8 years ago

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago today this little man made his grand entrance into the world. Where does the time go?

Happy Birthday, Sweetpea! I love you more than you'll ever know!!

slip slidin' away

I have no idea if this is actually going to post correctly or not. If it does, yay me! If not, a little later today I'll find somewhere to host the video and repost this.

This is our snow day today. Not much snow, but enough to get in a little sledding. I'm also going to update my Flickr site with the few pics I took. With any luck we'll get more tonight and be able to repeat today's (no school, no work) fun. Enjoy!

he's back

He's back! And look what less than a week in Southern California's done to him. LOL That's right.....my Pacific Northwest boy's turned LA hip in a few short days.

He left here the day after Christmas for a week in SoCal with his dad, visiting his side of the family, and from all accounts had a terrific time. He had a third Christmas at his grandparent's (after the one here at home, and the second one at his dad's before they left), got to see his Aunt and Uncle's, hung out with his cousin every day, had a sleepover, played the Wii, stayed up too late, ate all the wrong foods, and went to Castle Park one day. Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but I'm sure glad it wasn't Disneyland since I've got plans to take him there later this year.

As much as I like to have some "me" time, it's great having him home again. We've even fallen right back into our usual routine - me on the computer and him playing his PS2 - which is probably a good thing since tomorrow we'll be hitting the routine hard with school starting back up and me having to remember how I get myself going, ready for work, him going, fed, clothed and dropped off at school and still make it to work at a reasonable hour.

Welcome home sweet pea, Mommy missed you!

jedi master

Have I mentioned our addiction to Lego Star Wars? Here's proof of what I'm talking about.

Witness the concentration!

We take this very seriously around here. So seriously, in fact, that when we're out about town we are now seeing things that consistently remind us of various chapters in the game. Crazy! What I'd really like is to be able to have some of those special powers while at work, or driving behind the lunatics that most certainly got their driver's licenses out of a Cracker Jack's box.

Speaking of Cracker Jack's - how many of you remember those? Do they even still make them?

Okay, now I'm hungry. And tired. And parched.

G'nite

sunday seven (2nd installment)

It's time for another installment of the Sunday Seven - seven items that don't necessarily say enough by themselves.

1. The week went by like a flash and the evenings even faster. Monday night was the first "open" BOD meeting of the school year, and since they were discussing the budget I really wanted to be there. In hindsight I'm not sure why I thought they'd actually have one ready. I mean really, it's only the beginning of November and school's been in session for only two months, so what's the rush. Sheesh! Of course Wednesday night was Halloween and all the hoopla associated with it. Then Friday night the little man's social calendar kicked into high gear with the first of two birthday parties for the week - this one back at our local skating rink. Today's party is at Rat Hell, but I'll keep that one for a separate post of its own. And then, of course, the NaBloPoMo madness ensued. (See #2)

2. Despite Tim's total lack of confidence in me (phffft!) I've somehow managed to keep blogging every day of the month, so far. Yeah, I know! We're only on day 4, but whatever. I'm doing it. Which is more than I can say for some of the others who signed up for it. I found the NaBloPoMo randomizer and installed it on my sidebar (see it sitting over there?), so yesterday I started running it and checking out different blogs I may not have known about before. WTF? Some people haven't even started posting, some are linked to "private" blogs where you have to request access (uh, notsomuch!), and others have already given up. Losers. But getting past those, there's a few I've found enjoyment, and more importantly entertainment, in reading so I've listed them out in their own section on my sidebar (look over to the left again). I'm sure I'll keep adding more as the month goes on and, as my list grows longer, so does my feedreader.

3. Speaking of Tim (aka LA Daddy), LA Family have now welcomed the newest member of the family - LA Baby - to the wide world of wackiness. Congrats my friend! I look forward to meeting her some day, but don't get your hopes up that it'll be the day you celebrate the big 4-0!

4. Also on the celebration bandwaggon is my Super Sweet 'n Sassy Snackie who's celebrating her youthful 36 today. Make your way on over and cover her with birthday kisses. MUAH!!!

5. Friday I had other sorts of kisses in mind. Those would be of the *kiss my ass* variety. Now before I start my bitching about work, let me just make one thing clear - I love that I have a job. I'm just notsomuch in love with my job anymore. Somehow in the past two months my responsibilites have shifted so much that what they really hired me to do is now falling third on my priorities list. Why? Well, that's because they keep going through reorgs and reshuffles and downsizing and whatever other term you want to use for walking around with their heads stuck up their ass and not being able to see what the real problem is even though it's staring them right in the face. The real problem is there's not enough people to do all the work that needs to be done, yet they keep disposing of them. I am now carrying a workload of one and three-quarters persons, and before you all think I'm just complaining that they're overworking me, let me clarify. It's not the "load" that bothers me, it's how it's structured. All three main responsibilites I have are, for the most part, totally unrelated to the others. This makes it very difficult to pay full attention to any one of them, let alone the fact that I've got customers - both internal and external - screaming at me and begging me to "be expedient". Um, last time I checked I was just one person. Maybe I need to clone myself? But what good would that do? They'd still only pay one measly little salary for me. I almost walked on Friday. But I didn't. And tomorrow I'll drag my tired ass back into the firey pits of hell for another week.

6. I started my Christmas shopping. Afterall, there's only 50 shopping days left until the big day. LOL But that's not the reason I started shopping. We went to Target to pick up the kiddo's new glasses and I got a little distracted by the $1 bins. Everything's just a buck, so how can you not buy stuff. Seriously though, with giving little gifts to teachers, neighbors, and friends at work, stocking up on the inexpensive goodies as I see them is the best way to go. As it gets closer to the holiday I might tell you what I got, and what I'm doing with it.

7. And finally, even with the time change (you didn't forget that, did you?), I'm seriously behind schedule with all the crap that must get done today. But before I wish you a Super Sunday, here's a few topics you can look forward to reading (or avoiding) in the coming weeks, not necessarily in this order.

• bullying has a whole new meaning
• i've been tagged... again
• reading and writing
• lights on or off?
• embarrassing moments
• thankful

Enjoy your week!

life on fast forward

The summer ended, school began, and life started moving forward even faster than it already had been. Most days it seems our lives are on fast forward, with days full of more activities than we really want, and not enough downtime in between, which would explain my lack of blog writing, reading and commenting.


With that said, and only a few minutes to spare before my hamster wheel starts rolling again for the night, here's a random list of some of our activities and events over the past couple of weeks.


1. First Day of Second Grade - The little man started 2nd grade. 2nd grade, my God!! Where does the time go? He was thrilled to be back in school and came home the first day saying how much he "really" likes his teacher. When asked what he likes so much about her he replied, "She doesn't yell at us." I laughed and reminded him, "It is only the first day of school, buddy. And if you guys treat Miss M like you treated Mrs. T last year, I'm sure she'll be yelling at you too before the end of the school year."


2. PKD Walk - On Sunday, September 16th we walked a 6k with some friends from work for the PKD Foundation. Thank you so much to those of you who donated money to support this very worthwhile cause! It was a cold and grey day, but we had fun nonetheless and raised a little over $400 for the foundation. Don't we look hawt in our oversized (and overpriced) PKD shirts!?! If you want to see more pics you can cruise on over to my Picasa site and check 'em out.


3. Teevee - So the kiddo and I were total BB8 whores this season. Didn't miss a single episode. And were we happy when my man Dick won. Woohoo!! Now we're on to Survivor China. So far my favorite is James, but there's only been one episode so I'm not totally married to that idea yet. Then again, I did pick Dick from the first episode and stuck with him all the way, so whythefucknot. I'm picking James to win Survivor.


4. Party Weekend(s) - It was party central starting last Friday. Two friends from work celebrated birthdays (one turned the big five oh!), then we had the Welcome Back picnic at school on Saturday, and a birthday party for one of WJ's classmates at Skateland on Sunday. I can't tell you the last time I was on a pair of skates but I strapped them puppies on and had a total blast. Even came in second in a race for the 9 and older crowd. (The 9 year old won. On a pair of blades. Damn! I knew I shoulda gone with those.) This coming Saturday we'll be officially celebrating all the September birthdays at Girls Night "In", and the following weekend we have a baby shower to go to. Talk about a packed social calendar.


So that's the highlights. I won't bore you with the details of the drama in my life, the ever increasing workload, or the school committees I've somehow found myself on. I promise to try to catch up on all the posts I've missed reading as soon as I can.


In the meantime. Cheers!

hello good-bye

The phone doesn't usually ring at 10:40pm at my house. Well, on occassion, but not on a Monday night. Anyway while Stace and I were vegging out watching Friday after our little arts-n-crafts time the phone rings. WTH? Guess who it was? My little man!

I knew they were flying in last night and scheduled to arrive at 9:18pm so I figured he was just calling to say they'd landed and would see me tomorrow (which is today). But no. A couple of minutes into the conversation he informs me his father is bringing him home. Right then. At almost 11:00pm which is of course 2:00am to his body. WTF??? Now don't get me wrong, I was thrilled after not seeing him for nearly two weeks, but seriously. No communication. What if I was already in bed and didn't hear the phone? What if I simply wasn't here?

He pulled up fifteen minutes to midnight and came running as fast as his feet could carry him into my arms. It was so good to hold my little man again. Then we went in and he was so surprised to see Stace he started screaming. The dog went completely ballistic and wouldn't get more than 12 inches away from him, and actually slept on the floor at the foot of WJ's bed all night. He never sleeps upstairs at night. Think he missed his boy?

So we all headed to bed a little after midnight and tried to get some quick sleep so we could get up in the morning to take Stace to the airport. With our altered plans now having to drop the kiddo at summer camp we were out the door by 7:15am, first to drop off WJ, then stop to pick-up Groove who was nice enough to drive with us so I could use the HOV lane on the way back, off to the airport, back to work, summer camp pick-up, quick stop at Safeway, and then finally home. Sheesh! Makes me tired just writing about it.

It's awfully quiet without my friend here tonight. We had so much fun!! Tons of laughter, good talks, silliness, a PS2 marathon, movies, some special arts-n-crafts (hope you guys like your stuff!), and just an all around great time. The time went by way too quickly, and it always sucks when you have to say good-bye and have no idea when you'll see each other again. I already miss you, my friend!!

As I was typing the previous paragraph Stace called (of course she did) to let me know she'd landed.

Anywho, life rolls on and the party's over for now. But I know there'll be another in the very near future.

a pseudo vacation of sorts

It's been a long time since I've had a vacation. A very long time by "real" vacation standards. We're talking a decade. And the last "vacation out of the state to see family/friends" was over 3 years ago. So this week I am taking a "pseudo" vacation. What's that? It's when you don't go anywhere and still you get some free time and personal space.

This is all possible because the little man has gone to the East coast with his father for 13 nights.


I've not been away from him for more than 3 nights in all his 7 years, so leading up to his departure I was having a really hard time of it. That, and dealing with all the other unexplained shit going on in my life right now, had me pretty down. But ya know what? He's been gone for 5 nights so far and things haven't been as horrible as I'd imagined. In fact, there's some really good things about this little break.

There's no packing involved for a "pseudo" vacation. All the comforts of home are right there, all the time, for you to enjoy. You can wash clothes, dishes, clean the house, or do none of the above at any hour you choose because there's no one around to wake. And you don't have to worry if your favorite jeans aren't clean, or your little travel sized bottles are empty.

You can stay up until way-FREAKIN-too-late on Saturday night because you don't have anyone that needs feeding, attention, or otherwise to take care of on Sunday morning.

You don't have to fight about what to watch on the teevee and can park your ass for 5 hours in front of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels and skip all the boring sports. Yum!

You can read, uninterrupted.

You can get up on a workday and only have to worry about getting yourself ready. No picking out someone's clothes, making breakfast, cleaning up dishes, making sure teeth are brushed, packing lunches, and playing taxi driver.

You can eat, or not eat, dinner at any time you choose. And eat whatever you want!

You can count the days until one of your best friends arrives and know that you will party like there's no tomorrow, and then party some more.

Oh, yes, I'm enjoying my "pseudo" vacation very much. I just wish I didn't miss the little man as much as I do.

they're back! the carnie adventures continue

It's that time of the year again. County fair time, that is. This year, however, was pretty uneventful compared to some of the freaks we encountered last year. Oh, we still saw plenty of them, just didn't have to listen to / talk to any of them. Unless you count the carnies.

Carnies are truly what makes a fair memorable for me. Apparently one felt the same way about me since each time we'd go to ride the ferris wheel he'd try to engage me in conversation by starting of with, "Ah, I see you're back again, fine lady." We had the wristbands, so we just kept making the circuit around and around and around the ride area.

Speaking of around and around, I have apparently become maladjusted to rides that move very quickly in a circular pattern. During one ride (can't remember the name of it) I nearly lost it until I realized if I closed my eyes (go figure!?) it made my spinning stop. The little man almost lost it on the Spider but held it together when I suggested he try the closing-the-eyes trick. Worked for him on there. So, we were relegated to the rides that either went in very slow circles (the merry-go-round and the ferris wheel) or those that took your breath away (the drop tower). Oh yeah! I made the kiddo go with me on that one. I thought he was gonna pee his pants. Best ride there by far.

We toured the animal pens, craft halls, and vendor exhibits, listened to a little bit of various musicans (but the rock 'n roll the carnies were blasting was by far the best music there), ate burgers and fries and ice cream (not all at the same time), and pretended to drive a city bulldozer and mower.

At the end of the long, hot day we got ourselves some tattoos. While WJ went for the football with flames, I opted for a little "peace" to be brought into my life. It was a hard call cuz "tranquility" was looking like a pretty good choice too.

A good time was had by all, and we bid the fair - along with its carnies, and freaks, and indigestion producing food, and make-you-want-to-lose-it rides - adieu for another year.

wednesday wrap-up (is there even a version anymore?)

It's been ages since I've done a Wednesday Wrap-up and since today I'm off work and I've actually had time to catch up on reading and commenting on all my favorite blogs, I thought I'd do a quick wrap-up before getting my lazy butt in gear for the festivities of the afternoon.

The Birthday Circuit - Bad, I know, but I didn't even post a birthday message to my main squeeze. Happy Birthday Kiddo!! The kiddo brought in his 7th year with a birthday bash at one of the local bowling alleys. And that was just the start to almost a week of birthday celebrating. His actual birthday (the 26th - same as Dan's) was spent dining at his favorite restaurant, The Mayan, and playing with his hot new PlayStation, courtesy of his grandparents. Then last weekend was spent attending two birthday parties for friends. I swear he's got more of a social life than me!

Break-in(g) News! - I am now the proud owner of a new set of front door locks. Thanks to my awesome neighbor who came over on Sunday to help me get the crazy thing installed, I'm resting a little bit easier now. I'll always wonder who was trying to get in, for what reason, and when, but with all my neighbors on alert, the 100+ pound furry protection system I own, and the sparkling new jewels adorning my front door I'm not worrying about it. Not too much at least.

(Not) Flying Under the Radar - My second round at The Winnebago has been educational, frustrating, enjoyable, and as of Monday, rewarding. I know I haven't really talked at all about my new job, so suffice it to say I've embarked upon a new career. The world of procurement. I've done my fair share of purchasing through all my previous careers, but this has been a new game entirely for me. One thing I vowed to myself when starting this job was to maintain a certain amount of restraint. By that I mean not get in there and give more than 100% right from the start. That was a hard decision to make for me because I'm one of those people who feels that if you're not performing the best you can, then you aren't doing what you should be doing. Last time that got me nowhere fast (unless you count heading out the door 3 months before my contract was due to expire). Anyway, I've been holding back. Attempting to fly under the radar. And obviously not doing a very good job of it either. During our biweekly staff meeting on Monday afternoon I was presented with a Customer Recognition Award. Not one but three of my customers sent beaming emails to my manager about me. Ugh! I truly hate being in the spotlight, but what I hate even more is that I can't even get myself to just do what needs to be done and stop trying to fix everything that's broken. Ah well! At least I got a teeny tiny little bonus out of it.

BBQ Fever - We're off to the neighbor's for a BBQ this afternoon. No. The evil spawn won't be there. They're gone on vacation and the neighborhood's been a peaceful haven ever since. This is the party crowd getting together. Last Saturday night we sat around drinking, and talking, and drinking for hours while the kids ran around the neighborhood. All without incident. What fun! And today should be more of the same. It's gonna be damned HOT but with the help of the sprinklers and a new slip-n-slide, not to mention the A/C coursing through the neighbor's house, we shouldn't have to put up with too many sweat beads in our eyes. Now I've got to get off my ass and get my fruit platter put together, dig out my chip bowls, and get this place picked up before the good times begin. I hope all of you are off enjoying some holiday fun today!

Cheers!!

the airport, the birthday and silliness

What a great day yesterday! Thanks to all of you sent me birthday wishes through phone, computer or in person. It truly was a fabulous (yes, Groove, I did just use that word) day!!

So lemme back up to Wednesday night when we first picked up Stacie. Amazingly enough her flight made it on time. As we stood in baggage claim watching people come down the escalator, WJ kept saying "I think I see her" and then "Nope, that's not her!". (Remember, this was our first time seeing each other in person.) But as soon as we saw her coming down, Wesley took off running and barely let her get off the escalator, giving her a big hug, followed by me. I had my camera with me, but in all the excitement, didn't even think to pull it out and take any pics. It's too bad we didn't have a third person just standing there capturing the moment, but whatcha gonna do? We made it home by around 10:30pm and tried to get settled since Stace's body clock was three hours ahead and WJ had to go to school the next day.

Now back to yesterday. Stace went with me to drop WJ at school and we made our first Bux run of the trip. LOL Then it was time for beautifying ourselves for the day - easy for her with all that natural beauty she's got. Around 11:30am Groove showed up and we all headed out to lunch at this little place downtown called Tugboat Annie's. With a little food and lots of beer in us, we yaked and laughed and basically did what we normally do when we're on the phone together, except this time we were sitting across the table from each other. Groove dropped us back at the house just in time to go get the kiddo from school.

After letting him play with some of his friends for awhile, and introducing Stace to some of the people she hears me talking about all the time from the school, we made our way home to kick back a bit before going to dinner. She brought this crazy "hairy ball" thing for WJ, and the three of us got a little silly with it playing hot potato, making it into a hat, and pulling it over various other body parts.

Everyone was getting hungy, and the beer was wearing off, so we headed off to the Mayan for dinner. Their food is yummo!! And, of course, they serve so much we had to bring half of it home. Stace took a few goofy shots of WJ and I which is great since we rarely get any shots together. Then it was back home and time for vegging out.

Not sure what the plan is for today yet. Any ideas for us?

kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Yesterday we spent the day at the Woodland Park Zoo with WJ's aunt, uncle and cousin. It's the first time we've seen them all since the Big D. They came up from California for Spring break week and are doing the "tourist" thing, so we tagged along for the day at the zoo.

The boys are about a year and a half apart in age and had an absolute blast together. They ran around, laughed, made up silly marching songs, and basically drove us adults crazy. Obviously they played their roles well. The pic to the left is just one of the various things they climbed up on and shouted, "I am King of the Mountain!"

The Woodland Park Zoo is fabulous! If you're ever in Seattle, mark it as a must see on your list of touristy stops. Even with the weather being grey and overcast, most all of the animals were out and about. You can see pics of some of them - bears, the eagle, a couple of kookaburras, and the enormous kimodo dragon - and other family pics by clicking on my new Flickr badge in the sidebar.

Here's a few more of my favorite photos from the day!

an open letter to my neighbor previously identified as Mrs. A

Dear Mrs. A,

When you and your family first moved into our comfortable little neighborhood, I was happy to see you had children around the same age as my son. After getting to know you a bit better during one of our neighborhood gatherings, and watching your lackadaisical parenting style, I knew it would be up to me to sit outside and monitor the kids activities. Watching your son run amok through the neighborhood without any restriction, guidance, or discipline frustrated me. But he is your son, not mine; so I didn't say a word. Hearing him screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs when he doesn't get his way, is trying to get someones attention, or otherwise just exercising his lungs makes my hairs stand on end. But again, he is your son, not mine; I didn't say a word. As summer ended and outdoor playtime came in irregular intervals due to school schedules and changes in the weather, I breathed a sigh of relief.

During our first snow "storm", when all the kids got to stay home from school, we ran into each other at the park. The kids were having a blast sledding down the hills as we stood there making small talk -- afterall, what else is there to say when you don't know someone really well and don't have a very high opinion of them in the first place. You volunteered to build a snowman with the kids and told me if there was something I needed, or wanted, to do, I should do it. So I headed back to the house for a bit. When I returned, you were nowhere to be found. That may be fine for you and your kids, but you offered to watch mine too. And you weren't watching him at all.

Last week we enjoyed a couple days of gorgeous weather. Who wouldn't want to be outside on days like that? When WJ saw many of the neighborhood kids playing in your front yard, I encouraged him to join them hoping that your obnoxious brat of a son would have grown up and mellowed out a bit. WJ was excited to share his new football and took it across the street to play. You probably didn't see me sitting in my garage enjoying the sunny day, but I saw, and heard, you.

Your first mistake was telling my kid that nobody wanted to play football because they were playing freeze tag. How the hell do you know what they want to play? Obviously you were wrong since everyone except for the quiet child of Mrs. C wanted to play. But he wasn't playing freeze tag either -- just laying on the grass watching all the kids play, as usual. So he got up, and went inside.

Within the first five minutes of play I'd heard enough of your whiney offspring to push me into the next millenium. In case you haven't told him, you might start with "The world doesn't revolve around you and no one wants to hear your big ass mouth, so shut it!" The rest of the kids seemed to be having a great time tossing the football around. Even you seemed to be having fun. What happened next I can't believe any mature, intelligent adult would do.

After sending the evil spawn in to check on the "I'm going to isolate myself from the group" child, he apparently didn't come out of the house fast enough to suit you. So you went in to see what they were up to and to try to coax them to come back outside to play. Finally a smart move on your part. What wasn't so smart was to take my kid's new football with you despite him calling after you asking you to give it to him. Last time I checked, you weren't deaf. But maybe you've shoved the earplugs so far in your ears from having to listen to the ear deafening volume pouring out of your spawn that you couldn't hear the pleas from my son for the return is HIS new football.

As you lingered inside, my son still calling through the screen door for his ball, the girls (being girlish at times) ran off and left WJ standing alone in your front yard. Without his football. I'd seen more than enough at this point and called for him to get his ball, even if it meant walking into your house and ripping it out of your hands, and to come home. After ringing the doorbell at least 3 times, and persistently calling you through the screen door, you finally managed to return what was never rightfully yours to take away. It's no wonder your children act like maniacs. With parenting skills as half-assed as yours, I'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet.

I am writing to inform you that my son WILL NOT be playing with your animals any longer. NEVER again take my son's toys while you work out issues created from inaction on your part. And, in case you're wondering -- when you get that sense that someone's watching -- it's me.

Sincerely,

Your "unsocial" neighbor

making plans for spring break

It's Spring break week here for the kiddo. Do you remember Spring break? Where'd you go? And what'd you do? Okay, nevermind. Some things are better left unanswered.

Unlike some of his friends who are going to exotic places like Mexico, Hawaii, and Disneyland, we're staying local and heading up to Seattle this week. His aunt, uncle and cousin (from my ex's side of the family) are coming in from California on Tuesday and we plan on spending at least one day in the city doing "touristy" stuff with them. It'll be the first time we've seen them since the "big D" so should come with some interesting stories.

I thought about making some hotel reservations and just staying in the city, but the fundage is getting a bit tight right now, so we'll just drive back and forth. I have to say it's tempting though. There's some pretty good rates being offered for mid-week, and with the cost of gas it would probably equal out. Still, there's the dog to think about. He just hates it when we're away, and I hate having to burden the neighbors with taking care of him.

Of course right now I wish we were heading to the likes of Hawaii or Disneyland. A change of scenery would be nice. I really love to travel and would like to (some day) show WJ some of the places I've been fortunate enough to have traveled to over the years. There just never seems to be the right time. The worst part is when I have a job I'm too busy to get away. And when I'm not working, I don't have the money to spend on a vacation. Maybe I'm just making excuses?

We're bound and determined to have some fun this week. And maybe, just maybe, when I find that special rate for the perfect overnight get away, we'll actually stay in the city for the night. If you're looking for your last minute price savings, why not check out HotelReservations.com - great locations, great rates. Get away and enjoy your Spring break!

hoop-dee-dooin' kinda night

After enjoying two days of 75-80 degree weather we awoke to rain today. Usual for this area at this time of the year but definitely putting glitch in our plans to finish up the welcoming Spring yardwork and bulb planting. We spent the day indoors, playing games, messing with the half installed dishwasher, doing some laundry, and washing some dishes. Between the karate classes and spending time outside this past week, I think we were both feeling a little pent up.

As we started scanning through OnDemand for a movie to watch, cable reset itself (as it does at least once a day) and we couldn't get anything other than the regular stations. So WJ opened the drawers holding our movie collection (DVDs and video tapes - yes, we still have stuff on video) and pulled out Hoop-Dee-Doo! (For those of you who aren't familiar with this classic, it's a Wiggles DVD.) With lots of laughter and memories, we Hoop-Dee-Doo'd the night away.

We haven't watched the Wiggles in about a year, but when WJ was younger we used to live, eat, and breathe the Wiggles. We went to see them twice and were both very sad when Greg announced he was leaving due to medical problems. Because of the constant action, dancing, and singing, I've often said I was tempted to pull out our old collection and pop it in to use as exercise videos. Tonight, that's just what we did.

I leave you with one of our favorites. If you don't feel like getting up and dancing with this one, there's just something wrong with you.

everybody's workin' for the weekend

Or in our case, workin' through the weekend.

As tired as I am, I can at least say we got off our arses and got a ton of stuff done this weekend. It's so much easier / faster when I have my little helper working along side me. Yesterday was all indoor work---house cleaning, dishes, laundry--- while today was tackling the weeds out front in preparation of planting bulbs.

The planter box on the side of the house was covered in weeds and grass despite having weed block down under the bark.

Thanks to the help of Dumpy...

and my awesome little man...

we are now weed free and the bulbs are planted.

Of course not ten minutes after we finished, we had a sleet and ice pellet storm roll through. Hope the bulbs are snug as bugs in their new little holes in the ground.

wednesday wrap-up (version whatever number I'm on at this point)

I can't believe what I stumbled on today. A brand new blog called South Puget Sound Dining. The first blog I've found that reviews restaurants in the South Sound area. I know a lot of you don't live in this area, but you might find the reviews interesting nontheless. Or maybe it's just one of my weirdnesses that draws me to reading food and restaurant reviews. Whatever, check it out. Then you'll know the places to eat at, or avoid, when you come visit me.

Yesterday was a crazy day here in unemployment land. I actually had an interview. It's about time since the last one was in February. It was with another state agency---yep, I'm concentrating on them at this point. And I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get an offer on this one. I know I probably shouldn't be writing this, and I'm probably hexing myself to unemployment hell for the next 20 years, but I'm serious. If this one doesn't come through, there's no hope for me. Why? Well, I'll tell you---1) I'm totally qualified for the job, 2) it's not on my top 3 jobs to get hired for, and 3) I have a friend who knows the hiring manger and has put in a good word for me. Therefore, I feel an offer is imminent. Again, I'm probably hexing myself.

We also started karate yesterday. Well, not me... WJ. But Sensei encouraged the parents to participate too so we can work with the kids outside of class, so I'm totally gonna take him up on it. I've wanted to try out karate for a long time now, and if I can do it for FREE I'm all over that. The class is gonna be great, and WJ loves it. I just hope some of the people drop. There are so many people signed up for this class, and a bunch who already got 'called out' by Sensei. Well, I just hope it pares down a bit so the kids can get more individualized attention. Either way, it's gonna be a good experience for the both of us!

Oh, and one last thing. Went to Safeway today and was very disappointed that I couldn't find the NASCAR harlequin romances that Sarah found. I was sure they'd be there, but notsomuch. Just your run of the mill books and mags. Ah well! I'm sure I'll find them somewhere if I really search around.

playdate at the movies

Yes. We actually went to the movies this weekend. Without the usual cajoling even. Why? Well, because WJ's friend who he wanted to have a playdate with this long weekend---no school last Friday and today---wanted to see TMNT. Not exactly on my list of recent releases to see, but I have to say it was pretty good.

Being the old fart that I am, I don't remember the original turtles much. Hell, that was 20 years ago and I was in college already. But I do remember the craze they caused with the kids. Every other kid on the block just had to be a TMNT for Halloween that year. I'm sure there'll be a similar wave a panic this year as parents knock each other over trying to get that last Leo or Raph costume because their kid just has to be one of the cool turtles or their life will simply come to an end and they'll die of embarassment.

Anyway, we met up with one of WJ's little friends and his mom, paid way too much for popcorn, and snuck our water in under his coat cuz I flat out refuse to pay $3.00 for a freakin' bottle of water. We put the boys in the two seats in front of us so they could yap and we could visit without having to talk over the top of them.

And the movie was actually entertaining. I am just amazed at the animation. It was this cross between regular cartoon animation, anime, and total reality. Seriously cool! Of course the storyline is the typical good vs. evil, so no surprises there. All in all, it was good. The kids had fun. And I didn't have to drag the boy kicking and screaming.

Did you see any movies this weekend? What's the last one you saw?

wesleyisms on pain

A couple of days ago:

WJ: "My heart hurts."
Me: "What do you mean 'your heart hurts'?"
WJ: "It just hurts."
Me: "Well, you've got to be more specific than that. Is it beating fast? Does it feel like someone's pinching it?"
WJ: "Uh huh!"
Me: "Which one?"
WJ: "Both."
Me: {sighing} "Show me where it hurts."
WJ: "Right here" beating on the center of his chest.
Me: "That's not your heart. That's your chest."
WJ: "Oh. Okay, nevermind then."

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Yesterday, while shooting hoops:

WJ: "Ouch! My leg hurts."
Me: "Why?"
WJ: "I've been running all day for an hour."

Uh... alrighty then!

wednesday wrap-up

How is it Wednesday already? But, more important, how is it NOT Friday yet? Life seems to be on fast-forward this week. I'm sure it's mostly due to me making the commitment to some major life changes this past weekend.

One thing I decided needed more attention from me is WJ. So last weekend was spent for the most part doing stuff with him. On Saturday we went out to lunch, then hit the two major bookstores where we both had gift cards from Christmas. Stace had told me about this kid's cookbook put out by Rachael Ray she'd picked up for Michael earlier in the week, so we started our hunt with that. It's really cool, and has a bunch of great recipes broken out into age groups for the kids to pretty much do most of the food prep and/or cooking. Our first recipe, made on Sunday, was Ria's Double-Chips Cookies with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips. In the words of Rachael... yummo! And the best part is there's no eggs in these so we baked up the first half and threw the rest of the dough in the fridge to bake up later this week. As you can see, WJ had a blast. We also picked up an assortment of other books for the both of us and spent quite a bit of time reading throughout the weekend.

And my reading is what brought me to my other commitment to changes. I picked up Bob Greene's Get With the Program. How could I pass it up when it was only $3.99 in the reduced section? Seriously, the main reason I got it was for the section on "emotional eating". I've always known I was an emotional eater, but wasn't really ready to admit it. Well, now I am. You can read about my attempts at getting my ass in gear over at my new blog, Girl Redefined.

So what else did I want to tell you? Hmm. Oh yeah, there's 49 days till party time!!! Woot!! I'm not really excited about it, or anything. Hehe!

Oh yeah. An update on my last post. So, I took Stacie's advise and we made a chore chart last night. Printed it up, hung it on the fridge, and agreed on a price. You'll love this conversation.

"So, looking at all the chores for the week, how much do you think they're all worth?"

"A hundred bucks!?" he said with a grin a mile wide.

I laughed out loud and said, "Uh, notsomuch! Seriously, how much do you think it's worth?"

After a few rounds of "Maybe $95" etc. I finally said, "Well, let me tell you what I would have gotten for all this. About $2.50." I think he was pretty shocked. So then I suggested $6.00 a week - one dollar for year he is old.

"How about $6.50 since I'm really 6 1/2!"

Have I mentioned my kid's gonna be a politician?