This is WAR!

So our first weekend here i took my 1 year old son in the back yard to play.. cause that's one of the pluses of this place our back yard is HUGE! (the catch, no trees so in the summer we can't go out without an umbrella for fear of being disintegrated instantly. i think the ozone is thin directly above our house)

Back to the story.... I take him out and we're all playing and laughing.. you could slow motion us and we'd be a commercial for the Hallmark channel. I'm spinning with my son and got dizzy so "we all fall down" 

well i fall on my elbow to support my body and my child from crashing to our doom in the weeded ground beneath us... I let him go so i can get up and my arm hurts... I'm thinking " I didn't even fall that hard why does my arm hurt?"

I look down at said arm... It's black. (say what? I have a lovely olive/tan skin pigment) then i notice the "blackish red" thing is moving...... I scream (cause not only does it hurt like heck i've got the blobs little brother eating my arm!)

I start wiping it off and then see.. it's not a blob. It's ants. Fire ants to be exact. all over my arm. cause when i fell down, i did a pile driver straight into a ant mound that was hidden in the grass, check that weeds.

the mound i fell into didn't look like this, and neither do my weeds.

 Ant bites don't just show up and itch for a day like most bug bites.. Fire ants BITE you to hold on and then they STING you multiple times... yay.  

and those stingings form little pustules later, because your body is attacking the venom that was injected. They HURT, they ITCH and if you pop them from itching or just because.. they hurt MORE. they scar and take weeks to heal. I HATE FIRE ANTS.

That was my first encounter with them... in VA there aren't fireants... I've looked. As soon as i cross the border into NC I see mounds. It's like they know VA doesn't want them. It's weird.

See that^ starts in NC and goes down... :(

So after that i have to watch where i step. but what about my kids... Their first encounter was not soon after we were washing our cars in the grass (we have a short hose) and Mister was sitting playing with the weeds.. then he started crying.. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with him... we had just eaten lunch it wasn't that hot out he didn't seem tired. So i took him inside to change his diaper and he had bites on his upper thighs and butt. (AWW i know right!) He was like this (but younger) 

Yes this is Mister but not when he was bit

(btw, if those of you who don't know me think i actually named my child Mister, i did not. It's a nickname)

Anywho. I declared WAR! and for the past 4 years it's been an ongoing battle.. I've been smart about it like getting "ant killer" and ruthless like putting MRE chemicals on the mounds and steaming them to death, but through out my attempts they have prevailed. So I researched... and here's what i found. 

Fire ants can tunnel 6 FEET down! and they have escape routes when attacked. So when you start to poison,boil, pour gasoline and drop match. They just send the older ants who are about to die anyways to attack you and the rest migrate 3 feet over. Nice right. Well it get's better... Each mound has a queen and little mini queens that when they get old enough migrate with some of the colony to make a new mound.

I've tested the pour one mound onto another and they'll kill eachother.. didn't work. I think it's because they were all family. 

And i can't really evacuate them from my yard for long because my neighbors don't so they move out wait for the chemicals to wash away and then come back. 

I've even had them forage inside my house! What am i suppose to do about that?! 

WELL I'LL TELL YOU!

I bought a fire ant killing and repelling product (very pricey i might add) it's suppose to last for a whole season (whatever that means, hopefully one year or the summer or something) and i'm going to be launching my attack very soon. ( I need to do it the day before it rains so the chems can be activated)

Hopefully this will be the "nuke" that makes the war end and my victory over the ants an epic tale to tell.

Happy Sugar induced craze, throwing eggs at each other that you worked WAY to hard on day!

Ahh spring means so many things to me. Warmer weather, blossoming flowers, my thoughts drifting to what gift i want for mothers day. and the biggest thing of all Easter. Right at midnight on February 14th all the stores started stocking the easter supplies... Thousands of different candies, baking supplies, miles of soft plush bunnies and chicks, baskets, decals, hair accessories, and any other novelty item you can imagine.
I am trying to teach my kids about what happens at easter, both information on the easter bunny and about the real "reason for the season". Now my oldest is 4 and i don't think he quite grasps it. (it's definitely toned down) but looking around i hope that there are more parents and people in general (minus the nut jobs) that while celebrating this easter they remember it's about Christ and not only the Reese Eggs. (YUM)
So i looked around the internet for easter crafts that were low key but nice and found this cute egg project.

Cute right? Eastery and remembering all in one.
http://jeannewinters.blogspot.com/2009/03/jesus-easter-eggs.html

SO in closing cause i got some eggs to make... Happy Easter, the time the Christ Died for us and Lived again. (Cause we all know there's not really an easter bunny..... right?)
     

I will blog today..

So as I've mentioned before i tend to start things and not finish them... I don't want this to become one. So here is a post for me.

I look at my tiny world and think sometimes... why did i choose this? Why do i continue to do this? Everyday is a constant battle for sanity. If i decide to clean, it makes the house look nice for a night and then it's a disaster again in the morning. I try to do something nice for the kids and they whine and complain the whole time: Like our recent family trips. There's always one more thing to do, one more thing i didn't do, one more thing they want from me... It's hard.

I by no means live a "hard" life i'm blessed with a husband that works hard for us and my kids aren't hellions. (but they have their moments) I'm not looking for pity. (unless you really want to give me some) No this is my outlet. This is my release, so you fine people won't see my mug shot on america's most wanted for mass murder and arson. (I wouldn't really kill my family, so don't report me to the police please)

When i think about my life, it's a little depressing, but that's for me to change. My attitude towards it. What i do with my day. How i teach my kids gratitude. Not easy tasks. But Hopefully in 20-30 years I'll look back on this time as the glory days and reminisce about them.   

I wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad.....

When this song came out i was in love with it.... It described my goals perfectly. (that and the "i don't want to do nothing at all" song) BUT those two thing aren't compatible. My husband works "mostly" hard everyday in a job that is beneficial but not always enjoyable. there are procedures and pointless drills or classes. I feel bad for him sometimes... (other times i'm jealous that he gets to have an outside job.) My job consists of all of the bills/paperwork for our house, the actually house and the kids. I know it doesn't seem like a lot. But come over on a random afternoon it's chaos. There is laundry sitting anywhere it can, toys spread across the floor like land mines, children usually fighting over the stupidest things, lunch spread over the counter tops and table. a baby eating the smallest most dangerous choking hazard she can. My husband texting me to look at the latest funniest youtube video he just saw and me spinning in circles trying to figure out what to do first.

I can imagine the general consensus of mothers talking to me about it.....(or my husband when he gets home)

Them: Now is it this bad everyday?

Me: eh 5 out of 7.

Them: Why don't you do one chore a day or all of them before you do anything distracting?

Me: Well i've tried those methods, one chore a day is not enough. and if i clean before anything else it's wrecked like 20 minutes later once the kids get to it.

Them: Oh well then just continually pick up after them then. Problem Solved!

Me: "groan" I'll try I guess.... (i'm thinking i wish i worked outside the home again or that there were three of me one for the kids one for the house and one to just relax and do what ever i wanted)

*********
Ok so i have that conversation MANY times with my hubby. who by the way boasts that HE could do a better job, by keeping the kids in check though "daddy influence" (aka fear) and the house would be spotless (even though when he does clean he just works on the things he likes and leaves the other stuff for me)
So out of love for my kids and a hurt ego i stay here at home struggling to find the motivation to work.

Maybe our method of splitting up the responsibilities is a little different, but i understand the reasoning behind it.
My husband works all day, he doesn't want to work more when he gets home... I'm home all day I "should" be able to keep up the house and not let the children get hurt or starve (plus help them learn stuff).
But I personally find it hard.. I don't think i'll ever have a magazine house.. (we have bad habits) But i see other women who have multiple children and the majority have some mess in their house. (there are the exceptions/examples)
Anywho back to being a billionaire. I would have a maid so i could spend time with my family and have free time without over burdening my husband.

Now how to become one.... (actually possibilities are low) but i have dreams and interests. I had suggestions of making a cd of my singing and sending it to different places, I've been in the process of trying to write a book (lots of blocks on that one) we save and invest (but that takes years to add up)

SO i'm making what i can out of what i got.... so now i ask for advice. How do you mother's and fathers and people who live in houses balance out your day to keep your dwellings clean and tidy while making the residents happy too? (and maybe have sometime to write a book? lol)
 

Homesick

So all my life I lived in a summer vacation spot.... no not california i'd be feared of eathquakes, no not florida me and gators don't mesh and No. i'm not mexican. I wish it was Hawaii but it's a place called Virginia Beach. It's on the east coast and it's a magical place....... your vision starts to blur while chimes chime......

My dad was military and we lived in sweet VA since before i was born... There are all sorts of fun things there.. they have the ocean, forests, "small city" structures, local hot spots, raging oceanside clubs (not that i ever went) and a lot... i mean a LOT of historical places in the Hampton Roads area (that's what the 7 surrounding cities combined are called) ANYwho... we had malls, multiple malls. We had soooo many restaurants there was always a place to eat... there was grass..... real uncontaminated grass. It was so soft an lovely.  So now the reason for my declaration of love for VA...

After a year of being married to a reservist Marine, we got a happy package from heaven.. Mister.
Well the reserves don't have medical coverage for family members, and let me tell you something, Babies ain't cheap! Even while in utero. We needed doctors appointments, vitamins, ultrasounds, blood taken (yuck) and all sorts of crazy! (not to mention clothes for my fat... um i mean beautiful pregnant body) So while pregnant I continued working and Jman, (yes i'm going to call him that) signed up for active duty. we stayed in va for almost a year after mister was born but then the call came.....

Some random paperwork marine: "You are being stationed somewhere else.. where do you want to go? We've got Hawaii... (ooooh) and Japan... (aaaah) and Jacksonville, NC (Huh?)."

and what did my love reply... "North Carolina sounds good to me?" (WHAT!?)

so here we are.. and now to my former ramblings... we chose our house in one day.... no it's not that great. WE only had ONE DAY! There is only 1 mall here. ALL of the restaurants are ALWAYS crowded with young families and marines. The closest entertainment (for families) is an hour away and it's tiny  (that says tiny). There is some grass in the "city" and i use that term very loosely. We live in the county technically, but it's a subdivision off the highway. (Don't stalk me i'm not telling you where exactly i live). Our yard? it's a tangled labyrinth of weeds and bugs. All sorts of them... I've got dandilions, crab grass, onion weeds, clover, and lots more i don't know...
I kill every summer on average: 10 black widows, 2 dozen fire ant hills, 10000000000 flies. (the kind that just "hop up" when you swat and land where they were before, stupid flies!) 20-30 crickets depending on if they are inside or out. 3 water bugs... and maybe a bee or wasp in there ( i tend to let them be and they let me be) OH and i de-flea every summer too, thanks to my husband's "lovely" cat. (jerk)

There are beetles, spiders, ants, crickets, dragon flies, orb spiders (they are classified different cause they are in like "freak syfy apocalyptic movie" size) roaches (NOT in my house!) and lots of other darker, yuckier creatures. blah!

We also live very close to the base.. great for some things... and not for others. I would never be able to tell if we were under attack. In va we had the occasional jet flybys and it's whatever. you stop looking up after a while. Here we have heilcopters, all hours of the day and night. the firing range can be heard from out house (and felt too depending on how big the weapon used is)

I feel like i live in the ghetto sometimes...

This is in NO WAY trying to offend anyone!

(I have actually lived in the "more dangerous" parts of town. It's no joke and it's not a stereotype there are actually some very nice people who lived in my neighborhood.)

SO anywho. You can hear the gun shots all the time ... dta dta dta... dta dta dta dta dta (that's what they sound like to me.) 

I miss my home... where are you from?

I ain't no Stanley....

"Oh, the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy,

And the obvious reason is because of the season

Ma Nature's lyrical, with her yearly miracle

Spring, Spring, Spring."

(From 7 Brides for 7 Brothers- I love that movie)

Here's another movie reference.. Ever seen the movie "A Troll in Central Park"? I wish every spring that i was Stanley, the troll who live in central park, with a magical green thumb that sprouted beautiful Plantae <- thanks wikipedia (means plants) 

I have this image in my head of a well designed and fragrant garden. A mix of flowers, fruits and veggies. It would be my most prized possession. (not really but close)   Now my issue... I'm more like the little boy who's thumb turns black and kills everything.. :*( 
Problem #1

This is NOT my thumb but it could be..

So last year i did pretty well i think... 

 
 
we got two of those three tomatoes, and the flowers were like super plants that never die... the ^ one right there well that's problem # 2 




Problem # 2
I live in north carolina.. Home of the ...... i don't know i don't watch sports. But my yard is home to all sorts of hostile pest. I've got grubs, crickets, spiders (both dangerous and not) beetles, Cow Killer Ants, (yes that is what they are called), dragonfly, all sorts of flying stinger carrying things.. and my sworn enemy... Fire Ants. The ants are carnivorous. no kidding i tested... Sweet yummyness vs chicken meat.... They ate the poultry and left the candy to the weaker bugs. They are sparta! Anyways... so the other bugs were eating my plants last year. I didn't get a single squash or pumpkin.... (aww sad halloween)   


So any plants chance of survival in my territory is minimal at least.   


Now here's the last problem i have this year... (Cause i prepared for problems one and two)


I bought pesticide, soil, seeders, miracle grow, gloves and "Guaranteed to grow" seeds (plus 3 strawberry plants)
I did EVerYthiNG right! I waited for the seedling to grow before transplanting... I've spritzed with magic blue water.. I've kept the pest away (Other than my stupid cat!)


And what do i get.....

 
Strawberries wilting.. seedlings molding to death and my "garden" a desert tundra that the local cats have begun using as a litter box. 
Oh wise and mass community.... what magical words do i have to say to turn my black thumb green?... what must i do to enjoy the sweet taste of produce grown in my own yard.. that won't cost me a limb to consume?
I want squash and corn and berries and carrots and spinach! 
I want my yard to say: 
"I look inviting, someone awesome lives here! Don't mind the dozens of children's riding toys scattered around me, Look at my beautiful flowers. Enjoy my lovely smell."


cause right now it's saying... "A bum lives here and there is junk all over me. GO AWAY!"


Teach me knowledgeable ones..... Please. 

Dear Rebekah.. where did you go? Love Mommy

You know alot of the time i feel just like that ^.. I'm mommy, even my husband refers to me that way....
(geesh get you're head out of the gutters, not like that). Anywho, after 5 straight years of being mommy my inner Rebekah was shouting to be let out. "HEY YOU! WHAT ABOUT US?!" I by no means mind dedicating my time to my family... I wake up almost first (My hubby used to be first but now we're up together thanks to my nifty workout routine) ok back to me declaring my selflessness..
I eat last usually cold food, I shower last (and quickly) if i want no interruptions i MUST lock the door, It takes a good 10 times more time for me to do anything around the house due to the whims of my offspring.
In fact you can't tell but i've been up 5 times already while trying to write this blog.. once to give my daughter some breakfast, twice to break up fights, once to start sleeping beauty and again to make sure the kids were cleaning up the room instead of destroying it.  I could have this thought finished already if i was say a young childless wife, or if my kids were robots that i could program to be angelic.

But alas I had children (whom i love) and i think cps wouldn't approve of me testing out my mind control on the kids.. So now i struggle with finding time for me and mommy. Alot of the time i can't balance it... Hence the name of this site.. I LOVE facebook, even though i really don't do much on it.. i don't play the silly little mini-games. I don't throw sheep. I don't even post that much. I guess i mostly just like to observe what everyone else does.. (By the way my favorite type of pet are fish), and i HATE laundry, (and well most other chores) so i tend to put them on the back burner... Ok enough rambling back to the subject!

I got to the point where my i was showing physical signs that i needed a break. (And not like a vacation with my family where i'm running after kids and not able to do anything but kiddie stuff) No I needed a break to be family free... (is that messed up?) Maybe it is but dudes..... My eye was seriously twitching every 5 minutes for a WEEK! That alone was driving me crazy... So my dear, sweet, wonderful husband took my precious little children to his mothers for a week!

IT WAS AWESOME!!! I didn't yell for a whole week....a week! Do you know how much energy and stress come from yelling? A LOT! I completely bummed the first two days... I mean i BUMMED.(Have you seen the movie home alone 2 when he's at the hotel and just having the time of his life.. Piles of candy, jumping on the bed, taking a Ginormous bubble bath? Well to an extent, that was me!)

 I felt like my power cord was plugged in and i was getting charged up.. I Cleaned! Yup me. My whole house! It was like a miracle, I stayed up late, slept in late...it was just what i needed.

And now they are home and I'm happy and they are happy and the house is a little messier than when i was home alone. But that's life. So what happens to Rebekah.. do i shove her down again? I can't keep her out my family would suffer horribly (not that rebekah's a bad gal, it's just if i spent more time on me than my kids would become who knows what from lack of parenting) i shudder at the thought...

So i Googled it. How not to lose yourself, and there were lots of blogs and stories and whatnots. so i combined and picked from them. Here's what i got..




Take 10-20 minutes a day and just tackle a project.. (Today was the kitchen)

Before:

Please don't judge me too harshly..

Yes I know it's a mess!

So it took me 25 Minutes due to again interrupting children.
After: 

WOW Shiny

All clean :)

Another thing I'm trying is finding something that I like to do.. growing up my mom quilted, crocheted, beaded, baked, read books, cross stiched, just sewed, calligraphy,made stuffed animals, decoupage... um you get the jist, she was a jack of a lot of trades...and my dad was a handy man/ mechanic, and I participated in most of these... (Thanks mom and dad for the awesome skilz i gotz now!)

NOW do i really enjoy doing these things?.....  eh not so much for most of them.. I mean who doesn't like to bake a cake then eat it in a day? (jk.... maybe) but i needed something for me. So i started this and plan on maybe taking on a few others. And i like it. even if no one reads or comments i like having an outlet to express myself. (the marky-mark or whatever that 80's song just popped in my head)

So what do you do to keep a hold on who you are?  

Fit Failures

So I'm a procrastinator and also I usually don't finish long term goals or projects... I'm more of a Do it now or it'll never happen girl.... well woman. So I also have three beautiful children. The combination of these factors have caused my body to.. let's see.... develop. <- nice way of saying get fat. (well fat for me)

I am a small framed person. Only a measly 5 ft 4. I started my twenties at a buck-ten. Yes you can hate me.
BUT now i'm a good 30 pounds heavier and my love for food. especially chocolate, it's just sending me on my way up, well technically down since gravity would most definitely pull my poundage to the floor.

Well my hubby he's also packed on some "marriage" weight but has been working hard at keeping a well balance of fat vs muscle (a requirement of the military) I have no job riding on how much tire i have around my belly. I do have a "loving" husband riding me about it though....

What do i do? Test our love to see if my man will still want me even if i start looking like i absorbed a twin. OR start ...... *I'm cringing* exercising.. gulp. Well i liked my old body, i like fitting into size 4 pants. i liked being oogled when i walked around the mall. Do i get that now, not so much.....

So here is me pre-children... aww the body of youth.

Me 110lbs

Now here is one recently taken... (I made myself happy about it. Also so people won't recognize me and ask for autographs)

Me 136lbs

well i started Power 90 a beach body product. (www.beachbody.com) fyi: we have p90x too and way intense! so I started working out:

Yeah work it girl!

only half smiling, i am working out you know

i did good for a whole 2 weeks. I even lost 6 pounds! woop woop!

I looked like this:

Me 130lbs

Then my precious sister-in-law started baking............ mmmmm cookies. and i wanted to sleep in instead of my routine... and i found all sorts of excuses to not work out. again not good at long term goals..

So here i am now 142lbs...and the turning point? When i was teaching my sunday school kids a song a little 3 year old girl comes up to me, touches my mommy pouch and asks if I have a baby in there?!

REALLY? I look like i'm pregnant? I wanted to cry.

WELL I'm sick of it. I don't want to keep buying bigger clothes or barely squeezing into my old stuff. (making myself resemble a sausage)

 I made myself a poster of my barely clothed body. (Motivation enough!) and a calender to keep track of my schedule

 I started exercising this week and i'm going to stick with it..... I'll keep you posted on the progress too....

FYI: most embarrassing moments of this endeavor so far.... My husband finding my poster... 

he was like "whats this?"

i was like  "nothing!" I snatched it away quickly and hid it in my closet where i go to get clothes everyday

him: "um ooookay"

#2 The parent of the little girl i watch coming in at 7am to drop her daughter off and i'm on the floor sweaty out of breath doing crunches with the dvd in the backround (by the way power90 was made in the 90's so it's a little "retro") 

her: "hey, uh working out huh?"

me: "yeah" grunt "this is my only kid free time" gasp grunt.

her: "oh ok see ya later then"

I know not that embarrassing but for me until i look a little more "fit" i don't want no one seeing me get there... idk

wish me luck.

beka

Introductions are Polite...

Hello Internet World.
Wait a Second.
I lost it. I had it and now it's gone thanks to Mister, my 4 yr old busting in the kitchen and whining to me. ok lets get it back... Introductions.
I am i wife, a mother, a doctor, a maid, a cook, a teacher, a friend and a scary monster sometimes too. :) now before you start going to the back button cause you think i copied and pasted that line from the millions of chain mails that are sent around PLEASE STAY. I'll juggle for you... no really, you might like me and become one of my bestest internet buds or you might not and want to write nasty comments. Either way thanks for coming by.

I don't know how these blog things really get started.. are they a online journal that you don't mind people reading or should i be telling entertaining stories? Well hopefully this blog is a well balance of everything that i know and experience, and you my future critics/stalkers enjoy it.

I am not a professional writer, i have not had any classes or degrees. I have written short stories every now and again, but alas life happens and they get put on the back burner. So if this starts reading i don't know..... differently? forgive me i'm only human..

So until my next post (which hopefully will come later today) :)
Nice to meet you mass internet community. I hope that you and i can work well together and enjoy this new relationship.

By the way, i'm new to the bolg community so i don't really know or follow too much if you have some that you like post them in the comments and i'll check em out.
Thanks,
Rebekah