We've decided.
We are beyond happy.
We said goodbye to a great job and more money than we knew what to do with, but in the end- life is not all about the bank account (we've proven that this far) and we want to be near friends, family and In-N-Out Burger more than anything.
My new house will be somewhere in Orange County, and I hope they let me my non-botoxed, droopy boobs self in.
WOOOOHOOO!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Diversion
I'm ignoring the fact that movers must pack us up in TEN weeks.
I"m pretending like I know where the movers will drop off our stuff.
I totally forgot our taxes are due today and we just filed an extension.
I'm looking past the dirty dishes in my sink and praying the dishwasher repairman comes today.
I cannot help my husband as he agonizes over this crazy decision.
I try and reassure him that we will be happy wherever we go, but he does not believe me.
We are still married after all of this, which, if you've been around lately, says an awful lot.
I"m pretending like I know where the movers will drop off our stuff.
I totally forgot our taxes are due today and we just filed an extension.
I'm looking past the dirty dishes in my sink and praying the dishwasher repairman comes today.
I cannot help my husband as he agonizes over this crazy decision.
I try and reassure him that we will be happy wherever we go, but he does not believe me.
We are still married after all of this, which, if you've been around lately, says an awful lot.
My Purgatory
Umm- we were supposed to receive an offer (in writing!) today for our "first pick." Then, late last night, hubby gets an email from a program that is looking for someone. Now everything is up in the air.
I'm going to go stick my head in Mr. Daniel's pool now, folks.
I'm going to go stick my head in Mr. Daniel's pool now, folks.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Mr. Daniel's Purgatory
Annie started swim lessons yesterday. It's a bit ridiculous to feel behind the eight ball at age four, but most of her friends can swim, and it's getting a bit embarrassing to have Annie splashing with the toddlers at the baby pool. After a litany of ear infections cleared, we finally got our act together and enrolled in her a two week "bootcamp". I take her to the pool for a lesson, every day, for the next two weeks. After this "immersion" (pardon the pun), she goes twice a week. Whenever she is ready, she gets to take a float test where she gets pushed into the pool fully dressed, and has to float on her back for four minutes or make it to the side by herself.
A couple of friends and a dvd provided by the school prepared me for the worst. Bootcamp is not very popular with the little ones. One of Annie's friends would poop her pants whenever her mom pulled into the pool's parking lot. I was a bit nervous for the first lesson. They have two observation rooms, overlooking the pool- that are hidden by two way mirrors, so I could fret in peace without freaking Annie out.
In a bit of a sadistic fashion that is characteristic with my parenting style- it was hilarious to observe Annie experience her first lesson. She was filled with anticipation and glee when she first entered- convinced she would be "swimming" by the end of her half hour lesson. Watching her face slowly realize the amount of hard work and risk involved with learning to swim was priceless. As her teacher propped her up against the side of the pool and instructed her on the proper way to hold your arms during floating, I saw her thought process unfold.
The glee quickly turned to fear. After her instructor kept reassuring her, the fear was replaced with anger. While her three class buddies started to cry, Annie got pissed. S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y ticked. She folded her arms in front of her, frowned the biggest frown, and started to tell Mr. Daniel The Swim Instructor where he could go. I couldn't stop laughing as Mr. Daniel plopped all four crybabies on their "floating carpet" of a raft and tried to get them to kick around the pool. Annie told him off during the whole ride.
This morning Annie told me that Mr. Daniel let her "die" yesterday. I explained to her that Mr. Daniel did not let her die, nor would he. But I did tell her that in a past life, Mr. Daniel must have done something very very bad to have to sit in a pee-pee filled pool day after day and try to teach little ones to swim. Let's all say a rosary in his honor, shall we?
A couple of friends and a dvd provided by the school prepared me for the worst. Bootcamp is not very popular with the little ones. One of Annie's friends would poop her pants whenever her mom pulled into the pool's parking lot. I was a bit nervous for the first lesson. They have two observation rooms, overlooking the pool- that are hidden by two way mirrors, so I could fret in peace without freaking Annie out.
In a bit of a sadistic fashion that is characteristic with my parenting style- it was hilarious to observe Annie experience her first lesson. She was filled with anticipation and glee when she first entered- convinced she would be "swimming" by the end of her half hour lesson. Watching her face slowly realize the amount of hard work and risk involved with learning to swim was priceless. As her teacher propped her up against the side of the pool and instructed her on the proper way to hold your arms during floating, I saw her thought process unfold.
The glee quickly turned to fear. After her instructor kept reassuring her, the fear was replaced with anger. While her three class buddies started to cry, Annie got pissed. S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y ticked. She folded her arms in front of her, frowned the biggest frown, and started to tell Mr. Daniel The Swim Instructor where he could go. I couldn't stop laughing as Mr. Daniel plopped all four crybabies on their "floating carpet" of a raft and tried to get them to kick around the pool. Annie told him off during the whole ride.
This morning Annie told me that Mr. Daniel let her "die" yesterday. I explained to her that Mr. Daniel did not let her die, nor would he. But I did tell her that in a past life, Mr. Daniel must have done something very very bad to have to sit in a pee-pee filled pool day after day and try to teach little ones to swim. Let's all say a rosary in his honor, shall we?
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Comfort Food
Matt and I are kind of in a manic mode of hashing things out--- our house goes from Raging Bull, to O Henry's Gift of the Magi in minutes. We decided to take a breather and venture out for date night. We decided to try Max's Wine Dive- a couple of my friends have raved about it, and it sounded like some much needed fun.
Matt indulged in a kobe beef burger, drenched in brie- with hand cut french fries. I had the egg sandwich- with artisan bread, drizzled in truffle oil, with melted gruyere. We split dessert- halvsies on a brownie/bread pudding combination that left us full. We washed the whole thing down with a Napa Merlot that we can't remember the name of, but had some cool label with a dragon or something. I am avoiding the scale for the next couple of days. It was a perfect evening--- good food, even better company. It constantly amazes me that when the shit hits the fan, my husband rallies and always reminds me how lucky I am to have married him. Taking me to a place that serves macaroni and cheese with truffles certainly helped matters. Yes indeedy.
Matt indulged in a kobe beef burger, drenched in brie- with hand cut french fries. I had the egg sandwich- with artisan bread, drizzled in truffle oil, with melted gruyere. We split dessert- halvsies on a brownie/bread pudding combination that left us full. We washed the whole thing down with a Napa Merlot that we can't remember the name of, but had some cool label with a dragon or something. I am avoiding the scale for the next couple of days. It was a perfect evening--- good food, even better company. It constantly amazes me that when the shit hits the fan, my husband rallies and always reminds me how lucky I am to have married him. Taking me to a place that serves macaroni and cheese with truffles certainly helped matters. Yes indeedy.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Cranky
Rest assured folks- Neptune is cold, and Annie takes after her Mommy after all. We are pooped today. We had friends over for a casual dinner last night- and had such a good time, the kids didn't go to bed until 10pm. I've got some serious crankypants on my hands today, and after I finish cleaning up last night's ruckus (I've got Little People hidden all over the house) I'm going to really try and get these little ones down for a nap.
Matt gets home today from his LAST interview- so at last, it is now deliberation time. I will feel so relieved when I finally know where I'm going, and can start figuring things out. In the last few months, I have researched FIVE different places to live-- which is exhausting when you think about it. FIve very different places- with different kinds of houses, schools, etc. No wonder I don't know which planet I'm on.
Matt gets home today from his LAST interview- so at last, it is now deliberation time. I will feel so relieved when I finally know where I'm going, and can start figuring things out. In the last few months, I have researched FIVE different places to live-- which is exhausting when you think about it. FIve very different places- with different kinds of houses, schools, etc. No wonder I don't know which planet I'm on.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Houston, We Have A Stupid Mommy
I'm going to apologize for this upfront, and swear on my cheese rinds that this blog is not turning into some morphed, sadistic Christmas letter where I will go on and on and on about how wonderful and smart my kids are- but I have to share this so you can somewhat experience the humbling sense of awkwardness that was my afternoon today.
Annie's class is doing a theme on space. She's very into space- she has space puzzles, she loves Jack Big Music Show's rendition of Space Explorers and for a while, her favorite planet was Saturn. Today, on the drive home, she asked what we were going to do with the rest of our day. I told her the same old same old--- going home for quiet time, then Mommy has to rally and hide our mess because we have friends coming over for dinner. Then, thinking I was a cool preschool Mommy, I ask her if she wants me to turn our Honda Odyssey into a space ship and take off for a planet.
"What do you think Annie? Want Mommy to press this button here (hazard lights) and take us to Neptune? Or maybe Pluto! What do you think?" I ask.
There is silence from the back seat.
Suddenly, she pipes up- using a tone of voice that suggests I should have known bettter.
"Mom- MIss Patty says Neptune is too close to the sun, and that it gets too hot for us to go there, so I don't want to go to Neptune today. And Pluto is no longer a planet."
I am so totally screwed when she starts learning math.
Annie's class is doing a theme on space. She's very into space- she has space puzzles, she loves Jack Big Music Show's rendition of Space Explorers and for a while, her favorite planet was Saturn. Today, on the drive home, she asked what we were going to do with the rest of our day. I told her the same old same old--- going home for quiet time, then Mommy has to rally and hide our mess because we have friends coming over for dinner. Then, thinking I was a cool preschool Mommy, I ask her if she wants me to turn our Honda Odyssey into a space ship and take off for a planet.
"What do you think Annie? Want Mommy to press this button here (hazard lights) and take us to Neptune? Or maybe Pluto! What do you think?" I ask.
There is silence from the back seat.
Suddenly, she pipes up- using a tone of voice that suggests I should have known bettter.
"Mom- MIss Patty says Neptune is too close to the sun, and that it gets too hot for us to go there, so I don't want to go to Neptune today. And Pluto is no longer a planet."
I am so totally screwed when she starts learning math.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)