Thursday, February 28, 2008

Challenge your brain

When I was in school(many many moons ago) the teachers always said to challenge your brain. Usually that just meant more homework. And from a kids point of view more homework is never good. But they were right. It is very important for your health that you challenge your brain everyday. It just may prevent you from getting Alzheimer's Disease. My Mother-in-law(who I love to pieces) has Alzheimer's & I have been going to Alzheimer's Support Group meetings with 2 of my sister-in-laws & my niece. I've learned a lot from these meetings.

1. We are not alone in our struggle.

2. There is help out there.

3. We are not as bad off as we thought. It is much worse for others who are farther along in their struggle with this disease.

4. There is a wonderful message board on the Alzheimer's Association web site. I get a lot of answers by reading & posting there.

5. Keeping healthy by challenging your brain, eating right & getting exercise is good for us & it might prevent or delay Alzheimer's.

I have Alzheimer's on my Dad's side. Pookie has it on his Mom's. I would really like to prevent it if I can. Eating healthy & getting exercise certainly won't hurt any of us.

One easy way to challenge your brain is try writing your name with your opposite hand. Or brush your teeth with your opposite hand. You are learning something new & that is challenging your brain.

If something as easy as trying to write my name with my other hand could possibly help in preventing Alzheimer's Disease why wouldn't I do it?

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Princess Baker

This morning while I am in the shower the Princess is in the bathroom playing in the sink. I know this because I have to keep peeking to see what she is doing. When I ask her what she is doing she says nothing. Nothing in Princess talk means I am doing something naughty. She was playing with the soap & pretending to put her contacts in with the spray bottle & an old contact lens case. That just gets everything wet. She has bad aim with that spray bottle.

When I do finish my shower & open the curtain I find the bath mat covered with stuff so I can't step on it. All I can see are 2 white circles & lots of blurry blobs. I hadn't put my contacts in yet & I am blind as a bat without them so all I saw were blurry blobs. I ask her what those white circles are & she tells me they are plates for the cake she is making. I ask her to move stuff so I can get out & I get my glasses on. I notice 2 paper plates. One has the wash cloth I used in the shower on it. That is the cake. She has also gotten 2 of my forks from the kitchen. (well what do you eat cake with?) Yum, nothing I like better then cake made with a wash cloth I just used to wash my "special parts" with. I tell her that she can't use the wash cloth(besides being gross) because it is dripping through the plate. So she starts to unroll the toilet paper. Again I ask her what she thinks she is doing. This is my cake. Oh I get it. Now instead of using my "oh so sanitary" wash cloth we are going to use lots of wadded up toilet paper. After all it's a big cake. Then I have to eat it. All this is going on while I am trying to hurry up & get dressed. She has school today & we are running late. But I do the only thing a Mom can do. I stop & eat my toilet paper cake. Yum. Cake anyone?

Friday, February 22, 2008

Yesterday I had a mammogram. Big fun let me tell you. I have been officially squashed flat. Today I am filling out a Wellness form for a cancer policy that we have. One of the questions they asked was:

Give the actual cost of the Mammogram.

I have no idea what the actual cost of anything Dr. related is. We have insurance. I haven't paid an actual cost(thank God) for anything medical related ever. I had to jump through many hoops to get an estimated actual cost. First I called the Dr's office where I had the test. They don't do their own billing. They have a service. Of course they do. So they gave me another number to call. When I call that number I am on hold for 15 minutes. I finally get a really nice women on the phone & she looks up my info. It's not in the system yet. Of course it's not. It could take up to 2 weeks to get into the system. This is only because I want to send in the form today. I ask if she can tell me what a mammogram costs & I give her credit. She tried. It wouldn't give her the info. So she put me on hold & tried to find out for me. A few minutes later she comes back & says she can give me an estimate. Ok that will have to work. Do you know that a Mammogram can cost $400.00 if you have to pay for it out of pocket? No wonder people without insurance don't get them as often(or at all)as they should.

Now I have to call the insurance company because we certainly don't want to send in the form without all the correct info on it. That could delay payment forever. I had to make my way through several hundred phone prompts first until I got to the place I thought I needed to be. I had to wait on hold for about 20 minutes before I got a person. It only took a minute for her to tell me that an estimated cost is fine to put on the form. But I know if I hadn't called & asked they would of sent the form back. That's how life works for me.

Insurance, can't fill out the forms correctly, can't live without it.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Can I quit?

I would like to quit Winter please. Is there a form that I can fill out or do I have to send in a letter? All I know is that I am getting so tired of Winter. I think the problem is that it started so early. We got hit early & way to often for my taste. I'm done now. I would like it to be May.

I have been doing a lot of browsing on Ebay this week. That can be dangerous for me. I have bought several scrapbook related things that I can't live without. Although I don't think there is a scrapbook thing out there that I don't need. I think it's a disease. And my best friend is getting it too. It's catchy. I have been spending a little, a lot a whole crap load of quality time on there lately. Every time I find something good I have to tell her about it & then she wants it too. I see no cure for this disease either. It only gets worse. Although I have to say that I have gotten a lot of good deals from there. It works out pretty good for me too. I buy them during the day. They arrive during the day. I open the box put the new stuff away & get rid of the box. Pookie has no idea. See it works out for both of us. I get stuff I can't live without need & he has no idea. That's the best way to shop.

Today at the library the Princess made a gold crown with LOTS of jewels on it. She had a blast making it. Every time I asked her if she was finished she said no. It needed more jewels. For her it's all about the bling. I know the crown is very important to her because we have been home for about a half hour & I have no idea where it is. It's very special.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Just for the record the nasty smell coming from my sink & stinking up the whole kitchen was a dish rag. It was hidden under a plate in the bottom of the sink. Who would of thought a little dish rag could reak that bad.

Now for something new.

60 things you didn't know about me

1. What's in the backseat of your car right now?
A toddler car seat, a bunch of toys & a whole bunch of stuff I don't even want to know about is under the seat.

2. When was the last time you threw up? Last week. I had the flu.

3.What is your favorite curse word? Shit. I'd
have to say shit. Although with a 3 year old in the house who doesn't miss a word you say I do try not to say it within her hearing range.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today. Queenie, the Princess & Spike

5. What were you doing at 8:00 am this morning? Dozing on the couch while the Princess watched Curious George. The bigger kids had a day off from school so I didn't have to run anyone anywhere.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Folding laundry & starting to fry bacon for dinner.

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? Hopefully sitting on the couch watching tv. By then the Princess should be in bed sleeping.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope.

9. What is the last thing you said out loud? No you can't have cookies for dinner. I was talking to the Princess.

10. What is the best flavor of ice cream? Cookie dough, hands down!

11. What is the last thing you had to drink? Pepsi, no surprise there.

12. What are you wearing right now? A Grey hoodie & my favorite pair of holey jeans.

13. What was the last thing you ate? M & M's

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Nope. Not for me. But I bought Smitty a new pair of jeans. The Mom never gets anything new.

15. When was the last time you ran? Yesterday. The Princess fell in the living room & was bawling like she lost a leg. She really just stubbed her toe, which is fine by the way.

16. What is the last sporting event you watched? I got stuck watching The Daytona 500. It was not my choice. I only watch sports if my kids are playing.

17. What time did you go to bed last night? About 2:00 am. I wasn't tired so I stayed up & watched a bunch of Charmed episodes that I had recorded.

18. Who is the last person you e-mailed? My bff

19. Ever go camping? Yep! I love to go camping!

20. Do you have a tan? Nope. I'm sporting the scary white look right now.

21. Are you a saver or a spender? So far I'm a spender because there just isn't much extra after bills to spend. I spend the money on the bills. No fun there.

22. What is the last book you read? Bound for Murder by Laura Childs

23. Do you drink your soda from a straw? What's soda? Around these here parts we call it Pop. And no I don't.

24. What did you last IM say? Watch 4 Dad.

25. Are you someone's best friend? Yes

26. What are you dong tomorrow? Taking the Princess to school, running errands while she is there. Cooking & doing laundry. Same ole, same ole.

27. Where is your Mom right now? Probably kicked back in her recliner reading a book while my Dad watches something stupid on TV.

28. Look to your left & what do you see? An overflowing kitchen counter that I really need to clean.

29. What color is your watch? Pink

30. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Kangaroo's & the Outback.

31. Would you consider Plastic Surgery? Maybe if I had an accident & I needed it. Otherwise no.

32. What is your birthstone? Emerald.

33. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive through? I always go through the drive through. I would rather hit the drive through & bring it home then bring the kids in there. I guess it's still a habit from when I had 3 kids under 5. Never get out of the car with them if you can possibly avoid it.

34. How many kids do you want? I have 4 & since I'm almost 45 I think I done.

35. Do you have a dog? Yep. Bailey the Wonder Dog with the cast iron stomach. She can( & has) eat anything.

36. The last person you talked to on the phone? Smitty

37. Have you met anyone famous? I met Ward & Jeff Burton's(Nascar driver's) Dad at a Casino in Vegas. He was playing a $100.00 slot machine like it was a quarter machine.

38. Any plans today? Yep. Planting myself on the couch after the Princess is in bed.

39. How many states have you lived in? Only 1, Illinois

40. Ever go to college? no

41. Where are you right now? On the computer in the kitchen.

42. The biggest annoyance in your life right now? That our other house is not selling. I really want/need it to sell!

43. Last song you listened to? The theme song to Arthur.

44. Where did you last overnight away from home? Last Columbus Day the entire family went camping in Seward, Ill. As I type this I realize I need to get away more.

45. Are you allergic to anything? Penicillin

46. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? My tennis shoes. Nothing fancy about them but they are comfy.

47. Are you jealous of anyone? Yes. People whose house's are selling. See a theme going here?

48. Is anyone jealous of you? Why would they be? I'm just a plain boring Mom.

49. What kind of weather do you have today? It's freeze your face off cold. It's 7° & windy.
50. What time is it? 7:00pm

51. Do any of your friends have children? Yep, all of them

52. Do you eat healthy? I could lie & say I do, but sadly no. I eat terrible.

53. What do you usually do during the day? Clean, do laundry, cook, do laundry, drop kids off, do laundry, pick kids up oh & did I mention that I do laundry?

54. Do you hate anyone right now? Yes. Anyone that has a house on the market & they sold it.

55. Do you use the word 'Hello' daily? Mostly on the phone but I do say Hello to the cashiers at the store.

56. What is one dream you have accomplished? I took my kids to Disney. Well not the Princess but she wasn't born yet so I don't think that counts.

57. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 45.

58. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes. Many times.

59. How did you get one of your scars? Tripping over a lawn chair in my Uncle's back yard. It put a gash on my knee that should of had stitches.

60. What is your favorite drink? Pepsi

There don't you feel better knowing all this cool stuff about me? I know I'll sleep better now that you know all of my secrets.







Thursday, February 14, 2008

Get your game on

Sometimes being a Mom sucks. Today for example I am playing the "what is that smell" game. It's a lot of fun. There can be as many players as you want but only 1 person is "it". That would be me. All the other players just complain every time they walk into the smelly room. They never actually do any "smell hunting". Today I have it narrowed down to the area around the sink. The sink is of course over flowing with dishes. I'm afraid to load the dishwasher because I kinda scared of what I will find in the bottom of the sink. So I am doing the only thing I can. Everything else but the kitchen. So far I have cleaned 2 bathrooms & folded laundry. I think I can successfully avoid the kitchen for most of the afternoon. But I'm gonna have to take care of it before dinner because there are no more clean plates left. Although depending on what we are having we could use paper plates. Then I could put off the sink issue until tomorrow. But I'm afraid it might take on a life of it's own by then. The laundry pile did that once. Scared me to death.

Monday, February 11, 2008

There''s something wrong with the air in my house. It is loaded with flu germs. Anyone know how to disinfect ALL the air in my house? We have had the flu here for at least 2 weeks. The Princess & I had it last. We both had it for 3 days. We still don't have our normal appetites back yet. This strain really takes a lot out of you. Then this morning Spike woke up puking. Again. *sigh* Are we ever going to get rid of this? I just can't get it again. I don't have the strength to go through it again.

We have more snow coming. It's that just great? (read with sarcasm) We just had 3 feet dumped on us a few days ago. I'm still trying to dig out the end of the driveway. We had it all dug out once. Then the nice plow guy waited around the corner until we went inside & packed us in tight. Wasn't that nice of him? Then it got "freeze your face off" cold out & it froze solid. We now have a driveway just wide enough for a Yugo to pull in. Only problem is that I drive a Tank. And there is a HUGE bump of snow/ice that you have to drive over first before you can even make it into the driveway. I love winter don't you? NOT. Even my kids are getting sick of it. I thought all kids loved snow. On the news they gave us the amounts of snow that we have gotten. Last year we got 11 inches of snow total. This year it is 41 inches and still counting.

I need to move somewhere warm.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Unwanted guest

We have the flu. Almost all of us. Spike started it last weekend & even missed 2 days of school because of it. Then over the weekend Pookie got it. Yesterday the Princess got it. This morning Queenie got it & now I am feeling funky too.

I'm not sure how we got it. I never asked for it or invited it to stay this long. Even after it leaves 1 person there is a cough that lingers on. This is the perfect time for Pookie to be sick too. We have about a foot of snow coming to night & tomorrow. So he will be out all night & all day tomorrow. You have to admire his impeccable timing. He does this every year. Gets sick just in time for a blizzard. He is learning though. He came home last night sick & actually went to the Dr. today. Usually he decides to wait until he can hardly move or has pneumonia before he goes to the Dr. But then again he is a guy. It only took about 6 or 7 years for him to "get it". I think it's finally sunk in. We all know that no matter how many times you tell them something they will never do it unless they think it's "their" idea. I'm glad women don't carry that gene.