Thirteen Things I have learned this week as a Mom of Four (my daughter and my three foster children..ages 11, 8, 3 and 19 months)

1. Do not feed Snowbaby mandarin oranges. She loves them. But you will not love them when you are covered in orange poop and so is she.

2. Geo is tall and strong. He’s a race car driver. But the sight of poop being flung across the bathroom out of a pullup is enough to scare him to death.

3. I have started talking about poop way too much.

4. The exhaustion is mind blowing. But I am stronger, have more courage, more patience, more compassion, more love to give than I ever knew I had.

5. Don’t be afraid of the amoxicillan. The kids love it.

6. You can never have enough towels, bibs, diapers, pullups, wipes, sippy cups, banana puffs or gallons of milk.

7. There is a woman at Dairy Queen named Ashley who, recognizing the panic in your eyes, will whip up a Princess ice cream cake that says “Happy Birthday Bug” in less than five minutes AND she will carry it out to the car and make sure you are have the cake secure before heading back inside. You will want to kiss the ground she walks on.

8. Just when you think that this is never going to work because the sibling rivalry is too bad, you see the kids hugging each other and saying thank you and you are welcome for the birthday gifts.

9. The kindness of strangers makes me cry.

10. If you look like you are 17 or 18 on a good day, and you walk into a store with four children, people will stare at you. They will give you dirty looks, they will look confused, they will strike up conversations with you, they will give you assvice. They will say, “Are all of these yours?” It is amazing how much attention four kids and a chick who looks young for her age will get.

11. If the thrift store has a special where you can get anything you can fit into a Walmart bag for $5 bucks, you will be shocked at how much you can find a way to cram in there.

12. Joining a gym is a waste of money. Get four kids instead. My arms, legs, abs, and butt are looking mighty toned. Do not point this out to anyone though, as they will comment on the fact that you are down to 93 pounds and try to force feed you something. Before you say anything, yes..I know. I’m eating. As we speak. I’m not hungry (thank you ADD medicine) and I’d rather be sleeping but I’m eating. Eating, eating, eating, la la la la, I’m eating.

13. People always say, “I could never take care of someone else’s problem. I could never love kids who weren’t my biological children.” All I know is that I have a house full of sleeping children right now, none of which share my blood. And I would gladly give my life for any one of them.

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Evil Mommy tagged me for a book meme, so here goes:

You do this:

1) Find the nearest book
2) Open to page 123
3) Type lines 6-8 of said book
4) Tag three others

So here goes:

He says, “Yeah, sure.”

I say, “What do you want me to tip?”

“Twenty percent,” he says.

Wow. That wasn’t exciting at all. It actually is a funny story about Ron Santo in the book Cubs Nation by Gene Wojciechowski.

As far as tagging people..I always feel bad tagging people because I am afraid I’ll tag someone who doesn’t want to be tagged or someone will feel left out.

So tag, you all are it. And please, find a more exciting passage!

Technorati Tags: meme, book, Cubs Nation

Happy New Year! Yesterday Bug and Geo and I went to see CATS. Despite my love of musical theatre, I had never seen it. They had free face painting, and Bug got her face done up like a glittery blue cat. Do any of you love this show? I didn’t love it. Geo leaned over as the second act started and whispered, “I don’t understand the plot.” I whispered back, “There isn’t really one.” The dancing is amazing, I liked the idea of it being based on TS Eliot’s poems. But it didn’t do it for me like some of the other shows have.

I liked it though, and now I can finally say I’ve seen it. (I still haven’t seen POTO yet though. Sheesh.)

I found this meme over at Random Again, and so here is my review of 2006.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?

Um..I saw CATS!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn’t make any last year. I made some for this year. Make 100 extra dollars a day, do the Flylady program, try to do more Love and Logic parenting, get more kids.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

A friend of my mom’s and her stepdad.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the US. No international travel.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?

Patience and a cool head.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

The only thing that stands out is our one year adoption anniversary.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I finally graduated from college.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I lost my temper too many times.

10. Did you suffer from illness or injury?

Some illness, a surgery, no major injuries.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I rented the BDH.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Bug’s behavior improved greatly, and Geo’s behavior in the past two months has been wonderful.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

The President’s, people who are hateful, Geo’s for a little bit.

14. Where did most your money go?

Moving expenses!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The BDH.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?

The Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack.

17. Compared to this time last year are you:

a. happier or sadder? Happier!

b. thinner or fatter? About the same.

c. richer or poorer? About the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Sleep.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying about what other people think.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

With my created family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?

I find that falling in love is something that you will do over and over again with the same people.

22. How many one-night stands?

None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Duh.

24. Did you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Yes, dialup.

25. What was the best book you read?

I don’t think I had a favorite, although I really enjoyed the book Fantasyland.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

That when you listen to music on a quality speaker system, it truly makes a difference.

27. What did you want and get?

Stuff for my kitchen. A chance to see some musicals. A nicer home. My own blog domain. An answer about my reproductive system.

28. What did you want and not get?

Some more local real life friends.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

Although it came out in theaters last year, I love my DVD of Rent. It’s nice to be able to pop it in anytime, and although it has flaws, I love it.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I didn’t do much on my actual birthday, but on my birthday weekend I went to Chicago, watched a Cubs game, and saw The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee. I turned 28.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Patrick Dempsey.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?

I learned that I do not like wearing pantyhose, heels and business suits every day, and much prefer my pajamas.

33. What kept you sane?

This blog, the people who read it and are kind enough to comment, and Wellbutrin.

34. What celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Patrick Dempsey.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

I was disgusted by the way stem cell research was portrayed in the campaign ads around here.

36. Who did you miss?

I miss seeing my Mom every day.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Dr. Gel, who did my surgery.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.

Too late for second guessing, too late to go back to sleep, it’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes, and leap.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I’m through accepting limits, cause someone says they’re so. Some things I can not change, but til I try I’ll never know.

Technorati Tags: new year, 2006, 2007, meme

 

Jenny Ryan tagged me awhile ago for a meme and I never did it. So here I go.

The Rules:

Each player of this game starts with the ‚Äú6 weird things about you‚ÄĚ. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don‚Äôt forget to leave a comment that says ‚Äúyou are tagged‚ÄĚ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

Ok, six weird things about me.

1. I love the smell of office/school supplies. Office Depot smells great to me.

2. I think raw tomatoes are OK, but I don’t liked cooked tomatoes..like spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. I eat my pizza without sauce.

3. I can’t stand it when something is on top of the TV.

4. I can speed read. I’ve been able to for as long as I can remember. I read books over and over because I can finish them so quickly.

5. My colon is attached to my uterus.

6. I met Bill and Chelsea Clinton. Bill Clinton smelled really good. Chelsea Clinton was really pretty in person. My friend, Trish, took three rolls of film and two of them were of the Secret Service agents because she thought they were cute. President Bush came to my town, but I went to a Cubs game instead.

OK..I hate tagging people, but since it is the rules I’ll tag:

1. My mom

2. Atlasien from Upside Down Adoption

3. Margaret from The Open Window

4. FosterMama (Yay, a new blogger!)

5. Cluttergirl

6. Yondalla

and anyone else who wants to play along.

[tags] weird, meme, blogging, blogs [/tag]