Brandon, at 4 1/2, is playing World of Warcraft on a home server.  Melena is making taco-tongue. 

I'm going to post some photos protected!  Maybe only two!

I’m still here, really, and I apologize for attempting to
catch up, or at least saying I’m going to, but then not.  Things are just..things.

Melena is about to turn one, holy crap.  Brandon
is graduating from pre-K next week, holier shit!

So we’re planning a birthday party, with a fairy
theme.  It will be held at my parents’
house, and if my dad remembers to put the solar cover on the pool, hopefully
we’ll all be swimming in two weeks!  So
if you were invited, bring a swim suit! 
We’re also having fried chicken, and maybe BBQ sandwiches with my mom’s
home-made sauce.  Cake, too, and if any
of you have had the cake at any other functions, you know it’s good.  A great friend of mine is a pastry chef, and
she makes all our cakes.  Not that I
can’t bake, but I can NOT compare to her decorating skillz.  Cos they’re mad, yo!

Brandon
has made it through his Pre-K class, much to the chagrin of his teachers.  They’re not happy with the fact that we want
him to start Kindergarten *this* year and not next; however, we’ve had him
screened at the local public school, and at the intended kindergarten, and he’s
IN!  His screening score at the public
school is great – most kids score in the 50th to 60th percentile.  His score was in the 97th percentile, and it
would’ve been higher, but he likes to talk to adults and tell stories.  How much higher could he have gotten!?  As some of you may remember, we have issues
at the current Pre-K – the teachers say he’s immature socially, but WTF, he
only misses the cut-off by two weeks, so it’s not like I’m attempting to send
him way early!  He doesn’t like his
teachers, and hasn’t really connected with many of the students, and we really
started to believe the current teachers. 
Then we had him screened.  His
Kindergarten teacher not only indicated that there were no socialization and
maturity issues, but she also indicated that, based on the screening scores of
the other students he will be going to school with, he’ll be at least a high
average, and will mesh well with the students. 
She then said “If he’d just been born a few weeks earlier we’d not even
be having this discussion.”  We’re going
to give kindergarten a six-week trial, and if it doesn’t work out, do pre-K all
over again, but I think it will work out. 
He knows one of the kids in his new class, he *loves* the teacher, and
is excited to go to school there.  I
really think the issues have been in his current school.  We’re so relieved to have the decision made,
and we feel so comfortable with his new teacher and the new school (though it
helps that it was my grade school!)

The scary part is that I’m currently teaching him more
about my Pagan beliefs, and he’s going to a Catholic school.  Strange, I know, but I know I got a wonderful
education there, and a good education is worth a little religious instruction,
if you ask me.  Besides, we want him to
have the tools to make his own choices. 
But it could get weird.

I’m considering quitting Passion Parties, after three
years, for a lot of reasons.  One is that
it seems to take up too much time, getting ready, doing the party, coming home,
ordering – and I don’t get much grown-up time as it is, so spending it doing
parties and related activities doesn’t make sense to me.  Plus, even though Craig still insists that
he’ll help me manage the kids so I can make this work, I have a hell of a time
getting an hour every two weeks to write an Avon
email, and that’s something I can do with kids around.  I try really hard to keep Passion Parties items
away from the kids just because of the nature of the items, and because of
Bran’s age.  Also, I’m not a fan of
driving at night, and I’m at the point that I don’t want to drive too far from
home, anyway.  Probably because I don’t
go anywhere except the grocery store, once-in-a-while runs to Target, Wal-Mart,
or the occasional warehouse club, and maybe out to eat a few times a
month.  Oh, and to my parents and my
in-laws.  Seriously, I’m out of the house
one or two days a week.  That’s about
it.  And the more secluded I am, the less
likely I want to get out.  I had some
parties booked at the beginning of the month, and was getting so anxious about
doing them.  I gave them to another
consultant, and I felt so good about it. 
Yeah, we certainly could’ve used the extra money, because they are
profitable parties, but I hate the anxiety I feel when I have to ask Craig to
help me; I hate the anxiety when I’m driving to and from the parties, and I
hate having to beg and plead to get help when I try to close the parties.

On another note, Craig and I had our first date night in SIX
MONTHS.  It was our third date night in a
whole year.  Yeah.  My friend Rosalynne kept the baby for a few
hours in October, while Bran stayed at my parents overnight; my mom kept both
kids overnight in November for our anniversary, and last weekend, my
mother-in-law kept the baby for the afternoon / evening while Bran was at the
lakehouse with my parents.  It was nice,
but doesn’t come often enough.  There are
so many things we miss doing that we couldn’t decide *what* to do, so we went
to a local entertainment / retail area - http://www.legendsshopping.com/ - had
a few drinks, ate the best sushi in the world (well, Craig had hibachi table, I
had sushi), bought some $10 Converse (Yes I did!), and wandered around in the
POURING rain.  Oh, and we had some
pastries at Mema’s bakery.  We thought
about seeing a movie, or going bowling, or going to a casino, or going here, or
going there…but but but!   We
didn’t.  We’ve been having issues with
Craig not communicating with me, me feeling more isolated because of it, and
both of us just being resentful…so we were trying to work that out, and it
worked out well.  We need date nights
more often.  But since the baby was so
good for Craig’s mom, it just may happen. 
The sad part is that she’s not inviting Brandon over, and I know it’s cos she thinks
she can’t handle two kids at once, but ….

Okay, I have to go eat some Taco Bell.  Later. 
I miss my Xanga friends, just sayin’.Hi, my name is

Check out the most recent article about KC Freecycle: http://tinyurl.com/5ob3fm

We have two cats.  They're disgusting and gross, but at least they're green-concious!

One cat, Indie, just barfed up a whole mess of undigested food on our kitchen floor.  I don't know what's worse, her vomiting it up, or her sister, Star, eating it.

At least I didn't have a huge mess to clean up.  Thanks, Star.

Dumbasses.

that just because my husband and I are IT professionals (even though I stay at home!) does everyone assume we're happy to give them free tech support all the god-damned time?  We own an IT company, people, just so we can charge you!

Don't get me wrong, we love helping out our friends and do it frequently.  What irks me are the acquaintances who just assume that, once they have us on the phone / in their house / on IM / through email, they can pick our brains for whatever computer question they have and one or both of us will help them out.  One or two times is fine, but eventually it starts getting ridiculous.

We had one friend, and I use the term loosely (as he was an old high school buddy of Craig's) that would come over all the time, bring his computer for Craig to fix his fuck-ups, and then, when I'd remind him that he owed us a pizza at the very least because of his countless hours of mooching, DAMMIT, I only have six bucks again, can you spot me? 

EVERY TIME.  So not only was Craig fixing his computer nearly every week, but we'd have to feed him, too!  AND he'd get pissy if we didn't order *his* pizza.  So:

1.  We're fixing his computer
2.  We're paying for his dinner
3.  He expects us to order the specialty pizza he likes, or make something for dinner that he enjoys.

Wonder why we don't talk to him much? 

Or how about Craig's brother, who only calls when he has tech problems, and when he's horked his system beyond even Craig's immeasurable talents, then talks shit about Craig to everyone.  Even though Craig has built him a computer, fixed it countless times, and even attempted to fix an iPod for him, he talks crap, telling everyone that his computer is worse off now after Craig has had it.  NO, the fact that you download tons of porn, spyware, and who knows what else is what fucks it up.  And after it's all said and done, there's not even a "hey, thanks for trying!", after he's complained for days that Craig hasn't fixed it fast enough.

It's really not so much about not getting paid as much as there's little gratitude shown by the people who expect that we'll willingly help them out.  Sure, we'll help you out, but don't treat us like dogshit in the meantime.  You never know what we'll do to your equipment. 

I'm working on getting my comment on (hahaha, that one goes out to *you*!), and I'm trying to catch up while the baby is taking an EPIC NAP.  Of all days, in fact.  She and I were planning to go visit my aunt at work, drop off an Avon order, pick up some Passion Parties orders, and then visit the coffee shop to deliver some Avon brochures.  She's been asleep for over 3 hours!!

Wait.  She just woke up.  Anyway, I miss everyone, and am honestly trying to get my comments up to date!  And then, new interesting entry!  Maybe!  How are you doing in the meantime?

Make sure it's a pitchfork, and aim for the eyes.  It'll work better that way. 

The baby just started crawling, what, last week?  Today, I had my back turned to her while cleaning up some lunch, or something...I don't remember what, but it doesn't matter.  It could've been ooze from invading aliens, but it doesn't progress the story. 

Anyway, I had my back turned, and, as I turned around to make sure I got all the ooze, I saw the baby standing up, hanging onto the side of our futon, and walking along the floor. 

WTF.

Then she attempted to climb onto it to get whatever toy had been placed there by her brother.

I was NOT READY for cruising this week. 

Also, as I'd noted in my previous post, she's a talker.  Mind you, most of it is baby babble that we've managed to translate, but she really does say things that have meaning.  She did say something that particularly sounded like "oh crap" a week ago, about the same day that Brandon asked me what "fucker" meant.  Gotta love that.  For those of you who wish your children talked more, let me just say OH NO YOU DON'T.

Brandon is a talker.  He probably gets it from my mother and myself.  I spent so much time alone with him, with nobody else to talk to, and I like to talk, that it probably rubbed off.  That and the fact that if he and my mother play The Quiet Game, they're tied for the loss.  I'm so glad he loves to talk to me, and am glad that he can talk so well and on so many subjects (lately, it's how his life resembles this or that computer game), but for cryin' out loud, I'd just love a few seconds of quiet.  Between him and the baby's shrieks and babble, it's like a zoo here.  THERE'S ONLY TWO CHILDREN!  In fact, my mom said it sounded like a zoo today, and that was during a relatively quiet moment!

I've been reading http://boobsinjuriesanddrpepper.blogspot.com/ for a few months now, and the latest entries are scary real.  She's such a funny mom, much like some of my subscribers, and always seems so on top of everything...and then...!   You'll have to read it to understand.  But it scares me, because I often find myself on the cusp of sanity / insanity, and I worry what happens when I get pushed over the edge.  How many parents openly talk about how insane being a parent is?  I love my family, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat, but isn't there at least a merit badge we can get?  I can totally understand why the childfree choose not to have children, though it's not a choice for me. 

By the way, we're trying diligently to get the house in somewhat of a presentable state.  I used to have these great seasonal parties - I'd usually have one for Halloween, and another for St. Patrick's day, and I don't think I've done that since Brandon was 18 1/2 months old, so I really miss it.  I miss having friends over, and having them ooh and aah over all the food I've cooked.  I don't get out a lot anymore for so many reasons, though really, I never truly did get out much once I quit my job...so anyway, I'm really hoping to have a presentable house by baby's first birthday, though it really would be more fun to have a pool party at my parent's house.  I just get tired of my mom worrying about the details because she won't let me worry about them.

Okay, as long as I have a little quiet in the house, I'm going to get caught up on my subscriptions.  I apologize for not being around a lot lately, I've really missed all my Xanga friends.  I'll buy you a virtual beer, because I am going to drink all the real ones.  Except I'm out.

Like always.  

EDIT:  Also, for those interested:  Melena-beana is 9 months old and 17.9 pounds - still a tiny little thing, but she's gaining about a pound a month.  In fact, she gained 1.9 pounds this past month.  She's got fat little legs, and a little watermelon belly, and round little cheeks, so she's chubby, but still little.  I'll try to post photos tomorrow, if I forget, someone beat me about the head and neck. 

Oh, and she likes cheerios, pancakes, sandwiches, and whatever else we'll let her eat.  She also likes to feed cheerios to the rest of us.  I don't like the gooey ones. 

but between the flu, and trying to clean up our HORRIBLE house, and doctor appointments, and getting ready for KINDERGARTEN HOLY CRAP...I just haven't been around.  Not that I don't have something to say, I just don't feel too interesting at the moment.

Baby is crawling.  She has two teeth, can say mama, dada, bra-ba (for brandon), my ba (for my bottle), and she even said grand-mom.  She's also trying to stand on her own.  It's happening so fast - one minute, she was 8 1/2 months old, and not doing anything.  The minute she turned 9 mos, she took off.  She's trying to drive the car.

Bran got screened for kindergarten and scored in the 97th percentile.  Kids his age typically score in the 50th percentile.  We're not so worried about trying to get him into school in the fall now. 

Craig didn't get laid off from Sprint, not that we were worried. 

We all had the flu, it sucked donkey nutz.  Fer reals. 

I'm tired of the GOD DAMNED COLD. 

I also need to trim my nails, it's fucking hard to type with dragon claws.

That is all for now.

A subscriber of a Xangan that I also subscribe to is attempting to earn enough Xanga credits to purchase a lifetime subscription for himself for his birthday - which is funny, because I was trying for that, myself.  Even more interesting is that his birthday is 3 days before mine.  At any rate, he's gone public with his goal (as I suppose I am, now, too, but I was trying to do it by taking those GOD DAMNED SURVEYS!)  ....  so be kind enough to visit and comment!   Psst!  Pass it on! 

EDIT:  Here's the link to Xanga Surveys:  http://www.xanga.com/survey-redirect.  Take one a day to get 2,000 credits!