Guess What...

We now have our stockings hung

by our chimney with care...

Monday's Musings

Good evening! TGMIO!!!!!! (Thank God Monday Is Over) Or is almost over!
I am ready to go to bed! Or at least get my pajamas on, turn the Colts on, and get under my covers. What a day!! And it's only Monday....and that's bad when you run a daycare that's opened Monday thru Friday! AND you had a daycare dad ask if his kids could stay late this coming Friday because the ditz that runs the daycare (me) advertised in the November newsletter that for an additional fee, the daycare would be opened late every Friday evening until Christmas so that parents could do shopping....what was I thinking? Oh ya, extra Christmas money.

Anyway...my two 17 month old daycare boys have found their screaming voices. I don't mean crying/screaming...I mean get happy, or mad or just for the heck of it screaming at the top of their lungs. Which, could be good for a couple of my other daycare kids who may actually be part deaf, cause why else would they be SO loud ALL the time. Seriously, I'm wondering if they need their hearing tested! It seems everything they say, laugh, cry, whine, or sing about is super loud! OR....could it be from a SUPER lack of discipline at home?? They have one of "those" moms...one of those wonderful "patient" moms who never raises her voice... always says in a calm quiet almost whispered voice anything and everything to her kids, even when injury or death may result. Say it with me, in a quiet voice... "No no honey, please don't put the car in drive while mommy is pumping gas". NO quieter!! You have to almost whisper when you say it!!
"No no sweetie, it's not funny when you pour baby powder on your newborn sisters face...now see what you did sugar, your sissy can't breathe...go get mommy the phone so we can call 911...hurry honey, sissy's turning blue...hurry up sweetie...get up, get the phone for mommy and I'll get you a sucker..."
You get what I'm saying...that's not patients...that's a woman who is on zoloft, prozac, paxil, zanax, and sarafem, and couldn't get angry or yell if her life depended on it. That is not a good mom!! That is a "I can't deal with having kids so give me the drugs cop out mom." HEY! I'd love to live my life one huge buzz after another too, but I actually want to remember my kids growing up and actually instill some discipline in them. Trust me, my kids see me as anything but calm. They see me as someone who if they dared to act up in public, or at a friends house or in front of my friends or just generally misbehaving out of the boundaries of their own home, would get the living daylights knocked out of them.
But, they also see me sit down and read stories to them at least 3 times a week. They see me cry at sad commercials, sad movies and while reading blogs of parents who have terminally ill children. They hear me start my prayer out EVERY SINGLE NIGHT by saying "Dear Jesus, thank you SO much for letting me be Tyler and Taylor's mom!" and every night I mean it! And not too long ago they saw me cry while trying to revive their last gold fish...not because I cared about the fish, but because I cared about the little boy whose heart was breaking because his pet was swimming upside down and he'd already lost about 3 other fish that month. How does one revive a goldfish you ask? Well, we're not talking CPR!! Actually, I think it was the cold water that did it. The poor little thing was swimming on it's side trying so hard not to do that upside down deathstroke. I thought it was a lost cause so I took the net and put him in the toilet. Before I flushed, I saw him move and swim a little...so I got him out and put him back in the tank...he swam a little and then started doing the upside down thing. So, I put him back in the cold toilet water again and he started swimming more...I did this a couple more times and wouldn't you know it, the thing lived. Well, only for another 12 hours...but those were GOOD hours!!! AND, we got a good picture of "Cosmo" in those 12 hours, so it's all good! We're done with fish now...except for "Smarty" who is our beta that we got from a graduation open house this past summer. OH wait...should I count the gold fish that are out in our fountain by our front walk? The ones that we've had for a couple years...the ones that get frozen all winter and thaw out in the spring? Did you know they did that??? They do!!!

Anyway....back to my original thought....kids need discipline, and yelling never hurt. Although it doesn't really do any good unless it IS one of those time where injury or death could result...but anyway, when you're not on a handful of anti depressants every day, things happen, you yell and you feel better. Sometimes.

And now... I have to talk about the good part of my day...my mom had the day off so we cooked. Yay! Ok, she cooked, but still Yay!! She cooked lunch for my daycare kids because she was already in the kitchen getting the chili we had tonight ready...so she made the kids grilled cheese AND cut them up in cute little squares AND cut the crusts off for the kids who don't like it (Tyler). I like having her around and HATE that she works. She's my mom and I want a stay at home mom dag-nab-it! OH...and she promised Tyler the next day she had off that they would make a cheesecake...and they did....and it was YUMmy!! And it's calling my name but I'm tuning it out like I do my overly loud daycare kids....

Well, it's after 10 now...and I'm so tired...the boys just came down and they got their showers on their own without being asked...Ok, so it IS a good Monday!

~go colts~

"A" is for...

Ahh yes, it's the "Good Mother" whose children would never cuss...
(See "Traditions" post)

Just said by my 8 yr old son: "I am NOT an ass!"

"Ass" has been a popular word here today and YES!, just so you know...we DID go to church this morning...whereas, the whole "ass" thing got started.

It's the first Sunday of Advent and we sang quite a few Christmas songs, one being 'What Child is This' which says "where ox and ass are feeding". I have to admit, I made myself think about anything other than the fact that we all just sang "ass" and that if I looked over at my 11 yo we would both probably start laughing...YES, I'm immature like that!! It comes from being a PK, I guess?

Anyway, we did discuss this at lunch this afternoon. I was a good mom and made their lunch and made us all sit together at the kitchen table. So, considering the fact that it was lunchtime and we hadn't done anything else but go to church, the conversation was about... church. And the "ass" thing in the song was brought up.

As for Taylor "being an ass"...we went to Payless on Friday to find slippers. Taylor got "Donkey" from Shrek. They're really cute and they are the first things on every morning or as soon as he comes home and can get his shoes off. Of course at lunch Tyler decided to let Taylor know that he had 2 "asses" on his feet.

Then later on, Taylor was throwing a fit about something and I told him he was acting like his slippers. That was all that was said. However, his older brother could not leave it at that, and reminded him what his slippers were! Taylor made no comment. Whew! Taylor just got up and walked into the kitchen not saying a word. Yippeee...no big huge fight....how did I get so lucky?

On his way back from the kitchen however (5 minutes after the fact) he decided to let us know in a very loud voice: " I am NOT an ass!"

I'm still NOT counting it as my child saying a cuss word, he meant donkey!! I know he did!! We just had a huge discussion on it. Besides, it can't be bad...we sang it in church!!

Although, the fact that these slippers are donkeys make for such intersting possiblilities of things to say...

Examples:
They are so huge and bulky, they have him tripping constantly which could make someone ask:
"Are you tripping over your own ass?!"

He says they're so comfortable but hard to walk in sometimes, so he likes to take a break:
"My ass needs a break!"

The dogs LOVE to chase these fun stuffed looking things:
"Mom, the dogs are chasing my ass again!"

And he just loved his slippers so much that that first night he had them, he swore he was going to wear them all the time, even to bed. But....
"His ass was too big to fit under the covers!"

I'm leaving you with that!

Traditions

I've been thinking about "traditions" today and how unique and fun they are. Actually I was thinking about them on Thanksgiving and how since we stayed home this year, some of those traditions were broken. We spend Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family and always have. Well, with my grandma living with my aunt now and my uncle recovering from his stem cell transplant AND the fact that both my mom and dad had to work on Friday, we did not get together this year. I thought it would be fun to share some of our family's traditions. Some have been passed down and some have been started by me, now that I have children.

On Thanksgiving my grandma makes the same things every year...including things that may not be considered a "traditional" Thanksgiving dish like...chicken and noodles, oyster dressing and cherry pudding (with nuts for my dad-without for my uncle). Still, we have these things every year, so since we did our own Thanksgiving this year, we didn't have these things except for the cherry pudding (my mom made that for my dad as a surprise). At the end of dinner we asked him if he wanted dessert and we said we had pumpkin pie and apple pie...he sat and thought a minute and then my mom said "OR we have cherry pudding". His face just lit up. I, on the other hand like silly little things with "special" dinners, including candles and non alcoholic wine. We had both this year. It just makes the table look better with candles. And the non alcoholic wine is just for fun...and makes 5 more glasses to wash after dinner. yay!

We don't do the traditional "putting the tree up the day after Thanksgiving" and I will NEVER do the traditional "black friday getting up at 4am to go shopping and trying not to kill anyone who gets in your way because 1. that's just TOO flippin early in the morning to do ANYTHING and 2. I would be a major GROUCH at that time and anyone who got in my way would be in for it."
Hmm, maybe I WOULD do good in a crowd at that time of the day.

We do have our "Christmas lights" tradition that I started when the kids were little and when I was not making much money at all...that consisted of us making hot chocolate and driving around looking at Christmas lights.

I also started the "Christmas Eve PJs" tradition. That is where I let my kids open 1 gift on Christmas Eve and it's always new pajamas, washed and ready to wear, and those are the PJs they wear to bed on Christmas Eve. Sometimes I'll add little things to their pjs like, slippers or a robe or a handmade blanket.

OH yes....the handmade blankets....I started that one last year and already I've heard a million times "are we going to get blankets again, PLEASE!!!". And then my mom put in her request for one too, but bigger. She even has her fabric and design picked out. Hmmm, guess I know what I'll be doing in a couple weeks. Only this year I plan to be more professional and actually measure the fabric and perhaps use two pieces rather than just one. I think it looks better and makes for a cozier blanket.

OH and then we can't forget the Red Ryder BB Gun - 'A Chrismas Story' movie that my dad makes us watch at least a couple times in December. The Chinese restaurant part is hilarious though so it's ok. I have to admit I'm a sucker for Christmas movies. Even the first 'Home Alone' is watchable at Christmastime. I already made my mom sit down and watch the first Christmas CBS Sunday night movie last Sunday. It was called 'Snow Wonder' and it was really good!! I plan on making my mom watch tomorrow's movie too...it's called 'Silver Bells'. Here's the link: http://www.cbs.com/specials/silver_bells/ It looks good too even though I do not care for Anne Heche...she's too crazy for me...and not a good crazy ... but a looney crazy as in hook up the electrodes and refill the lithium!!

And yes, we still have that crazy tradition of leaving cookies and milk for Santa. I still have a 8 yo who believes and I'm doing everything in my power to continue that as along as possible. I've given Tyler strict orders that he is NOT to in any way tell his younger brother that Santa is not real or I will take all his gifts back to the store. I thought for sure this would be the year that the "Santa Legend" would leave the Clay household, but nope, not yet...Taylor even prayed for him last night. This of course was after Taylor told my dad that he didn't want the "scooper" construction truck that was on his list...even though my dad had made it to Toys R Us early to make SURE he got that $50 remote control construction truck. My dad told him that when he made his list, Santa already had his elves start making the gifts and told him that his bags get filled up long before Christmas Eve, so that there is a very good possibility that he may have already packed that for him. Taylor bought it and said that was ok and that he'd be happy with whatever Santa got him. Then in his prayer last night he prayed for all the tsunami people,(cause he still prays for that every night??), all the hurricane people and for Santa to get all the bags packed in time. Ok, so maybe believing in Santa is not normal for a 3rd grader...but he's our baby and I'm keeping it that way darn it! Besides, I don't want my kids acting like teenagers and growing up before they need to. They can stay kids as long as they'd like. I'm proud my 3rd grader has absolutley NO idea what a joint is. I'm also proud that I have a 6th grader and 3rd grader who have never said the "F" word!!! And I'm pretty sure my 3rd grader doesn't even know that word and if my 6th grader does, it's a good bet he doesn't know what it means. Ahhh, more joys of homeschooling. And NO they are not sheltered!! They are kids!! Anyone have a problem with that??

How I got from traditions to kids being kids is beyond me, but ya know I gotta get my 2 cents in there about how kids should be raised in every post. OH!! and praise God!...my 11 yr old is standing over my shoulder reading this right now, and he just said "What's a joint?". Giving myself some "good mama" pats on the back...:o) Yippeee, my kids are KIDS!!!

~happy holidays - cause they are here~

We have...(it's white and fluffy)

Snow!!!!!!! It was just flurries when we woke up but now we actually
have something on the ground. Taylor got up and came downstairs and sat on my lap (his normal morning routine)... I wasn't really thinking about it at that point, but all of a sudden the snow must have caught his eye because he jumped up and got all excited. Then he was off to the closet where he pulled out his snow pants, hat, gloves and winter coat. The boots were already out and sitting by the door. For some reason yesterday he thought he needed to find them and put them on the rug by the other shoes. He said he wanted snow...well, he got it and has already been out playing in it which meant I had to get the camcorder out, charge it and search for a blank tape so I could get all the "first snow" fun.

Meanwhile, we are having 'Pajama and Movie Day' at the daycare. All the kids came wearing their pajamas and brought some movies to share. I decided to wear regular clothes...I don't think I could work in PJs all day. We had our big Thanksgiving Feast and Party yesterday since everyone wasn't going to be here today. So, we're just hanging out watching movies and relaxing. It's almost lunch time, then naptime , then only a few hours and I'll be free for 4 whole days. Yippee!! And, we're not going anywhere this year for Thanksgiving so I will have the whole 4 days to do whatever I want! I think sleeping in is right at the top of that list! Tomorrow I will get up early to help mom get stuff ready. I am in charge of making some small things, like green bean casserole and some other little things. I still have to go to the store tonight...not looking forward to that!! I'm actually kind of glad we're staying home this year but will miss seeing my dad's side of the family. I hope next year everyone is well and healthy, and my uncle's leukemia is long gone and we can all be together again.

~Off to sing...'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' for the 50th time... LOL~

Sunday...

We did not make it to church today...it seems my 8 yr old is not quite over the stomach bug he had earlier this week. I really thought we made out good, with only vomiting once and nothing else...well, the "nothing else" aka diarrhea, is now here! It started last night and I had to make a quick run to CVS to get some children's Imodium AD. I gave him his "doses" and crossed my fingers. They must have come uncrossed sometime in the night because at about 3:30am , we were up, in and out of the bathroom and watching Animal Planet for the next hour.
I learned alot about mama crocodiles...and how they carry their newly born crocs in their mouths...well, unless they get a little too excited while trying to pick them up and bite down on them with their huge teeth, in that case, they just go ahead and eat the baby since they've already half killed them anyway. How motherly!!

So...so far today I have answered all my emails, watched an episode of 'Golden Girls', tried a "Aunt Jemima Griddlecakes" breakfast sandwich (very good, will buy again) and found the space heater in the garage to put her next to my computer so I will be all toasty warm while cleaverly writting on my blog each day this winter! I'm thinking about a shower and getting my kids some lunch (since it's almost 2:00 now!) and perhaps running up to the store to buy a newspaper. But for now, I will continue writting on my blog while watching my yorkie destory a roll of paper towels. He's so cute and never gets to have any fun, so I say GO FOR IT ANDY!!!! Tear it up boy!!!

I worked yesterday. I had a daycare dad ask me at pick-up Friday night if I ever did weekend care. I said I had in the past. He said he was looking for someone for Saturday from 10-2. I figured since I am only working 3 days this week, I could swing it. The kids got here, we got ready and went to walmart. I took Tyler to Payless and let him go in by himself to look, he didn't find anything (he has to have "namebrand" shoes now...so off to Kohls we'll go this week), then we went through McDonalds for lunch...OH MY! it cost me almost $20 for me and 4 kids! (Rethinking the foster care thing!!! We could never go out to eat!!) We came home, ate, and their dad called and said he was on his way...easy cheesey!! Wish my daycare days were that fun and short!!

I guess I need to go get something done...I have to get lunch, clean the downstairs, do some laundry and make out my daycare menu for the week...all before 9pm! At that time I will be on the couch watching "Snow Wonder" the CBS Sunday night movie. It looks good and I'm going to make my mom sit down and watch it with me. I'm need to get in the holiday spirit and this movie looks like a good start.

~Have a happy Lord's Day~

Random Thoughts

I don't really have a 'subject' that I want to talk about today, so here are some random thoughts that have been running through my brain and some updates on what we've been up to.

Taylor was the proud recipient of the stomach flu Tuesday night. I had stayed up late watching the CMA's and at about 11:30 he informed me he didn't feel good. So, I let him get in bed with me. He kept telling me he couldn't get to sleep. I told him to think about everything he wanted for Christmas and how fun Christmas day would be. That seemed to work and we fell asleep. At 2am he wakes me up and says he's going to throw up so we go into the bathroom. Nothing. We go back to bed, with a trash can next to him. About a half hour later, he's using that trash can. I'm up again, downstairs trying to find Sprite or 7up or ginger ale. NO luck. We did have some Gatorade but it was left over from early in the summer when we all had some kind of stomach flu. So, I decided Coke would work. He sipped some and fell asleep. Of course I couldn't sleep because I was afraid he was going to get sick again. He never did and I got to work 10 hours on only 2 hours of sleep. Ya know, most people at most jobs would have taken the day off, unfortunately, if I take the day off at the last minute, I get attitude for it. Thankfully (knocking on wood) no one else has gotten it. YET! Of course, it may have been from all the chocolate chip cookies Grandma made that day. She had the day off and spoiled the kids by making cookies, taking them to the store and getting them some goodies, and she even made us all dinner - homemade vegetable soup and cornbread. Yum! So, maybe it was the 10 cookies he had before bed. Ya think?!
Oh, and just to let you know...we are stocked up on "Twist Up" (the walmart version of 7up).

I read a blog the other day where someone had mentioned Walmart (and even posted and anti link) and how they try not to shop there because they are putting all the little people out of business and they are taking over and how everything they sell comes from overseas and Americans are losing jobs and blah blah blah... First off, I would just like to say it's good that people have convictions and I'm happy for that, but in all honestly, probably MOST of what these people have in their homes comes from overseas. And excuse me, but do these anti- Walmart people drive cars?? Do you think we get oil from America?? Ummm, NO! (Although we have PLENTY!!)
I will never understand why people let themselves get worked up over things that we really cannot control. It's a fact, most of the time buying American things cost an arm and a leg. Well, let's blame the Americans for making their things so darn costly!! YES, it is harder to buy things from a mom and pop store and it is more expensive to buy things handmade, and I will agree the quality is worth it, but the Americans are the ones pricing it. And I know what they say, they HAVE to raise their prices to keep up. Well, it doesn't mean hard working Americans can afford them.!
So, because these people want to make a stand, they refuse to go without, and not shop at walmart. (when they could be saving money) Not to mention most of "these people" all have computers, play stations, cameras, children's toys, etc... I'm scratching my head on this one!! Sounds a little conflicting to me.

On a small note...very disappointed with the CMA's!! Moving them out of Nashville and to New York City is a total set back to country music in my opinion and proves that they ARE in fact interested in all the fame, glitz and glory that they so adamantly deny. They would say..."Country music is all because we love country music!!" Ya, whatever! That's why half of them live out in L.A. now!! Stick to your grass roots people!! And the "redneck woman" winning female artist of the year?? Am I coming down with Taylor's flu...no wait, I just want to puke! There IS a difference between "white trash" and country folk!!! Hopefully Jenny Craig will sign her on as the 2006 spokeswoman and she can loose that beer gut she has going on! Any woman that chews needs a good dose of Martha Stewart!! OH and what does Elton John have to do with country? Anyone? Anyone?? I love Dolly Parton, but they sounded horrible together! They could have at least thrown some humor into the performance and had EJ in drag dressed as Dolly! Especially in New York City!!

~have a great day~

Fostering thoughts on Fostering

I am thinking about becoming a foster parent. I personally know someone who works within the foster care system and will help me out with this. He is a former client of mine and we have been emailing back and forth.

I wanted to become a foster parent a few years ago when a cute little boy named Monty came into my life. A lady at our old church was a foster parent and got a call one day for a newborn who was being released from the hospital that day. She immediately called me, knowing I had an in-home daycare, and asked if I had anything she could borrow for this baby. I had a bassinet, that was my son's and let her borrow that so he would have a place to sleep that night. I met her and instantly fell in love with this motherless child. Maybe I should give you some insight as to why this is close to my heart...I am adopted. For the first 3 days of my life, I did not have a mother. I layed in a hospital with no one to call mommy. I'm sure I got lots of attention from nurses and maybe my birth mother did hold me and spend time with me, but still...that's so sad. I'm sure I didn't know any better and I did receive the best parents in the world on my 3rd day of life...so, I guess it was worth the wait!!!!

Anyway, his name was Monty. He was so cute. In the months to come, I would take him home with me after church on Sunday afternoons, sometimes he would spend the night, and I waited my turn among all the other women to hold him during church. I just loved him. We all loved him. The whole church loved him. And when he was a little older, he got a great family!!! There were lots of prayers sent up for that little guy and they worked! I think about him every now and then.

Ok, so I have been thinking about this more seriously and although getting paid to help out with the expenses of having another child or children full time would be helpful, I did not realize how much you actually got paid. I can honestly say my first thoughts about this were that I would be an excellent foster parent because I'm a stay at home mom who runs her business (daycare) from home. What a perfect place/situation for a child. Well, in doing more research, I have found that I could foster two small children and make more than I do working. And if my child's biological "father" (who is SO undeserving of that title) starting paying support like is COURT ORDERED now...I would be doing very well. I'm thinking of it in the aspect of being able to be a real stay at home mom and getting to focus on homeschooling more, not being trapped inside the house all day and doing what my kids want to do instead of what I HAVE to do with the daycare job. I love my job, don't get me wrong, but never having to deal with sick kids, non paying parents and everything else that goes along with it, would be WONDERFUL!!!

Of course this is still very much in the early "thinking" stages and I'm praying about it and seeking the Lord's will. But, it would be great. Except for I think foster kids would be like pets...I would just keep collecting them and end up with 10 kids.

*Please pray for/with me regarding this decision*

My week...more food issues.

Ok, so it was a pretty boring week, but it went fast and it's the weekend, so Yippeeee!
Not much happened this week, nothing too interesting.
I broke two dates with the new guys I met. And I also wrote him an email telling him why I thought I wasn't interested. To which he replied by writing me a very nice, understanding email. Hmm, maybe he WILL get a chance!?! He has 4 kids and a mean ex wife. She even looks mean...I looked her up on yahoo personals because he said she had an ad on there. LOL I'm SOOOOO tempted to put the link...but I won't. I'll be nice. But, if there are any men out there who wants a woman with 5 kids (cause one isn't his), doesn't want to work, is on prozac, zoloft and other meds, will run you into debt beyond belief and sleeps alot...email me privately, I'll hook ya up.

I have another fast food/take out complaint...I'm sure you can't believe that, but it's true. Ok, I live in a very small town where for 8 years we have had either Dairy Queen, Subway or a couple pizza places to choose from..OH and I guess I should add that we do have our very own "Diner" which an out of town guest of mine referred to as "Fortville Hooters"...lol Anyway... not too long ago we got a Chinese restaurant and for the first couple weeks there was a line out the door each night. Wow~something other than pizza!! Great!! I will admit, they do have very good food. However I find it a little unsettling that when you place your order, the guy takes your phone number and nothing else, when you walk in to get your food, they know exactly who you are...even if there are 3 other people walking in for their food...it's very bizarre! OK...for my story...this past Wednesday evening Taylor and I were getting hungry (Tyler was in Muncie with my parents), and I did not feel like cooking (BIG shocker!!) so Taylor decided he wanted Subway and I wasn't in the mood, (besides the fact we went there on Sunday and the bread was horrible AND I spent $16 on just me and my two kids....geez!) So, I decide I'll order chinese, go to the ATM, take Taylor through Subway , pick up my food and go back home. As I was walking out the door I realized that I had ordered a pint of wonton soup and "crispy chicken" instead of the "sesame chicken". I do not know why, but I've made this mistake before...I love the sesame chicken and I'm not too fond of the crispy chicken...so, I thought I would call them real quick and change my order. LOL Ya, well it sounds simple enough.... So one of the chinese girls answers and I am trying to explain to her that I just ordered but I wanted to change it. She doesn't understand so hands the phone to the guy who actually CAN speak english (at least enough to take orders and tell you how much it is)...I tell him that I just called a minute ago and ordered the wonton soup and crispy chicken and could I please cancel that and get the sesame chicken instead. This is his reply (and use your best chinese voice while saying this aloud to yourself)..."NO! I make food! Your food ready!" Hmm...ok, so I tell him again that I just want to switch the crispy to the sesame but keep the wonton. Again he says "No! I make food! Your food ready now!" He is seriously offended. So, I say "You mean I can't change my order and you're still going to make me pay for it" and he says "Yes, your food ready now!" I say "Ok, just cancel my order then!" He says "Your food ready!" I said "Never mind, I want to cancel it." He says "I add on sesame chicken?" I say "NO, please just cancel my order" He hangs up on me! I ate Dairy Queen.

OH...and here's a shout out to Arby's and the great food we got there this week!!!(not) On Thursday nights we are in a rush and usually don't have dinner until after church. So, we had a quick snack, went to church and decided we'd go to Arby's. There was some apprehension from me since it was already 8:05 when we left and I really wanted to get home to watch Will and Grace at 8:30...I knew it had to be a quick trip since Arby's is about 10 minutes away from us. So we go and I realize I'm almost out of gas...thankfully there is a gas station in the same parking lot so that was good. We order our food, the kids only wanted the motzerella (sp?) sticks and I didn't want to eat alot before bed so I got a kid's meal...we get home, I go up to my room, get comfortable and have only missed the first 5 minutes of W&G. I eat some fries, get out my tiny kidsize roast beef sandwich, open it up and it's half PINK! Yuck...I look at the bun, and there are blood stains. Gross! Well, for anyone who knows me, you know I value my food. lol I am ticked...I HAVE to call to complain which is going to take time away from my show and means I have to get up, go back downstairs and look a phone number up in a phone book (which I HATE to do!!) There is only one Arby's on Pendleton pike so I call it...I'm ticked, probably pretty snotty and as soon as they pick up I ask to talk to a manager. It was the wrong Arby's. I ask if they have the number to the other Arby's and they do. I get it and call. Ask to talk to a manager again...at this point I'm no longer mad because I just had to be nice and apologize to the 1st manager I just yelled at. So, I ask if he's had any complaints about his roast beef tonight. He says yes and that there is a problem and the batch they just cooked did not get cooked to the proper temperature. GREAT!! He tells me I can come back in and he'll take care of it...NO WAY...CSI is on in about 10 minutes!!! There is NO way I'm missing that!! So, he takes my name and says he'll take care of me next time I come in. I'm thinking great, a free meal for me and the kids. OH NO, he says next time I come in just mention his name and tell them what happened and they will give me a free kids meal. Wow~don't go overboard there!! I'm thinking what if that was for Taylor and he ate it? He wouldn't have known any better.

Maybe these are all signs that I need to cook more? Naaaaa

OK...speaking of CSI...really liked the episode (even though it's 2 parter) but was SHOCKED to see Nick's new look!! (Nick is the HOT csi guy!!!) He grew a mustache and I do NOT like it at all!
Warrick even made a comment on it. Hilarious!!

Well, we are off to Walmart to say 'hi' to grandma and get pictures developed, pick up some groceries so I don't have to do it tomorrow and then PROBABLY, most LIKELY, go through a drive thru.

...will I ever learn?...

Today's Interviews

Ok...if by any chance any parents looking for daycare are reading this...just to let you know, when you go to a daycare provider's home for the interview, she is interviewing YOU just as much as you are interviewing her!!

I had a "double" interview today. I had one mom call for an interview last week and then called at the end of this week to see if she could change the day and time AND see if her sister-in-law could come too, as she is needing new daycare.
Fine! Great! The more the merrier. LOL

Well, let's just say that the wildness of the interview caused my mom (who was upstairs in her room) to call me from her cell phone an hour later to see if it was "safe" to come downstairs. She wanted to know if "that yelling mother and hyper little girl" had left yet. LOL What a mess!!

I think the first red flag was the fact that this mom was trying to explain to me that they left their old daycare because they couldn't pay but the provider still expected payment and yet somehow, that it was their last provider's fault for not understanding! WHAT?! They weren't paying her, and were upset because she was asking for payment. Ummm hello, we don't watch kids for free! Then she went on to say something about how the little girl was sick one week but that the provider still made them pay. Well, YES, you are holding their spot, so you still pay! I think the kicker was when she asked me if her mom picked the little girl early on occasion, would I take money off for the next payment since she would be leaving early? Umm, NO! Are these people crazy? You want me to prorate by the hour? I don't think so! The scary thing is, I had a dream about this last night! I dreamt she argued with me over $4 because her daughter left 2 hours early on Thursdays.

Anyway...during the conversation, I just politely mentioned that I provide a service and I expect to get paid, that I have a contract that guarantees me payment and that unfortunately I have had to go to court to get the money that was owed for my services. She stopped asking about my payment policy after that.

The original family that called first was great and I would have NO problem taking her kids at all, but this other mom...I would really have to think about it. Not so much because her little girl was kind of hyper, but because she obviously doesn't get that she has to pay for daycare and just because I expect payment for giving her child care services, it doesn't mean I don't like her child. She said the other provider kept asking her for payment and at that point she thought it was all about the money and that she really didn't care about her daughter. No, we just expect to get paid! We have bills too! This isn't a hobby!!

Plus, she tried using the whole "it's my daughter's bio dad's responsibility to pay for child care and he hasn't been paying" Whaaaaaaaaa!! I told her that I have two kids and haven't gotten support for years!! You just do what you have to do! Plus, she is married, so it's a 2 income household. There is no excuse for her not paying for daycare!! Sorry, I don't do daycare for free!

I was hoping to have better news and have 2 new daycare families, but I guess I'm going to have to run an ad again this week and keep searching. There has to be some more great parents out there. I have 3 wonderful families now...there has to be more!!

OH and I have to mention...the hyper little 4 yo girl spilled her BLUE "Bug Juice" drink that she brought in with her... on my nice off white carpet in the daycare room. Of course I had to clean it up after they left. Mom just saw the bottle laying on its side and yelled at daughter, didn't offer to clean it up or anything and didn't even apologize for getting it on my carpet.

On a good note...The McRib is back!!! LOL - I love those things! Had one tonight!

OH MY GOSH...I almost forgot...the most drastic part of my day....I colored my hair. I am now a stunning brunette! Bye bye blondie!! I'm really going to have to get use to it. I'm SO happy I got the kind that washes out in 28 shampoos!!

~C ya~

Anti-globalists...Sex tests in schools...RANTING

I am sitting here watching FoxNews and watching the whole violent attack on
Mar Del Plata, Argentina. It makes me sick. Ok, so I can agree with their movement in that underdeveloped countries will never out sell/trade with America. But, HELLO, how can we not keep free trade??!! Globalization is going to happen, we all know that. The problem I have with the anti-globalist is that they are so violent and destructive! It's horrible! I think that they HAD to know this would happen as soon as Bush and other leaders arrived in Argentina. Why do they make these summits so public?? Go somewhere private and have your meetings! I mean these world leaders ARE suppose to have the best security right?

Anyway...now I am looking at a piece on schools
that sent questionnaires home for parents to approve so they could ask the students these same questions. BUT...after they were approved, and most of the
parents approved them, they added 15 more questions about sex. Asking "Do you want to have sex with Susie, or Johnny?" Things about if they felt "dirty"....etc.
That is just sick! I would be pulling my kid out and hiring a great lawyer!!
Schools in the western part of the US are still giving these "tests" and giving them to children as young as 5 yrs old. This is without parental consent! Ok, does anyone want to ask me again WHY I homeschool?? I think it's obvious!!
And if it's not, anyone who can't see why, probably shouldn't have children!

Ok, there's my 2 quick rants...I'm off to start my weekend!
Going out to eat tonight and hitting blockbuster. Renting a steam cleaner to clean the carpets tomorrow. OH, and I have 2 interviews tomorrow morning...wish me luck! :o)

~Have an awesome weekend~