Peace on Earth

Visit from Meme & Pepe... Part 2

I really miss my parents. Really, really, really - in case you didn't catch that from any of my previous posts. While downloading Christmas pictures this afternoon, I came across a few shots taken in November at the airport right before my parents caught their flight back to Arizona.

So cute, so sweet, so deceiving..

"Hey, Pepe - I know where to find you... Wrapped around my little pinky!!!
"But, Meme, who's going to read me stories for hours on end without complaining?"

The squeeze... Notice Pepe removed his glasses.... He remembers what she did to her cousin Tom.

And the takedown. Not so sweet now, is she?

Here is what she did to cousin Tom.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve... Boo, Shy & Bitty Baby before church.

Christmas Morning - the calm before the storm.

LEGOS!!! (Mommy can't wait to play with them!)

Boo's new robe.

Pinky Dinky Doo is Boo's new hero!

One of several books from Meme & Pepe. THANK YOU!
Pre-K Workbooks!

Boo's new bean bag chair. Now all we need are some beans for the bag.

The aftermath.

Tender moment

I left the room for a few minutes and when I returned Hubby was wiping his eyes with a tissue & sniffling. Here's what I missed.

Hubby: You know Daddy loves you very much?

Boo: Your baby loves you very much, too.

And then a grown man cried. How sweet is that? So I just had to take a picture of a daddy and his "baby".

Christmas blues

I know it's not just me. Many of my friends and relatives have this sad, wistful tone to their voice as Christmas draws near. Cosigner said it's because no matter what people have in life, they naturally wish for more - especially our generation. Gen X - the first fully pampered, fully entitled generation.

I usually long for more family. A sister who lived in the United States, parents who could travel to be with us, and maybe a brother or sister or two for Hubby (who is an only child) to add to our holiday gatherings. I want noise, chaos, laughter... Instead, it is always the three of us with Hubby's parents who aren't particularly prone to laughter.

I wonder if Boo will feel the same way as she gets older... a little cheated that her life will never resemble the large happy yet disfunctional family gatherings in Christmas movies. I wonder if she'll resent us for not giving her a sibling. Although, I know - due to my own situation - that having a sibling doesn't guarantee you'll get to spend any time together as adults. Which, I might add, is a waste of a perfectly good sister.

Instead of focusing on what we lack in life - like a house with a basement (see how easy that is) - I need to focus on what we have. Boo is a wonderful, healthy little girl. Hubby loves me, and even though he's a bum when it comes to housework (see, I did it again), I can't think of anyone else I'd rather hang out with every day. And he is such a great father. Our animals, provide plenty of chaos and laughter. Even though we both lost our jobs this year, there are gifts under the tree, we were able to help other families this season, and the bills are paid.

And in my lap is the head of one very gorgeous Weimaraner who is just grateful to have a family - no matter how large or small.

Merry Christmas.

Am I the only one

Who notices that the floors are dirty and bothers to vacuum them?

Who picks up the toys scattered all over the house instead of stepping over them?

Who loads, empties, loads, empties, loads, empties (repeat a thousand times) the dishwasher?

Who wipes the crumbs from the table & counter tops?

Who cares that the toilets are clean?

Who sees the trash can is overflowing?

Who hangs up jackets & scarves and puts shoes in the basket in the entry way?

Who sorts the mail and throws out the junk?

Who pays the bills and manages the finances?

Who schedules doctor and vet appointments?

Who spends every weekend making sure we have clean clothes to wear come Monday?

I'm not the only one. Just the only one in my house. And today, I'm pretty darn bitter about that.

The Halls are decked

And a little something extra IN the tree! Fluffy, you naughty kitty!

We put up our Christmas tree on Sunday. This was the first year Boo "helped" us put the ornaments on the tree. It was nerve wracking. My 40-pound child resembled a bull in a china shop. DONTSTEPONTHAT! WATCHWHEREYOUAREGOING! PUTTHATDOWN! DONTTOUCHTHAT!

Anyway, this is a pretty cool event for us. Every year we take these tattered boxes down from the attic (and have the same conversation about enlarging the opening and installing fold-down stairs). Over the years our ornaments get put away in no particular order, so as we dig through the boxes and pull out our treasures we tell "I remember when" stories. Thank goodness for Boo - finally we have someone else to listen to us.

My parents bought my sister and me an ornament every Christmas. I have all of mine. They're marked by year starting in 1972. They stopped in 2004, and now carry on the tradition with Boo. It's really awesome to hang my entire Christmas history on my grown-up family tree. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for thinking ahead to how much this would mean to us when we grew up.

Damn. The hamster is dead.

I went to clean out her cage this morning and Tootie was curled up - deader than a doornail. We got her as a baby just a few months ago. I thought they had a three-year life span? Boo is going to be so sad...

More pics of Boo & Shy

Last night was accident-free and very quiet. I put her dog bed right next to my side of the bed, and she curled up all night long without a peep. That is, until Hubby startled her this morning. She's not quite used to living with a man in the house.

Looking for a pair of ears

Seeking pair of little ears in working condition. Must be able to hear the sound of my voice. Must come attached to an adorable little girl that actually does what I ask. If you can help me, please let me know.

There's a whole lot of hissing going on

Meet Cheyenne (or Shy as we've been calling her). She's our new dog, and came home this morning. We've been working through a regional Weimaraner rescue since September, and we finally found "the one". The cats beg to differ.

Shy is about 2 years old and has a very laid back personality. She's a good girl and hasn't ventured far from my side today. Probably because when she does, a little ticked off fur ball lunges at her. More to follow...

Boo 'isms

It's been a while since I've posted anything about Boo's antics of late. We've had some good ones in the past few weeks. For example, "Daddy, I don't need to go to school anymore. I've already learned everything I need to know." The kid can barely read the word cat. I think it's in her best interest to stay in school.

Or one morning earlier in the week we all climbed into the big bed to enjoy a morning a snuggle. Boo asked Hubby to rub her back. I'm like, "Hey, what about me???" To which Boo replied, "That's OK, Mommy. You can rub me when Daddy's done." That wasn't exactly my point, kid.

The night before last I allowed Boo time alone in her room to play with her make-up. The kid is obsessed with it. No, we don't let her wear it out of the house (with the exception of Halloween), but we do let her doll herself up and wear her crooked lipstick and overdone eyeshadow around the house. She came downstairs and told me that she put lipstick on her doll. I immediately freaked because she has some of my childhood dolls in her room that are made of cloth. When I went upstairs to investigate, she raced ahead of me and threw herself across the bottom step pleading, "I promise I'll clean it up. Just don't go up there!" Right. Upstairs I found one of her less expensive dolls painted in red nail polish. Boo proceeds to tell me that the almost perfectly painted on nail polish "lipstick" happened accidentally - which just ticked me off all the more. The room reeked and there was nail polish all over the floor, too. Gads. She knows better. So, she lost her nail polish privileges and will have to live with an ugly stain on her carpet. (Anyone know how to remove nail polish from carpet?)

We're doing our best to teach her that she can tell us anything - even if she did something awful. (We even have a few books on the subject.) And that it's far worse to hide it from us or lie about it - like saying that it's an accident when it was clearly a gross error in judgment.

We want her to experience consequences without instilling a fear of making mistakes.

Going to the dogs

I did something stupid last week.

I sprung two puppies from animal control and brought them home with me - against Hubby's wishes.

Right now you might be asking yourself - why in the heck did you do that? To this I say in my best doggie voice, just look at those faces! How could I resist???

I've psychoanalyzed myself all week long, and it's probably a combination of things. Those puppies were too cute to stay in that cold stinky shelter a minute longer. I've wanted a second child for years, but with the job losses and Hubby turning 41 this month, time is running out. I'm mourning the loss of my career as I knew it. I'm mourning the loss of Hubby's job. I'm searching for distractions. Maybe - as my mother hinted - I thought getting a dog would take me back to a simpler time in life - when my parents paid all of my bills and cleaned up the dog poop in the yard.

The lesson I learned - aside from not acting on impulse and I can't save all of God's creatures - is that I love my sleep. I need my sleep. I am a train wreck without my sleep. After years of the entire family sleeping through the night again, those puppies were one rude awakening. This leads me to conclude that another baby would be a rude awakening, too.

When I'm 100% honest with myself, having another child is something I fantasize about in theory but don't have the patience or energy to pull off in reality. Without the puppies, I might not have reached that conclusion on my own. Having expressed all of this to Hubby, he is thankful for what we will someday call "the puppy incident of 2008". A little lost sleep and puppy pee on the floor was a small price to pay for the sense of closure I have right now.

No worries... The puppies have a happy ending. They were rescued from a shelter and pampered at our home while I found them both great places to grow up. Just not here.

A visit from Meme and Pepe

When I was in the hospital in labor with Boo, I spoke with my mother several times. She was hopeful that Boo would arrive before midnight, so she and Boo could both be Friday the 13th babies. She kept checking in on our progress. During our last phone conversation before Boo was born, she dropped the mother's curse on me. "I don't wish you ill, I pray everyone is healthy, but, by God, I hope you get one JUST LIKE YOU."

Well, Mom, as you and Dad witnessed this week, I sure did. I hope you & Dad enjoyed the mayhem. We loved having you visit!

Nothing profound to say...

I miss my baby.

lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up, sit down - fight, fight, fight

BO won the election last night. I was not surprised. I liken the media backing and the hype to the Clinton campaign when I was in college. Well, more like the Clinton campaign on steroids.

In the Media, BO was portrayed as a super hero of epic proportions who will save the nation from all that is unjust. According to truthout.org and a whole bunch of other lefty sources of "information", the racist right made up lies to scare people out of voting for the black guy, McCain is George W's best buddy, and Palin is a clothes whore who should be at home with her children. But none of the lefties want to explore where all BO's campaign money came from. (Please, private donations of this magnitude in the midst of a recession?) There's no discussion about how he spent that money. Only one news source reported in-depth information about BO's associations with a known terrorist, a racist & hate preaching pastor, and the suspect activities of community groups such as ACORN. When I dared try to discuss these topics with BO supporters, I was told that all these things are either lies or irrelevant to the election. How do you figure? Because looking at the whole history of a man who's only human might destroy the super hero image?

The way information was captured, twisted and regurgitated by the left is disgusting and shameful. Very few productive conversations could be had without friends slinging insults around which is why I stopped talking politics with most of you. My opinion could not be expressed or questions asked without verbal attacks or a barrage of tainted reading material. When the discussions turned to politics on my birth board, a group of highly civilized women who share one precious thing in common resulted in hurling accusations, making fun of those who were less articulate, and ridiculing the opinions of others. One of my beloved lefty friends told me to go read newspapers with big words - implying what exactly? That I'm incapable of educating myself? I love my friend and I love the women on my birth board, but I don't love one-sided points of view and half-truths.

All that said, I wouldn't label myself a righty either. I don't think the government should legislate values. Women deserve access to safe medical procedures. All couples in a committed adult relationships deserve equal rights. I don't feel compelled to defend traditional values and morality because these issues are private matters. So claiming that all you do is in the name of God but refusing to see and accept that God made us all different for a reason... well, that's pretty lame, too.

I am deeply concerned about the nation's choice for President. In 77 days and the four years that follow, he will not make good on 95% of the promises he made during the campaign - except the ones that involve the redistribution of what little wealth we have left. Sorry to break it to you, but BO doesn't have super powers.

The country leans left then right then left, and we're all paying for the fallout from decades of corruption and poor financial decisions from the right AND the left. Change just for the sake of change won't happen overnight without a plan... without a willing commitment to be a part of change.

Even though I pretty much stand in the middle of the aisle anyway, I'll lean to the left to shake BO's hand and wish him success. And as a U.S. citizen, I accept that the majority has spoken and will support - not blindly follow - our new leader.

About the new job

Many of you have asked me how the new job is going. It's different. It pays the bills. Some days I feel empowered. Other days... not so much. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to have found something so quickly after getting the pink slip - especially in this tight market.

I'm a contractor which means we still have to pay out the ass for health insurance & I don't have any paid time off, but the money is good & enough to keep us afloat. The position is with a huge division of an even huger federal agency. Thousands of people work in this building. (They have a serious parking problem!) I have to pass through metal detectors and have my purse & lunch bag screened by armed security guards. Inside is like a small city - complete with a barber, dry cleaner, bank, drug store, and food courts. Still, I tell people it's like going from Oz to Kansas. No offense to Kansas, but in Oz they have bright colors, free soda, & animated employees who get in all kinds of interesting trouble. In Kansas - not so much.

I'm working on a project in the HR Department. It's different work from anything I've ever done before. I spend hours in silence dedicated to one task without a single interruption. Most of the people around me have spent decades of their lives doing the same exact thing each & every work day. I'm not sure what the future holds yet. This project will eventually come to an end. Maybe I'll stay in Kansas. Maybe I'll be able to find a place way more interesting than Oz. Who knows.

Many of you have also asked about Hubby's job search. Thank you for asking. Thank you for caring. Sadly, it's not going well. He's had several interviews but nothing has panned out. He's used to landing with both feet firmly planted on the ground, so this is new territory for him. He's getting depressed about the whole situation and it's weird how I - the one who worries about worrying - find myself in the position of reassuring him that everything will be alright. In the meantime, we conserve and spend wisely - which is what we should have been doing all along.

In a lot of ways, this is bringing us closer together. It's not about Hubby and it's not about me. It's about the two of us taking care of each other & Boo as best we can. I know you're probably thinking - duh, that's what marriage is about. To that I say that I got married at age 30 and was used to taking care of myself. I don't think I really "got it" - the whole concept of true partnership - until all of this happened at once. We've become more of a team over the past 30 days. It would be easy to place blame and point fingers at each other, but we don't do that. I'm very proud of us.

Now, if only I could teach him how to load the dishwasher correctly.

Happy Halloween!!!

My Ariel pumpkin rocked the front porch. It took me three hours to carve, and it has to be one of the craftiest things I've ever created. Hubby decorated the house. (Don't we all love to be "those neighbors"?) Boo obviously dressed up as Princess Ariel. She was "Ariel with legs" at school today and "Ariel with a flipper" for trick or treating tonight. We tagged along with the next door neighbors and made our rounds. Hubby stayed behind to hand out candy. Neighbor Dad and I must have asked the kids a hundred times, "Did you say thank you?" You'd think the kids would remember to say thank you without being reminded. Or maybe they just enjoy hearing us repeat ourselves? When we got home, Hubby took Boo in the opposite direction while I took my turn handing out candy to the kids - most of whom DID NOT SAY THANK YOU.

I'm such a freaking mom...

Boo & Daddy Day

Today I went to work. When I left the house, Boo and Hubby were snuggled up in bed watching cartoons. Poor me. Did I mention it was still dark outside when I left the house? It was cold, too.

Anyway, Boo stayed home from pre-K today so she & Hubby could spend some quality time together. They had a big breakfast, went grocery shopping, and headed to the pumpkin patch. As you can see, Boo had a great time with her daddy.

Me and Boo are lucky girls.