Another In-law rant

Filed Under Complaining, In-Laws, Travel | 5 Comments

So you know how my in-laws drive me absolutely up the freaking wall. Well the latest is that they decided we are NOT going to stay at their timeshare in Branson over Thanksgiving. They wanted to get a one bedroom condo for the five of us and told us that if we wanted our own bedroom we could pay extra, otherwise their was a pull out couch. Right. (By the way, if you don’t know a whole lot about how timeshares really work, read that Wikipedia link- it’s actually really interesting!)

So then they decided that they would come here over Christmas. I told them they could not come actually ON Christmas Eve or Christmas day because we were spending those with my family this year (we alternate years). They said they were going to stay at our house and Jonathon’s brother was coming too. Well we live in a split level and there isn’t really a “guest bedroom” since we made the fourth bedroom into Jonathon’s office, and the third bedroom is my office/Avon sorting area. I told them that was too many people to sleep out in our living room and would just not work well with Bailey playing in the living room and with her sleep schedule and whatnot. So they pouted and decided they weren’t coming.

Then Jonathon’s brother was trying to convince them to look at priceline.com or one of those other travel sites. There are only like a million websites to compare hotel costs and seriously if you want to go cheap, there’s a Days Inn and a Motel 6 about twenty minutes from here. They leave the light on. The only thing I told them was, if they use one of these services to make sure to use one where you know what hotel you will be staying in before you make the final reservation. I would be nervous just choosing a category of hotels and then letting them decide based on the price I submitted. Anyway, apparently that was not a good solution for them either.

The latest? They are going to buy a pop up camper so that they can save money when they travel. You know, because it’s always best to spend over $10,000 in order to save money on hotels. When you travel twice a year. And have already purchased a timeshare that was NEVER used. Stay tuned to find out what will actually happen if or when they visit.

Crabby Tooth Girl Pics and Other Randomness

Filed Under Complaining, Fourteen Months, Second Pregnancy, Teething | 7 Comments

Now that I say Bailey’s crabby teething spell is over, she is having a random crabby day today. Hopefully once she wakes up from her morning nap, she will be in a better mood. Not to mention that I just started my period (which I am sure you all want to know, but that means I’m not pregnant!) and I am crampy and feel blah. Drinking a Diet Coke helped the situation a little bit, as did a flour tortilla rolled up with butter and sugar and cinnamon in it. If you haven’t tried it, you should. It sounds nasty but it’s so, so good.

By the way, if we got pregnant this month, our kids would officially be two years apart. Not that we have any plans for that, but we always said we would NOT want them any closer than two years. I know people do it, but I also know my child and I know myself. And being pregnant again doesn’t sound at all appealing to me yet. I’m sure that someday it will sound fun and exciting and I really will want a new baby. For now, Bailey is enough. We want more than one child eventually, but not now. So stop speculating on when I am going to get pregnant, those of you who have been asking since Bailey turned one!

Here are some pics I took the other day while Bailey was being Crabby Tooth Girl. Doesn’t she just look pitiful?

I am also curious if anyone knows anything about authorize.net or other similar services. They set you up so that you can take credit cards as a merchant. I was wondering if I could use something like that instead of Paypal, when people buy stuff from me online like greeting cards or when I do calligraphy.

Sleepy Crabby

Filed Under Complaining, Thirteen Months | 3 Comments

I am so tired. Jonathon has been working late, so I’ve been single-mom-ing it all week. The house is a wreck, my Avon orders haven’t been delivered, and I can’t decide whether I’d rather crawl in bed or read a book and eat some cookie dough ice cream first. Oh and lots of laundry to be done, and my office to organize again. Because I have been alone with Bailey, so anytime I need to get anything done, she is in here with me.

But here is my little girl, dancing and twirling. No matter what, she makes me smile.

No Spring

Filed Under Complaining, St. Louis | 1 Comment

It went from chilly, to nothing but rain and storms for what seemed like weeks, to 90 degree, very humid weather. We really got screwed out of spring weather this year I was hoping for lots of nice days to take B to the park and the zoo and all that stuff. If you have ever been in St. Louis in the summer, you know that the humidity is so thick and just makes everything feel nasty despite the actual temperature. I hope it cools off a little after this week.

First Stride Rite shoes

Filed Under Clothes, Complaining, Shopping, Thirteen Months | 11 Comments

I decided it was time to get B her first pair of “good” shoes. Her white sandals from Tarjay kept falling off and they were starting to rub a blister on the back of her foot So we headed off to L@urie’s Sh0es this morning. The lady working was a total beeotch. We got the shoes, and they are cute, but I am so not sure about the fit at all. She put Bailey in a size and a half bigger than what she had been wearing, and an extra wide. They are gappy around the ankle and one fell off when I took her out of her carseat. Also I think the reason she told me she needed an extra wide is because they were out of the regular wides. Grrr so once we got home I spent time on the phone with their main office telling my tale of woe and we are going back to their main location tomorrow so they can check the fit and personally apologize to me. It would be really nice if that apology included a coupon.

I won’t get into all the details but basically while we were there the woman did not look at Bailey or speak to her and was very rushed and kind of rough with her. At a kids specialty shoe store. Great, huh? Then about a minute after I told her that I wanted a shoe she could wear all summer, she said something like, “And some people are really weird and want their kid to wear the same shoes all summer!” Thanks for making me feel like an idiot. Bad first impression, and they didn’t sign me up for their customer club thing so that was also part of my reason for calling, to get added to that.

The exciting thing? My grandma came with us and surprised me by paying for the shoes! All $42 of them… for a pair of toddler sandals… but aren’t they cute?

Ban on Chinese Food

Filed Under Complaining, Food | 4 Comments

Last time my mom went to our favorite Chinese carryout place, she felt horrible afterwards. Last night I ate their with a friend and then brought food back for Jonathon. I felt a little queasy in the evening but then I was fine. He ate his food later and was up off and on with an icky tummy. He finally threw up this morning and feels better. I’m blaming it on the food. I don’t think we will be going there again. Which sucks because it was our favorite place

There goes our stimulus check

Filed Under Complaining, Home Sweet Home, Money | 5 Comments

Want to hear something that sucks? We have termites. Not actually in our house but in wood right near the foundation, in a big colony under the driveway, and in the mulch in our flower beds. So… time for termite treatment at the low low cost of only $1000 :(  This area (midwest) is apparently pretty bad for termites, and we live in a wooded area with lots of big old trees. The Terminix guy we had out said that was good and bad- there were lots of trees so the termites didn’t have to resort to ONLY eating houses, but also that there tend to be more termites. So. We are going to get a treatment done that lasts 12 years. They come back and check every year and as long as you pay for that visit every year, their service is guaranteed and also you are not financially responsible for any damage to your house. I talked to my dad later and he said we should check with Semo, who they use at their house. It’s a smaller company but a lot cheaper and they offer the same warranty. Terminix wanted $250 a year to keep up the warranty and Semo only charges $60 a year! Big difference. Not that you care about all this but it was just annoying to deal with.

And the other thing our check is getting spent on? A new part for our air conditioner. We were lucky and Jonathon found a guy to do it after work at his cost plus just a flat $75 for labor. Jonathon always finds nice people who want to help him. He’s just a likeable guy Seriously though this is still going to run almost $500. So now you can see that we have no stimulus check left once we’ve paid for these two things. That sucks. There goes my dreams of shopping, vacationing, pedicures, The Melting Pot…

Family Drama

Filed Under Complaining, Family | 3 Comments

I have an aunt (mom’s sister) and uncle who live in Atlanta. They have quite a bit more money than anyone else in our family- okay or than anyone else we know, really. I hate to talk bad about family but sometimes it has to be done. My aunt seems to have forgotten where she came from. My grandpa was born in the country. My grandparents never had a ton of money. Always enough to pay bills, but nothing fancy. My grandpa worked very hard for everything they had. My aunt, however, seems to be embarrassed of them. I know they can be a little ridiculous sometimes… but my opinion is that friends should understand that you can’t control your family. It’s not like they are rude or anything, just that they don’t have the fanciest social skills.

So moving on to say this: My aunt and uncle come to town regularly to visit. They say that they are coming to visit “everyone” yet they stay with my uncle’s mom for the entire visit. They eat with her, shop with her, etc. They stay in town for anywhere from 3-7 nights and usually go to my grandparents house once or twice  for the afternoon and then take them out to dinner once. So they spend about six or so hours together during a whole week. I don’t think my grandparents are wrong to be upset over this. They get really hurt that my aunt (their daughter) and uncle basically schedule time to hang out with them.

We are having everyone over tonight for dinner. Dinner… you would think 6 or 6:30, right? Well they have informed us that they will not be able to get here any earlier than 7 because they made some other plans. You know, they are only in town for a week and have a lot to do. But don’t worry, because they can stay until 8 or 9. I’m so glad they penciled us in. And did I mention, this is the only time my mom will be seeing her sister during their entire visit?

When we see them, they talk a lot about their gourmet meals that she cooks, and their third car which I guess is a BMW and I know they already have a Jag and a Porsche… so it’s not so much that they are bragging but more like they just go on and on and on about this stuff. Like my aunt complains how my uncle doesn’t want her to drive the Porsche to the mall because of the parking  yadda yadda. They talk about how they don’t do all-inclusive trips because the restaurants usually aren’t very nice. It’s like they forget that they are talking to family and they are trying to impress us. When we would all rather just have a pleasant visit. My mom says sometimes she is amazed that they are sisters and started out the same.

No DVD

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Complaining | Leave a Comment

One thing that really upset me about Bailey’s party today. I have been asking Jonathon for forever to make a dvd to show at the party. Not like to make everyone just sit and watch it, but to have it playing in the background. He stalled and then didn’t get it finished. I just wanted to show some things from when she was really small Anyway he tried to blame it on how fast it was converting or transferring or something and said he needed a new fiber cable or some such garbage. Grr. I normally hate to complain about him on my blog but that just really disappointed me

Forgot to mention

Filed Under Complaining, Eleven Months, Sick | 1 Comment

Bailey has a yeast infection on her legs. How the heck does that happen. I thought it was heat rash behind her knees. I didn’t even think about it being yeast because it’s not on her… um… girl parts. There is a tiny bit way over on the side of her bottom, though, so now we are busy bleaching diapers and doing laundry and smearing her with Lotrimin.

Also it is supposed to rain on the day of her birthday party, and the day before, and the day after. Isn’t that awesome? Gah.

Why Target Makes Me Mad

Filed Under Complaining, Shopping | 5 Comments

So they have good deals. And they’re not as junky as Dirty Mart. But their return policy? Sucks, sucks, sucks. Anyone who has ever tried to return anything there knows this. They allow two returns per year without a receipt. Yep, PER YEAR. Not two batches of items to return, two items. Unless they are marked “purchased” on your baby registry. We learned this trick. If you need to return things, go to the store and register for them first. Go home and mark them purchased (online) and then you are free to go return them. In fact, if I am stuck with something strange in the future that I have to return, I just might create a new wedding or baby registry.

Why is this coming up now, you ask? Because today when I was at Target, an especially chatty saleswoman told me their policy was about to change. I said something like, “So it’s going to get less crazy?” She said, “No, I think they are going to stop allowing ANY returns without receipts. There’s just too much fraud.” Die, Target. You greedy fools.

Tired

Filed Under Complaining, Weight | 4 Comments

Seriously, I am so tired all the time. I tried convincing Jonathon and my mom that I either have a thyroid problem or chronic fatigue. I cannot lose weight and I am exhausted even after sleeping eight hours at night. My mom told me to try going to the gym. *Sigh*

It’s really not so bad

Filed Under Complaining, Eight Months, Friends, Sick | 2 Comments

This post was going to start as a huge whine about how my life sucks right now. Then I remembered my little Muffie sleeping in the next room, and my cute hubby downstairs in his office, and I realized that it’s not so bad after all. People can let you down, kids can get sick, but life goes on. And with these two here beside me, that’s really all that matters.

I will briefly explain the whine, though. Bailey threw up last night for about six hours. We have no idea what caused it. It’s really, really sad and scary and gross when a baby that age throws up. It just happens suddenly and of course they have no idea what is going on or that it should have happened over the toilet. Poor baby, her eyes just got so big and then she cried. The night ended with sheets all over her bedroom floor and covering her rocking chair, and me sleeping on the floor next to her bed. That was after she threw up in her bed and didn’t wake up. She just stayed asleep with her face in it And it scared me.

Then today I had lunch plans and my friend had to cancel beyond last minute. I was waiting by my front door with my hair done and makeup on, and she called. So I spent a chunk of the afternoon whining about that. Sometimes I just feel like nothing goes my way.

Anyway, I know what they say about not waking a sleeping baby but I am going to go get Bailey out of bed and hug her and snuggle with her. She has been napping for three hours now.

Quick post

Filed Under Complaining, Eight Months, In-Laws, Travel | 8 Comments

I am dealing with dial-up and a crappy computer here, but I just wanted to post and say that we are still alive. I can’t WAIT to come home! Our visit has been okay- not as bad as in years past but I am sick of people pawing Bailey constantly and his mother never leaving me alone. She has been napping and going to bed just fine here in her pack n play, but she has been getting up a lot earlier (and we don’t want to let her fuss too long since there’s a house full of people) so we are very tired. I am just looking forward to being home and having “real” Christmas with my family on the 30th.

I will have to tell you all the comical and miserable details of this trip later. I will just leave you with a few kickers. First, MIL got Bailey a USED tube of diaper cream for while we were here. Second, they keep trying to drive off before her carseat is buckled. The other day we had to take her coat off to fit the straps, and FIL was like, she doesn’t need them, just hold her in. He was dead serious. Third, MIL walked in on me while I was peeing and just kept talking to me. Remember how last summer she walked in on me pumping? They have a serious knocking on doors before opening problem here.

Over Christmas Break

Filed Under Complaining, Home Sweet Home | 1 Comment

Yes, it is called Christmas Break when your hubby gets two weeks off work. Other than traveling Oklahoma (a.k.a. big fat miserable waste of time) we are planning to look at some furniture stores to get some ideas for downstairs. We are also going to an 8-hour carpet sale on New Year’s Day. Yeah, have big holiday plans. (By the way I am seriously dreading going to Oklahoma. I have tried to think of tons of excuses for Bailey and I to stay home. Last year I prayed that I would get sick, too sick to travel. It’s that bad).

I am just so tired of looking at the downstairs and how awful it is… not to mention that last night Jonathon dripped rotten potato juice all the way down the stairs and across the basement floor on the way to the garage and then didn’t clean it up. I wasn’t home at the time and I got home and asked him why he didn’t clean it up. His answer was that he thought we weren’t going to keep that carpet anyway. Lazy man. Then when he finally DID clean it up he used Fantastik bathroom cleaner and paper towels. If you want something done right you might as well do it yourself.

Wow, this turned into an unexpected rant about my husband