So easy a caveman could do it.

I have never met a real life Caveman, just saw the one's on the nifty Geico commercials. But, from what they are capable of doing on those commercials it leads me to believe that picking up after themselves is something they could also master. I mean seriously, is it that hard to rinse off your dishes, put your dirty clothes INSIDE the clothes hamper, (this is assuming that they are packing their clothes to the laundry room) put shoes in the closet, and other general items in their place of belongment. (I think I just invented a word).

• Let's start with the dishes; I do not own a dishwasher and if I did I probably wouldn't use it because the model that would be in our price range wouldn't clean the dishes to my liking, I'm sure. I hate scrubbing stuck on food off of plates, collecting sippy cups that my children hoard in their rooms, or washing every cup we own in one sink load. Get a cup, drink from it, reuse it. Do not get another cup every single time your pour yourself a drink. There is no need in my dish drain having 521245798443 cups in it at one time. Geez.

• Laundry; this subject has been blogged about several times and I'm sure will be several more times in the future of my blog. Our laundry hamper has a lid. It's nothing fancy, just a round white plastic hamper that just happens to come with a lid. How hard is it to pick up the lid, put clothes inside and replace the lid on top? There can be nary a stitch of clothing inside the hamper and for some reason my husband and kids still pile their dirty clothes ON TOP of the hamper lid. Maybe I am just being over obsessive, but this drives me nuts.

Also, washrags. If I do not remove the wet washrag myself, they will pile up until every single one we own is lying the in tub. One day I decided to boycott the removal of dirty rags and let them all pile up while I used my loofah during showers. My husband wasn't happy when he had to shower with a dusting cloth. This got his attention for, oh a day, then he continued leaving his rags piled in the bottom of the tub like before. Oh. My. Goodness. What's a mom to do?

• Everything has a place and being the OCD control freak I am, I am not happy unless everything is in it's place. Now that we have an inside dog, a puppy at that, I am constantly telling my kids they can't leave their shoes at the door, or toys in the floor, etc. They never listen of course. The dog gets a hold of things and chews them up which generates a bigger mess for 'me' to clean. Not to mention added frustration of things being destroyed just because they weren't where they belong. A subject I preach about often. I don't blame the dog, he's just being his puppy self. It's your own fault if you leave your stuff laying in inappropriate places for the dog to nab. But of course, I am left with the aftermath of it. The dog also likes to steal laundry. He doesn't do anything with it besides hide it under the bed but he enjoys thieving laundry, I can't figure out why. Maybe it's way of torturing me like the kids do. Just gives me something else to do as if I don't have enough already. But I am not bitter, this is my job after all.

One day my kids will grow up and our house will be lonely & quiet. Although this will be years and years down the road if it ever occurs at all. Having four children it is inevitable that I will have a house full of grandkids. I try not to stress over the small things and let them be kids. But, there is ONE of me vs. 4 other beings living in this house and if it isn't too much to ask, they could figure out how to help out every now and then. I am not a supermom, I do not own a cape. I'm almost certain it isn't too complicated for even a caveman.

...and the thunder rolls.

...and the lightnin' strikes, another loves grows cold on this sleepless niiiiight. And the storm blows onnnnn out of control (boom,boom,boom) deep in her heart.... the thunder rolls.

Sorry, I had a moment. Got to love Garth Brooks. :)

Spring has brought with it lots of storms for our neck of the woods. Thankfully it wasn't too bad in my little community. A few broken tree limbs and

some metal blown off barns was about the size of it. The deep south wasn't so fortunate, however. It was reported that a mile wide tornado touched down around Birmingham, Alabama. Thoughts and prayers are definitely going out to all those in that area. And of course all the other areas that were affected by bad weather as well.

As a child I used to be terrified of even the smallest rumble of thunder. I would totally freak out, get sick at my stomach and sometimes even cry until it was over. Thunderstorms were my deepest fear. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to it storming, going in the living room and collecting the couch cushions, then making myself a pallet in the floor right beside my parent's bed. The louder the thunder got the more I wiggled under the bed. And by the time the storm was over I would usually be all the way under it, asleep. It was the only place I felt safe. This lasted on up into my early teenage years before I finally started calming down during a storm. As an adult I am totally in love with storms, even fascinated you might say. It's so weird how things change the older you get. I am precautious of course because I want my family to be safe at all times but I am no longer afraid. There is something so calming and soothing about a thunderstorm. Like all my tension escapes me, the stronger- the better. I do still get a little nervous when the weather man starts mentioning tornadoes, but I watch the news cast and prepare to drag my family into our storm cellar, and I am fine once again. I am however, getting sick of all this rain. It reminds me of this time last year when our area suffered a major flood. It has flooded in points to the north and west of where I live already.

Enough about the weather.... What was your childhood fear?

32 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 32 weeks, only 8 weeks left, woohoo!

Size of the baby: my last doctor appointment she estimated him at 2 1/2 - 3lbs.

Total weight gain: 28 lbs :(

Maternity clothes: I have a few maternity tops and one pair of maternity capris. Other than that I just bought larger size non-maternity clothing.

Gender: Boy

Movement: Constant. Although he has slowed down over the past few weeks. He still is a wiggle worm.

Sleep: I am usually so exhausted I have no trouble sleeping. I do wake up often to pee, (of course), pop a few tums or try to relieve leg cramps.

What I miss: the body I had last summer!!!!!

Cravings: They come and go. My most recent was lasagna.

Symptoms: heartburn, leg cramps, irritability, back pain, Braxton-Hicks, and feet are beginning to swell.

Best Moment of the week: NONE! Sadly, this has been an overall horrible week!!!!

Flashback Friday: My wedding day

This is something new I am going to try that I have saw on other blogs. Since Tuesday makes mine & my husband's 8 year wedding anniversary, I thought it was appropriate to go back in time to our wedding day. We were so young and in love. I cried the whole way through our ceremony so my face was red & blotchy but our wedding was beautiful. I will forever be thankful that I married this special man and can never thank him enough for the support he has shown me throughout the years. I look forward to welcoming our 4th child into this world and spending the rest of my life with him. I am so blessed.

I hate socks!

So, yesterday while I was cleaning out my daughters room, I tried to teach her how to fold socks. You would not believe how many unmatched socks were loose in her dresser drawers. Some dirty, some clean, some I couldn't tell if they were dirty or clean. She acted like it was the most torturous & difficult task she has ever had to learn (besides throwing her trash IN the trash can)! Geez, kids these days. . . I hope she can land a rich husband to hire a maid for her. You try to start instilling basic chores early in their childhood so they will grow up and take care of themselves, and learn to be responsible. And, it backfires. I never knew folding socks was so difficult. Monotonous, yes.. but not difficult. She sat in the floor and cried because I made her match her own pile of socks. Nobody warns you of silly things such as this before you become a parent. All I ever heard was; "I hope you have kids just like you." I do not recall once me crying over having to fold my own socks! However, I blogging about it, is there a difference? Maybe, this does fit into the "I hope you have a kid just you" category. Hmm...

Someone should invent disposable socks, wear them once-throw them away. Although this still wouldn't solve my sock fiasco because my daughter doesn't throw her trash away, instead she hides it. So then I would just be finding disposable socks and having throw them away myself. Doesn't really help me out any, it would still make me hate socks, even disposable ones.

My washing machine is the opposite of me, it loves socks. I know for a fact I put both matches in the wash, and when the load comes out of the dryer, one sock is missing. Scientist find explanations for all sorts of things, but no one can tell me where that missing sock went to during the laundry cycle. Being the practical person I am, I save the sock that no longer has a partner which leads to my laundry room cabinet being full of mismatched socks. I just can't seem to throw them away, regardless. I am holding onto the hope of one day my washing machine vomiting up all the socks it has eaten so I can reunite sock partners. Even though I hate socks, I believe I am a sock hoarder. I HATE SOCKS! Nothing would satisfy me more than being able to wear flip flops year round!

How I use my time

With most jobs how you spend your time during your shift can be broken down differently depending on the day. Same goes for us stay at home moms. OK, let me stop there and explain that being a stay at home mom IS a job, one of the hardest jobs. And if you don't agree then stay tuned for a future post on that subject. I won't spend my time in this post explaining and getting off subject like I usually do. Oh, wait.... :p

Here are a few examples of how I allot my time when I'm on the job:

Example A:

1. 25% of my day is spent finding things.
2. 25% of my day is spent losing them.
3. 25% of my day is spent lecturing on putting your stuff where it goes so I can eliminate the need to spend 25% of my day looking for things.
4. 25% of my day is spent removing, organizing, picking up and de-cluttering so I can either find things I lose or find things I need to use.

Take my washing machine for example; my husband and kids look at the washing machine not as an appliance used for doing laundry, but as a hunk of metal good for piling things on top of. Refer to #1, #3 & #4. I must remove things from the top of the washing machine where they do not belong to find it then I lecture about it later. This lecturing and finding time can also be directed to the big round receptacle for dirty laundry located right in front of the big hunk of metal used for piling. Of course, I am wasting that 25% of my time lecturing that I could spend doing something more productive, perhaps spending 50% of my time organizing. They never listen to a word of it, but fussing about it makes me feel better.

Example B:

1. 50% of my time is spent saying "No", "Don't", "Stop" (those 3 are never used in the same sentence just in case your wondering) "Who did that?", "I'm warning you..", "Get out of my dyer", "Go put that up", Don't kick the dog", "Eat what's on your plate first", "Ask your dad".....
2. 50% of my time is spent giving into the demands of the 3 individuals I am saying all the above listed phrases to, and includes but is not limited to doing the things I told them to ask their dad to do for them. There may also be lecturing in this allotted time as well.

Example C:

1. 75% of my time is spent being used as a human jungle gym, teething ring and snot rag. My hair is used as a monkey rope and my legs as a trotty horse. While trying to solve the mystery of just exactly what that spot in the carpet is. I clean up messes, poop, vomit, spills and accidents. I scrub surfaces regularly with disinfectants. Spray febreeze and vacuum up crumbs. I wash, rinse, fold and repeat at least 4 times a day. I cook & create. I nurture and comfort. I love & laugh, sometimes cry. I investigate & problem solve, referee & punish.
2. 25% of my time is spent sleeping with one eye open. Taking quick showers. Bathroom breaks being supervised by my kids, of course.

*If I hadn't mentioned it before, I am an excellent multi-tasker... so, walking into a room and not remembering why can be inserted anywhere in Examples A,B & C! As well as having manic outbursts and uncontrollable crying, nervous breakdowns and talking to myself.

. . . . . and you thought your job was interesting!

I could go all the way through the alphabet, probably more than once with examples... but you get the idea.

Take me out to the ball game

I am so proud to report that I am now officially a Baseball Mom!!!! This is something I dreamed of when I was a little girl. Between myself & older brothers playing ball, Dad coaching and Mom score keeping, most of my childhood was spent at the ball field. I was thrilled when my girls wanted to play as well. Last night was their first game, they were both so cute! Preschool games aren't score kept, but they all did really well & Kayley seemed to really enjoy it. Catie also did well and her team won!!!! She's still getting the hang of it. She was on 2nd base suppose to be running to 3rd and she was so confused on where to go the girl on 1st base passed her up running the bases. It was a good laugh. I am so proud of both of my little girls on how well they did at their first games. Every Thursday from now until the end of May we will be at the ball field! :)

When it rains it pours

Sorry I haven't posted any lame humor lately but the sickness has sunk in at our household. In the past 6 weeks we have encountered ear infections, constipation, strep throat, croup, mysterious rashes & swelling, flu like symptoms, allergies/sinus problems, and now a ruptured ear drum. In case your wondering, the ruptured ear drum belongs to me. I must say it's the most painful thing I have ever experienced other than giving birth and the thought of giving birth sounds more appealing than what I am going through with my ear! I can't bend over, I can't hear out of the ear at all and the whole right side of my head feels like it's been trampled by a rodeo bull. I will spare you the details of the green pus and blood drainage that is pouring out of my head a gallon at a time...... oops sorry. Pleasant, huh?! We have also been having some issues with my son again. We finally decided to take him to the doctor about it, my husband even took off a day of work to go with me. And on the day he wakes up with a rash and his face swollen which landed him in the ER. Followed by my husband and I both coming down sick so we weren't able to take him yet. Please remember us in prayer, our household has became way out of sorts in the past week. Laundry and dishes are mountainous and the mess looks like a tornado touched down inside our home. I am hoping and praying the pain eases up soon so I can return to my humble self and catch up on my motherly duties. Stress levels have reached maximum capacity and nerves are all used up. But any bad news cake wouldn't be complete without the icing.... which is.... my dad's heart is acting up again! Prayers will be much appreciated. Please & Thank You!