New week, wait I guess it's this week already

Ok, this is a new week and I am going to start off fresh! I am going to keep a positive attitude, that things will turn around and I will be able to dig out of this mess I call a home, get back on a diet and exercise, and "climb on board, get ready to explore, there's so much to find, Little Einsteins..." oh and I am going to work on restoring my sanity. I must be feeling ambitious, or maybe just a little crazy.

I have a friend who has her second baby due on Nov. 9th. I know when I was pregnant, I hated those calls, "Haye , sooo, uh, how are you feeling?"

"I am feeling just swell, peachy keen! Very Pregnant and ready for this to be over! No I have not had the baby and you are my 10th phone call today checking!" I realized they were just checking up on me, but man!

So I realized it was the 18th and thought Cindy was nine days over due. Maybe I had been such a terrible friend, I was so wrapped up on my life I missed the birth of her baby!! No!! So I called her mother-in-law to find out how it went. She said Cindy's not due until the 9th, I could tell she was a little confused. I told her I know! It's the 18th and I can't believe I missed it. Then she very kindly laughed and reminded me, October is not over yet. Oh yeah, I forgot we haven't done the whole Halloween thing yet. I blame it on the stores. Most stores have Christmas decorations out already, can't imagine why I would be confused. Guess I need to go make those Halloween cookies and get those pumpkin carved.

CANDY! Oh No! I gotta go buy candy. I can't deprive Alex of sampling all the candy before we give it out. We grew up in the days of needles in the candy and Tylenol being tampered with. So, Alex feels it is his civic duty to sample, I mean check all the candy before it leaves the house. A Dad's job is never done.

Boy, this entry is just all over the place, maybe I need to add organize my thoughts to the list of things to do....

And the hits just keep on coming

Today is one of those days, I am just trying to hold it all together. I know it's been a few days since I blogged last, I've needed to, but just haven't had the time or spirit to do it. Amy had a medical emergency while driving on Tuesday, that's what the medics called it. We believe it was a seizure but won't know for sure until she has an EEG and an MRI next week. She ran over the median and crashed through a wooden fence and hit a brick wall. For those of you who live in Charlotte, it was on Sharon Rd a block from Southpark Mall. That is such a heavily traveled road, it is amazing she didn't hit another car. It is a miracle that she only scraped up her chin and broke her ankle. One of the EMTs that showed up on the scene is a co-worker of Amy's at the pharmacy where she works. Amy didn't even she was an EMT. It took 5 medics to get her out of the car and into the ambulance. The kept trying to restrain her, and she didn't know what was going on, so she fought it.

I spent all day on Tuesday with her at the Hospital while they did all the tests to make sure nothing else was broken or internal bleeding or anything. Wednesday was a full solid day. We took her to her PCP, picked up prescriptions, had to go to the tow yard and look at her car and clean it out. It is completely totaled. She was able to sign over the title to the salvage company and they paid her tow bill and storage fees.

Yesterday, I was at Olivia's school getting set up as Olivia primary guardian so I can talk to her teachers or guidance counselor if necessary. I have been trying to get that since the start of the school year and have had to jump through hoops to get it. It took 3 trips to student placement before I could it worked out. All the while dragging Cole, Katie and Sean with me everywhere. They have been little troopers, but I know they are as exhausted as I am.

Amy is doing as well as can be expected. She was back at work yesterday and is still focusing on trying to find a new place to live. She is having a time of it. Her landlord is making her move to sell the place, she's totaled her car, broke her ankle and now has a full week of medical appointments next week while trying to look at apartments and pack. She is keeping her poor scraped chin up, though. I'm proud of her. I think we are keeping each other strong through all this.

As far as the blogging contest, I am tied for last place. I am the only one not asking all my friends and family to sign up and vote for me. It just feels wrong to me. So I haven't been campaigning like the rest and it shows. Maybe I should be campaigning, and come down off my moral high horse. But how would I know if people really liked my writing if I did that? If it was all about winning, I could just create a bunch of new email accounts with google and yahoo and such and vote for myself all day long. I only want to win if people actually like me and will continue to read it every week. They hire the three with the highest votes, but it doesn't mean they'll be read. Just like the current bloggers that aren't being read. Oh well, I have so much more going on in my life, I will just continue blogging here for myself. I do find it interesting, the person who is tied for last with me wants to win fair and square as well or not win at all. Maybe she and I will get together and write a book instead! She is just as crazy and goofy as I am, so that will be REAL interesting!

The Really Truly Important Election

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my Gosh! I heard back from one of the WebMomster's that run the board. I am one of 10 finalists. They will be posting the blogs for a week and letting people vote. I had to submit 3 blogs to post for this contest. I am so very excited, but you know what tickles me the most? They edited my blogs for length to '3 grafs' (gotta love the jargon). Ha! Me! I have been professionally edited! I know I am long winded so I don't take any offense, I think of it as more of an honor. I have been professionally edited. That's pretty cool. It makes me feel like a 'real' writer. I didn't get the standard reject letter, I got edited and will have the chance to get voted for.

Forget the Presidential election, or the Governor's race. I'm tired of all the negative ads, the rhetoric, and the 'he said/she said' anyway. If you haven't decided who to vote for yet, then don't vote. If you haven't been keeping up with it, I really don't want your opinion to count. These two are polar opposites and if you can't make a decision, then leave to the grown-ups who have been paying attention the last 6 months to a year. (Cat-scratch fever! Meow! rrr!)

The Really Truly Important Election will start tomorrow and run for a week - Blogger for MomsCharlotte. Not exactly public office, but it's a start.

Now I do not want anyone to go sign up on the site just to vote for me, (AMY!). If I win, I want it to be fair and square and know that I earned it because people like my writing and not because I had a bunch of friends joining just to vote for me. (I'm serious about this too! Amy, yes I am calling you out!) If you are already a member of the board, please be fair. Only vote for me if you truly think I deserve it and the cakes I'll make when I'm elected....

A couple of quick updates

I feel like I am behind on what is really going on in my life. This has been a crazy week and a half, with the Wachovia/Citigroup/Wells Fargo menage a trios! Whew!

So you can follow the news for that information. Highlights of the week; Katie is just so close to crawling. She is up on all fours, rocking, pushing herself backwards and actually lunged forward today. So close! Sean has been saying "Mama" for the past few day! Oh so sweet! Cole has just been his regular sweet little self. Lots of hugs and kisses and I just eat him all up! The AC man came yesterday and I am so happy to say we have air, glorious air again. It's amazing how much we are all getting along better suddenly!

Amy is still looking for a new place...Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Paul and Kris have been working really hard trying to get the Cigar store opened. Soon! Soon!

Miss Olivia! I am so thrilled with her. She is fantastic. She stayed late after school today for Chemistry tutoring for a big test tomorrow. She helps me with the kids and I just really enjoy her. Not only do I love her, but I like her. I don't think you can say that about teenage girls often.

The other big thing going on for me, personally, is that I have submitted my blog into a contest with MomsCharlotte.com. They are looking for three bloggers to contribute regularly. They will take all the entries and narrow them down and post the finalists. Then all the people who are on the forum will get to vote. I submitted these last week and thought they may have the finalist up by now. The suspense is killing me! Maybe I'm not cut out for this. It would really be nice to have a little income coming in for something I already enjoy doing.

OH! I went to the ENT doctor today. The ear pain I've had for the past 6 months is TMJ. Alex calls it: Too Much Jawing. He said I have talked myself into arthritis of the mouth! I still maintain this is his fault. His hearing is not as good as it used to be. I call it selective hearing, but who knows. I told him if he'd start listening to me and stop making me repeat myself 2 and 3 times I would be in this boat! You know, we've only been married for 5 years, so he doesn't realize how everything can and will be turned around to be his fault. He's still 'Hubby-in-training.' Luckily that will be a lifetime job, so I do have some job security even if it's not with a bank!

What Karmas around...

I have known Alex since I was 16. We met while he was on leave from the Navy. Once he served his time (sounds like prison) and came back to Charlotte, we started hanging out. I chased him for an entire year before he would date me. So if you are keeping up with the math, he waited until I was legal, 18. We dated for a few years and broke up. We were young and both had some growing up to do.

Well the years passed and we had lost touch with each other. It happens, you know. Well at this time in my life I was working for my Stepdad, Paul, at his lingerie store. We were going to be filming a commercial and I had contacted an old friend to star in it. I knew her back when Alex and I dated, she and I worked together. The night before we were to film, she called and said she wasn't comfortable doing the commercial because of the 'adult' contents we also sold. I told her I completely understood, but she would be in full silk pajamas. I ended up filling in the next day, and I am sure I didn't bring in any extra business. Well, I tried. Anyway, I hadn't talked to her in 7 years, so no skin off my nose.

Well just a few short weeks later, Alex ran into her at a bar or something. He asked her if she knew how to find me, and she said told him the story and how to find me. He then called me at the store and and we took it slow at first. We were both getting advice not to trust the other because of the past, but we both saw through and gave it our all. Within months, we had bought our townhouse. We were happy and comfortable and thought you know, if we want to have kids we better get started. I wasn't getting and younger. Then as an afterthought, oh we should probably get married if we are planning a family. So we ran down to the islands and had a romantic wedding on the beach. It was perfect.

Now to the present, it's been 7 years since Alex ran into Sunday and she told him how to find me. I ran into her today at Rite-Aid. She is still as beautiful as ever. She remembered me right away and gave me a big hug. She looked down at Sean and Katie and said I've been busy. I told her I have, thanks to her! She was so confused so I told her the story, all the parts she didn't know. How important that one little conversation with Alex was. She was floored. She is just now celebrating her 1st anniversary herself and is trying to conceive.

I told her I have three beautiful children, partly thanks to her and I hope Karma will take care of her. So everyone, please send some baby dust, prayers, and well wishes to Sunday. I owe her my life!

Panic subsiding, reality returning

So my last blog I was in panic mode, ok, I was in PANIC mode. We really don't know much more than we did at the beginning of the week but I am at least handling it all better. I am just calling it Black Monday. On the way to school that day, Olivia and I saw a guy lying on the ground in front of a bus stop with the EMT's attending to him. We were scared he had gotten hit by the bus, but he had a heart attack. Either way, we both just felt really bad. Then the whole thing with Wachovia, ugh! To top it all off, Amy's landlord called and said she needs to move out. She's lived there for years and they had never renewed the lease but have been going month to month for so long, I think she forgot about it. Well the landlord hasn't been paying the HOA fees and is really behind. So he is going to try and sell the property to keep the HOA from foreclosing. Unfortunately, this puts Amy in a bad situation.

So once we got her calmed down and let her know we can make it through this one step at a time, she felt much better. So she and Kris have been out apartment hunting. That's always fun! (rolling eyes) We went ahead and made the decision that Olivia will live here through-out the school year to give her stability and give Amy a chance to move and get on her feet with everything else going on.

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The AC is still only working intermittently. Alex is going to call someone to take a look at it just to tell what is wrong and how much it'll cost. Alex thinks it may be a capacitor. Of course I couldn't resist and just had to ask if it was a flux capacitor.

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Olivia got a new cell phone since her old one broke. She is now on her Dad's plan instead of her Mom's. She was explaining to us that Verizon lets you text more than 150 characters at a time. But first she had to ask us if we knew what a character is. Alex = Desktop Engineer/Programmer/Tech Lead; he better know what a character is or Wachovia could be in trouble. Oh wait, they did that on their own. So she was so excited to text her friend in Winston-Salem and tell her this long story all in one text. She didn't have to break it up. So Alex says, "if it is that long, why don't you just call her?"

Her response, "Then, what would I say?" I am certain teenagers are from another planet!

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Paul is opening up a Cigar Store next to his current business Earth Angel (on Independence Blvd near Cricket Arena. Yeah, I am doing a little unpaid advertising). Kris has been helping him get it all set up. Installing a flat screen TV and running wire and stuff. He knew he had to put a hole in the wall to run the wire. Paul told him where the tools where in his garage, so Kris stopped by there on the way to the store. Once they finished, Kris asked Paul if he could borrow his house key.

Paul: Yeah, but don't you have one.
Kris: Yes, but I locked my keys in your house.
Paul: Well then how did you get here?
Kris: Well I have one of those spare key magnets under the car.
Paul: Sure, just leave the key on the kitchen table and I can get in through the garage.

A couple of hours later, Paul is at home and working on the books. He gets a knock at the door and is wondering who is there so late in the evening. He opens the door and finds Kris standing there with a bag of Chinese food. When he came by that afternoon to drop off the tools and pick up his keys, he forgot to get his keys and left Paul's key on the table. He had locked himself out again! He was too embarrassed to come over empty handed, so he brought Paul dinner and they kicked back and watched the Alabama game. Thank God he's pretty!

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One last note. Cole just lifted my shirt and said I don't have a belly, it's flat like his. Awe, my sweet angel, do you want some chocolate? That SO makes up for telling me I'm not pretty or beautiful last week. Seriously, I think he is having flashbacks to when I was pregnant with the twins. He kept putting his ear to my belly and listening. Now if he could only convince the Wii Fit that my belly is fat and I am not obese. (Whoops Freudian slip, I meant flat!) Hmmm. I'll work on that.

I just love my family. They are always giving me material to blog about!