About Me

Name: Autumn's Mom

Location: Northern California, United States

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Twins Today the twins turn 11! We started a little celebrating last night and will continue on into today with more presents, pizza and cupcakes. Today as a coincidence, they are on their last field trip of the school year. How's that for perfect timing. I hope they are having the best birthday ever! A couple of weekends ago we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdon (known as Marine World to us old timers). My favorite site to visit is the butterfly house. I let #1 son have the camera and he took some great pictures of butterflies that I promised to share. Enjoy. This last picture is of a preserved moth. He was bigger than the kids hands! posted by Autumn's Mom at 8:22 AM - 13 WTF!

 

Monday, June 23, 2008

6 Questions Happy Monday to you. The air is so thick with ash up here in Northern California it's hard to breath! I now know what it must feel like to smoke, and I don't like it. Since I don't really want to talk about wildfires, I'm stealing this meme from Chrissy! What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago my daughter was 4. She was so stinkin cute, but a little she devil! She had the most incredible big blue eyes I'd ever seen. I was working, commuting and dealing with a very bizarre daycare provider. She had a weird obsession with my daughter, maybe because she'd never had a daughter of her own. I had to break it off with her after she told me that I needed to call before I came over early to pick up Autumn. Can you say SUSPICIOUS??? It turned out, it was because her husband, who'd been laid off was home all the time now and he smoked in front of the children. What are 6 things on my to-do list for today (tomorrow)? 1. Go To work 2. Do some work 3. Chat with friends 4. Go out to special lunch with friend 5. Come home to lovely family 6. Talk to wayward daughter who is on vacation with her dad Snacks I enjoy? 1. Humus! (ok it's first on my mind cuz I had the yummiest humus at Julie's house yesterday, thanks Ted!! 2. Baked sour cream and cheddar chips 3. Strawberries or cherries or watermelon or canteloupe 4. Any type of bread 5. Cookie dough 6. Chex mix Things I would do if I were a billionaire? I think it's torture to think about something that is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. I'd throw a big ass party and invite you ALL :) Places I have lived? I'm not going to list everywhere..I always worry that these things are ways for identity thieves to get your personal information!! I will say though, that I've never lived more than 25 miles away from where I live right now. How boring. How did you name your blog? Mine started as a way for me to tell funny stories about my daughter. I'm thinking of renaming it now that I'm a mom to MORE. Who am I tagging and do I want to know more about ? YOU! posted by Autumn's Mom at 9:18 AM - 7 WTF!

 

Thursday, June 19, 2008

So Wrong I read an article today about a 12 year old girl from Canada who sued her father over a punishment and got her punishment overturned! I read further with an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, did they lock their kid in a dungeon? Take away her dinner? I mean, really it had to be something really bad, right? I read through the article , and they felt like I had to shake my computer to see if there was anything else to this story. There wasn't. So she's been a behavior problem, she's going on the internet when she's not supposed to, posting naughty pictures of herself and her parents have grounded her and they removed the privilege of going on a school field trip. Bravo to them. Then this brat somehow takes her parents to court to sue them over their audacity to care about her. She must have cried some pretty big crocodile tears for this judge to overturn her punishment. Too excessive? Really? I know this happened in Canada, but seriously, I don't think it's too far fetched to think that this could happen right here in America. What kind of message is this sending?? If I send my kid to her room, am I going to get served the next day for cruel and unusual punishment? I can just imagine the gloat on this girls face. Of course I can't help picturing my own daughter. If this were my daughter, I'd think of emancipating her sorry butt and see how she really likes the big, bad world. File this one under WTF?! posted by Autumn's Mom at 12:57 PM - 6 WTF!

 

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I've Come Full Circle I feel like I've come full circle. We are in the process of renting a house in my old neighborhood. We finally came to a decision as to where we are going to live and I'm happy to say it's right where I've been. I'm such a creature of habit and not very fond of lots of changes. Staying here for me, makes the other transitions of living for 5 other people a little bit easier! We've rented a four bedroom house next door to my good friend and her daughter who is Autumn's good friend. The other options just didn't end up making as good a sense as this does. And we've had some other challenges that would have made it very difficult to rent elsewhere. We really lucked out with this one, it's a friend of a friend's house and no matter what the credit check comes back with, we are Owner Approved. Hallelujah! I'm hoping we settle in for a nice long hot summer. Well, maybe not so long and definitely not so hot!! posted by Autumn's Mom at 9:08 AM - 4 WTF!

 

Monday, June 16, 2008

Condolences My dear friend Julie lost her mom this weekend to congestive heart failure. I'd never met her mom, just knew her through her blog and through Julie of course. She has so many wonderful stories that she was able write about before she was sick. If you have a chance, please go check them out. Julie has been having some real hard times as of late, but through it all, has always found the good that also comes along with the bad. It's never easy to lose a parent. It's something we all know we will go through some day, something we dread. Sometimes we can see it coming and sometimes it takes us by complete surprise. Either way, it's never easy. I guess we can say that the suffering as we knew it is over, and now the healing can begin. Jules, I'm glad you have your family surrounding you. I know you'll be ok, eventually. I picture you mom like you described in your dream, and where ever she is she's patting herself on her self on the back because she raised a wonderful daughter in you. posted by Autumn's Mom at 8:56 AM - 4 WTF!

 

Friday, June 13, 2008

Please Don't Tell Me It's Going To Be a Shitty Friday The 13th I'm not superstitious. Much. We woke up to a beautiful Friday morning, only to find someone had been sick during the night. All Over The Bathroom. Half the kids are sick with one thing or another. One has an ear infection and the other in the doctors office today getting throat culture and hopefully a negatory on the stink eye. Sigh. We have free tix to an amusement park good only for tomorrow. I'm hoping everyone can pull their selves together for our trip. It won't be a complete loss because the tix were a gift, but the kids are pretty excited about going. I am not going to let a little sickness ruin my day though. My daughter is finishing her last day of the seventh grade today. Next year is going to be a big year. Our junior high ends at 8th grade. As did my school growing up. I remember thinking I was IT in 8th grade. I could digress into the summer of 1983 but I won't. You were there. I hope they have a wonderful summer. We have decided to remain living here where I'm currently living and find a bigger place to house our monkeys. Autumn and I are relieved and the other kids I hope for the most part are excited about our being a family here. They spend a lot of time here and are getting used to it slowly but surely. The advantages to living here as opposed to where they were is the small size. They are free to roam about the place, visit the city pool, parks and library all within walking distance. I hope they begin to make friends this summer before starting their new schools. Normally I mourn the passing of another school year and am sad that I'm another year closer to Autumn flying from the nest, but I'm truly looking forward to her and our #1 son going into the new school year. It's going to be a great year filled with academics, dances and they will have the opportunity to go to Washington DC or Japan. Ok, my kids won't have the Japan option, because I can't let go that much but it's offered. I look forward to Autumn having 3 of her siblings at her school and her being able to share her specific experience with her closest brother. Our #1 son is quickly becoming acclimated to her life and friends. I'm finding it hard to talk about them without giving you their specific names. Henceforth, they shall be known as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th son. Digressing here... I bought these on our last trip to Disneyland One representing each of us and our fat cat line across my back windshield, goes about halfway across. We were coming out of Target the other night and saw a family checking the stickers out. As they walked away, their youngest child said aloud, "Geez that's a lot of kids!" Yes, Timmy. It is. posted by Autumn's Mom at 8:25 AM - 5 WTF!

 

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Not One, But THREE..shoot make that four I am very lucky in love. I have a wonderful Mother who has always been there for me. And I have an awesome future husband who is my everything. They both share a birthday today! How cool is that? To my mom, I hope you are relaxing today. Crank the air up. Maybe go dip your toes in the pool! I had a great time at dinner Friday, I hope you did too. I love you always. To my lover, have fun at lunch today with your mom. I hope she gets you something good. (haha) Have a great birthday. This is our first time celebrating birthday's together...I hope we have many many many more to come. MUAH! PS A special shout out to Starshine's Hubs who ALSO is celebrating a birthday today! Happy Birthday!! PSS My dear friend Tommy's Mommy reminded me that Tommy's Daddy is also celebrating a birthday today. SHEESH! (good thing he doesn't read my blog!) Anyway, Happy Birthday Baby Fish Mouth! posted by Autumn's Mom at 8:27 AM - 10 WTF!

 

Monday, June 09, 2008

I Wanna Be A Cowgirl! Autumn and I visited a friend who has a ranch yesterday. The ranch itself was simple and beautiful. They've had this property in their family for over 125 years. Her grandmother still lives there and now her sister is running things. She raises horses, boards them and they have some cattle. She also travels up to Alaska every summer, where she gives tours by horseback. We had a nice visit and Autumn immersed herself into the life of a cowgirl. Autumn riding Amber, which is funny because a lot of people get Autumn's name confused and call her Amber This little baby was born and needed some help coming into the world (backwards). The mama never came back for her. posted by Autumn's Mom at 2:09 PM - 4 WTF!

 

Friday, June 06, 2008

It's Friday! Today is a new day. I seem to have left all those worries with yesterday and am moving forward into today with a fresh attitude. I have the weekend to look forward to with my love and my daughter. We are going to dinner tonight with my mom for her and J's birthday to a yummy pasta place I haven't been to in ages. We are also making a quick stop at the chiropractor. My back has been screaming and it will be nice to give it a little attention! Tomorrow we'll probably go looking for J's wedding ring and see a movie. Something nice and relaxing. Sunday we are going to go to church where J has applied for a job. Boy I wish they call him!! Please think good thoughts. Thanks to my friends who have been so supportive. I've been a big whiner. Thanks for being there for me every day. posted by Autumn's Mom at 8:57 AM - 2 WTF!

 

Thursday, June 05, 2008

For a couple of months now, it's worked out that we have had all five of our kids every weekend and mostly during the week. Funny how things work out. I would tell J, when we were feeling a little like we were at our wits end, If we'd have met and married 14 years, we'd have five kids and they would be living with us every single day. Of course, he must know that if he'd met and married me back then, we wouldn't have five kids now because my uterus wasn't build like that. As of yesterday, some of our kids will be with their other parent every other weekend. And in July, we will have everyone on the same schedule and be ALONE every other weekend. In theory, this is a pretty fantastic thing, when you have someone you want to just be alone with locked in a room for three days straight. But the reality is that when your chicks are gone, you just worry. You worry that your kids are going to be taken care of as good as they are at home. When you try to hard not to speak as freely about the other parent in front of your kids, you wonder if they are giving you the same courtesy. Are they brushing their teeth? Are they ok? Are they crying themselves to sleep because being there is just not the same as being at home? Is that parent going to call every single night because she doesn't have socks for the kids?? Sigh, is their evil step monster trying to convince your child they have tourette syndrome?? I know we'll all be fine as we transition into this new phase. I know this is what happens with divorce. I guess when you are living in hell, you have to try and find a way to trade up. To a new level of hell. I hope they are all having a good time. And that they will be back in my nest, safe and sound, Monday. posted by Autumn's Mom at 9:08 AM - 4 WTF!

 

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The One Where She Got A Tattoo I am participating in Sunshine's Tattoo Party. Some peeps submitted photo's and stories of their Tat's, please go over and read some great stories. I wouldn't categorize mine as a great story, but maybe a more typical one. And it totally gives you a picture of who I am. I'd been thinking about getting a tattoo for awhile but really had no idea what I wanted other than something that would wrap around my ankle. Not original for sure, but I wanted it to be somewhere I could see it every day. I'm trying to remember how long I toyed with the idea. There were several people in my life who were thinking about getting tat's, one being my SIL. One regret was not going with her, cuz that would have been a fun bonding experience. I had been also talking with some girls at work about getting inked. Our jobs were coming to an end, and we were all waiting for the layoffs. This left us with a lot of time on our hands to fill between 9 to 5. One guy, with a LOT of tat's suggested a place in San Francisco that was really good and I liked the idea of going somewhere cool and also going to a place that had a good reputation. I remember a night during the week, discussing tattoos and my ex husband really being a dick about it. "What? You are NOT going to get a Tattoo. They are slutty, is that the kind of example you want to set for our daughter??" Seriously. If the worst thing she wants is a tattoo, I'll take her when she's 18 myself. He really didn't think I'd go through with it being the big wimp that I am, but the thought of him belittling me and telling me not to...was just what I needed to do it! Within days, 3 co-workers and I went to San Francisco and got our tat's. I pretty much just picked something off the wall that I thought was cute. A daisy chain. It was supposed to have a little vine-age and maybe a butterfly but I really couldn't take the pain! I got through the outlining, white knuckling it and the guy knew I wasn't going to make it. He inked me in about 20 minutes bless his heart! What kept me going the whole time was my stubbornness and the fact that I thought my co-worker would kick my ass if she got a tattoo and I chickened out (kinda reminds me of a friends episode!) I came home triumphantly that night and stuck my ankle in his face with a HA! I'm sure he had a few more choice words, which I have now completely blocked out of my mind. I've grown to love my tattoo and my choice in the daisy, which has become my favorite flower. My wedding flowers will be daisies. I love my tat and it's become a part of who I am. Oh, and a note to the wise...don't ever tell me I can't do something. Because I can and I will! posted by Autumn's Mom at 8:16 AM - 7 WTF!

 

Monday, June 02, 2008

Who Doesn't Love a Little Sunshine?? Sunshine is having a little tattoo party..and I'm there man! So go check it out if you feel so inclined. I think it's fun to start off a Monday and a new month with a little party! I have one so far that I got about 8 years ago. I've been toying with the idea of getting two more. One would be something special that J and I would get together. The other is a rosary which would be something special for me, my mom and the Big Guy. That one will take a little more thought and gumption. I want like it on the back of my neck and I'm pretty much a wimp. I remember the pain of getting the first one and like childbirth, it may scare me into being having an only child and an only tattoo. haha Do you have a tattoo? Or maybe thinking of getting one? posted by Autumn's Mom at 10:15 AM - 4 WTF!