Wwwoooooooooooossssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Don't look now but February is practically over. When the heck did that happen? I started Ben's 10 month post this morning and am determined to have it posted on time this month. In other news I thought I would do a short update.
Matt has settled in at his new job. He is working long hours but has found a schedule that minimizes the commute and is a good compromise between seeing the kids and getting enough sleep. I know that we were spoiled having him here all the time for the past few years but knowing that certainly doesn't make it easier to be on my own from roughly 9am until 8pm (or later). The kids are adjusting and hopefully in a few weeks things will slow down and Matt can work a little less. The long term goal is to have him work from home again, even if it is just a few days a week. Fingers crossed.
There are several pluses to having Matt out of the house more. He really appreciates being home and we really appreciate having him here, the house is always picked up!, I can eat grilled cheese sandwiches for every meal (maybe that isn't really a plus), I have stopped pumping all together, I set the schedule and this is officially "my show". Not that I wasn't primarily in charge before but now there is zero defaulting to Daddy.
I am really looking forward to spring, I hope this isn't one of those years when we have snow on the ground until April. The kids are ready to get back outside. I signed Ben up for swimming lessons this morning (side note: Lily might be so jealous that we have to cough up the cash and get her signed up too) and I am so excited to get the pool opened up this summer. Kate will be living here while she takes her CPA prep class from June to August. Having an extra set of hands and a bestie to spend the days with is going to be awesome.
It is like zombie apocalypse around the house lately. I don't know what the hell is happening. First we tried unsuccessfully to replace the microwave above the stove only to discover that the new microwave doesn't fit the opening. Yes me measured, twice. Technically is does fit I just hate the way it looks. So now we have a big ugly hole in the kitchen. We then decided to replace the upper cabinet with a smaller one only to find out that our cabinets have been discontinued. Now two different cabinet companies are in possession of our cabinet doors. Let me tell you how much I love the way it looks.
Matt bucked his brand new car (2013 Ford Focus) into the back of my car in the driveway and somehow did a thousand dollars worth of damage. The car had been in our possession for less than 24 hours.
Last Friday I moved the glider back in to the kids room because Ben is again sleeping like a newborn and I need a place to sit while I nurse him 5 times in the middle of the night. Well, while sitting in the rocker I looked up and realized that there is a large water stain on the ceiling in the kids room. Awesome. No idea how long it has been there but it obviously needs to be addressed. The skylight in the sun room is also leaking like a sieve again. Double awesome.
Then came the ants. No idea where they are coming in from but this past weekend they were everywhere. So gross. I sprayed the tiniest amount of insecticide along the baseboards, which I am not thrilled about given the two small people, two cats, and a dumb as rocks dog, we allow to live here. I wouldn't put it past any of them to lick the wall just for fun. The spray seems to have worked so hopefully I won't have to use it again.
AND then last night I spent 30 minutes trying to catch a mouse that the cats had been tormenting all afternoon. I finally succeeded in nabbing the thing by the tail and put it outside. I just couldn't kill it. (Background: I used to anesthetize dozens of rodents a day as a lab tech but this just seems different.) I am sure that by now it has found it's way back in. Whatever.
Zombie Apocalypse, I'm tellin' you. I am a little afraid of what the universe might have in store for us next!
Showing posts with label mishaps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mishaps. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The Witching Hour
There isn't a mommy out there who doesn't know what I mean when I use the phrase "witching hour". Around here we celebrate this most joyous of occasions nightly from 4:59 to 6:30, and yes I am acutely aware that this is more than an hour.
Last night was no exception. Matt was still working in the dining room, Lily was refusing to eat the dinner I had made her, and Ben was up to his usual high chair shenanigans. I had started dinner, and I was probably trying to get too many things done at once. I was feeding Ben a delicious blend of squash, applesauce, oatmeal, and breast milk when the oven timer dinged. I set Ben's dish down on the counter, turned my back toward the oven, and the next thing I knew...this had happened.
I do not have hardwood floors in the kitchen. The above splatter...in the sun room...8 ft from Ben's highchair.
There are no words to explain the trajectory.
At first I was impressed by the height. The under side of this cabinet is about 5 1/2 feet off the ground.
AND THEN I LOOKED UP.
This is the top of our cabinets and the crown molding. I didn't take any pictures once I was perched over the sink, standing on the counter and trying to wipe squash off the woodwork, so you will just have to take my word for it but you guys, there was squash ABOVE the cabinets in the 6 inch space between the molding and the ceiling.
More splatter in the sun room, we kept finding these blobs even hours after I thought I had cleaned it all up.
Daddy volunteered to finish feeding Ben so that I could clean up. What a swell guy. The first thing I did was grab a bottle of champagne from the fridge and take a few sips straight from the bottle, then I laughed, and then I cleaned up while Lily serenaded me with her very own rendition of Jingle Bells.
Aaaahhhh, the witching hour. Good times.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Civic Duty
Today, I voted. (#61)
This is not a post about who I voted for. Why would you care who I voted for?!? No, this is a post about the things that happen to me when I leave the house.
Let it be known that I LOVE to fulfill my civic duty. I define "doing my civic duty" not only by reporting to jury duty (which I have never had the pleasure of being called upon to do) or voting, but also acting as a courteous and conscientious citizen. Obviously I don't love to have to do my civil duty in the case of car accidents or to report crimes. But believe you me, if I see something, I say something. On one glorious occasion I reported a breaking and entering in progress, and the police were able to catch and arrest the person. I hold doors, pick up lost items, give directions, and say my please and thank yous. Most are small things, and most do not require a lot of effort on my part. The simple point I am trying to make is that I go out of my way to be helpful because it makes me feel good.
I was so excited to vote today! A chance to fulfill my civic duty!
Prior to leaving the house I double checked our polling location (and how to get there) with my husband. Having already completed his civic duty he reported, "...not crowded, district two, you can go in the back way." Sounded easy enough.
As I pulled up to the parking lot I noticed a police officer, who I assumed was directing traffic, standing near a large "Do Not Enter" sign. Keep in mind Dingle had just told me that he had gone in this way. As I started to make the left into the parking lot the officer began to wave his hands furiously and shout. I stopped the car immediately and pulled my hands off the wheel to demonstrate that I was heeding his "directions". Problem was, I had already committed to making the turn and was sort of stuck in the "exit" of the parking lot. I made a circular motion with my hand to indicate that I was going to pull a wide u-turn. Before I had rolled two inches the officer charged at the car like a deranged rhinoceros and demanded that I roll down the window, which I did immediately.
He was screaming. SCREAMING. "YOU. CAN. NOT. ENTER. THIS. WAY!!"
I answered in a clearly apologetic tone, "I understand that Sir. I don't really have an option other than to pull a u-turn."
More screaming, "YOU DON'T HAVE AN OPTION BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T READ THE SIGN."
More apologizing as he stepped away from the car.
More screaming, "I SHOULD GIVE YOU A TICKET!!"
He succeeded in making me feel about two inches tall. I had read the sign, I just made the wrong assumption. I seriously could have cried. I hate being scolded. NEVER in a million lifetimes would I have gone that way had I known. I was not being careless, disrespectful, or running around in reckless abandon of the law. If I hadn't really wanted to vote, I would have gone home with my tail between my legs.
In any case I took a deep breath, drove around to the entrance, and parked the car. I suspect the officer was giving me the stink eye because he was still shaking his head as I walked across the parking lot. I don't know how he even saw me, didn't I mention I was two inches tall.
Once inside the polling station I made my way to the table, received my ballot, and waited for an open booth. There was one booth open, but it was designated handicap, so I decided to wait. To the best of my knowledge I was not obstructing anyone's path, violating anyone's privacy, or giving off the impression that I was put out by waiting. Suddenly the woman at the registration table said (in not quite a yell but not quietly either), "What are you waiting for, there is an open booth right there." I realized she was pointing at the handicap booth and rather than explain myself I slunk over, crouched down, and cast my vote.
When I was finished there was some more confusion/scolding about checking out versus when to put my ballot in the machine. SIGH.
It wasn't the fun I had been looking forward to. The wind had officially been knocked out of my sails.
On my way home I stopped for a man and his young son who were waiting patiently to cross the busy street. Civic duty done.
This is not a post about who I voted for. Why would you care who I voted for?!? No, this is a post about the things that happen to me when I leave the house.
Let it be known that I LOVE to fulfill my civic duty. I define "doing my civic duty" not only by reporting to jury duty (which I have never had the pleasure of being called upon to do) or voting, but also acting as a courteous and conscientious citizen. Obviously I don't love to have to do my civil duty in the case of car accidents or to report crimes. But believe you me, if I see something, I say something. On one glorious occasion I reported a breaking and entering in progress, and the police were able to catch and arrest the person. I hold doors, pick up lost items, give directions, and say my please and thank yous. Most are small things, and most do not require a lot of effort on my part. The simple point I am trying to make is that I go out of my way to be helpful because it makes me feel good.
I was so excited to vote today! A chance to fulfill my civic duty!
Prior to leaving the house I double checked our polling location (and how to get there) with my husband. Having already completed his civic duty he reported, "...not crowded, district two, you can go in the back way." Sounded easy enough.
As I pulled up to the parking lot I noticed a police officer, who I assumed was directing traffic, standing near a large "Do Not Enter" sign. Keep in mind Dingle had just told me that he had gone in this way. As I started to make the left into the parking lot the officer began to wave his hands furiously and shout. I stopped the car immediately and pulled my hands off the wheel to demonstrate that I was heeding his "directions". Problem was, I had already committed to making the turn and was sort of stuck in the "exit" of the parking lot. I made a circular motion with my hand to indicate that I was going to pull a wide u-turn. Before I had rolled two inches the officer charged at the car like a deranged rhinoceros and demanded that I roll down the window, which I did immediately.
He was screaming. SCREAMING. "YOU. CAN. NOT. ENTER. THIS. WAY!!"
I answered in a clearly apologetic tone, "I understand that Sir. I don't really have an option other than to pull a u-turn."
More screaming, "YOU DON'T HAVE AN OPTION BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T READ THE SIGN."
More apologizing as he stepped away from the car.
More screaming, "I SHOULD GIVE YOU A TICKET!!"
He succeeded in making me feel about two inches tall. I had read the sign, I just made the wrong assumption. I seriously could have cried. I hate being scolded. NEVER in a million lifetimes would I have gone that way had I known. I was not being careless, disrespectful, or running around in reckless abandon of the law. If I hadn't really wanted to vote, I would have gone home with my tail between my legs.
In any case I took a deep breath, drove around to the entrance, and parked the car. I suspect the officer was giving me the stink eye because he was still shaking his head as I walked across the parking lot. I don't know how he even saw me, didn't I mention I was two inches tall.
Once inside the polling station I made my way to the table, received my ballot, and waited for an open booth. There was one booth open, but it was designated handicap, so I decided to wait. To the best of my knowledge I was not obstructing anyone's path, violating anyone's privacy, or giving off the impression that I was put out by waiting. Suddenly the woman at the registration table said (in not quite a yell but not quietly either), "What are you waiting for, there is an open booth right there." I realized she was pointing at the handicap booth and rather than explain myself I slunk over, crouched down, and cast my vote.
When I was finished there was some more confusion/scolding about checking out versus when to put my ballot in the machine. SIGH.
It wasn't the fun I had been looking forward to. The wind had officially been knocked out of my sails.
On my way home I stopped for a man and his young son who were waiting patiently to cross the busy street. Civic duty done.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The following post is rated PG-13
Poor neglected blog...
We have been doing our best to keep busy in spite of the never ending oppression that is calling itself "winter". In the 29 years I have lived in New England I can't remember a winter like this one. Three weeks in a row I have had to cancel plans because we were having ANOTHER SNOW STORM!!
Last week we were granted a break and over the last few days have actually seen some melt, now everything is brown and nasty...thats what I call progress! Over the weekend we visited both sets of parents in Maine (where there is significantly less snow). What can I say about going home? I am grateful that Lily has two sets of grandparents who love her so much and maybe I should leave it at that.
Yesterday I got my hair cut for the first time since Lily was born. Let me start by saying that I had 7 strands of baby fine hair before I got pregnant. While I was pregnant that number doubled to 14... postpartum 10 of them fell out. What I have been left with is just cruel. To make matters worse the "new hair" that is growing in, is coming in along my forehead and along my part. I have 1 inch spikes, spiky spikes, spiking up, all over my head. There is no other way to describe it. I could have splurged and gone to a salon but my hair is a lost cause, so we went to Supercuts. Dingle gets his hair cut there all the time and it usually turns out just fine. I should have known not to let this dude cut my hair when he wouldn't shut up about how much "breakage" I had...dude that is new hair, not breakage! Yesterday we walked out of there with two of the worst haircuts I have ever seen, Mr. Hedgehog and Mrs. Mullet. AWESOME. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day! Good thing we already love each other is all I'm sayin'.
Last night we skyped with my brother Josh, who is a peace corp volunteer living in Paraguay. I have to say that overall his living situation far surpasses my expectations. Soon he will have a small place of his own with four walls, a bed, and a gas stove...better than a mud hut. He used some of his startup allowance (or maybe his savings) to buy a netbook. He has the INTERNET in PARAGUAY, who knew? He is doing well, a hell of a lot better than I would be doing. He asked Lily to be his Valentine, which was hands down the cutest thing that has ever happened.
Today we ran some errands, with mixed results. It was cold, cold, cold, and windy, and cold. It is hard to lug Lily around in the winter. We ended our day with a playdate at the library with Vicki and Griffin. The kids are so cute together. As I mentioned the other day, Lily has been perfecting her kissing skills. Let's just say Lily and Griffin made it to first base more than once today, which was adorable. Then Griffin tried to lift up Lily's dress, hilarious. Vicki and I joked about whether or not we could blog about what happened next, obviously I decided the answer was yes. There is no other way to describe it...there was dry humping. (There you go Vicki, I said it...haha) Griff climbed on top of Lil and started bouncing up and down, all the while Lily laughed manically. This is why people have babies, for moments like that. Oh. My. God. Vicki and I, being the responsible mothers that we are, rolled around on the floor laughing, kicking ourselves for not having our cameras. A good time was had by all!!
We have been doing our best to keep busy in spite of the never ending oppression that is calling itself "winter". In the 29 years I have lived in New England I can't remember a winter like this one. Three weeks in a row I have had to cancel plans because we were having ANOTHER SNOW STORM!!
Last week we were granted a break and over the last few days have actually seen some melt, now everything is brown and nasty...thats what I call progress! Over the weekend we visited both sets of parents in Maine (where there is significantly less snow). What can I say about going home? I am grateful that Lily has two sets of grandparents who love her so much and maybe I should leave it at that.
Yesterday I got my hair cut for the first time since Lily was born. Let me start by saying that I had 7 strands of baby fine hair before I got pregnant. While I was pregnant that number doubled to 14... postpartum 10 of them fell out. What I have been left with is just cruel. To make matters worse the "new hair" that is growing in, is coming in along my forehead and along my part. I have 1 inch spikes, spiky spikes, spiking up, all over my head. There is no other way to describe it. I could have splurged and gone to a salon but my hair is a lost cause, so we went to Supercuts. Dingle gets his hair cut there all the time and it usually turns out just fine. I should have known not to let this dude cut my hair when he wouldn't shut up about how much "breakage" I had...dude that is new hair, not breakage! Yesterday we walked out of there with two of the worst haircuts I have ever seen, Mr. Hedgehog and Mrs. Mullet. AWESOME. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day! Good thing we already love each other is all I'm sayin'.
Last night we skyped with my brother Josh, who is a peace corp volunteer living in Paraguay. I have to say that overall his living situation far surpasses my expectations. Soon he will have a small place of his own with four walls, a bed, and a gas stove...better than a mud hut. He used some of his startup allowance (or maybe his savings) to buy a netbook. He has the INTERNET in PARAGUAY, who knew? He is doing well, a hell of a lot better than I would be doing. He asked Lily to be his Valentine, which was hands down the cutest thing that has ever happened.
Today we ran some errands, with mixed results. It was cold, cold, cold, and windy, and cold. It is hard to lug Lily around in the winter. We ended our day with a playdate at the library with Vicki and Griffin. The kids are so cute together. As I mentioned the other day, Lily has been perfecting her kissing skills. Let's just say Lily and Griffin made it to first base more than once today, which was adorable. Then Griffin tried to lift up Lily's dress, hilarious. Vicki and I joked about whether or not we could blog about what happened next, obviously I decided the answer was yes. There is no other way to describe it...there was dry humping. (There you go Vicki, I said it...haha) Griff climbed on top of Lil and started bouncing up and down, all the while Lily laughed manically. This is why people have babies, for moments like that. Oh. My. God. Vicki and I, being the responsible mothers that we are, rolled around on the floor laughing, kicking ourselves for not having our cameras. A good time was had by all!!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A story involving a cart corral, oh boy!
This happened a few weeks ago but I still can't let it go...
I took Lily out to do some Christmas shopping. It was a Thursday and a RIDICULOUS number of people were out and about. It wasn't just moms and old people either, why more of these people were not at work I have no idea. Anyway, the parking lot at the store was packed and I had to circle around a few times to get a space. The space I did get was to the right of a cart corral. I parked pretty close to it so that I would have room on the other side of the car to get Lily out. I unloaded Lily (in her infant car seat) into a cart and off we went to shop!
We came out of the store to find some donkey had parked their car next to us at such a ridiculous angle that I couldn't open the back door of our car wide enough to put Lily's car sear back in the car! Seriously, the angle of the car in the space was just stupid. They had left about 4 feet between our vehicles at the nose and about 4 inches at the trunk. Yes, I was angry but even more than anger what I felt was helplessness. I hadn't left enough room on the driver's side for her car seat. It was cold out and there were still a million cars circling the lot. So there I am by myself with a cart full of stuff and my baby I can't get back into the car! Inevitably a car pulled up to us and put its blinker on to indicate that he (yes it was a man...i'm not sure why this bothered me) was going to claim our spot.
Admittedly, I was panicking a little bit. I had a ton of stuff in the back so climbing in through the trunk was not really an option. It's not like I could get in my car and back out with Lily sitting in the shopping cart parked in the cart corral. A woman was arrested a few years ago for leaving her sleeping daughter in the car while she put money in the salvation army bucket for crying out loud! (http://greensboring.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7773) And there was no way I was going to ask a stranger to babysit. I was seriously considering asking a passerby to move my car for me...AND THEN THE GUY WAITING FOR OUR SPOT BEEPED AND DID A "MOVE IT ALONG" HAND GESTURE!! I think for a split second the anger I felt would have given me the strength to lift the first donkey's car and throw it through the windshield of this second donkey's car! I can see the headline now: "Crazed woman in parking lot finds strength of 10 Grinches, plus TWO..."
I waved the driver off and as he passed he gave me the finger. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Second donkey if you are reading this, you acted like a real jerk and I hope Santa brings you dog poop for Christmas.
In the end I channeled my anger into dragging the cart corral away from my car and put Lily in through driver's side, which was no easy task but I got it done. The entire event lasted all of 10 minutes but I hated every second of it. I'm not really sure what the moral of this story is but I already feel less angry and even laughed a few times at my own jokes. HA. Okay, I have officially let it go...
I took Lily out to do some Christmas shopping. It was a Thursday and a RIDICULOUS number of people were out and about. It wasn't just moms and old people either, why more of these people were not at work I have no idea. Anyway, the parking lot at the store was packed and I had to circle around a few times to get a space. The space I did get was to the right of a cart corral. I parked pretty close to it so that I would have room on the other side of the car to get Lily out. I unloaded Lily (in her infant car seat) into a cart and off we went to shop!
We came out of the store to find some donkey had parked their car next to us at such a ridiculous angle that I couldn't open the back door of our car wide enough to put Lily's car sear back in the car! Seriously, the angle of the car in the space was just stupid. They had left about 4 feet between our vehicles at the nose and about 4 inches at the trunk. Yes, I was angry but even more than anger what I felt was helplessness. I hadn't left enough room on the driver's side for her car seat. It was cold out and there were still a million cars circling the lot. So there I am by myself with a cart full of stuff and my baby I can't get back into the car! Inevitably a car pulled up to us and put its blinker on to indicate that he (yes it was a man...i'm not sure why this bothered me) was going to claim our spot.
Admittedly, I was panicking a little bit. I had a ton of stuff in the back so climbing in through the trunk was not really an option. It's not like I could get in my car and back out with Lily sitting in the shopping cart parked in the cart corral. A woman was arrested a few years ago for leaving her sleeping daughter in the car while she put money in the salvation army bucket for crying out loud! (http://greensboring.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7773) And there was no way I was going to ask a stranger to babysit. I was seriously considering asking a passerby to move my car for me...AND THEN THE GUY WAITING FOR OUR SPOT BEEPED AND DID A "MOVE IT ALONG" HAND GESTURE!! I think for a split second the anger I felt would have given me the strength to lift the first donkey's car and throw it through the windshield of this second donkey's car! I can see the headline now: "Crazed woman in parking lot finds strength of 10 Grinches, plus TWO..."
I waved the driver off and as he passed he gave me the finger. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Second donkey if you are reading this, you acted like a real jerk and I hope Santa brings you dog poop for Christmas.
In the end I channeled my anger into dragging the cart corral away from my car and put Lily in through driver's side, which was no easy task but I got it done. The entire event lasted all of 10 minutes but I hated every second of it. I'm not really sure what the moral of this story is but I already feel less angry and even laughed a few times at my own jokes. HA. Okay, I have officially let it go...
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