Not That Great

I have sat down at least three times lately to write a new blog - and half-way through I get interrupted.  It seems my kids are unable to play by themselves for longer than 3 minutes at a time.  This frustrates me!  Which leads me to the point of this blog:

Is it normal that I don't like my children at times?  Is there such a thing as "burn-out", like eating too much of something, with your own children? I know this sounds just awful, and I don't like feeling this way, but I find myself needing my own "time-out" in the midst of dealing with the drama, fighting, whining, and demands.  I have to look into their eyes and see the precious little soul there, and close my eyes and listen to their sweet voices (when they aren't whining) - than I can't help but love them - but my patience are thin and I'm drained.  I've tried to analyze what the real reason is for my lack of patience and the stress I feel - but can't think of anything that really bothers me.  I started going to a woman's Bible study on Monday nights, and I think maybe this will help my sour attitude.  We are going to be studying the book of Ruth for the next 10 weeks - and the theme is "It's Hard Being A Woman".....yeah, this is probably just what I need.  An attitude adjustment.  So I think I'm being prepared for what the Bible study is going to show me - feeling like this makes me realize I need God, constantly.   

But at least I've been able to finish a blog this evening - that's a step in the right direction.   

The pictures are from our recent camping trip.

This blog my not be appropriate for all readers. Reader's discretion is advised...Especially men.

Okay, you've been warned, so if you're still reading I assume you aren't easily offended! Please continue:

The day started off as any other normal weekday, except it was Friday, which doesn't matter much until 4:00pm, because it's still work as usual. I hit the snooze button every five minutes for 30 minutes, and finally dragged my tired butt out of bed at 6:30am. I slumped into the kitchen to scrounge a clean coffee cup, and poured myself a great big cup of black coffee. Nodded to Mike, who was sitting in his recliner in the living room, as I made my way back to the bedroom. Set my coffee on the window sill, and crawled back into bed to snuggle with Jacob for just one more minute.....3o minutes later I jumped out of bed and into the shower and quickly completed my routine: wash hair, condition hair, wash body, brush teeth, rinse hair. Nothing special today - didn't feel like shaving - I think I did that yesterday, or was it the day before? Got dressed, did makeup, blow-dried hair, got kids dressed, threw some leftover mac & cheese and two bananas into my purse for the kids' lunch...I don't think I fed them breakfast yet. Oh well, maybe they won't notice. Oh wait!...Gracie and Jacob did eat an apple for breakfast while they watched Arthur in my bed - the evidence is still there - chewed up bits of apple that Jacob had spit out, that now decorate my bed sheets. That will be nice to come home to tonight. No, I didn't have time to make my bed this morning, in case you were wondering.

I managed to make it to work "on time", somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00. My sister pulled into the parking lot just about the time I did and Jacob ran to greet her. I heard the birds chirping in the tree above and thought to myself what a good day it was going to be. My Mom happened to be walking through the parking lot between the warehouse and the office at the same time and stopped a second to chat. She mentioned something about having a doctor's appointment later in the afternoon.........

Uh, yeah, then it hit me. I had totally forgotten about my "annual appointment" that was scheduled for this morning at 10:30am. Geeze, these visits only happen once a year, am I really expected to remember them? Okay, so now the realization of what this really means begins to sink in...........

I haven't shaved my legs in a couple of days - let alone some other very important anatomy, I haven't had a pedicure in who know how long?, and I'm not mentally prepared for this - especially so early in the morning!

I start to form my plan: I'll leave work 10 minutes early. I'll run home and quickly shave my legs and "other areas", put some clean white socks in my purse (yucky feet, remember?), spray some nice smelling body spritz "all over", and do a quick inspection of the parts that will have center stage - making sure everything is squeaky-clean. This plan worked like a charm! I even managed to touch-up my lipstick and mascara - and still made it on time!

As I walked into the doctor's office, I felt pretty confident! I had faith that all my areas had been appropriately groomed and ready for inspection. I walked up to the receptionist's window, and Rachel gave me some paper work to fill out to update my file. I had only just sat down and found a pen in the bottom of my purse, when I heard my name being called. Wow! That was fast! It's my turn already! The nice little nurse escorted me to an evil apparatus, more frequently known as a scale, made record of my weight, and gestured me to follow her. Oh man! I hate this exam room she's leading me to. I don't know why, but I prefer the other room - but it looks as though it already has a guest.

She asks me to take a seat on the exam table while she asks the usual questions: "What form of contraception are you currently using?", "Are you taking any prescription drugs?", blah, blah. While she takes my blood pressure, we talk about her mom turning 50 and the surprise party she's throwing for her tonight, yeah okay, let's just get on with this! She instructs me to undress completely, put on the robe and please let the opening face the front, oh, and do I need to empty my bladder before my pap smear? "Sure", I reply, "Why not?" I walked the five steps out of my exam room to the restroom, and pee. I reach for some toilet paper and quickly think about how much effort I put into making sure my "parts" where "just so". As I think this thought, I also think how ironic it would be to have this toilet paper fall apart as I wipe and leave little bits of white tissue as souvenirs of my trip to pee. WHATEVER!....You know that's just what's happened! I sat there with legs spread open, looking at the mess I had just created, and said out loud "YOU'RE KIDDING ME? This did NOT just happen?" Okay, well, let's just clean it up and get out of here, I've got to get back to work, you know. But these evil bits of tissue aren't budging! They're stuck! I franticly grab another handful of dry toilet paper and try again. Ahhh! More bits! It looks like I just wiped my booty with a handful of dryer lint after a load of whites - this is just not acceptable. What am I going to tell my doctor during his examination? Is he going to look up at me over the sheet draped over my knees and sternly ask, "Audrey, do we need to talk about proper hygiene and sanitation?" I've only got 30 more seconds, at best, to be in the restroom, before my doctor and nurse start wondering what's taking me so long. I hop up from the toilet, waddle to the sink, grab a paper towel, get it wet in the sink, and hope for the best. I think it's working, but now I need to make sure there's none of this bastard tissue, that has given me a headache in the last 90 seconds, left behind. After all, just one little souvenir is an offender, right? So, my next mission - make sure everything is just as it was before this brilliant idea to pee - holy shit! - I didn't need to pee that bad anyway! With my pants at my ankles, I try to put my head between my legs to get a better view, but loose my balance and hit my head on the sink. This isn't going to end good, is it? "Okay, just breath", I tell myself, even though I've only got 15 seconds before I have GOT to make an exit. I've got an idea! I'll sneak a quick peak with my compact mirror when I go back to my exam room. Deal! I pulled up my pants, washed my hands, and walked out of the restroom. And yes, just as I thought, I could see my doctor out of the corner of my eye, standing at his station making notes, just 10 feet away from the restroom - and yes, he was waiting for me to go into my exam room - it was my turn.

Now, I know I have GOT TO HURRY! I have got to get undressed, put on my clean white socks, put on my gown, and grab the compact mirror out of my purse, sneak a peak, hop on the table, and act like everything is just fine! I am so worried he will walk in as I'm examining myself and say to me quite sympathetically, "Audrey, my dear, that's MY job!"

As I'm undressing, I remember last year's exam.....horrible memory......my doctor didn't give me enough time to get undressed, and walked in on me half-naked. Yeah, that was kinda awkward. So, I KNOW I must focus and remain cool to get this done. Thankfully, the damage control I'd done with the paper towel did the trick - Everything was just fine down there! I threw the mirror back in my purse and hopped up on the exam table - just in time.

After all this...after he's done with his job....I have to sit there, naked, making sure my gown is covering everything, and talk to him for 10 minutes, looking him in the eye no less, about the different options for birth control.

I tell you what, I sure hope this is building "character", because if it's not, it's just not worth it. And even though the morning started out "as usual", I pray this part of my day isn't any indication of the rest of the day...what else did I forget about?

Huh? I don't get it!

What's with all the hype about this Swine flu?  I don't understand what the big deal is?  Um, yeah, so it's a virus...you have the same symptoms of a "normal" flu: vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, headache, aches.  So what?  Why is the media marketing it like it's the next cancer?  I looked on the Center of Disease Control official website today and noticed they were keeping track of how many "confirmed" cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) there are in America, and to my surprise there have been only 91 cases, only one of which resulted in death.  Are you kidding me???  Only 91 cases in ALL OF AMERICA? I'm sorry, but maybe I see things much differently than most.  Oh! Wait...it's called COMMEN SENSE.  I did a little snooping on the internet to compare some statistics to put this swine flu "pandemic" into perspective.  This is what I found: In the United States there are an estimated 25 - 50 MILLION cases of the "normal" flu reported each year.  There is an estimated 300,000 - 500,000 deaths in the world blamed on influenza each year.  Come on now!  So, the media is terrifying everyone because there has been ONE death so far?  And only 91 confirmed cases of this swine flu as of 11:00 am (according to the Center of Disease Control) this morning? The Center for Disease Control's website stated there was an average somewhere between 36,000 - 52,000  deaths in the United States from flu-related causes and complications each year. Okay, so if 36,000 deaths are reported each year in the U.S., that would mean 98.63 people die EACH DAY - and we don't often think twice about this flu - certainly not in the "pandemic" sense anyway!!  So why the scare?  What's behind it?  Quite frankly, I'd be more concerned about what's in the antiviral drugs they want to inject into your body!  I just don't understand why this swine flu, that again, has the same "symptoms" of seasonal influenza, has made the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, declare a public health emergency??  Ugh!!  Why are we so easily brainwashed??  

So, my opinion, in case you're interested??  Do some research.  Don't let yourself be part of the blind masses that rely on the media to spoon-feed them misleading information!!  I will sleep well tonight - After all, my God is in control anyway.

So Glad It's Friday!

I can't even begin to express how happy I am today is Friday!  The reason?...I don't have to work tomorrow..or the next day.  We have been having some issues at work with personalities (well, really just one) that are WAY hard to be around.  And a break from that stress is most welcome! 

Enough about that!

I have been promising to take Gracie to see the Hannah Montana movie - so, tomorrow is the special day!  This is a sacrifice on my part - we watch Hannah Montana's show at least three times a week while I am getting dinner ready...that's more than enough for me!  At least the theater is in the Tulare Outlet Mall, so maybe I'll just HAVE to see what kind of sales they have!  Gracie is excited though.  Mike and I have decided I need to spend more quality alone-time with my daughter.  So much of our normal everyday lives revolve around the baby. Without realizing it, Gracie is told "no" quite often because of the effect her actions will have on Jacob.  For example, Gracie will want to play in the backyard, but Momma says no because Jacob will have to follow.  He tries to keep up with her and climb the jungle-gym and I'm affraid he'll fall and break his neck.  And if I let her go out alone, he stands at the screen and cries because he can see her!  All this is too much for my already stressed psyche after a day at work and trying to make dinner, so Grace is forced to do things that make my life easier - it's not fair, and I feel bad.  Anyway, giving Gracie some special attention makes me a better mom and affirms she is a very important part of this family.  I'll make sure to rate the movie for you so you can either rush out and see it, or just skip it!

Where do the days go?

Just taking a quick moment to jot some stuff down before the kids and I run out the door to Fresno.  We are taking my mother-in-law to some government office in Fresno to renew her Greencard.  Yipee!  That means I have an excuse to see Melissa and my favorite boys!  

We are getting ready for Easter!  Last Sunday we attended a pre-Easter pancake breakfast and Easter-Egg hunt at church.  This was Jacob's first experience with the whole egg thing.  It was really funny to watch him...once he discovered what kind of treasures where in those funny colored eggs, he was motivated to pick up as many as he could and hand them to Mommy!  

Gracie is on spring-break this week, which means life slows down just a bit...no preschool, no dance class, and no AWANAs,  which means we spend a lot less time in the truck!  

I'll post pictures of Easter this coming weekend!  We're looking forward to a beautiful day with family and good food to celebrate our Savior rising from the dead!  Got to jump in the shower so we can get out of the door on time!

News on the Wallace Home Front:

Not much.

I have had this very irritating cough for the last two weeks - and last weekend I was very fortunate to have the flu.  Luckily the rest of the family hasn't shown any signs of coming down with the same.

We had Gracie's fifth birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's last Thursday - I don't know if I'll do that again!  It was convenient for the mess part, but I felt bad for the kids and parents because everyone was pretty much on their own!  I tried to make sure Gracie played a little with each of her guests, but talk about chaos!!  Gracie had a great time though, so I guess that made it a success!

The weekdays still seem to fly by so quickly.  Mike works late two days of the week and has a men's study on two other days, so needless to say, my nights are hectic.  

That's all I have time for at this moment!....Mike just called and is on his way home from work...now we are going to go on a family outing to Costco!!  

Oops!

Okay, I realize there is no excuse for not posting in over a month!  Life has been a bit crazy lately!  And since the weather has been so agreeable we find ourselves out and about much more -especially considering the time change and longer sunshine! The kids want nothing else than to be outside playing tag and going on walks around the neighborhood.  

During the last month we have enjoyed a few "adventures".  Mike and I attended the Modest Mouse Concert at the Fox Theatre in Visalia.  Most have no idea what or who this is - so just to put your mind at ease, Modest Mouse is quite a famous Indie-Rock band...And it was very unusual they would find their way to Visalia!

We went on a family camping trip to Morro Bay!...My most favorite place to be!  Gracie, our little Mermaid, loves the beach just like her Momma!  Jacob, on the other hand, has a few issues he'll need to work out!  He hates sand on his feet, thinks the water is way too cold, and when walking on the sand (against his will), will not step on anybody's footprints!  He had to find his own path on undisturbed sand.  It was entertaining watching him think this one out as he planned his path!

 

We've taken a few drives to Three Rivers to enjoy the spring flowers and green landscape.  And of course, Reimer's ice cream!

So, it's been the beginning of a very nice spring!  Gracie and I are now trying to figure out what kind of party we want to have for her 5th birthday!