Dangerous Digging

I was cleaning up after the dog and noticed she had dug up something from one of her digging escapades and making my yard look like Beirut. I went over to what it was, but she took off ,with her running around, eying me cautiously upset that I was about to steal her prize, I picked it up. I thought it was just a stick and thought nothing of it, but when I noticed it had little barbs on it, I got concerned! This is the second item she's gnawed on what was foreign that she's dug up from her foot deep digging in the background. See, this property used to be nothing but cow fields. Apparently, this property was cleared, tilled , and made way for properties. It would be nice to get rid of EVERYTHING for future residents {and pets} when clearing land so that no one gets lockjaw or tetnis thank You! What if the dog bit into this rusty barb wire and sliced the roof of her mouth open? She would have needed stitches and a tetnis shot,And I would have a nasty bill on my hands not to mention a dog very much in pain! Or what if say Brendan found it and cut himself open and need the same? Oh , then the dog dug another trench and dug up a crushed beercan! WTF! Does anyone prepare the land for clearing and property siting anymore??!! UGH! Dopey Dog!

Before I was a Mom...

A Girlfriend of Mine sent this to me and it was uncannily hitting home that I just HAD to post this! Thanks Mia! Love ya girl!

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop
the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and
happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make
sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

DayDoh!

Tonight Brendan recieved these adorable Diego Jammies from his Uncle Dougie- When we decided to put them on, he said 'Daydoh? I said " yeah lets see if they fit- and he hugged them - it was too cute! we put them on , and they fit like a glove! He ran around the house like a nutjob! He'd point to his pants and say Daydoh! I never met a kid who loved Diego more!

We've Got a Climber

sitting around catching a breath watching t.v with Tom, I happened to witness something exciting, yet very unnerving as any mother will agree with me. Brendan is doing his rounds of playing and running and screaming and opening the refrigerator to get his "dink" as he calls it - we can't seem to get the "rr' in there ... but he sees everybody else sitting around, so he decides to come over and join us . ok. What does he do? he goes over to the couch, and hoists his leg up and climbs up all by himself and sits on the couch! I sat there with my mouth open ready to catch him if he fell, grabbed my camera because this was a milestone, and let Tom watch him, my heart was in my throat, but he did it! He was so proud of himself! Me on the other hand was like "Excuse me!' what was that?who taught you that? what do you think you're doing?" He just smiled and got down feet first and got back up again smiling triumphant with my heart in my throat again. So , the two's have started- climbing, shouting, all that good stuff- 2008 's gonna be FUUN! I can see it now- he already has lump upon lump from cracking his head on the cement/ linoleum floor- what's next? please no broken bones- my heart cant take that... Lord gimme strength..

Until Next Year

Today we took down the tree and the Christmas decorations and air balloons in the front yard. It was a solemn day at the Higdon household. We didn't tell Thomas what we were doing until he came out of his room playing ans aw what we were doing and was like No! what are you doing??!!! I said "it's time to take down the tree honey, Christmas and New Year's are over, It's time to put them away till next year". He was like "Ohhhh" .I admit , It seemed sad to take them down, they brought so much cheer and the kids loved to put the lights on at night and see the balloons blow up and the lights twinkle. I can't believe this year is over already! It just zoomed by!The balloons are drying in the garage from the rain and wet grass, and the tree has been stripped from having ornaments , to barely ornaments, to no ornaments, to the fiber optic angel and Santa being ready to be packed up.Where did the time go? Thomas will be 7 next month and I swear Brendan was just born ! He's gonna be 2 already in March!2! Dang!Am I REALLY creeping up on 40? CRAP! I remember almost 20 years ago when I came home engaged to a Korean boy named David- Mom almost had a stroke! She said "that better not be what I think it is"! Needless to say I broke it off two weeks later- I was too young - Im sure she was relieved- It would have been the first mixed marriage in the family- anyway- its a good thing too because I've always had a thing for my man here since the day we met back in high school when we were 15. Anyway- FIFTEEN! WOW!We've known each other 23 years! If we were married we'd be coming up on our silver anniversary! Yeah he drives me crazy and vice versa, but I can't picture myself or want to be with anyone else. Especially now with these two beautiful boys he's given me! Anyway, I look forward to another great year with my boys and our goofy dog Brandy-yeah she's a dope at times - a big one, and you wanna give her a swift kick in the ass -lotsa times- but she grows on ya and shes part of the family and I look forward to good times to come in 2008. Happy New Year All!

Christmas Innocence

I was just noticing how children affect the holidays. Not in a bad way mind you, In a good way. And in a way that makes you think and smile.How their faces light up when you get them something that you don't think they'll like that you just grab off the shelf last minute for a stocking stuffer, and they're like ohhh coool! Or like take for instance, when we go looking at the Christmas lights,like last year we must have went every DAY to look at this one setup of Christmas lights all the way until after New Years until they were gone. We had to convince Thomas they were gone and done with until next year.. Now its Brendans turn with the Balloons- Hes GOTTA have them up before bed so he can see them ... and the Christmas tree- we found he LOVES the ornaments. Especially the glass ones unfortunately.. The tree started out so nice , but now ended up half bald on the bottom, as all the glass ornaments one by one have made their way to the top half of the Christmas tree. It looks so awkward, but makes you smile too when you look at it. Because if it wasn't for the innocence of kids with such fascinations and spirit and loves for little things like Christmas balls and balloons and lights, and little things that warm the heart, what would life be like without it?

Once Bitten

Today Thomas was hanging out with his friends down the street riding innocently on his new scooter he got for Christmas having a good old time scooting up and down the sidewalk with his friend Chase when he came across the neighbor hood Chihuahuas. These things mind you I cannot STAND! they bark at anyone who go near their house, go 50 feet across the street in front of their house {which is where the sidewalk is}see anyone in their line of sight they bark their heads off , there's a a little girl down the street who is PETRIFIED to pass the house they are so mean - she always asks if they're tied up. Thomas a couple times has walked her to her house after school she's so afraid of them. Anyway, Thomas was riding his scooter, and the owner was walking the 3 Chihuahuas-Pebbles,and I don't know the other two- I'll just say Cheech & Chong for now.. Thomas went to pass, and all 3 of them rounded on him and attacked him! Well he was never so scared in his life! All I heard was him screaming OWWW! MOOMMEEEE!! They bit me!!! I was in awe- you'd think there was a piece of meat strapped to his leg they way they went at him! Thankfully they didn't do that much damage to him that he got out of there as soon as they rounded on him , but still! WTF??! Can't kids play on the sidewalk anymore without having to worry about getting attacked by little ratdogs with attitudes? He wasn't going fast on his scooter- I could see if they felt threatened- like they were gonna get run over, he slowed down , because he was afraid of them and told the owner " excuse me" and the owner- he just smiled and said " sorry" and kept walking .. that was the lamest apology I've ever seen buddy! Don't even ask if he's ok or not! Jackass! I'm tellin ya -this neighborhoods goin to pot! My cars gets broken into and my cellphone gets stolen , my gas gets siphoned, { Tom's car anyway} people leave their dog waste in my trash can & mailbox, my kid gets bit by dogs n the owner could care less ... Nice neighborhood! Anyway, he wont let me touch the area yet, but it looks ok. I gave it Johnson's wound wash immediately a couple times -who knows what germs those dogs got? I gave it a band aid, so far its ok. His spirits are good. We'll check it out in the tub tonite.Those Damn dogs- I hate them! and I'm a dog lover! They're just vicious- those 3 ! They need Cesar Milan in a bad way!

Christmas Eve Mass

Tonight Thomas sang in the Church choir for the Christmas Eve church services. He was so handsome,all dressed up in his good clothes and so sweet! Ma Higdon and I went to the mass to watch him perform. He looked just like a little gentleman, aside from the fact that he had just the slightest touch of stage fright given he kept coming over to me saying " I don't know my songs" , so I was give a piece of paper from his choir director's helper to mark off in his hymnal which songs he would be singing with the corresponding hymns marked on the board on the wall. well I earmarked the pages and showed Thomas the songs as well as the songs on the pages that would go in order so he could see for himself , but he was like "I can't do it" I was like" oh boy" He kept seeing more and more people fill in the church and was getting more and more nervous.. I told him to just take a deep breath and let it out slow , and that he'd be fine. Soon he saw Fathe Joe { he ADORES this Priest and he began to calm down} but soon a whole other problem began - he tried to sing but found he was too short for the microphone and was standing on his tippy toes and was till too short- why someone didn't see this and fix it I donno why.. but soon gave up but still tried to sing here and there anyway.. but got bored at times and started picking his nose! IN CHURCH! In front of A PACKED HOUSE! AAAGGH! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Every time he caught my eye {and I made sure he did believe me} I would mouth Stop it ! that gross! No! and he would mouth back "I can't!" this went on for most of the mass. I don't know what drove me more crazy- the fact that he was picking his nose in public--a packed Church no less, or that I couldn't get to him and make him stop it since he was only 20 feet away! GAHH it was so gross watching him do that and at times look at "his prize"- ewww! I felt so mortified! Other than that, when Thomas finally reached the microphone, he sang very nicely, very sweet . It actually brought tears to my eyes. Once it was cute he raised himself a little too high and sang a word that just echoed too loud into the microphone -LOL it was like hitting a wrong note because hes more of an alto where the rest are close to say sopranos. The teacher was like "not so close'. I thought it was cute and so did everyone else. The mass also had a Nativity play which was also very sweet- this was the rest of his religion class friends. Kids volunteered to either play in the nativity or choir and I think Thomas is getting tired of choir , we shall see . All in all it was a very nice mass but also "interesting" shall we say and we had a nice chat on the way home about it.Hopefully we made a dent Until then, we had some Christmas Eve gifts to open And share our story with Daddy about how our night went. He's 6, I cut him a break- after all, it IS Christmas right? Lesson learned. Let's open some stockings!

What A Day!

Ever have one of those days where nothing seems to go right? Today seemed to be my day. I woke up to the alarm, not wanting to get out of bed, finally did, brushed my teeth,got toothpaste on my shirt. Poop. Should'a saw the omen comin' right there.I got dressed and did my usual morning thing- made my berry tea to start things rolling, made Thomas' PB&J lunch, checked the weather, let the dog out and opened Thomas' door to give first call time to get up.He didn't answer, so it was a bit early to wake up Brendan, so I futzed around and made myself some breakfast until I heard Brendan and decided to have HIm wake him up. well, B accidentally hit his groin and he let an almight yell out and from that day on he was injured- his arm was broken-{ even though the 2 aren't connected} and he back talked me , wouldnt eat his breakfast, wouldn't get dressed till 10 min before we had to leave, thankfully Brendan was dressed, fed and ready to go as I anticipated this for some reason.I HATE HATE HATE when he gets like this! WHEN daddy leaves town, he he gets this "I don't have to listen to you " attitude that I want to strangle! so we finally make it out the door after him finaly getting dressed 5 min before we have to leave- he just dilly dallies and wastes time - I had been trying to get him dressed since 6 :55 it was now 7:40! Anyway, the rest of the day I cleaned-bathrooms,- Ew- closets- wee. recliners- sticky foods stuck on them- double eww. and stuff molded to my glass tables from 2 yr olds- double weee that I had to scrape off from my nice manicure- SO FUN!then pick up time- I looked like death and didnt want to show my face! I picked Thomas up and hurried back to the car and got home did some more cleaning ,the dog came in and got my nice clean floor all muddy - GRRR. I'll deal with YOU later.... the boys trashed the house as fast as I picked up after them! C'mon guys! Gimmee a break huh? Then it was dinner time {another fun time here when daddy's not here} I got smart mouthed and yelled at - I told him a thousand times to turn around and eat his dinner {Thomas] what do I get? a big fat loud OKAYYY!! whoah!Oh Hell No! That deserved a smart smack in the back of the head! I said "You dont yell at me! You watch your mouth and tone! I've had it with your smart mouth!" and he was upset and said he was sorry.. but had a look of anger in his eyes- I didn't like hitting him, but he doesn't get hit , and I think its time someone did. Then religion, he had choir first where he ran around like an idiot and didnt listen to sit down, and was all noisy- I said you're in church- not the playground- you have respect- he ran around anyway- UGGHH! Then the icing- as he was in religion, I sat in the parking lot with Brendan and watched a movie - "Mickey's Magical Christmas" on the DVD player- well when it was time to go home, my car wouldn't turn over! CRAP! This day just won't end! I must have drained the battery while watching the movie since I didn't have the car running.DUH. Won't do THAT again! Thankfully two nice men gave my car a jump with some cables that they actually went to look for! I thought that was really nice! I guess the best place to have your car go dead is at a church right ? You're BOUND to get help - no one will let ya go stranded! I was outta there in 30 minutes tops! After all that I just wanted to get home! Maybe have a stiff drink! Since that wasn't availiable, a nice cold coke would do ;) Kids are finally in bed and I can unwind . I'm hitting the sack now.I hope tomorrow will make up for today's chain of one after the other pain in the ass moments! Say Good night, Sleep tight, Hope tomorrow'll be alright!

Pinewood Derby Block

We just had our pack meeting last night where the boys got their Christmas pesents that were their Pinewood Derby cars . Thomas opened his present at home last night and was like "what the"? He was expecting "a car" It was quite funny . This being his first year , he wasnt expecting a block of wood and nails and a wheels to come out of a box at him! I had to explain to him "no, you MAKE your car, and then in April , you have a race to see whose is the fastest and the best". he said "can I paint it?" I "said yeah! you paint it, sand it, put stickers on it, do anything you want to it, thats the beauty of it- everyone's is different"- he liked the sound of that and felt much better than getting a block of wood for Christmas! LOL