Finish the Sentence Friday..Taking over the world

If you're going to take over the world, you really need to ask a child how to do it. I mean, think about it..from the minute you find out that you're pregnant, your world changes and everything you do is about them. No one knows how to take over the world better than a child. I'm not saying its a bad thing, it just is what it is. Don't let that helpless, cute exterior fool you. They know EXACTLY what they're doing. They know exactly which buttons to push and when to push them. They want a bottle, they look at you with those big eyes and fuss..you cave and they get a bottle. As they get bigger, say, toddlers, if they want a toy and you say no, they throw an epic flip fit in the middle of the store, complete with big eyes and tears..you cave, they get the what they want. I realize that there are some fundamental issues here..the biggest being that children eventually grow up to be, well, us. But seriously...when they're little, they KNOW exactly what they're doing. if that isn't a recipe for a first step towards world domination, i don't know what is. However...if that doesn't float your boat, perhaps you should ask a cat. Those balls of fluffy cuteness have this down pat. Remember how they conned us to think that they were gods to be revered in ancient egypt? No? trust me..Fluffy hasn't forgotten it. Kibble dish is missing a piece of kibble? the world is ending. I think i shall meow like i'm hurt and my slave shall appear and remedy this! Sunspot is exactly where my human is working? no problem..i'll just lay on whatever they're doing..after all, its my house, they just pay the bills. I mean, seriously people. Cats have taken over the world..just ask yours!

Emergenc vitamin drink mix review

So..I was all excited  to try this Emergenc  Vitamin  Drink  Mix  that I got to try for free from smiley360.com. I am allergic  to pretty  much any sweeteners besides sugar, honey, good old fashioned high fructose  corn syrup..I can't do the new sweeteners  and the old pink n blue stuff. So, I checked the ingredient  list...yup, sweetened with stuff I can't  have (supposedly  natural, but I get migraines from it). RATS! fortunately, the Hubby creature doesn't share my quirks and was up for reviewing  it for me! (I love that man) the Verdict  is in...we'll  be buying more of it. He loves the taste, the fizz, EVERYTHING. He just  had a mug of the warming variety this am after shoveling the driveway  and he said it warmed him right up. I admit..it smells soo yummy. It'd be perfect  if they'd just go back to using  sugar to sweeten it!

Finish the sentence friday...EPIC FAIL

Whenever I hear the term EPIC FAIL, all I can think of is the beach house we rented this past october. It was a gorgeous house..on paper anyway. When we signed the contract, a year before we got there, it was in great condition and came highly recommended by the realty company and the housekeeping staff (we're friends with some of them). In a year's time, the house had been hit with a hurricane and then went in to foreclosure. Didn't find that little piece of information out til we got there. This house was a mess..why'd we stay? you could sneeze and hit the beach and we had already lugged our stuff up a million flights of stairs before we realized the problems and we weren't doing that again until we left to come home. Pool heater? didn't work. Bedroom door leading to the outside back deck? lock didn't work. Main bathroom? toilet ran all night and the tub was clogged. Window and door screens?  Nonexistent. Main house phone? HIDDEN in an unused bedroom. the line in the kitchen didn't even work!  Kitchen window? couldn't open it without breaking it. Roof? epic leak. Electrical system? great during the day, but at night, you didn't dare plug anything in to charge..it was posessed. Ice maker? frozen over. Dryer? full of sand. Outside showers? mosquito pits. Back wall? COVERED in poison ivy. Handrail going into the ice cube, i mean pool? disconnected. Front deck? kinda scary. (we sat on it anyway) Now, i do have to admit, we got a break on the rent once housekeeping reported the zillion problems we had with the the place and they were apologizing all of the time. There was lots of stuff that they WANTED to fix, but because they had to call in outside vendors, they just couldn't because then THOSE folks wouldn't get paid. it was THAT bad. From what we understood, after the last hurricane, the owners let the house go, but the bank wanted to continue renting it to bring in SOME income and an occupied house shows better than an unoccupied one. We even gave a couple tours, telling a couple prospective buyers EXACTLY what was wrong..one guy said that it needed a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of repairs and i have to admit that i think he was drastically underestimating the cost..i mean, if we could see a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of damage, i'd hate to see what we couldn't see. Yikes. The vacation itself was a BLAST and looking back on it, we laugh hysterically about the things that were going wrong with that dump, i mean house. it truly was one of a kind and we did learn a valuable lesson when renting property...when you sign a contract on a place a year in advance as we always do when renting at the beach, make sure that you get the right to refuse the place if it goes into foreclosure before you get there. Once a bank owns the property, they're not going to do anything beyond basic maintenance and sometimes, that's iffy.

Ink joy pens

So, I told you that occasionally  I'd be writing about cool stuff I get to try out and review from some programs I belong to. Yesterday, I got a pack of ink joy pens in the mail from smiley360.com. I don't get excited  about pens...I usually  buy them at the dollar store. These things are soo stinkin cool. They come in really spiffy colors and write like a dream. They have them in  black  too but I like color..and I like the clicky kind, no caps to loose and it's just fun to click them all day (hellooo..I'm shiny). You really  need to check these things out!

MORE SNOW!!!

As I post this, there's a system moving my way from the south. We're  expecting  snow and ice overnight. I am fully aware where I live...it gets freaking  cold and downright  miserable  this  time of year...and I love  it. I look forward  to it every year. The kids were off for 2 weeks for Christmas  break. So was the hubby. I LOVED IT! that  said, I was very ready for Monday to come and for everyone  to go to work  and school  and to give mommy  a break. It was wonderful..til Wednesday. School was closed (wisely) because  of seriously  subzero  wind chills and crap viability. Thursday, school was delayed   (wisely) because  of serious wind chills that, even when we waited for the bus (wrapped  up in my trusty down comforter) two hrs after the normal time, seriously  sucked. Then came Friday. Hubby was off and I REALLY  wanted a date day. Yup...first came a delay (Damn lake effect snow), then at 7:30 came the dreaded  phone call..school was cancelled. Granted, it was needed, we got 8 inches of snow  and we had to dig out before  we could go anywhere. The kids  have cabin fever and are driving  me NUTS. I love them..I really  do. Mommy just needs a couple days to watch it snow  without  having  to entertain  anyone. And, having  said that, I fully  expect  a cancelation  tomorrow  morning...at 7:30.

Finish the sentence friday-- vote me for president

So..I'm trying  something  new. I'm doing finish the sentence  friday! Today's topic is: Why you should vote for me for president.

You should vote for me for president  because  I'd  make sure your furry family members  count as dependents! Let's face  it, they're  children. You feed them, you pick up after them, you take them to the doctor. You should be able to get a deduction for them!

Schools won't have to make up snow days. Really..what's the point of makeup days? End this nonsense of counting every pesky hour and be more concerned  about  the safety of the students. Where I live, it's all hills  and back  roads and they get nasty in the winter. There would be a lot less pressure  on the  school  admin if they could quit worrying about stupid stuff like that!

Coffee  and  chocolate  will be medical  deductions..let's face it..they're  life saving devices, take that delicious  deduction!

Married  to a fireman or  policeman  ? Take that spa trip once a month...on your health insurance..it's a mental health  issue.

Got  a special  needs kid and need a break? Date night for  you and  a qualified (and ultra  fun) sitter for the kids  are also on your mental  health plan, enjoy that pizza  and nap once a month!

I've  got more fun ideas why I really  should be president, but my campaign  manager  called...he needs more apple juice and can't find his teddybear.

Mommy is sick

I've been fighting  the arrival  of this  stupid virus for a few days now. Today, I had plans..plans that I really  couldn't  cancel. So of course, I woke up at 1 am with a killer  sore throat. Took my trusty meds..got relief. I swear, my head hit  the pillow and I got a call from the school..wonderful..a 2 hr delay. Force myself to get up and dressed at 7..get another  dreaded call...yup, school closed. I got to drag all 3 monsters out in crap conditions  while being  sick. See..I had to take #3 to the psych office for his evaluation for his iep..kinda couldn't  miss it. Got home  before  it got really  bad. Then the fun really began. 3 kids, all bored. 2 of them are shiny. 2 bored  dogs, 1 I swear is shiny. 1 sick mommy. I managed to keep  the peace, make dinner and keep the wood stove fed so we didn't  freeze  to death. I am DONE. yes, the kids  are alive. They're  fed..and the little  buggers were  o so happy  to see daddy when  he finally  got home. I'm not gonna lie...I was thrilled  to see him too. There's rumor  of a delay  tomorrow..I may  not  make it. Being a sick  mommy  doesn't  pay.

Baby its cold outside....

And it's gonna get worse! I decided  to venture  out to get the oldest's script filled today even though  the weather  was craptastic  at best. The forecast  for the rest of the week  calls for colder temps...as in below  zero wind chills. I'm half guessing  there will  be delays the last 3 days of the week. The  bus stop is right at the top of a windy hill so I'm going to dig out the down  comforter  to wrap the Littles in tomorrow  am. It's a bit more protection  than  just their winter coats, heck.. I might even join them under it while we wait. It's crazy  cold on a typical  winter day, let alone a morning  with crazy wind chills. I added insulation  to the crabitat, put another blanket in the dog kennel (it's in my house..no worries, they're  just spoiled), gave the cats a couple extra  places to lay in comfort, fed the wood stove..I've  been entirely  too productive for a beautiful  snow  covered and freezing day!

Don't forget about  the auction  for my Lexie. Just follow: auntie_mare_bear  on instagram! Her family  and I thank you.

Just a random post for smiley360

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http://h5.sml360.com/-/17cv

Happy new year

I know, we're 4 days in to the new year and i haven't posted yet. The monsters are on break til TOMORROW and things have been nuts. The youngest got his official diagnosis on monday and started his meds tuesday am. the "magic pudding" has been amazing and i hope that the difference we've noticed translates to school. He has his psych intake wed am to see what companion disorders he has (i'm going with anxiety) and so i can get a psych report to use to help me get modifications to his iep. of course, nothing in my world is simple and we're expecting subzero wind chills starting wednesday am....so i'll probably be lugging his siblings to the appointment and just keeping them home afterwards because i just can't make myself be in three places at once and i don't have a support system...if i did, i wouldn't be a stay at home mommy!

I have also been dealing with the grief from losing my sweet Lexie a week ago today. The pain is intense..the pain is very real. Grief never goes away and it never gets easier. The reality is that she left us because she loved us. this sounds nuts..i know. but its true. the demons she fought were real. she could no longer be the parent, child, friend, sister, aunt that she thought we all deserved. There was nothing any of us could have done to change her mind. The grieving time is over..its time to celebrate my baby bunnie and the amazing life that she lived. i love her so...i will never quit loving her. Every day i will do my best to live in a way that honors her and is an example to her sweet Ryry of how her mother lived.

Today, there is an auction going on on instagram for her and Ryry. its a great opportunity to get something cool for yourself and help my girls. simply follow: auntie_mare_bear on instagram everything you need to know about the auction is there.