Random Mom Mutterings

The kids have been back to school, off Christmas break, for almost two weeks now. The first week back to school was a "struggle" (to put it mildly) because no one (except Petunia) wanted to get out of bed in the morning, much less get dressed in school/work clothes and leave the house.
I stayed home with Petunia for the first week back and that change in schedule made it that much harder for me to feel like we were in a regular routine again.
Every day was filled with a new or different challenge.
People or doctors would ask me if she seems to be in pain.
How the heck am I supposed to know that.
She is a turd....and she has been a turd for the past 16+ months! :)
I imagine getting your throat corroded as badly as she did, might give you a reason to be cranky. But she also got all four of her canine teeth in about the same time.
So...she isn't sleeping well at all.
So, I'm not sleeping well.
And like Luke likes to tout, "If mama ain't happy, no one's happy!"
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I have been scared to death to leave Petunia's presence.
There i said it.
I can't put anymore explanation or detail around that.
Others moms can relate to this I know.
Something devastating happens to your child and you want to shield them from the world and everything around you.
Petunia went back to the babysitter this week and I returned to work.
Things had to go back to "normal."
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I have lost my "normal" appetite.
I find that I still crave certain sweets or foods for dinner, but it may be the only meal I have in a day. I guess its not a bad thing, per say, but in a strange way I feel like my body/head is on overtime.
When I get "stressed" I don't necessarily eat more, but I can eat whatever and continue to lose weight. I don't know the physiological terms for everything, but it is easy to lose weight after coming back from a difficult/challenging situation.
When I had my quad accident in June 2007, and I fractured my sacral wing, I was losing weight like crazy. When I returned to work and began walking several weeks later I was eating Popeye's Chicken combo meals with fried apple pie every stinkin' day. It was great...while it lasted.
Everything good must come to an end!
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I feel the need to run. A lot.
(But I am not a cold weather runner. I am a pansy like that. So I rely on a treadmill)
My mind is constantly running on overdrive, along with my legs on the treadmill. People have told me they get bored when they run on a treadmill.... but I don't.
I can be watching the TV at the gym, blasting music in my headphones and totally zone out on the twisted thoughts/ideas going on in my head.
It can be very exhilarating. :)
I finally decided to run a half marathon....which is 13.1 miles.
Two months ago I kind of resigned myself to 5K/10K races thinking a longer race was unnecessary.
I still think its unnecessary.... but what the heck. There is a race in Lake Havasu on April 9th, so I'm going for it. It looks like a fun time and the weather should be nice. Its exactly 12 weeks away so I "officially" start training on Monday. Thankfully, with the exception of Christmas break and Sundays, I run almost everyday anyways.
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Cake Balls!
Oh how I have developed a crush on you. (If anyone reading this does not know what cake balls are, you have to google them and you will find hundreds of blogs and web pages dedicated to these morsels of love.)
I tried them last year but recently had them on Christmas day. Since then, I have made two attempts to make my own.
I don't really think you can go wrong when you mix together cake, frosting and dip it in chocolate.
Its almost impossible to screw it up. But it takes so LONG!!
I am working on my third attempt today. I baked the cakes last night and I will make the frosting today. I use cake mixes but have a crazy notion that homemade frosting will make them taste better. Today I am making German Chocolate for the first time. I even toasted some coconut last night to sprinkle on top. (That was another first for me) So... I am turning quite "domestic" and Martha Stewart'ish among all the insanity in our house. I even made a breakfast casserole for dinner one night last week AND it was on the table by the time Luke got home from work!
That may sound like no big accomplishment for most wives, but in our house I wasn't going to let this event go unrecognized!
But its like I told my husband years ago: "I can't be good looking AND cook!"
Its quite the joke in our house.
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My first grader wore shorts and a t-shirt today to school....with no jacket.
I would normally be really against this. But I am slowly learning my husband's tactic, which is: "Pick your battles."
If the kids gets sick from this he can do some chores to earn the $20 co-pay for his doctor visit.

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My third grader has a chapped lip CRISIS on his hands. Of course its only a crisis to me and Luke....not him.
I am about ready to send him to school with a band-aids plastering his entire lip area. Or get him a mask like Hannibal Lecter.
It really makes me crazy. This and the fact that he never remembers to zip up his pants or tie his shoes really gets under my skin. Luke and I have a term we like to use for his appearance: Whiskey Tango.
I also discovered last week, when he leaned in to hug me, that my almost 9 year old, had body odor.
Heaven help me!
The kid has no sense of smell. Its beginning all ready!?
I thought I would have a little more time to get this kid to comprehend hygiene before his body odors shifted into drive.
Now we need to buy him deodorant (Which I keep forgetting to do).
The funny thing, is I know my six year old will be more willing to put it on every day than Bubba will.