REAL or artificial?...

Now that CHRISTmas is almost upon us this topic has come up more often than not, Do you buy a real tree or does yours come out of a box? I really think this all goes back to how you were raised I mean what did your parents get when you were a kid? My parents had all sorts of trees as we were growing up. Even some eclectic ones WAY before I was ever a glimmer in their eye. They have had BIG ones, Tall ones, ones with trains running around them & even a Silver one! But it was always out of a box. I wonder if they felt buying a "Real" tree each year was a waste of $ or did they feel that an artificial one looked better? I do not know because I never really asked. We just always took our tree out of a box each year. Now the timing of when the tree went up changed over the years. At first they would put their tree up AFTER my oldest brothers birthday on December 17th. Fast forward 12 years & I was born on the 21st {December is one BUSY month!} They "tried" to wait till after my birthday but that was not to be. I think there was a CHRISTmas tree in all of my birthday photos! =] When Michael & I got together we too would drag the CHRISTmas tree out of the box each year but we did this more of out necessity because he cannot handle when a tree sheds all of it's needles. I do LOVE the smell of a "real" tree but I too do not like the mess so artificial is the way we go! And even though a "real" tree is nice to look at & WAY better smelling we are going the less mess route! LOL! So I ask you is your tree...

REAL or artificial?...

B. Hellophone!...

One of our munchkins, Avery, just LOVES talking on the phone! Yes, Avery does not leave home without her purse or better yet her phone! She will bounce a baby on her hip, have a purse on her arm & a phone to her ear practically EVERY day! So when her pink Dollar Store Barbie cell phone broke I knew we would be in some trouble! That night I made Daddy take us all to Target to look for a new one!

Aave just before her $ Store phone broke!

 
It really is amazing the types of "play phones" they make for children these days. I really wanted to get her a pink one since that's her FAVORITE color but I had a feeling that was not to be! After checking each one out we she settled on the "B. Hellophone" by JustB-byou.com. I had never heard of this company before that night but after seeing what it can do I just had to tell EVERYONE about it! First off it is packaged in a box that is not only recycable but serves another purpose, gift wrap! No need to wrap it up it wraps itself! Just flip the cover around & presto you're gift is ready to give away!

Photo courtesy of Amazon

It lists that it is age appropriate for 18 months-5 years. The tribe will be four soon so it was perfect! It also advertises that it's the play cell phone that calls you back. Well I had to hear that for myself because Aave constantly tells us "Oh my phone's ringing, someone's calling me!". LOL! Well this phone does it!! It will ring two times & if they don't pick it up it will stop. So you don't have to worry about another LOUD toy! What's even cuter is that parents can record a personalized message for the child to discover, it also plays three pre-recorded messages PLUS some music! Now it does NOT come in solid pink like she wanted but the features made up for that. I took what colors they did have & let Aave choose. She ended up choosing an orange one. This phone is SO darn cute! Seriously this child has NOT put the phone down since we got it for her! She even took it to bed! So if you are looking for a cute, sturdy & functional play kid phone you really need to check out the...

B. Hellophone!...

Look at our tree!...

Oh MANY MANY moons ago my hubby planted this Mahogany tree in front of our house. It was suppose to be a sturdy tree that would stand up to the Hurricane's Florida gets from time to time. PLUS it is a native tree. Hubby is all about planting things that are native{Saves on water!}.Well I don't remember how long that tree lasted but along came Hurricane Jeanne I think & down it came. Well not entirely all of the tree but most of it did. That darn tree was rooted SO down deep that it was TOO hard to remove so we left it there. It looked terrible but the AMAZING part is that over time it survived! Before we knew it something was growing off the side of this "stump" and then it just grew & grew.

The other day I noticed something pretty special about that darn Mahogany Tree, it now has FIVE strong branches growing from that deep rooted stump. That tree was meant to be here! Now I am ALL about signs & if there was ever a sign this was it. You see the number FIVE is somewhat special to me. First off it is my most FAVORITE # & I always wanted to have FIVE children, which amazingly I now have! That's when I noticed that three of the branches were on one side and two branches on the other, almost representing the children we have! Pretty cool huh?! This was another one of those "Look at that pole" moments. LOL! When I noticed those FIVE branches I just wanted to tell my hubby...

Look at our tree!...

Google yourself...

I am amazed at how often I will Google something. If I need to find an address I Google it, if I need more info on a product I Google it. Google, Google, Google... However I never thought to Google myself & one day I did just that. It was interesting the various places my name came up in. There is actually another Cathy Fulton out there, she is a Doctor, definitely NOT me! LOL! When I did come across things pertaining to me there was the blogging community & of course Face Book but then it was also attached to some online newspaper articles from when the tribe was born. There I was starting to read the articles about our little miracles, reminiscing about our journey when smack the ugliness of people came out! Some of the comments people made about our little miracles was just SO ugly! Just because we could NOT get pregnant the "normal" way & had to resort to IVF to make our dream of having a family come true does not make it right for people to bash us. People need to do their research before saying such mean things! One thing that I was recently told was that there is a 5% chance for an embryo to split & we were that 5%. Yes what are the odds our "trips" would turn into quads? I now know, 5%! See that, we did not intentionally set out to have 4 babies. I really do believe that was totally a God thing. I had never been pregnant before & never had an embryo implant & WHAM all three took & then one split! WOW! You can not tell me that is not a miracle! And for people to then tell us that we should "selectively reduce" the pregnancy like they know what they are talking about is ludicrous! Any time you enter a woman's uterus to "reduce" a pregnancy you are creating a toxic environment for those other babies. That is asinine & we would have NO part of that. In the end our babies were born healthy all thanks to some AWESOME doctors & the fact that we have insurance! We are not or ever have been on welfare. We have insurance, albeit crappy insurance, but at least we have health care! YAY! One of the BIGGEST myth's I need to rebuke is that we do NOT get anything FREE. Yes some companies have programs for families with multiples & will give us coupons for FREE formula & diapers but it does not last forever. They do not just send us FREE DIAPERS FOREVER because we had multiples, it does not work that way. We were VERY lucky to have had our family & friends throw us baby showers & we received a TON of stuff most importantly diapers. We had SO many diapers that we did not have to buy any for almost 6 months! Yes SIX Whole months! AMAZING but true! We also had some of the BEST volunteers come assist us those first few months from our church. This was prayed upon & God again provided. Thank the Lord for that! So please when you see a mom or dad like us out & about trust that they are hard working people just wanting the best for their children. Don't go assuming that just because they had a "litter", their words not mine, they are abusing the system & do not deserve to be a parent. Be nice & acknowledge the good things they are doing. Remember we all deserve to hear something positive. It's amazing what happens when you...

Google yourself...

should I go?...

I have told MANY people how much I LOVE my iPhone, I better clarify that, I LOVE my iPhone app's. I just LOVE being able to check my email, Facebook & then play some games. Even our church has an iPhone app! Yes, Christ Fellowship has an iPhone app! I can watch services, check out classes & even send prayer requests. LOVE that! As far as the games go I used to play Words with Friends but then I was turned on to Bejeweled 2. Man is that game addictive! Ahh... So that is why I sadly say it's the app's that I LOVE & do NOT love the phone service. We switched to AT&T because of the "bundling" factor. When you have satellite TV, computer it is suppose to pay to then have your cell phone put in with it too. Well that was the plan! Since switching I get SO many dropped calls, my phone will shut off on it's own in the middle of me doing something or better yet it locks up. What gives? Do I even need a phone? I hear from other people about how much they pay monthly for their cell phones & know that we are paying SO much more.  I know if I were to call & ask to renegociate our bill they would probably just say "See ya!". There seems to be NO deals for being a loyal customer anymore! When I think of cell phone bills in general ours are astronomical! CRAZY CRAZY EXPENSIVE so I begin to think should I stay or...

should I go?...

cRuSaDeS...

You know how I am ALWAYS doing something. My mind is FULL of ideas! LOL! I will see something interesting that is new & find CREATIVE ways to put it to good use. If it's something better & mostly EASIER why not share it?! I call those moments "MiSsIoNs". Well recently I was told that I am not just on a MiSsIoN I am on a CRUSADE! I love that! So here is to my MANY future...

cRuSaDeS...

MiSsIoNs...

It seems that I am ALWAYS on some sort of a mission. My latest quest to find answers regarding my daughter attending speech has given me my NEWEST mission, making things easier for new parents to the school system. I'll admit it, I am a newbie! I do not know the in's & out's of the Palm Beach County School System nor do I want EVERY detail. I just want answers and I want them to be easily explained to me. No rigamaroll just stick to the facts & I'll be happy I promise! I am a planner at heart & like having new things explained to me. However I do NOT like walking into CHAOS! That is exactly what trying to get my daughter registered for speech was, CHAOTIC! Departments were closed, children were displaced, information was not available and most of all no one knew what to tell this first time parent to the ESE program. I felt quite HOPELESS! Note to those making these decisions, make them in June NOT the day before school is to start. Nothing like having all of your teachers & administrators come back to work the same week that they have school registration. I'm sure I am not the only one seeing a problem with this! All this mom wanted to do was know where her daughter would be attending, what days she would have her speech class & of course who her teacher would be. I was given all kinds of information but nothing concrete and most of all helpful. I was sent back & forth between two different schools trying to get her registered. {Neither school had her listed as attending there} & then I was told busing would NOT be available the first week. {No one told me that in June} SO many things were NOT explained to me that I wonder if other parents have had this happen to them. Now you can see my new mission, to help other parents who might be in my shoes. I want to help organize their "system", to come up with a plan that will make life simpler for parents. I know this will NOT be an easy task & I will have an uphill battle but I am up for the task. This is just me & one of my many...


MiSsIoNs...

CONFUSION...

Over the past week I have been put through quite the ringer. What started out as a simple thing turned into a HUGE event that has thoroughly stressed me out! Who would have thought trying to get Camryn registered for speech would turn out SO awful! This process started back in April. After speaking to their pediatrician & another mommy friend I decided to get them evaluated for speech. Not that they did not speak, it's actually quite the contrary. They are little jabber jaw's! LOL! It was not until my niece told me how she LOVED how Cam stutters when she is exited did I even think there was a problem. I paid closer attention & noticed how they accentuated the wrong consonents & I had the hardest time figuring out what they were saying. I took all four in for evaluations & believe it or not Camryn was the only one walking out needing it. That day when we left that evaluation we were told her "speech school" would be Meadow Park Elementary. Being that they are all attending preschool now the speech school is determined by the address of her preschool. I googled Meadow Park & found that it received a good rating PLUS it is not that far from their preschool. Well that was what threw the wrench into the plans. That school is overcrowded which meant she would now be displaced to yet another school even further away! You see the closest school she was assigned lost their communications unit so now she was being displaced. YES, you heard me right they were now going to bus her FURTHER away! Now I had just gotten used to the idea of having my 3 1/2 year old riding a bus a mile down the road & now she was going to go where?! 8 miles away?! I was NOT a happy camper! I think I cried a lot that day! SO many emotions flooded my brain & whoever answered my calls that day received my wrath! I really need to apologize to those people! I am SO SO sorry! I finally spoke to nice woman who reassured me about a few things; the 11 day count & the bus situation. With the 11 day count they have to count the amount of students in the ESE programs over the first 11 days & if the #'s are too high they will need to add a unit. So there is a slight chance that the unit at her original school may get reopened & she can be sent back. {I HOPE & PRAY THIS HAPPENS!} Then in regards to the bus there would be an aide riding with her & she would never be left alone. I took a BIG risk & decided we would try it out. I have been preparing Cam over the past few days by telling her that she will get to ride a bus, having another teacher, meeting new friends. She seems excited. Fast forward to their "Open House" today. First off it was scheduled in the MIDDLE of the day, no real info about what was needed or what I was to do. I show up to their front office & no one seemed to know anything. I tell them my name & Cam's name & they still did not know what class Cam would be in. They tell me to walk down this LONG corridor & tell me to pass by these BIG windows & then you will see two classrooms. They were NOT there! I had another woman point in a direction towards the back of the school, again nothing was marked. This was a BIG school, people everywhere & nothing was marked! Needless to say I got lost. Luckily another teacher helped me find my way. {Note to those school officials, parents need correct information & maps would be appreciated!} You would think that it being in a public school they would have their "stuff" together but NO! It has been such a CRAZY process. To make things even crazier after I attended the Open House at the Royal Palm School & thought I had her all registered I just receive a call from Meadow Park, the first school, saying that she is now allowed back there! I have had enough of all this...

CONFUSION!...

in moderation...

They tell me moderation, oh have I learned this word the HARD way! Ever since I had my gallbladder removed last month my ENTIRE eating habits have had to be altered! I really hoped that when the Doctor said "You will eventually be able to eat EVERYTHING", that he really meant it! NOPE! I have found that even the littlest things effect me in the BIGGEST ways! Having belly aches & visiting bathrooms are an understatement! UGH! No more spicy stuff, fried foods or even a bowl of ice cream. Having to restructure your eating habits just plain sucks!! I now have to eat everything...

in moderation...

An ode to the Neti Pot...

Oh Neti Pot, Oh Neti Pot where have you gone?

I am sitting here sick & seriously it's NOT much fun!

I want to get better so please help this girl out!

DON'T take a vacation just when I am feeling down & out!

You need to know that I brag about you OFTEN & keep you #1 on my list

Yet you act like this "stranger" , like you're the one that's been dissed!

So Please tell me why are you NOT working just when I need you the most?

Come back to me now & end this frustration. I'm a woman on a mission & I need a VACATION!!!

An ode to the Neti Pot...

blackberry brandy...

I have been battling some MAJOR conjestion since aquiring this cold of mine. More so than usual. Sadly I have been prone to get sinuitus, sinus infections or worse yet laryngitus after illnesses like this. Basically life just sucks right now! It seems like yesterday when I was a teenager that my parents nextdoor neighbors the Salerno's gave me advice regarding this condition I get. You see hey were Italian, Sicilian to be exact & did not believe in medicines. My mom used to tell me that they never took a pill for anything! One summer while visiting them at their beach house on the Jersey shore they gave me some sage advice. Mrs Salerno told me to take a shot of blackberry brandy just before I laid down for bed. That brandy would eat at whatever was in my throat & I would be talking normal in no time. Let me tell you they were SO right! That blackberry brandy did the trick & I keep a bottle of it in our liquor cabinet just in case! I cannot say enough about...

blackberry brandy...

battery operated alarm clocks...

The INFAMOUS clock!

I can just not win! I had to work EXTRA early this morning & wouldn't you know it but my alarm clock took a dump! When I say EXTRA early I mean 3AM where I'm actually waking up at 2 & when I say took it a dump I mean it DID NOT go off at all! The darn clock was stuck on 12:52am as if it thought it was keeping the correct time! UGH! It's rough working these CRAZY hours but you do what you have to do to earn that almighty dollar! When I work these wacky schedules I will stay down at my Mom's house so I can just roll out of bed & not have to make that LONG trek of a drive in the wee hours of the morning. Trust me that extra hour saved makes a HUGE difference! What makes matters even worse is that I am a routine girl. I need to do things the way I normally do them & if I veer from my "norm" things usually go wrong, really really wrong. I will think I'm dreaming or just sleep through the alarm. That would be VERY VERY bad! Part of this routine I keep is that I wear ear plugs to block out ALL noises, mostly my hubby's snoring, but that's another story! Just before I lay down I check the alarm clock to make sure it is set correctly & that it is atually tuned in to a station so something other than white noise will wake me up. Now getting to the alarm clock, I use this OLD battery operated one because I once had one that was electric & the one night I needed to be awoken we we lost power so it NEVER went off & I of course slept in. Arghh... Being that I am SO set in my ways it seems difficult for me to even try "something new" in the alarm clock dept, ie: my cell phone. I just cannot even attempt it for fear someone will call me on the one night I need to sleep! I can just about imagine MY friends calling or texting me in the MIDDLE of the night! Just the thought of that blows that plan out of the water! LOL! So now I have to go find me some new batteries to prevent any more issues! Oh what would I do without...

battery operated alarm clocks...

XL coffee EXTRA light EXTRA sweet...

OK first of all I need to make one thing VERY clear by stating the fact that my day cannot start until I've had my LARGE cup of coffee! I cannot even remember when I started drinking this vice of mine but I do & I LOVE it! That being said even though I LOVE to drink it I'm not that much of a connoisseur. I just know that it's coffee, wakes me up & it tastes good to me. My mother on the other hand has a nose for it & can tell when it's a fresh pot, FULLY loaded or just plain decaf. I'm no where near that good, I just LOVE it about as much as I LOVE eating my dark chocolate! YUM! I drink it EXTRA light & EXTRA sweet. Because of the strange hours I keep at my part-time job I tend to go to Dunkin Donuts to fulfill my wants in this dept. They are nearby & most of all they have a drive thru so I'm there! LOL! It was not until the other day did I realize how different each Dunkin Donuts really is. Yes they pretty much all serve the same kinds of coffee, bagels, muffins, wraps & most of all donuts but their prices are VERY different! Did you know that being they are individually owned they can pretty much charge whatever they want for the same size coffee? YEP! For YEARS I have been driving to the Dunkin near my work & ordering my usual, an XL coffee EXTRA light EXTRA sweet. Recently I have been paying $2.43 each time figuring that inflation had driven up the price of my FAV drink. But as I have already said I NEED my coffee so I just pay it. Well just the other day I stopped on my way off the turnpike at a DIFFERENT Dunkin Donuts and ordered my regular only to be charged 32 cents cheaper! Yes, THIRTY TWO cents cheaper! I could not believe how much of a difference in price it was from one Dunkin to the next in the SAME friggin' town! {FYI this occurred in Pompano Beach, FL} I am here to tell you that it really does pay to investigate! You better believe I will be rethinking where I purchase my next...

XL coffee EXTRA light EXTRA sweet...

that telephone pole...

I have decided to create yet another blog like I have a TON of time on my hands! LOL! I have to say that the one thing I have found within myself during this journey is that I LOVE blogging! I love putting my thoughts down on paper! I already have a blog for the tribe SO this blog will be ALL about ME & the stuff that I find interesting, zany, heart felt & sometimes down right mad! Now to fill you in on the title of this blog. Well it all goes back MANY moons ago to us driving down the road & me pointing out EVERYTHING I found interesting on the side of the road! Yes, I do this! Well since then he ALWAYS tells me how I will notice EVERY detail including that telephone pole! One day he said "Look at that pole!". Yes he made fun of me! ]= But I have to admit that I did not take it as an insult, I took it as a compliment seeing as I do notice ALL the details! Remember people it's not about the BIG stuff it's all in the details! So after hearing that you can just about imagine that I will have PLENTY to talk about within the confines of this blog! I really hope that you all will follow along on this journey of mine! I can promise you ONE thing, it will be interesting! Trust me I can find something interesting to discuss in just about anything including...

that telephone pole...