How to go from a bad mood to happiness in 2 seconds.....

Folding laundry and complaining to yourself how much you hate doing it and then hearing your husband and son's laughter as he gets a bath upstairs. Somehow things don't seem to bad whenever Eli giggles.
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Little Ears, Big Mouth

So today, Eli and I were in the car running some erands when a car pulled out in front of me. Startled, I said "Jesus!". A little voice came from the back seat echoing my sentiment. I told him not to say that word and, of course, he repeats it louder and lounder each time I tell him not to. Not knowing what else to do, I just said "Amen!" He said "Amen" back and that was pretty much the end of it. I guess it'ws a good thing I didn't say what was really on my mind when that mindless idiot pulled out in front of me!
Speaking of Amen, Charles and I have gotten int the habit of actually eating most of our dinners at the dining room table and saying grace beforehand. We all hold hands and either Charles or myself says the prayer. When we are finished, we all say Amen. Well, Eli has decided that he really likes to say grace so he usually stops us three or four times during the meal to hold hands. He will then squint his little eyes and mumble something and then say "Amen". It is sort of an awesome thing knowing that there is this little person out there who wants to do what you do. It is a big responsibility too and we are taking it very seriously.
Okay, let's talk about it. You know what I am talking about. I have two words for you....Britney Spears. I could only think of one comment...OH......MY.....GOODNESS! Bless her little pea pickin heart! Don't get me wrong. I really wanted her to do well. My thinking was that after being a trainwreck for pretty much two or three years, that this would be her comeback. I used to have a major girl crush on her and just thought she was the greatest. Then she married THAT GUY and it was all over for me. Now her life is a tragedy of a sham of a not so great life. First of all, lets get this out of the way. The outfit. As my friend Tara would say, she looked like she was stuffing 10 lbs of sugar in a 5 lb bag. Now I don't have a great figure myself but I know better to go prancing around in front of millions of people in a skimpy bikini. Of course, she still looked better than me on my best day but that isn't saying much.
Second of all, the dancing. If she was going to dance around like a hippie after having too many "magic brownies", she should have had her backup dancers dance that way too. It looked like she was in slow motion and they were in real time.
As for the vacant look in her eyes, well, I don't know what to think about that. There is a lot of pressure on her and I wouldn't really blame her if she decided to take some sort of relaxation pill but it's probably not a goot idea to do that right before a major performance that could make or break a career that no one thinks is worth saving anyway. I don't know if it was a broken heal, bad choreography or some sort of chemical interferance but please, Britney, get some help. I really would like to see you rise about all of this stuff and be on top again. I have joked repeatedly that, as licensed foster parents, I would love to take both Britney and Lindsey and foster them for awhile and show them what a normal, day to day life is like. It may not be glamourous, but we don't have the tabloids camped out by our house either. Keep your chin up, girl!
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p.s. Congrats to my friends, Luis and Rosemary Rivera, the baby girl that they are adopting was born today. Elizabeth Rose Rivera was born today weighing in at 7lbs. Congrats!

Lot to tell......

So I am back! I haven't really gone anywhere. I mean I am back to blogging. I may not to be able to do it every day but I will try to keep up with it at least twice a week if possible.
Since I last blogged a ton of things have happened. Most importantly, Charles and I are now licensed foster parents with the state of Texas. While we haven't gotten a placement yet, we are confident that it will come at the perfect time, such as when we both have to work or when we are out of town. It would probably never happen while we are home twiddling our thumbs.
We are hoping for two girls ages 6-12. We are licensed to foster to adopt so if the girls become legally free for adoption and they don't think we are total losers, we can adopt them. We actually came really close to being able to straight adopt a two sisters but they chose another couple who didn't have any other kids. The angel on my right shoulder says that the important thing is that the girls get adopted. The devil on my left wants me to track them down, rip off their arms and beat them with it. Good thing I am on happy pills.
I now have gone from a career secretary to a preschool teacher. Yes, I will be teaching music/movement and spanish classes to 100 plus kids beginning next week. I have a part time job at the church as well being in charge of "Angel Town", which is the baby room, toddler room and two year old room. Life is funny sometimes. It seems my path is to take care of children, one way or the other.
We had a "Meet the Teacher Night" last night and my room was filled with children jumping off things, kids beating on drums and kids running all over the place. Someone turned to me and said "You must really like kids......or noise". I just replied, "I have a 2 year old". That seemed to explain everything.
About my two year old, Eli. What a curious little creature he is turning out to be. I don't think that I was fully prepared to have a child exactly like me. While he looks a lot like his father, his temper is purely mine. Even though he has more toys than he knows what to do with, during the day he only wants to play with me. I am his favorite toy. If I am trying to clean the kitchen, he is right behind me shutting cabinet doors as I am trying to put dishes in them. If I go into the pantry to get something or put something up, he is right there trying to shut the door on me. If I have to go to the bathroom......well, let's just say it is really hard to do your business with two eyes staring you down.
Even though he is codependent, he is also amazing. He now says "I wub you" without anyone promting him and he gives kisses without being asked. One of my earliest memories was of me, at three years old, standing on a table at Pizza Hut singing "Have You Ever Been Mellow" by Olivia Newton John. I was a performer from a very early age. I see that in Eli as well. He cracks us up and bosses us around and I have to say, we are loving every minute of it!
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Still going strong.....

Still taking the fostering classes and learning something new everyday. We cleaned out the spare room and purchased bunk beds so we will be ready to foster as soon as we are licensed. Getting nervous because it is going so fast but am thankful for the support we have gotten.
Stay tuned for details of our trip to Waco this past weekend where Grandma and Auntie literally had Eli doing flips....
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Back from vacation

We took our family vacation to Florida last week and it was fun. Eli was pretty good on the plane and loved meeting his aunts and his cousins and seeing his Grammi Marci. I do have one complaint to make about Florida though. What is up with those highways????? I live in Dallas and we don't have as many highways and you guys do. And, they all look alike. I usually have a pretty good sense of direction but for the love, some directional signs would work just great in the future.
Okay, I do have one more complaint. These freaks of nature called "Love Bugs".
What the hell? It's these freakish black bugs that fly around stuck to each other. I realize that they eat mesquitos and that is just great but do there have to be so many of them? I swear a person could open a "I clean love bug carcusses off of your windshield" business and they would clean up!
Disneyworld was great. Great rollercoasters and attractions. The first night, Eli had an allergic reaction to nuts and his face was all swollen. After recovering from that, the next day his dad takes him on the tea cup ride because he had a fond memory of it from his childhood. We he made another fond memory this time. He will now never forget how his son puked all over him in the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom after taking him on the tea cups. Men never learn.
The last night in Florida, we stayed in what I can only describe as the depths of hell. The website for this "motel" showed it overlooking the water during a sunset. The website did not show the inside of the motel and we soon realized why. It looked like a crack den. Or at least what I have seen crack dens look like in the movies. It was disgusting. The only reason we stayed there was that I had already paid for it and I couldn't get my money back. The sheets were clean but we did not take a shower there or anything. Gross!
So we survived our trip and now it is back to reality and time for me to seriously find a job for the summer. Keep us in your prayers that I find something that will make me happy and not crazy like the last job.
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What to do........

So after I got laid off I was upset for about a minute and then I had to think really hard about what to do with myself. I did some major retail therapy but you can only shop for so long(did I just say that?)
Anyway, I kept soul searching about what I was supposed to do with my life. My previous job was very stressful but I was comfortable there. Getting laid off actually made me have to think for once. I have heard people say that they feel "called" to do something. I always thought that was crazy. But folks, I came across a website in my many hours of surfing the web and it just hit me. The website was adoption.com and there was a photolisting of all of these kids who are being put into foster care. Kids who are victims of neglect and abuse.
I kept trying to figure out what I was good at. I always thought of myself as a person of many talents but a master of none of them. But one thing I think that I am good at is being a mom and taking care of children. So hubby and I have decided to become foster parents. There is a posibility that if it all goes well we may eventually be able to adopt but right now there are so many kids who need homes and we can at least help out a few of them. We have applied and we have started the training courses. While we would like to have another child of out own in a few years I truly believe that this is what we are supposed to do. I guess you could say I feel "called" to do it.
So I will continue with my witty blogs you guys have grown to love but there will be some seriousness along the way as we make this journey.
I hope that we will have peoples support in this. It is a big step and to know that our friends support us is important. We will keep you posted.

Call me Afro-Dynamite!

So what is with this weather? I was anxious for winter to be over so it could warm up a bit. I didn't know it was going to skip spring and go straight to summer! It's not even really that hot yet but the friggin' humidity! I leave my house, feeling all sleek and sexy with my hair all flat-ironed and straight. Then, POOF, the minute I step outside my hair turns into puffball city!
Of course, with the heat comes the possibility that I may actually get some color in my cheeks as opposed to looking all pale and pasty. I tried those so called "Self-tanning lotions" but they actually expect you to put it on every single day. I want to be tan. I don't want to walk around feeling all icky and gooey.
Don't you sometimes wish you could just go back to when you were a kid. I don't mean the gawky teenage kid but the younger kid where the worse thing that could happen to you is that your mom made you finish your beets or something gross like that? I remember not really caring about how I looked. I just wanted to play. I wanted to go crawdad fishing with the neighborhood boys Lonnie Niswanger, Troy Don Swanner and Charlie Brown. We would tie bacon on the ends of string and lower it down into the crawdad hole by the railroad tracks. We didn't really know what to do with them once we caught them but we had fun.
I want to help my neighbor Lonnie turn my daddy's old shop-vac into a go cart and have him pull me up and down the street.
I want to play "Light as a feather, stiff as a board".
I want to play with my other neighbors, Tracy and Christy and pretend Bo and Luke Duke are our boyfriends.
I want to build a playhouse with a sign on the front that says "No Boys Aloud"
And yes, I want to try to dig to China!
I look at my son and I want to try to give him experiences from my childhood. I don't want him thinking the end all be all of everything is having the next hot new video game. I don't want him to be chained to the TV like I am. I want him to play and have fun and hopefully I will be able to experience a sort of second childhood myself.
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I am going through a change.....

No, not menopause. After seven years of faithful service to the company I worked for, I got laid off. It's not that I was so attached to the job or the money that allowed me to have such luxuries as a roof over my head and running water, it was the people. Some of them were like family to me. But I guess everything happens for a reason. If I had never moved up here from Waco, I never would have met Charles and I wouldn't have Eli. That is a scary thought. Now I just have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I would really like to be a party planner. How fun would that be? Spending other people's money and getting to throw parties? I had a blast planning my wedding and this time I wouldn't have to pay for anything, they would pay me. I just have to find a way to get my foot in the door.
With my severence package I received, I was able to book us a trip to Orlando at the end of May so that we can see Charles' sisters, nephews and mom. We will also be going to Disney World. I found out that the week we are going to be there, it will be "alternative lifestyles" week or "Gay Dayz". How cool is that? My friend Brent says that straight people usually don't make it past lunchtime but I say "bring it on"! I will wave my straight flag proudly. I believe that we can all live in harmony and all of that crap. I am not sure about my sister in law and her kids though. Do Mormon's have a problem with gay people? It should be an interesting trip.
So today I went to my first job fair in about 10 years. The line was around the building. They hearded us through like sheep and when I finally got into the room where the employers were the first booth I came to was for "Wendys". Now, no offense to the burger flippers out there but I really don't want to have to work in any of the food service industries. I don't think they make a soap or perfume that can cover up the smell of burgers and fries. Yuck!
I hate having to start over. It's like breaking up with someone or getting a divorce. You think that you never would have to be "out there" again. Of course, this would be the perfect opportunity to reinvent myself. Maybe go blond or start speaking with a british accent. That might get me a job. Is it wrong that I had doubts at the job fair today that the guy in the wheelchair was really crippled? He sure wasn't able to handle the chair very well. You would think that if he had been crippled for very long, he would be a whiz at driving that thing. Maybe I can claim I have a fake leg like that Heather chick on "Dancing with the Stars". She didn't win but she made it pretty far. Do you think if I claim I have a false leg that they would make me take it off during the interview? No, I probably can't pull that off (pardon the pun). I could say that I have a metal plate in my head or maybe Touretts Syndrome. I could start yelling cuss words and calling them jerks and they would have to give me the job anyway because I would be "handicapped".
I had better think this through some more. Either that or I need a whole lot of therapy.
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I'm not that bright apparently.....

So I finally got my myspace page up and running. There is music. There are pictures. There is bubble wallpaper. So I think I am pretty damn clever for someone who didn't even know how to use a computer 10 years ago. Well then I start getting comments posted on my home page. It's not just "Hello, how are you?". There are graphics and cute fonts and pictures. I don't know how to do any of that crap! So now I look like a complete snot because I have been too embarrassed to post just a boring old "Hello, how are you?" comment. I am also not crazy about my bubble wallpaper but I am afraid to change it because I might mess up everything else. It's hopeless. So now I have to add a computer guru on my list of people I would hire to do stuff for me if I ever won the lottery. This would be a maid, housekeeper, remote control finder(that thing always eludes me), personal trainer and a person to actually excercise for me, and now, a computer tech to make my page pop!
On a happier note, Eli seems to be adjusting well to his new daycare. He clings to me every morning when I try to drop him off and I feel like crap for half the day but I am hoping that will pass eventually.
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p.s. The page I am speaking of can be found at www.myspace.com/stacyroof

There's a change a comin'....

So I put Eli on a waiting list for this pre-school near my work. It felt more like a preschool than a daycare. They told me there were about 20 people on the waiting list ahead of me so I figured I would get a call back from then by the time Eli started college but, surprisingly, they called me two weeks later and said that there was an open spot and that he could start the next week.
I'm a little nervous because he was so used to his regular daycare and I just don't want him to be scared. They don't have the internet viewing that his old daycare had so I can't even peak in on him from time to time over the net. Would I get arrested if I started hanging out by the daycare and peeping into windows? I'm not a pervert I just want to make sure my boy is happy and safe. Oh well, I guess I have to wait and see what happens. I just want him to get the best education possible and I hope I'm not making a mistake. I want him to be independent but right now, he needs me and it feels kind of good. Except in cases like this where it is complete torture if you drop him off in a place that isn't familiar to him and he grabs onto you and won't let go.
So I will keep you posted on whether he does well or if his mommy has a nervous breakdown or not.
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I'm back! I suck!

So I know I haven't been very diligent about blogging lately. It's not that I haven't had anything happen or haven't had anything to say, it's just that I am either tired or it's new tv season or I am having to fight my husband over control of my computer.
TIRED
After working all day, I just want to play with Eli and then sleep. It's not really an ideal way to keep the romantic fires burning but what can you do?
NEW TV SEASON
I know it's not normal but I can play with Eli and still get the gist of my favorite shows at the same time. If it's something really good then I can rely on my good old friend TIVO to record for later viewing.
FIGHTING FOR CONTROL OF MY COMPUTER
My husband is a geek. A wonderful, thoughtful and sexy geek but a geek just the same. He thinks Bill Gates is the anti-Christ. He hates Microsoft Windows. He uses an operating system called Linox. He has his own computer that he built himself. I cannot even figure out how to turn it on and you have to go through some sort of voodoo chant sort of thing in order for it to powder down. That's how complicated it is. Well, he decided that there are some things he needs my computer for so I have to fight him for use of my computer. It used to be okay because I was hardly ever on it but now I have my mom's groups and I am into my space and instant messenger so I need it a little more. Anyone want to donate a lap top or another computer to ensure future domestic bliss? I will win if this keeps up.
Eli is awesome as usual. He did get munched on the other day at daycare. I no longer have to imagine how I would feel if he was bitten. Last time he was a biter. This time he was the bitee. Neither is a good feeling.
I had him on a wait list for a preschool near my work and they called me Monday and said they had a place for him. He starts Monday and I am really nervous about how he is going to do. He only wants to be with me(can you blame him?) and if there is nothing to distract him in the morning when I drop him off, I may end up having to stay there. I don't really think that it's right to pay a daycare to watch Eli and the I be the one to take care of him. Maybe they will hire me. They pay in the high 60's, right?
It's just another too adult decision that I have to make since becoming a mom. It seams that all you want is to get and do everything for your child that will be the best for them. It's a lot of responsibility. I do love every minute of it. He is becoming his own little person and it's awesome. It goes by so fast and then other times so slow.
Anyway, loyal readers, I will try to get better at blogging. Thanks for being patient and waiting for me.
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Our little mini muncher.....

So it turns out that, while we didn't know it, Eli has decided to go on a diet just like his mommy and daddy. Daddy and I are cutting out carbs and are eating lots of meat and veggies. Eli has added one more ingredient to that....human flesh. Yes, today at daycare, he had an "Incedent Report" written up about him. He bit one of the other children for trying to take a toy away from him. When they told me this, I felt like they had just told me he had just knocked over a liquor store or something. It's not like we sit around each night and instruct him on just the right place to bite for maximum effect but I still felt guilty. I mean, what am I going to do? Ground him? Put him in time out? Pull his teeth? The daycare people acted like I should have somehow prevented this. Where were they when my child decided to chow down to defend his stuff? They won't tell me which kid he bit and they will not tell the kid's parents who bit that kid. That's all I need is some angry parent and myself getting into a throwdown in the middle of snacktime.
I guess I just have to chalk it up to babies being babies and hope Eli doesn't do it again and that he doesn't become a recipient of some munching.
Parenting is hard!
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The diet is on........

So Charles has entered this contest at work. The goal is who can loose the highest percentage of body weight in 3 months. The prize is money, the ultimate incentive. So we went to the store and bought way too many groceries to go on the South Beach Diet. A year before we got married, we both went on it and each lost 45 lbs. We started this past Tuesday. I am so sick of eggs already. It's been okay so far but the hardest part is when we are at home. At work, you have all sort of distractions to take your mind off of the fact that you would like to devour everything in sight. I think I had 3 sugar free popscicles. It did no good. I actually had to leave the house to get my mind off of it so I took Eli to the mall to play in the children's play area. Of course, at the mall is the cookie stand, ice cream stand, and all other kinds of fattening places. If God wanted me to be skinny, why did he make so much good crap for us to eat??? Lord, give me strength.
Weigh in is Monday night. I will keep you posted.
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