I shoulda been...

A boxer...
I'm fascinated by the sport...I love watching it - and I'd LOVE to get into a ring someday. (oh, just put me in there with Jonathan from Amazing Race 6...I'd be FIRED UP to box smarmy face - and anyone from the sweet 16 show...and maybe a few of those laguna beach girls too....hmmmm, I'm gonna have to make a list)
Hubster and I watched the Contender last night and I think it's my new favorite show. I was SOOOO rooting for Gomez, the underdog to win last night - and he did! The other guy Peter was a good fighter - a power hitter...but they sure played up the whole "I'm doing this for my daughter" thing. I was getting a bit sick of it to be honest. In my opinion, his daughter was WAY too young to be watching her father get beaten silly in the first place. It almost seemed like we the audience were supposed to root for him because of the whole family aspect.
I'm glad Gomez won - he proved he's got some SERIOUS cojones just by choosing to fight the undefeated Peter.
I'm already hoping to see the pretty boy (hubster and I call him Love Boat because of that silly outfit he was wearing on the first day) go up against Ishe. And I hope Ishe smacks the crap out of him...HEH - is that wrong? Ishe is a pompous guy, but something about Love Boat just rubs me the wrong way - and what was up with him forgetting the lock combination? ya dork...he didn't have to carry any logs his ONLY JOB was to run up the hill and get the numbers for the lock from the signs on the side of the road...hello?
yeah, he's gonna piss alot of people off.
I can't believe I just went on and on about this show - yup, I'd say it's my favorite....big adrenaline rush. Doug better watch out because I just might bust out some boxing gloves one of these days! hehehe

The Bamboo Stool Incident...

I have been reminded by a friend of mine, that I never did explain the "bamboo stool incident" that I mentioned in the toilet prank entry...

heh, okay - that just makes me laugh every time I think about it..

So anyway, hubster and I have one of those papasan chairs. It's one of those big-bamboo-satellite-dish-with-a-cushion-in-it type of chairs. I've ALWAYS wanted one of those chairs - but my ex never wanted me to have one. ( I know! how could I let someone have so much control over me? UGH - makes me sick to think about)
So anyway, the VERY FIRST thing I purchased after we broke up was a big ass Papasan chair...I used to call it my "independence chair" - but now we just call it "THE BOWL". It's fantastic when you're watching someone's baby and you need to put he/she down for a second and don't want to have to worry about them rolling off of anything...the BOWL is a good babysitter :)
So the bowl, it comes with a little stool for your feet. It's just a small round bamboo stool with a little round cushion on it. It's quite common for one of us to use it as a seat, if we have people over and have run out of seating....
Except that one time, I sat on it and it went CRUNCH! and I fell over.
I sat up and looked at my demolished little stool...of course I was completely embarrassed in front of my friends because my fat butt had BROKEN A BAMBOO STOOL (bamboo is supposed be really tough isn't it?? well it doesn't compete with MY ASS)
A couple of days later, hubster and I went to the store and bought another stool - and that was that...or so I thought...
About a week after that, I was in the kitchen cooking a healthy meal and telling hubster that I really needed to get onto a healthy eating plan because I had gained WAY too much "married weight" and I still couldn't believe that I had broken that stool in front of everyone.
Hubster looked at me very sheepishly and said "umm, well...you didn't exactly break the stool"
"what?" said I...
"umm, well...I sort of broke it...first"
-----and this is where I started screeching and running my words together saying "youmeanyouputthatstoolbackafteryoubrokeitKNOWINGitwasbrokenandyouletme
sitonitandembarrassthehellouttamyself...Ican'tbelieveyouwoulddothattomeyou
SUCKandyouknowpaybackisabeyotchandohIWILLgetyouback!

of course he apologized and apologized...but STILL! I was set-up! and cursing my own butt all that time, when it wasn't even MY butt that broke the darn thing...

So, when he thought he'd broken the toilet seat and yet didn't say anything - and waited for ME to discover it....I was definately reminded of the bamboo stool incident

and also reminded that I haven't necessarily gotten him back for that yet...

*insert evil laugh here..

Cleaning Spree...

Yesterday, the hubster and I went to our new house ( I say new, as in NEW-TO-US..it's actually quite old...wood floors and all...very 1940's) and cleaned like MAD. I swept and mopped all the floors, and vacuumed all the bedrooms...that was quite a job. Doug was in charge of the bathrooms - he scrubbed the heck outta the tubs and let them soak in bleach...he also cleaned all the surfaces in the kitchen and did a darn good job. I'm very impressed with his cleaning skills when he really puts his mind to it.
The hall bathroom had those non-slip stickers in the bottom of it...and whoever put them on did a real half-ass job because most of them were clustered down by the drain. They were fish and bubbles....ummmm, yeah, those had to go. Hubster sprayed some Goof Off on them and scraped them off with a spatula....they came right off, but there is still an imprint of glue remaining. Anyone have any ideas how to get it off? We tried bleach and comet and tilex and the glue remover stuff...and after both of us becoming quite HIGH and silly from the fumes, we decided to leave it.

So far, mom...T...and CC and the girls have come to see it - they all loved the open floor plan and said we got a good deal, which makes me feel better because I still have moments of second guessing ourselves when it comes to paying that much rent. I guess I just have a hard time letting go of money in big chunks like that...although, who doesn't? heh

I went through our bookshelves over the weekend and I discovered the following:

I found 32 books that I'm going to put in our garage sale...I say 32 now, but by the time I really have to sell them, I may have re-evaluated how I feel about those books, and it might just be down to 2 books to sell...heh

I found well over a hundred books that I have read, but that I just. can't. get. rid. of. - okay, I shouldn't say can't...I'm gonna say WON'T...because most of them are hardback books that I paid good money for, and that I could possibly read again because they were good enough to keep...I'm so much like my mother, I just have a hard time getting rid of stuff.

I found 65 - let me repeat...65 - books that I HAVE NOT READ YET.
I'm so disappointed in myself that all those books were lurking in my shelves and I kept buying MORE books thinking that I was almost out of things to read! I can't believe it...
I'll be setting up our bookshelves in the new place with one big section for my "have not read" books...heh

Also, I have alot of boxes with CRAP in them...honestly, just little piddly things that I don't know what to do with - or that got thrown into that box when company was coming at the last minute. I must have come across 3 or 4 decorative boxes full of miscellaneous STUFF. It'll be nice to use this next few weeks to go through that stuff and either get rid of it, or find it a home where it belongs instead of being thrown into a box.

I will inevitably look at things and go "oh, I can't get rid of that...I NEED that"

It frightens me that I've become such a packrat. Just. Like. My. Mother

soooo MIA

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted here. So much has happened, so much going on - WHEW!

I'm just gonna recap on some things that have happened:

~My hair is orange...my mom put highlights in for me, but I think I left them in too long because I came out looking like Debra Harry with the badly bleached hair. I then got some dye to try to go back to my normal color...only it came out looking safety cone orange (because the dye I picked had a reddish tone to it) in the bleached places...and a pinkish color throughout the rest of my head. I called T and she came over to help me with my hair fiasco. We bought some color corrector and another box of regular blonde dye with NO red...mixed the two together and again applied it all to my hair. As we were watching American Idol, I could feel my scalp burning and T told me to pull on my hair to make sure it was still attached to my scalp...!!!! Thankfully it was, and I vowed that no matter how it turned out, I would leave it to avoid becoming bald.
It came out kind of reddish/orangesh - but not all bright and coppery like before. It looks like a really, really strawberry blonde. It's fading, but not soon enough for me - I should have just left it alone.

~ Wednesday the 16th was just an all around BAD day...work sucked - many things went wrong....someone at Doug's work backed into his car and crunched the front bumper and part of the fender (that was actually a blessing in disguise because we'll get some CASH for that..and probably won't even bother to fix the car). That same day we got a phone call from our current landlords that they have decided to put the house that we LIVE IN...and have only LIVED IN FOR 10 MONTHS....up for sale.
Which means, YAY! We get to move...again...lovely

~ I was pacing the floors of our house and making our cats nervous while trying not to cry...Doug decided to go get a paper even though it was around 8pm. We started circling places to look at and eventually just got our butts into the car and WENT.

~ For the next couple of days we pretty much did nothing BUT look for a place to live when we got from work. It was a very disheartening experience because we knew we were going to have to pay more rent then we wanted to - and all the places that were decently priced were absolutely GHETTO looking ...

~ Through a real estate agent friend of ours, we found out about some affordable housing homes that are being built in our area. They are 3 bedroom, 2 bath's selling for $315k - which is UNHEARD of in this town. We set up an appt. to go look at them, figuring that we might be able to swing that much - and found out that we actually qualified with the city for the affordable housing program. The house was LOVELY, but after crunching numbers and figuring in property tax and homeowners association fees...we realized that our mortage would be around $2500 a month...which is impossible for us.

~ We both agree that it's kind of a big thump on the head to realize that we couldn't even afford a $315k house. CONDO'S even sell for more than that in this area...so we thought it was a good deal! Turns out, it's not really... especially after we found out the CATCH (city gets 90% of the equity earned on the house if it's sold within 30 YEARS - ummm yeah, bite me city people)

~ We've talked ALOT about having to move out of this area...we both know it's pretty much inevitable at this point. IT makes me sad to think about it. We decided we'd better keep looking for rentals...we are both really exhausted of the whole "house buying" and mortgage topics anyway.

~Saturday evening we found THE place. Sunday we paid partial deposit so the owners would take the ad out of the paper...and tomorrow we're paying the rest of the deposit and getting the keys. IT's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a FIREPLACE (doug's dream) for $1200..which is kind of "yikes", but we really like the place...so we think it's worth it.

Whew - it's been a whirlwind week for us...so much going on...so much wheeling and dealing with the landlords...so much worry about money, and cats, and packing, and work.

I've been taking a yoga class that has seemed to help me stay calm...but I feel very tense lately - I always do when stuff like this goes on in my life....

Onward to bigger and better, right???

Funny Story

Prepare yourself for a good laugh...

On Friday, hubster (who shall refer to as DOUG from time to time because he SOOO reminds me of Doug Heffernen from King of Queens, same job and everything! And now that he's in that movie Hitch, and I've seen him dancing - yeah, that's the hubster...) and I went to see A.J. race a little RC car that goes really fast on an indoor track in San Luis. There is a hobby store next to the track, so I cruised around in there while waiting for the race to start - and found the PRANK section...you know, pepper gum, hand buzzers, etc. - Thinking of Sundry and her suggestion in a journal entry, I decided to purchase some of those little SNAPS! ...remember those? little paper covered exploding things that make noise and scare the crap out of people?
Anyway - it was a lazy Sunday afternoon - and I was in the living room watching taped episodes of The Apprentice (Go street smarts!) and Doug was in the den playing video games in surround sound REALLY loud, in between watching the superbowl off and on.
While I was fast-forwarding through some commercials, I noticed the box of SNAPS! sticking out of my purse. I thought about just going into the kitchen and wailing one against the wall of the den to startle Doug - but then I decided to follow Sundry's suggestion and put them under the toilet seat instead.
I positioned two on each side under those little plastic knobs so that when he sat down they would go off. I also left the lid up (which we usually keep closed because of the cats) because I was worried that they might go off if I put it down...
I waited and waited - hoping he had to take a crap SOON...
and then I heard: "SNAP! SCUFFLE! MMMMREEEEOOOOOW!!!"
oops...

I ran into the bathroom to find Tweak looking bewildered and half covered in toilet water. It seems he had jumped onto the toilet to get to the sink...only to discover that I, the MEANEST MOMMY IN THE WHOLE WORLD had left the lid up and booby trapped the toilet.

I had to TRULY work hard at laughing quietly because unbelievably - Doug didn't hear a darn thing (I told you he listens to it loud) and so of course, I had to booby trap the commode once again..giggling to myself the entire time...and trying to dry off and console my now stressed out cat. This time, I closed the bathroom doors (yes, we have TWO bathroom doors..strange, I know) to avoid any more cats in need of prozac...

I went back in to watch TV, and about 30 minutes later, Doug FINALLY went into the bathroom. I quickly huddled myself next to the door and covered my mouth to keep myself quiet, Only to hear him PEEING. DARNIT! NO crapping!
I heard him bang down the toilet lid...and SNAP! one of them went off....I thought the plan was foiled - but NAY...he just walked out of the bathroom like nothing happened...

SONUVA...

So after he settled back in with his game - I went and RESET the booby trap AGAIN.
And two hours later, he again went into the bathroom...to BLOW HIS FRIGGIN NOSE. (I swear the ONE time I want him to do his business...) He again, put the lid of the toilet down ( I know, good boy) but this time he HEARD it SNAP! and while I'm standing in the kitchen shaking my fists and going "dammit!" - He goes "what the heck?"
and finds my booby trap...

He slowly walks into the kitchen while I'm standing there smiling and he goes "oh girl, it's ON NOW! I can't believe you actually attempted to do that to me! That woulda scared the crap out of me!"
yeah, if only he actually would CRAP...sheesh

So I laughed and told him about the cat incident and about the second time when he put the lid down. He goes "oh - well I heard the snap, but I figured I'd broken the seat or something"
and I said "SO YOU WALKED OUT AND IGNORED IT???"
"umm, yeah" he says...looking sheepish...

(Those who know us well should be reminded of the "Bamboo Stool Incident" at this moment...I will explain later...)

So anyway, we got a good laugh out of it - and being that Doug has a big mouth, he HAD to call my parents and immediately tell them what a stinker I am.

It was truly probably one of their proudest moments - especially for Dad..hee!

Happy Anniversary

To ME AND THE HUBSTER! We made it three whole years, and we are completely happy and in love. We laugh together and talk together and it truly is a PARTNERSHIP. He's my best friend in the whole world and I'm so glad he married me :)

Now that I've gotten all the mushy stuff out...I just have to say that so far...this day has SUCKED! And it's only 10:30am...

I have to start by explaining that last night, I was getting Isabele's bath water ready...and noticed that it wasn't getting hot. I ran it for like 10 minutes, and it just wasn't getting hot. CRAP! So hubster and I went to the hot water heater which is in the laundry room, and discovered that the pilot lite was blown out. So we moved a bunch of stuff out of the way, grabbed a match, and mark layed down on his belly so he could light the pilot. We followed all the instructions...holding down the little button and everything....and then, it wouldn't stay lit. We did this several times, and I finally called our landlords. Landlady answered the phone, and hen I told her what was going on, she said "well CRAP! LandLORD (meaning her hubby and fixer of all things rental) is out of town!"
LOVELY...
So she gives me his cell phone # and tells me to call him up and tell him what's going on and hopefully he can fix it over the phone.
So, I hopped on the phone and Landlord answered with a mouth full of food, so I feel like a schmoe because I interrupted his meal. I explained what was going on...and he gave me some tips on what to do.
About an hour later, I've talked to him 3 seperate times, and still no luck. Now remember, we have a two year old over who is walking around the house going "I wanna take a bubble bath!"over and over again, 50 million times...Also, when I finally gave up - I put the bbq lighter thingy on the floor and when I put my hand down to push myself up (remember, we had to lie flat on the laundry room floor to see what we were doing) my wrist accidentely touched the metal end of the lighter thing which was friggin HOT, and I burned the heck out of my wrist. It immediately bubbled up and skin peeled off.....I'm on the phone with my landlord, holding my burning and peeling wrist under water, while trying to keep a 2 year old occupied...things were a bit hectic.
So finally, Landlord says he'll have to call someone in the morning...but he needs to make sure that I can be there whenever his fixer guy can show up. So I say I'll figure something out and hope that I can leave the following day when I need to.
My friend came to collect her youngun, and I had to explain that she didn't get a bath because of the hot water situation, which reminds me that there will be NO shower for hubster or I until it's fixed...which sucks. On the other hand, I can't do dishes or laundry either...and that's just a damn shame isn't it?

So finally, friend and child leave...her screaming the entire time because she didn't want to leave. Yeah, because we are so fun and engaging that we spent most of the time we had her trying to fix that darn water heater. Kids crack me up sometimes.
After moving the car seat and loading up all their stuff...they leave...hubster and I watch TV for a while and then settle in for the night.

Flash forward to this morning. I MEANT to get up early and sneak an anniversary card into hubster's car...but nooooooo, my lazy butt didn't get out of bed until 7:45. I think my brain KNEW that I wouldn't be able to take a shower this morning, so it figured "what the heck" and decided to sleep in. It's raining like crazy, and of course it's cold...so a hot shower would be nice. Isn't it funny how when you CAN'T do something, that's when you want to do it the most?
So, I throw on some warm clothes, wash my face, brush my teeth, throw hair up into a ponytail...figuring I'd fix the hair and put on makeup when I get to work. Hubster leaves for work...and I start to leave for work...only...hmmmm....where are my keys?
I search, and search, and search...it's now 8:15...and I'm calling my boss to say "hey, I'm not at work because I can't find my keys". He says "I'm not at work either, so we're CLOSED!"
heh...
so I go back and look EVERYWHERE. I call my friend and ask her to search her car...I call hubster and ask him if he remembers seeing them.
No luck...
I move all the furniture in the living room...I even move the fish tank...I search all the trash cans...the spare room, the bathroom, the kitchen, the den...the laundry room....the car (which I left unlocked)....NOTHING.
It's now 8:30...no keys.
My friend calls and says she remembers I had them in my hand when I was helping get her kid into the car. She also remembers that while she was putting the car seat in, I was holding a two year old, a diaper bag, a box of wipes, as well as my keys. She suggests that maybe I put them on the back of her car so I could get a better grip on the kid....
crap...so I go outside and walk up and down the street...no luck. Now I really start to freak out because what if I DID do that? and what if someone grabbed them? and what if they look at the car key and realize that it says ISUZU on it, and what if they know where I live? and what if they're just waiting for me to leave so they can rob me blind????
Panic sets in...my older neighbors on one side poke their head out their front door and ask why I'm pacing in the middle of the street in the rain...
I tell them what happened and ask them to keep an eye on the place and let me know if any strange people start to cart stuff out of my house...or steal my cats...
Neurotic much? me? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
So Hubster calls back to see if I found them...he says he'll ask his boss if he can run home to give me the spare car key from his key ring. LUCKILY, his boss is merciful, and hubster heads home. Meanwhile, I'm still searching every nook and cranny with a flashlight...on my hands and knees searching under the bed...moving furniture still.
NO luck. Hubster shows up, and I kiss him gratefully...grab a spare house key...tell him "I'm sorry I'm such a blonde...tell your boss I'm sorry I'm such a blonde"
and finally head off to work...driving super slow down the street so I can still search for my keys, just in case. No keys...

My wrist hurts like hell...I'm all bandaged up like I slit my wrists or something, I've had NO shower...so I feel all stinky and nas-tay...not to mention walking out in the rain this morning...I was over an hour late to work this morning...and now have NO work keys which means my boss (who has to have his poor horse put to sleep, so he's not in the best of moods today) has to make me copies. My landlord called and said he's trying to get his fixer guy out this afternoon, and he's supposed to call me - but he's REALLY busy, and he's not sure if he'll make it today.
FLIPPIN LOVELY.

The Sweetest Thang

Last night, the hubster and I were supposed to babysit for a friend of ours who has a two year old little girl. She LOVES coming to our house for some reason...she calls us auntie and uncle...and always wants to ride in our car and take a bubble bath. Anyway, my friend called and asked us to babysit tonight instead, so I went home and was sitting on the couch reading when I heard mark pull up. He poked his head in the front door and said "where's Bella?" and I told him we weren't babysitting after all...he walked in the door and started pouting. I said "what's wrong?" and he said "I got her some toys!" and he pulls out a big box of giant lego's in their own carrying case. He said he figured she'd be bored with the same ole toys that we always have.
I JUST MELTED - I thought that was the sweetest thing ever...and she's not even our kid! What a great man I married...
I told my mom about it later that night and she said "Awwwwwww, well...that proves two things. He's gonna be a great daddy...and you're gonna be broke because neither one of you will stop buying toys!"
Heh

I made a great discovery last night too. I can make my OWN honey bbq wings...like KFC - style..yeah, baby. I like the honey bbq wings at KFC, but I don't like the fact that they are WINGS...I don't like the veins or bones...I'm purely a boneless/skinless kinda girl...hee!
So I bought some frozen tyson chicken crispy strips...dunked them in a mixture of bbq sauce and honey...and cooked em. Halfway through, I took them out and dunked them again....and DAYUM were they good. Hubster was haaaaaaaaaaaaaapy. I also made coleslaw and cheese bread, so I scored some serious points in the dinner department. And now, I can have honey bbq chicken MY way, RIGHT AWAY....WOOHOOOO!

Today is kind of stressful here at work, and I have to babysit tonight - so I'm outta here

Love and Hate..

I have such an odd relationship with my TV. Sometimes when it's on, I just can't stand it anymore and I have to turn it off and sit down with a book for some peace and quiet...and other times, I can't tear myself away from the trash TV. My hubster always laughs at me because I'm the reality trash tv QUEEN. You name it, I probably watch it. I even lowered myself to recording the Super Sweet 16 show on MTV, and I watched it last night...what a trainwreck that show is. Take some snobby stereotype rich girls and throw a big red-carpet like event for their sweet 16. The amount of money they spend just for one birthday party appalls me. What the hell are these parents thinking? How could their kids possibly turn out humble with that kind of upbringing? I know I'll be watching next weeks show though since it IS trash TV after all..heh
I also watched American Idol last night and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the audition process - the rest of the show is pretty boring to me - but to hear all those people who think they can sing is absolutely hilarious. I do feel bad for some of them, but at the same time...don't they have people around them who can tell them how badly they suck? I don't know if I could let a friend who sings badly humiliate themselves on national TV like that...of course alot of them seem pretty stubborn, so that might have something to do with it.
Okay, enough - I've yammered on enough...I'm stealing a MEME from Robyn - here we go:

What color is most reflective of you? Probably Purple...it's very versatile when it comes to moods
How did you get the idea for your journal name? Seinfeld of course, everytime I get stressed I hear Mr. Costanza screaming "Serenity NOW!" and it's always followed by Kramer shouting "Hoochiemama!" at the end of the show. It's a good way to describe how I feel when my brain is overflowing with things to write about.
What time were you born? 3:37 am...what's wierd is, the hubster was born at 10:37am - same minute!
What song are you playing now, or wish you were playing? The radio is set to a country station and it's playing Mud On Your Tires by Brad Paisley (does that make me sound redneck or what?)
Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry? I cried during Princess Di's funeral...and I cried when John Ritter died...I cried when they showed Nancy Regan on TV during his services...and I cried when Christopher Reeves died.... - I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of any right now - damn, I'm a big crybaby...
What color underwear are you wearing? This Color Blue
Do you want a baby? Someday, but not quite yet
What does your dad do for a living? He runs a CNC Milling machine that makes racing horseshoes
What does your mom do for a living? She's a signpainter...windowpainter, etc...very artistic!
What is your pet's name? hmmm, well - we've got Tweak - aka. Bubba / Jackson - aka. Lazybutt or Whiner / and Moe - aka. Tiny - and numerous fish with different names
What color are your bedsheets? White with black stripes
Last four digits of your phone number? 4702
What was the last concert you attended? ummm, gotta be the Joan Jett Concert that we stumbled into at the Mid State Fair
Who was with you? Hubster
What was the last movie you saw? Elektra...at the drive in with friends...not my kind of movie...but I DID discover that every woman can fight better while wearing a red corset top!
Who do you dislike most at this moment? That bastard Jonathan from the Amazing Race - and the Mia woman on Trading Spouses....damn how the reality show people can get to me! People can be such jerks!
What food are you craving right now? frozen waffles with butter and syrup
Did you dream last night? I don't remember, I slept like a baby - so I probably didn't
What was the last tv show you watched? Wife Swap
What is your fave piece of jewelry? My wedding ring of course!
What is to the left of you? A crapload of paperwork that I should be working on instead of answering these questions
What was the last thing you ate? Nothing yet, but I'm about to eat a yoplait strawberry yogurt, and a hardboiled egg with salt on it and water...trying to be good!
Who is your best friend of the opposite sex? Hubster :)
Write a song lyric that's in your head?

I have a dream, my own...it's mine and mine alone
It's been my friend since I was just a girl
It has a life, it has a heart, has a soul and it's a part
of everything this woman gives the world

And it's a big dream, big enough to share
like a rainbow, hanging in the air
nothing dark, making it come true

Makes me think maybe, God's a woman too
Makes me think maybe God's a woman too...

Who last imed you? Uhhh, it's been a while, but I'd have to say either Amanda or Homey - I can't remember who was most recent...
Where is your signifigant other right now? At home, in bed - sick with a nasty cold
Do you have a crush? Nope - I have some celebrity crushes, but that's normal...right?
What is his name? n/a
What shampoo do you use? Flex extra body - I've always loved the way Flex smells
When was the last time you cut your hair? Oh wow, a LONG time ago...probably around may of 2004
Are you on any meds? Other than my Afrin addiction, no...oh wait...the birth control pill?
Do you have a mental disease? Not that I know of - but something could show up later - hee!
What shirt are you wearing? A long sleeved green shirt that Amanda gave me at Christmas - thanks girl!
What time is it? 10:54am.
What color is your razor? Black I think?
What is your fave frozen treat? umm, ice cream sandwich? klondike bar? Oh no...I just remembered - by far, my favorite treat is the Ice Cream Snickers Bars...YUM - dang, now I'm hungry for chocolate...
Are you sexy? ummm...yeah, at least Hubster says I am :)
Whats your favorite shopping store? Probably Target, Marshalls, or Ross
Are you thirsty? Yes, for a big giant Dr. Pepper - but NOOOO, I'm stuck here with just water...suck
Can you imagine yourself ever getting married? Yeah, because I am..and it's BETTER than I ever imagined


Okay, time to go get some actual work done and bust out this paper work...

A soothing, yet sad, yet coincidental summary...

This is just so odd...
I have to talk about my lunch hour because it relates to the no-good evening from last night.
I stopped by the store to get a card (I actually found a "sorry for the loss of your cat" condolence card...how cool is that??) and some flowers for my poor neighbor lady - and I drove home on my lunch hour to put them in a vase and leave everything on her doorstep.
I had the flowers all ready, and I was writing in the card - when I heard my landlord's truck pull up. I knew that he was going to stop by to check on our heating unit, I was just surprised that he came at the exact hour that I was there. I look out the door and notice THE MISSING DOG in the back of his truck! I run out the door shouting "You found him!" and begin to scratch the dog on the head and tell him that he's naughty...and my landlord tells me that he just wandered back home last night. Right about the time that I realize that the dog is ALONE in the back of the truck - and the other dog (they are always together) is not there...my landlord tells me that the reason he was so upset last night is because they had to put the other dog to sleep on Tuesday..and they're still having a hard time with that - and then one goes missing and they just lost their heads. The other dog was old (although you'd never know it, he had so much energy) and I guess developed some breathing problems and they had to make that horrible decision to put him down.
So anyway, he goes "you come home for lunch? Isn't that kind of far?" and I proceeded to explain to him what happened with the neighbor lady and the cat - and I pointed to her house, since I didn't know her name. He goes "oh, the preacher??" and I said "huh?" and he tells me preacher lady's name and all of a sudden a big lightbulb goes off in my head. I KNEW she looked familiar yesterday, but I thought it was just because we're neighbors. Turns out, she was the associate pastor at a church where I used to babysit in the nursery. It was about 12-13 years ago, so I'm sure she has no idea who I am...and now I know why she looked vaguely familiar. SO WEIRD
So I got good news with the dog being found...
bad news with the other dog being put to sleep...
and weird news, that I actually KNEW the neighbor lady from yesterday without even realizing it...

dang, talk about an emotional rollercoaster...

Horrible, Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Evening...

Yeah...yesterday after 5pm really sucked...
First of all, let me just say that I'm an OVERLY sensitive person when it comes to animals. I remember once in high school, I was on my way to school..and the girl in front of me ran over a cat - and didn't stop...I screamed...and went back to find it, but didn't have any luck. I then cried through my entire first period class and got sent to the counselor. I sometimes freak out and get all emotional whenever I see a stray dog or cat....I truly have to talk myself out of being so neurotic (it doesn't always work) and I NEVER EVER EVER EVER watch Animal Planet. Nope.
So anyway, the day went fine - I was driving home, traffic was light, I was in a good mood. Then I'm driving down my street and notice a person in standing in the road...I park in front of my house and get out of my car, only to realize that the person in the road is a woman crying hysterically and wringing her hands...over what looks like a dead cat in the middle of the street. It was my neighbor a couple of houses down, and the cat was a fat sassy orange kitty that I liked to pet whenever I take walks because he always flopped over and was so lovable.
I rushed over to her and asked what happened and through her sobbing, she tells me that she had just come home and found him like that...
I bit back my tears and reached down and felt him, he was still warm - and not breathing...but he also didn't look like he'd been hit by a car...he looked like he'd just laid down in the street and gone to sleep.
The poor woman was a WRECK, and I felt him all over and showed her that he hadn't been damaged in any way. She explained that he's diabetic and could have had a seizure...
Another neighbor brought a towel and a cardboard box, I carefully wrapped up the sweet orange kitty, and laid him gently in the box. She was so distraught, I know she couldn't have done it herself. We carried the box over to her garage. She kept asking if he was breathing and thinking maybe he was just in a coma....I kept feeling for a heartbeat, but I had to explain to her that I was positive he was gone.
For some ODD reason, I was able to keep myself very calm, other than being a bit teary-eyed.
She called her husband and told him he needed to come home. While me and another neighbor closed up the box and waited there with her until her husband showed up.
I've never actually met this woman, but it didn't seem like a good time for introductions, ya know?
I headed home - opened the door, saw all my kitties greeting me at the door - and completely FELL APART. I was sobbing on the couch, completely overwhelmed with emotion. I think it was just seeing her reaction and how heartbroken she was, and feeling so helpless and not being able to help really...oh it was just awful.
Poor hubster got a bit freaked out when I called him to tell him what happened and I started bawling all over again...I think I scared him.
I finally calmed down and resolved to get her a card and some flowers the next day...hubster came home with dinner...and I was in the bedroom talking with him about it all..when we heard a loud knock on our front door.
I get up and answer it, and my landlord (male) is standing on my doorstep with tears streaming down his face. shocked, I ask him what's wrong...and he says that one of his dogs is missing.
*Hey God, do you think you could refrain from slamming me with TWO animal tragedy's in a matter of hours? I don't think my fragile animal loving side can handle it..mmmmkay?
So he goes on to tell me that it's the big fluffy white husky dog that I love SO MUCH - and says that one of his employees accidentally let him loose, and he'd been missing for hours. He'd driven everywhere and had no luck finding him. He thought perhaps he might try to come back to his old home, so he asked if we could leave our gate open for him, just in case. Of course, I said yes - and I was just so sad because that is the coolest dog, and I could see how upset my landlord was...poor, poor man - he took those dogs EVERYWHERE with him, loved those dogs to peices.

SO - I didn't get much sleep because I kept thinking about the poor woman and the cat, and then every little noise I heard, I'd get up to check the backyard for the dog....

I got some major eye circles going on today...all I can say is that last night sucked - nothing even happened to ME really, but I'm still emotional about it all.

Slacker

I started off so well with this journal - and now, I'm just slacking off..no wonder my mind feels so jumbled with things.
It's still raining here - and I've had my ears constantly listening to the news regarding road closures and the mudslides that happened south of us. Scary stuff, alot of people missing - things like that make me worry.
Yesterday, when I got home...the hubster had the day off, and was reading a book. Sounded like a good idea to me, so after dinner at about 6pm, I grabbed a book myself and sat down on the couch with him and we read and read and read. It was so very cozy sitting in our living room, bundled up with blankets on the couch, and listening to the rain beat down outside while we relaxed with our books. We read until 8pm...when Extreme Home makeover came on...and then we would read during commercials. He finished his book, and I finished mine about 10 minutes later. We've never done that before, and we vowed we'll have to do that more often...it was so relaxing!

Hubster is trying to get me to join a local all women tackle football league. There is a woman he works with who is on the team and said I should join and he could be an asst. coach. - I'm considering it, but I definately need to be in better shape for that. I wouldn't make it through a practice at the point I'm at now. I think it starts in March...time to get my butt in gear! I'm not sure if I want to do it yet, but it sounds kind of like fun :) that's all for now..

Yada, Yada, Yada

Yeah, I've been slacking off in the journaling department...I usually only post when I'm at work and things have been pretty darn busy here these days. The new year started off with me waking up saying "Nooooooooooooo" because we had to drive up to San Francisco for a wedding on New Years Day. It was a nice wedding and fun to see a bunch of people that we only see AT weddings and showers and such.
After having a mini-birthday for hubster's youngest neice, we finally headed home in the POURING rain, which sucked by the way. It needs to at least stop raining long enough for us to get home :)
This week has flown by, and I'm actually looking forward to having this weekend to get myself in order. I want to get our Christmas Tree down and all my "decor" (shyeah right) put away. I also want to reorganize our dresser drawers - finish all our laundry and clean out from under our bed. I'm tired of living in a messy house - but after working, I rarely feel like tackling anything because it's all such a major undertaking. If I can get the major stuff out of the way, I'll feel so much better.

It's supposed to be really STORMING here today - and yet, we've got blue skies...wrong again weather people!

It's Survey time!

1. Name 4 famous people (authors, actors, whatever) living OR dead that you would like to invite to a dinner party. And the reasons why, too.
OKay - first I'd pick 2 authors, Jennifer Weiner and Laurie Notaro...because they CRACK ME UP. Next, I'd pick Harry Connick Jr. - because he's funny too...but also because he's yummy. Next would be Oprah...cause she's got the HOOK UP and I could meet all kinds of interesting people, since you know - we'd immediately be best friends and all.
(I know most people will be all "I would pick JESUS!" but I think that would make my other guests feel intimidated - ....and I wouldn't be able to gaze at Harry C. without feeling guilty - so that just won't work for me)

2. What is the most revolting food you have ever tasted?
Probably Liver...or no, actually..it was some sort of seafood thing that had tenticles on it (I double DOG dare you to eat that!)- and the little suckers kept sticking to my tongue...yeah, it was gross....I didn't actually eat it - I yarked that thing back on my plate faster than you could blink an eye

3. Name 5 things that you can see from wherever you currently are.
A Tree in front of our office building ~ A funeral being setup at the cemetary across the street ~ A group of daycare kids walking down the street with their teachers, all holding onto a rope so they don't go missing (CUTE!) ~ big, dark, gray clouds that look like they're going to DUMP rain any minute (hurry up kidlets!) ~ A cat in a field hunting for some lunch in the form of a cemetary gopher, a delicacy in these here parts...

4. If you could change anything about your body, what would it be?
I'm skipping this one because I don't wanna sound like a whiner and I'm trying to learn to love myself. hehe - in the words of Stuart Smalley "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!"
HEH

5. What music are you listening to lately?
hmmm, actually I've been listening to country on the radio at work (because our receptionist would always change the station, and now that she's gone - my boss and I can listen to whatever...) ~ also, I have the Garden State Soundtrack in my car which hubster HATES - but I love :) ~ and I'm always in the mood for my classic rock station, because Led Zeppelin rules...

6. What person are you currently impressed by?
There is a girl who's online journal I read - and her boyfriend is from India. They are currently packing their bags to head over to Asia and help out with the Tsunami crisis (they both emptied their savings to do so) and also to get in contact with some of his family members there who may or may not be okay. I'm very impressed by the fact that they both are dropping everything and taking ALL their money and going...that is way cool.

7. List off some Dream Careers that appealed to you, either growing up or nowadays.
I used to want to be a veterinarian - but then I found out how much school I'd have to take and literally said "heck with that" ~ otherwise, I want to be one of those traveling secret spies for hotels and restaurants ("pay me and I'll tell you how good your accomodations and employees are" type of thing) ~ OR - I think it would be fun to be the person in casting who picks all those nutbags who make it onto reality shows

8. Best flavor of popsicle ever?
I'd have to say those big stick ones (get your head outta the gutter, people..) that are red and yellow and I think cherry pineapple flavor? Those are YUM-MAY

9. Best song ever?
I LUUURVE "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations...and I'd have to say "Walkin on Sunshine" by Katrina and the waves is a great song too...

10. What celebrity have you been told you resemble?
HA! Okay, well...when I was little, I was told that I looked like a really young Jodi Foster (like from the movie Taxi) - but I think that's total crap because I don't think I look anything like her...I've also been told that I look like Sissy Spacek only with darker eyes...and I think that's probably only because we both have a wierd turned up nose...and recently I was told by a couple at the grocery store that I reminded them of Poppy Montgomery from Without A Trace (face only)...which I don't see the resemblence there either, but whatever...

11. Is anything annoying you right now?
I'm annoyed that it's cold in here and I can't find any space heaters and our stupid forced air heating has taken a dump....Also, that I'm the only one here at work and I'm lonely (sniff)

12. Tell me a random memory from your childhood.
I remember when my brother and I were little, we thought it would be way cool to dig our own pool in the backyard...so we dug and dug and dug...and ended up with just an itty bitty hole - just big enough for the two of us....and we got the brilliant idea to turn it into a HOT TUB, yeah, a HOT TUB! So we lined the hole with black trash bags - and I ran into the house and opened my parents bedroom window...my brother handed me the hose which I dragged across my parents bed and hooked up to the sink in their tiny bathroom sink and cranked on the hot water....yeah baby - it was sweet....a bit muddy perhaps - but we lounged in our hot tub until mom and dad walked into their bedroom and saw what we had done....they laughed their butts off - and then we got into trouble for getting dirt all over their bedspread....HEE! Ahhhh, those were the days....

13. Cats or dogs?
BOTH! Although we don't HAVE a dog - we have 3 cats of doom ~ but someday we'll get a dog :)

Waxing Poetic...

I know I haven't updated in a while - and I will soon - but I just have to share this quote that I stumbled upon today from Sundry...I think it's hilarious...

"The trick to avoiding depression is figuring out which states of mind require vodka and which require coffee. If you can do that, you are saved."

HEH

No anxiety yet...

I'm feeling pretty good...pretty on top of things thus far. Most of my presents are wrapped - I ran out of paper, so I have 3 more things that need wrapping - but I can do that later tonight.
We're (hubster might not make it, working LATE tonight) going to a Christmas shin-dig at AJ and CC's house tonight...I'm excited to see everyone - and my best friend Amanda will be there. Plus, hubster made chocolate cake and I can't wait to taste it. Hopefully he'll be able to make it to the party.
BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE

Already?

Can it really be Christmas in 4 days? I still have tons of wrapping to do...
I'm not sure why, but the Christmas spirit hasn't really been IN me so far this year. Still no lights up...probably not gonna happen - heh.
Things are quite busy at work despite the slow time of year - my receptionist is gone now, so I've gotta do all the stuff that she would normally take care of, which sucks.
Hubster is working late these days and coming home tired, but still in good spirits. We still have to make AJ and CC's gift...we've got 3 days...joy!
I'm feeling anxious about the next couple of weeks, and I'm not sure why. It's as if all my insecurities are alive inside my head when they're usually pushed back into a dark corner of my mind. That probably only makes sense to me, but that's okay.
I hate when I get like this...but I know it won't last forever...I just need to DO something...

Thank Gawd...

The Christmas shopping is over! Hubster and I braved the crowds...and my anxiety about shopping...to get the majority of it done last night. We spent too much money and we still have some stocking stuffers to get - but the big stuff is done. We have so many KIDS to shop for...5 neices, one nephew, and one neice-to-be. Not to mention all our friend's children...Yowza.
Now comes the wrapping - I want to get it all done this weekend, so I'm not wrapping on Christmas Eve like usual. I think we did well with everyone this year - and the best part is that we did it TOGETHER. Usually, I end up doing all the shopping online or on my lunch hour and it SUCKS ...
I feel like I have so much to do...
1. I still don't have any christmas lights up on the outside of the house - and mom is coming over to paint our bay window with some sort of "scene" so I need to get the lights up this weekend for sure.
2. The screen busted on our front door - so I gotta fix that...which is an involved project because it involves wood molding and painting...dag-nab-it.
3. Hopefully, T can come over this weekend to highlight my hair because I want to get that done before Christmas and the hubster is a big chicken and won't do it for me.
4. My house is a disaster and needs to be cleaned IMMEDIATELY - or I will go insane and my brain will explode into a million little peices.
5. My laundry is piled (and I mean PILED) in the bedroom and I absolutely have no excuses other than I am lazy...
6. The hubster has taken one entire month to replace the belt in our vacuum cleaner. I know, I could have done it myself - but it was seriously a matter of principle and I REFUSED because I ALWAYS end up just "doing it myself" and so now he's trained to that - and I'm trying to break that habit. So yeah, it's nasty - but I haven't vacuumed in almost a month now...he JUST fixed it last night - so it's ON...watch out nasty carpet!
7. I have all that wrapping of presents to do - and I'm anal about my present wrapping, so NO - hubster cannot help - his wrapping sucks...hehehe
8. My kitchen floor needs to be scrubbed badly - as in TAKE EVERYTHING OUT - all carts and stools and trash cans and "scrub the floor" involving hands and knees, the whole she-bang.
9. My trash cans need to be hosed and scrubbed out because they STANK
10. My closet has been a dilemma for a while now...it's so small and so crammed with stuff...I truly need to clean it out and organize everything - I can't even close the door, it's THAT BAD...Hubster has been making comments - so I know it's bad if he's noticing it...LOL

Yeah, alot to do... *sigh*

I need some crack or some jolt cola to get me going...

20 things

20 things about our 3 cats of doom...

1. One of them will always be sitting in the window waiting for us when we get home, we never know which one - so it's kind of a game to guess which one
2. We can never do anything in the bathroom ALONE, there is usually at least one pair of eyes staring as us as if to say "that is a WEIRD shaped box...and how come you never cover it up when you're finished?"
3. It's great to have someone to talk to when home by yourself, especially when they talk back and ask about your day (they do, I swear!)
4. We can't wash our hands or brush our teeth without having to share the faucet with a black and white furball who WILL shove you out of the way if he has to...the other cats are currently in training
5. All 3 of them will always be in whatever room we happen to watch tv in. Once, we actually got up and switched rooms to test this theory and one by one - they all followed us into the next room. We think it's because they're nosy and want to make sure they're around if anything exciting happens.
6. If there is a carton of yogurt in the house and it is opened...it doesn't matter where Tiny is - even if he's sleeping - he will smell it and will climb all up in your grill until you share.
7. Even after all these years, Jackson STILL tries to catch the fish in the fish tank - he will sit and stare at those fish for hours..and every now and then jump up to get one...sometimes he'll be there so long that we look over and he's passed out on the floor up against the fish tank - as if he just melted there...
8. If you are outside, and Tweak is sitting in the window - and you look at him and say "HI BUBBA!" - he will wave at you and meow.
9. EVERY time we change the sheets on any bed, all 3 cats think that it's their duty to lie down on each layer...one under the sheet, one under the blanket, and one under the comforter. We end up with 3 moving lumps on our bed - and the hubster swears they will suffocate, while I stand there and laugh at the lumps...
10. Tiny will always put his toys in either his food bowl, or his water bowl - we've seen alot of drowned furry mice in our day...
11. When we're laying in bed, Jackson always jumps up and tries to find our hands so he can make us pet him...usually, we'll tuck our hands under the covers and giggle while he digs madly at the blankets because he KNOWS THERE ARE HANDS UNDER THERE SOMEWHERE!
12. Tweak will always wait until the other two cats, and the daddy are out of sight before he will cuddle with me. The minute they leave the room, he looks at me and goes "MEH!" and then he'll climb into my lap and be the baby.
13. The event of a kitty smackdown is the best non-electronic entertainment around...
14. Christmas ornaments are just a fancy way of displaying kitty toys that can be batted from room to room leaving the bottom half of our tree nekkid as can be
15. Our bedtime is their playtime...we just don't know how to stop the stomping and sliding...
16. No bugs, moths, or spiders can survive in our house. If they spot something on the ceiling or high up on a wall, they will sit and whine and cry until we come and lift them up so they can reach it.
17. Tiny loves candy, as well as fruit rolls, beef jerky, shrimp, any kind of sauce or soup, cereal, and yeah...pretty much ANYTHING that people eat. I've never seen him spit anything out...
18. Tweak limits his food preferences to milk and velveeta cheese...and he only licks the gravy off of canned food, he won't actually eat any of it...he doesn't care for cat treats, or even meat of any kind...he's odd.
19. Jackson only loves cat food (any kind and a lot of it)...the only people food I've ever seen him eat is shrimp, and I think he only ate it to spite the Tiny...eating usually cuts into his sleeping time, so he can't be bothered with anything other than what's in the bowl.
20. We simply can't imagine our lives without the furballs - we would be bored out of our skulls - they are so quirky and full of personality :)

Chaos...

So, hubster and I had the kidlets for Friday night and Saturday. Friday night was great...other than a few run-ins with Abby over wearing the seatbelt on her carseat, "It's too tight!" she screams...and we tell her she has to wear it or we're pulling over..."It's too tight!" she screams over and over...and then the fake choking ensues. Incidentally, EVERYTHING is "too tight" - her clothes, the blankets, the seatbelt...if she doesn't like it - it's TOO TIGHT. We've gotten very good at ignoring the screaming and choking, so has Keester. Anyway, we took them to the store because we promised to make cookies...and then we stopped by the video store because we promised movies (we are only put on this earth to spoil the neices, donchaknow?) and on the way home, we drove into a cul-de-sac that every year is completely over done with the decorations. I'm talking, these people must have to rent several storage sheds for all the decorative crap they have for their house...and I'm telling you, it was all up before Thanksgiving - scary.
So as we're rounding the corner, the kids start screaming "SANTA!!!" (just picture the ELF movie type of santa screaming) and we notice that there is a real live santa clause sitting in a giant red chair in the middle of the driveway of this garrish house. "SANTA! SANTA!"
So we park and take the kidlets up to the house and Abby immediately goes and sits on Santa's knee. She is holding a yellow bouncy ball because she had talked aunty (me, the sucka) into giving them each a quarter to put in the "ball machine" at the video store. Santa asks her what she wants for Christmas and she looks and him and goes "a bouncy ball" - and he looks at her hand and says "but you already have a bouncy ball...so what else would you like for Christmas little one?" and she looks at him and opens and closes her mouth...and then she goes "ummmm, a bouncy ball"
I'm giggling madly and taking pictures and after two more "bouncy ball" responses - Santa gives up and let's Keester have a try. Keester hears Santa's question about what she wants, and looks at me and in a loud whisper says "aunty, what am I supposed to say?"
and I tell her to ask for a toy she's been wanting, and she again loudly whispers "but aunty, I don't remember what I wanted!"
I'm still giggling at this point because these kids are cracking me up...and hubster is standing behind me trying to wrestle the candycane out of Abby's little hand because they haven't eaten dinner yet.
Anyway - we cruise around the house and check out all the movable creatures and lights and it's all very cool. We go home and eat dinner and watch movies and take a bath - with TONS of bubbles (because what's a bath without bubbles?) and keep them up WAY past their bedtime...and finally put them both to bed, where Keester falls asleep practically the minute her head hit the pillow - and Abby stays up talking to herself for the next hour. Hubster and I were standing at the door with our faces pressed up against it, listening to her babbling on and on - it was pretty damn funny.
They both slept until 8am, WOOHOOOOOOO! (see? keep the kids up late, they SLEEP LATE! Love it)
I made mickey mouse pancakes (go aunty!) and we watched Saturday morning cartoons and got dressed and headed off to the park.
The first park was declared "boring" after about 15 minutes...and Keester had already gone down the slide and soaked up all the morning dew with her blue jeans - thus causing her to walk bowlegged, and double her weight. So we got into the car and headed to a different park...a school! With 3 (count em, 3!) playgrounds. After skipping the first playground because there were 3 men in gas masks spraying for weeds, and after explaining to the girls that those men in masks were not "bad guys" - we got back into the car and drove to the other side where the playgrounds were on sand. The gate was open so I figured "what the heck?" and drove right on through it and up to the playground equipment. Keester promptly climbed all over a metal dinosaur shaped jungle gym and was so proud of herself for climbing the WHOLE thing that she dismounted and stood up, only to slam her head (with a loud THONK!) right into the dinosaur's giant metal head.
That kid has the hardest head on the planet because she stood up and said "ouch" and proceeded over to the swings without even flinching. Meanwhile, I'm standing there almost in tears because the SOUND HURT ME.
While I'm standing there, a teacher DRIVES up in his car and tells me that nobody is supposed to drive onto this part of the playground...and I looked at him pointedly and said "huh, nobody eh?" and he called me a smart ass and told me to move my car to outside the gate. He was really rude about it...but I did as I was told because the kids were watching...
After playing for a bit Abby declared that she was thirsty, so we set off to find a fountain - and as she's taking a drink, she looks at me and shouts "I'M PEEING!" and I look down to find a stream of pee running out of her pants and onto the sidewalk...and Keester is laughing. I strip the child down and say "okay girls, gotta go!"
Luckily, I had a plastic bag and a towel in the car...whew! who says I'm not prepared?
So we get home, and I start running the bath for Abby - and while I'm getting a towel out of the cupboard, I hear an "Aunty, I had a accident" - only it's from KEESTER, and she's peed right onto the couch...so I run over and grab the cushion and strip it - luckily, nothing soaked through to the pad underneath...Kee informs me that she didn't mean to, and she was busy watching cartoons, and forgot she had to go...ay-yi-yi. Both girls into the bath now!
Since their clothes are all thrashed (kee's were still wet and sandy from the slide incident) I throw them into the washer and put them into a couple of giant t-shirts which makes them look like my very own set of goblins running around the house.
We head outside to the grass in the front yard to attempt an art project involving plaster of paris which in restrospect was NOT a good idea...and after Abby spilled an entire bottle of bubbles into her shirt and was scooping the bubbles up with her hands and trying to make a "grown up bubble"...I took her into the house to change her shirt and de-bubble her arms and legs. Just as I get her into a fresh t-shirt, I hear AJ and CC pull up. I had forgotten that I said I would take their family picture (along with the dog) down at the beach when they came to pick up the kids...
I was explaining to CC why their clothes were in the wash, when we hear this horrible groaning and howling coming from the family room. I drop everything and dash into the family room - only to find Abby had brought the dog into the house, and he was taking a serious beating from my cat who was up on both legs and boxing the dog's head. I grab the dog and run outside,
After from panicking from CC and the girls, AJ and I looked the dog over and notice that he must have gotten scratched in the eye, but he truly seems fine..in fact he's wagging his tail and looking at us like "hey, wanna play? can we play now? I wanna play!"
AJ is trying to calm CC down, and I'm trying to calm the kids down - and the psycho-territorial bitch-slapping cat is standing at the screen growling...
So after everything calms down, CC decides to go home to get clothes for the kids to wear for pictures and after she leaves, AJ is outside trying to fix some $1 store bubble maker thing....and I'm transferring the clothes to the dryer and I hear Keester shout from the living room "aunty, abby's getting in trouble!"
and I sigh and find her in the bedroom with a bottle of my foundation make up in her hand...OH LORD HELP ME...
I look behind her and see make up spilled all over our sheets, all over the floor (which she had walked through and tramped all over..thank God we have wood floors) and somehow had gotten little specks all over our dresser, the walls, and the door to the bathroom...she must have gotten it on her hand and then shook her hand.... So I proceed to reprimand her and make her go tell her Dad what she just did and grab a crapload of baby wipes to get it all up off the floor and my furniture. AJ walks in and looks at me and goes "what the heck is wrong with my child?".
I go to throw the wipes in the trash and notice that my cat (who is still growling and stomping around the house) is licking water from a bowl that is filled with water-logged dry cat food. I pull Abby into the kitchen and ask her if she did it and she goes "but see, then they can eat and drink at the same time!"
So help me, I laughed...even though by this time I was somewhat FRUSTRATED and just wanted my nice quiet house back.
I go to check the clothes and notice that all their NEW clothes have been dyed blue. Crimony. I'm wanting to put my head down and cry at this point - how am I ever going to be able to handle motherhood without some seriously good drugs??? Xanax anyone?
At this point, I hear the hubster come in the front door....He hears a strange dog barking for attention from the back yard, sees a pissed off cat stomping around and growling, sees a couch cushion missing and stripped, sees makeup all over our sheets in the bedroom, sees arts and craft stuff all over the lawn, sees the cat's water bowl full of puffed up food, and sees ME hold an armload of blue clothing with tears in my eyes, and he goes "hmmm, bad day?"
I said "if you even THINK about complaining about work today - I'm taking the car keys and leaving you with these children ALONE because you HAVE NO IDEA"
Thankfully, CC came back with clothes, we got everyone dressed and wrestled their hair into semi-submission and I headed to the beach with them to take family pictures. They had brought a fake christmas tree to decorate and be part of the picture. Beach + Christmas Tree = funny...as well as a dog wearing a santa hat and antlers...
Finally it was time for picture taking...and I'm just gonna say that trying to get 2 kids and a dog wearing antlers to all look at the camera at the same time - it's a total crapshoot.
I went home and sat on the couch and didn't move for about 5 hours when I then fell asleep. Sunday, we didn't do a darn thing.
I'm still tired from Saturday - and truly hoping that not every day is like that when you're a mom - otherwise, I think hubster might have to find a new wife who's more willing to put herself through that kind of torment.
*sigh*

A Sister Sandwich...

Yes, AJ and CC are having a GIRL!
3 girls...and hubster's sister has 2 girls already. We're surrounded by girlies :)
The pressure is on, hubsters gotta talk to his "boys" and make sure we have some boys...when the time comes.
I'm very excited - I need another baby to hold and put to sleep. Okay, I just realized how bad that sounded....heh