Damn Girl Scouts....

First they come to your door all dressed in their cute little uniforms, batting those eyelashes, "Would you like to buy some cookies?" How can I say no?!?!? If I say no, I'm sure that's a seat in the express train to hell. But why would I say no? Those cookies are YUMMY!

So I order some cookies. Not one box. Not two boxes. Not even three boxes, but I order SIX boxes. I love those caramel delites. Hubby loves the thin mints. I got Frodo the fudge dipped animal cracker/cookie things. (I don't know exactly what they're called, but I ate 4 of them tonight....)

I figure they must put crack in their cookies so I crave them over and over and want to sit down and eat the whole damn box at once. Then I feel all ill from all the sugar. Then once that subsides, I want more cookies!!!! Ack! It's insane!

My name is Mel and I'm a girl scout cookie-aholic.

Update!

I talked to my sister tonight. The new baby is doing MUCH better. Her oxygen requirement is waaay down and she's eating like a little piglet. She just occasionally has a rapid breathing spell, and that's it. Such a turn around in just 48 hours!!!! Absolutely amazing.... My sister is gonna let me tag along to see the baby tomorrow. Woo hoo!!! They told my sis that the baby will probably be ready to go home by the end of the week. (That sorta sounds like she's a car repair or something, lol.)

Too bad I sent my camera thru the washer or I'd take pictures. I think there's still one of them there "film" cameras in the closet somewhere.... Where's my walker and I bet I can get up and find it. You know, when I was your age we had to draw our own photos!!!

I did order a new digital camera today (verrrryyy early birthday present). It should come in late this week. I can't wait!!!

I'm an auntie again!

Remember Demon Spawn and Angel Child? They have a new baby sister. Seeing as she was just born 3 days ago, I don't have a name for her yet.... (Gotta get to know her personality a bit first.) As of this moment, she's a baby in the NICU with lung problems. Sigh. Why can't this family have kids that can just go home the same day mom is discharged???

Frodo is a NICU baby. He was born 3 weeks early which is no biggie, but his intestines were blocked somehow. They originally told us they thought he had a *meconium plug* which usually happens with babies born with Cystic Fibrosis. At age 52 hours, he had surgery and it turned out part of his intestines weren't formed properly. They were able to remove the malformed section (21 centimeters long) and hook him all back together. Hubby and I still refer to it as "just surgery" since it could've been sooo much worse. Frodo spent 22 days in NICU (half of what they predicted he'd be in for) and came home on his due date. He has a kick-ass cool scar on his belly from it.

Demon Spawn is a NICU baby. He was born 5 weeks early and couldn't regulate his breathing very well. Very typical for a preemie. He spent just 10 days in NICU.

Angel Child actually went home like a "normal" baby. I wonder how she managed that! I guess carrying the family matriarchal name did it for her. ;) (My family, my mom's family, my grandmother's family... and so on back, always has a "Kate" each generation. Angel Child got that name.)

Now the new kiddo is in the NICU club. She came out fast so she wasn't *wrung quite dry*. At first they thought she just had a little extra fluid in her lungs, and possibly developed a little infection. Then one of her lungs partially collapsed last night. They did a minor procedure to take care of that. The next 24-48 hours we've been told is the turning point for her. If she's got any of our family's spunk, she'll do just fine.

I bet we're good birth control for our youngest sister. She's probably gonna be downright petrified to ever have kids....

I'm really procrastinating...

...on the cleaning. I hate to clean. (I think I've mentioned this a few times before, lol.) But I just got off the phone with my sister and she's in labor!!! Yay! I'm so excited for her! She called asking if I'd pick her kids up after school (Demon Spawn and Angel Child). Of course I will!

Now here's the fun part - we're a one child family for a reason.... Oh, do I hope we all survive tonight! ;)

Oh shit.

I washed my camera. No, I didn't do it like it says in the owner's manual to take a barely damp soft cloth to the exterior.... It actually went thru a cycle in the washing machine.

Before you say, "what was she thinking?", I'll tell you I wasn't! And it's not like there were dirty photos on there that needed cleaning either!!! (Those are elsewhere, heh heh.)

Earlier in the day I had been to brunch with some friends. The place we were at allows smoking, and although none of us smoke, my coat still came outta there smelling like we'd each had a pack. When I got home, I emptied out all my pockets, but never made it to the washer. A little while later, I got out the snowblower and cleared the driveway and sidewalks while Frodo built a snowman. He wanted me to take a photo of him with the snowman. I got my camera, took a couple photos, and tucked the camera into my coat pocket. (You can already see where this is going! I'd make a terrible suspense writer, lol!)

We came in, ate dinner, and after I cleaned up dinner, I decided I'd better get started on that laundry! I grabbed my coat and didn't even check the pockets since I'd remembered emptying them earlier, and I could see the pocket contents right in front of me on the dining room table. And in the wash the coat went, with the camera still in the pocket.

At least I caught it before it had a trip in the dryer as well. I got the memory card out of the camera and let everything dry out overnight. I took the memory card to one of those self-service photo *thingys*, crossed my fingers and inserted it into the correct slot. The photos were still there! :)

The camera still won't work. I suppose had I been abused like that, I'd quit too.

We're trying...

...to teach Frodo the classics. No, we're not giving him Shakespeare or Hemingway (yet). But if someone says, "Conjunction Junction...." he knows to finish with "...what's your function?". He has a favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon. ("Duck Season! Rabbit Season!") And he and dad are reading "The Hobbit" together right now.

But at the same time, it's almost as though he seems to *know* certain things already. No, not the Schoolhouse Rock songs, but the only way I can describe it, is that I've always called him an *old soul*. I just get this feeling that he's *been around the block* before. Sometimes I'll ask him, "How do you know that?" and he'll say, "I just know".

I saw a psychic once when I was younger. She nailed a lot of things for me without me giving up any info to her except for my first name. One thing she told me is that she saw me with two more children yet after my son. Two girls who were either twins or very close in age, but who wouldn't arrive until my son was older. So when hubby and I decided to be "done with one", and it was made official thanks to a little procedure called a vasectomy a few years back, I wondered if a couple other souls had *chosen* us to be their parents and we turned them down.... (Sorry girls!) I've wondered if I should go to that psychic again and see what she says....

Overall, I guess I just feel lucky and honored to be entrusted to take care of this one *old soul*.

Holy cow, am I ever a slacker!!!

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted here! Sheesh! I'm totally shirking my responsibilities. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I hope you have a lovely day! I dropped Frodo off at school this morning and thought how nice it would be to be in elementary school again, decorating my shoebox "mailbox" and putting cute little valentine cards in the little slot in everyone else's cute little shoebox "mailbox". That was fun stuff.

I want to know when kids' valentines stopped including envelopes and instead started becoming this card that folded in half with a heart sticker to seal it closed. I like envelopes. I think it makes the card more exciting to not know exactly what it might look like before you open it. It's as good as a present that way! (Shhh.... Don't tell hubby that! Otherwise he'll think all he needs to get is a card!)

See the button in the sidebar?

The one that says, "Well behaved women seldom make history". I love that quote! I'll try and change up what's there every so often for entertainment.

So are *you* a well behaved woman or do you plan on making some history? ;) Me, I've had my "well behaved" time in life. OMG, I was SUCH a good girl when I was young! Dang, did I miss out on so much fun!! I'm ready to make some history, lol!

Oh yeah! Uh huh! It's my birthday! It's my birthday!

Well, it's actually NOT my birthday. (Three more months before that jumps on me!) But I'm so excited. A while back, I posted a question:

http://mommiemel.blogspot.com/2005/01/anyone-know-why.html#comments

I couldn't figure out how to fix my "Other Blogs I Read" list. Today I tried to add another blog to my list thru blogrolling.com, and it just wouldn't show up! I tried. I refreshed. I deleted and re-added. I refreshed again. I got ticked. I started poking thru codes and the *help* section of blogger.com. I finally deleted the blogrolling thing and manually entered each link. BINGO! It works!! And it looks just like I wanted it to. I like all the sections to look similar. It's a symmetry thing. (And yet another little insight into Mel's brain....)

So have fun looking at my matching and symmetrical sidebar, and visit some of those other bloggers and have some fun reading! :)

Spring is on the way!!!

Goodbye January! The temps are in the 40s. (Balmy around here at this time of year! Could reach 50 on Saturday! Break out the shorts and sunscreen!) The snow is melting. The midwest groundhog says early spring! (So suck on that Punxsutawney Phil and your 6 more weeks of winter!)

I am soooo ready for spring this year. I just want more sunshine!!!