Woman On The Edge?

Not anymore. I was shoved off. No, that's not right. I was thrown off. No, still not it. I was catapulted off the edge. Yeah, that's the one.


Why, you ask? The cat decided to tear off his bandage and cause a disaster. Then Kieren decided to join in the fun. It's my husband's 40th birthday and I have no card, no gift, no money, no nothing!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So report me to the freakin' humane society!

And tell THEM to clean the blood of the damn carpet, dining room chairs, and floor!!!

This is only a small portion of what Kieren did while I was dealing with the cat. She is now in her crib sleeping as I tend to a bleeding tongue (mine). During Kieren's tantrum (for being told no and it was time for a nap), she threw her head up and back. I bit through my tongue in two places. I now have to finish making Andy's birthday cake, clean the f-ing family room again, clean the bathroom (more cat blood), start dinner (everyone is coming at 6pm), get a shower, bandage the cat again, oversee Cull's homework, make Cullen a snack, and have a good cry.
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Sorry, I just had to vent.

Happy 40th Birthday!!!

Today is Andy's 40th birthday. Please leave bad jokes and rowdy comments!!! (Use large type or bold. He "misplaced" his glasses!!! Yep, he's senile and blind!)

Happy Birthday, honey!!!! We love you!!!!

Cullen loves his "man" time with you! He loves when you practice sports with him, go to a game, build things, or just hang out. Because of you, Cullen will be an amazing father and husband one day!

We love how you spend time with us! (Although Gettysburg...) We love how family is so important to you!

Kieren loves that you are the best Daddy ever!!! You are gentle and patient and so sweet with her. Although, you still need to learn how to do her hair! You have set the bar high and it will be hard for another man to ever measure up to you. Anyone can be a Dad, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy!!!

We love that you are always willing to make a fool out of yourself for the kids! Shoot! How else will the kids learn that goofy is good?! Thank you for being the best husband and Daddy ever!!! Happy 40th Birthday!!!!

Why-Is-It Wednesday

It's still Wednesday so I didn't totally miss posting this. (Yeah, it's been a day!!) So let's just dive right in:
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- Why is it I'm just now posting this? A photo of my kitchen and family room would answer that one!
- Why is it no one has heard of the stuff I'm using to keep the cat from chewing off his bandage? It's called Bandguard and my Mom got it from the vet (who doesn't know what I'm talking about). Harry LOVES the taste of bitter apple and hot pepper sauce. Grrrrr!!!
- Why is it I can't get caught up?
- Why is it I feel trapped when Andy takes my car and leaves me his? Even if I have no plans to leave the house, I still feel trapped!
- Why is it I feel so alone somedays?
- Why is it I feel a sense of dread enveloping me? Oh, yeah. Seeing She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named really soon.
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Alrighty. Let me hear your rants, raves, and ponderings!!!

Crafts w/ Kieren

Snack Time!

Cullen loves to come home from school and have a snack with Kieren! Their routine is so cute!!! Cullen comes in and gets his homework done while waiting for Kieren to wake from her nap. He then gets her up, changes her diaper, and they sit together in a chair to snuggle and watch TV.

Kieren will usually eat while Cullen does. Yesterday's snack was pizza egg rolls (which Kieren LOVED!!!) with iced tea. Aren't they cute?!

Cullen always makes sure Kieren has a drink. He shares his with her most of the time.

I love their snack time!

Last Haircut of The Summer

Crombie (Abercrombie) - the before photo - by Cullen

"Just get it over with!!!" - photo by Cullen

"Does this make my butt look big? No, my butt makes my butt look big! Quick, finish shaving me!!!"

"Ahhhhh!!! That's so much better!!! Now I'm half the dog I used to be! Kieren, leave my tail alone!!!" - photo by Cullen

The price of grooming Crombie. Yep, he bites. Andy always walks away with new scars. (Notice I do the grooming and Andy does the holding! I'm not so dumb!!!) - photo by Cullen

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Ewwww!!! There's enough hair for two more dogs!!! Hope the birds are nice and toasty this winter! - photo by Cullen

To Rony & Sen...

I am so embarrassed!!!! Rony commented that I had left her & her twinkies off my group photo of our shopping adventure. She also noted that Sen, Search and Destroy were also absent. How right you are, Rony!!! I guess I posted the wrong photo! You see, the girls just couldn't wait to shop so they kept dragging their Mommies around the courtyard. I did manage to capture them in this single photo. Here is the correct(ed) photo of the Fall Shoppers 2007.

Still don't see them? Look closely in the upper right-hand corner of the photo! Go ahead. I'll wait...

Is that better, ladies?????

What Do You Mean I Missed It?!

Where did this weekend go? Where did the whole week go?! Sheeze! Another week gone and I don't feel like I got anything done. Well, I said I would update you so here we go.

Cullen's First Week As A 5th Grader.
Cullen has really missed his friends. School breaks are so hard for him because there is no one to play with during the day except for me and Kieren. Just what every 10.5 year-old boy wants! He is so happy to be back to school (so are we)!

Bussing had it's moments. We had to call the bus garage 3 times to make sure they had Cullen on the schedule both ways. All 3 times we were told they added him. On the Friday before school started, I called the bus garage to find out what time pick up would be for the first day, as no one sent us a notification card and the local schools started a day later than Cullen's. Anyone want to guess??? He wasn't on the schedule for both ways. I was also told that they wouldn't pick him up at the house the first day so we would need to drive him to the local high school to catch his 1st transfer-bus. Fine, whatever. On Saturday, Cull's transfer-bus driver called and said she would pick him up at the house. It was not an issue. Great! BTW, when I asked if Cullen was on her schedule for round-trip, he wasn't. Kind of figured that would happen. On Monday, the driver called us again. The Bussing Super. wouldn't let her pick Cullen up. It would cause too much chaos. (Eye roll.) We would need to take him to the high school. Fine, whatever. When Cull got home from school on Tuesday (the first day), I asked him if there were a lot of kids on the transfer bus to Springfield. Are you ready for this???? He was the only one and there were 2 bus drivers!!!!! It is a longer drive from the high school to Cull's next transfer in Springfield than it is from our house. The new Bussing Super is as stupid and annoying as the old one!

This year Cullen changes classes for each subject. He loves it! He is happy with all of his teachers and thrilled to be in class with his friends! Cullen has also shocked the heck out of us with being responsible for doing his homework. Last year we had some huge battles followed by the loss of Gameboy and Gamecube. This year, Cull gets off the bus (where he has been doing his homework already), changes out of his uniform, WASHES HIS FACE, and sits down at the table to start his homework, ALL WITHOUT BEING TOLD!!! Who is this child?! He told me that he decided he needed to be more responsible for himself. WTF?!?!?! We're thrilled, but I'm just waiting for the old Cullen to put in an appearance.

I guess I might as well admit to having a "little bit" of a reputation with the Bus Garage. After the incident of 2006 and my chewing out the Bussing Super repeatedly, I guess my name got around. When I called the garage to verify pick-up for Cullen, I heard in the background "Is that Campbell?". Hmmm...Not quite sure if I should be proud, amused or scared. heh.

One last thing to report about Cullen's first week back to school. He has already been to the nurse twice for the CVS and sent home on Friday morning for repeatedly chucking. This year could really suck. We have increased his meds again and Andy is supposed to call the GI tomorrow to update them (or I will if I have time). By increasing the meds (we had reduced them over the summer when things were going okay), Cullen tends to get a lot of headaches. We may have to switch medicines. The GI discussed this with us in June at Cullen's check up. Not sure how I feel about it, but Cullen needs to NOT vomit all the time or have the headaches. He just can't miss school like last year!

Annual Fall Shopping Adventure.
It's been over a week since our annual shopping trip and I still haven't posted! I'm having issues (me, not the computer)!!! This year we changed our shopping trip from Friday to Sunday to accommodate "certain people" (LAURIE!!!). We had a great time as always! We didn't buy that much this year (Laurie made up for it!) because Cullen's uniforms had to be purchase from his school (that one really bites!) and because the payroll elves weren't working any special magic. Cullen stayed with Nanny and Pops, so Andy and I had no problem tag-teaming the Empress. Kieren didn't do too well with the late start time, heat, and crowds. We did get a couple of good deals from Carter's and Children's Place. (Before Kieren totally melted and screamed her head off!!!) I will have to get Kieren to give us a fashion show this week. The best part of the trip is always the people! We had a wonderful time and can't wait for the March trip!!! (To those of you who couldn't make it this time (you know who you are!): We missed you!!! Hope you make it in March!)

Fall Shoppers 2007

(from left to right) Laurie w/ Hannah, Jenna, & Jordan; Kim w/ Kelsey; Sandi w/ Katie; Sam w/ Kieren; Heather w/out Ian (Mark disappeared with him!); Katie w/ Sarah; & Robin w/out Maddy (but not for much longer!!!!!).

Okay, I have to stop for the night. I made a HUGE mess in the family room (sorting and reorganizing toys) so I have to clean it up. I will finish my updates over the next couple of days. Have a painless Monday!!!

Silly Sunday

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry. No time to post anything right now! It's been yet another busy week! I will post about Cullen's first week as a 5th Grader, Kieren's silliness, my last act as a Lioness (Yes, I have resigned.), and other stuff later. Now it's time to get Kieren ready for bed and make Cullen do some homework (Yes, on a Saturday night - that's how mean I am!). I will leave you with a little cuteness to make you smile!

Waste of Time

...because all they are hearing is "blah, blah, blah"!

It's The Middle Name Meme

So I was visiting my blog buddy Connie's blogdom tonight. She was tagged for a new meme. Since I've dodged the bullet so many times lately, I decided to take one for the team and volunteer. Yeah, that's what happens when you have insomnia and don't want to clean! Don't worry, I have a short middle name! This won't take long!!! Ready? Here we go.

You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

1) Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

2) When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.

3) At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My middle name is Ann.

A - (Duh!) I Adopted Kieren from China!!!! (Yes, Andy, I know you were there too!)
N - I Notice details and remember them. Thus the reason I do the job I do!
N - Normal is over-rated and boring! We don't do "normal" in this family!!!

Okay. That was painless. Now I need to choose my three victims (one for each letter of my middle name)!!! I choose: Senja, Rony, and Kris!

(In case you don't know, I design casework, millwork, cabinets, buffets for restaurants, and do detail drawings and architectural drawings. I know, weird job!)

Kieren Dances

Out of Kieren's Mouth:

Kieren was chasing our big cat through the house today calling "Harry, where are you?"! It was completely clear!

Yesterday's new word was banana! Kieren was watching Sesame Street (okay, we both were!) and the subject was bananas. Kieren pointed at the screen and gestured she wanted one. So she climbed in her high chair and I gave her a banana. Half-way through the banana it was time to leave so I lifted Kieren down with the banana still in her hand. She walked over to a busy block, pointed at the banana on it and yelled "banana"! Shocked the heck out of me!

Things are really clicking now!!!!

Why-Is-It Wednesday *UPDATED*

Now that Blogger is done with it's tantrum, let's ask those awe-inspiring yet unanswerable questions that life presents us!
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Why is it Blogger freaks out just as I go to post?
Why is it people think it's okay to say mean and hurtful things on other people's blogs?
Why is it those same people are too chicken to sign their names????? (Just remember this is a "no slug zone"! I don't deal with idiots or slugs!!)
Why is it the dog only pees on the carpet in Kieren's room?
Why is it so freakin' hot in Ohio?!?!?!
Why is it the racist employee of Walmart finds it so important to share her ignorance while an Asian child is standing behind her AND an Asian employee is two registers over? What is it about the Walmart employees in our area?! That's two out of three stores now that I've dealt with this!
Why is it I miss Cullen when he has driven me crazy all summer?
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So what are your unanswerable questions???

*I just found out from my Dad that "Arnold" used to work part-time at Walmart as a greeter!!! OMG!!! I'm considering avoiding all Walmarts in the future!"

So Grown-up...

Where did my baby go???

First Day of School

Cullen started school today. As is our tradition, Andy took his photo on the way out. Look at the changes! We weren't happy about the new uniform rules because it throws off our tradition a bit. So from now on the first day of school will be in a red shirt.

There was only partial bus service today. Andy and Cull went to breakfast and then headed for the local high school to meet the bus. Cullen only had to deal with two out of three buses today. Tomorrow he will be picked up by the local high school bus at 6:50am in front of our house for his 90 minute commute with two bus changes. We are also letting Cull take the bus home. I used to drive the 20 minutes to his school with Kieren every day to pick him up. Kieren has now gotten to the point where she isn't real thrilled about sitting in the car for over an hour just to bring Cullen home. The bus ride home only involves two buses and takes about an hour. Hopefully it works out!

We went to Cullen's open house last night. He has Mrs. Storer this year (5th Grade). A lot of his friends are in his class so it will be a fun year! We saw a number of kids he knows last night and visited with past-teachers. Cullen is very excited!!! He also gets to change classes for every subject this year. He is thrilled with that idea! Can't wait to hear about his first day!!!!