I missed all of Ugly Betty tonight due to a splinter stuck in Jaylen’s foot. These boys never listen to me. “Put your shoes on before going outside!” I say. But do they? No.

Jaylen was in a hurry to run outside this afternoon while Bimpa (my dad-in-law) was home for lunch. Totally ignored me when I yelled for him to put his slippers on, at least. He must have been running around on the deck and got a huge splinter in his foot. He told me about it around 6:30. Spent half an hour carefully digging around the splinter with a (sterilized) needle; tweezers were not helping. When he’d had enough he scooted to the middle of my bed, where I couldn’t reach him since I was sitting on the floor, and held his leg to his chest and cried. I told him I was only going to help him right then and there, and if he didn’t let me take it out I was going back to the living room.

He wailed, “But I don’t want it to bleed! It’s alweady wed (red)!!”

“Would you rather it be red, or black because your foot’s going to fall off?” Nothing like a little motivation.

He chose for his foot to turn black so I left him alone. I’d put Eenan in the bathroom to take a shower. Jaylen followed me to the living room and sat on the couch crying and yelled, dramatically, “I don’t want my leg to fall off! I want two legs! I WANT TWO LEGS!!”

Eenan got out of the shower and I stuck Jaylen in. I was hoping the water would soften up his skin to make digging the splinter out easier, and it did. It still took an additional 20 minutes to get him to lay still long enough to let me poke it out. He yelled, “God, OH GOD, help me! Please God, help meeee!” over and over again and when it looked like he was about to pass out I gave him a break. He gets a really sad look on his face and says, “I wish I was still in your tummy!”

I convinced him to let me give it one more try and sure enough the darn splinter came out…in three pieces. I hope they (I say they because Eenan was as terrified as Jaylen was) learned their lesson and listen to me when I tell them to put shoes on!

A few entries ago I mentioned that my darn toilet was giving us problems (and shortly after my stove almost caught fire). Well, it got much worse last night.

Eenan had been eating Hot Tamales candies and it never fails that they either make him throw up or give him diarreah. It hadn’t happened in a long time so when he asked for a little box of them I let him have it. Big mistake. He got diarreah within 10 minutes of eating them. The toilet worked fine until I was getting ready for bed around 10pm.

I’d asked Mario to fix it earlier but he ended up falling asleep on the couch while watching TV. I peed and what happens? All the day’s, um, excrements started flowing back up to the surface. It was about half an inch away from the top of the darn bowl. Plunging didn’t work at all. I freaked out (I’d barely mopped the day before for Pete’s sake!) and yelled at Mario to get up and do something. He told me he’d check it on Friday (!) and didn’t budge off the couch. I went Drama-Queen on him and started muttering how I couldn’t live under these conditions and how was I supposed to pee at night and what if Eenan had to throw up because of the candies? The stuff would splash up into his face!

I’m so bothered by this I start sobbing, look for a remedy on the internet with no luck and just decide to go to bed. I hadn’t seen Mario get off the couch and go to our room. I see him lay some jeans and a t-shirt down on the bed and I roll my neck at him and say, “OH! You can’t fix the toilet but you can go out for a drive?”

He growls, “No stupid. I’m going to Wal-Mart to fix your damn toilet.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling like an asshole, “Good.”

I’d fallen asleep and woke up around 10:40 and he was back with some thing to fix the toilet. I go back to bed and wake up at 12 something to Alaethia pushing on my bladder. I can see the light on so I stop in the hallway and realize Mario and Chris are both there working on the toilet. I felt so embarrassed because 1) My bitching was not only bothering Mario, I was inconveniencing Chris, too and 2) Chris was seeing our poop soup, eeww!

As much as I needed to go pee, I tip-toed back to my room and fell asleep again. I woke up at 1am with my bladder feeling like it would explode. I sneak my head around the hallway and Mario and Chris are gone. I inspect the toilet and it’s clean and the water’s clear and low where it’s supposed to be. As guilty as I felt I worked up the courage to call Mario and ask him if the toilet was working. To my relief he doesn’t sound mad at all and says, “You didn’t read the letter I left you?” I go to the kitchen table and read the note, which says the toilet’s fixed, cleaned with Clorox spray and that I owe Chris $70, plus parts. That last part was a joke, thank God!

He’d also written on the note that since he was up at 1am already that they may as well have some beers. He didn’t end up getting back till 4am! He had to get up at 8:00 to be at work by 9am. Since I still felt super guilty I didn’t end up taking my nap after he left. I figured he suffered because of me (although he could have gone to bed as soon as he was done!) I’d suffer, too.

John treated me to Whataburger since he didn’t work and later on after picking Jaylen up from school we all went to visit Gramma, Target and Game Stop so John could buy some game he wanted. While we were there I saw so many games the kids like for really cheap. They’re used of course but I don’t think they’d care. We’ve gotten them used movies and games as a last resort when we haven’t been able to find them anywhere else new. Tomorrow is the beginning of our Christmas shopping. I’m so grateful (to the hubby, of course) that we’ll get to Christmas shop early this year :). Still, I don’t think it’ll keep us from doing last minute, Christmas Eve shopping like we do every year though O_o.

Sleepy, need shower, I hear Eenan coughing, goodnight!

I had my 28 week appointment this morning. Let me start by saying that I go to probably the most ghettolicious medical practice in all of the Valley. I don’t mean the facility itself, I mean some–okay, most–of the people who go there.

There was a young girl who was giving her 3 month old Gatorade. When I first saw the bottle she was feeding the baby I thought it was Pedialyte but then I saw her refill the bottle with orange Gatorade from a Gatorade bottle. I sure hope the doctor or nurses saw that and told her something about it. I mean, c’mon?!

There was also a woman who I overheard telling another woman (the evil Substitute that Eenan has had twice coincidentally) that her friend’s husband was getting out of prison in 2008, and that her own husband should be out this January. This she’s telling to a total stranger and letting the whole lobby overhear. I was so sleepy this morning since I didn’t get to sleep much last night (woke up 3 times to pee!) but this woman’s high-pitched voice kept me awake.

She was letting her 1 year old crawl around the germ-infested office and when she finally decided to pay attention to him (right around the time he put a leaf or something he found on the welcome mat in his mouth) she called screamed for him. When he didn’t pay attention after 3 screams she raises up a pouch of some sort, probably a foldable rain coat, and TOSSED IT AT HIS HEAD! The little boy just sat there, stunned as hell and what did she do? Cackled and nudged her friend to tell her how funny it was. I don’t even want to know how this woman treats her kids at home.

Anyway, I saw a friend I met there a few weeks ago, Aracely. We spoke momentarily and she told me she’d just been told she was having a girl, which is what she and her husband wanted since they already have a 2 year old boy. I told her how I had a feeling I was having a girl and had already been told twice that the baby was a girl, but I wanted to be told just one more time. She brought me a Chinese Calendar from her car and sure enough, it said I was having a girl. This calendar was different though–not like the one I’d been using before (which said I’d be having a boy this time O_o).

She was called in again and I waited for mmm…about 2 hours to be seen. I weighed 131.0 this time, which confirms that the scale was wrong at my last visit and that I did not gain 5 lbs. in one week! I was so relieved. Blood pressure was fine and so was my urinalysis, except for the tad bit of glucose that was floating around in there again. I’m noticing that everytime I drink chocolate or strawberry milk before an appointment there’s glucose in my pee and I have to get my sugar checked. It was fine–at 104 but I’m going to make it a point not to drink chocolate or strawberry milk (or Fruity Pebbles!) before appointments anymore. I hate being poked!

Dr. C. gave me an ultrasound to check how Alaethia’s doing. Her head’s much bigger than 3 weeks ago and she’s officially turned into the headdown position, just like her brothers did at 7 months. That’s what she must have been doing that night I didn’t fall asleep till 3:30am! That also explains the huge kicks I’d been feeling in the ribs.

She’s growing perfectly, he said. He was worried that my placenta may be blocking the cervix, but upon closer inspection he said it wasn’t. I hope he’s right! He also confirmed for the 3rd time that she’s a girl and gave me the okay to buy pink things!! He didn’t give me a sono picture again, but at least I saw it for myself this time!

I came home and cleaned up a little and went to pick Jaylen up (5 minutes late because for the first time ever I lost track of time!). I cleaned some more and then Mayra showed up :). It was so nice catching up with her and just talking about everything like the good ol’ school days; husbands, messy kiddos, and other gossip ;). She was kind enough to tell me that I didn’t look “huge” at all, even though I feel like I am LOL. I can’t even walk straight anymore from the extra girth.

I hope we can chill out again soon and catch a movie or something. I miss my friends!

Eenan has UIL practice tomorrow–I’m hoping his coach finally decides exactly when she’s going to have them. She actually called this time, which I appreciate but God, her meets are all over the place! I’m just glad she won’t be having them in the morning anymore. Or not having them, more like it.

Today feels really low-key and just…relaxing. Jaylen did his homework with no complaints, Eenan doesn’t have homework, two of my favorite shows (ANTM and Biggest Loser) are on tonight, and I fully plan on finally making my lasagna as soon as I’m done with this entry.

P.S. Yay for Democrats taking over the House! C’mon Virginia! I have faith in you!

How strange that Rumsfeld stepped down out of all days and all of a sudden the cheap $1.95-1.99 gas that had been the trend the past two weeks up until yesterday suddenly jumped up to $2.09. Hmm? I wonder how this next year will pan out?

My stove is fixed! In a little over 24 hours the problem was resolved, thank God.

Thank my Dad-in-law actually, who, along with his friend Ricky, took apart the back of my beautiful stove and figured out that the prongs of the electrical plug weren’t correctly coiled around this connector thing which burned and caused a short. It burned.

One of the things I fear most is a fire; a fire while I’m home alone and especially a fire during the night, where we, God forbid, might not hear the smoke detector going off. To think that the wires that burned could have sparked the wall and caused a huge fire scares the hell out of me. Thankfully it contained itself, probably because of the metal cover.

They assessed the damage last night while the boys and I ate at Mary’s and was kind enough to send over a plate of dinner for Mario, too. We’d need a new plug and that connector. Mary brought them over today after work and I was dreading to know how much it all cost. To my relief everything came out to $17. Praise the Lord.

Tomorrow, all will hopefully be back to normal. I’ll still be very cautious and keep an ear out, just in case though. I really want some lasagna, so I might just whip some up tomorrow while Mayra visits :). I can’t wait to catch up on the happenings of the last few weeks.

I should shower and get to bed. My back is aching. I did the rest of the housework I didn’t get to yesterday, so that might be why I feel so tired. I’m feeling sloth-like lately.

P.S. I made time to vote today, which was an adventure all on it’s own. Mom didn’t get to vote, which totally sucked. John didn’t want to go so if Republicans stay in charge I’m blaming him. I keed, I keed. Only because he bought me a cinnamon roll at his work :).

P.P.S. We totally have to go to Donna’s Corn Maze! I’ve wanted to do this since last year, when I first heard about it. It sounds like so much fun. Plus free roasted sweet corn and s’mores? AWESOME.