You think you've seen it all and then....

And then you see this. Yep. That's a dead mouse. In the sink drain. Where I wash the dishes.

You know when I discovered it? Right after I sliced myself a hunk of cheese (ironic, no?) and dropped the knife in the drain. At first I thought that for some reason we had three drain plugs instead of two, but then I realized what it was. And got totally and utterly grossed out. Mouse was removed, much bleach applied to both sinks and surrounding surfaces, much gagging occurred. Dead mice in the sink are a surefire way to kill one's appetite!

Road Trip!

On Saturday July 18, we took a two hour tour to PA to visit Grandma Carolynn's twin sister Helen and her family. Corey's cousin Paris was home for the day, and we haven't seen him in at least six years. Paris is in the military, so the chances for us to visit with him are few and far between. Milo had a complete and utter blast, and the rest of us had a good time too.


One of Corey's relatives is a DJ/kid entertainer, so Milo and the other little girl that was there had their own personal balloon animal guy.

Milo and Abigail sporting their awesome helmets.

Abigail had mouse ears AND wings.

The DJ guy brought a parachute too. Only word to describe that fun: Awesome!!!!

Milo and Abigail keeping their balance while we shook the parachute.

Me and Milo running around inside the parachute.

I'm going to get you!

We collapsed in the middle and then we got dragged around for awhile.

Balloon fun, bubble machine and tired old dog.

Someone brought a mini foosball game, and Milo was fascinated by it. When we weren't chasing bubbles or playing with balloons, we were playing foosball.

Chasing the bubbles from the bubble machine. That thing was amazing, it spit out thousands of bubbles a second. I predict one being purchased for our personal use in the near future. Milo and Lily would both love it.

Milo and Abigail playing in the bubbles.

This little girl took an instant liking to Milo. Her name is Rebecca and I think she said she's 8 years old. I have no idea who she is or where she came from, but she was a nice kid.

Corey's Aunt Helen, Grandma Carolynn's twin sister.

Corey's cousin Paris, Paris's fiancee Katie and his best buddy Manny.

Our first trip to the emergency room

Well, it's happened: Milo's first emergency room visit. And it wasn't for anything normal that the kid would do to himself. Wouldn't you know I was trying to clean out his ears, Milo jerked his head instead of staying still like he was supposed to....and then the bleeding and screaming started. I panicked, Milo panicked, thank goodness Corey was home for this particular disaster (he usually isn't) because he kept us both from totally losing it. I called the doctor's office, they told us to take Milo straight to the ER to make sure I hadn't punctured the kid's eardrum. Off we went to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Hamilton, where we were seen and dismissed in less than an hour. Milo just has a scratch on his ear canal from the q-tip (thank goodness. I was envisioning much worse news), and has to have eardrops put in three times a day to prevent infection. That's a real treat for both of us, he squirms worse than the dogs do when I'm cutting their toenails. We never fail to have some kind of high drama going on!

a big "thank you" to Sears

This acknowledgement is long overdue. For those of you who followed the saga of my washer and dryer and their lack of proper installation from Sears, you know I wrote Sears a looooong letter complaining of mine and Corey's major dissatisfaction. We ended up paying $257 extra on top of the washer and dryer cost, in order to get the dryer converted to propane and to buy all the extra stuff we needed to install the appliances. Lo and behold, earlier this month, I received a phone call from Sears asking if I would like to have the overage credited to my Sears credit card. Heck, yeah! I couldn't believe it, as I never asked for the money back, just bitched and moaned about what an inconvenience the whole mess was. The credit has since gone through, the washer and dryer have been working fine, and we are finally happy Sears customers. Moral of the story: Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, you never know what good stuff it might bring!

And now I'm a man

So pronounceth Sir Milo, who at the age of four has decided he's all the man he needs to be. Milo went around today taking "man-sips" of his drinks and showing me his manly hands and telling me how hairy he's going to be when he turns five. I went to the grocery store this morning for an hour, thinking that I was leaving my husband and little kid at home, and came home to two men. Corey said Milo made this proclamation while Corey was in the shower, and had to do manly things with Corey like shave and put on cologne.

After dinner tonight I took Milo to the park so he could practice riding his bicycle (during which time Milo was wearing his manly helmet). He was telling the big kids we saw there that he was a man, also. They probably thought he was off his rocker.

Then later on, Milo bumped his head in the tub, which caused an outburst of tears. He kept crying long after the hurt went away, and when I asked why, Milo tearfully explained that he just found out he wasn't really a man, he was still a kid because he cried when he hurt himself. Plus Daddy is taller than him. What a reality check!

Are we talking about the same kid?

As I was walking out of Milo's class after dropping him off the other day, his teacher stopped me. She asked "Is Milo always this quiet?" The look on my face must have been one of shellshock, because she looked at me like I had three heads. I explained, "The Milo I know gets up in the morning between 5:30 and 6, lets out a war whoop and proceeds to chase the dogs and cat around the house, all the while singing at the top of his lungs. And that's when he is being quiet." His teacher laughed at that, and went on to say that he is the most well behaved and mannerly kid in her class, and smart too, and she wishes that there were ten others like him. I couldn't believe it, and said so. I mean, we know he's smart as anything, but always well behaved? What?? Maybe 75% of the time. Anyway, this compliment totally made my day, and it made Corey's too when I repeated it to him. Still, we'll ask Milo's teacher if she remembers what she said a few months from now, when she gets to know Milo a little better....

The first "unauthorized item in the toilet" incident

For some reason, last night Milo decided to throw his socks in the toilet instead of in the hamper. Thank goodness I caught him in the bathroom, BEFORE he flushed them down. I made Milo go downstairs and get a bucket, and then come back upstairs and fish the socks out of the toilet himself. Then Milo had to carry toilet socks downstairs and put them in the washing machine, then trudge back upstairs and wash his hands thoroughly. He was not very happy, but we certainly weren't happy about the potential for toilet clogging either!! When I asked Milo what he thought would happen if the toilet broke cuz he flushed the socks, Milo said he would just pee in the big hole. I asked him what would happen if we had to poop with no toilet, and that gave Milo pause for thought. "I will fall in the big hole and end up in the septic tank! Oh no! I will never put bad things in the toilet again!" Mission accomplished. Maybe. Until next time it happens.

Why is it that....

A person can defrost a whole chicken for three days, and the bag of gizzards and goop STILL stays frozen and stuck to the inside of the bird??? I spent at least 15 minutes this morning hacking away at that nasty stuff with a big spoon in a vain attempt to remove it from the chicken before I plopped the bird in the crock pot. I was just about to give up all hope when the bag finally released itself from the bird's insides with a very audible pop.

My other question is, why is that bag of stuff stuck inside the chicken anyway? I know old people love to use those parts to make soup, and fisherman like chicken parts for bait, but why can't it be sold separate from the chicken? Or maybe squished into a neat flat little package that's on the outside of the bird? It would save the rest of the world a lot of aggravation!

Some major milestones

Milo is a genius, just like me. He graduated from preschool in just three weeks! Seriously! His daycare teacher informed me that Milo was to participate in the graduation ceremony, even though he had barely been going to that new school for a month. Milo "graduated" last Thursday. The program that the kids put on was really cute, with some songs and the Pledge of Allegiance. They got "diplomas" and then ate some cake. Good times were had by all.

The other milestone is that we have been cautiously allowing Milo to go outside by himself for short periods of time. Always before, one of us was planted in the yard with him, to supervise. Milo's been begging me to go outside after dinner, right when I want to get the dishes done for the evening. It dawned on me that I could wash dishes while he was playing outside, since the windows over the sink look out on the backyard. I took Milo outside a couple of nights ago and showed him where the kitchen windows are, and explained that as long as he can see the windows, then I can see him. Milo thought this idea was grand and has been a very good boy about staying in range. If he strays, I immediately go outside and make him come in. Milo doesn't like that part, but he understands that its the consequence if he doesn't follow the rules.

I really like watching Milo play when he's not paying attention to me, he's so creative and funny about the games he makes up. Last night was some sort of highly involved soccer game with Lily, that included golf balls. He was out there lecturing to Lily for a long time about the dos and don'ts and laughing his butt off when she would actually chase after the ball for him. Quinn just spends his quality time outside nosing around, after he gets tired of chasing Lily.

And then there's Lily

Lily likes to take her R&R out on the deck. I caught her lounging in the deck chair the other night when I was washing dishes. She is such a funny pooch. I love the expression on her face in this picture....it looks like she's thinking "What?! Haven't you ever seen a boxer taking five?" All she needs is a beer and a cigarette :)

My boys

They drive me crazy, but I still think they're handsome!


Quinn being a cubby puppy and peeking at me while I was in the basement.

Awww Mom, it's lonely up here without you.

Corey and Milo, peas in a pod.

Milo with his extra cool new haircut. He specifically asked me to tell the barber to give him a flip. So now I have to put "product" in my kid's hair every morning to spike it up. 4 years old and already fashion conscious. I'm doomed!

My latest project

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I decided I had had it once and for all with the ugly rug in our bedroom that was dirty when we moved here, and only got dirtier over the past six years, despite my many failed efforts to clean it. Light gray rugs and hairy brown animals don't mix well. Quinn, Lily and Monet did their various bits of damage to the rug, and it had two big brown dog shaped stains where Quinn and Lily sleep on the floor. Gross. So while Corey was at work last Monday, I proceeded to move lots of furniture around and tear up carpet. When I pulled up the first section of gray carpet, I discovered an extra-hideous mauve carpet underneath that, with hot pink and light blue fleur de lis / flowers all over it. Lots of duct tape, extra-long nails and staples secured that rug to the floor. What were the people thinking that put that thing in? Why didn't they take it out when the wall-to-wall went in? Yeesh. The hardwood floor is a mess, between the stains and the paint splats, but I would rather look at that any day.

I didn't want to go to the bother of refinishing the floor in our bedroom because there is just too much damn furniture in there to have to move around. Plus, I want to keep one "original" floor that speaks the history of the house, whatever it may be. Mostly it speaks of puppy accidents, and bad paint jobs, from what I can tell. Anyway, I found just exactly the right size and color at Walmart this past weekend. It's dirt colored to hide the stains, and it's big enough to cover most of the floor. I spent this past Saturday moving all the furniture around again, and putting the new carpet down. It looks ever so much better! Now I just have to decide on what color to paint our room. The blue has grown on me over the years, but I really want to go with something lighter and more peppy, especially since my ultimate goal is to turn our bedroom into a boudoir ala Buffett.


There aren't any "before" pictures of the complete original carpet because the camera ran out of memory space. Here's a peek of the remnant sticking out from under the dressers. Along with a good look at the "weathered" wood floor.

Who the heck paints a room without a drop cloth, I ask you? And then walks in wet paint splats, and doesn't bother to wipe it off? Very irritating to those of us who like hardwood floors!

Close up of ugly gray rug.

Eeekk. Who would pick out a rug like this?

All the rug is gone.

Another view of the many varied spots and splotches and stains.

This is where our bed normally is in the bedroom. I don't know what the huge stain in the middle is from, but it can't be good. Good thing the bed covers it up so we don't have to look at it!

What a mess! When Corey and Milo are not around, I'm secretly a slob that throws everything in the living room, new rugs and rug pads, sanding tools and toys included.

Quinn says: "Why did you shove your mattress and boxspring in the hallway and the dining room? They are most in my way."

New rug!

The naked strip of floor by my side of the bed is my ode to the house and all that it has seen before our crazy chaos moved in.

Some of the stuff that goes on around here

Fat cat on a tiny chair! I couldn't believe Monet was able to fit into the teensy space left by Milo's butt. She stayed on the stool with him that morning for at least half an hour, without once falling off. Look inthe background at the white cabinet. Yes, that's a chain holding the doors together. Lily ate the babyproof plastic holder-closers that we had on those doors, so we had to improvise with a chain and thumbscrew to keep the dog from eating everything in the cabinet. One of these days I suppose she'll just eat the cabinet itself, and then we'll have to come up with a different way of storing our dry goods.

Don't let the cat out of the bag! That skanky cat loves Milo's sleeping bag more than he does. Now I have to sew up some holes she's ripped in it with her claws, because she's always in there. I have to literally dump Monet out of the bag onto the floor whenever I go in Milo's room. She doesn't like it too much, but I don't really appreciate her sleeping in Milo's bed.

I bet you never thought you would see the day. Yep, those are pompoms driving those cars. The blue pompom in the black car has three orange girlfriends, and the orange pompom driving the blue car put his orange friend in the trunk because he was mad at him. No lie!

Meet Mr. Yummy

I know, Mr. Yummy sounds like something straight out of a porno. Yet, it was the name stamped on this lollipop's packaging, and it cracked me up. Milo thought it was funny too, and kept finding different ways to talk about Mr. Yummy, all of which gave me the giggles, since my mind pretty much lives in the gutter.

I have been carrying Mr. Yummy around with me in my work bag for months, with every intention of eating him, but I kept forgetting to. Then Milo was digging around in my bag looking for food, and found him. A great battle ensued as we drove down the road, but I managed to wrestle Mr. Yummy away from Milo and convinced him to wait on eating the lollipop until after supper. Don't worry, most of this arguing took place while we were stopped at a red light.

I suppose the wait was worth it. Once Milo got his mitts on Mr. Yummy, Mr. Yummy lasted all of five minutes and I was informed that it was delicious grapey goodness. That's why I had been saving Mr. Yummy for myself. Grape lollipops are my favorite, along with green ones.

Now you know who I really am

Yes, that's right. I officially drive the Bat-truck!!! Is it not awesome???

This is just phase one of the Bat-truck. My ode to Batman will continue, as I am having another larger Batsignal made for the hood.

In the meantime, Jack Skellington keeps an eye on things for me. Jack braves high winds every day on 2-95, but don't worry, he is held on securely by a large wad of electrical tape stuffed up inside his head.

This just has me....confused

Okay, here's my rant for the day. First go to this website and read the story, then come back to finish reading this post.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/AmazingAnimals/story?id=7561260&page=1

Now I can rant and it will make sense. If you have a doggie door in any place in your home, does it not equal a hole to the outside world? If the door is big enough for an animal to fit through it, can't a person fit through it? Why is there no mention of fences and gates being necessary around the pools?

Yes, I feel terrible for the people that it happened to. But they're not called doggie doors for nothing. If they were just a doggie-one-way-opening, it would be called that instead. Whatever happened to common sense, and thinking that "Huh. If my dog can go in and out, probably a kid could fit through there too. I better make sure things are safe in case in that happens." Is it just me or am I crazy to think that way?

Happy Mother's Day

A good weekend! Sunny, warm, breezy...perfect for....you guessed it: Dragging out the hammock stand, putting up the hammock and slinging my big butt into it for hours of rest and relaxation. Okay, maybe I wasn't in there for hours, since I do have a family to deal with and all...but yesterday Milo and I did break out the hammock for the first time this season and spent a lot of time in it. I don't advise trying to take a nap with that monkey in the hammock with you; it's guaranteed to make you seasick because the kid never quits squirming around.

Sorry for lack of updates, not much noteworthy action has been going on around here. Although I must say that over the course of the week Corey and I planted a bunch of flowers around the yard, so the place is looking more cheerful. I will give Corey all the credit for the yardwork: He does most of it. He actually likes to do it, where I regard it as yet another chore. So thanks to him, our gardens will be lovely yet again this year!

That's just funny

I have discovered the joys of comics online. Here's a current Get Fuzzy that cracked me up.

WoooooooHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Or: Thank you, Suburban Propane Guy!

The Suburban Propane Guy that came out today is our hero. He did all the hard work of converting our stoopid new dryer from a natural gas dryer to a propane dryer. After I got home from work, Corey and I put the dryer vent and sent the dryer on its maiden voyage. Works great. AT LAST. It's only been two weeks of agony without a working dryer. Who knew how much I would miss having a dryer? I didn't even use the old one most of the time, but I did like to throw the line dried clothes in there for a few minutes to soften them up. Plus it comes in really handy on rainy days when a person is out of work clothes and desperately needs clean dry ones for the next day. I had to iron my work shirts dry at least twice. Gee, that just takes about forever.

So here's the final injury of the washer/dryer story. Corey tried to put on the vent that came with the dryer, and guess what: It was at least a foot too short! Un-frickin'-believable. He called me at work and asked me to stop by Lowe's and pick up another longer vent and the various stuff needed to attach it. It was no big deal, but what's the point of including a stumpy dryer vent with the thing? Not a lot of people I know are lucky enough to be able to vent their dryer straight out the wall. I just have to say one more time: Thank you Sears for making my life a living hell!

I'm a goofy goober...yeah!

Anyone who knows me knows that I think Spongebob Squarepants is the height of hilarity. My sistah has been telling me about this Burger King commercial featuring a ripoff of the "I Like Big Butts" song from the 80s, but sung about Spongebob. Since I apparently don't watch enough TV to actually see it in person, I looked it up on youtube. I watched the commercial, and laughed. And then I watched the extended version and laughed till I cried. If you don't share the same silly sense of humor, then don't watch this...but if you do...get ready to giggle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nopKDuydRo