The Inevitable.

I started getting a scratchy throat right after church yesterday. Yeah. Uh Oh. THEN my nose stuffed up.

I tossed and turned all night, couldn't sleep. Now I'm a zombie, with a sore throat and stuffy nose.

I THINK it's just a cold. I can handle that. But I'm curled up on the sofa, feeling like a big loooong nap is in order. (When the baby goes down for his nap, of course.)

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and weekend. I'll blog again when I'm feeling better.

WHEW!

My team seriously cut it a leeeeeetle too close for me tonight. But a win is a win! GO COUGS!

I'm Thankful For...

Get your No Doz out, because this is quite a list: (In NO particular order)

--Healthy, beautiful children
--A Fantastic Husband
(I know, I could stop here, but...)

--The men and women who serve our country and keep our freedom (and us!) safe
--Friendship--I have some GREAT friends! (You know who you are!)
--Being an American
--My Faith
--Miracles (because they DO happen, people, with more regularity than you think!)
--Books
--Computers
--My church calling
--A roof over our heads, clothes to wear and food to eat
--Classical music
--My health, and a healthy family
--A fairly drama-free existence (except when I go to visit the in-laws but that's only a few times a year!) ;-)
--Chocolate
--Kinkos
--Hobby Lobby
--Nice people
--Hugs and Kisses
--Cars
--People in my kids' lives who influence them for good
--My Parents and siblings
--Pretty much everything

Yeah, okay, I copped out at the end. But I'm feeling particularly thankful this year. Hopefully all of you are too, while you enjoy great food with loved ones! Happy Thanksgiving!

I Love Technology.

I seriously do. Technology rocks. We have come a long way. But I also believe my kids are SPOILED ROTTEN because of Technology.

For example: My daughter, Thing One, has an ipod Nano. She can watch movies and videos on it. She can RECORD VIDEO with it. She can get on the computer and with the push of a button, download any song she wants (until her giftcard runs out bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!) and listen to it and it's perfectly clear. Which I kinda resent. Why?

Cut to when *I* was twelve years old. Okay, seriously, no laughter, please--I had this stuffed dog, with a radio in it. (I had no other radio.) Yep. A dog, with two knobs on its underside--one for tuning and one for volume.

On weekends, I would tune in to Dick Clark's top 100 countdown, and I would sit, for HOURS in my room with the door closed, waiting for the songs I wanted with this stupid stuffed dog radio sitting next to a circa late 1970's cassete tape player on my desk. The tape player buttons were set to record, so as soon as Dick stopped yapping over the beginning of the song I wanted, I could hit the button and I would get my song recorded on tape, barring any outside noise. Noise as in, perhaps, me SNEEZING, or my stupid brother knocking on the door and yelling loudly: "LARA --MOM WANTS YOU!" (I was sad beyond sad when my taped version of Thompson Twins' "Lay Your Hands On me" had my brother's voice at the end saying "LAAAAARRAAAAA!" really loudly and the song abruptly cut out, because at that point I had to stop recording.) Boo.

Gone are the days of sitting at my desk waiting FOREVER and praying for quiet during the recording of my favorite songs. Nowadays, I just load up the ole' ipod. But I remember how it was when I was a kid. It kinda sucked.

This is why I love technology. For instance, my favorite "happy" ipod song right now is Owl City's "Fireflies." I bring my ipod in the car and hook it into the car stereo and voila--I get to hear it whenever I want! Take that, Dick Clark. ;-) I don't need you, any more!

*sigh* I love Technology!!! I can only wonder though, how my GRANDkids will be getting their music. They'll probably get it downloaded in their HEADS, and all they'll need to do is "think" of the song and immediately get it streaming into their brain, or something.

Okay, that sounds kind of scary. But I still love technology!

Are Men Disruptive??

I don't mean that in a bad way. Let me explain. As most of you know, I stay home and take care of our four children, ages 12, 10, 8 and 2. (Yeah, I still chuckle over the gap ;-) I am usually a very busy person. BUT I do have some sort of a "system/schedule" down, that works for me. I know what I have to do during the day, and for the most part, I get it knocked out.

Except when Hubby is home sick. Seriously, I don't get a THING done! Case in point, Hubby (who is back to work today but was sick since Thursday last week) stayed home yesterday. I had lots to do. Errands to the Dry Cleaners, Grocery Store, Car dealership oil change, music store to have a broken trumpet valve fixed, post office. I had to finish my thank-yous and get them in the mail, tidy the house from the weekend, and frankly, I WOULD have gotten it all done...but HUBBY was home. He wanted me to help him pick out Christmas gifts for all his work people. (yes, it's getting to be that time!) He wanted to get caught up on our DVR shows (we're about two weeks behind.) He wanted to plan our post-Thanksgiving Shopping Strategy, Etc. Etc. Etc.

What did I get done yesterday? NOTHING. Well, okay, I went and had the oil changed, but only because I forced Hubby to take a nap before lunch, because I'm 600 miles over my maintenance schedule.

THAT'S IT. I didn't even have time to get on the computer until evening. Granted, it was nice to hang out with Hubby, but I felt bad/off kilter at the same time because I'm used to doing certain things on Mondays, and I DIDN'T. That's why I think Men are disruptive. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed our time together yesterday, because it was a rare thing, but I felt anxious because I have so much to DO, and it never seems to get DONE, when Hubby is home from work. Does that make any sense?

I've noticed this same phenomenon during weekends. Does anything *I* need to do, get done? Nope.

Now that things are back to normal, and we're all healthy (thank heaven thank heaven thank heaven knockonwookknockonwoodknockonwood)--I'd better get GOING!!!

Finally...

...we're running out of family members for the H1N1 to attack! Hubby is now down for the count. The kids are all better, but he's in bed.

I, miraculously, have not gotten sick. Hey, I'll take it. I've been able to take care of everyone else.

Heh. Watch me get it.

Conflicted About New Moon.

Warning: If you don't want to be spoiled on the New Moon plot, STOP READING NOW!!

Okay. I saw New Moon tonight with Thing One. I enjoyed it WAY more than the original movie. It was still a tad melodramatic, but hey, it's the Twilight franchise, that's what you sign up for!

Here's where I'm conflicted. After reading the books, I am absolutely TEAM EDWARD. Seriously. Let's not be liars here, and say we wouldn't be swayed by a gorgeous, perfect, sweet-smelling vampire, who pledges undying love to us. *sigh*

Frankly, I detested Jacob Black in the books. He's annoying, hard-headed, weasely, immature, and stubbornly stuck on Bella to the point of OKAY ENOUGH ALREADY. Seriously, I don't like him at all.

But the MOVIE Jacob, is, for want of another word, Perfect. He's sensitive, kind, brave, loyal, funny, he and Bella had chemistry in SPADES and can I just pay homage to the abs?? (I had to keep reminding myself that I was drooling over a seventeen-year old.) I felt myself get emotionally involved at one point. I kept wanting to shout at the screen ARE YOU ON DRUGS, BELLA?? HE'S WARM AND GORGEOUS AND HE LOVES YOU, YOU DIM-WITTED #&**!#$%^&*!! Of course I know who she chooses but I found myself actually rooting for Jacob. It was heartbreaking when Bella rejected him!

See? Conflicted.

So, although I confess to being solidly "Team Edward" from the books, I have to say I am a sound Team Jacob fan from the movie. Or, maybe I'm just TEAM LAUTNER. The kid can act. The kid is adorable. I mean, who else feels the same way I do?
I can't wait until Eclipse! (Okay, someone kick me, I sound like my giddy 12-year old daughter!!!)

Star Trek and New Moon!

I've heard nothing but good things about New Moon, as in, it's LIGHT YEARS better than Twilight. Which is good, because Twilight was embarrassingly cheesy and lame.

If I wasn't taking care of a very sick, very clingy two-year old, I might have gone last night. I actually had the chance to go with some friends, but the tickets were completely gone. At least Thing One and I have tickets for tomorrow--reserved seating! Woo! I've heard the second movie is much better, bigger, and the actors seem to have "gotten it" this time around. Hooray!

I have half a Christmas tree up. Pathetic, I know. And fake pine needles everywhere. I will at least finish the tree today. And tonight should be fun. We're ordering pizza and watching Star Trek (I love love love LOVE it!). J.J. Abrams is awesome. He made a movie that I finally feel the same way I feel about movies like...Indiana Jones and Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean. Nostalgic, engaging and just all around FUN! And I have to say I LOVE Chris Pine as Kirk. I fell for him when I watched "Princess Diaries 2" with Thing One. He's a cutie. And don't even get me started on how perfect Zachary Quinto is as Spock. And Karl Urban absolutely NAILS "Bones." Okay, as do Scotty and Uhura and Sulu and CHEKOV!!! Ha! They're all perfect!!!

Can't tell I love this movie, can you? *wink* I'm not a "Trekkie," but I grew up watching the show with my parents and I LOVED the movies. So I guess I'm "Trekkie Light." As in I "got" all the little nostalgic stuff and terminology in the movie.

*SIGH*

I'll let you know what I think of New Moon on Monday. Tonight, it's all about a date with the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

I'm Being Calm.

Not sure what else I can be at this point. I'm on my fourth child with H1N1, and he's developed this barking cough that is NOT what the other kids have, so off to the doctor this morning we go.

I was up all night with him, because he would cry pitifully if I left him (he's two) and he begged me to sleep with him. Which I told him I'd do, because there's a queen bed in his room. Well, the little cherub kicked me and barked/coughed in my ear the ENTIRE night, and I had to get up every few hours to check his temp and give him medicine anyway, so NO SLEEP for me.

Thing Two, happily, is over the Swine Flu. His fever broke and he'll be back to school tomorrow. He's going to help me with the baby because I need a serious nap. He's ten, and he actually plays quite well with Thing Four, so that's good. The rate we're going, Thing Four should be better by Sunday or Monday, which means we'll be GERM FREE for Thanksgiving! We really want to invite a family over because it's just "us," but we suspect people might be afraid of germs or something. ;-)

Had a heart-attack moment yesterday, because our claim for Thing Three's 8-day icu stay came back denied. As in ZERO payment, ineligible for benefits, period. I called this morning and inquired (very politely) what happened, and apparently the biller at the hospital put my Husband down as the patient, and not Thing Three. Of course it was denied. So I called the hospital this morning and of course they apologized profusely and they're fixing it and resubmitting with the RIGHT name on the paperwork...

Yeah, we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Thank heaven we have great insurance, and thank heaven all my kids have survived this nasty H1N1.

We are in need of some serious holiday cheer--but I've been too tired to get the Christmas decorations up. Yes, there are people in my neighborhood working diligently on getting the lights up, and I know it's not even Thanksgiving, but I need some CHEER, dang it! I'm sure everyone I know thinks our house should just be raised and burned out and rebuilt or something--I mean, it would have been different if my kids all got the H1N1 at once, but nooooo...it has to be dragged out for FIVE STINKING WEEKS! (Okay, shut up Lara, you're thankful, you're grateful, shut up shut up SHUT UP!!!!) At this point I have the tree stand up, and that's it. Yep, that's really it.

Thing One and I have tickets to see New Moon this Saturday. I am excited, but I just hope I can keep my eyes open. I'll need one of those mack-truck sized cokes...

GUESS WHAT...

Thing Four suddenly has a cough and a fever. Just started an hour ago.
Can I just jump off the roof, now???

I AM OVER THE #!%*&#**!! SWINE FLU!!!!!!