Three Little Kittens

I've practiced being the "crazy old cat lady" today. We have a cat and her kittens living in our backyard and I'm in love! I invited them in briefly today to play with my daughter and stepson. There are two girls and a boy. The boy and one of the girls are almost identical. The only difference, really, is the color of their eyes. He has green eyes and she has blue eyes. The other girl is black and white striped. Anyway, the point is, I named the black and white one Delilah. The other girl is Skylah, because her eyes are blue, like the sky, and her brother is Fugly, because he's just really not as pretty as the other two. I'd love to keep Delilah, but on the other hand, I'm badly wanting a puppy and I know that my husband wouldn't go for having TWO animals!

My Monday To-Do

I've already missed the number one thing on my list. I was planning to go to Alyssa's school and pay her tuition and fees, but I didn't wake up until 10 minutes before I was supposed to be there. I talked to her teacher yesterday, and I got the impression that she'd rather me wait until Wednesday anyway, so I figure that's what I'll do. So, with that in mind, here's my "to-do" list for today. I always forget to post later and tell how much of it I got done, but I'll try my best to remember tonight.

1. Work more on Alyssa's flower pot and bird feeder
2. Go to post office and mail some things
3. MORE LAUNDRY--it never ends!!!!
4. Go to Hobby Lobby and buy some dark yellow paint
5. Work more on Christmas stocking

That's all I can think of for today.

Things I Need To Do

Here is my list of things I need to accomplish today. I don't know that I'll get them all done, cause I feel like a mess, but I intend to try!

1. LAUNDRY....lots and lots of laundry!!
2. Change my sheets (technically goes under "laundry", but whatever.
3. Clean my room...it's a MESS!!
4. Go to the post office and mail stuff that I've had forever.
5. Start painting Alyssa's flower pot.
6. Glue letters on Ethan's plaque.
7. Give Alyssa a bath....that shouldn't have to be on the list, but I can't ever remember until bedtime.

So, there you have it. I'll post later tonight to let you know how I did! :)

Hysterical Mommy Story

Okay...just a little setup here. For those who don't know (and I can't imagine who wouldn't since her picture is all over my profile), I have a 4 year old daughter, Alyssa. Well, I have a habit of giving her all the junk mail we recieve, all the stuff addressed to "resident", etc. because she LOVES to get "mail". So, I got out of the shower a few minutes ago and found her sitting on the loveseat, with huge tears running down her cheeks. It appeared she had been crying for awhile. So, I said, "What's wrong, baby?" and she grabbed her piece of "resident" mail I had given her and said, "I got a letter from the cops". So, I looked, and, sure enough, it was an ad for the Crime Stoppers of Ouachita! It had a picture of handcuffs and such as that. She was scared silly that they were coming to put her in jail because she was bad to her Mommy and Daddy! Poor thing!! I tried really hard not to laugh as I explained to her what the "letter" was really about. Luckily, I think she feels better now!

LONG Weekend

I had a long, but great weekend. We left Friday afternoon and spent the night in Madison with my husband's friend. Then we left Saturday morning to go to a cookout reunion for my first high school that I attended from 7th-11th grade. It lasted from 11:00 until 1:00 and I got to see a ton of great people. Then, I was supposed to go to my grandparents' house in Carthage, drop Alyssa off and go to Philadelphia to the reunion for the high school that I went to my senior year and graduated from. But, at the last minute, I decided that I wanted to go to the one for the same high school that had the cookout, because I didn't figure there would be too many people at the other one that I cared to see. There was only one person that I liked going, as far as I knew at the time (turns out there were a few more that showed up, but whatever). So, we went to Carthage and my daughter spent the night with my grandparents and we went back to Meridian to the country club. We had a good time. I loved reuniting with my old friends and I think Greg even enjoyed himself, once he realized they had beer there! It was great to see everyone that I hadn't seen in 10 or 11 years. I wish I could have been at both, but there was only one of me! :)

Reunion Preparations

I'm almost ready. My high school reunions (yes, that's plural) are this weekend and I'm just about ready to go. I went today and had my nails done and my eyebrows waxed. My beautician friend, Kelly, is coming over tonight to retouch my highlights for me. A lot of people would wonder why I'm bothering, and I can tell you exactly why. In high school, I was fat and I was incredibly unattractive. Seriously. The kids would "moo" at me when I was standing at my locker! It was bad. NOW, at the age of 28, I wear a size 10 (and on a girl who's 5'8", that's not too shabby) and I feel like I look a LOT better than I did then. So, I'm excited about showing it! If I see ONE jaw drop, it will be well worth it!

Plans for Today

I honestly have none. We checked the weather and the heat index for today is 110 degrees. So, I'm planning on staying inside as much as possible! I have no desire to be out in the heat. I hesitate to say that I'll be glad when it gets to be winter, because I don't like to be cold, either, but something in between is good! I like it when I can wear jeans and a short sleeved shirt. That's my most favorite kind of weather. I have a class reunion this weekend and the cookout part is outside. I seriously hope we don't fry! The forecast is saying it's only going to be 93 degrees on Sunday, which, to us, is going to feel like we're in the middle of a cold snap!

Rough Day

You know your day is going to be wonderful when your 4 year old "can't sleep" until 2:00am and then you wake up at 5:30 to the sound of gagging and throwing up. It's great! The good news is, the culprit was sinus drainage and not a virus or something icky like that. Now, if I can just get the drainage dried up for her soon, we'll be alright.

On top of that, I received a letter in the mail today from the University of Texas at Austin saying that I have a $25 parking citation. I've never, in my life, been to Austin and I don't drive a gray Honda! So, I've been on the phone trying to straighten that out and haven't really gotten much closer to getting it done. When it rains, it pours!!

I Don't Get It

I was reading an article on Yahoo about the punishments given to parents who accidentally leave their children to die in hot cars. I just don't understand. How can a sane parent get so distracted that they forget that their child is in the backseat of their car??? That makes no sense to me. I'm probably one of the most forgetful people in the world and, yet, when I get out of a car, I never space out so far that my daughter slips my mind. Even IF (and that's a big IF) I forgot to get her out of the car, would it not occur to me that my house was oddly quiet before she had time to die in the car??? I'm not sure I can show any sympathy to these parents. I'd better get my flame-retardant suit on, but I'm not sure that a parent who loves their kids can just "forget" to get them out of the car. I mean, I'm not "mother-of-the-year" material, but there are very few moments of my life when my daughter isn't the foremost thing on my brain and to think of "accidentally" forgetting about her and leaving her in a sweltering hot car for 7 hours or longer to die is just insane!

Plans for Today

I wish I could say that I had some. It's already 1:00 and I haven't even gotten dressed. Starting next week, we're going to alter our schedules. Alyssa and I are, anyway. There's not much I can do with hubby--he's a grown man. But, Alyssa and I are going to start going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. She's had Bible school this week in the evenings, so she hasn't gotten home until 8:15 or so and I hate to put her in bed at 8:30 because that only gives her 15 minutes to eat a little bit of supper and play with Daddy, so I've been letting her stay up until 9:30. But that has to stop. She's going to be starting school in roughly a month and we'll have to BE THERE at 8:30, which is LONG before we're used to even waking up! So, she's going to start going to bed between 8:00 and 8:30 and I'm going to have to get in bed before 2:00am, myself!

One Word Only

This time it was Retta who got me. The good news is, as I've said before, I love these things!! So, here we go...answers must be in ONE WORD!

1. Where is your cell phone? floor

2. Relationship? stressful

3. Your hair? up

4. Work? constantly

5. Your sister? bed?

6. Your favorite thing? daughter

7. Your dream last night? forgotten

8. Your favorite drink? kool-aid

9. Your dream car? SUV

10. The room you’re in? living

11. Your shoes? off

12. Your fears? barf

13. What do you want to be in 10 years? happy

14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Alyssa

15. What are you not good at? patience

16. Muffin? pass

17. One of your wish list items? camera

18. Where you grew up? Mississippi

19. Last thing you did? type

20. What are you wearing? clothes

21. What aren’t you wearing? pants

22. Your pet? gone

23. Your computer? overused

24. Your life? overwhelming

25. Your mood? bored

26. Missing? parents

27. What are you thinking about right now? entertainment

28. Your car? filthy

29. Your kitchen? cluttered

30. Your summer? hot

31. Your favorite color? pink

32. Last time you laughed? earlier

33. Last time you cried? Wednesday

34. School? hoping

35. Love? Alyssa

Who to tag??? Um....I think I'll get Karen, Melissa, and Sindy. Have fun!!

Trip Home

I love going to Mississippi! I've been missing the heck out of it ever since we moved away in late 2003. Since then, I've been in Texas, gotten sick, lost my mind, moved to Louisiana, blah blah blah. I did, however, have an epiphany. I've been BEGGING Greg to move us back home and I just wonder if it's because I think I'll genuinely be happy there or because I'm hanging on to memories of a time in my life that I'll never be able to relive. I was SO happy in 2000-2003. I'm not sure I realized HOW happy, until it got to be 2007 and I realized that I'm sick and insane. Everything great happened to me between those years. I moved into my own apartment, got my first full time job, bought a brand new sports car, made great friends, went out clubbing, met Greg, got pregnant, got married, moved into a house, had the most beautiful baby girl EVER, and had my life together. I knew who I was.

So, here I am now...2007. I'm in Louisiana, which, in itself, isn't a TERRIBLE thing. But it's not "home", either. I have an "eating disorder" of some sort and haven't had a meal since 2004. I feel like I've lost control of my life. I no longer know who I am or what makes me happy. I haven't been genuinely "happy" in a long time and there's no one to blame for that. For awhile, I tried to blame it on my husband. But, it's not his fault. He's a great husband and father and I'd be lost without him. Then, I tried to blame it on my daughter, indirectly. But, as difficult as being a mom is and as much as I didn't expect and thought I didn't want it, I've come to realize that she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I didn't realize what I was made of until she screamed her way into my life! I've tried to blame it on Texas, but moving there was only part of the problem. It definitely contributed, but the issue is ultimately mine. I've been through so much in my 28 years, and I know that there are people who have been through more and I have nothing but respect for them. But, everyone has a different breaking point and I hit mine in 2004, when I moved away from the majority of my support system. No one's fault, but it's MY job to get myself out. So, those of you who have a belief in the Big Man Upstairs, please say a prayer for me!

What the Heck?!?!?!?!

I'm having a hard time wrapping my finger around the deaths of WWE wrestler, Chris Benoit, and his family. When I first heard the news from my husband on Monday night, I was stunned and saddened. Then, when I woke up Tuesday and read that it was an apparent murder-suicide and that Chris was responsible, I was flabbergasted! I remember watching him on Raw and other wrestling shows when Greg and I first started dating, but I'm not going to pretend to have known him in-depth, through interviews or anything else. But, it still shocks me that a parent would kill their child. I'm not "mother of the year" material by any means. I don't always play dolls when I should and my child sometimes goes to bed without a bath and every now and then I forget to make her brush her teeth. She even eats fast food when Mommy is too lazy to cook. But I would NEVER, EVER, EVER do anything to cause her physical harm, much less death! What goes through a parent's mind as they're smothering their child???? I feel for the little boy....I feel for his mother....but most of all, I feel for Chris Benoit, because you've GOT to be one messed up SOB to take the life of your own son and I'm enough of a God-fearing girl to believe that it's something HE'LL be paying for in his afterlife!

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday is "10 Favorite Bands of All Time". This one was super easy for me because I'm a music fanatic! In fact, the hardest part this week will be narrowing it down to ONLY 10! So, in totally RANDOM order, here they are:

1. Bon Jovi--Jon is SO hot for his age!

2. Motley Crue--I also have a "thing" for Vince Neil and Tommy Lee

3. The Monkees--my mother introduced me to them when I was a kid...they were her favorite growing up.

4. Guns N Roses--can you tell I'm a fan of the 80's "hair bands"?

5. Poison--is it my imagination, or is Brett Michaels STILL hot?

6. 3 Doors Down--Mississippi boys! I worked with the lead singer's brother in law...he was my boss, actually!

7. Daughtry--one of my favorite NEW bands

8. Lynyrd Skynyrd--not sure if I spelled that right, to be honest, but they are the quintessential southern rock band!

9. Red Hot Chili Peppers--love me some Flea!

10. Hinder--another one of my favorite new bands

There you have it! There are SO many more that didn't make the list!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about REBECCA 13 Ways I Can Tell I Am A Mother: 1. I've learned all the words of all the Nick Jr. cartoon theme songs, not so much because I was trying to, but more because of constant repetition. 2. There is at least one toy in EVERY room of my house. 3. There is at least one picture of a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed girl in EVERY room of my house. 4. My daughter hands me a grass weed out of the yard, proudly proclaiming that it's a beautiful flower, and I actually see it no differently. 5. I have twelve dozen of the beforementioned weeds in "vases" around my house. 6. I have sucked up at least a million rocks in my vacuum. 7. Someone can hand me $500 and the first thing I think of is "what does my daughter need/want?" 8. I would honestly rather spend time with my daughter than do anything else in the world. 9. I gave up my awesome red sports car and opted for a 4-door Camry. 10. I've made it my business to collect ALL the Disney movies on DVD. 11. Nothing makes my heart jump more than to hear her say "I love you, Mommy, and you're my best friend in the world." 12. Nothing saddens me more than to know that one day that will change. 13. There's not a night that goes by that I don't say a prayer, thanking God for my miracle and asking Him to help keep her healthy and safe and help me be the best mom I can be.

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All Grown Up

I took Alyssa to her first dance class today. My little angel is getting SO big! I really like her dance studio, though. They have a big lobby with TVs in two corners hooked to a camera in the studio so the parents can watch their children in class. So I got to witness my daughter's first experience with ballet, tumbling, and tap. She did SOOOO good!! Mommy is proud!

My Upcoming Week

Now starts the beginning of my busy summer! I have to be up at 7am every day this week to get Alyssa ready to go to Bible School. Then, Tuesday evening at 5pm, she'll have dance class, which we're really excited about. Then, on Friday, we'll have her final program at Bible School. And, somewhere in the middle, I have to get her bedroom set ordered, find my wedding rings she lost, do laundry, go grocery shopping, call the landlord about the water spot on the ceiling in Alyssa's room, etc. Believe it or not, though, I LOVE being busy! It beats being bored.

Holiday Weekend

I actually sorta forgot this WAS a holiday weekend, to be honest. Memorial Day isn't a holiday that I get into, really. By the time Memorial Day comes around, the kids around here are already out of school (unfortunately), and almost all the stores are open, so it just seems like another day to me. We did, however, have an "event" or two in our household this weekend. For starters, I got my karaoke machine I've been wanting FOREVER (did I mention that already?). Then, today, we went truck shopping for Greg. We wound up in Ruston and he found a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 that he liked, so we are a two vehicle family once again! YAY!!

Now, if I can just get through the rest of this week, next week will be AWESOME!! Alyssa goes to Bible School from 8-12 everyday next week, so I'll have four, count 'em, FOUR glorious child-free hours every day next week!! Exciting!! I just hope nothing spoils it this year. Last year, I looked forward to it for weeks and I wound up getting sick that week with the most horrible cold I'd ever had! So, I couldn't even enjoy my child-free hours because I was too sick. I'm crossing my fingers that this year is better!

Bless Her Heart

I love my daughter with all my heart, but she is getting on my nerves SOOOO bad today!! Every time I turn around, she's right there, wanting to "help" with whatever I'm doing. Unfortunately, her "helping" translates into "standing in Mommy's way so she can't get past me to actually DO what it is that she's trying to do". And, she has NOT shut up! She just jibbers...constantly! I know it's just ME...I'm just having one of my short fuse days, poor thing. But, I will be so glad when it's her bedtime!!

Ten Sad Songs

Today's Ten on Tuesday is "Ten Songs That Make You Sad". So, here are mine:

1. Tears in Heaven--Eric Clapton. This is such a sad song on SO many levels. And, the fact that it was written about his own little boy that he lost so young makes it all the more depressing.

2. Turn the Page--Bob Segar. This ordinarily wouldn't be a sad song, but it was my dad's favorite song and a friend of his played the guitar and sang it at my daddy's funeral back in 1995. So, it reminds me of my dad.

3. Knockin' On Heaven's Door--Guns N Roses. I realize this is a cover of an Eric Clapton song, but I honestly prefer the GNR version. It's another one that was played in memory of my dad, so it's sad to me.

4. Butterfly Kisses--Bob Carlisle. I cry everytime I hear this one. I can't believe how quickly my baby girl is growing up!!!

5. Streets of Heaven--Sherrie Austin. This one came out as my grandma was diagnosed with cancer and I had a baby daughter (who actually WAS still a baby!). I just couldn't imagine losing my grandma (which I didn't, for the record) and it was even more sad to think of something like that happening to my little girl.

6. Alyssa Lies--Jason Michael Carroll. I think this song would be sad, regardless, but when you actually HAVE a daughter named Alyssa, it makes it even more difficult to listen to the line that says "Alyssa lies with Jesus because there's nothing anyone would do". Not that I have to worry about MY Alyssa being a fatality of child abuse, but it's sad to think that SOMEONE'S Alyssa might be!

7. Please Remember Me--Tim McGraw. I heard this song in 1998, shortly after a person I was very close to was taken to the hospital after a ruptured brain aneurysm and they didn't expect him to make it through the night. For the record, he DID make it through that night and will be celebrating his 30th birthday this Sunday.

8. Baby Mine--Dumbo Soundtrack. Okay, don't laugh! That part of the movie was always sad to me, but then, it became "our song" when I brought my daughter home from the hospital and would sing it to her when she was just mere days old. So, it's kinda sad and bittersweet to me now that she's four. When I hear it or sing it to her, I think about the little bitty bundle of human I was singing it to back in October, 2002.

9. Amazing Grace. Yes, the hymn. My mother sang this song a capella a few months before she passed away. The music minister then insisted that it be on the hymn list for her memorial service after her death. It was the first time I ever saw my daddy cry.

10. Untitled--Simple Plan. My best friend swears up and down that this is about a person who is dying after a car accident, but after listening to the words, I'm convinced that it's a drug overdose he's dying of. Either way, it's a sad song because we've ALL made mistakes that we'll probably regret as we're dying (if we don't already).

So, there you have it!! See ya next week! :)