Where Has The Time Gone?

I can't believe that it's been almost a month since my last post! I have been so busy with work, the kids, etc.etc. I don't even know where to start. I guess I will start with that lovely van of mine. We have decided to put the money into that we didn't want to. We got the check from the insurance company for the damage from when I hit the deer. It's been in the shop since Monday. The check was for alot more than I thought it would be, so we're hoping that there'll be enough left over to fix what needs to be fixed. I am sure that won't be the case though. We just don't have that kind of luck! I am hoping to get my van back in the next couple of days. I hate driving that big ol' honkin' farm wagon of Mike's.

Other big news....Jake got his braces off on Monday! He's had them almost 3 years. They look great! Nice and straight. He looks so grown up with them off now. It's hard to believe what that kid has been through with his teeth the last 8 years.....and now it's over for the most part. He does have to wear a retainer on his top teeth at night, and he has a semi-permanent retainer on the bottom that he'll have for a few years. I got the pictures out the "before" pics that the dentist had taken the day he got his braces on. What a mess they were. For those of you who don't know the story about Jake & his teeth, here is the short version:

In November of 2000, at the age of 6, Jake was involved in a 4-wheeler accident. He was a passenger on a 4-wheeler driven by his sperm donor's girlfriend. He was thrown from the atv. Although he had a helmet on, it was an adult helmet, and it was so loose that his head rattled around inside it, breakign his jaw in three places. He lost all of his baby teeth at once. He was taken to the ER (not immediately though.....Tom didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal! Fucking Idiot). When I got to the ER, he was unrecognizable. His entire face was swollen, his jaw was shifted to one side, his lips were hugely swollen, and there was blood everywhere. Needless too say, I freaked. My father swept me away to the waiting room and demanded that I get it together....that Jake needed me. Somehow, I gained my composure. He underwent surgery to repair his broken jaw and had his mouth wired shut for 6 weeks. He ate nothing but soups, sloppy mashed potatoes and milkshakes. I took a leave of absence from work and took him out of school for that period because I had to carry a pair of wire cutters with me at all times in the event that he choked on something. I couldn't risk sending him to school. He missed so much school that we had him held back the following year. Tom, being the loser that he is, didn't carry any insurance on him as he had been court ordered, so therefore, all the bills went directly to me. I was hauled into court 3 times over medical bills. I filed a lawsuit against Tom's parents as they were the owner of the atv. I won the suit, but only $25,000 which was the max of the atv insurance policy. It covered the bills, but not near enough for what the kid went through. As his adult teeth finally started coming in, they came in very crooked. His teeth and gums had received such trauma that things weren't going as well as they should. So we opted for the braces. We were able to pay for them in full up-front thanks to the money from the lawsuit. Now, eight years later, the braces are off and his teeth look great! I am going to check into having them whightened too. After all he's been through, he deserves a beautiful set of chompers and I'll spare no expense to give him just that!

I am supposed to be having a sleepover tonight. Yes.....ME. A few of my besties are coming with their kids and we're going to eat, drink, drink, eat, and watch chick flicks while the kiddies whoop it up. Not sure if the weather is going to co-operate though. Especailly up on the "Tug"...lol. You've gotta be a local to understand that! We're expecting quite a bit of snow tonight.

Well, I guess that's really all that's been going on. I could go on and on, and bore you some more with all of the other petty crap that's been going the last month, but I wouldn't do that to ya! Toodles!

F****ing Van!!

SO......the latest saga with my van:

I have yet another flat tire! I left work yesterday and decided to go visit my brother at Standard Auto. Heading down Factory St. I hear a familiar thumping noise coming from under my car. I pull over, get out, look.....but don't see a problem....probably because I was pulled up against a snowbank. I get back in, proceed down Factory St.....still hear the noise. A guy standing on the sidewalk having a cigarette apparently hears me coming.....and stares down toward my tires as I pass by him. I know for sure now that I have another fucking flat! I was almost to Standard, and decided to try to get there rather then stop where I was so when whoever decided to change the tire (not ME of course :-) didn't have to do it in the street. Almost there....I hear a strange "knocking" sound coming from my ENGINE!! WTF?!?! I get in the parking lot at Standard, go to turn off the van, and it starts spitting and sputtering, and finally stalls out. BEAUTIFUL!! Long story made short (because I am so sick of wasting my time and breath on that piece of shit)......I left the van there. My mom came and got me and took me home. Mike went last night and changed the tire and drove the P.O.S. to work (he said it's running fine....well....as fine as it gets anyway!). I dropped the flat off at Ron's on my way to work. He said that it's pretty common for this to happen with it being as cold as it has been. Two in less than a week though?!? Uggggggggggh. It just keeps getting better and better! Hopefully it just needs a repair, and that I don't need a whole new tire (seeing as though I kept driving on it....typical woman!). Still have not heard from the insurance adjuster about my accident. Guess I'll have to give them a call today. Bastards. I swear.....I'm REALLLLL close to having a goood ol' meltdown! Hahahahahahahah (the laugh of a crazy lady!)

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy!

Lukas lost his first tooth on Saturday! Here is a picture of him showing off his new "gap", as well as the little tooth pouch he made last year in Pre-K.

The pouch went under his pillow with the tooth in it, awaiting the Tooth Fairy's arrival Saturday night. How excited Lukas was to get not the 25 cents he thought he was going to get......but TWO DOLLARS! I'm not all that familiar with what the going rate is for a tooth these days. I never had to go through that with Jake. He lost all of his in one shot when he was in his 4-wheeler accident. I remember sitting in his hospital room that night as he slept....face all swollen and bloodied. I cried as I asked my dad what the Tooth Fairy leaves in a case like this. My dad thought that $20 was a reasonable amount considering what the poor kid had been through. We won't tell Lukas that story until he's much older.....he'll want to purposely knock all of his out so he can get a BIG toy! lol

Inauguration Day!

What a wondeful day today is! The inauguration of our first African-American President! I can't help but feel hopeful for our nation today. I see great changes coming our way....much needed changes in our government...in our nation as a whole. I am so very proud to be an American today....so excited to watch history being made. I am thrilled that my children will remember this day for the rest of their lives. I made sure that I explained the importance of today to Lukas this morning as I got him ready for school. At 5, you wonder just how much they understand. He knows that Barack Obama is going to be our new president.....but won't understand what a major step this is for our nation until many years from now. Jake, on the other hand, understands full-well......just not sure he really cares at 14!

I tried watching the inauguration in our conference room.....but apparently our office is the only one with a television, because the entire building is in there watching tv.....and NO ONE seems to be able to keep their mouths shut! I just want to scream SHUT THE FUCK UP!! How rude! We are watching history in the making, and you can't stop yourself from gabbing about the fucking pear cobbler you're stuffing in your face?!? UGGGGGGGH!!

Good riddence G.W. you God damn moron! Hello President Obama!

What A Friggin' Week!!

I have never been more anxious to have the weekend arrive. This week has been the week from hell. As stated previously, my van had been in theh shop with numerous problems, including transmission issues. We decided that it was finally time to trade the wreck in. Monday we went and test drove a beautiful GMC Envoy. We did the preliminary paperwork, got my hopes up....then found out that because we owed so much on the van still, we couldn't get a loan. Apparently because we were buying used, they weren't willing to roll that much over onto a used vehicle. SO....then we decide that we are going to keep the piece of shit and try like hell to get it paid off this year. Mike called on the parts that we need, and in all, they were going to be well over $800 PLUS labor! Another big blow to the gut. If all of THAT weren't enough....I hit a damn deer yesterday on my way to work. A BIG ol' bitch too! That messed up the whole front of the van pretty good. Yet ANOTHER blow to the gut! This may turn out to be a blessing in disguise though. Perhaps we can somehow get everything fixed on this one claim....if ya know what I'm saying ;-) THEN....last night, I am leaving my cousin's salon only to find that my front passenger side tire is totally flat. Beautiful! Her husband put enough air in the tire so I could get home, then my brother-in-law, David, came down and changed the tire for me. I dropped the tire off at Ron's Automotive this morning for them to look at it......good news finally! We didn't need a new tire....just a simple patch job, and a measley $10!! WOO HOO!! Ya know....it's just been one of those weeks. It's been one thing after another. Not just the car....but multiple issues with my family (nothing major) as well as the daily dealings with my kids. I just feel like I could go postal...lol. Tomorrow we are going to my friend Char's for a chicken BBQ (Yes....I realize that it's winter!), and I plan on getting lit beyond recognition! Have a great weekend....I hope to!

T.G.I.F.

Thank God It's Friday! They week does actually seemed to have flown by.....yet dragged on at the same time. Make any sense?? I'm just anxious for a couple of days at home with nothing to do.

Jake is going with his grandparents tonight (Tom's parents). The possibility of me taking him there was brought up by his grandmother......to which I decided against. My theory is this.....they raised a fucking useless idiot who does absolutely NOTHING for his kid therefore making ME do all the more.....so they can suck it up and pick up HIS slack. What would be wrong with TOMMY picking him up and bringing him to his parents?? God forbid we ask him for anything! Though in a way, I know where they are coming from.....I wouldn't ask that son of a bitch to piss on me if I were on fire! I'd like to be the better person here.....but I tried that once. It worked for a while, and things with Tom and were very cool. His new bitch apparently didn't like that, so therefore, we are back to hating each other. Whatever. He's a fuckin' fuck, so fuckin' fuck him!!

I'd like to travel to Syracuse this weekend for the camper show.....but then we get silly ideas like "upgrading".....and we certainly don't need to do that again for a while. It's just fun to go look at them and see all of the different styles and reminisce about the "old days" when we were just moving up to a pop-up from our family-sized tent! The weather is supposed to be nice, and the gas prices are down, so perhaps I can talk Mike into going down for something to do.

I'm alone at work again today. Bored to death....but getting paid....so I'm not complaining! I have my little t.v. on....watching my soaps....lol....and playing on the computer. Ohhhhh....what a hard gig this!

Welcome 2009!!

Our New Year's Eve was a wonderful one, full of good friends, good food, and LOTS of good drinks! The kids, especially Lukas, had a great time as well. I spent most of yesterday in an out of bed....lol....not necessarily because I was hung-over, so to speak, but more because I was just so damn tired! I'm not used to being up until 1 a.m. anymore! Those days are LONG gone!

We got the Christmas stuff all down and taken care of yesterday. It's always bittersweet for me....I love to get things back to normal around the house, but hate putting it all away for another whole year. This year, I was a little more anxious to get rid of it, mainly because I am very anxious for Spring to get here so we can get using our camper again! I hate making payments on it and not being able to use it!

So everyone wants to know what my New Year's resolutions are! Well, I always have the same one....NOT to make any resolutions...lol!! This year, I am making a small exception to that rule. I never make the resolution to lose weight, because in all reality, I probably won't without some kind of medical intervention.....and for the most part, it really doesn't bother me. I feel healthy for the most part, I am active, and my husband loves every pound of me. So, my resolution this year is to continue to be a good wife, a good mother, a good friend, and an overall good person. If anyone expects anymore for me than that, they can kiss my ass!! lol

Happy New Year...hope yours is full of wonderful things!