This was supposed to be my weekend off - you know what I mean - the single parent's weekend without children --- however, Wasband needed me to trade and I agreed to do it - because I'm nice like that :-)
As it turned out, both girls were invited to spend the night with friends, so once again, it was just Edison and I. Edison was having a super great day today - he had the same underwear on that I put him in this morning (love his little boxer briefs!), he was in a really good mood (no whining), he didn't seem to be tired, he was hungry, it was still early and so I decided to take Mr. Ed out on a date!
Of course he wanted to eat at MARIACHI'S! He always says he wants to eat at Mariachi's if you ask him where he wants to eat but I was headed to Danville and Mariachi's was in the opposite direction. My first thought was fast food but on second thought, since he was in a super great mood, I decided to try something more "grown-up". I asked him if he wanted to eat Mexican at Guadalajara, Steak at Reno's or Chicken at O'Charley's. He immediately said "I want to eat at O'Charwey's" so that's where we went.
While we were walking inside, I said "Edison, I really need you to be a good boy while we are in here, okay?" and he said "okay, Mom, I be a good boy". Yeah, I'd heard that before - this would be a first. Luck was on my side tonight and we were immediately seated. Of course Edison being three and right in the middle of potty training, had to check out the bathrooms. This was a new place you know! Before we ever sat down, we visited the potties where Edison peed. We were in the regular stall (non-handicapped) and it was just the right height to allow him to stand up without touching anything. That was good! Automatic flushing --- that was bad! The boy was almost traumatized when the toilet flushed on its own with no warning. It absolutely scared the child to death! I'm glad he was finished or he would have peed all over the place!! Okay, good! We had that out of the way (for the time being)!
We returned to our booth and the first thing he had to do was take his shoes off. It seems all of a sudden he had a "boo boo" that was really bothering him and he said "mom, I can't wear these shoes, my boo boo hurts weewy bad!" I have yet to find a boo boo on his foot but I detected a slight whine in his voice and decided to choose my battle. Wearing, or not wearing shoes, as long as he was sitting in the booth, was not going to become a war!
Our waiter, Derek, came and introduced himself, told us what the drink specials were and I said, "I'll have a diet." Edison said "I'll have a diet too!" The waiter asked if we wanted Diet Pepsi, Diet Mountain Dew or Diet Dr. Pepper (gosh, I'd never gotten this many choices before!!! Normally, I have to get my own drink - hahaha) I chose Diet Pepsi and I asked Edison if he was sure he wanted a diet drink and his reply was "no, I want lemonade". Again, luck was on our side --- they have pink lemonade!!! We arrived in time for 1/2 price appetizers so we chose Chicken O'Tenders with Honey Mustard and waited patiently for our drinks, our chicken and of course, the rolls!!! Edison had just gotten his menu unfolded and his crayons ready when it all arrived.
O'Charley's is running a special right now. You can add a soup or salad to any entree and get a free mini-desert. YUM! We ordered potato soup. Edison was chowing down on a roll with lots of butter, enjoying his pink lemonade (which he said was "strong") and a chicken strip when our soup arrived. He asked, "mom, will I like that soooop?" and I told him I thought he would and boy, did he!!! I gave him his first bite, he took the spoon from me and I barely got any. What little I did get were spoon fed to me by him. Let me tell you --- the boy likes some cheesy potato soup :-)
Our entree arrived and by that point, we were slowing down. It was some kind of Chicken Penne Pasta and we had a few bites and asked for it to be boxed with our leftover chicken tenders so we could enjoy our desert choice - a mini caramel pie. They brought us two spoons and Edison informed me "mom, this is my ice cream, you need to get another one." He finally decided to share. I let him have the whipped cream, mini chocolate chips and nuts on the top and I enjoyed the caramel and graham cracker crust. We were both pretty happy!
While waiting on our check, Edison needed to go to the potty again. This time he had REAL business to take care of. I told him to get his shoes which by this time had ended up in the floor. He got down under the table and when I looked to see what was taking so long, he was licking his hand and rubbing the bottom of his shoes. GROSS! Why do boys do things like that? I cannot recall that either of my girls EVER licked their hands and played with the bottoms of their shoes. I finally got him out of the floor, up in the bench and got his shoes on enough that he could walk to the bathroom without being barefooted (the thought was too disgusting for me!)
We got to the bathroom and the only stall available was the handicapped one. It's too tall for him to stand, but he needed to sit this time anyway. The trouble was, he could barely concentrate on the task because he was scared to death that the toilet was going to flush! I told him he had to sit very still and just hurry up and get finished and then he wouldn't have to worry about it. Mission accomplished! He did what he had to do and the potty didn't flush until we pushed the little button after he was finished --- yay!!!
While waiting for our check, I said "Edison, this was the best date I have ever had". Of course, he didn't understand that it was the only date I had had in 20 plus years!! He leaned over and hugged me and said "This was the best date I ever had too" and with his sweet little lips, he kissed me right on my lips, looked me in the eye and said "I wuff you, Mommy!"
This date will be a hard act for any man to follow. I "wuff" you too, Edison!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I've been on a READING RAMPAGE
I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. I absolutely LOVE to read. My favorite author is Nicholas Sparks. I had to quit reading him once upon a time because he was so darn romantic that it made me SICK! I became mad at my then husband because he was NOTHING like the romantic men characters in Nicholas Sparks' novels. How can a man be that "in tune" with romance and love and write stories the way he does? I saw him interviewed on a morning news show one time and the anchorwoman asked him if he was THAT romantic in real life? His answer was something similar to hey, I've been married to the same woman for x number of years and we do have 5 children together. Hmmm? That didn't convince me but I'm thinking that if he can write the mush, he must be able to live it! I hope so anyway, for himself and his wife :-)
I have avoided watching the Twilight movies because I wanted to read the books first. I finally began reading them about a month ago. I finished Twilight and immediately began New Moon, went on to Eclipse, took a side step to begin reading "He's Just Not That Into You" and then read Breaking Dawn. I have learned while discussing the Twilight movies with the many fans, that most movie fans are on Team Jacob while the ones who have read the books are Team Edward. Non-twilight-fans will probably not understand this concept. I must say, after reading all the books and watching Twilight, I'm still an Edward fan but anxious to see what might happen that will make me join Team Jacob. New Moon is on my DVD lineup for tomorrow night and I have promised my middle child that I will take her to the theater to see Eclipse this week. The bad thing is that we must patiently wait for the release of Breaking Dawn and I've heard that the book has been split into two movies!!!! I'm not sure I can wait THAT long :-(
Now, let's back up to my reading of "He's Just Not That Into You" which was written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. The book inspired a movie which is pretty good as well but the book has LOTS of self-help information for single girls :-) I'm going to touch on some highlights I enjoyed in the book. Some of these statements are direct quotes. None of the following statements are my own ideas but were taken from the book. The ones I have chosen to add here however, do represent my thoughts :-)
On Cheating in General
I have avoided watching the Twilight movies because I wanted to read the books first. I finally began reading them about a month ago. I finished Twilight and immediately began New Moon, went on to Eclipse, took a side step to begin reading "He's Just Not That Into You" and then read Breaking Dawn. I have learned while discussing the Twilight movies with the many fans, that most movie fans are on Team Jacob while the ones who have read the books are Team Edward. Non-twilight-fans will probably not understand this concept. I must say, after reading all the books and watching Twilight, I'm still an Edward fan but anxious to see what might happen that will make me join Team Jacob. New Moon is on my DVD lineup for tomorrow night and I have promised my middle child that I will take her to the theater to see Eclipse this week. The bad thing is that we must patiently wait for the release of Breaking Dawn and I've heard that the book has been split into two movies!!!! I'm not sure I can wait THAT long :-(
Now, let's back up to my reading of "He's Just Not That Into You" which was written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. The book inspired a movie which is pretty good as well but the book has LOTS of self-help information for single girls :-) I'm going to touch on some highlights I enjoyed in the book. Some of these statements are direct quotes. None of the following statements are my own ideas but were taken from the book. The ones I have chosen to add here however, do represent my thoughts :-)
On Cheating in General
- Whatever problems may exist in a relationship do not merit having sex with someone else.
- Men do not just slip and fall into a sexual relationship with someone else. They are planned with full knowledge that it could end your relationship.
- If he's sleeping with someone else without your knowledge or encouragement, he doesn't like you all that much.
- Lying, cheating and hiding is the opposite behavior of a man who loves you.
- "If he has a problem with anything in your relationship, he's supposed to talk to you about it, not put-his-penis-in-a-strange-vagina about it."
- "Let's call cheating what it is: a complete betrayal of trust. Cheaters are people who have a lot of stuff to work out and they're working it out on your time and with your heart."
- There is no excuse for cheating.
- Cheaters never prosper.
- A cheater only cheats himself, because he doesn't get to be with you.
- Men who cheat want you to know that they can never be trusted.
- Suggestions on what your man could have done if he was unsatisfied in your relationship include (1) talking about it; (2) writing about it; (3) Singing about it; (4) texting about it; (5) putting on a puppet show about it. Please notice that sleeping with someone else is not listed!
- If a man is married and having an affair, the person with whom he is having the affair with should take notice that (1) he's okay with being dishonest (nice!); (2) he's fine with cheating on his wife (super!); (3) he has no regard for his marriage (awesome!); and (4) he has no regard for you, because you're getting his scraps --- stolen time cloaked in shame!
- Things seem a lot easier when your affair is with a man whose wife is an evil, yelling, insulting witch, but no matter what their relationship or circumstances are, you are still helping a man cheat on his wife.
- Everyone deserves to feel a powerful and profound love but you should have it with someone who is actually yours!
- There's plenty of guys out there. Why not get one of your own?
- You want love and you want to be loved and you think you've finally found it. But he's married. Please try NOT to ignore this fact. There's simply too much at stake for everyone involved.
- Don't be that girl :-)
- Beware of the word "friend" because it can often be used to excuse the most unfriendly behavior.
- Guys don't mind messing up a friendship if it could lead to sex.
- That cool girl still gets her feelings hurt :-(
- Don't spend a lot of energy suppressing all your feelings so as to appear uninvolved, especially if you want to be involved.
- If you're a person who enjoys a slightly satisfying phone relationship, talk on! Be his friend if you're at all interested on that level, but move your romantic inclinations onto a more suitable future husband.
- Get rid of Booty Call and go find a man that can at least spring for a slice of pizza.
- There aren't many good men around and there are more good women than good men.
- It seems logical to lower your expectations.
- Being single sucks!
- Other things about being single that suck include: sleeping alone, waking up alone, coming home to an empty house, doing every single boring errand alone, going to parties alone, not having sex, cooking and shopping for yourself, going to weddings, people asking why you're still single, people not asking why you're still single, people asking if you are dating, people not asking if you are dating, birthdays, holidays, being a single mom, carrying in the groceries by yourself, taking the garbage out, [I could go on, but I will spare you...]
- It's really lonely.
- According to this book, being alone sucks, but being with somebody who makes you feel like crap or doesn't honor the person you are, is worse.
- You can crave companionship and sex and love so badly that it physically hurts!
- Don't waste the pretty!
- When it comes to men, deal with them as they are, and not how you'd like them to be
- If he's not calling you, it's because you are not on his mind.
- It's okay to suffer from the affliction of believing you can have a wonderful man love you and be wildly attracted to you.
- Classy is walking away with your head held high, graciously, and with dignity.
- There's a guy out there who's going to be really happy that you didn't get back together with your crappy ex :-)
- You must believe there's something better out there.
- Life is hard enough as it is without choosing someone difficult to share it with.
- You deserve to be with someone who is nice to you all the time.
- You already have one a**hole, you don't need another.
- Breakups are hard but basically you have to feel the pain, go through the pain and then get over it.
- Have faith! What other choice is there?
- I'm already smart enough. I need a constant dose of happy now.
- and my very favorite quote from the book ---
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Hard Night for Dana
Okay, I'll start with a Kid Rock song. I heard it for the first time last August when I was fully introduced to Kid Rock's music. It's a ballad from his album entitled "Kid Rock". I loved the piano music at the beginning before I ever heard the words and then the words came. Oh my :-) !!! I found out a few weeks ago that Bob Seger wrote the song many years ago and he obviously was friends with a woman who has been through what I have been through. Thanks, Bob Seger, for writing this song, thanks to whoever inspired it, and THANK YOU, Kid Rock for singing it :-)
I had a lot of hard nights after Wasband left and I still have hard nights every now and then, hard days too! Don't get me wrong though, I have some good nights too ;-) Some of you know that Wasband remarried shortly after our divorce was final. He got married on a Friday night last September - I had already figured out it was probably happening that night but it was not confirmed until I received a text message from him late that evening that said "Just wanted to let you know that $%@&? and I are now married". Ouch! That hurt. Two years of dating, 19 years of marriage, three kids, two years of cheating, two months of divorce proceedings and just 7 short months later I get a text message. Oh well, technology is a good thing. We all know why he sent the text - because he didn't have the manly parts to call me and tell me in peson :-)
On a side note, I asked him a few months later why he kept the marriage from me a secret and he said "they" were afraid I would show up. No thanks but whatever. Evidently that came from a conversation I had with one of my daughters that I wanted to be their Wedding Singer and that my choice was going to be Kellie Pickler's "Best Days of Your Life". I'm especially partial to these lyrics:
I heard you're gonna get married
Have a nice little family
Live out my dreams with someone new
But I've been told that a cheater is always a cheater
I've got my pride and she's got you
Those lyrics speak for themselves. I didn't want to be anywhere near their happy event and I wouldn't want to waste my beautiful singing talent on their marriage! Enough of that - back to Hard Night for Sarah - after I received the text, I sat in my truck for a really long time and I put Kid Rock in the CD player and low and behold, I hit shuffle, and this song played and I cried and I cried and I screamed and I yelled and I called my best friend who said, "Dana, you knew this was going to happen tonight, you told me earlier that you knew this was happening and you were going to be alright when you confirmed it." and you know what? I was fine and I made it through! It was just another Hard Night for Dana and I knew I was gonna have to see it through.
I've tried to share this song with other women who are going through what I have already experienced and it's a hard song to find. Kid Rock has boycotted iTunes so you can't find the real versions of his songs on there and this particular song never made the charts, so there is no video to locate on YouTube or anywhere else, so guess what??? I made my own! Take a moment to listen to the song and read the lyrics and you might understand how closely it fit my life. It was sad when I needed sad and it was inspiring when I needed inspiring. For a few weeks afterwards, when I went to my iPod, I went straight to this song but I don't have to listen to it much anymore, and I just let it roll around occasionally when I choose my KidRock playlist. For the most part it brings back memories that I have left behind - but it's still a great song and the piano music is perfect.
Click this link and enjoy: Hard Night for Sarah - Kid Rock (song & lyrics)
I had a lot of hard nights after Wasband left and I still have hard nights every now and then, hard days too! Don't get me wrong though, I have some good nights too ;-) Some of you know that Wasband remarried shortly after our divorce was final. He got married on a Friday night last September - I had already figured out it was probably happening that night but it was not confirmed until I received a text message from him late that evening that said "Just wanted to let you know that $%@&? and I are now married". Ouch! That hurt. Two years of dating, 19 years of marriage, three kids, two years of cheating, two months of divorce proceedings and just 7 short months later I get a text message. Oh well, technology is a good thing. We all know why he sent the text - because he didn't have the manly parts to call me and tell me in peson :-)
On a side note, I asked him a few months later why he kept the marriage from me a secret and he said "they" were afraid I would show up. No thanks but whatever. Evidently that came from a conversation I had with one of my daughters that I wanted to be their Wedding Singer and that my choice was going to be Kellie Pickler's "Best Days of Your Life". I'm especially partial to these lyrics:
I heard you're gonna get married
Have a nice little family
Live out my dreams with someone new
But I've been told that a cheater is always a cheater
I've got my pride and she's got you
Those lyrics speak for themselves. I didn't want to be anywhere near their happy event and I wouldn't want to waste my beautiful singing talent on their marriage! Enough of that - back to Hard Night for Sarah - after I received the text, I sat in my truck for a really long time and I put Kid Rock in the CD player and low and behold, I hit shuffle, and this song played and I cried and I cried and I screamed and I yelled and I called my best friend who said, "Dana, you knew this was going to happen tonight, you told me earlier that you knew this was happening and you were going to be alright when you confirmed it." and you know what? I was fine and I made it through! It was just another Hard Night for Dana and I knew I was gonna have to see it through.
I've tried to share this song with other women who are going through what I have already experienced and it's a hard song to find. Kid Rock has boycotted iTunes so you can't find the real versions of his songs on there and this particular song never made the charts, so there is no video to locate on YouTube or anywhere else, so guess what??? I made my own! Take a moment to listen to the song and read the lyrics and you might understand how closely it fit my life. It was sad when I needed sad and it was inspiring when I needed inspiring. For a few weeks afterwards, when I went to my iPod, I went straight to this song but I don't have to listen to it much anymore, and I just let it roll around occasionally when I choose my KidRock playlist. For the most part it brings back memories that I have left behind - but it's still a great song and the piano music is perfect.
Click this link and enjoy: Hard Night for Sarah - Kid Rock (song & lyrics)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Naming a Blog is Difficult
So, to all of you who are driving me crazy, wanting me to blog again, I am going to attempt it. The girls will go back to school in a few weeks and I now have Edison on a schedule that allows me some "Dana" time at night, so, we shall see how it goes.
I feel like I have taken all the good names for blogs already as this is my fourth one. I had a difficult time coming up with a name for this one. I wanted to use my name in it because this blog will be more about me - but of course, Dana does not exist without some drama. Drama that comes in the form of one teenager, a tween, a toddler, an ex-husband (Wasband), a hateful cat and a Swagger Wagon! Have I mentioned I hate drama? My life was pretty much drama free for 18 years and then the craziness started and Dana's Drama spawned. You will hear about some of it - but not all - there are some things I have to keep to myself to protect the ones I love the most :-)
I hated to give up "ToddlerTweenTeen" but I had quit blogging before I moved, had to change my e-mail address because of the move and unfortunately, forgot my password. I have done everything possible to try to get Blogger to send it to me, but they keep sending it to the old e-mail address to which I no longer have access. I even filled out a big form and they replied that I had not given them enough information to allow them to release the password to me. Well, okay then, BLOGGER, why don't you just call me? I'll give you ALL the information you want but I can't correspond with a computer generated assistant!
Before Toddler Tween Teen, I had a short lived blog that I called "Parting Ways With Paul or Dana's Disillusioned Dissolution". Wasband didn't like that blog very much so I password protected it (to protect him from having to read it - haha) and only invited some of my closest friends to view it. Unfortunately, it was linked to ToddlerTweenTeen, so I can no longer access it either. Even worse, I don't remember the password I gave other's to view it, so when I go to the page, it says "Sorry, you have not been invited to view this blog." If you happen to have the password and can send it to me, I would love to see what I wrote at the beginning of the divorce proceedings. I barely remember that time in my life because I was drowning in tears. I cannot imagine what I sounded like writing under water!
The blog that began it all was named "To Eden for Edison" following my adoption journey to make Edison part of my forever family. I learned alot about blogging and it gave my family and friends an opportunity to follow with me through the long process of adopting. It also brought a lot of prayers and support while we waited and also when we were racing a hurricane back to the United States with him. Hurrican Ed had nothing on that hurricane - he's still rotating and controlling my life and I love every minute of it!
Blogging is a wonderful creative outlet. I love to write. I enjoy making people laugh but sometimes my writing brings tears. Mostly, I am open and honest when I write. I have received e-mails from numerous people telling me how much they love reading my blogs, how they sat down and read all the entries in one night because they couldn't stop reading, how they referred my blog to a sister or a girlfriend who is going through a divorce, how they like my honesty, my passion and my ability to make them feel what I am feeling. Most of all, they enjoy the content I write about.
The name, Dana's Different Directions, was chosen because I am truly pulled in many different directions ---
I feel like I have taken all the good names for blogs already as this is my fourth one. I had a difficult time coming up with a name for this one. I wanted to use my name in it because this blog will be more about me - but of course, Dana does not exist without some drama. Drama that comes in the form of one teenager, a tween, a toddler, an ex-husband (Wasband), a hateful cat and a Swagger Wagon! Have I mentioned I hate drama? My life was pretty much drama free for 18 years and then the craziness started and Dana's Drama spawned. You will hear about some of it - but not all - there are some things I have to keep to myself to protect the ones I love the most :-)
I hated to give up "ToddlerTweenTeen" but I had quit blogging before I moved, had to change my e-mail address because of the move and unfortunately, forgot my password. I have done everything possible to try to get Blogger to send it to me, but they keep sending it to the old e-mail address to which I no longer have access. I even filled out a big form and they replied that I had not given them enough information to allow them to release the password to me. Well, okay then, BLOGGER, why don't you just call me? I'll give you ALL the information you want but I can't correspond with a computer generated assistant!
Before Toddler Tween Teen, I had a short lived blog that I called "Parting Ways With Paul or Dana's Disillusioned Dissolution". Wasband didn't like that blog very much so I password protected it (to protect him from having to read it - haha) and only invited some of my closest friends to view it. Unfortunately, it was linked to ToddlerTweenTeen, so I can no longer access it either. Even worse, I don't remember the password I gave other's to view it, so when I go to the page, it says "Sorry, you have not been invited to view this blog." If you happen to have the password and can send it to me, I would love to see what I wrote at the beginning of the divorce proceedings. I barely remember that time in my life because I was drowning in tears. I cannot imagine what I sounded like writing under water!
The blog that began it all was named "To Eden for Edison" following my adoption journey to make Edison part of my forever family. I learned alot about blogging and it gave my family and friends an opportunity to follow with me through the long process of adopting. It also brought a lot of prayers and support while we waited and also when we were racing a hurricane back to the United States with him. Hurrican Ed had nothing on that hurricane - he's still rotating and controlling my life and I love every minute of it!
Blogging is a wonderful creative outlet. I love to write. I enjoy making people laugh but sometimes my writing brings tears. Mostly, I am open and honest when I write. I have received e-mails from numerous people telling me how much they love reading my blogs, how they sat down and read all the entries in one night because they couldn't stop reading, how they referred my blog to a sister or a girlfriend who is going through a divorce, how they like my honesty, my passion and my ability to make them feel what I am feeling. Most of all, they enjoy the content I write about.
The name, Dana's Different Directions, was chosen because I am truly pulled in many different directions ---
- I am teaching my oldest child to drive and my youngest to poop in the potty.
- I want to wear a halo but the devil horns keep knocking it off
- I laugh hysterically and cry uncontrollably
- I'm mostly helpful but sometimes hurtful
- My dream is an arrest-me-red 2010 Chevrolet Camaro and my reality is a brown 1999 Chrysler Town & Country mini-van (a/k/a The Swagger Wagon)
- I have a few best friends and a few arch enemies
- I'm a night owl who has to get up early in the morning
Oh, I could probably go on, but the creativity is waning today...
I'll leave you with some blog names I played around with:
- Diabolical Dana (didn't know Diabolical meant "having the qualities of a devil" - glad I looked that up)
- Despicable Dana (but you can't despise me - not if you truly know me :-)
- Do U Know Dana (I decided that sounded too cheesy)
- Kid Rock Krazy (cause I love KID ROCK and his songs and his music. yes I know the lyrics to some of his songs are AWFUL and I wouldn't want my Mama to hear them, or be listening to them when Bro. Jerry was in my house, but I honestly think Kid Rock is a gifted musician and his music got me through a very dark time in my life - trust me there will be a post or two or five about his lyrics and what they mean to me) and you will hear about many other musicians and their songs and lyrics because I absolutely LOVE music and lyrics.
Follow me - I may be pulled in a completely new direction and have to start BLOG # 5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)