Heather and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

And so begins post 2 for today. Yesterday was "one" of those days and I just need to share with all computer land what happened.

It started off okay. I went to Bible study with the girls and then to lunch with the one and only Rachel. I came home for about an hour before I needed to get my kids from school and it began. I sat in the recliner to catch up on email and look down. Normally, I would have seen this:

But, what do I see this time!? THIS:

Some of you might be saying to yourselves "so what, your shoe broke?" First, how does a shoe even break that way!? Then, let me just tell you that these are no ordinary shoes! They are my FAVORITE shoes! I love them. It's like wearing really cool socks, but better. You know? I remember the day I got them like it was yesterday. I saw them there on the shelf in Rack Room Shoes. I went for them only to realize they were expensive. I am cheap. I tried them on and then stood pondering for a few moments. I decided that my cheapness would win and walked away. My sister, who was with me, grabbed them and secretly bought them, handing them to me as we left the store. Ahhh...what a great sister to know that her sister desperately wanted those shoes, but could not overcome her frugalness (yeah, not a word, but whatevs). So, yesterday the left shoe broke. I grieved for a moment and then went to pick up my children. We got home and they began working on their homework. Blaine finished before Aubrey and began singing. Well, this did not sit well with Aubrey, AT ALL! She began having a fit, telling him to stop. At this point, my brother, Scott, calls. We are having a pretty serious discussion about some stuff and what was annoying to Aubrey becomes grounds for murder, in her mind. She begins staring Blaine down and saying things like "I'm going to kill you. You have 15 minutes to live!" I interrupt Scott and tell Aubrey to get on her knees in the corner. She obeys and then turns to Blaine and says "You're SO lucky you have your mommy here to protect you!" I finish my conversation with Scott. At about the same time I am hanging up the phone, Aubrey leaps for Blaine. I stand up quickly from the recliner to gently remind her that I am the one in charge of life and death in this house and it happens. The recliner jerks forward and then back again, my brand new and very expensive laptop falls to the floor. Yep. It broke. For your viewing pleasure:

My beautiful, broken laptop sitting on the arm or the recliner as though he had never fallen.

The power cord to my laptop- broken.

A shot of the hole that the power cord plugs into- also broken.

He landed perfectly on the cord and it jammed into the plug-in and broke both the adapter and the port. I frantically got on the phone with Dell, knowing I had very little time to find out what to do before my battery would be dead. Some wonderfully rude man with a foreign accent informed me they would send me a box, I would put the laptop in the box, send it back to them, and it would be returned to me in 3-4 weeks "as though it were a brand new computer" all for $539.09!!! NO JOKE!!! My first thought was "$539.09! Are you kidding me!?" My second thought was "a brand new computer! Are you going to erase my hard drive!?" The answer to that question was "yes, you will want to back up any important data you have." Really!? On 1/2 a battery before death!? The thing cannot charge in its condition! Apparently they don't care about that, so I paid the man, hung up the phone, and cried. Very quickly I sucked it up grabbed my 80GB iPod and a memory stick and began "backing things up". I then emailed a few people and explained my upcoming absence from the land of electronic mail. Almost immediately my dear friend Ashley's husband, John, called and said "did you already pay Dell?!" Turns out John the Great can fix it for oh, WAY less than what Dell charges and have it to me before May! I called Dell and they are refunding my small fortune. John- you are no longer a computer geek. You are now a computer god!

And lastly, here is my kids' mugshot. I had them stand there, after this happened, so I could take a picture. I told them it was for my blog about how my laptop and shoe broke. This is what I got:
Aubrey almost looks remorseful. Blaine, on the other hand, looks kinda proud. Here's hoping for better days!

Heather and the Awesomely Fantastic Day...

I plan on writing two posts today. It will depend on how far I can get on this awful, outdated 2006 desktop computer (more to come on that in the other post). So, anyway, I thought I would start with happy...

Oh my goodness! I just got a text from one Ashley K.!!! Hold on. Okay, I'm back. That was exciting! (If you knew Ashley, you would understand.) Anyway, this past weekend was my birthday. My awesomely awesome friends threw the best birthday party ever for me and another great friend, Mariela. It was an 80's themed night full of dancing, big hair, tacky clothes, and fun. My friends are the absolute best. I felt so special and loved! So without further ado, here are some hilarious pictures:The gang minus two.

Dawn, me, and Kelly before the party

Darcas and me- PARTY pic!

Kelly doing what she remembers about the 80s- being born!

Ashley and me doing our "Romy and Michelle" with Darcas crashing the background.

My "Vogue" pose

Darcas, Kelly, Mariela, me, and Rachel

Dawn and me

Who knew Twizzlers could be so much fun!?

Rachel and me- PARTY pic!

The birthday girls!

Jenny (who is 20wks with twins, btw) and Old Heather :)

Kelly may be the funniest person I know!

I had a blast! I can never say thank you enough to the wonderful friends that did this for me and the wonderful friends who came to share it with me! You guys rock!

Not Much...

It's amazing how things tend to get quieter when children are sick. Aubrey and Blaine have been spending their days sitting around or sleeping. Brandon caught "it", so he's been working from home the last couple of days. I have managed to stay well and am hoping the worst is over.

So, I'm going to take this opportunity to respond to a few comments:

From the post "Things Heather Hate..."

Ashley said...
I'm kinda scared of you now, especially because you put people who are always late. However, I noticed that flighty people did not make the list-phew!
Ahhhh... Ashley, you never have to be scared of me! I ♥ you! Your lateness enables me to a)spend more time with you or b)spend more time with Zoey- both of which I enjoy!
Scott said...
I hate when you wake up 5-10 minutes before the alarm goes off! What are you supposed to do? Wake up? Go back to sleep? Not a good way to start the day.
Scott-Since you wrote this, I have been waking up exactly 9 minutes before my alarm- on a DAILY basis! It now has an honorary place on the list and you can lift the curse you placed on me. Thanks in advance!
Sara said...
i love how creepy carwly things always hop in your hair!! haha
Sara- not funny- AT ALL, brings tears to my eyes in fact! And you misspelled "crawly"!!! Scott, can you please put said curse from above comment on Sara? Thank you in advance!

From the post: "Don't Forget the Lyrics :)"

Sara said...
We used to sing, "hold me closer Tony Danza" instead of Tiny Dancer
Correction Sara- YOU used to sing, "hold me closer Tony Danza"! Admittedly, I used to sing (stopped last week, in fact), "hold me close I'm tired of dancin'". Much better than "Tony Danza", in my humble yet accurate opinion!
Allison said...
Correct lyric: Secret Agent Man
What I sing: Secret Asian Man
Correct lyric: Big Ole Jet Airliner
What I sing: Big Ole Jet Carolina
Correct lyric: Gimme the beat boys
What I sing: Gimme the Beach Boys
Correct lyric: Peaceful, easy feeling
What I sing: East Coast, easy feeling
It's not "secret Asian man"??????

From the post: "I'm Tired..."

Ashley said...
Sheesh.
Ashley-I'm not sure if you were annoyed with me or tired too? I assumed you meant to say "I ♥ you, Heather!"
kelly said...
Ashley and I are just precious.
Heck yeah, gots that right! I think Ashley was mean to me though, KEEELLLLLLYYYYYY!!!
sara said...
single, working parents just do it.

sara said...
oh, and we pray
Sara-I love you, sis! I think of you all the time and really respect what you do on a daily basis! I'm in awe. Seriously.

From the post: "My Sweet, Overly Irritable Blaine..."

sara said...
i think you're partial to blaine cause aubrey is more like me and blaine is more like, well, you and scott
Sara- Aubrey is definitely more like you. I'll give you that. And Blaine is definitely more like Scott. But Blaine is like me? I don't think so. I'm going to go throw a hissy fit now, thank you very much!

Thanks to everyone who left comments and messages of congratulations regarding our surrogacy journey! I really do appreciate all of you! And yes, Kelly, it is always something at the Bello household! I like it that way! Gives me something to blog about :)

Quarantined...

The Aubs started running fever last night. I took her to the doctor this morning. Said doctor did the flu test and it was POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right folks, she has the FLU! A couple of hours later, the Blaine started running fever and even fell asleep on the couch! That's how bad this is- Blaine. Asleep. Couch. Middle of the day! According to doc, this flu lasts 7 days and the cough lasts 3 weeks! So, we're in quarantine! I put my kids on notice: this is the last year those little rascals talk me out of getting them the flu shot! And me, who normally has no life, had something planned for every single day this week, including my birthday! Oh well, there's always next year (assuming the flu doesn't kill me!).

The BIG Announcement...

Well, I think it's finally safe to let all you out there in cyberland know our big news. Where to begin...five years ago, at the ripe age of 24, I was faced with some "womanly" health problems and left with no option but to have my uterus removed. We never felt like our family was complete (we even tried to have a baby for a few months before this happened), but felt like we just had to "deal" with the hand we were given. About three years ago, it dawned on me, we could still have biological children, I just couldn't carry them. We began researching the world of surrogacy. About that same time, we began dealing with my back problems and Blaine's digestive issues (both of which are now resolved!), the timing just wasn't right. We looked into adoption, but didn't feel led in that direction. Well, a few months ago, the "tug" to add to our family returned with a vengeance. Enter my dear, wonderful friend Dawn. I initially met Dawn two and a half years ago through my research of surrogacy. We became quick and great friends and now the timing is right for us to move forward on this journey! Dawn is going to birth a baby for us!!! This child will be 100% biologically ours, but Dawn will be his/her caretaker for 9+ months (and Aunt Dawn thereafter!). So where are we in the process? We have finished up the paperwork part of it (YAY!) and are patiently waiting to hear news on a court date (Texas is a surrogacy friendly state- we will go to court and essentially adopt our not-yet-created children, so when the baby is born our names will go on the birth certificate and there is no question as to parentage.). Hopefully that will occur in the next couple of weeks. As it looks now, we are set for an early March transfer and will know if we achieved pregnancy by mid- to late March! We are so excited and honored that God is allowing us to take part in this incredible and unique process! Words cannot describe Dawn and her wonderful family! I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us and to grow closer and love her more every single day! There are very few people who would give of themselves so unselfishly and very few people I would entrust our children to. I tell you, without a single ounce of doubt, that I could not have wished a better person to do this with. We are eternally grateful! So, fasten your seatbelts~ this blog is about to be full of inspiring, heartwarming, and hopefully funny stories from the world of gestational surrogacy.* And after that, baby pictures :)

*I'll try not to neglect filling you in on our daily adventures and stories of the two blessings we already have over this time :)
**For anyone who doesn't know much about surrogacy, I would encourage you to look into it or write me with any questions, concerns, etc. you may have. I will gladly answer them and am happy to share, in case you couldn't tell :) hgbello@embarqmail.com

No Joke...

I'm sitting here working on email. Aubrey is upstairs in the game room playing on the computer. Blaine is standing in the living room by me going through a basket of candy. They each have two boxes of game shaped candy (sweet tarts) in the basket. Here is the conversation that ensues, both children yelling between floors...

Blaine: I think mine are the Clue and Monopoly games!

Aubrey: Yours are the Clue and Monopoly games!

Blaine: NOOOOO, mine are the Clue and Monopoly games!

Aubrey: That's what I said! Yours are the Clue and Monopoly games!

Blaine (completely indignant): I did not hear you!!! I was too busy talking!!!

Blaine then looks at me, as he pops a sweet tart in his mouth and calmly now: I LOVE sweet tarts! They bring health and joy! Ahhh, health and joy *sigh*

Never a dull moment :)

My Sweet, Overly Irritable, Blaine...

If you know me personally, on a daily basis, this post will not come as shocking. I am a bit partial to my Blaine. There is just something about that boy that makes my heart melt. It may be his head full of curly hair or his beautiful green eyes. It may just be that he's gorgeous or maybe it's just that something that little boys do to their moms. I don't know. It's always been that when he and his sister are both doing the same undesirable act, he is going to get off easier. I'm honest about this problem and I really am taking steps to correct it. I am already working on my attitude towards his future wife.

If you know us personally, this won't come as shocking either. Blaine may be adorable in every physical way, but boy is that kid temperamental! I know some of you want to jump and blame me for this, but truth is, he's always been this way. That kid came flying out of the womb with an attitude! He was an incredibly fussy baby, the kind that would scream for literally hours straight to get what he wanted. Well what he wanted was always his momma. *insert small sneaky smile from momma here* It was difficult. He didn't walk until 19 months old because he insisted on being held by me all the time, not even Daddy would do. No bathroom trip was complete for me without Blaine screaming like he was being tortured to death outside the door. I remember his toddlerhood like this:

And my personal favorite...

Yep, most pictures we tried to take of him were taken by me, looking down at him screaming his head off, begging to be picked up. Gosh, I love that kid!

Now, at seven years old, he is still very partial to certain people (he does tolerate his dad now though). He gets set off pretty easily and most of the time, no one knows why. Luckily, his teacher at school dotes on him like I do. Looks will get you pretty far in life! In all seriousness, we are working on attitude. It's a long road ahead, but here's what happened yesterday...

Blaine was sitting at the table working on his homework (without me threatening his life!) and being sweet to his sister.

me: You sure are in a good mood today!

Blaine: Yeah, I am. It's weird. I'm usually very, very angry!

Ahhhh, small steps.

I'm Tired...

Let me start by saying that I have no idea how single parents do it. My day started with the usual getting the kids ready and dropping them off at school. Then, I came home to get myself ready and met the "ladies" at Panera Bread for brunch. After that, I grocery shopped at Target (I also got some great deals on clothes for the Aubs and had a sweet note left on my windshield by Ashley and Kelly- that made my day!), came home, put the groceries away, made a phone call to "old" Heather (I'm "new" Heather at church) about the upcoming Super Bowl festivities, went to the mall to restock on Proactiv (also got sucked into a makeup demonstration and bought way too much stuff), picked up the kids from school, went to Walgreen's to pick up Brandon's meds, got myself and the kids dinner, came back home, fed the kids aforementioned dinner, and worked like crazy on Aubrey's science project (SERIOUSLY, why do they give 3rd graders science projects for their parents to do!?). Now, I'm waiting for the kids to finish baths so I can put them to bed and then crash. Where is my hubby? Well, he is at a work engagement. You know, the Rockets/Lakers game. Ever heard of it? Yeah, important business stuff. I am so glad he doesn't travel like he used to. I have gotten really used to having him home and I enjoy it. Days like today are exhausting. Good night.

How Quickly We Forget...

I sat down last night and read through this blog. When I got to my August/September blogs, I sobbed. I have been feeling so much better, physically, that I have completely forgotten how bad off I was. One blog in particular, I wrote the week before my surgery. I listed the simple things I was looking forward to being able to do again, post op. It absolutely broke my heart. I am happy to report that I can do things like move without grunting and groaning, get in bed by myself (with the help of my step), dry myself off after a shower, and get into my vehicle without having to pick up my legs! I still am unable to bend, but this is not because I can't, it's because my doctor won't allow it. I make do though. I have become so much more limber than I was before. I can put on my socks, shoes, and pants- all without bending. I can pick up almost everything with my toes and put it in my hands, without bending. Things I have to get low for, like plugging something in, unloading the bottom rack of the dishwasher, or getting something from lower cabinets, I squat. I have adapted and assuming my knees hold out (I wonder some days), I don't know if I'll ever go back to bending. It's so much easier on your back to squat (and better for the thighs :) Although it's inconvenient not to bend and I am terribly hot and uncomfortable in this awful back cast, I am in NO pain! I have moments when I forget that altogether and I had definitely forgotten how bad the pain was. I am so thankful this surgery was successful and can't wait for my full release. On to bigger and better things!

*Note: I think I've decided to attempt to watch "Bones" and "CSI:" on the internet Friday mornings. Just in case all of you that offered help, cough, no one, cough, were wondering.
**Sara, I love "Bones"! Deal with it! And yes, your misspellings drive me crazy!

Quite the Dilemma...

I'm in a pickle. You see last night while watching the BCS National Championship Game (way to go Florida! I still don't like you, but I LOVE that you won another one for the SEC! Now, maybe, all the Big 12 people here will be quiet! Yeah, I know, not likely. But, I digress...), FOX Network was kind enough to inform me, with one week's advance notice, that "Bones" will be moving to Thursday night! After this shocking revelation, I missed the second quarter of the game thinking about what I was going to do. See I love "Bones", but I also love "CSI:", "Grey's Anatomy", and "The Office". If you aren't a TV junkie like me, you may be wondering what the problem is. Well, now, they all come on at the same time, on the same night! "CSI:", "Grey's Anatomy", and "The Office" have all been on Thursday for the last three seasons, but I had come up with a plan. My DVR will record two shows. So, I record "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Office" while watching "The Office" because we like to laugh and we want to have it recorded as well as watch it as it airs. I then watch "CSI:" on the internet on Friday morning. This system is working, except that I am several episodes behind on "Grey's Anatomy". Now, thanks to FOX, my system is no good. The way I see it, I have two options: keep doing what I'm doing, but add "Bones" to my Friday morning internet line up (assuming FOX is going to let me watch full episodes on the internet) or DVR "Grey's" and "Bones", watch "The Office" on the upstairs TV, without having it recorded, and keep watching "CSI:" on Friday morning. I'm perplexed! Do any of you have this problem? What are you going to do? Take a moment to either share in my pain, chastise me for being a TV addict, or give me a third option I might be missing. The moments are ticking away to Thursday and I need a plan people (and a shower, but whatevs)!

Don't Forget the Lyrics :)

My problem is never forgetting the lyrics. It is, however, getting the lyrics very wrong. I know the "words" to tons of songs and they stay with me forever. As a child, I learned nearly all 80s songs lyrics, especially the "hair" bands! I'm sure you've all experienced it. You're singing along with a song you like and someone you're with looks at you and says "What words did you just sing?" Instantly, you know. You have been a victim of similar, but ridiculous, sounding words that seem to belong, in your mind at least. For example, the song "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake. The correct words: "Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone" Heather's words: "Like a twister, I was born to walk along". Yeah, my loving husband got a kick out of that one. Well, my dear sweet Blaine has the same problem. Last week I was working in the kitchen with my under cabinet radio on Christian radio. Blaine was playing on the floor, singing along. The song "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone" by Chris Tomlin came on. This is one of Blaine's favorites. He put his little head back and was singing as loud as he possibly could. It was an awesome moment: watching my little man use his voice to praise the Lord. Then, it happened. The correct words: "My God, My Savior has ransomed me" Blaine's version: "My God, My Savior made some tea"! He got it honestly!

Things Heather Hate...

I did this several years ago on my previous blog. You know, the one blogger decided to no longer let me log in to? Well, I'm doing it again because it's that kinda day. But this time, a special treat: I'm also going to explain why Heather hate these things! Hold on to your rears!

Things Heather Hate...(in no particular order)

• purple crayons- Isn't it obvious?! Over the past five years, I have had crayons melt in my car on three different occasions: two on the seat and one on the floor- all PURPLE!!! Five years ago, I dried a PURPLE crayon in a load of white laundry. Now, this was not just any white laundry, it was our *nice* white laundry. All of Brandon's dress khakis were ruined, as were my khakis and white dress clothes. Interesting note: when I picked through the remains to find from where the purple crayon had come, there it was- a huge purple wax spot on the pocket of one of my husband's dress pants. If you know Brandon, you know I'm not kidding. Anyway, I am convinced that purple crayons hate me and are out to get me! I have nothing against the color purple, just purple crayons. It's self defense really.
• goals- The only thing goals do is set you up for disappointment. In my opinion, the only thing worse than goals is someone requiring you to think about and write down your goals, like teachers, professors, or your husband at the start of a new year! UGH!
• P.E. (or anything that even remotely resembles P.E.)- Physical activity is awful in general, but when someone makes you do it, it reaches a whole new level of horrible. That's all I've got to say about that.
• Rude People- Lots of people fall into this category: people who lie, people who cheat, people who cut in line, people who push, people who cut you off in traffic, people who cuss in front of children, people who smack their food, people who speed in residential areas, people who mow their grass way too early in the morning, people who act like no one but themselves exist, people who are habitually late, people who take and take without ever giving, hmmm...maybe I should change this one to just "people"?
• Hurricanes- You really probably don't understand this one unless you live on the Gulf Coast. If you live on the Gulf Coast, you're thinking "duh!" Well, hurricanes blow (literally and figuratively).
• Lack of Electricity- see above. It's hot during hurricane season!
• Fantasy Football- I haven't decided if it's actually that Heather hate fantasy football or that Heather hate Brandon playing fantasy football. I think it's a little of both. Fantasy football requires you to give up team loyalty and cheer instead for individual players and I don't like that, at all! Brandon spends all his time recruiting, trading, benching, scoring, watching, etc. said players during this time and I don't like that either!
• Geckos- Not all geckos are bad. Just the ones that found their way to SW Louisiana around 1999 (they came in through the port from Italy, I've done my research!). You know the ones. They hang out, during the warm months, around your doors just waiting to jump on you or in your hair. They are see through (YUCK!) and have no eyelids (DOUBLE YUCK!). I am convinced that they are some sort of demons.
• Messes- Alright, on this one, I'll admit I have a problem! I cannot stand a mess! I was not always like this, this is one that manifested itself in the past five years. My poor kids don't know what it's like to really get dirty. Thankfully they are in school now where they can experience things like painting and crafts without me around making a disgusted face and hyperventilating. I love things that are neat and clean :) ahhh!
• Bad Spellers- I was born with the God given talent of spelling. However, I can appreciate the fact that not everyone was given such a gift, but with the invention of "spell check" you are without excuse, bad spellers! S-P-E-L-L C-H-E-C-K! (Maybe I should add this one to "people"?)
• Here you can add things that everyone says they hate, like sin, hate (I always find this one ironic!), war, famine, poverty, sickness, etc. I hate those things too. I just think they're a little boring. Hold your fire! I'm kidding!

Well, I think that's all for now. I reserve the right to add to this list as I see fit. So, watch yourself!

I just want...

to feel better!!! UGH!!! I had a couple of really great weeks: visiting with family, Christmas, got some painting done around the house, cleaned and organized some much needed areas of the house. Now, I've got the sinus gunk AGAIN (at least it's not the terrible food poisoning Aubrey and Brandon had over the weekend. I'll spare you the details, but a word to the wise, AVOID Hong Kong Chinese restaurant in Sulphur!) I have been sicker this winter than ever before. Maybe it's that this back surgery stuff really compromised my immune system. I don't know. I went to Dr. W. on Christmas Eve and my x-rays look good, just not "done". I go back at the end of March so, until then, I'm still in this terribly uncomfortable brace. I'm disappointed, but I'll survive. At least it's not the dead heat of summer. I'll try to update more later and make it a little more "happy", but for now, I'm sanitizing bed linens and towels and then off to bed again.