Classic Kid Tale...

I wanted to tell you a story that happened about month ago (sometime in January, I don't remember exactly) and popped back into my head the other day.

It's about this little goober.

(The above pictures have nothing to do with the story.  They were taken around the same time and I figured I would share the impromptu photo shoot she insisted on in the middle of Sports Authority.)

Most of you know that I go for a walk every morning.  I get up stupidly early so I can get a little bit of exercise (and peace and quiet) in before Jasey leaves for work and the house explodes with children.

I got going a little late one day and was greeted by Ryan who is not normally an early riser.  AJ knows the routine by now but he was still sleeping so I made sure Ryan understood that I was going for a walk and was also going to take Kirby with me.  I told her to go get daddy if she needed anything.  I turned on the TV, gave her some cereal to snack on and locked the door.

When I retuned with Kirby I made sure she was ok and told her I was leaving again.  I ran through the same directions.  Mommy was walking, stay inside and get daddy if you need anything.  "OK, mommy."  I locked the door behind me and off I went.

About half way through I was passing by our building and randomly looked down the street.  I noticed something on the front step between us and our neighbors.  I thought it was a bag of garbage the neighbors set there or maybe Jasey's gym bag that he set outside preparing to leave.  Not that either of those things had ever happened.  I started walking that way to see what it was…when it moved!!

I realized it was Kirby!!!

So I rushed over to make sure he was ok and see what was going on.  No one was around and nothing was out of the ordinary, except that Kirby had managed to get through a locked door.  But, when I looked up the door was ajar just a bit, closed over but not shut.  And certainly not locked.  My heart jumped and I looked around again but didn't see anything weird.

I let Kirby back in and called Ryan's name up the stairs.  She immediately answered and said she was fine.  Then we had this conversation…

"Ryan, did you know Kirby was outside?"
"Yes."
"How did Kirby get outside?"
"I let him out."
"The door was locked right?"
"Yes, I unlocked it."
"Why did you unlock the door and let him outside?"
"I told him to go find you so I could talk to you."

Blank stare, jaw dropped and crickets played in my head.  I didn't know how to respond!
I did shake my head and giggle because even though I wasn't sure what I was expecting her answer to be, I never could have expected that answer!

Of course I made sure to tell her that it was dangerous and she can't just open the door to let Kirby out.  Someone could take him or he could get hit by a car.  I also made sure to tell her what a good job she did by not going outside and trying to find me herself because that is very dangerous too.

I will never forget the confused, dejected look on Kirby's face as he lay outside the door or the matter of fact way that she explained to me that Kirby was sent on a mission to find me and bring me to her.

It's one of those stories that you have to share because it is a classic kid tale.





Today I am thankful for the problems in my life and how they remind me how lucky I am.

What To Do, What To Do...

I realized that very soon it would be coming up on a year since I started annoying everyone on Facebook with my (not always) daily 'Weird Holidays' posts.  So I started thinking about what I should do when that year was up.

Continue?
There are so many different crazy holidays everyday that I wouldn't have to worry about repeating them if I were to just keep going.

Stop?
I am sure that over the past year I have had quite a few people hide me or (heaven forbid!) unfriend me…GASP!! so that they don't have to see my odd posts about goodness knows what.

Blog it?
I thought maybe move it over to my blog since I am so horrible at keeping up with this blog anyway, maybe this would keep me at least posting something on it!

Then I got thinking that it might be fun to blog about it...but also take it to the next level.  I, actually, very rarely celebrate or do all of the things I write about.  So why not start doing them!?

I hesitate to do this for the same reason that Jasey told me I was crazy.  There are so many food holidays!  And they usually revolve around sweets.  I don't want to become diabetic in the process.  But, I don't have to go overboard when celebrating food holidays.  I can also get creative with how to celebrate them.  Just because I bake something doesn't mean we have to eat the whole thing, we can share it with family or friends.  And I don't even have to eat it at all.  We can go buy, say, zucchini muffins on N Zucchini Bread Day and take them to the local fire station.  Getting out there and doing things for other people is a great lesson in living life.

What do you think?  Sounds good right?

That's what I thought until I went to figure out my start date.  I remembered starting to annoy you all pretty consistently around June of last year.  I remembered doing a few earlier than that…I knew that Towel Day was one of my first and that is May 25th.

Ooof, it's starting to cut a little close there.

So I went back through all of my Facebook posts and was shocked to realize that I was posting almost daily starting April 11th!!!  Holy crippies!!!  So, I figured I posted a few here and there maybe mid or late March.  It's already February and if I started posting sometime in March I need to get my butt in gear! I scrolled down a little bit further.

My first post was in February!!!  The 27th to be exact, National Kahlua Day.  Also my moms birthday, by the way.

That is less than two weeks away!!  And this is why I am so inconsistent with my blog, I get overwhelmed and just walk away for a while.  But what do I do?  Do I start in two weeks on the anniversary of my first holiday?  Do I wait until April when I made a 'thing' of these random holidays?  Do I even do it at all?  Is it a silly idea?

I know it's not an original idea because I've seen other people that already blogged this same sort of thing.  I'm not worried about that, I'm not trying to make a name for myself through weird holidays or anything.  I just have fun sharing these peculiar days with you all.  It's kind of fun when someone that has never liked or commented on one of my posts asks where I come up with this stuff.  I don't come up with this stuff people, I just share with you all!!  But, it lets me know that people are reading and are intrigued enough to come back for more.

So, what say you?  Should I…"Blog It"…"Continue on Facebook"…"Just Stop Already!"  If I start blogging, when do I start?   "In Two Weeks", when it all began  "April", when it became a thing.  Or "June-ish" when my brain finally caught up to what I was doing enough to remember it.  I'm open for suggestions.

We need a decision here people!!!





Today I am thankful for my husband and how hard he works so that I can stay home and educate our children. 

Happiness...

Yesterday I was happy.

Happy that I am getting better after bring sick for almost 2 weeks (though still not 100%).
Happy that AJ has had two very successful homeschooling days, in a row.
Happy that Ryan is starting to communicate, instead of scream, and pick up her toys.
Happy that Jasey is home after being out of town.

Other than that the day came and went with out much hoopla.

I walked the dog.  I cleaned out and rearranged our school stuff to make it more functional.  I made a lunch that the kids raved over.  I cleaned.  I helped AJ with his lessons.  I made a craft with Ryan.  I 'motivated' the kids a few times to get their teeth brushed.  I cooked dinner for Jasey and myself.  I waited to eat dinner with my husband, even though I had no clue when he'd be home.

When we finally sat down to eat I put a low wicker bowl, filled with rocks and one candle, on the table.

The wicker bowl is from our wedding.  It holds rocks that people signed, as our guest book.  The candle was also from our wedding.

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary.

Who needs hoopla when you have happiness.

Today I am thankful for happiness 

Ryan is 4!...

I am not going to go back and check how long it's been since I've posted but we all know it's been a while.  I will give no excuse other than, life happens.  I apologize.  But I'm here now!

I will ease myself back into this blogging thing with an update for the little ruler of the house.  Holy crap Ryan is 4 years old!!!  Her birthday was Monday.  It was a low key day where I mostly reminded AJ a few times that it was Ryan's birthday and to please not annoy her and make her scream.  AJ had a reading group that afternoon at the library so Ryan got to play in the kids section which both of the kids love.  She also wore her new Sofia the First dress up which was a great conversation starter for her so that she could inform everyone that is was in fact her birthday that day.

After reading group we headed to the grocery store, I never made it over the weekend so we had close to nothing in the house.  (I really love it when the fridge and pantry get that low, it makes me feel like I'm using everything and not being wasteful)  But it got so low we were actually out of vegetables and the only fruit we had was a lone apple.
I asked Ryan what she wanted for dinner.
"Muffins" she replied.
"OK, what do you want with your muffins?"
"Apples"
"So you want muffins and apples for dinner?"
"Yes, I love muffins and apples. Cut up apples"
"What else would you like with the muffins and apples? Like chickens or noodles...?"
"Doughnuts!!!"
"Baby we can not have muffins, apples and doughnuts for dinner"
"Can we have doughnuts for breakfast?!" AJ pipes up
"Maybe this weekend, but we still need to figure out what we are going to have for dinner tonight. Ryan what do you want to eat for dinner tonight...and no doughnuts."
"Muffins!"
Ugh...

So, I decided to build a menu around muffins so she would get the one thing that she asked for.  The least I could do.  We shopped for the week and for that night and I got a little ice cream cake for the 4 of us.  It was a little late and I still had to get home and cook so I decided to cut a few corners, like buying pre-made muffins, so the kids wouldn't be eating ice cream cake at 9:30.  Then I got home and realized I didn't get muffins!! Out of every darn thing that I could have forgotten I forgot the most important part of the meal!  Luckily I had a quick just add water mix in the cabinet so I threw those in the oven and 15 minutes later the night was saved.  Who knows if she would have even made a fuss about not having a muffin but it was her birthday and I didn't want to disappoint her, especially after she let the doughnut thing go so easily.

Before we had cake we let her open her birthday gift.  Jasey and I were so excited to give it to her!  We ordered it and put it together about 2 weeks ago and it had been camping out in our closet, so it was nice to gain that space back as well.  A new dollhouse!  She was still playing with a Little People plastic one that she got for her first birthday.  She still enjoyed playing with the little one but it was getting pretty small for her and she played with it so much I knew that a bigger one would not go to waste.   Bonus, it fit perfectly under her bed!  This was where I intended on putting it so I searched for one that would fit.  She said it was 'fabulous!' and immediately set up all of her princesses in it.  A definite hit!  Ice cream cake and a little extra playtime followed and then it was bed time.

They were both pretty tuckered out by then and bed time was not fought that night.  Though I guess Ryan was still feeling pretty special because she insisted she wear her tiara to bed. 

Two days later she had her 4 year check up.  Little miss is 40.5 inches tall (68th percentile) and 36.6 pounds (65th percentile) They also took her BP for the first time.  They tried at 3 year but she couldn't get a proper reading and this time around they had to use the baby cuff because she has tiny arms.  Her BP was 91/58, holy crap I wish my BP was that low.  I actually have a very good BP, but that low would be awesome!!  She got two shots, which she was none to happy about.  I also asked the doc to look at her feet again.  The poor girl was so big that her feet were all squished when I was prego with her (her head was taking up most of the room!) so she's always been kinda pigeon toed.  Her legs (one especially) looked to me like they kinda bowed but that has straightened out.  Her feet on the other hand still turn in.  Her left foot is worse and when she gets tired they start to drag, she trips and sometimes fall.  Everyone kept saying 'oh, they will straighten themselves out' but I've been watching them ever since she was born and since she's started walking and they have yet to correct themselves.  Finally, the doctors agree.  They are giving us a referral to take her to an orthopedist.  So I will keep you posted on that when ever we find something out.

Until then, there is your 4 year update for Ryan, our little ruler.  The shrieking, chunky-butted, chipmunk.  




Today I am grateful for cool, Florida mornings.  They make walking before the sun comes up completely worth it.  

The Big Guns...

So apparently my life is more dramatic and exciting than I ever thought it was...or, would like it to be.  This story is a nice follow up to the guy I encountered while refinishing Ryan's bike.

I have so many thoughts running through my head that I can't get to sleep.  I figured it might help to get them out of my head and into a fun little blog post that I think will make you laugh...or at least stare at the screen with your mouth hanging open while formulating your own responses to this good for nothing Gen Y chick that I had the pleasure of pissing off this evening.

I recently put a few things on Craigslist, including two bar stools, and am about to share an email exchange and...lets say, 'altercation' I had today with this college kid.

I copy and pasted each email exactly how it was sent whether it was from me or her.  My only change was an asterisk next to the start of my emails so it's easier to keep track. (side note: the stools are posted for $100)
Here we go...

Hi I will offer 50 for both, how high are the stools seat from the ground?

*  They are 29" seats. Counter or pub table height. 
$75 for the pair

60 and it's a deal. I'm a college student so I'm on a budget. But I really am interested?

*  Sorry we can't go that low. If you reconsider for 75 let me know. 

I honestly just can't afford that, most similar stools I've looked at go for 20 each but they were for the wrong bar size. 

I'm really in need of stools if you could please maybe reconsider. 

*  The stools are from Target they are Threshold Carey 29" Bar Stools and retail for $69.99. They were bought new, by us, less than 10 months ago and are in perfect condition. I'm sorry but I can't sell them for less than the cost of one of them. I was stretching it going to $75. 

Would you do 70 then? I really want them. And am in need for them this week. But 70 is really high for me to afford.

So what do you think on 70?

*  Let me ask my husband. He's at work late tonight. I'll email you when I talk to him.

Ok I can pick them up tonight or tomorrow morning if you agree. I'm fine with 70 if they are in perfect condition.

*  No. I'm sorry we are going to have to pass.

If I come see them tomorrow first and deem them in perfect condition ill do the 75. But you do realize used furniture typically goes for 1/3 the original cost. I would only go that high if they are exactly what I've been looking for. Can we arrange to meet and let me view them tomorrow? I'm available all day after 1230.

*  I've bought and sold many items on craigslist and else where and am well aware of how it works. My bar stools are exactly what you are looking for, I know this since you have now upped your price three times even after I have told you no thank you. So, thank you, but no. 

Yes they are what I am looking for. I never doubted that. But you never know the condition until you see the item. I'm a female college student working on a part time retail salary... Sorry if I don't exactly have close to 100 dollars to shell out.. I have changed my price by talking to my parents on worth. I am really interested in the stools for I've been looking for a month now. If I am willing to meet your price after trying to financially figure out if I can afford it, why wouldn't you sell them to me?

*  I am a female stay at home mom of two  young children working on no salary. Why this has any relevance to bar stools I'm not sure. I agree you need to see something to figure it's worth, next time do that up front if you are so interested. Do not change your tune three times and then insult the other person by telling them you will 'deem' the item 'worthy' only to promptly move on to a nice little lecture about how the world works. I'd rather use them as fire wood. 

Okay. Your job or lack there of has no relevance to me. Mine however when PURCHASING does. If you are to actually take me wanting to examine an item before paying a absurd amount past their worth as an insult, then you're ridiculous. I changed my "tune" because I really needed stools. At least I can give a lecture since I'm properly educated and not the epitome of a Boca... Pardon my language "bitch". You wanted an insult... There you go. 

If you are as unpleasant  in person as you are in emails... Then god help you. 

Enjoy your firewood.  

Goodbye.

Uh, so, there you have it.  Once the name calling starts, I'm done.  I don't have time to pull hair with a self righteous, college/sorority girl that (just incase you all didn't catch this) needs bar stools.  Apparently this 'college student on a budget' can afford her own apartment, because I've never seen a dorm room that has the space or 'need' for bar stools. 

As much as her last email should make my blood boil it mostly just makes me laugh.  I admit that I made a couple remarks that had a bit of a bite behind them but my main objective was to get my point across in a very diplomatic fashion.  I very nicely told her "I'm sorry, no, thank you" three times!  I purposely steered clear of remarks that made an assumption about her specifically.  Remarks about 'needing' bar stools to impress her sorority sisters or perhaps a remark about skipping a case of beer this weekend to come up with the extra few bucks. Then in later emails the fact that if she's been looking for a month she could have added a couple bucks to her 'bar stool fund' but I guess she needed to stock up behind the bar too.  I didn't even take the easy jabs to her grammar and punctuation.  

Does she realize that with her last reply she proved every point that I made?  I guess she has all the answers and doesn't need life lessons...or advice on common courtesy...and she's got sarcasm down pat.  (did you catch that? because she wouldn't have)  She doesn't even gear her rebuttals to the proper arguments, which just sends me into another fit of giggles.  Do not even get me started on the Boca thing (cause I'm far from it!) or the mom thing, especially the mom thing!...Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned...

But, alas, I held my tongue because who am I to judge a girl that was still pooping in her pants as I was entering high school.  I'm just a worthless, unemployed, uneducated, unpleasant Boca bitch.  

At least my feet are nice and toasty from this fire.  

Today I am thankful that I am a grown woman with self control...and two kids that I stay at home with (that's the best part). :)

Our Ordeal...

I guess it's time to share 'the story' with everyone since it's getting around anyway.

I have been writing a post, about perspective, in my head for 2 or so weeks.  The way I see myself and the world around me and what actually matters in life, and how in the grand scheme of things how utterly insignificant the amount of time we are here is, compared to the span of all time and the size of the universe.  Once my mind gets going it's kinda hard to reel it back in.

Then last Friday we got tipped on our heads.  Literally.

Jasey finally calmed down at work enough to take a day off so that we could go do something fun as a family.  We'd been trying to plan this for at least a couple months.  The day after the 4th was as good a day as any and it gave him a very long weekend, something he never gets.

We threw around a few ideas as to what to do.  Tri-rail to Miami and go to zoo or aquarium.  Take the kids to a movie, go bowling, go to a baseball game.  Just something new or different or that we don't get to do often.   We settled on canoeing.  Jasey and I both love to canoe and kayak and there are so many places to go in South Florida.  We had never taken the kids but they had to start sometime.

We went to the Loxahatchee River up in Jupiter.   They told us the water was a little high but other than that is was ok.  We got the canoe and headed down to the launch site.  As we got there the skies opened up, but it's Florida and cleared up quickly.  There was a little bit of lightening off in the distance but it passed and we were good to go.  We brought a few fishing poles, some snacks and the kids camp chairs for them to sit on so they could see better.  We loaded up and shoved off.  

We could tell the water was flowing pretty good but there was no problem.  We came to the first dam and as they said the water was high enough that we didn't have to get out and walk the canoe which was kind of a relief with the kids.  We passed the dam no problem and continued on but as we got further down the river it started gettting crazier.  The water was getting higher and the current was getting stronger and we didn't have much time to maneuver the twists and turns, when we could even find them.  So we decided to turn around about half way down the river.  We didn't want to get all the way to the end and have to fight the current all the way back, who knew how strong it would be by then.

We turned around and had a few good laughs as we got carried this way or that, but nothing that wasn't manageable.  As we made it back to the last bend before coming up on the dam again I heard a splash and a few screams.  I looked upstream and saw an old man in the water fighting the current that was dragging him downstream and underwater at the same time.  He was about in his 70's.  Then I saw another man get to him and start dragging him to bank but they were both having trouble.  Next I see another man swimming to the two men from around the bend and a flipped canoe floating towards us.  We let the water carry us and the flipped canoe to the opposite side so we could stop the canoe from getting away.  The third man then swam over to us after he helped the two guys out of the water.

I hung onto an overhanging tree to hold our canoe steady and Jasey hopped out to help the man empty the flipped canoe and right it again.  Then Jasey got back in our canoe and the man got back in the other canoe and we all headed back upstream to the dam and the two stranded men.  The two men got to safety and the third guy, (who I now realized was not with the other two men, he was there with his wife and daughter and they happened to have stopped at the boardwalk alongside the dam so were there when the two men went over) got back into the other canoe and we all started to paddle back up and over the dam.  The guy went in front of us and flipped again half way up the dam.  The current was much stronger by now than it was when we first crossed the dam going downstream.  We managed to keep him and the canoe from floating back downstream and decided to make it to the boardwalk instead of paddling over the dam.

That is when all hell broke loose.

It wasn't a rash decision.  We all made the decision together and it was the best plan.  We carefully headed for the other side.  No one is exactly sure when or how it went wrong, but just as we approached the boardwalk and we were only inches from where we needed to be, we flipped.  The only thing we can figure is that the angle of our canoe mixed just so with the flow of the current and it was not a good mix.

I was in the front of the canoe, closest to the boardwalk and also in the least strong part of the current.  I popped up almost immediately and my eyes landed on the bag that had been under my seat so I snagged that then managed to snag the plastic bag that had my phone in it (no lectures on having my phone in a canoe, I'll get to that later)  I also ended up with two of the paddles in my hands, still not sure how.  I turned and saw AJ right next to me as we started to get carried downstream.  A little ways away I saw Jasey and on the other side of our canoe I say the other guy.

No Ryan.

I look around frantically and immediately started screaming her name and "where's Ryan!?!?!"  Which got Jasey screaming the same thing.  Next thing I know he yells her name and takes off in one direction towards the side of the river.  I thought he saw her, but I couldn't so I kept looking around trying to push out the thoughts that were creeping into my head, 'she can't swim, she's underwater, I can't see a thing, she's being swept down the river.'  I hear Jasey scream her name again and head back the other way towards the canoes but I still don't see her.  AJ is already out of my grasp but I can see him and he is being slowed by the canoe and is grabbing onto it.  I'm trying to swim against the current to the boardwalk but am making no progress, still screaming Ryan's name.  I hear the man's wife on the boardwalk telling me not to panic and I'm thinking I can damn well panic if I want to because if Ryan is gone I don't think I'd every let myself get out of this river.

I have no clue how long any of this took and I'm sure it was a matter of seconds but they were the longest seconds of my life.  Then in less than one more second it all changed again.  I heard the man yell, 'she's here!' and turned to see him flipping our canoe back over and there she was, somehow still sitting in her chair (that part still baffles me).  It was relief but not totally because I still couldn't get to her and AJ and the guys were still in the water being carried away.  At some point in all of this I had managed to grab onto a vine hanging into the water so I was floating about 15 or 20 feet away from the boardwalk but not being carried any further.  Jasey, the kids, the other man and both canoes were carried down the river and around a bend, the same bend that we were at when we saw the first two men go in and where we managed to stop their canoe in the beginning of all of this.  That same spot is where they managed to stop.  They unloaded the canoe of what was left, dumped the water out of both, righted them and got back in.

I was being pushed back and forth by the current, but luckily my vine was holding.  The mother in me wanted desperately to let go and go to wherever the others were, but logic wouldn't let me, so I floated for a while, starting to become more aware that it was possible I could be dragged under by a gator at any moment.  I still had my two bags and two paddles and was not willing to let go of anything I had managed to save from the water.  I figured out my plan and got situated.  I waited until the water carried me closer to the side of the river and swung my feet up to catch onto a branch hanging nearby so I could grab onto the tree and work my way upstream towards the boardwalk.  I was still quite short of the boardwalk after I had reached the end of the tree so I planted my feet on the tree and pushed myself towards the railing.  I almost missed.  But managed to grab just enough to drag myself in.

I know now that they were just around the bend but I had no clue where they actually were at the time.  We yelled to each other once when I was still in the water so I knew they were pretty close and everyone was ok.  Then after I got out we yelled again so he knew I was out of the water.  I heard AJ yell to me and he told me that Ryan was ok but she wasn't saying anything.  A couple more times I almost jumped in to swim to where they were, but knew that Jasey would be none to happy with me if I did.

I felt like I was waiting on the boardwalk forever before I saw them come around the bend.  It was wonderful to see them rowing towards me, even the other man who rowed back with them in our canoe, and I would have done anything the make sure they didn't flip or float back down river again.  I have a bruise on my upper arm that we think is from Jasey grabbing onto me when they got to the boardwalk so they wouldn't float away.  We waited on the boardwalk for a while to relax and collect ourselves.  The man went back and got the other canoe, we helped him up the dam and then he rowed over to the two men that had been on the opposite side of the river this whole time.  An ambulance came to take the old man and a worker from the canoe outfitter came to paddle their canoe back to the launch site.  We decided to paddle back instead of cutting off where they took the old man out and figured now was as good a time as any.  AJ said he did not want to go back in the canoe nor did he ever want to go canoeing ever again.  Ryan just took a step back when I got in and started shaking her head.  We did push them but explained we were taking the canoe back so we could head home.  It was a relatively quick and easy paddle back, though everytime the canoe rocked AJ would make a little noise.  Jasey said Ryan feel asleep on the cross bar on the way back.

So, my sunglasses, the kid's camp chairs, AJ's fishing pole and Jasey's sunglasses, wallet and phone were all sacrificed to the Loxahatchee River Gods that day, never to return.  I did manage to save the bag with my phone in it but it was not a dry bag so my phone did not stay dry and sticking it in rice is not a trick that works when your phone has been water logged by rushing swamp muck.  Our car keys were also in the bag with my phone so luckily we were able to get home that day.  Jasey's phone and wallet did survive the initial dump and were in his pocket but in the debacle that followed they popped out and sunk.

I meant to ask Marshall if I could borrow one of his dry bags but forgot and since no one really plans to tip the canoe they are in and it was going to be a fun easy trip with two young kids I thought, oh well, no big deal.  Jasey and I also both almost left our phones and what not in the car when we went but we had the Jeep, which is completely open and then you second guess yourself and think well what if we need them for some reason.  Even the snacks, I was going to leave those but who knows how the kids are going react, how long we will be, you don't want anyone to get dehydrated.  Then we played the 'What if' game.  What if we had gone to the end of the river, we wouldn't have tipped when we did but we also wouldn't have been there to help the other people.  We may not have tipped at all but the current could have been even stronger than it was and what if we had tipped anyway and there was no one there to help us.  It goes on and on.

I could not sleep that night,  I was worried about goodness knows what and scared that I would have nightmares about the whole thing.  (I will have to share my nightmare from a few days prior to this, but will wait as I don't think I would be able to handle sharing both at the moment.) But as crazy as it was it all boils down to the fact that everyone is ok and as crappy as the whole thing was it could have turned out so much worse.  It was a very physically exhausting day but it was 100 times more exhausting mentally.  It's been 3 days and I think we are finally moving past the staring into space stage.  The kids will randomly talk about how something sank in the water (usually our phones, though AJ is very upset about his fishing pole) and they've been building boats with blocks and crashing and sinking them, but there have been no bad dreams and for that I am thankful.

So this definitely falls under the category of 'perspective' that I had been planning on writing about before.  I can dwell on the fact that I was not as calm, cool and collected as I would like to think I would be in a situation such as this.  I can tell myself how stupid I was to second guess myself and not leave my valuables in the (open) car.  I can beat myself up over the fact that I couldn't grab AJ before the current carried him away from me.  I can be fearful about what could have happened to Ryan.  I can go crazy with anxiety about how it could have affected Jasey and myself.  But when it comes down to it what does that matter now!?

Nothing.

My family is safe and I was able to hug them all again.  Nothing else matters in the world.





It goes without saying that today, and everyday, I am thankful that my little family is safe and I can give them hugs and kisses.

I'm A Female, Not A F***ing Idiot!!!!...

So I was going to post a quick blurb about this on facebook and then realized it was a lot more, shall we say emotionally charged than a few lines on facebook could express.

Plus, it was taking a lot more than a couple lines in my status area.

So here is a slightly longer, emotionally charged (read: pissed off) blurb about an experience I had about 15 minutes ago.

AJ got a new bike for his birthday (did I ever post about that? probably not).  We decided to put the training wheels back on his old bike and see if Ryan liked it.  We did, and she did.  So we went and got some paint stripper and some spray paint to make it her bike.  She chose purple.

Today I decided to get it done.  I scraped off all the factory stickers, took off the front wheel so I could also replace the tube, stripped the paint, sanded it with steel wool, rinsed it, let it dry and then covered the handlebars, gears, etc and taped it up with painters tape.

I was just finishing up checking it over and making sure nothing was peaking out that shouldn't be painted and that it was completely dry.  As I go to stand up a car drives by and stops in front of the apartment next door to us.  There had been this guy at the building across from me most of the time I had been working on the bike.  It was that guy.  He gets out of his car and walks up and hands me a card for his computer repair business and makes a random comment about my 'fun project'.  I say some nothing comment like, 'yep, its getting there'.  He then says 'So you're going to paint it right?'  I quickly tell the whole color switch from one kid to the other and so forth.  So he says, 'When you go to paint it you may want to put it over on the grass or something.'

For a split second between the two of us you could hear crickets.  But inside my head all I heard was the rushing of heated blood and a constant screaming.

Thank you, Mr. I Don't Live Here but Happen to be in the Neighborhood Fixing Someone's Computer so I May as Well Share My Manly Wisdom with this Lowly Little Woman.  I'd never thought of that.  I guess I just assumed that if I wished really hard and asked politely the paint would stick to the bike and not the ground.  I'm just out here sweating my a$$ off, stumbling along hoping that a computer repair man would come tell me what I was doing wrong.  (where is that darn sarcasm button!?!)  Grrrrrr...

All I wanted to do was glare daggers at this guy and tell him to go 'F' himself after I had finished ripping him a new a$$-hole.  But, I am a lady after all, I just said 'Yes, I have a drop cloth that I put down.'  Ultra polite and everything.  But apparently he wasn't done letting me know he knew more than I did about painting a bike.  So he says, 'Just be careful of over spray too.'  I looked around, although I knew where everyone was parked, since they are my neighbors.  There were three cars, the closest of which was mine and it was across the road at least 40 feet away and there wasn't a thought of a breeze in the air, I looked back at him.  I guess he realized I was loosing my patience and he was being an idiot because he was already half way back to his car.  I didn't say another word and went back to my work.

Needless to say I finished painting the bike in about 10 minutes.  I didn't get any paint on the road or on anyone's car or myself for that matter.  I even carried that little 16" bike back into the garage all by myself when the lawn guys started coming by with the leaf blowers.  And I didn't even need to be told by a man that little bits of dirt could stick to the still tacky paint.

It's one thing to want to be helpful.  It is a whole other monster to stick your nose into someone elses business.  It's not like I was out there in a mini skirt and stilettos shrieking every time the big bad scary screw driver broke one of my nails or if I got grease from the chain on myself.  There are few things in this world that irk me as much as a situation like this does.  Being treated like an idiot because I'm a woman and being talked down to like I'm a three year old.  Those are two big ones.

Well, there is my, much too long for facebook, rant about the idiot I encountered today.  No picture of the bike yet since it's still drying.




Today I am thankful that I live in a country and a time in history that I, as a woman, can be so outspoken when I feel I have been insulted or treated unfairly and not have to worry about the consequences of doing so.