It's My Birthday - A Little More About Me

On a sunny Thursday, June 28, 1979 a baby girl was born at 7:00 AM. Yes me, I’m officially 34 (not that I’ve been looking forward to this birthday)!! Being that today is my birthday (and I will cry if I want to and I did cause my mid-morning was really shitty; thanks mom for calling me and trying to ruin my day) I thought I would write down some things about me

What I’m proud of:

Always and forever since 2005 the number one and two on my top things I’ve accomplished, things I’m proud of, things I would never ever change in my life will be my two boys. They are my greatest joy and my greatest pride.

From all the boyfriends I’ve had (and no there weren’t that many) I’ve only been dumped once. I know this is not a great accomplishment but no one likes to be dumped.

In keep with the above theme I’ve also only been fired once.

Since I was 21 and with two pregnancies and having two big babies (older boy 9.3lbs; younger 8.3lbs) I’ve only gained 10 pounds. I’ve been also trying to lose those 10 extra pounds since 2009.

I’ve never had a major car accident. I only had two minor; so minor that neither of the cars were damaged both times and my last accident was 14 years ago.

Despite my awkwardness I’ve managed to maintain a friendship with 5 girls for the last 20 years. And not just friends really really good friends.

Being a good employee. With the couple of jobs I’ve had (with the exception of the place that fired me; it was them not me) I’ve always had my bosses tell me that I’m a really good employee.

One of my best friends had her twins on my birthday. When she got pregnant and told me her due date (July 14^th) I said to her well if you go early (since they were twins and that can happen sometimes) you should have them on my birthday. So as the months progressed and her doctor started suggesting that she might go early I kept telling her it was going to be on my birthday and sure enough June 28 of last year. I know this has nothing to do with me but it’s my birthday I get to decided what’s special for me.

What I’m not proud of:

I’ve been a smoker for almost 20 years

I’ve gotten drunk (like really drunk) about 10 times. Of those 10 for one of those times I don’t remember much of the night, 2 times I crawled on all fours to get to my second floor apartment and ALL OF THOSE TIMES I’ve thrown up a lot more than I ingested. (This is all before kids.)

I never finished college

Yelling at my kids (sometimes more than I should). Afterwards I fee so guilty that I stay up at night and cry because the funny thing about kids is that no matter how much you yell at them in the morning they act like nothing happened. They still love you unconditionally. This of course makes me feel really shitty. I’m constantly working on being a better mom.

Forgiving and making excuses for my mother’s behavior for so many years. I can’t tell you how many tears I’ve shed tears (like today), how many nerves I’ve lost because of her. I use to make excuses to my kids why their grandma wasn’t coming to see them when she said she was. NOT ANYMORE! I’M DONE!

Things I would like to do/accomplish before I’m 40:

Stop smoking

Get a tattoo (or two)

Buy some kind of real estate (for investment purposes)

Move out of my current neighborhood (it’s not a bad neighborhood; I would just like something better for my kids).

Go on vacation with my friends. Girls only vacation. This has actually already been talked about and if all goes well for one week in 2017 (yes 4 years from now) me and 5 of my friends will be going on a vacation just US!!!

 

So there you have it. A little more about me. My husband says he feels big changes coming toward us (good things). Since he’s not a physic and I don’t believe in those anyway I still hope he’s right; we sure could use a brake for certain things.

 

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Road Trip to Florida

2011. Our first road trip as a family.So there we were my husband, my mom (this was when I still talked to her), me and two kids one which was still in diapers. (Side note: Road trips and diapers go together like two peas in a pod; no really they do…NOT!!)

From New York to Florida (The beautiful Sandpiper Beacon Beach Resort a place I highly recommend) in our trusted Suzuki Grand Vitara XL7 SUV. We were all so excited. I’m personally a summer person so that thought of spending the whole week by the pool/beach in warm weather was heaven on earth.

When I started packing for our trip my husband suggested that I use a big suitcase to put all our stuff in and we would attached it to the roof BUT I thought I had a better idea of using multiple bags (my thinking was it would be easier to get something if I needed it rather than taking a big suitcase down from the roof) and filling our car to capacity so that my two kids and mom had to sit in the second raw the whole way there. I know, Mother of the Year Award! What the fuck was I thinking? Now don’t get me wrong I did realized my mistake almost immediately after we started stuffing the car but at that point it was too late. We needed to hit the road and get to Florida ASAP to start our vacation.

You’ll be happy to hear when we were coming back we bought one of those duffel storage bags that go on top of the car and the whole back of the SUV was empty. We put a bunch of towels and pillows and the kids slept very comfortably.

We left our house around 3:30 PM and by our calculations we would be in Florida by 12-1 the following day. Perfect timing since check in was 12.

I have to say considering that it was our first ever road trip with two small kids and a car filled to capacity with stuff (BTW now that I think about it what the fuck did I pack that it filled the whole car, we were only staying for a week) and my mother the whole road trip went pretty good. I came prepared. We had a DVD player with many DVD's. Coloring books, cards, food and drinks and we made it a point to stop every 3-4 hours. The kids did really well. I think they started complaining the last hour and honestly even we (the adults) were all "Are we there yet"?

BUT no trip can be complete without some fuck ups.

We did have a moment in Virginia where out tired popped. I frantically tried to call every place I could find on my navigation system on a Friday night around 10. Everything was closed. This doesn’t happen in NY and I was completely unprepared. In NY you can always find anything you need with a 10 mile radius. I guess I just assumed that it worked like that in every state. It doesn't. In Virginia everything was closed by 8PM. My husband tried to find all the tools to change the tire himself but we couldn’t find it in our trunk so we had to call someone. We finally found someone who had some kind of an accent and we barley  understood him. After the phone call finished I wasn’t sure if he understood what we wanted or where our location was but almost an hour later he did show. During that hour the kids constantly asked what’s going on, can we look? And we were just trying to keep them in the car. You know the whole highway, kids running around like crazy thing. After the guy came he told us the tools were actually under the driver’s seat but don’t say duh yet cause it turns out our tires needed a special key (that Suzuki so graciously did not provide) to get them open so even if we had found the tools we would have to call someone. $200 dollars later and we were off to Georgia where we would buy a new tire (the one we had was a spare). Another $165 and we were off to Florida. See bump $465 spent and we hadn't even started out vacation.

As a side note we left NY one a nice warm/cool May day (about 65-70). Once we got to a Wal-Mart in Georgia to buy our tire holymotherofsunwhatthefuck it was like 99 and not even noon. This I was not prepared for. Like all the saliva sucked right out of your mouth, can’t breathe, just need water now, feel like a vampire that's about to melt in the sun kind of hot.

The other bad thing was my driving. I’ve been a driver for almost 16 years. I’ve spent many years and many times driving from my house to my friend’s house in upstate (that’s 4 hours each way). I never had any issues. I just did it. For whatever reason this time I just couldn’t do it. My husband drove the first 4 hours and then I offered to drive so he can rest. I just couldn’t do it. As soon as I started driving I couldn’t keep my eyes open and as soon as my husband took over the driving I was fine. I felt like someone had hypnotized me; I tried everything; loud music; coffee; my husband talking to me to keep me company fuck if anything worked. All I wanted to do was sleep. So hubs took over the wheel and guess motherfucking what I’m up like a baby at midnight. I felt so terrible. I really wanted to help him. As a reward while we were in Florida I drove to most of the place cause wouldn’t you know it when we were coming back the same thing happened.

The rest of the trip was amazing. We had a wonderful time. My kids still talking about Florida and how it was the greatest vacation they ever went on.



So Beautiful. No that is not any of us!



This was my view from my balcony.

This post is part of Theme Thursday. See what other's have to say about Road Trips.

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Not being able to think of a good title for this post is driving me crazy!

What’s been driving me crazy lately?

OMG I don’t even know where to start with this one.  Do you guys have time to read a book? No? Shit ok let me try to make this short.

My older son complaining to do his homework EVERY.FUCKING.NIGHT. Suck it up buttercup you’re only in 2^nd grade, wait till you get to High School than you can tell me you have A LOT of homework

My younger son throwing tantrums EVERY.FUCKING.NIGHT for not giving him something sweet, for his brother not playing the games he wants to play, for eating dinner for a million other things. Dude get your shit together you’re almost 5.

Every time I ask my husband to do something that involves talking to people in English (he knows the language but acts like he doesn’t when I’m around) he gets this panicky look on his face like I’m asking him to find the cure for cancer. You’ve lived in America for over 9 years. Are you fucking kidding me? You too get your shit together!

My husband for waiting for me to do everything and then saying things like ‘you never laugh anymore”, “I never see you in a good mood”. Umm really, let’s see; why don’t you help me around the house more and then maybe I wouldn’t always be in such a shitty mood.

So much work at work lately that I have no time for blogging, Facebook or twitter. I know I know job security BUT this sucks, even my boss is complaining about all the work. Nuff said.

Facebook for sucking so much. I post something on my page and only like 20 people see it. What’s the point of having hundreds of likes if only a handful will see it?

The girl that sits in the cubical next to mine. Annoying voice, stank attitude and above all else when her son was 4 months old she was telling another co-worker that he son was so rude. Really at 4 months? Fucking drive me crazy!

White girls getting a fake tan and looking orangey. Orange is not a fucking skin color. WTF people?

The pimples on my face that have appeared lately. I’ve always had clear skin so I don’t know what the hell is going on. I’m about to take Something Clever 2.0 advice and to Proactive

Moms judging other moms. Fuck you. Stop judging. Have you guys read Insomniac's Dream lately. This is a mother struggling. She doesn't need us to judge her, I'm so proud of all that she's doing to make ends meat and to be with her boys. That's a real mother. We do anything and everything to be good moms and sometimes it only takes one asshole to judge us to make us rethink our whole strategy. Don't judge, support!

My husband is in the process of getting a new job. This would mean us moving to a whole new neighborhood. He has a really good chance of getting it BUT we don’t know when this will happen. I’m hoping it will be before the kids start school in September so they can start a new school year in a new school and it’s always better to move in the summer than during the school year. This is completely out our control but it’s still driving me crazy. I feel like we’re in no man’s land.

My period. I’m so tired of this bitch. I’ve had it for 22 years and I’m done. I’ve done my time, I would like this cry me a red river every month bullshit to stop

NY weather. One day its cold, one day it’s hot, WTF already! Make up your mind!

Celebrities making millions for doing almost nothing. Tom Cruise doesn’t deserve 20 million a movie just because he’s Tom Cruise. Fuck that shit. Millions of people are scraping by EVERY.DAMN.MONTH just to make it and these assholes are making millions just because. 

Not winning the lottery. What’s a girl got to do to win some money?! (just joking on this one but I wouldn’t mind winning)

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This post is part of Theme Thursday. Go and read what's driving other bloggers crazy.

A Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

I was talking to my husband last night about how tired I was/am all.the.time. He’s like why are you so tired? You’re always tired? You should go see a doctor. This isn't normal. Yes it is normal, I already asked countless doctors and they all say the same thing; you have a full time job, two small kids and when you come home from work you have work at home not to mention a useless husband (ok they didn't say the last part but I'm sure they were thinking it). So yes, yes I am tired. I work a full time job outside of my home, than I come home to wash dishes, make dinner, clean the house, wash dinner dishes, give the kids a shower and put them to bed. On a really good night they’re both asleep by 10:30 (this is mostly the little one because he takes afternoon naps in daycare and isn’t tired to sleep at night) and that’s when I can have ME TIME. Of course by that time I’m so tired that me time means going to bed. And tomorrow we start all over again. So as I was about to go take a shower ( a rarity at 8:45) the hubs is like you know once you (notice he said you not even suggesting to say me) put the kids to bed we can do you know what and I’m like go to sleep?? He says no the other. Hell to the fucking no I’m going off to bed. So of course he’s all mad and about to throw a tantrum and I say to him I would love to have your life for one week. 7 days! That would be my perfect Mother’s Day gift. To live my husband’s life for one week.

I would love to come home at 5:30 and be done with work. To have coffee without interruptions. To take a nap. To have someone clean the house, wash dishes and make dinner while I watch TV. To be able to eat dinner without having to get up 100 times to get something for the kids. To eat dinner without having to feed myself and one or two additional persons depending on the night. To finish dinner, get up from the table and go on the computer or watch TV while he finishes feeding the kids & cleaning up. To watch as he moves around the house constantly doing something while I lazily lounge on the couch catching up on missed shows. To hear my kids say dad every 2 minutes because they need something. And than ask him why are you so tired?

To sleep in on the weekends while he wakes up early with the kids, makes breakfast, cleans the house, does the laundry, goes food shopping, makes lunch, cleans up the house again, give kids all the things that they’ve constantly wanted since they woke up every 10 minutes (mommy I’m thirsty, mommy I want a snack, mommy he hit me, mommy can I get an apple NO not that one the other one….you get the point). I would love to be able to wake up on a Saturday and/or Sunday and not have a care in the world. I want to go to our friend’s house and have nothing to do but sit on the couch and talk to my friends. I want to see the husbands prepare dinner, feed the kids, clean up and watch the kids so they’re not killing each other.  To truly say I relaxed this weekend.

This is what I want for Mother’s Day. No fancy jewelry, no dinner reservations, no flowers or chocolates. I don’t want anything except for my husband’s life for one week.

 What is your perfect Mother's Day gift?

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Fuck you

Fuck you. This has to be my favorite fucking word(s). I use it a lot. In honor of the letter F in ABC’s of Swearing there are some people I would like to say Fuck You to.

Disclaimer: There's A LOT of cursing in this post. If you are offended stop reading and come  back another day when there will be less.

Fuck you boss. Fuck you for being an asshole and lazy and making me do work that you should be doing. Fuck you for making me miss lunch for the last 3 weeks because I have to do your work on top of all mine. Fuck you.

Fuck you people on the train. Fuck you for not waiting for me to get out before you decide to get it because God forbid you don’t get a seat to put your big ass on. Fuck you people who walk the wrong way going up and down the stairs. Stay to your right at all times. It’s simple and everyone knows it. You’re not more special than me and I have to get to where ever I’m going just as much as you do. Fuck you.

Fuck you to my kids school. Fuck you for giving my son one sheet of homework per night and calling it homework. Fuck you for putting my son in a classroom full of kids who are clearly behind. Fuck you for allowing some parents to do their kids homework (verified by my son and teacher…yes I know, fuck you) and still promoting those kids to the next grade same way as my son whose had to do his own homework since Kindergarten. Fuck you for thinking this is the way to teach kids and think this will make them productive members of society. Fucking you for making me find and print out extra sheets so that my son’s brain can be more developed so that one day he can be something other than a homeless person. Fuck you.

Fuck you to the tenants in our building (my husband is a superintendent). Fuck you for knocking at my door at all hours of the day and night thinking that we have no life so of course I want to hear about a tiny problem that you have at 11:30 at night or better yet at 6 in the morning because you can’t do it during the day. That would make life way too easy for us. Fuck you

Fuck you to my mom (yes I said my mom). Fuck you for the last 24 years since we’ve come to America. Fuck you for putting your job first and me last. Fuck you making me do laundry (walking about a mile back and forth to the laundry mat), clean house, make my own breakfast and lunch, make dinner for both of us (most of the time), paying bills and staying home alone since I was 11. Fuck you for doing all this for the might dollar. Fuck you for making me help you out with your bills & food since I was 19 with my tiny salary because you didn’t want to waste your thousands. Fuck you for making me feel guilty about wanting to move to California to go to college so I stayed. Fuck you for not being there for me when I needed you when my kids were born.  Fuck you for leaving the country and moving to another country that you don't know anyone when you decided to retire so that you can relax and not staying to help me out (NOT FINANCIALLY) like all the other mother’s and father’s that we know. Fuck you for thinking that this is ok. IT’S NOT! Fuck you for wondering why I would not want to talk to you. Let me give you a hint: you haven’t been my mother for the last 24 years. Fuck you.

Fuck you to my husband. Fucking you for expecting me to do everything with little help from you. Fuck you for making me feel like I’m a single mother with THREE kids.  Fuck you for deciding you’re not going to do something and leaving it for me to do because let’s be honest someone has to do it. Fuck you.

Fuck you to my kids. Fuck you for driving me crazy because you fight all the time. Fuck you for not listening. Fuck you for not eating your food. Fuck you for not cleaning your room. Fuck you for crying for every tiny thing. Fuck you for making me feel guilty when I yell at you and making me cry (they don't make me feel guilty I make myself). Fuck you for making me love you so much that I worry all the time and would love nothing more than to lock you up and never let you out so I can keep you safe. Fuck you

Fuck you to me. Fuck you for not going to college and having your dream job (lawyer) and making decent money so you don't have to count every.single.dollar all.the.time. Fuck you for smoking. Fuck you for smoking (yes I know I put that twice). Fuck you for being a bitch to people who sometimes don't deserve it and not being one to those that do. Fuck you

Fuck you life. Fuck you for making EVERY.FUCKING.THING.SO. HARD. Fuck you for not giving me a break. Fuck you.

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This post is part of ABC's of Swearing Challenge.

Parenting my way

Traditional vs. non-traditional parenting. I’m not sure which my husband and I are. I guess it depends on the person looking at us.  I think we mix a little of both depending what the situation is. I’ve compiled a list of the ways we parent our children and you decide if it’s traditional or non-traditional. This list barley scratches the surface but you get the idea.

1. I try to be as honest a possible with my kids. Yes there is a Santa Clause. No you cannot fly even thought you think your Superman.
2. I curse in front of my kids. I try not to do it often but sometimes it slips out or I’m just so frustrated by a situation I have no choice
3. As of the last 3 months my kids mostly sleep in their own beds. Once a week they will sleep with me. Until 3 months ago my oldest slept with us in the same bed since the day he was born and the little one in his crib attached to our bed
4. What I make the kids will eat. I don’t do separate meals for the kids and us. I have a friend who used to cook 3-4 different dinners every night to accommodate her husband, her two sons and herself. That will never happen at my house! I want my kids to get their taste buds use to all kinds of foods so that when they grow up they’re not living on chicken nuggets, pizza & hot dogs. Oh and also WTF? 4 dinners every night? This woman (even though she's my friend and I love her) clearly has way too much time on her hands
5. We’re trying to teach our kids to be good kids. Bullying is never an option. I’ve always told my kids that making fun of someone is not ok and if I ever catch them do it I will call them out and make sure that they know there were being little shits and this is not ok. At the same time I’m trying to teach them never to allow to be bullied and if someone does they should be comfortable telling us and then you better believe it mommy will take care of it.
6. Always use words before your fists but if someone hits you first than by all means hit them back. This applies to woman also. No girl has a right to hit my son just because he’s a guy. Fair is fair. He won’t hit you as long as you don’t hit him.
7. Always respect girls. Never call a girl a bitch or worst (or at least not to her face cause let’s face it girls we can be bitches)
8. We try to teach them that even thought we love them the most in this world and most of the people that we know are good there are some really bad people in this world. Don’t assume that no one will ever hurt you.
9. Things will not be served to your on a silver spoon. You want something you have to work for it.
10. Mommy and daddy as long as we’re alive will always be there for you no matter what. We will support you in anything you decide to do in life. We will always be your greatest fans and will help you in any way we can…always!

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This post is part of ABC's of Swearing Challenge.

This post is part of Theme Thursday. Clink on the link to see how other bloggers are parenting.

You know what A stands for don’t you??

It’s starting peeps. The ABC's of Swearing Challenge. So who’s an asshole? Everyone’s an asshole. Every single person that I’ve ever met has been an asshole at least once, even me.

If you have a blog, Facebook page or twitter you’ve come across assholes daily. For whatever reason people think they can be assholes if they don’t agree with something that a blogger/Facebook admin wrote. They like to comment with their snarky comments. This part isn’t so bad the bad part is when they decide to report you to Facebook for “improper behavior”. “Improper behavior” in their opinion. Who gives you the right to be an asshole and report someone? Don’t read that bloggers blog or unlike a Facebook Page. Don’t be an asshole and report. These are the opinions of bloggers/FB page admin and guess what you don’t have to agree.

You kind of have to forgive kids when they’re being assholes. In truthfulness they probably don’t realize what they’re doing (until a certain age). They just want what they want when they want it and they don’t care about anyone or anything else. So when they decided they’re had enough sleep at 3 AM even though they went to sleep at 1 AM as a parent you’re like little asshole go to sleep but they just want to play. When they’re at the store and see a toy they just want it. They will throw a tantrum to get it and they don’t care how they look to you and others they just want the toy. In reality they’re being little assholes but to them they just want a toy.

The reason the whole ABC of Swearing Challenge started was because of an asshole. That’s right Arlee Bird we’re looking at you! So why are people assholes? Simply put because they (we) can.  

This post is part of ABC's of Swearing Challenge.

 

What would you do over if you could??

Do over. A chance to go back in time (if only we could) and correct a mistake which you made. Many (if not all) people would love to have at least one do over. Sometimes the do over is minor like remembering to buy flowers for your wife on your anniversary so that now you're not sleeping on the couch and other times its more serious. I think we can all say that when we were young we did things that we wish we hadn’t. I know there have been many times when I’ve said shit I can't believe I was so stupid/naive to do that I wish could have a do over to make so so right. Thankfully I’ve never done anything so terrible (except for one) that I’ll have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life. Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve done my share of stupid things (some very stupid things) but overall I don’t have anything major (except for this one thing). Honestly if I had a chance for a do over I wouldn't take it (except in one case). Why not you ask? Well because I’m petrified that if I did have a chance to do something over (like not date a particular guy) that my life would go in a completely different direction & I wouldn’t have my kids today. True I might have other kids & I’m sure I would love them just as much as these but THESE are mine and I can’t imagine having others. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. It might not be a right reason but all the choices that I’ve made so far have led me to where I am today. And even thought there are times when I wish things were different at the end of the day I have my kids and that’s the greatest wish that came true for me.

So what’s this one thing that I mentioned above? SMOKING. I started smoking when I was a teenager. Back then I never thought I would get addicted (see young and stupid above). It wasn’t peer pressure. I had the type of friends that literally begged me not to smoke. They were a couple of years older than me and were smokers themselves and basically told me that I would get addicted. I was all like “please never gonna happen. I’ll smoke a little and then I’ll stop”. Now almost 20 years later I’m still trying to stop. I’ve tried to stop more times than I care to count. I’ve gone for months not smoking but at the end I’ve always started again. I’m still not giving up because I do want to stop. I don’t want my kids to grow up and smoke “because that’s what mom and dad did so it’s ok”. My husband and I always tell them how stupid & dangerous it is to smoke but then we lite up and so we’re a bunch of hypocrites. There are so many times when I’m so sick and tired of smoking. I don’t even enjoy it most of the time. It’s the nicotine, it’s the drug that makes you do it over and over again even when you don’t want to. If I could go back in time I swear I wouldn’t think of taking a puff of a cigarette let alone smoking a whole one. I’m not giving up on the whole stop smoking thing and I know I’ll be successful at it one day I just hope it won’t be too late.

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This post is part of Theme Thursday. Click on the link to see what other bloggers would do over if they had a chance.

An Very Inspiring Blogger

Yep that’s me. A Very Inspiring Blogger at least according to My Life In The Nutt House who was very gracious to nominate me for this award. Thanks Angi! Also thanks for being so patient with me and not taking the award back since you nominated me 2 weeks ago. There’s this sucky thing going around and it’s really pissing me off. I have work at work….can you imagine…as if!!!

Anyway with every award there are rules so the rules for this award are

1. Display award logo on blog

2. Link back to the person who gave you the award.

3. State 7 things about yourself.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link back to them

7 Random Things About Me

I wasn’t born in America. I came here when I was 10 so many many years ago. Because I’m from Eastern Europe people who meet me for the first time say I come of a little rough around the edges but once they get to know me I’m funny and lovable!

I recently started working out and even thought I complain about it ALL THE TIME I’m so grateful that someone has volunteered to work out with me so I can finally get my ass in shape.

I have a hernia on my belly button that I’ve had since I had my second son. Until recently (5 months) I didn’t know it was a hernia, I thought my belly button had become all discombobulated due to my pregnancy and the fact that I was HUGE. Happy to report I’m having surgery very soon to remove the hernia. Will blog about it in the future.

I was watching House Hunters on TV last night and a couple bought a 3 BR/2Bath house with a huge back yard for $164,000 in Tulsa, OK. In NY I couldn’t buy a studio apartment for that price. One of the many reasons I would love to move out of NY. A back yard for my kids to play.

I talk a lot. I talk a lot about my kids. To anyone! I can’t help it nor do I want to. They’re my kids and if you don’t want to hear about them you can leave but I’m not going to stop talking about them.

When I was younger I loved driving. I couldn’t wait to turn 18 to drive. Now every time I have to drive I feel like I’m being punished for committing a major crime. My husband loves big SUV’s. I’m trying to convince him that “Yes of course you should get one”. I’m about 5’5” I will never drive a big car. Hopefully my plan will work. Don’t be a snitch and rat me out!!

It’s hard to believe that until just a couple of months ago I didn’t even know this whole blogging thing existed and now I absolutely love all the bloggers that I’ve met so far.

Those were really interesting…right??? Listen I’m so grateful for all the awards I’ve received but truth be told there are only so many things about me before its starts being repetitive shit and no one wants to read that. I’m trying to be C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E.

 15 Bloggers I Nominate

Something Clever 2.0

Insomniac’s Dream

Trashy Blog

My Life As Lucille

Mom Rants and Comfy Pants

It Is Interesting To Note

Sorry Kid Your Mom Doesn’t Play Well With Others

Another Clean Slate

The Sadder But Wiser Girl

Mom With Her Running Shoes On

Organized Chaos

This is all I’ve got. Again the whole work thing and I haven’t had a chance to look for new bloggers.

Hey did you like this post? Not my best work? Did you think it was funny? Any suggestions? I love read comments so leave one.

My Favorite Time

Times sure have changed. When I was in school summer vacations meant so much to me. No school, no homework, no waking up early, no school cafeteria food. The summers were mine to do as I pleased. I went to the beach, pool, hung out with my friends really late, sleepovers. And because I’m born in the summer I love the hot weather, summer time was my time.

Now things are different. I have a job and my summer vacation consists of if I'm lucky a week off. True that I have 3 weeks off for the whole year but with two small kids I always have to save my days for when they need me. It’s no longer my time it’s my kids’ time. It’s their time for no homework, sleeping in late, no cafeteria lunches and I? Well it’s our time to make sure that they do enjoy their summers like we did. We take them to the parks, beaches, pools, lakes, water parks and theme parks. Since we both have full time jobs we try to make the most of the summer. That means dinner is always a little late cause once I’m home (hubs works from home) we take the kids outside. We try to do this everyday because summer lasts only 2 months and before you know it its over. I want them to enjoy their summer vacations. I know how much I enjoyed mine and I want them to experience it just as much as I did. We try to go away at least for a week during the summer when we can. This year I think we’re going to go visit the in-laws in Europe. And I don’t feel sorry for me. I love my in-laws (probably the only one) but they are great. It’s still too early but we’ll see as the months roll by.

Do I miss my summer vacations? Of course I do. Who wouldn’t want to have the whole summer off to do nothing but lounge on the beach or by the pool? I still do enjoy them but on another lever. But it’s the circle of life. My parents had their time, I had mine, now it’s my kids.

Hey did you like this post? Not my best work? Did you think it was funny? Any suggestions? I love read comments so leave one.

This post is part of Theme Thursday. Go and read what other bloggers think about Summer Vacations.

Acrostic Poem

Things that happen everyday

Happy things

Irrelevant things

Naughty things

Good things

Sad things

Tantrum throwing things

Hot things

Awesome things

Tearful things

Hazardous things

Amazing things

Purple things

Pain in the ass things

Exceptional things

Naked things

Ecstatic things

Volatile things

Erotic things

Rainy things

Yearning things

Dangerous things

Angry things

Yellow things

This post is part of Theme Thursday.
Click below to find out how other bloggers wrote their Acrostic Poem.

Open Letter to the School Chancellor of New York

As a parent I’m pretty tough when it comes to school. I (we, my husband and I) have always been very vocal with our son about school and homework. We’ve told him and will continue to tell him that school and homework are not just important but SUPER IMPORTANT. I make sure I check my sons homework EVERY NIGHT. When he started kindergarten I made sure I sat with him every night to watch him do his letters and numbers and showing him how to do it the right way. He still has an awful handwriting but at least he’s not a bad speller….he’s only in 2^nd grade after all. I’m not expecting some great excellence from him when it comes to tests. He has always done well to very well and I’ve always told him how proud I am. I know how bright my child is and know where to push him more and where to back off. With all this in mind I’ve decided to write an open letter to the School Chancellor of New York, Dennis M. Walcott.

Dear Mr. Walcott,

Let me start this letter off by saying how very disappointed I am in the New York school system. I have a son who is currently in the 2^nd grade. When he entered Kindergarten he had to attend an ESL class due to the fact that my husband and I spoke to him only in our native language. At first school was a confusing and scary place for him as he didn’t understand what the teacher was telling him. As timed passed he become more and more comfortable as he learned the language. While he was in Kindergarten his nightly homework usually consisted of writing one letter and one number multiple times to practice writing, a basic math sheet and reading a small book. I didn’t complain about his homework back than because I thought that since he didn’t understand the English language so well this was more than enough for him. Overall since he was in Kindergarten and he didn’t understand English I was satisfied with his work level.

When he entered 1^st grade, a full speaking English student I assumed (BIG mistake) that his homework would increase. After all he spoke English fluently. The homework however didn’t increase by much. A couple of sentences (once per week), writing spelling words multiply times (once per week) and 1 or 2 math sheets per day and reading a small book.

As the months went on I realized this was way too little homework. He wasn’t being challenged at all. He would be done with him homework in matter of minutes. I saw in his face that the homework was way to easy for him. I spoke with him teacher during the first Parent-Teacher Conference about challenging him more and she said many parents were complaining about the work load being too much (?) and she couldn’t give anymore but suggested that I print out on my own some sheets and give to him. So I did just that. Every night he got a couple of more worksheets. I should also mention that even thought he had in my opinion mastered the English language by the end of Kindergarten when he took the ESL test at the end of the year he failed it by some points so he was in a half-half ESL class for 1^st grade. This was probably one of the main reasons why I still in a way understood why the work load was smaller. His teacher had expressed to me that my son and a couple of other children were excelling greatly while others were struggling and she had to make sure the ones struggling were understanding the work.

When my son started 2^nd grade (he has passed and excelled on his ESL test) and was placed in a English only speaking glass I (foolishly) thought he was finally going to receive the work load suited for him…..WRONG. This year it seems his work load has decreased.

My son right now is a P lever reader (For those that don’t know he’s approximately a reading level of a 3^rd grader at this time of the year, so essentially he’s a year ahead in reading). I personally don’t look at this as some great accomplishment. Some kids learn to read faster and some slower. Eventually if the school and the parents are doing their job right they’ll learn how to read any word. But my son is proud as he gets promoted to new reading levels and I’m also….he’s my son and of course I will be happy for him in anything he does for school. He and another boy are the only students in his class that are now P lever readers. Most other kids are B or C, some D and the rest E or F. You don’t have to know reading levels to see the reading level difference but back to my original though, reading is reading and all kids will (hopefully) learn how read eventually.

My big issue is with his homework this year. His homework consists of mainly 1-2 math pages per night and usually once a week some kind of writing assignment. This takes him approximately 5-10 minutes to do. What the hell? 10 minutes of homework per night.

I’ve complained to his teacher who advised me that she’s not allowed to give out more than that per the school rules. She suggested that I on my own give him extra work. So that’s what I’ve done. Every night I give him extra math sheets and writing sheets to do. This is not a problem for me. I take full responsibility for my children. I do believe it is my job to make sure they do well in school. It is my job to make sure they are excelling academically. I’m not one of those parents that put all the work on the teachers and is shocked when their kids fail. I work with my sons teacher to make sure that he is doing what he’s suppose to be doing. The problem is what about all the other kids? Why are kids not being challenged more? Why are we letting them off easily? I know some kids need more help than others but the ones that are doing well why are they being put in the same class room as the ones that are behind. I’m doing all that I can as a parent but the school is failing miserably. My sons school is suppose to be one of the really good ones which makes me wonder what are the bad schools teaching. I’ve spoken with my sons teacher and she doesn’t know the answer. She suggested I talk to the principal for next year but even she says she doesn’t think it will make much of a difference since that is the curriculum the teachers are given and that’s that. When they are young and their brains so fresh is when we should be challenging them.

This problem really concerns me because these kids are our future and if they continue at this pace we’re going to be left with some really dumb adults to run our country. Please Mr. Walcott do something about this. Challenge kids more. Trust me they can handle it. We parents are willing to sit with them and make sure the work is done but we need your help and support. Please don't fail our children and us.  

Thank you,

A Very Disappointed (but hopeful) Parent

The Fab, Awsome & Stupid at 16

So this weeks Theme Thursday is "What would I say to my 16 year old self?" Are you kidding me? I couldn't believe that is the topic. You'll know how great and funny and just fabulous Something Clever 2.0 is but to me she's totally awesomely awesome...why?? Because I already did a post about what I would say to my 16 year old self like 4 months ago and that means I get a free pass this week and also I can work on other posts. Guys I have so many new ideas all I need is like 5 hours of no interruptions and I'm good (which will never come so be patient and I'll post them one at a time) oh and NO I'm not doing another list. I barely came up with those 16. So click here and enjoy.

This post is part of Theme Thursday.
Click below to find out what other bloggers are saying to their 16 year old self's.

Funerals

What can I say about funerals? I hate funerals. Even thought I may not show it thru my blog I am a sensitive person. Funerals bring out the worst in me. For the last couple of years it seems every year I’ve had to attend one or two funerals.

I just really really hate them. It’s the final goodbye and I’m never ready to say that. I always feel that I need one more day. My worst funeral experience was for a 14yr old boy. I really didn’t want to see the body. He was just a child. Children don’t deserve to die. But I had to because his parents were next to him and I wanted to say to them how sorry I was for their loss. I tried not to look at his face but the eyes just go there and I will never forget looking at him and remembering who he was.

I think all funerals need to be closed casket. Remember the people the way they were not what they look like in death.

When I die one day I hope my sons and my husband (if he’s still alive) have the good sense to have a closed casket or have me cremated. At that point I’ll be dead and I won’t care. I never understand people that have all these demands on how they want their funeral to be, which casket they want, food to be served after the funeral, the kind of stone they want at their grave. Who cares…you’re dead; stop wasting living people’s money. Funerals cost a fortune and I’m sure even though loved ones feel obligated to give the best funereal they can in reality they would have preferred to do something very small or nothing at all to save money. Once you’re dead do you really need the $10,000 casket….NO! You’re dead, you’re going to rotten any way you look at it so don’t spend money on unnecessary things.

I want my funeral to be simple; simple casket (unless they cremate me) & a small spot at a grave. Please no big stones or strobe lights that say…HEY LOOK HOW MUCH MONEY MY FAMILY SPENT ON ME (and now they're bankrupt), THEY MUST HAVE REALLY LOVED ME!!

This post is part of Theme Thursday.
Click below to find out what other bloggers are saying about funerals.

Help a fellow blogger

I'm writing this post in hopes of helping out a fellow blogger Julescam. She's adopted and would love to find her birth mother. If you can help in anyway it's greatly appreciated.
Below is her story & here is a link to her page and orginal post

 

You may not know this, but I was adopted. I was born on June 27, 1973 in Houston TX. My biological mother was 15 at the time with red hair and green eyes. I was adopted from DePelchin children’s home at 9 days old to wonderful parents who, in my belief, have raised me VERY well. BUT..that doesn’t stop me from trying to figure out who my biological parents are!

I have been to the Houston courts 3 different times to ask to have my records opened. Even after all adoption records were made available, the judge would not give me mine. She advised me that there was nothing in the record that could help me in any way. Why she didn’t let me figure that out for myself, I have no clue. The last time I went to court, I was pregnant with Little Man. I was 31 years old. I had a letter from my adoptive parents, a letter from my doctor, and was VERY curious about my biological medical history. It’s been another 8 years and I was told yet again NO. It’s VERY frustrating!

So here’s the deal. If anyone knows of a woman that was 15 years old in 1973 and had a kid whom I’m guessing her parents made her give up for adoption (or maybe she wanted to, who knows) and lived in the Houston area in 1973 please help me. I am not trying to get another parent, but wouldn’t you like to know who gave birth to you? In the records that I received from DePelchin (and I have NO clue where they are now – my parents shared them with me as a teen), my biological mother had red hair and green eyes. I don’t remember what it said about her height and weight. My supposed father was American Indian and was over 6 feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes. I don’t know if that is true or a fabrication to protect the actual father or if she was raped. It doesn’t matter to me, I would just like to know her. I would just REALLY like to know my biological mother. It’s almost been 40 years so she would be in her 50′s now. I would have no idea where she lives but I know when I was born, it was in Houston, TX.

Once Upon A Time....their was vomit and banana stains on my couch

A couple of weeks ago My Life As Lucille asked me to guest post for The Epistolarians. I was honored, this was the first time anyone asked me to guest post. You know what it means to guest post...I'm officially famous (& completely delusional). Anyway I wrote what I'm most familiar with...kids and vomit and Viola! its been published. Click here to read my post. 

Double Award, Double The Fun!

In the last week I was given TWO great awards. The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers from Meara from My Home Is With You and The Liebster from My Life In The Nuthouse. Honestly I don’t even know what’s going on here. Don’t get me wrong I’ve always know I was super cool (not), awesome (not), fantastic (not) but this, this is GREAT! Although not that great cause to be honest I’m not that interesting and these awards require you to list like 100 greatest things about me. Never one to give up here I go and hopefully you’ll stay awake for most of this. I'll like to thank both of these ladies for the nominations. I honestly do feel honored to get them.

My First Award:

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers

Here are the rules 

You are to thank the blogger who gave this award to you, include the logo in your post, note 7 things about yourself and pass the award to 7 other bloggers.

Thank You Meara from My Home Is With You. I wasn’t even in the know about this wonderful woman. The obstacles she’s had to endure in the last couple of months would break anyone and she’s had to do it while caring for her two small kids. She really is an inspiration to all of us and I wish her and her family many years of happiness and joy. Even thought I didn’t know about her before I am so glad that she found me and I look forward to reading her blog for a long time. Thank you again Meara.

7 Interesting, fun, insignificant things about me:

1. I love reading about celebrities. I’m a totally celebrity junky and probably know about their lives a lot more than I should

2. I love doing people’s hair even thought I never wanted to be a hairstylist.

3. As a kid and even now I can honestly say my career choice is to be a lawyer. I’m not one but that is the only thing that I would want to go to college for

4. I hate science. No matter how hard I try to understand the whole thing it just doesn’t seep in. I barely passed all my science classes in high school

5. I met my husband in Europe and brought him here to America.

6. I have a unique (read: to me ugly) name and vowed to never give my kids weird names that would be hard for them here in America. I’ve succeeded with my second kid but my older boy has already asked to have his name changed cause people have a hard time pronouncing it. Seriously how hard can it be to pronounce a 5 letter word even if it did have any xyz in it (BTW it doesn’t)

7. I have a crazy obsession with Chap Stick. Like I will not go anywhere if I don’t have it and if it happens that one is not within my hand reach I go into full blown panic attack. Its so bad that even my husband makes sure that there is plenty of Chap Stick supply in our home

Here is the part where I nominated 7 awesome bloggers. Here’s the problem. I haven’t had a chance to explore many new bloggers lately and all the ones that I do read have already been nominated like 100 times and I’m sure they would kill me if I put their name down. Don’t misunderstand. We are all grateful and love the attention of getting these awards but a person has only so many 7 random facts to come up with. So here’s what I propose; if you’re reading this post and you have a blog and you have 7 more random, significant, insignificant, interesting, boring things that you would like to share with us…..YOU WIN, I’M AWARDING YOU THE SISTERHOOD OF THE WORLD BLOGGERS! Also let me know that you’ve done a post because I would love to meet some new bloggers or read more things about the bloggers I already know.

My Second Award:

The Liebster Award

Here are the Rules:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

11 Random, boring, useless facts about me:

* The job that I have now is the longest held job ever (over 5 years). I’ve always been employed more or less but between traveling to Europe for a couple of years when the hubs and I first started dating & having a child and staying home with him I pretty much jumped from job to job for some years

* For many many reason I no longer speak with my mom (maybe a post one day). This does break my heart and it’s the hardest thing I ever had to do

* I am really great with directions. I can go somewhere once and know how to get there next time without directions. However I work in Downtown Manhattan and I cannot for the life of me go anywhere around here. I get lost all the time.

* I’m a very picky eater which should mean I’m skinny but I’m not

* My kids who are 7 & 4 have only been to McDonald’s a handful of times. Never to Burger King or Wendy’s. My dream is to say my kids who are 20 & 17 have only been to McDonald’s less than 10 times and they hate their food

* Even thought I’ve lived in NY for more than 20 years if I had an opportunity to move to another state I would do it today

* I hate hate the winter

* I still have 95% of all my teeth. Considering that both of my parents and grandparents lost their teeth before they were 30 I’m doing really good

* I once tried Shrimp Chips (yes it’s exactly what it sounds like, it’s an Asian thing)….it was the most disgusting thing I ever ever tried

* Even thought I’m as white as it gets (pale skin, blue eyes, light hair) I’m confused for being Colombian all the time simply because I have full lips

* My tickets for the FUN. concert have finally arrived (I had to throw that bit in)

11 Questions I have to answer:

1. What is your most frustrating moment in the morning?

Waking up late and not having time for coffee on top of which my kids are all over me when all I’m trying to do is get ready and go to work. My husband has to take care of their needs Monday-Friday mornings.  

2. What is the most embarrassing thing your child/children said when they were young.

I don’t get embarrassed easily. The only thing I could think that would maybe embarrass me is I was in the supermarket with my little boy and he was sitting in the cart. I turned around to get something from a shelf and he yells “mom, mom here” so without looking I ask “what?” and he yells “bugger, I took it out and I don’t know what to do with it”?

3. What is the grossest thing you have found in the laundry from your little ones/husband?

Nothing yet, this is because my kids/hubs throw their clothes all over the house most of the time and I put it in the laundry basket.

4. What is the best job you have ever had?

Staying at home with my first son for the first 2 years. I so wish I had this with my second boy.

5. What is the worst job you ever had?

I worked in a sweat shop factory when I was very young (yes in America). I’ll never forget the smell of the people or their food. I know it’s not their fault but OMG it’s a smell that stays with you for life.

6. Least favorite thing you have to do daily?

Wash dishes…I HATE DOING DISHES

7. How many minutes to get for your shower?

I’ve reached a point where I take as long as I want. This however means that I have to turn off my shower at least 3 times and say “yes honey” (listen to what they say) and than say “ok, I’m taking a shower now can you tell your dad”.

8. What is your favorite comfort food?

I love potatoes. Send me on an island with only potatoes to eat and I’ll be happy.

9. What is the nicest compliment your better half has ever said to you?

I asked him once why he chose me to marry and he said I was the first girl that said no to him. He liked that I had a mind of my own and had my own opinions.

10. Why did you start blogging?

To become famous….NO. Mainly because I read a couple of bloggers and thought hey I got stuff to say and maybe just maybe someone would be interested in reading it.

11. What do you like most about a man?

Really?? Ummm let’s see….there’s a reason why I prefer a man over a woman

11 of my questions:

1. If you could go back in time would you still marry the person you are with now?

2. How do you feel about Overachieving Mom’s?

3. What does your husband do that pisses you off the most?

4. If money, patience and childcare were no object how many kids would you have?

5. Who is your favorite blogger (less than 200 followers)?

6. If you could switch lives with anyone (famous or not) who would it be and why?

7. What type of doctor do you hate going to the most?

8. When you were little what was your dream job?

9. What is your greatest fear about your kids?

10. What is the one thing in your life you cannot live without?

11. What is a secret thing you do that only certain people know?

Same rules apply as above about nominating bloggers for this award.