You Really Just Didn't Do That?!

  We bought our house about 8 years ago. It's been a project, like most houses are. Our neighborhood was , and still is,an up in coming neighborhood. All of these little adorable boutiques and second hand stores started filling up the avenue. Of course, they had a children's second hand store, that had some really nice stuff. My girls were 6 months and barely 2 at the time, when I spotted it.  I was driving through Bellevue right past the children's store, when this lady was unloading a Schwinn double jogging stroller. I pulled my car over and got out before the lady could even get the stroller through the door. "Wait! Wait!" I exclaimed. "I will take it!"
   I didn't even care how much it cost. I needed an outlet and walking with my babies was perfect. It was so stressful  and depressing having a colicky baby, a toddler, my Dad being sick,my Mom coping with it all and my "up and coming house" that was in need of a ton of work. This stroller was going to solve all of my problems. It was the best 136.00 dollars I have ever spent. besides the money I am going to spend on that tummy tuck and boob lift SOMEDAY!! I walked and walked and my girls loved it. I would often joke that the stroller was a lot nicer than my car and I didn't have to put gas in it!!

   I took the girls for a really long walk one night  in early October.I got home and asked Ralph to bring the stroller in  the house,and off the porch while I put the girls to bed. I thought he did. And yes, Honey, I am STILL blaming YOU for this 5 years later! There was probably some game on, and he must not have heard me or has major wax build up in his ears or just ignored me. I am going to go with he ignored me.
The next morning I get the girls ready to go for a stroll and walk out to put them in the stroller, and there is no stroller ANYWHERE!!! I called Big Daddy (aka my husband) and asked him where it was. He hadn't a clue about what I was talking about. You have got to be kidding me! Someone stole my stroller. What the hell?
I called and reported it to the police. I thought for sure I would never see my Prozac on three wheels again. That brand of strollers are really expensive if you buy them from a store or order online. 350.00 dollars for a stroller was a little out of our price rang.

 One of the last jobs my Dad did on my house was paint it. While he was painting it he took my house numbers down off of my house and threw them in the back pocket of my stroller so he could put them back on my house when he was finished painting. I guess he forgot. He had a few things on his mind.

   Needless to say, I was annoyed and getting fatter day by day. I was so irritated about the whole situation. First, I was mad that someone had the audacity to come on to my property and take something of mine that meant so much to me. Didn't they know my Dad was dying of cancer and I needed that stroller so I could go to Christ Hosptial and push my girls up to visit their Papa who was staying in the Oncology floor a week at a time getting treatments!? It was also such a great therapy for me to be able to walk and think and get all of my frustrations out about whole situation. I was pissed!

  Fast forward to Halloween. My girls (still) would rather give out candy than go trick or treating. They love seeing all of the costumes. When it is trick or treat in Bellevue, people drop their kids off by the car loads. It is insane. Hundreds walk the streets in their costumes for candy. Ralph and I are sitting on the steps handing out candy when this toothless wonder, and her boyfriend that looks like he hasn't bathed in a century come up to our house pushing MY STROLLER trick or treating with their kids! It's a double stroller, remember. Somewhere, they missed math and a few other things in life because there were 7 kids in my stroller. 4 on the top of the sun visor and 3 in the actual stroller. I, played it cool,kind of! I asked the girl where she got her stroller. "Walmart." She replied quickly with her nasty cigarette dangling from her mouth. "They don't sell them at Walmart."  I said. My heart was about pounding out of my chest. "They don't?"  Toothless Wonder questioned."You got it off my front porch."  I said.I could have peed my pants I was so nervous. What a dumb ass. If you are going to steal someones belongings, don't trick or treat their house with the item you stole! Toothless wonder decides to start walking away from my house.She was looking pretty nervous. Big Daddy was on the phone with the police following Toothless Wonder and her boyfriend down the street while they kept trick or treating with their kids. Poor kids!! The police show up and start questioning. Big Daddy tells them that our house number is in the back pocket of the stroller. What do you know? The police pull out my house number! Supposedly, Unbathed Boyfriend bought the stroller for Toothless Wonder from someone in their housing unit that stole the stroller from my house. The police look up the guy's name they gave  and he's incarcerated for burglary! Imagine that!!

   Next thing I see is Big Daddy walking through the crowd gathered around, with my stroller!  You have got to be kidding me! I think God was afraid I was going to go off the deep end so he was able to have my stroller rescued!! I was elated! After all the crappy things that life was throwing at us, finally, a little thing that made a huge difference in my daily life and waist line was positive!

   That night we brought the stroller in our house, and had to take it outside to the back porch because it had to be aired out. It reeked of cigarettes and pot! Big Daddy babysat my stroller for me for a couple of hours. We weren't going to have a repeat of the ordeal twice!
    I still use my stroller almost everyday! It has been my therapy and saving grace a lot of the time! This Momma is happy!!

The Wrecking Crew~

    Growing up in a household of boys, I thought I was completely destined to have all boys. I never imagined I would have girls.EVER! I do enjoy my girls. Also, I enjoy watching them interact as sisters. The whole sister"let me scream at the top of my lungs at my sissy who has my favorite barbie ,even though it really is my sissy's barbie, but I am gonna scream anyway until I get it back" is completely forgein to me. My brothers would just punch the crap out of each other and that was that. Problem solved. No hair being pulled and no cat clawing going on, just a good old fashioned knock out. And I don't even think my parents knew about half of the boxing matches that went on,unless they broke something or a body part.
    My Mom went back to school when my youngest brother, Philip was in 1st grade. Up until my mom went back to college she would babysit at our house.It took her 5 years to graduate with her RN. She did all of this with 4 kids and a husband. Pretty impressive, right? For sure!
    My Mom landed a job as a Labor and Delivery Nurse at the local hospital by our house. It was the first day of her job, and she left me in charge of the boys. The most exciting thing is, is that I got my license the day before ! Finally!!! FREEDOM!! My Dad had gotten me a Plymoth Sundance(nuns used to drive these cars) at the local dump,I think. He bought it for 400.00 and I thought it was perfect! We didn't have two pennies to rub together, so this was a HUGE deal!  Back to me, being in charge. So, Mom leaves me in charge. If I remember correctly, Clay (brother # 2 out of 3) and Philip(brother#3 of 3) start getting into a fight, about Lord knows what. The next thing I know,Clay pushes Philip back and Philip cracks his head on the corner  of the brick fireplace. And then the blood starts squirting on the grey carpet. OMG! Thank goodness my bro's had gotten stitches more than a few times, so I knew to put pressure on the open, gapping wound. Well, it wouldn't stop bleeding and Philip was crying for my Mom and Clay was crying not because Philip was hurt, but because he had to face my Mom and Dad, and I was crying because of the whole thing. I tell Philip we are going to have to go to the ER. He is competlely flipping out. I just learned how to drive and have to rush my brother to the ER. God, help me! Please!!! We finally get there, and my nerves are a bit shaken.  I was under 18 they needed to have an adult to consent for him to be seen. Oh geez! "Page my Mom, I guess." I said.  The chick at the ER desk asked me where she was."First day of orentation for the Birthing Center." The ER chick just laughed. "This will be good!" She said. They page my Mom and she comes running like a bat out of hell to Philip 's rescue. "Whoops!"Is all I can say"Oh, and they don't listen." I add.
    She wasn't mad at me. Thank goodness. After all, I didn't wreck on the way there and I took care of her baby boy. After that, when all of them would fight, I would just bust out the broom. Word to the wise,it is a great weapon when breaking up fights between your brothers. They knew I meant business!! And I would remind them,about Philip's stitches.
    My Mom always says to us, "If you don't have the love and support of your siblings and you if can't lean on them, who can you lean on? Believe it or not, they will be your best friends and you will need them some day."
    I don't think we would realize how true that quote from our Mom was to us, until my Dad got sick. I do know that I have the best brothers in the whole world. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make a unit stronger. I think we have always been a strong family unit,but we are a unbreakable , unshakable unit now!  Thank goodness for my brothers!