Healthy "drinking"

Vodka & grapefruit juice? Why that almost sounds healthy for you! As does my preference for vodka and tomato juice. I mean any drink with juice in it can't be that bad, right? Sometimes I even eat the celery that comes with mine. That's like two vegetable servings in one drink. Kudos to me!

Actually, I've seen the results of the breathing machine and they have had a most miraculous effect on your mother. She was awake, reasonably coherent and pleasant to be around. I hope you were sitting down for that! Maybe that quack they call a doctor had the right of it this time. The CPAP machine seems to have made a huge difference for her. Wouldn't it be great to have our mother back?? I mean the one that did crazy (but fun) things with us, like hiking to the library in a snowstorm/blackout so we could get books by flashlight. I've been missing that woman for a long time. And while the hope that someone close to that returns to us is still fragile, it's there. We shall see.

So by this time next week...I will be at your house and we will have survived a Friday night football game at Valley View. I love high school football games! And does yours have a mouth watering array of food? Ours always had tacos in a bag, ribeye sandwiches and the cheerleaders did those fried donuts. You can hear your arteries screaming as you eat them, but the roar of the crowd usually drowns them out.

Well, I've got articles to write and a nap to take, a very very good book to read and finishing an editing project. So I will bid you adieu for now. Speaking of books...you should probably get on doing a review on Booknotes. ;]

Chaos & family,
Gert♥

Vodka!! Cures the world!

My dear Gert, you have nothing to fret about. If you'll recall our esteemed matriarch started the down hill slide before she reached your age. Even if your a late bloomer or the genes for this are weakened and start later with offspring, we are entirely different human beings. There will be no turning to pills or television. There will be no hiding in our rooms all day. As you said, and in my case as well, the children we have begotten just wouldn't hear of it. Besides that fact I can assure you that our answer to the mind boggling issues that grip our mother would be and have been vastly different.
Vodka! Yes, vodka my dear! Why, isn't that the answer to all life's ugly little turns? I do believe I would much rather be soused than doped. Being a happy drunk is indeed more fun than a negative drugy! I think vodka intake is easier to control than pills. Plus I have discovered I can accomplish all sorts of feats when consuming vodka and grapefruit juice. Truly, I am a wicked competitor! Also I think pretty highly of myself when I imbibe. Good for the self esteem you know.
Never fear m'dear, we shall overcome! And our families will only appreciate more our spectacular repartee!


Haunted things and Football games, with Vodka! Hildi

Maybe we're adopted...

Oh dear Hildi! In a little over a week, I'll be at your house! Woot! Let's here it for Friday night football games and haunted houses! I can't wait. But first I have to get through the rest of this very busy week, a smooshie boobie xray, and the 5 hour drive with your parents. Which brings me to the point of this missive.

What the hell is wrong with her?? And how do we make it different? How on earth do you get to that point and be comfortable with it? How do you manage to become so disagreeable that no one wants to be around you anymore and not want to change?? How can TV viewing become the focus of your life? And why the hell don't they just get Dish Network and a freaking DVR?? There are days when I seriously worry about the genetic code that was donated to my DNA. Do you think it's catching? Are we inevitably going to wind up there some day? Please tell me that by the marvels of modern medical science we are not destined to go down that road. Though I know if I did, my kids would put me in a home so fast my head would spin. And I applaud them for it.

Whatever. I shall endeavor to be pleasant and take the high road. It will probably cause me to bite right through my tongue while holding back, but I shall persevere nonetheless.

You better have some stiff drinks on hand just in case though. I can endure almost anything with enough vodka on hand.

Cocktails & thinly veiled insults,
Gert♥

*Le Sigh* (that's sigh in french)

It's one of those days where nothing is going right. You know the ones I'm talking about?? And I can tell myself that part of it is the PMS hormones raging through my body currently but I can't keep myself from feeling it.

I suppose I get myself into these situations. Maybe I expect too much of people. I hold everyone up to the standards that I try to achieve and invariably I get let down. My personal philosophy is to try to learn something from every experience, but especially the bad ones. I mean if you don't, what are you left with? If you don't at least take away a lesson, then all you've had is some bad luck and suckiness. And if you take away the lesson, what's the point in not putting it into practice? I do. And yet, I guess others don't. And maybe it's unfair of me to expect them too.

Whoever it was that said "the more things change, the more things stay the same" sure had the right of it. I wonder if they'd been recently let down too? I know this is probably the most confusing post ever, but I had to get that out.

Going to Springfield this evening, after my knee MRI. We're having dinner with the 'rents at Texas Roadhouse and picking up CJ for a couple of days. Pretty excited about that!

And yes, we do have pretty good kids. =]

big heartfelt sighs,
♥Gert

Ah, Kids!

I seem to have more children than I originally started out with! Maybe you'd like to trade? I could use the kind that can get their own damn juice and snacks! I could also use the kind that don't whine to me every twenty minutes of the day that they're bored! Really? Bored? That's funny,(not anymore)because I thought you had a brand new Wii, new bikes and more toys than some small European countries! It's at this point in the tirade in my mind that I want to Yell about how rough we had it as children. You know,"Up a hill both ways and all)! Then it hits me what a great time I had being a kid and playing with my friends. Our imaginations used to take us on some wild adventures! I wonder why kids are so different today and I suppose it's the aforementioned games and toys that have culminated in the demise of wondrous imaginings and innocent play. Well. Guess I'll go get that juice and take a shot of guilt while I'm at it!
The truth is no matter what faults our children have, we are partly to blame for some of them. Of course age and faze factor in as well. Your teenagers are a tiny bit selfish here and there. My younger ones expect to be entertained by something or someone. Did we not contribute by always doing for them? Even when perhaps they should have done for themselves? Yes, we did. That's what mommies do. The good part is, that all of them are actually great kids! They are usually caring, trustworthy, responsible and smart. Yes, they have their moments, but I would worry if they didn't. I've found that good kids are kind of hard to come by these days. So after my shot of guilt( and kicking them out the door to play) I shall have a glass of "Pat on the back". You should too!


A little buzzy after all that, Hildi

I was excited for what exactly??

You know how we always talk about how we wait for our husbands to come home from work, anticipate their arrival eagerly, and then within five minutes of them walking in the door..they say something dumb and you want them to leave again? Guess what? It works the same with kids!! I know, I was totally flabbergasted too. I was really looking forward to Lulu and Jethro coming home from camp last night. I couldn't wait to hear their camp stories and eat dinner together and just bask in our family togetherness. I really do miss them during the week. Bubba was home too. Finally, a family night. Sceech! Hold that thought. So the kids get here earlier than expected, and as you know, I was on the phone with you. I was sitting in the family room. Well, the next thing I know Jethro is drinking my drink and eating my pistachios. Then he downs his father's drink that is sitting on the bookcase. Then Bubba comes in and takes over the computer and they have a loud conversation while I'm trying to hear you. Then Lulu storms in with a piece of mail demanding to know why she got it as though it's my fault somehow?! Sweet bejeezus! I got up, gave them all dirty looks and locked myself in my bathroom so we could continue our conversation. Unbelievable. So much for my family togetherness.

I'd love to say it got better from there but not so much. Bubba left while I was in the bathroom and missed dinner. The other two were just sassy all night (camp always does this to them). At one point, I looked at Larry and mouthed silently "Is is Sunday yet?" I feel lucky to have survived the night without killing anyone. Now I guess I have to get through today. And the mountain of stinky laundry they brought with them. Oh joy.

We were watching a movie the other night and the teenage son in it screamed at his mother "I can't wait to get the bleep out of here!" I looked at Larry and said "Isn't that when parents want to look at their kids and go 'you and me both brat, you and me both'?" While my kids have never actually said those words, they have joked about how they think I want them to live with me forever. WTF? Are they crazy?! Apparently they don't realize that I have a life independent of them and that I really value my privacy and quiet time. I guess it will come as a shock to them to find out that the last few weeks, their Dad and I have percolated along just fine. Quite well in fact.

Ah well, someday they'll get it I guess.

about to tear my hair out,
♥Gert

I need a vacation from my kids!

Even slaves get their own quarters! I need a place in this house of my own. Even the bathroom isn't safe. I really need some time for me. We had one of the worst weeks ever this last week. Spring fever? Cabin fever? Or mommy's a marshmallow and now I'm paying for it? I don't know. Whatever the reason my children decided to push the final button and blow-up the damn camel, straw and all. It culminated in them not picking up. They had an hour and a half and CHOSE not to. I went up-stairs to check and the next thing I know I'm by myself, red in the face and ranting like a lunatic. At some point Jerome came home and heard me up there yelling. He later admitted to thoughts of just slipping out the door before he was noticed. Needless to say there was a bigger mess then before and two little liars with their ears ringing. I have let them get away with soo much that now they don't listen at all. They are grounded from; computer, leapster 2, Dsi, x-box, and game-cube.
What really stinks in this whole mess is the fact that I thought my oldest and I had such a great relationship. (The little one is the baby and not to the same place yet.) We get along great, we talk about everything that goes on with her. She's helpful and trustworthy. Now it's like I have a stranger in my house. She's being so selfish I can hardly look at her. Today she actually told me that it's my fault and all I do is yell at her for the last few days. I do. And that sucks worse. I hate bitching at my kids. I hate taking things away from them. And I hate not feeling close anymore. What is a mom to do? I can't go back to how it was until she straitens up. Do they ever realize how much you do for them? Will she ever realize that she's the one punishing us both? The four-year-old doesn't have a clue as to why mommy and sissy aren't getting along and it's putting a strain on their relationship too.
Part of me wants to just start acting like everything is fine so we can go back to the way things were. The other part just wants to go somewhere and crack open a bottle of wine and have a lovely evening! Ok, now both parts are together and rooting for the wine.



Cheers and tears! Hildi.