Older and Far Away - 09/24/2006

"Go, Go, Go, Go Kaaren, it's your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday, we're gonna drink Bacardi like it's your birthday, and you know we don't give a ..cause it's your birthday."

Don't like Bacardi, but it's My Birthday!! Yay & Yuck. I am old. Mom called and sister Brenda text messaged me. Mom also sent me a box with a pair of HUGE pants. Very comfortable khaki colored drawstring cotton/linen pants, but very huge. I wore them to work on Friday. I also got candles, a purse and some jewelry from mom. Brenda sent me two t-shirts; one I wore yesterday, the other I am wearing now. David's parents sent me bubble bath for my huge tub. I have body gel coming out my ears but no bubble bath. So, I got some and used the Cherry Blossom scent in the tub last night.

We went to brunch at IHOP and had lousy service. The waitress had too many tables and was very forgetful. J & our girl both needed a refill and never got one. David needed tabasco. He never got it. He ended up walking to a table across from us to ask to borrow theirs. I wonder how David tipped. She was just plain bad.

We went to Kohls to return a pair of pants I got last week and just did not need. I wanted to use the refund to get some new place mats to match the new kitchen colors, but every time I'd find something I liked, there were only 3 or 4 of them. I want 6. I guess I'll have to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond during my lunch break & see what they have there.

Belonging - 09/30/2006

Howdy all. My sisters came last night and left today. Brenda invited our other sister Vicky and, surprise! She came along. We had Brenda, Jonathan, Vicky and of course Miss Diva over for the night. Brenda brought up the picture she made for our girl.

When our girl saw the picture, her eyes got wide and she said "Dowa!" (Remember, click the picture to make it bigger. If you right click and do open in new window, you'll be able to scroll up & down each picture).

Awesome, right? And since I was taking pictures, here is the rest of her bedroom. This is what you see when you walk in her room.

The crib is sort-of a daybed right now, but the side guard is so huge, it still keeps in her her bed. She can't get out unless we help her. Those are the Disney colors we were discussing. There is a border of "fairy dust." It was done with a Disney stencil and was quite the pain. When you look straight to the right on the wall here, we have a shelf with drawers, where we hung her fairy wings from last year's Halloween costume.

Notice that David painstakingly painted all the edges/molding by hand. Also to the right when you walk in is her closet and her changing table.

Straight ahead is a wall with a window. Notice the toy chest David & I (mostly David) finished & sealed. We put up some shelves here as well. The Dora/Diego picture is already hanging on the wall now. There is still the large wall over her bed that we need to do something with. Just not sure what that is yet.

The family arrived while I was at work - some time around 3:30 p.m. I got off work around 4 p.m. and got home at 4:40-ish. David had to work. :( The sisters walked around the house again, commenting on this & that, while Jake & Jonathan played Guitar Hero. Like Dance Dance Revolution, only with a guitar. The boys also played with DDR. It was hysterical watching my nephew try to figure out the dance steps. I tell ya, it's really difficult the first few times. Jonathan is hooked and wants to buy DDR now. We went to a local strip mall where there was a Chinese & an Italian restaurant. We each ordered take-out (3 of us Chinese, 2 of us Italian) and brought it back home to eat. Mrs. Squeaklefritz went to bed, the boys continued their dance-a-thon, and the sisters sat downstairs in the family room gossiping (yes, we talked about you) :)
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to find Jake & Jon still playing and I told Jake is go to sleep already. By the time my girl woke up at 8 a.m., everyone was scattered throughout the house. Jake fell asleep on the big couch in the loft. Jonathan slept in Jake's bed, Brenda was in the guest room, Vicky & Diva were downstairs on the family room couch. David was snoring away in our bedroom. Vicky & Diva moved up to the guest room when we all got up & started making noise in the kitchen. We just lounged about pretty much doing nothing until they left at 1:40 or so. (Vicky, you left your pajama pants. They're in the dryer right now. I threw them in the wash with all the towels). It was a quick wham-bam-thank-you-visit. :) Funny side note. My sister Vicky is the home decorating queen. When I got home from work at 4:30, she had already taken down my family room curtains and rearranged them, because I had "threaded them wrong." Something about one pointing towards the window and one away. I also noticed that the garbage can in the downstairs bathroom had been moved. LOL As she talked & walked through the family room, she was straightening my pictures and books. As she IS the home decorating queen, I am totally cool with any help I can get. Oh, I got presents from Vicky too. A gift card to Old Navy (shop-piiiiiiing) and a Booby Fairy.

Sorry, Vicky, but I am pretty sure the Booby Fairy moved on to greener pastures....like 20 years ago. The big butt fairy, though, is alive & well and living in my closet.

"Belonging," Angel Season 2, Episode 19

The Puppet Show - 09/23/2006

Well, I'm mad. We have our annual insurance enrollment time at work. If you need to make any additions or changes to our health, dental or vision plans, now is the time to change. I'm having some toast and a cup o' joe while I am reading the forms. THEY have decided that they don't think we need vision coverage or orthodontia coverage (braces) for children in our company. As a mother of a toddler and also a 12 year old who a) wears glasses and b) needs braces, I am extremely mad. Braces alone run $3-4k and our current plan only covers $1500 of that. I still would have had to pay out-of-pocket expenses, but NOW we have to pay the whole thing. Apparently, those who decided this, must not have kids. My son is due for his eye appointment too. This really stinks. They act like they are doing us a favor by not having this. They might be for the non-kid-having sect, but not me! This will deter a lot of people from giving their kids the braces they need. Mom was poor and we did not have insurance growing up (thanks dad), so none of us got braces. Vicky ended up getting braces at like age 29 or 30. My lower teeth could use a straightening, but I don't care. Thanks, oh wise company, for making us parents have to go in hock to fix our kids teeth and be able to help them, you know, SEE in class. Boo! A pox on you!

Inca Mummy Girl - 09/21/2006

Seriously. When will I ever use this title? Never. LOL So, a random title for a random blog.
Let's say you have to get out of the car after you have parked it, but you need to walk around and get something out of the passenger seat; something bulky or whatever. Do you walk around the front of your car? Or do you swing around the back? I go around the back and I DON'T KNOW WHY!! It's so weird. I catch myself doing it all the time. I would think going around the front would be quicker (shorter front end than tail), but I still go around the back. Did my mom instill in me a fear of walking in front of cars? Am I trying to get more exercise?(psshhhyea, right) No clue, but I find it weird.

Tomorrow I'm going to get re-certified for CPR & First Aid. A whole day out of the office. Yay! So, if I'm ever around and you're...say..gagging, I'm your gal.

What else, what else. Oh yeaaa....yesterday, I'm changing our girl into her pj's. There's a mirror on her changing table, so she's looking at herself as I take off her shirt. (I typed shity - LOL my fingers were on the wrong keys!!) So, she points to her teeeeeeeny little baby nip and says "Booby!" I just stare and say "What did she say?" Jake's laughing out in the loft and says "Yea, David taught her that today." Nice.

Where the Wild Things Are - 09/17/2006

These love bugs are driving us BONKERS! If you're not from the south/southeast, you may not know what a love bug us. Meet a love bug couple.

These pesky little things only come out twice a year; now and I think some time in March. They are pains in the butts. They fly around while mating, just like the picture above. Yup, they fly around like that. They swarm everywhere and their physical make-up ruins your car's finish. This physical make-up also deters other predators (lizards, spiders) from eating them. They think the love bugs are gross too. Contrary to Urban Lore, they were NOT created in a lab at the University of Florida. Their first reported sighting was actual in the early 1930's in Texas. These suckers are SWARMING around our house. Tons of dead ones can be found littering our front and back doors. The living ones are all hovering around everywhere. They get in the house every time we open a door. David and our girl tend to squish them all day long, and I get to clean up with the broom. *sigh*

New Topic: David thinks it's funny/weird that when I go to check out at the grocery store, I put things on the moving belt based on where they will go in my house. The refrigerated items all go together, the freezer items go together, the pantry items all go together. I sort, David laughs, but...when we get home, I can grab one bag and head for the fridge. I don't have to dance between the pantry, the fridge, the freezer. I am *so* efficient, aren't I? Don't laugh or I'll poke you with the carrots.

Earshot - 09/07/2006

My son has to ride his bike 1.7 miles to school and 1.7 miles back. Uphill. Both ways. Barefoot. In snow. Ok, I made the snow part up. He rides almost 3.5 miles a day. The kid has thinned out and shot up. He's gorgeous.

The large road that our Drive is off of was the "detour" road to be taken by people for when another road was under construction. Since we moved in, this large road near us was very busy. Now, they have re-opened the other road, and ours is no longer the detour road. It's great. The main road off ours is almost deserted. I mentioned that one day last week to my son. He said something to the effect of "Yea. When I ride my bike home, I stop at the intersection of *our street & main road* and just listen to the wind. You can hear the wind in the trees, now that there aren't so many cars. It's relaxing." He's a poet at heart.

The Girl in Question - 09/07/2006

She's two, I get that. She can barely say words. She's not potty trained. I get that. I just cannot understand whyyyyyyyyyy she must use her HEAD as her napkin. My girl! She of the bologna-smelling head. No matter what she is eating, it must be eaten with her hands. Try explaining to a 2 year old that soup is not to be eaten with one's hand - one's entire hand completely submerged in the bowl. But most importantly, that one's hair is not a napkin. Hand in soup, suck hand, wipe hand on hair. Repeat. Take sandwich, separate the meat & cheese from the bread. Eat the mayonnaise-covered meat. Wipe hand on hair. Repeat. Ignore spoon given with Dora Yogurt. Shove hand in yogurt. Suck hand. Wipe hand in hair. Repeat.

Try combing her hair after this. I mostly feel like laughing hysterically........ and licking her head

Gone - 09/01/2006

Ernesto came and went...and I must have missed something. It rained for, oh, 10 minutes. Schools were out! The roads were empty! (I got to work WAY faster than usual. I hate that. It's 7:40. I am NOT here. Pretend you don't see me. Do not TALK to me until 8:00. I have been known to sit in my car, listening to the radio until 7:59:40 - I need the 20 seconds to lock up & walk up the stairs). Offices were closed, people "hunkered down" for those 10 mph gusts. Hey, let me shut up. I am thankful to God that nothing happened. We need a bit of nothing this year.

Me & Miss Clairol are pals, by the way. Everything turned out fine. I just WANT A HAIR CUT because it is too long and heavy and I am bored, bored, bored, and can I make this sentence any more "run-on-ie?"

Dad and step-mom are coming over tomorrow to finally see the house. So, it's major clean-up time tonight. I just CLEANED these toilets 3 days ago. I did! So why are all 3 so gross again? I get cranky when I clean - everyone here (except Miss Squeak) knows this & avoids me. They are wise.

Edit: *falling off chair laughing* So, I'm sitting here typing. My girl is in her room playing. I can see her from here. Her temporary room is right off the loft area. La la la. Noise, playing, noise, talking to herself. She's saying something, but I'm not really hearing. Finally I hear what she is saying when she YELLS AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS: BECK!!! Beck, btw, is how she pronounces bed. She wants to go to beck, and she wants to go to beck NOW, LADY. This is the weirdest kid ever, people. She loves her bed. Loves it. (She used to pull me off the couch at the old house, walk me to her room and point to her crib). BECK! I yell "Ooops! Sorry!" and run in the room. She's standing there, one hand on the crib rail, the other holding her blankie to her face. When she gets tired, she sniffs her blankie. I pick her up, smooch her & put her in. She does her happy, lying-down wiggle dance. She must wiggle - it's a requirement. Blankie to face. "Gooood (pause) Night (pause) Mamiii." I close the door and that's that. Not a peep. She is so cool.