JuJuBee

She's All Growed Up

Isn't it funny how differently we perceive our parents when we actually become parents ourselves? Thinking back on the sacrifices that my mom made for us leaves me in awe. We had a tough life...I can see that now. The funny thing is, I never realized that growing up. It never occurred to me that not EVERY child was enrolled in the free lunch program at school. It was never an odd thing to get a box full of government cheese, butter and canned vegetables for free at the food bank. I got pretty excited to see what sort of cereal they were giving that month! My brother and I never felt as children that we were less than fortunate. Money didn't weigh on our minds. I can't imagine how it affected our parents, but they did a superb job of keeping that issue away from us. I don't remember arguments about money, yet surely there had to be a few.

My mom taught us to appreciate what we had. As children I know that we didn't take care of things the way we should have. Toys were broken and lost. I made a habit (at a very early age) of getting into my moms make-up and doing god knows what damage to it. We didn't have money to throw around and I'm sure that it was tough to see us ruin things. As I grew up, that lesson sunk in. I take great care of my things now and hope that I am teaching LittleJuJu the same. That is only one lesson that I took from my mom. There are many. She taught me to see past the color of one's skin. This could not have been easy in the small town that I grew up in. There couldn't have been more than two or three African-American families in our area, and only a handful of different ethniticities in our school. She taught me to forgive. This one she taught by example, as she has forgiven me over the years many more times than should have been asked of her. She taught me to love unconditionally, to be compassionate. She taught me that you can accomplish whatever you want if you put your mind to it. When my parents divorced, I watched as my mother went back to school, while raising two (one more difficult than the other) teenagers. She worked her ass off and her grades showed it. She didn't have much help, this I know.

I hope that the long journey from childhood to her 35th birthday (35 today, right Mom??) finds her happy. I hope she knows that her children think the world of her and will always know the sacrifices she has made for them. I hope she realizes the positive impact she has had on their lives. Sometimes it may not be so apparent, but she has done a wonderful job. The hardest job in the world.

Wishing you a wonderful birthday, Mom! We love you so much! Enjoy your day. You won't be 35 forever (wink,wink)!

Eight Versus Nine....Glass Half Empty?

Hey! I think it's time for some Random Bulletness!! Things That I Am Happy About (or...Things That Don't Make Me Want to Weep)

• LittleJuJu is on day 2 of antibiotics and seems to feel alot better (I could do without the energy boost though...)
• The sun is shining (isn't it GLORIOUS?)
• I am 30 weeks pregnant today!
• Two words: Tax Return! "Greatest Aunt" of mine is a tax accountant and got us a beautiful refund. I hope you are all related to an H&R Bl0ck employee in your next life
• New shoes (I hated them at first but am too stubborn to send them back and wait for a different pair...they are growing on me)
• Mini-vacation at a hotel tomorrow night, sort of
• Finding a ten dollar bill in my coat pocket
• Getting a phone call from an old friend

Things That Do Indeed Make Me Want to Weep or Hurt People

• Waiting in the doctor's office for 45 minutes before being seen
• Being told to come right in, the doctor will be just a minute, then finding that OOPS! the rooms are all full, you'll have to go back out and sit down for another 10 minutes.
• Not getting an apology for waiting so long for your sick, deaf child to be seen
• March Madness
• Finally getting to that point in pregnancy where sleeping is a pipe dream because you are only comfortable in one position for 2 minutes at a time
• Children who take an hour to finish their breakfast (YES, I mean YOU LittleJuJu)
• Sunshine lasting only an hour then turning to clouds for the rest of the day. Don't tease me like that, it's not right.
• 15 degrees
• Stupid holier-than-thou college students walking right in front of your car while it is in motion, then looking at you like you are crazy. I won't feel bad when I hit you, sweets.

(well, "bullets" are not showing for some reason...add BLOGGER to my shit list)

Trying to Hold it All Together

Can't we all just be healthy for once? Poor LittleJuJu has had this cold for like 2 months now. He was at the doctor in February for a well-child visit (maybe you recall my post about his booster shots?) and the doctor told me we'd have to wait it out and that there was just a tiny bit of fluid in his ears. Fast forward to now: he coughs in the morning for a little while and at night for a little while and his nose runs all day. Now we have added a pleasant earache. He was up crying in bed at 2 a.m. that his ears hurt and for the last few days the majority of his vocabulary has been made up of, "WHAT?" and, "HUH?". He has even come up to me and asked me to talk directly into his ear so that he can hear me. Ok then...that's enough of that. First we thought it was just his normal ignoring us, but now I am worried. He is going to the doctor again this afternoon. He is breaking my heart. In other LittleJuJu news, I had a conference with his preschool teacher and he is doing really well. Her only concern is that he seems to be quite the "follower" and sometimes that can be trouble for him. Especially considering the other boys in his class.

Mr. JuJu is a bomb waiting to explode. This "March Madness" time of year is bound to have him rocking back and forth in a white padded room soon. Sure it would be great if we won tonight and went on to the tourney, but honestly, don't hate me for praying that we lose. It's really only for my husband's sanity, I swear. BabyJuJu needs to know her daddy come May.

As for me and my mental/emotional/physical health? Well, I feel pretty good. I have my days when pregnancy takes it's toll on me. Days when you wouldn't want to come within an inch of me because of the complaining and general bitchiness, but I feel like those days are few (shutup if you disagree). I'd feel better if my boys here at home were better. I can't wait to get outside and go for a run, or even a warm walk. My birthday is soon (next month is SOON) and I ordered myself some new running shoes to motivate and keep me looking forward to springtime. They should arrive today! Yay! Thanks for sticking around through this time of blogging bullshit. I know I'm delivering bullshit, but soon you will be sick and tired of my everyday posts being,"Guess what the baby did/ate/saw/said/wore/threw up/today!!!" so stick with me.

Update: LittleJuJu has bad ear infections (both ears) and we won last night, so....off to Cleveland Thursday. Might not be here to blog this weekend!

Dailing MENSA Right Now

LittleJuJu: Mama? JuJuBee: Hmn? LittleJuJu: I wanna play that game, pwease. JuJuBee: Ah. M'kay, and what game would that be? LittleJuJu: You know that game, I forget what it's called. JuJuBee: Well you have so many games upstairs, I have no idea which one you mean. LittleJuJu: I wish I could remember. It has cards. JuJuBee: Cards, huh? Well that certainly narrows it down. LittleJuJu: Cards that sorta...match? You match 'em up. Upside down. JuJuBee: *laughing* Do you mean, Memory?? LittleJuJu: Oh yeah, I forgot.

This is Your Brain on Drugs (or prenatal vitamins)

I suppose it's about time to get something up here that does not involve death or dying. Things have been tough around here with the sad death of Papa Joe and all of the traveling and being sick and LittleJuJu having been possessed by the devil (AGAIN!) the car not starting for me while Mr. JuJu was out of town, yada,yada,yada. Sunshine! Yep. it only took a simple act of sunshine to brighten my spirits today. I really find it amazing the way the weather can affect my mood. Funny how pregnancy affects mood as well, but not so much of a mystery. Speaking of pregnancy ! 29 weeks! 11 to go! Hopefully less than that, but you know. Also? All of my bathrooms are spotless and disinfected! That has also done wonders for my mood. It's the little things, really. I am all over the place with this post here. No sense in interrupting the theme so here is another random thought just flying through my brain: lurkers. Every once in awhile someone will comment with something starting with,"I'm usually just a lurker here..."or,"I've been reading you for sometime now..." and I have been wondering why people read for so long without commenting? I love comments, damnit! Stop lurking you damn lurkers! I really should have just titled this post Random Bullets and just had at it with everything running through my head in a nice neat bulleted fashion. Forgive me. I should stop now. I promise something that makes some sense soon.