Oh, oh mommy!

I know parents out there have been in this situation where you ask your child do you have to go pee? Of course at that moment they do not, so "No" would be the answer.

Today we had a photo shoot at a State Park and the restrooms were going to be a distance. We hauled everything we needed to the spot which was absolutely gorgeous today. Next thing, my daughter did the dance...that famous hopping one leg to the other one. So I panic and remembered I had an extra emergency maxi pad. I put it in my daughters panties and told her it was okay to pee because this was mommy diapers. Was I very wrong....from her we heard a "Oh,oh mommy!" I saw the pee dripping down her leg and all I could do is scream...."Oh no!" What do you do? The photographer and the model were so nice to turn around and not let her see them laughing. It was truly a site to see! We took her panties, tights and leg warmers off and she was fine. Luckily she had a skirt that hid her little booty.

Why does this always happen to me?

photo: peeing girl in Brussels, Belgium

"We should buy a lottery ticket!"

My daughter is about to start kindergarten in the fall. Now for parents who has no children in school yet can definitely agree with me. How stressful it is to get your child in a great school. My parents didn't worry about this, we just went to the school nearest to us. Today parents are trying to get their children in a school that has a good reputation. So I did my research...I asked my friends and strangers what school their child goes too and what they thought out it. Here where I live they have Charter Schools. They are public schools but they do things a little differently. I have only heard good things about them and so my husband and I signed up to hopefully get our child into one nearby.

First of all you have to know that there are only 60 spots for kindergarteners each year at this school. You secure a spot by winning the lottery. We had to sign up and they give us a number for the lottery drawing. The day of the drawing there was no parking nearby so we had to walk a ways, the multipurpose room was standing room only, people were spilling out of the place, and those standing was 3 people deep. My daughter and I found a spot in the back up against the wall. I was truly getting a little clusterphobic in there. The numbers were put on poker chips and randomly picked. So the first numbers were children of founding parents...that took 16 spots. Then there were the low-income which took another 12 spots. Next were any children of board members and faculty which was one. So now were up to 29 spots taken and 31 left. Then came siblings of those who were already in the school. When that was done there were only 12 spots left for the rest of those in the school district. I heard there were 300 people wanting to get a spot.

So the principal began the picking of the final 12 spots, if you didn't get that you were put on a waiting list and if something happens to a spot you may get a call to fill it. They finally got to spot number 59. The said the number and I didn't realize it but I let out a great big Uggggh. People around me asked if it was my number and I said no. I guess I was so stressed that my daughter's number wouldn't get picked and now what am I going to do. So the last number was called....number 187. I screamed my head off and the whole place looked and me and some were laughing too. I was so ecstatic and my daughter looked at me wondering what was happeing. Oh was I on a high!

We walked back to the car and I thought to myself, we should totally buy a lottery ticket it might be our lucky day!

Don't eat raisins and drive!

Such a strange combination...you all know "Don't drink and drive" but for me I don't eat raisins and drive anymore. I use to work 12 hour nightshifts and have to commute an hour home. You are really tired most of the time after those shifts. So I tried many things to keep me awake when I felt so exhausted and sleepy on the way home. There was eating ice...I got so cold doing that, opeing the window same thing, blasting music, slapping my face, screaming while I was singing. Some worked but I was always up for something new. So one morning I thought I would snack on a pack of raisins on the long ride home. So I started eating them and they actually worked. I was driving in the fast lane with no traffic in sight. Finally I got to the bottom of the box where most of you know, they stick to the bottom. I was intent on getting those. I was really concentrating on those few at the bottom, when all of a sudden I heard rocks kicking up under my car. While I was so intent on getting those last few raisins, I veered into the shoulder on the left. I looked into my rear view window and saw all the car behind me had hit their breaks and started to slow down. I got back into the fast lane dropped the attempt with my raisins and drove all the way home freaked out enough to stay awake. So I warn those who do eat raisins and drive....forget the ones on the bottom or have someone get them for you. To day the thing the keeps me awake in those situations....sour candy, you should try it!

Spiderman...sort of

When my brother and I were still growing up he had a fear of spiders. We did not have a big spider problem where we lived, there were the occasional daddy long legs in the corners of the house. Pretty harmless but to him not so much. I remember his method of killing these spiders. It consisted of a lighter and some kind of aerosol spray, usually hairspray. Not a good combination, it is a surprise that he did not burn our house to the ground. He would go around and if he found a victim, he aimed, sprayed with the lighter in front. Those spiders did not have a chance with him. What was funny though was if you were a guest in our home some of the corners in the house would have a few black stains....that was the mark of arachnophobic on a killing spree. He was not good at hidding his tracks.

My brother lived with me for about a year and I did not notice until he left that I had not seen any spiders during his stay. He says he has gotten over that fear and has changed his killing method but I know somewhere he is still that little kid afraid of spiders...the most ironic thing to me was his favorite comic book hero was Spiderman.

The Floating Head!

I think everyone is addicted to something either drugs, alcohol, gaming, facebook or any multiple things. It took me a long time to realize it, just like most addicts. We do not know we are addicts for years and sometimes never realize it. Until you do and you truly want to beat this addiction you will never be able to beat it. So, my name is Christina and I am a shopper addict!

My aha moment, as Oprah puts it, is one day when I went into Target to buy a CD that was on sale for $9.98, then walked out with over $200 worth of items that were mostly on clearence (nothing I really needed, mostly just in case items "you never know I could find a use for this"). People in my life had been amazed at the way I would shop and use to tell me that I had a problem...mostly my parents, my husband and my business partner. I use to think "no way could you be addicted to shopping", you can only be addicted to sex, drugs and alcohol because they had doctors and groups that help them out. Knowing is half the battle and I work hard everyday to beat this addiction. It has been hard but what has really helped is my floating head!

You must be asking, "Whose head is it?" Well in my head it is like the Oz in the movie the Wizard of Oz, but not so green and scary and more of my business partner's head. When I am shopping for anything and I mean anything, she seems to appear telling me, "Do you really need that, can you do without that, how many do you need of this or do you really have the money for this right now?".

She did not realize that I did that until a couple days ago. I had been buying supplies at Office Max for the office and found her head asking me, "Do you need the heavy duty, more expensive sheet protectors or the less cheaper ones for our paper?". I bought the cheaper one then off to Target and I found a white Christmas tree for our office decor next year at 50% off. I heard the head talking say,"$124 is still not a deal, you can finally get a cheaper one if you hold out". I have really wanted to have a white tree for the last 2 years so I hoped if I talked to her she would overrule the floating head. You guessed it she said, "I thought you were gonna say it was like 60 bucks, no maybe if you wait for the after Christmas sale." The floating head is really in sync with it's original.

So if you might see me out there shopping, just know the reason why I look so intense when I am looking at a item I want to buy....the floating head is conversing with me!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Facebook is a great tool to reconnect with old classmates. I just did with someone I went to high school with. We caught up on what we had been doing since graduation and about being in the military, the awful stuff and of course the good things too. The conversations brought back such wonderful times I had when I was stationed in Deutschland (Germany). I spent a couple years there but they have to be one of the most cherished times for me.
Christmastime was the most memorable days for me there. Christmas in Germany is very different compared to an American one. Here, we are all caught up in buying presents, as they say the commercialization of it, trying to get all the lights up and the cards sent. But in Germany, where everything closes at 4 everyday and Sundays were closed for family time, Christmas was about the meaning of the season and enjoying it with family and friends.
What was most enjoyable were the Christkindlmarkets. Cities had a market in the center of town, where you would enjoy little kiosks with food, drinks and things to buy, with music playing, rides and the square all decorated for the Christmas season. They sold Gluhwein which is warmed and spiced wine for the holiday. They also sold these heartshaped cookies you put around your loved one's neck and it would usually say "Ich Liebe Dich" which meant I love you. What I usually like to buy were glass ornaments made in Europe. They were beautiful and could be molded into anything. From my love of those ornaments, I started a collection of holiday ornaments from all the places I have traveled to. Each ornament brings back a memory of the place and my daughter loves to hear about the places they came from. From Delft pottery (Delft, Netherlands), to Murano Glass (Venice, Italy), to Waterford Crystal (Waterford, Ireland), to glass ornaments of the Space Needle (Seattle, Washington) and a Hawaiian Shirt (Hawaii) to Cinderella's coach (Disneyland) my collection brings me great joy each year they are taken out and hung on a tree.
I can still remember the scents, the scenes and the merriment of the holiday. And every holiday season I long to spend it back in Europe. I hope one day I can bring my daughter there to experience this wonderful time in a farawayland. To all Frohe Weihnachten....Merry Christmas.

Arkansas Farting Game.....

You must be wondering what in the world is an "Arkansas Farting Game"? Well it is something I learned in college. When I was going to nursing school I had gotten an Army ROTC scholarship that helped paid for most of my schooling. Being in ROTC and nursing classes together you get very close to each other. We spent so much time together in class and out in the field (sleeping out in the wildernesses of FT Hunter Liggett) that bodily noises and issues were nothing to us. Also I, who had lived with a brother, knew better than most how dirty boys are sometimes. When they get on a roll of being gross, it just gets grosser!

One night we as a group had decided to go out and eat. That was another lesson I learned, never get in the way of food and hungry ROTC boys or sit at the same table in a Chinese restaurant. You will never get any food! Well after dinner we all got into cars to head back to school, I made sure I was not in the car with all guys and one girl. The poor soul that night was our friend Carrie. She got in the back seat of a 2 door civic. First mistake, get in the car with all guys, second mistake, not sit in the front seat!

Well they introduced her to the game. This is what goes on: you lock the doors, roll up the window, turn up the heat, then you start farting! We were watching in the car next to them and all I remember seeing was her through a foggy window yelling "HELP"!

So this is my warning to all....Don't get into cars with boys who might be a little drunk and very gassy, unless you can hold your own!