My Beautiful Baby

My beautiful baby, fresh from my womb with a soft cry that makes me go tender inside

My beautiful baby, cooing so sweetly, closes her eyes and sleeps so deeply

My beautiful toddler, ever so cautious, learning the world around her

My beautiful toddler, learning her words, so anxious to tell me everything

My beautiful child, discovering the world around her, trying new things

My beautiful child, fearless, courageous, striving out into the world to make her mark

My beautiful child, it's 3:00 a.m. in the morning, unless you want me to take you out of this world, stop poking me!!!

I had you going there, didn't I? I was reflecting on how my darling girl has grown so much over the past 5 years. I adore her with all of my heart, but the past few weeks she has taken to waking me up, every school night between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. She tip toes into the room so quietly and stands by my bedside like a silent stalker. I can feel her right before she takes that finger and poke, poke, poke..."Mommy, I can't sleep" she whispers. Like a zombie I walk her into the living room, put some blankets and pillows on the sofa and kiss her back to sleep.

Last night I even threatened her with her allowance - Don't get out of bed, don't wake me up, stay in your own bed or no allowance this week.

3:00 a.m. "Mommy, I tried and tried and tried to stay in my room but just couldn't sleep anymore. You can have my allowance if I can sleep down here on the couch".

So forlorn...

So sad...

I didn't have the heart to take her allowance from her, but I won't tell her that until the end of the week. Let her worry about it just a little. See if she will stay in bed tonight to redeem herself. Odds are not good for me!

I miss snuggling with my little Angel that snores like a truck driver and punches like Ali in her sleep. Sort of...

No Nonsense Nonna...

I can honestly report that Nonna did not do or say anything worthy of writing about over the weekend. Her general attitude of gloom and doom over the upcoming nuptials is still an under laying theme, but her overall behavior has been acceptable.

The daughter absolutely loves school. Her first week of Kindergarten was a huge success and she has learned how to successfully walk on Marshmallow toes. Too cute. Now, if I could convince her that sleeping in her own bed the entire night is something a Kindergartner should do, we will be on the road to success.

Marked off a great number of "To Do" items on the wedding list. We got our rings, picked out some songs to be played at the wedding. That is a lot harder than it sounds. You want something meaningful and romantic, but not sappy. I think we did okay, but I am sure there will be an eye or two that rolls.

We even reclaimed the Dining room from the man boxes. I have high hopes that the garage will come along nicely this week. I may have to fake an emergency where I need access to the sprinkler as an excuse to at least stack the boxes up in an orderly fashion so I can get my car back in the garage. If it hadn't been over 100 degrees for weeks on end, I would be a bit pushier about the boxes, but you can't stay out there for more than 30 minutes without seriously getting dehydrated.

Trying to keep my right ear from exploding for now. My allergies are in full swing and I just can't get that ear unplugged. It is driving me crazy!!

That's all I have to report on the western front....

Oh, wait, one more thing. Evidently the mother of my future step daughter forgot to tell FH that daughter starts soccer practice tomorrow night. Her soccer gear is at our house...now FH will have to drive the gear over to daughter first thing in the morning. DOH! I would say, first practice, don't worry about it, but he wants her to start off on the right foot. Neither the daughter nor her mother seems to have any concern over putting someone else out due to their lack of planning.

What's the old adage...failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!

ME!

How many of us live our lives wondering and worrying about things that will affect us? Do you get up each day and wonder, what's going to happen to ME today? Or do you roll out of bed and wing it?

I have the misfortune of being surrounded by several people that worry only about how everything affects them. They never stop to consider that maybe things just happen sometimes. Accidents happen and activities sometimes have unforeseen outcomes. It is called life.

I have a tendency to be a bit of a Pollyanna. I start each day with the belief that the day will go well and I will be relatively happy. I don't worry about who is going to cut me off in traffic on the way to work nor do I worry about a meteor falling out of the sky and landing on my head. Yet, I am continually reminded that there are people who really do this. They wake up and wonder, what awful thing is going to happen to ME today?

On one hand, I truly feel sorry for these people. How horrible it must be to begin each day with dread. Wondering when that moment will come that will ruin their day. How many wonderful things did they miss worrying about things that are out of their control?

Then on the other hand, I want to kick them in the tushy buns and tell them to get over themselves. The world does not revolve around any one person. The "bad-happenings gremlin" is NOT camped directly outside their door nor does he have the assignment to follow them around and make bad things happen to them.

I have learned not to try to change these people. If you attempt to get them to see things differently, their misery becomes your fault. Like you personally called the guy in traffic ahead of them and said - "hey buddy, swerve around that pot hole at the last minute so that XX won't see it and gets a flat tire when they hit it. Won't that be a hoot?"

It is a choice that we make every day. Am I going to find the good in today OR am I going to find the bad in today. You will typically find what you are looking for.

The Hand Twin

Julianna from Surviving Boys is my hand twin. Click on the link to see today's post.

How weird is that? Even down to the silver and white...

Just goes to show that we both have great taste and great hands!

Fired!!

What would you do if you could fire your family?

Really, I mean give your two week notice and then go apply for a new family. Wouldn't that be cool?

I have a brother that doesn't talk to me, a step-sister that I barely know, an alcoholic Dad with a co-dependent step-mom and a mother that won't STOP talking to me.

The only one I would keep is my daughter, because there is still hope for her...

Maybe I should put them all in a room and lock the door. That way nobody else is exposed to them...

The almost good, very bad, rotten day...

Today started off very nicely. Daughter was with her dad so I got to sleep in a little, but the peace did not last long. It seems that the brand new shoes I sent with her for her first day of school were too small. No more ordering shoes online!

I voiced my complaints about the shoes and her dad started profusely apologizing. I never can understand why he does that. It's not HIS fault the shoes were too small...or was it? Hmmm...maybe there's a way I can pin it on him after all. Anyways, it ticks me off when he goes on and on about how horrible it all is and whatever can we possibly do to fix it. Grrr...

Next was meeting them at school for our daughter's first day of Kindergarten. I am both proud and immensely sad that she waved us off only moments after her arrival. She was already making new friends and didn't want us to take any more pictures or cramp her style. I sniffled all of the way to the car.

I made it to work and the day went relatively well. I had a great lunch at one of my favorite places with two of my favorite people. I know, I'm lucky I get to work with great people. After lunch, I figured I better call Nonna and give her the update about Kindergarten. Why do I do this to myself? I called her. I asked for it. I got it. After 15 minutes of her rambling about what was wrong with the world I was finally able to explain that I was still at work and had to go.

She called me back 5 minutes later on my cell phone. (Which was stuck in the bottom of my purse. Which was right next to my half full cup of coffee from this morning. Which spilled all over my desk and my lap. Which still stinks from the milk that was in the coffee.) Only to tell me that she had picked up a few things from the thrift store for her grand baby to keep at her dad's house. Oh goody, more crap she doesn't need....

Work went downhill from there with a program we are working on deciding to do things it isn't supposed to and not do things it is supposed to and our programmer is on vacation today. I will give her credit for working part of the morning on her day off to let us know what was ready to test, but after that she has disappeared.

Tomorrow will be better, but for now I am just grumpy, grouchy, cranky, moody and overall in a bad mood. Now I get to go pick up my sparkling daughter from her after school program and put on my fake, smiley face to ask her how her first day was. I am sure after hearing a few minutes of her adventures, my fake smile will turn into a real smile and I will get some great hugs to complete the day.

Once the princess goes to sleep, I get to snuggle up with the King and enjoy some pampering. He has already promised a back rub to put the mood back to the good side. Ahhh...

Nonnna Nonsense Friday...

I am starting this post on Friday because I have so many things I'm not sure I can hold out until Monday...

As my daughter and I were leaving for our cruise to the Bahamas, I get an e-mail from Nonna stating that during our trip would be a perfect time for me to talk to my daughter about what inappropriate touching is, etc... I sat in my seat at the airport with my mouth open for about five minutes. A fly just about landed on my tongue mistaking it for a landing strip so I had to close my mouth.

When my daughter was about four, she and a couple of the other girls at her day care got in trouble for showing each other their panties. It was harmless, but I thought it was a good opportunity to talk with her about what was appropriate and what wasn't. Through the months I have mentioned other things about what is okay and what isn't, all in context of events going on around us. Why on earth would I say to her "Honey, we are going on a great adventure. If anyone touches your stuff inappropriately on this trip, let me know". Come on now... Who lets their five year old out of their sight on a cruise anyways? Not this mom!

Next we found out the new teacher is Mr. Teacher and not Miss Teacher, Nonna went straight to worrying about if Mr. Teacher was going to molest my daughter. They actually have more than one male teacher at my school so evidently that means that the school condones molestation of small children. Really...did you know that? Now I have to home school!! In the same e-mail she had to also ask me what FH wants for Christmas. Like I am even thinking about Christmas at this point. :-D

This morning I got an e-mail asking me what I would do if FH turned out like the Ex. My first question was 'what do you know that I don't'? She quickly assured me it was completely hypothetical. In return I had to ask her what she would do if a giant rubber duck knocked on her door. She was confused, angry even. Why would I ask her something so outlandish. I told her 'Exactly, you never know what you would do in a hypothetical situation until it becomes real'. She did NOT get my point.

I hate playing the game of "What If". How can you plan for every possible tragedy on the planet? Let's just worry about today, shall we?

School Days...

For once, I am going to write my blog first, then go back and title it. So often I find that the title doesn't really encompass what I end up writing about. At least after the first paragraph...(Believe it or not, I remained more focused and my post is really about one subject. Rock on!)

My daughter and I went to the school last night to see which teacher she will have for Kindergarten. It turns out that it is a male teacher. I thought that was a little unusual for Kindergarten, but there was more than one male teacher out of the six Kindergarten classes. I was very surprised that they had six classes too. I guess it was a day full of surprises. (Tune in Monday for Nonna Nonsense and I can share with you all of the great things she had to say about her grand-baby having a male teacher).

In our area, there is an elementary school in almost every neighborhood so to have six classes tells me we have lots of kids right in our very own neighborhood. I wonder where they have been all summer? We've been to the pool, bicycle riding, walking, etc...and haven't seen these mythical children. Hmmm...

I told my daughter that having a male teacher was a good thing as a female teacher may be immune to her charms like I am. (She has this way of tilting her head and batting her eyelashes that works on her dad every time.) She was sad at first but then decided I could possibly be right. Yes, I wrote that one down in the record book!

Tonight we get to meet the teacher. I am hoping and praying that he will be a charismatic, fun, happy and easy going guy that will inspire the kids to love learning. A cross between Mr. Rogers and Grover would work for me. He doesn't even have to be blue or furry. The funny voice is a must though.

Last year was a disaster for preschool. Her teacher was not a happy woman. She was not warm and friendly with the children. Not even a little. She was more like a drill sergeant. By the middle of the year I had to battle with my daughter to get her to school in the mornings. I would have changed where she went, but there really wasn't anywhere else for her to go. It was a rough year for all of us.

We did try the parent/teacher meetings to discuss things the teacher said and did. My favorite was "Just because it is your birthday, it doesn't mean you are special". Who says that to four and five year old children? Drill Sergeant "B" does... I even talked with the other parents to see if they had similar issues and all of them had something to say about it. Even the quiet parents that pass you quickly in the hallways had something to say. Unfortunately, the school still thinks she is a valuable teacher so she will be there again this year to warp some more young minds.

This year WILL be better. I am sending out my good vibes into the universe. My daughter will love school, the teacher will be Grover-ish and school lunches will become appealing so I don't have to figure out 101 ways to make a sandwich without assembling it... Evidently it tastes bad if you put the cheese and the meat ON the bread.

So, I guess this post is about school and hopes for a great first year for my kiddo. I will take all positive thoughts, wishes, vibes and prayers that anyone is willing to send our way!!

A Generation of Lazy...

I guess I have hit that point in my life where I am starting to sound like my grandparents. Kids these days play their music too loud, wear their clothes too messy and are overall pretty lazy. Then it hits me that it isn't just the kids. I know people in my generation and my parents generation that do all of the above.

Gone are the days when people dressed to go out to dinner, greeted a stranger when passing on the street or let someone else walk in front of them when both parties came together at a crossing.

After spending several days on a ship full of people from all over the world, I was shown that these are not just American issues. My daughter and I were on the elevator. When we go to the bottom floor, there was a crowd of people waiting to get on. Rather than letting us off first, these people started pushing their way onto the elevator. I suggested (loudly) that it would work much better if they would let the people that are already on the elevator off before they started shoving their way in. They still kept coming. Like the elevator was going to run away without them if they didn't hurry to get on. These people were different age groups, nationalities and races but they all had the same rudeness in common.

In my day to day dealings with people from all walks, it seems that many have resigned themselves to do the very least amount of work necessary to get by. Whether that be the care of their homes, vehicles, jobs or selves, it is the bare bones.

This is one trend I am glad to NOT be a part of. I am teaching my daughter to go above and beyond, walk the extra mile, do the right thing rather than the easy thing. I wonder when enough people like me will get fed up with "getting by" that they too decide to break this cycle?

Back to the real world...

Spent a wonderful four days on vacation with my daughter. I loved every minute of it. She loved it all as well, but evidently if you let your kid do stuff on vacation that you wouldn't normally do, it is the dirty laundry that is aired to everyone. Even a stranger on the plane.

My mommy let me swim in lightning.
My mommy walked away from me and I fell off a stool.
My mommy let me eat lots of junk and I got so hyper it gave me a headache.

Now, before you call CPS, the lightning was at least 20 miles away and we were sailing away from it. She told me time after time that she could get off those stools by herself, so I let her and she fell and as for the junk, we ate lots of good fruits, vegetables and other healthy things in addition to all the junk.

Today is a little bitter sweet. I spent lots of time back in reality. Washing clothes, grocery shopping, unpacking, paying bills and catching up on e-mails and reading everyone's wonderful blogs.

In case anyone was wondering, FH did not clean out the garage. He made a dent. He did do a bunch, but I still can't get my car in the garage. That man has more junk than anyone I have ever date. Hey FH, 1980 called and they want their sweaters back... I know there are lots of people that keep stuff because it was a gift or it has special memories, but at some point, you have to keep the memories in your heart and pass along the cross stitch coasters that grandma made. I know that you know what I am talking about.

Okay, my blog just posted itself unexpectedly. Is that you Grandma? Are you mad that I didn't keep the coasters?

Part of what I did today was bill management. I really thought with FH moving in that I would be more financially stable. He has given me money, but not the amount that we had agreed upon. I know the month isn't over yet, but I am wondering what our payment plan is. He got a checking account at the same bank that I am a member of and I told him I was confused. Why move your money to the same bank right before we get married? I figured we would go joint on checking after the big day. He doesn't want to do that. He said that he wants to keep his own checking in case he wants to buy me something. That doesn't sit well with me. It makes me think he is hiding something.

What doesn't he want me to know? How much me makes? How much he doesn't make? We have never officially discussed how much money either one of us makes. We did produce our expenses and discuss them, but never how much either one of us was bringing in. We will definitely be having this conversation before the big day. Not that I care if he makes more or less than I do. I just don't want any secrets between us. We can talk about anything and everything else, but when it comes to finances, he plays it pretty close to the vest.

Not okay.

Shingles...

My ex has shingles. Not the type on top of a house, but the type that are viral and related to Chicken Pox. Normally I would point and laugh, but this means that the ex won't be taking darling daughter for his night tonight. The night I was going to use to unwind, do laundry and pack for our trip. UGH!

She has never had the Pox so we don't want to expose her right before she gets on a cruise ship. I can see it now, your child has "The Pox", so we are leaving you on this uncharted island to prevent her from infecting everyone on the ship. If you are handy, you can make a coconut radio to listen to what is going on with the rest of the world. How are your hut making skills? LOL!

I do know that she will be happy to sleep in tomorrow, but I am sure she will be disappointed that she wasn't able to say goodbye to everyone before they left for the day. She is expecting to be at summer school for the morning as the ex lives right by it. I work by it, but don't live by it so we will not be going tomorrow. I am sure she will get over it pretty quickly though.

As for me, I will not be posting for a few days because I will be waving Bon Voyage to the world, sipping fruity drinks by the pool and flirting with the towel boy, Raul...

Miss me yet??? *MWAH* Kisses to you all.

P.S. Don't do anything funny or exciting while I am gone because then it will take me an entire day to catch up on everyone's great Blogs when I get back...

The waiting game...

Waiting for the weekend so I can go on a cruise with my daughter...

Waiting for September so I can have my wedding...

Waiting until after the wedding so I can go on my super-cool honeymoon...

Waiting for FH to put away all of his junk he brought to the house that is now in my garage...

Hoping that FH doesn't have anything to do while we are gone so he puts it all away without my help...LOL!!

Nonna Nonsense Mondays...

As promised, here is more of the greatness of Nonna...

We had several conversations about different things over the weekend. All of which I thought I was having with Nonna. It turns out that only I was paying attention to these conversations because no less than three times did she jump me for not telling her about X, Y or Z. When I pointed out to her that we had those conversations, she told me that we absolutely did NOT talk about these things.

Whuck?

For example, we have discussed the Honeymoon plans no less than 10 times. Where my daughter will be while we are gone, where we are staying, what sights we are going to see, etc... Yesterday we drove by my daughters new school. Not the day care that she went to preschool at all of the last school year, but her elementary school.

Me: (Daughter's) new school is right down this road. You won't pick her up here because she will be at the day care, but in case you ever need to know, it is down this road.
Nonna: You never said I had to pick her up at school. I thought I was picking her up at day care.
Me: Right, that's what I just said. I was just showing you where her regular school was.
Nonna: Is that where I will be picking her up?
Me: No, you will pick her up at day care.
Nonna: So, her day care is down that road?
Me: No, that is her elementary school, I was just showing you where it was. You will pick her up from the same day care that you have picked her up from before.
Nonna: I thought I was picking her up from day care?
Me: You ARE picking her up from day care.
Nonna: Where is her day care?
Me: I will send you a map. How about that heat...?

I had to change the subject. I was ready to kill her. It was like a bad episode of Who's on First.

Then we went to run some errands. Nonna needed something to wear to the wedding. I did some research and found a nice, larger ladies store and take her there. I tell her that I am buying so she doesn't have to worry about what everything costs. Just pick something out and try it on.

We get to the store and she starts describing to me what she wants for the thousandth time. I get it Nonna, 3/4 length sleeves, long shirt, slacks, not too colorful, you have told me what you were looking for. So, I pick out several things that she doesn't like. She again explains to me what she wants. Using the exact same words that she has said to me before, but with more emphasis on each characteristic. Like maybe I am a little slow or speak another language. Everything I showed her met her criteria; however, because I was the one to select it, she didn't want it. Later, she picks up a blouse (one that I had already shown to her) and decides it is the perfect one. We got some slacks and the outfit was selected. Then we get up to the line to pay and she starts worrying.

Nonna: These are pretty expensive. I am not sure I can afford this right now.
Me: I told you, I am buying.
Nonna: Maybe we should put these on lay-away. I wonder if they have that here.
Me: Nonna, I am buying, don't worry about it.
Nonna: Hey, if I apply for a credit card with them, I get 15% off.
Me: Hello? Am I here right now? Can you hear me speaking to you?
Nonna: Yes, I hear you. What is your problem?
Me: I told you that I am buying, don't worry about it.
Nonna: I think I will apply for their credit card.
Me: UGH! Never mind...

She ended up getting about 45% off of the clothes and now has a new credit card that she doesn't need. I think I may be turning invisible.

Do you see me?

Can you hear me?

Am I still here???

Updates...

I realized that many times I blog about issues, catastrophes and things in progress, then I never come back to tell anyone how it ended. I am used to having only one follower who is also my dear friend. Now that I have a bunch of new friends, I figured it was only fair to share the updates.

In order to keep from boring you, I will only go back a few posts.

So Angry I could Spit: The ex took my advice and did not tell the hiring manager to F off. Instead he expressed his concerns. The manager said, "not sure where you got the 9:00 from, we close at 5:00 on Saturday". It was all a misunderstanding. The ex is still scheduled to start his new job on Monday, but I am NOT holding my breath. He did call me later and thank me for my advice about not telling the manager off. I almost fell over.

Nonna Nonsense Mondays: This one will always be a work in progress. Check back Monday for the latest things that happened since then. Trust me, it will be worth it.

More Arbitration at Our House: You will be relieved to know that there is a solution, even if it may only be temporary, to too much TV and sassy kids. I sat down with my darling daughter and told her that if we continued to have issues with TV, she would be grounded from it. I demonstrated this by grounding her for an entire day. That was sheer torture for her. At the end of the day I told her next time it would be two days. I thought she was going to pass out or cry. She refrained from doing either but was so serious about it that we had to include a line in our evening prayers asking God to help her be a better girl so she didn't lose TV privileges. Now, I am not stupid. I know this is only a temporary reprieve, but I will take it for as long as I can. That kid LOVES her TV.

Juggling Children: Nonna was actually way better with this arrangement than I had anticipated. I think she was relieved that she doesn't have to come over every weekend, but she can still spend time with us. I agreed to meet her for dinner on Friday nights, etc. so she could still see her Granddaughter every week. This may only be a temporary solution, but for now she seems happy about it. YEA!

Okay, I think that is enough of an update for now. Everything else is going along pretty well right now. The wedding plans are going nicely and the Honeymoon has finally been booked. We are in the process of selecting our DJ then all plans will be finalized. I do wish that my guests would get busy and return those RSVP cards. This is sheer torture seeing names on the list that I am pretty sure will attend whom have not returned their cards yet. It is already stamped, addressed and ready to go. Fill out your name and some numbers then lick the envelope and slap that puppy in the mail box. Come on team, get with the program!! :-D

That's all for now....tune in Monday for more Nonna Nonsense!

So Angry I Could Spit...Phtew...

Just got a call from dick head the ex. He has decided he is not going to take the new job he has been offered because that means he would have less time to spend with his daughter. I just about choked on my tongue.

What in the love of Maude do you think you are accomplishing by turning down the only job you have been offered in two years? What could possibly be running through that pea brain of yours?

I told him that he should talk to them first. The original job they offered was changed to another job that had different hours. Tell them about the impact to you and your family. If they tell you they can't accommodate, then politely decline. He wants to tell them to F off because he thinks they are just trying to screw him over. Paranoid much?

The job they are offering is a better job than the original job. I think that's the problem. I think he is worried he won't be able to do the job so instead of even trying, he is going to give up before he starts.

What do I tell my daughter when she asks why her dad has become homeless and can't keep her anymore? That's where he is headed. He scrapes by taking odd jobs from wherever he can get them. He hasn't paid support in 3+ years now. He is setting a horrible example for his daughter and frankly, he is just pissing me off.

I want to get in my car, drive over to his house and punch him in the nose. I won't though. I will sit back and watch him sabotage his sorry life and do nothing. I spent too many years forcing him to be successful. He fought me at every turn. "Honey, they offered me a promotion at work, but I turned it down because that means I will have to work harder". I was almost as mad at that one as I am at this recent turn of events. Maybe because he was still employed at the end of that moronic episode and maybe, just maybe because I am NOT married to him any longer.

I want to go outside my office and yell really bad curse words at the top of my lungs. Wonder if I would get hauled away with a rubber room at the end... :-D

Free no more...

Okay, so I gloated about free lawn service and here is what I get:

Free Airline Tickets on Southwest (Frequent Flier Miles) = $0
Rebook flights so we can actually get on our cruise two hours before departure time: $10
Shuttle from Airport to Hotel = $50
Hotel Room for extra night as we had to fly in the night before = $170
Cruise = $900
Excursions = $160
Shuttle from Ship back to Airport = $50
Weekend away with just me and my daughter = Priceless...

I was getting all worked up because we are still trying to figure out how we are going to pay for the wedding. Luckily it is too close to the sailing date to cancel the cruise so I have decided to not worry about it. After all, like I said before, things always have a way of working themselves out.

Now, this doesn't mean I won't wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night freaking out about this later, but for my waking hours I am putting it away.

Laying it down.

Walking away.

Leaving the building.

Bye!!

I love free stuff...

Got home from work yesterday to find a bag hanging on my front door that had a receipt in it from a lawn care service. It said they found X, Y and Z types of weeds in my yard so they did all of these wonderful treatments to help it out. The receipt was labeled with 1301 Xx Street. I live at 1201 Xx Street. You've got to love free weed control service.

I called the service up this morning and the lady actually apologized. She said if I would water the yard for at least 30 minutes, everything should be fine. Like I was going to be mad that they treated my weeds. LOL! I guess if I had just put chemicals on my lawn on my own or it was a double treatment, I could see where someone might be concerned about all of the chemicals on their lawn, but we certainly did not do that.

My yard certainly does need some weed control. I have been fighting the battle since early this spring. Maybe that's all part of their evil plan. They give me one free service and hook me like a crack dealer with my shiny, green, weed free lawn...

Nonna Nonsense Mondays...

Stephanie from Connecting with Stephanie suggested that I start a new traditional about my dear, sweet (crazy as all get out) mother (who means really well) and post once a week. Welcome to Nonna Nonsense!

After snuggling with my daughter on the couch for 30 minutes, I get up to go downstairs and cook some breakfast.

Daughter: I'm hungry Mommy.
Me: Okay, I will get breakfast started.
Nonna: Where are you rushing off to now?
Me: To make breakfast, like I just said.
Nonna: You were only here for ten seconds, no wonder your daughter feels like she doesn't get enough time with you.
Me: She's the one who asked me to make her something to eat.
Nonna: It's no wonder, she is a skinny as a twig. You need to feed her more.
Me: That's where I was just going... (stomp, stomp, UGH!)

After breakfast, we all pitch in to clean up.

Nonna: Can't we just sit here for awhile without rushing to clean up?
Me: But you said you wanted to get to the store while it was still cool out (note: in Texas, anything below 100 degrees is now considered cool).
Nonna: I do, we should leave soon.
Me: Then I need to clean up the breakfast dishes
Nonna: Can't you just leave the mess here while we go?
Me: Um...NO, have you met me?

Seriously, I am OCD about having a clean house. Especially the kitchen. I can't even think about heading out to the store with a table full of food and a sink full of dishes.

That's all I have time for today, but you are right Steph, I DO feel better. :-D

A Cruisin' We Will Go...

I finally booked the cruise for my daughter and I that I wanted to book over two weeks ago. We were waiting to see if the future step-daughter wanted to go with us. That required waiting until her crazy-ass mom was in a good enough mood to ask permission for her to go. After all of that was achieved, she didn't want to go... Really, she said no. I thought for sure she would say yes. It took two phone calls for her to decide. One call to ask her if she was interested to which she said she would have to think about it. Another call for her to say she didn't want to go.

Her dad said that she doesn't do very well out of her comfort zone, but I can't imagine being 10, offered to go on a cruise and turning it down. I guess I am a lot more adventurous that she is. Poor kid... He also said that she was afraid if she went, her mom might think that she liked me better than her. I can only imagine where she got that idea from. I would like to bitch slap her mom, at least once.

The end result was almost $200 more in cost for the same cruise, but I have decided that waiting to ask her was worth $200 in the long run. If I hadn't have asked, she might have felt left out and FH (Future Hubs - Can't take Almost Hubs because Surviving Boys has already claimed that one) definitely thought I was queen of the world for asking. Brownie points work for the ladies too in case you were wondering. I got a foot rub and a back rub out of the deal!!

I am actually relieved for it to be just me and mine. Mine is just as adventurous as, if not more than, me. Her and Nonna were watching Shark Week on TV over the weekend and she was wondering if we could actually go and swim with the sharks while we were there. I gave her a horrified look, quickly regained my composure and told her that she "was too little to swim with sharks. They would think she was just a little niblet-snack and in one gulp she would be gone". She says "maybe when I get bigger, like a two gulp snack or a whole dinner". God I love my kid!! I did agree that maybe someday when she was much, much bigger, we could possibly swim with the sharks. I am seriously hoping she will never hold me to that one because no way in heck am I EVER going swimming with a shark. I have grown very fond of my arms and legs and would really like to keep them.

I did manage to make it through the weekend without killing Nonna even though she practically begged me to do it. Have you decided where the guest book will go yet, what about the gift table? If it were me, I would put them inside the room because you don't want someone stealing your gifts. You really have to watch out as thieves are everywhere. FH, maybe one of YOUR friends can sit at the table and guard the gifts...

Really? Come on, really? As we are not registering anywhere for anything and are telling people to NOT give us gifts, why would we need someone to guard the table, INSIDE of the room? Dear, it isn't YOUR friends I am worried about, I just don't know HIS friends. You never know...

What is she trying to say here? FH would have friends that were less honest and less trustworthy? Sheesh!

Again, she survived the weekend which I guess is a good thing as I am pretty sure they wouldn't let me out of jail so I could leave the country for a weekend!