Showers, Oldness & Hangovers

Well this weekend is almost over, but it was pretty busy for me.

Friday night I had a baby shower for one of my sisters. I wasn't really in charge but I got nominated to do the public speaking part cause my other sister who was the host got chicken. Anyway, I rocked it and everyone had a great time.
I helped make this great cake and these adorable cupcakes for the shower too.


Saturday was my bday but we went around to see all our moms and grandmas. Then I got a bunch of girls together and went out and did karaoke! It was a blast but I drank too much. Its hard to not drink when people buy them for you. I sang Shoop, then Before He Cheats, then a duet If I Had A Million Dollars. Then we went to another bar where there was a band and since it was my birthday, somehow I ended up playing the cowbell on stage with the band.
Then I woke up with a hangover this morning and my hubby made eggs that smelled up the whole house and made me wanna barf. But I was very touched at his efforts. Then my youngest sister came over and we went to the amusement park and rode roller coasters. Thats really great for a hangover, let me tell you. I am glad she went so she could ride with my son on stuff I wasn't going near. But walking does help hangovers for me, that and DrPepper. It rained on us so we left early and now I am home in my robe all warm and relaxing.

I took some GREAT pics of the boys by the river Saturday. I have such cute kids.
I will hopefully share my favorite ones tomorrow after I get them edited. Now I have to go watch some DVR.

Vintage Plum

I found this new scrapbook networking/kit site, and they are awesome. Vintage Plum
They are having an online crop that I am going to make hubby hook up a laptop and run a cable all the way down the hall so I have internet connection for.
Anyway, if you are a scrapper, check it out.
I have to give props to their site designers cause they have some of the best graphics and little gadgets I have ever seen on a scrap site. I am joining them at pretty close to their beginning and my first kit will be next month hopefully if I can talk hubby into it and I hope to stick around for as long as humanly possible for both of us!

Elmo Be Elmo. Who Be You??

We Love Elmo. We Love Tina Fey Too.

Almost only a month later...a new post!

OK so, A BIG CONGRATS to my friend the Genderist to her new addition!

And Happy Spring everyone! I have been thinking of trying to get a picture of the boys in matching shirts I got them from the Children's Place. However I only got a few pictures of Superman and then my camera/computer ate the pictures on transfer. So for now I am waiting on a warm day when I can have the boys clean and dressed and outside on green grass cause Easter Day was not one of those days. Maybe tomorrow.

We had a pregnancy scare last week. Was kinda funny. Batman and I both agreed that this was NOT the time to add another SUPER to this family. But certain things were late that should have arrived and the Batman was freaking out. Then things arrived and we are still a family of four thankfully.

I am planning a baby shower for my sister who is due in July. She is having a boy and her theme is these adorable monkey faces. So I am making monkey invitations and thank you cards and diaper cake and diaper wreath and hopefully i can find someone to make an edible cake in the shape of a monkey face or a banana. Then we will have monkey tails for snacks and anything else baby/monkey themed that I can think of. Any suggestions are appreciated.
I've been busy busy being creative and trying to be organized and planning. Then I watched this:
Martha
I don't know if I can do it. I need to find some one who can. Better yet, someone who can do it twice.
I entertained the idea of buying a shaped cake pan from Amazon and making a monkey cake, but quickly decided I should just stick to paper creativity. Thats my niche. And maybe some beadwork, which I need to get working on now.

I helped my youngest sister find a junior prom dress for $37! Yes I typed that right. It was on clearance for $70 and then half off that. There were loose beads and ripped zipper seams and it needed the straps taken up and was missing a button. All fixable. And it looked great on her. So we went to JoAnns....My favorite craft store....(I wish I got free stuff for shameless advertising) and we got extra beads and new buttons that were better than the ones that were on there. Then when I got home I took the tags off and realized there was one of those little ziploc baggies that had extra beads and buttons in it. Oh well, the new buttons are prettier. Can't wait to take prom pics of her in a few weeks. So glad we found such a good buy. And then she got shiny silver shoes with a bow and a the next store found a purse that exactly matched the shoes. It was like a shopping miracle! I sware angels were singing that day for us!

Now for a less exciting part of my post. I've been visiting a doctor recently. Not my endocrinologist, although she has me up to 237mcgs of thyroid now, which is like whoa! She also checked me for gluten intolerance when I told her of my nausea and sudden visits to the ceramic throne immediately following meals. Negative.
Anyhow, my other doc thinks I have a nervous stomach so she likes to try me on anti-anxieties. I think she's nutzo. She gets me a colonoscopy and blood/stool tests and different meds. I have asked around my family histories and such and have gotten a sense that my symptoms may be from a gallbladder. I want it checked just to be safe. So two appointments ago I asked her to check and she kind of said okay and she wanted a physical. So I made the appointment for my physical/pap and got that yesterday. Then I mentioned the gallbladder thing and she was like didn't we check that already? Hello? I like when doctors listen to me. So then she orders the gallbladder sono. I get that today. I just want to find out what's causing the problems, cause I don't like to be treated for symptoms and no one finds out a diagnosis. I'm tired of being patient and seeing if medicine helps and it just goes away. If this shows nothing then I'm finding a doctor who will figure it out or at least pick the right meds. anti-anxieties don't help nausea moron. I'm not depressed, I'm gonna barf stupid, how did you get a degree??

Ohh I LOVE it!!

Whole lotta scrappin going on

I have gotten to scrap a bit recently. I went to a two night overnight crop 2 wekends ago, then a crop last friday, and this weekend I am doing a whole weekend crop again (but not staying over night cause its close).
So I want to finish Spiderman's third album before this weekend. And I am slowly doing Superman's second album. He is almost 3 and I haven't even scrapped to his first birthday yet. My goal is to finish that big 12x15 album before I go to IL at the end of April.
I am so excited to get to go see my IL "family" again. We're doing some cropping and celebrating my adopted mom & my birthdays.

Superman has started being interested in television. He has liked spongebob for a while, but now he's into Dora, and Diego, and WonderPets. Its so cute when he runs to the TV and points to the answers. Its good that he now likes the learning shows. Then maybe he'll stop saying, "Tarter sauce!"

6 going on 12

My baby turned 6 last week. He lost his first tooth the week before.
He blew out 12 candles then turned around and said, "Yes! I'm 12!!"
I know you love the glasses.
They had 6 candles on them, so he had to have them.
He's the coolest 6 yr old I know!

Randomness, From me

A few people tagged me so here you go, hope you make it to the end!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

If you read my blog, Thank you!! And you are now tagged! That means you, Genderist and Gina.

here we go.

1. I can't figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I bounce back and forth between graphic designer, photographer, art teacher, and sonogram technician. Right now I am focusing on my mommy job and hopefully the answer will present itself to me when the time is right. I used to want to be a magazine editor, but now I lean more towards things that will let me spend time with my family.

2. I get sick a lot. I have less lymph nodes than I should because of cancer, and I catch things easier than most people. I am always afraid I am going to have cancer again. I have a bottle of Germ X in every room in my house, but I have kids, and we leave the house, so I get stuck with a cold or flu often. I am becoming chronically nauseas and I'm not sleeping well.

3. I always thought that if I had kids, I would have to have girls. Now that I have two awesome mama's boys, I can't imagine having a girl. Although I am sad I didn't get to see my hubby with Daddy's little princess.

4. I love TV and movies. I would watch TV all day if I could. And if I start watching a series, I usually watch it til the end, and I get mad when they cancel my shows. I also hate it when a show I really enjoy only lasts a half hour.

5. I LOVE socks. My favorite are soft, funky, pattern ones that completely cover my calves. If you ever need to get me a gift, socks are a sure bet. I am overflowing my sock drawer. I'm thinking of converting a whole big drawer to my sock drawer. I can't even hide stuff in my sock drawer cause there is no room for anything but socks. If its hot outside and socks look weird with shorts, then I am probably wearing flip flops.

6. My favorite household chore is vacuuming. I love seeing the carpet all fluffed up and crumb free. The lines in the carpet that the vacuum makes, deeply relaxes me.

7. I wish I had a really close friend that also lived really close. Sisters don't count here. I have a friend that I've had since I was 4 but she lives in Wisconsin. And my best friend from college lives in TX. I have some great friends that lived close when I lived in IL, but then I had to move away from them. Now I am accepting applications for a best friend who lives nearby, that would like to get lunch once in a while, and who wants to learn every thing about each other so we can have giggly chats and nonverbal communications.

8. I cannot live without my sisters. I am the protective big sister so I like to lecture a LOT. I always am afraid of bad things happening to them. To the annoyance of my husband, I pretty much do anything for my sisters. Soon I will be an aunt to two new little sweeties and its going to get worse.
My new sister in law will have to adapt to the routine.

9. I know every word to the song Shoop. I know a lot of words to a lot of songs, but I sing horribly. I sing loud and off key and I like it when people think its funny. This morning I sang a song by Prince in the car and my 6 yr old thought it was terribly hilarious. I thought I sounded good.
I like 80s and 90s music the best.

10. I would love to be a surrogate mother. Part of me feels like it would be an awesome way to have a bigger purpose in life. I love being a mom and I want to give the right couple the chance to have their own child. Plus I am really good at being pregnant. It is uncomfortable and I complain a lot, but I rock at it.

11. I love to dance. I haven't been to a club to dance since my sister's bachelorette party, but I really enjoy it and get great exercise. My favorite part of the day is when I put on music and dance around the house all crazy with the boys. I like being a dork.

12. I really really want a Pomeranian puppy. BAD. I HAVE to have one soon. Its like I have never wanted anything more in my life. I may be trying to compensate for not having a best friend close by, but I don't care. I want it and I want to love it and spoil it and I won't be complete until I have one. I even have it named already. I will probably put clothes on it and carry it in a bag. Don't judge me.

13. I have a tiny collection of Wizard of Oz stuff. I want more. Much more.

14. I don't like to cook, do dishes, or do laundry, but in my house I do them the best.

15. I like to read but don't get to do it often. I read magazines or blogs mostly cause it takes months to finish a book for me.

16. I wish I could be a professional scrapbooker. I love my hobby and its my creative outlet. I want to be on a Design Team one day. I have finished 6 albums in the last 6 years.

17. In school I never missed a vocabulary word. I always got 100% on my spelling and vocab.

18. I was editor of the high school newspaper and yearbook. I was co-captain of the flag team too.

19. I went to Florida to be in the half time show of the Citrus Bowl on New Years day 2000, with another girl from the Flag team. We practiced for a week before on a field next to Universal Studios. We were seniors in high school and went from KS to FL with no adult supervision and lived to return. The halftime show was amazing. I still have the dumb costume we had to wear. It was the only time I have been to Universal Studios and MGM. We spent the last night of 1999 partying at Universal Studios.

20. My husband and I met in high school but we lived 4 blocks away from each other since elementary. We started dating in 1998 and got married New Years Eve of 2005.

21. I hate kiss-asses and inconsiderate people.

22. My oldest son is now in gifted education. He is in Kindergarten and can read at almost 3rd grade level. He is doing phenomenal in math and learning amazing things every day. He will be in SAGE (students in Academically Gifted Education) for the rest of his schooling I'm sure. He is learning power point and researching already. He is very creative and loves to draw and he's a huge superhero nerd already too.

23. My youngest son is 2 1/2 and he is a dinosaur lover. He also likes spongebob and beating up his big brother. He loves chocolate milk. He doesn't like to sit still very long. He is very strong. I believe that if I hadn't gotten pregnant with him then I wouldn't have found out about my thyroid cancer soon enough. He was very strong through the pregnancy even though we had surgery to remove my thyroid. I had to send him to live with my parents for 2 weeks while I went through radiation and he adjusted very well. He goes with the flow usually and knows what he wants. He is speaking in complete sentences and working on potty training.

24. I love margaritas. I don't like the taste of beer or gin. I am not much for wine, but I'll try it to see if I like it cause none of it ever tastes the same.

25. I am going to get in very good shape this summer cause we are getting season tickets to Worlds of Fun. I plan on taking the boys very often. I love roller coasters and hope my kids like them too so I can make them ride with me. My sisters and I started a tradition where us 4 girls go to WoF in October and go through at least one haunted house there. We're going to do it til we are too old to walk.

ELMO

Yeah we totally saw Elmo live. Little Superman and I watched 2 hours of dancing Sesame Street characters. He loved it. Happiest 2 yr old ever!

Baby Blues pic

I just love these pretty blue eyes. They may be the main reason he gets what he wants so often.

I hope they stay this beautiful forever.

Tubing Fun!

Pic of the day! I am intrigued by the picture a day for a year challenges I see on some scrapbook sites. I'd love to try it and even though its the 20th day of the year...I'll start late and I am going to try to pick a photo every day to share with my post. This could help my blogging and my scrapbooking because then I will have some journaling to go with pics I like. This is going to be my one and only entry but hey I started it! LOL!

Anyway, for MY first day of this big challenge I chose a picture of the 5 people I went tubing with. I love each of them so much. My spiderman is front and center, all bundled up. My baby sister is back right and she is the reason we went tubing. My brother in law (Not her husband) is next to her and his two kids are the others. My neice and nephew are so fun! It was an exciting day and we had beautiful weather. Not too cold, just sunny enough to keep us from freezing. I hope we go again!

Memo:

Just a short announcement to make sure you shave your coochie today.

NO MORE BUSH!

crud

So I thought I would change my layout to something fresh and pretty for a new start with the new year. Well it apparently removed all my links to blogs I read, and anything else interesting I may have had over there in the other column.
I am still figuring out how to fix things, but I did discover that I can post blogs from my new phone. I got a Palm Centro, and its PINK!! Awesome! So there is a calender and internet and solitaire. Promise not to tell?? Well I play solitaire instead of reading in the bathroom. SHHHH!
Anywho...... will get back with something interesting when I figure out how to make it pretty and fix the links.
Happy New Year!!!

See you next year!

Why does Christmas being over make you feel so depressed? We spread out our festivities so we wouldn't have to leave one place early and be all rushed over 1 or 2 days.
Batman and I both have divorced parents so we have like 4 or more Christmas gatherings to attend.
So on Christmas Eve we went to his stepdad's sisters, then Christmas Day to his dad's sister's. We got friday kind of off. But his mom wanted to come up to our apartment and bring the boys their presents from them. So we had a little present party here friday night that I wasn't really planning on, so I cooked a little cheese dip and vaccumed and that's it. But it turned out fine.
Saturday we were supposed to go to another grandma's house, but freezing rain decided otherwise.
Sunday we went to see my Nana in the hospital. Its sad when she is not able to do Christmas stuff cause she makes the best food and has such pretty decorations. I can't count the nativity scenes she puts out every year.
My dad went to Louisianna to my step-grandparents for the holidays, so we didn't get to see them. I think this is the first Christmas that I haven't seen my dad or mom ON christmas eve or day. We'll see dad when he gets back and we are supposed to gather with my mom and my 3 sisters on the 1st. I guess my mom and sisters got together on christmas eve and were upset that we "ditched" them. There just can't be an occasion in my family where there isn't drama.
I always get in trouble for something.
Well I guess we'll see what happens next year.

Maybe the last Randomness of the year

1. OK well now that everyone in my family has been sicky icky, I think we are finally back to normal. Until the baby gets up this morning and he's all scratchy voiced and coughing and his face is warm and red. Poor guy. Hopefully it won't last long.


2. We were all barfy with gastroenteritis the week of Thanksgiving, so we just had our own Thanksgiving this past Saturday. I made turkey and the usual and we invited one of my sisters and one of Batman's brothers. Usually you have lots of leftovers and you can eat another week off of cooking for one day. That is, if your turkey doesn't suck. Well right after I took it out of the oven, it was soooo yummy. Then it kinda dried up while falling completely off the bones. So it smelled good and looked good but by the end of the night was too dry to save. So I have leftovers of everything but turkey.

3. We have had a couple deaths in our family. I hate when it happens to anyone right before the holidays. My grandma's brother and my Grandpa's sister both passed away. We couldn't travel to the funeral because it would be an unexcused absence for Spiderman, who had to take his Advanced Placement test today anyway. Plus Batman had to go out of town for work this week too. So we are taking care of my grandparents' doggy while they are out of town.
4. Batman and I have discovered our new favorite kind of food and that is Louisianna-ian. LOL We had some Jumbalya and I am so proud of myself for making GUMBO! Yeah me! But then we had lots left and we left the pot out on the stove to cool a little before putting it in the fridge to save. And we fell asleep on the couch and forgot to put it away. So we wasted our leftovers. :(
I feel like such a jerk cause there are starving kids in the world and I can't even finish the food we have and save it to eat another day. New yrs resolution: Be less wasteful!

5. Even though we live in this little apartment right now, I managed to decorate it quite nicely for Christmas. We at least have a fireplace to hang the stockings on and I may have piled too much around it, but hey, its all the room I've got.
So here is my cozy corner.
6. And last but not least, I got a cute haircut. I am coloring it this week while my sister comes to stay with us. What do you think??

Oy

We have to get our vehicle's tagged today. Sucky. We have never lived in this state before so we don't know where to go to get it inspected or get our new state tags. Also we have no idea what paperwork to bring to the place that we don't know. Love to not know. Is there someone that can just do all this for me? Wish I had a husband who knew and just went and did it without appointing me to do these things.

I just joined PaperBack Swap.com and I am going to get to read my Scrapbooking mysteries hopefully. Yay!

My life is full of playdates with Superman, reading time with Spiderman and World of Warcraft with Batman.
Yes I play the WoW. We just got the new expansion so I am leveling my undead mage from level 70 to 80. Love when there are new things on there to do.

Tomorrow is Batman's mom's birthday so we are going to a Japanese Steakhouse. Its better than the Mongolian grills that Batman loves to go to except that the fire on the grill right in front of you scares the living crap out of Superman. Don't know why he is so afraid of it. He has never been burnt or even close to fire. You'd think he would like the warm burst that comes from it, but no, he screams. But we are going anyway.

Well I have to go research where to get my new lisence plate today. Happy Tuesday!

Better late than never

Here's some highlights from our Halloween.
Superman was a sweet little Dragon. At first he was afraid to put the costume on, but after big brother tried it on half way, then he wanted to wear it. He wears the hat for fun outside of trick or treating.
Spiderman was Wolverine and was totally cool all night. These are my grandparents who loved all their Treaters.

I don't have a pic of me looking at the camera in full garb, but I was my own version of a teenage witch. My purple feathery and tulle hat was super cool. But the socks rocked. They lit up on the little pic thing. I've never worn so much black eye makeup.
Batman just dressed up like a college student. He did a great job of taxi-ing his kids around for sugar.All in all, good night and we are still hoarding the candy from the kids cause we need sugar more than they do. We were raised on it, they aren't. HAHAH!

Election Day

Well I tried to get as informed as I could so today would not just be guesses on my ballot. I'd never guess, I did leave a few blank cause I didn't know. But hey I voted!! And as a bonus, I get free Starbucks in the next hour. Woo!!

October fun

Had to make a slideshow cause there are so many good pictures to share with you all.

The most cutest kindergartener EVER!!!

He really is major total adorableness. There isn't a single thing I'd change about him. Maybe I'd just make him let me give him more kisses on his sweet little cheeks.

OMG!! A Disturbing 7, not 13, for Thursday

In honor of October being Halloween month and scary movies on tv, I decided to share some disturbing stuff with you. Probably NWS and not for the weak. If you don't like it, don't look. :)

1.
Ok I think this is just too disturbing. My kids and any kids I know will never have access to this. Ever.

2. Is this seriously being sold?? EW.











3. Why would anyone want to pee on a little girls foot? Or get kicked in the junk by one while they are peeing?



4. Please refrain from making luv to your cat.


5.This one is funny, and true.


6. This one may induce vomiting. Drugs are bad mmmk?

7. This looks painful.

Slump

I need to make batman some cool stuff for his new cubicle. He needs more pictures of Superman. Hopefully I will get that done before Creating Keepsakes Convention next weekend. All my wonderful friends from Illinois are coming to meet me there. Well, not all of them, but most of them. I am going to make my christmas cards there. I probably won't finish the cards though because they'll include a picture of our family and we haven't gotten said picture taken yet.
So I only have a week to organize my scrap stuff for a weekend of classes and creating. Need to get out of my creative slump ASAP.

I have had a sore throat and this icky cough for about a week now. I feel slightly better today than I have, except for the hacking. I was at the bank this morning to get a roll of quarters for laundry and I started choking. The poor teller probably thought I was laced with germs.
I saw a new Endocrinologist on Wednesday. SHE is very nice and actually was interested in my case. She said that since I have gotten 3 good scans, that she would like to not scan me as much anymore. One next April and then maybe one every 2 years as long as my levels are good. She wants to make sure my Thyroglobulin was at 0 at every scan. That's an important number. Plus she thinks that me being on 200mcg of Synthroid is a little high for my height and weight. And the fact that my tumor two years ago got so big so fast could have been because of all the natural growth hormones during my pregnancy and I am probably not as high risk as my previous doctors suspected. Something to chew on I suppose, but I really liked her. She actually had a personality and her nurse was sweet too.
I made this basket for my new Arbonne business. Yes, that's right, I am an Arbonne lady. I think its a good thing because I love the products. You just have to feel the primer. Its the best product I've ever used. It makes my face feel like silk. And the eye creme is making my dark circles go away in just a week. Totally sweet! And I can make great money with this business. Its not like Avon or MK, cause they actually send you paychecks. And its really easy to make bonuses, and I get to use these great products. I'd love to get some new consultants selling with me, but for now I am happy to just share these products and to get out of the house for girly parties.

I suppose I ought to go clean the house up since its been quite neglected during my flu slump. However I could go with the theory that if I save my energy and keep resting, I may get better sooner, and if I clean the house and not rest, then I will just stay sick longer. Whatever shall I do?

A Joust

We took Spiderman to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. I love that place. I'd love it even more if we had money to spend there. I did have a great time jumping on a giant trampoline while hooked up to giant rubber bands. I flied.
Here is video proof of this excitement. My jumping video.


We watched a joust. Our Knight Sir Jeffery was very amusing to watch. The first joust he was somewhat victorious, then we watched the last joust of the day and he died.



You will be missed Sir Jeffery.








I have so many great pictures of our day. Superman got to stay with Grandma and PaPaw since pushing a stroller around there for him would have been exhausting and he would have been bored anyway. Spiderman was excited that he got to dress up like a knight. He got scared on the jumping thing and his ride was short because he wanted to stop. We waited 2 hours to fly and then he chickens out. He was so excited til he actually did it.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH

For the most part I truly love this mothering gig. Sure the pay is dismal and my two clients don't appreciate my efforts, but they love me and most days are extremely rewarding. But I have to draw the line at the terrible two's. How is it that i had forgotten just how terribly long the time between 18 months and three years-old can be? Why is it that these beings are so adorable to look at and yet so difficult?
2 year olds drive me nuts! Superman's little personality is adorable and sweet. But then sometime after he had mastered walking, an irresistible urge to make his own choices began to well up inside him. This is an exciting development, but the difficulty with his making an independent choice is that he must disagree with you in order for the choice to be his own. Now, when you ask him to do something, he refuses. Combine the independence with determination and stubbornness and we get head pounding tantrums.

Just walking thru the store he screams if I don't let him hold and possibly open every item that goes in the cart. Screams, tries to get out of the cart, or won't go in the cart to begin with. How do stay home moms do it? I usually wait til Batman gets home and go after supper just so I don't have to drag a screaming kid thru the store. It takes me three times as long to get groceries when he is with me. I don't yell every time. At home, I put him in a time out chair. The whole way there he kicks and screams. Then he just pops right up and continues the behavior.
He doesn't want to go in the house, he doesn't want to leave the house. I can't get him to take a nap. He does the kicking and screaming then too. He climbs out of his crib and the big boy bed. I can't lock him in his room.
He won't eat at meals. He has to be told 100 times to take a bite. We don't let him out of his high chair until an acceptable amount has made it into his tummy. Taking it away and letting him go without food doesn't work. Next time he still barely eats. I felt like a terrible mom when I didn't give him breakfast to see if he would eat more at lunch. Didn't work anyway.
During TV time, he only wants to watch "BobPants" and will not accept anything but. We have it on our DVR just incase its not on TV at the time.
The worst thing is when we are in the car, and he first off, he won't get in his seat. Then arches his back while we buckle the belts. Then he unbuckles the top part thats on his chest and takes his arms out of the straps. Once he even unbuckled the main car strap that holds the carseat in.
Its like his main goal of every day is to do all the things he knows are bad. He colors on the couch and himself, hides cellphones and remotes, spits out his drink on purpose, steals/spills other people's drinks, undresses in public, demands his choice of drink in his sippy, refuses to share with his brother, hits his brother, pulls hair, turns the TV on and off, has to jump down stairs, and probably a million other things I can't think of.
I don't know how we made it thru this age with Spiderman.
Its all very frustrating. I couldn't imagine all the screaming if I'd had twins. I am sure my neighbors think I am torturing him now because of all the screaming. You'd think the world was ending and he hated everything.
Toddlers hate hearing the word no, but love using it. How can such a short word be such a giant source of parent-child angst? I have no idea. I also have no solution for this toddler truth. However, I figure that any skills I develop in the no-yes debate now will fully transfer to when my boys are teenagers.

He's not a baby anymore.
He walks confidently now. The "drunken walk" is now gone. I miss it :) Though he does walk on his tip toes 90% of the time. I call him "Twinkle toes" sometimes.
He's got 16 teeth now. Eight on top and eight on the bottom. Yay! more teeth to chew on food he won't eat.
He cries if I take him out of the bath.
He has figured out how to open a couple doors with safety devices on them. Apparently you don't have to squeeze the two buttons and turn the knob inside the plastic, you just have to pull down and turn. Perhaps we need a refund on these, or our two year old is a genius.
He can identify almost all of his body parts. I may have to upload a video of this soon, its entertaining how he identifies them.
He loves superheroes and singing the Spongebob song.
He tells me when he has a messy diaper. Yet he still doesn't get the going in the potty chair concept. The potty chair is just a place to sit and laugh at mommy.

Who took my sweet baby away? Where is SuperNanny when you need her? I am grateful that Superman goes to bed at 9 p.m. That is the time when I go to the bathroom, have a good cry and hope for a better tomorrow.

Can't Wait!

Fundraiser and DWTS!

So I had a nice, fun, long holiday weekend visiting my friends in Illinois. We did a bit of scrapping.
This is my favorite layout in this book. I am working on a 12x15 album for baby Superman. He is already two and I am only about to start scrapping his first Christmas. Not even close to his first birthday yet.
Spiderman started his first school fundraiser yesterday. He is selling huge coupon books. They are awesome. He is trying to sell 55 books at $25 each so he can earn a bike. Today is Thursday and I went to order it online and it said I could get the Kansas City book for $20 today. There are several cities that are $20 today and some of the bigger ones are $30 but most are regularly $25. You can visit http://www.entertainment.com to purchase an Entertainment Coupon book. He will definitely Thank you!

Can't wait for Dancing With The Stars to start again. I want to see Cloris Leachman to get to the top at least. And I bet Kim Kardashian will go far just cause of who she is. I'd like to see Rocco the Chef do well. Don't really know who I want to win at this point. It would be funny if the Hannah Montana guy wins though.

New things

Almost a month since the cut, but here it is anyway.

Today was Spiderman's first day of Kindergarten. I, wait I mean, HE survived. I almost cried in the parking lot. Can't believe he is there already. He is definitely ready. He bragged about being the smartest one cause he can read and no one else can yet.
Their teacher expects them to write in journals which will be so fun to read later. I love the way he spells things just the way they sound. That's the way it should be really.

For those without thyroids

Special Considerations For People With No Thyroid

Without a functioning thyroid, you don't need to be particularly concerned about soy or other goitrogenic foods (i.e., brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc.) and their ability to interfere with your thyroid function .

Those without a functioning thyroid are totally dependent on thyroid hormone replacement for all their thyroid hormone. You may find that you have less fluctuation in thyroid function and find it easier to stabilize your dose and maintain an optimal TSH level on a consistent dose, as compared to patients with autoimmune thyroid disease who still have a gland. (This is because when the gland is still present and capable of functioning, it may occasionally sputter to life and produce thyroid hormone, making regulation of thyroid levels more difficult.)

Thyroid cancer patients who have had the thyroid gland removed are in a unique situation in that they are given thyroid hormone replacement drugs at "suppressive" levels. This means that the objective is to give sufficient level of medication so as to test at a nearly undetectable TSH level close to 0. This is considered "hyperthyroid" by most lab standards, but suppression is necessary to prevent cancer recurrence in most patients. So, some thyroid cancer patients refer to themselves as "hyperthyroid," although again, the underlying condition of having no thyroid gland means that the condition is actually hypothyroidism, and so much of the advice about hypothyroidism still applies.

When You Don't Feel Your Best

If you are still experiencing hypothyroidism symptoms, you may not be receiving optimal treatment for your condition. You'll need to proactively work with your practitioner to get better treatment.

This may involve:

• Trying a different brand of levothyroxine
• Increasing the dose, so that the TSH is lower. (Some patients report feeling the best when TSH levels are between 1 and 2.) (Again, remember that thyroid cancer patients often follow a different protocol to prevent recurrence).
• Adding a T3 drug (i.e., Cytomel, or compounded T3), to the levothyroxine
• Switching to a T4/T3 synthetic drug, such as liotrix (Thyrolar)
• Switching to a natural desiccated thyroid drug, such as Armour
• Complementing your treatment with alternative, nutritional and mind-body support to help improve overall health and relieve symptoms.

Help, I'm Hypothyroid and I Still Don't Feel Well

An article to help you determine what your next steps should be

By Mary Shomon, About.com

Updated: August 31, 2005

Despite treatment for hypothyroidism, many of you continue to have symptoms that may be related to your thyroid problem. Even after you've been diagnosed and are on thyroid hormone replacement drugs, you may have persistent symptoms such as continued weight gain or difficulty losing weight, depression, brain fog or difficulty concentrating, hair loss, hand/feet/facial swelling, intolerance to heat and cold, muscle aches and joint pains, constipation, carpal tunnel or tendonitis, high cholesterol levels, difficulty getting pregnant, and more.

By way of overview, the first step for you is knowing your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level, and other key thyroid levels such as T4 and T3. These levels allow you to help gauge where your doctor is in terms of treatment, and give you a common point of discussion.

More innovative doctors are beginning to believe that a TSH of around 1 - 2 --- in the low end of the normal range -- is optimal for most people to feel well and avoid having hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms. I know I feel terrible at 4-5, and at .2, but pretty good at 1 - 2. (NOTE: this TSH is usually kept even lower than 1-2 for thyroid cancer survivors to help prevent recurrence.) Dr. David Derry, for example, is one doctor who believes that TSH levels aren't even relevant to diagnosing or treating hypothyroidism and its symptoms.

For some people, even if the TSH level is normal, or even in some bases, low normal, there may still be a situation where one is hypothyroid at a cellular level, due to conversion problems, inadequate T3 hormone, or other factors. Inability to properly convert T4 to T3 can also result in fluctuating TSH, as the system struggles to keep balancing an out of whack T4 and T3 level, sending TSH levels up and down to compensate.

Some people also seem to need supplemental T3 to feel well. There was published February 11, 1999 in the New England Journal of Medicine a research report that says that many patients feel better on a combination of T4 and T3, not T4 (i.e., Synthroid) alone. Many people have a normal or even LOW-normal TSH level, yet still suffer continuing hypothyroidism symptoms. In these cases, the addition of T3 helped relieve depression, brain fog, fatigue and other symptoms. This information about T3 is groundbreaking and has major implications for people who don't feel well on their current thyroid therapies!!!

An Informative post today

To raise awareness......
The following was written by Andi S Green on Helium.com

Thyroid cancers are quite rare. There are several types of thyroid cancer, papillary, medullar and anaplastic. If you find an abnormal lump in your throat or unusual swelling then it is still best to visit your Dr to have it checked out. You may have other symptoms such as temperature changes, appetite changes or energy level changes.

1) Thyroid cancer is linked to previous problem with the thyroid gland, even if benign.

2) Thyroid cancer is also linked to previous exposure to radiation. In the 1950's and 60's children were often treated with high dose x-rays to treat acne, enlarged tonsils or scalp infections. This deep x-ray treatment is a risk factor. Also people exposed to radioactive particles during atomic tests or nuclear accidents are also at risk.

3) Genetic causes/family history of thyroid cancer is again a risk factor. Medullary thyroid cancer can be caused by an alteration in a gene called RET. This has a strong inherited component. So if there is family history of medullary thyroid cancer then Drs may suggest removing your thyroid to avoid cancer occurring.

4) Certain other inherited conditions are linked with an increased risk from the disease. Gardner's Syndrome or Cowden disease are linked to a higher rate of incidence of thyroid cancer. Also a bowel condition called FAP is linked to the disease.

5) Females are 2.5 times more likely than males to acquire the disease.

6) Apparently white Americans are more likely than black Americans to acquire the disease.

7) Poor diet has been linked to the disease, especially a diet short in iodine.

8) Late pregnancy has been linked to greater susceptibility to the disease.

9) Age is a factor. Papillary and follicular cancers are more common in young adulthood where medullar is more common in adults.

Hopefully this gives a good overview of some of the general causes of thyroid cancer.

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The following I found on About.com

When cancerous thyroid nodules are discovered during the first or second trimester, surgery should be offered in the second trimester. Well-differentiated thyroid cancers grow slowly, so if the evaluation indicates that the cancer is papillary or follicular, and there is no evidence of advanced disease, a woman may be offered the opportunity to wait until after childbirth for surgery.

A pregnant woman who has previously had thyroid cancer or a woman who has a confirmed thyroid cancer who is waiting until after delivery for thyroid surgery can receive treatment that will allow TSH to remain suppressed but detectable. Ideally, the free T4 or total T4 levels should remain within the normal range for pregnancy.

Radioactive iodine should not be given to women who are breastfeeding.

Women who receive therapeutic doses of radioactive iodine should wait six months to a year to become pregnant, to ensure that thyroid function is stable, and the thyroid cancer is in remission.

Feeling groovy

Well, I didn't get the job I wanted at the scrapbook store. They will be sorry I guess. Don't know what they are missing.

I got rid of my perm and got a fun little chin length cut. The perm just wasn't me. But I kept it for 4 months any way. I will post a pic of the new look sometime when I remember to take a pic of myself.

Here is a peek at the old look. Batman says I go through little cycles of hair styles. I will cut it shorter and then let it grow out a while and then cut it again when I get tired of the ponytail or clippy look. Maybe someday, someone will give me a free makeover (that's the only way I will get one) and then I will look smashing with perfectly styled and colored hair and no noticeable dark under eye circles.

Who has time for looks when you have 2 awesomely fun little boys to play with all day? We are planning on going to a local amusement park one of these weekends soon. Spiderman's first day of Kindergarten is the 15th. I think I am more nervous than he is. He is so excited for school and really wants to learn things and play with new friends. He has a Spiderman backpack that he wanted and super hero themed supplies.

I am sad that our summer is coming to an end. It seems like we didn't get to do all the fun stuff we wanted because of the move and the break-in. I really hope all the drama in our life is in the past and we can move onward and upward. Soon we will be hunting for a new house. I can't wait for my own home to paint and decorate. I am going back to school soon too. I want to major in something art related. Probably leaning towards Graphic Design or Desktop Publishing. Of course Photography is always a very possible choice. I remember when I wanted to be an English teacher, and then a magazine editor, and then a midwife. Now I am being realistic instead of dreamy.

I got a really cool shot of the boys playing in their matching Batman pajamas. Its not often that I can get them both to look at me and smile at the same time and have the camera go off while they are still looking. Yay! If you come to my house in the future, you will see this one in a frame probably. That is the plan.