Lost and a new award

This will be a short post...

Season five of Lost is on and I am super SUPER excited! I didn't think I was going to be able to watch it because we have satellite and we don't have ABC, but my neighbor brought over his trusty rabbit ears so that I wouldn't miss a thing. So, finally after watching the first four seasons since the end of November, we get to see season five and maybe get some questions answered about this stinking island.

Also, Amy from http://www.keepingupwiththeschultzfamily.blogspot.com has given me the helping hand award.

THANKS AMY!!!!!!!

I will be posting it up later this week after I am done with my final projects (online college).

Feel free to keep posting on the logic of Chris too. This could be a fun series!

The logic of Chris

I'm not sure if it's just a male thing or if it's just my Chris. Sometimes the things he says just blow me away and crack me up. So, I've decided that I am going to devote his own posts just like the "Nuby strikes again series".

Conversation #1-
We were discussing the welfare of our youngest son, Peyton, who is only 1. I was saying how I never wanted him to go to another daycare center because he loves his teachers and these first years are so crucial to his development. Chris argued that it doesn't matter where he goes becaue he wouldn't remember any of it and he would be fine. Despite all of my counter arguments about early childhood education and social emotional issues, Chris would not budge.

Not even 15 minutes later, I was discussing puppy care on the phone with Coin-O and Chris chimes in with his opinion of how it is VITAL to a puppy that it be nursed for the proper amount of time for the optimal development of the puppy.

WTF, Chris? You care about some random puppy more than Peyton? All I could do was crack up at him.


Conversation #2-
This one was great. Chris likes to blurt out random thoughts in his head at really random times. Back when Coin was visiting, we were sitting in the living room watching Lost after the kids had all gone to bed. Out of the blue, Chris states that he would like to donate his sperm for money. Conversation was as follows:

Jennie-"That's a stupid idea"

Chris-"Hell no it's not! I could make a killing."

Jennie-"Maybe, but what happens when you donate your sperm and then some random lady has your baby and abuses or neglects it?

Chris-"That's not my baby"

Jennie-"Yes it is!"

Chris-"No, no it's not"

Jennie-"How do you figure? It's your sperm, is it not?"

Chris-"Yeah, it's my sperm. But it's not my baby. I wouldn't sleep with her."

Jennie- "It's still your sperm, dumbass. Have you ever heard of DNA?"

Chris-"No, there was no penetration. It doesn't count! It's not my baby."

Coin-"He has a point, you know."

That one is still an ongoing argument. Sometimes I just don't understand what goes through his mind. Anybody else have a "logical thinker" at home?

Lazy weekend...

What a lazy feeling weekend. My work was closed on Friday since it was subzero outside and I'm off today for the holiday. I have had a nice looooong weekend. I'll just give you all a few updates as to what we've been up to.

When we first moved into this house, the first thing we did was re-do the bathroom: new drywall, floor, cabinetry, sinks, toilet, counter, trim, ceiling, paint, tub and shower. The whole nine yards. Well, about a week ago, a pipe burst in the bathroom but was inside the wall. Chris loves to take things apart so he immediately said that he was just going to tear down the whole wall because he wasn't satisfied with the work he had done the first time. I instantly told him/ordered him to leave the bathroom alone. I didn't care if I had to brush my teeth in the toilet.

Thursday, me and the boys got home from work to find Chris in the bathroom. Or what used to be the bathroom. Now, it's just a room with a toilet and a tub. He ripped out every inch of drywall and banged up every tile from the floor. The bathroom cabinets are sitting in my foyer. Good place for them, right. The kids think it's great. Three cabinets....three boys.

Everybody knows those people that hate calm. You know who I'm talking about. The ones who create all the drama if there isn't any to fuel. I've come to my own conclusion that Chris is very similar to that. If he sees something that is not broken, he must break it in order to fix it. He must destroy all things that are beautiful. Perhaps, I shall break his fingers. Mwah ha ha ha ha ha.

But anyways, we got some laminate wood floor for the bathroom to replace the tile and hopefully it will match well with the real hard wood flooring that we have in the rest of the house. The color is just about the same. Now we just have to get someone out here to sand and re-finish the rest of our floors.

Saturday, me and the boys spent five hours at the Skate Zone with our neighbor friends and their three kids and my sister in law and her two kids. We all had a blast. We played some laser tag and I was the MVP of course. We played two games....me and all the kids slaughtered the other team the first round only to find out it was because they had on faulty equipment. So, skate zone let us play again. The team me and the kids were playing against were a little on the trashy side though. When me or the kids would shoot them they would yell out random swear words. Come on now, while my mouth if FAR from being mother goose's, I do not yell random or any swear words at strange children.

Yesterday, Chris worked in the bathroom while me and my little cousin Shae rearranged my living room and tried to play catch up on the massive amounts of laundry. Then after everyone was falling asleep, I remembered I had homework. Blech...so I was up till one trying to finish it. I did.

Today, I mopped my floors with water and 409 because I didn't realize we were out of pine sol. And, I'm getting ready to put the boys down for a nap. I need to find my stinking phone. I lost it two days ago and can not find it anywhere.

Welling up...

This post is not so happy mayhemish...but try to bear with me.



My friend Coin-O, www.taleoftwocoins.blogspot.com has suffered great losses in the past few months and today I'm just not sure how she carries herself so delicately and strongly at the same time.



Let me start at the beginning...



A few years back, I was the assistant childcare manager and my "buddy" (that's her nickname I call her) Lora was the Program manager. While Lora was out on maternity leave I was interviewing for a new infant lead teacher. This was vital to both myself and Lora as our babies were 6 weeks apart and this would be our babies teacher. I interviewed a whole bunch of people but fell in love with a Jennifer Coin who was new to the area. That Ms. Coin though was a stickler to get. With most people, you offer them the job, they consider it and then either accept it or go on their own way. Not with Ms. Coin. I must have talked to her 10 million times on the phone answering all kinds of questions from our early childhood education philosophy to NAEYC Accreditation. After all that she went through a second interview process with Lora, who also loved her. And finally, after much deliberation on her part because we weren't the only center who was trying to snag her, she chose to come and be our lead teacher.



After a month or so, she came into mine and Lora's office we shared crying. She just didn't know if her heart was in early childhood anymore. While she did the most excellent job, she was just feeling the long term stresses that the job can bring. She also said that she was lonely because she was new to the area and didn't make new friends easily. Lora and I reassured her that we didn't want her to leave and that maybe if she stayed she could move up in the ranks to an administrative position. We also welcomed her into our circle, which really consisted of me and Lora ha ha.



Me and Lora are very close from sharing an office and from my former social phobic years when she allowed me to be her buttcheek and tag along behind her EVERYWHERE she went. Coin completed our trio. Lora and I are complete opposites. Lora is extememly efficient and well detailed but doesn't like chaos. I am not so efficient and hate to be detailed but I love chaos. Coin falls somewhere in between that and bridges the gap.



Lora ended up leaving us...sniffle sniffle...for a better job opportunity which meant I moved into her position and Coin moved partially up into my old position. I say partially because she was still in a classroom half days. I got to know alot about her. We shared crazy stories about her husband Shawn and my Chris and crew. Coin was always the worrier and I used to laugh at her for it. She was afraid to go places or drive without Shawn and always consulted him for everything. It never ceased to make me chuckle. When her and Shawn started trying for a baby, it was a bit rocky for them, so Lora and I tried to be as helpful as we could. We might have gone into their room to position them if they would have let us. ha ha ha. Ok, maybe not that far but you get the point.



Shawn started experiencing some chest pains that Coin was concerned about. I remember the first time she told me and said that she thought it was a tumor. I think that might have been the first time I didn't chuckle at her.



Coin then made the decision to leave for another job opportunity that involved a WAY lower stress level in order to better focus on trying to have a baby and so that her and Shawn wouldn't both be so stressed out. Shawn was under a tid bit (understatement) of stress at his job as a football coach. She was so worried about what I would think when she left. But, leaving me wasn't going to shake the trio apart.



We all still talked all the time and then....Coin got pregnant! We were all so excited...Lora even went so far as to sneak her in pregnancy books while Coin was working.



Then after I had been home for a week while my boys passed around Hand, Foot and Mouth disease and returned to work finally....



I was up in the business offices getting ready for a meeting when the operator yelled out..."Hey Coin just called here and said it's an emergency she needs you to call her back right now." I headed down stairs to get my phone and call her back. I call her and she answered the phone calmly..."Hey, I'm at the er. Do you think you could come over with me?" I immediately thought she had lost the baby. I asked her what was going on and she told me that Shawn had collapsed at work and something about his trying to get his heart started. I told her I would be right over. I ran the three flights up to tell my boss I was so sorry but I HAD to leave to be with Coin.



I flew over to the hospital on two wheels (it's only like 3 minutes from my work) and called Coin on the way to let her know I was en route. Her voice was still even. She said that she was in a little waiting room and to come find her. I call Lora who had already received a call from Teresa and was getting herself and her son ready to leave the house. My panic is starting to set in....I get to the er where there isn't a parking spot. I found one in the back, hastily parked my car and took off running through the parking lot. I ran in and found our other friend Teresa who had driven her there from work. She was telling me that Coin was still in the back but I was on a mission. I NEEDED to find that room with Coin in it. I grabbed a nurse out of the triage room and told her who I was looking for and she immediately knew who I was talking about. She led me and Teresa to a tiny room and opened the door. Inside, Coin was sitting on a little couch with numerous coaches all standing and sitting in the room with her.



As I made my way over to sit on the arm of the couch next to her, the doctor came in to give her the news that her husband had not made it. I know that this was the hardest thing that my friend has and probably will ever have to encounter in her life...or so I pray. I know this because for the five minutes that followed the doctor coming in was the only time since then that I have seen her break. I know that my heart break was NOTHING compared to hers, but that might have been the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. What do you say in a time like that? All I could do was wrap my arms around her violent shaking body and cry with her. I couldn't say it's going to be ok or I'm here. Nobody wants to here that hallmark crap. So, I just sat and cried along with her and all of the football coaches. After about five minutes, she proceeded with talking. Not the happy chat, but a cold shaky tone.



After going through the hospital Lora, Teresa and I went to her house with her to stay until her family could get in from out of state. She was the one offering us food and drinks and apologizing for her house being a mess (it was far from messy). We managed to feed her a few bites of yogurt and a plum. Through the next couple days, she plunged on trying to keep herself going and healthy for the baby.



She got through the calling hours and funeral and went for her first OBGYN appointment. Her parents, Shawn's mom, Lora and I went with her only to see that a heartbeat could not be found. They reassured that it might be too early and sent her with a script for her dr. in Michigan when she returned.



She went back to have her second disastrous blow. She had a miscarriage. Lora and I were at an event together waiting the phonecall. When it had not come yet, I decided to call. Coin answered the phone crying. The second time she has broken.



She has had her up times and down times since then. But, during her rollercoaster ride. During this time when the strongest of men would have been brought to their knees. I have watched her in awe. Even when stripped of all she has ever known, stripped of her husband, her child, her home, her life. She stands naked before everybody...transparent...feelings and emotions worn for all to see. And yet she does all of this with her chin out and head held high. Held together, full of pride thinking of the lessons Shawn has taught her, and striving to find herself in a world that has dealt her a hand that some might find cold.



Today, she called me. Shawn's autopsy came in. I listened as she read it and silently sobbed until the snot was running into my mouth. Once again, I sat in awe. While she read, she cried. But, I could almost picture her reading.....her head drooping....but only momentarily. Collecting herself together, and pushing forward towards the great unknown.



If any of you have ever read her post or Angie Smith's post http://www.blogger.com/www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com , I'm sure you can relate to the feeling of awe. Here I am with my Chris and my crazy three boys. There is no way I can ever truly relate to the feelings that she feels, I can only imagine. But, I am in awe. I know that Coin is destined to greater things. I don't know what, but I know there is something. God has given her such grace and she has accepted it so gracefully. She is already reaching out to others who have suffered losses. (She must always be helping somebody...ALWAYS).



So, Coin...here's to you. You aren't just one of my best friends. You are an inspiration for life. For Grace.

I'm a genuis!

We have gotten some crazy snow since Friday. Looks to be a little less than a foot, which might not be crazy for some of you. But, that is crazy for two days of snow here.

Yesterday, I noticed that the trampoline was drooping really from all of the snow piled on it. I had told Chris to go and shovel it all off but he was too busy plowing the drive way with the tractor 5 blazillion times. (He loves to plow. I think it gives him a good outlet for his destructive side.) Needless to say, the snow was still there this morning.

Once again, I told Chris he needed to shovel the trampoline off and off he went to wal-mart. So, I searched for some boots to keep the snow from filling my shoes while I crossed Alaska to get to the trampoline. The only boots I could find were Chris' steel toed size 13 (AKA size yacht) work boots, so I plopped my size 5 1/2-6 feet into the yachts, tucked in my jeans and laced the bad boys up.

Have you EVER tried to balance yourself on a snow/ice covered trampoline with a snow shovel and yachts on your feet? Let me tell ya, it's a task and I'm sure if any of my neighbors were watching they would have been highly amused.

After about 20 minutes I had finally cleared almost all of the snow off the trampoline, and I did it without falling. This is where my inner genius kicks in. Our trampoline has the safety net siding on it, so it only has one little doorway hole to throw all of the snow out of. During my snow clearing, I had failed to throw the snow all on one side outside of the hole so I had snow piled almost as high as the trampoline all outside of the hole when I was done. WTF is wrong with me? I wore the yachts so that I wouldn't get snow in my boots! Now I would have to worry about snow in my hat.

I am not only a genius...I am an olympic pole jumper! So, I used my genius mind to come up with a plan. I stuffed my shovel in the big old pile of snow, pushed off and flew me and my yachts over the big pile of snow.

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! That is the sound that two giganitic yachts make when they pound themselves into a foot of snow. I did it! I made it without falling or hurting myself or breaking anything!

I trudged back in my previous footprints back to the house to find Chris standing at the sliding door watching me cracking up.

So, this is why today.....I am a genius olympic champion!

Back to life...

Well, the holidays are over and that means back to the grind for me. I went back to work on Monday and my school break is over too. That means I was in work shock this week pretty much. I think I forgot how to wake up, get all three kids dressed and go work for 8 hours. So, I settled for getting up late, taking the kids to school, sitting at work for half the day and working the other half and then going home to half ass my homework. AAAAh, what a terrific human being I turned out to be.

We did have a few funny happenings this week though.

Thursday was Chris' birthday. We usually go all out for presents in this house, but every year Chris gets harder and harder to buy for. He is about the pickiest person in the whole entire world. So, this year he decided he wanted a cold air intake for his truck and he was going to go and buy it. So, on Thursday we were just going to go out to eat with our friends. I realized while I was at work that I had not even gotten him a card and I didn't have any money on me to stop and get one. But my wondrous job allows my creativity to spill....so i cut out two big sheets of cardboard and found some old wallpaper samples in a book. With these I made the most beautiful birthday card full of coloring pages of me and the boys. Chris actually really did appreciate my hard work but after the fun was over that night and the boys were in bed, he looked all sad at me and said, "I'm kind of surprised you didn't get me a cake". I said that was silly because he hates cake and never eats it. And then he looked down and muttered something about not getting to blow any birthday candles out. Now, I felt like an all out piece of crap. He says, "It's no big deal. Don't worry about it, babe. I love my card. It's just a day anyhow, right?" I am an official piece of crap. Not just any piece of crap. I am the piece of crap with nuts and corn that sneaks up on you and ravages your intestines.

Friday- Devin's teacher calls me at 3:00 to inform me that while Devin was going number two, he somehow managed to number one all over his pants, shirt and underwear. Me, being the parent who always looks ahead (sarcasm), did not have extra clothes for him at school. So, I had to scoop up Nuby and Peyton to run over to Devin's school and save him from sitting in the bathroom naked in his blanket. I take this opportunity to run home, grab Dev some clean clothes, and head off to get Chris cake and presents to try to redeem myself and hopefully salvage a little bit of birthday surprise.

At home, I leave the kids in the car and run in to grab clothes. I come back out and toss them to Devin in the back seat and tell him to hurry up and get em on. We're on a mission. I fiddle with something for a minute and glance back to check on Dev's progress. There he is, sitting spread eagle staring at his little wang with a curious look on his face.

Me-"Dev, WHAT are you doing? Get your clothes on!"

Dev- Throwing hands out in exasperation and shaking his head- "Mom, it's just like... just like, you know my pee pee's getting old."

Me- "Why is your pee pee getting old?"

Dev- Now fully enraged, getting louder and still staring down his wang- "It's just not new anymore! It's just old"

Me- "How do you know what an old pee pee looks like?"

Dev- Starts cracking up and hides his face in the door "Mom, that's silly nasty. Don't talk about my privates. I need to get dressed."

So, Devin got dressed and we headed off to wal-mart where the boys picked out a cupcake cake. It was neon pink, green and yellow and was shaped like a butterfly. Good pick, boys.

Then we went and found the wii game he has been asking for, it's the Indiana Jones lego game. After that, I gave the boys each two dollars and we ran over to the dollar tree so they could go and "buy daddy there own gift". We went in and Devin was so proud bee boppin' around holding his money stating loudly that this was a girl store and we needed to leave to find some tools.

Nuby ran over and picked up a doggy rope toy yelling "Dis fo my daddy". I had to tell him that was a doggy toy and daddy's not a dog (all the time he he he). I told them to keep looking and Devin settled on a flashlight while Nuby picked a tape measure. This is really funny because they each picked out the things that they always break of daddy's. So, daddy so graciously agreed that he would share his new tools if they agreed not to touch the ones he has already.

Anyways, we managed to get home and have everything wrapped and candled by the time he got home. He was surprised. So, I think I am safe for another year.