Yeah, that's my kid

http://client.briettepeterson.com/user

User name: Dayna
Password: Samantha

Amazing pics. Or maybe it's because it's my kid. I wish I was good at photography like this!

Where does the time go?????????

I can't believe it's December 22 already! To think I am only working a few more days this month is crazy! My DH's b-day is tomorrow, he'll be the big 35. He thinks that's old but I still got almost 4 years on him!

Things are going well, got Samantha's 2 year pics done this past weekend even though she turned 2 in September. Oh well! Almost got my rental house all painted, just a little touching up to do and it's ready. The renter is excited to move in and that makes me happy. I hope he stays a long time.

The weather is great too! I love it when it rains! Well, it's not raining at the moment but it's nice and cloudy out. I feel for the people on the east coast though where the weather's nothing but a big pain in the ass. I can't imagine living in snow and having to deal with that every winter. We are spoiled here in so cal. We drove to see the snow this weekend and it only took us about 50 min. to get to it. I am a retard in snow too. My DSS fell like every 5 minutes but I didn't. I was VEEEERY careful walking in it though. My DH just trudges through it as if it were nothing. He grew up in Idaho though and I grew up in San Diego so you can imagine how lame I am in snow. LOL. Apparently my DSS doesn't have a prayer either being born and raised in southern CA too, ha. Samantha thought it was way cool to just pick up any snow she saw and put it in her mouth. We had to keep an eye on her after that happened once. That crazy kid loves ice so snow isn't too much different I guess.

My lovely DH volunteered us to host Christmas dinner for the family so I am a bit stressed about that. Then the day after Christmas we're leaving for the annual New Year's desert trip & I have no time to get all this stuff done--Christmas dinner & having people over and at the same time being at work all day and oh yeah also try and get the trailer ready for a week's trip out in it in the desert. Hey, no problem! Ugh. It's easy for him though, he's got all week (and had last week) off. Oh well.

Guess that's about all there is here. I can't wait to share some of Samantha's new photos with you, they're awesome! In the meantime here's Samantha's Santa photo for 2008. She would have nothing to do w/ santa so DH & I had to be in the pic also. You can tell she is not amused. Hilarious!

Wait scratch that...life is not always fair

Oh my god, I feel like a total heel. Here I am complaining about my renter situation and there is a family I know of and their son is dying from cancer and they're just hoping he can make it through the holiday. He is dying and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Ugh, I can't stop crying. Here I am at work and looking like an ass but I can't help it.

I thought I had problems but compared to them. I have nothing to complain about and all I can do is send good thoughts their way-hoping he will get better.

whoo hoo! Life is good once again!

Oh my gosh, the past 2 weeks have been really rough on me trying to find someone to rent my other house. I even entertained the idea of a property manager. That is, until I talked to a guy at a mgmt. company yesterday who was a total ass. I won't go into detail, it's not worth it.

Anyway, I think I have found the most gentle, easy going, nice, compassionate older gentleman to rent my house. Maybe all the no-shows and inconsideration by people for my time was worth it? You have no idea what a relief this is for me. I was stressed out so bad, feeling really anxious and full of dread. It was ruining my holiday season. I was getting those old habits I had when I was really depressed a few years ago. Not wanting to do anything, not enjoying anything, distant from people, wanting to lay in bed and do nothing.<---Thats the true sign I know I need anti depressants in my life still.

I feel like myself once again now. Reminds me that I need to take my Lexapro even though I thought I was over being depressed or anxious for good. Apparently not. It still rears its ugly head every once in awhile obviously.

So, that's my big news. I sure hope this guy is always the way he seems now. I even offered free rent until the end of December but he wants to move in on 1/1/09.

Life is once again.....good.

Being a landlord is no fun

As a matter of fact, it really sucks. I have been stressing for like a week because my renters moved out and there's about a million & one rentals out there for competition and I am not seeing very much action, if at all for potential renters. Ugh. It makes it hard for me to do my job at work since I think about it constantly. I worry so much sometimes. I already pay out the ass just to keep the house every month on top of what the renters pay so if I don't find any by the end of this month, I'll have to make the entire payment myself which will make things extremely hard on us.

I will never buy investment properties now because of this! Its tempting since there are so many good buys in my area but we're not made of $ you know? I woud sell this house if I could but in the current market, I can't so am forced to rent it or foreclose on it and I don't want to do the latter.

Onto other things....we finally got our Christmas tree up and decorated! Sure smells good in the house right now. Samantha keeps wanting to mess with it of course. No big surprise there. I'm just about all done w/ my shopping, only like 1 more gift to get. We have so many things to do and not enough time. Well, DH has a lot mroe to do than me. For one, getting our 5th wheel hitch installed in our new truck so we can go get our trailer back from the dealership (it's in for repairs). He's got to help me get my rental house ready. I took off a little early yesterday and spent the time painting. Whoo hoo! He's there today doing the same thing. I have 1 potential renter that's going to look at it on Sat. morning. That is, if he doesn't flake out on me. I sure hope I get it rented so I can once again enjoy myself and not be constantly stressing out all the time.

Will keep you posted...

My nutty kid

I was on the computer and couldn't hear what Samantha was doing so I go looking for her and I find her standing up on the couch--naked--dancing to a song Dave Chappelle (the comedian) was doing on TV. It cracked me up! When she saw me she was a little startled like she wasn't expecing anyone to see her doing it. I wish I had it on tape since its one of those things that's funnier if you see it for yourself.

Why does she insist on taking her clothes and diaper off all the time at home now? Arrrgh!

I have to keep editing (adding to) this post because she's cracking me up tonight. She just came into our office where the computer and I are, naked with a marker in her mouth (capped thank god) singing hmmm hmmm hmmmm and then promptly looked up at me and cut the biggest fart ever. I am still laughing. I think I'd better check and see if she's clean back there. LOL!

Thoughts for today

1. I hate being poor. I messed up on our finances this month so now I'm payin' for it but it'll be ok in the future. Just right now I am stressed.

2. I hate being a landlord. No one who ever rents my other house ever takes good care of it. I end up having to do the work myself and am always short on time. And always get gypped in $. Why can't people NOT put a 3" screw in my wall to hang a simple picture? And then leave all the screws in the wall still when they vacate. I don't get it...it's such a source of stress for me. As soon as the market gets better, I am sellin' the damn thing.

3. I have another pinched nerve in my neck. A pain in my neck if you will. It's killin' me and totally sucks.

4. Hey, it's FRIDAY! That's a good thing! Almost done w/ my Christmas shopping too. Seriously.

Readjustment process

"How have you and DH changed since his deployment? Is the relationship different? Is he? Discuss".

I was asked this in the comments section from my last posting so here goes!!!!

Now that DH has been home for 3 weeks I feel as though I can answer this. The weird thing is that there seems to not be too much adjusting to things since he came home. I thought it'd be a lot harder or weird or something but it simply is not. Sammy took to him RIGHT AWAY and was so glad to see her daddy. I was most relieved at this fact as I was sorta worried that she'd forget him or would be mad at him for leaving or something.

I suppose the only thing that is an adjustment is now I am cleaning up after 1 more person (so that means me +3) which can kind of suck sometimes. I love DH to death but Jesus, he can make a mess! I bought a 28 lb. turkey @ the grocery store the day before yesterday for $5. No joke $5. I had to get it, how can someone pass that up? Anyway, DH did the deep frying thing with it and it is SO good however guess who ends up cleaning up after DH fries it and gets oil ALL OVER the back porch? Not to mention I had to clean the meat off the bones and foodsaver some of it and put the rest in the fridge. Arrrgh. Are all husbands like this I wonder? He had to go to work today but he was able to clean up his garage but not the mess he made in the back yard? I would've left it for him but if the kids wanna go back there and play, I KNOW Sammy would be all over that mess in a second. Yuck.

Oh well, guess that's my rant for the day! Really, though there hasn't been too much to get used to I guess except for the mess and the stinky bathroom on occasion. Ha ha. He is able to fix a lot of stuff too like the golf cart is now running again and the back yard sprinklers are on the right time setting and my front security door is fixed. So it aint all that bad.

I hope this answers the question & hope you are not too disapointed to hear my answer!

Time for bed, this old girl is exhausted! :)

My blog is soooooooooo boring!

The content? I don't know but the template. Plleeeeease! Can someone give me some good suggestions for templates and where to get a new one???? The one I have right now just doesn't do "ThatsDaynamite!!!!" justice. For such an excited title to a blog, the template is so...well.....YAWN.

This is what it says when I try to upload a new one....

Please correct the error below, and submit your template again.

Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly.
XML error message: Content is not allowed in trailing section.


Hey, it's actually raining here today. YAY! I love it, what a nice change.

I need to post every once in awhile

First let me say....please forgive me for having all the pics up front, I can't see where 1 ends and 1 begins while writing the post like I used to be able to so I can't make it all fancy dancy and have the pics in the spots they need to be in. As you read, you'll get why certain pics are in my post....the pic of Samanth sticking her tongue out is just plain funny/cutsie, no other reason to have it in here but for that I suppose. :)







I am either really lazy or my life is entirely too boring. Not much is going on at the ole Pierce household. Its great having DH back from such a long deployment. There are 1 or 2 bad things about it though. One is that I now have to clean up after another person besides the kids! Arrgh, sometimes it's annoying but I'll manage.

We had some crazy brush fires out this way last weekend, nothing near our house, thank god. I'll post some pics here. We were driving through the area to go look at a new truck and got stuck in a bunch of traffic. On the way home, the guardrails on the side of the road, the bushes at the apts. we drove by, all kinds of things were on fire. Right there. Crazy times, I'll tell ya. Many people lost their homes, it was very sad. Makes me think that I really need to do some planning for a natural disaster. I know there are a bunch of websites where you can look to see how you can be prepared for one of these types of things. They always say here in southern CA, it's not if a big earthquake is going to happen but when.

So, the day everything was on fire we did end up buying a new truck at a dealership. It seemed surreal, all kinds of fires happening out there and we waltz into a Dodge dealership looking to buy a truck. I was so ready though. My DH's old truck we traded in had NO A/C and was a POS in general. It really sucked driving through a brush fire area and not being able to roll up the windows and having it around 97 degrees inside. Come to think of it, it pretty much sucked anytime we were in that thing. No A/C is like torture around here.

I can't believe Nov. is almost over! Where did Oct. go too? I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. Any holiday where eating's involved I'm ALL for it. :) Actually I am looking forward to it most since my parents will be out this way from VA. We always have TG at my aunt's house in the beach area and it's great since I don't have to cook or clean! Managing a 2 yr. old is a job in itself though. My mom & stepdad are always a help too. It almost feels like summer here still. It's been in the 80's and low 90's, no joke. I hear it may rain next week some time. I sure hope so.

Other than that stuff, guess that's about all that's going on here!

I'm still alive

but just biz! I'll be sure to update and post a few pics here real soon. It's good to have DH home again. We already went on a mini-vacation and work has been keeping me busy.

Like I said, I will update again real soon!!!! :)

Finally here

It's about time. I have been waiting for this night for 6 months. DH comes home tomorrow morning. His ship's supposed to come in at 0830. I am new at this sort of thing so am not sure who gets off first, does the ship really get there at 830? I guess tomorrow I will find out.

Today I had 1 of the neighbors help me hang his welcome home banner out front on the house. That should make him happy. My dad and cousin are going to meet him off the ship as well. I am of course taking DSS out of school for the day so he can see his dad too. That would be so cruel to leave him out of things. He is so excited for his dad to be coming home.

Onto other things....

Samantha's speech is interesting lately. It's not always real clear but she mimics things I say and I can understand it then. She talks a lot and there's always something new. Her newest thing her brother taught her is to call him a "crybaby". It's pretty funny to hear.

Halloween was fun too, Sam was a princess and DSS was a gladiator. See pics. I really thought Sam would not wear a costume but she was all into it. As soon as she saw it she wanted to wear the dress. It was pretty warm here for Halloween too, it was at least 75 out at night. It was a little strange. The weatherman was telling us that it was supposed to rain here today but there was no rain in my area at all. I really wish it would. I am really bored of sun and heat. Today felt a lot like fall should which is nice.





I am so excited for DH to come home, he's got so much to look forward to as well. Will let you know how things go. Time to sign off and get some sleep!

Real quick

About 2 days ago I was in the kitchen w/ Samantha. Her sippy cup was on the floor, just out of her reach. She started whining that she wanted it and I made a comment under my breath, not really saying to her exactly, but I said, "What? Are your legs broken or something kiddo?" and gave her the cup. She then stood up and pointed to one of her legs and said "Broken?" HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Oh my god, I was cracking up! They understand a lot more than we give them credit I guess! She's got supersonic hearing it seems as well.

I will never forget that for as long as I live. I just had to share that. Hope you got a laugh out of it too! :)

Blah blah blah

Well, I have been getting lazy again with the blogging thing.

This is what's happening lately:

DH home in ONE WEEK! YAY!

DSS doing well at home, no more troubles. He probably hates being grounded and how can one get in trouble when they're in the house all the time? :)

Samantha is doing well. I think she may be almost ready to start potty training. I think...

I turned 1 year older this month. Yuck. But I treated myself well with presents.

A bunch of us are really looking forward to going on vacation after Dh gets home to the desert to go riding. We're going 11/6-11/11. We'll get to use our new trailer for the first time in the desert. I can't wait.

I am tired of 90 degree weather. Please bring on the fall chill for god's sake. I can just see it being like 80 degrees out at night when trick or treating on Fri. how ridiculous is that?

We're serving a warrant this week out of state. How exciting huh? I am sure the guy knows we're coming for him, so that might not be so good for more than 1 reason. I am going to have to drive 6 hrs. to get to the place where we're going. I can't believe we got permission to do this thing. It should be interesting. I have Sirius radio now so I'll be rocking out the whole way there. Yeah!

Guess that's about it. I know I know, nothing interesting....

When it rains--it POURS

Remember my little dilemma with my DSS yesterday? Yeah, that was a fun one to deal with. Well, I got a call from the Asst. Principal this afternoon and I guess he was or has been (they're not sure) for the past couple of weeks messing up the boys' bathroom at the school. Putting soap at the entrance so that boys would slip going in and junk like that. They got caught today. Like I said I am not sure if he and his friend were the ones doing it the past 2 weeks but at least today they were.

Ugh, when it rains it pous as they say and it's true. What's a parent to do? Still got 18 days until DH comes home. If my mom (or step mom in this case) was a cop, I sure wouldn't be messing around. Maybe that's just me though?

Baby news (not me!) & annoying lies

My cousin who is also my BFF. She is having a boy. They're excited. I am excited for them. I kinda in a way wish I could have another but my job just isn't very understanding about that kind of thing.

As for the second half of my title. I get a msg. on my cell this afternoon from my DSS. He mentions something about some guy trying to grab him when he was coming home from school to the neighbor's that watches him. I was like WHAT????????????????

I was freakin' out to be honest. He said Holly (lady who watches him) called the school, etc. Well, to make a looooong story short it was bullshit. He went to a friend's house straight after school instead of to Holly's. He made it over to Holly's late and instead of just saying--"hey I messed up & went to so and so's house instead of coming here 1st" (H would not have a problem w/ him going over there so WTF?) he makes up a story on how someone tried to grab him. He had me going for a bit and then I was like---wait a minute.....he fessed up to it but now I got to punish him for that. I hate doing that but if I let him get away w/ it then it'll not teach him a damn thing. The last thing I want is for one of my kids to think lying is ok. It SO is not in my book. Or anyone else's for that matter I'm sure.

Ugh, being a parent is tough sometimes. Being a step parent and having DH gone is even harder...

I am SO lazy

Man, I said I was going to keep this updated and I keep putting it off! Well, there's not too much to talk about. I am loving the weather, it's finally cooled off. I am hoping it stays that way.

We are getting a new huge shopping center near our house and our little community needs this SO bad. We are all excited about it. I went to the Super Target yesterday and it was PACKED. I wasn't surprised. Got my DSS's Halloween costume there. He's going to be a gladiator. It's pretty cool. My DD is going to be a princess which is right up her alley I think.

Only about 3 weeks until DH comes home. Actually I think it's 3 weeks from today! YEA! My b-day's this month too, blah. Not looking forward to that. When it happens I will truly be in my "late 30's". No question about it. Oh well. I will treat myself well for this one though. I am going to get Sirius satellite radio if it kills me. :)

Guess that's about all. Am I boring you to death yet? I'll try & find something interesting to talk about here soon. Oh yeah, working for the fed. government has its perks. I have today off and do you even know what today is? Columbus Day. Yeah, no one remembers that one. Poor Columbus. Us w/ the feds remember it though and say THANKS Columbus! :) I get a day off by myself and can do (almost) whatever I want!!!!!!

Is this week over yet?

Man, I'll be glad when it is! Sheesh, I have been so busy! I am trying to get my new renters in my other house settled + do my regular job + my mommy job. I even had the worst pinched nerve in my neck this week. So bad I had to go to Urgent Care and get help there. The Dr. gave me some muscle relaxers (they work pretty nice) and some Tylenol w/Codeine for sleep at night. I have no idea how it happened. I was sitting there on Mon. getting my pedicure-minding my own business-and my neck cramped up and it was all over from there. It's getting better though, I am glad I went to the Dr. Wasn't sure if they could do anything for that but a shot of Toradol in the butt and some drugs and Dayna's ready to go! LOL.

We're doing another 3 day operation at work which requires me to have my baby at the daycare overnight. She's happy and the DCP's daughters are happy but I am sorta sad. I only get about 3 hrs. a night w/ her when these things happen. It also costs me an arm & a leg but what can I do? Oh well. She's in good hands at least!

Well, like I said it's been a long week and I really hate being a landlord. Did I ever mention that before? It really sucks. I try to make everyone happy (i.e., letting renters move in a day early but the old ones weren't done cleaning yet yada yada yada...). I found a good handyman since DH is still gone to get a couple things fixed at the house & I was really worried about the cost but shopping around really helps. First guy I called wanted at least $100 to do what I needed. The 2nd guy wanted only $30. Guess which one I went with? So, that drama is over. Old renters out---new ones in and happy. So I am happy.

I think the codeine is starting to kick in. Good night! :)

Stats

Samantha Marie 2 year stats as of 9/29/08:

35" tall (like the 80th percentile I think)
30 lbs. (somewhere at like 75% percentile?)
cranky
sick
total stinker at times
gotta love her though

Now she doesn't get weighed on the "baby" scale. She has to stand on the regular one like mommy does. She didn't want to this morning. I am SO glad the nurse who happens to weigh a hundred pounds exactly held her and weighed her cause I can tell you right now this momma was NOT gonna have any of that! Whew! I don't even want to know how much I weigh! LOL.

She also gets measured standing up. My baby's growing up! She may be a smidge taller than 35" but getting stats on a 2 year old is next to impossible.

I also called in sick today. I thought S would not be able to go to daycare since her cough sounds like a barking seal (is there such a thing?). The dr. said it's just going around and a virus. Poor Samantha.

Since S could go to daycare mommy treated herself to a pedicure and a new hair do and some desperately needed highlights. I gotta do these things when the kids are @ daycare/school as DH is still on deployment. Only like a month to go!!!! He'll be back on 11/3!

Night night....

Wow, it's been a little while

I have been so biz it's not even funny. I was in St. Louis all this week and came home on my baby girl's b-day. I can't believe she's 2 now. We had a party for her yesterday. She had a blast despite the fact she's not feeling well. Her cough sounds like a seal's bark. She has her 2 year appt. tomorrow so we can address it then.

Not much happening here other than that stuff. It's still hot as hell here even though the calendar tells me that it's officially Fall now. I wish the heat would go away already.

My mom was watching my kids all week while I was gone and now I'll have to de program the bad habits (you know how grandmas are!) and get them back into shape here. :) She did a great job, took them to the Wild Animal Park and out to eat and things like that. I am grateful.

Here are a couple of pics from Samantha's BBQ yesterday. Nothing fancy or anything. She's only 2 & quite possible wont remember this anyway!

Guess who was there????

Immigration raid at a Palm Springs bakery nets 51
Nicole Brambila • The Desert Sun • September 10, 2008

Fifty-one people were either arrested or detained today during an illegal immigration raid at a Palm Springs bakery, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However, 24 were released because they are the primary caregivers of children or elderly adults.


More than 60 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted the raid at Palm Springs Baking Co., 1196 Montalvo Way, near the Palm Springs International Airport.

The majority of the arrests were for living and working in the United States without documentation.

Supervisor Margarita Hernandez Aviles, 52, of Cathedral City, was arrested on suspicion of continuing to employ an unauthorized alien, ICE authorities said.

Her son, Lorenzo Hernandez, said: "If they've got something, say there's illegals working here, then go to the owners. Why her?" He said she's been a supervisor for 20years and makes less than $11 an hour a a translator.

However, ICE officials said the raid was conducted because of allegations that managers and supervisors at the company extorted money from undocument immigrants -- guaranteeing them a job if they paid $3,000. They received a tip about the allegations in 2006.

"Employment is a magnet," said Jorge Guzman, assistant special agent in charge with ICE. "It's an exploitation of human cargo, that's what it is."

Brandon Tesmer of Huntington Beach, CEO of the company, said the company has been in the valley for 20 years.

"We've worked with INS in the past," Tesmer said. "We'll work with them now. We've done everything right."

Workers intermittingly came out of the building and rummaged through their vehicles for paperwork to hand to agents.

One woman ran up to the building, saying her mother was in there, then ran away after she was deterred by ICE officers.

Those trying to find out information about arrested family members today can call (909) 286-3324, ICE officials said. After today, they can call (213) 830-4930.

The officers came from the Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros, about 11 a.m. after convening there about 9 this morning.

Federal Food and Drug Administration officers also participated in the operation.


Yep, I was there. Tangled up in this operation until like 11 last night. Just thought I'd share!

Pity party for me boo hoo

Well, here I am at work. Completely unappreciated. Disrespected. Lonely. I seriously hate my job sometimes. Not for the work (although it is tough, but rewarding) but for my group I work with.

I am feeling sorry for myself cause I really think I am a decent agent, not "superagent" or anything but I work. I know how to spell and use proper grammar and I also know where to get the answers I need if I don't know them.

I guess annual rewards came out (I didn't go to the employee picnic since I was on vacation) and all that. I saw a bunch of "Department of Homeland Security..." blah blah blah folders on my boss's desk earlier today. I asked him "hey, what're those?" He said time off awards and time in service awards. Ok.

There were a bunch but I figured maybe for a couple people in my group who are--honestly good hard working agents and know their stuff. Well, not only am I the only one here without a partner to work with, I always have to do things on my own or borrow someone else. Not only did I write 2 search warrants last year and just convicted a guy yesterday. I was just in court yesterday on a case. But I know how to write a report and for 99% of the time spell everything correctly.

What really bums me out is that there are a few others in my group who frankly, don't do crapola. I can be lazy, as I have admitted previously but c'mon! One of the laziest, bossiest and dumbest agents got a 16 hour time off award. I got jack shit. There is no folder laying on my desk that says "Department of Homeland..." blah blah blah.

My boss says to me this morning, "Next time you come in at 9:35, you need to call me before you get in so I know where you're at". Shit, I always call and tell him when I am going to be late, I don't just try and scam time off or anything. There were 2 accidents on my way this morning and PLUS, he's usually not even hher until 10AM!!!! ARRRGH! He asks why I didn't call after the court hearing yesterday and I said I didn't think he wanted me to. Well, apparently since I DIDN'T then he wanted me to. If I HAD called, he would've been like "Oh he got 4 years, couldn't he have gotten more?" No one else seems to give a crap what I do around here. Man, he was just wanting to give me the 3rd degree today I guess.

I friggin' hate this place sometimes. The other groups are no better though, I came from a much worse one before this with a lot of chauvinistic men. Sometimes I wonder if I can make it 13 more years at this job before I retire. I always try to tell myself "It won't always be this way". But it hasn't gotten better. Ever since I returned from maternity leave nothing has been the same at work. I just don't understand. I have always been well liked at work, school, etc. Now I feel like a nothing.

Well, I am sure it's getting old hearing about me feeling sorry for myself. I feel like crying so I'd better go. I am sure that'd only lead to more grief for me today if someone caught me bawling.

Thanks for reading if you even got this far. Sorry for the ranting, but I just had to get it out.

Kinda neat

Well, I think I have found new renters for my other house. I have met a few really nice people. It will be hard to tell one couple that I am going to rent it to someone else. That is not what is neat by the way. I am dreading it. The only reason I am going to rent it to someone else is that the someone else were the ones who called 1st. Wish I had 2 extra houses and I'd rent to both!

What's kinda neat is that the people I want to rent my house are not only really nice but the wife's name is Dayna as well. Spelled the same way and all. Kinda crazy. No one spells Dayna w/ a Y it seems. Sort of another cool tidbit about the possible new renters. She is 5 mos. PG with a girl, I am very happy for them. So, hopefully they got good credit and all which I am sure they do, and they'll be my next renters.

Not a whole lot else going on. Why is it if I go to Target I cannot get out of that store for less than $100? I went to get a bubble maker for Samantha since her other one is broken and she's been bummed about that. Well, along with that, mommy's gotta get stuff for her too that she does not need. Sigh. Good thing Dh doesn't stress about $ like I do or I'd be mad at him all the time! LOL.

Oh yeah, I am SOOOOOOOOO over the summer. I can't wait for the fall! I am tired of it being 100+ out every darn day!!!!!!!!! When's it gonna rain?????? Gimme some fog at least or some clouds and I wont complain but the heat is really really getting OLD. Enough of my ranting!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

WTH?

I have no idea what was goin' on w/ my blog recently but I guess it was the template. Now of course when I look for a new cool one, 99.9% of them don't work when I try to upload them so this is a temporary so I can still blab away and someone can read it instead of some crazy Photobucket pattern all over it! :)

Not much happening. It's hot as hell here today. I don't feel like doing anything at all...

Forgot to update

Sorry--forgot to update on my dumbass renters....

I went over there to my house yesterday cause they were whining on how there are ants in the house and a spider bit the boyfriend one day. I had my DCP's husband who is an exterminator actually, go by there w/ me and spray the place in & out. There are ants in the house because it's summer (always seem to be ants in the summer there) + they're building some condos across the st. from the house so I am sure there are more than a few ant hills getting upended.

Anyway, they paid me in 2 checks but it was the whole amount and the dorky boyfriend waved, but didn't come over to talk to me. Hmmm, could it possibly be cause he asked me the dumbest question ever a few days ago? Quite possible! :)

Just thought I'd update y'all and let you know I am getting their rent but now I need to get them to take care of the lawn, it looks like shit. The HOA is going to be on my ass soon if it's not taken care of. Arrrgh, renters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couple of thoughts for today

I love the Ontario International Airport. Isn't that a strange thing to say? Seriously, it is so nice to go there when you are leaving somewhere or picking someone up. I picked up my DSS from vacation today and it was such a breeze. His luggage was already right there on the carousel when we got downstairs from the gate. It was quite possibly the fastest I have ever gone in & out of an airport.

Saying all that, there was a strange question posed to me from one of the Express Jet desk folks. My DSS is a minor so when he flies in or out a parent obviously has to go w/ him to the respective gate. So, I come in today and go to the desk so I can get a ticket up to the gate. I give her my federal secret squirrel credentials to tell her who I am. Now I do this cause I have a gun with me. Not cause I think I am special. I have a gun with me almost everywhere at the moment cause I arrest people and work in the immigration "industry", if you will. I am also about to put a guy in jail for a long time and he's out on bail right now, you dig right?

So, she proceeds to issue my gate pass. I ask her if there's anything special I got to fill out since I am armed. She looked at me like I had 3 heads. She didn't quite understand what I was saying. Then she asked me who I worked for and what my title was. Umm, I just handed you the whole shabang there lady. Then she asks me this, "Why do you have your gun with you?" If I were more of a self respecting federal agent I would've told her to pound sand and I don't need to explain myself. But I am not, so I say in a knowing voice, "Cause I put people in jail for a long time and don't always make a lot of friends that way." You should've seen the look on her face...then her understanding. I said that's why I showed the federal credentials--not cause I look better in them than my CA driver's license. Oy vey. I said I am currently about to put a guy in prison for at least 10 years and he is out on bail at the moment. Can you say retaliation? Not that he would, but you never know....

So, I just wanted to say I love the Ontario airport, there's just not the brightest people working there I guess. What is it with me and dumb questions lately? Read prior post if you have no idea what I am talking about.

It is good to have DSS home, things seem a little bit more normal around the house now. Only 2 more months and DH is back, yay!

I bought a gas powered weed trimmer yesterday and today you should've seen me try to pull start it while trying to balance the thing and grip the throttle at the same time. It's kinda funny. Maybe I'll have to wait & have DH do it or just learn how to do it myself like a lot of stuff the past 4 mos.

Sorry for the rambling on, I'm out!

This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard

Seriously! Here goes....

I have another house that I rent out. This was the house I lived in when I met DH and then we both moved into his house, then got rid of that one and I bought another house we live in right now. I still pay part of the mortgage on my old house since I cannot rent it for what I pay for it. Hmmm, imagine that.

Anyway, I had a renter in there up until May of this year, he was in it for like 2 years, he was pretty good. We liked him. But then he had to move for his job. So, I advertise my house and rent it out again in like 2 days. My house rents quickly since the rent is reasonable and it's an actual house and not an apt.

So, my renters now are two 19 year olds. I figured I'd give them a chance to go out on their own and trust them and all. So, far they've always paid me right on time. Well, originally there were 3 of them and 1 just moved out so now it's just the boyfriend and girlfriend living there. I know they're struggling just like the rest of us. Trying to go to school and working yada yada yada......so I get a call today from my renter "C" we'll refer to him as, and he says to me "I was wondering if you could do us a favor on the rent this month". What every landlord dreads hearing. I ask what it is and he wants to know if they can only pay like $700 this month and not the $1,180 I normally charge. I said if that were to happen, I want the rest of the money sometime in Sept. C tells me "well, then we'll just be in the same situation we're in now". So basically he wants me to pay $500 of their rent for them since their other roommate moved out. And not pay me back. What the FUCK is that all about? I am not in the business of paying other people's rent and in my opinion, you can never rely on a 3rd party (or 2nd party for that matter) in order to pay for the roof over your head. I said no way. Then he says what if they came up w/ $900? I said I want my other $280 sometime in Sept. Is this guy listening? Am I not speaking English? Ugh, just typing this I am incredulous. C'mon now! I told him not only do I have 2 kids to take care of but I pay part of that mortgage in order to keep that house they're living in every month. $800 of it as a matter of fact. I told him there's a reason they pay what they pay. It's the 1st part of my mortgage note and I pay the 2nd. I told him rent is not negotiable and no other landlord would ever entertain this thought either. I said as a matter of fact, if you were to ask another landlord this same thing, they'd laugh in your face. I said I already pay a $3,000 mortgage on this house + the 800 for that one. Oh my god, I think my brains are going to bust outa my head from something so dumb asked of me.

He said if they can't afford it, they'd have to move. I said although I like having them there, you do what you gotta do. I also told him that I could rent my house in 1day so I am not worried about finding someone to rent it. He wasn't arguing w/ me, (which is a good thing) I was merely stating a fact. I said call me and let me know what the plans are so I can advertise it again if need be.

Now tell me, have you ever heard of something so lame in your life? I feel like the kid's mother for god's sake.

Oh yeah and also I am not getting my cute luggage set I so badly wanted. Stupid Sports Chalet!!!! Never order from them!!!!!! First I get dark blue suitcases. I send them back. I place another order and they overnight it to me but why bother cause THEY WERE THE WRONG ONES TOO! TWICE! I called & and asked them if their packers could read. It says the color right on the order. Not blue. Not black. PINK DAQUIRI PAISLEY WAVE is the color. Does that seem confusing to you? I said you know if you don't have it, DON'T SEND ANYTHING. I'd rather get nothing than have to go to the UPS store yet AGAIN to send this big ass box back to them. I am surrounded by idiots, jesus...

Ok, there's my rants for the day. Here's another one. It's friggin' HOT here too! When is Fall going to be here? Ugh.

Things that make this mom's life easier

String cheese (what else would my kid eat if not for this?)

Fruit snacks (see above)

Red seedless grapes (see above again)

Pacifiers. I think my daughter is regressing more and more every day. She wants it more now than she ever has in her life.

A fridge that crushes ice. Samantha is addicted to it at the moment.

Last, but not least---her mommy. Everyone else is gone, she has no choice! :) (This'll change though as soon as we get to grandma's on Thursday). Sigh.

****************************************************************************

I bought her a new big slide tonight (she loves slides!). Well, not new per say, a used one and she's already in love w/ it. We had to take it apart to fit in my SUV, but I will attempt to put it back together for her tomorrow. Now, that's going to be a funny sight.

Night night.

Arrrgh, I am going to throttle someone!!!!

Somtimes I HATE buying stuff on the internet.

I am going on vacation on Wed. this week for a week to see my parents in VA. I have numerous things coming to me in the mail, some I wanted to take w/ me on vacation like a new swim suit for Sam, a new, unbreakable and leak proof (if it really exists) sippy cup, MY NEW LUGGAGE....

You know, after waiting like 2 weeks for something, you'd think a co. could at least send it out to me and it could be the fault of UPS or the USPS. But nooooo, they are taking forever! And the dumbasses at the place I ordered my luggage sent the WRONG ones. You'd think it'd be easy to spot luggage that's friggin' pink, white and brown w/ paisley all over it right? Well, these dorks sent out luggage that is dark blue. Yeah, not even w/ a pattern or anything. Just dark blue.

Arrrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was all set and happy to pack and I open the box and see that. Of course there was no phone # on the packing slip so I had to turn the computer on, log onto the net and friggin' investigate. Guess that's something I am good at but I'd like to not have to do it at home, at work is enough.

Anyway, they're sending new stuff out overnight but yeah, that means it's coming on what day? Yeah WEDNESDAY THE DAY I AM LEAVING. I am so completely annoyed. Could you tell? :)

If I had a DH at home right now I would not resort to the internet for shopping so much and I would have everything I need NOW. Such is life.

Sorry, just had to vent. Samantha won't listen to me so I had to get it out here. LOL.

Check out what I made below!

This was a lot of fun to make! I want to do another but don't really have the time. Hope you like it. It's really easy to make your own, click on the tab below my slide show...

Enjoy! You can also add music too, but I actually didn't know any of the songs on there. Am I showing my age? :)
D

Man, can I spend $ or what?

I spent a lot of my work day today researching the most possible (is that a correct sentence structure?) cutest luggage ever. I finally found it. I am taking a trip to VA in like 10 days so I need new luggage! Then with that goes really cute luggage tags and of course the new (well new to me) TSA approved or accessible locks.

Well, it may not be the cutest to everyone, but I like it. I like the funky pattern and it should be easy to spot on the conveyer belt, you think? :)

I had to make a big car insurance payment this month so I had better cool it. This was not that expensive, but I guess I could've used a black suitcase we have but nah, this is better. The travel bag I used so often for so many years finally gave up on me recently so this is my reward I guess!

Ok, wasn't that exciting? Well, I had to post something and there's nothing else interesting going on at the moment.

:)

I feel so lonely

I really do. I wish DH was back. Deployment is so hard. I guess it's even harder on him and I shouldn't be complaining but I will. My DSS went to Idaho for a month to visit his grandparents. I never thought I'd miss a 10 year old that much. Samantha keeps me really busy but I am dying for some normal adult human contact. A few words here and there from my DCP is great but I am lonely! Most of my friends live out of town and the others are just plain busy. My co workers are not much help either. Remember I work w/ a bunch of men.

I am feeling so sorry for myself and it's pretty pathetic. Even yesterday I made the 16 yr. old neighbor kid mad at me and it actually bugs me a lot. I hate whe people are mad at me but I feel as though I didn't even do anything wrong but my mind still makes me feel guilty about it. Allow me to elaborate on the situation:

I paid him $100 cash for waxing our trailer. Late last week I paid him and it was even before he finished the job, his dad was going to the bank and they wanted to open an account for him so I gave him the cash--thinking he'd quickly finish the rest. So, as the week wore on, I had to bug him a few times to finish it. Yesterday when I got home (he had told me the night before he'd finish it the next morning) and saw it STILL wasn't done AND I had even paid him EARLY for the job, I was pissed.

I went over to him and said, "Look Daniel, I fulfilled my part of the deal by paying you and MORE SO even paying you early..." He got all pissed and I was trying to talk to him to tell him he could wait until it got cooler out (it was like 100 yesterday when I was telling him this). He just basically turned his back on me & said he'd do it right then and then would not talk to me further. I could not find the words to say anything else (I was thinking hard too) so I went back into the house & sulked. I suppose he finished the job finally but am I wrong here? Why is it that I always seem to piss people off when I am not in the wrong?!!! That same sort of thing happened to me w/ a co worker of mine late last year. He was in the wrong and now wont even talk to me unless it's work related. We were friends. Or so I thought. What the hell is wrong with me?

So, anyway, it makes me feel that much worse and sort of makes me feel guilty. I don't know. I feel like taking 10 anti depressants to see if I am just depressed. Don't worry, I wont but it makes you feel like you want to when you're feeling bad. So, now I'm thinking "Should I fire him from his daily job of watching DSS after school?" Which would be next month when he starts up again. I mean part of me feels like it's a serious act of disrespect and makes me mad. The other part of me is sad, like I did something bad to someone.

I wish DH was around. I am SO bored and lonely.

Friggin' funny

Is this hilarious or what? My stepdad took this pic of Samantha the other day and I think it's hysterical!!!!! Poor kid doesn't even know why mommy laughs when she uses this binky...

Told a few people

about my day yesterday and 100% of them so far think it's hilarious that I pulled that dumbass over. My DH was lovin' it. It is pretty funny if you think about it. My mom can't wait to tell her friends.

BTW, today is much better. No drama. Almost got to arrest someone. Since we didn't take him in, got off early. How could one ask for anything better than that? :)

*************
Oh yeah, I looked up OCD on the net and found out that my craziness is not comprised of this. It must be something not diagnosed yet which may be even worse. LOL, I think I just have a few dozen quirks. But I do not have this:

Mental Health: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a type of anxiety disorder, is a potentially disabling illness that traps people in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors. People with OCD are plagued by recurring and distressing thoughts, fears or images (obsessions) that they cannot control. The anxiety (nervousness) produced by these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines (compulsions). The compulsive rituals are performed in an attempt to prevent the obsessive thoughts or make them go away.

Although the ritual may make the anxiety go away temporarily, the person must perform the ritual again when the obsessive thoughts return. This OCD cycle can progress to the point of taking up hours of the person's day and significantly interfering with normal activities. People with OCD may be aware that their obsessions and compulsions are senseless or unrealistic, but they cannot stop themselves.

Warning! This latest post contains a lot of whining

UGH what a friggin' horrible day! Guess it's par for the course it being a Monday and all. Seriously, if anything could go wrong, it did.

Allow me to bore you with details:

The kid next door is waxing our toy hauler trailer right now cause I don't wanna wax 37' x 20' of trailer. That's great and all, but we had to unlock part of it yesterday and the kids lost the keys. Mind you, we've only used this beauty 1x and then R had to go on deployment so we're pretty attached to the darn thing. I think I am a little OCD because I was obsessing about the keys all day. I almost didn't wanna go to work in order to look for them. I think I'm a little wacky in the head. So, that's #1.

So #2 = the kid who's waxing the trailer thought maybe I had bought more wax (we were running low and the trailer most likely takes a bunch of the stuff). The side door to my garage was unlocked for some odd reason and my house alarm was set. Well, when he opened that door to see if there was any more wax in the garage, the alarm went off. I was already 1/2 way to work when I got the call.

Oh yeah, before this---I'd had a flat tire and had to fill it up myself in the driveway. In my work clothes. Real nice.

Anyway, I had to turn around and go back home & disarm it myself. Yeah and there was MAJOR traffic on my highway this morning too since they decided to close 1 of 2 lanes available for travel. Yeah, that was smart. Close a lane on a Monday during morning rush hour and watch everyone lose it.

So that above was kinda #2 and 3 since my flat tire is included....

So, #4. I am already having a shitty day by the time I get to work. I had called my boss earlier to tell him I'd be late. At about 1PM he decides to have a talk w/ me about a day last week where I came in real late. I was late coming in because I was getting materials together for a new background they're doing on me at work. Not a bad thing, we're all going through a new one for a security clearance. Anyway, I had just had it. I had to cry. He has seen me do this before. But it's still embarassing. He wasn't yelling at me or anything, I am just sensitive and hate to disappoint people in general. So, that sucked. I need to start taking my Lexapro again.

By the time the work day was ending I was getting my groove back somewhat until the drive home....

#5. Some ass hat in a brand new (no plates even!) Chevy Tahoe LT edition decides that he's going to severely cut my Buick LeSabre's ass off in the fast lane. But there's something a little bit special about my old lady car.....it has lights and sirens ;) and YES I used them. And yes, I pulled his ass right over! The 1st time I have ever done that, but today was NOT the day to fuck around with Dayna. Excuse the French, but it's true. It ended up being some punk ass kid and his friends. I gave him the business. I didn't care that I was cursing. Dumbasses. They were dumbfounded. I think it's probably a hysterical sight seeing some blondie coming out of a Buick LeSabre w/ lights flashing and flip flops and a flowery blouse storming up to you and telling you off. Oh how I've ALWAYS wanted to do it though! Admit it, haven't you ever wished you could get someone off the road and just yell at how stupid they are? I was so mad....damn.

My DH even called from overseas today and I was a total biotch. Not really meaning to be that way with him, but I had to vent to someone. Poor guy. I'll need to write him an apology email!

So, on a happier note..... I got the keys back to the trailer!!! The neighbor kid who was w/ my kid at the time they were using the keys had them in his pocket from yesterday's shorts. Boy was I glad, it eased a lot of stress from me. It's that OCD in me that rears it's ugly head w/ stuff like that. The other good thing was I got to hang out with Samantha until it was bedtime. She was a little cranky tonight though.

I hope you made it this far. If not, you'll just have to take my word for it that it was a crapola day for me. I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Have a great night! I'm goin' to bed now to get this day over with!

Do you ever just...

get tired of cleaning after your toddler? Ugh, we had burritos for dinner and Sam had hers not necessarily as a burrito, she had the meat separate from the tortilla and the rice and beans in another bowl. There are pieces of tortilla all over my kitchen/family room floor and I am too tired to pick them up. Oh yeah, I just remembered there are a bunch of grains of rice on the floor too. I just cleaned the house really really well last week and it's already a pig pen. Sigh... :(

Let them eat cake! Or butter for that matter...

Ok, so tonight I did not feel like cooking or anything so I decided to take the kids out to dinner right after I picked up Sam from daycare. We went to the local Coco's. Not the most tasty in town, but I am sort of getting sick of IHOP. I never thought I'd say that. Wow.



Anyway, Sam starts throwing fits and trying to climb across the table to her brother and whatnot. I finally am able to get her into a high chair and she's still yelling. I know people are looking at me by this time. I feel myself start to get embarassed. Know that feeling by any chance? I am sure you all do.



We had some bread @ the table & butter in those little plastic condiment bowls. KWIM? Well, Sam by this time was out of the high chair and next to me and just screaming her head off. I tried offering her everything. Bread. Spoon. Fork. Napkin. Crayons. Paper. Her milk. At 1 point I was ready to take her outside. Then I had an idea.......



She seemed like she wanted the little butter bowls. But I was like, "Nah, that can't be it". I think she thought they were something else. Pudding? Apple sauce? You know what I thought? Shit, just give one to her and let her scoop it onto a fork or spoon, she'll realize it's kinda gross and not what she's thinking it is.

Nope, she eats it. I let her. I decided this was not a battle I was going to win unless we left. I had not had breakfast OR lunch today so I was not about to leave. Sam ate butter out of the condiment bowl. I sort of feel like a bad mom, but what else could I do? At least I was able to scoop some of it out (and wipe it off the knife in the bread basket) and give it to her so it wasn't totally full. It's still gross. Good thing she's young I suppose.



So, what'd your kid eat today? :)

Here's what I was talking about...

In my last post re: chairs and the kitchen counter. Do all toddlers do things like this I wonder? I am sure they do. Samantha is SO active & curious! Darn kid! :)

Been MIA

Well now, it's about time I did a post, huh? My friend came out last week w/ her little one & husband and we all had a really nice time. I'll put some pics in the post here. Samantha got her bangs trimmed, it's so nice to see her lovely face again. The 2 kids played well together for the most part, but at times they didn't. Par for the course I say.



I also saw my pregnant cousin this weekend, she doesn't look PG yet since she's only 10 wks. along but it was nice to see her too, sometimes we both get so busy we can't always hang out too often. I've been off work for so many days I actually lose track of the day! I had an emergency dental appt. this morning so I am STILL not at work. I am in no hurry. I hear the boss is not in today yet, so why hurry, right?

Well, that's about all. Probably boring you to tears. Here are some pics....

This Sponge Bob table is becoming a thorn in my side right now. Sam likes to grab one of the chairs and drag it into the kitchen then stand on it so she can reach the counters! I'll have to hide the chairs for awhile I think... Spencer, my friend's son. Cute little thing huh?
Lovin' that pool!

BTW....the Maserati is not ours, it's my friend's car! :)

Sam looks so serious above in that pic, huh? I think it's hilarious.

It's amazing what you don't know about yourself

I had to go to the range today for quarterly qualifications. I always qualify, that's no big deal. I wish I had done better but oh well.

One of the firearms instructors we have is a complete douchebag. No joke. First he pissed off one of my male coworkers by whispering something in his ear as he's shooting on the line. WTF!!!??? Then he pisses off another coworker of mine who's female and now I can't even remember what it was he said. We were shooting as if we were out on the streets as usual--I mean how we were dressed. We weren't wearing tactical vests as usual for quals. Our weapons were concealed and everything & they wanted us to practice shooting by lifting up or however else our clothes that were covering our guns and then shooting. Anyway, douchebag decides to give me shit up there on the line about my shirt being too tight. Not that he was looking at the girls (thank god. EW!) but that you could see the outline of my gun. Whatever dude! We didn't even know what was planned for this session so I am sorry I didn't dress to your satisfaction dumbass!!! It was so damn hot out too, I was sweating like crazy. We were all disgruntled today. This dumbass is not always there when we qualify & when we see that he's there I & my fellow agents know we're going to be living in hell that day.

Then came the 2nd half of the day and this is really where my post title makes sense. We always do defensive tactics the 2nd half of the day. Today the instructors made us do 4 different punches, kicks and blocks for 1 1/2 min. and then conduct an arrest scenario. What I really didn't know about myself was that I am SO completely outa shape. I know I am out of shape but didn't realize how much. You'd be surprised what 90 seconds will do to you when you're giving your all. It was SO hard to continue doing those punches, etc. and not stopping. Basically fighting like your life depended on it. I know now that I can only fight for about 45 secs. and then I lose it. Some asshole better not mess w/ me cause after 45 secs. or maybe even sooner he's gonna get a 40 caliber round plugged into him cause I won't have any other choice. God, I hope that never happens. Knock on wood.

I have the option to carry a concealed firearm where ever I want (except jails and judges' chambers) whenever I want and I never do (except when I fly. I refuse to be on a plane that gets hijacked. I will kill the son of a bitch before he gets charge of that plane). Guns are so cumbersome though. Even the smallest guns are easy to tell you're wearing it oftentimes. At least on women I think. I really should carry. I think about my kids and what would happen if something happened and I didn't have it on me which is entirely the case most of the time. I feel like an irresponsible cop mom now. Sigh.

On a lighter note...one of my best buddies + her DH and son (who is slightly over 2 yrs. old) are coming out from Vegas to visit me and the kids for a few days tomorrow. YAY! That also means that today was my last day of work for the week. YAY again! :) I can't wait for their visit! I am going to have some really cute pix pretty soon of Sam and Spencer, their son.

Thanks for reading about my whining!

New toy

Here is what Samantha has been playing on today. I got my lard ass in there too, but it does not like having me in there as much as just 26 lb. Samantha! :)

WHOO HOO!!!! YEAH BABY!!!!

I am SO excited!!!! SAMANTHA USED THE POTTY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER TONIGHT!!!

I've kinda been waiting for this since a lot of the kids at her DCP are now potty trained and any day now she's gonna want to do it. Today was it. I even took a pic of the potty and sent it to DH, I know gross.....but I think he's missing out by being gone and this is a big milestone to me. I know it's not the end of the diaper or anything but one has to start somewhere, right? Don't worry there is not a pic of it here on my blog so don't be afraid to scroll down. Ha ha.....

Have a great night everyone!

PS- I can't help but post at least one or 2 pics of how cute she is lately....

Aww, I feel so bad!

Tonight was DSS's open house for his school and it was great to see what his new teacher's all about. I like him. Well, of course Samantha can't seem to stay still & quiet for very long but she did give it a good try. She was quiet for like 5 min. while the teach was giving his speech to the parents and all. So, Sam decides to start getting antsy & loud and trying to run out the door since there's a ton of kids playing outside. I can't blame her I guess.

Well, didn't get to meet the teacher personally cause I had to exit stage left because of Sam. We went over to the kindergarten playground so she could play. They only have regular swings, not the seat ones for toddlers. Sam really wanted to go on one even though she hates swings all together--and I knew it was a bad idea--but I am a sucker for my baby girl. She doesn't know to hold onto the chains and I was trying to show her what to do and as soon as I let go of both of her arms swoosh.....she fell backwards onto the wood chips. It wasn't from very high up (remember we we at the kinder playground) I remember being above though and seeing it in slo-mo & the sound of her poor head hitting the dirt. She cried. I wanted to but didn't. She was ok after a min. or so but I feel so bad and guilty! And like a lameass. I should know better. I actually don't think I'll ever forget that moment. Maybe I am making a big deal about it but you should've heard it. It seemed loud to me--her head hitting. Ugh. That look right before she was gonna cry. Ugh.

So, that was my night. I am so glad tomorrow is Friday....

I am SO friggin' proud of myself!

Seriously....ok as you know, DH is gone for 6 mos. He comes back in November. He has been gone since May4th and mostly things have been going ok, I can't really complain. Now with DH being gone, the lady of the house here has got to figure some things out for herself....

I hired a landscaper about a month ago and paid him to put sprinklers in our back yard. I have 3 grape vines that I am extremely attached to also. One of them is actually finally growing grapes on it so I try and nurse that one especially. The L/S put in sprinklers for the grapes and I wanted and asked for a drip system. To make a looooonnnnggg story short, I was fed up & went to Lowe's and even without asking anyone how to do it, I figured out how to make those 3 sprinklers into drip lines so I am not watering stucco walls and the wood fence and every thing else but the grapes. I am thinking my landscaper is a real dumbass now and I am pissed I paid him $1200. I know nothing about sprinklers or anything and even I know that you want to concentrate the water where it's needed, not just put anything there to squirt water all over the damn place. I had to write DH an email and tell him I figured it out.

I am sure this is no big deal to anyone who reads this but if by chance you're the spouse of a military man & when (not if, always when) they leave it's pretty much up to you. Yes, I loaded landscaping blocks in the truck the other day & returned like 40 of them to Lowe's, I put up blinds all over the house since it's hot as hell here, hung new curtains, I figured out how to use DH's air compressor in the garage to fill up car tires, golf cart tires & blow up pools and other air toys, I learned how to jump start the diesel truck we have (since it never gets driven at over $5/gallon for diesel!!) and can't think of anything else but that's just the past 2 months! What will the next 4 be like? Will I be making a room addition onto the house? LOL....

Thanks for reading if you got this far, I just had to brag cause I am amazed at myself today. :)

That's what they're for, right?

That's right---blogs are for reading! Silly me. You know, I love reading blogs but I also love creating one! I am even more excited cause I know someone actually reads this every once in awhile, thanks Mary! (BTW, I really want you to make me a siggy on the Sunflowers board. You are so creative and your siggys are just my style! Once I get a good recent pic of Sam I will ask you).

Samantha had a fever last night and she just wasn't herself. I was a little worried. At one point I had to put her in a cool bath. I left some of the water in the tub when I was done so that later on if I had to put her in again some of the water would be cool & I could mix it in w/ a little warm. Well, the stinker saw the tub later on & decided to get back in it herself, and by that time it was cold. Since she still had a slight fever I let her and I think that really helped also. She slept well last night and seems ok this morning, I am relieved. Oh yeah, Sam decided to poop in the tub (the 2nd time she went in). Only the 2nd time she's ever done that and the first time ever at our house. The first time was at my MIL's. LOL!

Guess that's about all for now. I am not going into the office today, my boss is off. I complain about my job so much but I really should be thankful that I have a lot of freedom for a govt. worker, you know? I apologize to all my fellow tax payers that I am taking a day off on our dime and not fighting any crime today. I gotta get some stuff done around this messy ass house!

I dig blogs

I really like reading other people's blogs. The ones on my "favorites" here really are my favorites. Does that make me seem like a snoop? Prying into others peoples lives and enjoying reading about them? Of course if it's bad news I am reading I get sad but for the most part, I love reading these!

I am worn out

4th of July at Sea World is crazy busy. I guess I knew that going in, but managing Samantha on my own without DH at an amusement park was a little--ok a lot harder than I thought. Maybe I am just getting old but yesterday I nursed my throbbing lower back from all the activity. Yeah, maybe it's just old age and being out of shape. The important thing is the kids had a blast. See below....

I went on to read one of my fav blogs and she had this celebrity look-a-like thing done so of course I HAD to go to the site. It had a who does baby look like more? Well, my answer would be her daddy since I don't think she looks like me AT ALL.

The results they came up with are surprising to me.

Pierce Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

It's friggin' hot!

Damn, do you see the temps for the Inland Empire to the left? Jesus, it's going to be a scorcher here! I am glad I am going to San Diego tomorrow but then I'll be back for the rest of the weekend where it's going to be hotter than hell. Ugh, I am not looking forward to that. I sure do miss living in SD...

Allow me to be a whiny biotch for a moment

Ok, you know all these great reality shows that are coming out as of late? Well, I wanna pitch one to a TV network about "Westpac Widows". Anyone who is married to someone in the Navy knows what this is. Actually, why stop at the Navy? It should be "Temporary Widows Cause Our Husbands Are On Deployment in Some God Awful Place Really Far Away". Is there an acronym for that possibly? ;)

(This is what the sunset looks like where DH is at right now. He says there's tons of dirt in the air and it's totally nasty. Another reason I probably shouldn't be complaining....)

I really can't wait until R gets back in Nov. Simple things are not so simple anymore. Making dinner, laundry, keeping the house somewhat tidy, going to the bathroom, getting a drink of water, breathing. Ok the last one there's a joke but the rest are not & I know there's more but it's like 11PM and I am tired.

I wonder how I manage to stay sane most of the time. When you're used to having someone around to help out w/ the kids, it's great. Until they gotta leave. Then it sucks ASS. I think I am being whiny because there are awesome single moms out there that NEVER have the help and here I am complaining. Or moms that are going through much worse things than being alone temporarily. It's just that my job can be very demanding and w/ no family close by to rely on, it's an added stress. I was told today that there'd be another big round up of people needing to be arrested soon. My mom cannot fly out again so soon. My aunt will be gone until Nov. Who can help me? My coworkers will not understand this situation. Enough about me.

There are people I know of---blogs I read that are dealing w/ much more harrowing stuff than I am but I can't help but think I got it bad too. My heart really goes out to 2 blogs I read tonight. Christine and Jessica---my hugs to you. For real. Jessica, I wanted to comment on your last blog post, but I just don't know what to say except my heart is broken for you right now. Christine, Brody's mama---is just a saint. My tawdry complaints about being sidetracked from doing what I need to do since Sam is so demanding of my attention, seem so unimportant right now. I kinda felt the need to complain about my problems and then at the same time disqualify them for what others are going through.

I just don't know what else to say...

4th of July plans

I decided to be brave and take my kids to Sea World in San Diego this Fri. for the 4th by myself w/ no other help. I haven't told my step son yet, I kinda want it to be a surprise. I hope Sam likes it too. Even if she is only 21 mos. old.

I think I am more excited to go than my kids would be if I told them. We're going to see a couple of shows and eat a meal while watching. Sounds fun. The other cool thing is that because of DH, we get in for free (military stuff)! Now, the shows and such have already cost me over $100, but that's still less than spending an extra like $80 or whatever it is for tix. At least I don't have to rent a car, buy plane tix or get a hotel. We'll be tired at the end of the day, but it'll be good for us! I mean, damn we got 2 more days to recoup before work/school, you know?

I also got my kids a bounce house thingy. It's not one of those huge ones you can rent, but it's big enough to fit my fat ass and one of my kids in there at once. :) I am excited to show it to both of them and see their reaction. God, Samantha is going to LOVE this thing for real.

Guess that's about all. Oh yeah, I am still a dumbass. I haven't put that extra key outside yet. I am really in for a hard lesson if I don't. I plan to BBQ again tonight so I'll get it done before that I swear! Ha ha....

Gettin' locked out is no fun

Well, I was so glad last week was over when the weekend came. It was sad to see my mom go on Sat. night but she couldn't stay forever.

I was having a pretty ok weekend, had a good breakfast with my cousin and a great shopping trip to Target and then the fun ended later on at home. My lovely Samantha decided it would be really cool to lock the sliding glass door while I was out BBQing our dinner. This is how it went:

She wakes from her nap and I give her some attention and then mommy's gotta prepare dinner. We were having barbecued short ribs (they looked SO good at the store) and some mac n cheese. So I decide to multi-task and put the mac noodles on to boil. I cover the ribs in sauce and let them sit for a bit then the coals are ready, so I go out to put the meat on the grill....

I turn around to go back in and there's lovely Sam looking at me through the glass door. Yeah, not only looking at me, but pulling down the lock on the closed door. She just learned this trick so she doesn't know how to UN-lock yet.

I try to get her to unlock it by pushing up on the lock thingy. Yeah, she's not interested in that. She goes to play. ALL of my other doors and windows are locked up tight. It's been like 100 degrees where I live so the AC is blasting and everything else is closed.

I don't know what to do. No phone, not even shoes on! My step son is gone already w/ a friend of his overnight. I go to one neighbor--no answer. I run to the neighbor next door--his elderly mom is there and has no phone. I go to the other next door neighbor and ask him to call me a locksmith. He comes over w/ a phone book & his cell phone. 1st company I call tells me to call the cops. I call another, they say they'll page the locksmith (incidentally, the locksmith there STILL hasn't called and it's Monday!). After waiting for what it seems like forever (Sam is now at the dining room table climbing up on a chair and coloring w/ her markers) my neighbor asks if I have AAA. I say yeah, but do they unlock house doors? He says no, they can let you into your car & you can do the garage. YES!!!!

I call AAA and they're sending someone out from like 10 miles away. 10 miles doesn't seem too long but in my area w/ traffic, it's forever. Especially when your 21 month old is wreaking havoc around the house and you're left outside to look in at her.

Anyway, I tell AAA to have the guy honk since I am out back sorta babysitting my baby. I thought I heard the doorbell ring. Thought--that's kinda lame but I'll look anyway. No tow truck driver but I notice we have a dog door on the garage side door. We never ever use this and it came w/ the house so never thought twice about it.

I go to the 1st neighbor again and ring the bell. Lucky for me it's his skinniest kid answering the door. I ask if he thinks he can fit through the dog door (med. size dog door). He tries and GETS IN. He unlocks the deadbolt on the side door and again I can get into my house! My daughter is up on top of the kitchen table now.

Remember the mac noodles I was boiling? yeah, can you say BURNT to a crisp? My whole house was full of nasty smelling smoke. Samantha was unaffected it seemed. She was just happy to be on top of the kitchen table which mommy never lets her do for safety reasons of course.

Remember the ribs I had put on the grill that looked sooooo good? Yeah, those were little black hockey pucks by the time I was in. The dog ate them. He was happy.

We went out to eat at the Italian restaurant near us. We only have like 2 choices and I had already been to IHOP for breakfast. Didn't wanna go for both of my meals there yesterday. The guitar player at the Italian place was really nice to Sam, it was cute.

My house STILL smells like burnt food. NASTY! I put carpet fresh on the carpets and that only alleviated a bit of the smell. I got to go to work so I can't be home all day airing the place out you know? Oh well.

Note to self: Keep a damn key outside somewhere. If you're reading this and you have an active small child, you'd BETTER learn from this and keep a key nearby outside or w/ a neighbor or relative. It is somewhat funny, but in reality it was extrememly stressful. I am lucky Sam didn't get hurt or anything. I was planning for the worst looking in at her. I had decided if I had to, I'd have broken my bathroom window since she wouldn't get hurt by flying glass there and it's cheaper than trying to fix a big ass sliding glass door.

At least it didn't cost me anything to get into the house. I need to reward the neighbor kid huh? :)

Pleeeease! No more

arrest warrants! I am going nuts! I am sick of waking up before the crack of dawn every friggin' morning and sitting on someone's house or transporting prisoners or trying (not too successfully, mind you) to communicate to someone in Spanish, looking for their relative they say no longer lives there.

At least it was only for a week. It has been a long one though, I must say. Got off early today. Think I'll be able to hold to sanity for a short while longer because of it. And the IHOP pancakes that are in my stomach at the moment. Man, those are really good. I wish I could make pancakes that tasted as good as that.

I am trying to plan my time and be strategic about attempting to get something useful done while the kids are at school/daycare. I can't seem to come up w/ anything I am willing to do that needs to be done. A nap sure would be great. I shouldn't though. My mom is writing a term paper so I don't wanna bother her. I would go shopping but can't think of anything I need. Maybe I'll just go to Target and mill around. I might spend too much $ there, sounds like a good idea, no?

So busy

I don't even have time to eat, think or anything else. Work is making me earn my salary. I can't wait until this week is over.

Weekends are too short

This past weekend flew by, I can't believe it. My mom is out here helping me out with the kids while we go round up undocumented (aka illegal) people (aka aliens) who are also sex offenders. This morning I had to be to work early and we did not catch any of our 3 targets. Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow.

I love my mom to death but I've realized my house gets a lot messier with her there. Turn about is fair play I supose. I probably made quite a mess at my parents' house growing up. It's nice having the help with Samantha since she's so active and curious and wears me out.

Really nothing too interesting to talk about I guess. I can't really give too many details about our current operation at work so in that case, I'll just close it off here and hopefully have something more interesting to say some other time!