Trademarks - Part Duex

I first made mention of things I'm claiming to be mine and all mine in this post and this post.

Today, a new word has been added to the DraMa's Dictionary of Great Words:

"Turletized" - My husband calls the toilet a "turlet". Therefore, that word is now forever imbedded in my mental dictionary and I am incapable of calling the porceline fixture by it's proper moniker. Thanks honey. So, from the word "turlet" the word "turletized" was born. It's the term given to any book, cataloge, magazine or other reading material that has been taken into the bathroom. I would love to refer you to a video clip from Episode 17 of seaons 9 of Seinfeld in which George and Jerry are in a bookstore and George takes a book into the restroom to read while doing his business. The employees realize this and "flag" the book and try to make George by it. But 30 minutes and endless searching on YouTube has made me cranky and videoless. So, just try to recall that episode from memory in order to make my post more entertaining. My point, turletized is my word but anyone can use it.

and also:

"...their heads are on vacation in the rectal recesses..." - Consdering what hubs' company has done today with an important personal matter, this is what I said to him regarding such company employees and therefore was quite proud of myself. I shall use this phrase proudly and often.

Hot damn I've had a lot to say today. Cripes.

DraMa out... fo' riz-eal this time.

And this weeks Bloscar goes too....

Mel in Orygun for her post about the freakshow she some how attained while riding "Orygun's" public transportaion system!

Lets all just be thankful that Mel is still alive and well and able to continue entertaining us. It could have been much worse! We love you Mel!

And here is your Bloscar!
(feel free to put this on your blog... if you think it's worthy! HA!)

Oh, thank you! Thank you! No no, really... it was nothing... really

Once upon another lifetime, I was living in Arizona. I was attending a church class with my mother in which we discussed the bible, of course. I don't recall much about the class but I do recall one lesson in which we talked about doing good deeds but not being recognized for them. The point is to do the good deed and not look for praise in return. There was a word or a phrase to describe what I'm talking about, but my memory is not so good. Some of you more familiar with the bible and its lessons will probably know what I'm talking about.

In that lifetime I learned a valuable lesson that stuck with me. It is, however, a lesson that I struggle with. Much like my need for validation, I enjoy praise for the good things I do. It might stem from feeling like nothing more than a complete screw up my entire life. My father held me to high standards and I seemed to fail more than please him. I guess I can't blame him for everything, but nonetheless and for whatever the reason, I still feel like a screw up. Everything I touch gets messed up and I lose my mind somehow. Ask my husband.

From a psychological standpoint, you can probably see why I have a need for validation and praise. It comes from a lifetime of messing things up and not really being praised when I did something good. Nowadays, I pretty much feel like if I don't "toot my own horn" no one else will and that is because the negative things always get more of the focus.... the good gets lost.

This brings me to my point. Really, I do have one. My point is that I want to help people, give money to the homeless when I pass them by, raise money for charity and donate things for good causes but I want to do it right and not receive recognition for it. You know, up until last year I wouldn't even take a tax deduction for money or items I donated because I didn't feel it was right. I was benefiting from my own good deed and that wasn't my point of donating in the first place. But, hubs insisted on it and I realized that providing for my family was more important and we needed every cent back from the government we could get.

If I ever see someone in need and give them money I feel proud that I was able to do that. I try not to judge and think to myself, "what if this were God in disguise?". "What if I passed him by?" " What if I assumed that he was just going to buy beer so I chose not to help him?" Because of those questions that I ask myself, I try hard not to judge. It's not up to me to decide how and where he or she is going to spend the money I give them. That is for God to judge later. So, if I have it and I cross their path, I give it to them. It's not often that I'm in that situation and it's also not often that I have the means to help. But if I do, then I help.

I don't want to be praised for helping someone or whatever it is that I do. I don't want a pat on the back or an "atta girl" from everyone for it. But I do like to come home and share it with my husband, because he is my husband and that is what we do, we share life. I love telling him things like that because he smiles, feels proud of me and it makes us both feel good. In terms of what the bible teaches, I guess that is wrong. My husband is my best friend and life partner, we share everything, so I make my own exception to that rule. It's not like I jump on email and send a message to everyone in my address book that says "OMG YA'LL! I just gave $3.00 to a homeless man! Cheers for me!" No, I really don't do that people.

When it comes to this 3-Day walk I chose to do, I didn't post it for praise. I posted it to tell you all that I'm walking the walk instead of just talking the talk this time. No pun intended. That was it. Hopefully it will inspire others to do something for a good cause, too. I wasn't putting my intentions on the net for the accolades, it was merely for inspiration to others and of course, the donations! HA!

I appreciate all of the support you all have offered. I really and truly do. And, I'll be "calling" on you all when the time comes. But I am not doing this for any other reason other than to raise money for breast cancer and to do my part in this world. And that folks, was my entire point to this post.

849 words later, I guess I could have spared ya'll my philosophy and just said, thanks for your support blah blah blah. Yes, I did a word count and up to that last word in the previous paragraph it was 849 words.

DraMa out.

Breast Cancer 3-day Walk

Chicago Breast Cancer 3-day Walk August 10-12th

After seeing the commercials on t.v day after day and thinking to myself, "that would be cool to do", well, the day finally came for me to DO instead of just think of doing.

I have decided that I am going to attempt to raise the minimum $2,200 to participate in the walk and will attend the orientation on February 8th, locally, so I can learn all I can about the walk and how it works.

God forbid my mother, sisters, friends, extended family or myself are ever struck by breast cancer. Unfortunately, the mother of a good friend of mine has been battleing breast cancer for almost a year now. It has taken its toll on her and her family and it's devastating to see them all so sad and scared. Now is the time for me to stop sitting by and doing nothing. It's time to actually do something.

So, it will be my misson, from now, until August to raise these funds and participate in this walk. I'm going to be reaching out to everyone I know for help in raising the money. I'm going to set up a special account for donations after I attend the orientation next month and learn all the details.

This is something I really want to do and hope that I can raise the money needed to go on the walk. If any of you would be willing to donate it would be greatly appreciated. I don't feel comfortable "soliciting" like this on my blog, but if I knew you all in person, you can bet I would be reaching out for help. I'm simply trying to utilize my resources in every way possible... for a good cause. I will do everything I can to make sure you know this is legitimate and that the money goes directly to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Random Pictures from a Happy Girl

First things first... why am I happy? My weekend sucked. I don't feel so well today so I have to fight off this virus now. Mateo gave up the vomitting for a runny nose and has serious attitude. Poor hubs still doesn't feel well. So, what on earth could make me happy right now?

This:

View from my front door.

And this:

View from my back stoop looking into my backyard

And this:

View from my back stoop looking out to the front/side yard

You can't tell from the pics how much it's snowing, but it's coming down pretty well. I swear, big huge flakes falling... my camera just doesn't capture it well. I love it. I love when it snows. No matter what is happening outside, it turns quiet when it snows. Have you ever noticed that? During a good snow, it gets peaceful and it's beautiful. The snow on the ground is from a week ago or so, but we are getting more today and by the time this stuff stops, we may have another inch or two. Snow + Me = Happy Girl. BRING ON MORE! MORE!

Now, for the rest of the random pictures:

This was the boys before we cut their hair. Mateo pretty much had a mullet, and AJ, well, he had a shag. I like the shag... but sometimes the shag wasn't so cool. Like when it was full of static and stick straight. His shag is only cute when it curls up a bit.

Now, the after pictures:

They look so much better! Mateo aged like 6 months with his new cut! YIKES!

And finally, just one of AJ and I (looking not-so-awesome) a few nights ago.

Hubs is home today, still not feeling well. But he decided to make cookies anyway. He is addicted to his new Kitchen-Aid. Last night he made fresh pizza dough and then made homemade pizza. It was AWESOME! I devoured every last bite. He is going to make 3 pizzas for our Superbowl party this Sunday. I cannot wait!

GOOOO BEARS!!!

Well, back to my daily duties....

How I spent my craptastic weekend

We'll call it Deja Flu...

The weekend started out promising. Friday night was quite nice. After dinner, I put the little monster to bed and then hubs went out for awhile. The peace and solitude of the night was knocking on my door. One kid down, one to go. Some time, around 7:30, AJ came to me and said "Mama, nigh night."

Whuh? Huh? Are you asking me to go to bed? Hold on kid, let me revel in this moment, let me soak up the beauty......deep breath in.... ok. Off to bed with ya!

And so, I was alone. Time to enjoy some uninterrupted time on the computer and catch up on some things. I was even able to chat with a fellow blogger for little while. Thanks Rich! But, the time came for me to leave the tranquil confines of my computer screen and head to the couch where my ass was to be planted for the rest of the evening. I was going to make myself a "drink", however, my stomach was upset and it wouldn't have tasted good or sat well with me. Damn.

Then it was time for the DVR to fill my void of How I Met Your Mother episodes so that I may be brought up to date. Oh how I love that show! I love it so much that I even watched one of the reruns that had been recorded. A lovely evening was had by all.

Cut to Saturday. All is going well, then hubs says he isn't feeling well. Seems the flu bug had invaded his rough exterior and was weakening his very resolve to not be sick. However, he is not your average "sickie". He doesn't lay down all day moaning and whining all the while writhing in agony. No, that is what I do. That is the proper way to be sick, but he doesn't play by the rules. Instead, he tries to be a hero. "I have wood to go collect out at the ranch" he says.

I quickly replied "Lay your ass down and just be sick like a man!!!! You ain't goin' anywhere loser!"

We are partners, lovers... we support each other... in sickness and in health.

In this time, the children had honed in on our stresses and weaknesses. It's a 6th sense they have, or a 7th or 8th. This is when they decide to flip out. The day is spent telling Mateo NO 800 times while he touches what he isn't supposed to be touching and laughing at us as we yell no and pull him away. He runs right back to it and resumes the crime. AJ wants to play and run around like a mad man. Then Mateo decides he wants to cry and whine non stop. Good times. We manage a short nap and daddy gets some rest while the boys and I are upstairs napping.

Evening arrives and it gets worse. Both children have lost their minds. Finally, around 5:30pm I scoop them both up, put coats on and put them in the truck and we leave. Daddy needed some peace and we needed dinner. I headed out without a destination in mind, just hoping to calm the children down and give daddy and myself a breather... and find a drive through with food that we both would like. Mateo cried and whined the entire time. AJ was quiet though, he's always good in the car.

I decide to try the new Culver's. We have never eaten there before, they have a drive thru and it's a better alternative to Burger King, Taco Bell or McDonald's. We get home, eat dinner and put the kids in bed. Hubs ends up depositing dinner into the porceline fixture in the bathroom about an hour later and he decides to sleep downstairs for the night. I retire to the upstairs.

At 12:30am, I'm awoken by the sound of coughing coming from Mateo's room... but it's not just any cough. Oh no! It's the preemptive cough before the contents of his stomach adorn his blankets! CRAP! I go flying in there and find a gut wrenching smell greet me as I open the door and my son sitting in his lunch. Yes, his LUNCH! Good God that was 9 hours ago! Hot dogs are so freaking nasty. Well, after 30 minutes, his stomach is officially empty but he's still puking. Finally, around 3am he falls asleep and stays asleep and I head back to my bed. I realize, I was doing the same thing last Saturday night... and so, Deja Flu.

We are now at Sunday. AJ is fine, hubs is still sick and Mateo seems fine now. Hubs goes to the grocery store (yeah, he's sick and still goes grocery shopping... good lord the dude has no clue how to be sick) and then I put Mateo to bed. Hubs tells me that I should go nap while Mateo is sleeping. I pretend to argue and take the high road so as not to seem greedy, but I'm still planning on going upstairs to sleep. I play it off by saying "we'll just take turns napping... me first".

Now, he is upstairs for his turn. I have both kids down here and keeping them quiet isn't easy. Mateo is still touching the same two things over and over that he knows he isn't supposed to touch because he thinks it's a game. He touches it, looks at me, smiles and just stands there and as I get up with my "mama face" he giggles and runs away. This child has no fear of me and no concept of the word no.

Time for a Dr. Pepper and some lunch. My favorite time of day.

And that is how I spent my craptastic weekend.

Quickly, in my defense....

I didn't take the boys to some fancy salon where a Jean Pierre analyzes me and decides what cut I should get without even asking me. I just said "salon" because I didn't know what else to call it and "hair cut place" sounded a bit juvenile. It's just a place similar to "Great Clips" and "Super Cuts". You know, the unisex, cheap hair cut shops. I'm too cheap and poor to pay $60.00 for a hair cut. My friend's sister works at this place and in all my years, she is the only one I have come to trust with my hair. She is also great with the boys so they never got traumatized by going to her.

So, please don't think I'm subjecting my boys to snotty stylists, chic gossip and pay $30.00 for a kids cut. OH HELL NO! $8.99 thank you very much!

This wasn't meant to sound defensive or mean, I was just clarifying:) And if I could cut their hair on my own, I would. But that would be rather disasterous and then I would have to post horrid pictures of my children on this blog with half of their ears left, lopsided hair cuts and big tears. It wouldn't be pretty.

What is that horribly bright ball in the sky?

My retinas are burning! OMG! The pain! The horror! SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP!!!

I, the drama queen of Chicago-land, have done something today that some didn't think was possible.....

I left the house! For the first time in 7, or maybe 8 days, I have stepped outside, walked to my truck with my boys in tow and proceeded to drive away. Contrary to what my husband guessed, my car DID start and I DID remember how to drive! WHEW!

Oh, and to add to today's phenomenon, I was dressed, had my hair done and makeup applied, the boys dressed and fed and out the door by 9am! I might have even had a few news vans following me as I drove away.

Our first stop, of course, was the Wal-Mart. I mean, they haven't seen me in like, 2 weeks! Then, I decided to finally go and get the boys hair cut. They were in desperate need of a cut and everyone in my life made sure to tell me that. I GET IT OK! This was Mateo's very first haircut so it was a special moment. Both of them sat perfectly still and let the ladies cut their hair. What a sight! They were so good and I was very proud. Then I got my hair trimmed a tad. I took the boys to McDonald's afterwards so they could play, for being so good at the salon. Now we are home, finally. Mateo is sleeping and AJ is watching Cars.

Normally, this would be a regular day for the boys and I, but today was more special. I reintroduced myself to the land of the living and those strange creatures that walk upright and have two legs who resemble me. It seems that ever since I became a stay at home mother I go through spells like this in the winter. I become a shut in, unable to find the motivation to leave the house much less do anything else. It happens a few other times a year as well, but seems worse in the winter. Not having a job to go to every day makes it easy for me to shut myself off from the world and become 10 times lazier than I already am.

Anyway, I feel like a million bucks today and just wish I had the cold hard cash in my pocket to back that up! For now, I'll just play the part.

And in other news, Crystal, Simon sucks, but I still love you:) He is entertaining, of course, but in the grand scheme of things, dude is a dick.

Miss Sizzle Pizzle Pants.... what are you tryin' to say woman? You think I gots low self-esteem? Cuz, isn't it obvious that my intense need for validation and the desire to be liked by everyone is totally a sign of being very confident in myself? DUH!

Riley, is it wrong that anytime I get an email from you I think of Bel Biv Devoe? And getting drunk before bed sounds like a winner... I'll try it tonight. And, finally, unfortunately I saw pure joy in my sons faces while watching the Teletubbies at Grandma's house today so I have resigned myself to the fact that they might be allowed to watch them. GAH!!

Mel, Prozac totally helped me with my "big-ol-bucket-o-mad". Seriously... now it's just like a pail-o-mad. So worth it!

That is all...

Seacrest out.

Is anyone listening?

Who here likes to be ignored?

I SAID... WHO HERE LIKES TO BE IGNORED! God is anyone listening to me?! SHIT!

Ok, seriously, at the moment, someone I care about is in a situation where her mere existence seems to be ignored almost daily. It comes with the territory she's in, but why do the people around her feel the need to treat her like she doesn't exist just because interns come and go all the time? I guess they feel they don't need to bother getting to know her and what she's about just because she will be gone in a few months? I just find that sad and inexcuseable.

When I'm out at certain places, I make it a point to at least smile at someone that I know is constantly passed up without even a glance. They probably feel invisible most days. I'm talking about the sweet people that bring you your water at your dinner table (not the servers) and the hard working housekeepers at hotels that people treat with zero dignity in many cases. People like that don't get much credit or attention. While my smile is hardly going to change their lives, sometimes it's all I can offer, along with a nice "hello" and my hope is that it makes them feel less invisible, if only for a brief moment.

For me, personally, it's what I have to say that gets ignored many times. I take the time to write something and give my opinion and yet it gets no acknowledgment. In many cases, there are a lot of other opinions and some quite similar to mine, yet mine is overlooked, or is it purposely ignored? So, I'm left to feel like I wasted my time and actually spoke to a brick wall.

Sometimes the topic is insignificant so it's not worth getting worked up over and other times it's a tad more important but still hardly worth getting worked up over. However, I'm a needy person. While I'm getting more confident in my own skin, the fact still remains that I require validation to feel more important. It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm being honest. I enjoy validation. I believe most people do! That is why we all love getting comments on our blogs, it's a validation of ourselves. I don't need it to survive and I know I'm still worth something no matter what anyone says, but validation makes all of us feel a bit less invisible and can brighten your day. It's so simple!

Look, I don't need to be told I'm beautiful, sweet, caring and all that crap. I'm not asking to be patronized or bamboozled. It is just nice to hear things like "You know, I don't tell you how I feel about all you do most times, but I LOVE that you make the bed every day. I seriously love that." That is what I heard from my husband last night. Something so simple and yet so incredibly rewarding to hear. He took notice of something I do every single day. Instead of the usual nitpicking of things I don't do. Validation.

Validation and recognition are so easily overlooked and yet it is so easy to give out. Maybe I'm romanticizing it but I honestly believe there is a lot of power in something so simple.

Then, we have the other end of the spectrum and that is..... People that NEED to be ignored. This will be easy, I'll just make a list of those folks...

• Joy Behar (I still like Rosie, she is at least funny in a non-menapausal-crankass manner)
• Simon Cowell (no matter how right he is about talent, the guy is an ass and steps over the line too much)
• Tom Cruise (and any other Scientologist out there... and I'm not even providing a link to this person because he needs to be ignored THAT much)
• The Teletubbies (they are just plain furry little freaks)
• Anyone in the fashion industry that tries to humanize it and make it seem like fashion is actually a global contribution to better humanity. Shut the fuck up... fashion is not exactly a peace treaty you ass hats (and by anyone I mean Anna Wintour, the inspiration for the Devil Wears Prada movie and book, and specifically that bullshit she blathered on the Today Show awhile back)

The lesson to be learned from this post....

Show love to thy service-person, ignore those with money, big mouths and appear on T.V ..... and also furry little freaks.)

White Panthers?

No, that isn't the name of my new band. I would name that Angel and the Dramatics, but I digress. The white panther was actually an extremely obvious symbol in my dream last night. I don't plan on writing about my dreams every day, so don't worry. It's just lately I have had some doozies.

So, last night the setting was a parking garage (I seem to recall a few other dreams where that is a setting or at least a partial setting). It seems as though it was our girl's night out and we all met up in this small parking garage. Details are sketchy. What I do remember is that upon getting out of the cars I saw a white panther jump out and I screamed to everyone to get back in the cars or stay where they were. I was on the outside of the garage and I was safe because he couldn't get out of there. I won't go into how he couldn't get out of the garage because it's too hard to explain. He just couldn't.

I called this white atrocity a "panther" because if he was black that is what he would have looked like. He was a huge, mean cat that's for sure.

Cut to a little while later and the "cat" figured out how to get in and out of the "windows" of the parking garage and he finally cornered me. He bit down on my arm but never broke the skin. It hurt but it wasn't a horrible pain, it was like a premptive hurt before you feel the pain of your arm being ripped off... but that never happened.

As he was biting my arm I was on the phone with the city to send someone to come and pick this panther up because he was on the lose and dangerous. They weren't listening to me. I was crying and begging for help. They just said they would send someone soon, that was it. I don't really remember what happened after that.

I wish I could interpret my own dreams but part of me feels that ignorance is bliss. I mean, if I found out what my dreams mean it might make me face things that I don't want to face or it might outline fears that I don't want to know about. I already know I'm stressed out and have other issues... but maybe that's all I need to know right now.

And, yes, still in pain. It's not as bad as it was on Monday but it's still there and is restricting me a bit. I know, if I'm not going to see the chiro about it, then shut up. I know.

First Edition of the Bloscar Award

And the award goes to....

Envelope please....

Kristi of HERE IN IDAHO for her post portraying a dying young mother.

Congratulations Kristi! You deserve this award for your incredible talent and hard work. BRAVO!

Still. In. Pain.

Pain.

Still.

In.

My.

Back.

Heating pad not working.
Meds not working.
Laying down not working.
NOTHING IS WORKING!

I may have to beg Dr. Chiropractor to see me and let me pay later. If I turn on the tears and use my womanly manipulations that we are so well known for maybe it will work. I'm useless to my family so gotta do what I gotta do....

Aaaarrrrrgggh - Updated

Two 800mg ibuprofens, 6 brownies, 2 Dr. Peppers, 2 chicken tacos and a few chips with salsa later and I'm still in pain.

1600 milligrams of pain reliever didn't help. Caffiene didn't help. Chocolate therapy didn't help. Mexican food therapy didn't help. Euthanasia might be my next step.

A nice long hot theraputic shower isn't possible until after hubby gets home. Going to my chiropractor is sort of out as well. Otherwise I would have seen him today already.

Oh the agony.... oh the horror! Dear God make it stop!! Someone put me out of my misery!!

They don't call me a drama queen for nothin' people! I should be nominated for a blog Oscar for that. A Bloscar. I think I'll start a new award program. I will win the flagship award of course.

Edited to add: I normally don't take that much pain medicine, in fact, I rarely take it at all because it doesn't work and I don't like popping pills. Today, the pain was bad enough and keeping me from taking care of my kids properly that I had to do something. When the first one didn't work I foolishly thought maybe another one would help. It didn't. My point is proven... pain meds don't work on me in most cases.

Sigh

Funny, I just read Angel's post and laughed because that is exactly how I was going to describe my weekend! Emotionally up and down.

Friday night was a blur but it wasn't because I was drunk, however one big drink was involved. It was just a blur because my memory sucks and it was probably uneventful. Wait, we put the kids to bed, made ourselves our favorite alcoholic drinks, of which neither of us could finish, and we watched Ghost Whisperer. Then I think we went to bed shortly after that. The portion of our drinks that we did finish was enough to ease us into a quick and restful slumber. Until AJ came into bed with us....

Now anyone out there who has the balls to tell me married life with kids is boring and mundane, I challenge you to find a more exciting Friday evening than that! Go ahead! I dare you!

Saturday morning I awoke with my son next to me and an absent husband. He was relegated to the couch, as per the usual, because AJ kicked him out of bed. Hubby did try to retreat back into bed with us sometime during the night only to find the boy and myself snoring in unison... hubby didn't like that so he left again. Poor guy.

The day was boring and uneventful as well. Hubby was ansty and bored and couldn't find anything to do so he glued his ass to the recliner and watched a couple of long Robert Duvall Western movies. He's never happy... either he's too busy and tired by 2pm on the weekends or he's bored stiff and can't sit still and feels completely lazy and unproductive if he does nothing all day. Get a grip dude.

I, however, filed our taxes and expect our refund by the first week of February... both federal and state! Yes, yes I AM awesome. So Saturday felt WONDERFUL to me because I got a huge huge huge chore off our shoulders already and it's not even the Superbowl yet! I also took care of a couple of other big things that I have been needing to do for my MaryKay biz. I rawk! Saturday was quite productive for me.

Saturday night I made spaghetti for dinner and noticed Mateo was acting way more tired than usual and he didn't want to eat his dinner. I should have known then that something was wrong. I cleaned him up and put him to bed and settled into my bed with AJ to read stories before sending him off to his own bed. However, Mateo woke up crying and I had to tend to him so I put a movie on for AJ. I knew Mateo wasn't feeling well and predicted he'd be up puking in a few hours. He fell asleep in my arms and melted my heart as I rocked with him and soaked up every ounce of that feeling.

I got him laid down and went back to AJ. I put him to bed and went downstairs where hubby and I decided a little bit later to retreat to our bed as well. It was 8pm. Yep, 8pm and we were going to bed. However, as I predicted it was short lived. Within and hour Mateo was up vomiting like mad. I was up all night with him puking every 2 hours. His fever was bad and he just couldn't feel better.

Sunday we had a party planned for the Bears game and obviously hubs and I were very tired. But the show must go on. Mateo had managed to puke on pretty much every blanket and towel and article of clothing in the house so I had to do laundry. I managed to take care of him because he was still sick, do laundry, get dressed, tidy up the house and prepare for the party. Hubs went to the store and prepared all the food and then it was gametime.

Then the BEARS WON! THE BEARS WON! SUPERBOWL XVI HERE WE COME!

Then, last night, AJ wakes up and comes out to us and I can't tell whether he is sick or not. However, he's restless and I can hear liquid sloshing in his tummy when he moves. Not a good sign. Sure enough, he throws up in his sleep a little bit later. It wasn't much and got just on his pillow but I ran to grab a ton more towels just in case. But that was it for him.

This morning both he and Mateo are fine. However I have a horrible pain in my upper left side of my back and it's making it very difficult to move. I have taken two 800mg ibuprofens and it still hurts. That is 1600mg of pain meds and it hasn't touched this pain. GAH! I have to do everything gingerly or I'll be in agony.

Fun times... overall.... despite the sick kids it was a great great weekend, because nothing happened, taxes got done, it snowed again and the Bears won. Couldn't ask for more!!!

WE'RE GOIN' TO MIAMI!

Bienvenido en Miami!

Need I say more?

Well, I will anyway...

I said the Bears were going to Superbowl XVI around their 4th or 5th game. I just knew it.

And I couldn't be happier that the Colts are going too. I'm not a Colts fan but I did not want to see the Pats there again. Sorry Erin! I know you are probably VERY VERY disappointed and I really am sorry because I adore you and know you are upset over it. But I wanted to see the Colts pull it off, and they did, in a GREAT game.

A Realization, of Sorts.

Disclaimer - No children were harmed in the making of this video.

Disclaimer 2 - AJ never got his orange because we left right after that for Grandma's & he was going to get fed over there anyway.

Disclaimer 3 - I'm embelishing! EMBELISHING PEOPLE!

The realization

Scary Adventure

So I'm in this train-car type elevator right? We are going down a few levels and then bam, it stops! We are trapped! I freak out quietly because I don't want to show everyone else that I'm terrified. Then the cables break and we fall the remaining 10 feet to the ground. It's an outside elevator. We are fine but the compartment hits the ground and keeps spinning around for some reason. It finally stops but we can't get out and have to wait for someone to rescue us. We hit the alarms over and over and finally the rescue group comes to get us out. Thank GOD! After we are safe, all I can think of is "Wow! I have to blog about this crazy thing!".

And that people, was only part of my insane, fucked up, whacked out dream that I had last night. Only a smidge... or as my uber-awesome bestest friend Becky would say, only a "skosh" of it. My dream was so nuts, so all over the place, so weird that there is no translation for it. I'm convinced no one could ever tell me the meaning of this one. At one point, in the same dream of the broken train-car elevator, I'm following a very strung out but still gorgeous Courtney Cox down a small, crappy road with other girls behind me and we are all trying to keep her inline so she stays out of jail. We are driving down that road but we aren't in cars. We are just like, well, floating with the sensation of driving an actual car.

Did I mention that while I was in the "elevator" I was with the son of some "friends". Well I was. I was watching him and trying to keep him safe. After we are rescued he falls asleep. But he becomes a sleeping, flat wooden figure that I carry around in my coat! Uh-huh. I said A FLAT WOODEN FIGURE THAT I CARRY AROUND IN MY POCKET! A reverse and pyschotic version of Pinnochio, minus the strings and arms and legs.

Sigh. I luvs me my prozac but dayum they create some weird dreams!

101 Dalmations - Rated R???

While my life hasn't exactly been a sheltered one, in fact just the opposite, I do miss out on a lot of things for various reasons.

Surely, at some point in my childhood the book, 101 Dalmaations or the movie crossed my path but recalling the full story was something I could never do. Since it was a children's book I merely assumed it was about a large family of dalmations owned by an evil woman named Cruella De Vil. That was all I really remembered or knew.

The other night, I was tucking AJ into bed and pulled out his new book that had 4 Disney stories in it. One story happens to be the 101 Dalmations. Since he hasn't heard this story yet and it's the one I really wanted to refresh myself on, I began reading it.

Things were going along just fine and I'm realizing how the 101 Dalmations actually came to be. Then, I get to the part where Cruella's two hired villains are talking about the dogs and then arguing over who was going to "knock them in the head" and who was going to "skin them" WTF!!! A Disney story that talks about killing puppies and skinning them? Is this for real? Do I have some obscure R-rated version of the story and don't know it?

I was choking back my words as I read this. Luckily AJ didn't understand that concept and I did continue reading. Then there is a car chase and crash and other things that I just didn't find fitting for a children's story.

Now, before any of you start stoning me for being a prude or think I'm all about banning and burning books and that I'm going to petition Disney to rewrite the story or take it off the shelves, cool your panties. That isn't it at all. I was just personally shocked that the killing and skinning of the puppies was the premise of that story. I didn't expect it at all and it was very disturbing.

Believe me, there are things on TV that my kids shouldn't even hear, let alone walk past and see or watch. We try to be careful what they see but we don't shelter them from everything (no it's not porn either). They are just shooed out of the room if there is something on that they shouldn't see like violence or something that might scare them.

Anyway, my point is that I guess I'm just used to things I see on Playhouse Disney like Handy Manny, JoJo's Circus and Higglytown Heroes. This book really threw me for a loop. I probably won't be reading it to him again, and if I do, I will surely change the words in those parts.

It would be nice to hear your thoughts on this. Am I overreacting?

Fatty McFatterson

Is it obvious that he just at 4 pancakes preceeded by eating an entire banana. And let us not forget the 1 1/2 sippy cups of milk he finished?

Dude can eat... 15 1/2 months old and duuuuude can eat.

My eye shadow totally matches my sweater!

I don't know why I'm even bothering with this video... it's lame and boring. But, I made it and might as well put it to use.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

The Video

In case you are wondering what I have been up to

Some of you may be sitting there right now thinking, God, if only I knew what D'Mama has been up to lately! I just can't go on with my life until I know!! Well, I'm here to oblige you.

Last week, as I wrote about, my mother and step-dad surprised me by coming into town and they stayed with us for a week. It was so great having them both here and they just loved hanging out with the boys. My step-dad has only met AJ once or twice and never met Mateo. So it was really great to see the boys take to him so fast. He's already "Grandpa" to them which is fine with me. He's more than worthy. My mother was a huge help all week, helping to take care of them, cooking and helping me prepare for the Girl's Night Out party that I hosted last Friday.

The GNO party was "movie" night and I had it here. It was great. My mom made fresh spinich dip and I got a couple of sourdough bread bowls to put it in. Then I made homemade caramel corn and we ordered pizza. YUM-OH!!! It was a really nice evening. Here is a picture of the group of us.... I didn't put makeup on and the lighting was horrible... please, don't be scared.


Anyway, then Saturday my parentals were due to leave. So, we all went out to breakfast and then my step-dad and hubby were just going to head out for a drive and my mom, the kids and I were going to head to the bookstore, then home. Well, at the bookstore I get a call from hubs. "We are stuck, you have to come get us". This translates into hubby getting his truck stuck in some mud and can't get out. Now, had this winter been an actual winter and the ground was frozen solid this never would have happened, but I digress. Hubby had taken the "mudder" tires off his truck this summer because they were killing his gas mileage and he put the stock and somewhat worn tires back on. This is why he got stuck. So, I drive out there with my mother and kids in tow and he thinks my SUV (which is a 4x4) is going to pull him out. My step-dad and I were both shaking our heads but he still tried it. He gets in the SUV with my mother and boys and proceeds to drive back to get his truck. As he gets further back he gets stuck but manages to get it out and turn around and comes back and concedes. We call his friend to come pull him out. All is well and we all enjoyed laughing at him. So, on the same day that Bucksqwatch comes to life and so ends my mocking spree, hubby really DOES come up with another way for me to hold something over his head. You guys were right.

Cut to Sunday. Bears Game. Excitement. Anticipation. Fear. We have family over for a little party and watch the game. Good food, laughing, screaming, shuddering, cheering and then, THE BEARS WIN! THE BEARS WIN! The house went nuts! It was... yes... awesome.

Monday, hubs was off of work for the holiday and we decided to send AJ over to Grandma's for the day and put Mateo down for a nap so hubs and I can watch the Illusionist that we just bought. So, we make homemade nachos (just like the overpriced ones at the theater) we bought the soft pretzels and had those, we drank our sodas and enjoyed a great movie, in peace. Yes, you know what's coming next... AWESOME!! The movie was great and so was the junk food and quiet time!

That brings us to today... it's bitter cold, we FINALLY got snow, my kids are nuts and I have so much laundry to do that I do not see an end in sight. Welcome back to reality. On with the show.

FINALLY!

(The view from my front door)

Dear God it only took until January 15th but it finally happened! This means that our first snow was October 12th and our second snow was January 15th! It isn't much, but I'll take it. It sure looks a lot prettier now. Don't let the bright sunshine fool you. When it's that clear and bright it's always bitter cold. Always. It's 14 degrees outside at the moment. But I don't care. IT SNOWED!

Oh and to everyone that may be reading this that was in the middle of the ice storms (Sally, that most certainly includes you) I hope everything is ok and you are getting through it. From the news it looked awful.

It's a sad day

First of all, my mother and step-dad left today. I took them to the airport this afternoon. I don't particularly like saying goodbye to my family on a cold airport departure curb when rent-a-cops are hovering over you. However, the good news is that I will see them in exactly one month. We leave for Phoenix on 2/12 for a few days. I cannot wait.... sunshine, family, Whataburger, mountains, Cousins Subs, hiking, Jack-in-the-Box.... man I miss all that. Yes, I do realize that half of my list was dedicated to fast food restaruants. I like to eat. And even though Chicago is a mecca of great food, they are still deprived by not having any of those 3 fast food destinations. It's just disturbing.

Anyway, back to my point..... wait, I didn't have a point. Oh, it's a sad day and I already gave the first reason. Now for the second reason.

My husband has quite a flare for exaggeration. One night, about a year ago, he comes home and proceeds to tell me that he saw a huge buck with a large rack (I hope I don't have to explain what that is) right off the highway on his way home. There are forest preserves along the highway so it's not unusual to see deer on the side of the road. But, to see a buck ANYWHERE in sight of civilization, let alone along a major roadway, well, that just doesn't happen. Needless to say, I didn't believe him. He claims his friend said he saw that same buck once, too. I still didn't believe it. After that, I dubbed this fictional buck "Bucksqwatch" and made sure to tease him everytime we drove past that section of highway where he claims "Bucksqwatch" was sighted not only by him, but by his friend as well.

This week he told my step-dad, an avid hunter, about this "Bucksqwatch" and they were both on the lookout for this buck as well. Well, my husband was starting to feel like he was just out of luck and that "Bucksqwatch" would never be sighted again. Besides, I figured, if a buck like that were truly around here he would meet his demise quickly in the form of an illegal hunt and he would be adorning some man's game room wall by now.

Then, the phone rang today and my husband answered. Then he got a sly grin on his face and put it on speaker so we could both hear it. It was our friend calling to inform us that he has just seen "Bucksqwatch" on that very stretch of highway that we so frequently travel. He said he was HUGE and at least and 8 point buck. I was deflated and husband was, well, quite INflated. He felt vindication for once, after all this time. I did ask hubs if he put him up to this because it is awfuly coincidental that we have been talking about "Bucksqwatch" all week long and avidly looking for him, and then bam, today he appears? But, I have finally conceded and I believe them all.

My step-dad will be disappointed that he missed him by a mere 2 hours. See, I took that stretch of highway on our way to the airport and it was 2 hours later that our friend called and said that is precisely where he saw the buck. Go figure.

Oh, are you asking why this would add to my sad day? Well, because now I can't make fun of hubs about this fictional buck any longer. Mocking your spouse is a paramount element in a marriage! Anyway, our friend mistakenly called this buck "Buckzilla" when he called. I had to correct him. However, in light of the sighting today and the validity of this man's word, I am forced to change the buck's moniker to "Buckzilla" since he is no longer fictional.

Sad day. The parentals went back home and "Bucksqwatch" came to life.

A few things...

Firstly, thank you to all the new commenters out there who came out of hiding or just found me. I love getting comments just like everyone else, I found some great new blogs to read and I have also learned to be a better comment leaver! Thank you everyone!!!

Secondly, I hope my template is back to looking normal. If not, try refreshing the page. If it's still not right, let m know.

Thirdly, here just a couple of pictures from yesterday. I took my mom and step-dad into the city and we went to Navy Pier and then I took them to the Hancock building and we went up to the observatory on the 94th floor. I hadn't been to either place, believe it or not, so it was just as fun for me as it was for them. I have been to the top of the Sears Tower a few times and it is amazing, but the view from the top of the Hancock is even better because it is right over Lake Michigan. The Sears Tower is farther west in the city so the lake view is farther away. Anyway, yesterday was a lot of fun but most of my pictures didn't turn out. So this is all I could come up with. It was a cold and very windy day so pictures outside were hard to get and the ones inside didn't really turn out.

AJ looking out over the North Side of Chicago

Mom and the boys looking out over the West Side of Chicago

Mom and I out in front of the Navy Pier entrance

Mom, Step-dad and the boys.... North Side is the view behind them.

Our girl's night out is tonight and it's movie night here, at my house. I asked my mom to take some pictures of the girls for me so hopefully I'll get a few of those too. Hopefully!

Have a great weekend everyone! My mom leaves tomorrow and then we have a Bear's game party planned here at our house so it'll be a busy weekend. I may not get back on until Monday.

Anyone else having trouble viewing my template? **UPDATED AGAIN

My uber-awesome bestest friend says that she has to scroll down past my sidebar in order to start reading my posts. However, everything is fine on my computer and at the moment I'm actually on my mom's laptop and it still looks fine. Both Firefox and IE show my blog just fine.

So, is anyone else out there having issues? If so then please tell me so I can take my video down, because that seems to be the reason for the disruption.

That is all.

I'll post a few pics and stuff from this week later....


**UPDATE -

I'm going to take the video down and see if that helps the template. I now know a few people are having issues. So, the video must go... hopefully that will fix things. Next time I do one I'll try to post it better so it doesn't cause issues. Or I'll just stop posting videos.

**UPDATE Part Duex -

I edited the video post and just put up the link to the video. Hopefully it works and my template is back to normal. Let me know..... about the template that is.

De-lurking Week!

Ya'll know there is a holiday for each of the 365 days of the year. And I'm sure there are also celebratory weeks for each of the 52 weeks a year. So, this week, among many other celebrations, it's the highly regarded "De-lurking Week".

It's that special time of year that calls upon all blog lurkers and anti-commenters to open up their hearts and their keyboards and actually comment to say hello. This week is so incredibly special that I just learned of it today. Yeah. Who knew.

If you read and don't comment then now is the time to go ahead and leave that highly coveted comment that all of us blog producers live for. Posting this makes me nervous however, because if I don't have lurkers and everyone really does comment, well that would be awkward.
If you can't comment for some reason do to blogger error messages or whatever you can email me. Make me feel special. C'mon. You can do it.

"Who can that be knocking on my door this late!"

Much to my surprise there was a knock on my door last night around 9:30pm. It was shortly after hubs got home from volleyball, so I thought.

I open the door to see my mother and step-dad standing on my front stoop! It turns out hubs went to the airport to pick them up instead of playing volleyball! What a wonderful surprise! My family has to stop doing this to me though.

So, she and my step-dad are here until Saturday. The boys don't really know them so it's great for them to interact and get to know each other. AJ took to his "grandpa" right away and of course they love their grandma. She just has a way with kids. Even if she's a stranger to a kid, they instantly love her.

It'll be a busy week so I may not be around much. Hopefully I'll get some nice pictures to share later.

The list of awesomeness

A long time ago I was going to do a list of some of my favorite things. Oprah does it and so, I thought, why shouldn't I?! But, it never came to fruition.

Then, I saw Erin created a list like what I was thinking of doing. At that point I decided, well, I can't copy her. So the list still never happened. However, I decided I'm going to do my list. Why not. Erin, I'm not trying to plagerize your idea or anything... it's just something I have been meaning to do. Besides, reading people's "favorite things" lists really opens you up to new things!

So, on with my list of awesomeness.

1. John Frieda's Glaze
I love this stuff. It really freshens up my color and it does make my hair shiny, however pictures and video never seem to show that. Either way, it's a great product. You can use it once a week or a few times a week and it doesn't build up in your hair and it doesn't dry it out or anything. Just keep using your regular shampoo and conditioners. Of course they do recommend you use the John Frieda line of hair products for maximum benefits. But I prefer Panteen. So I simply use the Panteen Red Expressions and the John Frieda Deep Red Glaze. Viola. A happy red head. Fake as all hell but who cares. My mom is a tried and true red head and I have the skin tone and the natural red highlights in my hair so I just ran with it and gave up the blonde.

2. Naked Juice
Oh for the love of God this stuff is AWESOME!! WOW! I love the Mango flavor. This is wonderful juice and very hearty. Just go get some... it's like I just juiced the fruit myself! Ok, so it's expensive but this is one of those splurges that is worth it.

3. Voss Water
Well, at Hub's Christmas party we were at a posh Chicago hotel. It was an open bar and towards the end of the evening they brought out the water for people to drink. I saw these cool glass bottles of water behind the bar and was like OOOOHH! I want one! Yeah, I'm superficial and packaging is everything to me. So I snatched two bottles, they were free. Then I actually drank the water and was instantly in love! I hate water. I never drink it. Seriously never. 90% of my issues with my body can be attributed to not drinking water. But this stuff was..... wait for it.... yeah... AWESOME! The next day I saw a celebrity photo of some incredibly skinny and gangly chic and she was holding a bottle of Voss water. I totally felt important. Then I heard from somewhere that they are like $12.00 per bottle! GASP! WHAT? $12.00 water! Well, that explains the glass bottle and incredible taste. Nevertheless, I kept my glass water bottles and now fill them up with my own filtered water and drink it. I am ACTUALLY drinking water every day now and I just pretend it is the real thing. Honestly, water DOES taste better out of a glass bottle! Even my Britta filtered water! But, if Voss was mass distributed and sold everywhere (it's not) then I would splurge on that too.

4. These 3M Wall Mounts
I couldn't love these more. I was able to hang all my Christmas decor (inside and out) using these hooks, I can hang pictures using these hooks and I literally use them everywhere! The best part is these are smaller, clear and VERY strong so they are easier to hide! The best part, NO HOLES IN YOUR WALLS! You can take the hooks off with out peeling your paint and just rehang it somewhere else with a new adhesive. I can actually hang all of my pictures now to see what they'll look like and then we can paint the walls this summer and we won't have to spackle! I have been using these types of hooks for years but this year I saw these little clear ones and they are so much more versitile. These are oozing with awesomeness.

5. This coin jar
I wanted it for Christmas and I got it. It's so cool. Now I won't ever have to wonder how much change we have... you can actually save a lot of money by saving your change. No shit. My dad used to get like an extra $70.00 a month, just in change! This little jar will make it easy on you.

Alright, that's it for now. Mateo is awake and I must resume cleaning.

The Day After

Thank you all for your nice comments on my silly video. I watched it again and kind of shuddered at it... I look like a massive nerd despite depicting my uber-awesomeness. At least ya'll were kind enough to say nice things about it. Thanks.

So the big conference was yesterday. It was a yearly MaryKay shindig and my first time attending since I'm new to the company. I was up at 5am (that was the first time having to wake up and get ready that early in the morning in a looooongg time) and out the door by 6:30am. We saw some wonderful speakers and enjoyed a nice big lunch. It was motivational and inspiring and full of estrogen, but I really didn't mind. The cheese factor wasn't too bad and I actually got a lot out of those 8 hours. At one point, they even had me crying, thanks to one amazing speaker battling breast cancer, right now.

Not only did we see several motivational speakers (actual MK consultants/directors) but they also had something else for us to find inspiration in... the following picture will show you.


Yeah... an entire row of the infamous pink Cadillacs. And this is only a picture of half of the row. These were all actually driven by women that attended the conference. One is a 28 year old mother of two children. Younger than myself. GAH! The good thing is, that they have 3 cars to earn. The Vibe is the lowest tier. The Grand Prix is the next tier and, the prize of prizes, the pink Caddy is the top tier. The Vibes are red, the Grand Prixs are silver and the Caddies are of course pink, but not that horrible pink anymore. They are like a pink pearl color now. AND, the best part is that now, you get your choice of Caddies. The sports coupe, the SUV crossover or the sedan. So the stereotype is gone. The cars you can earn are actually cool now.

Are ya'll rolling your eyes yet or trying not to throw up in your mouths a little bit? I know, believe me. I know the stigma an MK rep has. Then I learned more about the company and overlooked the cheesiness of it all. Woman really do earn cars and make a career out of this. It's not a lame pyramid company or anything misleading. It's a highly admired company and one of the top 10 in the nation for women to work for. Not to mention the products they make are beyond excellent. But I won't say another word about that because it will just sound sales pitchy and insincere ... even though that isn't the case.

I'm not a girly girl most of the time but I am still a girl and it's nice to actually feel like a girl once in awhile. Anyway, that's all I am ever going to say about that. Finally, here is just a pic of us yesterday. My horribly selfish and very pregnant friend is standing next to me. Still no read on the sex of the baby but I looked at the ultrasound pictures yesterday and told her it was a boy. But maybe that is just because I'm willing it to be a boy. She is convinced it's a girl. Heh. I'm so gonna be right.

Lifting the Veil of Anonymity - REVISED

Instead of posting the actual video, I am just posting the link. Hopefully this link will work and won't mess up my template this time.

Lifting the Veil of Anonymity Video

December's Perfect Post Awards

Each month Suburban Turmoil and Petroville showcase that month's perfect post award winners. You can go to each of those websites to view all of the winners for December.

Bloggers around the blog community can nominate someone for a perfect post award and for December, I chose Riley from All Rileyed Up for her How to Write a Holiday Letter post.

I found this post to be perfect for the holidays and it was about something we can all relate too. It made me laugh and even inspired me to write my own holiday letter in a different way. So, thanks to that post, people seemed to really enjoy my version of the holiday letter this year. However, the bottom line is that Riley really knows how to write posts that people can all relate too and she can put a spin on it that will make anyone laugh. This holiday letter post was right in line with her talent to entertain and bring normal everyday things into a new light.

Congrats Riley! I love ya girl!

New Year, New Blogger Version.

The switch to the new version of blogger has been made. It's something I have avoided for months now. I tested out the beta version a few times and each time I hated it. Then, after the beta testing was over and people were making the switch over I saw a lot of them were still having trouble with it in regards to comments and leaving comments on other blogs. That solidified my resolve to never make the switch.

But, it's 2007, most people have switched over and my only hope is most of the bugs and kinks have been fixed. So, without analyzing it to death, I just logged on today, made the switch and now I can't turn back. (Has anyone ever noticed how the word analyze begins with "anal". How perfect, for an anal person like me who over analyzes everything.)

Anyway, back to the blog thing.... it better work well, that's all I gotta say. The tag thing seems kind of lame considering there is no sidebar section where people could actually click on certain categories to view posts so the point of the tag thing is lost on me. But hey, I don't have to use it. So, most of the upgrades and changes are probably more behind the scenes stuff and better not mess up my blog.

Now, on with the show.

The Dog

Hooch is a 10 year old Golden Retriever with issues. He is afraid of our wood floors and will pace and pace on the area rug until he works up the nerve to walk across the wood floors. He is territorial and loves his bed.

He's sweet and loving and will run up to anyone and ask for love and scritches. But, if you walk away, that's when he'll bark at you and act like he's all tough. He is actually very skiddish and hates small spaces or if there is an object in his way. Regardless of whether he could walk around it or not, if it's in his way, it creates an obstacle and therefore sends his blood pressure thru the roof.

His favorite past times are sleeping, taking 1o minute shits and hiding from the kids.

What the Critics are Saying...

"...a mostly-functional crazy person."
Bill from Radioactive Jam

Right on Bill.... right on.


"... a healthy looking woman"
Rich from BEANTOWN Caffe

This gives me visions of Buffalo Bob as he stalks a size 14 girl for his next skin coat... but hey, I like Rich, so I know what he means.


"...always looks cute on the internets."
Kristi from Here in Idaho

Wake up next to me sometime baby, and try not to scream.


"I bow to you Drama Queen!"
Mrs. Schmitty from It's a Schmitty Life

Shouldn't everyone Mrs. Schmitty?


"You're worth twice as much as me!"
Riley from All Rileyed Up

Totally taken out of context... but it's my blog so shuddup. Spinning quotes is the name of the game!


"It's bad enough we have to get our periods... but this! UGH!"
Kris from I'm not a girl, not yet a wino

Ok, so not everyone loves me... go have another drink Kris.


"OMG! You fuckin' Rawk!"
Mel from Melanie in Orygun

Yeah, she loves me.

Monster

As much as Drama King encompasses the firstborn child, Monster encompasses the second child. He was born on September 30th, 2005. He weighed 9lbs 9ozs. Yes, you read that correctly. He kicked me hard when I was pregnant with him and often doubled me over in pain and since he's been on the outside, nothing has changed.

He can inflict pain on you easily and without realizing what he's doing. He is active, smart and into everything. He also has a flare for the drama, along with everything else. He copies everything his older brother does and is so cute that sometimes I can't take it.

He will also be a lady killer. But, while his older brother is schmoozing the ladies with his smile and smooth ways, Monster will be killing them with humor and clown antics.

Monster is evil and angelic all rolled into one. His face is so adoreable and his voice is even cuter. His vocabulary is astonishing to us, at this age and he keeps us laughing daily. When he wants something, he wants it, like yesterday.

He enjoys screaming, throwing himself at you as his body goes limp in complete dramatic fashion and screaming more.

His favorite pasttimes are eating, sleeping, wreaking havoc and eating more.

Drama King

The Drama King is my 2 year old. He was born on May 28th, 2004 and weighed 8lbs 3ozs. He changed my life forever. It never occured to me that boys could be dramatic. I thought that was reserved for little girls. I was more than wrong.

Drama King (we'll just call him Dramaboy) is every bit as dramatic as I was when I was his age, and still am, of course. He's a very loving and sweet little boy with a temper and a flare for drama. Hm, sounds quite like me, doesn't he?

He's an observer and quite reserved. He isn't one to just jump into doing something. He prefers to go off and play by himself instead of the with the other kids. He was never a climber or into everything either. Once he gets to know a kid he enjoys playing with them but still will go off and do his own thing at some point.

It will be so interesting to watch him grow up and see what he becomes. He is more shy like his daddy when it comes to meeting people but he also shows signs of my outgoing personality, at times.

He's a great kid who wears his emotions on his sleeve, much like I do. He's is my firstborn and encompasses the firstborn child perfectly. He will definitely be a lady killer when he's older. His eyes and smile are beautiful and he will be taught how to properly treat a girl. He better not bring home any skanks, that's all I gotta say about that.

His favorite past times are grazing through the fridge, watching Playhouse Disney and saying "Mama" 8 billion times a day.

Hubs

He's a 40-something Mexican man and very stubborn. He's also very loyal to his family, a great provider and always puts us first. He loves the outdoors and would camp every weekend if he could. He's a truck man and will take nothing less than a 4-wheel drive machine.

He's a white-collar computer working man, works in the city but would much rather cook for a living. He loves cooking and baking and would love to own his own little restaurant or bakery. He dislikes his job and working in the city but it's all he can do right now. It's providing for his family.

He's very much a man's man, despite his love of cooking and baking. The idea of ever getting a pedicure makes him shudder and he doesn't believe men should wear flip flops. Ever.

He loves his family, red meat and the Chicago Bears.