Not that you care...

I Heart Chris Isaak

2007-08-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I have a thing for Chris Isaak. It's been about 15 years or so which is basically the length of time that I've been old enough to have a thing for anyone. He's hot. Like super hot. He can sing, he can write, he's funny. Oh and did I mention that he's hot? And 51, which seems impossible. But age doesn't matter to me.

He hadn't been to KC in about 4 years. He was here last Saturday. The show was awesome. It was at the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's which seemed a little weird, but it was a great venue. We had 9th row tickets. We got there in time to buy a shirt and pic since we knew that he signs autographs after the show (and designs the shirts, btw.)

And a man kept looking at me funny. I noticed him a couple of times. Then he stops us and asks if we'd been to a show before. We say yes. He then asks if I'd be willing to go up on stage during a certain song with some other ladies from the audience and dance. Uh, HELL YEAH! And I don't even dance. But I didn't care. It's CHRIS FREAKING ISAAK!

So I proceeded to get up my liquid courage and went up and danced. It was awesome and a little mortifying. I didn't have a low cut dress on so I didn't get a chance to talk to him onstage. But whatever. He still loves me. And I'm the brunette on the left. You can see my arm. I'm glad you can't see my face or you'd all get a look at my stalker face, I'm sure.

Did I mention that I love Chris Isaak?

Tee hee hee

2007-07-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

I found these funny...

Sloan

Beckett

Harper

Now let's see if these work.

Opposites attract?

2007-07-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

I believe that opposites attract, but can they sustain? When you are first meeting someone, having things in common is nice, but sometimes it is the differences that are so intriguing. Sure it's nice to talk about hobbies you are both into, but maybe you are a techie-geek and she's an outgoing artist. That's exciting and fun and new.

But can two totally different people get married, have kids, lives, happiness?

I don't know.

My hubby and I are a lot alike in some ways and totally different in others. Lately, I've been feeling the differences a lot more. He's all of a sudden into motorcycles. I am not. I have no desire to ride one, own one, let my kids on one... None of that. He wants one. A lot. And I come off as the bitch for saying no. Uh, he already has a dangerous enough job, we don't have the money for it, and it just isn't practical right now. And yet, I am the bitch. I hate that. I did get him a training course for Father's Day which was a double gift. Not only did he get to learn to ride a bike, but he also got a whole weekend away from any chores and responsibilities.

And boats. I don't want a boat. I don't hate boats, but I don't love them either. I can sit in one and have just as good a time as the next guy, but I don't want to do it every weekend. Or even every month. Hubby does.

And that of course ties in with going to the lake, fishing, lake houses, camping. I am not that person. That is not my thing. And yet I am made to feel badly. Like I am crushing his hopes and dreams.

Well it isn't like I used to be outdoorsy, conned him into marrying me and then stopped being outdoorsy. I am not that kind of gal. Outdoorsy fun for me involves saltwater and sand and is about 2000 miles away.

I'd rather live on the West Coast where I used to. I bring it up every once in a while and it gets a chuckle.

I dream of writing a novel one day. That can be done while he is at the lake with other people that like it. But does that drive us apart? Can you have hobbies that are totally distinct and separate? When does it just become separate lives?

If my dreams and his dreams are mutually exclusive, what does that mean?

Parents

2007-06-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

I don't understand parents. I am one, and I understand me as much as I can. I don't understand MY parents. They are nuts.

My mom and I talk almost every day. She calls and then I call her back on my mobile with free long distance so she doesn't have a giant phone bill. But when we are in the same room, we are on edge. But I touched on that in a previous post.

My dad... Where to start? He was a complete workaholic when I was growing up. Rarely saw him. It was an every-other-weekend divorced dad thing. But he worked all day on Saturdays. Keep in mind, he was a white collar worker, no set hours, and he was pretty high up, so it wasn't like he was trying to impress. That was just how he was. He made very good money, but was tight with it. He never took us on trips or family vacations. His idea of vacation was taking us to Oklahoma to stay at our grandparents' house for a month in the summer. (His month per the divorce settlement.) Anyway, when I was in high school, he remarried and retired. At this point, I lived with him. So I went to school all day, worked from 3-11ish, then came home and did homework. I was 17 and the only person actually working.

Well, not sure how she did it, but his wife has been able to get him to loosen his grip on the almighty dollar. They take cruises, and travel internationally, and buy new cars all the time, and new furniture, and take little weekend trips to cute towns, and basically buy whatever they want.

And part of me is pissed. Why didn't he want to spend any of that on me? Or my brother? And now, my kids? We go visit once a year or so. He pays for meals and slips me some "travel" money, but it doesn't' feel the same.

Now that I have my own kids, I can't imagine not giving them certain things. Like the memories that come from taking a vacation together. We are not a rich family, maybe our vacation this year is a night at the Great Wolf Lodge which is just on the other side of town. But it's an event. It's fun, it's family, it's life.

I dream of taking everyone to Disney World. That's the ultimate kid destination. But for now, we'll settle for Worlds of Fun.

At least we are together. And having a blast.

That's how I want my family to be... though I am sure when they are my age, they too will not understand their parents.

Holy crap!

2007-06-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

I don't even know if anyone checks this anymore. It's been like 17 years since my last post. OK, not really, but might as well have been.

I had the baby... he's a boy. I think we are going to keep him. Though he did have surgery when he was 19 days old. That pissed me off. Well, scared me mostly. But he's fine now. Almost 3 months old. That's nuts.

I'm sure everyone that might actually read this already knows that info.

I love my kids. I get annoyed with them, don't get me wrong, but I love them. A lot. More than can even fit in my oddly shaped body. Sometimes it almost hurts, literally. And sometimes it makes me cry.

My oldest is an amazing little girl. And she's had to be on the back burner since her two brothers have been around. But she doesn't care generally. She helps me. All the time. She'll get a diaper or fix a snack. She'll keep her eyes on one while I tend to the other. She plays. With all her heart. She gets frustrated, don't we all? But 99 times out a hundred, there's no question that she's loving every minute of it. Yes, I get the eye roll or the "But I was just getting ready to...." But she comes through like a champ.

I love my kids.

It's a new year, and I am still lame

2007-01-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

We had the ultrasound. We did not find out gender. It is written on a piece of paper and sealed in an envelope. It is driving various friends and relatives nuts. I don't quite understand why. It isn't their baby. They have nothing to do in preparation. We have one of each already. Who cares all that much? I think hubby wanted to find out, but basically since the first few days after the scan, we haven't really thought about it.

What have we been thinking about? Christmas, duh! This was the best Christmas ever. The kids were Rockwellian. They had matching jammies that the elves brought to them on Christmas Eve (like they do every year) and were just happy and grateful and adorable. My big gift was a new video camera so the whole thing is on tape. Which is awesome because I really think Harper's days of believing in Santa are numbered. I hope to get at least one more year out of her, but it seems pretty doubtful. Though as amazing as she is as a big sister, I think I can count on her to keep the secret for the little ones.

As for the new little one, it's trying to kill me with heartburn and various kicks and jabs at inopportune moments. Like right in the bladder when I am almost asleep. But I'll love it anyway, I'm sure.

We have come up with zero names. We suck.

And hubby recently announced that he has training the last week of March at a location three hours away. If you know me, that means I will of course go into labor as soon as he arrives at said destination and deliver before he has a chance to get home. I was 8 days early with Harper and about 15 days early with Beckett. And Beckett was a pretty fast delivery. My OB even laughed and said I needed to tell him to skip the training or else he'd miss the birth of his child. I'm going with the OB on this one.

And speaking of OBs, I love mine so much that as of now, I have referred two friends to him. The first one has already delivered and loved him as much as I do. The second one hasn't seen him yet, but will love him for sure. So if you are looking to get knocked up and want an amazing OB, let me know.

And my delivery was at Menorah last time and will be there this time. Seriously, it is like a resort or something. They have menus to order from and the food is very good. You get two meals per room, so spouse or in my case once, Ashley, can have dinner with you. You tell them what you want to order and when to deliver. And if you forget, they give a nice little reminder call. I love that place too. Maybe they will let me stay a week or so this time instead of the 48 hours that insurance insists on. Bastards!

I am lame

2006-11-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

I was so good at the beginning to do regular posts. Now I'm just lazy.

But I think lots of folks get that way, right Ashley?

Our ultrasound is on December 6th. We still think we aren't going to find out gender. I just don't know if we will be able to stick with it when it's actually go time. I think I'll take an envelope and have the tech write it down then seal it. Though maybe that will make it even harder. Who knows. I just think it will be an amazing surprise to not know until it's born. Another plus, it will drive my mother-in-law insane. And we already have one of each so we aren't hoping for one or the other. Harper would like twin girls. I would not. I just want one and there seems to only be one heartbeat now so we should be good. When Harper refers to the baby, she calls it a he though. And Jim thinks it's a girl. What do they know? It isn't in their bodies. When asked if he wants a boy or a girl, Beckett's response is, "Gir!"

And the other complication to waiting is names. Names are so difficult. We like unusual, but not super weird. Though you all may think they are weird, we love the names we've picked. If we wait, we'll have to come up with a set for both genders. It's hard enough to agree on when you know. This may be impossible. With Harper, we had it picked out during the second trimester. With Beckett we finally agreed like a week before he was born. We are not good at agreeing on names.

So what are your ideas? Legit ones, not ha ha ones...

A few things that are irritating me today

2006-10-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

I hate being an authorized user. We have a couple of credit cards where I am an authorized user. So of course no one lets me make any sort of changes. My hubby does not handle anything financial or medical or bills or anything. I do it all. I track interest rates, I make sure we put money in savings, etc. So when I need to call to change the address or something that I am unable to do online, no one lets me since I am just the authorized user. That blows. Seriously. If I know every detail of the account and every detail of personal information, and I am the one that pays the damn bill. Let me update the address. Come on folks. I mean REALLY!

And waiting. I hate it. Especially if I've made an appointment, and even more so if that appointment was made three months ago. You've had three months notice that we are bringing my baby in today at 1:30 for a check up. Well hubby got the day off work and took the baby. Just called and said they are running late and it will be at least an hour. WHAT!?! It's hard to keep yourself entertained in a waiting room for an hour. Try it with a very inquisitive 15 month old that is missing his much needed afternoon nap. It blows. I know this because it blew three months ago when I waited for over an hour with a one year old that was missing a nap. When the baby was a week old, we went in for our week check up and waited.... 2 and a half hours!
I nurse my babies and am fine with that, however there were other little kids waiting and I didn't want to put other parents in an awkward position of explaining what I was doing. Finally they moved us in another room where I could nurse.
YES I am changing pediatricians. Yes I should have changed long ago. Usually I don't put up with that shit at all.
The kicker is they have started CHARGING for medical records. 25 freaking dollars for them. So I have two kids. These people are sadly mistaken if they think I will pay them $50 for medical records of my kids. Made at visits that my insurance and co-pay already paid them for. And if they give me any shit, I guess I could send them a bill for the dozen or so hours I've wasted sitting in their waiting room.
My last job billed my time at about $100 an hour. So it seems they will actually owe me a chunk of change.

Girls' Weekend a Bust

2006-10-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Girls' Weekend did not go as planned. First, Mandaray backed out due to a wedding or somesuch (nice excuse) and then there were two.
Then getting knocked up threw a kink in the girls' weekend. We had plans to drive up Friday, check into the hotel, get a little liquored, go to bed, sleep in, have a spa afternoon, eat a nice lunch, take a nap, go out to dinner, get liquored up again, and stay up talking and laughing. Well pregos can't do all that. So we changed it to driving up Saturday, having a spa afternoon, checking into the hotel, taking a nap, going out to dinner, staying up laughing, etc. Well the spa was closed that weekend. So now what?
We decided to forego Weston altogether and have a spa day here in town. After calling all over the place we found a salon that could fit us both in for haircuts, manicures, pedicures, facials, and massages. We would be seated next to each other for all services except the facials and massages. It was going to be great.
We met for a so so lunch and headed over. Things went downhill from there. I got in for my haircut, Ashley had to wait. Then she got started on hers and I was onto my manicure. We were at the manicure tables together for about 5 minutes, then I was off to my pedicure. Her manicure was finally done and I was off to my facial (which by the way was the best part) while she had a massage. Then she had a facial while I had a massage. Then I sat next to her while she got a pedicure. And last but not least, I got a second haircut since the she mullet I received earlier wasn't doing it for me. So I had two really bad haircuts and no time with my friend.
And the greatest part was.... they offered Ashley 20% off for her inconvenience. Me? They offered nothing.
When it was time to check out the manager told me to walk away while she asked Ashley something. Turned out she offered her 20% off or 10% off for each of us. Ashley being the kind soul that she is told her to give us both the 10% off which she did.
Uh wait... why do they feel Ashley was put out but not me? And why in the hell wouldn't we both get 20% off?
Girls' Weekend, scratch that, Girls' Day 2006 blew.
Here's hoping the next one works out a little better.

Yikes!

2006-09-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yes it's been a while. Too long. I know. I lose folks when I don't blog often enough. I'm sorry. Please come back to me.
Well in case you didn't know already, I've been a little busy lately. With what? Morning sickness, adjusting to the idea that we have a third on the way, and taking care of the two we've already birthed.
Yes, that's right. We are pregnant. I say we, but really it's just me. I mean, hubby helped, but I do all the work from here on out.
Yes it was a happy surprise. We weren't exactly trying, but we weren't exactly preventing either (thanks for the phrase, Ashley).
So now I know that there is one last Manley on the way. I am going to do my best to enjoy as much as I can, but it's hard while feeling like you want to puke. Morning sickness, my ass. It's morning, afternoon, evening, late night, middle of the night. All the time. And out of nowhere.
Certain foods grip me and need to be eaten. Queso dip was one. Garozzo's salad was another. Yet when they finally get in front of me. Ughhh. Not always so good. But I weather on.
And I will have one that is 1 year and 9 months old with the new edition arrives. I feel a little guilty about that. Maybe I am screwing Beck out of being the baby. Maybe he will resent me for it. Maybe he won't care. But Harper got to be the baby for almost 6 years. Beck won't even get two. Being the hormonal mess that I am, I get choked up about it if I think too much on it. I feel sad for Beck and a little for me. But I am excited.
It's strange how something can cause such opposite emotions at the same time.
So there it is for now. I am sure that most posts over the next 7 months will be on the same topic.
Estimated arrival: April 21st, but I always go into labor a week or two early.

Oh and now I want opinions...
We are toying with the idea of not finding out the gender until the birth. We have one of each so it isn't like we are hoping one way or the other. And this will be our last chance to be surprised in this particular way. What do you think? We did find out with both of our others.

And also, names. We agonize over this every time. I LOVE the names we ultimately choose, though I am sure others think they are too... something. So we are looking for name ideas. And a prenatal nickname. Ashley called Beckett Stanley and it stuck through the whole pregnancy. She even came up with it long before we knew we were having a boy. So we need something to call this one in utero, and then legitimate names for the birth certificate.

MySpace

2006-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Even though I registered quite some time ago, I've only just recently used MySpace http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=68758683 . My friend Ashley sucked me in. I customized my wallpaper, added some tunes, filled in the profile, uploaded pics for a slideshow and found some friends. For the first few days I was obsessed with adding friends so as not to appear like a loser. Now I'm up to 20+ so I feel pretty good about it. Even had a few comments. Haven't linked to the blog yet in case someone I don't want to read it happens across me on MySpace.
Anyway, now I am getting random requests to add friends or emails from total strangers.

April ( http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=56212100 ) would like to be added and emailed the following:

Hey there, I created my myspace because I heard it was a great way to get in touch with people. While i was randomly browsing profiles, I came across yours. I know you don't know me ... but I am gathering info for a consumer report project. I need to know who is favored between Coke and Pepsi. And this is what I was hoping you would help with. Because I appreciate your time just reading this, I found a $100 gift card and though I'd share to thank you for your help!! Click Here to Vote again THANKS! And don't be shy if you have any thoughts on why Coke lost their edge, that is basically the topic of the report.

Uh what?

And Valentina's Passion ( http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=54411330&MyToken=7b0f2237-aaad-4933-806f-4edc34f15e7b) didn't request to be added but emailed and wants to know:

Hello! Would you be interested in hosting a sensual products party or a spa party? Valentina

Really? Is that the type of thing you ask someone you don't know? Has this approach worked for her in the past? Do you really want to come to the house of a person that would agree to host such a party via email?

I cried at the dentist's office

2006-08-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've never been afraid of the dentist. I've had fillings, a root canal, and some uncomfortable scraping of the tartar, but no anxiety over it.
Things change.
I have become a freaking baby.
A few years ago I went for some rather extensive dental work. It was shortly before I went back to work after having my first child. So there was a time constraint. I needed the work done before I started the job as I was pretty sure a Slingblade-toothed receptionist wouldn't have gone over very well with the new employer.
Anyway, I also didn't have dental insurance and picked some guy that was close-ish to my house. He had to be related to Dr. Mengele. He will heretofore be know as Craisan, (pronounced Asian with a CR on the front, as in a Crazy Asian.)
So the Craisan didn't really believe in numbing gums or deadening any areas before drilling my teeth down. He also seemingly didn't believe in matching crowns to the other teeth around them. So I ended up with a new fear of dentists and a really bad crown and bridge set.
Well I've been to the dentist (not the Craisan) a time or two since then (no, I am not religious about every 6 months), but for whatever reason, I now have an irrational fear of actual dental work.
The new dentist was a very nice woman. Her hygienist was very nice. They were as gentle as one can be when using that weird pick to get into awkward mouth areas and remove gross shit. But I had tears. At first just one squeezed out, but then when they asked me if I was alright, I freaking lost it. Not heaves or anything, but lots of tears that wouldn't really stop.
And I have a cavity. So I need to go back for a filling. I half-jokingly asked if I could be put under for it, but was not jokingly told no.

And just for the record, I did tell them that I have this irrational fear before they started in on me.

Also for the record, I have nothing against Asians in general, just this one. And it is for descriptionary purposes only.

How long do you hold?

2006-08-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

I am attempting to make a dental appointment for my daughter. We have to change dentists as our insurance doesn't cover the other guy, of course. My daughter really likes the old one. She even looks forward to the dentist. That is how good he was. For the last couple of visits, I took her to him even though we paid out of pocket. That isn't really feasible anymore.
Anyway, I look up who is covered and close. I call. The man that answers asks if I am an existing patient and what insurance we have.
I answer.
He tells me to hold on.
I hold.
And I hold. And I am typing this post while holding.
I am getting ready to hang up and find someone else.
He picks back up and apologizes profusely.
He gets my daughter in today at 1 to fill a cancelled appointment.
It was 12 minutes and 6 seconds that I waited.
I am on the fence. We'll see how well the dentist interacts with a child to determine if we ever go back.
I am not a fan of bad customer service or relations or whatever you want to call it, but I also used to answer phones for a living and received way more calls than a dental office. I know things happen and you forget someone or the calls are pouring in and you can't answer fast enough.
But still.
That is 12 minutes and 6 seconds I will never get back.

I think I just wet my pants

2006-08-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.lokiltd.com/vid_35_hi.htm

This is funny and has bad words so don't play it loud at work.
Nothing like a little Reservoir Dogs re-enactment to kick off your weekend.
ESPECIALLY from this group...

Making things happen

2006-08-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you remember from a previous post that one of the things I want to do is have a girls' weekend. Something where we get away from men and children and drink wine and play games and go out to dinner and just do things that are to refresh, relax, and re-energize ourselves.
Well hot damn! I'm doing it.
This fall a couple of my girlfriends and I are going to spend a weekend in Weston, MO. Why Weston? Why not? It is far enough away that we will be out of town, but not too far on the off chance that something happens to one of our kids.
We are having a blast preparing. Ashley is making a spreadsheet of all the B & Bs and hotels in the area (because what self-respecting media gal doesn't make a spreadsheet while planning an escape?) , and I keep searching around online seeing the different restaurants and bars they have. We may even go the weekend of the Apple Fest. Not sure what that means, and don't really care. And I think that Ashley is as excited as I am which helps fuel the fire.
I am so glad that we are doing this. I already feel a little pepped up from my recent funk. Now I just have to wait 2 months before we actually go. I am sure my husband will be really tired of hearing about it by then.
So I can now mark off number 15 from my list.

One more picture

2006-07-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

We had his one year pictures taken at Portrait Innovations.

http://www.portraitinnovations.com/

Of the 50 pictures they took, 45 of them were perfect.

My baby's growing up

2006-07-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

My baby turned one last Friday. I can hardly believe it. How does that happen? That they grow up so fast. I mean there are all those night feedings and crying jags when they are little where an hour can feel like a month and then POOF! It's gone. He walks, he smiles, he waves, he says a few words, he dances. He's growing up too fast.

And seeing as how he is probably my last, I want time to stand still for just a little while longer.

Search for meaning

2006-07-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been feeling restless. I don't know if it is the heat or the middle of summer or what, but I've been feeling somewhat lost.
I feel at times that I lead a meaningless life. That I used to just work, come home, take care of the family and the house, go to bed, and do it all over again. Now I feel like I am doing the same thing only without having a job. I do what needs to get done, but don't feel like that is enough.
My husband thinks I'll get over it. I think I need to make a change of some sort. I've toyed with going back to work, but there isn't anything that I think I would feel good about doing. Plus it involves the hassle of finding qualified, reliable, decent child care.
So then I've been thinking about doing some sort of volunteering. I've always wanted to teach adult literacy. The problem with that is they need a reliable commitment. Hubby's job isn't 8-5 and is totally unpredictable. Our babysitter list consists of my mother-in-law and she doesn't like the sound of a baby crying but doesn't watch the baby enough for him to be comfortable enough to not cry. Other volunteer ideas I've wanted to do were helping with mentally challenged folks in some capacity or at a hospice. I've had some experience with both fields and think I would make a real contribution, though again I can't commit any specific times and that isn't fair to them.
Last night, I was watching CBS Sunday Morning
(DVRed from earlier) and there was a story about a man that donated a kidney to a stranger.
I thought, "I could do that." I told hubby we should donate organs, he said he was saving his in case on of the kids needed it. Keep in mind, our children have been and are perfectly healthy and hopefully will continue that way.
I know that is pretty drastic, but I am really giving it serious consideration.
What do you think?
And what do you do to give more meaning?
Or is this really all there is?

http://matchingdonors.com/life/index.cfm

I suck

2006-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

I was really trying to stay on top of things and have at least a few posts each week. I mean, once a day proved too much to handle. And one every couple of weeks is just rude.
Perhaps my last post about being on top of things just ended up jinxing me.
Anyway, my question today is, when someone dials your number, home, work, cell, whatever and they don't mean to be calling YOU (as in they misdialed OR were given an incorrect number), why are they always pissed at you? I mean they screwed it up or someone thought they were such a loser that they lied about their number. But you? All you did was answer the phone when it rang. How is that cause for rudeness?
I mean, I am always polite. I say "I think you must have the wrong number." Yet, often, they question me. They ask me what my number is. Uh, you just called it. You know it. Or they ask a couple of times for the name of the person whom I just told them doesn't live here.
I am pretty sure I know who lives in my house. And I am certain that I know my own cell phone.

On top of things

2006-06-29T09:47:00.001-07:00

These are a few things that make me feel like I am on top of things.

1. nails freshly painted, finger and toe
2. car washed and full tank of gas
3. check book balanced and up to date and bills paid
4. freshly showered
5. clean sheets and bed made
6. caught up on laundry and all put away
7. having extras of things in the closet like toilet paper, baby wipes, cleaning supplies, etc.
8. all emails replied to and a clean inbox
9. watching Netflix movies in a timely manner
10. lists, lots and lots of lists

and of course, having a fresh post on my blog.

What are some things that make you all feel like you have yourself together?

Water, water everywhere

2006-06-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've lived in this house for 7 months and have yet to receive a water bill. I called before we moved in. I called again a couple of months later, and I called again yesterday. The woman asked if construction was complete. Well, yes. Then she said someone would have to call me back. So I get a call back to schedule someone to come out to install a water meter. Uh, I've had water since I moved in. I've used it. A crapload of it. I mean we watered the sod a ton when we moved in and have been watering a ton lately in hopes of keeping it alive. We've all bathed and showered quite a few times in the last 7 months, not to mention the laundry and dishes we've washed.
So will I now get a bill for 17 million dollars for the last seven months or did we inadvertently steal 7 months worth of high water usage?

Over the top

2006-06-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

My daughter, H, has received yet another birthday party invitation. Now I do not begrudge the children for aging (though sometimes I wish they wouldn't, but that really only applies to my own), I am a little overwhelmed by the parties themselves. H has been invited to parties at the bowling alley, Build-a-bear, Libby Liu's, and twice at Paradise Park.
Rumor has it that at least a couple of those cost around $25 per child. WHAT?!? These kids are 6. Why would parents spend hundreds of dollars to have a party for children that would be just as entertained with some construction paper and paint? I don't get it. At all.
I have never had a party at a location unless you count my backyard. I can't imagine spending that much on a birthday party. It's insane. And wasteful. And I don't think it teaches a good lesson. You don't need to buy friends. You don't need to structure activity for little ones. They can make their own fun. And should be encouraged to do so.
But if you are looking for a place to rent, I have a great back yard for a small fee.

Things I love

2006-06-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

the IKEA catalog
getting packages in the mail, even if they are things that I ordered for myself
getting a roll of film developed, the anticipation and surprise, unlike digital where you know exactly what you are getting
going to the bookstore and buying an armload of books and magazines
taking long, slow, bubble baths without interruption
going to the beach (a lot harder to accomplish living in KC than when living in SoCal)
people complimenting my kids (makes me feel like I am doing something right)
going out once in a blue moon getting shit faced with friends and staying out really late
emails
finding money I misplaced or had forgotten in a pocket or while balancing my checkbook
a pair of pants that fit well, and underpants too for that matter
handwritten letters, especially with no reason other than to say hi and I'm being thought of
laughing out loud, really loud because something is so funny
starting a new book that turns out to be really great
a pedicure
a great haircut
finishing a project, especially one that was harder than anticipated or that was a long time coming
a new calendar
the smell of a freshly washed baby
the Sunday paper and having time to read it
the smell of laundry right out of the dryer
babies that take naps
when a stranger does something really nice for me
looking at old photos of my parents, grandparents, etc when they were young and thinking about what their dreams were and where they thought life would take them
planning things, vacations, gardens, parties, anything

I'm back

2006-06-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

I am home. Finally. For at least a little while.
We went to St. Louis over Memorial Day weekend to visit my mom. Stayed for four days. Came home for two and then went to Davis, Oklahoma for three more to visit my dad, his wife, and my grandmother.
I do not love travelling. I love getting somewhere. But the actual journey isn't that fun for me. And maybe that is just because I travel with my kids. Maybe it is fun with your buddies. I don't know.
But in the few short days that we were gone, here is what we did:
St. Louis - Zoo, Butterfly House, Grant's Farm, Magic House, and a few restuarants. Oh and Harper and my mother went to a movie. Hubby and I unloaded assemble yourself bookshelves that weighed about 300 pounds and carried them up forty-eleven stairs and assembled them.
Davis- Chickasaw National Park, Natural History Museum in Norman (T. Rex Sue was visiting) and a few restaurants.
We are glad to be home. My eldest started her summer program which lasts a month. And my youngest was kind enough to sleep in until 7:30 then fell asleep in his high chair at 8:30. I put him down for a nap at 8:45 and he is still sleeping. Must be rough to sit in a carseat for a total of about 30 hours over 10 days.

Hiatus

2006-05-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just letting all you loyal followers know that I am taking a brief hiatus from blogging while doing a little obligatory traveling to see family. I will be back with stories-a-plenty on June 5th.