Today was an interesting day around the homestead. After enjoying a wonderful and relaxing afternoon with adult friends at the movie, I picked Meredith up from school and returned home to relieve the babysitter that had the other two tikes. The house was chaos. Not chaos caused by the babysitter, but the chaos we had been living in for a week and half now. There is crap everywhere, my life is spiraling out of control and now that school is starting back up I have a great plan. A plan to get everything back in order, to clean out closets and junk drawers and toys rooms. It's the same plan I had at the beginning of the summer. It didn't quite work out.
Today though, I walked in and was greeted by hugs and kisses and pleas to go outside and play. Particularly to play with a new remote control helicopter that really flies. Well one that did fly until it crashed one too many times, now it just hobbles along. And although I know messes can wait and life is meant to be enjoyed, the toll of the mess and the toys strewn everywhere, including said helicopter and remote just got to me.
My answer was no, not until all the other toys were picked up and put away, the ones specifically downstairs. Upstairs is another gorilla that I plan to tackle later. And I knew that if I made them pick that up too, then we might be able to get outside with the helicopter by Saturday. After hearing my condition the kids readily agreed to it. But no picking up was done. A few minutes later they made the same request with smiles parked from ear to ear. Because normally I oblige, but my reply was the same, when the toy room is picked up. Then came the whining and complaining about how unfair I was. I know.... I cook, I clean, I wash clothes, I bathe you and pick up your toys....life is devastatingly unfair.
After several more minutes of pleading to go outside, my refusals along with pleading to get them to pick up and of course the empty threat of putting all the toys in a bag for children who didn't have any and would treat them with respect, I did it......
I followed through.
I marched and got myself a garbage bag. I didn't say another word. I went into the toy room and starting putting whatever I got my hands on into the bag. Wii remotes, monster trucks, a Justin Beiber barbie, and so on and so on. One by one I calmly and rationally tossed barbie after barbie and monster truck after monster truck into the bag. Meanwhile my children lost it. Crocodile tears, screaming, crying, flinging toys around at the unfairness of my actions. There cries were loud, you would have thought I just announced that air was now being rationed. They were so hysterical that it scared my baby girl to death and quickly her face scrunched up, tears began flowing and wails ensued. My heart broke for her, poor thing was scared to death. Hell I was too. I put down my bag, forbid anyone to get anything out and scooped up my baby to comfort her.
This made them quiet down a little and the tearful begging to please give it back, we promise to do better, loads of apologies and plenty of please mamma's, began. When my response was no, it was too late, things quickly got very disrespectful and with that I sent them to their rooms. More protests and crying and screaming ensued. Since Margot was in my arms I did not raise my voice. I simply pointed to the steps and very sternly said "GO". More dramatic behavior, apologies, tears and begging, which followed with my arm stretched out and my finger pointed at the steps with me repeating "go....go.....go....GO". They slowly picked themselves up and started heading that way.
At this point, Margot realized what was going on. Well she at least got the overall picture. Her big brother and sister were being punished and sent to their rooms. She began to scramble out of my arms and then crawled over to the steps with them, stood up at the bottom, raised her arm and pointed her finger to the top and yelled "DOE.....DOE.....DOE.....DOE!"
After the bigs had tearfully retreated upstairs, she turned around and clapped and said "YAAAAY!" And so it begins, the caboose....calling the shots...Lord help me!
Showing posts with label hectic days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hectic days. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Around here somewhere
When Margot was first born things were hectic. Doctor appointments, doctor appointments and more doctor appointments. I felt like I was always running, trying to catch up.....not even dreaming of keeping up. Almost 10 months later, things are still crazy. I'm convinced this is it. Life will not slow down. There are no more mornings of sleeping in and hanging in our jammies all day. Now there is school and car pools. Ballet lessons and appointments. I'm always running. ALWAYS.
So more often than not, my house is a wreck. There is always a load of laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, clothes to be folded and put away, dinner to be cooked and cleaned, toys to be put away, beds to be made, butts to be wiped and tiny hand prints to be wiped away. I've tried to keep it clean, I've tried to keep it presentable. I've tried and wished and hoped to channel my inner Type A self, but it just isn't happening. Hell at this point I'd settle for just being able to find a place to sit on the couch and possibly find my car keys without having to curse repetitively to myself.
Before kids I was the type that did baseboards when company was coming over. Now I settle for at least straightening up the areas the company will see. So it utterly shocked me when I had someone coming to the house that I barely knew for the first time and did nothing. Someone who I barely knew and normally would require having a spotless house to let walk through the door. However it was a day Josh was on call, my son was miserable from a tonsillectomy and hadn't slept in day, I was working on zero sleep, and my very last nerve was dangling from a thin string. I was barely keeping it all together.
In fact I had totally forgotten the appointment and that someone was even supposed to come by. So when I got a text that day that she was 5 minutes away, I quickly surveyed thehouse wreckage and deemed the mess impossible to be cleaned in 5 minutes. I targeted one area of the disaster. The kitchen. In four minutes I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, I cleaned off the counter tops and table and quickly wiped them down. I gathered all the toys my two arms could hold and threw them into the toy room. With a minute to spare I walked into the living room to survey the rest of the house. I cried. Why had I picked the kitchen???....................why the HELL did I not do a damn thing about the living room. Where the hell was my brain???? So with 30 seconds to spare, I gathered up the toys in the living room and foyer and pitched them into the toy room, I grabbed blankets and pajamas that were strewn all over and threw them into the laundry room and then I saw her car pulling up. There was still a mountain of laundry on the coffee table and loads of unfolded laundry on the couches. I hauled all of the laundry onto one couch and grabbed the unsightly Cars sleeping bag that was heaped up in the middle of the floor and threw it on top of all the clothes to hide them. Because that was all I had left in me and surely that shit would work...right? I mean really would you even notice this.....
Would you think less of me? Or that I was at least a little off? Would you think....damn this woman has stooped to an all new low and has lost it?
Exactly! I can't even see that large unsightly, red sleeping bag....sleeping bag? What sleeping bag? I mean as long as I think that, then it works right? My visitor briefly let her eyes flutter in that direction, but she never mentioned it. She also spent a total of 20 minutes here and never made it to my "clean" kitchen. But she never mentioned the mess and for that I love her.
Yes, that is what I have stooped too. Josh and I are picking up a few more sleeping bags for our next cocktail party. Especially since the Caboose's new favorite activity is to create a mess like this in under 2 minutes. Yes, 2 minutes, the approximate amount of time I have to take a shower these days.
So more often than not, my house is a wreck. There is always a load of laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, clothes to be folded and put away, dinner to be cooked and cleaned, toys to be put away, beds to be made, butts to be wiped and tiny hand prints to be wiped away. I've tried to keep it clean, I've tried to keep it presentable. I've tried and wished and hoped to channel my inner Type A self, but it just isn't happening. Hell at this point I'd settle for just being able to find a place to sit on the couch and possibly find my car keys without having to curse repetitively to myself.
Before kids I was the type that did baseboards when company was coming over. Now I settle for at least straightening up the areas the company will see. So it utterly shocked me when I had someone coming to the house that I barely knew for the first time and did nothing. Someone who I barely knew and normally would require having a spotless house to let walk through the door. However it was a day Josh was on call, my son was miserable from a tonsillectomy and hadn't slept in day, I was working on zero sleep, and my very last nerve was dangling from a thin string. I was barely keeping it all together.
In fact I had totally forgotten the appointment and that someone was even supposed to come by. So when I got a text that day that she was 5 minutes away, I quickly surveyed the
Would you think less of me? Or that I was at least a little off? Would you think....damn this woman has stooped to an all new low and has lost it?
Exactly! I can't even see that large unsightly, red sleeping bag....sleeping bag? What sleeping bag? I mean as long as I think that, then it works right? My visitor briefly let her eyes flutter in that direction, but she never mentioned it. She also spent a total of 20 minutes here and never made it to my "clean" kitchen. But she never mentioned the mess and for that I love her.
Yes, that is what I have stooped too. Josh and I are picking up a few more sleeping bags for our next cocktail party. Especially since the Caboose's new favorite activity is to create a mess like this in under 2 minutes. Yes, 2 minutes, the approximate amount of time I have to take a shower these days.
Monday, January 18, 2010
hectic or daily life?
Just last week I thought to myself...Wow! Noah hasn't really entered the terrible twos, maybe we'll skip it. Well guess what...I'm eating those words for sure. Today he was slapped/spanked 4 times. Why? Because nothing else works. I didn't spank him hard, not even enough to make a mark, but when I do he screams and cries because his heart is very broken. Time outs don't work, screaming is extremely unproductive, and no matter what I do, he just goes about his business. The spanking works for a little while. I am sure it will wear off soon.
He is now going through this phase of throwing fits, hitting his sister, biting again and being aggressive. It's typically not in his sweet little nature. He has also gotten extremely whiny and his sleep is not as great as it used to be. I finally figured out the culprit, he is cutting three of his 2 year molars. One is already out, the other 3 are busting through AT THE SAME TIME. He has chewed a hole in all of his uh-ohs or pacifiers. He is frustrated that none of them "work." He hands it to me and orders me to "fix it momma!" When I tell him I can't he says "need new one." So now I'm between a rock and hard place....do I buy new ones or make him suffer through and wean himself while teething? Although if I buy more I am sure he will just chew those up as well. UGH....life.
These are now my worries, my hurdles to overcome in daily life. I remember the days of yesteryear when I did swallow studies and treated patients with memory and cognition problems due to stroke and head injuries and even gun shot wounds...hey I worked at charity hospital. You never knew what you would see. Then I did some work in nursing homes where I managed 300 patients diets and also did therapy on a daily basis. I also worked in schools systems where I managed caseloads of children between 40 and 70 kiddos. How did I do it? How did I go from that to dealing with a 2 year old's tantrums and a 3 year old's going on 4's attitude? I'm pretty sure my old job was much easier and I believe I was also better at it.
Today I went to the local cell phone store to get some tutoring on my phone. I have a master's degree, but can't work my new cell phone. I didn't get very far in my lesson, between trying to listen to the knowledgeable cell phone man, arm wrestling a 2 year old and then listening to the play by play of everything the 2 year old was doing wrong by the 3 1/2 year old. At that point I scooped them up, thanked the guy for his time, grabbed my little sanity that was left and headed to the car. It was there that I listened as a whole bag of $4 Reece Pieces were dumped into my Gucci. I quickly followed that by an "OH SHIT!" I try to use my favorite words only in extreme circumstances in front of my tikes....this was one of them. The tikes just looked at me, knowing better than to ask for my purse to eat out of it. Smart tikes.
Evidently the cell phone store was not enough to end our day or our outing and from there, I then went to the grocery. It all goes downhill from here. Here I lost my patience, despite taking several moments to quietly and out loud count to 10. I again spanked, threatened and was defeated by the tikes. After racing threw the store, throwing things in the buggy, cursing myself and Dr. King for giving us this wonderful Monday off, I headed to the check out. The computers were down, but I was determined not to leave without my groceries. I felt like I had just survived the Cold War, or at least ran a 26 mile marathon. I spent another 15 minutes waiting for my debit card, credit card or check to go through. Finally it did....1 point for the momma. Once we were in the parking lot, I wrestled a little boy into his car seat and patiently waited for my other tike to snap herself in independently. I spent 20 minutes in the parking lot. I repeatedly said my mantra in the store and in the parking lot..."God grant me the patience to get through this day and wisdom to know when to just go home and get in bed!" Meredith repeated it in her most worrisome tone as well "God please give my momma her patience back...she needs it!"
Once we arrived at the homestead I couldn't turn around and put the kids back inside in their beds, even though I really wanted to. We all have had a bit of cabin fever. It was finally warm outside, the sun was shining bright and we all needed a little vitamin D. So I sat in the sun and cleaned out my purse while the kids played and rode their jeeps in the driveway. I removed receipts, useless paper, crayons, a princess pen, 3 hot wheels, 2 chipmunks, a toy train and 500 Reece pieces. I got all the change and important things out and then dumped the purse over the trash bag. One little chocolate Reece piece fell on the ground. Meredith walked over and picked it up and said "Here's an "Oh Shit" that you dropped mom!"
Yes, it has been an Oh Shit kind of day. Now if they would just take a nap that would be great.
He is now going through this phase of throwing fits, hitting his sister, biting again and being aggressive. It's typically not in his sweet little nature. He has also gotten extremely whiny and his sleep is not as great as it used to be. I finally figured out the culprit, he is cutting three of his 2 year molars. One is already out, the other 3 are busting through AT THE SAME TIME. He has chewed a hole in all of his uh-ohs or pacifiers. He is frustrated that none of them "work." He hands it to me and orders me to "fix it momma!" When I tell him I can't he says "need new one." So now I'm between a rock and hard place....do I buy new ones or make him suffer through and wean himself while teething? Although if I buy more I am sure he will just chew those up as well. UGH....life.
These are now my worries, my hurdles to overcome in daily life. I remember the days of yesteryear when I did swallow studies and treated patients with memory and cognition problems due to stroke and head injuries and even gun shot wounds...hey I worked at charity hospital. You never knew what you would see. Then I did some work in nursing homes where I managed 300 patients diets and also did therapy on a daily basis. I also worked in schools systems where I managed caseloads of children between 40 and 70 kiddos. How did I do it? How did I go from that to dealing with a 2 year old's tantrums and a 3 year old's going on 4's attitude? I'm pretty sure my old job was much easier and I believe I was also better at it.
Today I went to the local cell phone store to get some tutoring on my phone. I have a master's degree, but can't work my new cell phone. I didn't get very far in my lesson, between trying to listen to the knowledgeable cell phone man, arm wrestling a 2 year old and then listening to the play by play of everything the 2 year old was doing wrong by the 3 1/2 year old. At that point I scooped them up, thanked the guy for his time, grabbed my little sanity that was left and headed to the car. It was there that I listened as a whole bag of $4 Reece Pieces were dumped into my Gucci. I quickly followed that by an "OH SHIT!" I try to use my favorite words only in extreme circumstances in front of my tikes....this was one of them. The tikes just looked at me, knowing better than to ask for my purse to eat out of it. Smart tikes.
Evidently the cell phone store was not enough to end our day or our outing and from there, I then went to the grocery. It all goes downhill from here. Here I lost my patience, despite taking several moments to quietly and out loud count to 10. I again spanked, threatened and was defeated by the tikes. After racing threw the store, throwing things in the buggy, cursing myself and Dr. King for giving us this wonderful Monday off, I headed to the check out. The computers were down, but I was determined not to leave without my groceries. I felt like I had just survived the Cold War, or at least ran a 26 mile marathon. I spent another 15 minutes waiting for my debit card, credit card or check to go through. Finally it did....1 point for the momma. Once we were in the parking lot, I wrestled a little boy into his car seat and patiently waited for my other tike to snap herself in independently. I spent 20 minutes in the parking lot. I repeatedly said my mantra in the store and in the parking lot..."God grant me the patience to get through this day and wisdom to know when to just go home and get in bed!" Meredith repeated it in her most worrisome tone as well "God please give my momma her patience back...she needs it!"
Once we arrived at the homestead I couldn't turn around and put the kids back inside in their beds, even though I really wanted to. We all have had a bit of cabin fever. It was finally warm outside, the sun was shining bright and we all needed a little vitamin D. So I sat in the sun and cleaned out my purse while the kids played and rode their jeeps in the driveway. I removed receipts, useless paper, crayons, a princess pen, 3 hot wheels, 2 chipmunks, a toy train and 500 Reece pieces. I got all the change and important things out and then dumped the purse over the trash bag. One little chocolate Reece piece fell on the ground. Meredith walked over and picked it up and said "Here's an "Oh Shit" that you dropped mom!"
Yes, it has been an Oh Shit kind of day. Now if they would just take a nap that would be great.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I'm back....but making no promises
Well here is my first blog in almost forever. I had to just take a break. For a while I quit reading blogs, quit blogging, in fact I went ahead and took my own blog out of my favorites. Life just felt like it was too much and as much as I wanted to head over here and write down the million cute things my kids were doing and saying or blog about birthdays and holidays and every little mundane thing in between I couldn't. Seriously, I could not bring myself to even log in to blogger.
In the last week or so I started trying to catch up on blogs, it made me miss mine. A lot. Then I had several request by friends (mainly Carrie) to please blog. And then one from my husband. So that did it for me. At least two people missed me! I'm not promising to be here everyday,but I feel the urge to blog again so here I am.
Playing catch up. That probably won't happen. But I will blog about my birthday boy whose birthday I neglected on the blog. And since this blog is for them to one day read, I will definitely post that soon. Noah man, I am sorry. I just needed a moment. One day you will understand that. Or maybe I am just preparing you for middle child syndrome now.
In other news. In case you haven't heard Internets. I am preggers with number 3. The caboose. And yes there is only one little caboose in there with a nice strong heartbeat. Along with two very large polyps, but that is another worry for another day. What is life without something to worry about your children. This has been the month of worries for me. I am hoping next year will be a lot less worrisome. I am also hoping in the next week or so I can stop vomiting, but I'm not expecting that to happen either. For the record little caboose, I have been sicker with you than I was with either your big sister or big brother.
Noh a big brother....WOW that is scary....I hope saying that gets less scary in the next 32 weeks! I have to admit the thought of having three little stepping stones soon scares the crap out of me, but I'm ready!
So here I am back in action. I hope you all have missed me. Expect some more of me and a whole new look soon. I think the look was really getting me down. Yeah it had nothing to do with my exhaustion, life, anxiety or pure laziness when it came to blogging.....it was all the look.
Welcome back interenets! I hope you are still around and continue to come back.
In the last week or so I started trying to catch up on blogs, it made me miss mine. A lot. Then I had several request by friends (mainly Carrie) to please blog. And then one from my husband. So that did it for me. At least two people missed me! I'm not promising to be here everyday,but I feel the urge to blog again so here I am.
Playing catch up. That probably won't happen. But I will blog about my birthday boy whose birthday I neglected on the blog. And since this blog is for them to one day read, I will definitely post that soon. Noah man, I am sorry. I just needed a moment. One day you will understand that. Or maybe I am just preparing you for middle child syndrome now.
In other news. In case you haven't heard Internets. I am preggers with number 3. The caboose. And yes there is only one little caboose in there with a nice strong heartbeat. Along with two very large polyps, but that is another worry for another day. What is life without something to worry about your children. This has been the month of worries for me. I am hoping next year will be a lot less worrisome. I am also hoping in the next week or so I can stop vomiting, but I'm not expecting that to happen either. For the record little caboose, I have been sicker with you than I was with either your big sister or big brother.
Noh a big brother....WOW that is scary....I hope saying that gets less scary in the next 32 weeks! I have to admit the thought of having three little stepping stones soon scares the crap out of me, but I'm ready!
So here I am back in action. I hope you all have missed me. Expect some more of me and a whole new look soon. I think the look was really getting me down. Yeah it had nothing to do with my exhaustion, life, anxiety or pure laziness when it came to blogging.....it was all the look.
Welcome back interenets! I hope you are still around and continue to come back.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Avoidance
Dear Internets,
I've been avoiding you, yes I have in a bad way. Trust me it's not you, so don't take it personal, it's me, all me. You know when you have that project, or test to study for, or appointment and you really just really can't even think about it. You avoid the topic or subject or in my case blogger at all cost. I haven't even been reading blogs until tonight. It's sad and true. I have no idea why. I've actually gotten anxious and nauseous thinking about how I haven't blogged or documented milestones or told any of the cute antidotes that have happened here in the past few weeks. And that my friends was a clear sign that it was time to step away from the computer.
These past few days I've been feeling down and like crap. Not depressed and no I don't need medication (not that there is anything wrong with that, I just haven't needed it). No, just typical off days. Days were I can't get my shit together or anyone else's. This week alone, I lost my keys at the movies, my ipod, my 23 month old --- oh I kid the ipod is not really missing! But you know the days or weeks when we just can't get it together, we all have them.
I feel like my life is constant choas and I'm always exhausted and just can't get it straight. I'm treading water as fast as I can and I am barely staying afloat. In fact several times this week I have been late (GASP!) Me, the one always early was late, more than once.
So this weekend my husband is whisking me away to a romantic weekend on Mobile Bay. Be jealous, it's the first time we have gone away for a weekend together since Meredith was born. I know far too long since the last time.
I am hoping I will have time to regroup, relax and then be back, back to my old self. Handling the daily chaos and easily staying afloat.
I promise not to avoid you when I return.
xoxo,
2 tikes!
I've been avoiding you, yes I have in a bad way. Trust me it's not you, so don't take it personal, it's me, all me. You know when you have that project, or test to study for, or appointment and you really just really can't even think about it. You avoid the topic or subject or in my case blogger at all cost. I haven't even been reading blogs until tonight. It's sad and true. I have no idea why. I've actually gotten anxious and nauseous thinking about how I haven't blogged or documented milestones or told any of the cute antidotes that have happened here in the past few weeks. And that my friends was a clear sign that it was time to step away from the computer.
These past few days I've been feeling down and like crap. Not depressed and no I don't need medication (not that there is anything wrong with that, I just haven't needed it). No, just typical off days. Days were I can't get my shit together or anyone else's. This week alone, I lost my keys at the movies, my ipod, my 23 month old --- oh I kid the ipod is not really missing! But you know the days or weeks when we just can't get it together, we all have them.
I feel like my life is constant choas and I'm always exhausted and just can't get it straight. I'm treading water as fast as I can and I am barely staying afloat. In fact several times this week I have been late (GASP!) Me, the one always early was late, more than once.
So this weekend my husband is whisking me away to a romantic weekend on Mobile Bay. Be jealous, it's the first time we have gone away for a weekend together since Meredith was born. I know far too long since the last time.
I am hoping I will have time to regroup, relax and then be back, back to my old self. Handling the daily chaos and easily staying afloat.
I promise not to avoid you when I return.
xoxo,
2 tikes!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Because having nothing going on right now, would be too much to ask for!
I would love to write a continuance post about Disney, but that won't be happening right now. Why? Because of the other things going on.....mostly the swine flu!
On our flight home I noticed Noah's nose was runny, I figured it was bound to happen. We were on a flight with hundreds of other people in really close quarters, breathing the same air, spreading multiple germs for almost 2 hours. Not to mention every time his pacifier fell out of his mouth at Disney he or we would pick it up and give it back to him. Sanitary? No. Convenient? Yes. So yes, we obviously brought home germs.
By Monday he had a fever, and by Tuesday so did Meredith. This morning it was confirmed that we have swine flu. Well them, not me. I tested negative. However I feel as crummy as they do and have even taken two naps myself. So really I'm convinced I got something. Maybe they didn't stick that thing far enough up my nose....talk about uncomfortable.
Anyway we do have the swine flu. Thankfully the kids are resting quietly now, which would leave me time to upload the hundreds of pics I took at Disney or I could nap instead. For the third day in a row, the nap is going to win out. Sorry.
Well I will nap as soon as the dishwasher installer and his loud talking wife are finished. Did I mention that my dishwasher went out as soon as we got home? It worked twice and then was apparently fried in an electrical explosion or something. All I know is the electrician showed me some very burnt up wires and told me how lucky I had that green/ground wire or I wouldn't have a house anymore. Yes, thank God for green wires.
So as soon as I am feeling up to it, I promise to post some pics from Mouse world. I also promise a very exciting and interesting and possibly educational post about my top 10 tricks/tips/lessons about Disney world. Oh it will be so exciting....not really, but we can pretend.
Well that's all I got today. I'm working on my list, maybe I'll crank that out today to, or I'll just to continue to administer the oinkment for my kids swine flu.....isn't that cute....my friend whose husband works in the ER told me about that one....apparently that's how we treat the swine flu here is south mississippi.....thanks Laura!
On our flight home I noticed Noah's nose was runny, I figured it was bound to happen. We were on a flight with hundreds of other people in really close quarters, breathing the same air, spreading multiple germs for almost 2 hours. Not to mention every time his pacifier fell out of his mouth at Disney he or we would pick it up and give it back to him. Sanitary? No. Convenient? Yes. So yes, we obviously brought home germs.
By Monday he had a fever, and by Tuesday so did Meredith. This morning it was confirmed that we have swine flu. Well them, not me. I tested negative. However I feel as crummy as they do and have even taken two naps myself. So really I'm convinced I got something. Maybe they didn't stick that thing far enough up my nose....talk about uncomfortable.
Anyway we do have the swine flu. Thankfully the kids are resting quietly now, which would leave me time to upload the hundreds of pics I took at Disney or I could nap instead. For the third day in a row, the nap is going to win out. Sorry.
Well I will nap as soon as the dishwasher installer and his loud talking wife are finished. Did I mention that my dishwasher went out as soon as we got home? It worked twice and then was apparently fried in an electrical explosion or something. All I know is the electrician showed me some very burnt up wires and told me how lucky I had that green/ground wire or I wouldn't have a house anymore. Yes, thank God for green wires.
So as soon as I am feeling up to it, I promise to post some pics from Mouse world. I also promise a very exciting and interesting and possibly educational post about my top 10 tricks/tips/lessons about Disney world. Oh it will be so exciting....not really, but we can pretend.
Well that's all I got today. I'm working on my list, maybe I'll crank that out today to, or I'll just to continue to administer the oinkment for my kids swine flu.....isn't that cute....my friend whose husband works in the ER told me about that one....apparently that's how we treat the swine flu here is south mississippi.....thanks Laura!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
In which I truly lose my mind....Disney world part 1
Exhausted.....in one word.....exhausted.
The trip started out rocky and down right rough, but by Sunday things were much better. On Friday night at about 11:30pm, Josh and I made sure that everything was packed. We loaded the truck, we packed our carry ons, we set out our tickets.....tickets.....shit....did we do the online check in.....shit.....JOSH CAN YOU PRINT THE TICKETS?
At that point, I pulled out my laptop to find the email with the confirmation number of our flight, the email I never printed out or the confirmation number I never wrote down....do you see where this is going? Exactly. Apparently in my chaotic state of late, I deleted the email from Southwest, which was deleted from my delete box. So there was no email or trace of me ever purchasing anything from Southwest in cyberland.
So we picked up the phone at 12:00am and called Southwest to give them our name and find out exactly what time our flight was and check in. That is when the nice ticket lady said...."I'm sorry but you aren't booked on ANY flight on Southwest tomorrow." I wasn't on the phone, but if you know me you know what my reaction was or what I would have told the very nice ticket lady.
Instead I listened to the part of the conversation I could hear and got wind of the bad news....the very bad news....then fumed....WHAT THE FUCK! I BOUGHT THOSE TICKETS! After I insisted we were on that flight and that we had better be, I started to question myself.....did I book those tickets.....did I forget.....did I mean to do it when josh got home from work......I booked the trip on a weekend while he was on call at the hospital.....I did get the tickets right after I booked Disney right? right? right? BRAIN WORK!!!!
Yes, the doubt crept in and my husband after giving 3 credit card numbers and our last name several times, hung up the phone with the nice Southwest lady with no seats on any plane departing from New Orleans and headed to Orlando.....or really any flight at all.
It is now 12:30, my kids are in bed and are so excited about our big plane ride and trip to Disney that was supposed to happen in less than 12 hours. What the hell?
So we try to book more tickets on Southwest assuming I just forget, even though I know I didn't. But at this point what do you do? The Southwest lady checked and double checked and our family has no seats on any plane going anywhere. Panic starts to set in.
My more reasonable husband gets a little panicky too, he decides to check our credit cards....good one. But, the credit card company's website is down and we can't look up our records to see if we did purchase them. And to save paper our credit card company does it all online.....so why isn't your website working!!! I jump on my computer to purchase more tickets, but Southwest's website is showing all flights are booked to Orlando the following day. I am about to cry. I cannot disappoint the two tikes sleeping upstairs, we have been talking about this trip for months!
So Josh, being his calm, collective self, calls Southwest back. Tells the lady the situation and that we need to purchase more tickets now, he rationally explains that we need to get to Orlando tomorrow, and then politely asked her to please help us out, because the direct flight we were supposed to be on is sold out. I am thinking...give me the phone...I'll get us on that plane....lady you are so lucky it wasn't me to call. I know I booked that flight...dammit!
The nice Southwest lady takes a minute to check out the situation and dig a little deeper, as she says. What? Don't these people dig deep every time someone calls and says they did book a flight before you tell them they didn't???? So again we give her and spell our last name to dig deeper....several minutes go by.....I'm am totally freaking out...... and voila, she finds one.... except this flight was in October of last year.....yes genius, that was our Southwest flight from our Disney trip last year......just book us a new freaking flight!!!! So now I am yelling...."just book another damn ticket.....Josh,tell her to book us more tickets."
Am I happy the price has more than doubled than the price I had thought I already paid...NO! But we need to get to Disney world dammit and apparently I am really a chicken with my head cut off and need to start taking moments to breathe and write things down or print things out and put them in places they won't get lost! Either way.....book us another flight already!
So the lady keeps looking.....several more minutes go by....and I am just beating myself up....how could I forget to get tickets....who does that.....did I really do that.....I'm not that stupid....I know I booked those damn tickets....I know I paid exactly X amount of dollars for them. Josh I did book them, I know I did!
So I tell this to Josh and still being his calm, collective self, simply tells the lady..."Mam, that is our last year reservation and I need to be in Orlando tomorrow is there another flight you can put us on?" Me, I'm still yelling in the background....I have no idea how he puts up with me for the record.
And that is when she says...."Hold on sir....let me keep digging....I'm still not convinced you aren't booked on a flight out tomorrow. "WHAT?" What would give this woman any indication that we MIGHT be booked tomorrow. Either we are like I've been saying....or we aren't like your other lady told us.....what is to be determined....I didn't book the tickets under Mr. & Mrs. Smith.....I booked them under the names I gave you and spelled out for you multiple times.......is Southwest trying to give me heart failure.....come on!
The lady is looking....I am thinking alternating thoughts and at the same time.....HA I did book those tickets/please let her find our flight/ha I know I booked the flight/come on PLEASE find them!
At about quarter to 1am, she found them. On an earlier flight than what I swear I booked. Or let me say an earlier flight than I know I booked! Yes, my flight was leaving about noon. The flight she had us on was leaving a little after 8am. Did I mention we live 2 hours from the airport. The rest of the flights out were booked. So I took a deep breath, cursed myself for deleting the email and in general not being more responsible and thanked my lucky stars she found our reservation and that we didn't hurry and book a second more expensive reservation without getting to the bottom of it. And oh Southwest I am not letting you off that easy....I know I had that reservation....you need to be more accountable too dammit!
Okay Internets.....here is the pivotal learning part of the post....you probably already know this and do this....if not take note and write it down.....THOSE FREAKING CONFIRMATION NUMBERS THEY GIVE YOU ARE PRETTY DAMN IMPORTANT....WRITE THEM DOWN!!! DON'T JUST PRETEND TO!
So at 1am we are scrambling, instead of heading out for the airport at 730am liked we planned, we are now having to leave at 430am. It is 1am....I decide to shower that night and then sleep, but my heart is racing, my adrenaline is pumping and I can't sleep. I get into bed at 130am and I toss and turn and at 430am, Josh and I grab to sleeping tikes out of their beds and load them in the car. We hope they will sleep until we get there.....
They are both wide awake by the time we back out the driveway. They are on their way to the Magic Kingdom.....the excitement is bubbling out of them. There is no rest for the weary. For 2 hours we say....
"Yes guys we are on our way", "Yep we are headed to the big plane", "Yep we are going to DISNEY world!", "Nope we are not there yet!"
And eventually we board our flight and arrive in Orlando......Ahhhh! But there will be no napping or resting....we check in.....we load onto another bus.....and we head to the Magic Kingdom!
to be continued....
The trip started out rocky and down right rough, but by Sunday things were much better. On Friday night at about 11:30pm, Josh and I made sure that everything was packed. We loaded the truck, we packed our carry ons, we set out our tickets.....tickets.....shit....did we do the online check in.....shit.....JOSH CAN YOU PRINT THE TICKETS?
At that point, I pulled out my laptop to find the email with the confirmation number of our flight, the email I never printed out or the confirmation number I never wrote down....do you see where this is going? Exactly. Apparently in my chaotic state of late, I deleted the email from Southwest, which was deleted from my delete box. So there was no email or trace of me ever purchasing anything from Southwest in cyberland.
So we picked up the phone at 12:00am and called Southwest to give them our name and find out exactly what time our flight was and check in. That is when the nice ticket lady said...."I'm sorry but you aren't booked on ANY flight on Southwest tomorrow." I wasn't on the phone, but if you know me you know what my reaction was or what I would have told the very nice ticket lady.
Instead I listened to the part of the conversation I could hear and got wind of the bad news....the very bad news....then fumed....WHAT THE FUCK! I BOUGHT THOSE TICKETS! After I insisted we were on that flight and that we had better be, I started to question myself.....did I book those tickets.....did I forget.....did I mean to do it when josh got home from work......I booked the trip on a weekend while he was on call at the hospital.....I did get the tickets right after I booked Disney right? right? right? BRAIN WORK!!!!
Yes, the doubt crept in and my husband after giving 3 credit card numbers and our last name several times, hung up the phone with the nice Southwest lady with no seats on any plane departing from New Orleans and headed to Orlando.....or really any flight at all.
It is now 12:30, my kids are in bed and are so excited about our big plane ride and trip to Disney that was supposed to happen in less than 12 hours. What the hell?
So we try to book more tickets on Southwest assuming I just forget, even though I know I didn't. But at this point what do you do? The Southwest lady checked and double checked and our family has no seats on any plane going anywhere. Panic starts to set in.
My more reasonable husband gets a little panicky too, he decides to check our credit cards....good one. But, the credit card company's website is down and we can't look up our records to see if we did purchase them. And to save paper our credit card company does it all online.....so why isn't your website working!!! I jump on my computer to purchase more tickets, but Southwest's website is showing all flights are booked to Orlando the following day. I am about to cry. I cannot disappoint the two tikes sleeping upstairs, we have been talking about this trip for months!
So Josh, being his calm, collective self, calls Southwest back. Tells the lady the situation and that we need to purchase more tickets now, he rationally explains that we need to get to Orlando tomorrow, and then politely asked her to please help us out, because the direct flight we were supposed to be on is sold out. I am thinking...give me the phone...I'll get us on that plane....lady you are so lucky it wasn't me to call. I know I booked that flight...dammit!
The nice Southwest lady takes a minute to check out the situation and dig a little deeper, as she says. What? Don't these people dig deep every time someone calls and says they did book a flight before you tell them they didn't???? So again we give her and spell our last name to dig deeper....several minutes go by.....I'm am totally freaking out...... and voila, she finds one.... except this flight was in October of last year.....yes genius, that was our Southwest flight from our Disney trip last year......just book us a new freaking flight!!!! So now I am yelling...."just book another damn ticket.....Josh,tell her to book us more tickets."
Am I happy the price has more than doubled than the price I had thought I already paid...NO! But we need to get to Disney world dammit and apparently I am really a chicken with my head cut off and need to start taking moments to breathe and write things down or print things out and put them in places they won't get lost! Either way.....book us another flight already!
So the lady keeps looking.....several more minutes go by....and I am just beating myself up....how could I forget to get tickets....who does that.....did I really do that.....I'm not that stupid....I know I booked those damn tickets....I know I paid exactly X amount of dollars for them. Josh I did book them, I know I did!
So I tell this to Josh and still being his calm, collective self, simply tells the lady..."Mam, that is our last year reservation and I need to be in Orlando tomorrow is there another flight you can put us on?" Me, I'm still yelling in the background....I have no idea how he puts up with me for the record.
And that is when she says...."Hold on sir....let me keep digging....I'm still not convinced you aren't booked on a flight out tomorrow. "WHAT?" What would give this woman any indication that we MIGHT be booked tomorrow. Either we are like I've been saying....or we aren't like your other lady told us.....what is to be determined....I didn't book the tickets under Mr. & Mrs. Smith.....I booked them under the names I gave you and spelled out for you multiple times.......is Southwest trying to give me heart failure.....come on!
The lady is looking....I am thinking alternating thoughts and at the same time.....HA I did book those tickets/please let her find our flight/ha I know I booked the flight/come on PLEASE find them!
At about quarter to 1am, she found them. On an earlier flight than what I swear I booked. Or let me say an earlier flight than I know I booked! Yes, my flight was leaving about noon. The flight she had us on was leaving a little after 8am. Did I mention we live 2 hours from the airport. The rest of the flights out were booked. So I took a deep breath, cursed myself for deleting the email and in general not being more responsible and thanked my lucky stars she found our reservation and that we didn't hurry and book a second more expensive reservation without getting to the bottom of it. And oh Southwest I am not letting you off that easy....I know I had that reservation....you need to be more accountable too dammit!
Okay Internets.....here is the pivotal learning part of the post....you probably already know this and do this....if not take note and write it down.....THOSE FREAKING CONFIRMATION NUMBERS THEY GIVE YOU ARE PRETTY DAMN IMPORTANT....WRITE THEM DOWN!!! DON'T JUST PRETEND TO!
So at 1am we are scrambling, instead of heading out for the airport at 730am liked we planned, we are now having to leave at 430am. It is 1am....I decide to shower that night and then sleep, but my heart is racing, my adrenaline is pumping and I can't sleep. I get into bed at 130am and I toss and turn and at 430am, Josh and I grab to sleeping tikes out of their beds and load them in the car. We hope they will sleep until we get there.....
They are both wide awake by the time we back out the driveway. They are on their way to the Magic Kingdom.....the excitement is bubbling out of them. There is no rest for the weary. For 2 hours we say....
"Yes guys we are on our way", "Yep we are headed to the big plane", "Yep we are going to DISNEY world!", "Nope we are not there yet!"
And eventually we board our flight and arrive in Orlando......Ahhhh! But there will be no napping or resting....we check in.....we load onto another bus.....and we head to the Magic Kingdom!
to be continued....
Monday, September 7, 2009
The ants coming marching 10 by 10....
After a very busy, but very fun weekend....Monday rolled around. Even though it is a holiday and I have an extra set of hands home to help with the Monday, it is still a Monday. Since Noah went to bed at 6:30pm last night due to skipping his nap, he was up bright and early at 7am. This was not his usual 8:30am, therefore I was forced to drag my tired ass out of bed an hour and half earlier than usual. It nearly killed me since I couldn't sleep last night. Josh had left to do rounds so he could get back home and spend the day with us, otherwise I would have made him get out of bed and get him.
So after I fetch a Noah man, we got in my bed to snuggle. Noah's idea of snuggling and my idea of snuggling are very different. Before long we heard Ta-ta coming down the steps and that was when I decided to get up and make oatmeal....much to Noah's delight.
As I opened the pantry door there they were. Hundreds, or thousands maybe. They were having a standoff and I was armed with my Method cleaner...what else should I have used around all the food? The war on the ants began. Thankfully the kids didn't pick up on my anxiety or start screaming with me. They took the ants in stride and looked at me like I had officially lost all of my marbles. If Josh would not had arrived on the scene and confirmed it, I may have thought I was seeing things, that's how lax the children's responses to the ants were. Yes, even my Meredith who cannot stand a tiny bug within a 25 foot radius of her, did NOT react to the ants.
So there went my Monday, by 8am, I had made 3 bowls of oatmeal (2 for my growing boy and 1 for Meredith), unloaded an entire pantry of food, threw out 4....yes 4 garbage bags full of ant infested foods or foods that were at least a year or two out of date. I had wiped down the entire pantry with bleach cleaner, used several of my finest choice words, text my husband about the dire ant/pantry situation and begged him to leave his patients in the ICU and come and help me....for the record he didn't. And cried...I did I cried over the ants. I even thought about putting the house up for sale, because at that point it seemed easier than getting rid of them. All of this by 8am.
Yes, it is a Monday. I don't even know what holiday it is today, because by golly I celebrated it yesterday and today was a typical Monday morning at work for me. Stay at home moms don't get holidays, vacation time or sick leave. I think I may put in a phone call to the union sometime today....oh wait I bet they have the day off. I guess I'll quit crying now and go back to battle the ants. I googled how to kill ants, but those websites weren't very optimistic and were making me realize just how many ants were hiding below the surface where I couldn't see. My Monday morning had been bad enough already without reading that....so I quit.
Anyone have any advice on how to get rid of them?
So after I fetch a Noah man, we got in my bed to snuggle. Noah's idea of snuggling and my idea of snuggling are very different. Before long we heard Ta-ta coming down the steps and that was when I decided to get up and make oatmeal....much to Noah's delight.
As I opened the pantry door there they were. Hundreds, or thousands maybe. They were having a standoff and I was armed with my Method cleaner...what else should I have used around all the food? The war on the ants began. Thankfully the kids didn't pick up on my anxiety or start screaming with me. They took the ants in stride and looked at me like I had officially lost all of my marbles. If Josh would not had arrived on the scene and confirmed it, I may have thought I was seeing things, that's how lax the children's responses to the ants were. Yes, even my Meredith who cannot stand a tiny bug within a 25 foot radius of her, did NOT react to the ants.
So there went my Monday, by 8am, I had made 3 bowls of oatmeal (2 for my growing boy and 1 for Meredith), unloaded an entire pantry of food, threw out 4....yes 4 garbage bags full of ant infested foods or foods that were at least a year or two out of date. I had wiped down the entire pantry with bleach cleaner, used several of my finest choice words, text my husband about the dire ant/pantry situation and begged him to leave his patients in the ICU and come and help me....for the record he didn't. And cried...I did I cried over the ants. I even thought about putting the house up for sale, because at that point it seemed easier than getting rid of them. All of this by 8am.
Yes, it is a Monday. I don't even know what holiday it is today, because by golly I celebrated it yesterday and today was a typical Monday morning at work for me. Stay at home moms don't get holidays, vacation time or sick leave. I think I may put in a phone call to the union sometime today....oh wait I bet they have the day off. I guess I'll quit crying now and go back to battle the ants. I googled how to kill ants, but those websites weren't very optimistic and were making me realize just how many ants were hiding below the surface where I couldn't see. My Monday morning had been bad enough already without reading that....so I quit.
Anyone have any advice on how to get rid of them?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
And the beat goes on....
Sometime back in April, I wrote a big fat check for a kitchen renovation. A renovation that would take 2-3 weeks. Remember that post of excitement the day the brick arrived. Yes, it seems like just ages ago. Well now I feel like I've been through the ringer.
First it has taken nearly 2 1/2 months, which is a whole lot longer that three weeks. Then as they came to install the island, I noticed that it was a lot smaller than what we originally discussed. I refused to let them install it, since it wasn't what I originally discussed and agreed to pay for.
So my contractor comes out and we agree to disagree and then he chalks it up to a miscommunication. However no matter what he says, we miscommunicated I know damn well I didn't miscommunicate this......
In no way, shape or form would I have "miscommunicated" to replace my island with a new island that was a good 6 inches to short on each side. Nope, I am going to go ahead and say the contractor screwed up royally. However what I was saying earlier was not screwed up, but use your imagination and insert whatever word you think I would have used! And to prove it wasn't just on one side....
First it has taken nearly 2 1/2 months, which is a whole lot longer that three weeks. Then as they came to install the island, I noticed that it was a lot smaller than what we originally discussed. I refused to let them install it, since it wasn't what I originally discussed and agreed to pay for.
So my contractor comes out and we agree to disagree and then he chalks it up to a miscommunication. However no matter what he says, we miscommunicated I know damn well I didn't miscommunicate this......
In no way, shape or form would I have "miscommunicated" to replace my island with a new island that was a good 6 inches to short on each side. Nope, I am going to go ahead and say the contractor screwed up royally. However what I was saying earlier was not screwed up, but use your imagination and insert whatever word you think I would have used! And to prove it wasn't just on one side....
This my friends is why I have resorted to drinking heavily in the evenings! Today I get to deal with the geniuses again, think of me, pray for my sanity.
I am thinking by the time Meredith starts kindergarten next year it may be ready. What do you think?
Friday, June 26, 2009
Happy Friday
Oh internets, my days of blogging regularly seem to be long gone. I'm not going to apologize again or explain where I've been, because really it's just excuses after excuses. Right? But it isn't just blogging that is taking a back burner. I took that extensive week off because we went to the beach and while I have many things to blog about at the beach, like how much fun we had. It really wouldn't work without the pictures, but since they are still on the camera I guess that post ain't happening. Go here to check them out.
Then their is that fancy smancy remodel I kept moaning and groaning about. Yes, that too seems to have been left on the back burner. No, not by me. I am so ready for it to be completed, the man in charge of it, that is a different story.
This remodel has led to a massive headache that has lasted for well I don't know 2 months now. Would you even believe me if I tell you the damn thing is not finished? It's not. Close, but definitely not complete. I didn't forget about the pictures either. I will post them, but I just want it to be complete. Don't you? Hell maybe I will give up on completion and just post pictures anyway. What do you think?
And to answer your question, yes I am about to lose my mind of the never ending job that was quoted as taking 2-3 weeks max. Please don't make me curse on the blog again.
I also shut down Regrets Only Stationery for a month because I couldn't get one creative juice flowing when my house was covered in dust and invaded by men who smelled badly, left doors open for the paid for air to escape and left a bigger mess here then they would at their own momma's. But the men are gone apparently and the business is now up and running again. I have to say thanks to all my customers for showering me with orders the day I opened and the month continuing. I have to admit I was a little afraid I wouldn't get anymore business, but I am right where I left, busy.
Then their is the matter of children. We all know how busy being a mom can be, well a stay at home mom trying to navigate through a remodel, run a busy home based business and still make sure my kids don't miss out on one iota of summer fun is super busy. But I love the job what can I say?
Then you may wonder how I am blogging such a long post at 8am, well the tikes had a slumber party at their Mimi or Nanna's (as Noah has come to calling Mimi) house. Josh and I went out to begin the week long celebration of his 36th birthday. We went to dinner and a movie. We had two glasses of wine, an appetizer, meal and a dessert and for once I didn't have to threaten anyone with their life to stay in the chair or high chair. I also didn't have to do a massive clean up before leaving the restaurant and pick my mind up at the door.
I know what you are thinking....wow Josh is getting up there. We both are, last week at the beach I found my first grey hair. The shock and disappointment were unreal. I mean I am thirty for god's sake. Then yesterday I found another....what do I even do for this? I told you life has been rough internets.
Anyway that is where I am now, stuck in remodel hell of never being completed with grey hair. Happy Friday.
Then their is that fancy smancy remodel I kept moaning and groaning about. Yes, that too seems to have been left on the back burner. No, not by me. I am so ready for it to be completed, the man in charge of it, that is a different story.
This remodel has led to a massive headache that has lasted for well I don't know 2 months now. Would you even believe me if I tell you the damn thing is not finished? It's not. Close, but definitely not complete. I didn't forget about the pictures either. I will post them, but I just want it to be complete. Don't you? Hell maybe I will give up on completion and just post pictures anyway. What do you think?
And to answer your question, yes I am about to lose my mind of the never ending job that was quoted as taking 2-3 weeks max. Please don't make me curse on the blog again.
I also shut down Regrets Only Stationery for a month because I couldn't get one creative juice flowing when my house was covered in dust and invaded by men who smelled badly, left doors open for the paid for air to escape and left a bigger mess here then they would at their own momma's. But the men are gone apparently and the business is now up and running again. I have to say thanks to all my customers for showering me with orders the day I opened and the month continuing. I have to admit I was a little afraid I wouldn't get anymore business, but I am right where I left, busy.
Then their is the matter of children. We all know how busy being a mom can be, well a stay at home mom trying to navigate through a remodel, run a busy home based business and still make sure my kids don't miss out on one iota of summer fun is super busy. But I love the job what can I say?
Then you may wonder how I am blogging such a long post at 8am, well the tikes had a slumber party at their Mimi or Nanna's (as Noah has come to calling Mimi) house. Josh and I went out to begin the week long celebration of his 36th birthday. We went to dinner and a movie. We had two glasses of wine, an appetizer, meal and a dessert and for once I didn't have to threaten anyone with their life to stay in the chair or high chair. I also didn't have to do a massive clean up before leaving the restaurant and pick my mind up at the door.
I know what you are thinking....wow Josh is getting up there. We both are, last week at the beach I found my first grey hair. The shock and disappointment were unreal. I mean I am thirty for god's sake. Then yesterday I found another....what do I even do for this? I told you life has been rough internets.
Anyway that is where I am now, stuck in remodel hell of never being completed with grey hair. Happy Friday.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Is it friday yet?
Did I mention we are going back to the beach? Well we are, because after multiple weeks of remodel hell....I lost count.........the kitchen is STILL not finished. I'm not sure it ever will be. Part of my daily routine is waking up, getting two kids up, making sure everyone potties and is changed, making oatmeal, calling the contractor to bitch, calling my husband to bitch about said contractor, then making my husband call said contractor back to get the job done.
Yes, I fear my morning routine or daytime routine will never be the same. The new daytime routine involves cleaning after kids and workers, patrolling the kids and the workers, fussing at the kids and workers and at the end of the day losing my mind.
It is no longer strange when my 3 year old says out loud in public, "momma da men STILL at my house?" Because we both know what men she is talking about and for the sake of all things holy in the world, yes they are still at our freaking house.
I'm not sure they will ever leave, which is better than them leaving before the job is done. Although the hefty balance of money we owe them is also a key factor in that, but that is NOT incentive enough for them to move their asses faster. No way. I am convinced men have one speed and it is not my speed, that is for damn sure.
So I am hoping that the week after I come home from the beach, the kitchen will be finished. Yes, you heard that right, not that when I come home it will be finished, but that it will get finished the week after the beach. Because in this process of remodeling or renovating, I have learned a very valuable lesson, do not let them work when you are out of town. For several reasons...
1. they don't show up on time
2. sometimes they don't show up at all
3. they never do what they are supposed to do and will only have to fix it when you get home
4. chances are they won't even fix it correctly and you will have to wind up fixing it your self
5. no one respects your stuff, so make sure you are there to demand the respect.
Oh internets won't you be happy when this is all over with and we can go to more trivial post about breakfast and pottying or something. I can't wait until I am out of remodel hell. So that is it in a nut shell. You may get before and after pictures before the new year, but don't count on it.
Yes, I fear my morning routine or daytime routine will never be the same. The new daytime routine involves cleaning after kids and workers, patrolling the kids and the workers, fussing at the kids and workers and at the end of the day losing my mind.
It is no longer strange when my 3 year old says out loud in public, "momma da men STILL at my house?" Because we both know what men she is talking about and for the sake of all things holy in the world, yes they are still at our freaking house.
I'm not sure they will ever leave, which is better than them leaving before the job is done. Although the hefty balance of money we owe them is also a key factor in that, but that is NOT incentive enough for them to move their asses faster. No way. I am convinced men have one speed and it is not my speed, that is for damn sure.
So I am hoping that the week after I come home from the beach, the kitchen will be finished. Yes, you heard that right, not that when I come home it will be finished, but that it will get finished the week after the beach. Because in this process of remodeling or renovating, I have learned a very valuable lesson, do not let them work when you are out of town. For several reasons...
1. they don't show up on time
2. sometimes they don't show up at all
3. they never do what they are supposed to do and will only have to fix it when you get home
4. chances are they won't even fix it correctly and you will have to wind up fixing it your self
5. no one respects your stuff, so make sure you are there to demand the respect.
Oh internets won't you be happy when this is all over with and we can go to more trivial post about breakfast and pottying or something. I can't wait until I am out of remodel hell. So that is it in a nut shell. You may get before and after pictures before the new year, but don't count on it.
Monday, June 8, 2009
What she says.....lesson learned
One morning this past week, I was getting dressed and as usual the tikes were in the playroom. I heard talking and squealing and "vroom, vroom'ing." Then all of a sudden I heard complete silence, which was completely unusual. It took a few minutes to figure out that all I heard was silence and then put two and two together.....silence meant trouble.
I walked to the playroom and peaked my head in and low and behold there was green paint everywhere. The floors, the tikes, the toys, the dresser, the bookcases. And in the middle, there they sat.....studiously painting everything with paint brushes and utter concentration on their faces......in complete silence.
"Uh-hm"
Two very big brown eyes and two happy blue eyes, stared up at me with a look of terror and joy, respectively. I didn't say a word.
"I'm sorry Momma"
"Do we paint without permission?"
"No"
"Then why are you and Noah painting right now?"
"I dunno"
"Who got the paint"
silence and the lip came out
"Mama mama mamamama"
"Did Noah get the paint out of the top draw"
A fearful head nod no. I picked up the paint and paint brushes leaving the room and tried not to lose my cool. As I walked out, Meredith was apologizing and Noah started screaming, he was not happy that his art lesson was over. I tried not to let the daily grind get to me. On top of getting ready and having to get two tikes ready to head out the door, now I had to clean up a gigantic mess in the toy room. You would be surprised what two tiny tikes could cover in five minutes with a large container of forest green paint. But just as the steam started to come through my ears and the frustrated growls were about to creep out, I heard this while washing the brushes and getting wet rags.
"No-wee don't cwy, it's okay......don't cwy no-wee we will play with someting else......okay noah we can play someting else......ssshhh.......here noah, here play wit dis."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAA"
"Shhh it's okay Noah, here play wit dis, play wit sitter"
And at that moment the steam evaporated and the growls turned into a smile. While I was not happy about the green mess and green tikes to clean, it really wasn't the worst thing in the world, actually not too bad at all. Not bad enough to ruin everyones day at 8am. Life is way too short for that. Instead I walked in and said it was okay and cleaned up the mess with two very eager helpers. Don't get me wrong I have moved all the paint from the top drawer in the toy room, see I learned a very valuable lesson.
I walked to the playroom and peaked my head in and low and behold there was green paint everywhere. The floors, the tikes, the toys, the dresser, the bookcases. And in the middle, there they sat.....studiously painting everything with paint brushes and utter concentration on their faces......in complete silence.
"Uh-hm"
Two very big brown eyes and two happy blue eyes, stared up at me with a look of terror and joy, respectively. I didn't say a word.
"I'm sorry Momma"
"Do we paint without permission?"
"No"
"Then why are you and Noah painting right now?"
"I dunno"
"Who got the paint"
silence and the lip came out
"Mama mama mamamama"
"Did Noah get the paint out of the top draw"
A fearful head nod no. I picked up the paint and paint brushes leaving the room and tried not to lose my cool. As I walked out, Meredith was apologizing and Noah started screaming, he was not happy that his art lesson was over. I tried not to let the daily grind get to me. On top of getting ready and having to get two tikes ready to head out the door, now I had to clean up a gigantic mess in the toy room. You would be surprised what two tiny tikes could cover in five minutes with a large container of forest green paint. But just as the steam started to come through my ears and the frustrated growls were about to creep out, I heard this while washing the brushes and getting wet rags.
"No-wee don't cwy, it's okay......don't cwy no-wee we will play with someting else......okay noah we can play someting else......ssshhh.......here noah, here play wit dis."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAA"
"Shhh it's okay Noah, here play wit dis, play wit sitter"
And at that moment the steam evaporated and the growls turned into a smile. While I was not happy about the green mess and green tikes to clean, it really wasn't the worst thing in the world, actually not too bad at all. Not bad enough to ruin everyones day at 8am. Life is way too short for that. Instead I walked in and said it was okay and cleaned up the mess with two very eager helpers. Don't get me wrong I have moved all the paint from the top drawer in the toy room, see I learned a very valuable lesson.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Beach....and not the beach!
Yes, we are home! I would say it is good to be home, but if we are being honest, it sucks. Not because coming home is not good after 7 nights away, but because when I was in Destin, I woke up to this every morning.....
Oh and you better tell me what you think....I've been living in hell for weeks....please for goodness sake tell me what you think about it so far.....oh and it isn't near completion.....SERIOUSLY!
And this is just a small, and I mean small, sampling of what I came home too....
And in case you couldn't see the layers upon layers of dust in that photo look at this one.....
Yes, that dust covered every square inch of my first floor and probably most of the second floor too. That my friends is why I haven't posted pictures like this one......
or this one from the beach.....
No instead we have been cleaning up dust and shit since Saturday, today I can finally see the light at the very far end of the very long tunnel. That and I called Servpro to come and finish the stuff I just can't do anymore, because really do you know how to clean out air conditioner vents.....yeah me either. Yes, it all has to be cleaned, because the people working on my kitchen floors have NEVER heard of visquine and when they ripped up over 500+ square feet of ceramic tile with a jackhammer, they never covered up anything or any opening to the rest of my house......but this is a rant for another day.
So yes internets I am home, happy about it? Not really, but home and starting to get life back to normal, that and plan my next beach trip!
Oh yeah and here's a teaser.....I promise to put up the before and afters, but since the 2 week job is now carrying into it's 4th week and may never end....I'm not sure when that will be. Enjoy! I promise more destin news and pics to come shortly....if I can find my sanity in a suitcase somewhere.
Oh and you better tell me what you think....I've been living in hell for weeks....please for goodness sake tell me what you think about it so far.....oh and it isn't near completion.....SERIOUSLY!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Open house
Hi welcome to my hell house, come on in. Sorry there is no where to sit and please forgive the mess. And remember wipe you feet before you walk on anything not covered by visquine....
Ignore those tools and empty box of cracker jacks, I just can't make people pick up after themselves, even the ones I am paying.
Snuff......no we don't do snuff here.....not sure why that is lying around.
Oh you love my fire place, isn't it fabulous?
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Yes, let's go get that glass of lemonade this way to the kitchen.
See the fireplace is looking a little better?
For those of you thinking WoW.....go ahead just look at that.....actual mud inside. I have officially lost it.
.......and more mud......
......and even more mud, oh and don't worry that brick does not look that dark, if it did I would seriously cry.
It looks more like this, but my photography skills are about as good as my housekeeping.
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This is a thin layer that covers my entire house, those are my Brazilian cherry woods underneath it. The snuff guys didn't do a great job of covering the floors. I wonder what they are good at?
That is a mixture of dust, muck, mud and cement, in my kitchen and on my wood floors, do you see why I have lost it?
The only thing helping me keep my sanity over the weekend was this is how it looked on Friday, which means not too much longer.
Oh and the fireplace was finished Friday..........thank gawd!
The rest will be completed today, I don't know exactly what completed means though. I'm not sure if completed means they will finish the brick and leave the scaffolding, mud, muck and snuff for me to clean up, or if they might do that before they leave. Either way I'm not holding my breath did you see how good they were at covering up my floors. Exactly.
Ignore those tools and empty box of cracker jacks, I just can't make people pick up after themselves, even the ones I am paying.
Snuff......no we don't do snuff here.....not sure why that is lying around.
Oh you love my fire place, isn't it fabulous?
.jpg)
Yes, let's go get that glass of lemonade this way to the kitchen.
See the fireplace is looking a little better?
For those of you thinking WoW.....go ahead just look at that.....actual mud inside. I have officially lost it.
.......and more mud......
......and even more mud, oh and don't worry that brick does not look that dark, if it did I would seriously cry.
It looks more like this, but my photography skills are about as good as my housekeeping.
.JPG)
This is a thin layer that covers my entire house, those are my Brazilian cherry woods underneath it. The snuff guys didn't do a great job of covering the floors. I wonder what they are good at?
That is a mixture of dust, muck, mud and cement, in my kitchen and on my wood floors, do you see why I have lost it?
The only thing helping me keep my sanity over the weekend was this is how it looked on Friday, which means not too much longer.
Oh and the fireplace was finished Friday..........thank gawd!
The rest will be completed today, I don't know exactly what completed means though. I'm not sure if completed means they will finish the brick and leave the scaffolding, mud, muck and snuff for me to clean up, or if they might do that before they leave. Either way I'm not holding my breath did you see how good they were at covering up my floors. Exactly.
So yes, today the brick wall and fireplace is finsished, but.......tomorrow at 7am, the floor guys will be here. To remove all of my kitchen appliances and washer and dryer for at least 2 weeks. Then they will begin to rip out of the 500+ square feet of tile. Fun times, fun times, anyone want to join me for a drink? Or two, or ten? Wait don't leave......come back soon!!!!
Seriously I'm going to make you wait until the house is back together before I post anymore pictures, it really helps my sanity and anxiety if I don't have to look at the mess, even on the world wide web. Again thanks for stopping by! Next time wipe you feet so you don't make those white tracks everywhere. Damn house guest showing up before the job is finished!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The play by play....here's what happened
So since most of you asked for the play by play, I should totally be posting pictures of the huge disastrous mess. Yes, it is that bad. Much worse than I EVER expected. But I have to be honest when I tell you that I was totally looking at this renovation process through rose colored glasses before it started, my friend. What a fool I was, but damn they were mighty good rose colored glasses. Yes, those glasses allowed me to foresee myself sipping lemonade out of a crystal clear glass, in my cool house, while watching the men lay really clean brick in a few hours time span - minus the mud, dust and muck.
Yes, just me and my lemonade and my rose colored glasses. Well my friends I am here to tell you that is not the case. My house is covered in a thick layer of white, filmy dust. I have swept and wiped and yet if you rub your hand over any surface in this entire house, you can still feel the ickiness that oozes off the counters and floors. Everything is covered. The men and the people who live here make cute little white tracks all over my rich Brazilian cherry wood floors.
The tracks go from the disaster zone to the kitchen and then some go around through the dining room to the bathroom, and the playroom and my bedroom. And some go up the stairs where it ends at the carpet, and really I am sure they carry on, but those are the special invisible tracks that are forever embedded in my carpet.
Oh the renovation I was so excited about has turned into my own personal hell. Why do people do this to themselves? IT is easier to move people. IT IS easier to clean your home and show it day in and day out, then to live in this hellish nightmare.
So yes, I should be posting pictures of the new fireplace, or the area I insisted they brick against my contractors better judgement and then the pictures after I asked them to remove the brick from that very same place. Or the wall that is slightly sloping or the wall after I made them fix the slight slope. Or the archway that is beyond gorgeous. Or the hole in the sheetrock where the electrical used to be, that I am hoping they will magically patch. Or the electrical cord that is running along my ceiling for the new light I am having installed that I am hoping will be hidden by the brick. Or the various places my walls are covered in mud and crud. Or the places that holes are now where baseboards used to be and will need to patched. Or my new firebox made of brick or my new harth that is gorgeous and brick.
Yes, I should post all those pictures, but I am not for a few reasons.
1. I left my camera at my mom's with the pictures on it
2. instead of taking the time to get it and post pictures I went out to dinner and had drinks and then saw a movie with the girls to try and restore some of my sanity
3. I'm just too tired from laying in my bed at night an fretting over what the finished product will look like and whether or not at night it will rain and wet the brick and delay the completion of the job one more day.
4. I just can't look at the mess one more second today, even through pictures.
So I promise the pictures will come soon, before next month, but not today. Today I just need the mess to go away and question why I ever started this shit to begin with!
Yes, just me and my lemonade and my rose colored glasses. Well my friends I am here to tell you that is not the case. My house is covered in a thick layer of white, filmy dust. I have swept and wiped and yet if you rub your hand over any surface in this entire house, you can still feel the ickiness that oozes off the counters and floors. Everything is covered. The men and the people who live here make cute little white tracks all over my rich Brazilian cherry wood floors.
The tracks go from the disaster zone to the kitchen and then some go around through the dining room to the bathroom, and the playroom and my bedroom. And some go up the stairs where it ends at the carpet, and really I am sure they carry on, but those are the special invisible tracks that are forever embedded in my carpet.
Oh the renovation I was so excited about has turned into my own personal hell. Why do people do this to themselves? IT is easier to move people. IT IS easier to clean your home and show it day in and day out, then to live in this hellish nightmare.
So yes, I should be posting pictures of the new fireplace, or the area I insisted they brick against my contractors better judgement and then the pictures after I asked them to remove the brick from that very same place. Or the wall that is slightly sloping or the wall after I made them fix the slight slope. Or the archway that is beyond gorgeous. Or the hole in the sheetrock where the electrical used to be, that I am hoping they will magically patch. Or the electrical cord that is running along my ceiling for the new light I am having installed that I am hoping will be hidden by the brick. Or the various places my walls are covered in mud and crud. Or the places that holes are now where baseboards used to be and will need to patched. Or my new firebox made of brick or my new harth that is gorgeous and brick.
Yes, I should post all those pictures, but I am not for a few reasons.
1. I left my camera at my mom's with the pictures on it
2. instead of taking the time to get it and post pictures I went out to dinner and had drinks and then saw a movie with the girls to try and restore some of my sanity
3. I'm just too tired from laying in my bed at night an fretting over what the finished product will look like and whether or not at night it will rain and wet the brick and delay the completion of the job one more day.
4. I just can't look at the mess one more second today, even through pictures.
So I promise the pictures will come soon, before next month, but not today. Today I just need the mess to go away and question why I ever started this shit to begin with!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
We have brick!
Yesterday the brick went up, about a third of the way up at least. And my new fireplace was built. My entire living area is covered in visquine and cardboard type floor. There is dust, dirt and crud everywhere. I cannot wait until June. I am not banking on them making their 2 week deadline, so I am just holding out for next month when hopefully all is complete.
So tell me internets, do you want to wait for the dramatic before and afters, or do you want a play by play? I can't decide, should I post a little everyday or just wait until I am sane again and my house is in one piece with gorgeous reclaimed, old Chicago brick everywhere?
So tell me internets, do you want to wait for the dramatic before and afters, or do you want a play by play? I can't decide, should I post a little everyday or just wait until I am sane again and my house is in one piece with gorgeous reclaimed, old Chicago brick everywhere?
Monday, May 4, 2009
Most common complaint about being a stay at home mom
I often hear from other moms that the most common complaint about our job is boredom. Being home with one or two toddlers, no adult interaction, the same books, puzzles, toys, the same routine day in and day out. While most of that is true, I can't say that I am bored. No losing my mind is definitely more like it, take today for example.
My house is in the beginning of a renovation. It is now torn up to the point of not being livable, and no where near being complete. I have some workers here, who do a lot of standing around and waiting on the another guy, a lot of banging and some who just hang visquine everywhere.
I have a 17 month old who wants to get his tools and go help, hell he would love to bang on some stuff, but his mom is always saying "No, No Noah!" He just can't help himself and stay out the room. I am actually allowing the banging and he is dying to partake.
I have a great friend who is moving today and I offered to keep her 3 year old and bring her to gymnastics, lunch, dance and dinner, since she graciously kept my two all day and did the same thing when I went to my grandmother's funeral.
I also have my own three year old who is thrilled that her friend is here for the day, let's just say if I could bottle their energy and excitement and sell it I would be a rich woman.
After our trip to gymnastics andthe eatery with a germ infested play structure McDonald's, I came home with high hopes that the children hyped up on caramel dipping sauce would nap. That was a no go. The girls laid down watching Little Mermaid while I took Bubs up for his nap. I laid him down and started on laundry.
After 45 minutes he was still standing, the workers were still banging and the girls were still giggling. I attributed the noise to his lack of napping and the girls well who isn't happy when their friend is over. I then looked very closely into his video monitor and noticed he was playing in his crib sans diaper. I rushed up to put a new one on before he made a huge mess.
Yes, I was too late. There was, for lack of a better word, shit everywhere. His hair, his pillow, the sheets, his blankets, his crib. Everywhere. When I walked in he pointed to a large clump in the middle of his bed and said "uh-oh." Yes, little man --- uh-oh is right or oh shit - whichever is age appropriate, just feel free to use it.
I scooped him out, ran a bath, cleaned him, bathed him, and dressed him. I then began to tackle the bed when I heard two loud piercing screams coming from my room. I had left the girls in my room with Ariel and told them if anyone walked in to scream and come get mommy. So I grab Noah and rushed downstairs almost killing myself to get there. I run to my room and open the door and their sit two little girls with big grins on their faces.
I explain that they only scream in an emergency and if someone comes in mommy's room while I am upstairs. They nod in understanding and back up I go to finish the stripping of the bed. I get it done and lay Noah back down where he is still saying "dadadadadada."
I am off to fetch some snacks for the girls and perhaps sit on my butt for a minute while they eat them. Who said staying home with your kids was boring? If you think so feel free to bring your tikes over and help me.
My house is in the beginning of a renovation. It is now torn up to the point of not being livable, and no where near being complete. I have some workers here, who do a lot of standing around and waiting on the another guy, a lot of banging and some who just hang visquine everywhere.
I have a 17 month old who wants to get his tools and go help, hell he would love to bang on some stuff, but his mom is always saying "No, No Noah!" He just can't help himself and stay out the room. I am actually allowing the banging and he is dying to partake.
I have a great friend who is moving today and I offered to keep her 3 year old and bring her to gymnastics, lunch, dance and dinner, since she graciously kept my two all day and did the same thing when I went to my grandmother's funeral.
I also have my own three year old who is thrilled that her friend is here for the day, let's just say if I could bottle their energy and excitement and sell it I would be a rich woman.
After our trip to gymnastics and
After 45 minutes he was still standing, the workers were still banging and the girls were still giggling. I attributed the noise to his lack of napping and the girls well who isn't happy when their friend is over. I then looked very closely into his video monitor and noticed he was playing in his crib sans diaper. I rushed up to put a new one on before he made a huge mess.
Yes, I was too late. There was, for lack of a better word, shit everywhere. His hair, his pillow, the sheets, his blankets, his crib. Everywhere. When I walked in he pointed to a large clump in the middle of his bed and said "uh-oh." Yes, little man --- uh-oh is right or oh shit - whichever is age appropriate, just feel free to use it.
I scooped him out, ran a bath, cleaned him, bathed him, and dressed him. I then began to tackle the bed when I heard two loud piercing screams coming from my room. I had left the girls in my room with Ariel and told them if anyone walked in to scream and come get mommy. So I grab Noah and rushed downstairs almost killing myself to get there. I run to my room and open the door and their sit two little girls with big grins on their faces.
I explain that they only scream in an emergency and if someone comes in mommy's room while I am upstairs. They nod in understanding and back up I go to finish the stripping of the bed. I get it done and lay Noah back down where he is still saying "dadadadadada."
I am off to fetch some snacks for the girls and perhaps sit on my butt for a minute while they eat them. Who said staying home with your kids was boring? If you think so feel free to bring your tikes over and help me.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
We are officially country now
Today at witching hour, I decided to do something different from our normal drive way play. You see at 4pm everyday (or witching hour) I go outside and lift all three garage doors, pull out my lawn chair and let the tikes drive their various bikes, scooters and power wheels. Yes, we have enough to invite the entire neighborhood over and every child ride on something....it is obnoxious. We normally sit out there until Josh pulls up and relieves me.
Today though I took a walk on the wild side and proved just what living in Mississippi for 3 and a half years can do to you. I left the ride on toys in the garage, stripped the tikes down to their diaper and panties, turned on the faucet that sticks out of the side of the house and shoots water onto the driveway and called it a sprinkler.
At first both tikes looked at me like I had lost it. This is not something I normally do. I am one of those moms that thinks you shouldn't get wet if it is too cool or the water is too cool, because that makes you sick and all that. But then I thought, hell we are sick all the time anyway let's just cut loose. Noah wasted no time on taking advantage of this very unusual situation, he jumped right in and my very cautious Meredith followed suit.
And for those of you that know me, don't just assume I have lost it, I think this decision was based on the fact that I wrote a fat check today as the first installment for our major renovation, that or I am losing it.....I mean it was sort of chilly today and the water was frigid and no one in our neighborhood plays in the faucet that the hose normally attaches to, to wash a car. I had a red-neck sprinkler and it didn't cost me a dime.
But trust me it gets better. Josh was home and we were sitting in the lawn chairs watching our kids have the time off their life when Meredith informed us she had to potty. She was soaked, her panties were soaked, her hair and her naked little body. It was chilly inside and so I told her just pull down her pants and go squat in the grass in the front yard and make quick tinkles. Then she truly looked at me like I had lost it. Perhaps she knew this behavior was against the neighborhood covenants. Julia, I promise this doesn't happen in this neighborhood often. So my little rule followerer was not very sure.....
"What momma? I no tinkle in da grass! I NEED A POTTY"
So I explained that it was okay in certain situations and this was one of them. Later on I will also explain the whole Mardi Gras thing as well. So she did as she was told and walked over, squatted and tinkled then she asked how she should wipe. I told her to just go rinse off in the water and she did. I wonder what that implies about my mothering skills? Oh well, it saved us from drying off to go inside in the cool house to tinkle....what the hell right?
Today though I took a walk on the wild side and proved just what living in Mississippi for 3 and a half years can do to you. I left the ride on toys in the garage, stripped the tikes down to their diaper and panties, turned on the faucet that sticks out of the side of the house and shoots water onto the driveway and called it a sprinkler.
At first both tikes looked at me like I had lost it. This is not something I normally do. I am one of those moms that thinks you shouldn't get wet if it is too cool or the water is too cool, because that makes you sick and all that. But then I thought, hell we are sick all the time anyway let's just cut loose. Noah wasted no time on taking advantage of this very unusual situation, he jumped right in and my very cautious Meredith followed suit.
And for those of you that know me, don't just assume I have lost it, I think this decision was based on the fact that I wrote a fat check today as the first installment for our major renovation, that or I am losing it.....I mean it was sort of chilly today and the water was frigid and no one in our neighborhood plays in the faucet that the hose normally attaches to, to wash a car. I had a red-neck sprinkler and it didn't cost me a dime.
But trust me it gets better. Josh was home and we were sitting in the lawn chairs watching our kids have the time off their life when Meredith informed us she had to potty. She was soaked, her panties were soaked, her hair and her naked little body. It was chilly inside and so I told her just pull down her pants and go squat in the grass in the front yard and make quick tinkles. Then she truly looked at me like I had lost it. Perhaps she knew this behavior was against the neighborhood covenants. Julia, I promise this doesn't happen in this neighborhood often. So my little rule followerer was not very sure.....
"What momma? I no tinkle in da grass! I NEED A POTTY"
So I explained that it was okay in certain situations and this was one of them. Later on I will also explain the whole Mardi Gras thing as well. So she did as she was told and walked over, squatted and tinkled then she asked how she should wipe. I told her to just go rinse off in the water and she did. I wonder what that implies about my mothering skills? Oh well, it saved us from drying off to go inside in the cool house to tinkle....what the hell right?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
It only took 2 days
of my house not being on the market (and actually I think it is still listed with MLS) for my house to explode! I kid you not. We were slobs just busting at the seams for the past two months. No wonder I was always on edge and ready to break down in tears. I was exhausted from all the Cinderella-ish type work I was doing. And by Cinderella-ish I don't mean dancing in a lavish gown at the ball.....no not that type of work.
I would show you pictures, but I am so embarrassed I just can't. Here are some updates on the kids....
Meredith
- is going to be 3 in 2 days...sniff, sniff
- knows her entire tap dance for the dance recital
- can open all the doors in the house and let herself in or out
- can dress herself and put on her own shoes - hallelujah
- wears short sleeves on occasion
- loves school
- insist on blueberry pancakes or pop tarts for breakfast and then eats her brother's oatmeal
- loves to sing and dance
- is into my little pony right now
- is getting way to big for her britches
- is starting to write some letters
- can recognize all of her letters and numbers to 10
- is in LOVE with the color pink
- thinks space chimps and doodlebops rule the world
- still loves woody and jesse
- thinks her momma is a princess
Noah
- went up a whole shoe size in 2 weeks
- is saying lots of words
- loves balloons and says "boon, boon, boon" all day long
- loves to find and point to the moon while saying "mooooooon"
- will bite his sister and then walk and put his hand out for me to slap and then do the sign for "sorry" to his sister
- is still a biter
- also plays with my little pony, when his sister doesn't loose it and lets him
- loves to play with his big sister
- loves to ride in the stroller
- will eat anything you put in front of him
- can easily polish off a bowl of instant oatmeal in the morning
- can identify his belly, eyes, nose and mouth
- points to the top of his head when you ask where Noah is?
- has no fear
- is still a climber
- thinks he can orchestrate the choir at church
- loves to drive his sister around in the barbie pink jeep
- loves oreos
- is so lovable and gives the biggest bear hugs
- is such a sweetheart
- knows his momma is a princess
I would show you pictures, but I am so embarrassed I just can't. Here are some updates on the kids....
Meredith
- is going to be 3 in 2 days...sniff, sniff
- knows her entire tap dance for the dance recital
- can open all the doors in the house and let herself in or out
- can dress herself and put on her own shoes - hallelujah
- wears short sleeves on occasion
- loves school
- insist on blueberry pancakes or pop tarts for breakfast and then eats her brother's oatmeal
- loves to sing and dance
- is into my little pony right now
- is getting way to big for her britches
- is starting to write some letters
- can recognize all of her letters and numbers to 10
- is in LOVE with the color pink
- thinks space chimps and doodlebops rule the world
- still loves woody and jesse
- thinks her momma is a princess
Noah
- went up a whole shoe size in 2 weeks
- is saying lots of words
- loves balloons and says "boon, boon, boon" all day long
- loves to find and point to the moon while saying "mooooooon"
- will bite his sister and then walk and put his hand out for me to slap and then do the sign for "sorry" to his sister
- is still a biter
- also plays with my little pony, when his sister doesn't loose it and lets him
- loves to play with his big sister
- loves to ride in the stroller
- will eat anything you put in front of him
- can easily polish off a bowl of instant oatmeal in the morning
- can identify his belly, eyes, nose and mouth
- points to the top of his head when you ask where Noah is?
- has no fear
- is still a climber
- thinks he can orchestrate the choir at church
- loves to drive his sister around in the barbie pink jeep
- loves oreos
- is so lovable and gives the biggest bear hugs
- is such a sweetheart
- knows his momma is a princess
Monday, March 30, 2009
Selling a house just plain sucks
I have to be honest with you internets....it really does suck. I feel like I am living somewhere in a vacuum. I feel like I am frozen in time, afraid to live in my own house or put anymore money, nail holes, paint colors, pictures or anything else into this house, but damn will I ever get to the point where I can do that in a new one.
We have been on this real estate roller coaster a week shy of two months. Not that long given today's economy and real estate market. I knew going into this the average days on the market for homes was 120. I'm right under 40 and I am mentally and physically exhausted.
We fell in love with a neighborhood and then a house and then we did a complete 180 and fell in love with a very different neighborhood and a very different house. Our mantra has been the same...."gosh I hope my house sells so I can get this house...it's my dream house." However we have now missed two "dream" houses, one a real dream. I guess it just wasn't meant to be....because under no circumstances am I taking on two mortgages.....not with all the crazy shit going on in Washington....I mean I am no A.I.G. and I am sure no one will bail me out.
That being said, I'm done. I am ready to throw in the towel. I'm ready to stay here and rip up the tile I hate and make this the home of my dreams. I'm ready to move forward and get out of this glass house. Even if it means never packing up to move. This is the first home Josh and I have ever had to sell. It has taken it's toll, my patience is very limited and my two tikes that refused to nap today have used all of that patience up. I feel like by 10am ever day I can use a drink....and juice boxes ain't cutting it.
So forgive me for not blogging, I am sure all 10 of you are seriously disappointed and losing sleep over this. Trust me I am too....well not the blogging, but the house hunting and selling.
We have been on this real estate roller coaster a week shy of two months. Not that long given today's economy and real estate market. I knew going into this the average days on the market for homes was 120. I'm right under 40 and I am mentally and physically exhausted.
We fell in love with a neighborhood and then a house and then we did a complete 180 and fell in love with a very different neighborhood and a very different house. Our mantra has been the same...."gosh I hope my house sells so I can get this house...it's my dream house." However we have now missed two "dream" houses, one a real dream. I guess it just wasn't meant to be....because under no circumstances am I taking on two mortgages.....not with all the crazy shit going on in Washington....I mean I am no A.I.G. and I am sure no one will bail me out.
That being said, I'm done. I am ready to throw in the towel. I'm ready to stay here and rip up the tile I hate and make this the home of my dreams. I'm ready to move forward and get out of this glass house. Even if it means never packing up to move. This is the first home Josh and I have ever had to sell. It has taken it's toll, my patience is very limited and my two tikes that refused to nap today have used all of that patience up. I feel like by 10am ever day I can use a drink....and juice boxes ain't cutting it.
So forgive me for not blogging, I am sure all 10 of you are seriously disappointed and losing sleep over this. Trust me I am too....well not the blogging, but the house hunting and selling.
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