Christmas

Christmas has a lot of planning. There are the presents that you have to buy, and more importantly, budget for, and the decorations and on and on.
Yesterday, I realized I had many things to do still. After going to school from 8am to noon, in which I had two clients, I went straight to my parents for the Falk Christmas. It was nice. My Mom made a traditional German dish that I really appreciate after making it myself. We all pigged out and opened presents. They were so nice to us and got us a clothesline for our backyard. Think what you may, I will be a little ghetto if it saves my some money.
So I get home and want to take a load off...no. I get David ready for work and then realize that Santa will be pissed if he doesn't have cookies. I started baking until it was time for church. In between all of this David calls and tells me that he and his partner will be coming home for dinner around 8:00 and wanted me to have something ready for them. Really? With 3 hours and nothing ready? Yeah right...Me N Ed's it is! Thank goodness they were open until 7:30.
I get home from church and I start cleaning up a little...gotta make the co-workers think I do something after all.
They get to the house around 8:15 and we eat dinner together. A lot of stress though due to calls coming in and lazy officers not wanting to share the responsibility. Don't get me started.
After they leave and the boys go down, I see that I need to get the presents out of hiding and put them in their appropriate place. I also needed to do some last minute wrapping and prepping. I finally get to bed around 11:30...ahhh!
At 5:30 today, my wonderful, kind and considerate 4 year old comes into my room and yells, "Momma, it's Christmas and Santa came! Hurry up!" I replied something to the effect of, "It's too early!". David actually encouraged me to get up and crawled out of bed. So I was up at the crack of dawn! Not a favorite of mine.
So I am happy to be at home with the boys in bed after another long day of playing with their new toys. I will not hold it against them that they fell asleep in the car when we drove thru the subdivision on Alluvial. That was more for me anyway.

ROE

I have been wanting to go ROE for their all you can eat sushi. You know, the one with billboards all around town? Yea, so I have been telling David to take me there, to which his response is always, "No".
Last night my husband went to work as usual. He responded to call after call. Then late in the evening, one of his co-workers is dispatched to ROE for a medical aid. By the time it was all said and done, the medical aid turned into a fight. Eventually, this single unit call escalated to a city wide response to the location code 3 (meaning with lights and sirens). David was cancelled when he was about a mile out, but the fact that this one bar has become such a police nightmare amazes me.
So if you ever want to go to a nice dinner and maybe some drinks, I would suggest for you to stay away from ROE. Unless you have some anger to get out or want to try your latest martial arts moves.

School unpdate

I have been going to school now since February. During this time I have learned a lot and have a new excitement for the job. It is all sinking in that all the people I started with are going to be graduating. Most of them were full time and have put in twice the hours that I have. I am sad that all my friends are leaving but happy that they will be able to start jobs and hopefully become successful. I have until June to graduate. This seems like forever, but I know it will fly by. Thanks to all of you that have let me work on your hair. I love the experience!

HOT!

All I have to say is....it is November and it is 96 degrees outside. How can we get into the holiday spirit when we are still wearing tank tops and shorts. I want to have my Christmas lights up and my windows closed. I am having a hard time getting used to this, even though it happens every year. I hope the cool air makes it's way to us soon.

This Coming Season!

Halloween is over! I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Typically I love the holiday season....especially the eating (who am I trying to fool). The problem is that I am not ready. I wish that the holiday season would last longer, along with the cold weather that we don't see enough of.
I love the lights, the fog (I know but it still makes me happy), the smells of Thanksgiving and Christmas...the entirety of the season. I am not sure what it is exactly that I am not ready for.
Maybe it is because every year that I want to do a big party and never do. Maybe it's the pressure to buy people the "perfect" gift, which for me is more of a challenge.
This year I am going to make an extra effort to make this season enjoyable for my kids, like my Mom sis for me. Baking cookies and German traditions. Listening to the Nutcracker and singing Christmas carols while working around the house.
Amazingly, as I have written this I have made a little progress on my cheer factor. Maybe I can do this after all!

Gavin is 6

Gavin's 6th birthday just past. Here are some pictures from his birthday dinner and his party.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Friday nightmares

Friday morning was a long morning. Gavin was grouchy at breakfast and complained about everything he was eating and saying his stomach hurt. I have found Gavin is a slight Hypochondriac and treat all his ailments as such. I ignore them unless I can see a true sickness in his eyes. With this in mind, I set the timer, which is totally normal when it comes to Gavin and his mealtimes, and told him to hurry up and eat.
We left for Quinten's Preschool and listened to music and the boys played with some sort of superhero in the backseat.
We get to Quinten's classroom and low and behold a parents nightmare comes true. Gavin throws up all over the classroom rug! TWICE! Yes, I wasn't the smart Mom who puts a trashcan in front of her child after the first time. That teacher probably thought I was an idiot.
So I have Gavin wash his hands (he tried to catch his accident) and we went on our way. After getting home, Gavin is bouncing around like he always does, more so because David was off and he was happy. He threw up four more times through out the day, all of which were in a controlled environment-a plastic tub! The only positive part of the day was his 3 1/2 hour nap.
Thank goodness that is over. I was told once by a friend that you can't consider yourself a Mom until you have caught throw up in your hands. I have done this several times. I wonder if it pertains to Dad's also......

It's not easy!

It's funny how being a stay-at-home Mom turns into such a huge job. I have encountered several people who after I tell them that I am a full-time Mom, have looked at me like I was joking and pretty much acted as though I was a high school dropout that fried my brain on drugs! I won't tell you how I react to those people because I know that members of my Church read this.
Anyway back to my point. Those of you who know me, know that I am not the most patient of people. I have been known to shake my hands in the air and "growl" as Gavin calls it.
So I am sitting here, waiting to pick up Quinten and find myself thinking of all the things I need to do to after I get him. This is normal to the normal person, but Quinten hates to do anything but come home and wear costumes. He wears costumes from the time he wakes up in the morning all the way through the night. Yes, he wears them to bed! It's not a conventional way to sleep, but if he doesn't scream and cry for 45 minutes, what the heck!
So right now I am thinking if I should risk going and doing errands with him, or come home, drop him off with a husband that has worked all night so I can get it done quiet and peacefully.
I am wondering know if a bribe may help.....

Sunday paper!

On Sunday mornings David and I are excited about the Sunday morning paper. We wake up, make coffee and head outside to pick it up and go through the adds.
This morning, since David worked last night, it was all up to me. So I sent Gavin outside to get it. He came inside empty handed. He tells me that it wasn't there. So about 30 minutes later, he goes back out to check again. Same outcome, the paper isn't there.
I call the paper and the recording tells me that they are not available to bring me a paper today and that I will have to wait until tomorrow. There isn't a "real" person to talk to so I wasn't able to voice my opinion. Now that I think about it, that is probably a good idea.
So when David gets up, I let him know of the situation. He was smart and went straight to the security camera tape. Sure enough, our paper was stolen out of driveway at 7:55, by a heavy, balding white man driving a maroon Dodge Stratus. Unfortunatley we couldn't read the license plate number.
We were so mad!! How could someone be so stupid to park in a strangers driveway, steal their paper and drive off? Let alone an off duty officers driveway with a full security system with cameras and a flag that says something to the effect of "Police Protect and Serve".
I still believe they screwed up with my neighborhood. The city of Fresno mistakenly moved all the dirty bags from southeast and the westside to our neighborhhod to mess with my family. I am pretty sure that my neighborhhod isn't even connected to my parents neighborhood, even though they live 500 yards from us.

SHE'S BACK......

Yesterday I was home with Quinten and David agreed to go pick Gavin up from school on his scooter. This is one of Gavin's favorite things.
About 3:45, the doorbell rang. I answered it and Gavin tells me, "Daddy is yelling at the crazy neighbor." He goes on tell tell me that David is telling her to stay off our property or he will arrest her. What? Is this kid pulling my leg?
As I go to the front door, David walks in and he is NOT smiling. He is pissed!
So this is what happened.....
He is pulling up to the front of the house with Gavin when she yells, "Why did your wife call the cops on me last night?". David replies with, "She didn't". Apparently she called me some names, starting with a "B" and told David to "be a man and put me in check". She also said something to effect of the fire was set, now someone is going to get burned.
Mind you this whole display of affection was witnesses by her 17 year old daughter and 7 year old daughter. David told Gavin to go inside, but Gavin doesn't always do what is asked of him, so of course he watched off to the side.
So we went through the proper reporting method and contacted the POP (Problem Oriented Policing) officer and told her of the situation. He also called his Sergeant to let him know of the incident.
I thought that this was all done! I guess we are in for the next round. I will keep you all posted.

Cuts

The whole reason that I changed careers was so I could have a "safe" job to go to. What I found out is that I am having a hard time with this. David swears that I am accident prone and I tend to agree.
I had two haircuts this Saturday. I cut my fingers about three times. I one of my clients that I like to remember customers by the scars I leave on my fingers in remembrance of them. So I have been walking around with bandages all over my fingers for the last couple days. I also made the mistake of using hand sanitizer after picking Quinten up from Pre-School...ouch!
I guess I am gonna have to be more careful. I never got this injured at the Police Department!

1st day of school

This was the first week for the boys to go back to school. Gavin started 1st grade and Quinten started Pre-School. I wasn't sure if the boys were happy about school starting, but as the week has progressed Gavin has got back into the swing of things and Quinten has shown me that he has grown up.



I had a hard time getting Quinten to stand still for his picture. Apparently he thinks he is a ninja.



Gavin is really good at the "fake smile" that Daid thinks that I have mastered. I caught him off guard and got a real one.

Gavin has made a couple of new friends, but chooses to play with his friends from kindergarten during recess and luch time.

Quinten needed me to help him start playing when I took him to Pre-School, but waved and told me "Bye" when it was group time. I was the one crying, not him. Good thing for big sunglasses.

David and I have been able to have "day dates" while the boys are in school. It is nice time for us to talk and spend some time together.

Vegas

So this last couple days we went to Vegas for some last minute summer fun! We weren't really sure how "fun" it would be with two little ones but it turned out and we were happy about that.

We loaded up around 3:00 on Saturday and headed out to our destination. David was driving, the boys were watching their DVD in the back and I was....talking. That makes any road trip better. We stopped in Bakersfield for dinner and made a couple other stops on the way, arriving in Las Vegas at 11-ish. The boys, who were still wide awake, loved the lights and the excitement of Vegas. They also loved the architecture of our hotel, the Luxor. When we were unloading the suitcases, I noticed that Gavin's suitcase hadn't made it in the car. He had NO clothing. Was it an excuse to go shopping? Not this time. Thank goodness the boys are about the same size and I could change him into some of Quinten's stuff.



On Sunday we woke up and got Starbucks, which was $15! Yeah, I know. Sometimes it isn't a luxury though and this was the case. We headed to the coffee shop and ate, while Gavin threw a quiet temper tantrum. It was really annoying. After breakfast we went to Nordstrom for some clothes for Gavin. Everything we needed was on clearance and we were in and out of there in 20 minutes.



We headed to the pool, which was 3 1/2 feet all over. Gavin was the perfect size and could reach the bottom with his tippie toes. Quinten was swimming with his water wings and we just played and hung out for a couple hours. It was really hot and we were loaded up with sunscreen. We didn't take any photo's of the pool because I was scared that I may show up on film with a bathing suit. That would be a terrible and depressing time for me.

So we cruised around the Excalibur, the Luxor and the Mandalay Bay and got ideas for what to do Monday. We ate at the Excalibur because they had a shrimp and prime rib dinner for $14.99 and they let the boys bring McDonalds in.

Monday we got up and got Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast, but they weren't that great. Quinten was the one to throw and temper tantrum this morning. Yeah! We went back to the room, got ready to go to the pool and we were off. We spent the morning there, swimming and having fun.

We ate at Tacos and Tequila, which I had seen on the Food Network or the Travel channel. It was really good! I had a peach margarita..mmm! Then we headed to the Mandalay Bay to hit the Shark Reef Aquarium. The boys loved seeing the sharks, jelly fish, swimming turtles and touching the stingrays. After that we went to the Tournament of Kings. This was our "luxury" for the trip and it turned out to be the boys favorite thing. They couldn't eat, they couldn't clap, all they could do was stare. I have never seen them so enamored with anything before. It was definitely worth the money. We went back to the room, where they ate their dinner, which was left over from the show. All they did was talk about the knights and the jousting.



Tuesday morning we left. We stopped at David's favorite place in Baker, the Alien store. We took pictures and it was a long drive home, but we made it by 6:30. It was too late for me to go to school, so I was able to just relax and start some laundry.



I was a great trip. It wasn't really relaxing, but it was worth the trip. The boys liked it so much they questioned me as to when we will go back. I guess this will start being a yearly trip.

Quinten is 4

Quinten's birthday party was a success. We rented a water slide/bounce house and about 10 kids came over and jumped and slid until their little hearts were content. We had a pinata, cake and presents to follow. It was quick, fun and exhausting-for me at least. Friends came from church and Visalia to help us celebrate.
Quinten has been wearing his Tranformer Bumble Bee costume for, oh, the last 24 hours. He loves it. He also received books, GI Joe stuff and more Transformer toys. He had a really good time and missed all his friends today when he realized that everyone had left. When he woke up today, he told me that it was "...still his birthday". Unfortunately, this wish did not come true for him. He did, however, get me out of bed at 7am to help him get his Bumble Bee costume.
I am so glad that he had such a great party. I am sure there will be may many more where that came from.

almost over.....

I can't believe that summer vacation is almost over. I remember that when I was a kid, summer vacation was almost too long. I was more then ready to go back to school, but now I am not ready to give up my kids yet. Yes, I will admit that I yell at them a lot and I loose my temper with them, but this house is gonna be so quiet. There won't be any over dramatic "Shh", to remind the kids that David is still sleeping. There won't be any cuddling on the couch and watching Diego or Dora in the morning. These are some of the things that I enjoy during the summer.
Since I am going to school in the evening, my parents have been taking the boys to the golf course and swimming. They have really improved. Gavin is now swimming on his own and can swim to the deep end and back. He also enjoys diving to the bottom of the pool in the deep end with my Dad and waving underwater. It is fun to see that my Dad does the same things with him that he used to do with me. He throws the boys as high as he can and they splash into the water with huge smiles. Quinten still wears his life vest, but has ventured to the stairs in the pool without it, putting his face in the water and kicking. It is really cute. He also slides off the edge of the pool like a "seal with a broken arm". Don't ask me, but I laughed so hard when he did it, I almost peed my pants.
Now the next things are Quinten's birthday party and school starting. I also want to take the boys on a little vacation. Where is yet to be determined. I really thought it would be fun to take them to Vegas for a couple days. We can stay somewhere with a really nice pool and just relax and enjoy family time. Oh yeah and eat on all the buffets...mmmm.

graduation from the freshman room

It has finally happened. I have officially "graduated" to the floor. This means that I am in the main area where people get procedures done. It is no longer a free service, if and when you come it to see me. You will be paying. If you think it's worth it, is yet to be decided.
The funny part of all this is....at 400 hours you are supposed to gradute to the floor. I have almost 500 hours. I was being asked daily when I was coming out and helping out the seniors. I would have gone out ealier, but the freshman room was doing color again and I wouldn't want to miss out on that! Plus, I have a cool teacher and friends in the freshman room.
So, if you are daring or just have the same idea as me-hair grows back-come in and get a haircut, color and your nails done. I will hook you up!

Camping

A lot of you out there are good campers. I have found that I am really not that person. I hate dirt, I hate uncomfortable chairs and I hate smoke. So let's start from the beginning.
I bought my wonderful husband a tent for Father's Day so we could "travel" cheaper and so the boys could do a "manly" thing. We planned this trip so we could go with our friends to Morro Bay. Everything was fine until I walked out onto the beach and Audrey told me to sit down. All I could think about was the sand getting all over me and my clothes. The boys, obviously, were enjoying it. They were rolling around and getting sand where the sun don't shine.
That night we had bomb dinner, thanks to Mike, who provided all the cooking during the trip. We finished the night with smores, that apparently I didn't make right, and a camp fire. The night itself was another story. The boys had never slept in a tent or a sleeping bag, so it was a night of little sleep and lots of stress. I was able to get a good 4 hours, if that tells you anything.
The net day we spent the entire day at the beach and had another really good dinner, with steak and seafood. I was able to shower during the afternoon so I didn't feel as grouchy, but was still feeling a little gritty.
The next morning, Audrey and I were able to go to town after she made homemade cinnamon rolls. They were the best cinnamon rolls ever! We had fun walking around and window shopping. Later the boys met up with us and we ate at a restaurant overlooking the water. I ate so much I thought I was gonna throw up for the first half of the ride home. The second half I had to pee so bad I had to hold my seatbelt away from my stomach. It was painful.
The trip was nice because we were with our friends. I can't tell you that I was the happiest I have ever been due to the circumstances. I guess there were more compromises than I expected. I am gonna have to suck it up and be more manly with my brood.

Growing up

Almost every night, Quinten sneaks into my room and climbs in bed with me. Last night was no exception. I heard his little footsteps at about 2am and felt him crawl over me to get to David's side of the bed. Since David wasn't home, it worked out for him. When David gets home he shoves Quinten over to me and gets in bed too.
This morning, as Quinten was running his fingers through my hair, I thought how sad it was that my little one is almost 4! He is getting so big and becoming more and more independant. I watched him as he slept and thought about how lucky I am. Both of my little boys have been healthy and haven't had any problems. A lot of times I feel like I am loosing my mind, but all in all my kids are good.

Silly Games and Judgements

You know how on Facebook there is a game you can play by answering questions about your "friends"? Well, I logged on to it today and found that under the question "Do you think Melissa Lomeli has a good work ethic?" the person answered "No". Seriously? I have a bad work ethic? I work all day taking care of my kids, cleaning and running errands. I feel as though I keep this family together and then every night I go to school to learn a new trade and I don't have a good work ethic? I am so mad right now that I can't put it into words.
I was friends with this person in high school and re-connected when I went to police academy with her husband. I hardly see this person and I have never worked with this person. How would she ever know about how I work and isn't it nicer to skip the question that could piss someone off (that is an option).
Needless to say, since I don't have time in my life for petty remarks and negativity, she is erased. I no longer want to deal with having a "friend" make me feel like I am a complete looser.

Fun Stuff in Store

I am so jazzed about the next couple weekends. David was lucky enough to get the
4th of July off so we can chill at home and BBQ. One street over the neighbors get together and swim and there is going to be a waterslide thing and other kids for Gavin and Quinten to hang out with. I love to see my kids socialize and interact with others. When the sun goes down they all bring out their fireworks and have a show. I am really looking forward to this. Hopefully there is no drama and we can have a peaceful time.
The weekend after, we are going to go camping at Morro Bay in David's Father's day present, a tent! I am not a tenting kind of girl...if you couldn't figure that out. I am always up for a challange though so this will be no exception. We are meeting my best friends family and will be spending one night, or maybe two if someone cancels. It will be a great time getting out of the heat and relaxing near the beach. I think the boys will really like it. I am glad that the Morro Dunes campground has nice showers because that is very important!
So I have a lot to look forward to over the next couple weeks. I am so happy that I can have some quality time with my family. David has been working a lot of overtime and I know he needs it just as much as I do. It's just what the Dr ordered!

Picnic

Saturday was the Fresno PD picnic at the Police Officers Range so our family went for several reasons. One was so David could hang out with guys from work, who he refuses to hang out with otherwise. The second reason was so we could have free BBQ served to us by the Chief and the other big wigs. And most importantly, so the boys could play in the bounce houses and slide down the waterslide bounce house.
We got there and, duh, it was hot as hell. We had to stand in the sun to get our food, but I got the boys snow cones to pass the time and cool them off. We ate and I took the boys to the bounce houses. David sat with his friends and chatted.
So, an hour later, I go look for my husband who is in the shade and has helped himself to ice cream and more drinks while I am standing in the sun watching our kids! Seriously? I approached him and "nicely" reminded him that our kids would like for him to watch them go down the giant waterslide. 20 minutes passed and he showed up. I shouldn't be mad about this still, but apparently I have some hidden anger about it.
So the boys play and we leave at about 2:30. We rush home, the entire time Gavin is throwing the loudest fit because he wanted ice cream. We had asked him three times before we left if he wanted ice cream and each time he said no. We get in the car and he wants it. So of course his crying gives David a headache and David gets impatient and starts yelling. Yeah, it was a great trip home. Good thing it was only 20 minutes.
David left to work and the boys took showers and played in the air conditioning. It was a nice night. I made shrimp with asparagus and garlic and we watched Finding Nemo. I fell asleep and Quinten rubbed my head.

MTV is serious business.

After dropping my kids off at VBS, I came home, ate and am now watching TV. I tried all my favorite channels, but one stood out. MTV has a show on right now called "True Life: I'm Placing my Baby for Adoption". I know MTV is for teenagers, but I like some of their shows lately.
After having kids and realizing the bond and love a parent has with a child, I see how hard it would be to sacrifice that. I truly have an admiration for those parents that are so unselfish that they choose to give a child up to a family that can provide and give a child a wonderful life. I sometimes wonder how it would have been if I had been kept by my birth Mother. It doesn't last long because I have been given a perfect life by my parents and they have loved me through good and bad. I know that no one could have provided the same life.
It makes me happy to know that people still choose to have "unwanted" babies and give them up to a family who isn't lucky enough to have their own. I am proud that my birth Mother gave me up so I could have what I have now and that I could be blessed with my Mom and Dad. I love them.

I thought it was over....scene 4

It as a day I was looking forward to all week. Audrey, Gracie and Jacob were coming over to hang out, get haircuts and have lunch.
So they get here around 11:15 and we start our excitement. The kids run, play and are beside themselves with happiness to all be together.
I start on Audrey's toes (because they need help-sorry Audrey) and because I actually enjoy putting acrylic on toes. As I am doing Audrey's toes, the doorbell rings. The doorbell actually rings several times, one time and after another, like a kid is playing with it. I go to the front door and look out the side window. There is an attractive female standing there. I open the door and am greeted with, "You have a problem with me". Let's not forget to mention the hands flying in a gangster-like action. I am totally caught off guard. I say, "What?". She repeats herself and tells me, "You have a problem with me? You are always calling the cops on me. You got a problem?". As I look around to see who else is witnessing this event, I notice her son is standing in the street video taping this whole thing. I start chuckling. She is standing there ranting and raving about how I "better be in court because I am the one who called" and blah, blah, blah. I politely tell her I don't have time for her craziness. She continues, and I tell her "Whatever, like I said, I don't have time for this" and tell her to have a good day and shut the door in her face.
I was so angry! She thinks she can come to my door now and threaten me? And have her son tape it? So I tell Audrey briefly what happened. Then I call David, who is playing golf with some of his friends. He comes home and he is mad as well. I am shaking because I am so mad. I finally settle down and promise Audrey I will stop talking about the incident.
Now I will give you a little insight to Melissa. I am a physical person. I have always been athletic, except for the last couple years. Stress has always been managed thru jogging, walking or lifting weights. Since my kids I have put on some weight and have not been so worried about it. This has effected my workout routine, although I still react with a physical result. Everyone shakes as far as I know when they get mad. Only a few of us want to throw punches and act out our emotions in a physically aggressive manner. I am VERY proud of myself to not have done that, although I really wanted to!
After David is home for awhile and I am ready to get going to school, he decides to go to the neighbors house and tell her to stay away from us, our house and anything Lomeli related. Apparently she wasn't home, or the "police knock" scared her too much for her to answer.
I don't know what the best thing to do is at this point. Do we confront her, do we live in fear or her crazy ass or do we move. I think it is a good idea for David to handle the situation and tell her what is going to happen to her the next time she comes on our property. I also think that we are bigger people and it's a good idea to just let it go. But whatever we decide...I am gonna carry that pepper spray when I am in my front yard and she will be sorry if she gets too close to me again.

the ten of 'um

So I have had a couple glasses of wine and needed to get soemthing off my chest. What is eriously up with Jon and Kate plus Eight! I am so irriated, like this helps my day. I have just finished reading Us Weekly and rad about how Jon is the "victim" but still goes out and gets laid by his young mistress whore. Then I am watching DVR and see how he is an "angel" going down the slopes with handicapp kids. YUCK! All the people I know tell me how bitchy Kate is, but I disagree. I think she is normal and funny. I think she tells it like it is and says exactly what she feels. I think Jon is the fake, lame and disfunstional one. I think that he needs to go back and re-read his vows, which don't say exactly "Love your wife even if she get's a little stuck up and bitchy", but that comes with all of it. I don't hold Kate out of the whole proble though. Do I make fun of David all the time? No. Ocaasinally? Yes. I love David though and woud never, in a million yars, make him feel inferior to me. If anything I am interior to him...I am a stay at home Mom. Anwyay, so Jon and Kate are lame now and I can barely watch their show because knowing that Jon is a fake, bastard cheater (which I have no respect for) and Kate is a richy, fake money humgary bitch, make me feel like there is no real "reality" TV because if the stories are true, they are not!!

Sour

Have you ever woke up and been irritated? Like, out of no where, just straght irritated. Was it a bad dream? Was it the little guy next to me kicking my back? Was it the fact that I am not taking in nearly enough bad-for-me food? I dunno. All I know is that I can feel this day is going to be long and sour. The best thing I can do for myself on days like this is go for a long power walk (that means swinging my arms wildly) or going in the backyard and gardening or fixing, or baking or cooking. I think I am gonna finish my coffee, make a fruit salad for th boys for breakfast and rip out weeds, plant flowers and obsess about this yard that has absolutely no rhymn or reason. I will let you know how that goes....

Random thoughts

I will be honest here. I am a tough Mom. I am very strict and expect certain things from my kids. I expect no whining, no fighting, and respect. I don't think that is too much to ask.
As my kids get older, I find that they are really growing up. It's expected, yes, but so quickly? I can't believe that Gavin is going to be in 1st grade. That is so wierd.
As I sat there watching him graduated from Kindergarten, I was proud and sad at the same time. I cried and smiled, trying to put on "happy" face for him, even though it torn me apart inside, thinking that he is going to be exposed to all kinds of garbage within the next couple years. I wish I could protect him from all the negative things the world has to offer, but I know I can't.
This brings me back to beng a strict Mom. I believe that children need boundaries and expectations. I have no doubt that my kids would be scared of me if they were ever sent to the Principals office or the like. That's the way I want it. There are times to be a friend to your kids, but all in all, you have to be a role model and teach them what is and is not exceptable.
I hope that I am able to teach them well enough so they will grow up and be wonderful men. There is nothing that a parent stresses about more then impacting their children enough to effect their life and to become all that they are able to.

pro's and con's

Top things about beauty school

1. My classmates. We have a lot of fun. Our instructor is laid back so we chat while we do our work. It's great! Gets us ready to talk while we beautify.

2. Learning something new that is creative.

3. Getting out of the house and doing something for the betterment of me. Sorry kids, it's my time.

4. Doing a procedure on someone and them liking it...or at least telling me they like it.

5. Feeling like I am worth something. I haven't felt like that since I brought home a paycheck.

Top worst things about beauty school

1. Mr. Federico is an asshole who doesn't deserve what he has and shouldn't get credit for the school or the institution as a whole.

2. It goes until 9:30 at night and we are usually done with our procedures by 8:15.

3. The caddy women and goofy teenage drama (although I do enjoy hearing about it).

4. People learning I used to be in law enforcement and asking questions about their criminal matters.

5. Knowing that after school is done I will be expected to go to work and earn a paycheck (double edge sword-I know).

Fatty

More on my dieting saga. I have gained all the weight back that I had previously lost on Weight Watchers last year and I am very mad at myself. I clearly have a problem. So I am officially back at Weight Watcher with all the other "Me" type personalities. I go with one of the Mom's from Gavin's school.
Upon arriving to the scale, I was greeted by a 40-something woman who made me feel like I had just rolled out of bed, which I had. Her make-up, hair and clothes were perfect. I was wearing some old maternity shorts (yes, you read that correctly), a work out shirt and a hat to hide my hair.
After weighing in, I sat and listened to the meeting at which time I realized that I just need gastric bypass. Take my stomach out, I don't have will power so I don't deserve such responsibility.
So today is my first day. I have eaten an egg with plain toast for breakfast, a half a ham sandwich for lunch, some watermelon and a peanut butter ball. I am starving!! I hope my stomach shrinks quickly so I don't have to have all my usual diet start up pains (ie: headache, grouchiness, loneliness).
Then to top it all off...two people today told me how thin I look. What? I just started my diet!

...and part 3

Yesterday I was in a happy little world when I was bothered, yet again, by my brainiac neighbor.
I walked outside the front door to take some garbage out to the trash, which was sitting on the curb ready for the morning pickup today. As I walked out, I looked around and noticed that the neighbor, who has a suspended license, was in the driver's seat of her boyfriend's Camaro. I kept to my business. As I walked to the curb, she backed out, which I watched out of the corner of my eye, as to not "fuel the fire". After she backs up, she kicks it into 1st gear and peels out in front of her house. She gets up to about 40 MPH, before stopping in front of my house. I was already walking up to my front door, but since she has some type of loud exhaust system on her car, I could hear what was happening. As she was stopped, she started revving her engine. I walked in the house, mad as hell, but resisted the temptation to go over to her car and rip her out of the driver's seat by her nasty hair. After shutting the door, I stood in my entryway listening. She continued to rev her engine and make a spectacle of herself. I was amazingly surprised at my self control, not to pat myself on the back or anything.
I was expecting something to happen last night while I was school, but luckily nothing happened.
Today, I walk outside to find that Fresno Animal Control was at her house. Great! I am sure that I will be blamed for reporting her for whatever it is that they're over there for. I looked back at our security tape and saw that she was either not home or didn't answer the door for them. Hopefully my parents will be safe here without me when she comes charging over here, hog wild, calling me out to beat her up again. This is lame.
By the way, this is not only for everyone's pleasure to know the truth about northeast Fresno, but also an account of what happens in case I have to take this through the court system. My brain can only hold so much useless information at once.

Sudz results

Sudz in the city didn't let us down. Our friends did though. I got home from school at 2:00 because I left early. After hanging out with the family for a little bit, I got ready. David had just got home from Visalia so he was tired, but it's amazing how one person can energize another just by their actions and excitement.
By 4:10 my parents had picked up the boys and we were on our way. Oops, forgot the tickets, had to go home and get them. By 4:40 we were there. All of David's co-workers flaked and my friends also did, but I had invited my friends Cindi and Sonja from Visalia and they actually showed up. We all got into the park and started to drink some beer. We tried beer that we drink at home and beer we would never try on our own. Some we liked, some we didn't.
Nothing else exciting happened. David got hit on by some girl while I was standing in line. He was noticeably uncomfortable. So uncomfortable in fact that he didn't even talk back to her and Cindi felt it necessary to intervene as to not make the girl feel...oh, who cares how she felt, she was hitting on my husband. I thought it was funny because David is awkward with girls.
We stayed at Sudz until it started getting really crowded, then we were off to Samba where we enjoyed all you can eat seafood, meats and all the other goodies. It was really good and I left there looking pregnant, just like I always do. It was very good and Cindi and Sonja enjoyed it also.
It was a great night. I had a lot of fun. The beer and all the food made my stomach a little upset, but I expected that. I can't wait for next year....

The crazy drama.....part 2

It's been weeks since my last neighborhood incident. I thought we had moved on and the issues were resolved. That was until last night.
It all started at about 10:45, when I went into the garage to get some stuff out of the car. I hear really loud music. I went into the front yard to check and of course it was the crazy neighbor lady. It was so loud, I could make out the words from the music. Just to give you an idea as to how loud it was...I am across the street and three or four houses down from her. It was LOUD!
I went inside and placed a call to good ol' Fresno PD and then I went to sleep.
At 4:00 am David gets home and tells me that the neighbor lady had really loud music. I explained to him that I had already called and complained about it, but wasn't sure the cops had come out. He called the police department and told the dispatcher that he just got home and blah. blah, blah. They advise him that the crazy broad has filed several complaints on officers that have responded to her house, some of which have gone to internal affairs investigations. She went on to say that the notes under the address were not of a positive nature. David decided to stay in the house and let the cops do their job.
David gets in the shower to wash off his funkiness, when all of a sudden I hear screaming in the front of my house. I went into the bathroom and told David that I heard yelling. He gets out, gets dressed and by this time the yelling has escalated.
Th lady is in our front yard screaming bloody murder, calling me a B-word, telling me to come outside and tell her myself to turn her music down and so forth and so on. She even took my American flag decoration out of my planter and threw it. She did this for about 10 minutes.
David went outside and I called 911. I was shaking and sounded like a freak talking to the dispatcher. I tried to explain that the neighbor lady was in my driveway acting crazy and causing a disturbance. I don't think I got my point across very well and David took the phone from me and explained what was happening from his perspective.
By the time the cops go to her house, it was 5:30. They were there for about 45 minutes, leaving without making contact with us. David the whole time standing at the front door with his police radio in his hand and gun in his pocket. I stood with him, with my hot cup of coffee all the while figuring out what I am gonna do when he is at work tonight, leaving me home with this situation. It should be noted that she doesn't work her "magic" during daylight hours and I don't have enough energy to stay up to watch the house after only getting 4 hours of sleep last night.
Anyway, we are probably going to have to install cameras to the front of our house. I will definitely be parking the cars in the garage and keeping my children inside. I still can't believe that all this drama is seriously happening to us. I may have to kick out my renters in Visalia and move back to a quieter neighborhood.

Argh-is that how it's spelled?

I sometimes wonder how things will turn out. Like, life wise. I know first hand that things can change in a blink of an eye and what you think is long term, isn't necassarily so.
All my life I have had an "ideal" of what and how I wanted my life to turn out. I did want to be married to an amazing man and have children, so those things are accounted for. I never, in a million years, thought I would be changing my carrer at 33 years old. I remember going to city college and looking around the classroom. There were people of all walks of life and ages continuing their education, whether that was to get a pay raise or to do what I am doing. I always thought to myself that I would pick a career I loved and I wouldn't have to go to school again. Yeah, right! Sad thing is I loved my career, but my career didn't love me.
So, here I am, the oldest person in the freshman, part-time evening class at Federico's. Let's just put this in perspective, I am older than my instructor.
On top of feeling old, my family has been in a funk. David is so tired that he gets up to eat breakfast at noon and then proceeds to go back to sleep until he has to get ready to go to work. Gavin is toying with his individuality and has taken to the wonderful land of arguing. Quinten follows what older brother does, but when he is about to get in trouble, he professes his love to whoever is doing the disciplining. I am tired, irritated and short tempered.
I do have soemthing to look forward to this week. David and I are going to Sudz in the City and drinking beer together on Saturday. I am even getting my first spray tan on Friday. I don't know how happy I am gonna be standing virtually naked in front of a stranger, but that's how it works and beggars can't be choosers. Maybe a date is all I need, you know some quality time with my #1. We haven't had a date since October.

Bugs

Last night, the boys were in the tub, when Quinten announced that he had to go number two. So I get him out of the tub and sit him on the toilet. In order to stay warm, I placed a towel over his shoulders. The towel had just come in off the line in the backyard. So I walk out of the bathroom and head to the kitchen to clean up. All of a sudden I hear this ear piercing scream. Quinten is freaking out. I ran in the bathroom and there is a bug on his towel and he is screaming at the top of his lungs. I flick it off the towel and step on it. Quinten is crying and carrying on. I put him back in the tub so he can finish his bath.
When it is time to get out, I tried to use the same towel on Quinten. He cried again and told me that he didn't want that towel. I tried to show him that there were no more bugs and he screamed, "No, it has bugs on it! Get me the other one!". Yikes!
So when it is time for bed, I tried putting them to sleep. Gavin goes right to bed, but Quinten tells me that there are bugs in his bed and that he isn't gonna sleep there. He marches to my bed, where he falls asleep.
When I came to bed, I put him back in his bed so I could have a comfortable sleep without any limbs jammed in my back. In the middle of the night Gavin called for me for some water. While I was there, I checked on Quinten, who wasn't in his bed. I looked in the living room for him with no luck and finally noticed that he was in bed with me and I didn't notice. That kid wouldn't even sleep in his bed he was so freaked out about the bug. Just for the record, it wasn't a dangerous bug. I hope he forgets by tonight.

A toe? Really?

Yesturday I needed some "me" time, so around 12:30, I told David he was on kid duty with Quinten while I ran some errands.
I left and hit Macy's (to return shoes!), Cosmo Prof (to get a new rattail comb), and to JoAnne's to make a sign for our door that reads "Need help? Call the Police. We had another enighbor come over for advise. So muh for having time away from work, but that's another blog.
When I get home, Quinten is sitting with his babysitter-the T.V. and the lazy old man is asleep on the couch. Mind you I had only been gone for an hour. That was a really quick shopping trip!
David gets up about 2:30 so he can get ready for work. As he is getting ready, he tells me that he stubbed his tow outside on the metal chair, which has been in the same location since we moved here. He said his toe hurt but it wasn't anything serious.
So he gets ready and leaves and I go pick up Gavin. When he is almost to work he calls and tells me that his toe is really sore. He said that he couldn't put any weight on it, or it throbbed in pain. I told him to take his boot off and take a look. He did and found it was bruised and swollen. He let his Sergeant know that he couldn't work and came home to go to the Doctor.
I was a mess. First off David hasn't seen a Dr for awhile and we didn't have one in Fresno yet. Finally, I called the boys Pediatrican and asked for a referral. So he gets home and we head out to the Doctor's office. David tells me that I need to relax and I agree, making a quick joke about how it's good he wasn't giving birth-which now that I think about it, may not have been a bad idea.
We waited about 2 hours, but in between we got X-rays and the actual visit. The Doctor, who turns out to be a washed out hippie, who looks like he grows mrijuana in his backyard, tells David that he sees three lines in his toe, but refuses to tell him it's fractured. Why is it such a big deal? He tells him to ice it, tape it and elevate it. He gives David three days on light duty-which is taking telephonic reports in an office for three days and okay's him to go back to patrol by Sunday.
We get home and after a couple hours, David's toe gets more swollen and turns a beautifl shade of purple. It hurts really bad by then and David is mad. I understand because in this pain, he won't be able to wear shoes.
I am hoping that David calls the Doctor's office back to let them know of the result. I think he needs to stay off of it for the rest of the week and give it a little rest.

My Lack of Estrogen

If anyone knows me, you know that I am really not big on drama or caddy girls. In fact, that was why I choose a "manly" profession in the first place.
So at beauty school on Saturday there was an incident. One of the other students decided to get her hair colored. She was obviously having a bad day and was outside the classroom crying about her boyfriend for a majority of the day. So, I guess she wanted a change and decided to go with n new hair color since you can't change weight or any other major part of your body that quickly.
So another girl pulls her hair through a cap, which is typically done to short hair but this girl had an A-line cut that was shoulder length. The girl already had highlights throughout her hair, including peek-a-boos colored purple.
As I did a weave on one of my friends, I watched as this girl sit under the drier for about 20 minutes. Then, all of a sudden, a lot of commotion started. Instructors started coming to the back classroom and I heard someone say that the girls hair was falling out. I looked over and saw one of the instructors holding a wad of bleach blonde hair. The girl was laying in the chair, with her head still in the sink sobbing. Chunks of her hair were coming off her head, all the parts that had been bleached.
As the drama carried on, more and more people came back to give the girl their condolences and this girl cried, for 3 hours!!
As all of this goes down, I am getting more and more irritated. The girl ended up with a haircut similar to me, which I don't think is that unfortunate, but whatever. She acted like it was the end of the world.
For the next couple hours, maybe it was a half hour, but regardless it felt like hours, the girl sobbed. Seriously? Had she not read in the books we have to buy for $3500, that if you overly process your hair, it fries and in turn can strip it-completely off?! Any person that has colored their hair, knows not to overdo it. The fact that students, that study hair color, didn't know this is beyond me.
All the students gathered around this girl and tried comforting her, while I stood back and (I hate to say it) rolled my eyes. All this estrogen. I felt claustrophobic from it all.
So I left, as quickly as I could. I wanted to get away from all the tears and sorrow, for tomorrow was Mother's Day and I would be pampered, for about 10 minutes, but it's more then normal.
I love learning all about hair and nails and facials and everything else, but the drama....oh the drama. That is what is going to kill me in the end.

Neighborhood drama

After a long day of planting flowers in the backyard, I looked forward to showering and relaxing with my boys. David was at work and I was tired and lazy. We made dinner, got cleaned up, the boys were showered and I had read them a story. Just then the front doorbell rings. What? At 8:30 at night? I opened the door and my firefighter neighbor was standing there. He told me that he was having trouble with one of the neighbors and asked if David was home. I replied "No" and told him to wait so I could get a robe.
I went outside on the front porch to talk to him and noticed the highly intoxicated neighbor arguing with one of the other neighbors on my front lawn. Great! The firefighter, Nick, went on to tell me that this lady is crazy and was drinking and that he had already called the cops. I went up to her and told her to go away and stay inside her house. She told me to mind my own business. As she was talking, all I could see was the beer bottle in her hand. I would take her one second to hit someone in the head with that. I asked her to give my the bottle and she refused. I then grabbed her arm and told her to give me the bottle. She tells me to let go of her. I told her no and that she needed to give me the bottle. She looked at me and asked me, "What if I don't give it to you?" I replied something to the effect of, "I would have to knock your ass out". Let me tell you something. I have experienced a lot of drunk people and everything that that is said to a drunk person, goes in one ear and out the other. The drunk lady gave me the bottle and told me that she would just go home and get another. I replied, "Please do that".
The argument started to escalate between Nick and the drunk and eventually moved to his front yard. Thank goodness. I stood back and talked to the other neighbor Taryn who laughed with me about the neighborhood drama and other problems in the area.
So this morning I get up and walk over to Nick's house to see how it all went after I locked myself in my house. Apparently the tires on both of his vehicles "mysteriously" were slashed sometime during the night. He said that the damage to the one car alone was over $600. Poor guy, but it reminds me to stay I the house and not make that crazy broad come over here. The older I get the less excited I am about any drama. I am hating this move worse and worse by the day. I hope something changes for the better or else we're gonne move to a safer area, like the Tower District.

Caca day

I got up this morning, feeling good. I did my normal routine and then it was time to get the boys ready for church. Normally they are okay with getting dressed, but since this morning they needed a shower, they fought me. The shower itself only took 5 minutes so I don't know what the big deal was. So after the shower, they got dressed, got in the car and we went to church.
Gavin talked the entire way there. He asked questions ranging from dinosaurs to the dog. Finally I told him that I needed to concentrate and drive, although we were parked at a red light.
When we got to church, the boys started getting out of the car and found money in the car door and started to fight over it. I was already feeling fat and didn't like my outfit, which was a little too short for my liking these days, so I over reacted. I grabbed Gavin's arm and pushed him out of the way of the car door so I could shut it so we could start walking. This of course becomes a big deal and Gavin got hit in the eye. The drama is just beginning.
Then we get inside church and they didn't have any of the kids bulletins. We sat down and church began. Soon it was time for children's church, which I escorted the kids to. Quinten had a mental breakdown, but instead of taking him with me like I did last week, I made him stay there and cry while I went to church alone.
So these things for some reason put me in the sourest mood ever. I was grouchy all day and had the worse attitude. It made me feel better to watch the Grey's Anatomy from two weeks ago, which was terribly sad and I cried the whole time. For some reason, crying over a show makes my spirits a little less gloomy. If I understood this, I would explain it to you, but it is unexplainable.
So we ate an early dinner and the boys are in the tub. Hopefully they will be exhausted after this and go to bed so I can lay on the couch and read my latest Us Weekly magazine and have ice cream.

He he!

I have found that I have a guilty pleasure. It really is evil though. I live in the "fancy" part of Fresno. I live here because it's safe (for Fresno), it's new and, most importantly, it's close to my parents.
So as I drive around, I see people in their Mercedes, BMW's and the like. I appreciate these cars, but I have to admit I am a tad bit jealous. God is gonna be mad about that.
So all these rich people, who for the most part, think they are above the law, speed. They speed a lot people. So about three times a week, motorcycle cops sit on Fort Washington at various locations and work their radar. Let me just remind everyone that this is a four lane road that has a 35 MPH speed limit.
Yesturday, my wonderful Mother called to tell me that there were five cops working their radar on Fort Washington, so when I drove to school I wouldn't get a ticket. As I drove down this special street, a motor unit pulled out and stopped a brand new, shiney black Lexus. I smiled, BIG! I was happy to see that.
Today David took Gavin to the Dentist's office and on the way there, he called to let me know that a Range Rover was pulled over by another motorcycle cop. I was happy he told me this.
I have always been a speeder. I used to drive everywhere at about 60 MPH. This has changed, since I turned in my badge and because we can't afford a ticket or our insurance to go up. I know, I am growing up! I know that those Officers are told several times a day, "Do you know who I am?" and "I know Chief Dyer" and on and on. It amazes me how people always think that since they pay taxes and "contribute" (in their minds) they deserve a "get out of jail free" card. Maybe we should all obey the rules of the road and work on our observation skills by watching the posted speed limit!

Lonely kid

It all started yesterday when I was getting ready for school. I came out of the bathroom to be greeted by Quinten. He walked into the room, raised his hands to me so I would pick him up, and whispered "I love you Momma" in my ear. I just thought it was a good morning.
Today Quinten got up and hung out with Gavin while I got up, made my coffee and livened up. On the way to church the kid does a 180! We get out of the car and he starts telling me how he didn't want to go to church today and that he wanted me to hold him. We went inside for donuts and he wouldn't let me put him down. I tried several times to put him down because wearing heels and a skirt and holding a 35 pound kid isn't the best thing for my back or my attitude.
As I was sitting in his Sunday school class loving on him and trying to make him feel better, I ask him what his issue is. He digs his face into my arm and tells me he misses me. Ahh, that made it all okay.

Hot already?

This weather has been ridiculous lately. I am not a big fan on summer here in sunny California, but having summer in April-that's not even right. It has been 96 degrees for the last couple days, making going outside even for a short time, a sweaty mess. The boys have been helping David in the mornings in the backyard, which we are trying to make beautiful, and by the time they come inside to get ready for school, they need showers. David worked hard this weekend and put up window tint on some of the windows to make the house cooler and block out the sun, which has helped quite a bit. I am hoping that my air conditioner doesn't have to be used yet because there are only a couple $300 bills I can handle. Another thing I am dreading for the hot weather? Transferring all my winter clothes into storage and getting out my summer clothes. That is a big job and I don't know if I have the energy to do it yet.

Are you kidding me?

Tonight I had school, so the boys had to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to be babysat. The twist tonight was that it was Gavin's open house at school.
At about 4:15 I fed them hot dogs and apples so they wouldn't be hungry at school. After they were finished I had Quinten go to his room to put his shoes on and sent Gavin to the bathroom to get his teeth brushed.
After Quinten was done, we went over to the bathroom, where Gavin had prepared Quinten's toothbrush for him.
I sat Quinten on the counter and started brushing, but the reaction wasn't normal. He had an uncomfortable, sour face. Then Gavin says, "How does it taste Quint?". I didn't catch it right away and then the light turned on. I took the toothbrush out of Quinten's mouth, looked at Gavin and proceeded to ask what he had done to it. Gavin actually kept a straight face while he told me, "Nothing". I asked Quinten if the toothpaste tasted funny and he said that it did. I looked back at Gavin and turned up the interrogation heat. He finally told me that he was trying to clean Quinten's toothbrush with hand sanitizer. I looked at him and yelled, "Are you kidding me?". His expression told me he knew what was next. He tried to explain that it was for the betterment of his brother's dental hygiene, but none of which I wanted to hear.
I grabbed his arm, which was covering his bottom and told him he better move it, or the results would be detrimental. He refused. I finally wiggled that arm out of the way, only to be greeted with another arm. I finally grabbed him by both arms, took him to the hallway, placed him face down on the carpet, sat on his legs so he couldn't kick me, and gave him a really good whooping.
He was then sent to his room for 5 minutes while I regained my composure. If you hadn't noticed, I lost it a minute earlier. Gavin was ordered to apologize and to do so in a very nice way!
We then went to my parents, which I couldn't have been more happy for by this time. I explained to my Mom what happened and she called him a name, which Mennonite's don't type on blogs. I told her not to check his bottom for a couple hours, until the welts go away.
It always feels good to vent to another Mother, who understands. She didn't look at me crazy or argue with my reaction. She agreed! That was exactly what I needed because even when your kids act like the devil's spawn, you still feel guitly for disciplining them. The reasoning behind this reaction is still unclear to me.

Summer

As I sit here I think of all the things I would like to do this summer. Being that school is gonna be out pretty soon, I feel as though I should start planning, or at least hoping, it all turns out.
First, I need to get family pictures done. I haven't had a group picture since Quinten was 18 months. I haven't had Gavin and Quinten's picture done since last year. Yikes, I am way behind. The thing that's holding me back? There isn't a picture people around here. The closest one is in Visalia and that is an hour away.
I want to take the boys camping this summer. I think that it is very important that the boys grow up to be boys and do boy things. Am I a huge fan of camping? Not really, but I want the boys to be able to sleep under the stars and play at the beach. We will see.
I really want to go to Las Vegas for a few days. The bad part is that I wouldn't have a babysitter so there would be two little ones coming along. They would like it because all the hotels in Vegas have swimming pools, but it's just the fact that David and I couldn't go out at night. We both hate gambling, but love to eat and have a couple drinks.
Disneyland....need I say more. I have been checking the prices and they are just too high. I can't see spending $60 per ticket. And if we are driving all that way get there, we would want to go for more than 1 day. Yeah, that's why this will probably not happen.
So as I sit here and brainstorm, it helps me put things in perspective. I can hope at least three of this things come to life, but realistically, maybe two. I hope this summer turns out to be fun for all of us.

Dolly's color

Over the last couple days we have been doing color at beauty school. I love color because it totally transforms a person's look.
So my Dolly had a reddish-brownish nasty color that needed some spunk. I took the bottom portion of her hair and colored it dark burgundy red. Then a weaved the sides and bangs with blonde. Lastly I bleached out the top to a straight blonde. I added some pink and yellow for fun. Here is the finished product. I am happy with it. I showed my Mom and she told me that she would "never have her hair like that". Sorry Mom, but this hair style does have an age limit and you are over it by 20 years!

movie time

I watched a grip of movies the last couple days because the boys were sick and I have been really tired because of it.
Gavin was up two nights in a row and without a day to re cooperate, Quinten was sick last night and we will see about tonight.
Anyway, Tuesday afternoon the boys and I watched Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. I wasn't sure about this one at first because I had heard mixed reviews. The boys loved it and I actually sat down and watched it too. I really enjoyed it. I watched all but the last 15 minutes, when I was getting something ready for school.
Then yesterday I watched Yes Man with Jim Carrey. Let's just get something clear here...I love Jim Carrey! He is my all time favorite comedic actor. So, I laughed at all the things he is known for and just enjoyed the time of peace and relaxation. I would watch this movie again with David, although I think twice would be my limit.
This morning, I watched Marley and Me with Jennifer Aniston. I was kinda sad today because Audrey was coming to town and I couldn't see her because of Quinten and his fever (he was up most of the night so I was not a happy girl today). I loved this movie, although I cried for the last half hour. I was too lazy to get up and get a klennex so I used my t-shirt, which David thought was really gross, but whatever. He asked me how the movie was and I burst into tears and told him that it was sad and bah, blah, blah. He looked at me like I was a crackhead. I think it was so sad to me because my old wiener, Klyde, is getting kinda gimpy and old and I know that eventually I will have to end his posh life here on earth and that makes me sad.
So all the movies were returned to the Red Box and now I am stuck with my DVR and plain old television. Poor me.....

Salon

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what is after beauty school for me. Do I want to work at a trendy salon and pay a grip of rent, or do I want to work at an okay salon for a reasonable price or do I want to work from home.
I have been thinking how convenient it would be if I worked out of the house. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't wash hair in the kitchen sink. We have an "office" that is used to hold David's gear that would be transformed.
I have a vision. I want to put a dark slate tile on the floor with black grout. All the baseboards and casing around the doors would be black. The full wall (without any windows, etc), would be transformed into a mirror. I would paint the walls a dark color and decorate with a classy meets vintage theme. There would be a fridge, so I could pamper my clients with soda, water, etc. I want to put a small plasma TV on the wall so whoever is over, can catch up on their show or put on a show for their kids.
I would try to purchase a sink and chair from a salon that is going out of business or ebay, which ever. I can always re-furbish and make a nasty item into a beautiful one. It amazes me to this day what a little polish or 409 can do.
I am very excited about my idea. I know this would be a lot of work and in a perfect world it would work out. It may not work because of the amount of time and money it would require, but it is something to work toward. I guess I need to focus first on graduating and passing state board.

Sleep talking

There are a few things that David does that make me laugh. One of these things is when he talks in his sleep. This has gone on for years. In the beginning he would talk in Spanish. He was working for Verizon Wireless and was able to talk through an entire phone sale in Spanish in his sleep. He would also give me step by step directions as to how to put a car stereo together. We are talking taking the thing apart, setting it up and re-installing. I always thought I would be able to get some good dirt from him during these times, but seriously? I don't speak a lick of Spanish-who am I fooling.
So then in police academy he would rattle off penal and vehicle codes that he studied for tests and drill. That was boring, although they were finally in a language I understood. And I could correct him if he was wrong. I guess at this time in life, I felt like I was smart. Little did I know what was in store for me....
This morning, the boys crawled in bed with me to wake me up and then left. This movement was just enough to get David talking. He reached over and grabbed my leg and asked, "Are you here?". Usually following that he says I love you and back to sleep he goes. This time he asked me, "What do you know about this call?". I told him that a 3 and 5 years old were beaten and their Mom was UTL (unable to locate). I thought this was funny, but he didn't even answer me. Either he caught himself or he didn't hear me.
This was weird in a couple ways. Obviously is he is grabbing a co-workers leg, that is something we need to address. Second, is you ask a question about a call, don't blow off the answer. He is the one to come home and complain no one helps him at work, but maybe he is making up stories.
I wonder what the next day will bring. As long as he doesn't start his arrest and control techniques with his sleep talking I think I will be safe.

Killers

This morning when I woke up I did what I always do. I made coffee, checked email, made breakfast for the boys and got the newspaper. As we sat down to eat, I flipped through the paper. As I was doing this, I noticed the title: Visalia man arrested after girl dies of a head injury. Then I looked at the picture. I had to catch my breath. The guy accused of this murder, was the brother to David's old co-worker in Farmersville. I sat there for a few minutes looking at the picture of Ryann Jones, brother to Farmersville PD cop, Kenny Jones.
Kenny dated my sister in law for about a year, so David and I went to several events with this guy, Ryann. How strange that it was now close to home. He always seemed to be a personible guy, but apparently had some issues under neath it all. I walked into the bedroom and told David the news. He blew it off and went back to sleep.
I still can't believe that someone would have such a temper to take the life of a 3 1/2 year old. Everytime these things happen, I feel like I should be doing something. What could I do, what could society do, to remedy these types of situations. There have been so many lately in the news, there needs to be possibly more eduction on the subject in high school or more counseling progrmas to help disturbed individuals.
Then I got to thinking, Kenny used to beat his little boy like no ones business for being naughty (or acting like a child), which sometime, yes it's necassary, but not always. I wonder then, if there were issues within the household that would lead up to this type of behavior. Sometimes it's learned and sometimes it's a result of soemthing else, like drug use, etc.
So as I sit here, I wonder how many people that I deal with on a regular basis have these problems. It makes me want to lock my kids in the house and not have any outside contact with anyone. I'm cynical, right?

Bad night

We have a really bad night about once every couple months were I want to turn in one or both of my children to the local hospital or police department or "safe" haven because I feel like I will loose it. I am not sure that this happens to everyone, but assume it does. I enjoy talking to the honest Mother's who admit these feelings and talk openly about similar experiences.
This afternoon, Quinten looses it, which has actually happened for the last couple days. I have trained him to go directly to his room and lay on his bed until he can get it together and return to reality. He did this and laid in his bed for about 1/2 an hour, so I was able to get the vacuuming done and clean the living room. Gavin was the good child and went outside and picked up the dog poop in the backyard, which in turn scored him $1-which is huge for a 5 year old.
Somewhere between then and dinner time, he became demon possessed. The first thing he did was yell at Quinten and I, calling us "Liars". I tried to calmly resolve this situation, until he started laughing at me. Straight to my face, laughing like I was telling him a joke. Boy, I yanked that kid out of his seat and the demons some how switched over to me. I waked him a couple good ones while yelling, "Move your hand". I was pretty sure I impacted his life, until.....
He came back to the table and started arguing about how he was right and blah, blah, blah. I tried to stay calm this time as well and I did, relatively speaking. Gavin had a fit about something and started whining. Whining to a parent is torture. I feel like ripping my kids tongues out when they whine. So I send him back to his room, where he has a mental breakdown and cries loud enough for the neighbors to hear for about 5 minutes. Finally he comes out when he is done. I ask him to not talk and eat his food.
By this time, Quinten and I are both done with our meals. This whole ordeal started at 5:30 and it is 7:15, and he is still at the table eating his bowl of soup. In between David calls me and tells me to relax, apparently he has never had the kids on one of these nights. I have already given Gavin the heads up to the remainder of the night. He will finish all his food, be thrown in the shower and go straight to his room, where he will finish his night. I am not going to let his issue take hours off my life. There is just a time in every woman's life, when enough is enough.

Tanning revalation

It is about that time to be tanned. It is warming up outside and my legs couldn't be any whiter. I hate being the girl in line with the white legs when everyone else has color, so I cheaat. I go to the booth. I have done this for years and I admit that I have gone overboard in the past doing it year round (that was pre-marriage when I was still trying to look impressive).
So I go in to sign up for a month and in walks a guy. I look at him, as the attendant acknowledges him. Then he turns around. It was a guy I worked with many years ago at Weinstocks. He was a really good friend of mine. I look at him and say, "Oh my goodness". He looks at me and smiles and says, "Melissa!". Apparently he knew what I have been doing for the last 10 years, which surprised me, but whatever. We talked for about 2 minutes and I got a quick run down and he was off to his booth. He is one of those body builder guys that tans....but don't judge, he is straight.
While I laid in my booth I got to thinking. He hadn't seen me in my larger size packaging and with the wrinkles that had found me over the years. He must have been amazed that one individual could age so much in that little time, when he looked exactly the same.
As I picked this run-in apart, I started to realize that although I am not happy with my outter appearance, the only thing that really matters is what's on the inside. I am still the same person. And the way I look to others isn't as important as how my husband sees me, which, all in all is the only person that I want to be attractive for. I guess I have figured out that I have an inner piece and even when I am trying to loose weight and make myself happy with my appearance, I am still the same Melissa that will always be loud and love to make people laugh. What a revalation I had, huh? Amazing what one little thing does to a person.

Keeping up

I feel like since I am going into a career that requires primping and a "certain" look, I have to keep up.
I have been trying to work on my body, for the last 5 years, with no avail. We won't depress ourselves with my drama and skip that topic all together.
Right now, I am looking at my busted up nails and realizing that no one is gonna give me a shot until I can get these nails looking presentable. I love having fake nails. I used to get them just to look like a woman when I wore a uniform. Now I like them because they complete my look. I have taken pride recently in being more "put together". There aren't as many sweats being worn around (outside the house)and when I leave the house, my hair and make up are done (not always well, but done). I recently had my hair bleached out and last Saturday added some blue to the sides. I love it, but David is still getting used to it. I have had a lot of compliments actually, which I didn't think would happen. There is an age limit to these things. Maybe I haven't reach it yet.
So the next thing in my beauty day is the booth. Yes my friends. I would live in the tanning booth if it was available, but until then I will stay my 15 minutes at a time. I have been asking around and was told to go to Pelican Beach Tanning at Champlain and Perrin. I can't wait. I have accelerators sitting in the closet from last year and I am itching to smear them on. I realize that tanning makes you look older, so I am going to make a conscious effort to keep my ace out of the booth itself.
Then I am planning a short trip to Marshall's. I know, it's a step down from Macy's. The last time I went to Macy's, I felt like it wasn't worth my time. The shoes sucked and it was full of snobby woman who believe that each isle belongs to them. Sorry Honey, these isle are public property and I need my space. Don't crowd the shopaholic.
I realize that I don't really deserve these things. I do, however, think that keeping my normal responsibilities around the house and adding school, takes a toll on my body, as well as my patience. I realize that David works hard, in fact he didn't get home until 6am this morning. My morning has been delayed because of this, but really how mad can I get. He is the only person who brings in money. What's that quote, "Beggars can't be choosers"?
I know this has nothing to do with my "beauty", but Quinten is sitting next to me on the couch snuggling. He has one of his hands up my shirt sleeve and is rubbing my arms and patting me. Ahh, I love this day!

Finger waves

This week in beauty school we learned finger waves and pin curls. It was a challenging week. Finger waves are very tricky and it's almost a talent that you either have or you don't. I am not sure if I have it or not. The instructor, Geneva, told me that I have it, but that my waves are a little more like ski slopes then waves in the hair. You know me though, go big or go home. If it ain't tacky or original, I don't want to be involved. So I put my own personal touch to it and made it mine. I loved it. I took pictures, but I haven't figured out how to transfer from phone to computer yet.
So, was it a good week, yeah. I enjoyed myself. I was tired this week. I am feeling it, that and the fact that I did sit ups this week and my abs are sore. So I will hopefully post the pictures of Dolly (I renamed her).

Extreme makeover

I don't usually watch Extreme Home Makeover on Sundays because I cry the whole time. So it was no exception this Sunday. I debated watching it at all, but wanted to watch since it was the "Fresno" edition.
I sobbed from the time I turned the channel and watched the children cry and show their love for their Mom and express their support and admiration for her.
While the show was on, Gavin approached me and told me that there was something important he had to tell me. As he approached me and saw tears rolling down my face he quickly got a concerned look on his face. He hugged me and asked me why I was crying. I told him the show was sad and that's why I was crying. He responded with, "Well, why don't you turn it off?". He is such a boy. I then explained the happy/sad crying emotion, which is still a little over his head. He decided to leave me in my sadness and go to play with his Transformers.
It was a lovely show and the house turned out beautifully. The exterior color, not so much, but what can you do. The inside was awesome and the family truly deserve it. I hope they can reap the benefits of the house and continue to be thankful to the community and ABC for their efforts.

a new habit

I have started something new this week and I am very excited about it. I have started to excersise. This used to be one of my favorite things before the boys came along. I had a very strict regimen of running, stair master and weight training. Looking back now I was proud of my body, even though I wasn't then (funny how that works). So in order to get back to where I was, I know it's gonna be a lot of work. And I know that a two mile walk isn't the biggest deal at the moment, but you gotta start somewhere.
So I walk around my neighborhood and the neighborhoods surrrounding with my wiener, Klyde and I listen to my I-pod. Yesturday I walked over a subdivision past Fort Washington Golf Course and walked through this neighborhood of amazing houses. They were absolutely beautiful. They had nicely manicured lawns and fancy decore in the front. You know when you are completely distracted? This was one of thsoe times for me. I walked through and totally forgot I was excersising. I was getting a lot of crazy looks and now when I think about it, I really didn't fit in wearing my sweats and baseball hat with sunglasses. I am surprised that the cops didn't show up and interogate me for possible "casing" the area.
So, I am proud of myself for getting out there and self motivating myslef to do something about my fat ass and trying to work to make it a slightly toned one.

FUN!!

I just want everyone to know how much I LOVE beauty school! So what that I am hella old and and in a trade school! I had so much fun Saturday. I watched makeup being put on Marie, nails put on Martha and Marie had her hair colored...purple! It was so fun! I tried to study the whole time, but obviously if you know me...that didn't happen. I talked to everyone! Even tweeker barbie turned out to be really nice. I put eyeliner on Eric, who looks very metro-sexual, but turns out to be straight. Just for the record, he looked like a rockstar! I don't want to brag, but did a good job..ha ha! So next week is men's hair design. We learn how to work the clippers and stuff. I think it's two weeks when hair coloring comes into play. Watch out.... I am a closet freak that loves crazy wildness!! I may have some color that will make the old ladies in church hold their purses alittle tighter!

Deals

So the other day I took it upon myself to go to Nordstrom Rack. I am not sure exactly what the reason was to go in the first place, but whatever it was, I didn't fight it.
So I go inside and there are the sunglasses. I go through phases in which I "need" different things. Last year it was purses and believe me I wore that out really quick. So this year is going to be all about sunglasses. Now you have to remember that I am a bargain shopper, but I am also a name brand shopper. I am a brand whore, if you will. I won't spend a lot of money on any one thing, but I didn't have to. They had just got a huge shipment of Michael Kors sunglasses and they were....$19.95! Hello! That is such a great price. I got a really cute pair, although they aren't the most comfortable, but come on now. If any of you know me and my shoes that would tell you that I don't care that much about comfort.
So then I went to the watches, right next to the sunglasses. I needed one for school. I found a really cute Anne Klien watch, which looks dressy and nice for $24.95. Now, I felt like I was living in a dream. I have never seen a nice watch for $25! So I walked around some more hoping to find a few more deals, but to no avail. I am so proud of the deals I got that I may make my way back to encourage some others to get in on the deals as well.

weekend

This weekend was a little different then what I am used to. I got home Friday night at 9:50, only to have all three boys asleep, or close to it. I crawled in bed and went right to sleep.
Saturday morning I had to be at school at 8am to start class. I ended up getting there at 7:30. I was the first one! That was very studious of me. I picked my spot and saved a spot for my friend Marie. As the others from the evening class came in, they all surrounded me, so that was a good feeling.
Class consisted of studying, cutting our dollies hair and visiting. Yes, everyone, at school I visited. It was fun. My husband was very nice and brought me a Subway sandwich and Starbucks Latte for my lunch, which I ate for dinner because I had already ordered Taco Bell.
By the time I got home, I was worn out. I felt like someone had been beaten with a rubbed mallet.
I ate my dinner, visited with the family and seriously couldn't wait for bed. I think it took me 15 minutes to fall asleep.
Sunday morning I went to church with my family and then took Gavin to a birthday party in Madera. It was a little wet, but what little boy doesn't like running around in the mud? We took a trip to Costco, came home, made a great dinner, had some wine and again, asleep.
I thought that my body would be able to adjust easier then this, but today all I wanted to do was lay around and be a vegetable. I don't feel so bad because David has been lazy too.
Tomorrow I got back to learn more about Ladies Sculpture. I hope to be able to get a volunteer to come in and get a free trim....

2nd day

Last night was a good night. We got to cut hair! We all got out our plastic dolly heads and wet her hair and cut in several different stages.
At the beginning of this job, we are told that the heads may have lice in them. Huh? Lice? The instructor goes on to say that the hair is donated from individuals and that some of the heads have lice. She then corrects herself and says that the lice is dormant and the hair has been treated so we shouldn't worry. It doesn't matter to me if I am supposed to worry of not, that made me itch to the point of bleeding on my arms. It was terrible. I had a paper towel in one hair and picked out the eggs as I saw them. It was one of the grossest things I have ever dealt with in my life.
The time flew by. Before I knew it, the time was 9:00! Yeah! I went home to finally talk to David, who had got home right when I needed to leave. I saw him for 3 minutes before I left. He was able to show me where he was keyed in the truck from the front headlights all the way to the rear taillights. Gotta love downtown Fresno, right? I was amazed that it didn't get my blood boiling! He was able to buff a lot of it out, so that is good.
I can feel my body needing to adjust to this schedule, as I am really tired. I would love to lay on the couch and watch my DVR, but that doesn't happen that often with two kids who have a lot of energy. So I am trying to stay busy around the house, washing sheets and cleaning up the mess. I am gonna be gray by the time I am out of school. Good thing for bleach and dye.....