Riding in the elevator with my mother-in-law, Linda, yesterday.
Linda: What smells funny?
Me: (sniffing air)
Linda: (aiming nose at ceiling) It smells like... burning... what IS that?
Me: (realizing she's observing Ash Wednesday) Um... could it be... your forehead?
---
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
One of Those Days
We're home in San Diego, staying at my parent's house, but they are both out of the country on extended trips. It has been interesting to come home to a house that is basically on "lock down."
Last night when we arrived, there was no hot water, the house was freezing, and the milk in the fridge was expired. We had to lower the crib mattress at midnight to put Savannah to bed. It's been very different from my usual homecoming where my mom has the house stocked with diapers and everything ready and waiting for us.
This morning, one thing went wrong after another. First, Jeremy installed the car seats into my dad's (fancier) car instead of my mom's, because the battery on her car alarm deactivator was dead. Sorry, Dad! Hope you like cracker crumbs on your leather seats!
Jeremy's mom and I put the girls into the car to go to Target (baby needs diapers!) and when I sat down, my seat was waaaay back, like gangsta style, and when I played with the dials I had my choice of gangsta or bang my head on the roof. I went with gangsta.
We drove away and I noticed the car was out of gas. Drove to the nearest station, but they didn't take a credit card. So I drove across the street to the other one, but I had forgotten to screw the gas cap back on. So as we were driving away, Linda said, "What was that?!" And we heard the gas cap go flying into the street!
Ok, that's when I started cursing.
I flipped the car around, Linda jumped out and walked around in the street looking for it with no luck. Finally, we drove back and re-traced (re-drove?) our steps and I saw it lying on the side of the road. I just stopped right there, got out, and got it. California drivers, be damned!
After that, I was ready to pack it up and just go back home. I mean, back to my mom's house. Not back to Massachusetts.
Nothing in California could be bad enough for that.
---
Last night when we arrived, there was no hot water, the house was freezing, and the milk in the fridge was expired. We had to lower the crib mattress at midnight to put Savannah to bed. It's been very different from my usual homecoming where my mom has the house stocked with diapers and everything ready and waiting for us.
This morning, one thing went wrong after another. First, Jeremy installed the car seats into my dad's (fancier) car instead of my mom's, because the battery on her car alarm deactivator was dead. Sorry, Dad! Hope you like cracker crumbs on your leather seats!
Jeremy's mom and I put the girls into the car to go to Target (baby needs diapers!) and when I sat down, my seat was waaaay back, like gangsta style, and when I played with the dials I had my choice of gangsta or bang my head on the roof. I went with gangsta.
We drove away and I noticed the car was out of gas. Drove to the nearest station, but they didn't take a credit card. So I drove across the street to the other one, but I had forgotten to screw the gas cap back on. So as we were driving away, Linda said, "What was that?!" And we heard the gas cap go flying into the street!
Ok, that's when I started cursing.
I flipped the car around, Linda jumped out and walked around in the street looking for it with no luck. Finally, we drove back and re-traced (re-drove?) our steps and I saw it lying on the side of the road. I just stopped right there, got out, and got it. California drivers, be damned!
After that, I was ready to pack it up and just go back home. I mean, back to my mom's house. Not back to Massachusetts.
Nothing in California could be bad enough for that.
---
Monday, February 16, 2009
Good to Know
Upon returning home from a rare and much-needed date night, this is the conversation we had with the baby-sitter, who came over after the girls were in bed in Chelsea's room:
Sitter: "You know, next time you have a sitter and the kids are already asleep, you should probably tell the sitter that the baby is not sleeping in the crib in your bedroom. When I went in to check on her, and saw the empty crib I was like..."
Me: "WHERE IS THE FUCKING BABY???"
Sitter: "Yeah."
Jeremy: "You know, when you can't find the baby, you should probably call the parents."
Sitter: "Well... I found her!"
---
Sitter: "You know, next time you have a sitter and the kids are already asleep, you should probably tell the sitter that the baby is not sleeping in the crib in your bedroom. When I went in to check on her, and saw the empty crib I was like..."
Me: "WHERE IS THE FUCKING BABY???"
Sitter: "Yeah."
Jeremy: "You know, when you can't find the baby, you should probably call the parents."
Sitter: "Well... I found her!"
---
Thursday, February 12, 2009
30 Day Shred, Mommy Style
You would think that life with two small children would not require the 30 Day Shred, because this kind of life is already the 365 Day Shred. Apparently, chasing around after two tiny crazy people was not enough to whip this mama's bod into rock star shape. That is why I now have Jillian. (Plus, Jillian was on sale at Target and I had a gift card. Woohoo!)
Usually I do my shredding during afternoon naptime, while Savannah naps and Chelsea has "quiet" time. The other day, I tried to shred during Savannah's morning nap, which meant Chelsea was wiggling around underfoot the entire time.
I give you now the abridged transcript of the 30 Day Shred plus preschooler:
During push-ups:
"Don't climb on my back!"
During crunches:
"Don't touch my armpits!"
During shadowboxing:
"WATCH OUT!!!"
Think of all the extra calories I must be burning by yelling WHILE shredding! "Yelling While Shredding." Could be the next big thing.
Usually I do my shredding during afternoon naptime, while Savannah naps and Chelsea has "quiet" time. The other day, I tried to shred during Savannah's morning nap, which meant Chelsea was wiggling around underfoot the entire time.
I give you now the abridged transcript of the 30 Day Shred plus preschooler:
During push-ups:
"Don't climb on my back!"
During crunches:
"Don't touch my armpits!"
During shadowboxing:
"WATCH OUT!!!"
Think of all the extra calories I must be burning by yelling WHILE shredding! "Yelling While Shredding." Could be the next big thing.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Crazy Delicious!
It has taken me a while, but I finally finished making a video slideshow of our pictures from a day of apple picking at Connor's Farm last fall. And I even got permission from one of the DJs who made the song that I used as the soundtrack, so I won't have to worry about my video getting shut down by The Man (Weezer, I'm looking at you). Please to enjoy!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My Kind of Logic
Me: "My doctor called and asked me if I had been taking my thyroid medicine."
Jeremy: "So, did they up your dose?"
Me: "Yeah, they doubled it... no wonder I'm still fat and cranky!"
Jeremy: (laughing uncontrollably) "You don't think it might be all the chocolate and the fact that you don't sleep?"
---
Jeremy: "So, did they up your dose?"
Me: "Yeah, they doubled it... no wonder I'm still fat and cranky!"
Jeremy: (laughing uncontrollably) "You don't think it might be all the chocolate and the fact that you don't sleep?"
---
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Oprah, Ratigan, and the Blame Game
Yesterday I was watching the Oprah show.
Disclaimer: I normally try not to watch TV during the day (I'm too busy blogging, yo) and, when I do, Oprah is not on my list. But she was having a show about couponing and since that's my latest obsession, I watched. Also, Jeremy's away so the TV might be on a tad more than usual. You do what you gotta do.
Oprah had Dylan Ratigan from CNBC on the show and he said the economic crisis in our country will be solved when we all learn to live within our means. He said we're all charging more than we can afford, borrowing more than we can pay back, and finding it impossible to pay the bills.
I wanted to strangle him.
Yes, many, many (too many) people are living this way. But what about all of us out here who have been working hard to stay within our means? And doing so long before this crisis hit?
When Chelsea was about 9 months old, I went back to work part-time. And it sucked. Everything fell apart. I was miserable at work and doing a horrible job. I felt stressed all the time at home and I was also doing a horrible job of parenting.
I decided I needed to stay home. Jeremy and I both calculated whether or not we could afford to live on just his salary and the short answer is that we could not. Even by cutting back all of our discretionary spending (no new clothes, no dinners out, no gym membership, no cable tv) our necessities were more than his salary. It was close, but not enough.
We decided it was important enough to do it anyway. We hoped that there would be some savings from my staying home and planned to take money out of savings if we needed it to get by. And we did.
We live in a tiny apartment. We pay our credit card bill, in full, every time. We drive old cars. We rely on gifts and second-hand shops to clothe our children. We have been doing anything and everything to live within our means.
It angers me that I'm now having to scrimp even more than I already was because of people who were not able to live within their means. No, that's not right. Some people were able; they were not willing to live within their means.
As our new President has said, there's plenty of blame to go around. I just wish when Dylan Ratigan lays the blame at the foot of the American people, he would at least acknowledge that people like us exist. I know we're not alone.
---
Disclaimer: I normally try not to watch TV during the day (I'm too busy blogging, yo) and, when I do, Oprah is not on my list. But she was having a show about couponing and since that's my latest obsession, I watched. Also, Jeremy's away so the TV might be on a tad more than usual. You do what you gotta do.
Oprah had Dylan Ratigan from CNBC on the show and he said the economic crisis in our country will be solved when we all learn to live within our means. He said we're all charging more than we can afford, borrowing more than we can pay back, and finding it impossible to pay the bills.
I wanted to strangle him.
Yes, many, many (too many) people are living this way. But what about all of us out here who have been working hard to stay within our means? And doing so long before this crisis hit?
When Chelsea was about 9 months old, I went back to work part-time. And it sucked. Everything fell apart. I was miserable at work and doing a horrible job. I felt stressed all the time at home and I was also doing a horrible job of parenting.
I decided I needed to stay home. Jeremy and I both calculated whether or not we could afford to live on just his salary and the short answer is that we could not. Even by cutting back all of our discretionary spending (no new clothes, no dinners out, no gym membership, no cable tv) our necessities were more than his salary. It was close, but not enough.
We decided it was important enough to do it anyway. We hoped that there would be some savings from my staying home and planned to take money out of savings if we needed it to get by. And we did.
We live in a tiny apartment. We pay our credit card bill, in full, every time. We drive old cars. We rely on gifts and second-hand shops to clothe our children. We have been doing anything and everything to live within our means.
It angers me that I'm now having to scrimp even more than I already was because of people who were not able to live within their means. No, that's not right. Some people were able; they were not willing to live within their means.
As our new President has said, there's plenty of blame to go around. I just wish when Dylan Ratigan lays the blame at the foot of the American people, he would at least acknowledge that people like us exist. I know we're not alone.
---
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What the H!
Ten things I love that start with H. Thanks, Robyn!
1. Horchata.
For those sorely lacking in decent Mexican food, this is a vanilla-flavored rice milk. My favorite place to get it is Juanita's on Highway 101 in Encinitas. Bean tostada and a large horchata. And for some reason, drinks at Juanita's are extra jumbo sized. The large must be 40 ounces and that much milk and rice and sugar is about all of your daily calories. And it's worth it.
2. Halloween
"Confound it all, I love it though." I once made a haunted house in my parents' garage and parked a car in the middle of it, hidden, so that I could blast the lights and horn to scare the bejeebus out of my "guests." Ahh, memories.
3. Harry Potter
Jeremy and I used to read these books out loud to each other. But I have no patience and he has no stamina so he'd fall asleep before I'd had nearly enough. Inevitably, I'd keep reading and finish the book on my own. Then read it again with him.
4. Hometown
Mine is Carlsbad, California. I went to school in Encinitas (which is the next town south) and so I consider Encinitas my other hometown. Both are dramatically different now than when I was growing up. The flower fields where illegal migrant workers lived are now fancy strip malls. The two-lane road with no sidewalks where my best friend and I cautiously rode bikes, is now a major thoroughfare with freeway access. I miss how it used to be, but there's enough that hasn't changed to make me always want to go back.
5. Honda
I've only driven Hondas (two) since I was 18. They're cheap and you can drive them forever and ever. I covet the new hybrid one, although I'm sure I won't get one for a long, long time.
6. Hats
Oh, I love me some goofy hats. It runs in the family.
7. Hazelnut
Hazelnut coffee or hazelnut creamer in my coffee, not actual hazelnuts. (I'm one of those "like my sugar with coffee and cream" types.)
8. Hydrangea
Aren't they pretty?
9. Hobbies
I miss my hobbies. I have no more time to do them (kids). And no more money to spend on them (kids! no job! crapola economy!). My hobbiesare were photography, knitting, beading, and general crafting.
10. Husband
I saved the best one for last. I shouldn't tell you what he is really like because you will die of jealousy. But I will anyway. He does laundry. He cleans. He holds small babies for hours in the middle of the night. He is an excellent judge of character. He thinks before he speaks. He eats healthier and works out more often than I do, but doesn't rub it in my face. He's very smart and very funny. And he looks wicked cute in a goofy hat. (See? Don't say I didn't warn you.)
---
1. Horchata.
For those sorely lacking in decent Mexican food, this is a vanilla-flavored rice milk. My favorite place to get it is Juanita's on Highway 101 in Encinitas. Bean tostada and a large horchata. And for some reason, drinks at Juanita's are extra jumbo sized. The large must be 40 ounces and that much milk and rice and sugar is about all of your daily calories. And it's worth it.
2. Halloween
"Confound it all, I love it though." I once made a haunted house in my parents' garage and parked a car in the middle of it, hidden, so that I could blast the lights and horn to scare the bejeebus out of my "guests." Ahh, memories.
3. Harry Potter
Jeremy and I used to read these books out loud to each other. But I have no patience and he has no stamina so he'd fall asleep before I'd had nearly enough. Inevitably, I'd keep reading and finish the book on my own. Then read it again with him.
4. Hometown
Mine is Carlsbad, California. I went to school in Encinitas (which is the next town south) and so I consider Encinitas my other hometown. Both are dramatically different now than when I was growing up. The flower fields where illegal migrant workers lived are now fancy strip malls. The two-lane road with no sidewalks where my best friend and I cautiously rode bikes, is now a major thoroughfare with freeway access. I miss how it used to be, but there's enough that hasn't changed to make me always want to go back.
5. Honda
I've only driven Hondas (two) since I was 18. They're cheap and you can drive them forever and ever. I covet the new hybrid one, although I'm sure I won't get one for a long, long time.
6. Hats
Oh, I love me some goofy hats. It runs in the family.
7. Hazelnut
Hazelnut coffee or hazelnut creamer in my coffee, not actual hazelnuts. (I'm one of those "like my sugar with coffee and cream" types.)
8. Hydrangea
Aren't they pretty?
9. Hobbies
I miss my hobbies. I have no more time to do them (kids). And no more money to spend on them (kids! no job! crapola economy!). My hobbies
10. Husband
I saved the best one for last. I shouldn't tell you what he is really like because you will die of jealousy. But I will anyway. He does laundry. He cleans. He holds small babies for hours in the middle of the night. He is an excellent judge of character. He thinks before he speaks. He eats healthier and works out more often than I do, but doesn't rub it in my face. He's very smart and very funny. And he looks wicked cute in a goofy hat. (See? Don't say I didn't warn you.)
---
Monday, February 2, 2009
Future San Diegan
Getting ready for a Superbowl party...
Jeremy: "Chelsea, which team are you going to cheer for? The Steelers? Or the Cardinals?"
Chelsea: "The Chargers!"
---
Jeremy: "Chelsea, which team are you going to cheer for? The Steelers? Or the Cardinals?"
Chelsea: "The Chargers!"
---
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