What A Weekend

You Rock It Boy

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 31 - 2010

When we left the grocery store the other day, Jordan said, mom! Look at that guy’s shorts! This guy had just pulled up on a crotch rocket. I looked over and there he was. Knee high socks. Shiny latex (leather?) pants, and pads. I was glad to see him wearing pads. As Dora said, so we can be safe! Then he took off his helmet, and I thought he might have had a toupee on. It was a 3 stooges haircut, none the less. Pitch black.

Then he turned and looked at me. He couldn’t have been a day under 75. So, I say if you are 75 and enjoying life to the fullest, rock on dude!

I admit it, I snapped a picture. From the back. I almost went up and asked if I could take a picture of him with his rocket, but thought that might be rude. If it was from the front, I wouldn’t post it. I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone as I give them kudos for living their life in the fast lane!

That’s through my windshield and I cropped out my dash so that you could focus on him instead of my stereo.

He’s got good legs!

Rock on sir!

That seriously was awesome!

And I’ve got a couple of small vids of Christiano. It’s dark in them because the girls were sleeping and I turned the lights out for them. He spent 20 minutes flipping through the Target ad. It’s just showing off a couple of words/words he’s trying to say.

And in this one, I was trying to catch him saying Jordan did it, but he changed it when I turned the video on.

Isn’t he a doll baby? I might be a tad proud cuz I’m mom, but I adore that child.

Not so fond of whoever got fabric paint all over my couch. Unlike Christiano, no one else in this place will happily shout I did it! when I ask how something happened!

We’ve got a full day today. I’ve got to get Jordan ready for camp Monday, make sure we have everything he needs to take with him, plus my niece’s birthday party, plus a family reunion for everyone on my dad’s side. It’s going to be crazy huge because it isn’t just my dad’s family, which by itself there are 10 living siblings, all who have kids, who have kids, who some of them have kids. It’s my grandma’s family too. (Her sisters, brothers, their kids, their kids, their kids, you get the point.) It shall be a large and Pato says he’s not going. He’s shy when it’s just my dad’s family. I can imagine when it’s something like this that it’s overwhelming. Then I think I’m taking off to the casino for a couple of hours with my mom. Give myself a little break from my 4 children who ~~drive me absolutely bug wacky~~ I absolutely adore!

Really quick, I added some new products to my CafePress store. You remember I painted a little graphic with a breast cancer ribbon for my cousin who was diagnosed with breast cancer? I decided to use that to make some shirts and other products. Mainly because I wanted to order one for Brandi. I did. I ordered her this one last night –

Fight Like A Girl Women’s t-shirt

There are a lot more. I made them for just about every female you could have in your life too –

My mom fights like a girl jr T

There’s mom, grandma, sister, cousin, aunt, best friend, and fight like a girl. Plus there is this one –

Fight Breast Cancer Until It Is Knocked Out Mug

I also ordered 2 other shirts that I have in my store that I’ve been wanting forever but feel guilty about buying. I had enough in my cafepress account to grab these too –

A Soccer Mom’s Day Is Never Done

and the back

You can read the back here.

And I got Christiano this shirt –

Future Soccer Star Toddler T

‘Cuz you know we’re a soccer loving family. I can’t wait to see them when they’ve actually been printed out. I keep thinking that I want to buy one of the shirts that are in my store and do one for a giveaway. If I did that, which one would you guys want to win?

Maybe I should just do an open ended one where you pick the t-shirt and then I just pay and have it shipped to you.

Throw me some thoughts on that!

Have a great day!

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My Life, Pictures, YouTube

Feature Friday! Painted Lady Fingers!

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 30 - 2010

Feature Friday is a feature here at The 24/7 Mom! I get to play 20 questions with some of my favorite bloggers each Friday! Read along, check them out, and hopefully you will find a new blog to read because these bloggers featured on Friday are Fabulous!

Painted Lady Fingers is another one of my absolute favorite blogs! I’m not embarrassed to admit that I have nail envy. My own nails are short and without fail anytime they start growing, I stub one hard on something and it breaks. I live vicariously through Diana’s beautiful manicures! She has such a talent for description and photography that she entwines through her posts.

Here are a few of my favorite manicures recently:

The Four Directions

Twilight Flowers

Wave Of Flowers

There are so many more, but I’ll let you explore them yourselves. I wish I had her steady hand and patience for these intricate designs she does. Also, check out how she draws her giveaways. Each one is unique! It’s almost more fun looking at the pictures of choosing the winner than it is wondering if you might win.

_________________________________________

Who are you? Diana. I have long, natural nails. I carry a parasol.

Why did you start to blog? I found myself reading nail blogs everyday. My friend Bill bought me a camera, the most useful gift I ever received. My girlfriends encouraged me to start a blog. My guy friends were supportive, though perhaps a little lost when it comes to nail polish.

How old is your blog? Painted Lady fingers is currently celebrating its one year anniversary.

Has your blog changed over time? Although my blog is still primarily about nail art and polish, I have added make up, skin care and bath and body reviews.

Favorite post? I have two: This post details how I was locked in a garden with a bottle of nail polish, a cup of coffee and a crystal skull: Down The Rabbit Hole With A Crystal Skull

Here is a manicure inspired by one of my favorite birds, the peacock: White Peacock

Pepsi or Coke? I used to drink Cherry Coke years ago, but now I drink tea, coffee, and water. There is a coffee shop near Rittenhouse Square that serves Italian sodas flavored with rose or lavender syrup. I stop by there with my friend Lisa on occasion.

Favorite Blogs You Read? Check out my blogroll!

Would You Like Fries With That? I don’t have much of an interest in fried food. I will always welcome blue corn chips with hummus.

Partners In Crime? My friend Lisa and I shop at drugstores together and chat about polish over Greek salads. My boss, who does make up and nails for drag shows, is always attentive to my manicures. If you want a clear opinion, ask a drag queen! My friend Sarada and I visit Sally’s Beauty Supply together on occasion. David, whose man hands have appeared at painted Lady fingers, accompanies me on garden jaunts. He also takes me to the craft store periodically to pick up white felt. (I cut up white felt into squares for easy polish removal.) Eric, my philosopher friend, works on his dissertation at the coffee shop while I blog about nail polish.

Favorite Blogging Tip? Let the person you are in everyday life come through in your blogging.

Inspiration? I have a photographic memory and images stay with me. I love color and texture. Scenes from nature and beautiful fabric delight my eyes.

Bloggy Inspiration? I typically begin each post with a brief description of what inspired the look of the day. I once created a manicure based on sleet and slush.

Hobbies? I enjoy reading. I just purchased a classic Norwegian novel called Kristin Lavransdattar by Sigrid Undset. That will keep me occupied for awhile. Before that, I read War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. I often watch movies. My philosopher friend and I have been viewing David Lynch films for the past month. I also love garden jaunts. Any occasion to walk around in Nature is welcome. I live in downtown Philadelphia. I really enjoy going to museums and exhibits.

Bikini or one piece? I love the look of retro glamour one piece suits.

Edward, Bill, LeStat, or insert your own vampire? Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I appreciated his attention to courtship and his ability to rock a top hat.

Does your family get your blogging? I did a Halloween post where I used my sister’s spooky decorations as backgrounds for my manicure photos. I think my family has learned to expect I will be doing something a little unusual.

Favorite Online Community? I like to check out MUA on occasion.

What would I be shocked to know about you? I used to live across the street from the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine. It’s one of the oldest cemeteries in the country. My apartment was haunted by the ghost of a little girl from (I believe) the Victorian era.

How much time would your man say it takes you to get ready? I am recently single, but I would say the consensus has been about an hour.

Over or under? What does this mean?! Is this last question like a Rorschach test? I see a butterfly!

_________________________________________

Painted Lady Fingers is a fabulous choice for you to start blog stalking! Between her manicures, her descriptive posts, beautiful photos, and her uniqueness in general you will leave her blog feeling a little bit happier each day.

Diana! Thank you so much and now you can say

(I know, prestigious, right?)

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The Judges Ruling Reminds Me Of A Story

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 29 - 2010

I kind of created a little controversy last time I talked about illegal aliens here on my blog, lost some Facebook friends, all that jazz. I know I’m taking a risk bringing it up again, but if I don’t hold to what I believe just for stats and Facebook friends, what kind of person would I be?

You’ve probably heard that U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton struck down key parts of Arizona’s new legislation. I am not sad about that.

"There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens under the new (law)," Bolton ruled. "By enforcing this statute, Arizona would impose a ‘distinct, unusual and extraordinary’ burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose."

That is exactly the point a lot of us were hoping that she’d get.

It reminds me of something that happened when I lived in Ohio.

As I mentioned in my post before, I do know quite a few people who aren’t here legally. That is how this story starts. Two guys I knew were walking to the restaurant at 9:00 AM. A police officer stopped them to inquire of their status. They were doing nothing wrong. Just walking to work – in t-shirts, jeans, and tennies if that matters to anyone, they were dressed like anyone, ie: my brothers, would dress every day. (Because you know you can tell an illegal alien from the way they dress…but more about that later.)

That is racial profiling at it’s best.

He couldn’t legally do that. He did not know if they were legal or illegal by looking at them and he can NOT legally ask American citizens to prove their status when they are doing nothing wrong. (At least according to the immigration lawyer I talked to. Why did I talk to a lawyer? I did a lot of translation work for many people, including those who were here legally, trying to learn English, but weren’t proficient in it.)

That police officer came up to the restaurant and inquired about EVERYONE’S status. Including my own. I was doing nothing that would give a police officer cause to ask me anything other than how was I doing and wasn’t it a nice day out.

He was on a mission. He had called immigration and asked them to come arrest the 2 men. They wouldn’t come. They were busy with raids in other areas, not to mention, this wasn’t long after 9/11. ICE was overworked. They asked what crime the men had committed. The police officer said, being here illegally. They wanted to know what violent crime they had committed, otherwise they didn’t have resources to send someone out.

He thought if he did a workplace raid himself, he might get enough people rounded up for ICE to come out. The rest of us there were all legal, with paperwork to prove it.

I was actually highly offended that he wanted not only my license..no, that wasn’t good enough for him, he wanted my social security card (not just number – CARD), my kid’s birth certificate, a copy of my divorce decree giving me custody of my kid, he was a cop gone a tad mad. I was good with giving him my license. No problem, please be my guest, run it. The rest of the stuff, you don’t need. I haven’t done anything wrong. Would you like my ex-husband’s phone number?

I don’t know how many times I told him, “I am an American citizen. My son is an American citizen. We were both born in Iowa.” He assumed because I speak Spanish, have dark hair, dark eyes, hung out with Mexicans, etc, that I had to have been here illegally also. And he was going to prove it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t prove it, because I am an American citizen. No way around it.

While I understand his frustration at the feds not doing their job, you can’t just start racially profiling everyone you see and assume because you see someone who is Hispanic that they are here illegally.

Now Arizona wants a whole state of police officers doing just that. Signs that someone is here illegally?

Lack of identification
Possession of foreign identification
Flight from police
Voluntary statements (of a person not in custody for Miranda purposes)
Foreign vehicle registration
Being in the company of other unlawfully present aliens
Being in a location known for unlawfully present aliens
Being in an overcrowded vehicle
Inability to provide an address
Dress
Demeanor (unusual or unexplained nervousness, erratic behavior, refusal to make eye contact)
Significant difficulty communicating in English

I’ll agree that almost all of those except dress, demeanor, and speaking English, raises suspicion. Although, most illegals I know do not drive cars with foreign vehicle registration.

Dress – I know people who are here legally who still dress like they are going to a rodeo in Mexico. That proves nothing. I know illegals who shop at Old Navy and Aeropostale.

Demeanor – cops make a lot of people nervous. More so, people here from Mexico. If you haven’t seen any of the news on a lot of police officers in Mexico, it is corruption at it’s finest.

When we go to Mexico, I carry the money. Why? Because police officers will stop males and find someway to blackmail them for their money. How about this article. I’m not going to stick all Mexican police officers in the same group, but there is a much bigger problem with corruption in and amongst the Mexican police forces than I know of here in the states. They don’t trust the police because of it.

And as I said before, I used to translate for plenty of people here legally. English is a hard language to learn. They want to learn it. They try to learn it. It’s proven that the older we get, the harder it is to learn a second language. Then there are the young guys here, they speak English almost as well as I do, and guess what, some of them are illegal.

Overcrowded vehicle, I’ll give them that. I’ve pointed it out on the interstate, myself. An old car stuffed with people. A van filled to the brim. It makes me nervous. If there was a car accident (and there have been), those people are going to be seriously hurt or killed. You know there aren’t enough seat belts in a car for 15 people.

All in all, I’m glad she blocked parts of the law.

I don’t think the majority of the police officers would go out with the intention of racially profiling, but I think a lot of innocent citizens and people here legally on visas/green cards would get caught up in this net they are throwing out.

I think some missed it last time when I said that I do think we need the border secured and that we need immigration reform. I don’t think being here illegally is right, though I did say I could sympathize with families who have no hope and risk their life coming here. It’s not just a quick jaunt through a park to sneak into the United States. The death toll has soared in July with people trying to cross the desert. You have to be desperate to make that trip. Read that again, sympathize, not think that it’s right.

The way to do it though is come November, if you have a member of congress that isn’t fighting for immigration reform, that isn’t fighting for the border to be secured, that isn’t fighting for your state, vote them out. If the outrage is so high, people need to show it at the ballot box. Get representatives in there who will do their job and enforce laws the laws already on the book and reform the ones that aren’t working. Don’t vote for the one that has been there forever just because he has been there forever. Vote for someone who will fight.

Each state having their own set of immigration laws is not the answer. Immigration is a federal issue. The feds need to get off their butts and do something about it. Even with the whole immigration uproar in Arizona, have they taken it up in congress yet? Have they done anything about it?

I wrote one of my congressmen and I got a generic response that highlighted facts and figures and did not actually address any one of my concerns. I’ve voted for this man in every election since I have been able to vote. He won’t be getting my vote when it’s time for his election.

Stepping off my soap box.

If I offended anyone with this post because I have an opinion that differs from theirs, well, I’m not really sorry that I have an opinion, but I am sorry if I offended you. We’re not going to agree on everything all the time. What a boring world this would be if we did.

Have a great day!

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My Life

Pop On Pals

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 28 - 2010

I received another awesome package in the mail from Team Mom. This time it was something for Christiano to test out! We opened up the box and in it was a Pop On Pals play set (by Spinmaster – a favorite in our house)!

Christiano got to play with the Pop On Pals Amusement Park Set.

Ours is exactly the same as that except ours came with the brown haired kid on the ferris wheel.

He LOVES it! He loves the sound it makes when he pops the little guy in and out of the roller coaster car. And if you follow my blog, you know Christiano loves anything and everything that has wheels, so he loves that car with the guy. He pops the guy in and out of all the parts. Plus, he wings that car down the track. It’s fun to watch! Even more fun to play with.

I can honestly say, this toy is perfect for him. It says 24 months and up, and I know Christiano is only 17 months, but there is not one part of this he hasn’t been able to figure out. He loves the sound of the bowling pins and the sound of the bell. He can push the lever up and down to spin the ferris wheel, and flip the switch so he can make the dragon swing thing go back and forth.

I know what I have in mind now for Christmas for him.

I am definitely getting him some of the vehicles and some more of the pals and pets. He’ll love them!

I have to add, my 6 year old and 3 year old love to get down with him and play with this. I think it might be a bit young to actually buy for my six year old, but my 3 year old adores this.

Thank you to Team Mom for sending us the Pop On Pals! Christiano loves it! It’s a new favorite in our house!

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Kids Fun

Backyard Safari Outfitters

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 28 - 2010

Team Mom sent me an awesome package filled with fun Backyard Safari Outfitters! My kids have been having a blast playing with them just here at the apartment. I can’t imagine how much fun they’ll have when we take it out to grandma’s and play with the toys on their acreage.

Alyce wears the Essential Field Gear Cargo Vest around the house all the time. It has plenty of room for the field guides, not to mention a few small dolls.

See, she’s all stylish in her cargo vest and dora slippers. The height of backyard safari fashion.

It doesn’t matter that she’s using it the wrong way does it?

Here’s everything we got with the kit –

Backyard Safari Outfitters Essential Field Gear Cargo Vest

FEATURES:

RUGGED POLY-TWILL FABRIC WITH REINFORCED DETAIL

4 CARGO POCKETS WITH VELCRO CLOSURES

1 TWO INCH DEEP ZIPPER POCKET WITH MESH-NET OUTER POCKET

6 D-RINGS

CUSTOM ZIPPER PULLS

CARGO SHOULDER EPAULETS WITH SNAP CLOSURES

ADJUSTABLE REAR STRAP

2 OVER-SIZED MESH-NET CARGO POCKETS IN REAR

PLUS CLEAR-VU FRONT POCKET CONTAINING ESSENTIAL FIELD POP-GUIDE

Backyard Safari Outfitters Land and Water Mega View Periscope

FEATURES:

THREE NESTED SECTIONS EXTEND OVER 4 FEET

WIDE-VIEW FACE PLATE FOR BINOCULAR VIEWING

ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED HAND GRIPS FOR STEADY, VERTICAL HOLDING POSITION

16 INCH WATER-TIGHT SUBMERSIBLE SECTION FOR UNDERWATER VIEWING

Backyard Safari Outfitters Bug Wrangler’s Extreme Suction Bug Vacuum

FEATURES:

2 CATCH & RELEASE CAPTURE CORES WITH BUILT IN MAGNIFYING GLASS

PLUS: EXTRA NOSE CONE FOR THE REALLY BIG BUGS

Plus a bunch of guides to stuff in the pockets of the vest.

There are quite a few other products that are in the Backyard Safari Outfitters line by Summit Toys. My kids want all of them now. I don’t think I’d mind getting more. They are all well made and the kids are outside playing. Not inside begging to play more video games. I’m all for that every single time.

We had a cricket hop in our house the other day. All 3 of my oldest kids ran for the Bug Vacuum. Catch and release you know. I told them to put the cricket outside. Unfortunately, he went for a swim in the toilet. Not quite the point of the bug vacuum, but they enjoyed it. The girls love the bug vacuum, they can look at the bugs without having to touch the creepy crawlers. My girls usually shriek and scream (even outside) when they see a bug, but lately they’ve been reaching for the vacuum instead. Kind of cool. Though it looks kind of silly now when I shriek because a bug lands on me and they are all cool with it.

I want to thank Team Mom for sending me the awesome Backyard Safari Outfitters package. My kids have absolutely loved it!

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It’s Been Awhile Since I Hurt Myself

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 28 - 2010

It’s about time I guess.

I don’t know how I manage to do this all the time.

Yesterday afternoon I went to lay Christiano down for a nap. I was I was twisting to lay him down, something went crrriiicckkk in my neck. Instant pain.

I felt around in it, there’s no knot. Just pain that goes down to my shoulder and up through my head when I put my head straight up or down or to the left at all. Last night I took ibuprofin, then naproxin, slathered up with icy hot. Called my mom crying. Her and my dad came in and she massaged my neck for awhile. Thank you!

When Pato got home, I passed out with my rice pack on my neck. (For those who want to make one, they are amazing for migraines and neck pain. Here’s a pattern. My aunt gave me mine. It’s longer than the one in that pattern. I need to make a couple more so there is always one cold to use.)

Woke up this morning and I still have a lot of pain. Not like last night but I still have to tilt my head to the right.

I need to go to the chiropractor, but he’s going to yell at me for not going for years because I didn’t have insurance. Yep, I’m suffering because I’m ashamed that I didn’t go for years and I know my back and neck are a mess. He almost had my back straight too. I had a touch of scoliosis from before my reduction. My back was starting to curve up. It hurt all the time.

I know I could go somewhere else and not get yelled at, but no one is as good as he is.

I need to get past my guilt and go see him.

When my parents told me they were coming over, I looked around my place and died. I had made hard boiled eggs for breakfast. There were 3 left in the pan when I hurt myself. I laid down with Christiano after the neck thing and told the girls to please be quiet and be good. I got up to hard boiled egg shells all over the kitchen. While trying to vacuum, Christiano dumped out the parakeets food, not once, but twice. Then while I was refilling their food, he emptied out the contents of my vacuum.

Sigh

I was done. There was no hope in getting my place respectable before my parents got here.

At least I got the dishes done finally after I put the kids to bed.

It’s always nice to wake up to an empty sink….kind of. Pato used more dishes after I went to bed.

Here’s a question. If I have any Mormon readers, you might be able to give me some advice.

The missionaries come around all summer. It’s what they do and I can respect that. That being said, I get knocks on my door every week. Different people. I explain every time that I am Pentecostal. I am good with my faith and I am not changing. It kind of gets old though. Monday, 2 missionaries knocked on my door, and they would not take no for an answer. They left me a Book of Mormon, which is fine. I haven’t read all of it, bits and pieces here and there. They came back yesterday while I was lying down. Katiana told them that I was unavailable, that I had hurt myself. They asked my 6 year old if she knew when mom would be available. ummmmmm, no.

So, I’m expecting another knock on the door soon.

I put a note on my door saying that I don’t want to buy magazines, I’m not going to change my religion, and I’m not interested in anything anyone is selling. If that’s why you’re here, please don’t knock. Fed Ex, UPS, USPS – knock away!

Though, I haven’t had the first or the last since the apartments put up bigger notices on the front door about no solicitation.

I guess the missionaries don’t fall under solicitation. They fall under freedom of religion and speech. That is awesome, but please listen to me the first 50 times that I have opened my door and said I was good with my faith and I’m not changing.

I don’t mean any disrespect to them, but no is no.

On top of that, I don’t know how many times I have to tell Katiana not to answer the door when I’m not right there. You never know who might be there. That’s actually the bigger issue here.

I am going to go lay down while Pato is home. Maybe I can wake up with no neck pain.

Then I need to buy some more office furniture supplies. Actually, not furniture, just supplies. I tore up and redid so many notes for my door, I’m out of paper. What happens if I need to print something?

Have a great day!

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My Life

A Boring Tuesday

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 27 - 2010

I’m trying to figure out what to do today. The kids want to go to the zoo, but with this -

Probably not happening. Last time we went to the zoo and it was 100 and above with the heat index, my children were miserable cranky poo’s. That does not sound like a good time to me.

We could go to the pool again. We’ve been the last 2 days in a row.

I don’t know. We could go to Joanne’s fabrics and I could get patterns to try to make the girls dresses.

You remember my problems with my sewing machine?

My ex-husband came across one this weekend at a garage sale and called me to ask if I wanted it.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Did I say yes?

He just came to pick up Jordan and brought it with him. I’m so excited! I need to have Pato put it in my sewing cabinet. Earl actually sewed across a washcloth with this one before bringing it to me and it worked just fine. He even oiled it for me.

Thank you!

Jordan is gone for a couple of days and then when he comes back it’ll be time to get ready for his sleep away camp. First time for him. I’m glad he’s gotten used to spending the night away from me when he goes to his dad’s. He should be fine. I think he’s spent a week or so at his dad’s all in a row and the camp is 5 days. I need to look at the list and see if I need to run to the store and grab him anything that we don’t have already.

My (first) baby is growing up!

We could also go to Pato’s work for supper. They aren’t too terribly busy on Tuesday. It’s Monday that knocks their socks off. 2 for 1 margaritas. Mondays are a good day for him but a bad day for us to show up to eat. His boss doesn’t appreciate us eating for free at a table that could be seating a paying customer.

I don’t know.

I wonder what my mom and dad are doing? Mom has a dentist appointment this afternoon, but after that, I don’t know. The kids have been dying to see her.

Speaking of mom/grandma. I’ve been working with Christiano on saying grandma. Last night he came up to me and I thought he might have said it, but wasn’t sure. I said, say grandma! dadadadadadada. Nano! Say grandma! Am-ma Am-ma! Mom wanted a cute nickname, right? She’s now Am-ma!

Alright, I’ll stop boring you with how I’m bored and go find something for us to actually do today.

I might think about back to school shopping. I know, shut up Heather. No really, check out vitacost coupons for some back to school savings. Less than a month to go over here.

Have a great day!

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My Life

What A Weekend

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 26 - 2010

It was just non-stop.

Saturday started with the girls and I going to pick up Woodstock. They were going to come here, but after driving all night and finally arriving at a place I found for them in Des Moines to sleep at, they were so tired. I told them I’d come to them.

I met some gorgeous birds that are going into foster care along the trip. (They were all rescued by the Macaw and Cockatiel Rescue of New Mexico.) Quite a few of the birds were going to stay at the Iowa Parrot Rescue where they will be rehabbed and hopefully be adopted into loving forever homes. I met this blue and gold macaw who had plucked out her chest feathers, but was still so sweet. We had a little conversation on the way out the door as she was bidding me goodbye.

I also met the sweetest amazon. I wanted to bring her home with me, but a person only has so much room. And I can’t have a loud bird here. She said the one I was loving on needed adopted and she wasn’t that loud, but I couldn’t take the risk.

We brought Woodstock to his forever home though. Here he is, hanging in his new cage the first day.

He really is a sweet little guy. Stepped up for me right away. I’m keeping an eye on his weight. Anna said he should be around 60 grams. Since Saturday, he’s been holding steady at 52 g. I weighed Twinkle too just to have a comparison, and she at 12 weeks weighs 46 grams. She’s still little though with a lot of growing to do.

After I brought Woodstock home and got him set up in his cage, Pato took the 3 youngest and got his hair cut. Then it was off to the church down the street to their festival they have every summer. Hamburger, hot dogs, corn, etc were there to eat, plus a talent show, inflatable jumpy things for the kids, and games. We had a blast until Christiano started to have a meltdown. He hadn’t had a nap all day. Plus, he hadn’t nursed all day, which to me is good because it helps start the weaning process (Ha ha ha!) but to him, not a great time.

I told Pato I wanted to go before the fireworks. We can see them from our front yard anyway. He was messing around, messing around, messing around, until finally I got fed up and went to the car with Christiano. Pato dilly dallied around, taking his jolly sweet time, and by the time he got back to the car, it was too late to leave. The entrance had been blocked for the fireworks. Christiano was C-R-A-N-K-Y. I was mad, I just went into full blown nagging wife. Pato finally took Christiano out of the car to sit in the grass, saying to me – the nicest translation I can think of from Spanish to English is, can you ever just shut up and leave things as they are already.

No.I.Can’t.

ThankYouVeryMuchYouJerk

I love him, but if there’s one thing I hate about his behavior it’s that his wants and needs come first A LOT. Cranky children just have to suffer through whatever it is daddy feels he has to do. If I’m out with the kids and one of them is tired and cranky, unless what we are doing is urgent, I take the kids home. I don’t make them suffer because I want to do something.

Same thing with shopping. When I go shopping, I buy for the kids. I rarely buy myself anything. When Pato goes shopping, he always looks for himself first. If he happens to walk by something that triggers a thought of one of our children, he might pick it up. You should see his closet.

You know how it’s usually stereotypical of women to hide their receipts and purchases?

That’s my husband.

He lowers the price of everything he buys to me.

Until I find a receipt.

Drives me nuts.

But, I go off topic.

He was a jerk that night and we’ll leave it at that.

I forgot to take my camera to the festival, so we’re stuck with a couple of cell phone pictures of the fireworks –

My niece Taylor came over after the fireworks and spent the night. She’s always so wonderful when she is here. It’s my kids that make me want to pull my hair out.

Taylor always tries to include all the kids when she’s playing, but she’s pulled 3 different ways. Alyce ends up crying because Jordan and Kat won’t let her play with Taylor too. It’s really quite heartbreaking.

Yesterday, we were going to go to mom and dad’s, but they ended up having plans out of town. So, we went to the grocery store to get stuff to grill for supper, then came home and went to the pool.

Taylor spent the night again, which was awesome. She vacuums. She offered.

I told the kids to get their chores done and Jordan is all, Taylor, can you come help me? I said, no. Taylor does not live here. She does not have chores at our house.

She did vacuum though, and did a better job than any of my kids do. Christiano had emptied every single one of Woodstock’s bowls on to the floor so there was seed everywhere.

It wasn’t even really a bad weekend. It just left me feeling like it was mass chaos and my children weren’t listening to anything I said.

Oh, I spent a good 25 minutes cleaning up Christiano last night too. That was fun. I’ll spare you some of it, but he has this Vtech – Sit to Stand Alphabet Train.

Cute isn’t it?

It took us awhile to figure out what they were singing. It sings, happily we chug along, learning letters singing songs, happily we chug along, on the train.

Well, Jordan decided that’s not what it sounded like.

He said it was have a wee wee tug along – then the rest. As much as I would like to blame it on him being a true boy, that is what they sound like they are saying.

I kept hearing the song going on and on and on last night. I turned around and there was Christiano, hand in his diaper, having a wee wee tug along.

Only his diaper wasn’t empty.

That was fun.

Then Woodstock bit the crap out of the first knuckle on my right hand index finger. Turns out, what Twinkle has been doing this whole time is not biting. Those are little love taps. A full grown 7 year old lovebird bites A LOT harder than a 3 month old baby. I think he’d just had enough of my noisy kids all day and when I went to have him step up so I could weigh him again, he chomped down on my knuckle and wouldn’t let go. He didn’t break the skin, but my knuckle still hurts today.

I thought after that, I’ll have him step up on a perch, then take him to weigh him. He stepped up alright, then he ran down the perch, bit me again, and ran back up to his rope perch.

I didn’t weigh him last night.

I was so nervous this morning. I put a towel over my hand. He wouldn’t step up to that. He jumped to the cage door, then jumped to my shoulder. We walked to the scale, he climbed off my shoulder onto the scale. He’s still 52 grams, no weight loss, that’s good. Then he stepped right up on to my finger and we hung out for awhile, like last night’s chow down on my finger never happened.

I guess if he wants to pretend it never happened, I will too.

Silly lovebird.

After reading about my weekend, you probably need something nice and relaxing right? My sister in law sent me some pictures that she took through the window of their hummingbird feeder. I can’t believe these were through a window.

Aren’t those gorgeous?

She told me that it was funny because when the feeder was empty, one of the hummingbirds kept flying to the kitchen window looking in. Like, hey! Josh! Our food is empty over here! Hop on it.

When he filled it and walked away they were right back to it. We think they were watching and waiting.

Silly hummingbirds.

oh oh oh, and I made a quick new siggy for the bird forum I am a part of –