I haven’t had coffee since Miss Munchkin was a month or so and that was over two years ago. On that day, I had a DECAF coffee in the morning and she was still buzzing at 2am the next morning. I swore off the stuff. She was still nursing when I got pregnant with Bubster so I decided to not even bother having coffee during pregnancy only to have to come off of it a few months later.

Buster is now 7-1/2 months. Over the past month or two, I’ve started having iced tea from Starbucks every few days. No problems.

Today, we had to make the long drive home from Hubby’s business trip. It’s nominally a 6 hour trip if you go straight through, more like 7-1/2 with stops, but we took 9 hours with our two small children.

While I lay tossing and turning at 11:30pm, I got to thinking about what I had to drink today…

Midafternoon: Venti Iced Tea Lemonade with black tea

Dinner: Large Iced Tea at McD’s

Late evening (9pm): 3 cups of regular black tea

Given that I really haven’t had any caffeine for the past two years, it’s NO WONDER I can’t sleep.

So it’s now 3:43 and I’m still up. The upshot is I have done a couple loads of laundry and put a nice dent in my filing pile. The serious downside is my children will be awake and raring to go in just a couple of hours.

My eyes are just starting to get tired, but my body, well… it’s still going.

I think I’ll go finish cleaning. I’m really going to need a nap today.

So needless to say, I got everything on my list done, just not as quickly as I wanted to, and definitely with not enough time to post about it. Oh well. Such is life as a busy mom!

I am going to post a poll in the side bar. Go vote if you have a mind to!

But we did find my mascot and it’s the perfect picture for this blog!!!!

2 weeks and 3 days… and not his first trip to Starbucks. LOL.

The first couple of days, I just figured I’d left it on the counter somewhere.

Then I was coughing too much to go anywhere so looking for it got tabled.

By the end of the week, I was starting to wonder what on earth I had done with it because I clearly remembered the following:

1. I was talking to Hubby on it when I picked him up at the airport. (yeah for hands free!)

2. When we got home, I unplugged the ear bud from the phone, left the ear bud in the car, and pocketed my cell phone to charge upstairs.

So, last Friday, I began turning our home upside down in earnest to find it. I looked everywhere. Yesterday (Monday) I bit the bullet and looked all the last places.

Nothing.

GRRRRR.

I was not a happy camper. (And unfortunately my countenance showed it. Blech.)

So Hubby was looking.

He looked all the places I had looked to no avail.

I was ready to cry. Did I mention that this phone is only about two months old and that it was replacing a three year old piece of junk that pretended to be a phone? Definitely not a cool situation.

Then Hubby walks in and shows me my phone.

“What in the the world, folks?” (To quote Dr. Plew.)

He found it in my fleece jacket pocket.

All of a sudden, it made sense. My memory wasn’t failing me and I’m not going crazy. I DID put the phone in my pocket… I just didn’t remember that I stopped wearing MY fleece jacket this week and started borrowing HUBBY’S fleece jacket because “the Belly” was getting too big for mine. (Maybe the problem is thinking that Hubby’s jacket IS mine for the last few weeks of pregnancy?)

So my phone is back in commission and not a moment too soon.

YIPPEE!!!!

Start your birthday off right with the most magical birthday present of all: free admission on your birthday during 2009 to one of the Theme Parks of Walt Disney World® or Disneyland® Resort*! It’s our gift to you and it all begins right here.

To get this wonderful birthday gift for yourself, your children or others in your household, follow these simple steps:

• Register your birthday—and other household members’ birthdays too, if you want.
• Print the confirmation message you receive after registering your birthday.
• You will also receive an email reminder two weeks prior to your birthday, which you can also use to redeem your free admission on your birthday.
• Bring proper ID and your confirmation message to the gate at one of the Theme Parks at the Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland® Resort on your birthday in 2009.
• If you are a Passholder or already have a Multi-Day ticket you will use on your birthday, go ahead and register and bring the free admission on Your Birthday confirmation and proper ID to the designated Will Call windows so you can choose from one of our other exciting birthday gifts instead.

This blog is hosting a giveaway, for over $200 worth of cloth diapers and accessories. You don’t even have to pay for shipping! All you have to do to enter to win is enter a valid email address.

Even though it looks legit, I did use one of my screen names and my “spam e-mail address” just in case… –Ladybug

One of the resources that our family is blessed to have is the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. The Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance (TS Alliance) – the only national voluntary health organization for this genetic disorder. I am very thankful for their e-mail list which sends me updates about things that are “coming down the pipe” in terms of new treatments, new research findings, and other things that could affect Munchkin’s care plan. (It’s always nerve racking to a mother when the doctors tell you that the condition your child has is rare and “if you hear anything that might be worth trying, please let us know.”)

All that to say, I got this e-mail in my box this morning. TSC is going to be on national television this month! WOOHOO!

THE DOCTORS
On Friday, December 19, The Doctors will air a story on TSC featuring the Rolfes family, Dr. Howard Weiner of NYU, and the Hammerquist family.  Besides discussing TSC, the segment will focus on the Hammerquist family’s son’s recent epilepsy surgery.  This new show appears at various times across the country, so click here to search local listings.  In addition, we’re told this will be the show’s “holiday giving” episode.

Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood will run a feature story, currently set to air December 30, about Julianne Moore and the TS Alliance.  On December 10, Julianne participated in ICAP’s 16th Annual Charity Day, which raised $16.3 million worldwide for more than 100 charities, including the TS Alliance.  Access Hollywood sent along a camera crew to cover the events.   ICAP is the world’s premier interdealer broker.

“I was thrilled to be involved in ICAP’s Charity Day,” explained Julianne.  “They were so generous and excited to be helping so many.  It was really wonderful, in a year where there has been so much economic distress, to be with a group that focused on giving so whole heartedly.  Every one of us at the TS Alliance is truly thankful to be involved in their tremendous generosity.  Thank you, thank you ICAP!”

ICAP CEO Michael Spencer said, “To raise more than $16 million in one day is an incredible achievement, particularly in the current environment.  It is the efforts of our customers, staff and supporters that made Charity Day 2008 such a fantastic success.”

“The TS Alliance, as always, truly appreciates the support of Julianne Moore and is excited to team up with ICAP for this very special fundraising event,” said TS Alliance President & CEO Kari Luther Carlson.  “We are thankful for the money raised, and I also want to praise Tom and Peggy Lindsey who attended the event and made our participation possible.”

Challice is giving away a cute gardening set! (Ends December 12th)

Mrs. MoBunny is giving away Christmas aprons! (Ends December 9th)

Another Willow Contest! (Ends Christmas Eve)

$5 dinners is giving away a Macaroni Grill dinner kit and other pasta goodies! (Ends December 10th)

Did you have a baby in 2008? You could win a $5000 savings bond! See the details over at Keeping the Kingdom First! (Ends December 10th)

Win Stocking Stuffers at Life with MommyMc! (Ends December 14th!)

Wow! When I started this post, I thought I only had a few, but I guess I had a longer list than I remember. (Lists are essential when you’re in your last month of pregnancy!)