speechless

Our favorite time of the year!

Goooooooo Huskerssssssssssss! ******* On the potty note, slow progress. K is sitting on the potty more now but only before bath time. Hey, any progress is better than none.

P-O-T-T-Y

While waiting for the Poll results, sing along with me now (to the tune of Van Morrison's song "Gloria"): P-O-T-T-Y potty P-O-T-T-Y potty I'm gonna shout it all night potty I'm gonna shout it every day potty Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, Looks so fun potty All right, feel so good potty All right, yeah now (Do you think K will buy it?) We've managed a few times (what am I saying, K has managed) to sit on the potty seat. He likes it some times and other times has such an aversion to it you'd think it ate his cookie. So, I'm making a chart and every time he sits on the potty (regardless of if anything actually happens) he gets a sticker. Then, after so many stickers (10 maybe?) he gets to pick something out of a toy bucket (toys, suckers, etc). I'm hoping to get him to WANT to sit on the potty and I'm not above bribing him to do it. LOL. If he p*es or p*ops in the potty, well that will be cause for celebration and I'll figure out what to do for that when it happens. At this point, I don't forsee that anytime soon.

Poll Time!

Word to the J-O-B

J has gotten a job. It's not at the exact place that he wanted, but it's in his field and a job and we are both relieved at having the second income. The p*sser of it all (well, other than him loosing the previous job) is that the unemployment office is a month behind in processing claims. That means he JUST got a call with the unemployment information this past Monday! Seriously, WTF?! If I was a month behind on any of my work I'd be sh*t-canned in less than a second, Y-E-T the government can take their sweet-a*s time. Needless to say, we didn't get sh*t from unemployment and I consider them to be a big f*cking joke!

boys and their toys

Huggies Overnights 3:0

So far, so good on the Huggies Overnights. Granted, he's still desperately in need of a change when he wakes up, but at least it's contained.

Crunchy Frog

Yesterday in daycare, K was playing with rubber frogs. He took them over to the play kitchen, put them in the toy microwave: "Cook frog". He then pushed the buttons: "Beep. Frog all done. Mmmm, yummy!"

To be or not to be.....?

Opportunity has it's hand raised to knock on the door, however will it follow through and tap-tap-tap on our door . . . . . or will it change it's mind?

oh, to be this carefree!

Good Riddence!

I don't recall ever in my life being so glad a month was over! July can kiss my a*s! There may be something brewing but, like a watched pot, it's taking a while to really boil and produce something. K seems to be handling it pretty well. While we don't talk about it infront of him (not that he'd understand anyway), he is pretty intuitive and has sensed that something has changed. Anyway, we're hanging in there. By the hair of our chinny-chin-chin, we are hanging in there.

we interrupt our scheduled misery.....

for the few remaining bloggers who're sticking by us while we go through h*ll - K wakes up soaking wet most mornings, through no fault of his own or the diaper because really, there's only so much that can be held in. We're in the largest size diaper so it's not like we can move up a size. I've heard all sorts of odd things like attaching a pad to the front to help absorb the extra, to double diapering him at night. Neither one of those options is appealing. Any suggestions? Do the Huggies Overnights help? Anything would be appreciated, more because I hate for K to wake up wet than my dislike of doing laundry every other day. Seriously, what kind of mood would you be in if you woke wet with p*ss every morning? Exactly!

tiny glimmer + pre-emptive hope =

black hole. and what does a black hole do? suck the light out of being and dissolve any hope that might dare attempt to show itself. i'm a fool for even trying to be positive during this. a damn fool.

teeniest, tiniest glimmer

of hope.....

thank you sir, may we have another!

because, you know, we LOVE being kicked when we're already down - we begin the weekend with J being laid off from his job. in addition to that struggle, we face: not being able to move now, and most likely not being able to get K into the preschool/childcare place he was schedule to begin fucking fantastic!

Much Better

Because We're the Family of the Year, Dammit!

Yes, the title is ours (at least for a little while). I am the one who let a certain curse phrase (ie: what the h*ll) slip out and who should decide to repeat it over and over and over.........? well, hey, J let the sh*t word out and we were serenaded all the way home with it. Fantastic. Our "damned if you do, damned if you don't" moment of the week: K is in alternate care until he starts at the new place. In the meantime, we decided to not file a complaint against beeyatch. Why? Well, because we don't know what her reaction will be to that. It would be pretty obvious that it was us who made the complaint so the anonyminity would be gone. Plus, if beeyatch decides to follow up her petti-ness so far, she could call CPS on us and make a false claim. Granted, they wouldn't know it was false but the damage would be done just the same. Do we jepordize our family for the sake of putting a mark on someone's record? That is indeed the question, now isn't it?! About a month ago, a family took their daughter home and noticed that she was favoring a leg. They took her to the DR and found out that she had a fracture. When the parents reported the daycare, CPS came by and "after determining the child was at risk" they took the daughter away from her family for 4 days. Then CPS returned the girl because there was nothing to substiantiate the claim. WTF? WTF, indeed! The parents were trying to keep their child safe and protect others from suffering the same fate and what did they get in return? The big F-U from people who hide behind claims they can't prove. So, for now, we're just moving on. I feel like we should say something to the higher-ups (ie the State) and have it put on her record, however since we wouldn't be anonymous I feel like our personal safety would be at risk. She's done nothing but exhibit defensive, cold-hearted behavior thus far and I wouldn't put it past her to take it up a notch. She is just that petty. isn't it amazing how well the justice system doesn't work?!

the consumate professional.........NOT!

So we found alternate care for the next 2 weeks and he seemed to do just fine today. no fighting, no hogging toys, ate lunch well, took a good nap, etc. J called early this morning to let provider know K wouldn't be coming to her place anymore. (She is an in-home daycare). She said fine and hung up on him. After work he went to provider's house to pickup a couple of K's things and she refused to sign the payment log for taxes and closed the door in his face. so that makes the tally: un-professional - check un-cooperative - check un-remourseful/un-apologetic: check defensive (via hanging up on him/closing door in his face/refusing to sign the log) - check. So there it is. I can get copies of the cancelled checks from our account online and just attach all of the information regarding what happened together for taxes. I have proof that we paid for services so the tax log shouldn't be an issue. She can deal with her own taxes. Beeeyatch!!!

It's on, BEE-YATCH!

Yesterday I got to leave early from work and decided to go pick up K early. I didn't announce that I was coming because I like to see how things are really going. Anyway, when I arrived the other kids were outside playing and one of the girls said that K was inside and had been crying. I went inside and there was no one in the main room and as I started to go through the hallway to the playroom, the provider was coming from the playroom towards me and I overhead her say "I should smack him." She didn't know I was there until after she had said it. Now, K is the only boy there and since he was the only boy in the playroom it stands to reason that she was talking about him. I asked what happened and she said that he woke up crying and didn't want anything to do with her. I asked what she had tried to do to comfort/help him and she said that she told him if he wanted to cry he could stay in the playroom and cry while the other kids went outside. Needless to say, we are LIVID! J called her and asked what happened and told her what I had heard her say. Her voice changed and got low and serious and she said that she never said that to him. Granted, she didn't say that directly to his face, but she said it none-the-less. I know what I heard and I know the tone of voice in which it was said. I don't PAY people to talk that way about my son. Then she told J that he was just difficult and she didn't know what to do. Now, this lady has been doing daycare for 10+ years and has all these fancy credentials and training - but she doesn't know how to work with a 2 year old?! Then she started blaming K for not being the perfect well-mannered child! Um, BEE-YATCH, he's TWO! Show me a well-mannered 2 year old and I'll bend over and kiss your ass until the end of time. I completely understand how frustrating it is when he gets in one of his moods, but even still, I don't say that to him or call him names. We also will not put up with anyone else who does. On a side note, but still related, we were already looking for somewhere else to take him to. We found one that is more pre-school like and has a good routine that I think K needs. He is a creature of habit and does really well with that. It's the un-structured places that are not helping him. The down side is that she's on vacation for 2 weeks. Therefore our holiday weekend will be spent trying to find alternate care. I don't want to do that to K, but at the same time I don't want to take him back to the bee-yatch. We turned in our notice so technically she has to watch him for 2 weeks, but if there's anyone else we can find we'll take it. So damn!

everyone should

wake up this happy!

t*nkle raging bull with fire-truck crackers on the move

t*nkle - what k has done once in the potty. of course he wants nothing to do with it now. raging bull - it's real tough being two. de niro ain't got nothin' on that. fire-truck crackers - tis the season to celebrate freedom.....with fire-truck crackers. moving - we're moving in a month. i thought it was work just moving J and I, throw in moving a 2 year old and.....

happy daddy's day

our weekend

snob in-law's be damned - we had a blast doing our own thing!

Tread carefully in these woods

Sitting a moderately priced restaurant yesterday in a booth towards the back, we are eating our dinner and generally not bothering anyone. Sure, K doesn't always remember to use his "inside" voice, but he's 2 and still figuring out how much range he has. So anyway, he gets a bit loud/over-excited and we remind him to speak softer, etc. Out of the corner of my eye I notice an elderly woman flip around in her chair to see what the ruckus was. Yes, it was a 2 year old. Now I wouldn't be phased by this if she did it once or twice - but this woman turned around fiercely in her chair to stare at us EACH AND EVERY time K got a bit loud. Now mind you, he wasn't being Walmart screaming his head off loud, just over-excited loud. Yes, there is a difference. Then when we left, K said loudly again "Time to go, Mommy" and as I was getting up I noticed elderly man (sitting next to elderly woman) hold his hands up to his ears (as if that would really help). I didn't say anything to them but waited until we were out in the car to vent. And now I'm doing it here. I'm so annoyed by people who act as though having a young child makes us second-rate citizens; that children should be seen and not heard, blah, blah f-itty blah, blah!! Seriously, that's how those people made me feel - like we were such an impositionn because we brought a 2 year old to dinner with us. Soooo, ehhx-cuuuuuuuse meeeeeeee OLD PEOPLE!! Please forgive us for daring to think we have the right to go outside the four walls of our home with our son - what in the hell were we thinking! Better yet, OLD PEOPLE, go p*ss up a rope! I'm through apologizing. K is 2 and by god I'm going to let him be 2. Yes, I will be mindful of his boundary testing, but I'm not going to force him to act "just so" because other people / OLD PEOPLE can't accept the fact that he's 2! If I can deal with his "fainting-goat" tantrums and uber-picky eating habits - then everyone else can too! On another note, I get an email from stuck-up relative that she didn't invite us to her son's birthday party because they're just having a small get-together in 7th-gateway-to-hell town. This is of course AFTER THE FACT. Well exxxxx-cuuuuse us! Nothing like having our faces rubbed in the dirt after the party happened....hell, we didn't even warrant an email shunning before the party occurred. Well, efff you too! Hey, new daycare provider - yes, I do give my son juice and he does watch tv! Ohhhh the humanity indeed! I like you, but don't push it because I have no qualms about choosing someone else to keep a watchful eye on K during the day. I'd prefer to not have to go through that again, but I'm at that point. Oh, and keep in mind that this is MY FIRST KID so I'm winging it here. I'm choosing my battles and figuring out what lines are ok for K to cross and which ones aren't. I think I'm entitled to a learning curve, not to mention that I'm NO WHERE CLOSE to being the worst parent out there, so bat your disapproving "juice and tv" eyes somewhere else. **************** I'm done trying to keep up with making people happy. All I end up doing is apologizing - my recent months have been one big sorry-fest and I'm sick of it. If I truly do something wrong, then yes, I will say "sorry". However if it's because other people expect us to act a certain way, live in a certain place, blah, blah....well, forget it. I'm through trying to bend our lives around other people's expectations. So there it is. Am I p*ssy? You bet. Tread carefully in these woods........

Recap 2

Hi, how you doin'? We got a new camera that is a bit better with keeping up with a 2 year old. Our previous one works ok but there is that infamous delay between pressing the button and when the camera takes the picture. Meaning that K is halfway around the world by the time the shutter clicks. With this one, well, it's so nice you can see K's boogers! Now THAT is impressive! It also takes very nice video and that's coming next. What else is new... Well, we are looking at buying a house. We are only in the pre-qualification stage of getting the loan so there's not much to tell. We had been considering moving into a 3 bedroom apartment however the monthly rent for it rivals the worst mortgage a person could have so we figured we'd try for a home loan and go from there. I'm subscribing to the "if it's meant to be, it will be" philosophy. If we have to stay put in our current place, then so be it. The monthly rent for this isn't too bad. We just couldn't justify paying the 3 bedroom rate and not really having much to show for it. So anyway, that's it for now. I'm going to go play with the new camera. UPDATE - Video

Time is of the Essence

It's taken me a week to write this mainly because by the time we get home, spend time with K and have 30 minutes to ourselves before collapsing in an exhausted heap in bed - well, I'm just too damn tired. It's good, though, mostly. My work days are full and busy and that is soooooo much better than the other place. Anyway, K's mini "party" went ehhh. We invited J's parents, his sister and husband and their daughter and my mom. They were all late....let me say that again....they were ALL late. When they did finally get here (after 30 minutes) K was tired and cranky and only stayed up for maybe 30 more minutes. So that totally sucked! I don't hold ill will toward J's parents because they rode with his sister and she has serious issues with being on-time to practically any function. J's parents have also helped us out a lot and when they drive up on their own, they are always early. The others, however, suck donkey b*lls! So we opened K's presents after they left because he went down for a nap and wasn't awake when they left. Lets see, anything else....oh, I've been on weight watchers for a week and did ok. I didn't loose anything but this is the week before the crimson beeeyatch appears so that's not at all surprising. I'm going to stick to it, though. I think that's about it, really. Oh, we're going up to J's parents tomorrow for early cinco de mayo and J's sister is going to be there. the one who can't be on time for much, the one who puts her 15 month old daughter to bed at 10 PM (no that's not a typo), the one who lets her daughter nap "whenever" and doesn't have any kind of routine set up, the one whose daughter has to fit in around her mother's neurotic non-schedule.... I can't quite fathom how they manage with their inconsistancy. Of course, I love routine so that's probably why sister's antics seem so alien to me.

da-na-na-na-na-na

you say it's your birthday!

coming to terms

Well, I’m going to suck it up and re-sign up for WW. I had found the formula a way to journal without having to use their site however I haven’t been doing a very good job of it at all. It’s been 2 years since I had K and I haven’t lost much. Especially over the past 6 months when I cancelled the WW membership. So anyway, this weekend is my last hoo-RAH! I don’t necessarily want to spend the extra money to pay for a membership, albeit a pretty small amount. I figure I easily spend that much money on junk food cr*p over a month’s time (if not more), so I might as well spend it on something meaningful. The timing is okay, too. We’re having K’s birthday get together tomorrow and there will be cake and various other goodies to get us through the weekend. The bump will be to get back into the swing of it all. Funny how “easy” it was to fall off the wagon.

Monk

K is the toddler version of Monk. Whether he wants the syrup wiped off of his hands, his toy cars lined up next to each other, the patio door to be closed completely or decides to wear his socks on his hands – everything must be just so for there to be peace in our world. His latest “thing” is shoes. Not hoarding them, throwing them, sitting on them. No, that would be what an average 2 year old would do. His thing is that he refuses to wear any pair other than what he has now. 90 degree fiercely hot summer days be damned! He won’t wear the Buster Brown sandals we bought, opting instead to have his feet sweat inside socks and tennis shoes – unleashing the stench of what-the-hell-is-that when we get home and wrestle them off. I know that routines and having familiar people/things around help toddlers feel safe and I’m loving that. I love routines, so that doesn’t bother me a bit. But K freaks out when it comes to new experiences and things. About a month ago, just as the snow was melting about and they were able to play outside at daycare, R (daycare provider) said he cried and cried about standing in the grass and wouldn’t move. It took about a week and a toddler ride-on tractor to get him to venture past the patio steps. Is this normal behavior because, while endearing as it is for a 2 year old, I do wonder how it will manifest itself as he gets older. I’m pretty particular about being organized and having things put away and clean – but I can relax about it from time to time and have managed to not drive my husband completely bonkers with my an*l-retentive quirk. K, not so relaxed about it.

so here it is...

K counting to ten! He doesn't annunciate the words very well, but he's getting there.

welcome to the potty (& counting to ten)

don't ask me how I could forget this in my recap! Anyway, we got K a potty seat that fits on the big toilet and he's tried it out a couple times but would barely sit on it for long. We decided to get a potty seat about a week ago that sits on the floor which made it easier for him to get on and off of. He hasn't been a big fan of it, until (hopefully) tonight. He sat on it in his diaper and we all counted to ten as he sat there. Then we took the diaper off and he sat on it and we counted again. He was probably on it for a minute or two total, but it's a lot better than before when he'd just cry! Oh, and he actually counted to ten! Yes, 10! It was fantastic! I would've made a video of it, however he was sitting on the potty and my son's bits don't need to be broadcast.

Recap 1

My intentions of blogging about something at least every other day haven't fit into reality yet. Just because I changed jobs doesn't mean there aren't things to blog about. So...as I get into the swing of it I'll do recaps if I go more than 3-4 days between posts. 25 year old cheerios, salt on the birthday cake and a "naughty" card to great grandma Stories come out from the past, usually very funny ones! I managed to be a part of that grand legacy over the week. When J was younger he'd stay over at Grt G's farm. One morning they wanted to have cheerios. While Grt G had the grandchildren stay over a lot, it wasn't enough to finish off a box of cheerios and so they sat in the cabinet. When they had breakfast that day, well, lets just say the cheerios checked out a long time ago. Salt on the birthday cake My mother in law, V, is a decent cook but leave it to her own kids to give her a hard time about it. I guess it stems from the fact that she sprinkled a cake with salt instead of sugar. Naughty card to Grt G. This is where I come in. We usually give a somewhat religious card to Grt G for her birthday and a sarcastic card to sister in law, C, for their birthdays. Guess who, in her infinite wisdom, put the wrong addresses on the cards and sent them out...?! Yup, that'd be me! Grt G got a card with 2 cartoon people's as* cr*cks on the front and a tag line "expecting some cr*cks about your age". Thankfully, she had a sense of humor about it, but even still....I won't be living that one down any time soon! Pictures Remember how K had the accident at the park last week and I was hoping it'd heal before pictures yesterday? Well, it did, however I don't know why I bothered because all K did is cry and say (most emphatically for a 2 year old) "Done!" Over and over and over, "done!" inbetween tears. I did every freakin' trick I knew to elicit even a slight smile but there was no way! So we left, empty handed and me in a pretty foul mood. It seems that everyone else's kids take pictures just fine. Sure maybe they fuss for the first 10 minutes, but the parents don't leave empty handed! We go through this every time we get pictures done. It's always a big production with K. I know that he gets antsy at new places and with new people but geez! We were there early and had plenty of time to get him acclimated to the place. Anyway, I really wanted professional pictures done but that isn't going to happen. I've been coming to terms with that for the past 24 hours....and I'm still dealing with it. Are You Copying Me???? One of the crew members were talking about bait fish. The next words out of K's mouth: "bait feeesh". Later on, J had said "Hi, Honey". K said, "Hi Honey." It could be a long drive in traffic now that I REALLY have to watch what I say. That's it for now. I'm going to brush my hair and go spend time with J and K because even though K p*ssed me off a bit with the pictures, I still love him to death.

Catching Up

It's been nutty since the job change! The euphoria has worn off and I'm starting to see some people's true colors, but it's ok. It was to be expected and I'll adapt. The firm is still tons better than where I was before. We've mainly been adjusting to a slightly different routine. With J and I switching jobs within a couple weeks of each other, well it made things a bit rough with rearranging schedules. I think after a month, we've gotten it smoothed out a bit. K is doing well, although I think one particular slide at the park has it out for him! Last weekend he slid to far back and went head over heal into the sand and today he slipped, caught his chin against the step and then got a cut on his eye-lid. Anyone have suggestions on what goes with black, blue, purple & yellow, because we have his 2 year pictures scheduled for next week?! Isn't the timing just freaking perfect! (snark) Just kidding. He's got a bit of a bruise but (so far) it's not bad. I've been checking in on everyone and trying to comment when I can. Hope you all are well (or getting there). I'm hoping to refine our "schedule" so that I can get back to blogging more. I miss it. In the meantime, you can find me here (and I'll be checking in soon):

weeeeee!

i didn't drop of the face of the earth

really, i swear, i am still here! while i do sometimes miss being able to blog whenever about whatever, i must admit that i'm loving the fact that i have a job that keeps me busy all day! it's been two weeks and it has been a whirlwind, but in a good way. i think it helps that my boss just let me dive right in to the work instead of just giving me tiny pieces here and there. sometimes it's been a bit overwhelming but only because i'm still learning the procedures and lingo - which, now that i work in a corporate law firm, is a REALLY HUGE DEAL! i am one of a handful of new people there too so it helps to not be the only newbie on the floor. i think i may be the youngest, though! doesn't matter, it's just funny how that always seems to be the case for me. so what is it that i do now? well, i work in human resources, specifically with employee benefits. i like it a lot because i'm learning a lot and it requires strong organization skills - basically, i can let my an*l-retentive side out and not be called a b*tch for it. at previous employer people complained about how much of a stickler i was to things being completed the right way, etc, etc. at the firm, it is expected. such a nice change! so that's the rundown thusfar. i'm going to try to update more often and keep up on visiting other blogs, but i have to get a routine going so it may take a bit. as for j and k, they are doing well. j is working his way through his new job and k is talking a lot, has learned how to climb into chairs and onto tables on his own. i look at him now and i'm just amazed at how almost 2 years ago he was a tiny baby. amazing...

my first week

i've been trying to figure out how to summarize my first week at the new job and its been narrowed down to incredibly mind-blowing. at my first meeting (outside of the initial interview) i went to a meet-n-greet lunch with one of my bosses and some of the HR staff. it was very nice, so nice that the restaurant we went to didn't put prices on the menu! yeah, i played it conservative but it was awesome! i was also treated to lunch on my first day! the first few days were spent on learning the specific programs. they embrace technology so a lot of information is in their intranet plus the equipment, programs, etc are up to date and pretty user friendly. the people that i've met so far are nice and i even went out to lunch with the new HR Admin who started a week before me. i have 2 bosses (1-here and 1-big, big midwest city about 3 hours away) and they have been great. i pretty much just dived right in with answering the phones and answering any questions as well as i could. there's a lot to learn but i have a working knowledge of benefits/401K policies so i can only build on it. some other things that stand out about the firm is that they have a lactation room for nursing mothers! now, unless you've read my blog(s) for a while, you may not realize how much of a big deal this is for me. when i was pregnant with k i told my boss (killjoy) i was going to nurse him and the look on her face was disappointment! as time went by she mentioned that if i was still nursing when i came back from maternity leave i could pump in the bathroom....um, WTF?! would you eat your food in the bathroom?! no, i don't think so. anyway, killjoy's opinion of nursing came out more and more (it was unfavorable) and so the fact that the firm has an area for mothers is another HUGE plus. there are quite a few nice things about the firm and i'll share them as i go. i had a good beginning week and hope that it will continue. it's been really freaking sweet!

friday night fun

update

new job is starting well. i'll update more later when my brain isn't quite so "full" LOL

PC Repair Invoice for In-laws

1 PC Case $32.00 2 Winnie the Pooh Stickers for the outside $50.00 3 PC Power Supply $85.00 4 Repairs for buying the wrong power supply $100.00 5 PC MSI Micro-ATX Mother Board???? $285.00 6 Books and CD's to learn about mother boards $100.00 7 25 Cups of Starbuck's Coffee to help read them $130.00 8 Intel 2.6 Gigahertz Pentium 4 Processor???? $68.00 9 Gas and Mileage to take food processors back upon realizing they weren't the same things $75.00 10 Dr. Apt. for Anxiety $30.00 11 Rx for Xanex $60.00 12 1 Gigahertz RAM $65.00 13 Cable Bill for national geographic channel to try and find out what kind of damn ram is a Gigahertz RAM $10.00 14 Six Pack to help watch the National Geographic Channel $50.00 15 50 Gigahertz Maxtor Hard Drive??? $25.00 16 More beer because my Giga-Hurts $30.00 17 30 Gigahertz Maxtor Hard Drive??? $45.00 18 Switched to Windser and Coke because I still can't figure out why my Giga-Hurts $80.00 19 Windows Operating System $650.00 20 Took PC to ER (Drunk) thinking it needed some form of operation???? $100.00 21 More Xanex $50.00 22 Microsoft 2003 Office Professional Suite???? $80.00 23 Closest thing I could find was Micro-Motel Office Suite Rental room 2003???? $350.00 24 LG DVD/CD-ROM Drive $50.00 25 ?????? $75.00 26 More Xanex $100.00 27 Memorex DVD/CD-RW Drive $25.00 28 ???? Is is live or Memorex????? $50.00 29 More Xanex and Beer $20.00 30 3.5 Floppy Drive $675.00 31 Bail - for punching out some snot-nosed tech-person after arguing with him about why my drive is floppy and it shouldn't be $125.00 32 More Xanex and Beer $50.00 33 Garbage service for trashing the whole damn thing!!!!! $25.00 34 General Labor $1,000.00 35 Blood, Sweat and Tears (Also some skin) $8,000.00

for once

i had the upper hand! recap: just after 9am killjoy came and told me that we'd have our exit interview at 3pm today. at that point i realized that she fully expected me to work the entire day. and at that point i decided it was time for me to just go. at 9:45am i went to killjoy's office and placed my time sheet and access card on her desk and told her: me: i'm going to go ahead and call it a day killjoy: (speechless, jaw dropped open and she got a bit bug-eyed) well, we need to do this exit interview me: i'm not interested in participating in that. i don't have anything to add to what i put in my resignation letter (which was nothing anyway) killjoy: (still speechless and staring at the time sheet and card) me: yeah, i haven't done much of anything over the past few days and i can't justify just sitting there doing nothing for another whole day. plus, as of 9:15am this morning i fufilled my 2 week obligation so i'm going to go. killjoy: ok, well good luck. (said very quietly, almost mousy-like - which is totally unlike her UNLESS she is caught by suprise) me: sure. (then i left her office, got my coat, said some final goodbyes and left the building) ********************** this whole time (and even throughout my entire time working under her), killjoy has always seemed to be a step ahead. she "knew" i was looking for a job, she "knew" i was doing this or that, she "knew" blah, blah blah... well this time, she did NOT know this was coming. the look on her face of utter shock and her being practically speechless made the event that much sweeter. so there it is. i'm done. so what do people do at 10:40 am on a wednesday? LOL

hell ya!

so my out of office assistant is on and i so love the fact that i can put on there that i've moved on and i'm passing the buck to killjoy! i don't anticpate being here after noon. as of 9:15 AM this morning, i will have fulfilled my 2 week notice (if they want to get picky about it).

hey, wtf mom?!

K has a keen sense of what is right in his world and what is not. should mommmy try to switch one of his blankets out so that it can be washed - well, there will be a chourus of "bank-et? bank-et? bank-et?" followed by "bank-et!!! bank-et!!! bank-et!!! bank-et!!!" until the switch has been undone. k will also pick up fuzz and bring it over to me to put away straighten and line up his cars/trains in perfect order freak out if his tent "leg" doesn't lay flat help me pick up his toys (after some prodding) yes, i'm raising monk and there will be hell to pay if you mess up his world!

squirm-fest

receptionist/supervisor decided to not finish 2 bids yesterday and left them for me to do today. when i got in this morning there was a stack of bids waiting so i promptly took the 2 from yesterday back up to her to do because hey, i had a stack of shit to do and she could've gotten them done yesterday if she wasn't so damn lazy! heehee, the look of dread on her face was classic. thing is, she does this all the time and today i wasn't going to pick up the pieces. accounting gal is having to order lunch for the management meeting and she is up in arms because she's never done it. um, all you do is call the food place, tell them what each person wants, the pickup time and give them the payment info. it's not fucking rocket science! good lord! they will be f*cked if they act like this....... i wish i could be a fly on the wall!

feigning interest

so here i sit, waiting for whatever to do. part of me wants to just call it good and end my tenure today while the other part says i should do the "right thing" and work through wednesday. problem is, why should i do the right thing for a company that hasn't done squat for me in quite some time and had written me off from any upward mobility almost a year ago? yeah, i don't know either. so in the meantime, here i sit, pretending like i give a shit. . . . . . . . oh who am i kidding, i'm not pretending at all!

way 2 go miss thang!

so somehow in the last 24 hours the database that client leads are imported into has become un-accessible. i find it interesting that as of my leaving yesterday, it was working just fine and today guess who started working with said database.....yes, the perfectly un-qualified, inexperienced receptionist/supervisor! sure, maybe there are strange things afoot, but my bets on receptionist/supervisor did something to screw it up because she's the one that tries to open an excel document in word.

bring it!

go ahead jackass sales manager, i dare you to say something snide to me or to get huffy! i double dog fucking dare you to because i'm just looking for a reason to be done with this place early - and you're as good a reason as any! jackass sales manager and i passed each other in the hallway and he gave me that "get the eff outta my way, bitch" look. i would so love to just march up to killjoy's office and say "i'm done with this place and i'm not taking his crap anymore." so bring it, jackass, BRING IT!

say anything #1

i'm so "borrowing" this idea from christy's post where you just start writing whatever pops into your head in one long stream of *$!@#&%$%$&*. -------------------- i'm bored! freakin' bored of being bored. of course someone will come and disrupt me with a project that just has to be done right this second because they forgot about it and, like, oh my god - you're leaving?! you can't leave....blah, blah, blah-fuckity-blah, blah. moments like this at current job serve as a blazing reminder of why i'm leaving for new job. they only appreciate you when you've got one foot out the door... -------------------- i was a stupid-head and went to a certain messageboard to catch up with someone who has a boy k's age. this endeavor serves to make me feel like shit because her boy says 4 word sentenences and knows at least 150 words! k is talking like a maniac, but no where near that. i wonder if she'd be impressed by k's bitch-slapping skillzzzzz - he does, after all, practice on me with regularity. -------------------- i keep checking the celebrity gossip sites because, well, i'm bored! -------------------- i'm so over j and i having the bronchitis plague. it can leave our home anytime now. i've lost track of what antibiotics have been administered and to who.

what part of

"here's my 2 week notice and i don't give a damn" are you not understanding?! seriously, since killjoy/drama queen started blabbing to everyone under the sun about me leaving suddenly all these "projects" are being presented to me. Um people, here's a newsflash for you - I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! so stop bringing me this shit that you think i'm going to finish up before i leave because, unless i really like you (of which there are maybe 2 people), i'm not going to do it! what are you going to do? tell my boss on me? go ahead, i'll point you to where her office is and you can go cry your effing head off to her! i'm being decent enough to work out my notice, but i'm not altruistic. i'm not doing anything more than i absolutely have to. so p*ss off!

for the boy

who likes dogs, trains, cars, planes, fish, moon and stars... i'm at a point where k's room needs to be updated. problem is that he likes so many different things that trying to choose one "theme" is not feasible. i thought of getting some Wallies from each thing (see above) and putting them up all over. but then it would make his walls look cluttered and that would drive me insane. in case you haven't guessed, i'm totally shopping for ideas, pictures - whatever you got!

drama queen fun

i should've nicknamed killjoy "drama queen" instead! i discovered from people who've found out about my departure from her that ever since giving my notice, killjoy has been "did ya hear...?" to practically anyone who passes by her office! she's playing the pity-me card to anyone who'll listen. then i noticed the posting for my job in the break room and found mis-spellings. apparently discretion regarding employees and detailed proof-reading are not requirements for someone in her position. always the consumate professional! NOT! of course, watching this all unfold is sofaking hilarious! if they only knew what's coming when i'm not here to deal with the azzhat sales reps, maintain the databases and create the pdfs among other things.

and there u go, killjoy! ***updated

so i couldn't wait until friday. I just gave killjoy the news and like i suspected, she figured that i had been looking for a while, like a year! when i told her that i felt under-utilized in my current position, she admitted that she knew that and wasn't sure how to rememdy it. i suppose i could take that two ways: 1. that if she thought way, why didn't she at least try to give me a reason to stay or 2. while she "appreciated" my work ethic (putting up with shit everyday) she could honestly care less if i stayed or went. either way, i don't care, i'm outta here in 2 weeks. UPDATE: ms high & mighty receptionist/supervisor blah, blah, blah is giving me the silent treatment. wanna know why...? because she's flippin' the fuck out! LMAO!!! she does this to people when they "upset" her plans. she better get over it because she's inheriting jackass sales mgr and mr. i'm-gonna-intimidate-you-to-do-it-my-way newbie sales rep. is it bad to be enjoying this sooooooooooooooooo much?!

Freakin' Sweet, part 2

ok, now that i've come down a teensy-weensy bit from my job offer high (LOL) i'm ecstatic to announce that an opportunity to work with law firm is mine. i've sent the acceptance letter back and after confirming start dates, etc, i'll be all set to stick it to killjoy and ms. high & mighty receptionist/supervisor. there is a mandatory employee meeting this friday that i'll go to and get my 5 year stick up the ass award because maybe it will be something nice. i doubt it since last year the 5 year award was a duffle bag. yup, a d.u.f.f.l.e. b.a.g. anyway, promptly at 4 PM I will submit my resignation to killjoy. why wait until then? because if the roles were reversed they'd stick it to me on a friday right before i left and not think twice about it. so there you go! thank you to all who've "listened" to my ranting and general pissy-ness! friday can't get here soon enough!

PSSSSST!

NOW IS THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT! I have just been offered and accepted a position with a law firm and it is incredible! as peter griffin would say: freakin' sweet!

unprecedented, part 2

congrats to christy for the correct answer! of course, i'm still waiting to hear back from them. i also just got back from a meeting today and have 2 more set up for this week. now if i could only get that elusive offer......

unprecedented

guess what i had 4 of today? (i will reveal it once i have a clear idea of what direction things are going).

airing dirty laundry

apparently i don't do anything right here (work) - or very few think so and they don't bother to speak up because pretty much all i hear are the things i do wrong. i get interviews set up for other jobs but nothing seems to come of them - mainly because the pay range is much lower than what i'm making now (which isn't THAT much - hell, I'm below the industry average for this position so what's the fucking deal?!) my mom is going through a rough time (unemployed since December, her room-mate is kicking her out at the end of this week, she just had knee surgery...) & i can't figure out if she's really trying to remedy the state she's in or if she's "winging it". we're trying to help as much as we can, but are limited. we live in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment so putting her up with us isn't an option. plus, we trek up 4 flights of stairs to get to our place. she wouldn't be able to do that with a bum knee. not to mention, situations like this can cause her to make somewhat desperate decisions and those never end well...never. supposedly she has friends who are helping her out but i worry that she'll take advantage of them. there's a long back story to this (like YEARS) but trust me, she's not up front about a lot of things. the "kicker" is that above mother just emailed me and suggested that i should play the "race card" to get a job because my grandfather was/is hispanic. um, yeah.....NOT! seriously people, this is how she thinks - find a way to "cheat" the system and milk it for all its worth! WTFFF?! thank you, but no thank you. i'll stick to being mrs. whitey mcwhiteypants and deal with the preconceived notion that all irish people are drunk potato farmers with fierce tempers and knocked up wives.

curious

i know that i missed the "official" delurking week, but i'm curious as to who stops by. have i driven people away due to my job dung rants? (in which case ignore the coming soon post about me being wishy-washy) am i too an*l-retentive? (then ignore the post about me becoming a brand snob for chocolate and underwear - HA! that ought to bring some interesting hits) anyway, curiousity is getting the best of me, so say hello.

what a difference a year makes!

K has grown so much - I find it wild to look at the photos and videos from this time last year. january 2007 january 2008

i suppose

i should at least try to be excited about this, but i'm not. far from it. anyway, i have a phone interview next week. i've applied for a similar position to this company earlier this month and had a similar phone interview - nothing came of it and i expect nothing will come of this one. i'll still prepare and feign enthusiasm but after the last job interview debacle, i just don't have much left in me. at least it's over the phone and i don't have to go there only to have it fall through. they can tell me to piss off over the phone and avoid the face to face dismissal. on another note, the marketing director is having her baby now. ms. receptionist/customer service supervisor r decided to go around to everyone telling them that she's having a c-section, etc, etc, etc. now, i truly hope it goes well because it's a mom and baby - regardless of any personal feelings. but, those personal feelings do come into play. since director came on board (she's the founder's daughter didn't ya know!) all sorts of things have changed. she's taken over 1/2 of what i did before (ads, glossies for presentation binders, etc) and brought on the hr consultant - she's managed to just start rocking the boat every which way and of course it won't affect her because again - she's the founder's daughter. she doesn't talk to me, and in fact, i barely get a glimpse if we pass in the hallway, so i really don't care about when she goes into labor, etc. i care that it all goes smoothly, but that's as far as i'm going. now, onto ms. receptionist/customer service supervisor r - why does she feel that she has to go and "share" all the news. like it's hers to share?! she also said that "everybody" was asking. um, i wasn't asking and therefore don't feel that she needs to come over here telling me all this. i don't give a flying fuck! i swear, r has to be in everyone's business and has to tell everyone. the woman can't keep her damn nose out of things. that seems to be par for the course anymore, everyone has to know everyone else's business and god forbid if you don't divulge your deepest secrets because then you're labeled as troubled, anti-social or whatever. can you tell i've been through this and am still going through this. it's been better now that i sit on the other side of the building and don't have to be in the middle of it all, but even still - it creeps up on me. not that long ago, last summer-ish, killjoy (boss-lady b) wanted to know why i was so quiet and seemed distant and she said that "something must be wrong at home" implying that something was wrong between j and i. in my head i imagined that i was shoving her head against the door frame and then slamming the door in her face! i was fucking livid! first, it's not her place to butt in, even if it were the case - which it wasn't. even if it was, i woudn't be talking to her (or anyone here) about it. but the fact that she said it matter of factly - what the fuck?! ok, i'm getting really worked up so i'm going to cut this short. suffice it to say, it's like fucking small-town-urbia here. i wish i had studied harder when taking my C++ programming classes - then I could a)work in a more secluded place and b)work with guys who don't get involved in the nitty-gritty of their co-workers lives. at least not to the same degree as here.

new stuff

ok, so the new banner is up. it's a bit big and if i can find a way to make it smaller without screwing it up then i will. still working on the color scheme. it will change, but to what i don't know. anyway, that's how i'm spending my day thus far.

recovering

so k is recovering from being ill. it's still a slow process, but he's getting there. the main thing that's worrying us now is getting him to eat again. he still picks at things now and then but other than 3-4 bites here and there and 1/2 a cup of milk, the boy has practically stopped eating. i understand that lack of appetite can go hand in hand with ear infections, but he's been this way since last Saturday! i'm beginning to freak the eff out! so that's where we're at. oh, and i've been playing with my design a bit. i don't think i'll stick with the blue and brown, though. at first i liked it, but now it seems too baby-ish. so anyway, i'll be working through that as well.

by looking at him

you wouldn't know that K had a fever all weekend and that a double ear infection made it's presence known on sunday. considering all that, he did ok. even at the doctors office he mainly squirmed but didn't let out the earth-shattering screams like he used to. he even got weighed on the "big boy" scale standing up. for all of that, it brings a new type of heart wrenching to know that K is beginning to understand what pain is and has learned how to say "owie". when trying to eat breakfast he would cough, hold his head and start crying big tears. "owie" would be repeated over and over - and our hearts just sunk. sure, he's had boo-boos from falling or bumping into a door frame because he didn't look where he was going - but those just don't seem as gutting to us as it does with the fever, cough and infection. maybe it's because with the others we can see the owie and clean it up, put a band-aid on it, kiss it to feel better - that kind of thing. but with a fever, etc we can't physically see it - only what it's doing to little K. it's kind of like going full circle. we didn't know what would be wrong or upsetting K when he was an infant and couldn't ask him where it hurt, and that sucked because we felt helpless. now, the three of us can figure it out, usually after a game of 20 (40 or 60) questions. but even still, that feeling of helplessness came back around this weekend. K didn't start playing with his ear or crying when coughing until sunday. so anyway, here we are. on full alert should R at daycare call. hopefully the meds will kick in and K will be totally back to himself soon. he was well on his way when I dropped him off this morning and started chasing the cat and looking for cars to play with, which made it a bit easier.

much cooler than i

my husband is much cooler than i am. he has been offered a job making more $$$, the position is a corporate trainer mgr and he went on one interview. truly, i am VERY happy for him. he's been on countless interviews and has earned it. i can only hope one day i'll be just as lucky.

meme meme meme meme meme meme meme meme

because i'm trying to avoid analyzing what the eff happened with the job, i'm going to do this meme. niobe started it but the details are: 1. Click on THIS LINK. The title of the page is the name of your band. 2. Click on THIS LINK. The last four words of the final quotation on the page are the title of your album. 3. Click on THIS LINK. The third picture is your album cover. After all that, here we go:

onward, upward - albeit slowly

out of frustration/anger/disapointment - call it what you want - i called and asked to speak with the hr rep. she had gone for the day so i left a message. i was VERY professional about it but i did point out that i noticed the job re-posted online and since it seemed everything was moving in a positive direction, i was interested to know if there was something i missed, etc and could i have the opportunity to remedy it and remain in consideration for the job. i am still having a difficult time understanding why a company would go through all of that work (2 interviews, background checks, dr*g screen, calling references, etc) if they weren't interested in making an offer. seems a waste of time and effort to pursue that much stuff only to pass on the candidate. i haven't received a call back or an email - i don't expect to, really. i suppose if that's the way they handle things then i don't want to work there. i get jerked around enough here and still get my benefits/vacation & sick time/etc. if i get jerked around there i'd be without all of that. so anyway, onward. it still stings like hell to see that job posting at the top of the page but hopefully it will get buried toward the bottom after a couple of days. i'm still quite disappointed but it'll get better and i'll still keep looking - even though right now all i want to do is eat chocolate. hey, nothing soothes bitterness like sweetness! :-)

jerking my chain

prospective employer posted the job again online. i think the opportunity is gone and i'm stuck in this shithole for a while longer. let the binging begin. REVISED: i changed the title to this post because that's totally how i feel this whole thing went down. jerk my chain, make me jump through a dozen hoops to get to this interview and that interview...for what? for fucking nothing.

flashy > safe

in the brilliance of current employer, they've re-tiled the break room floors (after being trashed after 1.5 years), bought stainless steel HUGE refridgerator, stainless steel HUGE microwave and a leather couch for the breakroom. now this would seem f-ing great however, everything is going to get trashed again and it will become money lost. this company has office staff but the majority of the employees are field techs and phone monkeys who don't give a damn about taking care of their own stuff much-less anything else. how about spending the money on plowing the damn snow and ice from the parking lot! you know, showing the employees that you will provide a safe work environment both inside and outside the building. apparently that's asking too much because there is still ice from 4 storms ago (we're talking last december). so if we fall and twist an ankle, hey there will be a leather couch to sit on and nurse our wounds (while on the phone to a lawyer because falling on ice will be negligence on current employer and they will NEED the liability insurance because this shit is ridiculous)! ******************* still waiting on other opportunity. hoping against all hope that it goes in my favor. and did i mention they PLOW their parking lot?!

please don't tease me

prospective employer that i met with twice is calling references. i hope this works in my favor, i really, really, really, really, really DO! i hate to admit that i've gotten my hopes up for this one. if it goes to another person, i'll be binging on chocolate for the next few days - it can't be helped. this is as close as i've come to getting a new opportunity.

one thumb up

this morning went well. met with the company president and hr manager. i was generally asked the same general questions but i was able to make them sound a bit different so that i didn't sound like a recording. it was also nice, albeit it intimidating as well, to meet with the president. he interviews everyone who is hired. that's quite a change from so many places where you meet the president in passing on your first day and never see them again. anyway, i went to do the dr*g screen and j seems to think that there's a good chance i've got the job or am competing with 1 or 2 more people because they generally don't spend the money for the screens on every applicant. we'll see. for now, i've got one thumb up!

fun in the kitchen

HEY PEOPLE!

whatever you're doing (re: my job wishes), keep it up! monday morning, 2nd interview w/president of company! dude! DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok, i'm off to finish picking lint off myself from earlier.

i'm so learn'ed

today during my lunch hour i decided to go pick up a new robe since it's sofa-king cold here. no biggy, found a blue fleece one without too much fuss. i decided to try it on over my suit to make sure it fit, etc. it's great so i take it off only to discover . . . . . . . . . . . blue fleece lint all over my suit! yes, everyone, i AM that smart! laugh amongst yourselves...i'm busy picking lint of myself. on a different topic, no news on the job front yet. i find that i daydream about the job from wednesday. it would be a great opportunity. really freaking great! i'd be working with executives who have a brain (!!!) instead of these sales reps who do their work at the last minute and back-ass-wards. i'm waiting with baited breath for my phone to ring and it to be them wanting to meet with me again and offer me the job. i'm trying to not get my hopes up too high, keeping in mind that the complete opposite of high is low and i'm liable to end up on the lowest rung of the ladder should the position go to someone else. i just wish they'd let me know one way of the other N.O.W. i hate this waiting and wondering shit.

"this is important...this means something"

i'm noticing that the sandwhich pieces are begining to resemble the mashed potato sculpture from close encounters.

apples & peanut butter chips

k likes apples! i could hardly believe what i was hearing when he asked for an apple. so that's a step in the right direction as far as fruits go. still no veggies. since we're heading in that direction, do peanut butter baking chips count as relatively healthy? :-) we were in the grocery store last weekend and they had some free samples of some brand of "trail mix" with faux m&ms, chocolate and peanut butter baking chips. i let k have one of the peanut butter chips and he went beserk over it! when that one was done he wanted another and another and another. i know it's not exactly the same as the real peanut butter but at this point, if it's even close to healthy and it opens up his food repertoire, i'm all for trying it.

library of congress photos - freakin' sweet!

being a novice photographer and burgeoning history buff, i'm always on the lookout for sites that showcase photos, especially historical ones. the "old" photos always manage to capture my attention because they seem like a foreign land; a foreign time that gets forgotten with each passing day. i was extremely excited/surprised to find the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ON FLIKR! it's amazing to go through the photos and see past the CUTESY PICTURES to what was really going on in the world; how people actually lived. i think it's great and i know how i'm going to spend the rest of my work day......... . . . . . working of course! (snark)

wish

wish i may, wish i might have the wish i wish tonight: to get offered the job that i interviewed for today.

flashlight!

who knew flashlights could be so much fun (especially around the 56 second mark)!

if only

so we're still dealing with K and his hitting. i have of course turned to ol' reliable internet for some ideas, all of which we've been doing already. i guess it just takes time. lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of time. did you know that the "reason" for toddlers hitting is because: "he is curious about other people. He has limited language and experience, so rather than walking up to someone and saying, "Excuse me. Can I play with you?," he shows his interest by smacking them." i had to laugh a bit at "showing interest by smacking them". the visual was just too funny and reminded me of an eddie izzard (british comedian) skit. i doubt that k is showing interest by hitting me, though. if that were the case, i'd be the most popular person in the world! ha! if only that approach would work in the business world. i could show some employers i'm interested by going up and smacking them as though i were saying, "hey! i want to work for you." (WACK!) on that note, my resume appears to be working. last week i had a call back within 24 hours of submitting it and today i got a call back for a position that i applied for yesterday. i haven't gotten past the first interview, though, so that sucks. i'm preparing as well as i can and jotting down any new questions that come up so i'm prepared for them if they come up in the future. we'll see. my next appointment is tomorrow. i drove by the place this afternoon and it looks decent, up-to-date and they even PLOW THEIR PARKING LOT when it snows! if you don't recall why that's a big deal, read THIS

knock-knock

so, he may have a tantrum over thomas the tank or be super picky about what he'll eat - but at least he'll knock before storming in and raising a ruckus.

brilliant

about 1.5 years ago, company decided to do renovations in the building which included replacing 2 floors, 1 small mail room and 1 huge break room. starting next week, company is replacing the same 2 floors - again! if it were me and all i got out of the first renovation was 1.5 years of use - i'd be livid p*ssed! as for company, well, this just speaks volumes (insert extreme sarcasm here): BRILLIANT!

car - 1, me - 1

so i've managed to "win" this round versus car. techs checked it out and everything looks fine and is tight and undamaged. so apparently, i'm a nut job whose hearing things. it's ok, though. i'd rather be a nut job with a working car than completely sane with a broken one. i do wonder if someone is trying to tell me something. last year, in january as well, there was .THIS and then there was today's event. hmmmmm....... do i need to include gift cards to repair shops on my christmas lists from now on? just in case...i could always use them for oil changes and other regular maintenance stuff. anyway, i made it through without having to pay a dime. well under $100 indeed! i did decide to get the techs a gift card to major pizza place, though. that may sound like too much, but here's the thing. i've managed to find a shop that doesn't try and put one over on me because i'm a woman and i don't know jack about cars other than how to change a tire (and even that's a bit iffy). i've gone there for oil changes and misc other things like replacing belts, brakes, etc. when i had my battery replaced they had an opening at 1 PM and when i gave them my name they guy knew who i was and said they could fit me in at 11 AM. see, they know me and i know them. there's been a couple other times that they've checked things out on my car and found nothing wrong and i didn't have to pay then either. i'm thinking about remaining anonymous about it. maybe dropping vague hints about who sent them the card and if they put it together then great; if not, no big deal either. i figure it's time i should give something back and i honestly don't feel like i need anything for it - well, other than having nothing wrong with my car.

gah!!!!!

i loathe car woes! L.O.A.T.H.E them! weird sounds are afoot in/around/underneath/next-to/who-the-hell-knows-where with my car and they chose today to come out and play (rat bastards). i have an appt this morning and i pray to god/allah/jehovah/mary/pick-your-diety that it's something small and well UNDER $100 to fix. actually, if i had my way, there'd be nothing to fix and they'd just find some rogue rock that found it's way into some crevice and all the tech would have to do is work it out. so anyway, happy f-in friday, people......happy f-in friday......

"circle"

my toe's in the wading pool

i've sent out some resumes over the past week and had a phone interview today over lunch. i think it went ok. ok enough that i should get a call back for a face-to-face interview...well,hopefully. it's quite nerve racking to go through this whole "new opportunity" process. i've gone through feeling hopeful, anxious, uncertain, and rejected with each resume I send out. i'm preparing, though. writing down the common questions and what my answers will be. that is helping, a bit. so anyway, that's where i'm at right now.

i'll see your 2-word sentences and raise you 1-babelfish

even though i have become k's desired slapping companion, i do miss him today. well, i miss him every day that i'm at work but something's got to pay the bills. anyway, i've just been blown away by how much more we understand when he's talking to us. he has become very adept at two and three word sentences and will often repeat a new word over and over until he gets distracted by something new, usually a toy car. i'm grateful for the times when i know what he's trying to say and can respond back to him with an answer. it sure beats the "really?" and "um, hm" answers and nods when i can't quite make out what he's going for. i wonder if anyone else can understand him? i've always been amazed at how parents know what their toddler wants when all i hear is "sooo clkg, klkhshoi, andklk," seriously. clicks and whistles, man, clicks and whistles. LOL. i've found, though, that i still heavily rely on context. just the other morning he was fussing for "foo" and standing in the kitchen. somehow in the early, before-the-crack-of-dawn stupor that i was in, i managed to put the two together and figured out that he was hungry. i can't wait until everything he says is much more audible. then my brain won't have to work so hard. especially first thing in the morning.

never would've guessed

ahh, look at this pic: we were so young, in love . . . . . . . . . . . . and naive. no, i don't think we could've anticpated that i would've pelted him with a gummy-worm that'd been taken away from a certain young boy who spend his afternoon hitting me over and over and spent numerous time outs staring at a corner. it really wasn't intentional, j just happened to be in the trajectory of said flying object and i was really frustrated at being k's preferred choice of hitting companion instead of j or anyone/anything else. plus, the whole repeating myself that "we don't hit people" is getting really old. i've tried to be creative about hitting causing boo-boos, owies, it's mean.......i don't know how else to get it across. hence the gummy worm attack. i'm certain we wouldn't have foreseen whisking said boy out of major-chain bookstore once he started screaming AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS because he had to leave the 18 thomas the tank train cars behind, which in turn fostered a crowd of looky-loo's who felt they could pass judgement with their eyes because,of course, they could've handled it so much better. fat chance of that, i'm sure, because none of them had kids anywhere near them, which means they have no f-ing clue and would be just as frustrated as we were. and seriously, there isn't anything else we could've done but leave the place, so i think we handled it just fine thank you very much! anyway, i digress. our weekend wasn't terrible. we're just in the throws of a young boy who is really coming into his own and while we can figure out most of what he wants, we still have to get on the same page as far as timing. he is, indeed, a force of nature.

his mother's son

if there is ever any doubt that k is my son, this will resolve any question about it: yup, my boy is just like me - everything has it's place.

back in the swing of things

so the past few days back at work have only mostly sucked. ehh, it's a job so... k has been learning new words lightening fast - moon, sinkee (stinky), mik (milk) are just a few that've come up. sometimes he says a word over and over all day and then as fast as he learned it, he "forgets" it. from what i've read, that's pretty normal. i just wonder where he's putting all these new words and when should i expect a full on verbal assault when he decides to use them all at once. other than that, we're just taking it one day at a time. i wish i had something amazing to share but for now all i can offer is this: (i'm wondering how this could possibly be comfortable?!)

happy new year!

we will be watching THIS today and generally doing a lot of nothing. well, i'm finishing up some projects around the house and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. it's been a good holiday. never long enough, but i'm not going to tempt any higher powers because although i'm not thrilled with my job, i have a job. i wish i could've had something lined up so that i could go back and tell killjoy "see ya" but that's not how it worked out so i deal with it and keep looking for alternatives. anyway, i've wanted to have the time off between christmas and new years for a very long time and it was nice to finally be able to do it. if i can do it again next year, i will! in the meantime, i've resolved to having a new "center piece" for our coffee table: hope everyone had good holidays!