I HATE this house!

May I have the above please? Only make it be on the water, With lots of windows.

When I moved to this part of Fla, I rented a townhouse. I was so excited! A whole townhouse? Not a duplex or an apartment? In S Fla a townhouse was out of my pay grade.

Now 5 years later, I confess: I HATE THIS HOUSE!

One teenager, one tween, two bedrooms, no storage.................and mustard colored walls.

Ok, not really mustard, maybe a dark beige, a light tan.......(I'd take a picture, but my camera is away being fixed).

No, they are mustard. A cross between Grey Poupon and Frenches, but MUSTARD!



So, I've started looking for another rental.

It used to be so simple! You find a place you like, you move in.

Now it's different. You know what makes it different? KIDS! ARGH!

One is at one school, the other at another. Then there is soccer practice and friends and clubs and and and and and!

So I keep looking, and wondering if my landlord would kill me if I painted the darned walls WHITE!

Sick Little Ones

What is a mother's worst nightmare? A sick child.

Sleeping in on Saturday morning, the house was so quiet, I was loving it. The usual bickering wasn't going on. I wondered about that for a moment as I lounged in bed enjoying the feel of peace. Then it was shattered.

Ashley came upstairs and said those dreaded words: "Mom, Taylor's sick". "How sick" I asked....

"She's burning up Mom".

It's been a nightmare since then.

I took her temperature and it was over 102 degrees. AGH!!!!!!!!!!! Panic mode.

Starting with the Tylenol and the Motrin alternating to a quick stint in a tepid bath and she was..........better. She was ok for most of the day and even felt well enough to go out to dinner.

Flash forward to Sunday at 5:30 AM. I opened my eyes to see Tay standing next to my bed. "Mom, I don't feel so good. I feel dizzy". I leapt out of bed to fumble for the thermometer.

The verdict? 104 Degrees.

Off to the hospital we went.

Now there are two types of doctors. The useless ones and the good ones. Our first stint in the emergency room was utterly useless. He barely looked at her, didn't listen to me, ordered a chest X-ray and sent us on our way with as very strong antibiotic prescription. It was so strong, she couldn't keep it down. So early this morning, off we went again.

By this time, she had quit speaking and barely moved. I saw a doctor there we had seen before, I remembered he was great. "Can we see him please?

Five minutes later, there was my poor baby. In a hospital bed with an IV of fluids, a dose of phenergan in her for the nausea, blood work being drawn and a nurse and doctor who listened.

This time, we got an antibiotic her little 54 lb body could handle, some Tylenol and codeine for the pain in her throat, some phenergan for her nausea and a bundled child back home in bed.

She has made a little progress today. She's eaten some broth, managed to keep her head up for a few minutes and some color back in her face. She still won't speak and hates to drink because her throat hurts, but all in all a great improvement over earlier today.

As mothers, do we ever feel more impotent or powerless than when one of our little ones is sick?


UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Taylor is better today. She is sitting up, drinking fluids and even had a light sandwich.

I saw her smile today for the first time in three days.

She's getting well




HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that I have been "meme'ed"

Ok Ladies (and Dad), this one is not a true Meme. It is a question.

If you could pick three people, either fictional or real, dead or alive..... that you could invite to dinner and have a conversation with........



A) Who would you want to have dinner with?

B) What would you discuss?

C) What would you serve?

Oh Man......I've been tagged!

I knew it was inevitable. I even knew it was probable. I knew eventually, it would happen to me.

My friend from the opposite side of the US (all the way on the opposite side, as far away on the opposite side as you can get), Diane...from Meyers On The Hood has tagged me.

OH THE HORROR!!!!!!!!!

Worse yet, she wants to know weird things about me. I am the most non weird person I know.

Oh well, it's all in good fun right? I have to say seven things about me that are either random or weird.

Ok, here goes:

1) I am an immigrant, but I don't speak the language of the country I immigrated from. I was born in Germany and my parents are German. I came to the US when I was 6.

2) I have a brother and a sister that I have never met and a mother I only met once. I've thought about contacting them, even found out their address. And I never have....after all, what would I say, I don't even speak the same language.

3) I am a single mother that doesn't collect child support (trust me, it's better for my kids), and I like it that way. Only recently have I thought that I wanted to get married again, because I truly have found the greatest man. I have dated him for four years, just to make sure.

4) I am smart. Not a little smart, but geekishly smart. I hide that from most people. My interests are politics and numbers. I also do crosswords in ink and solve them. Reason for hiding.....all those years of wanting to just fit in.

5) I have lived in four countries. Growing up in one of those countries made me a "CZ Brat" (ok Didi, YOU figure out what that means....after all, this is your fault!). No, I didn't grow up military. I speak Spanish fluently.

6) I love reading. It's always been an escape for me and I enjoy it tremendously. I read just about everything, but I absolutely love murder mysteries.

7) FINALLY! I read cookbooks and cooking magazines for fun. Sitting right here on my desk are the latest issues of Cooking with Paula Dean, Rachel Ray's Everyday (check out the orange beef and broccoli in the middle section), and Taste of Home.


Ok, the seven I have tagged:

Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee (who doesn't love that?)

Beth at A Mom's life....who is a paragon of everything I envy.

Andrea at Sgt and Mrs Hub...she's moving and needs MORE things to do, lol

Cheryl at Life with Cheryl....because her writing makes me peaceful.

Bronie at Team Victory........my rock!

Megan at Fried Okra...because she just ROCKS!!!! And since she's preggers can always find the time for more to do.

And Lainey at Blog in My Eye....just because. I am not sure she even knows I read her blog faithfully.


The Rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


HAVE FUN LADIES!

What kind of Shoe are You?

Hilarious........Since I do live near the beach.,....and I dearly love my sandals!

You Are Flip Flops

You are laid back and very friendly. Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. You tend to "play hooky" and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. You should live: By the beach You should work: At a casual up and coming company

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Corporations, Red Tape and Peons.

This is what my life looks like (at least I imagine it this way in my nightmares:



I....manage a companies accounting. I know, I know..........ME? Yes, me.

I don't do taxes (anymore), I just make sure that things flow smoothly. We get paid, and we pay others. I used to be ruler of my domain, Princess of the realm....the one person every business owner has, that he likes, but can tell him NO, and he doesn't bat an eye. I used to work in the small business world. I liked it, I was comfortable....I was GOOD AT IT!

So, what happened you ask? I (brilliantly) decided I needed to "grow up" go to work for a corporation, seek the ever elusive benefits, and 401k, and regular hours!


I did that.

I got the job.

And somewhere along the way, the free spirit that I was has become a "person in a management position".

And, much to my surprise...I LOVE it.

I don't love the excess paperwork, I don't love the red tape, I don't love the constant interruptions when all I want to do is finish one thing.

I love that I never knew I would still be good at what I do in that structure. I was afraid to do it for so many years. I always thought that I would just get lost in the shuffle. I didn't. I love it that I learned that I was far more organized than I thought I was. I love it, that I can actually manage a small staff and that I can motivate them.

I love it that, much to my surprise, I love doing it......ALL of it.

I have a great Boss. She is at a remote office from mine and I hardly ever see her, but we speak the same language. We think alike, we make very similar decisions and choices. She allows me room to show my skill, and is always supportive. That's cool!

I manage three employees that are uniquely different, but bring such amazing dedication and hard work.....we are in sync.

I thought I was too old for a career change, that I wouldn't like it very much. Now I know that my false bravado was nothing more than a fear of trying something new.

Now, how to translate that into a lesson to a 14 yr old. What was I thinking???????????