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Reality TV

Some people don’t understand the appeal of reality TV shows. There are some that disgust me because you can tell they are edited only to make the “stars” look stupid.

I watch The Bachelor because I love love and they got it right ONCE (Trista and Ryan). I am aware that I am living my own reality love story. But when he is snoring in bed and the kids are all asleep, I like to watch some TV. Although I may be off The Bachelor for good after this stupid season.

I watch The Amazing Race because I want to travel, but it isn’t in the cards right now.

I watch Flipping Out and Million-Dollar Listing because I learn about the real estate market (and how many realtors pronounce it REAL-A-TOR).

I watched Ashley Paige Bikini or Bust because it was cool to see the business side of fashion and to watch this chick try to get her ideas up and running.

I watch Jon and Kate + 8 because they give me discipline ideas and make my life seem like a piece of cake.

I watch Celebrity Apprentice because it helps me remember my working days and appreciate that I’m not still there!

I watch The Biggest Loser because I struggle with my weight.

I watch because I like to unwind that way. Because yes, I live in reality ALL DAY LONG. The reality of 4 kids plus sometimes their friends. The reality of cooking, cleaning, writing, errands, phone calls, plans, homeschooling, mail, bills, gassing up the van, having people over, going places, picking up after my Tornado Toddler, enduring screaming tantrums by my 4-year-old, wondering if there’s anything I should be doing to entertain my younger son who is all introverted, making social plans for my social older son, doing laundry, and 100 other things I won’t bore you with now.

I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. I indulge in the occasional chocolate. Exercise is almost impossible sometimes. So I watch TV. Rarely, but I do watch. I prefer shows like Madmen (I’m a retro gal), Rescue Me (guys crack me up) and Family Guy (I’m a naughty little kid at heart).

I watch when I can’t sleep (my mom and I are like technological dinosaurs … she should have Tivo but she tapes for me and I appreciate her “sacrifice”!!!), when the baby is napping on me and the kids are playing in their rooms. I don’t sit around on my butt all day watching TV, trust me (sometimes I STAND in front of the TV … haha)!

Old Picture Tuesday … Me and My Boys

So this picture isn’t that old. It was taken in August of 2007, when I was 6 or so months pregnant with Eva. You can see Callie’s little body in the background. We took a bunch of pictures that day at a homeschool picnic, and I absolutely love this one of my precious boys. They are such good boys, too. They play well together, they are great helpers around the house, they can get themselves ready to go places with no problems. They are amazing, and I am so happy God is letting me raise them (and my girls!).

Here are Three Reasons This Baby in My Belly Has to Be a Boy …

… because I have THREE blue lounging items for the kid (tiny bouncy seat with attached blankie and vibration, bigger bouncy, and low-to-the-ground bouncy/bassinett that vibrates).

… because I bought those stickers for the back of my van, and one pack was a baby boy AND a baby girl. I have the baby girl on the van and am just waiting to use the boy.

… because I’m good-to-go on estrogen in my house for now.

Too bad we never find out the sex of our babies before they are born. Don’t get me wrong, either: a girl would be wonderful, too. I’m happy with whatever comes a flyin’ out of my va-jay-jay in October.

Flipping the Weight Loss Switch Monday Part 6 (Your Kids)

So now the cold, hard truth. I’m teaching my kids to eat crappy. Don’t get me wrong: they eat plenty of veggies and could practically live on fruit. But I use sweets as rewards and we ALL eat sugar when Mommy is feeling stressed.

Why do I put out apple slices and carrot sticks for the kids to munch on all day, yet I grab a cookie or Bagelful when I go to sit down to nurse? No wonder my blood sugar levels are probably all over the place (as evidenced by my moodiness).

Even skinny chicks struggle with weight … keeping it off or else for, say, an anorexic person, they might need Weight Watchers to make sure they are eating ENOUGH food.

But I digress, as I will do when I’m winding down on a topic. Where was I?

Oh, yeah, KIDS. So I’m working hard to plan meals ahead of time so I’m not scrambling last minute for something that turns out to be bad for us. It’s Lenten season, too, so I have to think about Fish Fridays … fish is healthy, right?!

So it’s pretty obvious that the less you keep chocolate and junk in your house, the less it will be eaten. For instance, I can’t keep soda or chips in the house or we’d all weigh about 500 pounds. I try to make sure I always have baby carrots and lots of fruit in the house. When I make Jell-O, I throw in a can of fruit. They drink a lot more water these days instead of lugging Capri Suns everywhere we go. Get your kid his or her own water bottle and watch them drink like a fish.

Good luck in your weight loss ventures. Mine is currently staying the same, although I’m growing a human being. I swear that Vitamin B-12 helps me have no morning sickness, little fatigue AND must be great for my metabolism. Have I found the new Wonder Drug?

If you’re preggy and feeling pukey, do me a favor and give B-12 a chance and report back to me!

Parental/Elderly Abuse/Neglect

Yes, folks, just like anyone else I am a treasure trove of crazy stories. Here’s another one.

When I was 24 I came across a job listing in some junior college newspaper. It was asking for someone to spend the night with an elderly woman a couple of nights a week for $25 per night. Being recently divorced from a credit-challenged man-boy and working 2 jobs and going to school, I thought it sounded great.

The elderly woman's daughter (owner of chocolate store in Kansas City) had me over to her huge house to discuss me spending a few nights a week with her mother. Here’s where the weird crap comes in:

-- She could not keep my name straight. To this day she thinks my name is Terry; she always called me that.

-- She did not get my Social Security Number.

-- She did not get my address.

So a couple of nights later I started spending the night with this elderly woman, which is an entirely different story!

She pays me in cash every night before bed, and I know where she keeps the stash. She has tons of furs and nice clothing all over the house. She has nice jewelry in the bedroom where she does not sleep. And a nice car in the garage.

Thank God for her my parents raised me right because a bad person would’ve robbed her blind. Sure, she locked me in every night, but I could’ve gotten out through a window. The daughter should’ve had a bunch of $25 checks written, locked up the furs and jewelry, etc. She should’ve known WHO WAS WATCHING HER MOTHER in case I was an ax murderer.

I keep finding myself on this soapbox: Most Americans have no regard for life … either unborn, a twinkle in the eye, born and not perfect, or elderly. If I have to go into massive debt to make sure my parents and Aron’s parents are taken care of until they take their final breath, that is no problem. I want no part of them rotting in a nursing home (unless that’s what they want, to be left alone).

Update 11/5/18 and now we live on enough land to build tiny houses for all of our elderly relatives to keep them nice and close and cared for.