Tackling the 15 Year + Collection

Earlier this month, I tackled Big O Daddy O's closet. When it comes to getting rid of the clothes, he is the worst. For 15 years I have tried really hard to respectfully leave his clothes alone. But, I just couldn't anymore stand back. His closet was crammed full. Hanging them up made them wrinkle and well, I wash and fold clothes, but I am not a fan or ironing.

Some of his reasons/excuses for holding onto antiquities and treasures.
You bought it for me.
The kids got it for me.
My mom got it for me.
It is in style, everyone is wearing it. (This one causes me to roll my eyes and remind him he is not allowed to buy himself shirts anymore.)
It goes with my suit...the suit he wore when we were dating.... Olive Green. We've been married 15 years, he put sympathy pounds on throughout my pregnancies.... Does anyone think that suit still fits? It was in the closet too!

"Something came from this store and its (WAS A) really nice shirt." Translation: he paid quite a bit for it back in the 80's.

"It will make a really good chore-work shirt. Painting, under the car, etc."

Hmmm, Does he really need 4 or 5 tshirts with built in under arm airconditioning...

Like I don't do laundry? ? Anyone read any of my laundry posts! ? ! ?

Fun Mom was mortifiied and willingly grabbed all of them and threw them in the trash.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't take all the tshirts. I didn't touch the workout shirts or his wear under BDU tshirts. (BDU's = military fatigues) There are a lot of those. He has more workout shirts than there is time for him to use them all in a week. And don't forget I do laundry only a couple of times a day so there really isn't any reason for him to run out of workout clothes.

So with a lot of brutality and determination I ended up with the piles below. This is what was worthy of passing on. I didn't take picutres of the trash can pile.


The only thing he fought hard to keep was THE sweatshirt. It is horrible. We had to do the math, it is 23 years old! He still won't part with it. It looks horrible. He even tried it on to prove it still fits. He promises to only wear it when he works on the cars. My anniversary present to him... I let him keep it. Fun Mom grabbed the camera to document this story! Thanks Fun MOm.

Who's the Big Brother?

So Big O Daddy O stayed home one night this last week to take care of me and let me rest.
He was taking Hockey Player to hockey practice.
Daddy's Buddy likes to go and play with another one of the little brothers.
This night, he wanted to stay home and play Wii.
HP: Don't you want to play with the other brother?
DB: Let me worry about that.

Big O Daddy O just laughed and came to tell the mom.
When did he get so big?

At least he is honest....

Hockey Player may not be tactful.
He may not be subtle.
But he is honest.
I asked him once if he missed me. His answer, NO.
Asked him tonight, if his mom was normal? Uhhh,
Dad rushed in with "Kinda"
But he did asked to snuggle tonight, so he is forgiven for his lack of tact.

He must of missed me....

The ENT, that is.
I called this morning on my primary's recommendation to tell them of the numbness on the left side of my head.
They fit me in this afternoon.
BigODaddyO went with me, just in case, since my hearing is not at 100%.
But there wasn't anything to hear!
He stroked my face 6 times with a tongue depressor.
Went hmmm.
Asked if I ever had a MRI of my head.
Yep!
Asked if it was normal.
Yep ~ had a brain.
I apologized and told him I am trying to have a sense of humor about this.
He said that was alright.
The only other thing he said was, "not many things will do this."
Out the door he went.
That was it!
I asked the nurse if she knew what the MRI would be for?
The chart said to rule out MS and other things.
So the MRI is checking out my head to see if there is anything worrisome and to make sure I still have my brain!
I am sure the lady from AWANA last night would be interested to know if I had a brain after last night's conversation with me....
She asked me if I was Greg's wife?
No, I am Mike's wife.
Who is Mike?
My husband.
I just lost it then and apologized, told her I just lose it sometimes after spending all day with the kids. She laughed.
I guess she thought I resembled Greg's wife. I don't know if she ever found her. She still doesn't know who Mike is.
So, this is what I know.
And before long we will find out if I have a brain or if I am in need to go see the Wizard of Oz.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes, Shoes and more shoes...

All 5 kiddos have outgrown their shoes. I have checked the toes.
UGH!
All 5 of them. I have known about 2 maybe 3 for a couple of weeks and I keep trying to avoid the issue. Now I am fully aware they all need shoes. About a month ago dear hubby announced he needed new running shoes as well. UGH!
I want to be a horrible mom that just lets them all go barefoot.
I reached the point a few years ago, I just walked into the store and said go find a couple of pair.
We claimed one or two sales associates and put them to work sizing, fitting.
My requirements, not astronomically priced.
Comfortable, no need to "break" them in.
Velcro for those who don't tie shoes yet.
Then a dear friend introduced me to Ebay and internet shopping for shoes.
I am trying to decide if I want to switch to her system for the better deals or just give up and go to the store, get 'er done and get out of there.
No matter what, I am gonna have to get them sized and see what brand works for who.
It isn't even Easter dress shoe shopping yet.
Only the girls get Easter shoes, but that is still an ordeal enough...girls and shoes.
This week's issue is athletic shoes ~ the boys have opinions, the girls have opinions and the mom wishes she had taken stock in the shoe manufacturing industry.

It could be worse....

After an afternoon in the dentist office with kiddos and a trip to the ENT, I fired my husband because he had to go to work while I was at the ENT office, and then off to the ice rink for 3 kiddos' lessons and Hockey Player's practice.
The dentist office was all good news. No cavities!
The ENT was a whole other story. A Flutter Nutter who did not want to cooperate. Kids who were tired of offices and being good was enough to fire the dad on the spot. A dr. with a sense of humor and has 4 of his own helped get us through the appointment, as well as the bribery of McDonald's if they were quiet. It worked, as long as I wasn't in the room. Since, I am not hearing too well, I had to rely on the staff's confirmation they were quiet.
This last sinus/ear infection was a doozie. My ear feels like is full of cotton all the time. So off to the ENT to figure out what is wrong.
The final story from the ENT, I have a middle ear issue. The nerves are working, but...
The middle ear is red... I have hearing loss. So the doc's recommendation is steroids and see if they can do their magic on the ear.
I am trying to remember it could be worse. My hearing could be affected in both ears. So for now, I have to learn to compensate. I need to pray for an extra measure of grace and inner peace because steroids means a grumpy, hungry mom. The difference in hearing is a little disorienting. I avoid the phone if there is much noise around me because I have to use my good ear and if the kids are around, it gets a little more interesting than it did before. The good news, when I am on steroids I get a lot done. So, I am imagining various projects I could do with the extra burst of getting done power I am going to have. We'll see what happens with the ear...

Inservice Days!

I love them!
Absolutely love them.
Today, I was pleasantly suprised when I looked at our school calendar and discovered we had one! Of course it was scheduled because we are spending an entire afternoon at the dentist office. We have a wonderful dentist. His staff is so lovely to us. They are willing to schedule all 7 of us in one afternoon. There are other medical offices we visit that won't consider more than 2 people in a family to be scheduled for one office visit. Which I understand, should the very busy mom forget, it would leave a hole in their day. Not only do they let us come, but they try to work it out so that 2 hygenists are working on us at the same time. We get out of there in 1/2 the time. It is wonderful! And the silly part of it all, my kids are excited about going to the dentist. They actually like going to the dentist. That was never me as a kid. Their favorite part, I think, is getting the new toothbrush. LOL !
So between MOPS, the dentist, hockey and ice skating lessons there isn't much time for a normal school day or a half day of school.
So I am excited for a "inservice" day.
A catch up day for my kids. Even if it means they only get one or two assignments done. We have to cross town, so they are expected to work in the car. They are also expected to read or work while they wait their turn. So after all is done and said they will not be as far behind as they were today!