I have already burned through my medical reimbursement account. Oh, like two months ago. Thanks, Dr. Greg! I'm only remotely bitter about having to pay totally out of pocket for all our meds and doctor visits for the rest of the year.
Today I'm home with a pathetic Monkey Man. We went to the urgent care this morning and he tested positive for strep, so obviously he's not going to school today. I wish I knew who the kid was in his class that he mentioned having strep last week so I could go TP and egg his house. Monkey Man has only had strep once or twice...remember, he likes to do the big stuff like staph infections, right?
I ended up having to drag the poor kid with me to the local grocery store because we have zero stuff in the house that would be soothing to a sore throat. Unless you count things like tortilla chips and sandpaper. And for some odd reason, Monkey Man almost threw up in the checkout line (imagine, if you will, me calmly asking the cashier for a plastic bag - the guy throws a paper towel at me and I'm like BAG, I NEED A PLASTIC BAG so he offers me a paper bag...always good to give someone who is throwing up...). This is like the third time he's almost thrown up in the checkout line, which I'm not sure if it means that I need to quit dragging him in there when he's sick or this is his testament to the ungodly high prices at this particular store. Whatever, they have great chicken salad so keep the barf in, okay?
Now he's parked on the couch with a bucket handy and a cup of apple juice and my pillow (of course, why infect daddy's pillow?). And this leaves me to do things around the house, or do pretty much nothing. I'm kind of wondering if I should go ahead and start taking some of my hoarded amoxicillin just to make sure I don't get strep either...I am notorious for getting it and I have big plans this weekend that I don't want to be sick for...argh.
So the weekend plans - a big birthday extravaganza for me at Fleming's. Me and Joey, David and Yvonne, Cat Door and the Mrs., and most of the Badasses. Things are going remotely well except for Candy, our resident pain-in-the-ass Badass who rarely goes to anything but when she does she feels the need to steamroller all over the plans, no matter who plans it or what the plans are. I am getting highly irritated over her antics lately but refuse to let it bother me but so much...honestly, she's one of what I consider the peripheral members and I honestly don't consider her a friend so to speak. So how did she get invited, you ask? Because she's a BA, and there was no way to exclude her without raising all kinds of ruckus. I am so not good at this whole political game thing, although Joey admits that I'm handling it a lot better than he would (which would be to issue a big F-U to Candy).
Ah, the drama. Anyway, I will be throwing some spaghetti and meatballs on the stove later on today and other than that, I might put up some Christmas stuff. Or not.
*****
I am thankful that Monkey Man has had such a better year health-wise. This is the first major thing all year, knock on wood!
Showing posts with label NaBloPoMo 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaBloPoMo 2007. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Spoiled, and I'm not talking about the milk
I was so pissed off last night that I couldn't even write about this. Still mad today, but at least not to the point where I'm having chest pains and steam coming out of my ears and nose.
My child, my wonderful child, is becoming a spoiled brat.
It seems that no matter what he has, what we do for him, it's never enough. The kid got to stay up until 10 PM every night over the holiday. Now that we're back on a regular school week, the regular bedtime has been reinstituted. It's not like it's a surprise, but the bedtime battle with me and Mr. Poutypuss has been an ongoing thing in our house. Yeah, I get it - all the fun stuff starts after 8:30, but he also has to be AT SCHOOL at 7 AM which requires us to leave the house at 6:45 AM which means that a bedtime after 9 PM isn't gonna happen anytime soon. He is too difficult to get ready.
He just had a birthday party. And a family birthday party. The kid got some really nice toys. And with the influx of holiday commercials, the "can I have" has increased tenfold. Honestly, he has hardly played with most of the toys he got - there are a few that he's played with consistently, and the others he's played with a little. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not like the kid got a stick and a rock and he's bored already with all that.
So last night, I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription. He made the statement that he wanted this little junky Transformers toy and I told him that no, there would be no more toys until Santa comes. He has more than enough. So I sent him home with Joey and then I went to pick up my prescription. While I was there, I bought him something that he really did need - a new toothbrush ('Mater from Cars, thank you very much) and when I presented it to him when I got home, all I got was Poutypuss.
This was followed by him stating that he wanted to watch the Steelers play. Well, the game didn't come on until 8:30. So I offered to tape it for him. And ya know what he said?
"I only like to watch live football games."
At this point, I lost it. I was offering to do something nice for him, and that's what I got.
I guess it's human nature to always want more. Heck, that's what keeps us motivated to live. What I'm scared of is a case of OnlyKidItis. Something like one of the characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A kid who feels that he is entitled to get or do whatever he wants.
We do a lot for him. And it's not like I expect him to bow and scrape every time I enter the room, but I do expect not to get BS like what happened last night. So for now, we've decided that he will not be allowed to watch or play football until the attitude improves. Harsh, but it's the only thing that really resonates with him and might actually nip this in the bud.
I'm trying to think of other things to do though. Like maybe start making him earn an allowance so he can buy crap for himself. Getting an angel off the Angel Tree and buying a gift with his own money for someone less fortunate. If anyone has suggestions how to deal with this case of OnlyKidItis, I'd appreciate it.
He's such a good kid. And I'm very disappointed in him right now.
*****
Today, I'm thankful that we have the ability to do nice things for our family and our son - even if they're not always appreciated the way we hoped they would be.
My child, my wonderful child, is becoming a spoiled brat.
It seems that no matter what he has, what we do for him, it's never enough. The kid got to stay up until 10 PM every night over the holiday. Now that we're back on a regular school week, the regular bedtime has been reinstituted. It's not like it's a surprise, but the bedtime battle with me and Mr. Poutypuss has been an ongoing thing in our house. Yeah, I get it - all the fun stuff starts after 8:30, but he also has to be AT SCHOOL at 7 AM which requires us to leave the house at 6:45 AM which means that a bedtime after 9 PM isn't gonna happen anytime soon. He is too difficult to get ready.
He just had a birthday party. And a family birthday party. The kid got some really nice toys. And with the influx of holiday commercials, the "can I have" has increased tenfold. Honestly, he has hardly played with most of the toys he got - there are a few that he's played with consistently, and the others he's played with a little. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not like the kid got a stick and a rock and he's bored already with all that.
So last night, I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription. He made the statement that he wanted this little junky Transformers toy and I told him that no, there would be no more toys until Santa comes. He has more than enough. So I sent him home with Joey and then I went to pick up my prescription. While I was there, I bought him something that he really did need - a new toothbrush ('Mater from Cars, thank you very much) and when I presented it to him when I got home, all I got was Poutypuss.
This was followed by him stating that he wanted to watch the Steelers play. Well, the game didn't come on until 8:30. So I offered to tape it for him. And ya know what he said?
"I only like to watch live football games."
At this point, I lost it. I was offering to do something nice for him, and that's what I got.
I guess it's human nature to always want more. Heck, that's what keeps us motivated to live. What I'm scared of is a case of OnlyKidItis. Something like one of the characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A kid who feels that he is entitled to get or do whatever he wants.
We do a lot for him. And it's not like I expect him to bow and scrape every time I enter the room, but I do expect not to get BS like what happened last night. So for now, we've decided that he will not be allowed to watch or play football until the attitude improves. Harsh, but it's the only thing that really resonates with him and might actually nip this in the bud.
I'm trying to think of other things to do though. Like maybe start making him earn an allowance so he can buy crap for himself. Getting an angel off the Angel Tree and buying a gift with his own money for someone less fortunate. If anyone has suggestions how to deal with this case of OnlyKidItis, I'd appreciate it.
He's such a good kid. And I'm very disappointed in him right now.
*****
Today, I'm thankful that we have the ability to do nice things for our family and our son - even if they're not always appreciated the way we hoped they would be.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Explodawoof
Well, I had great intentions of blogging all weekend about all the fun I had with my family. Rufus, however, had other ideas.
So I ended up spending late Saturday night and most of the day yesterday steam cleaning our carpets. Blech. You can tell he still doesn't feel that great but I'm hoping we can avoid a trip to the vet if at all possible.
We hadn't had problems in so long and we were kind of scratching our heads trying to figure out what he possibly got into that made him sick. Until yesterday morning when he trotted right past the Invisible Fence line and out into the middle of the street. Duh, the collar battery is as dead as a doornail. So obviously he's been out partaking of all kinds of goodness of the wilderness like cat poop, trash, and who knows what else. And for how long.
Thank God I'm going back to work today. Hopefully I won't have to steam clean anyone else's poop out of the carpet at the office today.
*****
I could say that I'm thankful for steam cleaners, but that seems a little trite. I'm thankful for all the fun I had over the holiday with my family - we don't get together nearly enough due to distance, but it's always great to be together.
So I ended up spending late Saturday night and most of the day yesterday steam cleaning our carpets. Blech. You can tell he still doesn't feel that great but I'm hoping we can avoid a trip to the vet if at all possible.
We hadn't had problems in so long and we were kind of scratching our heads trying to figure out what he possibly got into that made him sick. Until yesterday morning when he trotted right past the Invisible Fence line and out into the middle of the street. Duh, the collar battery is as dead as a doornail. So obviously he's been out partaking of all kinds of goodness of the wilderness like cat poop, trash, and who knows what else. And for how long.
Thank God I'm going back to work today. Hopefully I won't have to steam clean anyone else's poop out of the carpet at the office today.
*****
I could say that I'm thankful for steam cleaners, but that seems a little trite. I'm thankful for all the fun I had over the holiday with my family - we don't get together nearly enough due to distance, but it's always great to be together.
Friday, November 23, 2007
T-day roundup
Survival is success. So obviously, I made it out relatively unscathed.
Wednesday afternoon we found out we were closing at 3 - so I high-tailed it on home and got cracking on making pies. The plan was to make two pumpkin pies and hopefully get started on the sweet potato souffle that I was making - namely, peeling, chopping, and cooking 14 cups of sweet potatoes. In the meantime, Joey was at his office handing out turkeys to the employees (which is one of the DUMBEST things ever - Malcolm came up with the idea years ago, and I'm sorry - but giving someone a rock-hard frozen turkey the night before it has to be cooked is somewhat akin to torture) and I was trying to get in touch with him to find out what time his parents were coming. Eventually, he called me back and said that they were coming around 6 and that his mom had wanted to come and cook dinner for us.
Now, very sweet gesture on her part. However, there were a few flaws. First of all, she wanted to fix this thing she and the family call "baked zita". Not ziti, zita. It's a totally bastardized version of baked ziti that requires her to use no fewer than 47 pots and pans to fix and at least an hour of prep time, let alone cook time. So I'm not exactly sure what she was smoking when she came up with this idea, but I think I need to get some for myself. The other thing is that knowing that you are going to probably eat your weight in gravy and stuffing on Thursday, it's not a great idea to eat a huge, greasy meal that sits in your gut like a grenade. It's not a matter of if it's going to explode, it's when.
Anyhoo, the plan all along had been for us to go out to eat at the local pizza joint. I find that getting them out of the house serves two purposes - first, my FIL tends to be much better behaved when we are out somewhere, and the other is that it kind of breaks up the monotony of being trapped with two people that talk incessantly. At the same time. But somehow Joey yet again had gotten this idea that we were going to eat the pizza here so he called and asked me to call the pizza place and order pizza...meanwhile, I had just put a pie in the oven that was going to require me to stay put at least 45 minutes and I was expecting everyone to come to the house and THEN go out...so then when we had this discussion about take-out versus eating in the restaurant and blah blah blah it kind of got a little ugly. He was irritated that I wasn't ready to drop everything and head out the door, I was irritated that he was making all these plans that clearly weren't what we had been discussing for several days. Do you see a pattern here?
Anyhow, everyone came rolling in the door and we had pizza and everything was fine. For some reason Joey disappeared with Monkey Man into the basement and left me with the IL's to entertain them, so I did what works best - I turned on the Food Network and then zoned out myself.
Thursday, the weather here was fabulous. It was like 75 degrees and had a nice warm breeze blowing, very un-Thanksgivinglike weather. I dragged out some coffee cakes and in the meantime, I'd had this bee in my bonnet to make this recipe for pecan cheesecake pie that I saw in this month's Southern Living to take to my sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Keep in mind, I had already baked 2 pumpkin pies (1 for sister's house, 1 to eat with the IL's) and then an apple pie to have Wednesday night after the pizza. So I threw the pie together and the entire time, my MIL kept obsessing about it.
I should have known this would lead to trouble later.
Anyhow, the pie was done and we took off to go to the restaurant for lunch. It was surprisingly good, and I found that the newspaper's assessment of the cost per person was way off - it was about half the cost of what we had expected. I know my FIL enjoyed it since he cleaned his heaping plate and then let out a huge belch. Yeah, classy. MIL obsessed the whole time that it was too much food, she couldn't eat it all, why did they give us so much food, blah blah blah. I guess she is one of those people that belongs to the "clean your plate" club and if you don't you are evil and wasteful. But we finished up, paid the bill, and then came back to our house.
The whole way back to the house, both MIL and FIL were obsessing about that fucking pie. How they really wanted some, but they were soooo full. Honestly, I wasn't planning on serving the pie to THEM...that's why I made 2 pumpkin pies. So we got back to the house, I went in our bathroom and when I emerged, I found my husband in the kitchen getting ready to desicrate my lovely pecan cheesecake pie. His parents wanted theirs "to go". And of course, I was irritated. And like the big old wimp that I am, I kept my mouth shut while they left with two pieces of my beautiful pie and I was left with a pie that I certainly couldn't take anywhere. ARGH.
After they left, Joey and I took a nap (Monkey Man deemed it unnecessary and then fell asleep on the way to my sister's house) and then we left for my sister's. My parents and my brother, sister-in-law and niece were all there. We had a really nice evening - my niece is in college majoring in Arabic studies so she's pretty interesting to talk to...maybe a little over-the-top in her involvement with the whole thing but I am hoping that she'll find some interesting and profitable work when it's all said and done. I hadn't seen my sister-in-law in about 4 years and she is always so fun to talk to - she originally hails from Augusta, Georgia so we have that whole Southern thing going for us. And my brother...well, he's kind of a lot like me and we have a lot of fun together. I was so freaking excited to see them that I barely slept on Wednesday night.
Today, once Joey gets home from doing a little network maintenance at the office (that can only be done when noone is there) I will leave the boys and take off for the land of the unknown. My niece desperately needs clothes so we will be braving the crowds to try and hook her up with some clothes. Should prove interesting and I'm sure my mother will have a total meltdown at some point...I'm thinking maybe SIL, niece and I should drive separately from my sister and mom since they will want to run and run until they collapse...and my mom just didn't look good yesterday.
My dad, however, looks fabulous. He read to Monkey Man last night and they talked football and Army men and all that good stuff. I love my dad.
So that's about it. And now I better get myself in the shower so I can get my day going. Laundry is done, dishes are all cleaned and put away, and I have a Monkey Man calling.
*****
I am thankful my brother and his family were able to come visit. We don't see each other but once a year, and it's always so much fun!
Wednesday afternoon we found out we were closing at 3 - so I high-tailed it on home and got cracking on making pies. The plan was to make two pumpkin pies and hopefully get started on the sweet potato souffle that I was making - namely, peeling, chopping, and cooking 14 cups of sweet potatoes. In the meantime, Joey was at his office handing out turkeys to the employees (which is one of the DUMBEST things ever - Malcolm came up with the idea years ago, and I'm sorry - but giving someone a rock-hard frozen turkey the night before it has to be cooked is somewhat akin to torture) and I was trying to get in touch with him to find out what time his parents were coming. Eventually, he called me back and said that they were coming around 6 and that his mom had wanted to come and cook dinner for us.
Now, very sweet gesture on her part. However, there were a few flaws. First of all, she wanted to fix this thing she and the family call "baked zita". Not ziti, zita. It's a totally bastardized version of baked ziti that requires her to use no fewer than 47 pots and pans to fix and at least an hour of prep time, let alone cook time. So I'm not exactly sure what she was smoking when she came up with this idea, but I think I need to get some for myself. The other thing is that knowing that you are going to probably eat your weight in gravy and stuffing on Thursday, it's not a great idea to eat a huge, greasy meal that sits in your gut like a grenade. It's not a matter of if it's going to explode, it's when.
Anyhoo, the plan all along had been for us to go out to eat at the local pizza joint. I find that getting them out of the house serves two purposes - first, my FIL tends to be much better behaved when we are out somewhere, and the other is that it kind of breaks up the monotony of being trapped with two people that talk incessantly. At the same time. But somehow Joey yet again had gotten this idea that we were going to eat the pizza here so he called and asked me to call the pizza place and order pizza...meanwhile, I had just put a pie in the oven that was going to require me to stay put at least 45 minutes and I was expecting everyone to come to the house and THEN go out...so then when we had this discussion about take-out versus eating in the restaurant and blah blah blah it kind of got a little ugly. He was irritated that I wasn't ready to drop everything and head out the door, I was irritated that he was making all these plans that clearly weren't what we had been discussing for several days. Do you see a pattern here?
Anyhow, everyone came rolling in the door and we had pizza and everything was fine. For some reason Joey disappeared with Monkey Man into the basement and left me with the IL's to entertain them, so I did what works best - I turned on the Food Network and then zoned out myself.
Thursday, the weather here was fabulous. It was like 75 degrees and had a nice warm breeze blowing, very un-Thanksgivinglike weather. I dragged out some coffee cakes and in the meantime, I'd had this bee in my bonnet to make this recipe for pecan cheesecake pie that I saw in this month's Southern Living to take to my sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Keep in mind, I had already baked 2 pumpkin pies (1 for sister's house, 1 to eat with the IL's) and then an apple pie to have Wednesday night after the pizza. So I threw the pie together and the entire time, my MIL kept obsessing about it.
I should have known this would lead to trouble later.
Anyhow, the pie was done and we took off to go to the restaurant for lunch. It was surprisingly good, and I found that the newspaper's assessment of the cost per person was way off - it was about half the cost of what we had expected. I know my FIL enjoyed it since he cleaned his heaping plate and then let out a huge belch. Yeah, classy. MIL obsessed the whole time that it was too much food, she couldn't eat it all, why did they give us so much food, blah blah blah. I guess she is one of those people that belongs to the "clean your plate" club and if you don't you are evil and wasteful. But we finished up, paid the bill, and then came back to our house.
The whole way back to the house, both MIL and FIL were obsessing about that fucking pie. How they really wanted some, but they were soooo full. Honestly, I wasn't planning on serving the pie to THEM...that's why I made 2 pumpkin pies. So we got back to the house, I went in our bathroom and when I emerged, I found my husband in the kitchen getting ready to desicrate my lovely pecan cheesecake pie. His parents wanted theirs "to go". And of course, I was irritated. And like the big old wimp that I am, I kept my mouth shut while they left with two pieces of my beautiful pie and I was left with a pie that I certainly couldn't take anywhere. ARGH.
After they left, Joey and I took a nap (Monkey Man deemed it unnecessary and then fell asleep on the way to my sister's house) and then we left for my sister's. My parents and my brother, sister-in-law and niece were all there. We had a really nice evening - my niece is in college majoring in Arabic studies so she's pretty interesting to talk to...maybe a little over-the-top in her involvement with the whole thing but I am hoping that she'll find some interesting and profitable work when it's all said and done. I hadn't seen my sister-in-law in about 4 years and she is always so fun to talk to - she originally hails from Augusta, Georgia so we have that whole Southern thing going for us. And my brother...well, he's kind of a lot like me and we have a lot of fun together. I was so freaking excited to see them that I barely slept on Wednesday night.
Today, once Joey gets home from doing a little network maintenance at the office (that can only be done when noone is there) I will leave the boys and take off for the land of the unknown. My niece desperately needs clothes so we will be braving the crowds to try and hook her up with some clothes. Should prove interesting and I'm sure my mother will have a total meltdown at some point...I'm thinking maybe SIL, niece and I should drive separately from my sister and mom since they will want to run and run until they collapse...and my mom just didn't look good yesterday.
My dad, however, looks fabulous. He read to Monkey Man last night and they talked football and Army men and all that good stuff. I love my dad.
So that's about it. And now I better get myself in the shower so I can get my day going. Laundry is done, dishes are all cleaned and put away, and I have a Monkey Man calling.
*****
I am thankful my brother and his family were able to come visit. We don't see each other but once a year, and it's always so much fun!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Invasion of the turkeys
And I'm not talking about my in-laws, either. My motto for today: Survival is success. Quite fitting. So far we haven't had any major incidents but a few hiccups yesterday that will wait for another day for me to write about.
Yesterday, our local paper had a feature on why people shouldn't deep-fry turkeys. Something about how they might explode. Which makes me ever so thankful that I have dodged the turkey bullet yet again this year and it will be left to my sister to handle wrangling the beast into the oven.
My last pie is in the oven. I've done pumpkin, apple, and pecan cheesecake pies. I have one sweet potato casserole to finish putting together this afternoon after lunch. I kept it easy for breakfast - thank you, sweet gourmet grocery store, for making delicious coffee cakes that don't require me to do anything but make coffee.
My brother and family will be here around lunchtime - half are coming from Seattle, the other half from Atlanta. I am so excited that I could barely sleep last night. And of course, my parents are here - we haven't seen them since October.
Last year, my dad was still in rehab. Monkey Man had just had surgery 3 weeks prior. It wasn't a great time last Fall. This year is so much better. Despite all the requisite in-law drama, it's going to be a great weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. From my house to yours, I hope you have a day filled with fun and laughter.
******
Most of all, today, I am thankful for my life and the people in it. I am so lucky.
Yesterday, our local paper had a feature on why people shouldn't deep-fry turkeys. Something about how they might explode. Which makes me ever so thankful that I have dodged the turkey bullet yet again this year and it will be left to my sister to handle wrangling the beast into the oven.
My last pie is in the oven. I've done pumpkin, apple, and pecan cheesecake pies. I have one sweet potato casserole to finish putting together this afternoon after lunch. I kept it easy for breakfast - thank you, sweet gourmet grocery store, for making delicious coffee cakes that don't require me to do anything but make coffee.
My brother and family will be here around lunchtime - half are coming from Seattle, the other half from Atlanta. I am so excited that I could barely sleep last night. And of course, my parents are here - we haven't seen them since October.
Last year, my dad was still in rehab. Monkey Man had just had surgery 3 weeks prior. It wasn't a great time last Fall. This year is so much better. Despite all the requisite in-law drama, it's going to be a great weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. From my house to yours, I hope you have a day filled with fun and laughter.
******
Most of all, today, I am thankful for my life and the people in it. I am so lucky.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The mysteries of the male mind, part II
On Saturday night, I finished giving Monkey Man his bath and as we were putting on his little briefs, he stuck his fingers in the little fly part and said, "Mommy, what is this for?"
"I don't know. You're going to need to ask your father about it, okay?"
"I mean, like, what are you supposed to do with this thing?"
"You need to ask daddy," I replied, checking it out. It's actually a "faux" fly and doesn't even open all the way inside the underwear.
"I've got it! It's a pocket! I can put all kinds of cool things in there like my toothbrush or some money!"
I just about lost it.
Then on Sunday night, we were all sitting around my sister's dining room table and I was relaying the story to everyone (ya know because we always talk about underwear at the dinner table). Everyone was giggling and suddenly Monkey Man, who had previously been oblivious to the whole conversation, piped in...
"Aunt Kathie, I could put my iPod in there!"
Egads. Probably a good thing he doesn't have one.
*****
The other night, we had Quentin at our house since his mom Jay was like busy having a baby or something silly like that. The boys were sitting at our kitchen table eating dinner when they got to talking about hospitals and doctors. And this is where the fun begins:
Monkey Man: So my mom's friend Cat Door? He got FOOD POISIONINING.
Quentin: He did? Did he get real sick?
MM: Yeah. He had MASSIVE DIARRHEA. Like it was everywhere!
Q: Ewww.
MM: Yeah, his MASSIVE DIARRHEA was so bad that he fell off the toilet and PASSED OUT!
Q: (shrieking) Passed out? He DIED?
MM: (with a tone that would infer that Q is a moron) No, not passed ON, passed OUT. And then he went into convulsionionions.
Q: Dude, that sucks.
It was all I could do not to laugh until I cried. And Cat Door is only mildly amused that the whole kindergarten of MM's school knows about his MASSIVE DIARRHEA.
*****
Today, I'm thankful for kids. Their minds and how they work is simply amazing, and the laughter they provide is priceless.
"I don't know. You're going to need to ask your father about it, okay?"
"I mean, like, what are you supposed to do with this thing?"
"You need to ask daddy," I replied, checking it out. It's actually a "faux" fly and doesn't even open all the way inside the underwear.
"I've got it! It's a pocket! I can put all kinds of cool things in there like my toothbrush or some money!"
I just about lost it.
Then on Sunday night, we were all sitting around my sister's dining room table and I was relaying the story to everyone (ya know because we always talk about underwear at the dinner table). Everyone was giggling and suddenly Monkey Man, who had previously been oblivious to the whole conversation, piped in...
"Aunt Kathie, I could put my iPod in there!"
Egads. Probably a good thing he doesn't have one.
*****
The other night, we had Quentin at our house since his mom Jay was like busy having a baby or something silly like that. The boys were sitting at our kitchen table eating dinner when they got to talking about hospitals and doctors. And this is where the fun begins:
Monkey Man: So my mom's friend Cat Door? He got FOOD POISIONINING.
Quentin: He did? Did he get real sick?
MM: Yeah. He had MASSIVE DIARRHEA. Like it was everywhere!
Q: Ewww.
MM: Yeah, his MASSIVE DIARRHEA was so bad that he fell off the toilet and PASSED OUT!
Q: (shrieking) Passed out? He DIED?
MM: (with a tone that would infer that Q is a moron) No, not passed ON, passed OUT. And then he went into convulsionionions.
Q: Dude, that sucks.
It was all I could do not to laugh until I cried. And Cat Door is only mildly amused that the whole kindergarten of MM's school knows about his MASSIVE DIARRHEA.
*****
Today, I'm thankful for kids. Their minds and how they work is simply amazing, and the laughter they provide is priceless.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Happy 6th Birthday Monkey Man!
Today is the Mighty Monkey Man's birthday. And instead of talking ad nauseum about the party, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
Lava Lindsey shows the boys how she can make water disappear. Little do they know that she uses stuff that they put in DIAPERS to do that. They were sufficiently grossed out.
The cake. And yes, his name is Joey too. Needless to say, that's why we call him Monkey Man on this blog...well, that and the part about him being a Monkey Man.
The usual gang of suspects. Combine electricity, strobe lights, fire, Kool Aid, and cake and you have, um, some pretty wild boys. But all sweet boys too.
Tonight, as I put him to bed, he said "Mommy, thank you and thank Daddy for all the cool stuff you got for me. This has been the best birthday I've ever had."
You know what, buddy?
Lava Lindsey shows the boys how she can make water disappear. Little do they know that she uses stuff that they put in DIAPERS to do that. They were sufficiently grossed out.
The cake. And yes, his name is Joey too. Needless to say, that's why we call him Monkey Man on this blog...well, that and the part about him being a Monkey Man.
The usual gang of suspects. Combine electricity, strobe lights, fire, Kool Aid, and cake and you have, um, some pretty wild boys. But all sweet boys too.
Tonight, as I put him to bed, he said "Mommy, thank you and thank Daddy for all the cool stuff you got for me. This has been the best birthday I've ever had."
You know what, buddy?
You're the best gift we ever got.
Love you lots.
*****
Today, I'm thankful for my Monkey Man. Happy birthday to you, my sweetest boy. You make your mommy so proud!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Exhaustion
The party was awesome. The boys had a great time. Just imagine being 6 years old and getting to see fire, electricity, make a super-bouncy ball to take home and eat lots of sugar. Good stuff.
We then went to my sister's for a really nice birthday dinner for Monkey Man. Boy, that kid is loved an awful lot by his Aunt Kathie and Uncle Richard. We even saw my nephew Steve who has moved back from "up yonder" recently. It was a lot of fun.
I am exhausted. I think I haven't sat down in about 2 months. This Zyrtec is making me feel like I'm 110 years old, so it's off to bed. Pictures and recap to follow tomorrow.
*****
I am thankful for my family and how much we all love each other!
We then went to my sister's for a really nice birthday dinner for Monkey Man. Boy, that kid is loved an awful lot by his Aunt Kathie and Uncle Richard. We even saw my nephew Steve who has moved back from "up yonder" recently. It was a lot of fun.
I am exhausted. I think I haven't sat down in about 2 months. This Zyrtec is making me feel like I'm 110 years old, so it's off to bed. Pictures and recap to follow tomorrow.
*****
I am thankful for my family and how much we all love each other!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Oh joy
Well, this is going to be a great few days.
Notice the spots? Yeah.
A few days ago, I ran out of my main staple of showering, Dove Body Wash. Dove is my friend. So I grabbed a travel-size bottle of this citrus-lemongrass body wash we got at the Wynn when we were in Vegas back in February. I used it for three days. And I guess this is the result.
I only had a few bumps on my right arm on Thursday. By Friday, it had spread to my stomach. By this morning, it is creeping slowly down my legs.
I ended up at Urgent Care having a strep test and bloodwork done and pretty much nothing showed up. So now I have some steroids and Zyrtec and hopefully it will go away. The disturbing thing to me is that I apparently have a low-grade fever and my blood pressure is up. So I cancelled Monkey Man's playdate with Quentin and we will be laying low the rest of the day.
The higher blood pressure might be because of the phone call I got from Joey this morning. He was on the way to Blacksburg for the Hokies game and apparently got a call from my father-in-law about Thanksgiving. I believe my blood pressure started climbing at that precise moment of hearing that.
My in-laws have decided that they want to see my niece for Thanksgiving. My brother-in-law and his second wife have decided yet again to boycott the family get-together in favor of going to Myrtle Beach (I am starting to think they are the smart ones but whatever).
My in-laws' great plan? To invite my ex-sister-in-law and my niece to eat with us on Thanksgiving day.
My niece is delightful. Really a sweet kid. Her mother...not so much. There's some serious bad blood there between us, going back to when we were both pregnant at the same time. Basically, we'd been having infertility issues for over 2 years and finally got the doctor to give us meds. We made the mistake of mentioning to my BIL and SIL that we were doing this...and she being the competitive type decided that SHE wanted the first grandchild. And bam, in one month they were pregnant. The morning they called us at 5:30 to crow their victory over the positive test, I ran out into the snow in my pajamas and threw myself down in the cold grass, cursing God and wondering what I had done to deserve what my life was turning into. And then, my SIL was actually angry with us because we weren't "happy enough". I'm not sure exactly what she wanted our reaction to be - we congratulated them and put our game face on and tried to be enthusiastic, but inside we were quietly dying. Thankfully, we were pregnant about 2 months later, but it was the beginning of the end of our relationship with her as well as their marriage.
So, needless to say, I think we might be on record for possibly having the most Fucking Awkward Thanksgiving Dinner Ever.
And they wonder why I keep breaking out in rashes.
*****
Today I am thankful for the technology that made it possible for us to have the wonderful son that we have! He is our miracle child.
Friday, November 16, 2007
The never-ending cycle of suburban hell
I feel so out of touch. I'm not sure exactly what's going on at work with our network, but I have been having serious Blogger and Gmail problems for the last 2 days. Anyone else having problems? I will say, though, that my productivity at work has definitely increased.
*****
Sunday is Monkey Man's birthday party. And apparently, this birthday party is causing a big ruckus among the Queen Bees of the neighborhood.
The main Queen Bee lives in our neighborhood - I'll call her LB. LB is also the room mother for Monkey Man's class since her daughter AG is in the class too. They both have these annoying double-first names like the rest of their family so it's almost comical because people mix them all up all the time. I get emails from this woman almost every day because I volunteered not only to help out with stuff for the class, but also the PTA. Remind me next year to pick one or the other, okay? Damn working mother guilt.
I knew from earlier this summer that she has a circle of friends (the other Queen Bees) who had pretty much thrown my friend Frankie out of the group because she wasn't Queen-Beeish enough I guess. Frankie was pretty crushed but since then has become an auxilliary member of the Badasses. We take anyone, especially the non-Queen Bees. So I knew going into this school year that I was going to have to tread lightly for fear of offending LB.
Well, I've pretty much fucked that all up. Apparently her little darling AG's birthday party is also scheduled for Sunday at the same time as Monkey Man's. We got an invitation and I responded back that we would be unable to attend as Monkey Man's party was the same time but we hoped that they had a lovely time.
That was over a week ago. Fast forward to yesterday, when I get this really odd email from her that says some crap about the class Thanksgiving dinner and then she wrote, "Are you getting much of a response from the kids in the class? I am trying to figure out who is not going to be at AG's and if I know they are going to Monkey Man's I doubt they will be here."
Huh. I thought about it for a few minutes and responded back that we had only invited 5 kids from the class (I think we're supposed to invite all but MM was pretty adamant that he really only wanted a few there) and that since we had received AG's party invitations prior to sending MM's out, I limited the number of kids so that it wouldn't interfere with her party. Which in reality wasn't true - first of all, Monkey Man absolutely didn't want AG even invited to his party since he says she is "bossy and mean". So I used the excuse to explain why AG didn't get an invite...and hopefully keep her from thinking we were trying to sabotage AG's party.
Seemed like a good answer, right? Well, maybe too little, too late. Last night I was talking to Shannon who had been at that adult toy party last Thursday...as it turns out, one of the beeyotches from that particular neighborhood was there and it just so happens that not only is her daughter in Monkey Man's class but she is also friends with LB. Oh goody.
So Shannon, in an effort to make conversation, told her that my son was in the same class too (I had already left at that point). The woman gave her this evil glare and said, "Yes, I heard that SHE sent out invitations for her son's party for the SAME DAY as AG's party. I mean, what was she thinking?"
Oh. My. God. These people are freaking insane. Do they seriously think that I really put that much thought into it? The Mad Science place had one opening for this weekend, and it was that day and time. That was all the thought it took other than finding my credit card number. Jesus.
I honestly, truly, thought people like this only existed on sitcoms and Dr. Phil. And now I'm trapped in suburban hell.
*****
Today, I'm thankful to have friends that are "real" - that don't get caught up in a bunch of BS or drama. It's so refreshing!
*****
Sunday is Monkey Man's birthday party. And apparently, this birthday party is causing a big ruckus among the Queen Bees of the neighborhood.
The main Queen Bee lives in our neighborhood - I'll call her LB. LB is also the room mother for Monkey Man's class since her daughter AG is in the class too. They both have these annoying double-first names like the rest of their family so it's almost comical because people mix them all up all the time. I get emails from this woman almost every day because I volunteered not only to help out with stuff for the class, but also the PTA. Remind me next year to pick one or the other, okay? Damn working mother guilt.
I knew from earlier this summer that she has a circle of friends (the other Queen Bees) who had pretty much thrown my friend Frankie out of the group because she wasn't Queen-Beeish enough I guess. Frankie was pretty crushed but since then has become an auxilliary member of the Badasses. We take anyone, especially the non-Queen Bees. So I knew going into this school year that I was going to have to tread lightly for fear of offending LB.
Well, I've pretty much fucked that all up. Apparently her little darling AG's birthday party is also scheduled for Sunday at the same time as Monkey Man's. We got an invitation and I responded back that we would be unable to attend as Monkey Man's party was the same time but we hoped that they had a lovely time.
That was over a week ago. Fast forward to yesterday, when I get this really odd email from her that says some crap about the class Thanksgiving dinner and then she wrote, "Are you getting much of a response from the kids in the class? I am trying to figure out who is not going to be at AG's and if I know they are going to Monkey Man's I doubt they will be here."
Huh. I thought about it for a few minutes and responded back that we had only invited 5 kids from the class (I think we're supposed to invite all but MM was pretty adamant that he really only wanted a few there) and that since we had received AG's party invitations prior to sending MM's out, I limited the number of kids so that it wouldn't interfere with her party. Which in reality wasn't true - first of all, Monkey Man absolutely didn't want AG even invited to his party since he says she is "bossy and mean". So I used the excuse to explain why AG didn't get an invite...and hopefully keep her from thinking we were trying to sabotage AG's party.
Seemed like a good answer, right? Well, maybe too little, too late. Last night I was talking to Shannon who had been at that adult toy party last Thursday...as it turns out, one of the beeyotches from that particular neighborhood was there and it just so happens that not only is her daughter in Monkey Man's class but she is also friends with LB. Oh goody.
So Shannon, in an effort to make conversation, told her that my son was in the same class too (I had already left at that point). The woman gave her this evil glare and said, "Yes, I heard that SHE sent out invitations for her son's party for the SAME DAY as AG's party. I mean, what was she thinking?"
Oh. My. God. These people are freaking insane. Do they seriously think that I really put that much thought into it? The Mad Science place had one opening for this weekend, and it was that day and time. That was all the thought it took other than finding my credit card number. Jesus.
I honestly, truly, thought people like this only existed on sitcoms and Dr. Phil. And now I'm trapped in suburban hell.
*****
Today, I'm thankful to have friends that are "real" - that don't get caught up in a bunch of BS or drama. It's so refreshing!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Circle of life
It's been a day of extreme highs and lows. I am totally wiped out.
This week we have found out that one friend, who has been battling cancer for months now, has very little time left. Tommy flew to Pittsburgh this week for some highly experimental surgery to remove the cancer...yesterday, they opened him up and the cancer has spread everywhere. There was nothing they could do. This just breaks my heart, he has such a powerful will to live but I don't know how much more he can take. A month ago they said even if he continues on the kick-ass chemo he has a year at the most.
Then, another friend. Laura. Was declared cancer-free after battling breast cancer. Now, this week, she found out that the cancer is back but it's ovarian this time. Her husband divorced her the first time she went through this, and she has no kids and no family nearby for support. She is scared.
Monday morning, Joey had one of his employees come and tell him that Friday will be his last day. Leonard was the fourth employee that they hired almost 14 years ago. Leonard has lung cancer, is going in for surgery next week and hoping he can beat it. In the meantime, he said he really just wants to LIVE.
My current client's 78-year-old wife was diagnosed last week with lung cancer. She is in Texas right now going through tests and I guess next week we'll find out what the prognosis is.
And then, this afternoon, I heard the worst of it all. The mother of one of Monkey Man's friends has cancer. Breast cancer. She is a very private person and was able to keep it under wraps until a week ago when she was spotted in town sporting a baseball cap and no hair. She's had a mastectomy and the prognosis is very good, and I'm really sad that I didn't know about this earlier. I don't know that there was anything we could do to make it any better, but I'd like to think maybe there's still something we can do.
The scariest part? She's my age. MY AGE.
When did I become "older", when did I get to the age when my contemporaries are starting to get cancer, to get divorces, to have parents dying? It's a sobering thought.
On the other hand, we had wonderful news today. Jay and Harry welcomed Baby #3, little Charlize at 5:37 tonight. Their son Quentin was spending the evening with us and he was so freaking excited that his sister had been born that it made me cry. Just so sweet. When I dropped him off at his house to stay with his grandparents, Harry's dad busted out some digital pics and all I can say is that she is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
I guess it's all the circle of life. On one hand, it's scary as hell. On the other hand, it's downright beautiful.
*****
I am thankful for the safe arrival of Charlize! Welcome, sweet baby girl!
This week we have found out that one friend, who has been battling cancer for months now, has very little time left. Tommy flew to Pittsburgh this week for some highly experimental surgery to remove the cancer...yesterday, they opened him up and the cancer has spread everywhere. There was nothing they could do. This just breaks my heart, he has such a powerful will to live but I don't know how much more he can take. A month ago they said even if he continues on the kick-ass chemo he has a year at the most.
Then, another friend. Laura. Was declared cancer-free after battling breast cancer. Now, this week, she found out that the cancer is back but it's ovarian this time. Her husband divorced her the first time she went through this, and she has no kids and no family nearby for support. She is scared.
Monday morning, Joey had one of his employees come and tell him that Friday will be his last day. Leonard was the fourth employee that they hired almost 14 years ago. Leonard has lung cancer, is going in for surgery next week and hoping he can beat it. In the meantime, he said he really just wants to LIVE.
My current client's 78-year-old wife was diagnosed last week with lung cancer. She is in Texas right now going through tests and I guess next week we'll find out what the prognosis is.
And then, this afternoon, I heard the worst of it all. The mother of one of Monkey Man's friends has cancer. Breast cancer. She is a very private person and was able to keep it under wraps until a week ago when she was spotted in town sporting a baseball cap and no hair. She's had a mastectomy and the prognosis is very good, and I'm really sad that I didn't know about this earlier. I don't know that there was anything we could do to make it any better, but I'd like to think maybe there's still something we can do.
The scariest part? She's my age. MY AGE.
When did I become "older", when did I get to the age when my contemporaries are starting to get cancer, to get divorces, to have parents dying? It's a sobering thought.
On the other hand, we had wonderful news today. Jay and Harry welcomed Baby #3, little Charlize at 5:37 tonight. Their son Quentin was spending the evening with us and he was so freaking excited that his sister had been born that it made me cry. Just so sweet. When I dropped him off at his house to stay with his grandparents, Harry's dad busted out some digital pics and all I can say is that she is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
I guess it's all the circle of life. On one hand, it's scary as hell. On the other hand, it's downright beautiful.
*****
I am thankful for the safe arrival of Charlize! Welcome, sweet baby girl!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Women are from Venus, and men are from...I'm not really sure
As I've been joking with my friends for weeks now, we've been having The Great Hostage Negotiations of Thanksgiving 2007 going on for weeks now at our house. It's been a regular laugh riot.
If I haven't mentioned it before, any kind of holiday becomes a major sticking point in our house. My in-laws have this thing where if they don't celebrate something on THE ACTUAL DAY then they don't think it counts. So this has meant doing silly things like driving an hour to have lunch with them on a workday because it's someone's birthday, or the Ugly Mother's Day Incidents of 2002, 2003, and 2004 where my MIL locked herself in their bathroom crying because we didn't come to visit on THAT DAY. I guess the fact that I'm a mom now doesn't really matter to her, but I'm only mildly bitter about it. And if you believe that I've got some land in the Everglades that I'll sell you.
So about two weeks ago, I found out that my MIL had gotten the jump on me and asked Joey if we would come down there for Thanksgiving. Well, I already knew that my brother and his family are coming from Seattle - and I only get to see them once a year, so it's a pretty big deal to me. I did a little brainstorming and came up with two potential solutions:
1. We drive down to their house the night before Thanksgiving. We rent a cottage to stay in to prevent me from dying due to cat and cigarette smoke. We eat Thanksgiving lunch with them, then drive 2+ hours back here to eat dinner with my family.
2. They come up here Wednesday night. We take them out for fancy Thanksgiving meal (which we have done before and they adored it). They go home after Thanksgiving day lunch, then we go to my sister's.
I figured both were good solutions. And pretty fair, too. But of course, in typical in-law fashion, it took them a good two weeks to decide if that was sufficient for Thanksgiving. So do you see why they make me a little nuts? Joey and I discussed it every night for at least the last 10 days to try and guess what they were going to do.
Anyhow, on Monday night my MIL finally called and said that they would come up here. So I proceeded to get on the phone and make reservations for lunchtime on Thanksgiving Day at the fabulous restaurant that we'd taken them to before - it is perfect for FIL because he can certainly wear his wife-beater t-shirt and unbuttoned plaid shirt over it and probably no one will look twice. Well, maybe not more than twice.
Slight problem. The restaurant is booked. So I went downstairs to the Man Cave to talk to Joey about what to do. I discussed at length the different restaurants I'd called, and how hard it is to find something open on Thanksgiving Day.
Stay with me. This is where it gets good.
On Tuesday, I decided to Google which restaurants in our town had traditionally been open on Turkey Day and found one reasonably close to our house that is expensive but not too stuffy. I called and yes, we could get a table for noon on Thanksgiving Day. So I called Joey at work to toot my own horn - I was so proud of this brilliant inspiration that I was sure that I would win huge accolades, not only for finding a good restaurant to go to but also for this great idea I'd come up with that would hopefully make his parents happy.
Um, yeah. Do you know what his response was? "I thought we were going out for Thanksgiving dinner with them on Wednesday night."
Wednesday night? Hadn't we talked about this nightly for almost two weeks? And who the hell goes out for Thanksgiving dinner the day BEFORE Thanksgiving? So it was pretty blatantly obvious at that point that he hadn't listened to a damn word I've been saying for the last two weeks.
I stewed about it all day. I mean really stewed.
We ended up going to the mall at dinnertime and got home late. I had a ton of laundry to do, straightening up to do, and I was planning on blogging. Yeah, that didn't happen. First I had to give Monkey Man a shower and put him to bed. Then, I struggled with about 10 huge loads of laundry and hauling them to the laundry room. All this was while my dear, sweet husband sat on his ass on the couch and played Nintendo DS.
Finally he came into our room where I was starting to get slammy (as in slamming drawers, slamming the closet doors) and asked if I was mad at him. At that point, I was so mad I couldn't even talk to him. I sat upstairs while he hid in the basement. Eventually, at 10 PM, I'd had enough of stewing so I went downstairs to talk to him. I had a few beefs:
1. Obviously he is so disconnected from life right now that he totally f-ed up the whole Thanksgiving arrangements.
2. I need help with the house. Sitting on his ass isn't helping.
At this point, I was subjected to a 45 minute tirade on how much his job sucks. And yes, I totally sympathize but that's not an excuse from being disconnected from our home and family. I have a job, I have a boss that is difficult, I end up doing 90% of the household chores and the carpooling and doing PTA shit and buying birthday gifts and handling doctor's appointments and all that other BS. Sometimes, I could use some help with a few things like picking up after himself and also the laundry.
And this is where I am still scratching my head. "Well, I could help you with the laundry but I don't understand how the system works," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, how do I know when the laundry needs to be done?"
"Here's a good clue for you. If you open my closet and find that all the laundry is spilling out of the hamper because it's too full, that's a pretty good indication that it's time to do the laundry."
"Well, then there's all the sorting. Like I don't get it, you have this system that I don't understand."
"It's called colors and whites. Colors and whites."
This man runs a multi-million dollar company and has a college degree, but can't do laundry. Go figure.
It all ended up fine, no one slept in the guest room, and I think we both got some things off our chests. The key from this point is how we go forward - like does he finally conquer the complexity of sorting colors from whites? Stay tuned.
*****
I am thankful to have a marriage with someone that I can talk to frankly about anything in the world and who is always willing to work things out. Even sorting laundry.
If I haven't mentioned it before, any kind of holiday becomes a major sticking point in our house. My in-laws have this thing where if they don't celebrate something on THE ACTUAL DAY then they don't think it counts. So this has meant doing silly things like driving an hour to have lunch with them on a workday because it's someone's birthday, or the Ugly Mother's Day Incidents of 2002, 2003, and 2004 where my MIL locked herself in their bathroom crying because we didn't come to visit on THAT DAY. I guess the fact that I'm a mom now doesn't really matter to her, but I'm only mildly bitter about it. And if you believe that I've got some land in the Everglades that I'll sell you.
So about two weeks ago, I found out that my MIL had gotten the jump on me and asked Joey if we would come down there for Thanksgiving. Well, I already knew that my brother and his family are coming from Seattle - and I only get to see them once a year, so it's a pretty big deal to me. I did a little brainstorming and came up with two potential solutions:
1. We drive down to their house the night before Thanksgiving. We rent a cottage to stay in to prevent me from dying due to cat and cigarette smoke. We eat Thanksgiving lunch with them, then drive 2+ hours back here to eat dinner with my family.
2. They come up here Wednesday night. We take them out for fancy Thanksgiving meal (which we have done before and they adored it). They go home after Thanksgiving day lunch, then we go to my sister's.
I figured both were good solutions. And pretty fair, too. But of course, in typical in-law fashion, it took them a good two weeks to decide if that was sufficient for Thanksgiving. So do you see why they make me a little nuts? Joey and I discussed it every night for at least the last 10 days to try and guess what they were going to do.
Anyhow, on Monday night my MIL finally called and said that they would come up here. So I proceeded to get on the phone and make reservations for lunchtime on Thanksgiving Day at the fabulous restaurant that we'd taken them to before - it is perfect for FIL because he can certainly wear his wife-beater t-shirt and unbuttoned plaid shirt over it and probably no one will look twice. Well, maybe not more than twice.
Slight problem. The restaurant is booked. So I went downstairs to the Man Cave to talk to Joey about what to do. I discussed at length the different restaurants I'd called, and how hard it is to find something open on Thanksgiving Day.
Stay with me. This is where it gets good.
On Tuesday, I decided to Google which restaurants in our town had traditionally been open on Turkey Day and found one reasonably close to our house that is expensive but not too stuffy. I called and yes, we could get a table for noon on Thanksgiving Day. So I called Joey at work to toot my own horn - I was so proud of this brilliant inspiration that I was sure that I would win huge accolades, not only for finding a good restaurant to go to but also for this great idea I'd come up with that would hopefully make his parents happy.
Um, yeah. Do you know what his response was? "I thought we were going out for Thanksgiving dinner with them on Wednesday night."
Wednesday night? Hadn't we talked about this nightly for almost two weeks? And who the hell goes out for Thanksgiving dinner the day BEFORE Thanksgiving? So it was pretty blatantly obvious at that point that he hadn't listened to a damn word I've been saying for the last two weeks.
I stewed about it all day. I mean really stewed.
We ended up going to the mall at dinnertime and got home late. I had a ton of laundry to do, straightening up to do, and I was planning on blogging. Yeah, that didn't happen. First I had to give Monkey Man a shower and put him to bed. Then, I struggled with about 10 huge loads of laundry and hauling them to the laundry room. All this was while my dear, sweet husband sat on his ass on the couch and played Nintendo DS.
Finally he came into our room where I was starting to get slammy (as in slamming drawers, slamming the closet doors) and asked if I was mad at him. At that point, I was so mad I couldn't even talk to him. I sat upstairs while he hid in the basement. Eventually, at 10 PM, I'd had enough of stewing so I went downstairs to talk to him. I had a few beefs:
1. Obviously he is so disconnected from life right now that he totally f-ed up the whole Thanksgiving arrangements.
2. I need help with the house. Sitting on his ass isn't helping.
At this point, I was subjected to a 45 minute tirade on how much his job sucks. And yes, I totally sympathize but that's not an excuse from being disconnected from our home and family. I have a job, I have a boss that is difficult, I end up doing 90% of the household chores and the carpooling and doing PTA shit and buying birthday gifts and handling doctor's appointments and all that other BS. Sometimes, I could use some help with a few things like picking up after himself and also the laundry.
And this is where I am still scratching my head. "Well, I could help you with the laundry but I don't understand how the system works," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, how do I know when the laundry needs to be done?"
"Here's a good clue for you. If you open my closet and find that all the laundry is spilling out of the hamper because it's too full, that's a pretty good indication that it's time to do the laundry."
"Well, then there's all the sorting. Like I don't get it, you have this system that I don't understand."
"It's called colors and whites. Colors and whites."
This man runs a multi-million dollar company and has a college degree, but can't do laundry. Go figure.
It all ended up fine, no one slept in the guest room, and I think we both got some things off our chests. The key from this point is how we go forward - like does he finally conquer the complexity of sorting colors from whites? Stay tuned.
*****
I am thankful to have a marriage with someone that I can talk to frankly about anything in the world and who is always willing to work things out. Even sorting laundry.
Monday, November 12, 2007
It got better from that point
Here we are, at part 2 of my odyssey to Baltimore. And I promise, there are no ambulances or crashing trains or Coronas involved. That I can remember.
At this point, I met Maven and the adorable Boobah in the Minivan of Destiny in the kiss and ride part of the parking lot of the Amtrak station. She didn't make me slip her the tongue, but she did give me a nice, warm, chatty ride to her house where GMan, Esmerelda, and the kids were waiting for us. As a matter of fact, GMan met me at the door with pizza and some Cabo Wabo tequila. Now, that's a man after my own heart.
While GMan got Princess Drama Queen and Boobah ready for their own trip up to visit GMan's sisters in New York, I got to chow down with Maven and Es. Now, I've known Maven for, oh probably five years - while Es is a new addition to my stable of friends. She's been friends with Maven forever, and I love reading her blog...she's really an excellent writer, not to mention the fact that she is EXACTLY in real life like I envisioned her from her blog. Funny, honest, smart, you insert an adjective and that's what you get. We had a lot of fun chatting. Her boys, A and D were also there and they were truly adorable and sweet.
Once GMan and the girls departed (although we found them still in the driveway 20 minutes later, not sure what that was all about), followed shortly by Esmerelda and her boys, Maven and I settled in to catch up. See, we met on a bulletin board on Baby Center called Working Moms - there was a group of about 60 of us that ended up splintering off into a private group that still exists today - although admittedly, it's not as active as it used to be since most of us are a lot more secure in our mothering skills than we were when the kids were infants! Anyhow, I met Maven in person at one of our reunions and we really clicked - we have a lot in common and we enjoy emailing and seeing each other when we can. I'm proud to call her my friend!
On Saturday, we both slept in, showered and ate some yummy scones, and then one of the other PIM's showed up - MPP's Mom. The three of us headed off to the mall where we indulged in some yummy food at Nordstrom, plundered our way through Sephora, and then zipped off to a spa where we got pedicures. The three of us laughed and talked the entire time - it's amazing to me to this day that the PIM's, who only see each other in person once a year, fall right into easy conversation every single time. I've met some of them from all different parts of the country, and it's always so much fun.
MPP's Mom left in the late afternoon, and Maven and I got dolled up and headed to a wonderful restaurant named Trapeze that had great martinis and even better filet mignon. Seriously, it was really delicious. Then we headed back to the house, changed into our sweats, and hunkered down to talk ourselves silly - I can't believe I wasn't hoarse by the end of the weekend.
Sunday morning we had a great brunch, ran to Costco so I could get some new reading material (I had obviously used all of mine on the train on Friday), and then it was time to go. The weekend went by way too fast, and we're talking about when we can get together next time...I know that Monkey Man was pissed that he didn't get to see Boobah and PDQ, so hopefully we can rectify that early next year!
Now, what I didn't get into was all the drama of Saturday. Joey had committed to taking customers to the Hokies game. Monkey Man was supposed to go to a slumber party that afternoon. So we had hired the reliable Miss Heather to come babysit him from 7:30 until noon, take him to Josh's house, and call it a day. Seems simple, right?
So I'm in the Minivan of Destiny with Maven and MPP's Mom when the phone starts ringing. First, it's Josh's mom - what can Monkey Man eat, any special sleeping routines, etc. etc. etc. We go over it in great detail and we hang up. Then my phone rings again - it's Miss Heather, and we have a problem. She has locked all of her stuff in our house by accident - including a bag with important medication in there. We don't have a key anywhere so I'm forced to call Cat Door to beg him to go by the house and let Miss Heather in. Meanwhile, Josh's dad calls and leaves a voice mail that he needs to talk to me as soon as possible. I call him - and it's the same damn questions I just discussed with the mom. Then I call Miss Heather and let her know that the house will be unlocked so that she can go by there...then Josh's dad calls me and asks if they were supposed to pay Miss Heather because she kept hanging around like she wanted something....ARGH. I was on the phone for like 25 minutes trying to get all the shit straightened out.
As it all turned out, the boys at the slumber party slept from 11 PM until 4 AM. Methinks that Josh's parents won't be having another slumber party anytime soon.
So that's my weekend. There will be a quiz tomorrow.
Thanks to Maven for a really wonderful weekend - you are a true hostess and a great friend! MPP's Mom, it was so nice to see you and get that hug you owed me from last February! And Es, I'm glad I finally got to put a person to put with the persona - thanks for taking the time to chow down with us!
*****
I am grateful for my PIM friends - you guys mean the world to me, and I'm so glad that I met such a great group of ladies!
At this point, I met Maven and the adorable Boobah in the Minivan of Destiny in the kiss and ride part of the parking lot of the Amtrak station. She didn't make me slip her the tongue, but she did give me a nice, warm, chatty ride to her house where GMan, Esmerelda, and the kids were waiting for us. As a matter of fact, GMan met me at the door with pizza and some Cabo Wabo tequila. Now, that's a man after my own heart.
While GMan got Princess Drama Queen and Boobah ready for their own trip up to visit GMan's sisters in New York, I got to chow down with Maven and Es. Now, I've known Maven for, oh probably five years - while Es is a new addition to my stable of friends. She's been friends with Maven forever, and I love reading her blog...she's really an excellent writer, not to mention the fact that she is EXACTLY in real life like I envisioned her from her blog. Funny, honest, smart, you insert an adjective and that's what you get. We had a lot of fun chatting. Her boys, A and D were also there and they were truly adorable and sweet.
Once GMan and the girls departed (although we found them still in the driveway 20 minutes later, not sure what that was all about), followed shortly by Esmerelda and her boys, Maven and I settled in to catch up. See, we met on a bulletin board on Baby Center called Working Moms - there was a group of about 60 of us that ended up splintering off into a private group that still exists today - although admittedly, it's not as active as it used to be since most of us are a lot more secure in our mothering skills than we were when the kids were infants! Anyhow, I met Maven in person at one of our reunions and we really clicked - we have a lot in common and we enjoy emailing and seeing each other when we can. I'm proud to call her my friend!
On Saturday, we both slept in, showered and ate some yummy scones, and then one of the other PIM's showed up - MPP's Mom. The three of us headed off to the mall where we indulged in some yummy food at Nordstrom, plundered our way through Sephora, and then zipped off to a spa where we got pedicures. The three of us laughed and talked the entire time - it's amazing to me to this day that the PIM's, who only see each other in person once a year, fall right into easy conversation every single time. I've met some of them from all different parts of the country, and it's always so much fun.
MPP's Mom left in the late afternoon, and Maven and I got dolled up and headed to a wonderful restaurant named Trapeze that had great martinis and even better filet mignon. Seriously, it was really delicious. Then we headed back to the house, changed into our sweats, and hunkered down to talk ourselves silly - I can't believe I wasn't hoarse by the end of the weekend.
Sunday morning we had a great brunch, ran to Costco so I could get some new reading material (I had obviously used all of mine on the train on Friday), and then it was time to go. The weekend went by way too fast, and we're talking about when we can get together next time...I know that Monkey Man was pissed that he didn't get to see Boobah and PDQ, so hopefully we can rectify that early next year!
Now, what I didn't get into was all the drama of Saturday. Joey had committed to taking customers to the Hokies game. Monkey Man was supposed to go to a slumber party that afternoon. So we had hired the reliable Miss Heather to come babysit him from 7:30 until noon, take him to Josh's house, and call it a day. Seems simple, right?
So I'm in the Minivan of Destiny with Maven and MPP's Mom when the phone starts ringing. First, it's Josh's mom - what can Monkey Man eat, any special sleeping routines, etc. etc. etc. We go over it in great detail and we hang up. Then my phone rings again - it's Miss Heather, and we have a problem. She has locked all of her stuff in our house by accident - including a bag with important medication in there. We don't have a key anywhere so I'm forced to call Cat Door to beg him to go by the house and let Miss Heather in. Meanwhile, Josh's dad calls and leaves a voice mail that he needs to talk to me as soon as possible. I call him - and it's the same damn questions I just discussed with the mom. Then I call Miss Heather and let her know that the house will be unlocked so that she can go by there...then Josh's dad calls me and asks if they were supposed to pay Miss Heather because she kept hanging around like she wanted something....ARGH. I was on the phone for like 25 minutes trying to get all the shit straightened out.
As it all turned out, the boys at the slumber party slept from 11 PM until 4 AM. Methinks that Josh's parents won't be having another slumber party anytime soon.
So that's my weekend. There will be a quiz tomorrow.
Thanks to Maven for a really wonderful weekend - you are a true hostess and a great friend! MPP's Mom, it was so nice to see you and get that hug you owed me from last February! And Es, I'm glad I finally got to put a person to put with the persona - thanks for taking the time to chow down with us!
*****
I am grateful for my PIM friends - you guys mean the world to me, and I'm so glad that I met such a great group of ladies!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
The odyssey
And no, I'm not referring to Maven's Minivan of Destiny. I'm talking about my trip up to Baltimore...at least the getting there part.
I'm back safe and sound. Tired, but happy and relaxed and happy to have seen three old friends (Maven, GMan, and MPP's Mom) and one new friend (Esmerelda). And in order to do justice to this trip, it's going to take me at least 2 posts to talk about it. Mostly because Friday was just the most unbelievable thing ever.
So Friday morning my train was scheduled to leave at 11 AM - so I hightailed it from my office to the Amtrak station which is approximately 5 seconds away. I got on the train, got a good seat, and settled in with a few magazines and my iPod. So far, so good - right? I made and took a few phone calls and right at 11 we left the station. Life was good.
We made one stop in Ashland (which is like the strangest stop since it's smack in the middle of a street and a small men's college but whatever) and I admired all the beautiful old homes located close to the track. Looked at the leaves. Jammed out to a little Sevendust. The perfect day.
About 15 minutes later, we were traveling along at a good clip when suddenly we felt this huge jolt and the train came to a pretty fast stop. I looked out the window to my right and suddenly I see something that makes my blood run cold.
Smoke. And pieces of a yellow school bus. Holy fuck, we have hit a goddamn bus.
"Loooord, we hit a damn school bus!" the woman behind me screamed, and everyone in our car scrambled to a window to see what we could see. I felt like I was seriously going to puke right then and there. The Amtrak employees started running down the tracks, back behind the train to see what happened. Hysteria took over the car, with people yelling and trying to figure out what happened.
Finally, an announcement. No one was injured, and apparently we had hit an old school bus that was empty and being towed by a truck. And the truck driver was shaken up, but uninjured.
Thank God.
And then the waiting started. First, it was announced that it would be at least an hour for the investigation to be finished. Then, they announced that the engine was damaged and they'd have to be sending another one. From Washington.
I looked out the window. We were in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, it was a field with a dirt road - I guess that's why the guy ran into the track, there were no crossing gates or anything. The cell phone conversations around me were hysterical - everyone was repeating "no, you can't come get me because we don't know where the hell we are other than some county" over and over again.
Now, part of the interesting thing of traveling by train is that without an engine, you have no electricity. And with the damaged engine, they went ahead and shut that sucker down so we had no lights, no heat, no flushable toilets (oh yeah, that was NAS-TY), and the car with all the food didn't have much to offer. I had some nabs and a bottle of water in my bag, but I figured that since we had no idea when we were going to move again that I better haul ass up to the food car and see what I could get.
I walked up there and stood in line for a good 45 minutes waiting to see what I could get. And they couldn't serve hot food and the cold food was pretty limited at that point. So my lunch consisted of a "cheese and cracker" kit (which actually was pretty good with some good sharp white cheddar and a variety of crackers), a blueberry muffin (blech), and two Coronas. The guy next to me and I joked about how if we were stuck there much longer, we were going to have to resort to cannibalism.
My nerves were pretty shot. The Coronas helped. I began to relax and size up my fellow passengers for possible snacks. Just kidding. Maybe.
So for the next two hours, we sat on the track and waited. We watched all the law enforcement people go up and down the tracks. The feds showed up. Amtrak and CSX had people there trying to get it all worked out. At that point, they still weren't sure if the replacement engine was on the way or if we were going to have to ride buses to our destinations.
At approximately 30 minutes into this whole debacle, I figured that I should probably call Maven and let her know what had happened so she wasn't stuck waiting for me at the station at 2:30. Um, slight problem - for some odd reason our cell phones wouldn't play nice and we kept calling each other and weren't able to get through. So I called my friend Mer in Boston - who called Maven and I think emailed MPP's Mom - and she relayed everything. Soon GMan called to check on me and said "Liz, next time...drive!" No shit.
Eventually we got our new engine and got on our merry way. So I settled back in and rode the rest of the way happy as a clam. Yeah, we were late but everyone was okay. Well, everyone but that bus. We got to DC where the engine had to be switched out again to an electric engine, and at that point I called Maven and finally got through to let her know I was probably only 20 minutes away.
Um, yeah. That would've been if I hadn't missed my damn stop.
So we're booking along - stuck behind a local train so we're making a lot of unscheduled stop. And then we made one stop...they didn't announce what it was for and everyone was asking each other if they could see what stop it was. Nope. No signs, no announcement. So we all sat back and then as the train pulled away I looked out the window and saw BWI - BALTIMORE. Just as plain as day. The collective moan rose up from our car - at least 5 of us had missed our stop. At this point now I'm just so exhausted that I'll ride to Timbuktu if they have alcohol.
There were these two elderly sisters that sat next to me the whole way - they had never been on a train or airplane before and they were going to a funeral up in New Haven. "Whattrye gonna dooooo?" they asked me. "I've been in worse pickles than this before, so I'm sure I'll figure out some way to get where I'm going," I replied just as calm as could be. Yet I felt like puking.
At this point I called Maven. "Guess what? I missed my stop," I whined. So we agreed that I'd get off at Penn Station in Baltimore and see if I could get back to BWI easily...and she would try to find out how to get to Penn Station if I couldn't get back. Geesh. When I got to Penn Station, I walked up to the main counter and there was this really nice man there. I started to explain what happened and he asked for my ticket stub - took one look at it and said, "Girl, lord, you were on that train that hit that bus, weren't you? I'm gonna put you on the Acela and get you back to BWI in the next 20 minutes, okay?" Jesus Mary, I felt like hugging him and maybe showing him my boobs or something. Gah.
The Acela screeched up to the gate and I hopped right on the food car, walked up and ordered a Corona. I then found a seat where I proceeded to drink it straight without even stopping to breathe. I think the men beside me were duly impressed.
And 15 minutes later, I was delivered into the safe haven of Maven's Minivan of Destiny.
Tomorrow, my arrival at Casa de Maven and GMan, the Meeting of Esmerelda, and whatever else I can cram in.
*****
I am so, so thankful that no one was on that damn bus. So thankful.
I'm back safe and sound. Tired, but happy and relaxed and happy to have seen three old friends (Maven, GMan, and MPP's Mom) and one new friend (Esmerelda). And in order to do justice to this trip, it's going to take me at least 2 posts to talk about it. Mostly because Friday was just the most unbelievable thing ever.
So Friday morning my train was scheduled to leave at 11 AM - so I hightailed it from my office to the Amtrak station which is approximately 5 seconds away. I got on the train, got a good seat, and settled in with a few magazines and my iPod. So far, so good - right? I made and took a few phone calls and right at 11 we left the station. Life was good.
We made one stop in Ashland (which is like the strangest stop since it's smack in the middle of a street and a small men's college but whatever) and I admired all the beautiful old homes located close to the track. Looked at the leaves. Jammed out to a little Sevendust. The perfect day.
About 15 minutes later, we were traveling along at a good clip when suddenly we felt this huge jolt and the train came to a pretty fast stop. I looked out the window to my right and suddenly I see something that makes my blood run cold.
Smoke. And pieces of a yellow school bus. Holy fuck, we have hit a goddamn bus.
"Loooord, we hit a damn school bus!" the woman behind me screamed, and everyone in our car scrambled to a window to see what we could see. I felt like I was seriously going to puke right then and there. The Amtrak employees started running down the tracks, back behind the train to see what happened. Hysteria took over the car, with people yelling and trying to figure out what happened.
Finally, an announcement. No one was injured, and apparently we had hit an old school bus that was empty and being towed by a truck. And the truck driver was shaken up, but uninjured.
Thank God.
And then the waiting started. First, it was announced that it would be at least an hour for the investigation to be finished. Then, they announced that the engine was damaged and they'd have to be sending another one. From Washington.
I looked out the window. We were in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, it was a field with a dirt road - I guess that's why the guy ran into the track, there were no crossing gates or anything. The cell phone conversations around me were hysterical - everyone was repeating "no, you can't come get me because we don't know where the hell we are other than some county" over and over again.
Now, part of the interesting thing of traveling by train is that without an engine, you have no electricity. And with the damaged engine, they went ahead and shut that sucker down so we had no lights, no heat, no flushable toilets (oh yeah, that was NAS-TY), and the car with all the food didn't have much to offer. I had some nabs and a bottle of water in my bag, but I figured that since we had no idea when we were going to move again that I better haul ass up to the food car and see what I could get.
I walked up there and stood in line for a good 45 minutes waiting to see what I could get. And they couldn't serve hot food and the cold food was pretty limited at that point. So my lunch consisted of a "cheese and cracker" kit (which actually was pretty good with some good sharp white cheddar and a variety of crackers), a blueberry muffin (blech), and two Coronas. The guy next to me and I joked about how if we were stuck there much longer, we were going to have to resort to cannibalism.
My nerves were pretty shot. The Coronas helped. I began to relax and size up my fellow passengers for possible snacks. Just kidding. Maybe.
So for the next two hours, we sat on the track and waited. We watched all the law enforcement people go up and down the tracks. The feds showed up. Amtrak and CSX had people there trying to get it all worked out. At that point, they still weren't sure if the replacement engine was on the way or if we were going to have to ride buses to our destinations.
At approximately 30 minutes into this whole debacle, I figured that I should probably call Maven and let her know what had happened so she wasn't stuck waiting for me at the station at 2:30. Um, slight problem - for some odd reason our cell phones wouldn't play nice and we kept calling each other and weren't able to get through. So I called my friend Mer in Boston - who called Maven and I think emailed MPP's Mom - and she relayed everything. Soon GMan called to check on me and said "Liz, next time...drive!" No shit.
Eventually we got our new engine and got on our merry way. So I settled back in and rode the rest of the way happy as a clam. Yeah, we were late but everyone was okay. Well, everyone but that bus. We got to DC where the engine had to be switched out again to an electric engine, and at that point I called Maven and finally got through to let her know I was probably only 20 minutes away.
Um, yeah. That would've been if I hadn't missed my damn stop.
So we're booking along - stuck behind a local train so we're making a lot of unscheduled stop. And then we made one stop...they didn't announce what it was for and everyone was asking each other if they could see what stop it was. Nope. No signs, no announcement. So we all sat back and then as the train pulled away I looked out the window and saw BWI - BALTIMORE. Just as plain as day. The collective moan rose up from our car - at least 5 of us had missed our stop. At this point now I'm just so exhausted that I'll ride to Timbuktu if they have alcohol.
There were these two elderly sisters that sat next to me the whole way - they had never been on a train or airplane before and they were going to a funeral up in New Haven. "Whattrye gonna dooooo?" they asked me. "I've been in worse pickles than this before, so I'm sure I'll figure out some way to get where I'm going," I replied just as calm as could be. Yet I felt like puking.
At this point I called Maven. "Guess what? I missed my stop," I whined. So we agreed that I'd get off at Penn Station in Baltimore and see if I could get back to BWI easily...and she would try to find out how to get to Penn Station if I couldn't get back. Geesh. When I got to Penn Station, I walked up to the main counter and there was this really nice man there. I started to explain what happened and he asked for my ticket stub - took one look at it and said, "Girl, lord, you were on that train that hit that bus, weren't you? I'm gonna put you on the Acela and get you back to BWI in the next 20 minutes, okay?" Jesus Mary, I felt like hugging him and maybe showing him my boobs or something. Gah.
The Acela screeched up to the gate and I hopped right on the food car, walked up and ordered a Corona. I then found a seat where I proceeded to drink it straight without even stopping to breathe. I think the men beside me were duly impressed.
And 15 minutes later, I was delivered into the safe haven of Maven's Minivan of Destiny.
Tomorrow, my arrival at Casa de Maven and GMan, the Meeting of Esmerelda, and whatever else I can cram in.
*****
I am so, so thankful that no one was on that damn bus. So thankful.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
I blew it already
Yeah, I know. The whole idea of NaBloPoMo is to post every day. And I'm not going to cheat and back-date this post either.
I had a horrid day yesterday. Which leads me to what I was thankful for yesterday.
I am thankful that I didn't have a loaded gun to bring to work, otherwise you'd probably be reading about me in the newspaper. Ahem.
Hoping for a better day today. And that would be something I could be thankful for.
I had a horrid day yesterday. Which leads me to what I was thankful for yesterday.
I am thankful that I didn't have a loaded gun to bring to work, otherwise you'd probably be reading about me in the newspaper. Ahem.
Hoping for a better day today. And that would be something I could be thankful for.
Monday, November 05, 2007
I am reveling in his brilliance
I'm keeping this short and sweet today. Not really feeling so great - I had an appointment to get my Mirena IUD put in this afternoon and it kind of threw me for a loop. I'd had a few cervical biopsies done about 16 years ago...funny how time blocks out how much it hurt, and the Mirena was pretty similar in terms of a.) crampiness and b.) feeling like you're going to hurl any second. I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow since the four Motrin that I took the hour prior to going aren't doing shit for me.
We had Monkey Man's parent/teacher conference today. High praise for the Monkey Man, who despite being the class comedian (where the hell he gets that from I have no clue) blew them out of the water on all his tests, surpassing the benchmarks they have set for the Fall and Spring as well. Not to mention she said that he's a good, good kid. Color me happy.
I love my little cheeseball, and I am one proud mama right now. I am so thankful for him that I can't even put it into words.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Oh my damn
I think we've discovered an all new form of birthday party torture.
Six-year-old karaoke party.
They should've provided earplugs. The kids had a blast, though. I was wishing I'd brought a flask.
*****
Tonight is my friend Heather's birthday dinner along with the rest of the Badasses. There will be drinking involved, probably a taxi home, and maybe even some tattoos. Wish me luck.
*****
I am thankful that my son seems to make friends easily. He came home this week to tell me about a kid who was snubbed on the playground, so Monkey Man and his buddy Q went over and said "we'll be your friends, come play with us." It made my heart sing.
Six-year-old karaoke party.
They should've provided earplugs. The kids had a blast, though. I was wishing I'd brought a flask.
*****
Tonight is my friend Heather's birthday dinner along with the rest of the Badasses. There will be drinking involved, probably a taxi home, and maybe even some tattoos. Wish me luck.
*****
I am thankful that my son seems to make friends easily. He came home this week to tell me about a kid who was snubbed on the playground, so Monkey Man and his buddy Q went over and said "we'll be your friends, come play with us." It made my heart sing.
Friday, November 02, 2007
The end of the world as we know it
You know something's afoot when Monkey Man has control of the remote. Hide the women and children!
Joey is snoring on the loveseat and will probably wake up with a king-sized neckache. Monkey Man had been complaining of bad stomach pains - so I put him in a warm bath, gave him a little Pepto, and he's feeling a lot better. Right now he's channel surfing as he could only learn from the master, his father.
*****
Work was crazy today. This headquarters job is absolutely killing us - it will take a miracle for us to finish the addition on schedule, and we still have the renovations to the existing building to slog through. My friends all know that I've been working on this cost analysis for EPOD for about two weeks off and on now - we are terribly out-of-whack in terms of costs posted in our accounting department, and what I've been finding is that our subcontractors are billing thousands of dollars in extra work that is unapproved...which are then being posted as actual costs. This is a problem - we can't allow that, but our accounting department has no way to discern what's approved and what isn't, so they're just trying to do their job (which in turn is screwing up my world).
We did have one good thing happen, though. This woman named Carol, who used to work for our company doing payroll for about six years, moved to Pennsylvania about two years ago. She was a really cool lady - she was like the mother hen of the office, always bringing in fresh fruit with some awesome marshmellow dip, making banana bread, keeping the kitchen stocked with good food. God, I miss her. Well, one thing Carol did around this time of year is make both pumpkin bread and pumpkin roll - which is like this yummy combination of pumpkin bread with some kind of creamy goodness rolled up in it. I have the recipe from a friend to make one, but have never dared because I just know it would never be as good as Carol's.
So guess what Fed Ex brought yesterday?
Yummy pumpkin roll goodness. I hid in my office with a piece. I figured I don't have to weigh in until next Wednesday, so one stinking piece isn't going to kill me. I hope.
*****
I'm thankful for my friends at work who keep me in line, save me from myself, and take care of me - right down to sending pumpkin roll. Not to mention that you all love lunchtime as much as I do!
Joey is snoring on the loveseat and will probably wake up with a king-sized neckache. Monkey Man had been complaining of bad stomach pains - so I put him in a warm bath, gave him a little Pepto, and he's feeling a lot better. Right now he's channel surfing as he could only learn from the master, his father.
*****
Work was crazy today. This headquarters job is absolutely killing us - it will take a miracle for us to finish the addition on schedule, and we still have the renovations to the existing building to slog through. My friends all know that I've been working on this cost analysis for EPOD for about two weeks off and on now - we are terribly out-of-whack in terms of costs posted in our accounting department, and what I've been finding is that our subcontractors are billing thousands of dollars in extra work that is unapproved...which are then being posted as actual costs. This is a problem - we can't allow that, but our accounting department has no way to discern what's approved and what isn't, so they're just trying to do their job (which in turn is screwing up my world).
We did have one good thing happen, though. This woman named Carol, who used to work for our company doing payroll for about six years, moved to Pennsylvania about two years ago. She was a really cool lady - she was like the mother hen of the office, always bringing in fresh fruit with some awesome marshmellow dip, making banana bread, keeping the kitchen stocked with good food. God, I miss her. Well, one thing Carol did around this time of year is make both pumpkin bread and pumpkin roll - which is like this yummy combination of pumpkin bread with some kind of creamy goodness rolled up in it. I have the recipe from a friend to make one, but have never dared because I just know it would never be as good as Carol's.
So guess what Fed Ex brought yesterday?
Yummy pumpkin roll goodness. I hid in my office with a piece. I figured I don't have to weigh in until next Wednesday, so one stinking piece isn't going to kill me. I hope.
*****
I'm thankful for my friends at work who keep me in line, save me from myself, and take care of me - right down to sending pumpkin roll. Not to mention that you all love lunchtime as much as I do!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
The Great Thanksgiving Negotiations of 2007
Today's the first day of NaBloPoMo. Remind me in about a week when I'm whining about the lack of something to say that it was a great idea to sign up for this so I can break out of my posting rut!
We survived Halloween. And when I say survived, I mean that we had a blast. We got together with a group of the Badasses and their assorted young 'uns and we hit the streets around 7 PM. I don't know whose idea it was to bring a wheeled cooler, but God bless them. I'm really not sure who had more fun - us or the kids. And no one was maimed during the making of Halloween 2007, so that was all good. Pictures will be forthcoming when I'm not too lazy to go outside and get my camera out of the car.
And with the advent of the first day of November comes two important events. First, The Birthday of The Monkey Man, which shall be celebrated in multiple parts culminating on the Day of His Birth, November 19th. Then the Great Thanksgiving Negotiations of 2007 will be commencing, probably this weekend.
I think it was Gretchen who referred to it as the Holiday Dance. Who goes where for what holiday. It's a topic that I generally avoid since it usually results in something akin to World War Three every few years or so. Things got so bad three years ago that Joey and I actually had to sit down and negotiate where we were going for what holidays, birthdays, and even down to Father's Day and Mother's Day. Last year, our whole holiday season was pretty much shot due to my dad's illness and Monkey Man's illness - we were saved from having to negotiate down to the minute where we were going for the holidays. We just didn't really go anywhere.
I'm glad that everyone is healthy this year (which I probably just jinxed so I am knocking on some wood - with my forehead) but honestly, it makes me a little sick to think of the upcoming argument. I just found out tonight that apparently my Brilliant Brother will be coming from Seattle for a visit so that throws a whole monkey wrench into things. My only saving grace is if I can convince Joey that we can invite his parents up to go eat Thanksgiving dinner at a fancy restaurant. We did that a few years ago and it was the most mercifully conflict-free Thanksgiving we've had in years. Plus I didn't have to put up with their asses for the whole weekend, which was a win-win...no in-laws, no dirty dishes. And thankfully, no naked father-in-law sightings.
*****
The other part of NaBloPoMo that I'm taking part in is 30 Days of Giving Thanks. Some of the things might be silly, some might be serious...but they'll be at the end of each daily post.
This year, most of all, I am so thankful for the health of my entire family. You are all amazing!
We survived Halloween. And when I say survived, I mean that we had a blast. We got together with a group of the Badasses and their assorted young 'uns and we hit the streets around 7 PM. I don't know whose idea it was to bring a wheeled cooler, but God bless them. I'm really not sure who had more fun - us or the kids. And no one was maimed during the making of Halloween 2007, so that was all good. Pictures will be forthcoming when I'm not too lazy to go outside and get my camera out of the car.
And with the advent of the first day of November comes two important events. First, The Birthday of The Monkey Man, which shall be celebrated in multiple parts culminating on the Day of His Birth, November 19th. Then the Great Thanksgiving Negotiations of 2007 will be commencing, probably this weekend.
I think it was Gretchen who referred to it as the Holiday Dance. Who goes where for what holiday. It's a topic that I generally avoid since it usually results in something akin to World War Three every few years or so. Things got so bad three years ago that Joey and I actually had to sit down and negotiate where we were going for what holidays, birthdays, and even down to Father's Day and Mother's Day. Last year, our whole holiday season was pretty much shot due to my dad's illness and Monkey Man's illness - we were saved from having to negotiate down to the minute where we were going for the holidays. We just didn't really go anywhere.
I'm glad that everyone is healthy this year (which I probably just jinxed so I am knocking on some wood - with my forehead) but honestly, it makes me a little sick to think of the upcoming argument. I just found out tonight that apparently my Brilliant Brother will be coming from Seattle for a visit so that throws a whole monkey wrench into things. My only saving grace is if I can convince Joey that we can invite his parents up to go eat Thanksgiving dinner at a fancy restaurant. We did that a few years ago and it was the most mercifully conflict-free Thanksgiving we've had in years. Plus I didn't have to put up with their asses for the whole weekend, which was a win-win...no in-laws, no dirty dishes. And thankfully, no naked father-in-law sightings.
*****
The other part of NaBloPoMo that I'm taking part in is 30 Days of Giving Thanks. Some of the things might be silly, some might be serious...but they'll be at the end of each daily post.
This year, most of all, I am so thankful for the health of my entire family. You are all amazing!
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