VENT.

So, I am having to do another internship. Did one in undergrad... Gonna do one for this Master's program too.
You get to give them a list of three places that you'd like to do an internship with...but there is no guarantee, and ultimately it is their decision as to where you complete your internship. Good times.

Other than that....why, yes, I do have another complaint.
"List 3 Objectives/Goals you hope to meet through your internship."
Well...let's see....TO ME, that depends on where I do the internship. If I do it with some child protection agency...well, my objectives may be very different than if I work with adult male sex offenders, ya know?!?

So stupid. So stupid.

"Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white."
---Johnny Cash (from "Man In Black")

8 Things Tag....

I got tagged by Rikki.

* Mention the person that tagged you
* Complete the list of 8 things

8 Things I look forward to:
* finishing school.
* going to Jamaica in the Fall.
* Gage playing sports.
* Bonnie being potty-trained to ALWAYS go outside.
* finishing out my bathroom (y'all, it's still not complete! lacking a few details...)
* girls night with Megan & Susan (it's been discussed, but not scheduled...)
* getting my hair colored & trimmed (not that I've scheduled an appointment or anything...)
* Jessica & her family coming to Texas at the end of this month!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
* folded laundry
* cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner (yes, Hubby, mark the damn calendar. I cooked three meals in one day. and yes, "assembling cereal in a bowl" counts as cooking in my book.
* snatched a snake away from the dog (I used a stick, and luckily for me, found out that the snake is dead! Woohoo! Hero Dog!)
* heard someone use the "c" word. That's a bad mamma-jamma right there.
* did the dishes.
* sang Neil Diamond with my son.
* found myself amazed that my child slept until 9am!
* bought paper towels at Walgreen's.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
* win the lottery...a really big one....because my lotto dreams have gotten quite extensive, and to be perfectly honest, I'm really not sure 1-2 million would cover the elaborate fantasies I've come up with...
* be done with school already!
* understand these "magic-space-phones" that everyone has now. ...as in, palm pilots, blackberries, and this super-snappy-i-phone. Yeah, i don't get 'em.
* get Bonnie potty-trained!!!
* build myself a "Rosie"...you know...from the Jetsons! They had Rosie to do all kinds of stuff. I want a Rosie.
* cook better...
* sew better...
* go back to Puerto Rico...for free.

8 Shows I Watch:
Hell's Kitchen
Biggest Loser
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice (except for last week's episode b/c I erased it, assuming that it was a rerun, and come to find out, it was probably new...)
Real Housewives of NYC
Celebrity Apprentice.
Desperate Housewives
SNL
...okay, clearly I watch WAY too much TV.
TAG: You're IT!

The Lord Made Him Cute....

...as a protectcive mechanism.

Today's Graphic:

Oh, but wait... I'M HIS MAMMA!

So...Gage got in trouble tonight.
Bonnie.
He's constantly JACKING with that poor dog.
He's been told 18 million bajillion times to "be nice to Bonnie."
"That's not very nice."
"Gage, we don't do that to Bonnie."
"Gage, she doesn't WANT to slide around like that."
"Gage, STOP! That will make her sick!"
etc. etc. you get the point.

Well, I was on the couch, and I heard the poor dog yelping.
"Gaaaaaage!"
...more yelping, continuous yelping....
He was holding her front paws & back paws together---with her body circling a leg on the couch, and somehow he was spinning her around the leg of the couch. No, it was not hurting her, but she clearly didn't like it. So, we had words about that b/c he's been warned ALL FREAKIN' DAY (& every other day) about treating the dog nicely.
So, he proceeded to whine & cry & yell at me.
Not good.
Sent to time-out in his room.
I had to tell him THREE TIMES to go.
Not good.

We both cool off.
I go in there to talk & tell him that he can come out now.
"I wanna just go to bed instead."
Sweeeeeeeeeeet!
So, I do his little night-night routine, and cover him up, and sit on the end of his bed to talk. I got the impression that he wasn't listening to me (Gah!)...so I said, "What did Mommy just say?" And his response, "No?" As in, "Did you just say 'no'?" It was clearly a question, indicating that he was guessing my last word to him was "No!"

Mommy: "Are you listening to me?"
Gage: shakes his head indicating that he has in fact NOT been listening as he should... (Gah!)
Mommy: "When Mommy tells you to do something, you do it right then...." blah, blah, blah [insert parental comments about minding/obeying, etc.] and then I said something about possibly reinstating spankings. {just an FYI---I haven't spanked Gage in....gosh, I don't even know how long now. I've been trying to do other discipline techniques, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and I discussed bringing back the spanking...}
Gage: "If you spank me, I'll send you to jail!"
Mommy: "You can't send me to jail for giving you a spanking." [WHERE DOES HE EVEN GET THIS INFORMATION? WHO IS TELLING HIM THIS STUFF? Orrrr....is it that his brain equates law breaking with rule breaking, and law breaking can land you in jail, therefore rule breaking, as in "we don't hit", may in fact land one in jail???? Are you with me here?]..... and so I continued my blah, blah, blah, back on track conversation about minding Mommy....
Gage: "MOMMY! (back of his hand dramatically placed atop his forehead)YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!"
Mommy: (silence. shock. where does he learn this stuff???)
Gage: "Just snuggle me instead."
Mommy: "good-night."

Oh.My.Gosh.
The drama.

So, he was in bed at 8:41.
I'm exhausted from the day.
Bonnie is asleep on the couch (with nobody JACKING WITH HER!)
I'll be climbing into bed soon.

Ad-Libs, Super Fun Friday Night!

So....on Friday night, we went here....


To see....


Thanks to....

...my friend, Jason, who is super-funny in the show!

I've known Jason since we were 11 years old. That's a long time!


Jason's oh-so-beautiful wife, Sam was also there. {yes, she looks pretty in the picture, but I assure you, she looks even more beautiful in person! sorry if i'm makin' you blush, sam!}


So, we had a greeeaaaat time. If you want to check it out, it's now on Main St. (used to be on Ross Ave.), and they have shows on Friday nights & Saturday nights. It was soooo much fun.

On another note....
....couple things I noticed about myself.
1) I can't take a compliment about my kid by just saying, "thank you." Instead, I rather pompously say/think something along the lines of "I know, right!?" I'm sure it comes across as rude, but I can't seem to help my silly self. I think, he's this totally amazing little being. He's not perfect---Lord, I know that....but he's perfect for me. I am amazed by my love for him, and his quirky little ways, and the fact that I GREW HIM IN MY TUMMY once upon a time, and how he's a blend of me and his father...I just can't help myself, okay. I am lucky to be his mom. And I just have a hard time saying, "thank you" when someone says that he's cute...
2) We are THAT COUPLE....the couple who goes away from their child for a few hours...and what do they do? Talk about their child. With each other: "I wonder what they're doing now." "Do you think he's asleep yet?" ...and then of course we talk about him with others... Yes, we've definitely become THAT couple.
Oh well.

Bathroom.....Sneak Peek!

Okay....here's a quick pic... we're by no means done, but we're getting closer!

Major Award! {school stuff}

So...on Tuesday night, I got this award at school.

Dorky? Okay, maybe a little. Maybe it's a little dorky that I went & dragged my whole family there too.... but you know what? I've worked really hard for this degree, and dag-nab-it, I'm getting my damn award & hopefully the flippin' degree to go with it! {you know...in three more juicy semesters...}

So....here are some pics from the little ceremony....

Me & Gage with our little appetizer plate....


Me getting my certificate (way to go Hubby, on getting such a lovely shot!)...


{check out the big man on campus! ...doesn't he look like he's checkin' out some cute young thing who just walked by? so funny to me!}

So...after that, we headed over to Nizza Pizza for a quick celebratory bite.
:P


So...the best story of the night...when it was my name to go up there & get my award, I lifted my son off my lap, and put him in my chair. I went up, got my little award, and as I turned to go back to my seat, Gage yelled "Good Job, Mommy!" Oh, it was so cute, and it made me smile!
:)

The ever-expanding-family....

Well, I have failed to mention that I met my dad's fiance last Thursday night.

Her name is Ruby.
She's a school teacher from the Phillipines.




She brought Gage this monkey that makes...well, monkey noises. He loves it.

We had dinner, and I introduced her to the most delicious beverage EVAH: the mimosa!

Bathroom Update

Tuesday...I primed.
Husband's first comment, "What happened here?"
Needless to say---I may enjoy painting...but I suppose I'm not the best. I just really need to focus on EVEN coverage. But whatever---it's just primer!

Sadly, no pics of that....
Here are some pics from yesterday.....




Bonnie sure was tired from all that "helping!"

One Lucky Witch.

So...it happened again.
Does this keep happening to me because I'm a magnet for it, or am I just insanely aware of kids being left in cars?

Albertson's @ Buckner & Garland Rd, Casa Linda Shopping area, Saturday afternoon.

Red Mustang, TX License Plate #: KTR 285.

Little Boy, about 2 years old.
I called 911; I was connected to the Fire Dept., when the woman & the other child with her returned to the car. That little boy was probably 4-6 years old.

"Is this your car?"
"Is this your baby?"
"BABIES DIE WHEN THEY ARE LEFT IN CARS!"
....blah, blah, blah, I don't remember what else I said {yelled} while talking AT this woman with the fire dept. still at my ear.
"Oh, LOOK! YOU EVEN LEFT THE DOORS UNLOCKED! You're LUCKY I didn't take your baby. I could have just TAKEN your baby. And, you don't even have a CAR SEAT!"
-------"I just live around the corner."
"I DON'T CARE WHERE YOU LIVE! YOU SHOULD HAVE A CAR SEAT FOR HIM. AT THE VERY LEAST, IT'S THE LAW!"
At some point, the woman said "I'm sorry" {with a look on her face like 'this lady is yelling at me, and she's a freak'}, to which I responded, "You're not SORRY, you're LUCKY!"

And so....there I was, yet again.
But THIS time, I said something. And once I started....well, I had plenty to say.
Needless to say, she drove off in her red mustang with two little ones; neither in a car seat {though one may not have technically required one by Texas law....}.

So frustrating. She has no idea how lucky she is. She has no idea how many bullets she dodged that day... some pedophile could have taken her child... that child could have opened the door, walked out into the parking lot--wandered off or gotten hit by a car... so many different things.
She's one lucky witch.
....I'm just sayin'.......

Let's Finish Up Easter Weekend....{LONG!}

When we got home from the zoo, we had an egg hunt at Darnin's house.
Allen opted out of the zoo trip so he could stay home & set the backyard up for the little ones' egg hunt.






There was of course some fun backyard play. The boys played pitch, or catch, or both...and James helped. Gage had to "wind it up", and "wind it up", and "wind it up"...again & again & again!




After that....dinner. What did we eat? Paw-Paw Burgers. OMG, they are fan-freakin'-tastic. Hot Dogs & chicken were also served. They were good, but they were no Paw-Paw Burger....


Later, we dyed Easter eggs.
We kind of did things out of order...but oh well!




And then, my sister & her family headed off to see Trystan's other grandma...so it was time for the boys to say good-bye.

(they really played pretty well this go-round, and this picture is so sweet to me!)

Saturday night ended with ice cream in the kitchen.



And soooo.....that finishes up our Saturday at Darnin's.

Sunday was pretty easy-breezy in the morning. We had a light breakfast, and stayed around the house. Allen pulled some toys out of the attic for Gage, and they played a bit with those, and of course, the Easter Bunny filled yet another basket of fun!




{in the above pics---why yes, they appear to be playing so nicely, right??? My child is a greedy-gut!}

We went over to David's sister's house for lunch. Lunch was very yummy, and I was HORRIBLE about snapping pictures there. {I know, I usually take pictures all the time, but between Gage's whining & chatting with the grown ups, I just didn't do it!}
Allen & Gage played in the front room a bit, so I snapped at least a couple pics of that {but that's it b/c I suck!}...



Came home....and in the afternoon, we built a bunny-house.
:)




Even Mario & Allen decorated bunny cookies...


Gage had a blast doing this, and it still sits on my kitchen counter....for now...


After that, we headed out in the evening time, and got home after dark on Sunday evening....
:)

The Tyler Zoo.....Saturday Afternoon

So, on Saturday afternoon, we went to the Tyler Zoo. There was a whole crew of us, and it was so much fun! I didn't even know that Tyler had a zoo, but they do, and it is really nice. But, just an FYI: if you plan to use your debit/credit card & just tuck it in your back pocket so as to avoid carrying a purse---well, tuck your ID in there as well. Visa isn't everywhere you wanna be if you have no photo ID!

Me, My Mom {Darnin'}, and My Sister, before the zoo...












We had a group photo....and I asked this random girl to take our picture, and I slid into place quickly.... Um....I think all my pose is missing is a set of pom poms & my old sorority t-shirt. Seriously. Could I look any goofier????


The alligators...
My sister & I are convinced that they are/were dead. They didn't move; didn't show any signs of respirations, and never blinked, but one of them had his {or her} eyes open. We're just certain they were dead....


Gage & Trystan had so much fun with this one little snake...{because the sign posted 'Don't Touch The Glass' clearly does not apply to our little ones...}




This white tiger was wild. He or she was aggravated by the camera flashes & was jumping up on the glass, and pacing back & forth. Not a happy camper, but fun to watch!



They had a fun bird exhibit. The kiddos really enjoyed it.













...and, they had this little goat petting area for the kiddos...



I have to say---a good day was had by all.
:)