Happy Birthday Auntie M!!!!!

Better late than never - Happy Birthday Aunt Maggie!!! Hope your dinner out was great and your cake doesn't land on your hips! Miss and love you.

Screw it!!!

J and I talked it over, and screw it...we're going to Houston!!! H1 and SIL(H), see you on Saturday!!!!!

I'm not in a blogging mood.

Christmas was wonderful, and all that jazz. Family, friends, it was all great. Right now I've got plenty of time to blog and am just not in the mood. I'm currently having stress. A LOT of stress....

The first degree of stress is really not something I can complain about - it's a dilemma many folks don't get to have. I'd like to take my 4-day weekend (the job gave us New Year's Eve off) and go to Houston with J and the kids. However, it's the weekend after Christmas and you all know what that means...you open your wallet and hear an echo too, yes? So, I'm trying to figure out if we can go or not. But, part of the decision lies in the second, more frustrating dilemma:

My babysitter is going out of town for 3 weeks and I can't find a sitter. The two people she recommended both decided to go out of town. I've sent out e-mails and made phone calls with no luck. I only earn 2 weeks of vacation a year, and I can use it all now if I need to, but then I don't have any more vacation hours until Jan 1, 2009! And, that still won't cover all the days I need covered!!!

So, even if I find a babysitter, I don't know how much they would charge, which makes it hard to calculate our possible Houston trip.

AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

File this under "I didn't know"

Did you know that if you feed a 1-year-old a lemon-poppyseed scone that the poppyseeds don't digest? If so, did you also know that using a baby wipe to clean her only pushes the seeds around? So basically you end up with a poop-free diaper area covered in poppyseeds that you then have to pick off by hand! Ugh.

Although....I have heard of that expensive coffee that involves cat poop, so maybe I could "harvest" the poppyseeds and turn them into some kind of designer opium? Puts a whole new meaning to "That's some good shit, man", doesn't it?

All the good stuff, rolled into one weekend!

Wow, what a weekend! Where should I start? Oh yeah, Friday afternoon would be good. My boss let us leave 2 hours early! Awesome! J and I did up some last-minute shopping and then went out to dinner with the kids and Mom (Chiapop wasn't feeling well). After dinner we drove around our part of town looking at Christmas lights. Then we hung out at home and watched License to Wed - cute movie! That in itself is a miracle as it's pretty hard to get J to go out to eat! Saturday I had one more gift I had to buy and also needed to stop at the grocery. Guess who kept the kids and I went out BY MYSELF? Yup, my guy!! It was glorious I tell you, absolutely glorious!!! After that I did a bunch of housework, which normally would suck but strangely wasn't that bad. THEN, after dinner, after Molly was asleep, (don't let your mind wander that way, that's not where I'm going with this) Ian babysat and J & I went out on a date! To see National Treasure, Book of Secrets. I loved it! There may have been a few weak plot points but still, I thought it was great! Today J & I went to a Saints game. Mom was kind enough to babysit so I could catch the last game of the season. Let me just say, if you want a cardiac workout, go see the Saints play! Oh, the ups and downs, the great plays and ridiculous calls! It was awesome!!! Then, J made burritos for dinner. Anyone who's had his Mexican food knows how awesome it is! Then, he made "Cajun Eggnog" for dessert - yummy! One last terrific part of this weekend - I have the day off tomorrow! My bosses decided we should get a four-day weekend - yay for me!!!

Sort of BB quote of the day: We were at the restaurant Friday, and BB was reading the jokes off the kids menu. It went something like this:

BB: What does a snowman like to ride?
J: A snowwoman! (Yes, he said that in front of his innocent daughter!!!)

In case your curious, the answer was "an ice-cycle"!

I must have swallowed a magnet today.

I park in a lot down the street from my office. Today after work, I got into my car and was putting on my seatbelt when I realized someone was opening the back passenger door. I turn to see what's going on, and there is a woman putting her purse and bag onto my back seat! "Can I help you?" I ask, at which point she looks up at me and realizes she's getting into the wrong car!! We both laughed and commented on how it must've been a long day.....

Fast forward to tonight. J, Molly, and I are shopping at Target (yes, I really got him into Target 6 days before Christmas!). We are in line to check out and a gorgeous blonde in a short skirt and boots walks up and tells J she wants to see the baby because she loves babies and wants one. (Hello, I'm standing right here) Molly doesn't seem to interested (because she LOVES her Mommy) and the girl leaves with her friend. So the moral of this story is I can't let J out with Molly or he will be acosted by beautiful women. Damn! I don't get acosted by gorgeous guys when I'm out with Molly - Life's not fair!!!

Back to the Old Stompin’ Grounds

First of all, let me start by apologizing for any hurt feelings I may have caused over the weekend. I know it is not a valid excuse, but I am still not feeling well and I guess it’s made me a bit cranky. There are a few things I said in jest that may have been taken in a literal manner and if I offended anyone I apologize. I try to be a courteous guest at any occasion and if I did not succeed in that endeavor at any point this weekend, my heartfelt apologies are extended.

That being said, this was a crazy weekend. Not in a good way. Saturday I tried to do a little Christmas shopping, which is what I succeeded in doing – a LITTLE Christmas shopping. I started out at the shot bus with the girls and each one got a shot. Then, off to Toys R Us and the mall. After a quick lunch, we headed over to the French Quarter. There was a terrific shop J and I visited a few months ago and they had some great stuff I wanted to send to some out-of-town folks on my shopping list. I have been planning these purchases since we found the shop. So BB, Molly, and I walked around the French Quarter for 2 HOURS and never found the shop!!! Tired, cranky, and sore would be the words I would use to describe us by the time we got back to the car. After we got home, I took care of some household stuff, and ordered pizza and salads for dinner. I’m not 3 minutes from the house when Ian calls: Molly hit her mouth on the coffee table and is bleeding everywhere. So I turn around and race home to find Ian and Molly covered in blood. Her bottom teeth look okay, so I’m calm, then I lift up her lip and look at the uppers. Oh crap! I panic! They’re covered in blood (front and back) and the gum/lip area looks pretty messed up. I call Jerrod b/c I’m not sure if I should take her to the ER and the dentist’s office doesn’t have an emergency answering machine (great time to find that out, huh?). Of course, he is working a detail and can't leave, so he is helpless. He gives me a few choice words and tells me to get a grip, and I calm down. I decide to take her to Children’s. Haven’t been there in a while. Weird to be back. Of course, the ER was packed!! We did get in relatively quickly once the triage nurse looked at her mouth. A doctor came in and looked at her, then decided he needed a second opinion. So we waited, a long time. Long enough for me to start wondering if they had called social services because the accident happened while I wasn’t home. They didn’t. It was just a long wait. However, social services was there…Ian went to get a drink from the fountain and witnessed Child Protective Services in the process of taking custody of a child. The mom was hysterical and some big guys were involved. BB was in the bathroom and together they had to pass the whole thing. When we took Molly for X-rays we had to use the stairs to get there as the police had gotten involved in the child protection case (which was all going down in the elevators). All said, we were there about 3 hours and her teeth appear to be fine. Poor Ian and BB didn’t eat until 11:30, and we all slept a bit late Sunday (even Molly). Poor Molly had blood all over her sheets when I went in to get her.

Sunday was Dad’s birthday, so we did a bit of shopping (including a trip to Whole Foods for a Tiramisu cake) then went to KenEllies for dinner. Very tasty and love the new furniture! Molly was in rare form and cute as a button. BB and Ian locked themselves in the computer room with Guitar Hero. Eventually, we headed home to wrap up our weekend and get ready for the week. Of course, Molly woke up sick, so bed was postponed a few hours while we comforted her. While we were up, we ordered our Christmas cards (let’s just say we were a little delirious and they will be interesting) so those should go out in the mail tomorrow. Hopefully a few will arrive before Christmas!

If you’re still reading, thanks for putting up with my drivel. This cold is driving me and I just can’t seem to shake the “grumpies”.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!! Hope it's a great one! We love you!

Christmas Greetings and cat piss

We've been bad and haven't sent out Christmas cards yet. I swear I'm planning on dressing up the kids Saturday and taking a few pics to make into a Christmas card. Wish me luck, this year they're all wiggly and uncooperative.

Speaking of Christmas cards, we got a card yesterday and we have no idea who it's from! It's addressed to Patty and Jared (and last name), with no return address. The inside says something like "Merry Christmas from us", and lists the first names only of the family members. So, no last name and no return address....only problem is we don't recognize any of the first names!!! Our only clue is the postmark is from N.O. (I don't think they'll be getting a card from us!!) Detective G, we're keeping you busy this month!!!

On to more fragrant subjects. Our house reeks of cat piss. I can't figure out why. Black kitty died right after Katrina and we haven't replaced him, so it's not like it's our own cat.

Scenario 1: A cat got in the house while J was smoking and we didn't know it.
Now, this is J's theory but I just don't buy it. How could we not notice a cat in the house? He smokes right outside the back door with the back door open so he can watch TV, but I think he would have noticed if one was even in the vicinity, let alone came into the house. He thinks it could have also been responsible for knocking over the tree, but again, I think we'd have noticed a cat in the house.

Scenario 2: A cat pissed on the bin we keep our ornaments in. After we brought in the tree, we brought in the big plastic bin that has all our ornaments and decorations in it. We did most of the decorating but ran out of time and didn't put all the ornaments on the tree, so I put the lid on the bin (so Molly wouldn't get into it) because I knew we wouldn't have time Monday, so it would have to sit until Tuesday or Wednesday. Being in the garage, there is a very strong possibility that a cat peed on it. We put the bin back in the garage yesterday and J mopped the floor but it still stinks in the house.

Scenario 3: The table topper I brought home from the Christmas (Holiday) Party.
It's very pretty and has red roses, white flowers, and pine in it. J thinks the white flowers may be dogwood, which, according to him, smell like cat pee when they start to die. This sounds very possible to me, so today they went out in the trash, vase and all. We'll see how that worked.

Scenario 4: (This is the most likely scenerio) A mountain lion peed on the tree while it was still in the forest.
The Christmas tree farms are up North in the forest, right? Mountain lions live up there, right? Who is to say that a mountain lion didn't pee on our tree right before it was harvested? And I figure since cat pee is so strong, mountain lion pee must be really strong. Which would explain everything.

I can't let this one go by...

A group of us is sitting at the table in the lunchroom today, and one woman starts talking about how her sister is sick and they can't figure out what's wrong with her and it's been over a month and she can't work, she's been through all kinds of tests, etc. and everything keeps coming back normal, except that she's really sick and has a very low WBC. Most of us give the standard replies, "oh, I'm sorry to hear that", or something similar. All except one particular co-worker (the one that I work closely with). Her reply? "Maybe she's being poisoned." I shit you not. She was serious. She goes on to say she watches too many cop shows and they all sound just like the woman's sister's story, then tells about a true story about someone who was poisoned to death.

Please tell me I'm not getting a "reputation by association", because I gotta tell you, sometimes I think she's insane.