Budget????

Well, life is good.  I’m once again learning to live on a budget, and although it is difficult, it is attainable.  California is definitely a rough place to be right now, economically speaking, although the flowers on the trees that are blooming for spring right now are absolutely gorgeous. However, this is the area of the land of the free where it is the home of the completely broke and unemployed.

My kids are growing.  And eating.  And growing.  Holy crap when did food get this expensive?  I suppose if I fed them crap all day long I could save money, but I’m one of these mothers who fills the fridge with vegetables, fruits, yogurt, cheese, and all that kind of stuff.  Whole wheat pasta is actually pretty good.  Don’t worry…we have a cookie jar too, they get treats every once in awhile, but for the most part, healthy food=good food.

And I seriously wish I had time to coupon.  Those bitches save so much money!  Ugh.  I am the stupid cow who gets a few coupons and acts like I will use them, then I forget them on the way to the store.  My ADD is crippling my couponing ability!!  I see some of my friends posting about how much money they saved, and then I think back to when I actually tried to coupon.  What they don’t tell you is how much work it actually is to save as much money as they do.  How many hours you actually put in.  I just don’t have the time.

I have already cut back on the things that we don’t need, only buying necessities and all that jazz.  But let’s face it…just basic bills are expensive.  Too much month at the end of the money, if you know what I mean.

The funds are running low people.  So if you have any tips on how to score some extra cash (legally people, I can’t catch a case), please….let me know!!!!

I’d love to say that the fog has lifted…

but, I can’t.  Not after I just paid a $313 PG&E bill.  Holy shit.  Is California really this expensive?  I swear, the only part that seems like I remember it is the fruit guy on the corner giving me fantastic deals on a flat of strawberries.  And P.S., I’m paying $80,000 to get my master’s degree.  What in the hell was I thinking?

The good news is, hubby found a job.  The bad news is, the job is part-time.  The good news is, he’s got some side work to fill in.  The worse news is, it’s all a guessing game as to when or if the side work will continue to file in.

CRAP!

I’m not singing any more Biggie Smalls in my head anymore…just trying to sing in the rain (which, by the way is really lovely to see and smell, sorry Hub City friends).

Did I mention that I have to find childcare?  How does that work?  I need to pay someone to watch my children while I pay to work for free as I get my master’s.  Double crap.

And yet, the days are good.  I’m playing Roller Derby now, which is AWESOME!!

I’m no Tonya Harding, but I’ll still break your leg…

Wow.  I’m full of uncanny wit tonight…guess it’s been awhile since I got on here and decompressed to my phenomenal readers.

But I did have a crazy fun night with my kids and hubby watching, of all movies, Space Jam.  Then I did a long tuck-in with the kiddos while my sleepy-faced son drifted off to dreamland after his sweet prayers were finished.

My daughter even had a real talk with me about what was going on at school…score one for cool mommy with maybe some good advice.  Maybe not; is it wrong to tell your kid that when other kids are little assholes to treat them like doo doo back?  I mean, she’s usually really good at ignoring, but I could tell that this one little mean girl was really starting to hurt her feelings.  Kids like that make me want to kick them in the face.  With steel toed boots.  Ugly mommy is coming out.

Anyway folks, it’s nice to be back.  Hope you enjoyed the festivities, and I’ll see you all on the other side of my eyelids!

K.

Is this madness????

So, my family and I have been staying with a friend and her son for about 2 weeks now, and it has been great.  Honestly, I was scared before we moved in.  I mean, friends are friends, but you don’t really know someone until you have lived with them.  They could be nasty pigs who don’t clean up after themselves, assholes in the morning (this is my husband), use up all the hot water, bitch if you eat the last Oreo cookie, or be some sort of serial toenail clipper who does that nasty shit in front of you.  But my friend is none of these things.  I would have to say that her worst habit is getting me out of bed in the morning with this gigantic smile on her face with a bottle of energy drink in hand.

“Get up! C’mon K., we’ve got things to do!!!”

This kills me.  But it’s been great.  We get along well, go to work at the same time, my hubby has been put to work fixing things in her house, the kids are all playing together well….wait.  Damn.  I knew there was a catch.  These boys are the evil of my eye.

This is Jaidon.

And this is Ethan.

And they are pure  

I’m telling you.  These boys are terror in motion.  A hurricane has nothing on them when they are together.  And it’s not just boys having fun.  It’s a lot of “Moooooom!!!  Jaidon pushed me!!!”

“Moooom!  Ethan hit me!”

Or we will walk into the bedroom and they will have the entire bed taken apart as they do belly flops onto their new gymnastic mat/slide/jungle gym.

It is an adventure every single day, let me tell you.  Yesterday they opened up their new toy guns, because everyone knows that every little boy is a “bad guy” and they proceeded to Wild West all of us in a manner befitting Colonol Mustard in the dining room.

These boys are my loves.  They were born one day apart and are best friends, yet worst enemies.  I believe that they will remain friends for life, even though we are moving out of Texas in less than 2 weeks.

Let’s face it.  Some people come into your life for only a little while, but some come into your life to stay.  Thank God for good friends.

Babies on the brain!!

I’ve got babies on the brain!!  Poor timing too…I must say.  But there are so many people around me getting preggo that I feel like I’m losing time to have one last little fat lovable giggling mess of a child.

I told my husband that January is the perfect month to get pregnant in, because then I won’t have to be a fat cow through all of the holidays next year…but I just don’t know if I want to go through all the pregnancy stuff again.  The fatigue, the cravings, the hemorrhoids, not to mention the stretch marks!  And, if I’m being honest with myself, I know that having a tiny baby isn’t all fun and games, what with the up all night, the crying, the postpartum depression, the tantrums, the potty training….but I want my kids to have lots of brothers and sisters.

I think it’s necessary to have lots of people who love you and that you love to rely on in this world.  Family is important.  We all need unconditional love, and no matter how crazy your family is, they have to love you.  Right?  It’s somewhere in the paperwork.  Well, either way, I’m thinking about it.  We’ll see…like I said earlier, my timing is somewhat off, considering the move we’re about to do, the money, and all the other worries of the world.  But part of me feels like if I try to wait until we are truly ready, I won’t do it.  Because I am NOT gonna be 35 and a mommy to a newborn.  Nope.  Just not gonna do it.

I’m completely up for opinions on this one.  🙂

Halloweenie

I just wanted to drop in and say, no, I didn’t forget about my blog.  As a mother and a bartender, Halloween weekend is one of the busiest weekends of my life, so you’ll have to forgive me for sliding this weekend.  Besides…my little visit with Jack Sparrow and Wonder Woman left me so excited this evening that I just couldn’t think about anything else…not to mention a cat, Elmo, Olivia the pig, the cutest little bumblebee ever, a real ninja, a mummy, a mardi gras girl, and a wicked scary skeleton.

So you see…I have been a tad bit busy.  🙂  Hope y’all had an awesome and safe Halloween!

—-K.

Shhhhhhh….

Truly, truly, truly.  Bad choices.  Yuck.  And now I pay.  With a sweet sweet boy bouncing up and down on my lap.  Being a bartender in Texas with children…not so much fun the day after I work.  Especially on a slow slow night.

Yes, this comes with a price.  Especially the older my poor body gets.

Have you ever noticed that when you have a hangover everything seems 10x louder than it is?

Day 1 of three.

I think I’ll go rehydrate now.  Don’t judge me.

Run Mommy Run!

So, those of you who think being a Mom is not a job…let me just tell you first off that you can kiss my ass.  Secondly, I can prove to you that it is damn hard work.  Here was my day.

Wake up at 8:00 A.M.  Wait, is it eight already?  Shit!  GET UP EVERYBODY!!!!!  WE’RE LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get Emily dressed and off to school, which is particularly difficult this morning because apparently this is her PMS week.  She refuses to wear any of the 12 pairs of pants I pull out of her drawer.  No, really.  Flat out refuses.  I tell her to get her pants on or else Mommy is gonna get crazy military on that ass.  She finally complies with some dark pink leggings (not the light pink ones Mom, you know that I hate light pink).  Shit.  She then complements her dark pink leggings with an ugly red jacket that truly only goes with her former T-Ball uniform.

Whatever.  She’s off to school.  Only 45 minutes late.  Shit.

I walk to the coffee pot, because y’all know I need my morning coffee, and I realize that there are still dishes in the sink from last night.  So, being OCD like I am about certain things, I fill the sink with soapy water and do the dishes.  I finally get them done and I make some coffee.  I sit down to drink it and check my Facebook and possibly write a blog, when I realize that it’s already past 9:00.  Damn.  I wanted to work out, because I’ve been trying to do that lately more often than once a month, so I decide that Ethan and I will go the gym with the pool and I can swim some laps.

My ADD takes hold and as I get myself and my son prepared I realize that there is laundry that needs to be done.  I pull the clean stuff out of the dryer, change the other over, then fold the clean stuff.  (I don’t put it away because I hate it). Then I realize that the dog needs to be fed.  With my Dad visiting my brother this has become a chore of the children’s, which means I have to monitor the 3 year old while he does it.  I get the water, he gets the food.

Shit.  The gym.  I go to my room and realize that I can’t really leave Ethan to his own devices without him destroying something or making a huge mess, so I find a cartoon for him to watch.  Now, where the hell is a bathing suit that doesn’t make me look too much like Rosie O’Donnel?  I go with the slimming yet mommyish blue bathing suit that covers the entirety that is my body and realize that I still haven’t gotten coffee.  Oh, I made it, but it’s sitting on the desk in front of the computer.  I walk out, bathing suit clad, and sit down at the desk (yep, I’ve been told that I have a very severe case of ADD).  I log onto Facebook and post that I’m going to the gym and does anyone want to have lunch later?

My friend C. quickly replies.  The only problem is, she has a photo shoot at 11, and has no hair and makeup girl.  DUN-DUH-NAAAAAAAAH~!  Super Krystie to the rescue! I quickly jump into my phone booth and spin wildly into my cape so that I can run over and help her with her client.  Oh yeah.  I’m that friend.  Well, there was a bit of selfishness in there.  I wanted her to go to lunch with me.  🙂

By the time I get done helping with hair at the photo shoot it is past 12.  So much for the gym.  I jump in the car to run to Wal-Mart…we are in dire need of paper plates….and by the time I get done spending 80 dollars there (those are some phenomenal paper plates), I realize that it’s now past 1.  I call Cyndi, who is finishing up her photo shoot, and tell her that I’m getting lunch now, because my little boy is starving, and honestly, I was too. Cyndi agrees to meet us at Applebee’s in about 20 minutes.

As I turned the corner from the Wal-Mart onto the main road I see a homeless woman with a sign.  “Will work for food.”  I make a split second decision, pull over, and invite her to lunch.  Fuck it.  Why not?  I always like to feed people.  She tells me her name, and my son graciously tells me as we walk into the restaurant, “I don’t want to sit by her.”  Yep.  My own little Dennis Leary.

We sit down at the restaurant and make small talk while we wait for Cyndi to get there.  Small talk with a homeless person is not easy, let me tell you.  Especially when you think about all the “stuff” that are your personal problems that seem so huge, but their “stuff” is made up of things like, holy shit it got a lot colder today and I don’t have a warm blanket for tonight.  But, we ate, and laughed and even my son warmed up to her a little bit.

Cyndi gets there and we finish lunch.  I then drop the lady off at some random place, and decide that it is 2:30 and I have just enough time to make it to Sam’s Club because we are almost out of fruits and veggies at my house, and that is against our religion.  No, seriously.  We’re from California.

Sam’s Club takes longer than I thought it would and OH SHIT!  It’s 3:00!  I have to be at Emily’s school in 15 minutes to pick her up!  I can’t drop her off late and then pick her up late to make it up!  We run to the cash register line, which is WAAAAAY longer than it should be on a Wednesday afternoon, and finally check out.  I make it to Emily’s school and grab her up just in time to realize that I forgot pudding and gummy worms for her Halloween party at the Girl Scout meeting tonight.  Oh yeah, and Emily needs red tights for her WonderWoman costume. I swear, if I don’t get this ADD under control…..

We drive to the supermarket, then back to Wal-Mart to get the needed goods.  It’s 4:42 by this point.  The party is at 6.  Shit.  Okay…I can do this.  Wait!  I have to pay the light bill or it’s late today!  I jump onto the computer and realize I can’t find my login information.  Fuck!  Where is that account number.  Are you kidding me???? It’s 4:45.  I have literally 15 minutes to get my payment in, so I call customer service.  Cue the elevator music…and then the voice of the annoying bitch who tells me that my wait time is going to be longer than 10 minutes due to high call volume.  I am frantic at this point.  Yes, it’s only 10 dollars, but I don’t want to pay another 10 dollars, damn it.  Wait…I remember!  I put in the correct info, and PRESTO!  The bill is paid!  Shit.  Okay.

We have to make dirt cups now kids!!!!  Uh huh…we now have to make some cutesie little cups with oreos, pudding, and gummy worms for the party that we are supposed to be at in 1 hours.  We get it done in 15 minutes and I realize that I still haven’t showered today.  I magically get in and out of the shower within 8 minutes…I’m like a ninja.  I yell to the kids as water is still dripping down the crack of my ass, “Time to put your costumes on!!!”  They yell with excitement, always ready for anything Halloween related, and start the process.  I walk out of the bathroom to help, still in a towel, and proceed to get them properly clothed.  Once they are done I realize that I am still in a towel.

Deep breaths. How much longer is my day???  Well, I still have to go through Ethan falling asleep before we even get out the door to go to the party as well as homework to be done and a meeting about the work Halloween party this weekend.  I would tell you about all that too, but I am getting too tired just writing this blog.

Hope your day was somewhat productive too!!  I think I’ll go have a little nightcap now.  🙂

Sharing is…an ass whoopin’???

So right now, my son is in the thralls of an intense meltdown.  It still amazes me the way that he can put so much effort and energy into such a seemingly small thing.

My son is passionate.  That’s one way I could describe him.  He really does everything with his whole heart.  It’s amazing the way he puts himself into things, and it will be a boon to him when he gets a little bit older.  Like, at this exact moment he is laying in the back doorway screaming,” I WANT THE BIG STICK!!  I WANT THE STICK!” Over and over and over.  Let me give you a little background on this story.

My daughter has been sick for the last few days.  I let them watch waaaaay too many cartoons and movies when they are sick, and by default, when one is sick, the other gets to watch the TV too.  Today, my daughter was feeling a bit better, so I ordered them to peel off their pjs and take their little butts outside so that they could get some sunshine and semi-clean air. (This is Lubbock, of course).

They get dressed and head outside, where they typically play very well together.  I sat down at the computer to check my e-mail and perhaps write another blog, when, not 5 minutes later, I hear the telltale “Owwww!  Ethan, that HURT!”

I wait for it.  The backdoor comes open violently and my daughter comes in with a pissed-off look on her face.  “MOMMY, ETHAN HIT ME!”

“It’s mine!” comes a little voice from outside.

I call them both inside to find out what all the ruckus it about.  Turns out, that windstorm that happened earlier this week left a  huge stick outside from the tree that both of the kids were trying to play with.  I decide that the only fair thing is for them to share it.  I am so King Solomon in this story.  They refuse to share it (of course), and so I have my daughter dispose of the thing over the back fence.

My. Son. Is. Fucking. Pissed.

Screaming his woes to the world he heads back outside.  All of a sudden…silence.

Something is wrong.

Ethan comes inside smiling from ear to ear.  I don’t know why my little monkey is so happy now, but I know that it can’t be good.  He looks a bit like Mini Me from Austin Powers right now.  I’m pretty sure he even had his pinky up by his mouth.

This JUST happened, btw.  I was writing this post when he came in with an evil grin.

He whispers something to me that I can’t quite figure out…something about sissy’s shoes are outside and she needs to find them.

My daughter retorts, “Nuh uh Ethan, my shoes are on my feet!”

Ethan’s shit-eating grin widens.  “Not your school shoes!”

Turns out my son is full of vengeance, somewhat like God.  He decided that in retaliation of Emily listening to me when I told her to throw the stick over the fence he was going to throw her brand new Sketchers over that very same fence into the alley behind our house.

I have to say that although I was pissed that he would compromise my money like that…it was pretty ingenious.  And don’t worry…they’re playing together as I type at the kitchen table.  But I think they’re arguing about sharing the black marker.  Wonder how that one’s gonna turn out?

Stay tuned….

Success!

What is success?  Here is the definition that the web gave me:

[suhk-ses]

noun

1.

the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.

2.

the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

3.

a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.

4.

a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show.

5.

Obsolete. outcome.

Origin: 1530–40; < Latin successus, equivalent to succēd-, stem of succēdere to succeed + -tus suffix of v. action, with dt > ss

Related forms

suc·cess·less, adjective

suc·cess·less·ly, adverb

suc·cess·less·ness, noun

non·suc·cess, noun

pre·suc·cess, noun

Synonyms 2. achievement, fame, triumph.

So, what is success?  The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors…basically, the dictionary is telling us to define success for ourselves.  For my son, a successful day is one in which he does not shit his pants.  For my daughter, it might be a day in which she succeeds in not having a complete emotional meltdown.  For others, it might be successfully feeding their family.

What throws me off on the definition though are the synonyms.  Achievement?  Maybe.  Fame?  Depends on who you are.  Leonardo DiCaprio is successful by this synonym.  Triumph?  Ted Bundy might be successful to this point.

My point is, success is what you define it to be.  We are all successful in our lives; the question is, are we happy with what we have successfully completed as well?  I struggle with that question, constantly.  The only answer that I can succesfully (how many times can I say this?) come up with is that on my death bed I want my kids to say that I was a good mom.

If I keep this in mind when I am worried about the little bullshit things in life like mopping the floor, or the grade I got on that test, or what some asshole thinks of me at work, I know that I am, in fact, entirely successful.  Each and every day.

Fat bitch.

Okay.  So I’ll admit that I’ve been guilty of calling other women fat bitches.  Which really doesn’t make sense, considering I too, am a bitch, and I as well, have a few dimples on my thighs.  Girl on girl crime is on the rise, and ladies, we are all guilty.  I don’t feel that it’s a crime to be fat or a bitch for that matter.  But to deny who and what you are…that is a crime.

I like to maintain reality.  I am one of those friends who you know will tell you the truth.  I’ll tell you if you’re being extra bitchy today.  I’ll call you out if those jeans really do make you look fat.  If you have food in your teeth, I’ll be the one who lets you know. If your husband is an asshole, I’ll probably call him out.

Why are there so many others out there who are the complete opposite?  Women who are so concerned with what society thinks that they can’t embrace their innate bitchiness except behind the backs of everyone else drive me fucking insane. I am taking charge of my bitchiness and putting it out there for you to do the same.  Call me a bitch; it’s what I have printed on my bar key, so don’t worry…I already know.

What’s wrong with being a bitch, as long as I’m an honest bitch?  Who’s with me?