CrAzY Working Mom: January 2009

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Saturday Photo Hunt & Camera Critters

My 81st

This Week's Theme: Furry

SPH Headquarters ~ The Other 80

To visit more Camera Critters, click here.

Since this week's Saturday Photo Hunter's Theme is Furry, I thought I could just combine two posts in one. In this photo is our Dachshund, or "wiener dog" as we like to call him is taking a nap on the couch. His fur is short, but he has a lot of it. When choosing an indoor animal, I thought a short haired dog was a good choice because of less shedding however Oscar has proved me wrong. His black fur ends up everywhere!!!

Error!

Okay, folks I don't know what is going on around here, but I don't like it one bit!!! Apparently Mommybloggerdirectory.com is having some problems of some sort causing this 401 Authorization message to pop up on my blog! I have tried going to their site to delete my account and get an error message there. I have e-mailed them to report the problem. I have checked my template and I don't find any of their code there. I do not remember putting anything on my site, so why in the world would this error message pop up on my site? If anyone (SANNI???) has any suggestions, please let me know.

UPDATE:
I've been contacted by the website and they have corrected the error. Whew!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Space Buddies DVD Review

My niece, Katie is going to be so excited!!! She is a huge fan of Disney's Buddy Series. You know the movies I am talking about, right? The litter of puppies belonging to "Air Bud"? These pups made their debut in Air Buddies and followed up with Snow Buddies. Now these pups are at it again. Grab a helmet and be prepared to blast off into a whirlwind of adventure with Space Buddies, available on Disney DVD Tuesday, February 3! B-Dawg, Mudbug, Budderball, Buddha, & Rosebud return in an adventure of epic proportions sending them all the way to the moon encountering a new friend, Spudnick, a Bull Terrier. The talking dog movies are a hit around our house. We begin each movie the same, "Mommy dogs really don't talk...do they?" I explain how lots of things happen in movies that don't happen in real life Once we got past this simple explanation we settled in for the movie.

My kids loved this movie and I must admit that I am a fan of the buddies myself. Mudbug is my favorite pup. This little guy always gets dirty. In his opening scene, he comes in the house covered in mud, jumps on a white house in a perfectly clean home and begins "the shake". You know what I'm talking about, the one that dogs do when they're wet. This slings mud from one side of the room to the other much to the dismay of his human mother. Each pup has their own personality and this makes for a great story line and some witty dialogue.

The DVD is loaded with some wonderful extras. We enjoyed the bloopers. I have always been a big fan of the blooper reel in any movie. One of my all time favorite television shows was the bloopers show. I wonder why that doesn't come on anymore?! You can also turn on a "pop up video" type feature and see facts and info about the movie as you watch it. But, I don't recommend this feature if you have small children like mine who can't read because it gets tiring really fast keeping them in the loop!

All in all this would make a wonderful Valentine's Day gift for your children. So, while you're out shopping for candy and goodies to send for the class party, grab a copy. Let me know what you and your children thought of it after you watch it. I'd love to know if you liked it as well as we did. To find out more about this Disney DVD, as well as special downloads, photo, and video galleries click here.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Conversations with Shelby

Shelby (my 6 year old daughter) was playing Super Mario Games 8 with her daddy on Wii. They were playing a game where you had to be the first to detonate a bomb. The blast of the bomb causes your opponent to fly very high in the air and then crash back down to earth causing a massive crater. A crane then scoops your character up from the crater in the background while the winner celebrates in the foreground. Brien chose the Mario character while Shelby chose Princess Peach. Brien kept winning causing Princess Peach to land in the dirt. After several attempts to eliminate Mario and send him crater bound, she disgustingly announces,

"I am not playing this game anymore!
Princesses are NOT supposed to get dirty!!!"

Wordless Wednesday - "Who is that masked pizza man?"

My 93rd

Wednesday Previously Speechless ~ WW Headquarters

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Wii Fit

I splurged yesterday. I stopped by the video game store on the way home and looked around a bit. I asked the salesman if they had any Wii Fits and he informed me that he did, so I am now a proud owner. I didn't get to spend much time on it yesterday, but the body analysis wasn't pretty. Since I have Emily with me all day at the office I can't really join a gym right now, so I thought this was a great temporary alternative. I'm pretty excited about it.

DVD Review - Mirrors

Last night after playing Wii Fit for a while, my favorite show was on. Hubby and I both love 24. Keifer Sutherland is the main character in Fox's non-stop action drama series. He is one of my favorite actors. I love the types of characters he portrays, from Jack Bauer in 24 to Ben Carson in the new horror film, Mirrors.

This movie got fairly disappointing reviews, but I didn't think it was all that bad. There were some scenes that were a bit over the top, but when watching a horror film, I think that jaw-dropping impossibility that can make you say "eeeeew" and then sqirm a bit in your seat is necessary. Usually I don't go into a full on horror movie with the frame of mind that this could "actually" happen. In fact, it's more fun when watching if you don't! This is definitely one of those movies.

When you get to the point where you are ready to turn it off because you can't handle anymore, don't! It gets better. The ending is worth watching the whole movie. Take a peek at the official movie website here. You can pick up a copy of the DVD in stores now. It includes both the theatrical versin as well as an unrated version, behind the mirror featurette, deleted scenes and alternate ending with optional director's commentary.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Manic Monday - Snow

MM Headquarters ~ Previous MMs

The Manic Monday Master

I live in the Southern US. We don't see a lot of snow. When we do happen to get snow, it usually doesn't stick around long, and mostly ends up as ice on the roads wreaking havoc, causing wrecks, and closing schools. However, in the rare instances that we do see inches of snow rather than centimeters or just a dusting, most of the time it is welcomed.

I can remember as a child, we had a beautiful blanket of snow in our front yard. My mom was particular about letting us go out in it because she enjoyed looking at the snow and she knew once we were unleashed in the yard it would be a distant memory. Once we were bundled and allowed out, we had a fun time. My step-dad was quite the handy man and was always thinking of inventive ways for us to have fun. He got out in the yard with us and instructed us to push the snow into one big pile.

I can remember my mother being frustrated because as we began to work, ALL of the snow in the front yard was being pushed into a monstrous pile. It was a game for us. We had two by fours in our hands and we'd get on our knees and push until the snow reached it's destination with no clue as to it's purpose.

Finally, a shape was beginning to form. My father in law worked effortlessly on this project and our young minds raced as to what he was building for us. Finally, as the door was constructed and the hulling out process began, we realized that we were going to have an igloo in our front yard! We were so excited. I remember waiting and watching him dig out that snow with anticipation of "camping out" in the igloo.

My memory fails me as to how long it took. I'm sure as a child it took what seemed like days for him to complete the task, but I do remember that he made the door so that we slid in on our bellies to get inside. I also remember the warmth of the ice once inside. That has always amazed me how ice could be warm. We had so much fun with the Igloo. Mom was disappointed that her beautiful blanket of snow didn't stick around long, but we were stoked when that igloo was still standing days later when all of the other snow was gone. As the school bus picked us up and dropped us off each day that the igloo remained the other kids were in awe of such a spectacle. Imagine that, an igloo in Arkansas?!

Monday Me Meme - Week 1

This is a brand new meme. All you have to do is give 5 answers to the question that is asked about yourself every Monday. Easy as Pie.
Go over and grab the code, sign Mr Linky and tell Jackie I sent ya. ;)

Here is the first question:
List 5 things that your spouse or significant other does that bugs the heck out of you. If you're single, then list 5 things that your employer, kid, or relative does that drives you crazy!
1. My husband leaves his shoes right in front of the couch where they land after he kicks them off.
2. When I trip over my husband's shoes that he leaves right in front of the couch it bugs the heck out of me.
3. Picking up husband's shoes days later when he's worn every pair in his closet and there are no more there because they are all piled up in front of the couch where he has kicked them off bugs the heck out of me.
4. Cleaning up the mud out of the floor that has loosened from hubby's shoes when they thud on the floor after he kicks them off in front of the couch where they land causing me to trip over them bugs the heck out of me.
5. Oh, and leaving the toilet seat up, that one's annoying too. *grin*

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Are you Freakin' Kidding Me?!?!

Can someone please send some luck our way?! A 4 leaf clover, rabbit's foot...somethin'!

I got a call tonight from my sister that they admitted my brother into the hospital this afternoon. Apparently yesterday he went to the doctor with a sore throat. He was sent home with some antibiotics to ward off a throat infection. He woke up this morning and the whole side of his neck and face was swollen. He went to the Emergency Room and he was quickly admitted into the hospital. Many tests have been ran thus far and they have ruled out the obvious infection in his lymph nodes. My sister said that they were testing for leukemia.

On the way home from the hospital she stopped by and Shelby wanted to spend the night with her. She and her cousin, Katie are only 11 days apart in age. As we were packing her bag, she was holding her ear. She started whining a bit and said that her ear was hurting! She still wanted to go with my sister. She graciously accepted the offer, even though she'll probably be up with her in the night. She knew my hands were full with the sick baby. It doesn't look like I'm going to need Decaslim or any other diet supplement to lose weight. I think all of this stress just might do it!

It looks like I'll be visiting the hospital tomorrow and the pediatrician's office (AGAIN) on Monday! Seriously...someone send me some GOOD luck, please and fast!!!

Camera Critters

To visit more Camera Critters, click here.

RSV, MIL, & S.L.E.E.P!!!

Sleep came last night in the form of my Mother-in-law! She is my savior, add it to the Christian books that she is the greatest woman alive. I will owe her my deepest gratitude for the remainder of my years. She has spent the last two days at my house watching Emily during the day while I went to the office and ran some errands I needed to take care of. Last night, she spent the night on my couch taking care of baby girl while I got reacquainted with the back of my eye lids.

We had to take Emily back to the doctor yesterday. He said that her cough and wheezing was definitely worse, but that it was to be expected. He did change her inhailer to one with less of the "jittery" side effects the other one seemed to have on her. He also ordered a breathing treatment. I was the lucky one to hold her down and keep the mast on her face while this occured. She was so angry and upset about it that her whole body was as stiff as a board and she turned purple from screaming so much. After what must have only been minutes, but seemed like hours he said that it helped and she was wheezing a bit less. He said that she still had about 5 more days before she would be close to well but that it could take weeks for her to be completely over it.

I broke down. It's been such a long week, I've had no sleep, my temper was short with Brien yesterday morning and I felt horrible all day about it. He could see it in my eyes before I ever began to cry. He asked me if I was okay. That opened the flood gates. I was NOT okay. He told me that I would be fine and Emily would be fine and that I was doing a great job. He comforted me and that made me feel good. Our pediatrician is a wonderful man and I am so glad that he's been a part of our lives from the first minutes of Shelby's life until now. He told me everything to expect and said that unfortunately, Emily's chances of developing asthma are very great now, especially if we have a history of it my family. My mother uses the same breathing machine that Emily used yesterday and my brother also has asthmatic tendancies. He had breathing problems at birth being that he was the smallest twin. So, unfortunately our road might just be begining with this one. He said for the next 12 months we will just watch her closely. For now, the main concern is getting her back to normal where she and I both can sleep in a horizontal position.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

I've contacted Mr Linky about adding us to the list.
Hopefully next week we'll be up.
For those of you using Mr Linky: Here is the code that he gave me for you to subscribe to this meme should you choose to do so:
http://www.blenza.com/linkies/subs_subscr.php?id=1617
This puts you under no certain obligation to use it, however it will show up in your pull down menu so that you can title your Linky when you use it.
It also adds the information at the bottom linking back here for more information.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Time For A Smile

If you've not clicked over to this site, you're missing out.

The smile guy gives us a daily dose of smileage.

Click over and see if you recognize a certain smile over there.

Thanks, Smile Guy for the smiles.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

For Your Viewing Pleasure

The kiddos playing Wii:

This is fun stuff!!

Yes, Tyler screams, "Noooooooooooo" when Shelby knocks him out. Once again as they are playing he yells, "Don't knock me out!!

Wordless Wednesday - "A New Generation of Change"

My 91st

Wednesday Previously Speechless ~ WW Headquarters

Emily Grace

Emily still has a cough. We're still on the inhaler every four hours and cough meds every six. I feel like she is slowly improving. She's getting her appetite back. The worst part is that the inhaler dawns a chamber with a mask that I have to hold on her face to get an airtight seal and she does NOT like that thing. I'm sure I wouldn't either. It feels like I am trying to smother her and she wriggles and squirms trying to get away from me while I'm doing it causing me to hold her down. It's not fun, but it has to be done to get her well. I keep telling myself that.

Yesterday we watched the inauguration and she was cute sitting in her little Bumbo seat looking up at that big screen. I have high hopes for our new president. I hope that change indeed is coming our way not only for myself but for my children and their future as well.

Brien picked the kiddos up from school and when they got home, he and Shelby had been shopping at Wal-Mart. Guess what Shelby talked him into?! A Wii!! That girl has her daddy wrapped completely around her finger. I'd been wanting one, but we could never find one in the store. There just so happened to be one there last night, so they grabbed it up. Shelby had so much fun playing it. Tyler just doesn't get the concept, I don't think. Shelby kicked my butt at Tennis and stomped Brien in a bowling match. I will say this, it's great leverage to get her to clean her room!!!

Movie Review

Igor is now available on DVD via Fox Home Entertainment. The overall message of this movie is a good one. Don't judge a book by it's cover, we all have an evil bone in our body, it's just whether or not we choose to use it that makes us evil, and most importantly, "I'd rather be a nice nobody than an evil somebody". Unfortunately, my children didn't stick around long enough to experience any of the above. They scattered very quickly after the movie started and left me to finish it alone. I'll have to admit that there were times that I just wanted to turn it off, but I was not going to quit. I just kept waiting for it to get better and unfortunately for me it just didn't.

After Igor's (voiced by John Cusak) "master", Doctor Glickenstein kills himself with a malfunctioning evil invention Igor decides to take matters into his own hands by creating his own invention for the Evil Scientists' Fair. Unfortunately for Igor, his invention who calls herself Eva (voiced by Molly Shannon) has an evil bone in her body but it cannot be activated because she is simply too nice. Igor decides to brain wash her and during this process his previous invention, "Brain" accidentally changes the television channel from violent acts to a documentary on the life of an actress thus dubbing the intended evil Eva an aspiring actress.

Of course there is another evil genius Doctor Schadenfreude. He steals the ideas of other scientists and intends on stealing Eva, activating her evil bone, and winning the Scientists Fair before overthrowing the current King Malbert. The King finds out that Igor's master is dead and sends him to the Igor Recycling bin leaving Eva in the hands of Schadenfreude. Igor's former inventions, an immortal rabbit named Scamper and a brain transplanted into a robot named Brain rescue Igor so that he can save Eva from the Evil Schadenfreude who has activated her evil bone.

I can't really put my finger on why I didn't like this movie, honestly. It seemed really slow for me at first. I had a hard time liking the character Igor. But, as the movie progressed I did sympathize with him a bit more. The jokes were not that funny. I felt like the movie's jokes were geared toward the parents and initially went way over most children's heads. As a parent, most of them just weren't that funny to me. Overall, I would have to give this movie a 2 out of 5 stars. Watch at your own risk. If you have watched, what did you think of it?

Monday, January 19, 2009

Update on Emily

Some of my Facebook and Twitter followers have asked me how my little one is doing. Emily is, well she is really sick. She has Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an infection of the lungs and breathing passages. Every four hours, she has to take two puffs from an inhailer and every six ours she's to have Mucinex to keep the phlegm in her lungs from getting worse. The doctor said she will get worse before she gets better. There is no guarantee that she will not end up in the hospital before it's all said and done. We just have to keep a close watch on her and make sure her "wheezing" doesn't worsen and that her breathing doesn't become a chore as well as making sure that she does drink her formula. Right now she's cut her intake down by about 1/2. She's taking only an ounce or two every hour or so where normally she will drink a six ounce bottle every three hours. This is probably due to the fact that she's so congested it's hard to breathe and eat.

The last two nights have been pure hell. I've been up with her because she cannot lay down without choking and gagging. I've been sitting up with her in the recliner and we sleep off and on that way, but more off than on! Her pediatrician told me that days 4-7 are usually the worst with this condition so it looks like I will not be getting any sleep any time in the near future. Of course I have family that would sit up with her, but I am sure that I would not be able to sleep even if they did, so there's not much need in taking them up on their offer.

Please keep us in your prayers because it looks like we may need them for the next few days. I will post updates when I can. Right now she's sleeping so I am going to grab a bite to eat and then try to nap a bit myself. Thank you all so much for your care and concern.

Manic Monday - Office

Office
MM Headquarters ~ Previous MMs

The Manic Monday Master

Okay, I'm takin' over the office today. Here's the new water cooler:

If anyone, especially the boss has a message please use these pads:

Okay, now back to work!!!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Camera Critters - Time for a snack

To visit more Camera Critters, click here.

Mommy Proverbs

* A Paci in the hand is worth two under the car seat.

* All that glitters is not a Disney princess costume.

* Once bitten, twice afraid to go on a playdate.

* All's well that ends in a nap.

-Carlotte Latvala
Taken from Parenting Magazine

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Saturday Photo Hunt - Hats

My 80th

This Week's Theme: Hat(s)

SPH Headquarters ~ The Other 79

(click image to see larger)
The Many Hats of Tyler:

Cowboy Hat and boots in shorts during the 4th of July. Orange hunting cap and Shelby's red boots while vacuuming his room. Oscar the weiner dog's sweater, not a hat at all...just Tyler being silly!

The Results Are In

We received the Goldie Pacifier that we ordered from Amazon.com. It arrived in a paper envelope and the nipple was bent over to one side. I was disappointed but when I got it home and boiled it to sterilize it, the nipple straightened right back up. I then tested the new paci with my 4 month old. If you've read the previous post on my dilemma, you will know that Gerber is no longer making the pacifiers that Emily has taken since birth. The one she has needs to be replaced. I began my search last week to find a new one after none of the local retailers had it on their shelves. After much searching, I found an equivalent online. The main difference is that the nipple on the new paci is shorter than the one she had grown accustomed to. At first she had a difficult time keeping it in her mouth. It kept popping out. She did take it out a few times and put the outside in her mouth. The great thing about the is pacifier is that the whole thing is made from rubber. I've read tips from other parents that said when their children were teething they would freeze them and their children would also use them as teethers. We're not getting far from this situation because Emily is already showing signs of teething. Oh yes, just as we start getting a sleep pattern down, the sleepless nights will begin again due to the pain of teething. I think that she might end up doing okay with it after some getting used to. She struggled with it a bit last night as she tried to fall asleep after having her 2AM bottle, but eventually went back to sleep.
I will not be rushing back to Amazon to buy more just yet. As of right now the jury seems to still be out on this one. But, if nothing else, she can use it as a teether and from the looks of things she can just hold on to it and fall asleep! Well, the swing might have had something to do with that last photo, and the fact that she was extremely tired.

*****UPDATE****
Emily does love this paci and I would highly recommend it!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

When I snapped this photo, there was a bit of a rainbow appearing in the center of the shot right where the light blue is located in the shot. It didn't show up as well as I wanted it to in the picture, but I still think that the shot is pretty. If you click to make it bigger, you can see a trace of the colors. I can't wait to see what you all come up with this week! Don't forget to leave your link so I'll know where to find you! Thanks so much for playing along and all of your support. It does mean so much.

A Cheetah Girl

My daughter Shelby is 6 going on 16! She completely and totally loves anything and everything girlie. As soon as we get home, he television goes straight to the Disney channel. She's all about Raven, Zack & Cody, Miley, and everything else Disney. We've invested lots of dollars in Cheetah Girl merchandise as well. She loves to play dress up and her favorite costume is a Cheetah Girl! If you have a young daughter who loves Cheetah Girls, the third installment of the Disney channel series is available on Disney DVD! After a bit of rivalry between the girls over the lead role in a movie, the Cheetahs realize the importance of friendship. Of course a Cheetah Girls movie would not be complete without a lot of singing, dancing, and amazingly fashionable outfits along the way. The only thing that we were disappointed about with this film is that our favorite Cheetah, Raven was not in this movie. Overall it was still a great movie and a great addition to our Disney DVD library. If you've not got this one, pick it up and make your Cheetah Girls collection complete!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Life is hard...especially for a kid

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Tyler's Silly Faces

My 90th

Wednesday Previously Speechless ~ WW Headquarters

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Random Tuesday

We have five DVDs sitting on top of our entertainment center. We've had them rented from the local video store for over two weeks. We have only watched two of them! This means that we've racked up some substantial late charges at the video store and probably will still end up renting the ones we haven't watched yet again. Today I ended this insane behavior! With the encouragement of my B/F/F I joined NetFlix. I'm super excited about it. I've added some movies to my Queue that I've been wanting to see but forget when I get to the video store. Do you have Netflix? If so, how do you feel about it? Do you love it or hate it? What movies do you have in your queue? Now I want a Roku Player! I'm adding it to my wish list. Valentine's day is soon.

I've also finished the second book in the Twilight series. It did get better. It was a slow start for me and there was a time when I almost gave up. With the encouragement of several others I stuck it out and there were a few times that I had a hard time putting it down, although not as many as in Twilight. I have not been able to find the next two books at the local stores, so I ordered them via Amazon today. Hopefully they'll ship quickly. I still haven't gotten the pacifier that I ordered via Amazon for Emily. I'll post an update when I get it. I sure do hope that it'll be an equivalent to the Gerber paci that is no longer being manufactured. If you missed that original post, you can click here.

The weather in Arkansas has been so crazy! Seriously crazy. Yesterday was in the 50s. Today, was in the 40s, tomorrow:44 Thursday:32 Friday:28. Saturday I had to take Shelby to the doctor. She has a throat infection. Yesterday Tyler went, he has a horrible cough. We didn't see our pediatrician, he was all booked up. We saw a doctor who said he just had a cold. Hopefully he'll recover soon. Last night I started feeling yucky. I am pretty sure I have a sinus infection. I'm going to use my NetiPot, take a sinus pill, and head to bed. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

Also, don't forget to get your sky photos this week. I'll be looking at the sky on Friday and hope you'll be joining me! To find out more about how to play along, you can click the following logo: