No way to hide it

Every Monday we have trash and recycle pick-up. We roll out the big green container for trash and we carry the 2 blue bins for recycle to the curb.

Inevitably, on Mondays I'm in the office reading through the weekend emails I've received from work. When you work for a virtual company, there are people who get a ton done over the weekend.

Anyway, I giggle to myself every Monday when the recycle truck goes by my neighbor across the street's (NATS) house. I can totally tell that the recycle truck is there. How? Because I hear a ton of bottles being poured into the recycle truck. Yes. Lots. Of. Glass. Bottles. And I know for a fact that those bottles are the adult beverage kind.

When my NATS moved in, we met NATS wife. We were here at home and the doorbell rang. We opened it up and she introduced herself. Fine and dandy, right? But she wasn't there to only introduce herself, she was there to see if she could borrow a wine bottle opener. Uh-huh. In the middle of her move she was going to open up a bottle of wine.

You all might think it's a special occasion thing, but it's not. When the kids would play in the cul-de-sac, NATS wife would carry a bottle covered in a "cozy". There have been times when she's actually just brought out a huge wine glass full of wine. Yeah. And when both our girls were going around the neighborhood getting their Girl Scout cookies orders? NATS wife had one of those big plastic mugs (the kind you get from Circle K?) filled with a beverage. I'm sure it was the adult kind as well.

So? Every Monday, I hear the result of what she's consumed for the week. Yes. Every Monday. [clink-clink-clink]

Managing your friends

There are a lot of people out there who sign up on social networks.

With all social networks, you end up linking up with old friends and colleagues.

Do you go ahead and link to anyone who asks? Or do you scrutinize each add?

I ask because since creating a Facebook account, I've had a couple strange incidences.

There was first the old junior high acquaintance who ended up giving me the creeps. I added him as a friend. Then he sent me emails rather than posting on the main page. Asking me for my actual location. Asking me when I'd like to get together. Kind of trying to get too close too soon.

I must tell you that I wasn't the only one who got the "creep" vibe from this guy. My sister also got a sense of icki-ness from him. He was doing the same thing to her. Sending her emails about getting details.

What did we end up doing? We both ended up "un-friending" him from our Facebook accounts. What was interesting afterwards was that he sent us both another friend request. Huh? You've gotta think to yourself, the sisters both aren't showing up as friends for a reason?

I won't rehash it but y'all can probably the drama between the Hubs and myself over the family issue.

And my response to this? A delayed response but a response nonetheless. I have deleted all of the Hubs' family from my Facebook account. Yup. ALL. OF. THEM. ARE. DELETED. I am wondering how long it'll take before they realize I've removed them all. Hmmm.... But it's not like I interacted with ANY of them on Facebook. Seriously. No one has really written on my Wall or made comments to my status. Nothing. Nada. So why should I keep them?

My Facebook is for me. I want to feel comfortable saying whatever I want to say without being judged. So I felt SO good once I finished cleaning up my list. [sigh of relief]

Now do you add all your family because they're family? Or do you choose to only have old friends on your listing?

Making Mommy Laugh

I picked the Princess up by myself from the slumber party at her friend's house. We got caught up.

Me: Princess, I set up an account for you and the Bear on Mommy's new computer

Princess: You did?

Me: Yup. This way when you do homework, you can save stuff to your own file. I even gave you guys your own logo.

Princess: What's the picture look like?

Me: I chose a kitten for you guys. Mommy is a starfish. Daddy has a chess picture.

Princess: That's not right. Daddy should be the starfish and you should have the chess picture.

Me: What? Why?

Princess: You should have the chess picture because you're smart. Daddy should be the starfish because they're slow and like to sleep just like Dad does.

That just about made me laugh hysterically.

A night with only one child

Later on this afternoon, I'll be dropping off the Princess at a friend's birthday slumber party.

She just finished packing her bag by herself. Normally I pack the kids' stuff but since this is an outing that she'll be going to alone then I figured she'd be okay at packing.

Since the Princess will be gone overnight, the Hubs and I will only have to deal with ONE child tonight. One? Amazing how easy one is compared to two. No fighting. No need to share. Just personal time with Mommy and Daddy. I'm sure the Bear won't be missing his sister.

But before we only have one child, I am going to attend an afternoon luau. Yes. The luau that was supposed to happen this morning is going to happen this afternoon. We ended up running out to Old Navy to grab a gift card for today's birthday girl. When girls reach 8-10 years old most like to select their own clothes, so I'm trying to give this little girl the opportunity to make her own choices.

I've already discussed the Princess' upcoming cooler weather wardrobe. She let me know that she'd like to just wear denim jeans on the bottom with mix-n-match tops in green / blue / pink. We already bought some shoes that'll totally match anything I end up buying her. Cute, no?


Anyway, I'm sure that tonight will be relaxed. Time for the Hubs and I to cuddle. Take a breather. And just be.

Cleaning & keeping busy (aka not fighting)

We didn't have a lot of drama today. For some reason the kids got along all day. No tattling. No running and crying to Mommy. It was heaven. I guess it's good to keep them busy and separated some days.

The Bear made a whole batch of tangerine orange Christmas-tree shaped Playdoh cookies. He spent at least an hour busily working on rolling out the Playdoh nice and thin. It was a great way for him to relish in the newly opened tangerine colored stuff. Y'all know how that once the stuff has been used a bit that it doesn't really keep the shape when rolled thin. But the Bear happily worked solo on his batch of cookies.

The Princess kept busy by getting things ready for a luau that she's organizing for tomorrow morning. Yes. She's organizing a party that will be held in her bedroom around 10am tomorrow. I found some old decorations and leis that we had leftover from one of her previous birthday parties. She also has got some games organized that her stuffed animals, the Bear, and I will play. Uh-huh. She's got it all together.

While the two were busy? I kept on target. My goal for today was to conquer the mass of clothing piled in the laundry room. I was able to wash/dry/put away six loads of laundry. Not tiny loads. FULL loads of laundry. YEAH! It's such an accomplishment to get it all done in one day. There are some weeks where the process drags on for days because I forget to move things along. You know how it gets. You get busy and things stay in the dryer. Whatever. But today I got it done.

Thankfully I remembered to buy laundry detergent when the kids and I dropped by CostCo last week. I was able to buy some Tide HE in a jumbo bottle, which was super nice. I grew up with Tide, so I like to buy it when I can. If I don't get the Tide, I usually buy All Free and Clear. Do you have a favorite detergent?

Harry Potter 6 -- Yes or No?

I'm thinking of bringing the Princess to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (6th movie).

For those of you who have already watched the movie, do you think this is a good move or not?

I'd heard that the movie is pretty dark/intense and may not be suitable for younger kids. The Princess is almost 9 years old and has read all 7 of the Potter books. Yes. She finished the 7th two weeks ago.

What say you blogosphere? Should I take her or not?

My blood was boiling

When I got back from buying school supplies with the kidlings at Target.

When I got home to sit down to work, I was greeted with the blue screen of death.

Oh yeah.

It's true.

I thought that it was a software issue. I rebooted. I did System Restore. I did a bunch of other things.

Trying to be patient. [see the smoke from my brain yet]

Then...the computer told me it was a hardware issue that I needed to contact the manufacturer about.

My darn Dell Inspiron 1525 has died.

And I am freaking ass pissed!

Yes. I am.

Thankfully the darn laptop did last long enough for me to download my last two months of photos and my last 3 weeks of work. [sigh of relief]

I ended up making a run up to Best Buy after dinner and buying a desktop. We had an extra monitor in the house. And I am NOT going to invest the over $500 for another laptop. I do all my work here in the office, so what's the point of having another laptop?

Of course, I would LOVE to have one of those snazzy little Netbooks that are out on the market now. But alas....I just had enough money to buy a desktop.

So tomorrow -- or should I actually say TODAY since it is already 12:32am -- I'll be busy trying to catch up on work. [head fuming again]

The sense of satisfaction

I invested a couple hours today to clean out the Princess' room.

A couple hours you may be asking yourselves.

Yes.

A couple hours.

I weeded through her bookshelf. Took out books that are well below her current reading level. Took out bits and pieces of junk that have made their way onto her shelves. Funny how things just find their way on those 3 shelves. Amazes me.

I also took some time to clear out stuff under her bed. Not a bunch of stuff. Just things have fallen out of her baskets and such. I vacuumed underneath as well.

I threw all of her stuffed animals into one pile in the middle of her room. I called her in and made her decide which ones she wants to keep and which ones she'd be parting with. We got rid of almost half of them. Thankfully, a few of those she chose to let go are the BIG ones. I vacuumed the ones she chose to keep and sprayed them with Lysol. I put all the "animals" into one corner pile and put her reading couch next to it. This way when she reads she's next to her buds. What was cool was going through the large pile of stuffed animals and finding old friends. I saw (and kept) two of her first stuffed animals named Rainbow and Pastel. I also found one of her favorite comfort items when she just started kindergarten. She actually had two little stuffed dogs that she would carry around with her -- Chocolate (brown dog) and Vanilla (white dog). I found Chocolate and he's now been cleansed.

I also took down a couple posters the Princess put on her door when we first moved into the house 4 years ago. A Disney Princess poster and a My Little Pony poster. I then took down the cloth Princesses that I starched up on her one wall. Bye Ariel! Bye Cinderella! Bye Snow White! Even though we still call her Princess, my girl has definitely grown past that stage in her life. [sniffle]

As I came downstairs with my cleaning supplies and trash, I made sure to let the Hubs know I was done.

Me: You'd better go upstairs and take a look at her room now. It's clean. Who knows how long it'll last.
Princess: Probably an hour or two. [said with a twinkle in her eye]
Me: Did you hear her?
Hubs: What did she say?
Me: She said it'll only stay clean an hour or two so you'd better hustle your bustle and check it out.

But her room smells fresh and clean now. Her room is now ready for this new stage in her life. The Tween years. I know she's ready. I wonder if I am?