Thank you for creating this little piece of Nirvana for me. [Okay a little mixing of religons there, but hey!]
WOW! Did we have a blast today or what? Found the coolest, most useless stuff to bring home. Okay, okay...some of it is not useless, but some of it was so damn cute we couldn't pass it up.
Can you say Ceramic Frog? I know you can. heehee
Actually the frog has a purpose. It happens to be the mascot of Pooldad's first pool job, the one he worked at for over 27 years. I am sending it off to our friend Linda who is still there as the office manager/pool service ninja extraordinaire. She will laugh hysterically and then probably throw it at an errant employee. [We can hope, right?]
How about the two champagne flutes? Squee - the best part is the stems spell "N-O-E-L" [where do people find this cheesey stuff?] which are so great ::giggling:: because our Christmas morning tradition is to have mimosas while opening presents. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like imprinted stemware. hee.
Then there is world's smallest dog dish. Since we have a small doggie that is fed 1/8th of a pound of Beneful meat roll [have y'all seen this? we are such pawns for marketing] twice a day I figured this was better than feeding her off of our dinner plates. So Spootie got something from the Thrift Store too!
What else? OHHHH...we decorate in a Snowman theme for Christmas. Love me some snowmen tadpoles. Just ask the 4 ft tall one on top of the armoire in my bedroom [where he lives for 11 months of the year - he is simply too cute to put away]. We found oodles of snowmen stuff. A lamp that holds a tealight [found a box of those too $1! woot] a mug and saucer, a plaque...I just can't wait for Christmas. Heck, I have already eaten Thanksgiving twice this month so can't we just skip November and go straight for the gold? I have champagne flutes to use people.
An honorable mention goes to the bags of cards I bought. Did you know that you can buy a ziploc bag of new greeting cards with envelopes for the low, low price of a buck at the thrift store? Or that they have packs of decorated computer paper for a dollar each? Be warned - I bought a bunch of Christmas themed paper so I will be sending y'all one of those "Our year in review" letters - but be assured none of it will be true. You are welcome to email your address now. You are really going to want one of these. hee.
I know I should probably take pictures, but it is 5 am and meh, I am not in the mood. Maybe later. :)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I Think Swine Flu Affects Your Brain :D
It seems Mom Toast has it's own official theme song.
Seriously - Wallene [of course it is Wallene - who else is going to make up a song about toast?] has decided that singing that she wants Mom Toast is so much more effective than coughing on me to get her precious breakfast meal.
If the dogs start tap dancing for the crusts I am outta here.
Save me. Please.
Seriously - Wallene [of course it is Wallene - who else is going to make up a song about toast?] has decided that singing that she wants Mom Toast is so much more effective than coughing on me to get her precious breakfast meal.
If the dogs start tap dancing for the crusts I am outta here.
Save me. Please.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sorry About That
Sorry if yesterday's post sounded a bit self absorbed. Please understand that we do focus on their deaths and the people that each of us loved at one time in our lives and were [are?] the parents of our children.
There is where it gets tricky because although it brings me no pleasure to post about how they died it is simply the bigger picture of why did they have to die so young? And how did it work out that both of our exes are now gone but somehow Pooldad and I are still standing?
And it really makes both of us question that these two people that we were married to, had kids with and watched both of them take great pleasure in trying to ruin us [believe me they did] were simply so unhappy that they took their own lives?
I can assure you neither of us saw this type of sadness when we were married to them and through all the custody, divorce and child support trials [oh, let's not forget the kidnapping trial!] they both were so gleeful - happylike that they could drag us through the muck. Out of over 60+ court dates only Sr. won, and he only won once. But neither of them ever seemed to take defeat hard and would turn around and a few months later another lawsuit would be posted on our door.
I knew Sr. had a drug habit and it was one thing that ended our marriage. He wanted to do drugs and I didn't want him to so he found a girlfriend [eventual wife] who would allow it. So his overdose, I guess? was inevitable. It is just, to me, that he would step up his abuse of drugs to the point that he could OD. I always wondered if he did it on purpose.
As for Pooldad's ex - well...she was plenty manic. There was a time that if she wanted to talk to Pooldad she would call our house 30 -40 times a day. She would create outlandish lies and submit them to court so we would have to schlep back and defend ourselves. Time and again. We always won, but she wouldn't quit.
She finally gave up when it became apparent that I was never going to allow her to talk to Pooldad again. It took a couple of months of phoning our home or work and me telling her no before she stopped.
She did make one last attempt earlier this year when, out of the blue, she called him at work. He wasn't in but I called her back and asked her if the kids were okay [thinking that is the only reason for a call]. She replied yes and said she called Pooldad because she wanted to have lunch with him. I told her he wasn't interested in ever talking to her again so lunch wouldn't even be an option. She called me a bitch and hung up. We never heard from her again.
What is so funny about her pursuit of her ex husband is that she left him for another man she married and had a kid with. I could never quite figure out why she still had to have Pooldad too. It wasn't like she ever allowed us to exercise our visitation with the kids when they were older. At that point they didn't have anything to talk about as the kids weren't involved and she was paid handily every month via auto pay, so child support was never late.
Pooldad said last night "You don't think she was so sad that it was all over in September when Tee [his son] turned 18 do you?"
No. I don't. Child support was a chunk of his pay but it wasn't paying all their bills so we don't think she did it because of the ending of child support. We just don't know. And we certainly don't understand.
It truly makes you question your mortality. I hope you understand that we aren't being crass about either of their deaths. As I mentioned before these were people that, at one time, we truly loved. Their actions after the divorces were deplorable but Pooldad and I had eachother and stuck it out. I think sometimes the fact that they couldn't break us up frustrated them. One of the biggest problems we had with each of them was that neither could accept the fact that our respective step children really liked us. They all loved being with us and the children were terribly disheartened to hear our exes bad mouth their new step parents.
I don't know why I posted this or why it is so rambly. It really doesn't touch what has occurred in the last 15 years - but I wish I just knew why.
There is where it gets tricky because although it brings me no pleasure to post about how they died it is simply the bigger picture of why did they have to die so young? And how did it work out that both of our exes are now gone but somehow Pooldad and I are still standing?
And it really makes both of us question that these two people that we were married to, had kids with and watched both of them take great pleasure in trying to ruin us [believe me they did] were simply so unhappy that they took their own lives?
I can assure you neither of us saw this type of sadness when we were married to them and through all the custody, divorce and child support trials [oh, let's not forget the kidnapping trial!] they both were so gleeful - happylike that they could drag us through the muck. Out of over 60+ court dates only Sr. won, and he only won once. But neither of them ever seemed to take defeat hard and would turn around and a few months later another lawsuit would be posted on our door.
I knew Sr. had a drug habit and it was one thing that ended our marriage. He wanted to do drugs and I didn't want him to so he found a girlfriend [eventual wife] who would allow it. So his overdose, I guess? was inevitable. It is just, to me, that he would step up his abuse of drugs to the point that he could OD. I always wondered if he did it on purpose.
As for Pooldad's ex - well...she was plenty manic. There was a time that if she wanted to talk to Pooldad she would call our house 30 -40 times a day. She would create outlandish lies and submit them to court so we would have to schlep back and defend ourselves. Time and again. We always won, but she wouldn't quit.
She finally gave up when it became apparent that I was never going to allow her to talk to Pooldad again. It took a couple of months of phoning our home or work and me telling her no before she stopped.
She did make one last attempt earlier this year when, out of the blue, she called him at work. He wasn't in but I called her back and asked her if the kids were okay [thinking that is the only reason for a call]. She replied yes and said she called Pooldad because she wanted to have lunch with him. I told her he wasn't interested in ever talking to her again so lunch wouldn't even be an option. She called me a bitch and hung up. We never heard from her again.
What is so funny about her pursuit of her ex husband is that she left him for another man she married and had a kid with. I could never quite figure out why she still had to have Pooldad too. It wasn't like she ever allowed us to exercise our visitation with the kids when they were older. At that point they didn't have anything to talk about as the kids weren't involved and she was paid handily every month via auto pay, so child support was never late.
Pooldad said last night "You don't think she was so sad that it was all over in September when Tee [his son] turned 18 do you?"
No. I don't. Child support was a chunk of his pay but it wasn't paying all their bills so we don't think she did it because of the ending of child support. We just don't know. And we certainly don't understand.
It truly makes you question your mortality. I hope you understand that we aren't being crass about either of their deaths. As I mentioned before these were people that, at one time, we truly loved. Their actions after the divorces were deplorable but Pooldad and I had eachother and stuck it out. I think sometimes the fact that they couldn't break us up frustrated them. One of the biggest problems we had with each of them was that neither could accept the fact that our respective step children really liked us. They all loved being with us and the children were terribly disheartened to hear our exes bad mouth their new step parents.
I don't know why I posted this or why it is so rambly. It really doesn't touch what has occurred in the last 15 years - but I wish I just knew why.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I Am Starting to Think The Twilight Zone Theme Music is The Soundtrack of My Life
Okay. Weird.
Today is my deceased, first [ex] husband's 41st birthday. He has been dead for 3 years. Okay. Fine. Noted.
Well, come to find out [today] that Pooldad's ex-wife is also, now, dead. Seems she took her own life two weeks ago. She was 53.
What is it with people we used to be married to? Oh and why did they both overdose? Her's was intentional with prescriptions and Sr.'s was accidental with illegal drugs.
Sigh.
Life is a little odd being married for this long and knowing between the two of us we are the single parents of four [FOUR!] kids [two each] and the step parents to children that are missing at least one of their parents. [For the count remember the youngest is ours together and my first child was only with me for 3 days after her birth - so yes, we do have six]
How the hell does this happen?
Oh, and the kids and Pooldad have the swine flu. I am posting from the closet. See you in a week ;)
Today is my deceased, first [ex] husband's 41st birthday. He has been dead for 3 years. Okay. Fine. Noted.
Well, come to find out [today] that Pooldad's ex-wife is also, now, dead. Seems she took her own life two weeks ago. She was 53.
What is it with people we used to be married to? Oh and why did they both overdose? Her's was intentional with prescriptions and Sr.'s was accidental with illegal drugs.
Sigh.
Life is a little odd being married for this long and knowing between the two of us we are the single parents of four [FOUR!] kids [two each] and the step parents to children that are missing at least one of their parents. [For the count remember the youngest is ours together and my first child was only with me for 3 days after her birth - so yes, we do have six]
How the hell does this happen?
Oh, and the kids and Pooldad have the swine flu. I am posting from the closet. See you in a week ;)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Mom Toast or Why I Think My Toaster May Explode
Honestly? I have made more toast in the past few days than I even want to count.
Mom Toast is the special little treat our kids get when they are sick. It is simply the fluffy processed white bread, toasted [on setting 3], buttered [with or without cinnamon depending on their tummies] with the crusts cut off and placed oh' so prettily on a plate [I am the food Ninja when it comes to food placement]. And there is usually herbal tea in a china cup involved.
Eventhough only one kid is sick it is inevitable that the other one feels slighted and "doe eyes" me into making her Mom Toast too, so we are approaching 8 slices at once. Then I turn around and Dad is sticking his bottom lip out and the number approaches 12 slices...and? Man, that is A LOT of crumbs on my counter Tadpoles.
Sucks.
I hate crumbs. [You simply cannot clean ALL the crumbs. Do you notice this too? There will always be crumbs somewhere. Well there would be, unless I let Scooby lick the counters. Which I am not going to allow. Um...no, not going to let the dog lick the counters. Although.....]
But I hate a sick baby worse, so Mom Toast it is.
All is not wasted tho'. The doggies love themselves some crusts. They just love Mom Toast days.
You're welcome Wonder Bread. You can send my residuals via Paypal at my email. Thanks.
ETA: This is the stupidest thing I have ever posted, isn't it? I am way beyond officially a Mommy Blogger. Send the rope. I will pay the postage. Sigh. I didn't realize how really not cool I am anymore. Oh well. It takes some of us a while.
Mom Toast is the special little treat our kids get when they are sick. It is simply the fluffy processed white bread, toasted [on setting 3], buttered [with or without cinnamon depending on their tummies] with the crusts cut off and placed oh' so prettily on a plate [I am the food Ninja when it comes to food placement]. And there is usually herbal tea in a china cup involved.
Eventhough only one kid is sick it is inevitable that the other one feels slighted and "doe eyes" me into making her Mom Toast too, so we are approaching 8 slices at once. Then I turn around and Dad is sticking his bottom lip out and the number approaches 12 slices...and? Man, that is A LOT of crumbs on my counter Tadpoles.
Sucks.
I hate crumbs. [You simply cannot clean ALL the crumbs. Do you notice this too? There will always be crumbs somewhere. Well there would be, unless I let Scooby lick the counters. Which I am not going to allow. Um...no, not going to let the dog lick the counters. Although.....]
But I hate a sick baby worse, so Mom Toast it is.
All is not wasted tho'. The doggies love themselves some crusts. They just love Mom Toast days.
You're welcome Wonder Bread. You can send my residuals via Paypal at my email. Thanks.
ETA: This is the stupidest thing I have ever posted, isn't it? I am way beyond officially a Mommy Blogger. Send the rope. I will pay the postage. Sigh. I didn't realize how really not cool I am anymore. Oh well. It takes some of us a while.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Life is Like a Box of Tadpoles
I have called my readers "Tadpoles" since my first blog "So You Own a Swimming Pool...And?". My older readers get the gag and my newer readers, I am sure are a bit confused. I apologize for that, but it all comes down to my first blog was based on Pooldad and my experiences running a swimming pool company and a customer that had a swarm of tadpoles in her pool one day.
Meh. It seemed appropriate and funny at the time. It stuck for me. So I hope you don't mind that I refer to you as tadpoles - I mean it in an endearing way and it always brings a smile to my face. True fact - it is accepted venacular in our home, i.e. "Hey kids want to know what the Tadpoles said today?" And they know exactly who I am talking about.
I preface the story I am about to tell with this explanation because it has become hard for me to post this past week. I know your world doesn't hinge on my world or whether or not I post but I have received a couple of emails and a phone call or two asking where the heck I am. With Lupus I guess you guys worry.
Nope, still here. Thanks for the concern, really. Sometimes I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you guys to read, share and talk to - you are a saving grace in an otherwise shut in kind of world.
Here is the crux of why I haven't been able to post - I have been presented with the happiness and the sadness of having tadpoles. On one side of the coin I get to share in the wonderfulness and the beauty of the birth of a new baby and on the other side one of my newer readers was presented with the death of her son a week ago.
I have gone from leaving happy, happy comments for the new parents to leaving heartfelt hugs and condolences to my newest tadpole, because I know. And I can't do much more - except avoid blogging about my mundane life and taking away from her sadness and pain.
Perhaps I make too much out of this internet thing. I suppose you all aren't really ever going to exist in my world physically, but you mean the world to me. I have watched you grow, live, have fun, suffer loss, succeed, share your best and your worst. In turn you all have supported me, cheered me and have completely taken me down a notch when I deserved it. It may all be virtual, but it still IS something. To me at least.
Sometimes you lil' vertebrates are hard to juggle, y'know? Kisses XO
This leads me into the ridiculous that is my life right now. And the vertebrate comment has a purpose. Bear with me.
The eldest is in ISC - which is an acronym for [I don't know what] an independent research class where Honors students do a year long Science Fair type project. This is not a project that is accomplished in one night over the kitchen table with Dad and Mom taking samples of water, etc. This sucker takes nine months and involves LIVE things.
Enter a box of 100 Tadpoles.
Ordered online.
No. I am not kidding.
Seems Miss Squirrel wants to research the effect of light on the growth of her lil' vertebrates and in doing so.....
.....wait for it.....
.....the Commonwealth of Virginia [hiss] has deemed it necessary that she have a Veternarian on call in case they require medical attention. Why? Because they are vertebrates. Meaning "having a backbone" and um....well now you see my overuse of the word.
[Stop laughing. STOP. This is MY world. I am living it, okay? Okay. I am laughing too. Shit.]
When she told me this two weeks ago I looked her straight in the eye, handed her the Yellow Pages and said "Find a Veternarian and good luck. I refuse to make this phone call. Your project, your heartache."
She didn't flinch, but? She didn't do it. Then she fell ill with the flu this weekend and guess when this special little Veternarian sign off form is due?
Tomorrow.
Guess what Skippy did yesterday? Embarrassed the hell out of myself calling around asking if the good Doctors of Northern Virginia did, really, take care of TADPOLES.
Seriously? My own Vet laughed at me. [Nice, not our Vet anymore] so I got online and went the exotic route. Do you know there are Veternarians out there that actually treat goldfish? And they are more than happy to sign off on this project and will happily be paid if anything happens to the lil' guys. Believe me I love all God's creatures, but transporting a tadpole to the Vet because light therapy in some way hindered it's growth/well being?
Find the shotgun. Now. I will shoot 'em.
I do have to say that this particular Practice is fabulous - from the receptionist, to the Doctor and the [I kid you not] reptile specialist. The RS is so geeked about this project that he gave the Eldest his card and she can contact him anytime she needs to discuss the health and care of her tadpoles.
Life has taken many opportunities to laugh in my face. And honestly? It has done a pretty damn good job up to this point.
But this? I called to find a Vet to take care of tadpoles? Huh?
I keep looking for the door a la' "The Truman Show". You know the one at the end when he steps out?
I know that sucker is here somewhere. I just need to find it.
Meh. It seemed appropriate and funny at the time. It stuck for me. So I hope you don't mind that I refer to you as tadpoles - I mean it in an endearing way and it always brings a smile to my face. True fact - it is accepted venacular in our home, i.e. "Hey kids want to know what the Tadpoles said today?" And they know exactly who I am talking about.
I preface the story I am about to tell with this explanation because it has become hard for me to post this past week. I know your world doesn't hinge on my world or whether or not I post but I have received a couple of emails and a phone call or two asking where the heck I am. With Lupus I guess you guys worry.
Nope, still here. Thanks for the concern, really. Sometimes I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you guys to read, share and talk to - you are a saving grace in an otherwise shut in kind of world.
Here is the crux of why I haven't been able to post - I have been presented with the happiness and the sadness of having tadpoles. On one side of the coin I get to share in the wonderfulness and the beauty of the birth of a new baby and on the other side one of my newer readers was presented with the death of her son a week ago.
I have gone from leaving happy, happy comments for the new parents to leaving heartfelt hugs and condolences to my newest tadpole, because I know. And I can't do much more - except avoid blogging about my mundane life and taking away from her sadness and pain.
Perhaps I make too much out of this internet thing. I suppose you all aren't really ever going to exist in my world physically, but you mean the world to me. I have watched you grow, live, have fun, suffer loss, succeed, share your best and your worst. In turn you all have supported me, cheered me and have completely taken me down a notch when I deserved it. It may all be virtual, but it still IS something. To me at least.
Sometimes you lil' vertebrates are hard to juggle, y'know? Kisses XO
This leads me into the ridiculous that is my life right now. And the vertebrate comment has a purpose. Bear with me.
The eldest is in ISC - which is an acronym for [I don't know what] an independent research class where Honors students do a year long Science Fair type project. This is not a project that is accomplished in one night over the kitchen table with Dad and Mom taking samples of water, etc. This sucker takes nine months and involves LIVE things.
Enter a box of 100 Tadpoles.
Ordered online.
No. I am not kidding.
Seems Miss Squirrel wants to research the effect of light on the growth of her lil' vertebrates and in doing so.....
.....wait for it.....
.....the Commonwealth of Virginia [hiss] has deemed it necessary that she have a Veternarian on call in case they require medical attention. Why? Because they are vertebrates. Meaning "having a backbone" and um....well now you see my overuse of the word.
[Stop laughing. STOP. This is MY world. I am living it, okay? Okay. I am laughing too. Shit.]
When she told me this two weeks ago I looked her straight in the eye, handed her the Yellow Pages and said "Find a Veternarian and good luck. I refuse to make this phone call. Your project, your heartache."
She didn't flinch, but? She didn't do it. Then she fell ill with the flu this weekend and guess when this special little Veternarian sign off form is due?
Tomorrow.
Guess what Skippy did yesterday? Embarrassed the hell out of myself calling around asking if the good Doctors of Northern Virginia did, really, take care of TADPOLES.
Seriously? My own Vet laughed at me. [Nice, not our Vet anymore] so I got online and went the exotic route. Do you know there are Veternarians out there that actually treat goldfish? And they are more than happy to sign off on this project and will happily be paid if anything happens to the lil' guys. Believe me I love all God's creatures, but transporting a tadpole to the Vet because light therapy in some way hindered it's growth/well being?
Find the shotgun. Now. I will shoot 'em.
I do have to say that this particular Practice is fabulous - from the receptionist, to the Doctor and the [I kid you not] reptile specialist. The RS is so geeked about this project that he gave the Eldest his card and she can contact him anytime she needs to discuss the health and care of her tadpoles.
Life has taken many opportunities to laugh in my face. And honestly? It has done a pretty damn good job up to this point.
But this? I called to find a Vet to take care of tadpoles? Huh?
I keep looking for the door a la' "The Truman Show". You know the one at the end when he steps out?
I know that sucker is here somewhere. I just need to find it.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)