10-26-09
My relaxing weekend didn’t seem quite so relaxing.
Friday night was mellow. Ken and I watched Observe and Report. I think we will give it a thumbs down if only mostly due to pace. It just was such a slow film, which was a shame. It had gobs of potential. Great cast, and some very funny parts. But over all, it was long and drawn out, with certain scenes that just seemed pointless. There was one part that I was sure would be one where it was bad, but came back around to being good, but instead, I actually almost had to leave the room because it was so annoying to me.
Saturday was supposed to be chores and just hanging out. Instead, at around 9 am I got a phone call. It was Dani! I assumed that it was just a catch up call since we don’t get to talk much since she moved to Texas. Instead, she tells me she is in Orange County. She was in California! She was in the midst of a Scentsy convention.
Let me explain. She sells these Scentsy candles. It started off as a hobby for a few exta bucks. A year later, she is some kind of a director and travels a bunch to these home conventions. She is quite happy and I am proud of her.
She was at the OC Fair Grounds and wanted to know if I could come by just to say hello. Of course! I think the last time I probably saw her was the day Dax was born. She had come to visit me in the hospital. She was moving very soon after, and with her family mostly out that way, she doesn’t come into town much. And let’s face it, I don’t really get out to Texas much. LOL!
I told Ken the scoop and he gladly (that is why my man rocks) helped me change our plans to be able to get out there. We headed out after nap time. We had a quick stop at a Target (What, we hadn’t been in a whole week!). and got there around 3. We went and found her first. The boys were antsy since we walked past the fairgrounds which included a giant bouncer and other fun things. I assured them we were going to go in afterwards. We headed over to the home show and found her booth. I was glad to be able to see her. We chit chatted a bit about her product (it is actually quite cool, and I am considering getting a couple) and about the kids and some basic stuff. Obviously she was working so it was tough to talk for too long. But it didn’t really matter since we got in quite a bit because we have known each other for so long.
I did tell her to be on FB more than just on farms, and she said she would try. The boys were getting bored. In fact, Ken snapped a pic of Dani and I chatting and only later that night did I notice in the bottom of the pic, a shot of the boys in a wrestling match where Bobby looks like he is about to kill Dax. Of course, Dax is cracking up, so you know it was them in full little boy mode, but still funny.
We said our goodbyes and headed towards the aquarium show which was next door. The boys loved seeing the 10000 Nemo’s and a handful of Dory’s. We also came upon a bug lady. She had gobs of tanks with spiders, cockroaches, beetles, etc. The boys were thrilled. Mommy? Not so much. One lady pointed out these ginourmous flying cockroaches, and I convulsed. The bug lady was great, though. She started asking me questions about what part of the bugs creeped me out. She started talking me through it a bit. Then, she started praising me for being so good about my fear with the boys. I had been pointing out all the bugs, despite how freaked out I was, to the boys, telling them how cool they were. She said that was great and called me a wonderful mommy. You know how that makes me feel. It was like giving me some crack. At this point, she started talking to other people, including Ken. Ken and her actually determined she might be an excellent part of Ken’s after school programs. They talked for a bit and then Ken joined me and the boys. She was quite excited when she realized the 4 of us were together.
It was time to get to the fairgrounds. At the very least, the boys were starving. We walked over there only to see them taking down the thing. It was 4, and I guess that was when they closed. There were still some of the swap meet shops, and the boys got a couple of toy motorcycles, but we did determine we needed to come back at some point soon. Or at the very least, hit up some swap meets local.
We went over to the BK that was down the street. We had planned on going to Denny’s (Kids eat free!) but the BK next door caught their eye because of the playground. We had tormented them by dragging them to OC, it was the least we could do to take them there.
Bobby is clearly interested in being an older kid. There were these three in there, and he gravitated towards them. He even asked them if he could play with them. Their game was a crude kickboxing game, that Ken and I quickly told Bobby he would not be playing in. It did make me realize preschool will be very good for him. Although he adores Dax, he needs to be his own person, too.
Sunday was more mellow. Sure, we bowled, but the rest of the day was mostly hanging out at home. The boys and dogs played outside. I still can’t get over how odd it is to write dogs instead of dog. LOL! Ken worked on the sprinklers. He is moving some of them and putting in more efficient ones. Of course, this meant there was dirt, wet and mud. Luna, whom I had just given a bath to, was pretty filthy. I am not used to having a dog who isn’t a duck. Lycos has fur that repels dirt. It helps she is black, but her fur also dries instantly. Luna, not so much.
In the afternoon, we headed out to get some boxes for Ken’s Lego, and also stopped by the Cotton Shop. We spent a considerable amount of time there, looking at fabrics and patterns. We found one pattern for a skirt for me. We also found a Tin Man costume pattern. We did not get the Tin Man makings only because it would have cost about $50, and we would not have it in time for Halloween. Plus, we figure let’s give Bobby a little more time to determine if his Tin Man obsession will go away.
The uber cute lady at the Cotton Shop who helped us was in awe of the fact that I have a husband wanting and willing to make me clothing. She was quite jealous. She also complimented my kids. Dude, I could stay in there all day!
Starting this week, I think I need to start doing more corrections with Luna on our walks. For now, we have basically had the boys going at their own pace with scooters, Lycos running on her leash more, and Luna pulling with all of her might to keep up. I have not used the choke chain too much yet. I have corrected her just on the leash and she does seem to listen, if only for a few minutes. But that is a start. She just loves being with us on the walks. The boys love their scooters so much. Lycos is thrilled, too, since she gets to do these outings. The boys actually have both lost a couple pounds (which is probably due to walking). The plan is for walks nightly, or at least most nights. Otherwise, we just play in the yard, which gets everyone tired.
My week looks like it should be busy. Wednesday is Bobby’s speech and language interview. Saturday is Halloween. Crazy! I don’t know what the plan is for Halloween, yet. I know trick or treating is in order. We will go through the whole neighborhood. We have a wagon, so I think we will be fine. I don’t think we will bring Lycos, but we may bring Luna just because she might be scared at home, and it will be good socializing for her. My parents are coming too (no hiding the dog, then), so I think there will be plenty of folks watching the boys.
I am considering doing the Wilson Park Fair. Since I think it starts at like 4, we might go there first, spend like an hour or so there, then come back home and do the neighborhood rounds. Crap, I just looked it up. It costs $5 to get in? Lame. Then again, maybe you don’t have to pay for some of the other things in there now. And I just read more, the parents don’t have to pay. It is $5 for the kids and they get a wrist band. Dude, I bet they can then play unlimited games. Cool. So I think that is a plan.
I will probably dress up for work on Thursday, but of course, the first year I have no real crazy costume people here so in theory I could win a costume contest, I have a weak sauce costume. It isn’t really a character or anything. Just my own crazy in my head. Well, I guess I will just have to rock what I have and go from there.
I have been uber clumsy the last 2 days. Yesterday, I managed to bang into the screen door not once, but twice. And hard, too. I don’t know what I was doing. Door was open, I smacked my arm into the side of it and it still hurts. The second time I actually cried a bit. Mostly that was frustration. Then this morning, walking out to my car, I tripped in a hole. Right to the ground on that one. Ouch. I was not thrilled. On the plus side with that, no one saw me do that.
Today will be slow at work. I should set up my reports. I don’t think I have done that yet. Tomorrow is my busy day, filled with reports.
This upcoming weekend will also allow me to get a new bra. I think on Sunday we will head out to the mall so I can get a couple of new bras. The ones I have barely have any support left. I figure we will need to hit up the Halloween sales (Target usually has 50% off things, and I want to pick up those towels if they still have them) and Ken can probably keep the boys entertained in the mall for a few minutes while I pick up what I need. Then again, he may just send me out on my own to do the shopping. I never know what to do with myself when I am shopping alone. Perhaps I should try it. It is good practice in general.
I really wish I knew how to sew, or that we had more time. There were lots of cool fabrics I saw that I wanted to make things out of. The fleece they had would make such cute little comforters for the boys. Especially when it is cold out in the winter, they love having lots of blankets, and if I made a couple from some of the material I saw there, they would be so freaking cozy! And then just all the fun patterns and things. I have no artistic ability when it comes to this stuff, but I just feel like I want to do something! But I think I will stick with the things I do know how to do.
Ken backed up my computer, and got me an external hard drive. It means I can start scanning more pics. Woo hoo! We are still trying to organize the desk. I even entertained thoughts of making the boys share a room so we would have a room for all of Ken’s Lego stuff. But what it boils down to is just we need to get rid of a couple things, and then it will be better. Ken got some boxes for Lego, and I may have him go get a couple more so I can box up books. Then I can get rid of those shelves once and for all. Plus, I think we need to consider using one of the little shed containers as a place for the boys’ scooters and eventually bikes. They are in the entry way for now, and this is a poor place for them. So over this week, my plan is to work on things. Not that I have any idea where these boxes of books can go. Maybe just under our bed. There is nothing under there right now, and it seems like a good place for simple boxes. Hmmm….had not considered the under the bed. I am inspired! I just need to see if the paper boxes we have fit under there. Of course, I could also buy the under the bed boxes. I see Target.com has a set of 5 for $70, which isn’t too bad. I just don’t want to spend $70. LOL!
We cut the boys’ hair. Not much. Dax needed a trim. His hair was getting so tangled. He fought it at first, more out of fear of pain. But once we showed him it didn’t hurt, he was on board. He had been complaining about his hair in his eyes. I may still need to do his bangs this afternoon since it will be dry then, but for now, his back won’t be as unruly to comb in the morning.
Bobby’s hair has been a bitch to brush. We did take off a couple inches. He still has long hair, but even he seemed totally ok with this trim. He hates the pain of brushing in the morning. I had been braiding his hair nightly so the morning brush is easy. But with this new cut, I don’t think that you can put it back as easily. We will see how it feels this morning. His slightly shorted hair will also make putting on his mask easier since the elastic was getting tangled in there.
My office is all stuffy and warm today. I hate this time of the year in my office. Give it another month and it will be fine, but when the weather is not sure if it wants to be hot or cold, the office has similar issues, going the way opposite extreme from what the outside temperature is. So when it is freezing out in the morning, it is freakishly hot at my desk. We have always had temperature issues in here, and technically I now have a fan and a heater, with no one sharing my circuit so I don’t even need to run the extension cord. But the other real problem with our thermostat is that it doesn’t know how to stay on one constant temperature. Even as I am typing this, I noticed that the air kicked on and the hot is transforming to cold. They say to wear layers in the fall, and let me tell you, you have to wear layers all year long here. I actually have a jacket that I keep at my desk just in case.
Audit time at work, apparently. I am always in this loop because I am the one who can create the reports needed quickly. There is someone else here who could do it, but they like to have me do it for some reason. I should take it as a compliment, I guess. The boss is not very efficient in how he doles out responsibility on these audits. For instance, they tend to need copies of a handful of invoices. Instead of just having one person print them all out, they make the list, figure out which rep handles the account, and then has them print them. What a waste of time? I just volunteered to the girl who makes these arrangements to go ahead and be the point person to get copies so she doesn’t have to wait on everyone. Sure, there may be some data the reps need to supply, but why have them do the mundane stuff? To some degree, there really should only be one person in the dept handling auditing correspondence. Instead, they have all of us somewhat involved. I get first wave only because I am the report girl. But the two other folks, they act like they are all important for doing this audit, despite doing very little. Very frustrating. I am not suggesting I should do it, mind you. I just think that it would make more sense to put one person in charge. And really, one of the people they have in semi charge is an idiot. She can’t keep up with her own stuff, let alone a new project. Plus, she will just strut around like she is queen bee, and man it is annoying!
Luna tried to assert some authority on Saturday. She got snippy with me when I had told her no to her biting. She growled a bit, flashed some teeth. I growled back and pinned her down for a moment. She quickly realized that she had made a mistake with alpha dog. She has calmed down significantly since then. She seems to have also figured out that Lycos is top dog in the house, and bows to her accordingly. Lycos has been much more patient with her. I don’t think I will need to do any full on dominance training with her. She seems to mellow to need too much. I didn’t mind her actually challenging me, either. Let’s face it, we have a lot of heads on our totem pole. She just wanted to see who was top. She respects Dax to no end. That kid has her number. She adores the shit out of him and even with Bobby, she has been less mouthy. I wonder how long that phase lasts. Hopefully not too long. Once she calms a bit on that, I think the boys will enjoy her even more. Luna seems pretty happy with Ken and I. When we sit in the living room, she often will sit at my feet, head resting on my foot, with the occasional licking of my feet. Very sweet. The next adventures we need to take with her are all socializing. She is a little small for dog park, but I think once we enroll in a puppy class, she will be quite happy.
My tacos are too spicy for my kids. Such a shame. I would have so thought they would be less upset about that. Especially since they say kids are more inclined to ear spicy when the mom while preggers is eating spicy. But who knows. I also have blanded them down a bunch with kid friendly food. On the plus side, they can’t get enough of their fruit these days. I may need to make some new recipes. Rice is going to make an appearance, and maybe some kind of roast beef.
Do you ever get the feeling like you give the world’s worst advice on things and that you must be horribly out of touch with other people? I have several analogies concerning Carla and Scrubs that come to mind, but they are too complicated to spell out. All I know is, I think I need to not offer advice anymore.
A few years back, I made the conscious effort to no longer say “Bye Bye” when I hang up with someone. A simple “bye” was ok. The double seemed so childish and almost condescending when said wrong. It was unprofessional to say it twice. Since that time, I am amazed at how many people say it, and how hard it truly is to not. I have mostly trained myself not to, but there are times, especially when you know a customer well, that you don’t end the call with a “Ok, bye bye!” It must not be that unprofessional when I have heard managers, presidents and every Tom Dick and Harry use the phrase. I now wonder if the singular goodbye is actually colder and rude.
If these skirts work out well, and Ken enjoys working on them, I am thinking I may need to get one of the catalogs of dresses and maybe have him make me a full on dress!
It cracks me up when Ken’s mom sends me jokes in email that have a slightly sexual nature.
Why can’t they design lollipops that don’t stain your tongue the color of the flavor?
I have been jonzing for a new parents magazine. It is always so happy making. I know. I am weird.
No comments:
Post a Comment