Smellyann Strikes Again

Friday Fragments

Link up with Mrs. 4444 if you're playing along this week!

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TGIF!

That's all I have to say.  Not, you know I have more.

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So, you may or, more likely, may not have noticed I haven't fragmented again in a few weeks. Our lives are always, well, let's be honest, chaotic at their calmest, but things have been even crazier lately. For example, this week:

Monday: Rob had the day off, and I was exhausted, so I slept much of the day away. Nothing newsworthy there. But...

Tuesday: We decided to move.

Wednesday: I hunted around and found a potential place.

Thursday: I met the landlord inside the house with the kids, decided to go for it, signed the lease, paid the rent and security deposit, and got the keys.

Friday (today): We can move in.

I'm a little dizzy, but that's how we roll. Well, that's how I roll, anyway. Hubs is a tad bit freaked out by the whole thing, but we'll be aiight.

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I'm still on Project Vanity Plate, and this is today's find. Hopefully they're talking about God and aren't egomaniacs! If you missed it, I posted a whole bunch of them on Wednesday here.

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Today, in addition to checking out the house and stuff, was total nutballs. I took Rob to work at the buttcrack of dawn, and then I was supposed to take the daughters o' mine to the dentist, but I ended up konking out on migraine medicine and missing that appointment. Gah! I woke up just in time to shower and go meet our new lord of the land.

After the new house visit, I stopped to get the kids a semi-celebratory lunch (thank you, Wendy's Dollar Menu), zoomed home to update Chloë's résumé and grab her new headshots, and then dropped Sophie and Jack off at Jenny From the Block's house before racing to Chlo's audition. I didn't get to watch the actual audition, but I'm still tremendously proud of her. I was a nervous wreck for her, shaking and trembling, but she was confident and relaxed. How?! I don't know; she didn't inherit that from me, but hopefully her nurturing has had something to do with that poise.

Anyhoo, it's for an episode of a TV show I can't name at the moment, but we'll find out Wednesday if she got the part. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed! She really wants the role. I'm highly biased, but I think she was the cutest kid there, and she did great practicing her scenes for me. Stay tuned!

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After the audition, I raced to pick up the Littles before heading to pick up Rob, two hours late, from work. We headed over to the BMW place to pick up his supposedly 'fixed' motorcycle, a month after it was put in for repairs. After a freakin' MONTH, you'd think it'd be in excellent shape, right? Ha. More on that in a mome.

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We went straight to a Thai restaurant for a semi-celebratory dinner (not really; we just have not much food in the house currently, and we had a gift certificate to use there). Aren't these roses so cute? They were the straw wrappers atop each of our drink straws. Love!

We ordered family-style. This was my dinner. Well, that and a wee Spring roll. It may not seem like a lot, but apparently it was too much for me, because I didn't keep a single bit of it down, dang it. Um. It tasted better the first time. I probably could've kept it down, but I had the Jasmine rice with cashews, and, stupid me, I should've known better. I can never eat rice. It just looked so good. Anyway....

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All was well and good after dinner. Rob hopped on his motorbike, the kids and I buckled into the van, and off we went toward home. Only, I zipped into a 7-11 on the way home to refill my giant keg of Diet Dew and, well, hurl, and he followed me into the parking lot. By the time I restarted the van, his bike was smoking and leaking more fluids than a ... ah, skip that. Every metaphor I can think up is gross and graphic. Awesome. So not only was the BMW not fixed, but a freakin' panel was missing off the side, too! Really?! I'm way disenchanted with the place that had it for so long. They can bite me hard, right on my hindquarters.

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So, short story long, we sat there for an hour while Rob yapped on the phone to our insurance company, who basically solved nothing, and then watched him make the necessary repairs himself. I've dated some pretty useless guys before, and lemme tell you single ladies this: Marry a handy guy. I don't care what else you like about him, you will appreciate this advice. The other day, our toilet handle broke, and My Guy fished one out of his "pile of crap," as I not-so-tenderly call it, and fixed it on the spot. Pretty good. Back to the bike. While he was working, I went back into the 7-11 and bought a big bag of White Cheddar Popcorn. The kids pretended they were watching a movie while they ate it - and Dad was the show. I don't know how he felt about that, but I was entertained, and that's what counts, y'all.

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I don't know what else to tell ya. I have a million and one anecdotes I could share, but (a) you probably don't care, and (b) I should probably start packing. To move. Because we're doing that. Eek.

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Have a fab weekend, folks!

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you've got bits & pieces rattling around in the ol' noggin to share with Mrs. 4444 and friends today! I have quite a few, so take a load off and stay awhile, won't you?

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I've got new news, so pop on over to this post if you want to know what big changes are afoot in my (and my older daughter's) lives!

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Likewise, I'd love your input on my Aloha Friday question for this week, which is here! Let me know if you have an AF post this week, too, so I can be sure to check it out!

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I've been playing around with the new Jafra color collection lately, so I'm experimenting with some new looks instead of my usual standby, which is closest to the bottom right in this collage. Which do you like best?

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Chloë, my oldest, was looking particularly adorable today, so I snapped this photo of her and then played around with it in Picasa by Google. I can't claim credit for those curls, which she gets from her daddy. His hair looks just like this when he's not, well, in the Navy for 19 years!

 

Chloë wanted a makeover, so we played around with some of my make-up on her for a little while Thursday evening. What do you think about make-up on a 10-year-old? Totally wrong, or okay if it's just for fun, like this? Obviously, we don't do this very often, but I think it's fine once in a blue moon, for kicks.

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Speaking of Jafra, I've been painting my nails with our wonderful lacquers faithfully, and they're actually growing and not breaking! I have paper-thin nails normally, and they break easily. My sister's nails are long and strong, so I sent her this picture on Facebook. Yeah. We bonded over nails. What can I say; she's a cosmetologist!

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Sophia and Jack have been having so much fun with their Kiwi Crates over the past few months, that I finally relented and renewed their subscription after being asked approximately 8700 times. They worked on it a bit Thursday evening and made parrots and treasure boxes. Can you guess the theme? Yep. Next we'll be making pirate hats and eye patches to go with them. Fun!

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After nearly two years of trying to get a table to our local Melting Pot's Girls' Night Out, I finally scored us a table - at 10:30 PM! It ended up working out to be a good time, albeit very late, because my friend Tabby and I had preview tickets for the movie American Reunion, the American Pie sequel, the same night. So for seven hours, I was out with first Tabby, and then Tab, and two of my "Turtle Friends," Saritah and Jenny From the Block at dinner. And oh, my gosh, I laughed so hard and often during both events. The movie was hysterical from start to finish, and we had ourselves a hilarious time at dinner, too. I hope we don't have to wait another couple years to do it again!

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Our tax refund check came in recently - well, partially, anyway, as the IRS denied Chloë as our child based on a clerical error on their part, argh - so Rob and I got some very necessary new tires for his motorcycle, Elsie, and my Odyssey, Penelope. The tire appointment was supposed to take about two hours, so I asked Jenny From the Block to keep our kiddos while we were there. I just wasn't up to deal with the boredom whining, basically! She agreed, so in the end, Rob and I decided to venture out together on his motorcycle for the first time, to use one of our Groupon-like certificates for a local Thai restaurant which we'd never tried. We were the only people there for quite a while, as you can see, but it certainly wasn't because of the food quality!

Our meal was excellent, although mine was spicier than I expected. I can't do spicy, and not just because of my sensitive gastric bypass pouch; I never could handle it. I just don't have the stomach - or tongue! - for it, sad to say. Still, it was good. But better than that was the fun of riding around on the back of the BMW with Rob! I had so much fun! I was a little scared, sure, but it was a breathlessly-exhilarating kind of fun. I hope we get another chance to do that again soon, too!

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So pretty much other than the pictures and details of Jack's birthday party, I'm all caught up now on my blahggy show-and-telling. I really ought to do that, especially since it'll be time to show Sophia's birthday party pictures in another week! On Friday the 13th, my youngest child will turn seven! We'll have her, 9-year-old Jack, and 10½-year-old Chloë. It' to face the music: my family is aging out of the "little kid" stage. I guess we're pretty well established by now, huh?

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And now to leave you with my old standby, a Cute Kid Quote. As you may or may not know, in my previous existence as a singleton, I was a marine biologist, studying shark feeding behaviour. My kids know all about that, and for whatever reason, it comes up frequently. Anyway, Thursday afternoon, we were driving around, when Jack suddenly asked what a car's muffler was for. Before I could answer, Sophia snapped at him, "She doesn't know! She's not a car biologist! It's not like she dives into cars!" I had quite a chuckle over that one! These kids. They kill me.

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On that note, thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous weekend!

Fin.

The Inaugural Ride

 

So Rob took me for a ride on his motorcycle tonight. It was the first time for us to ride together, ever.

He didn't want to do it, because I was wearing a tank top, a skirt, and flip-flops, and, well, normally he's suited up to the nines in protective motorcycle gear.

"Cmon," I told him, "Let's just go up and down the street real quick."

He gave in pretty easily and handed me a helmet. He put his on, then helped me get strapped up in mine.

After wheeling the BMW out to the road and waving goodbye to the kids, who were instructed to sit on their respective bikes and Power Wheels an' sech until we returned a moment later, I climbed aboard and held on for dear life.

And away we went!!

It was fun. He didn't dump me into the street, and I didn't even scream, not even once. We whizzed around the corner, made a U-ie, and whizzed back home.

Lickety-split, just like that.

Now I'm ready for our first date night out on the bike. I've been told I'll be wearing a leather jacket (ick) and jeans on that trip. But I can deal with that.

I can't wait!

 
Fin.

Oot And Aboot

Friday, we pretty much cruised aound in the Odyssey - which, by the way, now has a name: Penelope, thanks to the help of my friends - all day and all night.  We stopped at Starbucks for a frappucino fix, and we picked up all three of their low-fat coffee cake flavors to share a snack with the kids. We don't let them eat or drink (ahem, well, I guess we DO, but we're trying not to) in Penelope yet, so we continued our drive down to the oceanfront to find a stopping point and let them out.

It is next to impossible to find a public restroom on the VB oceanfront, though, and Mommy REALLY had to go, so we found ourselves at the VA Aquarium where I knew I could use the restroom. I pretty much squeaked to a stop and left Rob to park while I ran in. Ahhhh... Anyway, when I came out, he was sharing the cakes with the kiddos, above. And by the way, I think Starbucks is dead to me now. I've only been there three times in my life - all in the last two weeks or so - and the prices kill me. KILL me. Now that we are paying umpteen million dollars a month for Penny (hee), that's coming to a stop. Ouch.

Here's me at below-goal weight, about 148 lbs. Yay!  (I chopped my hair off last week, but I went in one day and got it "fixed," so it's now even shorter. I like it, but I don't love it, so I'm going to grow it back out.)

Garden progress. I'm getting impatient. Grow, mofos! Chloë calls the zucchini greens "lettuce." It amuses me. Just because it's leafy and part of a vegetable, she think it's lettuce. Hee.

Friday night, Rob went to a meeting while I took the kids to Mt. Trashmore for the free movies in the park. We watched Shark Tale, which is always fun to watch, and the kids conned me out of some cash for cotton candy AND popcorn AND drinks. Oh well, they were hungry, and what's money for if not to feed your kids totally crappy junk food?

 

I only have pictures of the Littles eating their spun sugar, because Chloë went down to the food kiosks all by herself to get that and then the drinks. I was pretty proud of her. Normally, that wouldn't quite be something she'd do by herself. She'd want Mom or Dad to go with her. At nearly nine, she is showing signs of emotionally maturing, but she goes back and forth between tween and little kid mode pretty darn quickly. Growing up is hard, and she says so herself!

This is from the other day. I was being silly and wearing a bunch of stuff I'd gotten for my giveaway blog, Fishing and Wishing: necklace was a review item, the make-up is a review item for an upcoming post, and so is the flower in my hair. I added more after this picture - earrings and a nose ring - and was told by Chloë that I had too much jewelry on. Pretty soon we'll be at the point where I'll be asking her if I look good or not. 

 

Sophia's 4th birthday Crepe Myrtle Hopi is growing like a weed! It's way bigger than even this, already. Do you know, can we clip the flowers off and put them in a vase inside, without hurting the plant? She always wants to do this, since seeing me do that with some of the lilies in the garden...

 

A girl I kind of know through blogging and Ravelry and Facebook posted on her FB wall that the 400th person to place an order through her Etsy shop would get a free gift with the purchase. So I quickly jumped on it and spent literally a couple bucks on the so-cute "geek" and "nerd" stitch markers (for knitting), and she gave me the "handmade" stitch markers, worth several dollars more, as a gift! I love fun stitch markers - and so does Sophia, who is always walking off with mine - so I'm glad to add to my collection. Thanks, Kala!

Before the doody hit the fan, Rob got me a new motorcycle helmet. I think someone he works with gave it to him? Anyway, it fits (even if it does squish my face up a little), so one of these days (weeks/months/years?) I might actually go for a ride with him. I'm skeered, though!

Welp, I guess that's all I have for pictures I'm behind on, so... back to work on Fishing and Wishing. Stop over and try to win some goodies from me, will ya?? ;) There's awesome alpaca yarn up for grabs right now!

Fin. 
 
  

You Know You Want Summa Dis

So, excuse any weird caps in my typing. I shaved off another nail yesterday! This time it's my pinky, and I REALLY hacked it off but good this time. I cried and wailed aND sobbed; it hurt a ton. And it's messing up my typing.

Friday was an interesting day. Jack slept late, and Rob came home from work late, so I didn't get to go out and do all our organic food shopping until after 10 am. I went to the Farmer's Market first, to get our seafood from Uncle Chuck, but he wasn't open until after 1400. And I never went back, so no luck there until 1 June.

I stopped at the Market's creamery after that, to see what I could find for local/organic dairy. They had some GREAT semi-local milk products (from a Maryland dairy farm), but they don't actually practice organic. They call themselves 'better than organic' since they don't use preservatives, which apparently organic still does. I don't know. It looked great, and I was going to go back, but I didn't.

Instead, I went to the organic market there, and I spent our entire $200 food budget and then some on not too much stuff. I mean, I got six big canvas bags full, plus a huge glass bottle of the most crazy-delicious organic apple juice (I guess I don't have to keep saying 'organic' about the stuff I bought there, since it all was/is) - but normally, I can fill 15-20 bags for that much money. So this 100% organic business is going to be a REAL challenge, financially, but we are committed.

To do it, we're going to keep burning through our stockpile of non-organic foods until it's all gone, while I stock up on organic whenever I can get a good deal, to supplement it. We're cutting out junk food entirely - sorry, kids - and won't be buying anymore Coke or anything like that. Of course, we'll have the proceeds from our garden - our seeds have already been shipped! - so the kids are going to have to learn to eat, and love eating, lots of fresh veggies at every meal. I'm going to do without meat as much as I can and drink more protein shakes, since the organic meat is crazy expensive. And I'm going to make my own laundry detergent when our supply runs out. Some people have reported spending about $15 a YEAR on it when they make their own!!

I'm also wanting to learn to make our own things like cheese, yogurt and such. I really want to move into a house further out somewhere, where we can keep some chickens and maybe a couple of goats. Rob would like a cow, but I don't know about that. If we end up giving the boat thing up for the time being, that is.

I don't know whether we'll still be able to feed our family of 5 organically on $400 a month, but we're so determined to try, and you know what they say, "where there's a will..."

So what did I get?

Well, here's that big, giant (as SophiA SAys) bottle of apple juice. OMG, hands-down the BEST juice I have EVER tasted. I'm absolutely in love with it AND will buy a bottle every time I shop. It costs ten bucks, though!

You can see some of the produce I picked up in the background, there: a few apples, some pears, a lemon, garlic, green onions, some oranges, and ginger. I don't know yet what I'll do with the ginger, but it's cheap, and I'm sure I'll find lots of tasty recipes. We used to make a salmon dish, new-style sashimi, with fresh ginger, when I was pregnant with Chloë. Until I started barfing it up, which is why we stopped. I got the recipe from Chef Nobu when he was on Martha's show. Muy excelente; I'll have to find it again.

These cashews were also the tastiest I've ever hAD. Seriously, so good. Really, organic food is not only healthy and wonderful for you, but it is delicious!! I picked up a bag of sunflower seeds, too. I've been enjoying them immensely, but I'm the only one, since they're not salted. 

Rounding out my order, I picked up some organic Nutella-like stuff, peanut butter, two jellies, 6 packages of spaghetti, milk, butter, lots of cheeses, 2 cartons of eggs (over five bucks a pop!!), and for Rob and the kiddies, a package of bacon. The owner of the shop, Michele, was very nice and has been running it for over 25 years. She was very helpful in deciding what to buy, and she even gave me a discount on the items I had coupons for, though they don't accept coupons. I told her I'd probably be in twice a month, on paydays, and she seemed thrilled about that. She even teaches a class on 'going organic,' which I might attend if it's free or nearly so.

So I had a great time, and I can't wait to shop again. June 1st can't come soon enough!

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While I was shopping, Dr. A called about Jack. Have I mentioned here that he hasn't been hearing me at home? I had made an appointment with Audiology, but it wasn't until mid-June. Since I was having to shout at him more and more in order to be heard, I was growing increasingly alarmed and imagining myself having to learn (and teach him) sign language. I called Doc A when I decided mid-June was just too far away to be playing around with his hearing like that, so he called in an walk-in appointment for me.

No one at audiology seemed to be aware of this walk-in set-up, so we waited over an hour before being seen. Finally, the audiologist took us back and gave him a battery of tests. It was stupefying. He has significant hearing loss in both his ears!! (I feel like calling up his teacher/the school and saying, "Hey, he wasn't 'not paying attention,' he coulding flipping HEAR you!!!") There were no 'waves' on his ear drum test. When air is blown into the ears, there are supposed to be mountains on the chart indicating movement of the drum; instead, the line was absolutely flat, indicating lots of fluid behing them. I was pretty devastated when I saw that. 

The rests of the tests were the kinds you might remember from grade school, where you raised your hand when you heard the noise? Except he didn't hear the noise at normal decibels, 20 db and below. He couldn't hear until at least 40-45 and sometimes not until 60 db! So no wonder he would be completely 'ignoring' the teacher when she was talking in a normal speaking voice; he couldn' heAR A DAMn thing she was saying to him. That makes me so sad for him.

What do you think; should I tell her? I would be nice...

Anyway, the plan now is to go back to Doc A on Thursday and see what the course of action will be, whether it's antibiotics, decongestants, wait-and-see (not my favorite choice, since his hearing is worsening daily, I think), or something else. 

My poor little guy. He has already been through so much.

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Saturday marked the second day of Rob's motorcycle class (take three). He was gone almost the whole day. I was exhausted, so the cleaning I planned didn't happen; instead, we watched movies and rested on the couch for most of it. Oh, well. 

In the evening, Steph came over so Rob and I could have a date. We saw the movie Date Night, which was pretty funny. We laughed a lot, although i probably could have waited to see it on DVD.  But one of our tickets was free, from ShopAtHome.com (I'm not sure why, but hey, I'll take it), so it was a cheap date.

Late at night, Jack, who had taken a long, late nap, stayed up past the kids' bedtime to help me bake some bread. I want to start baking all of our breads, sandwich and otherwise, to save even more money. We chose sunflower bread, since I've bought and loved it from the store. I found a great recipe on AllRecipes.com, and he did all of the measuring and mixing. I'd forgotten I have a dough hook for my powerful new mixer, or I'd have been baking bread every day since I got it. And boy, did it knead that dough quickly. I ♥ my KitchenAid! I wish I could get the pasta attachments for it, but they're too pricey for now. I showed them to Jack, online, and he really, really wants them, too. he is a pasta fiend!

Baking is great for many lessons. This time, the lesson was all about the properties of yeast. Jack was amazed at how much our bread dough rose in the bowl, and he liked punching it down for the second rising. Doesn't it look like nutty mashed potatoes, here?

 
  
 Our two loves came out perfectly. and oh, they were scrumptious!! Especially when paired with the organic cream cheese I'd picked up. Mm, so good. I've eaten way more than I should have. Don'tcha want a wee slice?

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Sunday, I woke up early, around 0600, after onlyl about 4 hours of sleep. I couldn't get back, so I rose for another slice of sunflower bread. I'd added some of the hemp hearts that Michele - from the organic food market - gave me as a saMPLE. LOts of protein and omega fatty acids in those! It was just as good the following morning, too. Yum.

Rob went off to his final day of bike class, and the kids finally rose for breakfast. They couldn't agree on any one thing, so I had to play short order cook. Chloë pigged out on organic eggs and bacon and sunflower breAD WITH CREAM CHEESE. Jack had pancakes and bacon. Sophia had breAD, PANCakes and bacon. They all had the organic apple juice. They ate well, and I know it did their little bodies good. Probably cost $25 for the meal, too!! Heh.

I took a nap after that while they watched some PBS Kids-via-Netflix, until Daddy came home. 

HE PASSED!!!!!

Rob is now a licensed motorcyclist. Hallelujah!!!! Now, watch out, drivers. My baby daddy is on the road!

After i got over the excitement, the kids and I HEADED upstairs to clean. I did umpteen million loads of laUNDRY (AND AM still only half done; so much for keeping on top of that) while the kids supposedly cleaned their rooms. EVery time I turned around, Sophia had run downstairs to watch TV, Jack was lying down, and Chloë was reading. I can't blame them, reALLY; I hate cleaNING, TOO. But it has to be done, and they have to learn.

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In the afternoon, we drove out to a new-to-us park for Tabitha's baby Lily's first birthday party. She was sassy in her little tutu and bow, eh? I love her blue, blue eyes.

None of us were prepared for how cold it was going to be. It had been hot and sweaty back at our house, but it was cold under the shelter. All the poor kids froze, as did most of us parents!

Tab had an owl piñata there for the bigger kids, so i already broke our new rule of 'no more candy or junk'. but how was I supposed to say 'no' after it was handed to them? As Jack explained to his complaining father, "It was a PARTY! You're supposed to eat candy at a PARTY!" 

I did not, however, let them eat the burgers or hot dogs. Nope, not gonna do it. Too much risk involved there.

they were pretty happy with their goodie bags, declaring it 'the best party ever.' Even though we didn't stick around for cake and the present-opening, because they were cold and hungry, they were happy!

Steph and Luke were there, too. He looked so cute in his little sun hat!

 
  
The birthday girl got her grub on; she has a GReAT APPEtite!!

After we left and arrived home, I went back to my laundry, the littles went back to 'cleaning,' and Chloë started some practice tests for the SOLs coming up this week at school. on the one hand, I really don't care about them, but on the other, I want her to do the best she can so we can establish a baseline for her skills. So we're preparing as much aS WE CAN, given the limited amount of time she has. (I'd have had her practice all day SaturdaY, BUT I plum forgot about them!)  When she needed a breAK, she came upstairs to visit and ended up having a good time being 'airplaned' by Mom & Dad. Don't her curls look AWESOme??

Of course, Sophia had to come running for a TURN! Jack was sound asleep by then (and still is), so he was a no-show for the fun.

Girls being silly

This is the face I usuALLY get when Sophia waNTS TO Have her picture taken!

Anyway, that's about it for this weekend. I think I'll go throw some more bread in the KitchenAid!

Fin. 
  

PS Sorry again for the crazy caps!
  
  

 

Coffee-Fueled Day

I've been posting here and there on the homeschool blog, including just a moment ago, if you're interested in keeping up with us there. :)

I stayed up again all night last night, but that's because I slept half of Mother's Day away. Why I'm still up the following night at 0100 is beyond me, but it probably has to do with the two cups of coffee I consumed earlier in the day! For sure my eyes are burning, though.

I got a LOT done in that time, though. I had tons and tons of coupons to cut and list on the database, and those are all done. Not filed in my coupon box, mind you, but I'll get there. Maybe tonight, if I, um, have a 3rd cuppa joe... but I probably oughtn't.

And my desk was a black hole of paperwork. I mean, it was literally buried under copy paper and school papers and newspapers and magazines and... well, you get the picture. As of just a little while ago, I have a desk again! Now all those papers are either outside in the recycling bin, or all over the backyard after having been blown OUT of that bin, or on the floor next to me, waiting to be carried out to the bin. I saved as much as I could for printing on the backside, though. Do you do that? Y'should, y'all.

Wow. This is NOT an interesting post so far, is it? I'll try to pick up the pace.

So then I had to get the girls up, and shortly after that, Jack awoke. But you can read about that on SPA. (Hey, I just realized that Sweet Pea Academy can be shortened to "SPA"! Kewl.)

So I showered late last night, and I put on leggings and a tank top. And, well, undies, but no brassiere, because that's all the clean clothes I happened to have. I am SO behind on laundry once again. But you know what? I look pretty damn hot. I kept running to the bathroom mirror to check myself out, even. And when Rob came home from work, well... let's just say I kept Jack busy with some computer games for a good little bit while Daddy and Mommy ran upstairs ... *ahem*

Where was I? Besides reminiscing about that and wishing Rob were home right now? Um...

Right. yes.

Jack and I watched Food, Inc. for a third time - at his request, because I think he likes seeing the cows hacked up - and then I let him watch a little PBS Kids through Netflix streaming on the Wii. (Pretty cool system that I'm so glad Stephanie told me about, now that we don't have 'real' TV. If you'd like a free month of Netflix, let me know, as I have four free codes.) Or maybe a lot. I don't know. It's all a blur at this point.

I went to go get the girls, and as I was leaving the house, my little laddie shot out of the door behind me and hopped into his truck (his Power Wheels Escalade) to go along with me. Only, he pushed it into high gear and sped down the road faster than I knew his truck was able to go! He was obviously pretty proud of himself, too, especially when all the little girls pouring out of the bus a few minutes later, crowded around and lavished him with attention. Yeah. My 7-year-old son is picking up chicks with his wheels. Awesome.

I gave each of the kids a dish of strawberry sherbet with homemade whipped cream for an after-school snack, but only Chloë relished it properly. The other two left theirs to melt. Horrors! That shit was good, too. You wouldn't let it go to waste, would you??

After work, Daddy had gone to get his base sticker for his motorcycle, so he worked on making a plate for it to allow him to actually ride it on base. No, he doesn't technically have his motorcycle endorsement yet. His class is this coming weekend.  But what the hell, that didn't stop him from planning to drive it to work this evening! (And he did. And he didn't crash. Phew.) Wait, should I be saying all this publicly? Probably not. Strike that from the record. Anyway, I sat on the thing, and I actually liked the feel of it. After this shot, I climbed on the back behind Rob and wrapped my arms around my man.

I won't actually ride with him until he has two solid years of uneventful, legal driving under his belt, though. It would be too much like the VP riding with the Prez on Air Force One, y'know what I mean?

Meanwhile, Jack was napping, and the girls were frolicking outside with us. Sophia climbed right up on top of Daddy's truck without help! Chloë, upon seeing this, wanted to do the same thing, but as usual, she couldn't get up there on her own power. And when she was put up there, she was too freaked out to stay there. Such different girls, I have.

In the evening, Jack and Rob went to the Cub Scout meeting, and I set Sophia to work building a cave in the living room while I helped Chlo with her homework. She had a breakdown about math, and then, another breakdown about how much she was going to miss her school next year. We had a long, long, long talk about school, home-schooling, life in general, and all sorts of things. Over dinner, when the boys returned, we all got into the discussion. It was a great talk. I think Chloë learned a lot and and had a lot of her fears relieved. 

Nothing is permanent. If she decides to go to school next year, she can always change her mind and come home. And vice-versa. She doesn't have to stay somewhere if she doesn't want to be there. But I told her all about the many plans I have for home-schooling - which I hadn't really done with her yet - and the tears dried up in a big hurry. She became really excited about it again (this from the girl who initially BEGGED me to let her homeschool, too), and I'm glad. Because I think it will be really good for her, and for us as a family. No, great. 

I did write an email to her favorite teacher since Day One at that school, the PE teacher. They have a special relationship, always have. I asked him to keep in touch with her after she leaves the school and maybe, once in a while, take her out for a movie or a picnic or something. I think he'll respond favorably to the idea. Or is that too weird?

I was all of a sudden itching to knit this afternoon, so I went through my stash and suddenly remembered the sweaters I'd planned to make for both the girls. Unfortunately, the yardage is significantly less than what I thought I had, so I had to change patterns from a really cool cable-knit pullover to a sort of short-sleeved cardigan that's drastically different. It's going well, though (I'm about twice as far along now as I was in the picture above), and I'm enjoying the quick knit. The girls are delighted I'm finally knitting for them, too! Now to find something cute for Jack...

So I guess that's about it for Monday. Hope you're having a swell week.

Fin. 

 

 

Like It's Going Out Of Style

{Forewarning, this is gonna be a super-long post. Grag a drink and put your feet up.}

Spending money, that is... We got our big ol' tax refund Friday, and I've been paying bills and doing some (very necessary) shopping. I'm going to rub the magnetic strip right off my debit card soon!

The kids worked on addressing their valentines Thursday night, as they all had Valentine's Day parties in their respective classes on Friday. Did I ever show you their cards? Let me know if I didn't and you want to see them. I got a set of 25 free V-day photo cards (4x8") for each of them, from SeeHere, and they turned out really well, except that the words weren't printed on Chloë's cards for some reason, and she had to write them in. Jack complained about addressing his envelopes at first, because I made him read the names to me intstead of just copying them down. He's a very lazy reader. Who knows how much he can actually read? He pretends he can't, when really it's "don't wanna try." Today he asked me, "What does 'Sprint' mean?" after seeing it written, when no one had told him what it said, so I know he he can read words longer than 3-letters! He acts like he can't, though.

Sophia only wrote about four of her envelopes out, before she got bored and started drawing pictures instead, and then she gave up entirely after two of those. She's a mirror-image left-handed writer, so I always have to guide her to go from left to right instead of the reverse, and then face her letters the correct way. She still couldn't do it, so I wrote it out for her and told her to copy. We're hoping that she'll figure it out during her kindergarten year. I still think it's really cool, though. I'm ambidextrous, and when I write left-handed, I write mirror-image, too. Otherwise, it's not nearly as neat. Like Leonardo da Vinci!

I just practiced. Actually, it's just as neat going both ways. But I haven't done it in a long time; I used to try to write lefty a lot more often and could do much better. But who cares?

I didn't get a picture of Chloë writing hers, because it was too dark where she was sitting, but she gave me this Valentine on Wednesday. I absolutely freaking love it!! If you can't read it, it says "Dear Mom, I sure love you. You rule. You're my girl. Mom, u r mine. You're my true love. You have a ♥ of gold. Ask me something. Tell dad I love him. Email me. Got love? Love, Chloë" Is that cute, or what??!  Sadly, the kids picked off and ate all the glued-on candy hearts shortly after I took the picture, but at least I have this!

So I never went to bed that night, because I was too amped up about finally paying some bills when the refund came in at midnight - together with Rob's mid-month pay. All that $$ was so exciting to me, and I couldn't wait to pay the bills! Everything is paid for, and we're still well in the black. I made several phone calls and managed to get many late and over-limit fees removed if I paid in full, and stuff like that, so it was kind of fun seeing how I could whittle down the amounts.

And then, around 0600 or so, I went to pay our car insurance premium. It renews this month, so I was looking over the documents. The amount actually went way down, so I was trying to figure out why, when I came across the driver history section. There, I found two incidents listed under my name for 2009, for speeding - and I hadn't gotten any tickets!! I was incensed, I tell ya. I immediately called up Progressive, who told me that they had just pulled up that information from the state to get our new rate, and that it was coming directly from them.

The hell you say! So then I had to wait three more hours (well, I took Rob's say-so that they didn't open 'til 0900, when really I found out later they'd opened at 0800. Buggers), all antsy and irritated, before the DMV opened. Imagine my surprise when they told me that not only do I NOT have three points on my license, but I had three PLUS points for my good driving record, soon-to-be four plus points when the 2009 record hits! I made her reiterate it three times before I took her word for it and hung up.

Back to Progressive. The lady (and I use that term loosely) I spoke to gave me the brush-off, telling me that their information was from the state, and that's all there was to it, buh-bye.

Back to DMV. I talked to someone new, who told me the same thing as the first person, and that sometimes the insurance companies get their information from other sources than DMV, but that they were the actual-true-real-deal authority, and I definitely didn't have any points on my license. (I knew for a fact that I didn't get those tickets, because for the first one, I had JUST had major surgery and was still heavily drugged, and the second one happened in North Carolina, and I definitely was not there in June, but still! It was very ... bewildering, this whole thing.)

Progressive again. I asked straight-away to speak to a manager, and that person came on the phone immediately, as sweet as could be. I gave her my story, and a few minutes later we discovered that they had my license number wrong for the record inquiry! What a huge relief that was, ... we were thinking my identity had been stolen, although fat luck to that person trying to use my credit! Heh. The manager pretty much bent over backward apologizing for the mistake and the rude person I'd talked to prior to that, and then she went over everything with a fine-toothed comb to make sure we were getting all the discounts we should be getting. We weren't, because we hadn't gone paperless yet, so of course I immediately agreed to that. After that and the error fixing, the premium went down another hundred bucks or so. Sweet! (It initially went down because a lot of Rob's accidents finally fell of their three-year record. Yes, he's had a lot of ... driving issues. ::snort::)

So. That out of the way, and Rob was just back from getting the card for taking his motorcycle safety class, way back months ago. He lost the card, and he couldn't go take his road test without it. Why he waited all these months to get a new one is beyond me, but let's not go there. We've had words.

I wanted to go out shopping after that, so he went with me. He'll go get his road test on Tuesday, hopefully.

Our first stop was at Walgreens, to pick up the developed pictures from the kids' disposable cameras. I haven't looked at them yet; Rob ran in to get them. Apparently a lot of them were cruddy, and he got credit back for those (do you know you don't have to pay for bad pictures? Just give them the ones you don't want, and ask for credit). They're from our two trips to Great Wolf Lodge last year. Then there was this photo collage - no clue why it won't scan properly - that I got free for Valentine's Day. Did you get one? Sign up for emails from Walgreens Photo! Or read those deal blogs; the code was on there, too. Anyway, this one is, of course, all the pix from Jack's Derby, and it's just in time, too, as we really need to start his family scrapbook for Tiger Cubs. This will be his first entry!

We went to Target after that and got lots and lots of great deals! I took smaller photos of individual deals, to break it down for you, but I never got around to posting about that last night. If you're interested in knowing, I can still do that.

It was funny, because I overheard someone saying, "She's doing the same thing we're doing," in one of the aisles. So I looked up, smiling, and asked her if she was a couponer. She was, so I asked her if she read the coupon blogs. She did, so I asked her if she reads "Hip 2 Save" (look it up on Swagbucks!) - and she does!  We, um, high-fived each other in the aisle. Rob just shook his head and called me a dork. It's true. I totally am.

We spent way too long shopping the deals at Target - I'd somehow wanted to go there, Walgreens, CVS, and out to lunch for a mystery shop before he had to go to work, ha! - and he was checking his watch every five seconds at the end. I ended up getting him home about 15 minutes late, oops. 

I still had about three hours before the kids were due home, but I knew that wasn't enough time to go out and do the mega-grocery shopping trip I wanted to do at Walmart. I've been printing out loads of internet coupons, and they were all set to expire Saturday. I didn't want them to go to waste. But there wasn't time.

And then I remembered Chloë's Valentine's Day dance as school! I only just found out about it on Thursday night, when she was in tears about not going. Huh??? I told her I would go to the school and buy her a ticket, and I'm so glad I remembered at 1400, because they were not sold at the door. 

At the school, they told me all about the dance, because I knew no details. It was from 1900-2100 (rather late for 3rd-5th graders, don't you think?), and parents were absolutely NOT invited, along with younger or older siblings. Humph. Some kids would dress up like debutantes, some would dress way down, and everywhere in between. Chloë wanted to wear her pink gown from iPOP, so we were just hopeful it would still fit. (It's a 4T, and although she is eight, she mostly wears a 5T. As does her 4yo sister!)

First things, first, though.

Hello, what's this??

I'm gonna get you, sucka!

Is that not the most gorgeous mixer you have ever seen?! When Williams-Sonoma emailed me and said this special-edition KitchenAid mixer was on sale for this weekend, oooh, I wanted it baaad. Rob was out somewhere at the time, I think at Wal-Mart getting stuff like a new headlight for my van, when I got the email. He had asked me if I wanted anything for Valentine's Day, but we agreed that, well, he's buying me yet ANOTHER surgery, and I'm getting him five pairs of (cute and sexy, we hope) jeans, and that would just be swell. But then, hey, wait a minute, this mixer that I've been eyeballing for the last, oh, 70,000 years is on SALE, and hello, it's RED!!! I ♥ red. 

So, we texted back and forth, and I batted my lashes electronically as hard as I could, and he kept saying, "we'll see." We'll see, we'll see. Aaaghhhh! 

Well, he tried to buy me the mixer right there at Wal-mart, but they didn't have it. Aw, so sweet.

The entire time he was gone, I sat at my computer and gazed at the pretty picture. And, well, I shopped around for it at Amazon and the Navy Exchange site, too, but only Williams-Sonoma had THAT one and THAT price. I coudn't put it out of my mind.

And then, I had this dinner mystery shop to do Friday night, before Chloë's dance. I swear I didn't plan that it that way, because I'd had the shop for two weeks, but it just so happened to be right down the road from the Williams-Sonoma actual physical STORE, people!! So, all innocent and just checking, I called up the store to see if they carried that mixer, the one on sale, you know the RED one - and they did. But they only had two left, and they were flying out the door, so I better hurry if I wanted one. 

I wanted one.

I called Rob and told him. He said, "Okay, get it." Wooooot!!!!!!!! I love that guy. All we've talked about is paying off this and paying off that and making lists of the things the kids need and he needs ... but he let me have this one splurge that I really, really don't deserve.

Except that I do. Because I use my mixer a lot, and it has recently gone to mixer heaven, and I've been bereft without it. I mean, I've been mixing by HAND people, and I have early arthritis! Poor, poor me, I know. It's not that bad. But it does hurt.

So, we stopped at WS, and I ran in and asked for the mixer, and they just looked at me like I was nuts. Which I am, but that's beside the point. Turns out, they only had the one on display left, and the couldn't find the box for it. So I had to wait and wait, all the while anxiously watching the time, because we were going to be late for the dance.

While I waited, I looked around, and of course my eyes lit upon the lemon poppy seed quickbread mix that Rob absolutely adores. Aha! The first thing I will make in my mixer, a little thank-you present for Hubs. And then I wandered over to the Wüsthof knives, to see what Rob was missing from his Wüsthof collection that I've been amassing for him over the years. He loves those knives, man. 

Well, he really wants a cleaver, I think, but I just don't see a lot of meat chopping happening in our kitchen. And, we're still using the same crappy set of steak knives that I got when I moved into my first apartment a dozen years ago, a Kmart special, so I have been wanting to get those for him. Only, have you ever priced a set of Wüsthof steak knives? I have. Not so cheap.

But... I found the Gourmet set of four, which is still a nice knife, but not as hefty or, well, good, as the rest of their knives, at a workable price point. I decided to get a set of four for him now, and then another set of four down the road, and then we could always upgrade further in the future. Right? Only, they didn't have any in stock, except for the two that were on display. Big bummer, I really wanted to surprise him with those.

I was still excited, though. The salesman carried out my new mixer to the car, and the kids haven't stopped talking about it. They're just as excited about it as I am (well, probably not)! It really is a beautiful sight to behold. Thank you, my love!!!

Then we went to dinner. I'd told the salesman to call me if they found the other two knives, as I would be just down the road, but they never called. Still haven't. Ah, well. Dinner was fun. The kids ate really well, even Jack, which surprised me since it was Tex-Mex. The girls always like a quesadilla, but you never know what - or if - Jack will eat. Besides chips. He's always good for chips.

So he asked for an all-chicken burrito. No cheese, no tomatoes, no lettuce, NOTHING but chicken. When they served our food and he bit into his burrito, he instantly started sobbing because everything was on it. Argh. I brought it back and reiterated, JUST CHICKEN (dammit)!

When it came back out, I thought he might eat two bites and then be done, but no! He scarfed the entire, adult-sized burrito down in five minutes flat. Boy was hungry. Mom was thrilled. 

Back at home, we got Chloë dressed as quickly as possible. I'd already made her take a shower, so her hair would be clean and curly, but she decided she wanted an updo for her "ball," as she called it. (A ball! At eight! How cute.)  She wanted a bun, plus one of the headbands I'd made. Sho' thing, sweetness. When she asked for a little make-up, I was hesitant, as that's something we reserve for dance recitals only. But then I figured, oh, why not? What would it hurt? 

I always love putting mascara on her. She's got her father's amazing lashes, and BOING, they just pop right out with mascara.  Can you see?

While my lovely little lady searched for her tights, I had to do some spot-cleaning on her dress. There were brown streaks and dots all over it. It's been hanging in my closet since iPOP two years ago, so who knows what happened to it?? Probably Sophia, she likes to hang out in there. Fortunately, everything came right out with just a little water, and it didn't leave water stains. Doesn't she look like a little princess? She said she felt like one, too.

At the dance, after she walked in, I could hear people murmuring everywhere, "Look at Chloë! Look at Chloë!" and she glided around, obviously feeling like the belle of the ball. She felt very special, I just know she did. I grabbed this quick photo with her two teachers (she's team-taught), who were busy running the concessions (oops, forgot to give Chloë any money for snacks), and then she was off. I barely got a chance to kiss her good-bye, tell her to have fun, or remind her to call me if she needed me! She was just off, into the dance, without a wave.

My big girl.

Meanwhile, I drove the Littles home. Sophia was crying because she just wanted to stay and watch, and the more I explained that neither one of us were allowed there, the harder she sobbed. Which was all it took, because on the drive home, I got more than a little teary-eyed myself. My oldest daughter's first real dance...!!! In ten years, she'll be in college. Make it stop, make it slow down!!

Back at home, the Littles and I had at ton of work to do. The house, as usual, was a disaster, and I wanted it cleaned up for two reasons: I had to pick up cookies the next day and needed the space, and Linda would be coming to babysit them while I did so. I hate having people over to a messy house!

After taking the new mixer out of the box and admiring it while they had some dessert (just candy from their school parties), and then admiring it for a few minutes longer, we got down to business. I swept the floors while they cleaned up toys, and we got everything cleared out, put away, and cleaned up. Except the kitchen and bathroom, which I never did get to last night. Oh, well, c'est la vie.

Finally, it was time to pick up Chloë. Actually, who am I kidding, the time flew by in a blink. Two hours really isn't that long when you have two other kids to keep you busy! Still, I was excited to go see the girl-child and hear all about the dance.

I couldn't find a parking spot, so we parked in the middle of the (what I call a) "go-way" and dashed in to get her. Lots of people were leaving, so I had to hurry. I couldn't find her, and then I ran into the cafeteria ballroom and saw her with a group of people dancing, mid-twirl. Great! Only, then she stopped and started chewing on her shawl thingy. I can't think of what it's called... Wrap, duh. Her wrap.

And then I got closer, and I could see the tears. She was crying!! Oh, no!! I ran in, grabbed her by the shoulders and rushed her out, away from the crowd, to a far corner. The whole time I was telling her, "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry in front of everyone, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay," because I thought she was just having an I-need-my-mommy moment, and maybe she would rather be a big girl in public, but my baby in private, you know?

Plus I didn't want her mascara all over her face in front of everyone. 

Except what I didn't know was, she was hurt! Someone had accidentally just hit her in the throat while they were dancing, but I didn't see that. She was clutching her neck and trying to keep from sobbing, poor thing. I calmed her down, we shook it off, and turned to face the teachers who were coming over to check on her. All was well, I assured them, and then we dashed back out to the car before someone keyed it. I was parked BAD. Not badly. Just BAD.

Otherwise, the dance was great, and she really enjoyed herself! She had asked me if she could have a date if a boy asked her, but I had told her no, she was too young for that. So on the way to the dance, she told me she was hoping that a certain boy would be there. I asked if she liked him. Yes... Did she like him like him? Yes!! Oh, my gosh, my daughter likes a boy!  I have to see this kid. Oh! I just realized, I could check him out in last year's yearbook. Oh, please let him be cute. ;)  I told her that it was all right if she danced with a boy, but absolutely no kissing!

So I found out after, this particular boy was not at the dance, and she was disappointed, but she did dance with two other boys. She even held hands with one - and he's a fourth grader!! I was beside myself. This growing up stuff is crazy. One minute they're saying, "ew, boys are gross," and the next, they're holding hands and dancing. Oh, I could cry just thinking about it. Too late, I am!!

Man. What a big night.

Everyone, especially Mommy, was exhausted when we got home, so the kids went right to bed. And then I did, too. Zzzzzzz

********

I know this is really long, and I haven't even done Saturday yet. I thought about breaking it up into two separate posts, but hey, I'm on a roll here. If I stop, I'll probably go take a break and then never come back. So this here is your intermission. You go take a break; I'll be here when you get back. Ready? Go!

********

Saturday.

Thank God the kids were up late and were really tired, because I hadn't slept the night before, and I was exhausted. I was barely aware of Rob coming home from work that night, and leaving for work again the next morning. Poor guy. I slept like the dead, for twelve straight hours. Thankfully, the kids slept in, too, so no harm done.

At ten, they woke me up, all excited because Miss Linda was coming. They had seen her on Bunco night, but then they were too involved with Tabitha's puppy and the toys to really pay much attention to her after that. They didn't want breakfast, they didn't want to get dressed - they just wanted Linda!

I was still tired and moving really slowly, so I hadn't gotten any further cleaning done by the time she showed up three hours later. I really didn't care, though. Hope she didn't!

I had an appointment way out in EBF Chesapeake to get to, for picking up the cookies for our troop, so I didn't really chat with her much. I expected to be gone two, maybe three hours, judging from how it went last year.

I was so wrong!! This year's team was super-organized and efficient. I was back home within an hour, and the drive itself took more than 20 minutes. Maybe 25! They asked my troop number, told me where to back up to, and loaded my van. I signed my papers and that was it. I was off!

Linda offered to help me unload the cookies from the van, and so of course I wasn't about to turn her down. I hope she wasn't just being polite! I carried the boxes from the van to the house, and she and the kids carried them into the office and organized them by type. Last year, they were all jumbled, and it was crazy trying to fill orders. And this isn't even half of them - the rest are on the other side. I ordered 79 cases, so hopefully they'll do well at booth sales. Our first one is this coming Friday night.

Then she asked me if I wanted this bookshelf that she had in her truck, that a friend was selling. Did I want it? The price was really good, and it's exactly what I have been wanting for their books for ages now! I paid maybe 30% of the cost, and it's in excellent condition. The kids absolutely love it and set right to work filling it with their books. I'm just so excited to have the books out of the cramped cabinet and actually on display for them to see what they have!

Then I shooed Linda away, because the kids and I had a lot of things to go do. Our first stop was to get gas, because both my "change oil" light and "get gas" light were on in the van. Glug, glug, glug, that was a quick pit stop. We drove 'round the corner to the place where I like to get Vanna's oil changed, but they were packed solid. He told me it would be a long wait, so I said, sayonara bitches! Not really, I just said I'd come back Monday morning. No time to waste!

We went back to Target after that, because I hadn't gotten one of my canvas bags, containing a bunch of TP wipes and the catfood my girlies were starving for. Also, the cashier had charged me double for the light bulbs. We took care of that, and then of course all three of the kids needed to use the bathroom. At least it was all taken care of at once this time!

On to Wal-Mart. I did a shopping trip like I've never done before. I brought my entire coupon box, instead of just the ones I needed, because Wal-mart doesn't really run a regular grocery ad (that I know of, anyway), so I had no clue what deals I would find. And I wanted to use up as many of those internet printables as I could. So, we went section by section through my coupon box - except for toiletries and cleaning supplies, which I'm stocking up well on at the drug stores - and spent literally EIGHT HOURS at the store, grocery shopping. We filled FIVE carts, averaging about $200 per cart (before coupons)! 

I only did this for two reasons: our food supply was super-low, and we actually had the money for once to do it. So, it was time to get that stockpile really going. 

The first thing we did was go to the eyecare place. Jack's glasses are all kinds of crooked, and I wanted them to fix 'em. But they were really busy, and I figured we could go back later. I thought we'd be in the store maybe three hours - definitely not eight! Oh, my word.

Then we hit the deli. Jack has been asking for turkey sandwiches for his school lunches, because he has been sick to death of PB&J and refusing to eat them. We haven't had the money for deli meat, so I kept having to tell him, "next time, buddy," when I went shopping. At the deli, we ordered a ton of food. Turkey pastrami for me (four pounds, for freezing, because it's so cheap and I love it so much!), and they let us eat a piece to taste. Chloë loved it, so I'm glad I got the four pounds, because Rob loves it, too. Then I saw the bologna. The kids have never in their lives tried it before, so I had no clue whether they would like it. They tried it; Chloë thought it was disgusting (uh-huh), but Jack and Sophia absolutely loved it. So a pound of that, then ham for Rob, and then some mozzarella (girls' choice) and meunster (mine) to top things off. Yum!

While we were at the deli, my kids made a friend with a little girl they'd never seen before. She was very friendly, and they were instant pals. They played a game of make-believe while their parents all ordered from the deli, and everyone around watched them with sweet smiles on their faces. It was really cute.

I started texting Rob when my cart was half-full, because he was supposed to have gotten off work already, and I knew I would need him to join us at the store. My cart was overflowing, and still no Rob. Hurry, hurry! He finally showed up, but I forgot to have him take Jack to get his glasses fixed, because Chloë really needed to go potty again. She was going to explode, I think! Naturally, all the kids had to go at the same time, again.

I shopped and shopped, coupon by coupon. When Rob first got there, we were in the dairy section. I was buying up all the yogurt in the place; my kids eat it like, well, like it's going out of style! And there were lots of great deals. Good prices, of course, are the only thing that bring me into Walmart. He kept telling me, there was no way I was going to fit it all in the fridge and freezer. We have a deep freezer too, but it's a smallish one. 

"Not going to get it all in."

"Oh, I'll get it in."

Then we went to do the freezer stuff. And the meat. And his cart started overflowing, too. 

"Not going to get it all in."

"Oh, I'll get it in!"

When his cart was full, I sent him and a now-sleeping Sophia to buy that stuff and keep it out in the car - it's cold enough - and then come back and keep shopping. A lady stopped me and said, "Hey, are you selling cookies this year?" I was all, "Huh? Who are you?" and then she explained she was a neighbor who had bought from us last year, and she'd recognized Chloë and then me. We hadn't gotten to her street yet, and she was waiting for us. That was cool. I gave her my number, so hopefully she'll call today and order a bunch!

We kept shopping, and shopping, until all the coupon categories were gone through, and we had four carts full (not including the stuff in the car from the fifth one)! It was quite a trip getting up to the cash register. I sent him to go get six huge bins for storing our stockpile, since all we have is one lousy little pantry that doesn't hold too much. While he was gone, a man in the next line was eyeballing my carts and watching me unload it all. He seemed relieved when I said something to the cashier about my husband bringing another cart, and he said, "Oh, good, I was worried you had done all that by yourself!"

Well, Rob came back after that man left, and then he had to go back and get something else we thought we'd forgotten (but hadn't, and then we bought it twice). The man returned and came up to me, saying, "I came back in to help you, because it's a lot of work..." I told him my husband would be right back, but thank you, that's very sweet!

Rob thought it was creepy. 

I didn't get creepy vibes from him at all, but I coudn't tell if he was hitting on me or just being nice. Was it weird??

Anyway. We spent a buttload of money, but we saved a good deal with all those coupons, too. I apologized to the two women behind us for taking so long, but they were really sweet and wished us a good night. Then began the ordeal of getting everything into the van, the second time it had been packed full that day. My back was absolutely aching, so Rob let me sit it out while he packed it up. When we set off, we started for home and then he remembered his truck! Oops, we hadn't driven over together, so I had to go back.

On the way home, I praised the children up and down for their absolutely wonderful behavior. I mean, eight hours at the grocery store is pretty darn outrageous, but they behaved like absolute angels!! They were so good, and I thanked them and told them I was so proud of them. I could tell they were pleased with themselves.

 
 
  
The kids, of course, were absolutely starving out of their minds, and they were freezing, too. Especially Jack. He was too cold to walk to the kitchen and had to be carried. Too cold to eat his soup and needed a straw. Poor guy was miserable. I could relate. They all ate a pretty good dinner and then went down to the couch to watch G-Force while we put away groceries. Sophia was wide awake, having napped at the store, but Jack and Chloë were out like a light in just a few minutes.

It took three hours, but I filled the six bins and reorganized the whole pantry, so now we have a real, working stockpile. From now on, I can just buy stuff that's free or almost free! Our bins are full, and they are labeled according to what's inside for easy access. I hope this all works out and isn't more trouble than it's worth.

After I put all the dry goods away, Rob finally brought in the cold stuff. My eyes went wide. I had definitely overbought! Definitely.

"You're never going to get it all in."

But guess what?

I got it in.

Fin.

P.S. Yes, I was proud of myself and did the happy dance. It was a lot of work! 
  
 
  

Shot Through The Heart

I'm talkin' 'bout bullets, people:

• I was scheduled to work today, 11 AM - 4 PM. I am SO sick of the boot (post-op shoe) I've been wearing for my broken toe, and it's been feeling pretty good lately, so I opted to wear my sneakers on both feet lately. BIG MISTAKE. By 1:30 PM, I was practically in tears. I called home to see if Rob could bring me the boot, but I had all the carseats with me and he couldn't. My manager was standing right next to me, and since she needed to cut hours anyway, she sent me home. That part sucked, but it was nice being home with my family.
• 
  
• Rob tried to go get his motorcycle road test done at the DMV today before I left for work (never mind that he should have been doing that instead of, well, me when he came home early the other day), but something was wrong and they had a notice that NO ONE could do any kind of tests or get licenses or anything. That sucked, too. He's still driving that gas-guzzler of a LandCruiser after all this time!
• 
  
• Chloë and I decided to go out and sell candy and nuts for the Girl Scouts, since we haven't done any of that yet and the sale is several weeks old. (Thank you, soccer.) We only went to one house before the skies opened up and we had to go home in the rain. That sucked, too! 
• 
  
• I was tired, so I decided to take a nap, telling Rob to wake me up in time to go to church. Well, I woke up on my own - 15 minutes past when we were supposed to be at church. He fell asleep, too, and didn't set an alarm. Guess whether it sucked??
• 
  
• Stephanie and Tim (aka "Stim") arrived after their own church service, so Steph and I could go out and do a mystery shop at the bar of her favorite restaurant (drinking not required, which is a good thing since I can't, and she's nearly 37 weeks pregnant). That did not suck. We have been talking all things 'baby' whenever we get together lately, and I have a feeling it's a topic neither of us would tire of quickly!
• 
  
• I drove Steph home and got to look at Baby Luke's newly-painted nursery, and all of the goodies they've acquired for him. I am jealous; I wish it were me having a newborn in the house! I told Rob today that we could have a surrogate baby, since I still have an ovary and he still has testes, albeit with a severed connection... He firmly answered "no!" Harumph. I would have three more if I could!
• 
  
• I got home after 9 PM, and Rob was just then feeding the kids some dinner. Good thing it's a Saturday night. He deviated from the menu plan, though; I'll have to spank him later. ;) Then all three of them cashed in some Dad Dollars so they could stay up late. We let them go 'til 2300. What the heck, we don't have to be anywhere 'til noon tomorrow. They cashed in more DDs so they could watch TV. I still hear them playing upstairs, though. Stinkers!

And that's about all I've got for this fine October Saturday. What about y'all?

Fin.

What. A. Day. ... What. A. Night!

Forewarning: This will be long!

I didn't go to bed 'til, like, 0200 or something, and I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn (0630) to wake up The Fam. I haven't stopped running since. Both girls had to be at their soccer fields at the insane-if-you-ask-me hour of 0745. Sophie's game was at 0800, and Chloë's was at 0830, but her team pictures were scheduled for 0745. How do they expect these kids to play when they are so darn tired?! Anyway, I managed to sneak behind the professional shutterbug and snap these pictures of my older soccer player. He requested she not wear her glasses - fine by me! Now you can see her face.

Here's the whole team of Purple Dolphins, minus one who didn't show. On the left is Coach Cam, and on the right is Coach Matt. I stayed and watched the photo shoot while Rob took Sophie to her game. They were short players - and therefore parents - and he ended up coaching Sophie's half of the team while CoachJohn took the other three girls. Glad it wasn't me!

They had one picture for being silly! Too cute.

Can you see my little Chlo running out there in the middle? Unfortunately, I forgot to put a memory card in the new camera, so these are all the soccer pics I was able to get next week. I have one now, so maybe more and better ones next week, after I've had a little time to learn the camera some more.

We're SO proud of the girls today. I first watched Chloë play, and she ran her little heart out! She even managed to steal the ball away from the other team and kick it halfway down the field before they stole it back. Then she kicked the ball and slipped on it, twisting her leg. She was just sobbing, and I held her and let her cry into my shoulder until snack time, when she was magically better. Jack and I left her then, running down to Field 3 from Field 5, to see Sophia play.

Now, Sophie was completely exhausted from staying up too late herself. She was sound asleep while I dressed her in her soccer clothes, and didn't really wake up until halfway to the Sportsplex! So I didn't expect much out of her for today's early game. But when Jack and I arrived to find Daddy coaching, Sophia was running clear from one end of the field to the other, with the ball in her control, and made a kick for the goal. She missed, but it's clear she could be really talented at this support if she would just apply herself.

She saw me, then, and left the field, refusing to go back. So I bribed her, telling her that if she would just stay ON the field - she didn't even have to play, just stay on the field with her teammates - I would take the kids to Linda and Tony's house later, at night. Of course, they were going to go anyway, so I was banking on the fact that they super-enjoy going there, and as I'd hoped, it proved to be enough incentive. She literally just stood there on the field, but at least she got out there!

Back to Chloë's game we ran. Just in time to see her put back in the game and take the ball away from the opposing team again! She only got a couple little kicks in, but I was so proud of her - and I could tell the other parents were, too! Several of them know she has a background in dancing, and everyone knows this is her first season playing soccer, so they were really shouting out encouragements to her. I guess it worked! I was elated. So  happy for her! Well, except when an opposing team member completely body-checked her, and she got hurt again. Ugh! Poor thing.

Jack and I arrived back at Field 3 just in time to see the game end, with Sophie standing there sucking her thumb. No matter. She stayed! Rob and I lined up across from each other, to make the tunnel for all the players to run through - Sophie's favorite part of the games after snack time. We grabbed her post-game snack, said sayonara to Coach John, and ran back to Field 5 with Daddy.  Chloë continued to run with the pack, really getting in there and attacking that ball whenever she had the chance. As Coach Matt said, she really showed some hustle today, and he noticed a major improvement over last week.

Good job, girls!!

After we again made the tunnel for the players and fetched Chloë's post-game snack, we finally headed home after 2½ hours at the Sportsplex. By now, the kids were pumped up and raring to go.

Rob again didn't get his motorcycle license today, because like the past three weekends, it's been too late after soccer ends to get in the DMV on time. Maybe next weekend he'll just have to miss a game, and make taking that test as high a priority as it is for me to stop paying a trillion dollars every three days to fill up his LandCruiser with gas. Know what I'm sayin'?

I had a lunch date with Steph for a mystery shop, and the girls were originally supposed to go with me while Jack and Rob sold popcorn. Their sale was canceled, so the four of them stayed home and cleaned the kids' rooms while Steph and I had a lunch date. 

I had a really nice time with her today! We had a great conversation over a very nice meal, and it was wonderful to be able to go without the kids hanging on our every word. She's really close to having Baby Luke now, so we talked at length about all things labor, delivery, and newborns.  I can't wait to meet the littlest Goetsch!

Let's see, let's see... what next? Oh, after lunch, Steph and I headed to Toys 'R Us to do a little birthday present shopping. Well, I did. She's 90 weeks pregnant and had to pee. Hehe. On Friday, Sophie was invited to a classmate's birthday party on Sunday. Hello, short notice! But I figure it's good karma to let them go to as many parties as they can attend and make the honoree happy. I bought an "I Spy" game and a reusable gift bag that I hope the mama, well, reuses.

We came home and chatted some more in our kitchen, and then Steph took her leave. Rob took some "before" pictures of me, since I was about to go get a haircut, but I hate them. I think I look a lot fatter in the pictures than I do in real life, so I don't want to show them. Oh, what the hell. This is today, at 130 lbs lost, but I'll take newer, better ones at the 150-lb mark:

Focus on the hair. There was a big change from that to this:

Which I just LOVE!

As for the clothes, I'm wearing a shirt and jeans that I've never been able to wear before. After my shower, I went through my whole wardrobe and dismissed everything that was a 2x or 3x (I only want ONE X in my clothes now; the others just hang off me and look ridiculous), or a 20+ size. It does me some mental good to get rid of those humongo sizes, and it does me some mental good to only have smaller sizes in my closet. Unfortunately, that leaves me with about three things I can wear, not including my work uniform, so I will need to head to the thrift store on Monday and take advantage of the 20% Military-Monday discount! They get some really good clothes in there and assign them awesome prices, so I should get some great deals.

Anyway, I went to get my haircut, and I knew exactly what I wanted. My sister gave me layer upon ridiculous layer, and I was so sick of it. It just did NOT look good on me. What was she thinking?!! So, I wanted a chin-length bob, angled toward my face, to get rid of the layers.

Tommy cut my hair; it was the first time a man has ever cut my hair before. He was the only stylist available on such short notice when I called earlier in the week, fed up with my tresses, but I wasn't worried, since he owns the place and has cut both Jack and Sophie's hair in the past.

He was a man of few words, being both tired and sore from working all day, but I rather liked it. I'm not really a big fan of all the hair salon chit-chat. I always feel like I have to come up with some juicy gossip or some really interesting tidbit about my life, and it's agonizing for me. I'd rather just sit quietly and enjoy the pampering.

At the end, though, I could tell he was just as pleased as punch with my haircut - as much as I was! He kept showing me off to other stylists and clients alike, and they all gushed about how great it looked on me. I have to agree - I felt rather hot and sexy with my new 'do! Rob also concurs. He's been all over me ever since I came home. Hee!

Rob and I had a dinner date down at Rudee's Inlet (a marina near the oceanfront), so we dropped the kids off at Linda and Tony's and headed out to another mystery shop. Our expectations were high, as I had a rather large dinner budget, but the place just did not meet our pre-conceived notions. By itself, it didn't suck, but it was not at all what we thought it would be. We were expecting something like the Ruth's Chris of seafood restaurants, and instead it was more low-key, casual, with a cafeteria-like feel. Lots of children. And we spent less than half of our budget. Which is fine, but it just wasn't the fancy night out for which we were hoping. Oh, well.

Rob took this picture of me at dinner, so I could put it up on Facebook as my new profile image. Not bad, but he never tells me when my hair is a mess or something needs fixing!

Not that I can complain much, because what the hell is he doing in this picture? I have no idea.

For an appetizer, Rob got a half-dozen oysters, and I chose the jumbo shrimp cocktail. I shared half of mine with him, because of course I couldn't eat it all. It was really good, though, as was all our food. The food wasn't the issue. It was the ambiance. Eh, well.

For an entrée, Rob had the tuna special, while I chose the crabcake combo, including broiled lemon-pepper scallops (yum), green beans and baby potatoes. I ate about two bites of that before I had to run to the bathroom and puke. I think I'm developing a problem with that, but I don't know. I have to make myself throw up, sticking my finger down my throat, to relieve the discomfort of too much food or something just not sitting right in my pouch. It happens an awful lot, and while I'm doing it to relieve pain and not to get skinny, exactly, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it out of habit or because I really need to. I think I should talk about it with my doctor, and also find a new therapist. Sigh.

Rob ordered the chocolate eclair cake for dessert. Apparently it was quite tasty but too sweet. He got an upset stomach after that and has been crapping his brains out ever since! Poor thing.

So after we picked up the children from Linda's, we headed over to HT where I work to get a few groceries. Little did I know what drama that would entail...

I didn't really know what I wanted, just that a lot of produce was on special. I was out of fruit for the kids' lunches, so I picked up lots of good fruits and veggies for next week: apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, grapes, baby carrots... and more. Some fresh baked bread, some cheeses and whole grain crackers for my own snacks, some Cokes on sale, but mostly good, fresh, healthy stuff. A lot of stuff, much more than what I'd expected to buy.

I'd never spoken to or really met the store manager, T, before tonight. He'd never introduced himself to me while I was working, or vice-versa. So when I asked a deli clerk for help with some cheese, she in turn needed help and called him. I told him who I was and that I worked there, and thanked him for the help. That was that.

But then, when we checked out, our order came to $160. I had $80 in cash and wanted to pay the rest on my debit card. You with me? Well, the cashier rang in the $80 cash twice, essentially paying for our order without allowing me to use the card. He proceeded to try to give me change to boot! I stopped him, of course, and told him that he had made a mistake. He refused to admit his mistake, but I wasn't going to allow him to be $80 short, so we called customer service.

The store got really busy all of a sudden then, so we waited and waited and waited until someone could help us. Finally, T, the store manager, took us over to the customer service desk to straighten things out. Unfortunately, something in their system changes at 10 pm, and it had just turned to 10 pm, and he wasn't able to fix the mistake. (I'm trying to make this long story short, so sorry if it's a little confusing!) Finally, in frustration I think, he said, "I just canceled it out. Go ahead, have a nice night."

Huh? What? I was like, "But, but..." and he insisted, "Go on. Have a good night!"

So what happened was, we got $160 worth of food for only $80, because he wasn't able to fix the problem. I was stunned. It wasn't my fault, but I still feel really guilty about it, like I was scamming my store out of food... but that's Harris Teeter for you! They really take care of their customers, and I was treated like one myself. I even offered to let him dock my pay for the amount, but he insisted we just go. Wow. Rob and I were both incredulous.

But that's not all. When we got home, we realized that Rob had had my wallet while this was all going on, and he'd forgotten to take it out of the cart and bring it in the van with us. We couldn't find it anywhere, and I was trying like hell to maintain my composure and not go ballistic on him. That wallet is basically my whole life; I'd be up shit's creek without a paddle if it was lost or stolen!

We got everyone back in the van and rushed back to HT, calling the store on the way to see if it had been turned in. The manager, T, was looking all over for my wallet in the shopping carts, while Rob and I searched the van. Finally, T came over and informed us that he'd found it! Thank God, thank God, thank God. I was sending up major prayers of thanks... until I couldn't find my debit card!

T took Rob inside to look at the security tape from our transaction at customer service, to see what happened to that red card. I stayed outside with the children.  They came rushing out to tell me that the tape showed I'd stuffed it in my purse with the receipt, and we instantly found it. So, more thankfulness!

I turned to T and told him, "Sorry about all the drama tonight! I think I'm going to reintroduce myself to you on Monday when I come in to work!" He laughed, told me not to worry about it, and again wished us a good night. He seems like a really, truly great guy, and I like him immensely. I just wish I'd met him on better terms!

I'd promised the kids a treat long before, when we were leaving Linda's house, and Chloë and Jack still wanted to cash in. Sophie fell asleep in the car, so Rob carried her to bed and tucked her in while I took care of the groceries and fixed their treat. Jack just wanted some of the honey sunflower bread I'd bought - easy enough. Chloë decided on some chocolate-dipped bananas, so I melted the chocolate wafers I'd just bought and dipped about five sliced bananas. I had to try one myself, of course - pure deliciousness! She popped four or five before deciding that she'd had enough. That kid is really good at regulating her intake of sweets.

The treats don't look quite as good wrapped in green cellophane, do they? No. But trust me, they are the shizznat, and you want one.

And that, my friends, was our crazy Saturday. I hope you had a good one, too!

Fin.

Hangin' In

So I thought I was going to catch up on the posts, but I haven't because I've been too tired to deal with all the pictures!

Here's a quick recap:

Saturday - We went to Kings Dominion, just north of Richmond. It's an amusement park with a waterpark inside. I had 5 - no, six? - mystery shops to do there, so my ticket and parking were paid for. 'Course I couldn't go alone, so the family joined.  We had lots of fun, took tons of pictures - and if you're my friend on Facebook, you can see them there! If you're not, why not??

Sunday - We drove Chloë up to camp in Williamsburg. She's there until Friday. This is her second year at camp. I miss her like crazy; last night I cried about it. I worry if she's having fun, if she's okay with the thunderstorm we got that night, if she's eating enough and if she's showering okay. She seemed fine though, and we've been sending her emails this year instead of regular mail (it costs, though, which is stupid).  Last year and this year were so different; she's being treated like a queen now! She's in an air-conditioned cabin, for Pete's sake. Maybe it's because she's in the "Be a Star" program and they get the star treatment??

Monday - Sucked for both Rob and me. He was supposed to do his Navy motorcycle class so that he can drive the bike on base - and off. Not supposed to drive off base without their seal of approval! He drove an hour north of here to take the class and, lo and behold, didn't have the motorcycle registration with him. Has no idea where it is. So they wouldn't let him on base, and of course he couldn't take the effing class. A major setback on the motorcycle front. I tried to be supportive, but you know.... ARGHHHHHH! Why did you not lay EYES on the thing before you went up there??? At least his Toyota parts came in for the Land Cruiser, so if he fixes that he can drive it again. One way or another, I needs mah Vanna back to drive up to NY later this month!

Later that night I had a mystery shopping gig at a local college that paid really well. It was boring, but worth it. When asked why now was the right time for me to go back to school, I replied that my youngest was going to be in school full time, so it was time for me to get back into the working world. The admissions guy asked me what school "he" was looking at, if he would be going somewhere locally. I said, "She'll be in preschool - how old do you think I am?!!" Geez. Now I'm paranoid!

Tuesday - A fun day. We dropped Rob off at work and then went to pick up "Miss Linda" for an all-day shop at a local water park. Sophia and Jack had tons and tons of fun; Jack even got a little adventurous and rocked and rolled in the lazy river in his tube. That was big stuff for him. Linda and I both got sunburns, but we made sure to slather the kids a few times, and they were fine. We both went down this big slide after being warned it would give us an 'atomic wedgie,' and they were right. Front and back! Owie. Good times, though.

Wednesday - Not a lot of fun for the kiddos. I saw my shrink for more meds, and he commented on my weight loss. 106 lbs, dudes! My dosages don't change after all that weight, which surprises me. After that, I did a quickie wine shop and a fast food shop (for Rob) before returning with the van so he could work for another hour or two. After work, we went out to dinner for another shop and then I worked on all my reports while Rob put my desk back together in the office. So I'm finally 'home' after being set up at a makeshift spot in the living room, which sucked. Now I can get back into the blogging groove!

{ I watched So You Think You Can Dance while typing reports, and I have finally decided on my two favorites. Jeannette (I think that's her name? Dark hair, not the one from Miami, although she's good too) for the girls and Cutie Jason for the guys. Do you watch? Who's your fave? I think this is the first season I've watched from the beginning, all the way through, thanks to DVR. }

Well, blah blah blah. Don't know if I'll be in tomorrow since I've got nothing but shops planned but you never know.

I shall return.

Fin.

I Love You More Than You Love Me

So I've come to a very sad realization: Seafood hates me.  A great deal.  And though I haven't eaten meat from a cow, pig or other four-legged creature since August 1995, I love me some sea creatures. (Certain ones, with whom I'm closely acquainted, are also out of my diet, but no need to go into that here.) And I've attempted to eat a lof them lately. Each time, well, they don't stay down. They don't stay down in a very violent way, if you get my drift.

So that sucks. I was counting on Shrimpy and his friends being a large contributor to my necessarily protein-rich diet, now that I'm on solids. And I didn't do that well with the Cornish Game Hens that Rob served tonight, either. I very carefully measured out 2 ounces, but was only halfway through before I had to bolt from the table.  I kept it down, but barely.

So Oscar the Pouch (that's my new official name for it, wdyt?) is suddenly way more sensitive than he used to be. It's because I'm more healed now, and the effects of surgery and all that anesthesia have worn off more, so it's no longer numb and sedated. Before, I could eat way more. Now, I can't even finish half a yogurt.

It's going to be tough to eat. I'm not looking forward to it anymore. I wish I could just quit.

Also, my sleep schedule is all discombobulated this weekend, and I haven't felt good, and blah.

But enough of that whine.

I stayed up all night last night, reading Elizabeth Zimmermann's The Opinionated Knitter. If you're a knitter, are you well acquainted with EZ? The more I read of her writings, the more I love her and am saddened that she's gone. She was a true genius with construction, and I learn so much from her patterns. Not only that, but she's extremely amusing. I gave Rob the book this morning so he could read a few passages, and he was as tickled as I was. Even if you're not into knitting, maybe check her out.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend. The kids were all in shorts, and it was almost 80º. We even slept (well, some slept) with the windows open last night, to the cat's utter discontent.  I was mostly out of sorts, but Rob took the kids outside to shoot waterguns and play while he worked on the bike.

Oh, that. Yes, he took the test this weekend. No, he did not pass. The bike kept stalling out on him, but maybe he can go ahead and practice this week before taking it again next weekend. 

Chloë and I went to Wally World tonight after I finally got up and took a very necessary shower. I needed cleaning supplies, among other things, but they didn't have a lot of what I went in for.  That really irritates me. I stand there and stand there, staring at the shelf, waiting for the missing item to materialize, and it never does. Bah!

We came home with lots more than I'd planned. I did need a humongo back of AA batteries and a black printer ink cartridge (check and check). But we also bought a food scale for me, a new electric can opener because the last one died and I'm sick of wrestling with the manual one, and tons and tons of bunny supplies. I've said it before and I'll say it again: that dern bunny eats more than our gigantic dog does!

This post is going nowhere, so I should. I cast on for EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket (my third or fourth) while watching Celebrity Apprentice tonight. (Oh, Scott!) I wanted to have it finished by Bunco on Wednesday night, so I could show it to Stephanie, but she's not going. Wah.

Anyway. 'Night.

Fin.

P.S. Oh, I did do some cleaning and Wii Fit tonight. No worries! ;)

The Longest Day

Whew. I am bushed.

Our day started at 0530, which is crazy early for me. The last time I woke up that early (on purpose) was... okay, well, it was one month ago today for my surgery! I'm a month out! I didn't get to weigh in this morning, because we had to run, so I'll do it tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I first woke up Chloë, so I could get her in the shower with me in order to floof up her curls. Jack woke up in the process and dressed himself, thinking he was going to school. He was on autopilot. Teehee, it was cute.

We woke Sophia last; she's so adorable when she's just been awakened from a sound sleep.  Rumpled hair, squinty eyes... too cute.

After I showered and dressed and ascertained that all the children were dressed and ready to go, I ran downstairs to get them shod and coated. Then I made them each a bag of "breakfast blend": a mixture of Cap'n Crunch, Rice Chex, and Golden Grahams, along with a sprinkle of chocolate chips. No, I don't normally give them chocolate for breakfast, but I was feeling generous.

And off we went, for the two-hour drive north to Aylett, VA. I had to get gas first, and somehow managed to fill up for under $30. Sweet! I'd forgotten my debit card at home, though. Oopsie.

Nobody slept in the car, unforch. I had hoped they would, so no one would be a crankypants at the shoot, but no one was. I didn't know it at the time, but Chloë read 30-something pages of her Beezus and Ramona book on the drive up; I'd thought she was just being grumpy! I didn't realize it was because she was busy, Mooom.

****

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Rob was having the beginning of an absolutely miserable day. He was supposed to do his 2-day motorcycle course, starting this morning, on the Navy base... but the bike wouldn't start. Hindsight is 20/20 - we should've started it before I left, but he was able to start it last night with no problem and assumed it would be the same today. Nope. I was already on 1-64 West when he called, and I asked him what he wanted me to do. What to do, what to do? Turn around and give him a boost? And be late for our call time in Aylett? Or keep going and be on time for the shoot?

In the end, he told me to keep going. I've regretted it ever since. I should have turned around. I could have pretended I got lost or something.

So he never made it in. Oh, he got the bike started eventually, but he only drove down the road a short piece before it died again, and wouldn't restart at all. It was gone. Damn thing! So he walked back home, leaving the 'cycle where it was all day, and fretted. His work wasn't happy. He couldn't get in. I'm flabbergasted that no one could take off for the 20-minute drive to come and get him?? I could have picked him up on my return. He contemplated renting a car, but I vetoed that idea for financial reasons. So he spent the day at home.

I'd have bitched about the kitchen still being a disaster when I got home, but then, he could bitch about the same thing in every other area of the house, and there would go that argument! And so I didn't.

****

Back to the NOVEC shoot. Our call time was 0830, and we got there ten minutes early. The director, Eric, pulled up at the same time as us, and he opened the back door to find Sophia absolutely covered in chocolate on her hands and face. I was mortified! Haha! He said, "Oh, my, you have been eating something good, haven't you?!" He was amused when he found out her name, as it's the same as his own daughter's.

I apologized for having the Littles with me, saying I couldn't get a sitter, and then let Chloë out to meet him. She ran up and gave him a great, big hug, and he was smitten with her! She has always been a man's child. She loves men. And they love her. Yes, I'm worried about ten years from now - heck, seven!

I spit-shined Sophia's hands and face, and then we and the suitcase went inside to stand around and look stupid. The shoot was at a model home in a new development, and so I was on the Littles like white on rice to keep them from touching a single solitary thing. And there were lots of knick-knacks and decorations, so I was kind of antsy! Plus it was my first time on a real, professional shoot, so I was nervous about my own comportment. Eric eased the way, though; he had called me the other day to let me know what to expect and to assure me that they were a fun group. And they were.

We met Terri, who played Chloë's mom in two of the commercials (there were three; Chloë and Mom were in the first one, all three with Dad in the second, and Chloë and Dad in the third!). When Terri finished hair and make-up, Chloë went in. She looked gawjus, dahlink. Just adorable. I'm saying this from a completely objective, unbiased, non-bragging point of view: that is one good-looking kid! (Are we sure she's ours?)

Anyway. The crew was setting up for the shoot upstairs, so Eric offered us breakfast in the kitchen. The Littles were all over that, although they'd demolished their "breakfast blend" in the car. They ate bagels, muffins, and granola, and drank half the bottle of prop OJ from the stocked fridge for the third spot! He said it was okay for them to have anything from the fridge, as long as we didn't empty it. I didn't allow them anything else.

Gosh, I'm totally rambling. This is going to be one long post. Sorry. And I forgot my camera, so the few measly pictures I have are on my cell, and I don't feel like dealing with that at the moment. And none of the Supah Stah! Jeepers, Melanie.

Then the NOVEC Client appeared and introduced herself to us. She was fancy and business-like, but also nice and pleasant, and I liked her. At the same time, Terri asked if Jack and Sophie were twins, and I said no and told her their ages and all that. Then Sophie piped up for everyone who was downstairs at the time to hear, "And Robby is in heaven because he died!" Oy. I hate it when they bust that out in front of just anybody! Eric said, "Who?" And I gave a wry smile and said, "Our son, my son." He and the Client and I don't know who else gave me that look and said they were sorry. Sigh.

So finally it was time for the first shoot. The Littles and I were banished from the house, so their noise wouldn't carry upstairs into the filming. We played in the backyard for at least an hour and a half, and I was so mad at myself for forgetting to take our coats outside! Brr. It was nippy. They played so hard that it didn't really affect them, but mostly I sat in the lawn and watched them and was cold. There were a ton of leaves in the yard, and they had fun with that.

Oh, the yard. It was wonderful. They had a grand time playing out there. It was a good-sized yard, with surrounding woods, and a deck under which they could play in the leaves and dirt. Really, the Nons had a ball, and Jack kept asking if we could move there. He even said, "Daddy can come to visit us here!"  Hahaha. He wanted to know if we could move all their toys and things to the house, since nobody else lived there. And that was mostly because of the fun they had being outdoors all day in the spacious yard. Breathing fresh air. Playing in the dirt. Scuffling in the leaves. Even getting pricked by the thorny vine he kept calling a "cactus plant." It absolutely breaks my heart. (What little yard we have, and I mean it's minuscule, is the dog's potty. And we don't scoop back there, ever. So no romping.)

Whenever I get my van back - and I hope it's next week - I vow to take them to the park every day!!

And definitely, our next house will have a yard. It's a must.

Finally, Terri the Mom came out to get us and let us know we could come back in and get Chloë changed out of her PJs (by the way, remind me not to get things together at the last minute like that again; the pink jammies we brought had yellow paint all over them! Embarrassing! But we had a back-up set) and into summertime clothes for the next ad.

I coudn't whittle down all the cute choices of Gymboree tanks and shorts, so I brought a whole mess o' summer clothes. They had a hard time picking, too! We finally settled on something, and then selected her winter outfit and outerwear for her quick change operation, for the second half of the shoot. She went back into hair and make-up to have her locks recoiffed, and then we were banished again.

By the by, we brought ten stuffed animals, a framed photo, and my cell, iPod and Palm for the first shoot. They didn't need any of them. Eric said, "I couldn't remember whether I'd asked you to bring them." Urgh. Uh, yeah, you did. But that's okay, I'd rather have it and not need it than the reverse.

This time, I took the Tots out to the van, because they were shooting downstairs now, and I wasn't sure if they'd hear us out in the yard. I was constantly having to remind the kids not to shout or stomp the first time, and I didn't want to get yelled at! So I let them loose in the back of the car while I knitted in the front seat.  They got back into their cereal and rice cakes, and now I have smashed Crunch all over my vehicle. Glorious.

I made it all the way up to the last 20 or so minutes, when I started stockinette-stitching myself into a coma. So I made the kids buckle into their seats, lest they get out and get hurt, and I put my seat back down. Jack fell asleep before I did! I don't know if Sophia ever slept, but by the time I dozed, it was only a few minutes before Eric was knocking on the window. When he woke me up, my right hand was tucked into my pants! Heehee. Again, embarrassing! He gestured and said, "Uh, sorry about that!" and I don't know if he meant waking me up or catching me that way!

It was lunchtime at last. We trooped into the house, where Chloë was already dining on chips, cheese, and cherry tomatoes. She goes for the alliterative meals, I guess.  I tried getting veggies and dip for the Bitties. Nope, not having it. Sandwich? Nope. What, then? Jack wanted some prop yogurt, but I put my foot down. In the end, Sophie agreed to some cheese, and Jack wanted some ham (ew). I made a turkey and cheese sandwich to share with Sophie, and pulled some extra ham on the plate for Jack.

We joined most of the crew out, and the grown-up actors, out on the deck for lunch. Sophie refused her sandwich and immediately, to my chagrin, started going up to each person and pointing to their plates, saying, "Can I have that? Can I have a bite?"  She's such a little piggy! I was so mortified, and kept calling her name to chastise her, but they were all enamored of her and shared their food! Aagh! Don't encourage her, people! She scored some celery and dip, some chips, some carrots, and Lord knows what else.  She did attempt to share some of the food she'd scored with other folks, which made them laugh.

And I made a mistake: I took two bites of the sandwich, bread and all. Oh, it was a yummy-looking (and tasting) onion roll, and I just couldn't resist. Well, two bites was all it took. I thought I was going to start puking right there on the deck, in front of all those people! I learned my lesson on that, for sure. I waited a few moments and then continued eating the cheese and turkey and was fine. But I will mourn bread.

After being given a chocolate chip cookie each, I washed the kids up and then it was time to get ready for some more filming. I sent the little ones out to the backyard to play (I watched them from the back door the whole time, and there was absolutely NO traffic except for our own group anyway) while I stayed in and watched the goings-on. First, they filmed Chloë's hand up close for the second ad, changing the thermostat. Amazing how long that little bit of acting took! How many shots, how much set-up and adjusting and discussion. Very interesting.

Then she went back into wardrobe and hair and make-up for the final ad. Terri the Mom left, as she was finished, and the extremely nice NOVEC Client took her leave as well, thanking me for Chloë. Eric had told me previously that she'd beaten out a lot of other kids for the commercial and had had to get the approval of a lot of people before being chosen. Proud Mama!

I was able to watch half the filming of the second ad, through two of Chloë's three wardrob and hair changes. At one point, she was supposed to pick up the jar of pickles and express her disgust. Well, she's such a ham; between takes, she kept going on about how she hated pickles, they were disgusting, etc. They told her, that's okay, you don't really need to eat them. She replied, "Oh, no, I really do like pickles. I was just acting!" OMG. They roared, and I was rolling. Hilarious!!!!

The Littles insisted on coming in at that point, so I let them stay for exactly ten seconds before Eric gave the "I need quiet on the set!" and I rushed them back out to the yard. I'd been assured that they couldn't hear us playing out there, so we stayed. By then it was beautiful out, so no need for coats.

We ran around, playing, and I lay on the ground and let them bury me in leaves. I got several in my mouth, blech. We were still rolling around on the lawn when Eric came out and said they were finished with her. He told me what a great job Chloë had done, that she's gotten a little tired at the end but did fantastic for such a long day of shooting. (She'd been up since 0530, and it was 1530 by then!) Most kids would have had a meltdown by then, in his experience.

I asked him about the commercials, since it's for a non-local-to-us power company. They're going to edit them tomorrow and email them to me sometime next week! And I can share with you and anyone I want, as long as I don't charge for the privilege. (Rats!) He and the hair lady helped me with our bags and stuff, and she fetched a string cheese and cookies for each of the kids.

And finally, at last, we were on our way home again. Rah.

We were maybe, possibly, a mile down the road before I looked in my rearview and saw three floppy heads in the backseat. Sound, sound asleep. As soon as I heard "I Kissed a Girl" come on the radio, though, I knew I had a problem. Sure enough, Sophie popped out of her deep sleep and said, "MOMMY! Is that Katy Perry?" She has a bit of an obsession with her. Heh. She didn't go back to sleep for the rest of the trip!

Jack and Chloë snored for quite a while, and then finally Curly woke up and started reading B&R again. She always loves to tell me what page she's on, what chapter, and what the action is. I love that she is so thrilled with books. "Mommy! In Chapter Four, Beatrice turns TEN! That means she was NINE for the first three chapters!"

We got to around Williamsburg with no problems, and then the late-afternoon sunlight striping the road started to affect my eyeballs. It makes me sleepy, and I had touch-and-goes all the way home from there. We ran into several accidents that delayed our arrival by at least 20 minutes - not bad, but I was dying to be home and crash. And not crash, myself. But we made it.

The rest of the night was pretty standard, with a little play, a little Noggin, dinner, baths, etc. Nothing exciting.

So if you made it all the way through this novella, bravo to you! It was a fun, fun day, and I'm so glad she enjoyed it and did so well. Next up: her movie shoot on Sunday!

Fin.

At Last, Some Knitting Content

So today was no different than the past two days, in that I was virtually useless and feeling devoid of energy and motivation. Oh, well. That week is over, essentially, and a new one will begin. I'll just try again to be more, do more.

The last time I weighed myself, I was down 33 pounds. Just sharin'.

Tomorrow morning, Rob will go in for his motorcycle road test. I'm hoping like hell he passes, because I want my damn van back. Have I told you about that? I think I haven't. His f**king Land Cruiser wouldn't start on Tuesday morning, so he took my van to work. That night, he messed around with it, culminating with its engine catching on fire. Twice. He ran in the house, got the fire extinguisher, and then sprayed the dickens out of the thing.

The fat lady has thus sung. The LC will go the way of the Jetta: to the junk heap. Am I a little bitter? Why, yes, indeed I am. Let's move on, shall we? Everyone cross your fingers that he passes tomorrow. I have places to go, things to do, people to see - and I'm tired of being housebound.

 

I sewed up the sleeves and added on the buttons for this baby sweater I'd finished knitting over a week ago, Autumn Leaves by Nikki Van De Car. (Yes, I took the picture on top of cases of Girl Scout cookies, because they are taking over my life right now!!) Stephanie chose the buttons while she was babysitting last night; neither of us is fully satisfied with them, but I only had enough of this one kind. We both agree wooden ones would've been nicer, but I didn't have enough. The yarn is Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK, which I adore. It's scrumptious and squeezy and smooshy and soft.

 

Here is the back of the sweater. Do you like it? I do. The pattern was a bit frisky - there are a few errors - but it was intuitive enough to figure out what was meant. My only change was making the sweater longer than called for, but that was not intentional. I simply got carried away at dance class one night! I wish I could see it on some sweet little baby, but alas, into the CARE Package bins it will go.

****

I saw my prescribing shrink today, at his separate office rather than my therapist's office where I used to meet him. I guess I am transferring over to the new place, I don't know. And I don't care, as long as my insurance continues to cover it! The visit lasted about eight minutes, long enough for him to ascertain that I was still doing well on the meds, answer my questions about how my meds will change now that I've had the drastic bypass, and write me three new scripts. In and out, bis boom bah. He seemed more pleasant than usual; normally, he is an ass. I think the other office must stress him out, because I noticed the same thing last time. Whatever the reason, I appreciated it!

****

Tonight was our first booth sale, at the grocery store around the corner where I always shop. I was pretty stressed out about it, and not just because I was worried Rob wouldn't get home from work in time for me to go, and not just because of all the materials I had to bring: table, chairs, signage, cookies of course, money box, moolah, Ogden stamp (for bad check collections), Gift of Caring donation box...  I was worried we wouldn't sell, and I'd over-ordered, and our troop would be stuck with tons of cookies for which we had to pay!

Well, we did fine. The girls were a little hyper, and I had to keep cajoling them to stand watch for entering customers. They let so many pass by without asking them!  But almost all of the ones they did ask came over and bought a box or six. Mostly it was Chloë doing the soliciting, while the other little girl just farted around, so I am proud of her. She was very polite, and so many of the customers said how cute she was, and that her adorableness was what convinced them to buy! I have to agree, but I may be biased! ;)

The nice part was that the store let us inside to sell. We're supposed to be outside, but the previous troop was set up inside, and the manager said I could set up there, too. Because brrr, it's a chilly 26º out now, and it wasn't much warmer then!

Four customers donated a box to our Gift of Caring, too! All in all, the girls sold 83 boxes in an hour and a half. Not too shabby! Tomorrow, we have another booth in the morning, and a third one in the evening.  Chloë is participating in all seven of our booths as it stand now, because we don't have enough people signed up otherwise. She is totally carrying the troop as far as the fundraisers go!  Kind of annoys me, because the girls voted to take a field trip with their funds, rather than get the per-box incentives, so they will all benefit equally despite the fact that some haven't sold a single box, and she has now sold hundreds. And until tonight, she was the only one who sold any Gift of Caring boxes - 41 to be exact!  But whatev.

After Rob picked us up (I had him drop us off so he could bring over more cookies if we ran out), I sat in the back of the van and took inventory. Then I went in the house and did all the math: how many of each variety were sold, how much money we should have, how much credit to give each girl, blah blah blah. The numbers all worked out on the first try, thankfully. And I set everything up for tomorrow morning, so we are ready, ready, ready.

Rob's out right now at a certain Mexican fast food place, getting me a certain proteinaceous substance, because my numbers are waaaaay down. By 9 pm, I'd only consumed 100 calories, and the rest of the week hasn't been much better. So why isn't the weight just flying off me, I wonder? Bah.

I'm off, now, to try and figure out my next knitting project. I have some yarn calling my name, but I don't know what to do with it. Who wants to bet that it will be something for a wee baby?

Fin.

Onward And Upward

Thank you all for the prayers and good wishes. Keep them coming!  I believe things are going to be okay.  We just need some time to work on things.

But I don't want to dwell on that.

Today was not too bad. I've been rising early lately, and this morning was no different: 0500. I don't like it, but I keep running out of sleep and have to start my hydrating and protein-intake right away. (The number one axiom for gastric bypass patients is "sip, sip, sip.") (The number four axiom is "never trust a fart," and believe me, I lived by it today... heh.)

But I don't want to dwell on that either.

I pretty much piddled the day away in a similar fashion to what I've been doing lately: a whole lotta nuttin'.  This recovery crap is for the birds. Thanks to being sick (have I mentioned I'm sick now? Like really, miserably sick? I managed a whole 2:11 on the treadmill last night before I couldn't breathe) and still quite sore, there isn't a whole lot to do.

I started off making another stuffed felt heart for whatever Valentine's project I'm going to end up doing with that. Then I decided to combine it with the foam wreath shape I've had for a couple years but never used, and which has been bouncing around downstairs lately. I'm going to wrap it in some pretty pink ribbon yarn I have and go from there... only, no sign of the $%^&* foam wreath when I finally want the damn thing! We've looked all over the house today, and no sign of it. Of course. I've been pissing and moaning about it for the entirety of the day (not always out loud, in deference to my husband's nerves).

Anyway.

Then I tried to pick up my knitting again. I hadn't felt like knitting because of the vision problems, but I felt ready. I finished the yarn cake I was using and tied on another, but I soon discovered it was badly wound. So I got stuck for a good portion of the morning unwinding and rewinding it, and now its just a big, tangled mess and I can't continue. Gah!

The kids were off to school despite needing dousings with cough medicine. Chloë managed to get up and go cheerfully despite being up late last night hacking and puking, poor thing. Sophie was again in a playful mood, but more of an independent one today.

When Rob ran out to get a new remote, he took her with him, as I was on the couch resting my migraine head. She stayed outside with him, as did Jack upon his return, when he worked on his motorcycle. Something's wrong with the battery; it won't charge. He took it for a ride, and it died in the middle. He jumped it, and it died again on the way home. Maybe if he actually rode it more...? But how do you ride with a motorcycle permit, anyway, and no motorcyclin' partner beside whom to ride?

I sat around all afternoon feeling like shit. That sums up that. I think I may have napped briefly, but I forget.

After Chloë came home, I took her to the Brownies meeting. I drove, for more than just around the corner! That was exciting, to be back behind the wheel. 'Twas brillig.

Leader Nikki kept us moms busy at the meeting. The girls were making all their "swaps" for the big council Thinking Day in a couple of weeks, and there was lots to do. I helped them use the paper cutter to make pendants, string beads on safety pins, and do other little crafts for swaps. Our country is France, and the girls will go around the place swapping with other troops/countries and learning about girls around the world. Pretty cool.  I did some treasury and cookie chair duties, too, so I'm glad I took her instead of her dad.

I was sore, though, and attention was heaped upon the fact that I was recuperating from surgery. A little embarrassing, naturally. They didn't want me up and around, made sure I was feeling all right, said I looked tired, etc.  But no one said I looked skinny yet, dammit. I'm still waiting for that! Hehe.

I'm down 17 pounds since the beginning of the year, by the way. Just sayin'. I'm ready for it to start flying off.

After Brownies, Chloë got down to her homework, and I sat with Jack and helped him do his. Well, his "real" homework consisted of getting two quarters with which to buy ice cream tomorrow for a special treat, but I made him read two stories and write some letters with me. He didn't protest and worked nicely today, as opposed to yesterday when he fought vehemently against writing carefully.

Then I did our federal taxes. Gotta love the free TurboTax e-file for active duty military! It took a couple hours and some banging of my head against the wall for not keeping certain receipts, but I got it submitted. That refund will definitely help relieve some of the financial pressures around here as of late. And, hopefully, get me a Wii Fit.

Rob made the kids a dinner that included mashed potatoes, and I just couldn't take it. I went in there when the pot was unguarded and had several spoonfuls. I was careful: I ate extremely slowly, chewed everything to smithereens, and didn't go overboard, but it was still against the rules for my still-healing tummy. And I paid for it. My pouch squawked loudly, and I kind of got hot and shaky. Was it worth it? Um, yes, that shit was gooooood.

The kids went to bed, and I hopped back on the treadmill. I still can't breathe, but I went really slow and managed to stay on for 4:44, more than twice yesterday. Certainly nothing to be proud of, but again, it hurt my incision, my back started seizing, and I couldn't breathe. I'm going to just work at increasing that number every day and do the best I can. When I'm better, I'll work harder.

Sorry about the lack of pictures here lately. We haven't done anything photo-worthy since surgery, but hopefully I'll get some in tomorrow, come hell or high water.

TGIF!

Fin.

We Need A Heat Wave

So, let's see, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday...

Hmm.

Chloë had a dentist appointment with the kids' new dentist today. We switched. Don't ask me why; I don't want to go into it! Suffice it to say the old one pissed me off.

Oh, before that... Rob took off to go take his motorcycle permit test. He passed! So he's got that taken care of, and the next step, of course, is getting his license. Then we can get rid of that God forsaken truck.

So, the dentist. Chloë REALLY took a liking to him. She said, "I liked Dr. M., but I like Dr. Cox a lot more!" I'm glad. He's a pediatric dentist, while Dr. M. was for the whole familia. Her favorite part, though, was getting to pick out FOUR things from his treasure box: a toothbrush, a sticker, a pencil, and a bouncy ball. She loves that stuff.

She does have a bit of a problem with her teeth: she's got a cross-bite, related both to her thumb-sucking and the fact that her maxilla is smaller than her mandible.

After they came home, she and I went out selling cookies. BRRRR!  We hit a whole bunch of houses, stayed out for nearly an hour, and sold a grand total of eight damn boxes. Ugh! People just aren't buying this year. She's not going to make her goal of 172 boxes by Sunday night, that is fo' sho! And we froze to death. She was nearly in tears, she was so cold by the time we got home. Poor stinkerbean!

By the way, Sophia always pronounces "boogers" as "burgers." It cracks me up every time.  "I have burgers in my nose!"

Chloë wore the fishy hat today while she was doing her homework. Cute!

Oh, report cards came home today. Both did quite well, although Jack is behind on reading and writing. He's doing really well for ME, though, so I know there's a little smartie in there who just doesn't apply himself. At this point, it would not surprise me if he got held back from first grade, although I'm going to really work with him to make sure that doesn't happen and he catches up. He did another lovely job writing all of his sight words today, thought he fought doing it like the dickens. Frustrating, although somehow when it comes to helping him with his homework, I have the patience of Job.

As for Chloë, she got the 2nd grade equivalent of Dean's List this quarter! I'm so proud, Daddy's proud, and she was proud of herself, which is the important thing. Yay, baby girl! I'm glad all her extracurriculars don't interfere with schoolwork thus far.

Did I tell you I signed Jack up for Spring soccer? He starts near the end of March. It only lasts for two months! With all we have to do, though, I'll probably be grateful for that.

 

I started this baby sweater today. I'd be a lot further along on it, but I had to rip out all the way to the beginning and start over, when I was a goodly portion into it. Bah, I hate restarting. It doesn't look like much now, partly because there are too many stitches on the needle to spread it out for you, but it's now coming along nicely. I started out on the circular needles it calls for, which I don't recommend at all. That circ was way too tight, so I had to run to the LYS for a new bamboo Clover one. That one was too long, so I ended up switching to DPNs. That's when I realized it wasn't supposed to be knit in the round after all, but back and forth, so I frogged it (ripped it all out) and switched to my beloved straights. Exasperating, that!

But I'm using one of my favoritest yarns, Sublime DK Extra Fine Merino Wool. It's so lovely and smooshy and soft. I love to squeeze my work while I'm knitting it, and feel that delicious bouncy fabric! I could go on and on... but most of you out there are not yarnies!

Well, that's the end. Back to my sweater.

Fin.

It's Heeeere!

Rob took the kids out with him today to go pick up his new motorcycle. He let me sleep, and sleep I did. I didn't wake until 1430, so I got a nice 12-hour sleep in. Sweeeeet.

When I woke up, I heard noises outside. I knew what it was, so I grabbed some clothes and shoes, and my camera, and headed out for the big arrival.

 

Rob's not one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but I could tell that he was pretty damn happy to have his new bike.

  The first job was to back it slowly off the U-haul trailer. This proved easier said than done at the point where his feet no longer reached the ground!

 

Yep. That's what he just had to have, apparently, because of his small stature. It's a good thing they threw in those $300 riding boots he's now sporting.

 

Meanwhile, the kids have been knocked out in the backseat the entire time, even though we were slamming car doors and everything. Why couldn't they do that for me yesterday? Huh?!

   

Rob took 'er for a quick test drive around the barrio.

 

So, there it is. Say your prayers!

Fin.