Is this open?

I need to back track to about a month ago when I was packing up the house to move into my apartment. It was about 9pm and I texted my friend, K, to see if she could come over and help me pack up the ONLY remaining room in the house - the kitchen. Well, it's late at night AND we start drinking - hmmmmmmm what possibly could happen? (this may have actually been the night before I moved)

I was just pulling food out of cabinets and placing them on the counter for K to pack into boxes. The cabinet was my baking cabinet - flour, sugar....baking needs. K reaches for a bag of powdered sugar and asks while squeezing the bag "is this bag open?". The following picture tells it all. "YES, yes it was!"

I had just turned around to look at what she was holding only to have POOOF - a cloud of white cover me. What this photo doesn't show, is that I also had sugar on my face and hair. Needless to say, we laughed and laughed and laughed!!

Time flies

Holy cow!! How can 5 years go by soooo fast!?!? The 5 years of ttc'ing took forever, but now my baby is turning 5!! WTH!! STOP! I'm excited that he's getting bigger and what the future holds, but DAMN I miss having him as a baby, snuggling, baby smell, toddler eyes (the ones of just pure love)....etc.

5 years ago at this moment, I was being prepped for the c-section. Probably signing paperwork or something like that. At 12:03pm (central time), I delivered a baby boy. 7lbs, 14oz and 21 inches long. I remember he pee'd from the table to the incubator and the nurse said "WHOA, we got a live one here!" LMAO!!

Happy Birthday D!!

He's not allowed!!

So, I've decided that D is NOT allowed to turn 5 tomorrow. NOPE, it won't happen. He's my baby!

I still have so much to do before his party tomorrow afternoon. Here's my list:
Make frosting
Frost cake
clean house
decorate
wrap presents

I'm not a big believer in spending tons of money to have a birthday party at a "place". CEC, Kids Club and the like all want at least $100+ for hosting a party. YIKES!! I can't afford that. Plus, I survived having parties at my house, so can D. He's having 7 friends over - yes, it's going to be tight in this apartment, but all well, we'll survive. The party is from 3-5, the kids can play, moms can talk and then have cake, open presents and everyone can go home. Easy. Depending upon how tired or wired D is tomorrow evening, I think we're going to go out for dinner with C, C, & C or C3 (squared).

Will post party pics and update probably on Friday. I may have to collapse tomorrow evening - plus, it's Survivor night.

Money grubbing exlandlords = asshats!!

In my mailbox I found a letter from my exlandlords for a BILL of $660!!! uhhhh, nooooo!!! This is on top of the $700 deposit paid!!

Here is the breakdown of the bill:
Paint/patch walls - $200 (there was 1 wall that needed patching/painting - molly screws from a light Catrina hung)
Mow lawn - $100 (I'm calling various landscapers tomorrow to see what they charge cuz that seems excessive)
Debris removal - $50 (there was nothing to remove - I broom swept that house!!)
Cleaning - $150 (I paid an $85 cleaning fee when I moved in)
Carpet cleaning - $150 (uhhhh no)
Unpaid rent - 478.25 (I sent a check to them WITH the written notice of vacating!!)
Unpaid utilities - $175 (I've paid ALLLLL utilities!!)

I'm soooo p1ssed!! I can't call them today because I'll be too p1ssy to talk. OMG!! What asshats!! I broom swept that house. The floors needed washing, cupboards wiped and lawn mowed, but that's it!! There is NOTHING in my lease stating what needed to be cleaned prior to moving out. There was nothing in writing regarding what prices were going to be charged for various things.

High flying little man!!

Yesterday was a very busy day. D and I met some friends at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) for a day out. Here are some pics. It's rare that I can capture D in a picture and have him smiling, lately it's just funny faces.


After coming home from the museum and having a short nap, another friend called to see if we'd like to go to Naydenov gym for some Open Gym time. Naydenov is our local gymnastics gym and quite fun to play at. There are trampolines, bungie jumps, and large foam pits to jump into. Those are the BIG fun things, there are also tumbling mats and bars to flip over.

Wipe out on the trampoline. OUCH!!

High flying bungie!!

It's no wonder that D slept until almost 8am this morning!! Too bad I was up at 5:30.

Cheese Wizz

It's always an adventure when there is a 4yo in the house. Tonight was definitely NO exception. I made D a delicious dinner of pesto noodles and broccoli. D is a huge fan of "sprinkle cheese" on his pasta and veggies. (hey, if it gets him to eat veggies, I'm ok with parm cheese on top) D has been sprinkling on his own cheese for a while, so I just leave the container on the table for him. D was on his second helping of pasta when I stepped out of the kitchen. About 5 min later he's calling me into the kitchen with a real panicked voice and he's crying. D has always been a crier, so I don't pay much attention to his cries, but tonight's was different. More urgent. I ran. When I got there he tells me that his finger is stuck in the cheese top.

"what do you mean it's stuck?"
"I can't get it out, Mommy"

I went over to him and tried to pull. With that came cries and the realization that the finger is pretty stuck. Then I started to panic because I couldn't twist off the top, so I could just have the lid and finger and the opportunity to examine the issue. I called in reinforcements - "CATRINA!!" She came running. With a little force, she got off the top. I examine the finger and try to pull - to be met with screams of OW OW OW!! Ok, so I tell him to raise his hand above his hand and leave it there while I grab some oil. I pour some oil on both sides of the lid, and it's not budging. He's also not cooperating by keeping his finger stick straight while I pull. So, I get the scissors out and try to figure out how to cut his finger free. The plastic parts between the holes are very small, but his finger is also REALLY stuck and I'm not able to get close enough to cut him free. Onto the next option - cold water. D is now complaining about how cold the water is - TOO BAD keep your finger under the water. No luck.

So Catrina decides to cut the plastic from around the other holes next to his finger. This allows me to make a small cut in the plastic and with that Catrina pulls the plastic apart. The finger is free!!

The photo below is the lid. The hole that looks intact is where his finger was stuck. There is a small break between the stuck hole and the hole to the left. That's where I made the small cut and Catrina pulled apart the plastic.
The finger unstuck. You can see a small red line just below his middle knuckle. Between the middle knuckle and hand. It was much worse looking in real life. Darned camera. And b/c I don't know how to add fancy stuff to pictures, I can't point to it.

So it took 2 people and brute force to free his finger. Cheese wizzzzz, and I thought it was going to be a quiet Friday night.

SOOO Very true!!

My friend, Casey, posted this on her blog and so (having 5 min) I decided to take a whirl. HOLY COW!! It's soooo me!!

2 - the Helper

Thanks for taking the test !

you chose CX - your Enneagram type is TWO (aka "The Charmer").

"I must help others"

Helpers are warm, concerned, nurturing,

and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.

• Share fun times with me.

• Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.

• Let me know that I am important and special to you.

• Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

• Reassure me that I am interesting to you.

• Reassure me often that you love me.

• Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a TWO

• being able to relate easily to people and to make friends

• knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better

• being generous, caring, and warm

• being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings

• being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a TWO

• not being able to say no

• having low self-esteem

• feeling drained from overdoing for others

• not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish

• criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should

• being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them

• working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

TWOs as Children Often

• are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism

• try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding

• are outwardly compliant

• are popular or try to be popular with other children

• act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention

• are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted TWOs), or quiet and shy (the more introverted TWOs)

TWOs as Parents

• are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)

• are often playful with their children

• wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"

• can become fiercely protective

Go ahead, take the test yourself and see:
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-quick-amp-painless-enneagram-test