Wordless Thursday

Typically I do my wordless posts on Wednesdays, but I blogged about my doggie yesterday, so here it is!

She's getting the hang of it

Some of you may know that we enlisted the help of a dog trainer for our German Shepard, Star. We've been having some issues with her listening and jumping on people, and since I'm the person that's with her the most, I need her to listen to me. It's like having another child at home. Except that she sleeps a lot more than the kids do! Anyway, I have a very good friend who just had her dog trained by a close friend and they had an awesome experience. And they were very happy with the results.

So I checked out the trainer's website, and thought, well, I need to start somewhere. And of course once I saw him on TV, with my friend's dog, it was a done deal. I knew he might be the help Star needed.

First a little background on Star. We bought her when she was about 3 months old. So she was still a puppy, but crate trained and potty trained already. Which were major pluses for me. I am NOT a dog person. Still not really, but I love my dog and don't know what I would do without her. She's taught me to love and respect dogs and I have even contemplated *gasp* getting another dog. She is very gentle with the kids, and just loves to be around them. Being that Star is a German Shepard her obvious purpose is to be a good guard dog...which she is. She scares anyone who doesn't know her, but really she's just a big old baby.

Back to the point...so our dog Trainer, Tommy, started on Monday. And so far I have honestly seen some amazing results with Star. I have to admit, since I know absolutely nothing about dogs and the training for them, I wasn't sure if a week would be enough for Star. But seriously, she is already more calm, and I have only two times where she's tried to jump on me. Typically, she would try to jump on me about 200 hundred times a day. She seems happier in general which makes me feel good b/c it's definitely something she needed. Star is still playful, but it's nice to see her feel more comfortable and not be so darn excitable around the family all the time. It got to the point where we would sometimes have to put her out in her kennel when family would come over b/c she would just be all over them. And I have some friends and family who aren't used to Star....it's not like she's a lightweight either. She's a big girl, 80 lbs and still thinks she's a lap dog!

Tommy is doing such a fantastic job with her. I'm throughly impressed with all of his credentials. He has trained dogs in the military, among many other things, but that alone is impressive. I can't wait to see how much even better Star is by the end of the week. I am very excited to have an obedient dog that I'm not afraid to leave out when we have company.

Thanks Tommy D!

www.americank9trainingservices.com

A collage of thoughts today

Today is one of those days where I have about a million and one things running thru my mind. I can't think straight, but, the good thing is that my headache is gone. It only lasted 3 days this time around. I'm still debating whether or not to have my dr prescribe me something for the migraines that result in almost week long headaches. I take enough medication as it is, so if I stick to what I have that would be great. I don't need something else to make me any more crazy than I am!

Whenever I attend a wedding I always think back on the day Randy and I got married. It seems so long ago, well, it was. It was 7 very long years ago. I was such a different person then. I was young. I won't give away my true age yet b/c I hate getting older BUT, I was very young. Probably a lot younger than most are when they get married these days. Magellan and I had a perfect wedding day, unlike the other aspects of our life. It had poured rain the day before and day after our wedding. It was beautiful out, and we got to share a very special occasion with all our friends and family. It was a ton of fun, we had a fantastic DJ and the food, though I didn't have much of it, was delicious. I often find myself wondering sometimes, what if I had waited to get married? Would Magellan and I still be together? He's a few years older than me, he always wanted to find that special someone and settle down and start a family, but were we really ready? Had we really overcome our individual issues? I often wonder if Magellan is really my soul mate? Or do I believe in soul mates? Do I even have a soulmate?

It's often so mind boggling to me that the majority of us have one person that we literally spend the rest of our lives with. What makes us choose that person? What makes us love them? Hate them or fight with them? And why do some of us leave or stay? I often wonder what is it about Randy and I that clicked that night 11.5 years ago? What made us fall in love and what makes us continue to love each other every day? And what is it that makes people fall out of love?

How is it that we can love unconditionally? Sometimes before we even meet someone....as in our children. And have it be a totally different love than what we have for anyone else in our life. My kids mean the world to me, as I'm sure every one's kids do. No matter what kind of day I've had, when all is said and done, my heart just bursts with the love I have for CJ and Ella. I remember people talking to me about the love you have for your children but I never understood it until I had them. Whenever I snuggle with CJ, and he wraps his little arms around me, my heart just bursts. When Ella pulls herself up on my leg and says "mama" I want to squeeze her tight. But alas, my last baby does not like to snuggle....just like her mama. But it doesn't change how crazy I am about her!

I've always thought I've been quite emotional. First I thought it was because of my parents divorce, then thinking it was just puberty or all the boyfriends I had who put me thru hell. But, it's just me. I'm a nut when it comes to my feelings. They get hurt easily and I may forgive, but I NEVER FORGET. I shut people out when they walk all over me or are mean to me. I've always been that way, especially with people who I'm very close with. I'll never understand why people intentionally hurt each other.

Maybe in my next life I'll just come back as a leaf.

The "Short" battle

Have I mentioned before that I really despise mornings? I have never been a joyful person in the morning, and unfortunately it was one nasty trait I have passed on to CJ. Thankfully, Ella got Magellan's personality for the mornings...cheerful, happy and excited to start the day.

Today was a day CJ and I BOTH should've just stayed in bed. As a parent though, I don't have that luxury anymore. How I wish I did some days though! I didn't sleep great, and have been nursing a headache since yesterday morning. Woke up this morning to Ella's baby chatter and yep, headache still there. Every so often I have days where a headache lingers, and lingers, and lingers. Nothing really helps it go away. It usually starts out as a migraine and then turns into a tension/stress headache and hangs out for a few days. Not fun at all. Those are the days I'm usually screaming at Magellan around 5p to hurry up and get his ass home. Those are the days I try and put Ella to bed no later than 7p b/c I just can't take the noise and lights. Then I typically crawl under the covers and wait for sleep to take over. Anyway, I still had this headache and was in no mood for crap. Thankfully Magellan had to leave for work around 7am, so CJ and I didn't have to contend with him. He hates our crankiness in the morning and still after all these years doesn't understand to not bother either one of us for at least an hour. I haven't found the right training course for that yet.

8am rolls around and CJ is still sleeping, so I have to wake him or he will be late for school. He was shockingly pleasant when he woke up, and I brought him downstairs to eat his waffle. Soon time came to get dressed and he decided while he played with his Power Rangers, I would grab his clothes and he would get changed in the living room. This is a routine that has yet to be broken as ever since CJ was a baby and went to daycare, I changed him in the living room b/c it was quicker for us to just run out the door so I wouldn't be late for work. After changing Ella and bringing everything downstairs for CJ I informed him he needed to get changed while I gave Ella her Nutrigrain bar. Well, as soon as CJ saw the jeans I picked out for him he started screaming.

"I AM NOT WEARING PANTS!"

And so the "short" battle began.

For some odd reason CJ really thinks he can now wear shorts all year long. Obviously in NY, you can't for the simple reason being that it gets quite cold for about 8 months out of the year. Now the best part about this whole argument is that we could NOT get CJ to wear shorts once it started getting warm out this year b/c he complained he was always cold. Now I can't get him out of the shorts. He would rather freeze and have goosebumps than wear pants.

"It's too cold to wear shorts tody CJ. It's not supposed to get over 60 degrees." As if the child knows what I'm talking about.

For 15 minutes CJ and I argued back and forth about putting his pants on. First he said he would run upstairs and get his shorts, but I locked the baby gate on the stairs and he doesn't know how to open it. Then he threw himself ever so dramatically onto the couch and cried into the pillows. Finally I yelled at him to put his darn pants on and that was final. Well, he wanted his Daddy (as I've pointed out before, Daddy is the sucker in the house), so I punched in Magellan's number on the cell and let CJ cry to him while I got Ella out to the car. By the time I got into my seat in the truck, CJ was wailing about how his pants were ugly, and disgusting and blah, blah, blah. I couldn't help but laugh b/c they were just jeans. But very cute jeans might I add. Not super tight ones, or highwaters, or elastic wastebands ( he had to wear the elastic wasteband ones for a LONG time b/c he's so darn skinny!). They're bootcut, long jeans, so I don't know what the problem was.

We got to his school and I thought he was over his "short" issue. He hung his backpack up and we walked down the hall to the playground, which is where I drop him off before they start class. Low and behold but who was wearing pants outside? Every single one of his classmates and his two teachers. CJ didn't give a rats ass though. His teacher came over to say hi to me and Ella and when she bent down to hug CJ, he immediately crossed his arms over his chest and started pouting.

"My mom won't let me wear shorts today."

And so the "short" battle began with Ms Cindy.

Poor Ms Cindy.

Meet my better half

I've been thinking that it's probably about time that I introduced my "better" half. Some of you know him, while others do not. His name is Magellan, but I usually call him Bubba. His middle name is CJ's first name, as horrific as it is. I still to this day can't imagine why anyone would carry on that name as a tradition but I guess it's some sort of guy thing. Magellan is a great person, inside and out. I can hardly believe we've been together for 11.5 years! Married for 7, but before we got married we sure had our share of ups and downs, but it only made us stronger. When I first met Magellan he was quite the charmer, but pretty rough around the edges. Quite the party boy if I may say so and in need of some desperate TLC....or Training, Love and Coddling. At least he was trainable!

Nah, just kidding. I mean, he's not a dog. I did train him though. It was A LOT of hard work to get him to where he is now!!

Magellan and I get along pretty well and have a lot of similarities. More than I care to admit most days. But, we also have a lot of differences that even us out. Believe it or not, Magellan is quite shy and introverted. Not me. I like being around other people. Don't get me wrong, I certainly love my alone time, but I much prefer to be around others. I giggle, gossip, and make fun of people. Magellan grunts, stews over things and generally doesn't notice others. He's a hard worker (most of the time!), takes great care of his family, and is a fantastic father. He's a sucker for CJ and Ella! He's a diehard Republican, which I can't stand, and is not afraid to voice his opinion to me. 99% of the time we disagree but that's what makes us different. The best part about Magellan is that he's a metro! Now, I think all men have a bit of metrosexualism about them, but Magellan is the poster boy for it. Honest to God!

He may be a few cards short of a full deck, but the boy does have style. It's one thing I've always admired about Magellan. He cares how he looks when we go out, so naturally he always looks nice. I have to admit though, sometimes he takes it a bit too far. More often than not, we're waiting on HIM when we have somewhere to go. I've learned how to get ready in a very short amount of time now that I have two children, but Magellan could care less if he's late for something. I won't go into too much detail about everything he does b/c he would be SOOOO embarrassed but, he would make a perfect woman. Well, only if women didn't have to go thru childbirth b/c he's a wuss when it comes to any type of pain or sickness.

I have never seen a man worry more about their looks than Magellan. It can get annoying sometimes but for the most part it comes with the territory and I've grown used to it. I've learned to lie about what time we need to be somewhere b/c I know how long it takes for him to get ready. He changes his outfit more times than me and spends a shitload of money on clothes. The only clothes he'll wear are from Abercrombie, and now Lucky Brand, thanks to Las Vegas. He's never heard of a "bargain" or "clearance". Those words do not exist in his vocabulary. He gets his hair cut at least two times a month, files his nails and is constantly scrubbing his shoes clean. Anal? NOOOO, not Magellan! He hangs every article of clothing he owns except for socks and underwear so they don't get wrinkled and has a fit if he gets a drop of anything on his shirt or pants. He irons T-Shirts, and is always the first to notice when one of his buddies has a new pair of shoes on.

And how fitting to know that he passed all of these wonderful qualites onto our son, who will ever so lovingly stare at his own reflection in the mirror before school and say to himself, "Looking good CJ!"

Why say anything at all?

Have you ever had a moment when some random stranger stops you in the somewhere and says something and you have to stop and wonder why they even said anything at all? Or do you think the same thing I do? Like, did their mother ever teach them that sometimes it's best to not say anything at all?

I often have moments like this now that I have a little one again. I get a lot of people who stop to comment on how cute or pretty Ella is when she's with me. And of course she's flashing her big, huge grin when they stop to talk to her. The best part is when they notice her earrings and then ask how old she is. I proceed to say she is almost 11 months old and that is when sometimes I get the strange, rather rude comments. I had one little old lady stop me outside the restroom and say, "My she's awfully little to have her ears pierced." And the woman kept right on walking. I actually stopped and looked behind me, like, was she aiming that comment at me? Of course no one was behind me, so yes, the comment was for my benefit. I laughed and thought, thank god she was far enough away to not hear what response I would have had.

Once again, I was in Wegman's with Ella and had a lady literally follow me down the yogurt aisle commenting on Ella's eyes and smile. I finally stopped pushing the cart and she asked what Ella's name was. I said, "It's Ella Dominique." And the woman says to me, "OH! Ella is so common these days. Wow." And just kept right on going. I have to say I was kind of offended by the comment. Who says things like that? And no offense to older people, but, it is always the older people who feel they can say whatever they want whenever they feel like it. Not everyone, but the ones who have those slap you in the face shocking comments. I like the name Ella, and when Randy and I choose it, it was not common. I think I know of one other Ella and we never see her anymore so who cares, right?

I get a lot of people who aren't afraid to ask about Ella's cyst on her head. But a lot of people assume she got it because she either fell or I tossed her around a bit too much. I love to hear them say, "OH MY GOD! Where did she get that bump?" I say, "It's not a bump, it's a cyst. It's something she will have to have removed very shortly. She was born with it" That is usually the end of the conversation b/c they were probably expecting me to say she knocked her head on a table or something.

As you can tell, I like to shock people. Shock value is what keeps me going.

I had a guy from who we have our TV service come and hook up another unit in the garage for my brother in law, since he is now our current tenant. And he stupidly says, "Would you like me to show you how it works?" I laughed. Was this guy serious? Even in my grungy pj's and dirty hair, carrying around a baby, could he possibly have been hitting on me? Some guys just don't care, right? I'm sorry, after laughing I said, "Sir, we have had this service for 5 years and already have 2 units....and to be quite honest, I don't live in the garage so I don't give a shit if my brother knows how to work it or not. Sorry." Once again, a shocked look and he said, "Oh, can you just sign here then?"

I recently had a member of my family come over unannounced and asked me why I felt the need to vacuum my truck. Probably b/c I have two little kids who eat in this car and it just looks gross after 3 years of NOT vacuuming it out. So s/he said, "Well, just leave it there, it's OK." Oh rrrreeeaaallllyyy, well, I don't know about you but I don't like my car looking like it's a small garbage pit. Plus the vacuum helped drown them out so I didn't have to hear the rude comments. But seriously, why bother asking when you're the one who came over without calling first? It's just not worth it.

Sometimes, it's the people closest to you who say the damnest things. My hubby is the perfect example. I'm always wondering how he makes it thru the day sometimes b/c the things he asks are just so darn stupid or mean. Like, we went somewhere and I wanted something sweet to eat and of course he says, "Your ass is big enough." He should know better than to say that, even when other family members are around b/c I'm VERY good at embarrassing him. So I said to his mother AND stepdad, "Magellan said my butts big and I should watch what I eat." Oooohhhh, he got it good for a good few minutes for that. Did it teach him? Of course not. He's a stubborn guido. I asked him to start the water for Ella's bath one day while I put some clothes away, and he turns to me and says,

"Well, what do you do with Ella?"

I said, "What do you mean, what do I do with her?"

He says, "Where do you put her?"

"Well....you can either put her in the bath tub with the water running or sit her on the floor. Are you serious though? This isn't your first kid."

He responds, "Well, I wasn't sure what you did."

Ok, the lightbulb never went off in his head that day b/c who asks things like that. I had to ask him if he did drugs during the work hours and killed off one too many brain cells. But, Randy will be a whole nother topic for a different day. Trust me, I'll have you in tears.

Never Say Never

Well, the title of my post says it all! Never say never...until you have kids anyways. Really, I mean it. I went out on a whim and bought something I swore I would never buy for my kids. Dire situations require desperate measures though. After listening to Ella scream bloody murder for 10.5 months, I bought the perfect accessory any mother should have. No, I'm not talking about a Coach purse, though that is a lovely thought. I bought a dual portable DVD set for my truck. My piece of shit truck, might I add. Since it's not in the budget for me to be getting a new vehicle anytime soon, I HAD to have the DVD set. The next car I eventually get will have one built in, but in the meantime I had to purchase one. I told CJ we were on a mission in Target and we were getting one thing, and one thing only. And if they didn't have it, well, then we would be finding another store that did have one in stock. He of course had NO clue what I was talking about b/c no one in our family has one for their car. Once he realized what it was when we were checking them out in the display case he was happier than a pig in shit. Naturally that meant we had to pick out a movie at Target as well so we could test out the DVD player on the way home. CJ very badly wanted a new Transformer or Pokemon movie, but b/c Miss Ella was with us I had to nix that idea. So, he decided on a Little Einstein movie. I guess it's better than Barney. $200 later, we left the store and I quickly set up the DVD player. Very easy, might I add, and I love the fact that each kid has their own TV strapped to the seat in front of them. Of course that doesn't stop Ella from staring at CJ's for half the car ride! I think it's cute b/c she so badly just wants to be doing whatever he is doing. CJ on the other hand, is not typically in the sharing mood. Anyway, it was the secret medicine to my ongoing pain with Ella. From the day we brought her home from the hospital, she has screamed and wailed bloody murder. I'm always afraid someone is going to think I'm kidnapping her or something b/c it is just ear piercing, window shattering screams. It's quite embarrassing and you think with all the running around that I do that she would really be used to the car by now. I think she just really hates being confined or something. I have tried toys, mirrors, music, different car seats...I mean the list is endless. And NOTHING HAS WORKED with this sassy girl. It was quite funny when I put her in the car to get CJ at school today and she pointed to the DVD player in front of her. Now I just have to get some different movies for the car b/c I'm getting kind of sick of hearing the Little Einstein theme song. I sing it in my sleep!

So CJ had his first day of preschool today. He was so looking forward to it that he got up early, washed his hands, brushed his teeth and dressed himself. All before 7am! He couldn't wait to get there and make some new friends. We got there and he just took off on the playground after saying his to his new teacher. The teacher said I could stick around if I wanted and I'm like, "Lady, when a child runs off like that you should know better than to stick around and wait for the tantrum to start." I left and was hoping to get some rest while Ella took her morning nap. Nope. Not happening. I had slept like absolute shit the last two nights b/c I caught CJ's awesome cold. My nose is so stuffed up and my throat is on fire, which naturally makes it difficult to sleep. By the time Ella fell asleep we only had about 30 Min's before having to go get CJ. Silly me, I then hoped she would take a decent afternoon nap b/c of the lack of sleep in the morning. Yeah right. I should know my daughter better by now, right? She slept for less than an hour which makes for an absolutely miserable baby. I was not happy, so I did some cleaning and laundry. Randy had a meeting so CJ and I made a pizza while Ella screamed b/c the stairs are now gated and she can't have free roam of the house anymore.

Let me just tell you how fearless my baby girl is. I don't know where she gets it. She stands up on her changing table and bounces up and down on it, hanging onto the side railing, shaking the entire table. Then she'll stumble a bit and look at me and laugh. I caught her chewing on her crib the other day too. And as I looked closer I noticed all the bite marks all over the rails. Awesome, eh? She pulls up on everything and anything and can now open all the cupboards and drawers. Luckily I left all the childproof latches on the cupboards so I don't have to worry about that. But it's exhausting just the same. She now thinks the pets dog/water bowls are a great place to hang out. I was just so tired of her chasing this evening I let her play in the water bowl and make a huge puddle on the floor. It's not gonna hurt anything and she had a great time. She loves water and splashing around. She is currently getting her 5Th and 6Th tooth. Not fun b/c it's back to Evil Ella now. I don't like Evil Ella. Evil Ella has learned to say No way too soon for me. And she knows how to use it. But she's learned some other wonderful things. Like giving kisses, giving high fives, pointing to what she wants, holding her own sippy cup, saying "up", "all done", "hi Dada", and "night night". Of course, with her own baby accent added! But it's cute. I am working really hard on signing with her but I have a feeling it's a lost cause. CJ signed for a little bit when he was her age, but he started talking so early on that it was a lost cause with him b/c he'd rather speak than use his hands.

It's amazing the love that Ella has for CJ. It truly is mind blowing sometimes. She gets SO excited when she sees him in the morning and she laughs at literally everything he does. He could shit his pants and she would laugh hysterically. Often times CJ is the one who calms her down, even if he's just talking to her. She crawls all over the house b/c she just wants to be with him at all times playing with whatever he's playing with. CJ doesn't always find it so amazing, rather he ends up running from her. I don't know what he's gonna do when she starts walking!