Ready to Go!

Halloween is tomorrow and I'm ready! We went yesterday and finished up Alyssa's "Cinderella" costume and today, I went to her school and helped the director with the candy and goodies for tomorrow's "Treats on the Street". I got to help sort out and then deliver the treats to the local businesses they'll be going to. It was a lot of fun to do, and I know that it's for a good cause, because the kids will LOVE it!

So, after that, we'll go to dance class. Then, we'll do the Halloween thing tomorrow night. I don't know if we'll go trick-or-treating or if we'll hit a fall festival or something. I can't make up my mind, but either way, we'll do something fun for Alyssa!

Neglected

I've neglected my blog for the last couple of days. I'm still tired from tending to a sick kid (who seems to be on the mend, finally), getting her ready for school, getting myself ready every morning, feeding her, feeding the dog, taking the dog out, taking her to school, etc. ALL by myself! I've decided I might try to father the next one, because apparently, when you're the father, your sole responsibility is paying the bills, and you even get to complain about how you get no help with that! Sounds like the life to me!

So, I'm going to have to work on keeping my blog updated better. I've already gotten a lot of my "chores" out of the way...now all I have to do is straighten up my house, go pick up my kid, take her to the costume store, go to the grocery store, MAYBE the bank, carve a pumpkin, do some laundry, give my child a bath, wash her hair, feed her, and put her in bed. And, those are just the things I have PLANNED....every mother knows that there's ALWAYS something that just "comes up". *sigh* I wish I were still in the bed, too!

My Husband

I copied this from Loretta because I LUVS her! :) It's all about my husband!

Lots of questions about you and your hubby.

What is his name?
Gregory Shane Williamson

How long have you been together?
almost 7 years (next month)


How long did you date?
about a year and a half

How old is he?
36 (I like 'em OLD!!)

Who eats more?
Definitely him!

Who said I love you first?
I honestly don't remember!

Who is taller?
He is, but not by much

Who sings better?
Definitely me!

Who is smarter?
Hard to say....we both have our areas of expertise

Whose temper is worse?
Again, it depends....it's easier to set me off, but he tends to be louder and scarier ;)

Who does the laundry?
We both do...I do mine and our daughter's and he does his....we kinda take turns doing towels


Who does the dishes?
whoever decides to first

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
usually him, when we sleep together (he snores!)


Who pays the bills?
He does....I help when necessary and possible, but he does it for the most part

Who mows the lawn?
Bayou Boys...but he pays them!

Who cooks dinner?
Whoever takes a notion

Who drives when you are together?
It just depends....sometimes I do, sometimes he does

Who is more stubborn?
we both are....we're tauruses and butt heads on a regular basis!

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Hmmmm....neither of us likes to do that, but I'd have to say I probably do it more than him (but that doesn't happen often, either, because I'm seldom wrong!) LOL!


Whose parents do you see the most?
My parents are dead, so we definitely see his mom more

Who kissed who first?
we were both "there", but he's the one who asked if he could kiss me (yes, he ASKED! Sweet, huh?)

Who asked who out?
I don't remember

Who proposed?
Alyssa....or should I say, the EPT with the pink line?


Who is more sensitive?
We both have our moments....I'm more emotionally sensitive, but he gets his feelings hurt easier, if that makes sense

Who has more friends?
He does...I keep moving too far away from mine!

Who has more siblings?
We have the same number of "real" siblings, but I think he has a couple of half-brothers out there somewhere

Who wears the pants in the family?
I'd like to say I did, so I wouldn't sound like a "yes sir" kind of a girl, but that wouldn't necessarily be true. At the same time, I don't feel like I'm "bossed around" all that much, so maybe we both do.

The Day's Events

Today was Alyssa's first time to go to school in almost a week. Technically, she didn't even go TO school. We met her class up at the pumpkin patch. It was fun for the kids. They decorated tiny pumpkins (gourds, actually) and played and learned about pumpkins and heard a story. Then they went outside and played for a bit, running around among the pumpkins. After that, we went out to the park for a classmate's birthday party. It was a LOT of outside time and it was COLD outside, so I'm praying that I didn't make a wrong decision in letting her go. She was looking so forward to it that I hated to make her miss it, but I just hope her cough doesn't get worse as a result. So far, so good, but time will tell!

Worry Wart

I'll admit it. I'm almost psychotic when it comes to my daughter. I'm sure she thinks I'm a nut. Any time she acts a little "off", I'm constantly asking her, "how do you feel?", "Does your tummy hurt?", "Does your throat hurt?", etc. I just can't help it. I'm obsessed with my child's health and it worries ME. Earlier she was complaining with a sore throat and then she went to sleep, which is odd for her. Now, she's awake and she's playing and she doesn't feel warm and she says her throat isn't hurting, but I don't know. I just hate not knowing what's going on in my child's mind and/or her body. This "mother" thing is hard!!

I'm A Bad Mom

I'm a terrible mommy. I make my child take her school clothes off when she gets home. I make her wash her hands before she eats and after she uses the potty and after she plays with the dog. I make her go to bed at 8:00 and I make her eat vegetables. I make her say "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" and "I'm sorry". I make her take small bites of her food and chew them up well before she swallows. I make her take a bath and wash her hair on a regular basis. When she's sick, I make her take medicine and rest. I make her come inside when it's dark and I make her wear bug spray when she's outside. I'm a mean, bad, horrible mommy and one day she'll thank me for it, especially when SHE becomes a "mean, bad, horrible" mommy herself!

I Wish I Had Known

Someone should have informed me that a puppy was going to be a pain in my backside! She whines, she poops EVERYWHERE (except outside, where she's SUPPOSED to go), she smells, she eats things she shouldn't eat....she is getting on my NERVES!!!! In my "patient" moments, I can handle it, but I'm, by nature, not a patient person and this dog works my nerves! It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't the ONLY person who could fool with her. It's not that my husband hasn't tried, but she refuses to potty outside for him. I'm not sure why that is, but she won't do it. She'll only potty for me. Go figure! So, I'm the one who has to go outside in the freezing cold or awful heat (whichever we're having that day) and wait for the dog to pee...or whatever. UGH!! I didn't want to regret the decision to get Alyssa a dog for her birthday, but I'm really starting to!

Weekend To-Do

I have several things to do this weekend. I don't feel all that great, so I don't know if I'll get them all accomplished or not, but I'm going to try.

1. LAUNDRY--I've already started on this, but I have SO much more to do!

2. work on stitching--been doing this, but I have to do more

3. take a picture of Piper--Alyssa needs one for school on Monday

4. clean my bedroom--it's a huge mess!!

5. clean Alyssa's bedroom--had this done, but try to convince a 5 year old to leave it clean!


That's all I can THINK of, at the moment, but I'm sure stuff will come up.

A Step

Most of you are going to laugh and think "what the heck?" when I say this, but I've taken, what I see as, a major step in my eating disorder recovery. It was a simple step, but a major step. I chewed a piece of gum for the first time in almost 3 years! Seems simple, but I haven't had any, mostly for fear that the peppermint would aggravate my acid reflux. But, I survived, as I was pretty sure I would. It's just GUM, after all. It's not like you technically "eat" it!

I've got to do something to help myself. I will die if I continue this way. I'm losing weight again and, for most that would be a great thing. But, for me, it's scary because I KNOW that I'm not getting the nutrition or sustenance that I need for survival. If I drop too much weight, I'm going to look as bad as I did 3 years ago, which was rather frightening!

Aftermath

Okay, I know this is like beating a dead horse, but I can't express how glad I am that this birthday and birthday party are OVER!!!! I love my daughter more than anything in my life, but this past few weeks have been incredibly tiring for me. I, singlehandedly, made 30 invitations, 20 goody bags, 24 cupcakes, 3 2-layer cakes, wrapped several gifts and bought a puppy! I'm TIRED!!!! But, the funny thing is, I would do it all over again. I didn't hate it. I loved seeing the look on my child's face and having her be the center of attention. As weird as it sounds, I almost wish that kids had 2 birthdays a year...not necessarily to AGE, because I don't want THAT to go any faster, but I enjoyed celebrating her existence, and I would love to get to do that more than once a year.

Yucky

I haven't been feeling all that great today. I'm having one of those days where, according to the numbers, I'm not running a fever, but I FEEL like I could be, know what I mean? I've taken my temp and it's actually below normal, so there's no chance that I'm actually sick, which is great, because who wants to be sick. But, I still feel lousy. I'm sure this has something to do with the fact that I'm exhausted. I ran myself ragged getting ready for Alyssa's party and now I have a puppy to contend with. I just haven't gotten the sleep I need to be getting. And, Alyssa has had 4 days of school this week, instead of her usual three, so I'm having to get up early an extra day. Of course, I have to get up early anyway, because I have to take the puppy out, but whatever. And, naturally, my "visitor" has been here this week, and that isn't helping the situation. But, hopefully I'll feel better next week.

It's Going

We've had our puppy for 4 days and house training is going...and that's about all I can say. She'll "tinkle" outside some, but has yet to do "the other" out there. She's such a sweet puppy and I know I'll really enjoy her company once she becomes more like company and less like another job! I'm tired of cleaning up poop and other excrements off my floor!

Greg and I gave her a bath tonight and she looks and smells SO much better. I just need to get another bow for her hair because the rubber band broke on hers. She looks so pretty with her bow! I have to take a picture of her tomorrow and get it developed for Alyssa's pet day at school on Monday. I'm so glad she has a pet to take.

Today

I've had a busy day today already and it's only 10:00! I had to get up at 7:00, take the dog outside and then mop the laundry room floor where she'd already pottied and clean out her crate, etc. I took Alyssa to school, then went to Wal-Mart to grab some dog shampoo, Febreeze, a pumpkin for Alyssa's school and things like that. While I was there, I also grabbed some Thank You notes for her to give to all the kids who came to her party this weekend. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to mail them out or just put them in the kids' mailboxes at school. I don't guess it matters, just as long as they get them. Now, I'm going to give Piper a bath and start writing the notes. I'm going to write them and have Alyssa sign her own name. I thought that would be adorable and thoughtful!

Just In Time

I took Alyssa to school today and she was excitedly telling her teacher about her new puppy and her teacher told me that she got that "just in time". They're about to have a special pet week at school, where all the kids are going to bring pictures of their pets and tell about them. She said they were talking about it last week and Alyssa got very sad because she was the only kid in her class who didn't have a pet! And, now she does and I'm happy for her! I had no idea that she was the only one and that they were doing "pet week". Now I'M glad she has one, too! Granted, I'm tired from having to clean up after her and take her outside when she's not even trying to potty outside, but for my daughter's sake, I'm glad she's here. And, now, I must go give said dog a BATH because she REEKS!!

Why Do I Bother?

I've been all excited for several weeks now, thinking that SOMEONE was going to come to represent my family at Alyssa's birthday party. No one from my family EVER comes. So this year, my sister was speaking positively and so were my grandparents. Then, my sister declined, due to the air conditioner in her car being out and it being a 4 hour drive from there to here (can't blame her for that one). It was okay anyway, because my grandparents were still coming. Then, today, I talked to my grandpa and he said that they weren't going to be able to come either. So, once again, there will be NO ONE from my family there. UGH!! It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't counting on someone coming. I guess that's what happens when I look too forward to something. The show must go on, I suppose. It's times like these when I REALLY wish I had parents. I don't understand why God took my daughter's grandparents LONG before her birth, and then makes it so that none of the rest of them can come to her parties, either. I don't get it! Oh well.

Thursday's To-Do List

Everything I'm doing nowadays is in preparation for Alyssa's party this weekend. I'm trying to do things bit by bit because if I don't, I'll go insane!! So, here's what I have to do tomorrow:

1. Bake 3 2-layer cakes

2. Make a fondant rainbow (or three)

3. clean my living room, kitchen, and bathroom

4. wrap Alyssa's gifts from grandparents

I hope I can get that done.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa

Today was my baby's 5th birthday. We woke her up and had a couple of gifts, some flowers, and a donut with a candle in it. Her gifts were a Barbie in The Island Princess DVD and a Cabbage Patch Kid. Granted, she already HAS two Cabbage Patch Kids, but this one was one I searched for for about 2 years. It has her birthday!

Then we had the Celebration of Life at her school. That was sweet. The teacher lit a candle in the middle of the carpet, symbolizing the sun. I had written a story about Alyssa's life and brought some pictures, as I was instructed. So, while the teacher read the story, Alyssa would pass around her pictures and then the teacher would give her a globe each time she finished a year in the story and Alyssa would walk around the candle, "circling the sun". It was really adorable. And, we had cupcakes after that.

Now, I'm just preparing for the party. We're having it at Excalibur on Saturday and, so far, I've had 14 kids confirm that they could come and there are still 4 or 5 I haven't heard from. I'm thinking this will be a successful party and I'm pumped up about it.