क्नोच्क ओं वूड

The title really says "Knock on wood" so don't go thinking that I've gotten smart or knowledgable in another language that involves wingdings.

I've been kicking around a cold for the past four weeks that really ended two weeks ago, but this morning I am coughing up a lung like nobodies business.

But on another note, and the theme/subject of this post, is that my children have really reached a milestone in the past month or so of being quite loving and sweet... the majority of the time.
We have really come to a point as a family where we all have a great time with one another. Granted, we have all gotten along with one another, but this magnitude of the getting along has expanded. It started, I think, after I was away on a business trip for an entire week. The longest I had been away from the kids ever. And who knows, maybe, they really did miss me.
Little B is seriously growing like a weed and she is all cuddles and smiles and kisses and loves. She asked me last night while we were watching a movie, "Mom, can I come cuddle with you?" Like who would say no to that?
I am the one that wakes them up in the mornings now that the husband works earlier and I get to see their sweet baby-ness that lingers as they wake up. And B always asks me to carry her downstairs, which won't be something I can do for much longer, ha ha.
While they eat breakfast, I dry my hair on the kitchen heater vent (it's a curly-haired thing) and they tell me about random things. S tells us about her dreams which I think is the best. I love that she knows what a dream is and how to retell it. B is still at the I-think-I-had-a-dream-but-I'm-making-this-all-up stage.
S told us one about her uncle producing remote controlled horses from his magic coat and then her asking her dad where her uncle was and he told her he was in Wyoming, but no, he was standing next to him. So it's funny to hear, because I know she's not making this stuff up. B's dreams are about "ice cream, dogs and trampolines" ha ha!
I'm reading the "Happiness Project" book and it's giving me some goals and insight and I like that. It's a good reminder to work on being happy during good times to give yourself some power to help with happiness when hit with a bad or tragic time.
I'm also seeing a new therapist who I really like, so that is also helping me look at things in a different light and set some goals and help me get through extra anxious times. I've felt myself trying to drop into a low the past few days and I've been self-talking and writing to myself a lot and pushing myself to step back and look at things from a different perspective and that helps. Not always, but it helps in a different way.
Well, I figured I'd write this morning since I was to bed early last night as was up earlier this morning and I need to do the breakfast thing, work out with the husband and then off to Costco to brave the madness that is easter weekend. It is conference weekend too though, so I'm hoping if I go during the first session that it'll be less crazy. hahahahaha!

It rains, it pours, we get stuck inside and yell

So, the family and I have spent this entire day inside with one another. Sure, I love these people like crazy, but did someone say crazy?
Holy crap I'm ready to take a shot of something strong and go to bed already.
Someone pointing out all of my shortcomings within a 48 hour period has really gotten on my nerves and I fear myself saying something worse than what I've already spewed.
Going to bed seems to be the best option.
Because when I am asleep, what comes out of my mouth does not count.

And I follow that last one up with....

I really love my husband.

I don't say that enough.

I can sure bitch and moan about people I work with and annoying driving habits of everyone, but myself, on the road. But I don't nearly spend enough time saying how much I love things.

The husband can surely get on my nerves at times, especially when I am lethally hungry, but for the majority of the time, I just watch him, doing what he does, and I. Love. Him.

I love my girls too. They keep doing the horrible growing up thing, but I continue to love them. I get adorable photos where I can catch them still looking like my babies, but I don't admit that to them, because if they knew that I could still catch them, then they'd make sure I didn't catch another one again.

My spunky B wanted (yes, wanted) to go on the scary carnie ferris-wheel last night and wanted to ride with her dad, and she was not scared for one second. S and I, on the otherhand, talked each other into riding together and held each other as close as one can hug one another on a rocking ferris-wheel without rocking it unnecessarily. We squealed together and when the ride stopped and then took us backwards S said "I don't know why I got on this thing!" and we both giggled nervously. B kept asking the husband if S was okay behind us and would even turn around to check on us. S and I barely moved. The mere thought of turning around made our stomachs hurt. Once we got off, we realized it was all good. We didn't die. The carnival ride held up to our wild ride. We are that much stronger now. A hurdle that we jumped with ease.

We got home far too late last night and we feel like we have a slight hangover, even though there was no booze involved. So we've been lounging around, playing with toys, doing laundry, watching really bad part two of the ongoing saga of the little orphan Annie. Oh, it's horrible. It's a good thing we only borrowed it from the library or we may have had to demand our money back.

It's been a breezy, overcast day with a few sprinkles and I adore weather like this. Too bad we feel like we've been beat, or we may be out on bikes or hiking. But, ah, one needs to lay around like a slug every once in a while, right?

Bikes and School

We spent a good portion of the day in Salt Lake today to catch the professional leg of the 90 minute race for the Tour of Utah. It was really fun.
Photos do no justice of standing on the side of the road and just the sounds of the tires on pavement and the sound the wheels make as the riders whip past you.


The first day of school is tomorrow and my baby starts Kindergarten..someone pass the tissues now.


I'm actually pretty proud of this summer as we've subjected the girls to a lot of different things which, hopefully, made a few happy memories for their brains to hold on to...when they are teenagers and hate the world.

Two weeks?

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Here.

Facebook manages to suck up an immense part of my time...dirty bastard that it is.

We took the girls to go see fireworks at Liberty park with their auntie and uncle last night and wow. Wow. Wow. WOW.
I have never seen me so many gangsta's in my existence on this earth.

There was one point where we were walking the four blocks or so to get there and we had some young ho's behind us talking up some "An she sai, 'I wuz on hiz bed bafor' and I sayz "oh ya, bit? I been on hiz bed SO many time before, she a fuuggin' ho ya'"
So we then purposely slowed down so their little ho's would pass us, and we caught up with them pretty quick as the three of them were stopped out on a cross street, primping in a parked car's windows and I have never laughed internally that hard. Even the lady walking in front of us turned and laughed like we were. It was so worth it. Even if we waited forever for the show to start and to only last 13 minutes.

I'm trying to remind myself that this particular fireworks show is not worth it to do it again any time soon. Like anytime in the next 15 years.

Well, I did one manic cleaning out of the cookbook/phonebook/storealltheothershit cabinet and now I must go figure out what I'm going to do with all the stuff that is on the floor surrounding the cabinet. Like, the trash. We have a babysitter coming because the husband and I have not had a date in forever and we want to eat sushi, by ourselves and go see an adult movie, Harry Potter, by ourselves and just enjoy the company of each other because I need reminding sometimes of how much I love this man I married without having to clench my teeth while my beautiful children tease, fight, howl, scream and whine in the background.

ahhhh, finally!

The weekend is finally upon us, Hooray!

We've done soccer, some laundry and I've already fit in a run.

It's warm, sunny and downright beautiful.

Weekends could not be any better for the soul.

Taxes are FUN

The husband and I have been procrastinating in a bad way about starting our taxes this year.
We usually start them early enough that we know how much we are going to owe so it's not a two-week scramble to come up with an arseload of money.
Well, the above-mentioned husband has been doing a lot of freelance work as of late (yay!) and kept himself busy most of this Sunday holed up in the computer room. Since it decided to snow a good five inches this morning, and the thought of going out there was not even a thought, I took the only computer not hogged by a seven-year old or the husband and sat at the kitchen table and knocked them out.
Just entering our information into the new program we were using (ie: cheaper than turbotax) made me anxious and sweaty.
The numbers went down, the numbers went up, the numbers went up and down and then stayed at a somewhat decent amount owing. again. ooooowwwwiiiinnnnggggg.

Bastards.

I.R.S. government BASTARDS

The people I work with that have owed in years past were able to get themselves a refund this year, so I had a small, tiny amount of glorious hope that was quickly dashed as I updated each page.

At least it's not the higher amounts we've owed before.

We did get ourselves another cat. It was too lonely and quiet in the house without a talking cat. And boy is this new boy a talker. And a loud purrer..that is not a word. PURRER. ha

Canoe. That is his name. He came with the name Dino and we had to put our foot down on that one. I'm sorry, but we are not part of the Flintstone's and Dino was a dinosaur so the name could be fitting.

It did not fit the raccoon-marked Lemur that we adopted that has the longest, gangly legs and tail I've even seen on a cat.

If you've ever seen "That Darn Cat", Haley Mills' guy friend's name was Canoe. Nickname at least.

It took us a week to decide on the name, and we still go through the names that we were trying to get down to...Dewey, Georgie-Boy, Scout, Langston, George Washington ha.

The husband said since there is not a Desperate Housewives on, then he is going upstairs for a soak in the tub.
That means I will start on my bottle of wine earlier than normal.

...she is still hanging on to this?

Seriously?

I am still bitching about Fridays?

I should have blogged last Friday when I was in a good mood. (for once)

We are attempting to do our taxes this weekend.

Won't that be a good time.

Little thumb sucker pushed me to the I-will-make-good-on-my-idle-threats moment yesterday.
She has been trying, just a little, to stop the thumb sucking. ONLY because she wants to go to Chuck-E-Cheese with her cousins next month. We have told her that we would take her there as soon as she stopped sucking her thumb. We didn't necessarily tell her that she wouldn't be able to go with her cousins, but she is assuming that is the trick, so we must play along....
But, she has started this hair twirling and sucking bit. I really don't want her to trade one bad habit for another substantially gross habit, so the husband and I have been telling her that if her hair keeps going in her mouth, then we would have to chop it off.

(No! No! I will stop sucking my hair! I want big hair) (yeah yeah)

She has twirled effing dreadlocks into her hair. Top that with some sucking and she has these strands of squirrel hair that are stuck in wacky-dried positions. Gross.

I know. I know. Some people could care LESS if their kid does gross things.
I AM NOT ONE OF THESE LAID BACK INDIVIDUALS.
I tend to be a little high-strung

So, after B ran away from the house as she was walking home after the school pickup last night, I went to go herd her home about ten minutes later....and when I find her she is bawling....just turned on the water-works because she knew she was supposed to be at home. Not running amuck through the neighborhood in the 30 degree weather without a coat on. (What kind of mother am I?) She also has hair in her mouth. Blubbering, telling me something unintelligible because there is HAIR IN HER MOUTH.

So, instead of going home after dropping S off at dance, we went to the hair cutting place and got her hair chopped off.
It's adorable. Absolutely adorable. It makes her look like my baby and a big girl all at the same time. Don't ask me how that works, it just does.

The lady cutting her hair asks her at the end.

Do you like your haircut?

No.

Do you like getting your haircut?

No.

Somber as a statue.

I got my caterpillers waxed while she started on B and the ladies sitting around her cooed about how sweet and quiet she was.
Oh. If those people could take a 30 minute trip to Ikea with this kid and a pencil, they would see the devil-child in action.

The long blonde curls on the floor were a little sad and I had to hold myself back THREE times from bending over and snatching up a handful. Like, where would I put them? In her "I was bad and got my hair chopped off book"?
I guess I shouldn't say bad, it's more like strong-willed to the point of making a mother scream.

Love the kid. Love her. Can't wait for a little cooperation. Can't wait for her to tell me the truth when she is eating treats and not "Crackers, mom. I'm eating crackers."

Odd

Fridays should rock. Fridays should have a person in that mode where they are a little light-spirited and feeling the urge to sing Barry Manilow songs.
Fridays lately, suck. SUCK SUCK SUCK
I get in a total, suck-arse-pissy-sassy mood and have to control myself as to keep myself from getting fired.
This mood usually only extends to the work day, and once I am home, I am fine. Happy to pick up my girls, talk about their day's adventures, walk the dogs, make dinner, fine.
The thing that sortof sucks is that I can't really voice out my reasoning(s) behind this mood as too many closely related people read this at times.
Just to give you a glance into how mildly sassy I can get, I IM'd a link to my boss today asking him if he has been reading the book How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.
He and I went from having a semi-quasi-okay relationship, and lately, he is just annoying. I flat out told him he drives me crazy. He has the moods of a woman, and when guys have those moods, well, it pisses me off, because I'm the only one allowed to be moody dammit.

I'm kidding, of course. There are a few, select, others who are allowed these moods.

I told him I was sick of the whispering, sick of the favoritism, sick of it all. And if I didn't have to be so damn thankful to have this job then I would be telling someone to SUCKit. Okay, I didn't say the suckit thing, but I did say the rest.

Sigh.

B is in the computer room replaying over and over some Ramones song.
Thank goodness it's a good song.
I had to stop her from dragging the speakers out of the room....she said she wanted to dance in the front room. I had to tell her that the speaker cords don't go that far.

She has become a working friend of iTunes. Didn't someone lock that computer? Oh, I guess she has figured out if she can fanagle her way onto the iMac before it locks, she can get into the music and still man the vinyl while it is password protected.......hmmmmmm, smart little stinker.

My posts aren't supposed to be a plain old rant, but I had to say goodbye to the food poisoning. Gawd, that was awful.

We are getting a second chance at another beautiful weekend, so we will not be splurging and eating out anywhere.
What are the odds that we hadn't eaten out anywhere for quite some time, and we go to stupid Carl's Jr, hankering for a cheeseburger and then get violently ill?

You show me an odd and I'll show you an oddity.

Down with the sickos

Three out of four of us have food poisoning. Hooray!
What else could one ask for on a beautiful, sunny, winters day when we could be out snowshoeing and enjoying some fresh air?

The husband and I worked out together yesterday via Jillian and he stumbled up to the kitchen to get something and complained about his calves hurting. I reminded him that we did Jillian yesterday... S says "I hope you didn't get sick from doing Jillian"
Husband "Oh, I didn't get sick from exercising but I hope I didn't get sick from doing Jillian"
I laughed, I thought it was funny. He thought I was being naughty.....me? naughty? never.

Well, I've extended myself by writing and I keep typing words like dick and dope because I must be weak.

Yawn

I've slept in the past how many mornings now.....

How am I ever going to get up for work tomorrow?

The husband has the entire next week off with the girls and all I'm asking is for him to get his $$$ camera out with its new $$$ lens and take some photos of our kids.

Tune in to see what happens.

The lake effect

When we get snow storms that blow directly from west to east of the Great Salt Lake, we get a lot of snow.....
It's been snowing all morning, and not little fluffs of snow either, big, fat flakes that made their way down the backs of a couple of girls who braved the outdoors a few hours ago.

The husband and I are waiting for it to stop before we even bother with the shoveling part.





And S told me that she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, which would be helpful now since Sherman is yelping whenever we move him like he is in deathly pain. Poor little guy.

Soccer, and the story of trying to get out of going.

Please, someone tell our rain to get here before 9:00 am tomorrow.

It's been cold , 48 degrees for our high, and we are supposed to get snow by tomorrow night.

That means that it will be delightfully freezing tomorrow morning for someones soccer game and I do not want to go.

I want to stay snuggled, in my new bamboo sheets and super-soft comforter, in bed and slowly make my way out of it, make coffee, sit around and snuggle with kids and a smelly dog.

It rained and was about 50 when S had her game last Saturday. That was not fun either. Her team played so good though. But the thought of going tomorrow just makes me cringe, and I may just feel a cold coming on.

I'd better not jinx myself, it is that season.

Let the weekend, and my newly purchased case of wine, begin!

And where could my futon mattress be?

Oh yes, it is still in the bed of the truck.

Let's hope no wasps have taken up residence on/in/around it.

Someone received a very thin envelope from the IRS in the mail today....in the form of a fabulous stimulus check.

I have been stimulated.

Both girls are tired and bundled up in blankets on the couch, lounging into the beginning of the weekend.

I had all intentions of going upstairs to work out, so far, I have not felt that urge.
Ugh, I need some damn motivation.

And what better motivation do I have than the fact that I'm going to be on a waterfront lake in a few short days, most likely in a bikini, to motivate my ass upstairs? Well, there is no better motivation than that and yet, I still sit on this couch.

What's for breakfast?

Oh my.... It's after ten am, and S and I have just rambled out of bed. Oy.

That's what going to the drive in will do to you....especially when a kid's cartoon ends at 11:30 and deposits you at home at midnight. zzzzzzzz

B is still asleep and somehow the husband got up at 7:30 to go for a long bike ride.

Firefox is messed up on the computer due to some *children* who mess on the computer too often....so Safari and all it's non-greatness will not let me use control options to optimize my blogging session with italics and the like. For shame.

S is standing next to me, correcting my bad typing skills, (sorry, bad keyboard that I'm not used to) and asking why I don't type her name out on this thing. So after a brief explanation, she says that's okay, because when you type her name out, spell-check never recognizes it anyway and puts a red squiggly line underneath it. And she doesn't like that. So we typed all our names out, and both the children get the red squigglys.

Poor kids.

It's Sunday. Time to finish up the laundry and put the futon mattress away from the bed of the truck and all the pillows and blankets.

Finally, the moment, uh, stimulus check, I've been waiting for

Ah, it's a long weekend, it's hot, still, and I'm home a little early from work.
The children are tired, but happy and we've dragged all the toys, bathing suits and extra clothes from the babysitter's into the house.
I've picked up the mail and what? What could this envelope be?
It is labeled from the IRS, but it is a very thick envelope.

Oy!

I'm thinking there is not going to be a check in here.

I open it, scan it very briefly.....very very briefly, shove it back where it came from and head upstairs to put something less hot and work-like on for the reading of this.
Hell, if I were smart, I'd put some Gin on Ice before I read this.

We could have received our stimulus check starting May 19th and have yet to see or hear word about a thing. So now with this thick ol envelope, my hopes are dashed, I'm thinking *AUDIT* and I'm scared.

With my shorts and tank-top on I read the letter...Dear R and C blah blah, enclosed is blah blah and please read the next page to see what we need from you blah blah and if you don't send what we need, we will either determine if you owe us, more, or if we need to minimize your return (uh, what return thank you).

So I read the second, long page, and at the end it says that WE DID NOT SIGN OUR RETURN and we NEED TO SIGN THE RETURN in order for them to send us a check (within 6-8 weeks of whenever the hell they decide whatnot) because I'm not sure if it says they will even send a check.

Yeah.

Here is what gets me:
Number 1:
We filed electronically via TurboTax in April. This has never been an issue before...the electronic signing of said tax return.

Number 2:
They were sure quick as hell to CASH THE LARGE SUM ON THE CHECK(S) WE MAILED THEM without our SIGNATURE accompanying our return. That sure didn't pose a problem to them.

Annoyance.

I guess I was already to the point that IF I saw a mysterious stimulus check get mailed to us, I would figure, hooray, a bonus to us and let's pay off the couch. And if not, then, screw them.

Well, bring on the long weekend. We did neighborhood fireworks last night and stayed out too late, we're doing the drive-in tonight...perfect weather for that kind of thing. Parade (maybe) tomorrow and evening fireworks and hopefully a trip to Banana Republic to check out their summer sale.