My stars are lined up.... I'm going to the Casino!

Ok, the strangest thing just happened to me. Today has been the oddest day... of all days. I'm not certain I know how to describe it. It's almost like my entire world changed and I'm in some sort of .... dream world or alternate reality.  Yeah, your saying... this has got to be good. It is, for me at least.

Kid #2, who is a little over 2 years old, has been passi dependent since birth. If any of you have seen kid #2, been around her, listened to any of my stories, you will know that she is in fact, my wild child. #1 is very laid back and chill, #2 will wear you out by simply being in the same room with her. Back to my story... she has been passi dependent, or should I say... on the binkie since birth. We have tried to break her of the habit, day care has tried, with no luck. It is a battle not worth fighting with her, and you definitely have to pick your battles. Just like with chocolate milk, just give it to her... don't try and talk her into juice... she won't drink it. She wants chocolate milk and she wants it yesterday. Anyhoo... she woke up without the passi, she didn't ask for it, had breakfast... got dressed... got in the truck... and we made it to town with just a tear or two for passi. It has now been over 12 hours passi free. She took her nap at daycare without it, pray for us to have a good night. For any parent that has been on the passi, this is a major milestone. Tonight we will talk more about the Passi Fairy and how she gives the passies away to babies who need them more than she does.

My dear sweet loving mother actually found something she liked. Yeah, oh my goodness! Momma is your typical Southern woman. She has her garden, she has her flowers, she has something to bitch about all the time. I love my Momma and I couldn't as for anything more. I find it amusing though that she never finds anything she likes to eat at any of the restaurants in town. However, she called me this evening to let me know she had tried a dish I have been telling her about for years, Shrimp and Grits. If you ain't southern, you wouldn't understand. I used Paula Deen's recipe because she would be as close as it can get. Creamy grits seasoned with chicken broth, bacon, and cheddar cheese topped with shrimp sauteed in butter and pork fat... yummy. So Mom and Pop go over to Weidmann's yesterday for lunch and she has the Shrimp and Grits. She then decided to call me and tell me it was Marvelous. For reals yo? Did my Momma just say that? She didn't say it was good, or she liked it... she said Marvelous. At first I was sure she was being sarcastic so I asked, nope.... she really did like it. Let me explain my Momma in a nutshell... go rent Steel Magnolias, my Momma is Ouiser Boudreaux, nix the divorce and being a widow with a little of Marie Barone from Everybody Love's Raymond mixed in. She does not have a positive attitude about many things very often, so when she likes something... we stick with it. She's really not all that bad, she likes plenty of things and she is a rather happy woman most of the time... love you Momma.

Finally... I actually got my husband to entertain the idea of a dog. Yay! Ever since the passing of dear sweet Morris a.k.a. Mo-Kitty, I have felt kind of lonely in the house. I know, how in the world can I feel lonely when I have two kids. I was raised with pets in the house so, a house feels more like a home with furry babies around. Today while reading Lucky Dog Rescue, my heart started longing for a fur baby. He was against the idea completely until I told him I had already adopted a dog. Lets see how it goes from here out. Wish me luck in finding a puppy that is ready to be loved, since we only adopt animals I'm sure we will find one that will be a great fit.

It's amazing how there is a little ray of sunshine in a cloudy day like today... for me I had three.

The Wednesday Funnies

Starting today I will have a regular post called the Wednesday Funnies to include all sorts of things, favorite comic strips, jokes, and uTube videos. A little something to help everyone get through "Hump Day".

This submission comes from a co-worker of mine. Enjoy!

Children Writing About the Ocean...

1)This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)

2)Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age 6)

3) - If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. (Mike, age 7)

4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily

Richardson . She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)

5) - A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy, age 8)

6) - My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)

7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7)

8) - Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen, age 6)

9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)

10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves in to chargers.
(Christopher, age 7)

11) - When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)

12) - Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)

13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)

14) - The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. (Bobby, age 6)

15) - My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean. What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)

New Attitude

Hello fellow bloggers...

Rosie got an update today, I'd like to know what you think. Do you like the old Rosie or the new layout?

I really am curious sometimes if my blog looks silly or it's too hard to read... I've been playing with some new ideas and would like some input.

I was cliking around looking at some other blogs today and .... well... I just want to tell some folks that they need help with their blog. I guess I'm so OCD about it.

update

to add to yesterday's post.....

To make my week even more interesting, Kid #1 broke out with hives all over her legs last night. We figured she was finally having the break out from the Fifths Disease that Kid #2 brought home last week. Or so we thought... we were so wrong.

This morning she wakes up and she is covered.. I mean COVERED from head to toe with red whelps. I call Mom and ask if she can come over until I can get her over to the Dr's office. When I meet Mom at the Dr. her whelps had become blisters.

My child is allergic to Cephalosporin. This antibiotic is used to treat ear infections, which we had pretty regular up until she had tubes put in her ears. Now that one has come out, we are getting ear infections again. Since she is allergic to it, she is probably allergic to penicillin as well.

Keep the big girl in your prayers please. She is very uncomfortable right now. She has no fever and the only reaction she has had is the hives, I know it could be much worse than it is, but I really hate to see her suffer.

my chest is gonna explode

STRESS!

Oh my, it will get you every time. I don't handle stressful situations well at all. This entire last two weeks has been nothing but stress for me. Between sick kids and people acting like children, who could blame me for actually hurting... yes... hurting all over.

The husband tried to be nice and rub my shoulders last night at it brought me to my knees when he tried.

So... Why don't I handle stress well.... you ask? I haven't figured that out. I don't like for people to be ticked off, I don't like to tick people off. I want everyone happy, but there comes a point when I just can't take any more. At this moment in time though, I am just riding out the storm a little longer. I'm just praying the problem away... Looks like its working.

The kiddos (both) were sick last week. #1 woke up on Wednesday morning running a 101 fever and crying her ear hurt.... nice. The ear tube fell out of that ear last November, didn't take long for an inner ear infection to set in. To top it off, the inner ear infection gave her nausea so every time we got in the truck she told me she was going to throw up. I make everyone car sick... I suck at driving. I figured she didn't have any type of stomach virus since she ate 2 donuts from Chance 'n' Dooley’s (they put the Krispy Kreme to shame) and a huge glass of O.j.  #1 and I finish off our visit in town with a trip through the drive through at Chicken Nuggets a.k.a. Chick-fil-A, and head to Hicksville for the afternoon. She must have felt bad since she ate 4 nuggets, no fries and then proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. Thursday everyone is going to school, Kid #1 is on the mend. Kid #2 looks fine... she's not. The school calls around 9:30, I need to come get her... something is wrong. Seriously? She has Fifth's Disease. Yeah, I said the same thing... WTH is that? Apparently it is a contagious viral rash and that's it. No fever, no cough, nothing... just a rash. Anyhow, since she was contagious she couldn't go back until Monday. So much fun.

I did manage to get the house clean while I was home with Kid #2, she's pretty good about letting me do my thang when it’s just the two of us. Add in a little Husband and a dash of Kid #1 and it all goes down the crapper at my house.

So with dealing with sick kids, I had to inform my friends that were coming over Saturday night to enter at their own risk, I would not buy any hydrocortisone cream or pay any Dr. bills. That was fine with them. We played dominoes, again, and had a blast, as always. Great time to get your mind off the day to day BS. We ate way too much food... yummy. I was shocked however to see Bo walk in the door, he didn't look like the same person... He went from looking like Grizzly Adams to normal in a week... amazing what a set of clippers and a razor will do for a man. I hate that we didn't get to teach them how to play Canasta.. but I ordered a new deck of cards, they came in yesterday.... game on!


As for the rest of this week, on top of everything else... I'm starting to get sick. I've done well to ward off the sinus infection since November, but it’s been tough. For those of you that know me, I have a horrible chase of chronic sinusitis. I usually come down with the crud at least 2 times a year... sometimes 3, and it takes about a month to get over. So far I have not gotten to full blown nastiness but I feel a good one coming on this time.

Oh yeah... and my house is a wreck... again. GAH! I'm really getting tired of the cleaning fairy being on vacation. Messy house is definitely one of my little stress factors. My house and work... I really try not to let these two things get to me but now and then they do. I love my job, I really do...  but sometimes I feel like everyone depends on me just a little too much around there. That's ok though, its part of the job.

Ahhhh.... much better.... I knew when I started to finally get rid of the writer’s block and talk I would start to feel some relief. Thanks for letting me rant and rave just a little, sometimes you just gotta let it out. I have got a couple of work out DVD's and got the jogging stroller, I know that if I will get my patooty motivated and get out there and do it, some of my stress will just magically disappear, but I lack some motivation. Motivation... yet another topic for another day, but something else that is effected by stress.

Writers Block

But I feel the need to post something... enjoy

And if that one don't get ya... this one will

And the award goes to...

(drum roll)

*****     Mr. HelloRosie     *****

Yep, I am awarding the hubby with the most prestigious award out there, Best Husband Ever Award. For reals yo'...

The husband is awesome. We just recently finished reading The 5 Love Languages together. I was amazed that he took the time to read a book for me. I think he only did it because our Preacher told him to, but he did it and I'm happy about it.

If you have been married 1 year or 20 I suggest you go out, buy a copy for you, one for your spouse, read the book, apply it to your life, and pass one copy on to another couple. It will renew your marriage in a way you never knew was possible. I won't give you all the awesome details of the book, you need to read it. No, it is not a Kama Sutra or anything kinky like that. It will teach you how to love your spouse the way they need to be loved... emotionally. We all respond to love in different ways. Since we read the book, things are even better than before and they get better every day. I honestly don't think we have had a major disagreement since the very first of the year... and that is quite an accomplishment for us. To help strengthen our communication skills we have been reading a daily bible devotional for couples. So no matter what... every day... we have time together, without the kids and t.v. to reflect on God's word and our relationship with each other. I'm blessed that have that time with him. A year ago... I thought we would have been divorced by now. I think that our problems last year was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to us. We were determined to make it work and we have.

So, back to the whole award thingy. I wanted to thank my husband for being such a great support in my life. Thank you for doing your job and being a super husband. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me when I'm upset. Thank you for helping me to find humor in ugly situations. Thank you for helping me with the kids and the house. And most of all... Thank you for being a part of my life.

It got ugly there for a while, but we're back on track... and I think you're pretty awesome for that ;)

Paul's Prayer

I haven't said much about my faith on my blog, maybe I should. I'm not really sure why I haven't up until recently. I made a post the other day about my faith and just as I figured it would, it was read like I was jumping down someones throat, but it wasn't intended like that at all. It was, however, inspired by several facebook statuses and things that I had recently seen on t.v., I felt like I needed to make a statement about my faith, nothing else.

I said in my post that I'm not the perfect Christian, I know that, and I hope that other people will understand that as well, but I'm trying. I've said things that I shouldn't have, and I can't take them back. I've done things that I will never be able to change. This morning our preacher said The only thing that will change life is being filled with the life of the Holy Spirit and I am trying to do just that. It's hard not to fall back into the person and the life I used to have. Sin takes away the spiritual life.

Which brings me to my point. With so much misery and pain in the world, people need to just be nice to each other. Instead of saying something hurtful, just smile and let it go.

I read Paul's Prayer today and I wanted to share it with you. I pray this for everyone I know.

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Ephesians 3:14-21 (New Living Translation)

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[a] 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[b] 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.


20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

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I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful week.

My faith

Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, I believe that Jesus was sent to save me. Yes, I believe that he rose from the grave. Yes, I believe that one day my God will open up the Heavens and I will spend eternity in paradise.

Yes, I am a Christian... saved by Grace! Can you hear me or do I need to say it louder?

I pray every day, I have something to look forward to. I don't wish harm on my enemies, I love them and pray for them daily. I don't speak unkind words, or trash talk, or pot stir anymore. What is the point in causing harm to other people? How does that reflect on yourself when you treat people that way? But being a Christian, I sometimes fail... Sometimes I let my mouth go on overload. Sometimes I say things that are brutal honesty, I speak my mind... I don't purposely try to hurt someone's feelings. Regardless of what I say, regardless of what I do, there is only one person that has the right to judge me.  I have never once said that I was perfect or that I lead a perfect life. I'm trying. That’s the best that anyone could hope for.

Ephesians 2: 8-10 ~ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago

At least I believe in something, right? I don't try to push my religion on anyone, but if you ask me... I will tell you. I'm not afraid to tell anyone that I'm learning my faith all over again. I'm not afraid to say that YES, my life has been blessed since I decided to get on the right path. I don't walk around with the bible held high over my head saying I'm the perfect Christian, I'm not perfect by any means... I am very humble in my faith... I have a lot to learn, but at least I'm trying. If you want to judge me for that... if you want to judge me and throw stones at me because I'm a Christian and because I pray, because I apply my faith to my life... go ahead. I'm waiting. It's a natural for people to judge and criticize others, to pick out ways they don't measure up to our standards in one way or another. But the Bible is clear about the role of judgment in our lives: we should focus on our judging eyes on ourselves and our own ample faults, rather than obsessing on the flaws of other people.

Matthew 7: 1-5 ~ Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?


2 Thessalonians 3:6 ~ Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

I am proud to be a Christian. In the last few months I have been on a journey to know Christ more, it has strengthened my relationship with my husband, my children, my family and my friends. I have started reading my bible every day, I read a daily devotional, I take my family to church. I even take a piece of scripture from my Bible and apply it to my life everyday. Today for example is: This is what I command you; love one another. ~ John 15:17. I have a new strength in my soul. I'm a stronger person. The thing that I am facing now is people that put down Christians, saying they are weak minded, stupid, etc.

I was saved during my teen years... then went on and lived the party life... but then after everything that happened with my husband and I, we decided that Church was where we really needed to be. We have seen our pastor, we pray together, and we read a daily devotional together. We have made a commitment to each other to support each other. We made a commitment to help the other have a closer walk with God. From my mistakes I learned that this is how I needed to bring my family closer together. This is how we needed to live our life. Please... anyone that wants to fault me for having faith.... let me know, and I will pray for you too. I will pray for your soul. I will pray for you because you haven't been blessed with the things I have been blessed with.

I love spring

I love this time of year... everything is starting to bloom, tons of pollen, and crawfish! I think I could eat my weight in crawfish.

The hubby and I spent Saturday night with the greatest group of friends we could have ever asked for... and to top it off we had a crawfish boil complete with potatoes, corn, sausage, mushrooms, garlic, onions, and asparagus. I'm sure most people haven't haven't had quite that much in a boil but it is well worth it!

At the end of the night most everyone was miserable from all the food that was eaten.

My applause to the Chef. You have crawfish cookin' down to a science.

a songbird

I went over to Studio30Plus to just check it out and see what new and exciting thing was going on this week and yay! A writing prompt, just what I needed. I had been thinking and twidling trying to come up with something profound and witty to blog about this week... but alas... my brain is still too tired from the Mardi Gras event over the weekend. Thank you S30P for a touch of inspiration.

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Childhood dreams, I don't know that I really had any that were too much to tackle. I wanted to be like most kids, grow up, purchase my own office supply store, own 20 or so cats, but I don't think I had anything that just stuck out... except one thing.

I was your typical kid. I had the luxury of growing up as a military brat, my Pop landed a full time job at the ANG base so we didn't have to move every two to three years. My mom sold Real Estate so she was home when we needed her. My sister is six years older than me so I always had someone to pal around with. I was a band nerd, I played violin, I took piano and voice lessons for as long as I can remember.... but all my life, no matter what it was... no matter what I was doing... I was singing. I didn't care who I sang for or when I did it... I was singing.

I sang in choirs, in church, at social events, the bathroom at the bowling alley with Karen, always in the car, and one wedding.... if I had the chance to do it, I would be there ready to go... scared to death. Why? Because I didn't think I was any good. So for years after that I would sing in bars, with local bands, karaoke shows, karaoke contest, on the back porch, just to get reassurance that I was good. I would ride in the car for hours repeating a single phrase in a song over and over so I would have it perfect even though I probably would never sing it in public. Funny thing is... if you come up to me and say I hear that you have a great voice and I will deny it every time.

As long as I can remember I have wanted to sing for people, be famous, be a rock star... but when it comes down to it. I am scared to death to sing. I may have kicked ass the last time I sang Bobby McGee, but what about this time? What if this time I screw it up and I don't receive the praise and award that I desperately need? That is when I realized, I don't sing because I like it or that I even love it. I sing because I want to be praised for my efforts, I want people to walk up to me and tell me how great I am. That is the part I love. I went so long unnoticed in my life that I get a rush hearing people tell me that I did something great! I was the kid in school that was overlooked. I didn't have many friends, I never really fit in. If I am in front of a group of people I don't know, I want all eyes on me, but not before or during... I want them looking at me after I sing, I want to see that look of did that really come from her?

I love to sing and do whatever I like to do...  but deep down my childhood dream really is to be noticed. My childhood dream is to be happy and to be loved. I just use my ability to sing to help me get what I really want. Don't get me wrong, I have lived a life full of love, my family has always been good to me...I'm not saying anything against them in anyway. It's more important for me to sing for my babies and my husband than anyone else. They don't care if I'm off key, they just want me to sing for them. That is really the only time I actually enjoy it. I know it makes them happy.

So, let me sing you a song, let me stand infront of you so you can judge me. Just remember before you do, you alone have the power to crush my world in your hands.

my facebook status

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.” ~ Dale Carnegie

Since my husband and I decided to combine our facebook pages into one, I have made a daily effort to not say anything negative about anyone or anything. I found that when I make negative status updates all it does is create more drama, hurt feelings and negative responses. When you live a life of negativity, you breed negativity, and in turn all you get in return is.... negativity.

I am looking for a life full of positive influence, I surround myself with positive people looking for the answers, not complaining about the questions. By taking the time to think before I speak to 150+ friends about how someone ticked me off that day... I have found that I'm a much happier person as well.

Positive Reinforcement

Here are a few thoughts to ponder before you speak:

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.” ~Paulo Coelho

  

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.” ~ Wayne Dyer

“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.” ~ William Arthur Ward

“The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present.” ~ Barbara De Angelis

“Anger is just a cowardly extension of sadness. It's a lot easier to be angry at someone than it is to tell them you're hurt.” ~ Tom Gates

“Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.” ~ Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Whoo-pee!

Ok, so you see a commercial for cold medicine... someone is sick, you see a commercial for hamburger helper... people are eating dinner, you see a commercial for tampons and there are two chicks playing tennis. There are just some things you don't talk about or you don't really want to deal with on T.V.

I don't like reality stuff and this commercial just got me... I guess if you are going to talk about it then do it, she did it in some what of a classy kind of way I guess? I don't know. When I finished watching it I was like .... seriously? I didn't really need to know that Whoopie is a wetter.

So lets talk about it... I know that 90% of women that have had kids understand completely what I'm talking about. If you didn't deal with it when you were pregnant, you are dealing with it post pregnancy, and if you aren't dealing with it at all... you need to go get checked because something is wrong. I understand that there are things out there to make us feel better about ourselves but I don't want to talk about it much less be reminded about my own problem with it while I'm hanging out with the husband watching the Golden Girls on lifetime. I just said that didn't I.... yep.

Ok, well maybe it is my fault that I even saw the commercial because I was watching lifetime at 10:00 last night looking for the kitchen peen.

anyway... it just hit me. I'm getting older. I will be 29+5 this year. This will be my last year to still feel like a kid. Next year I get to start all kinds of wonderful things that my Mother has warned scared me about. Mammograms, cholesterol test, upper and lower GI checks... all of these are the fun things you get to start at 35. I once read that when you get a Mammogram you should schedule it with you best friend, so you both can get tortured at the same time, then go eat large amounts of chocolate... because chocolate has be proven to re-inflate the TaTa's.

Honestly, I know I'm getting old, I just don't want to be reminded of it when I'm hanging out in my wind suit pants, t-shirt, and house shoes while I'm devouring a bowl of Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream watching Lifetime or DIY Network.... I mean really.