day 18 -24

agrippa had his hernia surgery this afternoon and my folks are coming to town so here's something i did when i was young - opening all the windows of the advent calendar and pretending to be surprised.

day 18 - new fall out boy!! squee. video probably not safe for work or little people. can't embed. sorry.

day 19 - more humour. crummy church signs

day 20 - grammar freaks unity. apostrophe abuse

day 21 - stuff white people like. ive referenced them at least once.

day 22 - tube-y!!!

day 23 - japanese trains. the music is so catchy.

day 24 - a song ive been totally digging for a while.

yeay! happy holidays.

day 17 - happy saturnalia

advent calendar 14,15,16 - youtube goodies

day 14 - cause the stars actually beat the red wings. too bad we didnt do it in the play-offs last year. an oldie, but a goodie.




day 15 - in honour of the really awesome train show we went to on sunday



day 16 - with the exception of austin city limits, i just know of no other place on tv to just listen to awesome musicians jam away. i really think i was born in the wrong time.

advent calendar 11,12,13 - random bag

day 11 -



i totes meant to post this on thursday when it happened. one of the cool things about living within strike distance of a joint naval air station is that it's the air show everyday. one of the crappy things is that it's the air show, everyday, often at 11 at night. but the other day i really thought lack of caffeine was making me see things. nope. the space shuttle's trip home included a path directly over our house. i guess the last time that happened was 1997.

day 12 -
i have a twin in jersey. they even used "rub two brain cells together" - i use that all the time. i would totally write a note like this. and passive-aggressive notes kicks so much more ass than post secret. i remember reading an article in the city paper in DC when they guy first started doing it - sounded interesting and cathartic. now everyone just seems to be out-emoing themselves. if i wrote a post secret it would be "im only doing this to get interwebs attention." id do it in sharpie on some wistful sunset picture. then id throw glitterglue on it.

day 13 - ugly christmas sweater generator sorry no photos. dont feel like it.

advent calendar day 10 - can we call it a recession yet

this one's in honour of partner's occupation. financial collapse can be funny, too!!

advent calendar day 9 - wow wow wubbzy

ive been meaning to blog about my love for wow wow wubbzy and now ive got a perfect excuse.

i love wubbzy cause:

1. wubbzy is gender neutral. ze's yellow and while i guess technically male, they really dont make a big deal about it.
2. walden is done by carlos alazraqui from reno 911, which makes me giggle.
   
3. widget (the girl character) loves tools and building
4. the songs are awesome. even buddytwo has started singing "dont lie." they're the only words he knows but oh well.
5. the picture above. that little boy's parents are totally awesome for making their son that costume
   

advent calendar day 7 and 8

sundays have turned into "screen-free" day (besides very basic e-mail checking and if we need to find something) so i didnt get to do the advent calendar. kinda forgot to do the boys' real life ones as well. whoops. so you folks get a two-fer.




i remember seeing these when i was pregnant with buddyone. i think they only had 6 or 7 of them at the time. they've really expanded.

who thought mono could be so cute?

advent calendar day 6 - cake wrecks

ive never linked over to cake wrecks, often because i usually forget it's there for months at a time. check out the christmas wrecks as well as the archives. guaranteed to make spit out your coffee at your 'puter screen.

advent calendar catch-up, kitty edition

day one - meet crassus.

last saturday morning we discovered this guy sleeping on our patio furniture. unlike the other ferals, he brushed us off when we tapped on the glass. when he finally got up just before sun set, i noticed he was incredibly skinny - even for the possible siamese in him. his hips looked stiff and his coat just hung on him. with all the empty rentals and houses that have been for sale for months, i have to wonder if he was a "foreclosure"- somebody rented a house only to find a half starved cat left in it and let it go to whatever fate it had in store. ive never seen him before and even the ferals im not feeding have plenty of fat on them (see the next picture for comparison).

day two - meet marius.

i took this picture from our bedroom window - the first time i saw him there, he must have heard us and ran off. he's sitting on our patio furniture - must be very popular. buddytwo (who i wanted to name marius) loves him. even now, he goes to the window and says "mar-is. mar-is." this is one of the resident cats in the colony.

day three. my babies.

i finally caught them being snuggly and the camera was charged/had space.

enjoy the warm fuzzies.

advent calendar day five - chung chung

on a sesame street kick.

advent calendar day 4 - i'll be in my office

i meant to start this on monday but got sidetracked. every day before christmas there will be some sort of "gift" post.

enjoy

i'm thankful for...

(taken from melissa)I'm really friggin' thankful for Raffi. I grew up listening to Raffi and now the boys are listening - on my old cassettes, too, though ive only got one surviving one now. Buddytwo asks for "rassi" the second he wakes up. he even prefers it to fall out boy! and i can listen to raffi all day and not want to shoot myself - which is quite an accomplishment for "children's" music.

and in the hopes of upping my visitors im going to post the translated lyrics to les zombis et les loups-garous (zombies and werewolves) 'cause ive googled and gotten nothing! i borrowed corner grocery store from the library and wasnt really paying attention until i caught some words with my super e-l33t high school french. there were no liner notes. so here we go, things in parentheses are only guesses, bold type is the call, regular type is the response, and i cant remember how to type the accent marks. i dont know if this is a french-french song, or a french-canadian song.

Croyez-vous que les zombis (la)? (x4)
les zombis et les loups-garous

Madame Zombi est (les) mechant
Madame Zombi est (les) mechant
Mais sa soeur est plus mechant.
Mais sa soeur est plus mechant.
Oui, sa soeur est plus mechant
Oui, sa soeur est plus mechant
mais sa mere est la plus mechant!

Croyez-vous que les zombis (la)? (x4)
les zombis et les loups-garous

les loups-garous etes (les savage*)
les loups-garous etes (les savage)
mais son frere est plus savage.
mais son frere est plus savage.
oui, son frere est plus savage
oui, son frere est plus savage
mais son pere est la plus savage!
mais son pere est la plus savage!

Croyez-vous que les zombis (la)? (x8)
les zombis et les loups-garous

Translation:

Do you believe in zombies?
Zombies and werewolves

Mrs. Zombie is bad/naughty,
but her sister is worse/naughtier.
Yes, her sister is worse/naughtier
but her mother is the worst/naugthiest!

Do you believe in zombies?
Zombies and werewolves

Werewolves are savage/wild
but his brother is savager/wilder.
Yes, his brother is savager/wilder
but his father is savagest/the wildest!

* personally i do not hear a soft "a." it sounds more like "sew-vage" but all the french interweb dictionaries are giving me bupkiss and "savage" fits the context.

going for a third

a third cat, that is. blossom is now inside. she's currently relegated to the crate in the laundry room, but at least it's not outside any more. she had started planting herself at the door rain or shine so i had put a box with a blanket inside for her to sleep in now that the temperature has dropped.

and im done with major gift-mas shopping. i still need to get cards, copies of pictures and ingredients for baking, but other than that, im done. woot!

we've got a birthday party to go to today and are going to attempt the zoo tomorrow. if it doesnt rain.

good hausfrau, badparent

yesterday i

• did a load of laundry and hung it to dry
• mopped the kitchen
• cleaned the bathroom
• cleaned and re-orged the laundry room
• took down outdoor halloween decorations
• fished toy bits out from under the entertainment center in the play room (im kicking myself for forgetting the tv in there for the garage sale over the weekend.)
  

to do all this, i let buddyone play on the computer from 7:30am until past noon.

speaking of buddyone, here's another story about him from yesterday.

after bathtime, i was swabbing buddyone's ears (usually husband does it) and i saw something. thought it was a big ear booger. im sure you know where this is going. nope there is a "foreign body" in there. when i asked buddyone if he putting something in his ear, he answered "im not telling" which almost always means "yes." and when he finally agreed he put something there, he said he did it "a long long time ago when i was three." and it was "a sticky from the red box. this long (hands held out 6+inches)." i havent a blooming clue what he's talking about. so he's not going to school tomorrow, potentially, so we can go to the doctor and fish that thing out.

im fairly sure it's the hand thingee to a lego person. gawd only knows how long it's actually been in there.

and on the buddytwo front: he was super awesome yesterday. i would not have been able to get all that done if he wasnt in a great mood. he played by himself a lot of the day and otherwise "helped" me. he's also doing the cutest shit lately. he says "geh goo" (thank you) all the time and loves listening to raffi and "yeah yeahs" (yeah yeah yeahs). and he says "o-kay" it's adorable. i think he is growing out of his rapid cycling baby bipolar-ness. and the other day he sat on the little potty of his own volition and peed.

squee for election day -belated post

I'm finally getting around to posting and if I didnt post on election day, that would be bad of me.

I voted early last week so I don't really have an election day story. When i went, there were a lot of people considering I'm in such a tiny town. We didnt have any interesting propositions to vote for, unlike California. There was a bunch of stuff about changing the city charter.
.........

that was election day afternoon.

wow. i cant believe obama won. and i am so fucking proud to be an ex-pat Hoosier. we stayed up until 2am for the results to come in.

I'm heartsick about prop 8, though. there's got to be something they can do. Usually when there is some major change in rules, there's the grandfather clause. but how do you say this marriage is legally binding cause it's from this date, but this one isnt? and if there is no grandfathering, how do you void all those marriages? ugh.

that's the political. here's the personal - im selling some of my baby carriers, doing a garage sale this weekend and finding someway to sell the other car. woot for money!

and i finally "broke up" with church. We are too far away to be involved in the weekday stuff and sundays are an exercise in frustration. i spend service in the nursery and the adult classes baby wrestling and/or wandering the halls with buddytwo. just not worth it at this juncture. there's a UU church in fort worth i might check out but right now im enjoying "lazy" sunday mornings.

"intellectual curiosity"

im seeing this phrase being used a lot lately especially when it comes to republicans not having it. Scott McClellan accused Bush of not having any in his book. Just this morning Colin Powell said Barack Obama had it, and the Eagle of College Station, Tx said Sarah Palin has little. This paper, which hasnt endorsed a Democrat in 50 years, is endorsing Obama.

But back to "intellectual curiousity," I really like that phrase. It means you dont have all the answers, but you are willing to look for them. You are interested in expanding your own view of things. Maybe im just elitist that way, but that means to dont cling to guns and religion and are a one (cough*abortion*cough) issue voter. You look at the big picture. And it has nothing to do with intelligence, just a willingness to acknowledge you arent the end all, be all of the known world. And you dont try to act smarter than you are (cough*i read 'all of them' when asked what media publications you follow*cough)

and in one of my self-induced crack attack moods, i just reorganised the boys' legos. i should post a picture of it. all the pieces are separated by type, size, use. aahh....letting my anal retentive freak flag fly.

And I found four kitten, probably 5ish weeks old, they still had some of the newborn blue to their eyes in the backyard. damn, they were cute. there were two grey tabbies, a solid grey, and a tuxedo.

happy birthday to meee!

first the bad news, I seem to have misplaced my grocery money envelope. granted it only had 20 dollars left in it, but im still pissed. so i had to take from my gas money. kroger had fuji apples for 97cents a pound and they had a bag of bananas for 50cents. there's nothing wrong with them. one i had wasnt even ripe. and strawberries were cheap so we now have lots of fruit in the house, if nothing else.

saturday was my birthday. husband took the boys to the air show with grandpa. i stayed home and puttered in the front yard. i trimmed the hedges, raked leaves, mulched with said leaves and hedge trimmings, put my butterfly bush (that i started from a cutting) and lemon balm in the ground, did some decorative edging with stones around the yard. and i even cut down two of the weed trees along the property line. one had grown through the chain link fence so getting it out is going to be a pain in the dupa. and i put down some buffalo grass seed in a bare spot. then husband and i went out to medi cafe, ate good middle eastern food and shared a hookah. and before that we got a bottle of wine (it's a B.Y.O.B. establishment) and i found a thomas DVD for only 5 dollars - one more present down for buddytwo (the other one i got at a garage sale for 50cents!) then we came home and watched the bourne ultimatum that i borrowed from the library.

when husband gets his bonus, im getting my bike fixed. and i found a double burley on craigslist. i just hope it's still available.

buddytwo said his first sentence this last week. "hi, kitty." and he knows a lot more of his body parts than i thought. i was "type a" with buddyone to get him to learn vocab. lately he has been pointing to his eyes and saying "eye-eeee" so on a whim i asked him where his head was, and he points to his head. mouth, mouth. leg, leg. ears, ears. and just tonight buddyone used the word "delicate." i dont think ive ever really used it. fragile, yes. delicate, not so much. maybe he learned it from word girl or martha speaks.

veep debate post

so here it is. ive got PBS on to watch the debate. a friend from DC went to school at washington U. in St. Louis.



"revelation made aware"

her response on climate change is utter crap.

and in other news, today is the one year anniversery of...oh shit she just said "drill baby drill"... of us living in the house. so here is a break-down of what we've done:

• new furnace
• new sections the roof
• radiant barrier and more insulation in the attic
• TNR 4 cats and adopted 2
• garden less than successful, but ive started another bed. i know ocra will do well.
• new fence for half the yard
• window film in the playroom
• new door knob for the bedroom
• bought a crock pot, toaster oven, bread machine. all at thrift town - total, i think, was 20 bucks.
• cleaned out some of the crap left in the backyard by previous owner
• new shower head

plans for the next year and beyond

• put down buffalo grass seed in the back yard
• restore knotty pine panelling in the living room.
• put window film in south side windows until we can get all the windows replaced with low-e double paned windows
• take down weed trees along driveway
• pave driveway
• tear down "garage/shed"
• replace other fence
• have trees "serviced"

and here's a picture of "awesome" blossom

on a very special blossom

kitten season is fast approaching and the cats are coming back to the yard. and recently there is one that has decided to make the shed home. she (thats only a wild guess. i havent been able to catch a peek at any bits) is consistantly there and allows me get pretty close to her. the last two times ive left out food, ze's come out to eat it while we are still playing in the backyard. i wonder if ze is a recently dumped cat. that might explain why ze would pick a "home" so close to people and doesnt instantly run away when we appear. and augustus decided to name the cat blossom, not after the eccentrically dress television character, but after ruff ruffman's cat. ze isnt black, but is grey tabby and white with what i could only describe as white "tears" on zur's face.

ive got a list of potentials i need to fax in so i can start trapping again. and a few weeks ago, i trapped another cat. he didnt really strike me as a cat with much personality so i didnt really name him. and when i picked him up from the vet's, the tech said she didnt think i was feral. he seemed pissed off enough to not like people (although being in a small trap wasnt all the fun either) but i figure if i happen to catch an unaltered, untagged animal on my property, you're pretty lucky he didnt go the way of poison or bb gun which i can only imagine would be some of the other animal control options in texas. and it's dipshits that dont fix their outside male cats, cause it's not like they will have to worry about finding homes for unwanted kittens, that impregnate my feral females and make more cats for me to trap.

And regarding Sarah Palin, Feministing, link on the side, has been covering the issue quite well so there's really nothing more i can say on the subject. But one thing i will add is that Sarah Palin fired a Wasila librarian over censorship issues, only to reinstate her after the public protested. In honour of upcoming Banned Book Week, i suggest donate a copy or two of some of the many challenged books to your local library in Sarah Palin's name. Apparently, there is also a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in the same vein, because PP will send a thank you card to the person.

harriet miers 2.0

apparently i wasnt the first to think it but it makes me feel kinda good to know andrew sullivan and i think on the same wave length.

in case i need to spell it out, back in the day bush nominated harriet miers for the supreme court because sandra day oconner was retiring. it seemed like the only reasons were because she was the closest vagina-owner with appropriate political leanings. her nomination was later pulled when bush realised he wasnt fooling anybody and a good 'ol white boy was found. on npr they quoted some people at the rally and it seemed the only thing going for palin was that she was anti-choice. when that's your only qualification, any jack-ass will fit the bill.

and, in some unsubtle move to be historic and non-bush lite, palin is the anti-cheney. she can smile without making babies cry. she's mom, and what person wouldnt want to vote for mom? (oh yeah, those with a brain who can pick apart her policy positions. argh. too much alliteration.) what's next mccain? baseball for sec. of the interior? apple pie for the head of the Dept. of Agriculture? this is base pandering at it's most obvious. this quote sums it up.

"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," - Faye Palin, Sarah Palin's mother-in-law, laughing. Faye may vote for Obama.

honestly, im hoping this crashes and burns similarly as miers's nomination. obama and biden have been given the presidency on a fucking platter. lets hope they dont fuck it up.

im calling it

i thought of this last night and am making claim to it.

sarah palin = harriet meyers.

you heard it here first. ill flush it out later. back to pancakes.

my house is cool!

the folks came to do the attic. for the first time this summer, the AC wasnt running all day long. at 4:30pm the house was 80 degrees, not 84. woot!! they sprayed the radiant barrier and blew in more insulation. lets hope we see a big difference the the electricity bill.

and to be more confusing, im doing a name change. buddytwo has always had ears that stick out. it's really cute. octavian augustus had jug handle ears. suetonius said his ears were of "moderate size" but colleen mccollough made a big deal of them.

as for buddyone, maybe sulla. just forget the mental break-down at the end and proscription.

speaking of, sulla's birthday is soon. we want to hold the party at the house. one, i hope it doesnt rain, cause the house is not big enough. two, ive got tons of stuff to work to do in the backyard. and speaking of the backyard, i want a wood chipper and a sod ripper cause im sick of the big pile of random wood by the "garage" and i want to put down buffalo grass. the stickers are driving me fucking insane.

and i want to put texas sage and rosemary on the south side of the house. i wouldnt have to mow and both can be neglected and still come out fine. id like to make it a raised bed, too. but i dont think ill have the money for that.

someone at abcnews.com reads my blog

thats not me, but thats exactly what im doing.

and i promise ill update soon.

cars, cats, and the cashless control grid

ive discovered my 97 mitsubishi montero can get 21 miles to the gallon if i stick to lots of highway miles and drive under 60 mph. and sometimes it's better to waste gas. the other day i had to take a cat to get fixed (more about that later). the closest vet who will do feral cats for feral friends is 15 miles away and you have to drop off by 9am and pick up is some time in the late afternoon. with a 16mo and an almost 4yo, that makes for a very long day. naps are missed, lunch, snacks and random shopping is done. like the other day i spent over $20 - granted some of it was planned but we got some lunch and "ice cream" at mcdonald's while waiting. plus i made up some of the mileage driving around to get the boys to sleep and looking for some place to go. or i could have just put 30 miles (roughly $6 in gas), eaten at home and gone to the library. live and learn.

and after i complain about not catching any cats, i caught 3. one was dash, the little tuxedo i got fixed a while ago. she was in the trap with jack jack laying right there watching. the next day, i got this picture:


there he is. right outside my kitchen window. the trap is full of food.

here he is telling me where to shove that trap and food. he's big and well fed. for all i know, he could be someone's pet, but he's really skiddish around me.

and then i caught this little guy. his name is octavian. he might have been one of the kittens i saw way back before i caught antonia. it was cute because he had violet, and two other cats watching over him.

i was very happy i caught him because i wanted to get antonia a friend. assuming he is the same age as antonia, he was a month older (and probably out of the good range for socialising feral kittens) and still took wonderfully to taming. by day 3 he was roaming the house. i named him octavian because in those first days he was so quiet. when i was holding him, he wouldnt purr and every now and then would slowly turn his head around and just stare at me. it was quite unnerving. since then he's gotten really chatty though usually it's when he's hungry and now that his comfortable and playing, it's mostly stopped.

then i caught helios

he was not happy about getting caught. i was taking buddyone to mother's day out and thought, what the hell, let's see if i got anything. good thing i did because the trap was placed in a spot that would be in the sun and i was planning to stay out all day running errands. i did see a completely grey kitten in the batch, but he seemed much older than antonia or octavian. he got fixed on thursday, and then i got him again today. he was pretty pissed off at me about that.

and i saw dash again with three different kittens eating out of the compost bin. at least im pretty sure it was her - they were various black and white which could make them her's, but she was fixed. i dont know enough about extended cat families to know if non-mothers would babysit a litter. and she was sitting facing the back door while the kittens played. like she knew i might come out. that was wednesday night, i think, and i havent seen them since. there's also an adult tom that looks like octavian. if only i could get him, jack jack and octavia fixed, i might be able to keep the colony under control. the vet does ear tip the cat's that get fixed, but it's very subtle and it can be hard to tell when they are bouncing all around the trap. i wish they would punch the ear like they do with livestock. there would be no mistaking that.

back when husband stayed home with buddyone, he got really into alex jones. for the most part i think he's complete bullshit. im just too skeptical to accept conspiracy theories, but i think he got it right during his screed of the cashless control grid. while driving to get helios fixed i heard a story about gas stations charging more for gas to cover the costs of credit card purchases. like those fuckers (the credit card companies, that is) havent been making money hand over fist and all those commercials about what a loser you are for using cash or checks. be a happy brainless consume-bot and use plastic for everything!!!

so in the spirit of dissent, ive decided to use paper over plastic. and i think it will help me stay on budget, too. i remember seeing something in tightwad gazette about the envelope system of budgeting and thats what im doing. ive allotted certain amounts for the main things i spend money on during the week - groceries, gas, household, dining, entertainment. this money has to last me during the pay period. when it's gone, it's gone. i will be forced to make smarter purchases - no brainless shopping sprees at thrift town, nor will i buy more because i cant justify debiting a buck o' five. any money i have left over will go to making some of the bigger, household need purchases - like im on the hunt for a good end table or chest for all our afghans and blankets and more bookshelves. i will keep the debit card for emergencies purchases - like tomorrow the kitties have to go to the vet, but it's not those things that make us go over budget, it's trips to the mall and sonic and "im bored, let's go to home depot." im hoping it works.

and i told husband i wanted an h2o steam mop for christmas.

my updating-fu sucks

im going to do another bulleted post because theres two weeks worth of crud to talk about. lets see. breaking down by topic

chillins

• agrippa had a nasty ear and sinus infection last week. i really need to talk to the ped about getting stronger ABXs or something. giving him 10 days, twice a day is just too much work. he screams and pukes it all back up.
• we went to the zoo yesterday because it was a "cool" 93 degrees and the train and carosel rides were free. i try to stay away from parenting drive-bys but im always amazed at the number of parents who take their kids somewhere really exciting and fun and then expect perfect behaviour. we go to the zoo, ride the train, look at the tree frogs and play in the sand box. thats about it. oh, and play in the kid barn. but the number of parents who wont let their kids play in the sandbox or keep asking "dont you want to see the animals/get something to eat?" when they want to keep playing. or parents who make their kids stay in the stroller went they want to get out and walk. honestly, isnt the whole point to hang out and have a good time with your kids? it cant be that fun when you are dragging your kid kicking and screaming around so you can get your money's worth of animal viewing and "fun family time?"

aminals

• murphy's law of feral cat trapping - "if you set it, they will not come." i went through my quota of gas and could not justify the 40mile round trip to take any cats to the vet so i didnt set the traps. and suddenly they are everywhere. cats i havent seen before or in a really long time. jack-jack has made an appearance the last few nights but i think he's "too smart" for it. last night when i was putting faramir to sleep i saw him hanging out on the patio. and then tonight i went walking around and he was behind the big tree. saw dash too.
• antonia's doing good. i need to start treatment for ear mites though. i dont know why it took me so long to figure it out, especially with the inlaw's dog, roxie, and her chronic ear problems. that should have been the first thing i looked at.

thrifty

• sam's puppy robeez are getting worn out so i used up my credit at kid 2 kid and got some knock-offs with trains on them for 1.99. also got the complete curious george.

thats all i can thhink of for now.

this week proves why i dont want to homeschool

back when i was pregnant with buddyone and was thinking about how superawesomecrunchy i was going to be, homeschooling was high on the list. this has been seriously reassessed.

ive fallen into a "im going to read all the kid psych books and be a k-rad el33t parent" kick and i found a few that really helped. it's nice when you read a book and think "holy shit they are talking about my kid(s)." that book would be raising your spirited child.

so lets do a break down.

frodo puts the extra in extrovert. he's intense, though not easily frustrated. extremely persistant (i think this insulates him from frustration to a degree. if at first you dont succeed, try try again.) - just today we were at thrift town and he wanted a bubble blowing machine - we werent getting it and he just kept saying "but it only needs batteries (the boy is OBSESSED with batteries), mom." a lady told me she was getting a good laugh out of his insistence. we need to start saving for law school, me thinks. hes not very sensitive - just the usual toddler quirks - salsa is too spicy but he loves frank's red hot sauce but pretty perceptive - he once got "woken up" from a nap because he noticed a string hanging off a ratty towel that was hanging on our bed. he's fairly regular - wakes up and sleeps almost the same time every day.

and for the bonuses - energy. haha! he broke the mold when it comes to energy. jumps right in to most activities - i still get the "i dont like..." when it comes to dinner and then two seconds later he's licking the plate clean. and he's a positive kid. easy to smile (which is great cause i can show off his dimples like i had something to do with them.)

sam - take everything i said and flip it. look up introvert in the dictionary and there he is. ok well dont flip everything. sam is also extremely intense. when he cries he WAILS. at nine months old, he was having full-blown-throw-down-on-the-floor-heaving-shoulders cry-fests if the fridge closed without him being allowed to play in it first. easily frustrated. very tender-hearted. where frodo might cry (though very infrequently) if he fell because he hurt himself or surprised by the fall, sam will cry simply because he fell. and he's persistent - again with the fridge incident. unlike frodo, sam will go into a room and play with a toy. it's refreshing to watch him play with something the way it was "meant to" instead of just carrying a toy car around.

here's where they are different. sam is sensitive. it actually bothered me i couldnt just nurse him where ever and whenever. we did need to find a quiet place to nurse. he is a picky eater - presentation is very important. and i would assume he feeds off others' emotions - ill find out a bit more once he's gets more language skills. perceptive - he stays "on task" a lot more than frodo. so less "perception."

adaptive - not so much. this might fall in the "sensitivity" column but activities like changing diapers, getting dressed, getting in the car are all very very very hard for him. these activities are hard on frodo, but it seems more like he hates getting dressed (and before diapers) because he has to stop what he's doing or stand still for a certain amount of time and follow directions - but he's laughing and smiling. sam, you would think you were physically harming him the way he screams and screams. though he does like putting his shoes on.

regularity - nope. frodo was an attached to the boob baby. sam was more lackadaisical about nursing as a baby. i never know what he is going to nap and then getting to sleep is a struggle. eats when he's hungry, but i never know when that will be.

energy - no where near as much as frodo. sam is currently sick and mopey. frodo, on the other hand, never loses energy when he's sick. actually, the one time i knew he was really really sick was when he actually sat in one place all day - a trip to the ER confirmed pneumonia - the next day, though, he was bouncing around again.

first reaction - very very very slow to warm up. waves good-bye only after they are in their car. back to food presentation - often time he wont take the first spoonful if i try to feed him. he's got to do it himself.

mood - he smiles and laughs enough, but is mellower and more melancholy. emo is a good word.

so here we go. ive got two very high-maintenance, spirited kids. for different reasons. frodo needs people. he needs to run around. staying home, not a good option. sam, needs me and thats about it. half the time, if we go out, sam wants to leave, frodo doesnt. or frodo is getting a bit overstimulated and boisterous and we need to go, but sam is good and wants to stay. sam needs a nap and a hug. frodo wants me to build some big ass thousand plus lego thing. again, this is why church with them sucks. im tugged in 8o gazillion emotional/physical directions everyday right now without trying to give them book learnin'. of course, i knew all this stuff before reading this book. but now it's all laid out so nicely and i can write a tl;dr blog post about it.

this is another reason why "two and im through!"

"kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it"

ok. i thought and still think the above song was dumb but it's fitting. caught yet another opossum last night - quite possibly the same one from the other day. later this morning i was changing sam's butt and happened to look outside, and lo' and behold - there's octavia with three kittens. i rush outside to reset the trap and saw another juvenile cat with similar colouring to octavia.




i go and check a little bit later and looky who i got! dammit, she's cute.

i think im going to name her antonia. hopefully i can tame her.

and i need to start keeping a price book. i regularly shop at 4 different stores (5 if you count the bread outlet) and food prices are change so often i cant remember what's a good deal anymore.

and i really like my car. i had a coupon for 50cents off per gallon of gas and was about to fill the tank for less than fourty (my planned expenditure). if the trip meter was right, the gas mileage was about what my old car was so that encouraging.

and i ditched church yesterday. it was nice to spend a lazy day at home and watch meet the press. church is just so far away and ends up taking much of the day - plus im never "in" church. im negotiating potty breaks, diaper changes, melancholy attitudes, and boundless energy. it's just not that fun anymore. id still like to find people or something to do, but closer or if i could just go alone. i started going when husband was working weekends so it was nice to go be with people. also, he had four days off. now weve got only two to spend as a family and do things im otherwise unable to do by myself with the boys around.

busy week

i thought i caught octavia last night, but it was violet instead. it was dusky and ive slept with my contacts in the last few nights so i cant see for crap. i let her go then reset the trap. this morning there was a baby opposum. sucker was really cute in weird sort of way.

drove up to denton today to get an xl dog carrier - if i ever can catch those kittens, now ive got something to keep them in. and when we get a dog, we will have a crate for it. then we visited husband at work for lunch. after that it was a resale shop in keller - where i got a litter box and and haba sheep wall lamp for 3.99. then we played at bear creek park for a little while. it was hot so i wanted to get ice cream so it was off to sonic. it was a long day.

and i have my new car now. husbands sister was getting rid of her car and asked if we wanted it. it's a 97 mistubishi montero. the gas mileage sucks but i dont drive a whole lot of places anymore and i could take husbands car to church - my longest trip. but it's big enough for any "treasure" and, above all, as A/C. i had two crispy fried kids in the back seat this afternoon. and it was cheap. it's gotta last me at least 4 more years and by then hybrid technology should be better and i can get something i really want.

i really need to mow the lawn again and thin out some pumpkin vines. this weekend it's off to home depot to get more round-up - i really hate it but it's the most effective thing against the bain-of-my-existance trees - and to price insulation for the attic.

and as soon as photobucket stops being so picky, im going to upload some pictures.

octavia

ive decided to name the queen octavia. husband got a giggle out of that one. im going to set the trap monday night because the shelter isnt open over the weekend.

here's some pictures of my previous "catches"

Dash (it was a girl, though)

violet

jack-jack. i havent caught him yet - and i do know it's a male because i watched him mark all over various objects in my yard. thinking about it, he might be the sire of the current litter. the colouring is right. and i think dash and violet might be from octavia's previous litters.

kittens

while putting buddytwo to bed tonight, i noticed a cat on our patio. ive seen her a couple of times before. she was playing with a piece of pita bread i left on out there, then she walked towards the back of the yard and i saw a kitten run after her from the fence, then another, and another. there are about 4 or 5. *squeeeee* i went out there and was able to look at them. i think they are weaned, so im not too concerned about catching the mama and not the babies. damn they were cute. there was a grey and white, a pure grey, and a "marbled" one. if i can get one of the babies, husband might let me keep it!! i need to see if SIL still has a cat box from gizmo. im contacting feral friends about getting numbers for them and maybe i can find foster homes for the rest.

husband finished the fence with our neighbour and did habitat for humanity for work and is feeling really handy so he said he would put up a real clothes line for me. aahhh!! he's so sweet.

i made a quick second vegetable bed and am trying roma tomatoes, basil, green onions, carrots, more broccoli and artichokes. i also moved my zuccini because the pumpkins are taking over. but i do have two nice sized yellow squash.

for dinner last night, we had 'white girl does middle eastern.' i made falafel from a box - it was 50cents (love town talk), wheat pita from the day old rack for 1.29, home made hummus - it's hard to figure the exact cost because i did it all by sight/taste, and tabouli - probably 3dollars all told and will feed people all week.

summer is here

i finally broke down and turned on the air-conditioning today. but only for a coupla hours. i kept putting it off and then husband was due home so i put it on, and then by the time the house cooled off some, the temp dropped outside. so off it went.

im going to use the LoTR theme. i finished all the redwall books and anthony and cleopatra and needed something to read, so it was back to fellowship. im zipping right along and really wanna watch the movies again. it's been a really long time since we've watched them. also makes me wanna write something. might as well use my english major, eh?

faramir is 80/20 walking now. it's still kinda zombie-like, but is starting to prefer to walk, crawling only when he just wants to speed things up a bit. and he's in his helpful OCD phase. we went to a party given by husband's co-worker and he was going around grabbing trash and putting it in the garbage.

boromir is getting better, but is still a three year old. i read this feminist sci-fi series a few years back and there is this element where the children run wild for a time in a little herd until they are ready to come back into society. at the time it seemed really odd, but currently it seems like a really good idea. the feral version of getting put on a raft and being sent to "saint mary's on the river." (my mom reads this and will get a chuckle.)

other than that. not much going on. learning the hard way spacing guidelines on vegetable seeds arent kind, little, "if you feel like it" suggestions. my pumpkins are taking over. also, they are flowering, but not fruiting. and my summer squash isnt getting very big before it starts rotting on the vine. and it's not too late, i think im going to make another bed and retry some other seeds.

and we need a wood chipper.

random stuff

• i love town talk (FW discount grocery store) more on that later
  
• considering the current controversy of feminism/race issues in blog-land (fuck the word "blogosphere") im feeling really weird discussing AIDS within the african american community with my 99.99% white church
• holy crap buddytwo is kinda walking. it's random and only about 4 steps at a time, but it's a start. he's also playing peek-a-boo. it's really cute.
• buddyoneandtwo had dentist appointments today and, besides being all clear, did really well.
  

i cant think of anything witty at all

i realised i havent posted in forever. so since my last post, hail has destroyed a good chunk of stuff. right now the only things that survived are: the jack-o-lantern and pie pumpkins, broccoli and maybe the yellow squash. the canteloupe and zuccinni are having a tough time. the front yard plots also seem to be struggling. the wildflowers are finally sprouting and my butterfly bush should start blooming soon.

ive started some different herbs and whatnot in pots because of the kurfuffle of the front yard. i need to do some serious bed-prep for next year. i also cut away all the vines and crud along the fence - i think next year i might try beans there. and speaking of next year, im going to make the garden plot a whole lot bigger. last weekend we borrowed In-Laws' power mower and weed-wacker and now the yard looks a whole heck of lot bigger. definately room for a bigger garden - hopefully one that wont suck.

so there's this thing about being green - i have a hard time "buying" it, ya know? i mean, ive been recycling since our town picked it up in 1990. in college, i was neurotic about going through the trash and putting bottles and cans in the recycling bins. and all of a sudden, now, we are being told that we need to recycle and be "green." it seems to me, the only reason why it's being bandied about now is so companies can sell shit. there are organic "green" pet clothes. for fuck sake people - dogs come with their own clothing. you are not helping!!! i actually saw a book at the library the other day about green baby-raising. here's an idea - don't go buy all the shit everyone says you need to raise your kid! baby doesnt need organic cotton crib sheets and a crib made from responsibly forested wood. co-sleep or get a crib thats already on the planet! maybe i just dont need to be "sold" on being green and all. i hate throwing things away and am cheap. husband called me a ludite the other day - i told him he was being sweet. but apparently, here in "ill water my lawn at high noon on a 100 degree day even though it's going to rain tomorrow cause i want to and you cant make me" texas, people need to be told that conserving resources is a good thing.

the new thing now is all the evil plastic sippy cups. i have a hard time justifying 27bucks on a kleenkanteen or similar product when ive got tons of glass jars from spaghetti and jelly lying around. i just wish i could figure out a way to make a "sippy" spout for them. yesterday faramir dumped a jar of water on himself in his carseat. i am going to make felted jar coozies for them once im done with this baby blanket (5 more inches!!). and then there's the whole thing about what to do with the plastic ones. i guess they are still good - if you dont care about phalates and BPA and all. or do i recycle them? my inner white person is just reeling. and how, exactly do i explain to boromir his favourite wiggly-cup is going to kill him?

in other news, i really think new car is going to happen this weekend.

herb, bud, weed, and other drug references

so the mass-tastic amounts of rain we've finally gotten has been like crack for my plants. went to home depot over the weekend and got a huge 32 gallon garbage can for a water barrel. just putting it under the drippy part of the porch, it filled in two hours.

the spinach and mesclun (husband thought i said mescaline) has done really well. the wildflower seeds are coming out gang-busters. my purple double-bloomed datura is finally showing life. the backyard vegetables are going great - the cantaloupe seeds i thought were dead actually were alive. i need to check the seed packet, it must have just have a long germination time. i lost the carrots and broccoli, but threw some new seeds in the ground. the raspberry bush might not be completely dead.

i also transplanted some morning glories along the chain link fence; hopefully they will work. i just need to clear away all the kudzu/viney weed crap. and speaking of weeds, rather than put done chemicals, ive been clearing away all the chickweed and other stuff in the backyard by hand. slowly but surely, it's looking more like a yard, and less like a vacant lot. ive now got a huge pile of crud lying on a pallet to die before i add it to the compost bin.

AND!!! And!!....i have a redbud tree!!!! the tree next to the pecan on the property line between us and the business is a redbud!!! theres a beautiful redbud at the end of the street ive been coveting and then, the other day, we were riding bikes in the parking lot and so some purplish petals were on the ground. i look up and see more on the branches. i was so excited. it's not in full bloom like a lot of the others ive seen around so im hoping it's healthy. all this rain should give it a kick in the butt.

whatelse... finished reading the world without us. not as completely depressing as i thought it would be, though the section on plastic made me want to never buy a non-wooden toy again. now, im dividing my reading between corpse, rackkety tam, lord brocktree, and taggerung (book on tape).

and i tried the lentil and rice casserole from tightwad gazette II. i had to season some cast iron grates for the grill we bought i figured if i was going to have the stove on for 2 hours, i might as well have something to show for it. i would make again, just tweak it a bit. the stock i use doesnt have much salt so it needed a bit, i also put a bunch of ritz crackers in it and that made it quite tasty.

spinach and gazingus pins

it would figure that when i put my hydrangeas and lavender in the ground, we get snow. but a tarp and a rubbermaid container later, and we are safe. i took a cue from the cooler weather and planted spinach and mesculen blend. im really hoping we wont have any other frosts - i really want to get the pumpkin and broccoli in the ground.


i also have morning glories, sunflowers, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, zuccinni, and pie pumpkin sprouting in egg crates in the kitchen. my blueberry bush looks like it's starting to do something. the raspberry cutting, not so much. i found two thorny vines in the back of the yard but im not sure what it could be.


and my mom bought the three tightwad gazettes. a few hours before they showed up i was about to ask jeremy if i could go ahead and order it from amazon after unsuccessfully looking for at resale outlets. it doesnt have some of the articles the complete one does, but if i need those, i can get it from the library.


husband and i looked at the budget and while we did well in many categories we still spend too much dining out. i used to be so happy about steering clear of a lot of the more expensive convience foods, but then we would spend even more money ordering pizza or getting bueno on the days i just didnt feel like cooking or didnt start dinner "on time" from activities from the day, or because i just didnt feel like cooking. so it makes sense to to have a $5.00 bag of nuggets in the fridge than spend 15.00 on pizza.

and i have a bad habit of buying something because it's cheap. like these two thermoses (thermosi?) that were in the clearance cart at the grocery store. ive used them twice. and i got two because gawd forbid agrippa use octavian's thermos. theres other stuff, but ill be damned if i can think of it. the other day i had a chance to go to goodwill sans kiddos and grabbed 10 shirts and then realised i really didnt need them.

and i splurge. it was something my mom did. it was nothing to go get ice cream, just because. or get candy at the grocery store. or just go buy something, just because. octavian gets something almost everytime we go somewhere.

i should probably get my AP card taken away, but i really like sonic and chick-fil-a. i appreciate that their kid's meals toys are thinking toys and not just the lastest movie or kid crap tie-in. and i really like that chick-fil-a gives plastic placemats that stick to the table and bendy straws. just little stuff that only a parent would think about.

so ive given myself $20 dollars every pay period on taking the boys out for lunch or a treat. it's cash and went it's gone, it's gone. what i dont spend goes in their bank.

my gazingus pin is everything. i just need to not be places where i spend money because i inevitably end up spending more than i wanted.

and this week is "eat out of the freezer" week. i had veggie fajitas and they were awesome.

"got me a pretty, pretty garden, a pretty garden, yes"

with my front yard semi torn up, i finally decided to throw down some seeds for my butterfly/wildflower bed. it's supposed to be nice this week and im really hoping we are done with frost for the year. if not, whats another bad or two of wildflower seeds? buddy one had fun dumping them in the ground and playing with the hose. buddy two was eating dirt, again.

and i finally figured out what to plant in the front part shade bed. a pizza garden of sorts. the full sun is way too hot for tomatoes but the shrubs will protect them from the hottest time of the day. and tomatoes and basil grow well together some im planting regular and thai basil (from seeds i took from a plant i found when taking a walk. i took them from a portion of the plant that had gotten broken and was dried. so it's not like i butchered a random person's plant.) and if i have room, some spinach or other lettuce.

my blueberry bush is in the ground. just need to drive to azle to get the raspberry bushes. and start breaking ground on my garden. im a bit disappointed because the pomegranate i put in the ground didnt sprout last fall. all the baby leaves i saw were weeds. dammit.

also have to return the huge as bag of weed and feed to home depot. i dont have the receipt anymore so im probably just going to get store credit. what a shame. wonder if ill have enough for a roto-tiller.

FFWPs

or Fucking Fort Worth People.

i stole it from my family who live in northwest indiana and southwest michigan. they have to deal with FIPs - Fucking Illinois People - who like to slum it in New Buffalo and St. Joseph and act like (or have the gall to even say) those towns only exist because they come to spend money there.

anyway. back to my FFWPs. i have this favourite spot i like to drive on the way home that's way high up. and you can look over the lake and the surrounding area. it's beautiful. i would see hawks flying all around. it's on the border of my little town and fort worth. well, fort worth decided to develop on it. there's going to be a 24hour fitness, a movie theater (even though there is already one less than a mile away, but in our town limits) and an industrial park (i smell a strip club.) i talked to a neighbour last week and he said residents closer to the land that's getting all torn up are having major problems with native creatures on their property that are getting pushed out.

i fucking hate fort worth. i drive down jacksboro and camp bowie and there are tons of store fronts and retail space already established they dont need to fuck up every green space squeezing every little tax dollar they can from tarrant county.

cheap thrills

yesterday day i got:

• a mini cast iron frying pan, perfect for a single egg or grilled sandwich.
• a toaster oven that was the half price sticker colour of the day
• a cool workbook for octavian once he gets much older
• a blueberry baby bush
• an axe
• 5 very new looking garbage can lids and a rubbermaid container that i can use as a wheelbarrow from the trash trailer next door
• someone to come and take out all the plants i cant stand from my front yard
• someone to give me some wild raspberry cuttings.

i think we are going to do a year moritorium on toys this year. (lets see if i can convince family members to comply - set up a "send the kids to college" fund or something.) my mom sent all the boys's xmas presents and it was like xmas all over again. and with agrippa's birthday coming next month, i just cant justify spending money on yet another thing - though he will be getting a "the king" car because he loves the other "kings" we have. im going to find a kindermusik class for him - i just need to find something agrippa and octavian can do together.

congratulations...it's a griddle

we took a trip to weatherford this weekend. it was a gorgeous day and a fun drive. towards the end of the day, we went into an antique store and i found a cast iron griddle. and a dutch oven. im in heaven. ive been trying to replace my cheap stainless steel cookware and was giddy when i saw all the cast iron. i havent been very successful at the local thrift stores.

but i was able to finally find a crock pot. sweet!!!

i love tighwad gazette. just flipping through i got and implimented (or will soon) a few ideas

- a friend and i will be dumpster diving when the local college lets out. ive never been so im hoping to get some good stuff from rich, entitled college students with too much stuff.
- there was a letter about a woman who contacted owners of local abandoned properties looking for plants. well, across the street there is an abandoned house with a swing set in the backyard that looks like it's in decent condition. i want to find the owner so i can see about getting it, if it's worth it.
- the business next door left and i talked to the owners and got some pallets - i now have a wood pallet compost bin.
- and just other stuff. i need to own it. im just going to keep looking for it at half-price books. until then, ill keep borrowing it from the library.

and tomorrow im doing a home depot run. i started attacking the stump in the back yard and most of it was rotted but there is still a part thats alive. i need an ax and dirt to fill the hole. i also need to start preparing the dirt for my garden. we started some seeds (the brocolli has already sprouted) but it's still going to be a while until i can put it in the ground.

money, or a lack there of

so we have a certain amount of money in the bank and three things will probably happen in the next 12-18 months. 1 - that i want to go back to school. 2 - we are looking into private school for frodo and eventually sam. and 3 - my car will probably need replacing. 4. and some crazy expensive act of god will happen to the house - like we will need to replace the roof or something.

it really is this crappy death spiral of circumstances. im going to need a car to get to school. but if i buy a car, i cant pay for school. i need to go to school so i can get a job doing something meaningful to help pay for kiddos to go to school. and until then, i will need to cover some sort of day-care costs for kiddos, which costs money, so i need a job - and one that will make enough for it to be worth it. ARGH!! i remember reading the price of motherhood back when buddy one was first born and i was working full time and while i read it and understood it, i never really grasped the feeling of helplessness when one leaves the workforce/looks to reenter because of kids.

plus im dealing with some feelings of inadequacy about changing careers. i can see it now...

MLIS choosing people: ok. you were an english major...good. then you were a secretary for 2 years? and havingnt been working for 2+. and now you want to be a librarian...rrriiigght. and why should we let you in?

me: cause i like books?

looking at the requirements for applying requires 3 personal/professional references and a personal statement. oy. im already freaking out about it. but im determined to make it work - i will rehash my bosses - i kept sending them christmas cards for a reason!! - and find some time to volunteer/work at the libraries i frequent. plus maybe work at starbucks.


in lighter notes, ive gotten back in the super thrifty mode. i borrowed the complete tightwad gazette from the library again and got some good ideas for stuff. every time i get it, i think i should buy it, but even amy says to borrow it from the library to save money.

so heres some of the ways im stretching our money:

method laundry detergent: when we were in the market for a new washer and dryer, i really wanted to bite the bullet and get the more expensive front loaders because they use less water - very important in drought prone areas. i like method because it is bio-degradable, crunchy-approved, and super HE concentrated. for 12.99, the bottle says i get 64 loads of laundry.

i bought a jug of it when we moved in early september. i just now bought a new bottle. now give or take a few weeks when i was out of town, thats over three months of laundry. i did the math and i do about 8 loads of laundry a week. 3 of those are "heavy" - diapers. 12 weeks times 8 loads equals 96 loads of laundry. well over what the bottle said. that works out to 13ish cents a load. granted tide or some other generic detergent is cheaper, but they arent as concentrated, i hate the smell, plus have all those crappy chemicals im trying to avoid. now i just cant wait until spring when i can start line drying again.

baking more: it figures that with the weeks of blah weather, i should have been a baking fool. but i didnt. i need to do more.

gardening: one nice thing about living in a southern part of the country is that spring starts in february. im reading up on canning from TwG cause i wanna grow lots of tomatoes. and there are two fence posts left in the backyard that im going to use as a latice for climbing plants.