The DECISION.

Currently my status is : SICK AS A DOG...
well truthfully, i have never understood that meaning. "sick as a dog"? What does that really mean? That dogs are sooo sick all the time and i am as sick as one? I see this is going to give me a headache, trying to make some type of sense of this expression.

Since being sick, my cute Hubby has been doing it all. Bless his heart and the women who ends up marrying him when i one day take my last breath. He was Betty Crocker, Mr. Dad and Mr.Mom all rolled into one. I wish i could flip the switch and make myself get better, so i could help out more. I am feeling a little bit better, i switched whatever i had before with a cold. Basically, my nose is stuffy, my throat is sore and I have a headache. I strongly believe the girl i was sitting next to in class on Friday based her germs on to me. She did inform the class that her and her boyfriend suffered a 3 day cold.

Jumping onto a new ship. Maybe you remember my confusion in past blog posts about if i should vaccinate our family for H1N1 or not. We were DEAD set against it two weeks ago. The something happened to me, and i realized for safety issues i at least need to have it, but without the mercury. Then i started thinking of my husband and our children, and realizing the environment that we are in and the germs everywhere. Maybe we will get the H1N1 and my kids will still catch it and somehow be sick, but for me...i think it is something that my family and I need to do.

I hate that there isn't enough time for me to really sit back and look through every single non-biased report to really get a good grip on this. I hate that i don't know what this will do to my kids in 2 or 3, or even 5 years from now. What mom wants to say, "yeah okay, you just made that in the lab and ran a couple of test? yeah sure, go ahead shoot that up in my kids". You want to say, "okay tell me what are the possible long term consequences that my child will have to face? Can we see all the studies, even the ones on babies (which as far as i understand now are extremely few) so we can make a better informed decision instead of feeling the pressure gates close on us to make a decision". I just wish there was time, but there isn't and so i have to hope and pray that what we have decided is best for our family. I pray i don't have to find out the hard way that i made the wrong choice.

What 5+ years of marriage has taught me

- My husband is a better cook than I am.

- Legally I have not changed to my husband’s last name. I keep thinking I’ll do it…but I really like MY last name…I mean I had it for decades, I have a hard time with change. Maybe for the 10year I’ll officially change my last name to match my husband’s…maybe

- In all honesty, my husband is right about %90 of the time. I still argue my point across even when I know I am wrong…I figure maybe he’ll just get tired of me trying to “prove” my point that he’ll toss me a bone and give up the debate…but he rarely does

-I am such a homebody. Although I always liked going out and doing things here and there and everywhere prior to marriage and kids…I really am just comfy being wherever my family is

- I need and enjoy my vacations ALONE. When I say alone..i mean, no hubby and no kids. I love them all very much…but I am seriously so much more refreshed and nicer to be around when I have reacquainted myself with me again.

- No matter how hard my husband tries I will never love any of the Rocky movies, or be able to sit through a John Wayne movie without looking like I am in pure pain.

- The longer I am married to my husband, the more I love him. When I think of how much I loved him when we first got married it felt like a ton then, but when I really look at it from then to now, I think it was just a small bit compared to how much I love him now

- Playing sick every once in a while is beneficial to you. Don’t overdo it though

- You can teach a dog new tricks. I have only had to deal with the toilet seat being left up 2 times in 5 years.

- My husband likes to be pampered just as much as i do.

- Money doesn't grow on trees...i was devastatingly shocked by this news

-Perfection is highly overrated and unnecessary.

**I wonder what 10 years of marriage will teach me, what has marriage taught you?***

WordLess Wednesday: My family

I would like to introduce you to some very special people. Yes, they can collectively and separately drive me bananas. But they also collectively and separately give me hope, a reason to live, and happiness! They are my world and so much more.

Hello everyone, I would like you to meet my family...

Disney Costime Winner...

Still feeling pretty sick...but i wanted to get this up and out, since Halloween is seriously around the corner. I went to a website called True Random Service to enter in all numbers. Well actually i just entered in 1 and 113 ( i know it shows 116 enteries...but 3 of those are me responding to people) . So..countdown from number one to number 12 and skip any entries from me. If you are the winner you can contact me by leaving a comment on this post and then i will contact you to get your costume of choice and mailing information. Otherwise you may have to wait until later in the week when i get around to it.


Thanks for playing everyone!

Poison Control: Yes, we have a problem

Numbers you should know by heart: Poison Control number.

You would think that after 3 years with 2 kids my husband and I would have poison control on speed dial, or know that number by heart anyway...but alas, we don't.

We are the family that has the ER on speed dial, because my son likes to run up our medical bills and frequent the nurses for some undivided attention.

anywho...back to my story. So when my daughter was what I thought safely tucked into bed sound asleep...she apparently wasn't.

After hear what i thought was her bedroom door closing, My Dh called her downstairs so she could come out of her room from her nap. She was dillydallying and about 15 minutes later brought her self on downstairs, grabbing her tummy. I noticed that she has toothpaste all over her...like she trying to take a bath in it! More like she was trying to rub it in like lotion actually. She had it on her arms, legs, face, and hands.

Then my daughter grabs her tummy harder and says,

"My tummy hurts Daddy, It's full of toothpaste"

My children...whom i love, don't mistake that, always seem to pull the best "stunts" when i am sick. I have currently been on a sick bed for 2 weeks. Sick as a dog! They colored on the carpet...for kicks amongst other things.

So any who, after talking to the Poison control person on the phone, he tells my DH to give her some milk and just monitor. He says she should be fine and if she vomits then we need to bring her in to the ER. So far she has kept everything down.

My daughter I believe has a love for ingesting things that can be poison. She has consumed perfume, lotion, and shampoo in large doses in her 3 years of life.

What this all really means: is that tomorrow i will be busy once again reorganizing things out of her room or out of her bathroom and into mine so she can keep her busy body self out of things she shouldn't be in. Have your kids ever consumed something that was poisonous or considered poisonous because they took it in large doses?

**I will announce the winner for the Disney costume giveaway either later tonight or tomorrow**

The Starve Out

There comes a time in your child's life when you must use the starve out method.
What is the starve out method you ask? well read on readers...read on!

It started on Tuesday...the last straw. It was dinner time once again. I pulled out my Paula Deen Children's cookbook and made a yummy Parmesan cheese pasta dish and biscuits for my kids. I set it all on the table, a little proud of myself for pulling through this sickness long enough to make a wholesome meal for my children.
After announcing dinner my children came running to the table like bulldozers...only to announce, "That's yucky!" I completely tuned out their rude remarks attempting to get through the dinner prayer...i won't lie, i slipped in a little: "heavenly father, please let my children appreciate this food". Anywho they refused to eat. They kept singing "it's so yucky..yucky yucky yucky..it's sooo yucky". They sang how yucky their food was. Because i wanted them to eat something for dinner I made them something else for dinner, which they refused to eat.

So my mom called, and among other things pointed out to me, "I have never heard of a kid starving themselves to death. I have heard of someone starving a kid, but not the kid starving themself. cut out the snacks" So i'm smart enough to realize after 5 kids...my mom knows what she is talking about. She had a point there: my kids wouldn't starve to death if they missed a meal. So after doing one last call for dinner I dumped their plates. low and behold little ms. missy and her sidekick came whinnying to me about how hungry they are, and how starved they are. My daughter informed me, "mommy, i'm as hungry as a hippo" in which case I said, "No, your not. If you were hungry as a hippo would have eaten one of the two meals i made for you."

Basically i sat my kids down and gave them the business. I informed my children that the kitchen was closed and if they are hungry they can eat 2 servings of breakfast in the morning. I told them that i am no longer making a variety of options for them to eat. There will be no more meal 1 and backup meal 2. There will just be one meal..and it will be what everyone in the house is eating. If you don't like it, you can go to bed hungry. They didn't really care about what I was saying because after the glorified speech I gave they continued to whine about NEEDING dinner. My children went to bed hungry that night. It's not like they are 1 and I need to cater meals to them.

So today (Wednesday) when I finished making dinner and my children informed me that dinner looked "disgusting" I said, "that's fine, but that is your dinner. There are no other options tonight" So they skipped away from the table like two children who knew mom would break down and whip up their fav. PB&J. I stuck to my guns. I left their plates on the table. 6:30pm rolled around and they were talking about how "starved" they were, I reminded them their dinner was on the table, and i went on about my business. About 15 minutes later they were both at the table wolfing down carrorts, pasta and a side of meat(well one of my kid's ate the meat, the other is a vegetarian). I was a proud mama! I won! In your face! Who is the queen of the castle!!!? Me, Me ME! so anyway, I'm a little proud of myself..that's right, i went on ahead and put myself on a peddle stool.

WordLess Wednesday: NASA

Not me Monday

How was your week? I hope it was fabulous! Enjoy the NOT ME MONDAY.

I did not allow my kids to spend the day hanging out in their underoos. I am the kind of mom that believes there kids should be dressed in clothes at all times! I would never allow them to wear their underwear around the house all day! Nope, not me.

I did not keep finding excuses last week to put off cleaning my house. I am a HOMEMAKER and i take my job seriously! I believe every little teeny tiny thing has it's place and i strive to put everything in its place and dust all day long. I would not continuously blow off cleaning, Nope, not me.

I did not have a million obligations on Saturday that i slowly but surely extracted myself from with the belief that sometime you just have to say "no" and take time for yourself. I am a Yes girl. I really think people should say "yes" to anything they are asked. I would not blow off obligations for a day to relax, not me at all. I like working hard to the bone:)

I did not try to talk my husband into being a stay at home dad while I go to medschool to cut back on the dysfunctional therapy that everyone thinks my kids will need when they are older. When my husband laughed and said "that i was cute" i did not try even harder to get him to be a SAHD. Nope not me...hello, i am so aware that my cute hubby has a business to run.


I did not completely forget that my Son had karate class on Saturday. I keep a planner, i remember everything...i would never forget to remind my husband (mr. forgetful) to take our only son to karate. No..that was not me.

A Day of Nothing

I had meant to make today a cleaning...because let's be honest, my house is screaming for attention.
The house got no love from me today. We did some MINOR picking up and grocery shopping in prep for tomorrow, sabbath.
We even actually forgot Christian ( my son) had karate class today...so he missed it. Some days you just need a day where you do absolutely nothing.

And....
Today was that day.

Embarrassing Moments

Things you don't know about me...and yes, i'm a bit embarrassed to share. This will prove...that I truly have no secrets.

1. my most horrifying memory ( which my husband holds his side laughing his head off about) is when i was...maybe 5 or 6 (i hope that is correct, i'll be even more mortified if i was like 9) and my sister got invited to a sleepover party. Somehow I got to tag along with my older sister and go. I was a little sick...during the middle of the night i had an accident in my sleeping bag! Yes...i poop-poop-ka-chooed in the sleeping bag. My parents were phoned and my sister and i were rushed out of there faster that you can say "ewwww! gross"


2. Around age 8, i got a button stuck on the roof of my mouth. You know those metal buttons that can come apart? Well i had it in my mouth and got it stuck. Like the retard i was i went into the kitchen and got a butter knife to get it out. My sister told my dad. It was embarrassing going to the ER .


3. A year or so after that incident I swallowed a diary lock. Nope, not the key..like in so many romantic movies...but the lock. And...ohhhhhhh, how it hurt! I was in shock. I didn't tell my teacher (this dumb incident was done in class). The lunch time came around...i couldn't eat my peas because the lock was stuck and hurt so much. This was followed by yet another ER visit.

4. Moving on to my married years. While swinging on a shopping cart at night and reminiscing that i was 10 again I flipped the shopping basket over and twisted my ankle. People were starring, so i gather the little almost non existant pride that i had..took the shopping cart back and Slowy walked to my car so it didn't look like i was limping. Later my ankle swelled up to the size of an elephant's. This was followed by a trip to the ER, in which i had to explain how this happened. I was mortified

5. The one that tops them all...the grand daddy if you will. I was crafting (doesn't it always happen like this?) and i had the Tacky glue in my hand. I was pressing it and nothing would come out. So like a retard i put it in front of my eye (to get a better view) and squeezed..next thing i know i have a bottle if tacky glue in my eye. I'm screaming, My husband has my face over the sink while spraying my eye with the sink hose ( i secretly believe he enjoyed that). This was followed by a trip to the ER. I asked the triage nurse if i could skip telling him how this happened. It was a no go. I told him, he laughed...to hard if you ask me. He said they always have bets going on in the hospital of who does the dumbiest thing of the night. He said i won the award that night. I was mortified.

So far i have been 2 years clean of having to go to the ER for myself. I hopefulluy i can have another 2 years...

To Swine or Not to Swine?

So...I have watched my child 2 times in the last hour deliberately dump is cup of water on the table and lap it up like a dehydrated dog. He is currently pecking at me like a hen begging for more water. No, thank you...i'm done cleaning floors and tables because he feels the need to have a mini bath.

Currently on my mind: The swine flu vaccination. I am concerned about it, as I am with most anything that is "new" and going into my children. I was watching NBC news and they were talking about how rapidly the swine flu has already spread. My daughter's school has seen 3 cases of it already. Luckily no one in her class. Kids are so germy especially at her age. People are coughing and sneezing with extra "goodies" coming out to their noses, all the while sharing a snack at snack time or touching a toy that another kid will grab. It got me to thinking...I may just get the swine flu vaccination. I am pretty worried about it. I love my children to pieces, and it would tear me apart if thhey were a casualty of the swine flu and I had refused to get them vaccinated. At the same time, what if i get them vaccinated and in 5 years they and millions of others who got vaccinated suffer serious problems. Basically: you are damned if you do, and damed if you don't. Pick your poison, i guess.

Mommy WARS..The Tug of War

Sometimes I feel like I have to choose between being this stereotypical soccer loving, great cookin', homemakin' mamma and wanting to have a career.

So...I was once AGAIN, back on the fantastic track of wanting to go to med school. Then I watched this clip on Oprah ( I actually didn't watch the Oprah episode because I had the t.v. at 4pm and i was studying when she came on at 9pm. I heard that it was a very emotional and wonderful show, as i am sure it was) of a SAHM...who was honestly like the best stay at home mom despite her catastrophic injuries. So then, I felt bad for wanting to go to med school. Like I shouldn't be out there trying to go to school to be a doctor. I should be at home with my kids because they need me. It is a tug of war that I face with my self on a daily...sometimes hourly basis.

"So you wanna be a doctor?" "why don't you just use the degree you have?" "you realize it's going to be so hard right?" and i once had a lady say to me, "Everyone i know who is a doctor, hates it. " I didn't say anything back to her, because i couldn't think of anything nice to say...so i said nothing at all. But i would have liked to say, "I hope those doctors that hate being doctors are not treating you..."


Yes, I struggle with being a homemaker. Who doesn't? And if you say you don't you are a LIAR, and stop reading my blog! On a typical day i clean, 20 minutes later my darling ( i do love them) kids have toys splashed every which way. I have a book called The Joy of Cooking. Please! I am usually trying to cook a meal with kids running around the kitchen playing tag, and all too often an important ingredient is left out. My husband has been such a blessing with the cooking though. This summer he allowed me a MUCH needed reprieve ( i think it was really for him) from cooking. I soaked it up. I start officially cooking again on Monday...not looking forward to it.

I try to make it to playgroups..but we skip them more than we make them. Personally i am 100% fine with it, and i think they are too. My daughter has preschool twice a week for 3 hours and my son will be starting school in January twice a week. The are both involved in 1 activity (daughter in ballet/tap combo class and son in karate) because that is all i can handle and i don't have any desire to overload my kids with so many activities that they end up liking nothing.

No, I don't want to be the mom with my kids in 3 and 4 and 5 different sports. Not right now. Especially if i have to be the one to take them. No, thank you.

On most days my energy is zapped by noon. A BIG part of this is my own fault. Actually probably 98% of this could be my fault. I somehow always forget to eat breakfast. I am anemic and i don't do what i should to fix that, which sadly is relatively easy. I don't prioritize, the list goes on.

Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed I don't even know which way to look. I have wonderful support, truly i do. However, i really do have to take care of me before i can take care of anyone else effectively, right? Balance. That is what I need. How does one find balance?

WordLess Wednesday :Naked

I strongly believe my child will turn hostile on me at 16years of age when he finds out from a friend at school that there are pictures of him all over the web of his naked baby bottom. For, it's worth it:)


Don't forget to enter the Disney Costume Giveaway

Today

There are days we should say something...
...but we won't
So we don't.

This is one of those days.

Not me Monday

I did not feed my kids Pillsbury Rolls and Cheese for dinner because I was sick of dealing with picky eaters. I love making 5 and sometimes 6 different things for dinner in hopes that my kid will eat one of them. Bread and cheese? What are they, inmates? No, I would never do anything like that.

I did not completely tweak my neck while bending down to grab my son's toy car and sneezing. Even when the pain wore off, I certainly didn't play it up like I was still hurt just to get a good neck rub and to get pampered by my DH. That just isn't me, I would do something like that.

I did not completely ignore my daughter while she had a tantrum (major melt down) because she didn't want her corn dog at the harvest festival so I gave it to her brother. Like any good mother, I would have set that corn dog on a silver platter for when hell freezes over and she decides she may want it again. I am not the kind of mother to ignore my child during a melt down..in public! Not me.

I did not try to get out of cooking dinner by boosting up my DH's ego and telling him what a wonderful fantastic cook he is, and how we would starve without him. I like to have my apron on at 4:30 with my lipstick just right and a 3 course dinner on the table at 5pm when my hubby is off work. That's just the kind of wife i am. I would never try to get out of cooking a meal, Never. That just isn't me.


I did not develop carpel tunnel while typing like a lunatic because Robin McGraw was writing to me on twitter...ME! I definitely believe in using grace when typing...not hammering away at the computer keys like they did something wrong. It is completely tacky and tasteless for the people around you in borders to think you don't know how to type without banging on the keys because a celebrity was talking to you. How classless. That for sure was not me, nope, not at all.

Don't forget to enter our Disney Costume Giveaway here. It's so easy to enter!

Mommy where are you?

So, for the past 9 months my heart and mindset has been on doing what I need to do to get into Med School. I am religious (LDS) so I prayed about it, and I felt confirmation to do it.

I really want to be a part-time doctor...which is almost impossible, almost. I really did/do want to be a doctor, but be home when my kids got home from school, and have dinner with my family, and see them. Part-time doctoring really is not recommended by practices and a lot of doctors are having a struggle with this now. I read an article last night that probably made me feel like I should look into something else. Here is what it said:

"If your group hasn't yet bumped up against physicians petitioning to work part time, it will soon. With women now comprising nearly 50 percent of medical students, many young physicians are entering practice expecting that they'll work part time to raise families at some point in their careers. And Gen-Xers of both genders have made it clear that maintaining balance in life—coaching Little League and eating dinner with the family, for example—ranks far above achieving partnership."
--- www.pmandr.com

Then I did more research and found trying to be a part time doctor...is seriously hard to find. It's almost like you have to work full-time for years to make your place, and then put in the plug for part-time, which may just be wishful thinking.
So anyway, I was having some serious doubts about all of this, and if going to med school and being a Doctor was really truly what I wanted. Or if, like most moms, I lost my identity in being mommy? Am I pushing med school because it is what I WANT to do, or because I need something so BIG to separate me from my Mommy mentality? Does that even make sense? It made sense in my head...which could be the problem with a lot of things.


So amongst my confusion last night I prayed for guidance and if being a doctor and going to school was right for me and my family. I had such a different feeling this time. Like I should be a writer. I have always LOVED writing. When I was little I would write and write and write. I won book contest. I Loved writing books and papers. I got such satisfaction out of writing papers. I would write papers for my sister, my brother and even my husband. I have always wanted to a writer my whole life. So last night when my daughter crept into my room like a thief in the night at 2:58am I welcomed her in the bed and just smiled at her and felt an unfathomable about of happiness that I FINALLY knew for sure what I was meant to do.

Then this morning when I woke up...I felt confused. Doctor or writer? Both are hard, it' not like one is easier than the other, to me anyway. I woke up this morning feeling like med school is what I should be doing. How can that be? Last night I felt 100% like I should be a writer? How can I be feeling so strong about two different career paths? Is it me wrestling with God on what he wants me to do vs. what i want to do? Which does he want, and which one do i want? I don't know.

Now I am completely stressed out. This post was not therapeutic for me at all, I thought it would be for some reason.

On a less confusing note: If you haven't entered the Halloween Disney costume contest, click here to enter.

Disney Halloween Costume Giveaway

I wanted to do a fun giveaway where mommies who have little boys can participate in as well. This give away is for a Disney character costume, straight from the Disney store itself! They had sooo many dang cute options that I couldn't choose just one! So i decided to give you lots of options to choose from.


How to enter this contest:
1. You must be a follower of this blog (mandatory)
2. You must choose the costume that you would would like to win. Leave this with your comment in the comment section.


For extra entries you can do any or all of the following: (leave separate comments for each if you want them to count)

1. Follow me on twitter [ www.twitter.com/lchristian ] and leave me a separate comment letting me know
2. comment on any other blog post that i already have up or will have up. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did this.
3. Add my button to your blog and let me know you did in a separate comment.
4. Blog about this giveaway and link back to my blog, leave a separate comment letting me know you did this.
5. Buy something from any of my store listed in the navigation bar and let me know you did this by leaving a separate comment.

This contest will end 10/15/09 at 11:59PST.
The winner will be announced on 11/16/09. Please make sure to check back to see if you won. I will give the winner 24 hours to contact me after winning. If i do not hear from the winner then I draw a new winner. winner contact me here: sbcottage@gmail.com

Still looking for sponsors for the 25 days of Christmas Giveaway. We currently have 4 sponsors. One of the gifts include a $100 Visa Gift Card. If you are looking for a product review and are willing to do a giveaway then contact me here : sbcottage@gmail.com You will have free advertising on my blog for the entire month of December!

And the winner is...

My daughter wanted to help me announce the winner for the hair bow/flower clip contest.
Try not to gaze into the messy background ....which is my messy office.


The Winner, if you wouldn't hear or see the paper was: The Lost Earring . I will contact you and get your mailing address so I can send this out to you.

Have a Happy Friday!