The Mighty Octave

In our family, we celebrate birthdays eight days prior and eight days after ones’ birthday. Well, not really ‘celebrate,’ more like acknowledge. Say if Tukey is in the potty and needs a wipe, and is yelling, “Mooo-oooom!” at the top of his lungs, and it’s still ‘within my octave,' which happened this morning, I can defer to Mr. Manic and use the OCTAVE card and say, “You go wipe.” And he has to. So that’s how we use up our Octave card.

So, it’s still ‘within my Octave.'

But how is it that I am sick as a dog, and Mr. Manic has left this a.m. for a weekend of golf and drinking and manly men stuff and I’m going to be here with three kids, three soccer games, and one basketball practice tomorrow? How does that add up? Yo no se. That’s Spanish for “I don’t know.” Yes, I am fluent. In that one sentence.

And yes, I am delirious, as you will soon discover in the youtube video I will shamefully share with you. I must love you to show you how disgusting I look in real sickly life.

Speaking of real life, WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE LAST NIGHT! And I had to laugh because my bed was shaking ALL OVER THE PLACE and it was the one night Mr. Manic was NOT IN IT WITH ME! I tell you, I was a’twittering! Before bed last night, he asked, very sweetly, “Don’t take this the wrong way…”

I thought he was gonna bitch about laundry or the kitchen or how no dinner was prepared and then I was gonna let him have it—

“I’M SICK! I’VE BEEN UPSET! MICHAEL’S IN THE HOSPTIAL HEALING FROM BRAIN TUMOR SURGERY AND YOU WANT A FUCKING MEAL!?!?!”

But he simply asked,

“Should I sleep in the other bedroom tonight?”

YES! YES! YES!!!!!!

Of course, this was supposed to be generous on his part, to give me a good night’s rest, but really, he just didn’t want to catch the HIV from me so he can have his fun getaway this weekend.

Digression is a terrible thing to waste, and I am so doing it here, so I will try to speed things along, but keep in mind, I am ill!

ltdchix.com T-SHIRT WINNER:

I had to do it the old fashioned, by myself way because I’m sick and couldn’t do a fun video, but the winner, and you’ll just have to trust that I’m honest here, cuz I am! …
The winner of the ltdchix.com t-shirt is:

MORNINGLIGHTMAMA!

I've always loved Morning Light Mama cuz just look at her profile picture! She's smiling surrounded by all those kids with some kinda unhappy faces. Yet she still sees the joy in parenthood! Yay Morning Light Mamma!

Thanks to the awesome owners of ltdchix.com who so generously donated the t-shirt for this prize. If you're looking for a perfectly appropriate gift for a fun mom friend of yours, they've got a great selection of tees that will fit any type of mom in your life! Check 'em out! Perfect for Mom's Day gifts, birthday gifts, or just because you're a cool mom gifts!

And the non-mom winner, who will be getting some fun delightful "Targetty" package from me is:

DeeMarie at MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL! which I think is cool because I do believe she is a fairly new blogger!

So fabulous ladies, please email me at manicmommy@comcast.net and I’ll fill you in with details on how you can claim your prizes!

And, MT, you are still holding as the winner of You’re a Good Mom contest for the Febreeze way of cleaning your clothes, but if I don’t hear from you by Friday, April 25, I’ll be forced to give the prize to someone else, so if you can, please contact me! Are you such a SLACKER MOM you don’t even read the blogs you enter contests on to see if you’ve won!?!?! That just further guarantees you are the Ultimate Slacker MOM!

Other birthday news, cuz it’s still my OCTAVE—

Here are some photos from my PRE-Octave fab dinner out with the wonderful Michelle, Dawn, and Mimi...

The four of us at dinner. This is the EXACT same booth that Julia Roberts and George Clooney dined in! So we are the second batch of celebrities to eat at this table! Ha!


Flirty boy Andre with Michelle and Mimi. Where are his hands!?

Flirty boy Andre with Dawn and Manic. Where are Manic's hands?!

Just Another Tequilla sunrise! I wear my sunglasses at night! Why are they wearing sunglasses?
Yummy food:
Yummy food:
Not Yummy food--this is actually GUM UNDER THE TABLE--YUCK!!!

I also got great prezzies from neighbors and friends—flowers and candles and candle holders and a gift pack of the WORLD’S BEST SALSA, POINTS FREE!, and bookstore gift cards. And a package arrived from the fab Kim Stagliano yesterday and take a look at the most disgusting Manic Mommy as I open a wonderful and completely unexpected gift from awesome Kim!


But I have to say, the best gift is the one I got from my mommy:


MY MOMMY DONATED BLOOD AND DIDN'T TELL ME, then she mailed me photos! Is THAT not the coolest thing EVER!


Thank you MOMMY! What a great birthday present!!! (She said my dad was too chicken. He faints a lot around needles, but he means well. Daddy, that's OK, you can just send me a check (one that's FILLED OUT!)

Now, I’m anxiously awaiting the bus so I can schlep my kids off to a neighbor’s so I can redeem a lengthy nap to get rid of this sickness and try to get well.
Peace UP and prayers for our little friend, who has had the tumor removed and is recovering in the hospital.