The Hackworths

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut, Sometimes You Don't

Today I am going nuts. Lou has done nothing but bounce off the walls for the past three days. I know it's because we can't get out of the house. I can't take the girls anywhere until our car seats get replaced. (Still haven't heard anything about that, by the way). She has gotten in to everything you could possibly think of. I caught her earlier this morning sucking chocolate syrup straight out of the bottle. Argh! She's been squirting Little Miss with her bottle of milk. Little Miss loves it though... Go figure. I really need a break!

Morons, They're Just Morons

I'm trying to get my car seats replaced by the insurance company. I'm not having an easy time. I called the claims center last night to talk about it with a claims rep. I was told that if there was no glass breakage and no visible damage then they will not replace the seats. I asked the guy about structural damage that wasn't visible. I gave the guy several websites including the American Academy of Pediatrics website that said the seats should be replaced no matter how minor the accident. Even my instruction booklet says it should be replaced. He said it's not likely that there was any damage. And so on. Finally I said to him surely my children's safety is worth the $300 bucks it will cost for them to be replaced. The asswipe had the nerve to say, and I quote, "No, it's not." I am so steamed! This morning I was at my insurance agent's office before they even opened. I talked to my agent, and she said this was ridiculous, that she would get it taken care of and she would call me this afternoon to let me know. I sure hope they call to tell me they're replacing them both. I won't take those girls anywhere until I get new seats.

A Three Bottle Night

Little Miss just couldn't seem to stay asleep last night. I didn't think that kiddo would ever get enough to drink. She woke up three times wanting more. Lou also joined me in bed last night around 1:30 because my upstairs neighbors are loud. She came in my room crying about the people walking. Oh, well. I got plenty of sleep and my kiddos are healthy. What more could I ask for? Other than for The Mister to be home, of course.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

I missed the race today, but a quick check over at NASCAR.com tells me that my favorite little Lowe's car driver finished in 8th place. Not too shabby.

The insurance adjustor is supposed to come and check out my car tomorrow to see how much damage the accident caused. Hopefully it won't take long to get fixed.

I've added a bunch of pictures to the gallery. And that's about all.

What A Sweet Kid

I got this joke from BigSimon's. I always love a little good Marine humor!

Little Melissa came home from first grade and told her father that they learned about the history of Valentine's Day.

"Since Valentine's Day is for a Christian saint and we're Jewish," she asked, "will God get mad at me for giving someone a valentine?"

Melissa's father thinks a bit then said, "No, I don't think God would get mad. Who do you want to give a valentine to?"

"Saddam Hussein" she replied flatly.

Her father was shocked. "Why Saddam Hussein?"

"Well," she said, "I thought that if a little American Jewish girl could have enough love to give Hussein a valentine, he might start to think that maybe we're not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little bit. And if other kids saw what I did and sent valentines to Hussein, he'd love everyone a lot. And then he'd start going all over the place to tell everyone how much he loved them and how he didn't hate anyone anymore!"

Her father's heart swelled and he looked at his daughter with newfound pride. "Melissa, that's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard."

"I know," Melissa said. "And once that gets him out in the open, the Marines could blow the crap out of him."

Accidents Are Bound To Happen

I just wish they didn't have to happen to me. We were on the way to the bank this afternoon and had stopped at a red light. We were about the sixth car in line. It's been raining all day. The guy couldn't stop, and he rear-ended us. Lou and Little Miss were with me and so was my sister Larissa.

Little Miss started screaming on impact and I flew out of the car to the other side (she sits on the passenger side in the rear) to check on her. As soon as she stopped crying, I called 911. (Thank goodness for my cell phone. I will never not have one again.) They asked if anyone was hurt and I said no one in my car was. Then I turned to the other driver to see if any of the people in that car were injured. The lady in the passenger side said she couldn't feel her legs. So I told the 911 operator this and she said she'd send an ambulance. Not long after that, a police car arrived. Then another police car. Then yet another police car. (They must have been having a slow day!) Then the fire truck and rescue squad showed up along with the ambulance. The lady turned out to be fine, and so far we all seem to be okay. I really would like for the insurance company to pay for me to get new carseats, because I just don't feel comfortable with the girls being in carseats that have been in an accident even though it was a minor one. So, all in all it's been an exciting day for us. I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt. I think my Marine Corps tag holder onner thingy was what received the most damage. The insurance company said they'd replace that, though.

It's Just An Inch From Me To You Depending On What Map You Use

I'm missing The Mister a lot today. I don't know if it's because I keep seeing all of these couples together or what. It's been a long day today. I keep trying to tell myself to remember how fast the time has gone so far, but then I realize how much time we really have left to wait. I'm going to go find one of his shirts, a pair of his sweats, and I'm going to put them on and crawl in bed and wait for this day to be over with.

Cleveland

Went walking underneath the shadows
Where dark and suede secrets lay
When night's knife falls gently down
Hearts helplessly fall to the ground
Underneath a velvet sky
Only words can lie

I wanna tell you everything
I wanna make your toes curl
You'll be my only boy
And I'll be your only girl
There's not much I can say
You're in Cleveland today
You're in Cleveland today

Stewardesses like Cosmo magazine
Vogue makes me nervous, I feel so plain
I could face the world fearlessly
If you would face it here with me
With just our four hands and four eyes
Traffic cops will compromise

I wanna tell you everything
I wanna make your toes curl
You'll be my only boy
And I'll be your only gir
There's not much I can say
You're in Cleveland today
You're in Cleveland today

Daffodils and roulette wheels and rusty automobiles
Somewhere our things share the same windowsill
Somewhere our hearts exist independent of time
Somewhere we are whole
One body, one body and one mind

I wanna tell you everything
I wanna make your toes curl
You'll be my only boy
And I'll be your only girl
There's not much I can say
You're in Cleveland today
You're in Cleveland today

From the air things look so ridiculous
Our fears so small, our fights so vain
I want to pilot a plane with you
So all our problems look small too
It's just an inch from me to you
Depending on what map you use

I wanna tell you everything
I wanna make your toes curl
You'll be my only boy
And I'll be your only girl
There's not much I can say
You're in Cleveland today
You're in Cleveland today

Cleveland
by Jewel

What Is Wrong With Me?

I woke up at 2:30 this morning after having a horrible nightmare. I think I love to work myself up into a frenzy because what did I do? I rolled over and went right back to sleep. The dream just picked up again where it left off. Needless to say, I was up for the rest of the morning at about 3, sitting on the couch in the dark paranoid about every little creak I heard. I really hate not having The Mister there to wake up and hold me when I have these bad dreams. Only 286 days until he comes back home.

Some Good News, Some Bad News

First, the good news. Jimmie Johnson finished third in the Daytona 500 today. I'm looking forward to a good season for #48.

Now the bad news. My stinking less-than-one-month-old computer has to be traded in. ARGH! It's usable, but it has alternating horizontal lines of clear and blurry. I am so glad I went ahead and bought the extended warranty. They didn't have any in stock in either one of the Oklahoma City stores, so they're having one shipped from the Tulsa store. I hope it doesn't take long because these lines are really irritating.

Happy Valentine's Day

We're off to my grandparents' house this weekend. Lou is totally excited about seeing her Grandma 'Stelle. I hope everyone has a great V-Day! Here's a little love from my little love...

I'm Melting!

I've lost 5 more pounds. I don't know that I really have a goal weight in mind. I guess it's more of a size goal. If I get down to a 10, I'll see how happy I am. If I think I need to loose more, then I'll aim for a size 8. And so on and so on. I started at 185. I'm 5'5, but I really think I hide my weight pretty well. (Read as: it's all in my boobs). I'm now down to 160. I'm so proud of myself for sticking to the exercise routine and eating better. I haven't been this light since before I had Lou. I was about 150-155 when I got pregnant with her.

On to another issue I'm having. I have a digital camcorder. I have an IEEE 1394 port to plug it in to. So I try it. The video goes on to the computer beautifully. But... there's no sound! ARGH! I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong! If anyone out there knows, please, please, pretty please help! Even if you never comment again. I'm desperate here.

Picture for the day...

Bring On The Steak

Little Miss got another tooth today. That's a total of 5. She's just too cute with a mouth full of teeth. Working on the photolog today. Allison is helping me and I just think she rocks. That's all folks!

Nothing To Say

My sister and I had fun last night. I've been trying desperately to get some video on to the computer from the camcorder. I'm getting the image, but absolutely no sound. It's irritating. I'm also trying to set up a photolog. I'll let everyone know when that is ready. Other than that, it's boring over here.

Happy Birthday To Yoooou

Today is my sister's 21st birthday. We're going to the Bricktown Brewery to celebrate. I'll have no kiddos, she'll have no kiddos, who knows what kind of wild party will ensue.

I Do Not Like Green Eggs And Spam

I've missed The Screensavers quite a bit lately, but I always look forward to their download of the day. As I was browsing the archives, I came across this download. It's an email address encoder. You run it through the program and it spits out a javascript code of your email address that the spambots can't translate. Go get it!

A Blissful Mommy Moment

Lou volunteered to go pee on the potty. I was astounded. She took off her diaper, said I need to pee, and we took her to the bathroom, lifted the Spongebob covered lid, sat her down, and she did it! I hope that she is finally ready to potty train.

Want to see the little princess's throne?

Wally World Will Be My Downfall

Hello, my name is Jen, and I'm an addict. I have purchased yet another $5 DVD from Wal-Mart. I can't help myself. I am drawn to that huge bin with movies in it. Every week, I find aonther one. It's only $5 my head tells me. So I grab another. I still have several up there that my mom bought that I haven't even watched. Yesterday's purchase? In Love And War. Oh yeah....

This is out there. Again. Oh, where is the spring?

I've Made A Command Decision

I"ve decided to stop censoring myself so much. When I first began blogging, it was mostly for family. We lived in NC and wanted to keep everyone updated. Now that J is gone, it's more of a journal for me. I don't think that any of my family reads this anyway. They call occasionally asking if I've updated the pictures. Then I email them the direct link to them. If they do read this, they never mention it. And since I don't badmouth anyone in the family, it isn't like they'll be offended. I say a few curse words here and there. I'm not the perfect mom and wife and I'm tired of trying to pretnend that I am. So from now on you'll see just a little more of the real me. The mean mommy, the non house cleaning wife, yeah that's me.

Damn Okie Drivers

I know that you have to pass a test to get a driver's license in this state. I took it. Has it really changed in the 7 years since I did? I KNOW we were taught that the white dotted line down the middle was to separate lanes. You stay on one side, the other driver stays on their side. Except in Oklahoma. Everyone drives down the middle. Even if you're next to them. So what if you need to scoot over in to oncoming traffic a little.

Telemarketers And Bill Collectors Suck

I keep getting phone calls from a company about a past due bill. It's not even a person. It's one of those automated messages. When you say hello, it replies with, "This call is concerning your account with such and such, please call us at 1-800-WHO-CARES between the hours of..." you get the picture. The thing is, I don't even have any kind of an account with these people, and since it's a machine, I can't tell it to quit calling me.

It's Pretty As Long As I Don't Have To Go Out There

An hour and a half later...

Will Rogers Was Right

"If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." This past weekend was a lovely weekend. Temperatures were in the 70's. Today it's snowing. We're supposed to get about 4 inches. Thank goodness I don't neet to go anywhere today other than to get my sis from school. I hope we never get stationed someplace like Alaska. I'll never leave the house.

Cleanliness Is Next To Impossible

I managed to get the entire house clean. And I do mean the whole shebang. The dishes are washing, there is only a half of a load of clothes to be washed, and most importantly, the floors have been vacuumed. I can't believe it's only 10.

I've Said It Before And I'll Say It Again

I hate poop. Apparently Little Miss ate some beads. I didn't know this until this morning. I was changing her diaper, and lo and behold, a bright pink bead and a green bead had somehow made its way through her digestive tract. Can we say nas-tay?

Babies Everywhere

My aunt had her baby on the 30th. A little boy. I haven't seen him yet, but I bet he's just adorable. I've only seen a small handful of truly ugly babies. Isn't it strange how people with the ugliest babies think their kid is the cutest thing ever? They are talking to you and they're like, "Isn't he/she just adorable?" and you start slowly backing away while trying to avoid the question like the plague. I'll never understand how they can not see their kid is ugly. That was one of my biggest fears when I was pregnant. And I swore to myself I would admit it if my kids were unattractive. Thank goodness I don't have that problem.

On another note, Little Miss is 9 months old today. She's getting so big. I can't believe that she's so old already. She's only got three more months until her first birthday.

*Edited to add: She's got another tooth! This makes #4.