For those of you who already know about the following crud, just ignore me and go on about your daily business.
~"Ikea" is Swedish for "Put it together your own darn self."
A few months ago, I took a trip to Ikea and bought a bunch of stuff for Cherry's room. Right away I put stuff together (some of it even in the ferry line up to get home), but I didn't put up her flower shaped lights .
I was lazy, it required a screw driver, and possibly finding studs, and because it was always still light when I put her to bed, it didn't seam all that necessary. (I should note that there are no other lights in the room. Don't know why, but whomever decided to build that room, didn't think that overhead lighting was important!)
But tonight, due to a crazy nap schedule, we decided that Cherry could stay up an hour later. This meant the room was too dark for story time. So, we decided to put the lights up finally.
But then, Armondo accidently pushed some of the light bulbs behind the fridge. (they had been sitting on top). So, he decided to pull the fridge out of its alcove in order to get the other bulbs. (We still had two, but we needed three). As he's pulling the fridge out, it gets stuck.
Turns out that the fridge has been there so long that the walls have settled around it and it's WEDGED in the alcove.
We can't move the fridge without destroying the walls!
So, we' were planning to buy new bulbs, but in the meantime, Armondo thought we could try these blue bulbs we bought from Ikea ages ago. But once we put one in, and then put the flower cover over, it gave off ZERO light.
SO...
Armondo ripped the blue covering off of the light bulb. And it worked.
So, three lights up. All working. All with bulbs.
End of story.
~Who Trained this Guy?!?
So, one of the financial things we've been trying to work out this past little while has to do with getting a second mortgage. We're trying to get a second, small mortgage in order to consolidate our car and my student loan debt. Our car loan has a ridiculously high interest rate, and the student loan isn't so bad, but we were able to negotiate a couple of percent lower.
If all goes according to plan, we will be making $400 less a month in payments! That, combined with the fact that we were able to pay our car insurance up front this year, instead of monthly, means our bills will be over $500 less a month.
The catch? (and the reason why I didn't divulge this info right at the beginning) Is that we have to have our house appraised and the value has to be high enough for the lenders to approve our loan.
The appraiser guy came and looked at our house last week, and I got the report, via email today. At first glance, it seemed like the house was appraised a little low, but not too much lower than we thought. The lenders thought it was a little low, and approved us for a loan at $500 less than what we wanted. (Not a huge deal, because, like I mentioned above, our monthly payments are around $500 less a month.) So, we were satisfied with that, and emailed our broker to tell him we'd meet up with him to sign and whatever. But then, I looked at the appraisal a little closer.
Our house was listed as a TWO bedroom house.
Umm... squeeze me? Baking powder? Nuh uh. Our house has three bedrooms. And it wasn't a typo. In two separate places, he wrote the house as having two bedrooms, and the pictures only included two bedrooms as well.
Now, I'm not like a real estate expert here, but I'm pretty sure that a three bedroom house is just a little bit more valuable than a two bedroom house. At least $500 worth of loan more valuable, I'm sure.
I hadn't actually read the email until after 5pm, so I wasn't able to get a hold of anyone today, so we'll be dealing with it tomorrow. (Thursday) But seriously, we're paying this guy close to $300 to take some pictures of our house and write notes, and he can't even count to three!
This guy even took MEASUREMENTS of our house. I mean, how do you lose a 100 sq.ft. space? Our living room is tiny, so it's not like it got lost there! I mean, he looked all around the perimetre, looked UNDER the house, etc. You'd think he'd notice that the house seemed bigger outside than in.
I so don't want to pay this guy full price for the appraisal. That, and we don't really have time to wait for another appraisal, because we have to get this all done before Armondo leaves, and there's still the step of taking all this stuff to the notary to have it finalised! We can accept the current loan amount, but if I can't get a PROPER appraisal done at no extra cost within a decent time, then I don't think I should pay full price for the current one!
Whew. Boring post. Sorry. Umm.. yeah, I have dishes to do now. Thanks for umm.. listening?
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Ninja Poodle Gets Clipped. Part II
The before shot.
The after shot.
Doesn't she look happy? I mean, much happier than she did LAST TIME I clipped her!
It's not perfect, but it's much better, and she looks cute. And the neighbours think she's cute, and really, that's all that matters!
And after her bath, Armondo even backcombed her ears like "an eighties rocker chick." (His words.)
It's not perfect, but it's much better, and she looks cute. And the neighbours think she's cute, and really, that's all that matters!
And after her bath, Armondo even backcombed her ears like "an eighties rocker chick." (His words.)
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Wedding of The Year
Yesterday we went to A.P. and D.R.'s wedding. It was beautiful! We were actually late, which is a MAJOR faux pas, and I feel really stupid about it, but what's done is done. Being late though, means we missed the PONY RING BEARER! And the cute flower girl, who might have only been a couple of months older than Cherry. We got there part way through the vows, and we couldn't see a thing, but we could hear A.P. (the bride)'s voice quivering as she said her half of the vows. The wedding was outside, set in some beautiful gardens, which made for some pretty pictures. Between the wedding and the reception, we took 124 pics, but here I've just included some favourites. (To tell you the truth a lot of them didn't turn out well.)
Not playing favourites or anything by posting another pic of this particular sister, I just love the pic! She's such a photogenic girl, and she's always posing!
And you HAVE to look at the shoes they wore! They're were actually bought from a lingerie store! So silly fun in a perfect way. This wedding had "P. sisters" written all over it!
After taking pictures of the girls, we posed for a pic and we took a little wander through the gardens. Unfortunately, the cute dress I bought for Cherry is actually a bit big, so she wore one of her old dresses. She still looked good though!
Cherry, once again, practicing her "running away" technique.
And, TRYING to run away.
Stopping for a second to gaze at herself.
After the wedding part, we went to the nearby docks and found my dad and took him out for an early dinner. Things were ok, not overly weird. I guess we're getting along. I don't have much else to say about that.
Anyway, at about 5:30 pm, we made our way to the beautifully decorated reception hall, where we had a really nice dinner and good company. We're all friends with the band, and the band came to sit with us. They're a bunch of hosers, but they're lovable.
After dinner, we danced.
Daddy took his responsibility quite seriously! The two of them danced and danced!
Then we let Cherry go to perfect her new moves.
(this picture has been deleted, because someone had a hissy fit for me posting it. I won't name names, but HE's a baby!)
And then, Armondo perfected the "nostril shot."
And, after a long day of frolicking fun, the little one passed right out! And yes, that's a rubber snake on her lap. She likes it.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Off to bed.
We have this weird shopping obsession. I mean, we never buy super expensive stuff, but we always seem to be shopping. I don't mind. In fact, I sort of like it. A LOT. And you know what? As shallow as it is, I'm really warming up to the idea of Armondo being away more so that we can have more money to go shopping with. That's right. I get the house to myself for months at a time, the husband comes home, he goes to work fixing roofs and such, we spend his money, and he leaves again. Darn it, this might actually work for us. (Check back with me again when I'm one month post partum and he's gone away after being home for TWO months.)
Anyway, this is the last thing we spent money on:
The before shot. Simple, colourful.
The after shot.
I was trying to go for coffee and chocolate colours. We still have to paint the walls. We haven't picked a colour, but the ones we're choosing from have names like:Wild Porcini, Arabian Sands, Pecan Sandie, Tuscan Beige, Swiss Coffee, Baked Biscotti, and Toasted Cashew. I'm sure you get the idea. A "Cafe au Lait" sort of colour.
Armondo really likes the "after" product and is pleased with the more "Grown up" look. In fact, he was SOOO pleased, that it took him barely 20 minutes to test it out.
In other news,
~The ultra sound came back as "Sex not able to be determined".
~Still waiting on the car stuff.
~There are two financial things we're hoping will work out and we're thisclose on both of them.
~If one of the financial things work out, Daddy gets a new TV, Mommy gets a new laptop, and we're also getting a new couch. Cherry? Well, umm.. she has enough toys!
~We're going to a wedding tomorrow. I'm sure that it'll be tough controlling my super active child, and there may be some "issues", but we'll just deal with those as they come up! Cherry has a really cute new dress, Armondo bought some nice slacks and a shirt, I'm wearing an old dress, but I bought the CUTEST new shoes! (It's hard to find dresses that fit over preggo bellies when you don't have a maternity store in your town!)
~I've been really busy lately, and I'm sorry that I haven't been on top of answering all of your comments, but I HAVE been reading them, and I'm trying to answer them by writing stuff in the next post!
~Which reminds me, my Dad and I haven't really talked, but Armondo called him today (Dad got a cell phone and the only time him and I have talked was when he called to tell me the number) and on Sunday, Armondo and my dad are going to use my dad's truck to pick up more roof supplies and use it to haul away the pile of shingles and other junk in our yard. So, umm, I don' t know if my father and I are "getting along" or not these days.
~Also, because I've been busy, these posts have really been in the "suckage" category lately, and for that, my loyal readers, I am sorry. And for anyone who might be new here, please don't go away! I really CAN write good stuff, sort of, and some day I might write something good again.. I promise! Maybe.
Anyway, this is the last thing we spent money on:
I was trying to go for coffee and chocolate colours. We still have to paint the walls. We haven't picked a colour, but the ones we're choosing from have names like:Wild Porcini, Arabian Sands, Pecan Sandie, Tuscan Beige, Swiss Coffee, Baked Biscotti, and Toasted Cashew. I'm sure you get the idea. A "Cafe au Lait" sort of colour.
Armondo really likes the "after" product and is pleased with the more "Grown up" look. In fact, he was SOOO pleased, that it took him barely 20 minutes to test it out.
In other news,
~The ultra sound came back as "Sex not able to be determined".
~Still waiting on the car stuff.
~There are two financial things we're hoping will work out and we're thisclose on both of them.
~If one of the financial things work out, Daddy gets a new TV, Mommy gets a new laptop, and we're also getting a new couch. Cherry? Well, umm.. she has enough toys!
~We're going to a wedding tomorrow. I'm sure that it'll be tough controlling my super active child, and there may be some "issues", but we'll just deal with those as they come up! Cherry has a really cute new dress, Armondo bought some nice slacks and a shirt, I'm wearing an old dress, but I bought the CUTEST new shoes! (It's hard to find dresses that fit over preggo bellies when you don't have a maternity store in your town!)
~I've been really busy lately, and I'm sorry that I haven't been on top of answering all of your comments, but I HAVE been reading them, and I'm trying to answer them by writing stuff in the next post!
~Which reminds me, my Dad and I haven't really talked, but Armondo called him today (Dad got a cell phone and the only time him and I have talked was when he called to tell me the number) and on Sunday, Armondo and my dad are going to use my dad's truck to pick up more roof supplies and use it to haul away the pile of shingles and other junk in our yard. So, umm, I don' t know if my father and I are "getting along" or not these days.
~Also, because I've been busy, these posts have really been in the "suckage" category lately, and for that, my loyal readers, I am sorry. And for anyone who might be new here, please don't go away! I really CAN write good stuff, sort of, and some day I might write something good again.. I promise! Maybe.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Ultra Sound.
Ok, so this took... hmm.. about FOUR HOURS to scan, resize, crop, scan again, crop, adjust resolution, try to upload to blogger, try AGAIN to upload to blogger, umm.. yup, and a third time, until finally, I uploaded to Flickr, and OMGOODNESS, if it doesn't work, I'm going to go jump into bed and CRY...
OOOH, I think it worked! And you know WHY I tried so hard to get this picture up here? Because YOU asked for it and I LOOOOOOVE all of you!
So, this is a picture of the little bun in my belly at 20 weeks. *IF* the sex can be determined, we will either find out tomorrow or on Monday. All we know is that (s)he seems healthy and at first glance there are no problems. And that's all that really matters!
See the little hand there? No? Well, if you look REALLY hard, you can see a little hand, above the belly that's WAVING! Waving to Mommy, Daddy, and sister. Cute, eh?
In other news...
My neck is still a little sore, and I have a constant headache, but we went to the insurance place today, and they checked out the car and determined that it was a slow/low impact collision and that I really shouldn't have too bad of an injury, but if it got any worse, to let them know. I don't think it WILL get any worse, and really, it's not that bad, so I don't think anything will be taken any further. We won't find out if we're liable at all for any of the damage until probably Monday. The driver of the pickup will be going in tomorrow to give his side of the story. The car just has some superficial damage and no structural damage.
And, I'll have to get back to you on the rest of the "notes".
OOOH, I think it worked! And you know WHY I tried so hard to get this picture up here? Because YOU asked for it and I LOOOOOOVE all of you!
So, this is a picture of the little bun in my belly at 20 weeks. *IF* the sex can be determined, we will either find out tomorrow or on Monday. All we know is that (s)he seems healthy and at first glance there are no problems. And that's all that really matters!
See the little hand there? No? Well, if you look REALLY hard, you can see a little hand, above the belly that's WAVING! Waving to Mommy, Daddy, and sister. Cute, eh?
In other news...
My neck is still a little sore, and I have a constant headache, but we went to the insurance place today, and they checked out the car and determined that it was a slow/low impact collision and that I really shouldn't have too bad of an injury, but if it got any worse, to let them know. I don't think it WILL get any worse, and really, it's not that bad, so I don't think anything will be taken any further. We won't find out if we're liable at all for any of the damage until probably Monday. The driver of the pickup will be going in tomorrow to give his side of the story. The car just has some superficial damage and no structural damage.
And, I'll have to get back to you on the rest of the "notes".
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Notes.
~Ultrasound tomorrow! We'll possibly find out if it's a boy or girl.
~Some exciting financial news coming up. Don't want to tell you until it works out though.
~There have been boys on my roof for days and it's driving me NUTS.
~I have a wish list and it includes a front loading washer and stackable dryer. I might get my wish soon.
~Coupons in Canada suck. That's my verdict.
~My neck's still a little sore. I'll be dealing with that on Thursday.
~I'm still in my pj's, I have barefeet, and there are a lot of dishes to do, yet, I'm planning on going to bed after I post this. Fly Lady would NOT be impressed.
~Some exciting financial news coming up. Don't want to tell you until it works out though.
~There have been boys on my roof for days and it's driving me NUTS.
~I have a wish list and it includes a front loading washer and stackable dryer. I might get my wish soon.
~Coupons in Canada suck. That's my verdict.
~My neck's still a little sore. I'll be dealing with that on Thursday.
~I'm still in my pj's, I have barefeet, and there are a lot of dishes to do, yet, I'm planning on going to bed after I post this. Fly Lady would NOT be impressed.
Monday, August 21, 2006
NEWS FLASH!
I'm a real person, with real emotions.
And you hurt my feelings.
I hope it made you feel good to leave a nasty comment like that. 'Cause really, if it didn't make you feel good, I mean REALLY, REALLY good, then it was probably a waste of time, because it certainly added to the tears shed at the end of an already horrible, emotional day. And if you didn't get something out of that, then really, what was the point?
I reported the incident to your server, and will continue to do so if you or anyone else decides to be abusive. If you ever leave a comment threatening me again, I will take the matter straight to the RCMP.
And you hurt my feelings.
I hope it made you feel good to leave a nasty comment like that. 'Cause really, if it didn't make you feel good, I mean REALLY, REALLY good, then it was probably a waste of time, because it certainly added to the tears shed at the end of an already horrible, emotional day. And if you didn't get something out of that, then really, what was the point?
I reported the incident to your server, and will continue to do so if you or anyone else decides to be abusive. If you ever leave a comment threatening me again, I will take the matter straight to the RCMP.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
We went to the fair and had fun then.....
About 45 min ago a truck backed into us in a parking lot and caused front end damage to the car.
My neck is a little sore.
Then, about 10 minutes ago, Cherry got stung, not once, but twice on the forehead.
How's your day going?
My neck is a little sore.
Then, about 10 minutes ago, Cherry got stung, not once, but twice on the forehead.
How's your day going?
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Sigh. Who's a bad mother?!? Pick me! Pick me!
I went to the dentist yesterday.
I LOOOOOOVE the dentist. I love getting my teeth cleaned and the nice smooth feeling of shiny teeth afterwards. I love getting complimented on my excellent oral hygiene and my "nice" teeth. I love leaving the office and being able to say "No cavities, ma!"
Yesterday was the same as usual. All the same compliments and same smooth, shiny teeth afterwards. But I didn't leave feeling so positive this time. I left feeling like a jerk and a bad mom.
Cherry has six teeth now, and I started asking questions about her oral care. "How often do I need to brush her teeth?" "At what age should I start bringing her in to the dentist?" I knew all the answers, I just needed to double check.
But then the dentist started asking ME questions. Well, really, just one question. The big, bad, dreaded question: "Do you put her to bed with a bottle?"
SH!T!
"I don't really want to answer that question." I reply.
Then came the lecture. 10 minutes of the dentist telling me everything I already knew about bottle mouth and tooth decay and yadda yadda.
"But, but, but...." I argued. "Every time she's done drinking her milk, she just throws the bottle out of her bed and rolls over. It's not like the milk can 'pool' in her mouth."
"STILL BAD." the dentist and the hygienist gang up on me.
"But it's just so easy to put her to bed that way!"
"YOU'RE A BAD MOTHER." they chorus.
"I've been TRYING to wean her, I swear. I've been watering down the milk and trying to gradually just get her to water... but then camping threw that all off."
"YOUR KID IS GOING TO HAVE A GROSS ROTTING MOUTH AND SHE'S GOING TO ONLY HAVE YOU TO BLAME."
"But all she wants when she wakes up in the middle of the night is milk!"
"DO IT NOW, SUCK IT UP YOU WIMP."
"But what if she doesn't get enough milk? What if she doesn't eat enough during the day?"
"GEEZ, WE'VE GOT A REAL IDIOT HERE, DON'T WE?" the dentist looks at the hygienist. "DON'T GIVE HER ANY DRINKS BESIDES MILK DURING THE DAY UNTIL SHE GETS USED TO IT. THEN YOU CAN RE-INTRODUCE JUICE AND WATER. ONLY WATER AT NIGHT!"
Ok, so I'm sure that's not exactly how it went, but that's how I remember it. The dentist also said I should do it NOW so that the taking away of milk isn't directly tied into the arrival of new baby.
But, I mean, really, Cherry sleeps so well, and when a kid sleeps so well, and everything you're doing is working, why would you want to change it?!?
"YOU'RE A BAD MOTHER, YOU ARE ROTTING YOUR CHILD'S TEETH."
Sh!t!
So, when I got home from the dentist I told Armondo the new plan, and he's all "Yeah, I knew we shouldn't be doing that but you said it was ok."
"But, but... SHE THROWS THE BOTTLE OUT OF HER BED AND DOESN'T LET THE MILK POOL IN HER MOUTH!" Really, it seemed like a logical argument.
So, I gave her bottle after bottle of milk right up until the end of story time. Then I brushed her teeth, gave her a bottle of water and said goodnight. I then braced myself for hours of fussing and screaming. It never came. She didn't fuss any more than usual, except, because she had had SO MUCH MILK, her diaper got really wet really fast, and needed to be changed about an hour after I left her to go to sleep.
"Darn, that was easy!" I thought to myself. "But it won't be so easy when she wakes up in the night!"
Very early this morning, she woke up. I grabbed a diaper and a bottle of water and went into her room. I changed the diaper, handed her the bottle, and left, totally expecting the screaming to start as soon as she realized I handed her water and not milk.
Uhhh... the screaming never happened. She just sipped her water and went back to sleep.
Yeah, so, umm...
*grins sheepishly*
I LOOOOOOVE the dentist. I love getting my teeth cleaned and the nice smooth feeling of shiny teeth afterwards. I love getting complimented on my excellent oral hygiene and my "nice" teeth. I love leaving the office and being able to say "No cavities, ma!"
Yesterday was the same as usual. All the same compliments and same smooth, shiny teeth afterwards. But I didn't leave feeling so positive this time. I left feeling like a jerk and a bad mom.
Cherry has six teeth now, and I started asking questions about her oral care. "How often do I need to brush her teeth?" "At what age should I start bringing her in to the dentist?" I knew all the answers, I just needed to double check.
But then the dentist started asking ME questions. Well, really, just one question. The big, bad, dreaded question: "Do you put her to bed with a bottle?"
SH!T!
"I don't really want to answer that question." I reply.
Then came the lecture. 10 minutes of the dentist telling me everything I already knew about bottle mouth and tooth decay and yadda yadda.
"But, but, but...." I argued. "Every time she's done drinking her milk, she just throws the bottle out of her bed and rolls over. It's not like the milk can 'pool' in her mouth."
"STILL BAD." the dentist and the hygienist gang up on me.
"But it's just so easy to put her to bed that way!"
"YOU'RE A BAD MOTHER." they chorus.
"I've been TRYING to wean her, I swear. I've been watering down the milk and trying to gradually just get her to water... but then camping threw that all off."
"YOUR KID IS GOING TO HAVE A GROSS ROTTING MOUTH AND SHE'S GOING TO ONLY HAVE YOU TO BLAME."
"But all she wants when she wakes up in the middle of the night is milk!"
"DO IT NOW, SUCK IT UP YOU WIMP."
"But what if she doesn't get enough milk? What if she doesn't eat enough during the day?"
"GEEZ, WE'VE GOT A REAL IDIOT HERE, DON'T WE?" the dentist looks at the hygienist. "DON'T GIVE HER ANY DRINKS BESIDES MILK DURING THE DAY UNTIL SHE GETS USED TO IT. THEN YOU CAN RE-INTRODUCE JUICE AND WATER. ONLY WATER AT NIGHT!"
Ok, so I'm sure that's not exactly how it went, but that's how I remember it. The dentist also said I should do it NOW so that the taking away of milk isn't directly tied into the arrival of new baby.
But, I mean, really, Cherry sleeps so well, and when a kid sleeps so well, and everything you're doing is working, why would you want to change it?!?
"YOU'RE A BAD MOTHER, YOU ARE ROTTING YOUR CHILD'S TEETH."
Sh!t!
So, when I got home from the dentist I told Armondo the new plan, and he's all "Yeah, I knew we shouldn't be doing that but you said it was ok."
"But, but... SHE THROWS THE BOTTLE OUT OF HER BED AND DOESN'T LET THE MILK POOL IN HER MOUTH!" Really, it seemed like a logical argument.
So, I gave her bottle after bottle of milk right up until the end of story time. Then I brushed her teeth, gave her a bottle of water and said goodnight. I then braced myself for hours of fussing and screaming. It never came. She didn't fuss any more than usual, except, because she had had SO MUCH MILK, her diaper got really wet really fast, and needed to be changed about an hour after I left her to go to sleep.
"Darn, that was easy!" I thought to myself. "But it won't be so easy when she wakes up in the night!"
Very early this morning, she woke up. I grabbed a diaper and a bottle of water and went into her room. I changed the diaper, handed her the bottle, and left, totally expecting the screaming to start as soon as she realized I handed her water and not milk.
Uhhh... the screaming never happened. She just sipped her water and went back to sleep.
Yeah, so, umm...
*grins sheepishly*
Friday, August 18, 2006
Baby's First Camping Trip.
Our trip started off with a two hour drive and a 15 min ferry ride.
The weather was beautiful and the short ferry ride was quite pleasant.
The campgrounds were quite nice, and it's not exactly like we were roughing it. Close by there were washrooms with running water and toilets, coin operated showers that we didn't use, and even a small laundry mat (that we also didn't use).
There weren't really many bugs either. There was the odd wasp, a few tiny ants, and at one point there was a bit of an attack of termites that lasted a whole 5 min and I was the only one around to witness it.
Our accommodations were comfortable too.
Yes, honey, I can see you all the way over there!
The ten man tent was quite roomy. We probably could have been fine with a smaller tent, but it was nice to be able to fit Cherry's whole playpen in there, along with our double size air mattress, all of our clothes and junk, as well as the dog bed and two dogs. The tent probably had about the same square footage as our master bedroom! I knew it was going to be large, and Armondo was disappointed that we only got a double sized air mattress when we could have fit something as large as a king in there, but I reminded him that if we got a larger mattress, we'd have to buy new sheets, 'cause the biggest bed we have at home is a double.
The canopy above the site was beautiful too. We were entertained by several squirrels who chittered, barked, and squeeked away as they jumped and ran from tree to tree. We don't see many squirrels close to where we live (even though we're quite rural), so I was quite amused while watching their antics.
After setting up camp the first day, we set out to the beach. Where we were, there were two beaches. One on one side was really rocky and less sheltered, and more "rough". We went there the first day.
Cherry spend the whole time lifting rocks and BOULDERS, and putting them into her yellow dump truck.
Practicing shot put for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Cherry wasn't overly impressed with the crabs I tried to show her. She was much more interested in playing with rocks. Annie on the other hand, chased the crabs all over the beach. (Sorry no pics of that.)
(Oh, and the hair do on Cherry? That's not the wind blowing it that way. That was her style for the day! Armondo combed it all backwards the night before when it was wet, and this is how it stayed for the whole next day. Poor kid!)
The first night went pretty well. Cherry went to sleep pretty easily at her regular bedtime, and Armondo and I stayed up only a bit later to play cards. The next morning, Armondo took the dogs for a run while I tried to put Cherry down for a nap. The nap didn't go as smoothly as bedtime the night before, and there was a huge struggle. I was exhausted due to having not slept perfectly the night before, and was close to tears when Armondo got back to the campsite. It wasn't until both dogs, Armondo and I were all laying down and being quiet did Cherry give into going to sleep for her nap.
Then we went to the other beach. This beach was more of a "swimming" beach, and it was quite beautiful. Again, Cherry played with the rocks and filled her truck up over and over, but her new trick was running away from us over and over. (The rocks were a bit easier to maneuver on this side than on the other!)
You can't catch me! Here I go!
The beach was kind of neat in that people had set up all these little driftwood forts.
We set ourselves up in one and enjoyed the shade. 
And then I tried to take a picture with the three of us in it. As Armondo says "Nice crotch shot!"
More importantly, I got a cute shot of Cherry and I.
I figured that that night Cherry would go down without much of a fuss considering she had RUN around for hours at the beach. I was wrong though. She didn't fall asleep until about an hour and a half after her regular bedtime.
The dogs, on the other hand, were quite pooped!
Awww... aren't they cute?!?
The next day, after Armondo made breakfast and let me sleep in, we packed everything up and headed back home. The SECOND we left the campsite, half a dozen or so crows came down and gobbled up all the little specks of food we had left behind. Those crows had been watching us for HOURS!
And the next day, we returned our 10 man, $200 tent to Walmart.
Oh, don't think of me that way! We didn't scam them! The tent actually came with a small hole in one of the pole sleeves and when we were taking it down, we noticed several seams were separating. We'll buy a new one for camping next year for sure! We loved it!
The campgrounds were quite nice, and it's not exactly like we were roughing it. Close by there were washrooms with running water and toilets, coin operated showers that we didn't use, and even a small laundry mat (that we also didn't use).
There weren't really many bugs either. There was the odd wasp, a few tiny ants, and at one point there was a bit of an attack of termites that lasted a whole 5 min and I was the only one around to witness it.
Our accommodations were comfortable too.
The ten man tent was quite roomy. We probably could have been fine with a smaller tent, but it was nice to be able to fit Cherry's whole playpen in there, along with our double size air mattress, all of our clothes and junk, as well as the dog bed and two dogs. The tent probably had about the same square footage as our master bedroom! I knew it was going to be large, and Armondo was disappointed that we only got a double sized air mattress when we could have fit something as large as a king in there, but I reminded him that if we got a larger mattress, we'd have to buy new sheets, 'cause the biggest bed we have at home is a double.
The canopy above the site was beautiful too. We were entertained by several squirrels who chittered, barked, and squeeked away as they jumped and ran from tree to tree. We don't see many squirrels close to where we live (even though we're quite rural), so I was quite amused while watching their antics.
After setting up camp the first day, we set out to the beach. Where we were, there were two beaches. One on one side was really rocky and less sheltered, and more "rough". We went there the first day.
Cherry spend the whole time lifting rocks and BOULDERS, and putting them into her yellow dump truck.
Cherry wasn't overly impressed with the crabs I tried to show her. She was much more interested in playing with rocks. Annie on the other hand, chased the crabs all over the beach. (Sorry no pics of that.)(Oh, and the hair do on Cherry? That's not the wind blowing it that way. That was her style for the day! Armondo combed it all backwards the night before when it was wet, and this is how it stayed for the whole next day. Poor kid!)
The first night went pretty well. Cherry went to sleep pretty easily at her regular bedtime, and Armondo and I stayed up only a bit later to play cards. The next morning, Armondo took the dogs for a run while I tried to put Cherry down for a nap. The nap didn't go as smoothly as bedtime the night before, and there was a huge struggle. I was exhausted due to having not slept perfectly the night before, and was close to tears when Armondo got back to the campsite. It wasn't until both dogs, Armondo and I were all laying down and being quiet did Cherry give into going to sleep for her nap.
Then we went to the other beach. This beach was more of a "swimming" beach, and it was quite beautiful. Again, Cherry played with the rocks and filled her truck up over and over, but her new trick was running away from us over and over. (The rocks were a bit easier to maneuver on this side than on the other!)
The beach was kind of neat in that people had set up all these little driftwood forts.
We set ourselves up in one and enjoyed the shade. 
I figured that that night Cherry would go down without much of a fuss considering she had RUN around for hours at the beach. I was wrong though. She didn't fall asleep until about an hour and a half after her regular bedtime.
The dogs, on the other hand, were quite pooped!
The next day, after Armondo made breakfast and let me sleep in, we packed everything up and headed back home. The SECOND we left the campsite, half a dozen or so crows came down and gobbled up all the little specks of food we had left behind. Those crows had been watching us for HOURS!
And the next day, we returned our 10 man, $200 tent to Walmart.
Oh, don't think of me that way! We didn't scam them! The tent actually came with a small hole in one of the pole sleeves and when we were taking it down, we noticed several seams were separating. We'll buy a new one for camping next year for sure! We loved it!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
The One Where I Kick My Dad Out.
So, two days ago, I kicked my dad out of my house.
He'd been living here for two and a half months.
Overall, it was an ok experience, but with his lack of personal hygiene and his laziness, the stresses were adding up.
I gave him chances. I gave him warnings. But I still feel bad.
At the beginning of the month, I asked my dad if he'd be willing to take on some specific chores for the rest of his stay here. The first time I brought it up, he told me he'd "think about it and get back to me". I didn't take this answer lightly, and it pissed me off, but I let it go, because I realized that he was going to find out the next day or so if he had a place to live.
A couple of days later, after the place didn't pan out, I brought it up again. He had previously told me that he didn't like to do dishes, so taking that into mind, and knowing that he liked outdoor chores, I asked him to keep up the weeding of the gardens (which he had started a couple of months ago, but never finished), keep up the mowing of the lawn (which he had basically been doing, except when he left the back lawn for weeks on end), and water the garden on our specified even day watering times. I asked him if he thought this was fair, or if he would rather take on different chores, and he sort of agreed to doing the yard work by saying "If that's what I need to do, then I'll do it." That was probably around August 4 or 5.
The next few days were rainy and unpleasant, and one of the days my dad wasn't feeling well, so I let it slide that he wasn't doing anything. Once it started to warm up again, and the gardens started to dry out, I was expecting him to get his butt in gear. On the 9th, which was the day that Armondo was coming home, my dad asked me "Are you sure it's ok for me to be here?" And I replied by saying "Yes, it's fine you're here, just weed the darn gardens!" By the 12th he still hadn't done any yard work, and it was dry enough that the gardens really needed water. My dad went out that day for the whole day and didn't show up until about half and hour past dark. When he got home, I told him that the gardens needed to be watered, and he replied with "I'll do it tomorrow."
"But today is an even day! You have to water today!" And that was the end of the conversation.
The next day, we packed up and took off camping. Armondo, Cherry, both dogs and I left for three days and two nights and left the cats and fish for my dad to take care of. (Which, in reality, wasn't necessary, we could have left plenty of food and litter boxes for the cats and they would have been fine. And the fish would have been fine as well. But it was nice to know that they'd be looked after.)
When we arrived home, we came home to lawns that were un-mowed, a weed-full garden, and dying roses. In other words, in the three days we were gone, my dad had done NOTHING!
Well, except do a load of dishes we left in the sink. But he really only cleaned one of the plates, and the rest of the dishes were still extremely dirty and needed to be re-done.
On the way home, we picked up Armondo's brother "Dill" and he's staying here for a week or so. My dad knew Dill was coming to stay, so he offered to take off for a couple of nights. He had first offered this before we had even left, but we had said it was no big deal, 'cause Dill could stay in Cherry's room and Cherry could come into our room. When we got home, my dad told me that he was getting ready to leave for the night so Dill could have his room, even though we had said it was ok. But, because we came home to nothing done, I calmly told him (when Armondo and Dill were out in the yard folding the tent up properly) that he should, indeed leave, and that he should actually take all of his stuff as well.
(Now, before I go on, I should mention that the weather is really nice right now, and my dad has a sailboat that he can stay on, and HAS stayed on several nights in the past. Not only that, but he already has a storage lock-up with most of his stuff so he can store any of his stuff that doesn't fit in his truck in his lock-up.)
So, after I told him to leave, he simply said "Ok, fair enough" and started packing his stuff. I started to explain myself, but he stopped me saying "You do what you gotta do." He didn't offer an explanation for not getting anything done, and he didn't act surprised or confused at all. He just quickly and quietly packed his stuff.
"I'm not angry Dad, no hard feelings!" I tried to explain.
"That's fine."
"I love you Dad!"
"That's nice."
"Dad, what are you supposed to say when someone says 'I love you'?"
no response.
"DAD?!? You're supposed to say 'I love you too'!"
"Fine, I love you too." He shot back sarcastically.
"You're welcome to visit, and I want you and Cherry to be able to continue your relationship."
"Mmm hmmm."
Anyway, I told him to keep in touch and to phone every couple of days to get messages and what not. (He's still waiting on a job, and this is his contact number.)
Still, by this point, Armondo didn't know I had kicked my father out, and as Dad was taking his stuff to the truck, Armondo told him that we needed to use his truck to pick up roofing supplies in the next few days. Apparently my dad said he'd give Armondo a call in the next couple of days, and then he left.
When Armondo came back into the house, I told him what had happened. He was surprised, having not realized that anything was going on at all. He just figured my dad decided to pack up all his stuff and take off on his own. (I guess that was a valid assumption.)
Then Armondo says "But, we need his truck!"
"Well, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't seeing the 'big picture'!" I said sarcastically.
"Yeah!" he says, "I guess you WEREN'T looking at the big picture!"
Ugh!
Anyway, my dad hasn't called and it's been two days, and I have no idea if he's royally pissed off at me, or if he's embarrassed, or what.
Armondo says that he should have expected to get kicked out, having been here for two and a half months and having had warnings. But I still feel bad. I felt like my dad and I were really getting along, and I loved watching Dad and Cherry's relationship grow. I'm not really sure what I can do now, seeing as I can't phone him.
Oh well, I guess I'll just wait.
Hopefully not the last bonding moment between Cherry and Grumpa.
He'd been living here for two and a half months.
Overall, it was an ok experience, but with his lack of personal hygiene and his laziness, the stresses were adding up.
I gave him chances. I gave him warnings. But I still feel bad.
At the beginning of the month, I asked my dad if he'd be willing to take on some specific chores for the rest of his stay here. The first time I brought it up, he told me he'd "think about it and get back to me". I didn't take this answer lightly, and it pissed me off, but I let it go, because I realized that he was going to find out the next day or so if he had a place to live.
A couple of days later, after the place didn't pan out, I brought it up again. He had previously told me that he didn't like to do dishes, so taking that into mind, and knowing that he liked outdoor chores, I asked him to keep up the weeding of the gardens (which he had started a couple of months ago, but never finished), keep up the mowing of the lawn (which he had basically been doing, except when he left the back lawn for weeks on end), and water the garden on our specified even day watering times. I asked him if he thought this was fair, or if he would rather take on different chores, and he sort of agreed to doing the yard work by saying "If that's what I need to do, then I'll do it." That was probably around August 4 or 5.
The next few days were rainy and unpleasant, and one of the days my dad wasn't feeling well, so I let it slide that he wasn't doing anything. Once it started to warm up again, and the gardens started to dry out, I was expecting him to get his butt in gear. On the 9th, which was the day that Armondo was coming home, my dad asked me "Are you sure it's ok for me to be here?" And I replied by saying "Yes, it's fine you're here, just weed the darn gardens!" By the 12th he still hadn't done any yard work, and it was dry enough that the gardens really needed water. My dad went out that day for the whole day and didn't show up until about half and hour past dark. When he got home, I told him that the gardens needed to be watered, and he replied with "I'll do it tomorrow."
"But today is an even day! You have to water today!" And that was the end of the conversation.
The next day, we packed up and took off camping. Armondo, Cherry, both dogs and I left for three days and two nights and left the cats and fish for my dad to take care of. (Which, in reality, wasn't necessary, we could have left plenty of food and litter boxes for the cats and they would have been fine. And the fish would have been fine as well. But it was nice to know that they'd be looked after.)
When we arrived home, we came home to lawns that were un-mowed, a weed-full garden, and dying roses. In other words, in the three days we were gone, my dad had done NOTHING!
Well, except do a load of dishes we left in the sink. But he really only cleaned one of the plates, and the rest of the dishes were still extremely dirty and needed to be re-done.
On the way home, we picked up Armondo's brother "Dill" and he's staying here for a week or so. My dad knew Dill was coming to stay, so he offered to take off for a couple of nights. He had first offered this before we had even left, but we had said it was no big deal, 'cause Dill could stay in Cherry's room and Cherry could come into our room. When we got home, my dad told me that he was getting ready to leave for the night so Dill could have his room, even though we had said it was ok. But, because we came home to nothing done, I calmly told him (when Armondo and Dill were out in the yard folding the tent up properly) that he should, indeed leave, and that he should actually take all of his stuff as well.
(Now, before I go on, I should mention that the weather is really nice right now, and my dad has a sailboat that he can stay on, and HAS stayed on several nights in the past. Not only that, but he already has a storage lock-up with most of his stuff so he can store any of his stuff that doesn't fit in his truck in his lock-up.)
So, after I told him to leave, he simply said "Ok, fair enough" and started packing his stuff. I started to explain myself, but he stopped me saying "You do what you gotta do." He didn't offer an explanation for not getting anything done, and he didn't act surprised or confused at all. He just quickly and quietly packed his stuff.
"I'm not angry Dad, no hard feelings!" I tried to explain.
"That's fine."
"I love you Dad!"
"That's nice."
"Dad, what are you supposed to say when someone says 'I love you'?"
no response.
"DAD?!? You're supposed to say 'I love you too'!"
"Fine, I love you too." He shot back sarcastically.
"You're welcome to visit, and I want you and Cherry to be able to continue your relationship."
"Mmm hmmm."
Anyway, I told him to keep in touch and to phone every couple of days to get messages and what not. (He's still waiting on a job, and this is his contact number.)
Still, by this point, Armondo didn't know I had kicked my father out, and as Dad was taking his stuff to the truck, Armondo told him that we needed to use his truck to pick up roofing supplies in the next few days. Apparently my dad said he'd give Armondo a call in the next couple of days, and then he left.
When Armondo came back into the house, I told him what had happened. He was surprised, having not realized that anything was going on at all. He just figured my dad decided to pack up all his stuff and take off on his own. (I guess that was a valid assumption.)
Then Armondo says "But, we need his truck!"
"Well, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't seeing the 'big picture'!" I said sarcastically.
"Yeah!" he says, "I guess you WEREN'T looking at the big picture!"
Ugh!
Anyway, my dad hasn't called and it's been two days, and I have no idea if he's royally pissed off at me, or if he's embarrassed, or what.
Armondo says that he should have expected to get kicked out, having been here for two and a half months and having had warnings. But I still feel bad. I felt like my dad and I were really getting along, and I loved watching Dad and Cherry's relationship grow. I'm not really sure what I can do now, seeing as I can't phone him.
Oh well, I guess I'll just wait.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
More To Come...
I'm back from camping and had an AWESOME time! (more to come)
I kicked my dad out of the house today! (more to come)
And, geez guys, didn't you realize I was away?!? I mean, really, you all could have been a little more considerate and STOPPED POSTING while I was gone, so that I didn't have to take TWO hours to read 100+ updated posts!?!
Oh, and my almost perfect husband has informed me that he's not going to "rush" into buying that TV, and that he is planning on waiting until a good deal around Christmas or Boxing Day. (Boxing day is the day after Christmas in Canada. It's mostly a day for pretend super deals on stuff stores didn't sell at Christmas.)
And, because I just spent way too much time reading all YOUR stuff, I'm way to tired to write more, so I'm off to shower for the first time in three days and then, hopefully the movie my husband and his little brother are watching IN MY BEDROOM will be over and I'll be able to go crash.
I kicked my dad out of the house today! (more to come)
And, geez guys, didn't you realize I was away?!? I mean, really, you all could have been a little more considerate and STOPPED POSTING while I was gone, so that I didn't have to take TWO hours to read 100+ updated posts!?!
Oh, and my almost perfect husband has informed me that he's not going to "rush" into buying that TV, and that he is planning on waiting until a good deal around Christmas or Boxing Day. (Boxing day is the day after Christmas in Canada. It's mostly a day for pretend super deals on stuff stores didn't sell at Christmas.)
And, because I just spent way too much time reading all YOUR stuff, I'm way to tired to write more, so I'm off to shower for the first time in three days and then, hopefully the movie my husband and his little brother are watching IN MY BEDROOM will be over and I'll be able to go crash.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
I forgot to mention the trouble I'm in!
Yes, trouble!
I mentioned to Armondo that it might be a good idea to get a flat screen TV for our living room, because the living room is so small, and we seem to lose about a foot of space due to the casing on the back of our old TV.
I've created a MONSTER!
We happened to be in a store that sold some electronics when I mentioned this, and SWOOP, off to the TV section I was shuffled. The first TV Armondo sees that he thinks would be suitable for the living room is a 42 inch. "NUH UH!" I say "TOO BIG!" It's not like I don't like big TVs, it's just that our living rom is SOOO small, that you couldn't sit far enough away to really enjoy it!
Then I spot a 26 inch. "Perfect!" I say!
"Too small!" He says.
Anyway, we didn't buy the TV on the spot or anything. We have some time to think about it and compare prices, but like I've said before, I've created a monster! Last night when I was trying to be as cool as Belinda and follow her to coupon therapy, Armondo started going through all the flyers (circulars for you Yanks) and started price comparing flat screen TVs.
This was AFTER the conversation we had with some dinner guests regarding the TV size. "I just got the green light on a flat screen TV" he says "And WHO do you think will be the one to choose and buy it?"
Yup, trouble!
I mentioned to Armondo that it might be a good idea to get a flat screen TV for our living room, because the living room is so small, and we seem to lose about a foot of space due to the casing on the back of our old TV.
I've created a MONSTER!
We happened to be in a store that sold some electronics when I mentioned this, and SWOOP, off to the TV section I was shuffled. The first TV Armondo sees that he thinks would be suitable for the living room is a 42 inch. "NUH UH!" I say "TOO BIG!" It's not like I don't like big TVs, it's just that our living rom is SOOO small, that you couldn't sit far enough away to really enjoy it!
Then I spot a 26 inch. "Perfect!" I say!
"Too small!" He says.
Anyway, we didn't buy the TV on the spot or anything. We have some time to think about it and compare prices, but like I've said before, I've created a monster! Last night when I was trying to be as cool as Belinda and follow her to coupon therapy, Armondo started going through all the flyers (circulars for you Yanks) and started price comparing flat screen TVs.
This was AFTER the conversation we had with some dinner guests regarding the TV size. "I just got the green light on a flat screen TV" he says "And WHO do you think will be the one to choose and buy it?"
Yup, trouble!
We're Going Camping!
YAY!
We're packing up the car, driving up Island and taking a ferry to Quadra Island to go camping. We're leaving tomorrow morning and will be gone until Tuesday evening.
I'll get to put my Master Tent Bulding Skills to test as we set up our new TEN MAN tent!
It'll be two nights sitting on some semi-tropical beach in the Pacific Ocean.
I'm slightly excited!
We're taking the dogs too. The car will be VERY packed, but it should be fun.
I promise pictures and stories when we get back!
Oh, and my dad is feeding the fish and the cats while we're gone, so don't think about doing any funny stuff like toilet papering our house!
We're packing up the car, driving up Island and taking a ferry to Quadra Island to go camping. We're leaving tomorrow morning and will be gone until Tuesday evening.
I'll get to put my Master Tent Bulding Skills to test as we set up our new TEN MAN tent!
It'll be two nights sitting on some semi-tropical beach in the Pacific Ocean.
I'm slightly excited!
We're taking the dogs too. The car will be VERY packed, but it should be fun.
I promise pictures and stories when we get back!
Oh, and my dad is feeding the fish and the cats while we're gone, so don't think about doing any funny stuff like toilet papering our house!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Did I Mention That He's Practically Perfect?
Armondo got home yesterday evening.
He brought home enough fish to fill our freezer. In fact, he brought home my FAVOURITE type of fish (Black Cod).
Cherry woke up when he got home due to the noise that the dogs were excitedly making. (They love Armondo WAY more than me!) And then Armondo and Cherry were able to get a quick hello in before I scooted the little one back to bed.
This morning both Armondo and I were exhausted, (I let you imagine why.) and Armondo tried to sleep in a bit, and then when Cherry went down for a nap, the two of us went down too. Cherry was quiet for a little while, but then started crying, so I got the strong feeling that she had pooped herself. So, I dragged myself out of bed, and went to check on her.
I was right. There was poop.
And here's the first thing today Armondo did that makes him practically perfect...
I took Cherry into our room and threw her (nicely) onto her dad and said "Your daughter has a poopy diaper and REALLY wants you to change it for her."
His response?
He got out of bed and changed her diaper and put her back to bed without grumbling, or batting an eye!
Oh, and the second thing he did that makes him practically perfect?
I asked him what he wanted to do today, and his response?
He wanted to go shopping!
So we did. We went shopping for things such as a tent, an air mattress, a carpet cleaner, CDs, etc. Oh, and approximately how long does it take to spend over $1000 in one shopping trip? Oh, about 3 hours!
Oh, and I got a hair cut! It was long overdue! It's basically the same as it has been, but it's nicely trimmed, the split ends are gone, and the "heavyness" in my bangs has been fixed.
And then, he called me a hot mamma.
SMOOOCH! I love this guy!
He brought home enough fish to fill our freezer. In fact, he brought home my FAVOURITE type of fish (Black Cod).
Cherry woke up when he got home due to the noise that the dogs were excitedly making. (They love Armondo WAY more than me!) And then Armondo and Cherry were able to get a quick hello in before I scooted the little one back to bed.
This morning both Armondo and I were exhausted, (I let you imagine why.) and Armondo tried to sleep in a bit, and then when Cherry went down for a nap, the two of us went down too. Cherry was quiet for a little while, but then started crying, so I got the strong feeling that she had pooped herself. So, I dragged myself out of bed, and went to check on her.
I was right. There was poop.
And here's the first thing today Armondo did that makes him practically perfect...
I took Cherry into our room and threw her (nicely) onto her dad and said "Your daughter has a poopy diaper and REALLY wants you to change it for her."
His response?
He got out of bed and changed her diaper and put her back to bed without grumbling, or batting an eye!
Oh, and the second thing he did that makes him practically perfect?
I asked him what he wanted to do today, and his response?
He wanted to go shopping!
So we did. We went shopping for things such as a tent, an air mattress, a carpet cleaner, CDs, etc. Oh, and approximately how long does it take to spend over $1000 in one shopping trip? Oh, about 3 hours!
Oh, and I got a hair cut! It was long overdue! It's basically the same as it has been, but it's nicely trimmed, the split ends are gone, and the "heavyness" in my bangs has been fixed.
And then, he called me a hot mamma.
SMOOOCH! I love this guy!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
The Waiting Game
Armondo is coming home today!
We just don't know when.
He and one of the other deckhands have to clean out the freezer, and once they are done, they can leave.
After he leaves the boat, he needs to take a cab to the ferry, and then a two hour ferry ride home. He said he would call once he was at the ferry terminal (on the other side.)
So now we wait. Wait for the phone call. After that, we wait for the ferry to arrive.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Please forgive me if my entries are sparse for a little while. I might just be having some wile moneky sez. Minus the drinks.
We just don't know when.
He and one of the other deckhands have to clean out the freezer, and once they are done, they can leave.
After he leaves the boat, he needs to take a cab to the ferry, and then a two hour ferry ride home. He said he would call once he was at the ferry terminal (on the other side.)
So now we wait. Wait for the phone call. After that, we wait for the ferry to arrive.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Please forgive me if my entries are sparse for a little while. I might just be having some wile moneky sez. Minus the drinks.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Since we're on the topic..
I had to go to the lab today to give a urine sample, 'cause my kidneys hurt.
I peed on my hand.
I peed on my hand.
Sigh.
Thank you all for your input regarding the killer doll. I haven't completely made up my mind, but I thought I'd share with you my dad's solution:
He offered to pee on it so that I had an excuse to get rid of it.
Yup. That's my dad.
He offered to pee on it so that I had an excuse to get rid of it.
Yup. That's my dad.
Hello
To my reader from Pr!nce Rup3rt:
I realize that you may not have a clue who I am, but that is highly doubtful. You've been here at least twice, and you've been checking out my archives, so I'm fully convinced that you DO know me.
Please note that there is a reason that I haven't invited family and some friends to read this particular blog. The main reason is because I have chosen this place to speak my mind. I honestly can say that everything I've written here has reflected my true feelings at the time I was typing the particular words.
Some people are very sensitive, and cannot understand my sense of humour or understand that even though I can get frustrated easily, I can also forgive easily. So, if you're going to continue to come back here and possibly collect "ammo" to use against me, please note that you weren't invited. If in fact, you have found something here that offends you, please drop me an email and talk about it directly to me before you spread rumours through out the family. I know this family loves drama, (myself included) but I really don't want to make any enemies. I love my extended family, and if you attack my only means of getting my frustrations out, then I won't have any release, and it will be much harder for me to deal with said frustrations and much harder to have positive feelings towards said family.
And, if by some chance you have no clue who I am, and I've just made an ass of myself, well, then so be it!
I realize that you may not have a clue who I am, but that is highly doubtful. You've been here at least twice, and you've been checking out my archives, so I'm fully convinced that you DO know me.
Please note that there is a reason that I haven't invited family and some friends to read this particular blog. The main reason is because I have chosen this place to speak my mind. I honestly can say that everything I've written here has reflected my true feelings at the time I was typing the particular words.
Some people are very sensitive, and cannot understand my sense of humour or understand that even though I can get frustrated easily, I can also forgive easily. So, if you're going to continue to come back here and possibly collect "ammo" to use against me, please note that you weren't invited. If in fact, you have found something here that offends you, please drop me an email and talk about it directly to me before you spread rumours through out the family. I know this family loves drama, (myself included) but I really don't want to make any enemies. I love my extended family, and if you attack my only means of getting my frustrations out, then I won't have any release, and it will be much harder for me to deal with said frustrations and much harder to have positive feelings towards said family.
And, if by some chance you have no clue who I am, and I've just made an ass of myself, well, then so be it!
Monday, August 07, 2006
I have a dilemma, OR The one about killer dolls.
Last Christmas, my MIL gave the following doll to Cherry:
I have to admit, that the picture doesn't truely capture the problem, but let me tell you: THIS IS ONE UGLY DOLL. And there are some significant problems with her. She's supposed to be a "newborn" doll, however she can sit on her own, and she is VERY fat. Her body is filled with beans and some sort of other stuffing and her butt is three times the size of her head. Her face is creepy too. Armondo doesn't like it either. It's just plain.... wrong.
And when I switched Cherry into her "big girl" room, I didn't move this doll into her new room. I just couldn't bring myself to find a spot for it. I mean, LOOK AT IT! Isn't it creeping you out? How can I be a good mother and stick that scary, ugly doll into my small child's room?
Anyway, the other day when the MIL came to visit, I made sure that I pulled the doll out of the old room so that it was "around" if MIL looked for it. Well, she saw it lying on the floor, picked it up and said in an adoring voice "Oh, I love this doll so much! She's so cute!"
It was very hard for me to keep my mouth shut.
So here's the dilema: Do I keep the doll and put it in Cherry's new room?
Do I pack the doll up and store it somewhere, and hope and pray that it doesn't pop out one day and pull a "Chucky"?
Or do I send it to the Sally Anne and hope that my MIL won't notice?
I've had a similar dilema before.
My mother had a doll when she was a child, that was passed down for me to play with when I was a child. The doll had been stored at my grandmother's house for years, and she wanted to get rid of it, so a few years ago, she gave it to me. The doll had sat at the bottom of the basement stairs at my grandmother's house, and everytime I turned on the light in the stairwell and saw that naked doll at the foot of the stairs, it gave me a bit of a start. I didn't think it would be that bad if I put some clothes on her and put her in a less startling location, but I was wrong.
The doll was one of those "Walking Doll"s, but the mechanical inards had long worn out. She was missing a finger from the days when my mother played with her, and her hair was sparse and felt gross. And she was life size. And everytime I walked passed the room she sat in, she'd creep me out with her shiny blue eyes and sinister stare. My room mates were scared of her too, but I kept her around for several years. I tried to make her seem less creepy by giving her a wig to wear, which, I have to admit, DID help a little, but still that missing finger and weird eyes scared me. I had the option of storing her in a closet, but again, I was afraid that she'd come alive and kill me in the middle of the night. I figured that if I kept her in plain site, that she'd be less likely to try something. I wish I could say that I am joking, but really, I'm not.
I had to do something with her, she couldn't just stay in the spare room and haunt it. I had become pregnant with Cherry, and I knew that I didn't want that doll around my future children. So, I asked my grandmother if she wanted it back. She didn't. I was still talking to my mother at the time, so I asked her if SHE wanted it back. She did. But I never saw my mother again after that conversation and my due date was fast approaching. So, I got up my nerve and months later, I took the old doll to the Sally Anne*.
And now, I imagine, she haunts someone else. Better them than us though!
So, what to do with the new, creepy doll? Part of the problem is that I'm worried that my own, creeped out feelings will be apparent to Cherry, and that she'll become scared of it simply because I am. And, as I'm writing this, I can feel the doll LOOKING at me.. I mean, she's RIGHT THERE, off to the side, contemplating the easiest way to get the knives off the wall. I know she is. HELP ME!
*The Sally Anne is the Salvation Army thrift store, in case you didn't know.
I have to admit, that the picture doesn't truely capture the problem, but let me tell you: THIS IS ONE UGLY DOLL. And there are some significant problems with her. She's supposed to be a "newborn" doll, however she can sit on her own, and she is VERY fat. Her body is filled with beans and some sort of other stuffing and her butt is three times the size of her head. Her face is creepy too. Armondo doesn't like it either. It's just plain.... wrong.
And when I switched Cherry into her "big girl" room, I didn't move this doll into her new room. I just couldn't bring myself to find a spot for it. I mean, LOOK AT IT! Isn't it creeping you out? How can I be a good mother and stick that scary, ugly doll into my small child's room?
Anyway, the other day when the MIL came to visit, I made sure that I pulled the doll out of the old room so that it was "around" if MIL looked for it. Well, she saw it lying on the floor, picked it up and said in an adoring voice "Oh, I love this doll so much! She's so cute!"
It was very hard for me to keep my mouth shut.
So here's the dilema: Do I keep the doll and put it in Cherry's new room?
Do I pack the doll up and store it somewhere, and hope and pray that it doesn't pop out one day and pull a "Chucky"?
Or do I send it to the Sally Anne and hope that my MIL won't notice?
I've had a similar dilema before.
My mother had a doll when she was a child, that was passed down for me to play with when I was a child. The doll had been stored at my grandmother's house for years, and she wanted to get rid of it, so a few years ago, she gave it to me. The doll had sat at the bottom of the basement stairs at my grandmother's house, and everytime I turned on the light in the stairwell and saw that naked doll at the foot of the stairs, it gave me a bit of a start. I didn't think it would be that bad if I put some clothes on her and put her in a less startling location, but I was wrong.
The doll was one of those "Walking Doll"s, but the mechanical inards had long worn out. She was missing a finger from the days when my mother played with her, and her hair was sparse and felt gross. And she was life size. And everytime I walked passed the room she sat in, she'd creep me out with her shiny blue eyes and sinister stare. My room mates were scared of her too, but I kept her around for several years. I tried to make her seem less creepy by giving her a wig to wear, which, I have to admit, DID help a little, but still that missing finger and weird eyes scared me. I had the option of storing her in a closet, but again, I was afraid that she'd come alive and kill me in the middle of the night. I figured that if I kept her in plain site, that she'd be less likely to try something. I wish I could say that I am joking, but really, I'm not.
I had to do something with her, she couldn't just stay in the spare room and haunt it. I had become pregnant with Cherry, and I knew that I didn't want that doll around my future children. So, I asked my grandmother if she wanted it back. She didn't. I was still talking to my mother at the time, so I asked her if SHE wanted it back. She did. But I never saw my mother again after that conversation and my due date was fast approaching. So, I got up my nerve and months later, I took the old doll to the Sally Anne*.
And now, I imagine, she haunts someone else. Better them than us though!
So, what to do with the new, creepy doll? Part of the problem is that I'm worried that my own, creeped out feelings will be apparent to Cherry, and that she'll become scared of it simply because I am. And, as I'm writing this, I can feel the doll LOOKING at me.. I mean, she's RIGHT THERE, off to the side, contemplating the easiest way to get the knives off the wall. I know she is. HELP ME!
*The Sally Anne is the Salvation Army thrift store, in case you didn't know.
Snippets.
I was doing so well there for awhile. SOOO well. I was writing every day, and I have to say that some of it was even half-decent. And now? Not so much. So again, you get a note form post with some life updates.
~The MIL finally visited. The pictures from the last post were all taken during her visit, and the truck in the picture was one of her "birthday" gifts. Cherry's birthday was almost a month ago. Cherry has been walking for over 3 months now, and it turns out that her grandmother, who only lives an hour and a half away, had never actually seen her walk before. Hmm.. maybe you should come around more often? Oh well, she's doing much better than MY mom whom I haven't talked to since I was 7 months pregnant with Cherry.
~Early last week, my friend Sarah came to visit before she took off to Japan to teach English. After having a bit of a visit at our house we decided to go out for dinner. It's been awhile since I've taken Cherry out to eat in a public place, but I was pretty sure that we were limited to going to a "family restaurant". So, we went to a close by all-day breakfast/lunch/dinner place (much like Denny's) and set her up in her high chair. Right from the start, she was bored, so I thought it might be a good idea to give her a creamer to play with. Wait... Did I say "good idea"? Um, yeah, I was so wrong! The creamer went straight into her mouth and minutes later the cream shot out all over the place. I couldn't help but laugh, when myself and my bench were splattered with cream. But then, I tried really hard to stop laughing when I looked over to the next table (which was luckily unoccupied) and saw that Cherry had somehow skillfully splattered cream spots on EVERY SINGLE piece of cutlery, as well as every coffee cup, AND she hit every napkin. The whole table had to be reset and everything had to go through the dishwasher. I apologized to the server, between giggles and did my best to wipe up everything I could.
I had forgotten to take the creamer away from Cherry though. Shortly after I had sat back down, she hucked the creamer straight at me and the rest of the cream landed in. my. ear. YUCK!
Then, what seemed like forever later, the food arrived. The food didn't actually take that long to arrive, but when you've got a bored toddler, time goes by a lot slower. Sarah and I dug into our food, while I gave little bits and pieces of my food to Cherry.
Turns out that having two dogs at home actually makes LESS housework for me rather than more. I rarely have to clean food up from around the high chair at home. In the restaurant, it was a totally different story. There was food everywhere in a 3 foot radius from the chair. Because I'm a server in my alternate life, there was no way I was going to leave the mess everywhere, so at the end of the meal, the fat pregnant lady was on her hands and knees cleaning up little bits of roast beef, French fries, and soggy bread.
What fun.
~My b0obs hurt. My kidneys hurt. I think I might be having some cervix problems. I'm exhausted. My mind is not working properly. I keep on getting nose bleeds. I would like to fast-forward the next few months and get this baby out of me.
~Armondo should be coming home on Wednesday, hopefully. I'm excited about him coming home, but I'm not getting too worked up about it, 'cause I'm scared that the day will change like it did over and over last time.
~My dad's still living here. He'll be here until at least half way through the month. I told him that he had to contribute more to the house if he was going to stay, and he agreed. I tried to offer him "options", but he just told me to tell him what to do. So I told him he had to keep the yard up. Weed the gardens, water the gardens, mow the lawn, etc. So far, he's done a half-assed job of sweeping the living room floor. Yeah, not exactly something I asked him to do, but oh well. If he doesn't do some yard work in the next two days, I'm going to freak out at him.
~Did I mention that I'm exhausted?
~The MIL finally visited. The pictures from the last post were all taken during her visit, and the truck in the picture was one of her "birthday" gifts. Cherry's birthday was almost a month ago. Cherry has been walking for over 3 months now, and it turns out that her grandmother, who only lives an hour and a half away, had never actually seen her walk before. Hmm.. maybe you should come around more often? Oh well, she's doing much better than MY mom whom I haven't talked to since I was 7 months pregnant with Cherry.
~Early last week, my friend Sarah came to visit before she took off to Japan to teach English. After having a bit of a visit at our house we decided to go out for dinner. It's been awhile since I've taken Cherry out to eat in a public place, but I was pretty sure that we were limited to going to a "family restaurant". So, we went to a close by all-day breakfast/lunch/dinner place (much like Denny's) and set her up in her high chair. Right from the start, she was bored, so I thought it might be a good idea to give her a creamer to play with. Wait... Did I say "good idea"? Um, yeah, I was so wrong! The creamer went straight into her mouth and minutes later the cream shot out all over the place. I couldn't help but laugh, when myself and my bench were splattered with cream. But then, I tried really hard to stop laughing when I looked over to the next table (which was luckily unoccupied) and saw that Cherry had somehow skillfully splattered cream spots on EVERY SINGLE piece of cutlery, as well as every coffee cup, AND she hit every napkin. The whole table had to be reset and everything had to go through the dishwasher. I apologized to the server, between giggles and did my best to wipe up everything I could.
I had forgotten to take the creamer away from Cherry though. Shortly after I had sat back down, she hucked the creamer straight at me and the rest of the cream landed in. my. ear. YUCK!
Then, what seemed like forever later, the food arrived. The food didn't actually take that long to arrive, but when you've got a bored toddler, time goes by a lot slower. Sarah and I dug into our food, while I gave little bits and pieces of my food to Cherry.
Turns out that having two dogs at home actually makes LESS housework for me rather than more. I rarely have to clean food up from around the high chair at home. In the restaurant, it was a totally different story. There was food everywhere in a 3 foot radius from the chair. Because I'm a server in my alternate life, there was no way I was going to leave the mess everywhere, so at the end of the meal, the fat pregnant lady was on her hands and knees cleaning up little bits of roast beef, French fries, and soggy bread.
What fun.
~My b0obs hurt. My kidneys hurt. I think I might be having some cervix problems. I'm exhausted. My mind is not working properly. I keep on getting nose bleeds. I would like to fast-forward the next few months and get this baby out of me.
~Armondo should be coming home on Wednesday, hopefully. I'm excited about him coming home, but I'm not getting too worked up about it, 'cause I'm scared that the day will change like it did over and over last time.
~My dad's still living here. He'll be here until at least half way through the month. I told him that he had to contribute more to the house if he was going to stay, and he agreed. I tried to offer him "options", but he just told me to tell him what to do. So I told him he had to keep the yard up. Weed the gardens, water the gardens, mow the lawn, etc. So far, he's done a half-assed job of sweeping the living room floor. Yeah, not exactly something I asked him to do, but oh well. If he doesn't do some yard work in the next two days, I'm going to freak out at him.
~Did I mention that I'm exhausted?
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Could She Be Any Happier?!?
Another favourite toy!
Can she be anymore darling?!?
"Come on in, water's fine!"
Saturday, August 05, 2006
The Ninja Poodle Gets Clipped.
"Oooh, I know I'm in for some trouble!!!"
After:
"Oh, wow, I'm looking pretty good here!"
Ok, that's not the REAL after photo, that's a photo taken of Jacy way back when she resided with the rest of the Ninja Poodles.
The REAL after:
"Mom, please, SERIOUSLY, I'm dying of embarrassment here, PLEASE get that camera out of my face!"
Cherry says:"Mom is SO not allowed near MY hair!!"
Friday, August 04, 2006
A Quickie.
I really didn't ignore you all when you told me that you wanted more pictures! I had plans to include all sorts of pictures in tonight's post, but blogger won't allow me to upload any, so, you'll have to wait until tomorrow!
And, because I don't have pictures, I don't have much to write about today.
Except:
Switching to a new razor after using a dull one for a week or so really is some sort of luxury! Shaving your armpits without the razor tugging on those little hairs is quite heavenly. Like cream cheese.
I'm not making sense. It's 'cause it's late, and 'cause I'm flustered, 'cause:
YOU GUYS ARE ALL SO COOL AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND REALLY, THE EMAILS, AND THE COMMENTS AND EVERYTHING, THEY'RE AWESOME. YOU MAKE ME FEEL AWESOME. ESP. ONE OF YOU. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Oh, and I'm not replying to the last post yet, 'cause I want to leave it there a little longer in hopes I'll get more comments. And, only one of you got BOTH of my "joke" names right. And I was hoping for more suggestions for blog-fake names for the baby. And, I asked you to tell me WHY you didn't like the names you didn't like.. and not many of you told me why. So, even if you left a comment before, if you have more that you think you could say about it, then PLEASE, write more, there's a child's well being at stake here!
OH! and the middle names: For a girl, the middle name will be Joann (combination of both of my grandmothers' names) and for a boy, it'll be Armondo's real name, which I can't tell you, but I'll tell you is two syllables (so you can get the "feel" of how it would sound) and the initial is "M". And our last name initial is "O". So, if it's a girl, the last initials will be J.O. and a boy will be M.O.
And, because I don't have pictures, I don't have much to write about today.
Except:
Switching to a new razor after using a dull one for a week or so really is some sort of luxury! Shaving your armpits without the razor tugging on those little hairs is quite heavenly. Like cream cheese.
I'm not making sense. It's 'cause it's late, and 'cause I'm flustered, 'cause:
YOU GUYS ARE ALL SO COOL AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND REALLY, THE EMAILS, AND THE COMMENTS AND EVERYTHING, THEY'RE AWESOME. YOU MAKE ME FEEL AWESOME. ESP. ONE OF YOU. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Oh, and I'm not replying to the last post yet, 'cause I want to leave it there a little longer in hopes I'll get more comments. And, only one of you got BOTH of my "joke" names right. And I was hoping for more suggestions for blog-fake names for the baby. And, I asked you to tell me WHY you didn't like the names you didn't like.. and not many of you told me why. So, even if you left a comment before, if you have more that you think you could say about it, then PLEASE, write more, there's a child's well being at stake here!
OH! and the middle names: For a girl, the middle name will be Joann (combination of both of my grandmothers' names) and for a boy, it'll be Armondo's real name, which I can't tell you, but I'll tell you is two syllables (so you can get the "feel" of how it would sound) and the initial is "M". And our last name initial is "O". So, if it's a girl, the last initials will be J.O. and a boy will be M.O.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Baby Names
Armondo hasn't been around to approve or disaprove these names, but I thought I'd ask all of you your opinions. I want to know which ones you like, but more importantly, which ones you DON'T like and why. I'm going to throw one boy name and one girl name in there that I absolutely don't like, just to see if I get a reaction out of ya'll.
I also need a fake name for the future baby. If you have any ideas for a fake name for either gender, throw that in there too!
Here goes: (favourite nick names in brackets)
Boys:
Caleb
Dominick
James
Eugene
Isaiah
Theodore (Tad)
Jo(h)nathan (Nathan)
Owen
Gilbert
Alexander (Xander)
Girls:
Abigail (Abby)
Charlotte
Gwendolyn (Gwennie)
Kaleigh (Kay)
Marliss
Isabell *e*a (Bella, Belle)
Kyleigh (Kye)
Mateja-the "j" has a "y" sound. This is the original spelling-no funny stuff!
Millicent(Millie)
Natalya Na-tay-lya
Vivienne
Ceyla
So? What do you think?
I also need a fake name for the future baby. If you have any ideas for a fake name for either gender, throw that in there too!
Here goes: (favourite nick names in brackets)
Boys:
Caleb
Dominick
James
Eugene
Isaiah
Theodore (Tad)
Jo(h)nathan (Nathan)
Owen
Gilbert
Alexander (Xander)
Girls:
Abigail (Abby)
Charlotte
Gwendolyn (Gwennie)
Kaleigh (Kay)
Marliss
Isabell *e*a (Bella, Belle)
Kyleigh (Kye)
Mateja-the "j" has a "y" sound. This is the original spelling-no funny stuff!
Millicent(Millie)
Natalya Na-tay-lya
Vivienne
Ceyla
So? What do you think?
Annie Says:
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