Tuesday, March 20, 2007

What is it?

Something has sprung up in the old compost pile area again.

It's not a pumpkin.
It's not a honeydew.















Enlighten me.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Time Suckage Revisited

Remember the How many states can you name quiz? I innocently ran across the How many countries can you name? version today. I'm not even going to try until I've had a glass of wine.

We have worms!

And they're living in our new* compost pile! Dozens of them! And I didn't put them there! They put themselves there!



Holy shit...I'm vermicomposting!

What you have to remember here is that I live in the desert. Roadrunners, coyotes, and ants we have. Worms? Not so much.

I must admit that I have never been excited by worms before, so this is new for me. Growing up we had worms out the wazoo. In fact, when I think of worms it brings me back to my childhood, whining at my parents to clean up the dudes who came in under the front door and beached themselves on the entryway carpet during every decent rain storm. (And of course I also think of a baby Cracker. The avatar that really needs changing is the first worm the Cracker ever saw back at a pumpkin patch in October of 2004.) (Yeah, that picture is kind of old.)



This composting thing is a hoot.


*You can read about what happened in our first compost pile here.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

The Bestest Unsolicited Junk Mail Ever

A big thank you to my new friends at Tide/Pampers/Kandoo marketing. The illustrated frog wiping his ass is genius and a delightful treat to unexpectedly find in one's mailbox.



Reward chart and stickers? Oh how you spoil us!



There is just one minor problem: the packet came addressed to yours truly, but my dear husband is insisting on taking it to work where he plans to proudly display it in his cubicle. (Something about checking off everything but "I wiped.")

Monday, March 05, 2007

Time Suckage

Am I smarter than a 5th grader? Probably not.

I came across this How many US states can you name in 10 minutes? quiz tonight. Turns out I can only name 49 states. But hey, I can do it in just under 3 minutes and they give 10. Does that count for anything?

I am humbled. I honestly expected a perfect score the first time, and then again the second time, and yes, even the third time. Ninety-friggin-five percent all three times.

(But can I have bonus points for knowing that 95 is Lightening McQueen's number?)


So here are my complaints with the test:
1. No map provided. I could totally do it with a map.
2. Incorrect spelling should count. I was finishing up with New England and could already see I was going to hit 49 again and in frustration suddenly was unable to spell M-a-s-s-a-c-h-u-s-e-t-t-s.
3. Instead of alphabetical order I would like them listed in the order that I entered them.* I do not even kind of possess the patience to go through again in my head geographically and then compare against an alphabetical list. Hello? Lazy American here.
4. I would like a grade me now/cheat button. When I'm done naming 49 states and have spent a whole additional minute half-assedly trying to figure out which one I missed this time I'M DONE. Making me wait until the clock runs out is really shitty.

(My misses in order: Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota)
*As it turns out, that was the original version. For tonight I'm done aggravating myself, but I might have to try tomorrow.

Also from the same site, a YouTube link to this.



My Dad used to reenact it for me as a child.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

The Sharts

Do you treat them as a poo accident or cut the kid some slack?

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

P.A.M.I.L.A.

A week ago now I emailed my MIL and asked if we were still going to see her in March. She had made a big deal with "pencil me in! Are you doing it right now? Are you done yet? Am I penciled?"

"Yes, you're penciled." But not literally. I did not actually write anything down, because if my MIL picks out a particular weekend and tells me she coming A) the threat is enough to keep me from forgetting, and B) I don't actually believe her.

She has seen the Cracker twice since he was born: at 5 months and at 28 months. She lives 6 hours away by car, and likes to tell me about how she can fly here on Southwest $28 one-way. All talk, no action.

"Has he changed? Will I notice a change in him?"

No, developmentally he'll be the same kid at 4 that you last saw at 2 and not quite a half. He's just taller now.


So she makes this really big deal, informs me of the who (just her), the when (March 15-18th), the where (my house), and then I didn't hear from her again, at all. Finally she calls two weekends ago and J answers the phone. Did she mention the penciled visit? No, not a word. And of course J forgot to ask .

(Sorry, I’m distracted by the neighbor’s puppy across the street who is strutting up and down the fence line with a big ol tumbleweed in her mouth. It’s freaking adorable.)

So, to recap quickly: MIL informs me she’s coming to visit. Weeks go by without any contact. She calls, talks to J, doesn’t mention the visit. I e-mail her and ask nicely “Are we still going to see you in March?” More time elapses. She e-mails J today and again doesn’t mention it.

Why do I even care? Because I am trying to book a flight, and it turns out that the best time for us to go includes part of the days she’s selected. It’s too late to call her now and I have a sinking feeling that the fare will go up $400 at midnight when it becomes less than 14 day advance notice. (I forgot about stupid short February.) And I KNOW she’s not coming, but I have to pretend that this time will be different just because she’s the mother of my husband, and if the Cracker ever sees me they way J does her I will be devastated.

(And it was far too windy to play outside today. That always puts me in a foul mood.)

I care because I’m tired of playing this game with her. She picks arbitrary dates in the future 3-4 times a year, tells me she’s buying tickets and that she’ll call with the details in less than 24 hours, and then doesn’t. It’s not that I don’t like her, and I try my best to make her feel welcome because I want her to be a part of my child’s life, but my patience has worn thin. Her relationship with J is strained to say the least so the effort I make is for his sake as well.

“Why does she do this? And why do I let her get to me?”
”It’s the whole passive aggressive thing. Nothing’s changed.”

This brings me to our old code name for her, Pamela, which dates back to our newlywed days. Passive Aggressive Mother In Law Attacks. (Okay, so it’s not perfect acronym, but I was a friggin teenager.)

Further proof that we are evil: we did get a laugh at her expense today. In the e-mail she sent J, which he forwarded to me, she has added a new signature line:
“(Business name) coordinator #32,864”
Pyramid scheme, anyone?*



*Which reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw recently "Mary Kay: Enriching Women's Lives.” I don’t wear face paint more than once a year because I am far too lazy, but really? Enriching women’s lives? And I stupidly wonder why the princess thing has gone from an innocent game of make believe to so out of control that it’s hard to find a 0-3 mos Carter’s outfit that doesn’t say “Princess” on it somewhere. (But more on that another day.)

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Today's Parenting Lesson

Your child does something they aren't supposed to do. They knew that it was a no-no, but they did it anyway. You know they did it. Hell, you may or may not be sitting right in front of evidence; you may have actually stopped them in the act. Doesn't matter.

"Did you just wipe poo off your tushie with your stuffed bunny?"
"No."
"I saw you."
"Nope, it wasn't me."
"Honey, it's very important that you tell me the truth. I'm not mad, but I need you to be honest with me."
"But I didn't do it Mommy."
"If you didn't then who did?"
"Hmmm...I don't know."

And they are the suckiest liars ever. Their faces are this weird mix of guilt for the act and doubt as to whether or not you’re going to buy what they're trying to sell. Go ahead, ask until you're blue in the face, but the answer ain't changing.

"No."

But, ask them why and the suckers crack immediately. It totally worked.

"Because he's soft, and he was alweady in my hand, and I didn't know where the toiwet paper was."
"The toilet paper is right here, on the roll, where we always keep it."
"Oopsies!"


So, thank you mothers on the internet who've BTDT. Keep it coming.

Oh, we're poop trained now

Why didn't I say anything before? Because regression is inevitable. Seven glorious weeks without a single (not one!!!) accident and we're back to dirty drawers.

So now I can talk about it.

"Mommy mommy! I went poo all by myself!"
And you've already pulled up your pants = skid marks. (moan)
"That's great honey. Let's go wipe."
"I alweady did!" Pauses and then sticks out thumb. "But my thumb is dirty.........it has poo on it."
Visible poo.

Now, take that exact same scenario, fast forward a week, and replace thumb with pinky finger, and you have the second time it happened.

I am now attempting to cut his nails every other day.

Another Embarrassing Moment, Batteries Included

Whenever my parents visit my Dad is delighted to take on any job that needs doing around the house. And because he takes pride in his work the guy won't quit until it's friggin perfect. It's just...awesome. My dear husband, on the other hand, puts so much energy into bitching and moaning even if I'm not nagging about the prospect of having to do something that he exhausts himself to the point that he needs a nap before he can even begin, and so begins the process again the following weekend.

So last weekend my Dad asks if there is anything else, anything at all, that I'd like him to look at before they left. Yes, I have a clock that has never worked right.

"Let's start with a new battery."

So I go into our bedroom and reappear with AAs.

"Uh, actually it takes AAAs."

No sweat. Thinking nothing of it I head off in the opposite direction for J's office where all the other batteries are kept.

J, witness to it all, is dying.

And did he cover for me? Noooooo.

Bad husband.

Then, to rub it in, he makes me watch that episode of Coupling where the guys keep telling Steve to check out Susan's remotes.

In case you were wondering, yes, I still find ways to embarrass myself. It's a talent, really.

Monday, January 29, 2007

CRAP

Apparently the new skin is not working well and I am now having publishing problems. So yes, there is a reason you keep seeing the same post published and pulled hundreds of times. The darn preview no longer works and I can't tell if I've made any improvement until I publish. This sucks.

We Take Pleasure in the Little Things

"Hey Mommy, wanna know somefing weally funny? I'm pooped means you is tired! Bahahahaha!"
"Where did you learn that?"
"Dragon Tales on PBS Kids."

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Everything I Know About HTML I Learned in 1996

Please forgive me as I try to ditch the ugly template I never really liked and can no longer stand.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

How to Keep 12 Kids Amused for 99 cents

1 can shaving cream

Thursday, January 11, 2007

I Demand the Return of My Living Room

Back in early December J and the Cracker hauled out all the Thomas crap and began construction on their biggest project ever. Over a period of weeks I watched the affected area of my living room grow. At first it was really cute to watch them, my two sons, discussing layout changes and playing trains, but as days turned into weeks it the damn thing kept spreading out and the cuteness faded long before their interest.

"Is it okay if I take this down?"
"NOOOOO!" "NO MOMMY NO!"
Arugh.
"Well, couldja kinda rework things a little, maybe move the roundhouse and the engine wash so that there's a path into the bedroom?"
"Uh, no! Do you know how long it took us to come up with this configuration?"

Sadly, I do.

(multiple nights in the preceding weeks)
"I'm going to bed, wink wink."
Picking my way around the above-mentioned obstacles I realize that my loving husband has not made a move.
"You coming?"
"I can't."
"Huh?"
"I think I may have figured out how to fix blah blah blah! You see the way it is now, blah blah blah, you get forced in this direction blah blah blah can't turn around to go back to blah. So I'm thinking that if can rework blah blah then blah blah and blah blah flow!"
(He looks up at me, big ass smile, oh so pleased with the plan.)
"Are you fucking kidding me? Sex! You'd rather play trains by yourself in the dark than have sex?"
"I'll be there in a little while."
"What you're not getting is that this is a limited time offer."


Yesterday I had one of my I've-had-it! moments and I declared (to no one other than myself) the branch lines of Sodor relocated to a more out of the way location where I will not trip over them quite so often.

Compounding my frustration is the fact that we have an actual playroom off our living room. (In the model they called it the formal dining room, but I find I love my family more when I'm not cleaning food off carpet.) When you walk into our home the first thing you see is the living room ahead of you. It isn't until you get halfway down the entry hall that you realize there is a playroom on your left as well. I like it like that: the toys are all in his reach, I can keep track of him from the LR or the kitchen, but you cannot see the chaos from the front door.

So why isn't it in the playroom? Because the configuration spans 8 feet, 2 inches by 7 feet, 1 inch.

Welcome to my nightmare.

Not even daring to take a breath I ever so carefully, section by section, begin moving the land of Sodor from one end of the living room to the other, cursing myself that I did not remember to first take a few digital pictures in case I accidentally rip it all apart and cannot figure out how to get it back together just so. Simultaneously I applaud myself for not buying more track for them at Christmas.

(Even with my 50% any one item at Michael's coupon I just could not bring myself to spend $1/inch for a few curved pieces.) (Most of our track is generic Imaginarium BOGOHO or the retired plastic yet compatible "Interactive Thomas" I bought on clearance 2 years ago at Target and later at Ross for a few pennies an inch.)

I move it to the corner recently vacated by our holiday tree. Crap, it doesn't even really fit there either. Should have measured first.

I spend the next hour wiggling it around the LR, a little to one side then the other, trying to figure out if minor adjustments will suddenly open up a fat path for foot traffic.

No.

Pissed and mentally exhausted, I get up and look around. Hmmm...maybe if I move the couch and the big chair...

Forty-five minutes and no solution later my mind yells out "WFT are you doing rearranging your living room furniture for Thomas and Friends? This is bullshit! You have totally lost your mind woman! (But, on the plus side, maybe I'll leave it this way for the night. Having the couch smack dab in front of the TV like that would give us a much clearer shot for throwing Pirate's Booty at the President during his address. Decisions, decisions...)

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Google Me

I know I suck. The last month has been a flurry of illness, birthdays, get to the dentist/optometrist before the end of the year appointments, travel, record breaking snow and a little more illness. I just logged in and found a bunch of posts I don't remember even writing that I never published. (See below.)

Ahh! The holidays!

But I am here now, thank you notes not even started, inspired by the fact that I just checked for the first time in forever what searches have brought people's asses to my blog and found a fairly good one: renuzit room spray with a penis on the can.

Sweet.

(You can't see it, but I am swelling with pride. At press time I am the third link down on the first page. The first page!)

I originally got the idea from DGM. (Except don't follow the link yet, because then mine really suck in comparison.) Sometimes I will spend way too much time getting as far as page 20-something before I give up trying to find how "super glue locks rock-hard" brought them here of all places. It's amazing how quickly these things get buried if I don't check them, like, that day.

And for the most part the search terms aren't all that weird: I get a surprising number of hits from shoes I've mentioned, though the majority are along the lines of "poo stained panties" which has lead me to conclude that there isn't a lot of graphic potty training vents on the net. Shame.

Most of my favorites are from Ask.com, where I am/was supposedly a good resource to answer:

Where can I find Aloe Vera gel and how to use it on hair?
Will a jell dildo go through airport security?
Where can i find a monkey hitting himself in the head?
The inside of my belly button has a red rash and burning feelin (no G, which somehow makes it better)

And a few of the other stranger ones:

Sugar ants in dirty laundry
32A July (Thank you...that would be my old bra size)
why adults and teenagers would wear diapers on purpose
sex w/pumpkins
male bedroom finished in animal print
unpotty training
rash from alberta spruce

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!

and more snow pictures of my kid.


Saturday, December 30, 2006

Monday, December 25, 2006

Happy Holidays!*

(*Becuase the "The War on Christmas" makes me giggle.)



(And yes, I really need to learn to use Photoshop, which I even own, so that I won't revert to back to Paint. Hand drew the eyes and nose on the cards I sent, but I wish I could have used a mini carrot instead.)

You Say Farolito, I Say Luminaria

(And if you're not overly familiar with the Southwest you say "WTF?")

(And if you're my husband, you just call them "flaming bags o poo.")

So what the heck are farolitos/luminarias/fbops? From dictionary.com: "A votive candle set into a small, decorative paper bag weighted with sand and placed in a row with others along a walkway, driveway, or rooftop as a holiday decoration."





(Or you can buy electric ones with clear C9 Christmas lights and plastic bags from Walmart.)


This year I made J and the Cracker take me to Santa Fe on Christmas Eve so we could do the Farolito Walk.

Wow! Even J was impressed, and he was not all that thrilled to go hang outdoors past sunset with temps in the teens when he could be inside playing computer games. It was that amazing.

So we walked, we drank ponche, sang some carols, did the ooh and ahh thing. We even came across a Papa Noel who was giving out Beanie Babies to all the kids just cause he was cool like that.







The Cracker was gifted a bald eagle, which he insists is a penguin because of it's black and white and not a panda and not a zebra. (Go figure: he was so totally over Happy Feet after the first hour.)


















There are bonfires every where, which they call luminarias locally (it's all very confusing) so that you can stop and defrost while making chit chat.










J's favorite unexpected highlight of the evening was the college-aged female PETA protestors who were very cold in Christmas themed lingerie. (Sorry, no pics.)




There is a great article in this December's Sunset Magazine (different than the link above and not on the web) with great pics. I highly recommend going, even if, according to my neighbors who have recently migrated from the Golden State, Santa Fe is filled with "assholes from Berkeley" (Snort.)

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Tonight's Entertainment



Damn I love those eyelashes...

Friday, December 22, 2006

Just Stop Talking, Like Right Now

I hate vomiting and I try not to do it often. My kid? So NOT a barfer. The virus that hit me the night of December 1st was the first real can't-keep-water-down since Christmas Break 1996.

(Have you seen that Seinfeld?)

Dictionary police: I used the word "virus"...didja see? Know what I hate more than people who use the word virus when they've been throwing up and/or having diarrhea and say "flu" is the people who correct them.

"Wow, you don't sound so good. You okay?"
"Getting there. I got the flu and haven't even been able to even keep down ice chips for 3 days. It sucks."
"Nenenenoooo! That's not the flu! The flu is res-pi-ra-tory. You had a virus!"

Assholes.

The Coolest Shit Ever!

when you're three.

This was taken, by request, as Mommy's car got new shoes so that the Cracker could take a copy to "sharing" aka Show and Tell.