Totally Ticks me off Tuesday

Well it is THAT time of the week again.... oh how I have begun to love my Tuesdays. I am slowly losing my mind with it getting towards the end of the semester and I really think I am suffering from Senioritis.... to bad I am no where near being a senior.

That being said it is time to start with my Totally Ticks me of Tuesday:

• It really irks me when someone is passive aggressive... I mean come on say what you mean and mean what you say... I don't have time for mind games.
• Liars...simple as that
• Do NOT insult my intelligence because you feel insecure about your own stuff... 

That's it for me today because if I don't move on and get busy with the rest of my day this message could be pages long and I have homework and best get my 'chores' done.... 

Totally Ticks me Off Tuesday

YAY... it's Tuesday... Which means that I get to do "Totally Ticks Me off Tuesday"... I originally stole borrowed  this idea from my good blogging/twitter friend MidWestMommy but she hasn't been needing it lately so I have decided to carry on the torch and keep it up...although I am really glad that she hasn't been needing it as much... So here goes my Totally Ticks me Off Tuesday....

1. First off... I really did not like Christmas this year... it was the first holiday that I was "home" (I spent Thanksgiving in the Twin Cities with my husband's family) that my grandfather was not here. I was not ready for this... I thought I was because I am such a good 'faker' and have been doing a lot better with my emotions (only crying in the shower, when everyone else is asleep and in the car counts as having my emotions in check right???). So that wasn't the part that ticked me off... the part that ticked me off was when I made the attempt to leave the house *in a blizzard mind you* to join the rest of my extended family for the celebration I was the butt of the jokes, the very special gift that I made my grandmother was purposely left out of the 'list' of items she received for Christmas, and last but not least... my grandpa wasn't there because of some one else's mistakes/stupidity...AND THAT TOTALLY TICKED ME OFF...
2. I was totally pissed off by the fact that a certain relative(s) didn't call to tell us Merry Christmas and when we called to tell them Merry Christmas we were told they were too busy to talk to our kids... THANKS ALOT..
3. In that same sense... the same relatives called the DAY AFTER Shelby and Avery's birthday to tell them happy birthday... said relative also argued with us when we said their birthday was the day before... HELLO!?!?!? You have a child who has the same damn birthday! Bet you called him! Oh..and for those who care... no the person did not ever admit that they were wrong...we just switched the conversation and let them tell the girls Happy Birthday... although Shelby did make a point to say "todays not my birthday...it was yesterday" (that part did NOT tick me off ha ha)
4. I am ticked off that the plastic is STILL not up on the windows in my bedroom so therefor I freeze my butt off all night long ... brrrrr
5. LASTLY I was completely pissed off (and disgusted) by the fact that I went to the store to buy a new scale yesterday. I purchased one that seemed pretty good, had a lot of bells and whistles etc. Got it home to find someone else's nasty gross bathroom scale in the box instead...EWWWW. I promptly took it back to the store that I bought it from and was accused of being the who to do it... Umm excuse me? I think I am now joining my friend Lissa on her feelings for this store . I was able to finally get the scale that I actually purchased but only because I name dropped of a friend who is a manager at that store...but talk about pissing me off!!!
   

There is more but I think this is enough for those of you who have sat through my list of bitching long enough... lol.

Happy Tuesday :)

Totally Ticks me off Tuesday

Well since last week's edition of "Totally Ticks me of Tuesday" made me feel a little better, I thought I'd try it again. It was originally created by my awesome blog friend MidWestMommy, but she hasn't been needing them lately, so being the amazing and supportive friend that I am *umm yea that's it* I thought I would have continuous weeks of nasty no fun crappy stuff that has made me mad to write about so that she could get a break ;)

So here is this weeks 'edition' of Totally Ticks Me of Tuesday Kristin Style:

1. It really ticks me off when people assume that because I am 'just' a stay-at-home mom that I do absolutely nothing but eat bon-bons and watch tv all day. I may "JUST" be a stay at home mom, but I am also a full time college student, Tastefully Simple Consultant, President of my local MOMS Club, active in my children's schools (yes my school aged children go to 2 different schools and I am active in both of them), I help a friend with her daycare a few days of the weeks and I also have been working hard advocating for my child so she can get a break...really? Yup. Kristin just sits at home and does NOTHING. What I would give for a day in which I really did NOTHING and to sit back and see the crap storm that would happen when people came over.
2. My house being spotless is NOT MY STYLE... never has been. I saw a sign at a craft fair this summer that said "Pardon the mess my children are making memories"... and quite frankly I would rather them remember me playing with them, reading to them etc than them remember Mommy always yelling about picking up the toys, crayons etc. If you want to see my house clean, then please stop by in between the hours of 10pm and 6am...but I can't promise you that we will be good company.
3. Health Insurance Companies... yes these REALLY tick me off. I have a child who has a 'need' for services and because her 'need' isn't recognized by the medical community as being 'worthy' of being a 'real' diagnosis we are currently fighting to get her the services she needs. We are on the fence of giving our child a label that while she has 'some' characteristics of we know that it isn't in fact this diagnosis. I am tired of people saying that she is JUST a brat, or that IF we'd spank her she wouldn't act like that etc (insert all the amazing and unwanted/unneeded parenting advice here)... God how I only wish that a spanking would fix this all (not that I am an advocate of spanking/hitting/physical punishments--- just saying I wish it was that easy). 
4. Having to explain myself and my actions countless times, when I haven't done anything wrong. I should not have to justify my parenting style to other people, unless of course I am doing something illegal or to harm my child, I should not have to explain to other people why we felt the 'need' to invite my 6 year old's entire kindergarten class to her birthday party (if I didn't ask you to help don't worry about it), I should most certainly not have to explain to anyone why my 2 year old's crib is STILL in my bedroom-- but I will... the room that will be my 2 year old's bedroom is currently the toy room because I got sick of having toys completely over taking my living room (which they still do even with a toy room) and our basement needed a bit of remodel before we moved the toys etc down there and you see we just RECENTLY (as in like in the last month) repainted our basement etc to make it more family friendly, so I haven't had the time/energy/motivation/help to move all the toys out of the toy room, paint the wall (they are currently purple and pink as the room was previously my 6 year old's), and move everything the way it would need to be for it to be his room. So there...even though I know that I don't have to explain myself... I still felt the need to do so...
5. People who don't live here complaining about the way things work in our house. Unless your driver's license has THIS address listed on it... you don't get to ask why this happens or why that doesn't happen and you CERTAINLY do not get to comment on the fact that our Christmas tree still isn't up..(duh..we just had 21 kids 6 and under in our house...do you really think we needed a Christmas tree added to that...I think not).

There is so much more that I could go on about but I am not going to... I think I have given us all enough to process for now...

Thanks for 'listening'....

Ups and Downs....highs and lows

There have been a lot of these in the Krumwiede household this past week.

The first down is that Chad's truck didn't start last week...not cool. The first up is that at least we can borrow my aunt's second car until we can afford to have it fixed.

The second up was that I was able to help a friend out while her daycare and had a great time doing it. The second down was that Brody was less than impressed with the situation and there for was rather crabby.

The third up was Delainey's amazing conference last night...she is doing amazing and we couldn't be more proud...she does have an issue with talking, but we have talked about it and know that she will try hard to improve upon that. The third down was Brody seems to have some digestive issues going on right now, so his diaper changes have not been fun for us or him... Poor guy.

The fourth up with this morning everyone had a good morning...we all got dressed and out the door without any battles, fights or crying...HUGE UP... but sadly there had to be a huge down to that because you know what goes up must come down. I raced home this morning for my weekly phone call with my Director for the March of Dimes and it seems that they did not get approval for continued support of my position, so as of 12/1/09 I am out of a job. This is sad...it sucks...it hurts. There are still alot of emotions wrapped up in this but I know that this little bump is not going to change the way that I look at the March of Dimes and it certainly isn't going to change the way our family is gonna rock it when it comes to raising money for our Family Team next Spring.... if anything it will get me more motivated because if any state needs a Family Teams Specialist it is in fact North Dakota (and the other smaller states that would benefit from this amazing position)...

So now I am gonna sit and wait for my next up ...because you know that it HAS got to be coming... Right??

Totally Ticks me Off Tuesday...

**warning...swearing, bitching and moaning ahead...read following post at your own risk and please do not read out loud with children present... there is cursing and some things I say just aren't very 'motherly'....YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

I know that most people look forward to Fridays, or Saturdays, not me. I look forward to TUESDAYS because it is the day I get to just let her rip with the crap that has been bugging me about the previous week.... I wish I could go full out like I'd really like to do, but out of respect for certain people *not sure why I am taking them or their feelings into consideration when they NEVER take mine into consideration, but what can I do right...* So here goes... be warned MAJOR complaining and negativity ahead...

• If you GIVE SOMETHING TO SOMEONE... it is now their's to do with it whatever they'd like... this means they can give it away, sell it, or even burn it in their front yard and you 'shouldn't' get to say a single thing about it... you do not get to control what happens to items after they are no longer yours...
• There is no excuse to be as mean and spiteful as some people have currently been... NO EXCUSE especially since the behavior hasn't really changed towards some people... pretty sure you are just using it as just that... an excuse. Well frankly... I am not doing it anyone... you hurt me, (or my kids) then I am gonna call ya out on it, by the way... look out.
• I believe my grandfather taught me the lesson of "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all".... I think this lesson should be passed on to a lot of people, I know that I could certainly use a little refresher
  
• Only YOU can make you happy... no one else can.

I think that is enough for today :) I'll save some for next week :) HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE

Totally Ticks Me Off Tuesday

**warning...swearing, bitching and moaning ahead...read following post at your own risk and please do not read out loud with children present... there is cursing and some things I say just aren't very 'motherly'....YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

YAY!!! It is Tuesday... I LOVE Tuesdays.... wanna know why??? Because of TOTALLY TICKS ME OFF TUESDAY but of course... who doesn't look forward to that day of the week in which they can totally 'get their bitch on' without everyone getting all huffy about it and being mad... well today is MY day and look out world because I am about to let 'er rip.

First and foremost... I absolutely get totally ticked off when someone (who shall remain nameless) at my house refuses to rinse out their damn milk glass... I mean come the frick on...RINSE THE DAMN THING OUT ALREADY!!!! 9 years of NOT rinsed out milk glasses is driving me completely insane... 9 YEARS PEOPLE!!!!

Here is another items that has really gotten stuck in my butt this past week... if you step around a toy the first time and then end up stepping ON the same said toy (and are an adult) you don't get to bitch a moan about the fact that you stepped on it... there are two awesome options for this problem... 1)when you step over the toy THE FIRST TIME ask one of the children to pick it up and put it where it belongs, since it is VERY obvious that the child(ren) are done playing with said toy or 2) Pick the damn thing up youself.... I mean seriously...

Do NOT lecture me about 'yelling' at my children when 1)you NEVER talked to me as a child 2)you yell at them all the time and 3) you haven't been dealing with the same damn fight that I have since 9am... and in my own defense... I wasn't even 'yelling'... trust me... I know how to yell.

And this one is almost a second part of the above tick... when I ask you not to yell at my children, do not respond with "Oh that is rich coming from you".... umm hello? In the event that I did yell at my child(ren) it is more 'my right' than yours and I am trying really hard not to parent the way that I was parented... unless of course you parented a DIFFERENT child other than me, or unless I have suffered a SERVERE brain injury in the past oh say 20 years and remember things quite differently than they actually were... oh plain and simply BITE ME!!!

Oh....boy .... Do I feel better!!! :) Anyone else care to get your bitch on with me???

My non-special needs child is special too

This post has been several weeks in the making… I have been working on it for quite awhile and I think today is finally a good day for me to post it. It finally make sense to me, even if to someone else it is ramblings.

Being the parent of a special needs child is not easy… with it comes stresses, struggles, shame (in myself certainly not in her), frustrations and so much more. Our lives have been thrown into a whirlwind and 90% of the time no one else sees any of it. But the 10% of the time that someone does see it, they don’t always see us at our strongest points.

When I started writing this I was thinking only of being a parent of a special needs child, but the more I wrote the more I realized that it isn’t just Chad, Shelby and I that are affected by Shelby’s struggles. Her siblings are affected by them as well. Brody really hasn’t had to adjust to much because he is still little, and Avery has always compensated for Shelby in aspects of their lives from the beginning, but Delainey’s life has been turned upside down.

Delainey is often the one who receives the ‘brunt’ of the frustrations that Chad and I are feeling. Delainey does not understand why her trying to help her sister causes her sister to yell and scream, nor does Delainey understand why things at our house so often have to go “Shelby’s” way.

Delainey has recently been seeking solace at my aunt’s house pretty much every weekend and shortly after my grandfather’s death, Delainey had made the comment that she wanted to go and live at Nana’s house. This obviously caused great concern for Chad and I, so we sat her down just the three of us and talked to her about why she felt that way… her answers broke my heart. Her exact answer was “I want to live at Nana’s because I don’t get in trouble for not having special buttons” and "I have special needs too mom"… Special buttons is the way that we explained to Delainey why Shelby does things or needs things done the way we do them… Chad asked Delainey if she understood what moving to Nana’s meant, and it was obvious that she didn’t, but she expressed a lot of concerns with us that we didn’t even realize were going on in her little head and in her so soft heart. Delainey doesn’t like the constant noise and running and high energy that Shelby always has, Delainey likes to play and play hard, but she also like to just sit and color or play Barbies or any other activity that an average 5 ½ year old wants to do. Delainey unlike her sister can tell when she had enough, and rather than melting down, Delainey escapes. Delainey pulls into herself and distances herself from people, especially her friends and family when she has her own ‘overload’. What we all didn’t realize is that we are so busy concentrating on Shelby and how she deals with situations is that we forgot to concentrate on our other children too.

I realized after that conversation with Delainey that in wanting to protect Shelby, and help her fight the battles that she has been given in her life, I have in turn been alienating my non-special needs children. Delainey, Avery and Brody are just as special as Shelby and it seems that we haven’t exactly been showing them that. I think these feelings have been causing a lot of the behavior issues that we have being having with Delainey and Avery. Delainey specifically has been standoffish when she is in situations with other children, and Avery has become more and more whining and emotional.

This all of course comes at a time in our lives that we have about had it with emotional stuff and just want to run away… I guess Delainey gets that from me… it is so easier to run than to stay and deal.

Totally Ticks Me off Tuesday

Ahhh... that time of the week again in which I don't have to be positive... I get to get my 'bitch' on without backlash-- well there is some, but totally worth it-- about being negative and always complaining.

So here is my Totally Ticks me of Tuesday for this week:

• First and formost... why does making comments about being responsible about money and asking people to think long and hard about spending it before it is earned make me a 'bitch'.. seriously. Isn't that the appropriate and ADULT thing to do? Think about the whole picture and not just the section in which what you want is??
• Why is it when you ask for advice you can't get a single person to offer you the advice you are seeking--even if it isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but when you don't want anyone's advice and think you've got things under control THEN you get everyone and their mother offering you solutions to the problems that you have already gotten under control.
• Is it really too much to ask to be able to go on 3 - 45 minutes runs each week? I mean that is 2.25 hours of time that I am asking for... that's it! I have given up several different "me" time situations and all I ask for is this measly 2 hours and 15 minutes to myself which ARE FREE...
• I still have the ticks me off bitch from last week about the milk glasses... SERIOUSLY I am going to not keep milk in this house! The 3 year old (granted she is a bit OCD) knows that you have to rinse out the glass when you are done with it.
• and last but not least... why the hell is it that I have lost 20lbs and I can't tell a bit of difference... I mean seriously... I don't think I 'look' any different. I do have a few pairs of pants that fit that didn't but is it really too much to ask for part of the double chin and chubby cheeks to just disappear a bit???

And with that... I have another week to build up and be happy :) Thank you for listening... and now back to your regularly scheduled positive and happy me :)

Totally ticks me off Tuesday

I am stealing this from my friend Lissa because quite frankly I could use a real good BI (ask my MOMS Club friends what that means) session, and well if you are afraid of honestly and don't want to hear complaining or negativity them CLICK OFF THIS BLOG NOW...because all of the above are coming.

• I am sick and tired of what I accomplish every day NOT being appreciated... quite frankly I can think of several other things I would rather be doing each day than laundry, cleaning, and chasing my own tail... "What exactly DID you do today?" is now my most hated phrase ever!!!!
• Why is it during a time in which family should be rallying around one another do the rifts and petty problems come to the for front and affect so many things ? I mean seriously people GROW UP!!!
• I am so tired of busting my butt to save a penny only to have someone else spend it in a way that is not right for our family...
• I want to badly am to make a huge sign for above my kitchen sink... "IF YOU DRINK MILK RINSE OUT THE DAMN GLASS!!!!"... yes I talking to YOU ...rinse it out!
• if you don't want to cook dinner then stop complaining about what I am cooking... this is not a 5 star dining establishment... sadly things like hotdish and leftovers will be served... don't like it...TOUGH...especially if I have asked for your hep when I am planning meals and get "It doesn't matter to me"
• if you take it out... put it away
• if you being an adult can not make certain that your clothes are right side out before putting them in the laundry basket... then be prepared to find them folded inside out in your drawer... or how about be thankful that you have clean clothes and YOU didn't have to wash, dry, fold, put them away.
• is the dishwasher REALLY that far away from the sink? I mean really... it is 17 inches (yes I took the time to measure--- after all I wasn't doing anything else today)...

Ok, so I know that was a lot...but not near as much or as evil as I wanted to do....

mini-vent

I know that I am probably going to get a lot of comments on this blog entry (and as long as you leave your name your comments WILL BE POSTED) but since it is my blog I feel that I am allowed to share it... if you don't like what I have to say, either respond or quit reading...your choice!

First and foremost.....YES I voted for Barack Obama...YES I am proud of my vote.... YES if that choice was a bad one, then I will accept responsiblity for my actions (nevermind I am from North Dakota, and ND voted for John McCain with our electorial votes...which means technically my vote didn't count)...but there are a few things that I need to get off my chest... I was hoping to not have to go here, but frankly an inbox full of "I'll pray for you"the past few days pushed me over the edge... while I appreciate the prayers... I am sure that there are other pressing matters that could use your prayers other then the fact that I voted for Barack Obama....

That being said, I am going to lay it all down for you:

The President is just a public figure/face.... he can not do anything without the consent of Congress other than declare war, and even then that is only for 90 days. Gun control is not likely to change because Barack Obama is our President-Elect. Abortion... we have had several Republican Presidents since the passing of Roe vs. Wade, and well... still legal (even if you don't agree with it)...

Both of the topics that I brought up are often referred to as "hot button" issues... and after 3 days of recieving the rants of others on those button issues I have had it, so here is my response... hopefully it is as respectful on 'paper' as it was in my head ;)

First and foremost....Guns and Gun Control... as a parent I believe that there should be rules to being able to obtain a gun and I also think these requirements should be strict. Does this mean that I think people shouldn't be allowed to go hunting... NO, Does this mean that I don't think parents should teach their children gun safety... MOST CERTAIN NOT! I think that those who are responsible enough to take the PROPER measures to get a gun should be allowed to have them....as long as they are careful... It all comes down to this statement GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE....PEOPLE DO...I would talk more on this topic but honestly... that is where my knowledge of this subject ends

Secondly...abortion. Personally, I think it is not the best idea for anyone. I do not feel that women go into that choice lightly. I have heard from certain groups that organizations like Planned Parenthood 'target' poor, uneducated women when 'offering' their services because they offer them 'fool prool' birth control and then when they end up pregnant they offer the service of abortion...because apparently Planned Parenthood makes their money off of abortion procedures rather than off of family planning methods... NEWSFLASH.... THE ONLY FOOL PROOF METHOD OF BIRTH CONTROL IS ABSTINENCE PEOPLE!!! Trust me I know...but I am also not going to be so naive to teach my children that abstinence is the only option...pretty sure that Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin are good examples of that... being where we are at with the world we live in today getting pregnant and having a baby is the LEAST of our children's worries *but that is another blog post*

People need to be responsible for their own actions...if a couple had sex and got pregnant when not 'planning' on it, then THEY (not just SHE) needs to do the research and find out the best solution for their 'problem'... do I think that abortion should be at the top of that list?!?!? Most certainly not... there are plenty of families in our country alone who are waiting to be matched with a child through adoption...(this of course is what I think is the BEST choice), there are of course other options such as keeping the child and raising it her/themselves, and also 'that' other choice that I don't really want to talk about...

There is also another statistic out that about Planned Parenthood and that is that since 1970 they have killed 17 million African American children by means of abortion....when actually Planned Parenthood has performed 50 million abortions (that is a VERY SCARY NUMBER TO ME) over all...shouldn't THAT be the number that our country is worried about?!?! I mean come on people...how is THAT not racism if you are only worried about 'one section' of the population... Was Bill Clintion harassed because the abortion rate among white people when he was first elected to office. (this is the CDC website and therefor shouldn't be bias one way or the other)...

Long story short... what I am saying it all comes down to accountability and responsiblity... Both of which apply to both of the hot topic issues... if you are responsible with guns...then I don't care... and if you are being responsible when it comes to your 'reproduction' then again... this issue doesn't matter to me...

Long story short... YES I VOTED FOR BARACK OBAMA AND I AM PROUD OF IT!!!! I am glad that we live in a country where we are able to vote and more or less have our voices heard... Congratulations everyone on being part of a history making election...it would have been historic as well if the McCain/Palin camp had won as well....

But remember what many of you have told me for the last 8 years...."He is the President, you don't have to like him, but you do have to respect him"... it will be hard for you-- trust me again I know... but you will learn GREAT things out of it...

Thanks-
Kristin

PS, please feel free to post your comments in the comments section or if you'd like to contact me directly you can do so @ kckrumwiede@bis.midco.net THANK YOU!!!

WARNING ...pissing, moaning and some bitching ahead..

These are just some random pisses/moans/bitches that have come to the front for me over the past few days....

• if your going to do something to 'help' do it right and not half assed
• and to go with that, don't act like you saved the world by doing something that you should have been doing all along...
• don't pretend like you are going to call someone and when you don't call them act all shocked that the person went ahead and did what they had requested your help for when they do it themselves.
• GROW THE HELL UP!!! Seriously... I mean how much longer can you act 5 and expect for people to treat you like an adult... put on your big girl panties and just get over yourself PLEASE!!!
• Apparently our health insurance company are IDIOTS... two of our four children have grade 4 acid reflux/GERD and require medication for it. Every few months (where Avery is concerned) they pull this crap that says we have to try the 'cheaper' medications *AGAIN* rather than just letting us get what works for her. Our poor little girl is dealing with some SERIOUS acid reflux issues to the point where she isn't even wanting to eat (SHOCK if you know Avery). And now they are pulling the same shit with Brody. I mean come on people... I know that some people don't want to try the medications that are cheaper etc, but trust me...we want the cheapest to us and the best for our children. We aren't exactly impressed with the co-pay difference that comes with the prevacid but it works for our kids so we want it... so tonight we have dealth with acid vomit and also a screaming because Brody is in extreme pain... gotta love health insurance companies...

more tomorrow I am sure... LOL