4 days

1-31-13

4 days of no yelling!

It is no wonder people go to the gym. When you are working out next to someone else, you find yourself working harder just so you don’t look like a slacker. I found this out yesterday when someone else was in the gym on the stair climber next to my trusty treadmill. She and I were both in our own little worlds; she listened to Spanish music while I got involved in my show Being Human. I found myself upping the speed at which I was walking just because I saw how intense she was rockin it. She was kicking ass! She is a skinny broad with like 4 kids. Clearly the reason she is in such good shape is due to these intensive workouts she was doing. I didn’t want to look like I wasn’t trying just as hard. I am almost hopeful that she is in there again today.

I tried coloring yesterday during the homework hour, but got bored. I think a lot of this had to do with the quality of the pencils I was using. They kept breaking and they were small to begin with so with each sharpening they were getting too tiny to maneuver. I opted instead to pull out a photo album that was partially put together. It was a wedding album that had things like napkins from the big day to copies of the invites. I actually used the little stickers and placed the items on the card stock included so that each page looked nice. I put together about 6 pages with the items I had there. It only took me 13 years to get to work on it. LOL!

We are in the process of teaching the boys to shower by themselves. For the most part, they do the bulk of it now. They know all of the steps, but making sure they do them all correctly is what needs to be done now. It will be nice to be able to just tell the boys to go take a shower without having to stop doing what I am working on.

I finished my book called Dark Places. Holy crap, so very good. It was written by the same author of Gone Girl and Sharp Objects. Both of those were quite good, but this one is my favorite of the three by far. Very satisfying ending with lots of amazing twists that all come together well. She is a very good writer and I am looking forward to more of her work. I don’t tend to like thrillers, but these had a nice drama element with good character development that I enjoyed.

The boys actually made me change back into the dress I wore to work yesterday because they wanted to see how it looked. I walked into the playroom where both of them gasped and Dax said in a hushed voice, “Wow, so pretty!” It is times like that where I actually feel good about myself.

I am looking at cars again. I really need to get rid of my PT. The gas mileage blows. I found an HHR through Hertz Car Sales which was pretty cool. Of course, it requires having money. LOL!

little bit of happy

1-30-13

Sleep is one of those things that can really improve one’s outlook.

Day three of the no yelling project is now complete. I am doing pretty well with this. The boys do seem to do things that I can feel myself wanting to yell at them for, but the angry hushed tones or even just simply telling them punishments that will doled out is clearly more effective. In fact, even arguments with Dax are less intense. He does still want to argue with me. Last night I asked him why he kept disagreeing with me to which he responded with, “I am not disagreeing with you!” Silly kid.

I have spent a great deal of time coloring the last couple days. Yes, you read that correct. Sandy had given the boys these kaleidoscope coloring sheets that I guess are supposed to be good for kids. Well, they have been nice for me since it allows me to work on something while in there that is ok to be interrupted, yet at the same time is something that makes it so I can let them do their work without too much interaction.

I also am trying hard to not fall into Bobby’s traps of me just doing his homework. Last night he had to write sentences. I know this kid is creative, but he can be lazy. He will pout when he can’t come up with a sentence for a word. Dax will fire off tons of ideas, but ultimately I know Bobby just wants me to come up with a sentence for him. So instead of me complying, I would ask him questions about the word, hoping that he would then come up with a sentence. Really, the one thing that gets him moving is incentive to go play. Granted, sometimes that just ends in tears, but either way, it does show results.

Tonight I have to help him with his biography report. Luckily it is set up in such a way that there are a lot of fill in the blanks of this worksheet. I think we should be good.

I really wish I could bring Luna to work with me.

Today I am going to try and take one of my happy baggies to the security guard that is always so nice to us when we ride past him to go to the grocery store. I have made 20 of these little bags and will hand them out to random people. They are my 20 random acts of kindness. They are not grand or filled with anything impressive. My hopes are that they will just bring a smile to people.

finding some Zen

1-28-13

It is amazing how much more calm I feel when my house is in order.

Friday was fantastic. I was able to walk the boys to school in the crisp and rainy morning. I then got home and set to work on the housework that needed to be tended to. I spent a great deal of time in the kitchen, mostly because it was where I could still listen to Kevin and Bean. It allowed me to not only clean the crap out of it, it also gave me a chance to organize the pantry! I was rockin it!

Once K&B was over, I migrated to the living room/entry way. That is truly the source of my stress since it has been in a bit of chaos due to the TV acquisition. I was unable to do as much as I would have liked, but mostly that was because I was waiting on Ken’s help with cutting one of the shelving units and I needed to know his plans for the Lego there. Despite these road blocks, I accomplished quite a bit and was all kinds of happy with me.

I also did a crap ton of laundry. I still don’t understand how so much laundry is created in our house. That being said, I actually don’t mind laundry. It is one of those tasks that is crazy easy and instant gratification in my book.  You get to take care of large piles of stuff in a snap!

The rest of the weekend was spent in a whirlwind of errands and cleaning. We got the shelf set up and in addition to that, managed to organize the new “entertainment unit” pretty well. Laundry was completed and playrooms were straightened. It was all kinds of happy making for me. I love being able to walk through the house without fear of smacking into some pile or stepping on some random cord that is out.

Yesterday afternoon I also made a pledge to myself that I would not yell the rest of the day. The boys have been in full testing mode lately. Nothing horrible when you really get right down to it, but I think tension and chores have started wearing on all of us. So I opted to no longer yell at them for the day. Sure, I would still possibly be upset with them, but yelling would not occur. Instead, I would calmly tell them what punishment was or tell them to not do something. Honestly, it was pretty damn cool. In fact, as cheesy as this sounds, I found my mood improved greatly when I made this pact. Sure, Dax had a crazy freak out right before bedtime when I needed to trim his toe nails, but even that didn’t go as badly in the idea of stress on me. I was pretty calm over all. He wasn’t, but I didn’t tell him he couldn’t yell. LOL!

This week is actually a basic week for us, which is thankful. Of course, this doesn’t factor in Saturday. Sigh. Ken and I have an epic AYSO meeting on Saturday which is from 8 to 2. Yeah, you read that right. The only plus is that I am going to drop of the kids Friday night at my mom’s and that will give us a night out. I think the current plan is to so see Hansel and Gretel-Witch Hunters. WOO! The meeting is a little of everything, including budget planning, setting the calendar for the year, and meeting with some vendors. It will be dull. It will be annoying. It will be 6 fucking hours. That being said, I will undoubtedly get the budget done the way I want it done, which will be helpful overall. I am enjoying my part in the idea of making changes that have to be adhered to.

I decided to introduce the kittens to catnip yesterday. Seriously, I clearly screwed up when they were feeling so lousy after surgery. This would have totally curbed any issues. Lucy in particular took to it like a full blown heroin addict. She went nuts over the stuff! It was actually quite cute and funny. All of the cats enjoyed some herbal refreshment and I was angry with myself for not busting out the nip more often.

We also fixed our bed. Holy crap that was a sore spot for us for a bit. We have one of those memory foam mattresses which has been awesome. The mattress had been losing some of its oompf so we got a memory foam mattress topper that we put on top of our existing one. It seemed like a good plan, except for the fact that the cover for these mattresses (which is just a giant bag) and the sliding top coat created this mountain in the bed. I was sleeping in a canyon on one side of the bed, which was incredibly uncomfortable and my back was paying for it. Ken came up with the idea of adding some felt fabric to make the top stick better, and we also flipped the mattress. Bed is all kinds of happy making again! YAY!

Now I have to begin prep for reports that take place tomorrow which leave me in an excel stupor for Tuesday.  

8

1-24-13

In one month my kid will be 8. Holy fuck.

The afternoon seemed uneventful overall. I am not complaining. It was just a nice day. We managed to complete homework and even got in a Target run. I also was spoiled with this fantastically adorable fox. I know I am not 7, but my heart doesn’t know that.

Today is a couple of meetings, both of which will be insanely lame. At least with one I get Subway, which is always a plus. It also tends to make a lot of my day go by quickly. Sadly, I was hoping for another day in which I could just sit at my desk and read. My latest book is The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman. I love autobiographies. Especially by comics.

Thanks to the rain, I felt like I had one of the best sleeps ever last night. The sound, the smell, and the perfect temperature allowed me to be all kinds of cozy. Seriously, this was the day I should have opted to take off. LOL!

That being said, I am considering taking tomorrow off. Dax has expressed interest in me taking them to school one day, and it would be a good day to do it. I could then spend some time on the house, which is in some need of tending. I can always call out sick, which is probably the easiest way to do it. Not sure yet. We shall see. Hell, I may just set up a timed email to go out tomorrow morning that says I will be out for the day. LOL!!!

My weekend looks to actually be pretty free, which is a nice change. The rain will certainly bum Dax out since for some reason he seems to think he isn’t allowed outside. My feeling is that he is a kid. This weekend even in the rain, he is more than welcome to run around out in the rain. Actually, I think I may force him to.

Mad as Hell

1-23-13

It seems bad to me that I get so giddy when then boss is out.

The public school system is broken. It is no longer about what we can teach our children in order to give them a leg up in life. It is now simply ways to eliminate free time and drill repetitive motions into them which only seem to produce frustration in both parents and children alike.

I am tired of it. I am tired of all of it. I hate having to stand over my children and practically beat them to get any work done. They are tired. They just spent a day doing more work in those 6 hours than I used to do in the same grade over the course of a week. Their work load is horrible. Don’t even get me started on the lack of physical education which is practically non-existent and they wonder why the kids are fat.

I just wrote an angry letter to the school board rep for our district. I then forwarded it his aides and then a shit ton of other people on the web site contact list. I want fucking answers. I want to know why my 7 year old has a report in which he has to go down to the fucking library and check out books yet it not allowed to utilize the current medium in which all people do their research. That’s right, he can’t use the internet to get information. Yet apparently it is no big deal to make families take their kids down to the library to get the materials. The fucking teachers should be taking them to the library in the school. She should be showing them how to look in the card catalog and find what they need. She should show them how to not just look for the person’s name, but maybe the subject. Instead, we have to add this lesson on top of the 2 hours a night of fucking homework. I am done with this shit.

I may need to go to the board meeting.

I am way too fired up for 6:50 in the morning. It is not good for anyone to piss me off this morning because I may go off on them. I just emailed another customer service rep on an account of mine and tore into them. I am ready to throw down.

Maybe I just need to lay off the caffeine.

My workout should be interesting if I am still this angry. Perhaps I should go early.

Go Obama!

1-22-13

My boobs are happy.

I left work yesterday and headed over to Cacique to accomplish one of the things I had wanted to do over the weekend. They were having a sale of buy 2 get 2 free for their entire selection of bras. For someone who needed more than one, this was excellent incentive. I was able to get 4 of them for $88, which I would say is a big win!

Ken and the boys were still at the dentist when I got home. I set to work on picking up the house a bit. I managed to straighten the bathroom and swept the living room. Ken had started the tedious task of bundling all of the various wires and cords that had accumulated on the shelf. He also came up with some good ways to change the shelving around to hopefully allow us less clutter and make for a decent entertainment unit. It is getting there.

Last night, I read a Little Golden Book of Lassie to the boys. Luna came in and actually seemed to listen to the story and curled up at my feet while I read. She normally just checks in on us every now and again during story time. Perhaps she too was interested in this remarkable collie.

Lucy seems 100 times better. I am quite thrilled! She was running around and seems back to herself, which is awesome. She has cleaned herself up pretty well with a bit of my help with some of the more stubborn areas. It is quite a relief to have her better.

I am sporting my new dress I got at the Pyramid Collection. I wore my tall boots with it and I feel kinda classy this morning. Undoubtedly I will get the questions, “where you going?” from everyone. LOL!

I have to say, I am quite proud of our president when he said this:

"Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law –- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," Obama said, going farther than ever before in support for gay marriage.

ride to the mall

1-21-13

Stupid holiday work schedule.

Dax was crying last night because he didn’t want me to have to go to work today. It is hard to comfort a child in that situation when you want very badly to just say, “Fuck it” and blow off work. Sadly, I have a benefits meeting that is mandatory this morning. Yeah, to add insult to injury, the company has decided to have a required meeting on the holiday they don’t give us off.

An extra day off would have been nice. I still have so much stuff that needs to be done. I have laundry, I have a still quite cluttered house and I still want to go bra shopping. Hopefully come this afternoon I can get some of the house stuff worked on. Ken is going to have Bobby do homework this morning so I won’t have to worry about that aspect. Plus, with them not home for some of the afternoon, I can get more things done.

On Saturday the boys and I rode up to Del Amo in the morning. It was a nice ride and they were shockingly happy about the whole thing. We met up with Stephanie and Sabrina for Build a Bearing awesomeness. Sabrina seemed a smidge overwhelmed, which is pretty normal when you first step foot into the magic that is a Build a Bear Workshop. She picked out a really cute pink kitty and a Merida costume which I gotta say was a better costume than the Halloween varieties I saw last year. The boys helped and they also picked out a couple of Star Wars costumes for JoJo and Carver who came along for fun.

After that, we went and had some lunch and wandered the mall a bit. The boys were a bit more crazed than normal, but overall they were ok. We had a lot of fun and found some nice bargains at the jewelry store that is closing due to the mall remodel. All in all, it was a very fun outing!

The ride home was nice. It was a little more hot out, but doable. We decided to swing by the soccer field where Ken just happened to be finishing up on the last game he was reffing. Apparently there were a couple of sightings of the boys and I on our ride, which is pretty funny to think that all these soccer folks recognize us.

When we arrived home, we found that Lucy and Brianna were still throwing up after eating breakfast. It seemed like another trip to the vet was in order. Thankfully the doc at the shelter did not find any evidence of an infection. He once again gave them fluids and an anti-nausea shot. Poor Lucy had pooed all over herself on the way to the doc, which sucked being that I had just bathed her that morning complete with a slight hair trim for some of the bad spots. I am happy to report, though that as of last night, they both seem so much better. Minimal vomit if any at all, and they both seem back to their old selves.

On Sunday morning, the boys and I went to my mom’s because I was to go through old photos looking for ones of Grammie. Her 80^th birthday is coming and there are plans for a surprise party in her honor. My mom was put in charge of some aspects, but mostly she is Phoebeing the hell out of this party.

Monica: All right, that's a little sketch of the cake, umm some sample menus, umm y'know what I thought we would start out with Tuscan style finger food, and for music, here's an alphabetized list of all my CDs! I've highlighted the ones that would go really good with the food.

Phoebe: What happened to the intimate dinner party?

Monica: Oh, we're not doing that. Okay…

Phoebe: So wow, it looks like you took care of everything. Thanks a lot, co-host.

Monica: What?! I didn't take care of everything, there's-there's plenty of things for you to do!

Phoebe: Like what?

Monica: (Thinks) Cups.

Phoebe: Cups? You're giving me cups?

Monica: And ice!

Phoebe: Cups and ice? Ooh, I get to be in charge of cups and ice? (Thinks of something) All right. Fine, okay, I will be in charge of cups and ice!

Monica: Wait a minute, I can get ice at the restaurant…

Phoebe: I got it! Mine!

(later)

Phoebe: (entering, carrying two garbage bags) Hey!

Ross and Chandler: Hi!

Phoebe: Is it okay if I leave this stuff here 'til Rachel's birthday party?

Chandler: Ah sure. What's in 'em?

Phoebe: Umm, cups.

Chandler: Oh good, because uh we got Rachel 800 gallons of water.

Ross: Seriously that's a lot of cups.

Phoebe: Yeah well, that's 'cause Monica put me in charge of cups and ice, and Monica is gonna rue the day that she put me in charge of cups and ice.

So with this in mind, my mother and I are putting together a lot of party favors and what not. I found a handful, but mostly we determined a lot of the pics are the ones we already organized and presented to Grammie several years back. Hopefully my aunt can track that down so we can utilize those as well. I did manage to scan in the ones we did find and my mom will be able to print out nice copies of all of those.

I also found several other random old pics I really enjoyed. I so don’t understand how people don’t like old pictures of themselves, even when they are bad. I think I like the bad pics of me the best!

The rest of Sunday was spent working on some of the clutter in the house. Ken had ordered a DVD book which was good for us to be able to put all of our movies in there instead of in a stack we had them in before. We also managed to remove the old tv. There is still a lot to do, but it is slowly coming together.

The boys played with their friends all afternoon. It was really cool. At one point there were 6 kids in our backyard playing in the leaves and running around having a blast. Later, Bobby and Jessie put together a show for us. Zach and Dax also put on a show, which I will say was a little more lively, but clearly much more improv.

We watched Homeward Bound while we ate dinner. I am such a freaking wuss! I love this flick, and always have. I always choke up at the end. I was crying before the first 10 minutes were up. Sheesh. Luckily, I could laugh about it and the boys also thought I was funny. Dax pointed out he has seen me cry at lots of stuff and he is used to it. I was just thrilled that they both enjoyed the flick. They have been watching Family Guy and things like that lately so for them to still enjoy a very G rated movie seemed good to me.

I just found out that Maryann is not coming in today since she is still sick. I guess that means I should get my ass in gear.

Bears

1-18-13

Anyone want to give me about $3K?

Really, that is the problem with going into an Apple store. You start calculating out what you need to get what you want. On the wish list is a new iTouch for me. Mine is starting to get tired. It is a few years old at this point and I would love an upgrade. Then I would like to get a couple of iPad minis for the boys. They seem to be a perfect size for their size. Of course, I also need a brand new iPad for Ken since his was stolen back in December. I don’t feel nearly as greedy since if you look at this list, the item I want for myself is the cheapest item. LOL!

I do love the Apple employees at those stores. They were all very helpful and polite. They took a look at my phone’s issue with the camera and I ended up leaving with a new phone, replaced with no issue. I am happy now since this has fixed the camera problems I was having which should make for much nicer shots with it. Thank goodness since I am sure people will be pleased to see more uploads of my dog in sunglasses.

The boys have their glow light dance party this morning. It was the only thing I wanted them to be able to do with the fundraiser madness last year. Thankfully it is happening. The other plus is that the time slot for 1^st and 2^nd grade is the same, which means the boys will get to attend together. It is all very exciting and fun. I know I don’t get to go, and I know that it will probably be pretty cheesy, but my heart wants it to be amazing for them.

They went to lunch with Mrs. Fasheh and crew yesterday and they all had a fantastic time. I love that they got to go. Dax told me that the lunch wasn’t good, it was great! Yay!

Lucy still is sick. She did eat some last night and this morning and didn’t need much coaxing. I also noticed the consistency of her poo was better this morning. Still loose, but better. Her vomit levels also seem to have diminished. She will need a good bath once all of this passes. That is the one issue with a long haired cat with anal leakage.

She has spent the last couple days in the bathroom so that no one messed with her food and to keep the mess isolated to keep track of it. This makes me then wonder who the hell spewed all over my shoes last night since they were not in her vicinity.

Tomorrow we are going with Sabrina for her first visit to Build a Bear. I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!!! My love for BAB is not a secret. It is one of my most favorite places, what with being a recovering stuffed animal-aholic. Dude, you get to make your own bear!!!!! My children (and myself) are proud owners of several of their products. I have one staring at me on my desk as I write this. So to be able to share a first visit with a kid to me is pretty damn magical. And it is Sabrina! I am so very happy to be a part of this.

Since we are just going to Del Amo, I have decided that the boys and I will ride our bikes there. I need to do a ride, so they will just have to suck it up and ride with me. LOL! I am hoping to hit up Cacique for some bras while there, but other than that, it isn’t like I will need gobs of room to bring home things, so bikes make sense. It is also going to be a gorgeous day out, and a ride will be good since I am sure we will partake in mall food for lunch. I am quite excited!

I am thinking this afternoon when I take the boys to my folks’ I am going to wear workout clothing so that I can utilize their treadmill while the boys play. An extra workout is always a good thing. I can go a little early and workout before my mom and dad even get there. Yay! 

Miss Lucy

1-17-13

No more medical stuff this week, please.

Ken told me yesterday morning that Lucy had been throwing up. This combined with her squirt poop was slightly alarming. She had come off of her pain meds from the spay the morning before and really had seemed ok until later that afternoon. Ken suggested we call the doc.

I got home from work to find her all kinds of chipper and seemingly ok. There had been no more vomit puddles and she seemed perky and alert. I felt a little better since perhaps it just meant she had a little sick and was feeling better.

I was wrong.

As the boys were working on homework, I noticed just how lethargic Lucy was. Here was a kitten, complete with her sister who was playing around near her, just looking like a rag doll. I was worried and made the decision that we should take her down to the shelter docs.

I worried that I was overreacting until she pooed. And I don’t mean like I watched her poop. No, this poor darlin had no control over her bowels. I was picking her up to put her in the carrier when simultaneously Dax announced that he smelled poop and I felt warmth down my side. She had crapped all over me. It was sad for her. I knew she wasn’t feeling well.

We rushed her down to the shelter for a re-check. They were incredibly sweet and nice down there. I have to say, I am super impressed with their upbeat attitudes considering just how many people come through that clinic each day. No sooner had I filled out the paperwork, Miss Lucy was back with the doctor, being checked on.

The vet told me that this sometimes happens after surgery. She gave her something oral to hopefully help with the vomit and gave her some subcutaneous fluids to hydrate her. She told me also to go ahead and put her on a bland diet for a couple days. Lucy didn’t seem to have much of an appetite issue, which is a good thing. She also was drinking regularly, which also is a good sign. It was now just letting her tummy rest after what is kind of traumatic work that gets done down in her girl parts. Shoot, I know I get all kinds of icky feeling during a period, so to have all that messed with is probably not exactly comfortable.

The vet also told me what a great patient Lucy is. I have to say, the girls truly are remarkable little kitties.

Lucy spent the night in the bathroom. She threw up a couple more times, so as the doc suggested, she was limited to water for the time being. Bobby was really bummed she wasn’t going to sleep with him (She always sleeps curled up with Bobby at night. That cat loves her boy.) so he made sure she had the pillow pet tiger the two of them share at night. Lucy was grateful for this and Ken said she was curled up asleep on it at one point.

Sadly, this adventure did put a damper on me doing anything useful around the house.

Today should be a little better. We have lots of things going on. The boys have a lunch date at school. At the Halloween carnival, one of Dax’s raffle tickets won him lunch with Mrs. Fasheh and a couple of the other teachers. He chose Bobby to go with him and I know a couple other students are going as well. They are all walking up to Louis Burgers at 12:30 for lunch, which they are both quite excited about. I love that they get to do this. Mrs. Fasheh is also quite excited since she adores the boys.

After school, we need to get through homework as quickly as possible as I have an appointment at the Genius Bar. My phone’s camera seems to have issues, and I really have needed to go there for some time. It looks like something is under the lens causing it to not be able to focus correct. Hopefully they can correct this issue.

We then have dinner plans at Hometown Buffet. We have a free meal coming to us that has to be used by the end of January, and since Thursdays are kids eat for $.99, it seemed like this was a decent plan, especially since we will be out an about.

This just means that I need to get through today at work. I also just realized I left the book I am reading at home, which annoys the shit out of me. I brought it home hoping I could read while there. Figures.

mice

1-16-13

The grays are winning. Time to wage battle.

The house is slowly getting back into order. I managed to put away a bunch of laundry and straighten some of the piles. Ken moved Hal’s habitat to his new shelf and put a lot of the electronics in place. I am trying hard to not whirlwind clean everything since that is how it all gets Monicaed.

We appear to have a mouse problem. Yeah, I know what you are thinking. How in the fuck does a house with 6 cats, 2 dogs and even a snake have any kind of “pest” problem? What is even funnier is that said mice don’t seem to even be making themselves pests. I have found droppings in multiple places, including on the counter top near the loaves of bread that have remained untouched. Random, right? They reside in our home and don’t seem to be making a nuisance of themselves. I know there are mice in the garage. We have found evidence of them out there in the form of half eaten bags of chips we stored out there. But the fact that they have not gotten into anything in the house itself makes no sense.

It does explain one incident that happened recently, though. Ken found Breezer wandering around with a dead mouse in her mouth. She was quite proud of it and we just assumed she had managed to get into the mouse tank that she watches endlessly. It now seems that she probably caught one of the visitors.

I like it when Bobby gets to draw for his homework. He drew this and it made me smile.