Mrs. CPA

Anybody With Dial-Up is Going to Hate Me

At his Christmas Present Art desk.  Looking all grown up. 

Concentrating on making a masterpiece.

Bubble Hat man.  This child loves a bath like I've never seen.  He gets that from me. 

At the park with Dad. 

At the Clinton Library hunting Easter eggs.  I got a corndog there and Hudson got Strep Throat!

Birthday party pictures after the jump!

I'm Not Even Going to Try and Title This Mess

This is probably going to be long. I'm just warning you.

We have (hopefully) finished our tour of communicable diseases

After the never ending ear infections of Fall 2007, the RSV- let's pay for a month of daycare we aren't using- incident of Christmas 2007, and the Snow Day that became a flu day; Hudson got strep throat last week. Yes. We have had everything possible with the exception of chicken pox, the plague and something that needs to be treated with a blowtorch. Me and Zithromax are old pals now. Although, before he lets me take him out, I have to pay his pimp, the pharmacist, 15 bucks.

My child turned two and you probably didn't even know it

Hudson turned TWO a few weeks ago. On the 16th to be exact. If you would like to read about how he came into this world, you may do so in my September 2006 archives here and here. He received a tricycle from me, and some kind of gear farm from his father. He loves the tricycle and moderately loves the gear farm. Mainly because it has a tractor. I went to purchase a helmet for the child, and he has to wear a women's small helmet. His head is too big for the kid's helmets. Although it was two years ago, I remember that giant head very clearly.

We had a birthday party last Saturday at Chuck E Cheese. Let me give you a hint for a CEC birthday. If they have a spot open at 10 am – Take it. There are not very many people there. Basically no screaming children at all, and we had most of the games to ourselves. By the time it was time to eat at 11, the place was starting to have some more guests, but we didn't care, we were having ice-cream-bar-shaped, no egg cakes with sprinkles and pizza. Hudson was not too impressed with the live action Chuck, who stomped on my toes while coming over to visit. He was more interested in the pizza. And the moneeeeee. We took all the presents home to open later, which was very smart. Some people were having a one-year-old birthday next to us and they had about a million people there and opened up all the presents. The mother was wearing heels at CEC so I guess she knows something that I don't because I just wore my flip flops. Fun was had by all, I made the spongebob square pants game my bitch to the tune of 450 tickets, and Hudson ended up with 942 tickets (really, not a made up number) with which to purchase a bunch of crap. Like racecars, finger launched foam rockets and a couple of giant ants. He was pleased with my use of his tickets. He indicated this by taking a giant bite out of one of the rockets and not taking a nap. He got some great presents.

EGGS!!!!!!! Candeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Kaden, Kendall, Haley, my mother and us(?) we(?) (WTF ever - Tim Hudson and I) all spent Saturday evening and Easter together. It was really so we could eat a bunch of hashbrown casserole. (Do you know of the hashbrown casserole of which I speak? Heaven with cornflakes on top.) We let the boys dye eggs. Kaden became a little fixated with the green dye and we ended up with 8 light green eggs. Hudson kept throwing them into the coffee cups a little to forcefully. Kendall just wanted to play lego star wars on the X box. We ran out of vinegar when I was putting all the dye disks in the cups and I called my mother, who was already out at the store, and asked her to pick some up. She brought home a gallon of vinegar, when all I needed was 12 tablespoons. That's all they had at 5 pm on the Saturday before Easter. Considering that the smell of vinegar makes Tim gag a little, it is going to be sitting in my cabinet for quite some time.

Haley and I got up at 6 am to hide eggs and set out Easter baskets. Hudson was way more concerned with his new dump truck and front loader and the fistful of smarties than hunting the five dozen eggs we dyed. He picked up four eggs. I had even thrown some out in the yard so he and Kaden could pick them up easily. He just kept handing Tim a new package of smarties and asking for Candieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Everybody played for the rest of the morning and then had a traditional Easter lunch of ham…burgers and homemade french fries. Delicious. There were a surprising number of people at the grocery store on Easter morning at 10:30 am.

After lunch we kicked my mom and the boys out of the house and Hudson and I took a much-needed nap, awoke, went to visit my Dad and then Tim took him to visit his Dad for a little bit. Everybody had a fun day. (how trite!)

This is going to sound like a lot like complaining because it is

Monday morning, Tim tried to leave the house and found some roofers setting up shop in our front yard. Our landlord did not think to tell us about this little home improvement project that he was about to embark on. Needless to say, I was very mad.  The dumb ass landlord's excuse was that "he didn't have a current phone number." I call BULLSHIT on that one, mister. And I know you have our e-mail. Seriously. Use some common courtesy. They were all still there when I got home from work. Wait - by all I mean two lone Mexicans on my roof with no visible transportation to get home and who were throwing shingles in my backyard where the dogs could eat them. By the time I got finished yelling at Tim about something he has no control over, it was decided we were going to meet at Olive Garden for dinner. There's not a whole lot you can be mad about with warm bread dipped in Alfredo sauce in your mouth. They were almost done when we got home.  And we don't have any TV, because they had to take down our satellite.

Another thing which I need to complain about

Have you tried to purchase maternity clothes lately? I'm sure some of you have. I'm sure some of you are all cute and skinny and didn't need anything over a size XS and size 4 while pregnant. In that case, white pants and strapless, blousson, band under your belly outfits probably look fabulous. Those giant flower prints probably make you look smaller rather than like the broad side of a barn. I am not that person. It gets hot here. It's already hot. It's like 80 here today. I CANNOT WEAR THAT SHIT TO WORK. I did find a dress at Ann Taylor Loft. Regularly $80, it was 25% off and I searched for a coupon code and got another $25 off, so with free shipping, I got it for $32. I think that's a steal. I have it on today. With open toed shoes. Before Memorial Day. Bite me. It's hot. Another bonus, the dress does not show a bunch of cleavage, and while it has a flower pattern, it's black and white and not overly garish. I probably won't even have to iron it. I spent the 30 of the 50 bucks I saved on another dress from Target. Which totally defeats the purpose of saving the money, but who needs to eat breakfast this week anyway?

One more thing, although I may think of more

While I was pregnant with Hudson, everything was hunky dory. I didn't feel bad, my skin was reasonably well behaved, my feet didn't swell up until the very end, I wasn't too tired, etc, etc. This time around, I'm having a much harder time. There was the constant gagging that is still there a little even though I am almost 16 weeks; there's the falling asleep at 9 every night, which leaves me no time to get anything done, like check on everyone's blog I can't see in google reader; I have the sciatic nerve pain on one side of my back and on the other side, when I walk *just* right, it feels like someone is STABBING ME IN THE BACK OF MY HIP WITH A GIANT KNIFE. I am still waking up a million times at night, I started having leg and foot cramps last night, and my face looks like something from the Sahara desert it's so dry and flaky and blemishy and out of control. Basically I'm a fat, hot mess. And I DON'T LIKE IT ONE BIT.

Where's the pregnancy days of yore? What is with this mess? I hope this kid doesn't come out reeking havoc on our lives like s/he is reeking havoc on my body. I actually enjoyed this the first time. This time, not so much. However I do have to qualify that by saying it is much better the than the previous time, which resulted in a big fat nothing. I feel a little better.

Let's end this on a high note, shall we?

Someone left an almond candy bar on my desk last night. How nice was that? This person left one for everyone in our group. Somehow the wrapper is in the trash and I have no recollection of inhaling said candy bar.

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As soon as my internet connection is fixed (hopefully tonight, and we have been without a phone for almost TWO WEEKS) I have a ton of pictures for posting for Monday.  You should check back then.  I think I even have some stuff to give away!

What a Difference A Day Makes...

24 little hours…

After I wrote my entry last Thursday, it all went to hell in a handbasket.

Thursday, when I picked up Hudson from school, he was crying when I got there, which is very unusual for him. In an uncharacteristic stroke of genius, I decided to take him straight to Poppy and Geng-Gengs so that I wouldn't have to fight him to put him back in the car seat after we fed the dogs and were ready to go eat supper. I dropped him off, and took Kaden home with me for a small snack, the feeding the dogs, and then dropped Kaden off at my dad's, and made it to my in-laws right behind my MIL with our food (Note: this is what my Thursdays are almost always like - crazy). Perfect timing. Hudson was a little more demanding than usual, but we chalked that up to him not having slept very well the night before.

I needed to go by the library on the way home since I had finished my audio book that morning, and was having a mild panic attack at not being able to read while driving. The library closed at 8, so I hightailed it over there. When I got home, Tim & Hudson weren't home yet, but when they got there I could tell something was wrong. Hudson looked pitiful. And after getting him in the house, I realized he was burning up, and exhausted. I gave him some Motrin, skipped a bath and went right for the pajamas and we watched Sesame Street for 10 minutes and headed to his chair. He asked for a book, and when I sat down and went to reach for it, I realized he was already asleep on my shoulder. I held on to him for a few more minutes and then put him in the bed.

He woke up in the middle of the night, still burning up and upset, and we put him in the bed with us. By the morning, where, BTW, there was not one FLAKE of snow on the ground, he was still hot and was asleep at 8 am. That is unheard of for him, unless he feels really, really bad. Tim decided to stay home because there was still going to be snow coming at some point and plus he wanted to sleep late. I finally got through to the doctor's office, and they said they would still be seeing patients until noon. The allergist called and canceled our afternoon appointment, and I called and left a message for the massage people that I would not be in.

When Tim and I were ready to walk out the door, I woke Hudson up, cleaned out his crusted eyes and nose and put his pajama-clad self in the car and off we went. Hudson, of course, (OF COURSE) (I don't know why I thought we would escape), has the f'in FLU. And an ear infection. Since we caught it early, he could take Tamaflu and so could Tim, but my gestating kept me from getting to goods. We had to call the in-laws and get then to get medicated so they don't get it too.

Tim decided that the best prevention for me would be to get out of the house for the weekend. Don't forget, we're supposed to watch the boys this week, which had to be rearranged and cancelled and moved all around so they wouldn't be at the house with the disease carrier.

When we left the Doctors office at 10:15, it was freezing raining. When I left Kroger with the 3 prescriptions and $100 lighter on our FSA card at 11:15, It was POURING down snow. After a quick trip to Sonic for the beloved french fries for my sick baby, I was home. Hudson and I lay down for a nap afterwards, and I didn't wake up until 4. Which meant I was going to start out for Nan's and it would get dark while I was going down there and there was already 3 inches of snow on the ground. But the roads were clear.

I went and picked the boys up and we headed off. The driving was fine until we got to Pine Bluff and then it started getting bad. We made pretty good time there, a 45-minute trip normally, it took us a little over an hour. But once we got south of town, traffic stopped. Complete standstill. It took us three more hours to get to McGehee, and it normally takes about an hour. We sat on the highway for at least 45 minutes going nowhere. Some of the road was very icy and there was no pavement visible and some of it had two tracks for your tires and that was it. Oh, and Kaden slept through most of it and then woke up and had to go to the bathroom. Nothing was open on the road, everyone had gone home and it was DARK. He wouldn't go on the side of the road, so he had to hold it until we made it to Pizza Hut in Dumas to pick up our supper and I ran him inside. It never stopped snowing the entire time. It wasn't just a little snow it was a ton. I think they ended up getting 8+ inches of snow. We arrived four hours after we left and since I had taken a nap, I stayed up until 2 watching the two netflix movies I had.

The next day, most of the snow melted by the afternoon and by Sunday afternoon it was all gone. As I made my way home yesterday, everything seemed to be back to normal, other than all the mud Eleanor has tracked into my house from the soggy ground. Tim was happy to see me for no other reason than he could get out of the house for an hour, running a couple of errands for me.

Neither of us has had even a hint of flu symptoms and Hudson seems to be feeling better. We're keeping him home until Wednesday, just to be safe.

I'm worn out and I didn't even stay home with the sick kid all weekend. Tim is at home today (bitching and moaning, even though I gave him a choice for his day) and I am going to stay home tomorrow. And go to the dentist on Wednesday morning.

I sure am glad I took that day off on Friday and got all of my stuff done. Now I'll have to take ANOTHER day off to do the well child visit, the allergist, and the massage. Maybe Good Friday will work out.

Two other items from the weekend that are of some importance:

Hudson announced on Saturday he wanted to go "poddy." Tim, for lack of anything better to do, took him in there, where Hudson proceeded to take off all his clothes, and ACTUALLY WENT IN THE POTTY.

That balloon incident from last Wednesday seems to have done more than cut Hudson's face. I think he hit his tooth on the wagon too, and now it's pushed back and chipped a little. We'll be seeing the pediatric dentist on Wednesday morning. His little smile isn't straight and sweet anymore. Now there's a gaping hole. Fabulou$.

All about the Snow

It is supposed to snow here again tonight and tomorrow. On Tuesday morning, we woke up to a scattered dusting of snow on the ground. After a failed attempt to get Hudson to do more than look at the snow suspiciously and clutch his baggie of fruit loops to his chest, Hudson and I loaded up, put it in all-wheel drive and took off to pick up Kaden for school. It continued snowing and was rapidly hiding the grass as we trekked to the day care. What is normally a 25 minutes trip took me an hour. The roads were fine, slippery in spots, but the snow was still piling up. We got about 3-4 inches from 6 am until 9 am. At lunch, it was already melting and was completely gone by 4:30 when I left the office.

During my workday, I visited the baby doctor's office, where I got to have another ultrasound and there is still a kid in there. One to be exact, who looks to have arms, legs, hands, and a wrestling mask on. And a case of the wiggles. It all looked fine, I only gained two pounds, I'm on target for 12 weeks, and I go back in a month.

In the afternoon I got to go to the dentist where I found out one of the EXCELLENT parts of being pregnant - you can blame your poor flossing habits on the hormones coursing through your body. It still was not very pleasant. One new purple toothbrush later, I crashed my boss' birthday cake celebration. I did not partake in the cake. It was chocolate with some kind of weird icing, and I had to pass.

Tonight, it is going to start raining, then rain/snow then snowing and will continue to do so most of the day tomorrow. Guess what I scheduled for tomorrow? A day off, and two doctors appointments for Hudson and a massage for me at 11. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be trapped at home for the majority of the day. Some places say 1-4 inches, some are saying up to 12 inches is possible. We have bread, cheese, milk and some firewood at home. I even think Tim has a few bottles of beer. We'll make it.

Haley is leaving for New York on Saturday (she needs to send America a think you note, your tax dollars are paying for this trip) and I will be in charge of three children tomorrow afternoon until she gets back. I am planning on going down to Nan's tomorrow afternoon, to let the three boys play at Mom's all day Saturday while we work. We will come home Sunday and then Tim and I will have to get everybody to school and home, and to daycare and home, and fed, and bathed and dressed, and AAAHHHHHHHHH! Maybe I will rethink the whole having three of four kid thing. Last night I managed to let Eleanor eat a bowl of uncooked grits, Hudson cut the indent under his lip and before his chin playing with a balloon and falling into a wagon with his face, my watch was 10 minutes behind and Kendall got to church 10 minutes late, and I let Hudson and Kaden sit on my bed and watch Toy Story for the 3,648th time so I could eat something. If that is any indication of how the rest of the weekend and Monday-Wednesday is going to go, I might break my "no drinking before 30 weeks" rule, flat out. Do you think peach schnapps and white grape juice go together?

I am aware that there have been no pictures posted on this website for some time, and there have been none on my Flickr page either. This is because I suck, and I apologize because it means you have to read all my crazy ranting instead of looking at all of the pretty pictures. Most of my posting is done remotely now because I instantly fall asleep at the stroke of 8:30. Considering that one of the pictures still on my camera is of the pregnancy test I took in early January, I'm not exactly on top of the pictures. I'll try and put some up in the near future.