Tag you're it!

Thor

Well I've been tagged...shit, caught again.  Anyway I was tagged by Mod Mom Beyond IndieDom and her answers rocked, so don't unfollow me and follow her because she's cooler than me ok?!  I'm watching you!

I also enjoyed doing these things on Facebook and they don't come up so often anymore...neither does "Poking" people, but that was always a bit strange anyway.  

Your mission(a.k.a. the rules) should you choose to accept it:

You must post these rules.  Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.  Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.  You have to choose 11 people to tag and and link them on the post.  Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.  No tag backs and you legitimately have to tag 11 people.

Eleven things about me:

1.  I can out burp all the males in my household, I mean LOUD.  I have 3 sons and a husband so that's saying something.

2. I know how to give vaccinations to pets and horses.

3. I've wanted a pony for Christmas(or any holiday really) since I was 9, still haven't got it.  I bought my own horse, it was a divorce present to myself, so that doesn't count.

4. I don't like people.

5. I love cars, MUSCLE cars, BIG engines..purr like a kitten, HORSEPOWER.  I LOVE to drive and I love to drive fast.   I got a ticket when I was 17 for going 82 in a 55, I was racing...had to take a class for that one...whoops. 

6. I always said I would never have kids, now I have four...yes, I actually do know how that happens.  I guess that's my hidden talent.

7. I can sew, crochet, knit, draw, or make just about anything I can see.  I'm not much of an original creator, but I'm one HELL of a copycat.

8. I use to show dogs in 4H

9. Babies freak me out, I much prefer kids that can talk and walk and do shit for themselves...like when their about 13.  Of course my daughter has not hit that age yet, so I may change my tune on that.

10.  I love to read, I'll read anything, if I'm bored and out of reading material...I'll read instruction manuals...it may be dorky but guess who knows how to run every electronic device or appliance in our house...OH YEAH THIS GIRL...don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

11.  I'm basically still afraid of the dark.

The questions from the blogger who tagged me:

1.  Which celebrity would you like to have dinner with and why?

Chris Hemsworth (Thor in Avengers) because...drool...he can hammer me anytime!
2.  What is your biggest vice?

Sweets, not just chocolate but anything that has an astronomical sugar content...BRING IT!
3.  What's your favorite Johnny Cash song?

Ring of Fire...it makes me laugh, I always though it should have been the theme song for hemorrhoid cream.
4.  Beatles or Stones?

Beatles every time.
5.  Red or Blue and why?

Red White AND Blue baby, I'm American that's why!
6.  Favorite SNL sketch of all time and why?

Was never a big fan of SNL, the Today Show is more my time of the day.
7.  The meal you would order as your last if you were on death row would be?

Carraba's Maria Pollo Chicken, it's MELT in your mouth good.
8.  The song you find most repulsive.

Whichever one my 14 yr old son is listening to at the moment.
9.  Your favorite president and why. 

None, they are all a bunch of crooks!
10. Catch phrase you hate the most.

"I know right?"  it just sounds so stupid...but of course I've used it.
11. How you would've like the last Oprah show to end instead of how it did.

She should have had me on there and built me a new house and gave me a couple million dollars.

Here are the people I tagged:

Because Nobody Likes Mondays

Blissfully Discontented

Graceful Disaster

Just Another Day in Paradise

Life as I know it

People I want to Punch in the Throat

The Foley Fam

Dating after Disney

Inside These Walls

Recovering Working Mom

My Delicious Ambiguity

Here's your questions...IF you're up to the challenge:

1. Why do you blog and how'd you get started?

2. Dogs or Cats?

3. What's your hobby?

4. Lots of besties, or a few besties and lots of acquaintances?

5. Facebook...love it or hate it?

6. Your favorite band and why?

7. Do you read the gossip rags while waiting in line at the supermarket?

8. If you could sleep w/any celebrity who would it be?

9. How many people know your deepest, darkest secret?

10. What's your dream vehicle?

11. If you lived to be 100 what is the one thing you'd still want to be able to do on your own?

Should it be your RIGHT?

I live in Michigan, a state which, up until April 12, has had a helmet law for Motorcyclist since I can remember.  I can't rightly say when it was enacted I just know for sure it has been that way for as  long as I have been alive. If you're riding a motorcycle you have to wear a helmet, that was the law.  Well they changed it April 12, 2012, now if they have had their motorcycle license for more than two years, and have extra insurance they don't have to wear one.

This one is from BMW

Why did they change it, because the bikers have been whining about it for years and apparently if affects tourism of bikers in our state.  Their biggest argument? "It should be our RIGHT to choose whether or not to wear a helmet."  To me that is just a childish statement.  OK if we are going to go there, it should be my RIGHT to choose to wear my seatbelt(it is not, it's a law, I have to wear it...which I don't mind at all), it should be my RIGHT to choose to carry a concealed weapon, it should be my RIGHT to choose whether or not to stop at a red light, it should be my RIGHT to choose whether or not you can smoke a cigarette, it should be my RIGHT to choose whether or not to drive on the right side of the road.  See what I'm getting at here?  It's no more a RIGHT than any of these other things it was there to make us all safer.  It's pure stupidity to not wear one, I don't care if you like the wind in your hair, I don't care if some doctor said, your buddy who miraculously lived through a motorcycle accident, would have died if he had on a helmet.

  I own a horse, I ride in a helmet EVERY SINGLE time.  Did I used to? NO!  But I've seen what can happen,  my horse has a limit to how fast he can go, and it's a lot slower than most motorcycles.  You might argue that horses are unpredictable and a motorcycle is a machine that you control.  OK, I can see that, but how many motorcycle accidents happen because the rider is IN CONTROL?  Probably only those caused by other drivers. The simplest of road conditions can cause you to lose control of your bike.  I've ridden motorcycles, I know.  I have lots of friends who ride, I love them just the same and my non-motorcycle riding friends to me there is no difference, but when they start whining about their RIGHT to choose about whether or not to wear a helmet, I just have to walk away.  You want to act like children, go ahead, but I'm not going to get in that pissin' match.  The law is passed at this point, there's no changing it now, but I'm still seeing the argument about it being their right to choose, and I still have to wear my seatbelt, have a CCW permit, stop at a red light, walk through your smoke to get into the building, and drive on the right side of the road.  There have been 6 deaths of helmetless riders since the law passed, would they have died if they were wearing a helmet?   Maybe.  I hope it's worth it to the bikers and the tourists.

Mothering from the trenches...

I'm sure you've all seen the Time Magazine cover.  REALLY?!  Why?  I haven't read the article, nor  do I care to, the cover is a HUGE turn off to me.  I Breastfed all  4 of my kids, but I sure as hell never did it like that.  I feel sorry for that kid in the future, no one is going to forget who he is.

Anyway. Being a Mother is like being in a war zone whether you work or you don't whether you breastfeed or you don't, the first... I'd say the first 4 years are just trying to keep yourself and your child alive.  As I said, I breastfed my kids, I never planned on keeping them in my bed they had their own little bassinet but I will tell you all of them ended up in my bed at some point.  It was just so much easier for ME to sleep if I didn't have to get all the way awake to nurse them in the middle of the night.  I'm a horrible sleeper, and a light sleeper, it doesn't take much for me to get fully awake and then my brain goes into overload.  I'm sure it's going: "Holy shit she's awake, well guess what, it's time for her to do quantum physics, and schedule doctors appointments, and worry about the bills and the kids and the dog, and the car, and solve all the world's problems....that should keep her up for a while!".   So they may have started out in their bassinet, but they ended up in my bed, right in the middle, wiggling and kicking and taking up space.  I'm happy to say that they all now sleep in their own beds thank God.

These are not my people but I've been in this position, borrowed(Stolen) from this  blog 

I did not breastfeed them til they were 4, because..I guess I'm just selfish, but I wanted my body back, 2 years was all I could handle.  Those things belong to me and I don't want to share them for the rest of my life. 2 of the boys gave it up before that, they were just too busy to nurse and that was perfectly ok w/ me.  The girls were already large and now they are forever doomed to be X-Large and of course saggy, thank God for underwire bras!  4 kids, that's a lot of breastfeeding, I'm SO SO thankful that they are all grown out of that, no more leaky boobs, no more nursing pads, no more special bras or shirts that I can't tuck in, no more pumping milk while at work,  no more trying to find a quiet place that's somewhat secluded if we are out in public.  I guess I could have just found a stool for them to step up on and whipped one out though, apparently that's acceptable. Who Knew?

I did NOT ever chew up my kids food for them and spit it in their little birdy mouths, I guess I'll have to answer for that when I hit the pearly gates.  I just figured that's for birds and not for humans because Euwww.

  I did of course test it w/ my own lips to make sure it wasn't too hot.  I also fed them while their food was warm and then ate mine cold, or had to reheat it by the time I finally got to it.  It's a wonder all Moms aren't anorexic looking but here's the secret.  You get fat because you end up eating the food that your kid didn't eat  on their plate.  It's a shame to waste all that food so I should eat it!  OR you hardly got any at all because you were so busy running around getting everything for everyone else so you eat it.  

I am apparently NOT a good potty trainer because all four of them took forever, I swear I thought they would be going to school in diapers, but they all finally got it before going.  Stubborn little shits!  I tried everything, treats, toys, charts, stickers, fancy toilet seats, they just all had their own agenda I guess.

When I was in high school I kept saying I would never have kids, don't say that folks, cause now I have four and only 1 of them was planned.  Yes I'm completely aware of how that happens, but when contraceptives fail, they fail, I tried.  I never thought I would put my hands out to catch puke before it hit the floor, couch, car, etc.,  I never thought I would drive a little recklessly so I could get home faster and get the SCREAMING child OUT of the car(my daughter HATED riding in the car), I never thought I would have to clean kid crap off the carpet, I never thought I would find the kitten in the refrigerator, I never thought boobs could leak enough to soak you to your undewear and...I never thought I could love someone as much as I love my kids.  All the crazy moments, all the nights of hardly any sleep, getting peed on, getting puked on, leaky boobs, eating cold meals, waking up w/ aches and pains because of the kids hogging the bed...it was all worth it.  I have four fabulous humans that I can call mine.  

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, the world wouldn't spin w/o us!

My boys

I feel like I'm always writing about my daughter.  She's the youngest (and the neediest...boys are SO much easier, you people w/ both genders can admit it, it's ok), and I spend the most time w/ her by default, my husband can't coach baton/pom team(I don't either, but he has coached the boy's baseball, basketball and football teams over the years), he can't help her change costumes in the locker room, he can't drive so he can't take her to competitions...so I have a LOT of time w/ her.

I have 3 sons also, that I love dearly and each of them are AMAZING for their own reasons.

My oldest son...we'll call him Bob Shingles, that's one of his user names to something or other.   Bob is 17 and on the verge of graduating(crossing my fingers and toes and praying really hard on that).  He's the first, the one who had me all to himself the longest.  Good thing because he was a difficult baby, I was just 20 when he was born, he didn't know what he wanted, I didn't know what he wanted, but we came out ok on the other side.  He wasn't colicky he was just...I don't know what.  I'm surprised I ever had any other kids after that.  Anyway, he's amazingly smart(like genius smart, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his Mom), he's patient w/ other people, tolerant of everyone, friendly with everyone, not aggressive in any way... he's a lover, not a fighter.  He can fix a computer, he can solve Calculus equations, and he likes to cook, you can't beat that :D  He's a free spirit, goes w/ the flow, loves everyone...a true hippie, he would've fit right in w/ the 60's.  He's tall, blonde and adorable, loves music, loves Marching Band and just a good kid.  His teachers love him, his friends love him, his friend's parents love him.  I'm so proud of who he is and who he's become.  I wish he'd turn in his homework on time more often (hence the free spirit thing), but he's a great human being and that was my ultimate goal.

My middle son is 15..we'll call him Bigfoot because he does have HUGE feet.  He was and still is almost the exact opposite of Bob Shingles.  He was an EASY baby, sweet, smiley, nursed well, went to bed well, slept through the night good... night and day.  He's ALL boy, always was.  From the time he was 18 months til he was 2 I think he only quit making the "motorboat" noise when he was fully asleep.  He was always driving trucks or cars or something.  He's my animal lover, doesn't matter what type of animal he has a BIG 'ole soft spot for them.  Animals like him too.  He's quiet, and for a long time was painfully shy.  He was never one of those crazy over bearing little kids w/ animals, there was never any "I want to love you and squeeze you and call you George..." he would just sit quietly sucking on his fingers and the animals would just come to him.  He's an AMAZING builder, he once built a whole skate park out of cardboard for his little tech deck's and it looked like a real skate park.  He can build anything.   He's a great teenager too(not without faults of course, he's still human) he's kind, he's helpful, he is a good friend, great in an emergency, he's also amazingly smart, and will make a great man someday.

We were at a restaurant.

My youngest son...we'll call him Poose, that's really his nickname, he hates it now, but it was so cute when he was little.  My oldest son was playing w/ him when he was a baby, talking baby talk to him to get him to smile, he said, "aren't you just a cute little Babypoose.." and it stuck.  We leave off the "Baby" part now, but he's not real fond of Poose either.  He's smart, outgoing, inventive, loving, loyal, aggressive, and a good kid.   He was a great baby, so sweet and easy going.   He was always amazing at entertaining himself, still is.  He would make a 'track' in the living room and race his little Monster Trucks all over it for HOURS.  He would welcome you to play w/ him, but he was fine w/ playing alone too.  He would set up elaborate Monster Truck rallies and race them through the course.  He's SO creative, if he wants something and doesn't have it, he'll make his own.  He made himself a NASCAR track to race his cars around by taping together several sheets of paper and cutting them in an oval, then marking the lanes, pit row, the Finish line.  Pretty cool.  He's sweet and sensitive and rough and tough at the same time.  He's a good kid w/ his heart in the right place.

That's my boys in a nutshell, there are so many stories and so many other great things about them, they are all amazing in their own way, and frustrating, and nerve wracking and loving and wonderful.  The oldest two tower over me and love every minute of it, and the 3rd one can't wait til he's that big.  "Hey Mom, how's the weather down there?"  I'm not even that short at 5'6", "Mom do you need me to reach that for you?"  They think it's SO funny.

Livin' the dream.