Cheerio Confessions

I am in the mood to blog, however, I don't feel very well at the moment. So I am going to follow in Alexis' footsteps and simply post "My Life According to Google". Enjoy!

My life according to Google:

Type in the following and choose from the first description found. Be honest, don't just pick one out to be funny.

1: Type in "[your first name] needs" in the Google search:
Elizabeth needs to do her homework and realize that she is sitting ... (Yes, I am sitting but no, I do not have homework. I haven't had homework for the better part of 5 years.)

2: Type in "[your first name] looks like" in Google search:
Elizabeth looks like an angel and plays the harp like a ... (Well, I definitely cannot play the harp. As for looking like an angel...I suppose it depends upon who you ask and when.)

3: Type in "[your first name] hates" in Google search:
Elizabeth,Hates Her Parents,Christ,Jupiter,she's little destructive,A little abusive,Judy turn down your radio ... (Let's see here: Sometimes but mostly in my angsty teenage years. Not even close. Why bother? If the situation calls for it, yes, I can be. I try not to be unless your name is Trisha. *eg* What does my Great Aunt Judy have to do with anything?)

4: Type in "[your first name] goes" in Google search:
Elizabeth Goes To Play Therapy... (Of all the types of therapy I'm sure I probably need, play therapy is probably at the bottom of the list. Sounds like fun though.)

5: Type in "[your first name] loves" in Google search:
Queen Elizabeth loves the Wii... (Well, God Bless the Queen! And get on with your bad-self Your Majesty!)

6: Type in "[your first name] eats" in Google search:
Elizabeth, an actress, poker player and dancer, eats a banana seductively in the video link. Some people thought it was worthy of singling out ... (Not an actress. Suck at Poker. Love to dance but I'm only good at ballet. And no. Sorry.)

7: Type in "[your first name] has" in Google search
Elizabeth has 10 times the lifespan of workers and lays up to 2000 eggs a day... (I. Am. NOT. A. Chicken!)

8: Type in "[your first name] works" in Google search:
Elizabeth Works To Put Herself Through Medical School 2004.... (Wow! I'm a Queen, an actress, poker player, dancer, chicken AND a doctor?! Sweet Mary, do I SLEEP, EVER?)

9: Type in"[your first name] lives" in Google search:
Elizabeth Lives to Love... (Yeah, that's pretty accurate.)

10: Type in "[your first name] died" in Google search:
(The Death of Good Queen Bess) Elizabeth died at Richmond Palace on 24 March 1603, leaving behind a rich and prosperous country. (Man, I was dead before I even got a chance to achieve any of #8.)

My Tuesday Toot this week is simple...

I survived.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

And now, without further ado, here are my Not Me Mondays!

This week...

I definitely did not...seriously consider putting my M&M's (Mini-Miracles) into indiviual boxes labeled "FREE TO A GOOD HOME" and placing them on various street corners.

I also did not...wolf down a cream stick for breakfast in the car because I only had enough change for one (for me) and not for everyone. For what it's worth, it was good. :)

I did not...completely draw a blank while trying to come up with my "Not Me Monday".

I'm not out of practice writing Not Me Monday's, nope, Not Me. ;) lol

I am not adding to my Not Me Monday on Tuesday because I just remembered some of the forgotten ones. Nope, again, Not Me.

I definitely did not just mail thank you cards for gifts Emmett John received 9 months ago last week. No, that would be silly because those people have probably forgotten they gave him gifts at all. And to send a card 9 months later, well, that's just neurotic.

I also did not send out the gift I made for my dear friend Nikky after she had her darling son, Jr 10 months ago just last week with said thank you cards. Nope, because Jr is now 10 going on 11 months old and to send a "congrats on your new baby" gift now...well, that's just silly.

I definitely did not send said "congrats on your new baby" gift to her old address in Texas rather than her current address in California. That would be down right stupid. And odds are more likely that I will get it back, eventually. Or that the someone on the Naval base will keep it. Before Nikky ever sees it.

With those thank you cards, and "congrats" gift I definitely did not mail out a few other "congrats on your new baby" cards to mommies from my email due date list. Because all of their babies are also 10 going on 11 months old now. And again, that would just be silly and more than slightly neurotic. Right?

I wanted to take a moment before my migraine meds kick in to wish all of my readers, all my friends and of course all of my family a very happy Mother's Day! I hope you all have a relaxing day filled with all of your favorite things. *hugs*

And now I'm off to try and get rid of the migraine from Hell, which is incredibly unfair by the way. Ah well, c'est la vie.

Cheerios commercial - Brother and sister (Google) ~ I've got the brothers covered in my house but you have to go three doors down if you want to find the closest sister. :)
torture specialist (Google) ~ I definitely have one of those in the making.
sado-masochistic (Google) ~ See above.
sado (Google) ~ See both above.
what is sadomasochistic torture (Google) ~ It's what my youngest has decided to study during his infancy.
sado masochism tylenol (Google) ~ I'm not going to lie, this search confuses me. Are you taking the Tylenol because of the sado-masochism?
block castles (Google) ~ That is how I view things with Gavin much of the time.
cheerios commercial+moving house (Google) ~ The searches for the Cheerios commercial are finally dying down.
trileptal accidental dose (Yahoo) ~ Again, I'm sorry that this happened to you as well. At the same time, I'm once again comforted by the fact that I'm not the only parent to have done it.
the boys karate (Google) ~ That's my Gavin-man.

Elliott Richard is currently allowing his hair to "grow tall" by his request. When he wants it cut, we will have it cut. If you don't agree with this method, sorry but he's three and can't control much in his life so we've decided to give him control over the length of his hair. Anywho, in order for him to grow "tall" hair we bought some of that hair spray to detrangle his hair without the tears. After his tubby this morning, Rob sprayed Elliott Richard's hair and accidentally got some on his face, which caused his face to break out. This is the conversation that followed:

Daddy: Mommy, look at Elliott's face. He's all broken out.

Me: Boo-boo, come let Mommy see your face.

Elliott Richard: No Mommy. It's mines face. Get your's own.

Me: Baby, come here please.

Elliott Richard comes over and I check his face.

Me: Yeah, he's broken out but he'll be okay.

Elliott Richard: Mines face is not broken!

Seriously? Two Terrorists in one family? There should be some sort of rule against that. It just isn't fair.

Incidentally, whomever said that it was the "Terrible 2's" is full of it. Clean up to their eyeballs, full of it. I guarantee that once that parent said that, they took it back 365 days later. Once the "Terrible" left the building and the "Terrorist" took over, all bets were off and that parents went *forehead desk* "I was a complete idiot. I hope no one remembers I said that." Well, guess what buddy...We all remember.

It is currently 8:29pm EST. I have been sitting in this same rocking chair for 1 hour and 29 minutes listening to a screaming, whining, begging, pleading, bargaining Terrorist. Apparently he hasn't heard that Americans don't negotiate with Terrorists. Someone should probably let him know. He's not speaking to me or I would tell him. God only knows how much longer I will sit here while Elliott Richard does everything shy of throwing himself out his second story window to try and stay awake and get out of going to bed. Gavin has already fallen asleep - that tells you how long this has gone on. It's insanity.

Of course one of his favorite tactics is the "Daddy Guilt" method. He screams and pleads "Daddy help me", "Daddy save me", "Daddy, Daddy please" as if I'm up here systematically and heartlessly jamming bamboo shoots under his fingernails rather than surfing the net or working on turning my home into a prison. And off course Rob will call up "Are you okay honey", "Do you need anything", "Can I help you" which of course is just enough to feed the idea in Elliott Richard's mind that Daddy is coming to save the day. And so what does he do? Why he kicks it up a notch, obviously.

Why doesn't anyone mention this stuff in birthing classes?! "Oh by the way, yeah that video looks horrible and painful. Yeah, you're probably scared witless right now. But seriously, wait until this kid is THREE. *insert evil laugh here* That's when the real pain starts and it only gets worse from there."

Yeah, I think I would have seriously reconsidered this whole "parenting gig" had someone mentioned that way back when....okay, probably not but it still would have been nice to have been properly informed.

Sssssshhhhhh....do you hear that? Apparently, I was wrong. Elliott Richard didn't outlast Gavin. He just out-screamed him. Either way you look at it, no easy feat. But since my Terrorist is finally asleep. I'm outta here!

BTW, it's now 8:44pm. 1 hour and 44 minutes spent with a Terrorist 3 year old. Oy.

they are a blowing.

Here's in the Cheerio Household that is. (Okay, totally not our real last name but for the sake of some resemblance of privacy and safety work with me here.) Last Monday Rob and I saw Dr. R, Gavin's psychatrist and he feels that Gavin does not have signs of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), which was an idea Rob and I had been kicking around with Patty. He feels that it is much more likely a Conduct Disorder. Now some of you may read the definition of Conduct Disorder, shake your heads and say, "Nope, don't see it." I'm here to tell you that there is so much that most never see. So trust me when I tell you that Conduct Disorder fits. (It's another post entirely for me to explain all the reasons why and I'll try to get to that post ASAP.)

Dr. R said that there is a therapy here in our hometown that is supposed to do wonders with kids with Conduct Disorders. It's called MST. He also stated that children with Conduct Disorders do well in a strictly structured, prison-like environment. Now our lives are structured already. However, if "prison-like" structure is what we need to keep our family afloat then "prison-like" is what we shall have. I'm in the process of putting a plan into action that will create this ultra-structured environment for my family.

I don't do well with structure as a whole. My brain just doesn't seem to work that way. Whenever I attempt to force it to, it just doesn't work out well. However, it is my hope that if it is my plan and implemented by me then I will be okay with it. Believe me when I say this isn't a simple plan by any stretch of the imagination. I'll have to lay it all out for y'all sometime but right now I hear laundry and dishes calling my name.

So the winds of change, they are a blowing. Hopefully they blow us someplace nicer than where we currently are.

Actually = The word found at the beginning and in the middle of most sentences.

Me: Elliott Richard, how did you get so smart?
ER: Well actually, I thought about it.

Cone dog = Corn dog

A Trisha = Aunt Trisha

Let's make this short and sweet. Rob's baby sister Jenn moved in across the street tonight. Granted living with Fibro tends to limit my helpfulness when it comes to moving. I can't lift much. Can't really carry much either. Climbing stairs repeatedly, nope. So I hung the shower curtain and put her towels away. Hung out a bit. Even though I didn't do much, I am so beyond exhausted.

I had planned, well, more like hoped that I was going to write a post about how we had planned for things to go. Then how things had really gone. How I don't miss moving. I don't miss packing or sorting or unpacking. I don't miss having to feed those who are kind enough to help you move. Likewise, I don't like having to prented to know where I want everything or even that I have any of the answers because most likely, I don't. And as much as I wouldn't mind being 18 years old again, especially if I could be 18 knowing what I know now, I don't think I want to go through all that again.

Bright side: Jenn is all moved in.

Dark side: I'm in gobs of pain. And so overwhelmed and exhausted that I'm twitching.

Just hanging out in the car, sitting backwards in the carseat. Don't worry I wasn't channeling my inner-Brittney Spears or anything. We weren't moving at the time. Just waiting, for something.

What's a baby to do...All stickered up with no place to go.

I just love those tiny baby toes. *swoon*

I love the way he has hands clasped together in this picture. Too stinking adorable.

Every Monday Trisha and I go to the local Farmer's Market/Flea Market. On this particular Monady. Trisha needed to stop and order wooden benches for Father Lew for mass. So while Aunt Trisha picked out, ordered and paid for benches Mr. Emmett John and wondered off and found some playsets. Only one had an infant swing but luckily that's all we needed. :)

"Hehehe This is nice and all but I'm not so sure about this."

Wwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Up close and personal.

Hanging out in the swing. Getting a feel for the whole experience.

Baby brothers might make good pillows but big brothers definitely make better arm rests.

Emmett John appears to be sleeping peacefully. However, he's really quietly stalking his prey. Waiting for the perfect moment to begin moving in.

He slowly begins moving in for the kill.

And after much planning and careful follow-through, Mr. Emmett John has successfully turned his big brother into an arm rest!

This is Mr. Emmett John's first tubby sitting up like a big boy. He's been able to sit up for months but it just never occurred to me to switch from the recline tubby to the sitting up tubby until now. (I'm a slacker mom I know. lol)

My babies seem to have a thing for ducks. I'm not sure why. I love the expression on his face in this shot though (Yes, I know I say that a lot. It's always true, if that helps.) it just screams, "Uh Mom, something is very wrong with this tubby. Are you sure you're doing this right?!"

Yes, he's holding what it looks like he's holding. What can I say, he's all boy. lol As you can see, he's decided that a) perhaps I do know what I'm doing after all and b) maybe this sitting up tubby isn't quite so bad after all.

Just playing with the wash cloths and the duckie. I was lucky to keep him from being buried (quite literally) in tubby toys by a "very helpful" Elliott Richard.

All clean!

I *love* Simply Lemonade. It's actually sour and has pulp - yum. Well, Elliott Richard asked for some today so I shared. After he had finished his lemonade he had this to tell me:

Elliott Richard: Mommy, I really like your's lemonade.
Me: I'm glad baby.
ER: Yup, it's good fuzzy lemonade.
(Apparently, pulp is fuzzy. lol)


Then Trisha and I were sitting and watching television and she asked Elliott Richard for a diaper because his was "soggy". I gave her a diaper. Elliott Richard jumps off the couch, takes off the soggy diaper, leaves it on the floor, runs into Rob's office and pees on the floor. At this point Trisha told him that tomorrow she will take him to the store and buy him big boy undies. She even offered to buy him boxer shorts if he wanted. At this point he decided he wanted "boxers shorts". We've now learned that "boxers shorts" aren't actually boxer shorts. To Elliott Richard they are boxES of shorts.

Just a silly little 3 year old boy with his shirt stuck on his head. It's a little blurry because he was giggling so hard he couldn't sit still for the picture. :)

Elliott Richard with my cousin, Olivia's puppy (she's full grown dog by now) Lilah. It was actually seeing him with Lilah that sparked the idea of "maybe we should get a dog" in me.

Daddy with his Spidey. He wore that suit for about 2.5 seconds just long enough to snap a picture before he took it off. :)

Daddy and Elliott Richard

Yes, Elliott Richard is laying on Rob's head. Although I'm *pretty sure* he wasn't asleep at the time...just being a silly kid. :)

This is Elliott Richard's first ride in one of those rides at the mall. He's always been fascinated by them but everytime we've offered a ride he's played it cool and walked off. So blurry or not I had to catch a picture of him on this one...in case he never rides again. lol