Mar 14, 2010 Posted in Ads/Buzz/Paid Post, Down Syndrome, Noteworthy, Reviews | View Comments

Voice4U Is Amazing!

If you’re the parent of a child with special needs, you might be interested in the iPhone/iPodTouch app I reviewed recently here – complete with giveaway!

May 1, 2009 Posted in Ads/Buzz/Paid Post, Daily Ramblings, Noteworthy, Photos, Uncategorized | View Comments

Day of Fail

This is how I feel I went through today. Everything I touched, tried or attempted was a fail. It might as well have been stamped on my forehead. Partially due to my pregnancy brain and partially because I’m a klutzy heifer sometimes, I just couldn’t make it through the day without little “fails” following in my wake.

Started with Henry waking up sick…AGAIN. This kid just can’t seem to shake this thing. Woke up with the crusty boogs stuck under his nose again and a little fever. I knew I wasn’t going to have a choice but to take him back to the doctor. I wanted to make a Target run first, though, so I did that. Had to get Steven a new lunchbox, plus I picked up a bunch of other stuff like baby food, deodorant, etc. And found freshly made chicken kievs for dinner which made me very happy. Had to keep wiping Henry’s nose and then he let out one of those SNEEZES that just blew like a tablespoon of green snot all over his face, his pacifier and my shirt. Mark down another day on my calendar where I couldn’t keep my shirt clean for more than an hour. :sigh: Then we got in the checkout line and Henry proceeds to knock a jar of baby food off the belt (because God forbid anything should lie unmolested on any surface without being knocked off or thrown) where it proceeded to shatter. So, a guy had to come and clean it up – trying not to cut himself or get covered in pureed chicken goop. He missed 2 shards of glass that my Mommy eyes caught, so that was good. But, sheesh.

We ran to Barnes & Noble where Henry wants to pull every single book off the shelf. I have to keep him totally in the center of each aisle so he can’t reach them, but he’s able to reach the ones on the wood tables as we walk by. And he dumps nearly an entire table with a swish as the stroller passes. Yay.

Picked up what I wanted for lunch and headed home. Got Henry set up to eat and fed 2 bites before the jar of chicken slipped from my fingers, hit my lap, rolled down my legs and, yes, shattered on the floor. Two for two, y’all. And I couldn’t even blame Henry this time.

Took our naptime and then went to pick up Maggie & Steven. Doctor’s appointment at 3:15, so just enough time to go get gas and get there on time. As I pulled into the gas station I always use, I see that it’s full of a bunch of people who aren’t paying any attention to anyone else. One chick pulls up to a pump, completely ignoring the fact that there’s an empty pump a little further up and that NO ONE can pull around her to get to it. So one pump is out of commission. A truck pulled in ahead of me, but made moves like they were going to just pull out & leave. Instead, they stop and throw it in reverse to back into their chosen pump space. Which meant I had to back up so they didn’t plow into me. I’m trying not to run over the people leaving the station to return to their cars. Dudes back their truck in and then a guy on a motorcycle on the 2nd pump in the row I’m going towards decides to just scootch over to chit-chat with the guys in the truck. So, I’m trying to cut around the corner to the pump really tight so as not to hit the jackalope opening his truck door into my path or the dude on the cycle. In doing so, I proceed to hit the big plastic thing that hangs on the post and holds the windshield cleaner stuff, pulling it clean off the post. And I proceed to swear. Because now I am MAD. In my attempt to get around a bunch of testosterone-poisoned jerks who obviously don’t care about anybody else, I’ve now damaged something. Plus, because I’m klutzy. The racket this thing makes as it clatters to the ground is epic and I’m FURIOUS. I get out and go to pick the thing up to see if I can reattach it. Unfortunately, it’s heavy and I’m pregnant. I got it out of the  middle of the road and realized I couldn’t reattach it, so I set it up against the pole, put the squeegee back in it and went to start the pump. I’m so angry that I’m just standing there biting the inside of my mouth, trying to calm down, arms folded across my chest. Because I know if I talk to anyone right now, I’m going to do something I shouldn’t do. Then the attendent comes out and proceeds to berate and humiliate me in front of everyone.

“Were you going to come in and tell me you did this??  Or apologize??”

I looked at him increduously and bit the inside of my mouth because I knew that everything that wants to come out of my mouth at that moment was profane.

“I guess that’s a ‘no’, then, huh?’ he says all pissedly.

“No…I *am* sorry,” I said. “I certainly didn’t mean to do that. But if the station was filled with a bunch of selfish, egotistical assholes, this wouldn’t have happened.” Yeah. I know it was wrong. Not the right response. It’s TRUE, but it wasn’t right to say.

“Oh, nice.” he responds. “Blame it on everybody else. That’s rather childish.”

” I don’t think so!” I shout at his back as he retreats back into the station.

Now, I KNOW I was in the wrong. I know that, regardless of what everyone else was doing, I did hit the thing and I should have gone in there and said something – but I wasn’t even done pumping my gas yet. However, I know myself and I know that I was so angry that I needed the few minutes of pumping the gas to calm down, stopped being pissed at myself and everyone there. Once I’d done that, I would have been able to see the right way to handle it. I also thought for sure the attendant saw and heard what happened, so I wasn’t sure I needed to go in and confess. I mean, there’s a huge pregnant woman wrestling with the windshield cleaner – it’s a small attendant building – he couldn’t have missed it. Still, I think I probably would have worked it out and handled it properly after a few minutes. But when he came out and humiliated me in front of everyone?? I couldn’t even see straight. I finished pumping my gas, slammed the nozzle back into the pump and angrily pulled away. Steven asks, “Mom….are you angry?” and I couldn’t hold it back. I started SCREAMING about how furious I was and how everyone there was a jerk (actually, I swore – THAT’S how angry I was. I never swear in front of the kids) and how men all SUCK – and then I lost it and started crying. I was embarrassed and humiliated and angry and felt stupid. Plus, I knew that I hadn’t handled it the best way, so I was disappointed in myself. And once I started crying, I couldn’t get a hold of myself. So I had to take the kids into the doctor’s office with tears running down my face, bright red nose and swollen top lip.

Had to restrain Henry at the doctor so he could look in nose, ears, etc. Henry hates anybody touching him like that, so he freaks and I have to hold both arms with one hand, his head with the other and wrap my legs around his legs, or he’ll kick the crap out of you. Another huge expenditure of energy, wearing me down even further. Doctor prescribes an antibiotic and probiotic and faxes them over to our pharmacy.

Twenty minutes later, I’ve started losing it again as I pull into Walgreen’s to get Henry’s and my prescriptions. “We don’t have anything for Henry,” they say.

“The doctor faxed it over twenty minutes ago. I sat and watched him do it.”

“Sorry. Nothing.” he says.

And I start crying again. Because I do not want to waste any more time driving around waiting for it to be done. You know how I know I’m losing it? When Maggie tells me, “Calm down, Mom…just calm down.” Good LORD.

We went straight home and I finally got a hold of Steve where I asked him to pick up the prescriptions and come. right. home. And, of course, I started crying again. Because I knew I had to tell him what happened, but I’m also worried that he’s going to tell me I was wrong and messed up badly. Thankfully, I was wrong. I told him everything and he said I did nothing wrong. I hadn’t pulled away, I hadn’t even finished pumping my gas yet, so for him to berate me in front of everyone was wrong. And he wanted to know what the guy looked like. Which means he’s going to be looking for him, because nothing upsets him more than somebody making me cry. But, whatever. I told him not to do anything because I was culpable.

I hate days like this. I hate feeling like a big, walking fail sign. Usually I can keep that kind of crap buried pretty deep, but then a day like this happens and I hate being me as much as I hate sharing the world with other people. It doesn’t help that I’m totally exhausted & my pregnancy sciatica has already begun. So standing and walking is becoming increasingly difficult. Just getting through the day is an exercise in exhaustion and stuff like this wears me down to a raw, nerve-exposed nub.

Tomorrow will be better. Right?

Nov 20, 2008 Posted in Ads/Buzz/Paid Post | View Comments

Cheap Tickets coupon codes"> Cheap Tickets coupon codes

Boy, could I use one. We haven’t gone anywhere on vacation (more than a day or two) in years. We did take a trip around to Wisconsin Dells, up to the UP of Michigan, over through Minnesota, up to Canada and back home, but that was quite a while ago.

The biggest problem, apart from finding the TIME, is, of course, finding the finances. Everything’s so tight for everybody, so vacations end up going by the wayside. Affording travel, hotel accomodations, food, tickets and incidentals just add up so quickly. Even just going on a short trip that’s not too far away ends up being too expensive.

Maybe a cruise. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard a cruise can be pretty amazing. If I were to book one, I think I’d go through savings.com to take advantage of their coupon codes to book it. I’m seeing a lot of $200, $300, $1000 free airfare to Europe and other great savings for cruises. I would only want to go if it was Steve and me, though. I’ve got this fear of falling overboard (me or the kids) and I’d be absolutely terrified that one of the kids would go over the rail & I’d have to dive in after them. Then we’d be stranded miles from land, trying to stay afloat and not be eaten by the Kraken.

In my estimation, this is the only way to go in this economy!

Nov 19, 2008 Posted in Ads/Buzz/Paid Post | View Comments

Holiday Glasses!

Have you ever thought about getting holiday-specific glasses? Probably not – most of us don’t change our frames with the changing of the seasons. Because, traditionally, glasses are so expensive that who can afford to have 4-6 pairs of glasses, right?

Enter Zenni Optical. Right now, they have a whole section just for Holiday frames which is such a cool idea! And because their prices are like $10, $20 or so, you can really afford to have a couple pairs (or more!) for backup, fashion and even holiday celebrations! They’ve got plastic frames, rimless frames, half-rim frames and more.

I think I like these the best. They’re shown in green, which is certainly holiday-appropriate, but they’re also available in brown, red, black & clear! I think I’d get them in red for the holidays. And!!! Only $9.95! WHAT?? Yeah. $9.95.

I also think these are pretty wicked. I’m not a big fan of the metal frames in rimless or half-rim style, but these plastic ones are right up my alley. These come in brown stripe, blue stripe, red stripe, purple stripe and black stripe and are only $9.95! I mean, seriously, how can you beat that?? I love the red ones, but I think I’d have to get the purple ones. Purple’s my favorite color and I don’t think I’ve ever seen purple frames before. That’d be unique, right?

Nov 14, 2008 Posted in Ads/Buzz/Paid Post | View Comments

Thanksgiving Celebrations

It’s coming…..right around the corner…..descending upon us. It’s Thanksgiving!

I loooove Thanksgiving. I’ll admit it freely – mostly because of the food. I couldn’t really care less about the turkey – it’s the rest of it. The stuffing – cornbread & traditional – the sweet potatoes, the rolls and breads and, of course, the pumpkin pie. Or sweet potato pie. Man, there was this Thanksgiving over a decade ago where a friend of my in-laws from Belize made a sweet potato pie that KILLED ME. It was so incredibly good. The secret? She said it was fresh ground nutmeg. But it was more than that. She just wasn’t giving it up.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? Do you go all out or keep it more low-key? Over at Celebrations.com they have a boatload of Thanksgiving ideas that look so fun! I am TOTALLY digging the ideas for veggie fall table arrangements. Of course, the words “Butternut Squash” grabbed my attention (my digital scrapbook store’s name is Butternug Squash Designs, in case you didn’t know), so I had to check that one out. Totally clever – cut the top off of a butternut squash, hollow it out and use it as a vase! I never would have thought of that. They also suggest using an artichoke or mixing flowers in with asparagus in a loose, tied arrangement. Very cool.

They also have a whole section just for theThanksgiving Dinner Menu. They offer recipes for dishes like Rum & Cherry Cornbread Stuffing, Grand Marnier Roasted Turkey, Anise Pecan yams, Cranberry Orange Relish & Irish Cream Pumpkin Pie. Some of them are a little too “A Super-Drunk Thanksgiving” for me, but they still sound good!

They also offer ideas for Thanksgiving crafts & skits for the kids, recipes, prayers, art projects, nostalgia and lots more. I think I might have to use this site for a few clever ideas to make our Thanksgiving a little more interesting!