Life, the Universe, and Everything

Frugal

So, I just got back from a friend's cubicle where I listened to him rave about a great deal he got on a grill he bought online. He found a grill for a couple hundred less than in the stores and before buying, he googled to see if there were any coupon codes available, and then saved himself $130. He was bragging about his deal, and found out something interesting. Not one of the 12 women he asked check google for coupon codes when shopping online. Then he called his wife. She doesn't either. (I'm sure that's going to change, though)

Of course I do. I figure that if there's a box to input a code, there's a good chance I can find a code somewhere. What about you? Do you?

Soccer

Soccer has started. I hadn't yet written about the first day, because I was waiting to see how it would go. We've had 2 games now, and I'm pretty confident in saying there's room for a little improvment

Months ago, there was a sign-up sheet for the youth recreational league soccer sitting there all invity looking mext to the day care sign in paper. So I grabbed one. Ally was absolutely sure she was a great soccer player. It was all those times she sat potato-like on the couch watching Dora play. The sad truth of the matter is that Ally had never once played soccer. She'd never even seen a real game. And, I have a sneaking suspiscion that she's going to be just as coordinated as I was at her age. (Which, of course, I don't remember, and have just extrapolated based on how coordinated I wasn't in junior high). But, Ally has absoluelty no drive to win. She has no competitive spirit. For the last 5 years, we've been teaching her to share, and take turns. Sports are foreign to her. I'm not saying she shares all the time, but she certainly expects others to. I already worry about her being a little too fragile, so I wa thinking that maybe getting her into a sports program would help her learn to toughen upjust a little. And it always sucks when you try to join sports and everyone else has already been playing for 5 years, and you're a newbie. I didn't want to miss the boat. So I was all for it.

Rob was not. He played soccer as a kid and loved it. He thinks that Ally is too fragile for it, and not having that competitivce edge is going to sour her on the sports experience as a whole. He thinks she's too young. But, he's willing to go along with it since I felt differently. So I signed her up and crossed my fingers.

Last Tuesday was our first game. The first time Ally had ever played on a soccer team. They have practice for half hour before the game, but the league was horribly disorganized, so there was barely time for any of that. Ally had been warned repeatedly that this was not a "taking turns" kind of game, and that if you wanted to kick the ball, you have to run for it. And she didn't. She walked around the field nowhere near the ball. She picked grass so that we could "use them for points" - whatever that means. She got to play goalie once, and actually did a pretty good job, but there's no team feeling there. I don't want her to be goalie all the time (which isn't a worry, because they switch around very often at this age). she refused to run. She cried because she didn't get a chance to kick the ball. But honestly? She did better than I had expected. She stayed on the field. She stayed pretty interested. And when we left, she cried because she wasn't good at it. And my heart broke into a million little pieces. So we celebrated her trying. We explained the rules again, and told her she'd get her chance if she ran faster. And I hoped so hard that I hadn't hurt her by pushing her before she was ready.

And then Thursday's game was rained out. So we had to wait until last night to see what impact the first game had on her. Would she start the game sad from the memory of the first game? Would she get over it and try harder? Would she miss the point again? Was Rob right, and I should have waited longer?

Well, we had no confusion, so she got a full 30 minutes of practice. They got their t-shirts in, so she could tell who was on her team. And her coach really did well to encourage her. She had a positive attitude, and ran a lot more. She knew what to expect, and was a little less lost. Did she kick the ball very much? not really. But she did chase it. And she was involved in the game. She stopped a goal again when it was her turn to be goalie. But, apparently, she is going to take after her father. It's a good thing they don't call fouls on 4 year olds.

 

And, of course, Anya had to get in on the action a little too. When Ally got her team shirt, Anya insisted on having a soccer shirt too. So I put Ally's old one on her and she ran around kicking like crazy. For some reason, I don't think we'll have as many worries when it comes time for her to play.

random bits of conversation

Ally: One time, Julia and I were talking to the mud dauber and we said "Do you want a piece of me?" And then the mud dauber said "Yes", so we said "That's not good!" and ran away. but Julia didn't run away, because she had a shovel and she could smash that mud dauber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: Anya, you can't color on yourself. If you do it again, I'll take the markers away.

Anya: Oh. otay.

And life goes on. eventually, I'm in the other room.

Anya: Dad, will you leave me alone?

Rob: What?

Anya: Can you go away? Go in the living room and leave me alone.

Rob: Honey, it doesn't matter if nobody is in the room with you, you still can't color on yourself.

That's all I have to say about that

At least it's not Hillary

Basement

I've kidnapped Erin and hidden her in my basement. We're getting along well enough that I've decided to keep her. But I'm not terribly cruel. Afterall, I AM allowing her intenet access. She'll be just fine down there.

Underwear

(I have no idea why, but somehow I started calling Ally's underwear "panties" way back when she was starting to potty train. No idea why. I hate that word, and I certainly don't call mine that. I've got to break myself of that)

So this morning, I told Ally to take off her nightgown and panties and get dressed. She informed me that Superman doesn't sleep in panties.

"Oh? does he wear pajamas?"

No, Superman doesn't wear pajamas or panties. He doesn't wear anything to bed.

"And why is that?"

(exasperated sigh) Because he's Superman, mom!

--------

And yesterday was day 2 of Anya's underwear wearing. We've already saved $4. And I have an unopened pack of diapers in my closet. Do you know how exjoyable it will be if I end up returning those to the store? (but I might not get to, since she's still wearing them to sleep)

Dry Day

I'd just like to share that Anya has been in the same underwear all of her waking hours today and they are still unsoiled and dry. ALL day! Do you even know how much that rocks?

Why I love the internet - 2

You know what else I love about the internet? (Not porn) (Well, not today) (or at least, not right now. Sheesh, I'm at work people) Hyperlinks. How did people exist before hyperlinks? You'd be sitting there, writing a letter with your ancient non-refillable lead pencils in response to a comment and you'd say something cool like how Prius owners think their farts smell better, and then you'd start to wonder if perhaps the person to whom you were writing (you'd use proper language, because people that long ago didn't have things like texting and ebonics, and they actually knew grammar rules) actually watched that show, and since letters were special, and you didn't want to have to wait 2 weeks for them to have to write back just to say something along the lines of "Huh?" you'd have to take the time and explain the entire backstory to them and completely ruin your narrative. And then, maybe the person you were writing to already knew the backstory, and you just had to write all that crap out and they're all like "Yeah, uh, I already know about that" and then it's all awkward like when someone passes you on the street and waves, and you smile and wave back, only to realize that they're actually waving at someone else, and they look at you like you're stupid and toss you a wave too, but you know it's only to make you feel like less of a dumbass, and it doesn't really work. But since it was a letter, you'd have a permanent record of your dumb-assery, and that's just not cool. But, with the magic of the internet, you can just link to that long backstory, instead, and if the person gets the joke, they can just smile, and if they don't, it's all written out there by someone else, and delivered to us via the magic of google and wikipedia and all they have to do is click away and be enlightened (if one considers enlightment as a better understanding of the way my mind works, which, duh, it totally is).

Plus, I'm lazy, and linking is a whole lot easier than typing it all out in the first place. In fact, I think I'll just stop now.

Overbooked

Back in June(-ish?), Erin and I planned a get-together. She was coming to visit me! And we were trying to set a date for it, and I was trying not to pee myself, and I said something to the effect of

"I can't think of a single thing that's going on in August. Except that the state fair is Aug 8-17th. It'll be fun. You can come during it if you want. Oh yeah, and Ally starts her first soccer game on August 19th. And I'm sure there's a Friday the kids don't have day care, but I only have last year's calendar, so I don't know exactly what day that will be. Uh, and I have a dentist appointment on the 7th. 

 

Or maybe there are a couple things going on in August. But none of it really matters"

Boy, was I wrong. August has been crazy busy. We had a wedding on the 8th out of town. We went to the fair 7 times. Rob's mom and step-dad, and sister and nephews stayed over a weekend. Mom planned a surprise open-house birthday party for my grandpa's 80th birthday party. My dad finally came back to IL (He's moving to texas, and was already down there) to pick up my step-mom and the rest of their stuff that's going with them, and one of Ally's friends had a birthday party. Those last 3 things all happened yesterday. On the day that Rob told his dad it would be all right to come visit.

I went nuts. Because he knew I was overbooked yesterday anyway. I had already had to tell my dad (my step-mom acutally, my dad rarely gets on the phone to me) that I couldn't come. Which I felt a little bad about, becasue I complain all the time that they don't ever come to visit us, and here I am not even going to say goodbye to them. Pot meet kettle. Except that we already been to 2 going away parties for them, so there IS that. Plus, they didn't say anything to me until like 4 days before.

Ally's birthday party was at Knights Action Park (a water park around here) and she hadn't gotten to see the little girl for a long time, because of some screwy custody issues, so of course I said yes to that. And, to be honest, I got the most advance notice on this one, because that mom actually called me a couple weeks ago.

I figured I could grab everybody after the party and run over to Grandpa's party. Saturday afternoon, I told Rob that he didn't have to go to Grandpa's with me. He could just stay home if he needed a break. Then, that night, his dad called and he told him that he was thinking of coming over the next day. And Rob said yes. UGH!

Rob forced me to think it through and, When I got over my grumpiness, I looked at the time schedule and figured out that what I had planned was impossible (or at least unfair. If I did it, I'd have to pull Ally out of the party early) anyway, and it was pretty easy to see that Grandpa's party wasn't going to happen for us. So I settled down and let go of some of the guilt. instantly, things got a lot less stressful. Ally had a great time at the party. Rob's dad got to the house before we got home, but it wasn't a big deal. We didn't rush, and still had time for a nice visit.

Erin had originally planned on coming this weekend, but things got turned around, and we're planning for the coming weekend instead. Only 4 more days until I get to meet my best internet friend for real. And I'm so glad that our original plans didn't work out, because I think our visit would have been less fun with all the stress. I have absolutely nothing planned this weekend* so we can have a good time. And by happy coincidence, Friday is the day that my day care is closed, so I don't even have to worry about pissing my pants in anticipation. I'll be at home already and have extra clothes readily available. heh.

I don't even know what we're going to be doing all weekend, but no one else is allowed to plan anything that I might be expected to attend. This is your official notice.

*yes, Darra, you're still welcome. You're always welcome here.

Absence makes the heart... somewhere else

I've been busy. It's not that I haven't been thinking about you. I have. But not that much. sorry.

I've been at the state fair. A LOT. Saturday we went to the fair with Rob's mom and step-dad (who were wonderful and helped us watch the kids and they had a blast with them there) around 2 in the afternoon. Anya and I left around 5:30, Rob and Ally stayed til around 9:30. We went back the next day around 5 or so. and stayed til 8 or 9. Monday we took a day off to let the kids readjust to their schedules, and go to bed on time, but we've gone abck the last 2 nights, and plan on returning every night 'til it's over. We're loving it. Each of us for different reasons.

Ally wants to ride every single ride there. We bought her a mega-pass that lets her ride anything she's tall enough for. She has no fear of anything. She walked right up to the Rampage (picture credit) thing and begged me to let her on. no dice. She's still too short. whew. but she IS tall enough for a bunch of things this year, and I'm loving seeing her enjoy herself so much. She rode the Octopus by herself, and really wants to be able to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl alone too, but the operators won't let her. When she rides the dragon roller coasters, at least half the time she has her hands in the air and a huge grin on her face. She's already talking about when she gets big enough to ride the Pirate Ship and the hang-glider thingy. This shouldn't surprise me. When she was much younger, she went on a smaller version of the swings that Rob and I thought she was going to kill herself on. It was ricketty and barely has a strap to keep her from falling out, and the whole time she was on it, we said to each other "I can't believe we let her on that." But she spent the entire ride with a shit-eating grin on her face and her hair blowing behind her. And when it was over, we had to drag her off kicking and screaming.

Anya, on the other hand, is a little laid back. She had to work up to riding anything by watching Ally go first. She likes to sit on something that moves slowly and lets her have a chance to wave and smile at us. The little kiddee cars are right up her alley. in fact, we rode them 4 times in a row last night. And we're using this as an opportunity to teach her about lines. She's also got a pass that lets her ride as much as she wants, but we make her get off and get back in line (even if there isn't a line waiting). The first time, she threw a god-awful tantrum. BUT! The second time, she climbed out ran to the gate and happily waited her turn again. I remember doing the same thing with Ally long ago. Anya likes to ride the train that goes about 5 miles and hour around in a little circle. That's her speed. She actually told me "I don't like high and fast" when we were watching Ally go on a ride the other day.

Anya is actually big enough for one of the small and slower roller coasters, but lacked the courage to try it. Until last night. She actually asked for it. But, of course, Ally decided that she wanted something bigger, and refused to go on it with her, so we watched as Anya's slowly built confidence melted away without her sister near her, and she cried to get off even before the ride started. That's when we decided it was time to go home. And talk to Ally about her big sister job duties (and being a brat). Tonight there is a standing threat of Ally leaving while Anya gets to stay and have fun. We'll see if it works out.

The kids have played a couple games, and Anya (the quintessential younger child) picked 2 balls when given a choice. One for her and one for Ally. Ally, of course, picked 2 things she would enjoy not sharing. We've done our best to make sure Anya knows that the balls are hers even though we're proud of her for sharing so well. We don't plan on playing more games though. We don't need any more crap in our house.

We spent one day without any rides. We saw the goat, sheep, and pig buildings. We walked all over Conservation World, and saw a bunch of fish and turtles. Anya is absolutely and completely in love with goats. Why? I have no idea. but she would be thrilled spending the day petting them. We went in the little piglet building (pee-ew) and saw all the little baby piglets nursing with their giant mothers.

We've had ice cream (a couple different kinds) corn dogs, fries (a couple different kinds), lemonade shake-ups(a coup...you get the point), pizza, BBQ,  and hamburgers. We have yet to get some mini-donuts, Culler's french fries (they really are the best), dipping dots, cotton candy, or anything deep fried. Oh, and I want a rib-eye sandwich. We've got 4 days left, and Ally's not even close to running out of rides she wants to go on (again). Anya is just warming up to some of them. Ally wants to do the trampoline jumping, Anya wants to ride the train again. We haven't seen any of the animal shows yet (They liked the dog show a lot last year) and Anya would love it if we went to the petting zoo. We already went to the one where you feed the animals, but they were on the other side of the fence. This one lets you walk around in their crap with them and pet them. I definitely think we have enough to keep us busy for the next couple days.

Until then, the poor dog is lonely, the laundry isn't done, the bathrooms aren't getting cleaner, the beds aren't made (not that I usually make the beds. I mean, people visited us and I haven't gotten any of the blankets/sheets put back where they belong), the budget is being ignored, and the blog isn't updated all that much. But I'm still having fun. See you soon.

Oh, and here's a little photo fun to proove what a good time we're having.

I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.

(The scene: we just spent a crapload of money on new clothes for me, since everything I owned looked dowdy or didn't fit me)

Rob: Holy crap, that was a lot of money. Are you sure we can't afford a motorcycle?

Katie: Are you insane?

Rob: Well, then I'm at least buying a flat screen TV. And then we're going to watch porn on it. Just imagine. If we get a 52" screen, they'll be almost life-sized. Ooh, or we could watch midget porn. They would be life-sized. That's it. We're getting a new TV, and buying some midget porn. you know, they make 3D flat screens? We could get a 3D one, and it'd be like they were in the room with us. And then we could get surround sound. And piss off all the neighbors.

Katie: You know, they zoom in pretty close in most porns. Are you sure you'd want to see a 52" shot some chick spreading her legs? Or a closeup of some guy's cock on the big screen?

Rob: Yeah, I might get a inferiority complex. ... Nah. That doesn't seem likely. So can we get a TV?

Delicious

Hey, I just wrote a review of a delicious snack, that my kids loved. Go check it out.

Coolest mom EVER

5 minutes for mom is giving more stuff away. And I covet these prizes. Not for me, of course. For the kids. Both kids are currently in love with 101 Dalmatinos. For Ally, this is an on-going love affair. For Anya, it's more of a passing thought. When Ally asks to see a movie, Anya always speaks up asking for the puppy movie. Then she watches 2 or 3 minutes here and there in the midst of tormenting her sister by standing in front of her. Anya just likes to hear Ally scram. And then get in trouble for screaming. She's a mean one. But! the 2 or 3 minutes she watches the movie is morethan she wathces ANYthing. She is just not a television person. And ally is!. Which means that 101 Dalmaitnos is running quite a lot in our house. Wondering what my point is? Me too.

oh yeah. 5 minutes for mom could make me the best mom in the whole world if I can win their puppies for my kids. They can sit on these puppies without getting licked to death, unlike the real puppy we have at home. And they are a heck of a lot cuter than the creepy stuffed dog in Ally's room right now. (I'd love to "lose" that one, but it's just too darn big!) 3 puppies would be too many, so I'd let the kids have their choice, and give the third to a group around here that's raffling off some stuff to raise money for a local family.

Check out the dalmation! Here are the full details (Copied directly form their post)

They are giving away 3 stuffed, plush life-size puppies to send to one of you!

These three stuffed animals are from our store A Rocking Horse To Love. They are brand-new and still in their packaging, but the customer who ordered them was from a large company who was going to be using them in some event that was canceled.

We keep the prices soooooo low on these stuffed toys that we can’t afford to be shipping them back and forth across the country… they’re LIFE-SIZE after all! So instead of us shipping them back to our warehouse and then shipping them back out to new customers, we decided to send them ALL to one of our loyal readers.

So, would you like to give one of these oh-so-cute stuffed dogs to your children and give the other two to friends?

Here’s the deal…

We’ve got to find these dogs a home fast! So, if you want them, write up a post on your site and tell us why we should send all three dogs to you.

 

You can find the puppies online anytime at  the Stuffed Animals section of their toy store.

Are they cool or what?

Possible job opening

Rob: I did a bad thing
Katie: oh yeah?
Rob: I found something I want. There's a black ninja (motorcycle) at World of Powersports
Katie: (laughing)
Rob: and it's really pretty. I want it.
Katie: Are you insane? We have no money.
Rob: Think how much money we would save on gas
Katie: unless the thing can blow you, I'm not interested.
Rob: Why? Is that a position that needs filled?
Katie: It would be if you bought a motorcycle.

Back to School?

5minutesformom is having their back to school giveaway right now. They've got a bunch of cool things to be given away this week, but thye are much better at explaining it, so I'll just quote them.

With the turn of the page to August, our minds automatically think, “Back to School.” Whether your children start school this month or in September (or you keep your own homeschool calendar), there are preparations to be made–buying pencils and backpacks, new shoes and clothes, and getting organized.

5 Minutes for Mom wants to help make things easier. This week we will offer product reviews and giveaways to make your back-to-school season easier. And what about those preschoolers left at home when the big kids go back to school? We’ll have something for them as well.

The Back-to-School Giveaway Event will take place from August 4 - 10

So check it out and see if there's anything you need ovre there.

Exhausting

August is here. And I constantly feel like there's something that I should be doing. Most of the time I'm right. We've been neglecting housework lately, and this weekend, it suddenly hit me that I was out of time. Rob works tonight. I'll be alone with the kids = not much cleaning time. The state fair starts Thursday. That means a parade that night. Friday we have a wedding to go to a couple hours north of here. Saturday, Rob's mom (and step-dad and possibly nephew?) are coming to spend some time with us. We'll be visiting the fair pretty much daily. I bought the kids a mega-pass to the rides, since they're both tall enough for most of the kids rides this year. We have to get our money out of it. It doesn't get over til the 17th. Ally has a birthday party to go to that day. I have doctor's appointments all over the place, and Ally's soccer team starts on the 19th.  And? Best of all, Erin's coming to visit us! I'm crazy excited about it.

But the upshot of all this business is that there's not going to be any time for us to catch up on all the crap that we've been neglecting lately. Like laundry (the putting away of) and vaccuming and such. The crap that I hate doing anyway. And, Rob's kind of a freak, so he's been begging me to shampoo the carpets lately. He hates to have people come over and see the dirty carpets (which really weren't that bad) and that includes his mother. This is not a "We have to clean up the house, because strangers will be ocming to visit us." It's just his regular every-day neurosis. And, since I happen to agree that it's not a particulary bad idea, I spent all of yesterday catching up. And I know why I was behind. I hate this shit.

We did laundry, dishes, swept and mopped the non-carpeted areas. I got Rob to vaccum a bunch for me, and I cleaned all the crap off the floors. Then I shampoo-ed the entire house. That is, until it was supper time and I realized that there was absolutely no way I could finish 2 more bedrooms, the hallway and stairs AND make rice krispy treats with Ally like I promised, AND get the girls bathed. So Rob helped out with the shampoo-ing for a while. But! At the end of the night, we went to bed in a house that had been cleaned from top to bottom. (except the bathrooms. that's a job for another day) And it felt pretty nice. I accomplished something yesterday. now I'm tired.

Cheaters

I didn't remember how long it has been since I've played the game...

I didn't remember the rules to start with...

I didn't remember how fast the drinks pile up...

I didn't remember how much fun it is to randomly assign people to drink...

I didn't remember how other people stick up for you when others assign drinks to you...

...until Saturday.

But regardless of all that; I DID remember the cardinal rule of drinking games. Never leave the cards unattended. That's just one thing you never forget. Apparently, Rob didn't play many drinking games in high school. He had no chance. It's a good thing we only had to walk upstairs instead of driving home.