oh dear god

Tomorrow, I go to the knit out with my mom, then clean her place. I don't think I've looked foword to something so much in a long time. Hubby has been working alot lately, the kids all have some new found autonomy, and I am being driving mad.
Between Hermes' "Mo-ommm, the kids are (insert whiny complaint here)" Loki and Thor's new found ability to traverse the house freely, since they can now open the gates, and everything else, I have never needed 6-7 kid free hours more in my life!

With all love and respect.

I love my sister. I think she is great! She knows I love her, and she knows I respect her.
I almost laughed so hard earlier today that I peed myself.
Someone commented to me that Palin being VP would be akin to my sister running the country.
Granted, this person does not know my sister, and my sister would not be bad at running the country, per se, but seriously.
I don't vote for someone because they are loke me, or like a family member. I vote for someone because their political beliefs are near mine, because I think they will help make the best future for my kids, etc... Not because I could sit around and talk shop with them.
My sister would not be the person to run the country, but then, neither am I.

Yet another thing I never thought I would say.

"Loki, don't play with the cat when you are naked!"

When Anxiety Attacks! Next on Fox!!!

So, anxiety, when productive or anticipated, like before an important event, big meeting, or somesuch, is not a terrible thing.
When it hits you out of nowhere, it is odd.
When it hits you out of nowhere on more than one occasion, it is damn scdary.
When there starts to be a pattern of it happenning, for no apparent reason, maybe it is time to see someone about it.

Why, PETA, why?

I breastfed all three boys, each for a different length of time. I produced a fair amount of breastmilk for a mom of a singleton, but not enough to make, oh...a gallon of icecream a day.
Why would I ever wonder about how much breastmilk could be tunred into icecream? Because PETA fricken sent a letter to Ben and Jerry's, they of the environmentally frieldny containers houseing icecream made with organic hormone free milk and other goodness, yeah, PETA wront them a letter suggesting they replace the cows milk in their icecream with breastmilk. Apparently, the processes to make a dairy cow produce dairy is cruel, but it would be perfectly acceptable to what, ask women to make icecream instead of feeding their children, keep pumping long after they are done breasdfeeding in order to make icecream...explain please, PETA.
It is unacceptable to wear or eat animals, it is however acceptable to have naked women pose for your campaigns, women who are generally below the average weight in this society, BTW, and it's what? acceptable to substitute women for cattle? No, wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong

Oh, yes, more kvetchng!

This time, though, it is not about being ill, which I am, and it sucks donkeys, no, this is about politics, again!
I have a few friends who hold differring political beliefs than I do. That is fine, normally it isn't an issue.
This election season, though, it is an issue.
Serisoully, how can anyone think that Palin and Mccain will be better than Biden and Obama, and evem more seriously, folks, how can ANYONE take Colemans anti-Franken commercials seriously- yes, they show him swearing and yelling and swearing some more, and they quote him from his book. Need I remind people that Franken is A)A comedian, B) is a sometimes inflammatory commedian, and C) the information you are using in the quotes is all 4-7 year old. Cmon!

Palin is not the right choice for VP, McCain isn't the right choice for PRes, and We have a chance to boot Coleman.

Do not tell me that their fiscal policies make up for the fact that they like the war, and want to remove any control we have over our reproductive choices, don't!
Don't tell me that Palin is in any way shape size or formed even remotely qualified, don't!
Don't tell me I am getting all of my information from the liberal media, as I have even been watching FOX fucking news chanel, and watching the conservatives say without saying that Palin and McCain are not the way to go.
ARRRGGGHHHHHH!

The inequity and inequality of illness

I, as many of you know, and those who don't know, look at the freakin' title of the blog!, and a stay at home mom, a housewife, an....whatever else you want to call it.
I am, right this very moment, sick. Sinus infection, mostly, a little upper respiratory infection thrown in for pizazz, and some late season allergies, just in case the rest of it wasn't enough.
This all means that since Thursday, I have felt like shit, utter and total shit, and with a few moments where I start to think I might be starting to get better, I am actually getting worse.
I am getting worse because things keep piling up.
When it was just the sinus infection, I felt like crap, but I could deal. When the URI krept in, started sleeping for shit, but I could still function. Throwing the allergies into the mix was the last straw, though. After cooking dinner last night, I was near the point of collapse, and filled with rage, all at the same time!
This came about for a few reasons- I can take cold and sinus meds, or allergy meds- but not both, as they interact to make me an emotional time bomb...it's true. Maybe making a dinner that required me to brown hamburger and boil water at the same time while sick was a bad idea. Especially sine I cannot friggen breathe. Oh, technically I can breathe, as I am not dead yet, but if the sinusses let up enought to start to clear, the allergies back them up, if they both let off, the coughing fits the URI bring is enough to stop the sinusses again.
Last night, I was cooking, with a fever.
By the time dinner was done, I was shaking, couching, having a running nose, and nausea was hitting me like...well...I don't know what.

With all that lovely backstory, I am not going to explain why illness is chock full of inequity and inequality.
I stay at home.
I do not get a day off.
If I am sick, I cannot lay in bed all day, having people ring me soup, and expecting the workd to carry on without me.
Most stay at home parents are familier with this-most parents in general.
If Hubby gets sick, it is in our best financial interest to get him healthy again ASAP- which means I watch the kids, I make him soup, I make sure he gets rest.
If any of the Pantheon are sick, they always want their momma before their poppa, I am the one staying home with them, nursing them back to health, and being exposed to all their germs- I am the one changing sick toddler pants, cleaning upafter up to three kids worht of vomit, wiping noses, getting beverages, etc- as Hubby is at work. By the time he is home, they are going to eat dinner, and go to bed.

When I, the primary caregiver, is sick, I still have to take care of everyone, make dinner so it is served at a reasonable hour, take care of the kids, all the while snaitizing the hell out of myself and them, so they don't get sick, and carryong on like there is nothing wrong, other than my every particle hurting, caughing constantly, carrying around kleenex like it is my lifesavor, etc.
I do not get to rest. This means I am sick for longer, this means the illnesses strike me worse, and so on.
Yes, there are people I could ask to come over and help, but I need my house to be clean to be comfy having these people over, and I risk exposing people to shit I would not wish on my ex-husband, let alone someon I care about. My kids would be upset when the people had to leave, thus making my life harder, and so on.
I could ask Hubby to stay home- but wait- primary bread winner, cannot do that.
I could ask the MIL to come over after work....wait- let me finish laughing at how much of a bad idea that is, as she isn't calming.
I could ask my mom- see aforementioned house needing to be cleaned, and not wanting to get sick, add in a little bit of her having classes three days a wekk, and me not wanting to get all of them sick in for flair.

Yes, I am being whily, but if Hubby were sick, I would be busting my ass to take care ofhim, if any of the pantheon were sick, I would be busting my ass to take care of them- instead, I am cleaning, as it needs to be done, I am working, as we can always use a little extra money, I am organizing a list of everything I have to do this week, as mym ind is shot, and I am trying to figure out what the hell I am going to do with the boys all weekend long.
See, the other thing about being a homemaker- we do not get a day off, no sick days, no weekends, no paid holidays, we are always on the clock 24\7. Now add in the joy of overtimne. Hubby needs to overtime, as A) we can always use the money, and B) he and I really want him to get this job permanently, and not just long term temp. The more work that he does as a temp, the better the chance of them offerring him the possition, and what they are doing this week is necessarry, even thoug he was told he didn't have to be there, it was said in such a way as to make it clear he has to be there.

All I want to do right now is get better so that I can go to the knit out with my mom on sunday, the only day I will have for me this week. Also, conveniently enough, the only day I have to clean at her place this week, since Hubby works on saturday.,
Shit, even i I am feeling better, I probably won't get to go.

Super Shopper!!!

I went to the grocery store today. I forgot my coupons at home, but I remembered my list, the list that I wrote out very carefully with Hubby while sitting in front of the computer, checking out the stores weekly and 96 hour sale, add.
I walked out of the store having spent $52 and change, with a large printed area on my reciept letting me know I saved $35.06.
Folks, I got over 80 dollars worth of groceries, without coupons, for roughly 50, including 3 pounds of hamburger, coffee, and 5boxes of toaster waffles/nuker pancakes.

I rule. Once I remember my coupons, I will rule even more.

I must give credit to Mom The HIpple for a large portion of my ruleingness...ruleosity...rulesilliance...ummm, it's because of her that I rule
Mom passed the coupon-fu on to me at a yong age, and Mom, knowing we don't get the paper, gives me her coupons and ads. She also got me this awesome Mom's orginizer/calander that came with a grocery list and a coupon pocket- this means that I actually write a list, and that I grab the coupons I plan on using and a few possible coupons to use, unstead of bringing my coupon dis-organizer of doom!

The other secret to saving a lot of money at the grocery, shop while sick. Not contagious sick, as that is just cruel, but when you are sick, you are not hungry, food doean't taste right, and you want to get out of the store asap. Shopping while sick actually means you browse less, you get fewer off the list items, and if you do make an impulse buy, it is generally something like fresh fruit, fruit juice, or kleenex, not something like expensive ass icecream that is on sale, and chips.

The yellow zone is for loading and unloading only.

Attention, Attention! Would whom ever parked their sinus infection semi in my nose please remove it immediately. It is illegally parked, blocking major passages, and the owner of the nose would like to breathe again...thank you.

sometimes, things are just too good.

The last few drives to pick the Hubby up from work have been somewhat miserable. The younger two members of the Pantheon- Loki and Thor, have benn agitated in he car, to put it mildly- there nap schedule is off kilter. Thor does not physiclly need naps anymore, but he does mentally, and Loki, well, if he is sleeping, he is generally staying out of trouble. Add to this two hellacious colds, and they are miserable.

Tonight, however, was almost too good in the car. I believe I have mentioned before that Thor loves him some Gwe Staffani- her song Sweet Escape (the one with the woohoo yeehoo refrain) was on the radio, and he started singing, as he is wont to do Loki decided that it was his job to rock out, and picked up the woohoo yeehoo for Thor. Shortly thereafter, Bowie comes on- Changes. I had both boys singing along before too long. They had fun rockin' out with their mom- no fussing, and Thor got to be vocal for a while. It was good.

feelings about the campaign, and those nominated.

Sarah Palin scares the ever lovin' shit out of me. Something about her instills a fear into me that is almost primal. Maybe, it was her asertation that the Iraq war was a task from God, maybe, it is her political and environmental beliefs, and how fervent she is in them. Maybe, it's that she is anti-abortion/anti-birthcontrol and pro abstinence only education. It could be that the day after making a major speech at the RNC, decrying borkbarrel spending, a middleof the road news orginization did some fact checking nd found how much pork barrelling went on between her and McCain.

I don't know why, but she frightens me. On the oddly plus side, she is frightening alot of midline, undecided voters, and even some republican voters to the point that Obama and Biden's numbers are climbing, their fundraising is jumping, and people want to vote for them JUSt to keep Palin out of the white house.

first day of school, success!

Yesterday was Hermes' first day of school. It went really well, no time outs, no warnings. I think that is a great way to start the year.
Of course, this morning, we are getting the story about how he doesn't feel good. Why doesn't he feel good? Because he stayed up way too late last night, no matter what we said or did, we could not get him to behave, lay down, and sleep.
I woke his but up anyways, got him dressed (in long pants, long sleeve polo, and hoodie, if you can believe it! It's barely broken sixty yet today!) fed him breakfast, and by the time we had to leave for the bus, he was fine. I definately need to tow the line harder this year on trying to get him on a schedule. Instead of getting mad and snippy with him this morning, although I was mad, I explained when he was tired and icky feeling that the reason he felt this way waa BECAUSE he stayed up too late, not listening. His tummy hurt because he didn't sleep enough, and it is always going to be like that. I know, because if I don't get enough sleep, I feel like crap too I explained that we tell him to go to bed early, not to punish him, but to make sure that he gets enough sleep, so he doesn't get sick, and miss a lot of school. I also explained how much school he COULD miss before we had to go to the doctor each and every time he was home sick. I may have fudged on that one a little, but he understands.

Back to the good stuff, Hermes' bestest friend in the whole wide world rides the school bus with him. Most kids sit three to a seat, because there are three seatbelts per seat( yay a bus with belts!) but their seat only has two buckles, so they don't have to share.

Yeah, he's silly, but he is happy, and loves school, and maybe understands why we are so hard on him at bedtime.

In other school news, I had the damndest time not laughing myself to death while filling out his English teachers 'about your kid' survey. Poor thing doesn't know what she is getting into.

In even better news, Hubby got a job, and starts on either Thurs or Monday. Normally, we would be all over the two extra days of pay starting on Thurs would give, but at the same time, there will still be some RNC traffic, so Mon will be easier.