It's the beginning of the New Year and the beginning of the week.  What better way to make sure it's a smashing success than to go to work with your pants on inside out?  Hey, I'm making a fashion statement! 

Happy New Year to All!!!  I think I'll let DJ "write" my entry for tonight:

"Now THIS is a party"  (comment made by Dom when the veggie tray came out.)

"It's cooler than you"  (Thoughts shared by DJ regarding the veggie dip in comparison with the best mommy in the world.)

"This is the best New Year's ever!  (Stated on our front steps as we were watching fireworks.)

Best to you all in the upcoming year!!!!

To Be Continued...
posted 01/20/2005 @ 12:25am

Supermom!
posted 01/12/2005 @ 10:56pm

I was over reading djuggler's blog about his son and his entry was regarding his son saying noises over and over again.  DJ started doing this a few months but instead he mimics everyone around him.  And, of course, the TV, commercials, etc.  I've tried mimicing him back but that doesn't work because he thinks that is just too funny (brat!)  Here went our conversation the other day:

Me:  DJ
DJ:  DJ
Me:  DJ, I want to ask you a question.
DJ:  DJ, I want to ask you a question.
Me:  Seriously.
DJ:  Seriously.
Me:  I'm not playing DJ.
DJ:  I'm not playing DJ. 
Me:  You want to play?
DJ:  You want to play?
Me:  We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
DJ:  Huh?
Me:  (Smile)
DJ:  That's so NOT fair, Mom!

I do know this will only work but for so long.  DJ has one heckuva memory and will memorize ir probably around the 3rd or 4th time I say it to him again.  But I still have the Declaration and the Gettysburg Address under my sleeve.  He, he.  I'm so evil:)  But he always gets the last word in.  ALWAYS!  That's so NOT fair!

Problem:  People who drive down I-95 after it snows doing 25 mph, when there is NO SNOW ON I-95.  Come on...we got an inch - maybe.

Solution:  Move to Florida.

Problem:  People who drive down I-95 everyday doing 25mph. 

Solution:  Take the back roads. 

Problem:  People who are merging onto I-95 from the entrance ramp doing about 10 mph and decide to jump in front of someone (Me) who is doing 65mph causing this person (Me) to slam on my brakes.

Solution:  Go back to driver's ed.  Evidently you don't know what YIELD means.

Problem:  The girl in my office who thinks the heat should stay at 79 degrees farenheit.  Then proceeds to turn it up 10 times a day after I turn it back down to a reasonable 72.

Solution:  Get some sweaters.  If not, I'll be coming in wearing a tube top and hot pants and scare the crap out of you.

Problem:  Same girl who keeps blasting classical music while I'm trying to work.

Solution:  I turned up my radio to drown out hers a little and got a major sigh in response and a request to turn my stuff down.  Whatever!

Problem:  Same girl takes up two parking spots every day when parking.  When brought to her attention, she doesn't understand why she should have to change her way of parking to please other people.  

Solution:  OK, she is the rudest, most inconsiderate person I ever met.  We've been stuck in the office alone for a week and I hope I don't get fired for doing something crazy and violent.  I am so NOT a violent person.  I'm all mouth:)

I think she just needs to find another job.  I'll be happy to help her.

I remember this one time, my co-worker T and I were at lunch together.  He is worse than me.  On the way back to the job, he picked up a free career paper from the vending machine and left in this woman's mailbox.  I think we need to do this to PrimaDonna.

Santa stopped by at our house and left DJ a gamecube game, Shrek Uno, a Harry Potter dvd, Spiderman 2 dvd, a boombox, a Magna Doodle, accessories for the Magna Doodle,  a jigsaw puzzle, a cash register, Shrek cd, Godzilla cd, Lion King cd, a strobe light, a Lite Brite, Simon, Sorry and assorted other odds and ends.  PIC gave him a VideoNow and some videos for it. 

PIC gave me a mess of beauty products.  I'm going to look and smell so yummy.  I can't wait:) 

We have enough ham to feed the neighborhood and lots of liquor left.  We never did get around to eating desert.  It was a quiet dinner with just myself, Pops and DJ.  PIC went to her mom's house and none of the people Pops invited showed up. 

Hoping your holidays were just as nice!

Now I get to go back to work tomorrow while Pops and DJ get to lounge around until January 3rd. 

Before work this morning, I was reading Moody Mama's entry about how MG might be coming down with something.  Five minutes later, DJ is in the bathroom puking.  Grrrrrrrrrr!  He still insisted on going to school.  Pops thinks he's just nervous and excited.  We'll see. 

I've been reading some blogs here and there and for many people, this is the time of year they get a bonus.  Not my company.  They did give us presents, though.  Are you sitting down?  I opened my present to find an (drumroll, please) umbrella.  A damned UMBRELLA.  Our CEO explained how it was symbolic.  "An umbrella offers protection," or some asinine crap like that.  I'll show you some symbolism...

DJ says to his teacher today:  Come and run away with me, my lady.  Where does he get this stuff?  This is a pic of my little munchkin taken last night.  I get his picture taken every year and have it put on a calendar at the local mall.  Gosh, darn, he's SO CUTE!

(WARNING:  PIC, don't read any further:) )

I've been out doing lots of Christmas shopping.  As I said, I went to the mall last night to finish start my Christmas shopping for everyone but DJ.  As I was going to pay for the calendar, I realized I left my Visa at home.  What the hell???  I don't believe this.  I was so mad at myself.  Luckily I had a bit in cash on me to purchase some stuff.  I also had my checkbook, but I hate writing checks. 

I've picked up 3 things for PIC so far.  They had the cutest Snowbabies at the mall last night.  So I grabbed one of them.  Then I found this great 365 day calendar of Bushisms.  I still can't believe there's 365 of them.  Wait, who am I kidding?  Of course I knew! 

Over the weekend, I picked her up a dinnerware set she wanted.  This was a pain in the butt.  We were in the store shopping for other things.  She saw it.  She wanted to buy it.  Mind you, she is one of the hardest people to shop for.  I've mentioned before she buys stuff ALL THE TIME.  Which means something I have on my list to pick up for, she will most likely buy herself beforehand.  So now we're arguing in the store about whether or not she should get it that day.  Me thinking, I could come back tomorrow and buy it for her for Christmas!

She wants to get it right then and there.  So I start making up this lie and saying about how cheap it's going to be after Christmas and to stop being foolish.  Blah, blah, blah.  Either she fell for it or she got tired of hearing my big mouth.  But this sucker was HEAVY.  It's been sitting in the trunk of my car for a few days because she is off work for 2 weeks (Lucky!)  Today, she was finally out so I grabbed my Maintenance Man and I had him get it up to the apartment for me.  Gosh he's such a cutie. 

I know she also wants a cookbook, some earrings, and Collateral.  Anything else,  I have no clue.  She does want this $100 ("but it's marked down from $248, Wendy") cashmere sweater that I think I talked her out of buying.  No, I'm not buying it.  Someone needs to pay bills around here:) 

The following was sent to me by a very dear friend written by Maureen K. Higgins. I want to pass it on to you.

Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched you out every day. I've looked for you on the Internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores. I've become an expert at identifying you. You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world. You are my "sisters".

Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail.

We were initiated in neurologist's offices and NICU units, in obstetrician's offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds. We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations, evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries.

All of us have one thing in common. One day things were fine. We were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our newborn, or we were playing with our toddler. Yes, one minute everything was fine. Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire lives changed. Something wasn't quite right. Then we found ourselves mothers of children with special needs.

We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our children's special needs. Some of our children undergo chemotherapy. Some need respirators and ventilators. Some are unable to talk, some are unable to walk. Some eat through feeding tubes. Some live in a different world. We do not discriminate against those mothers whose children's needs are not as "special" as our child's. We have mutual respect and empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes.

We are knowledgeable. We have educated ourselves with whatever materials we could find. We know the specialists in the field. We know the neurologists, the hospitals, the wonder drugs, the treatments. We know the tests that need to be done, we know the degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while our children are tested for them. Without formal education, we could become board certified in neurology, endocrinology and physiatry.

We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get what our children need to survive, and to flourish. We have prevailed upon the State to include augmentative communication devices in special education classes and mainstream schools for our children with cerebral palsy. We have labored to prove to insurance companies that medical necessity of gait trainers and other adaptive equipment for our children with spinal cord defects. We have sued municipalities to have our children properly classified so they could receive education and evaluation commensurate with their diagnosis.

We have learned to deal with the rest of the world, even if that means walking away from it. We have tolerated scorn in supermarkets during "tantrums" and gritted our teeth while discipline was advocated by the person behind us in line. We have tolerated inane suggestions and home remedies from well-meaning strangers. We have tolerated mother of children without special needs complaining about chicken pox and ear infections. We have learned that many of our closest friends can't understand what it's like to be in our sorority, and don't even want to try.

We have our own personal copies of Emily Perl Kingsley's "A Trip to Holland" and Erma Bombeck's "The Special Mother." We keep them by our bedside and read and reread them during our toughest hours.

We have coped with holidays. We have found ways to get our physically handicapped children to the neighbors' front doors on Halloween and have found ways to help our deaf children form the words, "Trick or treat." We have accepted that our children with sensory dysfunction will never wear velvet or lace on Christmas. We have painted a canvas of lights and a blazing Yule log with our words for our blind children. We have pureed turkey on Thanksgiving. We have bought white chocolate bunnies for Easter. And all the while, we have tried to create a festive atmosphere for the rest of our family.

We've gotten up every morning since our journey began wondering how we'd make it through another day, and gone to bed every evening not sure how we do it. We mourn the fact that we never got to relax and sip red wine in Italy. We've mourned the fact that our trip to Holland has required much more baggage than we ever imagined when we first visited the travel agent. And we've mourned because we left for the airport without most of the things we needed for the trip.

But we, sisters, we keep the faith always. We never stop believing. Our love for our special children and our belief in all that they will achieve in life knows no bounds. We dream of them scoring touchdowns and extra points and home runs. We visualize them running sprints and marathons. We dream of them planting vegetable seeds, riding horses and chopping down trees. We hear their angelic voices singing Christmas carols. We see their palette smeared with watercolors, and their fingers flying over ivory keys in a concert hall. We are amazed at the grace of their pirouettes. We never, never stop believing in all they will accomplish as they pass through this world.

But in the meantime, my sisters, the most important thing to do, is hold tight to their little hands as together, we special mothers and our special children, reach for the stars!

By Maureen K. Higgins

Wooo hoooo!  Release date on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is set for July 16th in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. 

I DJ can't wait!