and were married the following December.  And, yes, I’m glad he wasn’t weeded out.               

I can't make this shit up.

Who remembers this post from a couple weeks ago? Show of hands please. Ok, ok. If you don’t remember, it’s not that important, it just adds to the hilarity of this situation. So, a couple things before I get started…

This is an earring:

This is a nose:

Any questions? Don’t answer that, because we’re going to continue anyway.

When I left the gym this morning, I had a voicemail from the secretary at Alivia’s school asking me to call her. I had to pick up Lainey from preschool, so I decided to just stop by the school office afterwards, to see what she wanted.

When she saw me, she started laughing. Oh great. This can’t be good. Then she proceeds to tell me that Alivia had taken her earring out, and while she was holding the earring she blew her nose. (Don’t ask me why, this story still doesn’t make sense to me!) But, after she blew her nose, she claimed her earring went up her nose! So, she went down to the office and they got the flashlight out, but couldn’t see the earring anywhere. They looked everywhere in the classroom for the earring, but never did find it.

While I was in the office, Alivia came down so I could assess the situation, because I am a nurse after all. I looked up her nose, and saw nothing. I pinched her nose, and felt nothing. I then un-tucked all of her clothes, to see if the earring was caught somewhere. Nope, nothing! In my head there was zero possibility that the earring was in her nose, so I sent her back to class and told her to quit taking her earrings out (this is an ongoing issue).

Fast forward to gymnastics after school. About 30 minutes in to class, Alivia comes running over to me and says “Mom! Mom! My earring is coming out my nose! I was on the trampoline and it started falling out!” I’m thinking, you’re shitting me, there is no way. So, I look up there, and see this coming out her nose:

For reals. It wasn’t all the way out, so I had to reach up there and pick it out, which by the way was no easy task! I assure you that the stone in the earring was green to begin with, but the thing was totally covered in snot!

Like I said, Alivia taking her earrings out is an ongoing problem, so when we were walking out of gymnastics I asked her if she had learned a lesson. She said, “Yup! I learned not to ever pick up a tissue to blow my nose while I’m holding my earring!” And then she laughed.

Monday Mingle or First Vlog!

Ok, I’ve seen other more famous bloggers do a vlog before, but I always thought “That is not for me!”  But, today I came across Jennifer’s blog 80 MPH Mom, which on Mondays, she hosts “Monday Mingle.”  This consists of answering 3 short questions, and you do it in vlog form.  I figured, hey, I can handle that!

This week’s questions are about birthdays, and since you all already know everything about my birthday, I thought I’d make my husband do it!  I know, I know.  It was a great idea, and he was totally thrilled.

Please excuse my sexy voice, as I have a sinus infection.  And for whatever fabulous reason my sinus infections always turn into laryngitis.  Oh, and you’ll see me zooming in on my husband’s shirt, but I don’t think you can actually see what it says.  So, it says “Don’t forget to wipe.”  At dinner tonight Alivia asked him if it meant “Don’t forget to wipe your vagina”?  I thought I’d throw that little tidbit into this post because you know how I love to talk about vaginas.

So, without further ado, I give you my very first vlog (which took several takes as you can see at the beginning and end):

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Well, I hope you enjoyed what may be my first and last vlog!  If you’re brave enough, click on over to 80 MPH Mom and play along!

To whom it may concern:

Please excuse my absence from the blogosphere.  Where am I?  What am I doing?

Welcome to my own personal Hell…

It’s all fun and games until the cookies come in and you have to try to sort and deliver 265 boxes.  My favorite part might have been when the leader wanted me to pay her our $930 bill up front.  Yeah, I have that kind of cash just sitting around in my wallet.  I take that back.  My favorite part was the sleeve of Thin Mints I ate today.

We need to get all these suckers delivered before spring break, but luckily there are 2 little girls who are helping deliver (and eat) the cookies:

Do you notice anything different in this picture from the last picture I posted in front of our house?  That’s right!  The snow is all gone!  G-O-N-E, gone!  Peace out winter, and don’t come back!!  Oh, and please pay no attention to fact that the lawn across the street is already greener than ours.  Our lawn says F-you to that lawn.

Taste a rainbow or Punch a leprechaun?

 

 

When Alivia was having her magazine fundraiser last fall, I stupidly ordered the “Family Fun” magazine.  If you are a Mom (or a Dad) and you don’t already get this magazine, do. not. order. it. 

Maybe I should rephrase that.  Don’t order it unless you are super crafty and have lots of time on your hands.  I’m just sayin’.

A couple weeks ago when Lainey had the croup (I purposely called it “the croup” because that makes it sound more like the plague, which is what it was) we got the March issue in the mail, and of course we scoured every. single. page.

On the very last page was the recipe of the month:  “Rainbow Cupcakes”, which were cheerfully proclaiming “Taste a Rainbow!”  I tried to close the magazine before she saw it, but I think kids can see things like cupcakes and rainbows from a mile away.

  

“Mama, Mama!  Can we make those?  Please?  Please?”  “Yeah honey, we’ll make them,” I said.  “When?  When can we make them?”  Do I really need to give a date and time?  Finally I came up with “How about we make them the next time it’s your turn to bring snack at preschool!”  Somehow, she was satisfied with that.

Well, what do you know?  The snack schedule came out the very next day she was at school, and we had to bring snack the next Friday.  Crap.  Are you kidding me?  If you think she forgot, you’re wrong.  4 year olds don’t forget, especially when it comes to cupcakes.

The day before we had to bring the cupcakes, I actually had the day off.  Lainey wasn’t home though, so being the great mommy that I am, I waited until she got home to make them.  Huge mistake, as by the time we started it was 8 pm.

She was able to help me mix up the cake mix, and mix the food coloring in, but that was the extent of what a child could do.  To say this recipe was not “kid friendly” is an understatement.

In theory, the steps were quite simple.  Make cake mix per package directions:  check.  Divide cake batter evenly into six separate bowls:  check.  Add food coloring as directed:  check.  Evenly distribute the batter among the cups, gently spreading out each color to cover the previous color…WTF? 

That’s where it got ugly people.  You have no idea how time consuming this was.  It took me a minimum of an hour and a half to complete the last step.  After I had been at it for an hour Shawn came down and said “Do you really have to spread each color out?”  Oh. No. He. Didn’t.

I said (and I quote) “If you don’t shut your mouth and walk away right now you’re going to be struck dead by a Leprechaun and all the gold at the end of the rainbow will be mine.”

It was nothing short of a miracle, but Shawn lived, and I finished the cupcakes.  And they were amazing.  I even frosted them with Rainbow Chip frosting.  Don’t act like you’re not impressed. 

The next day at preschool I told Lainey’s teacher they were my “greatest achievement ever.”  Are you ready?

And here’s the center, just to prove that you truly are tasting a rainbow:

Just in case anyone is crazy enough to make these, you can find the recipe here.  But, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

What I didn't say.

Several of you expressed concern over my daughter’s someday being embarrassed by my choice of blogging topics. While I appreciate your concern, I’m sure someday they’ll understand. Between Monday’s post and my previous post about reflux I said a lot, but there was also a lot I didn’t say.

• I didn’t say that the first time Alivia got sick with a UTI, we had to take her to the ER on Christmas night. She had 104 degree fever, and they sent us home, calling it a “virus.”
• I didn’t say that after several days of her fever and “virus,” the person who finally figured out it was a UTI was me.
• I didn’t say that I had to call her doctor’s office and beg to bring in a urine specimen, and then call on New Year’s Eve to beg for the results.
• I didn’t say that when her primary physician finally called me after the holidays, she was freaking out a little bit because she realized what a grave error they had made. (In hindsight, she realized the high fever indicated the UTI had gone to her kidneys and was left untreated for nearly a week!)
• I didn’t say that after that “error” I made the difficult decision to switch pediatricians, even though we were leaving a doctor that I knew personally and absolutely adored.
• I didn’t say that I cried with my daughter 2 times while I held her down kicking and screaming, while she had her VCUG’s done.
• I didn’t say that the memory of those tests will never be erased from my mind or hers. And that letting them do the first one without anesthesia was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made as a Mom.
• I didn’t say that no matter how many times she has had an accident at school, she has never cried or been upset. However, I have cried every time.

I don’t think my previous post was in any way making fun of my daughter’s, but more making fun of the situation. One thing I have learned as a mother is that sometimes all you can do is laugh, because the alternative is crying.

Now, if after all that I’ve said, my daughter’s are still embarrassed, I always have this to fall back on.

The Vagina Monologues.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I promised you on Friday that I wouldn’t talk about vaginas anymore, well, I lied. I’m probably going to lose followers over this, but whatever. We’ve got major vagina problems over here people, and I need your opinions on Problem #2.

Problem #1: Labial Adhesion. Do you know what that is? Long story short, it’s when your vagina fuses shut. For reals. This is actually a very common condition for little girls, and can start at 2-3 months old. It’s easily treated with Premarin (hormone) cream, but if left untreated could require surgery. You can imagine what that would feel like!

Anywho-ha. Lainey had this and I thought it was all better until a couple weeks ago when she was all “My pee pee hurts, my pee pee hurts!” I take a looksy and sure enough, it’s almost half closed. Whoops! Is this something I was supposed to be monitoring?

So, I call the pediatrician’s office and after lots of vagina talk, I get the prescription called in. But, then! When I went to pick it up it was $45, and that was with my insurance! I told the girl No Way (!), so she ran it again and then was like “Yeah, it’s $45, so just pay for your crotch cream and get out of here.” Ok, she didn’t actually speak those words, but the look on her face totally said that.

Moving on…

Problem #2: Urinary Dysfunction Syndrome. Didn’t we already talk about this? I thought so. Yeah, I know, it’s like a broken record. Alivia’s had 2-3 accidents at school within the last 2 weeks. So, I got an order called in today, so I could drop off a urine specimen in the morning. But, when I got home I remembered that I actually have urine dip sticks here at home! Hello! Nothing like feeling really smart and really stupid all at the same time.

Well, I dipped the urine, and of course it was positive. We already have a refill for her antibiotics, so at first I thought “Sweet! I’m gonna treat this UTI myself, and I don’t even need those biatches at the Dr.’s office!" But, then I thought if I don’t take the urine in then I have no proof of the infection and no proof that this is still an ongoing problem. Damn it.

So, what to do? What to do? I think I should take the urine in, but I’m irritated that I’ll have to pay $40 (for the lab test) to find out something that I already know. And, what about the pediatric urologist’s office? That’s where I really want to go for an appointment, but that nurse-practitioner-biatch last time was all “Next time you can just take her to her pediatrician.” Boo.

Lainey keeps telling me everyday “Mom, I want a brother! I want a brother!” I don’t think I could handle it, who knows what kind of problems there are with penises?

Getting to know you, or Weekend update, or Push your kids down.

I’m participating in “Getting to know you” Sunday again at Mann Land 5. If you’re not playing along, you should! So, click on over there people! If you make it to the end of this post you’ll also get to see some pictures from our trip to the museum today. I know, I know, you’re on the edge of your seat!

Ok, on with the questions:

1. What is your favorite Easter candy?

First of all, I have said it before and I’ll say it again…I think of all the holidays, Easter has the best candy! If I have to pick just one favorite, then it’s definitely:

I have single handedly eaten 3 whole bags of these so far this year!

2. Who do you think is cleaner…men or women?

I have to say women. Does my husband clean more than me, yes. But, no matter what, he’s still not cleaner.

3. Which do you prefer…wordy blog posts or ones with pictures?

If you’re a faithful follower of mine, then I bet you can guess the answer to this one! Definitely pictures. I don’t mind wordy posts, but if you don’t write in paragraphs or use punctuation, then you’ve probably lost me after the first 10 lines.

4. Were you popular in High School?

This is a hard one, and I’m inclined to say no. But, I think I probably fell right in the middle as far as popularity goes. I was a cheerleader, so people did know me, but I wasn’t exactly “popular.”

Is it easy to tell which one is me?

(Btw, this picture is for someone who I found out is “stalking” my blog, I wonder if she’ll come out of the closet if I put her picture up?)

5. What is your bra size?

34DD. Did I just say that out loud?

6. How many states have you lived in?

Two: Michigan and Florida.

7. What’s one blog you read every day?

Well, not everyone posts everyday, so this is hard. Here are 2 that post almost everyday, which I always read: Lavender, Leopard & Lace and Just another day in (our Midwest) paradise.

8. Peanut Butter or Nutella?

Well, I’ve never in my life had Nutella, so I have to say peanut butter.

Did anyone stick around long enough for the pictures? We went to the public museum today, because the girls were dying to see the “Big Big Bugs” exhibit. The girls actually got in free because they are WGVU clubhouse members. I have no idea what that means, but my parent’s paid for it, so Thanks Mom & Dad!

I put the last picture up because one of those little girls is going to “kindergarten round-up” this week. Sigh. I wish I would have listened to one of the doctors I used to work with who told me when my kids started walking, I should push them down.

Majority rules?

Wowie wow wow!  You people came out of the woodwork with comments on my last post!  Many of you popped over here from Erin's blog after she gave me a shout out, so welcome (!) to any new readers or followers.  I promise I don’t normally post about my vagina, or anyone else’s for that matter.  And for anyone who doesn’t know Erin, you should definitely check her out, you will love her!

As far as the removal of the IUD goes…  I was thinking maybe the fate of the IUD was in your hands, and I was going to say “majority rules!”  However, the more I looked at the comments, the more I saw that there was no true consensus.  You were split almost evenly into these three groups:

1. Have a drink, and yank that puppy out!
2. If you think you can do it, then go for it, but I sure wouldn’t!
3. You’re crazy, don’t do it!

I was pleased that regardless of your opinion, no one was mean, and there were no anonymous trolls who commented!  Whew.  I did also get an email from one of my bff’s who emailed an OB/GYN nurse practitioner/midwife to ask for advice for me.  Here is the midwife’s response:

“There is no harm and in fact I've had a couple of people do that/ have a partner do it-- but it's kind of hard to grab the strings because they are really fine.”  

So,  there you have it.  I’m sure you’re dying to know what I decided, right?  (Probably not.)  Well, you’re going to hate me, but I didn’t decide yet.  Do you want me to let you know what I decide to do?  I’m hoping the title of that post won’t be “Don’t try this at home.”

Since you were all so helpful with this, I thought I’d ask you for your opinion on one more thing.  This will be easier, and won’t make you queasy, pinky swear.

We’ve been looking for a sectional couch for, well for forever.  Last weekend I finally found exactly what I wanted!  It smaller, just 2 pieces, with one end being a chaise.  The color is exactly what I wanted, and then I’m going to custom order a small chair, and the couch pillows will coordinate with the chair.

Since Shawn’s opinion is the only one I have (and he doesn’t really count), I thought I’d ask you.  Here is the cushion with the fabric draped over it:

 

I thought we would need to paint the walls, but after we saw the cushion against the wall, we thought it looked pretty good!  Here are two of the curtains I’m considering:

 

So, what do you think?  Do you love it?  Do you hate it?  Do you want to leave me an anonymous comment telling me I have horrible taste?

P.S.  If you are new to my blog, I apologize that I haven’t gotten over to check out your blog yet.  I promise I will.  It has been a crazy week here…everything from my 4 year old actually pooping her pants the same day I had my poop stain to my older daughter’s school getting locked down because there was a crazy guy with a knife running around the neighborhood!

I will probably regret this post.

I went back and forth on whether or not I should post this.  In the end I decided, why not?  We’re all friends here, right?  Are you ready?

My name is Tami.  I am Catholic.  I use birth control, a Mirena IUD to be exact.

  

Alright.  All you prayer-card-carrying-Catholics can go ahead and throw your rosaries and natural family planning charts and thermometers at me now.  I’m ready.  I can take it.  I’m a big girl (not really, but I do have big muscles).

Are you done?  Ok, good.

The main point of this post isn’t a birth control confession anyway.  It’s about the IUD.  I want it out.  And when I say I want it out, I mean I want it out now.  Right. Now.

There are numerous reasons why I want it out.  The main one being that it is almost expired.  This freaks me out a little bit.  Because what if it’s gradually losing it’s effectiveness, and I get pregnant, and give birth to one of those babies with an IUD sticking out of it’s head?  Now, I am inclined to believe that’s not possible.  Except, there were two nurses I worked with at the hospital who claimed it was absolutely possible.

I’ve searched and searched the internet to find out if it does indeed lose effectiveness, and I can’t find that information anywhere.  The only thing Mirena says is “It’s good for 5 years!”  Ok, but then what?  I’m guessing it doesn’t fall out or disintegrate after 5 years?  Or, does it?

Well, anyway.  So, not only do I want it out, but I’m considering taking it out myself.   

Before you go throwing your rosaries at me again, just listen.  This is not an original idea.  Do you want to know where I first heard it?  My OB!  Yes, she told me she took her own IUD out at home.  Aside from her, through a Google search I have found dozens of other lunatics women who have taken their own out too!

I did ask Shawn to do it, and he declined.  He said (and I quote) “I’m not yanking that out!”  I asked him to please not use the word “yank” in relation to my vagina again.

I’m sure you’re wondering, why I don’t just go to the doctor and have it removed?  For one, my insurance doesn’t pay for the IUD or anything to do with it, so I would have to pay for the office visit (which they consider a “procedure” which = more $) completely out of pocket.  For two, the last time I had an appointment with the OB/GYN this happened, and I’m still a little miffed and worried that it would happen again.  And if I did go, and that happened I’m worried that I would be like “Fine!  Then I’m going to take this thing out myself, and I’m going to do it right here in this office!”

Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?  Volunteers?

Fashion Disaster.

We didn’t have any patients today at work, so I got to go in later at 8:30. For some reason, on these days, I’m always running late. I get distracted reading blogs, and watching things like Michael Jackson’s bodyguards on Good Morning America.

I had a fabulous outfit planned today, and looking good always makes your day better, right? As I was rushing out the door, I grabbed a light jacket since it was going to be near 50 today. I hadn’t worn this jacket since last fall, but I knew I had just had it cleaned, so I put it on and went on my merry way.

I walk into work and a girl following me into the locker room says, “Whoa! Did you shit your pants?!”

Um, yeah I did. Why, do you smell it?

Just jokers. Of course I said “No!” And then she’s all “Well, it looks like you sat in shit!”

Wha wha what? No way. I knew it had to be chocolate, but I hadn’t eaten any chocolate and Shawn had just vacuumed my car out last night. My boss accused me of eating Cadbury eggs on the way into work, but even I draw the line at Cadbury eggs at 8 o’clock in the morning.

Gross, huh? This is my “I don’t like people thinking I shit my pants” face:

Oh well. I figured there was nothing I could do about it now. But, then the fashion disaster got worse. I was also wearing a shirt that I hadn’t worn since fall. When I put it on this morning, I thought “Oh, this is cute! Why don’t I wear this more often?”

Well, only 5 minutes into work this morning, I realized why I don’t wear it. Because this:

Keeps going like this:

Oh, and that’s my “WTF Banana Republic? How could you do this to me after all we’ve been through?” face. That hook kept coming undone literally every 3-5 minutes. Grrr.

But, that’s not all. Oh no, that’s not all. There were no Cheetos in my lunch. A guy stole the gas pump I was waiting for. The gas nozzle sprayed gasoline all over the side of my car. And the gas pump didn’t print out my receipt.

After the gas station debacle, I figured I better wash the gasoline off the side of my car. I dug through my purse, and finally found $5 of Girl Scout Cookie money (I’ll totally pay it back!). So, over to the car wash we go. Only to find that it was gone. GONE! Nothing but a pile of dirt and a couple machines which were mocking me and my gasoline covered car.

So, I peeled out of there, on a mission to find another car wash. After driving through one town and heading towards another, Alivia says “Mom! Where are you going? This is not the way home.” I explained to her my hunt for a car wash, only to be interrupted with “Yeah, like you’re going to find a car wash way out here in the middle of nowhere!”

Thank you, 6 year old backseat driver. Thank you very much.

Best. Day. Ever. If nothing else, my shoes were still fabulous:

Who needs books when you've got TV?

I’m participating in Top 2 Tuesday again this week with the Undomestic Momma. This Tuesday’s top 2 is: Favorite Names. I’m excited about this one, because obviously I’m going to use my girl’s names, but I’m also going to tell you the story behind their names!

So, starting out with Thing 1: Alivia.

I chose Alivia’s name before I was married, or had even met Shawn for that matter. When I was dating I was pretty much like “Hey, if we have a daughter, I’m going to name her Olivia, ok? If you’re not ok with that, then hit the road!”

Where did I get the name from? Promise not to think I’m trashy? Ok.

That’s Kelly Monaco. When I was in college she was on the soap opera “Port Charles,” which was a spin off of General Hospital. I honestly don’t remember anything about that show, except that Kelly Monaco’s character was “Olivia.” Yup, I got my daughter’s name from a soap opera.

It just so happens that Shawn and I are also huge fans of Law & Order SVU, and my favorite character is definitely Olivia Benson:

I think Olivia Benson sealed the deal for Shawn, because he never protested naming our daughter “Olivia.”

Wait a minute. Wait just one minute. If you’re paying attention, then you know that my daughter’s name is actually spelled “Alivia.” So, what’s up with that? Well, one day when I was pregnant, I just suddenly decided to spell it with an “A.” I had never seen it spelled with an “A,” so I don’t really know where I came up with it. Shawn didn’t protest that either, he was basically like “Whatever, crazy pregnant lady.”

Moving on to Thing 2: Lainey.

Apparently, Shawn felt like he got to have some say in the naming of this child because he shot down every name I came up with. My choices were Layla or Kendall, both of which he hated. Then, one weekend we were watching TBS, and one of my favorite movies came on:

Do you remember that movie? I love it! Anywho. Rachael Leigh Cook’s (whatever happened to her anyway?) character in that movie was “Lainey.” Shawn heard that name, and he was sold. I, however, was not. I thought it sounded more like a nickname, than an actual first name. So, we tossed around a few names like “Alaina” and “Dulaney.” But, in the end, we decided on just Lainey. It’s funny, because she truly is a Lainey, and I can’t imagine her being called anything else.

Well, there you have it. Both of my children were named after characters on a TV show or movie. Last year I posted that on Facebook as one of my “25 Random Facts” about myself, and my sister totally scoffed at it. Hey, at least I didn’t waste money on one of those 1000 page “Baby Name” books.

Oh, and if we ever have a boy, I have a name all picked out. Any guesses? I’ll give you a hint: