Freak target

Why oh why are they so drawn to me?! Besides the kid in the grocery store the other day, who really was creepy by the way, (after reading my post I think I just sound mean, but it really was weird I tell ya!), there was another, even more freaky, lady in my class last night at the library.

So there I was in the free! Excel class last night, and the teacher started making small talk about how far technology has come and he talked about a company that can put a computer chip in you so your car and house doors will unlock as you come up to them. Then he mentioned how there's a company that has come up with the idea to computer chip your child so if they are ever lost or abducted you could find exactly where they were. Just offhandedly I said, "Hey, sign me up for that!" Man, I never would have said that if I knew the wrath that I would bring upon myself for that casual statement. So there's this tall skinny black lady in front of me who makes some comment that I didn't fully hear about "the mark of the beast". I giggled a little because I thought she was making a joke, but no. It turns out she was talking to me and when I giggled she spun around in her chair and goes, "You shouldn't be laughing! I'm serious! You better quit your laughing because what you don't know CAN hurt you!"

Whoa. I was a little shocked and had to say, "What? I didn't even really hear what you said at first. What?"

Then she says, still deathly serious, "That's the mark of the beast! You better go read Revelations before you go and do that to your kid! Do you go to church? Read Revelations! What you don't know can hurt you!"

And seriously internet, I wish you could just hear her whole freak out. I don't feel like I can get across with mere typing the tone in which she approached me. My only response was, "Yes, I go to church, but I really don't want to get into this discussion with you right now." Holy crap! I realize that lots of people are seriously focused on the "mark of the beast" and have different beliefs about what that actually is, but, again, HOLY CRAP! Are you seriously going to make a scene with me in this little library computer class because I made a flippant remark about keeping tabs on my kids?!

She had it out for me after that. The guy I was sitting next to was telling me how he was tired and was going to head home and go straight to bed after class. I told him that I was probably going to do the same since my son had kept me up the night before because he was sick with strep throat. At the end of class she turned around again for another attack. "Did I hear you say that you had strep throat?!" "No," I said, "my son has strep throat." Then she goes, "Well! I sure wish you would have told me that to begin with! I have to go to work tomorrow and I don't need to be sick! Just cause it's your son doesn't mean you're not a carrier of it!" At that point I didn't even know what to say to her. I didn't want to start anything, because we've got part 2 of class together next week, so I just said "oh, I'm sorry about that," which I totally kicked myself afterward for giving any hint of an apology to her, but it's always easier to think later of what you should or should not have said.

I'll go in prepared next week though. I'm actually hoping we sit in the same spots and that she tries to say something else to me. (And yes I know that's wrong. I shouldn't go looking for conflict.) Maybe I'll get over it by next week and decide to be nice. But maybe not. I really just want to say something very snarky back to her so she doesn't think she can just say anything she wants to me. I'm not one to be pushed around.

On the upside, I did learn the basics of Excel, for free!, and I'm looking forward to class (the learning part) next week.

Meet Sara

Gabby and I have been volunteering at the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter. I told Dario, and myself, that this would NOT lead to us having any more pets. I lied. The first day that Gabriella and I went to volunteer, Gabby came home crying because she wanted to adopt a little chihuahua named "Pocket". It was horrible, and I actually talked to Dario after we got home while Gabby was upstairs still crying, and we ended up deciding to adopt him. Well, it turns out that Pocket got adopted the very next day. But since then adopting another pet has been on my mind. It breaks my heart to see all those sweet dogs and cats who need homes and people to love them, and may end up being euthanized if that doesn't happen. The last few days I decided to adopt a pet who needed a home, and I ended up getting a dog not from the shelter, but from a lady who was darn close to having to put this dog into a shelter. This is Sara- She's not the prettiest dog, (notice the pronounced under bite in the 2nd picture!), but she's as sweet as can be. I adopted her from a lady who has way too many pets and wasn't able to take care of her properly. She used to live in the house but had been relegated outside as they acquired more and more pets. The lady said she shaved and bathed her before I picked her up, but I gave her a bath when I brought her home and the tub had a layer of dirt on it still. Also, the hair on the back of her legs where the lady didn't shave well was really matted down, and I had to go back and trim it all by hand. She was so good and just laid there and let me do it. She had fleas when I picked her up(you can see how her front leg is red from her constantly licking and biting and scratching there, and there's more patches and scabs on her body that you can't see). I got a pill at the vet's office that kills all the fleas in 30 minutes, and they were seriously just falling off of her. I picked some right out of her hair as they were dying. She's never been vaccinated and she's not spayed, so that's my first order of business. She has little hanging boobies like she's had puppies recently, but the lady I got her from swears that she hasn't. (I'm quite sure she's lying, but whatever.) In any case, she's in good hands now, and I hope she'll be healthy and happy with us.

PS. If you are thinking of getting a pet, please consider adopting one from your local shelter or rescue group instead of buying one. There are so many animals there that are waiting for a family. Petfinder.com is a great site that will show you animals that are available for adoption in your zip code, both in shelters and in rescue groups.

I think he's on steroids

Can you believe these muscles?!?

Sunday Dario Jr. pulled a big piece of candy out of his pocket that the bishop had given him. Turns out the bishop came to Primary that day and asked for a volunteer with lots of muscles. Well, of course Dario raised his hand, what with his bulging muscles and all. He said lots of kids raised their hands, but the bishop picked him because he could just see that he had the biggest muscles. He's right. Those other kids have got nothing on him. Check him out-

I know I'm late, but I'm lazy

Mother's Day was last Sunday, and it was wonderful. This was the best Mother's Day I've ever had. Usually my kids make me breakfast in bed, which sounds nice and all, but I really don't like it. I'd prefer a bowl of cereal and some extra rest over a hot breakfast any day. So I asked Dario not to do it this year, and they complied. And I actually got to sleep late. (Well, kind of. We had church at 9am.)

So I woke up and Dario had gotten all the kids dressed and fed and I only had to take care of myself before church. There were cards from Dario and the kids on my bedside table when I woke up. And the kids had made me gifts at school.

When I picked Roman up from the nursery at church, he yelled out, "Happy Mother's Day!" and handed me a little red envelope with a noodle and bead necklace in it that he had made. It was so cute and he even helped me put it on and told me it looked pretty.

Then after church, Dario fed the kids lunch and got supper in the crock pot while I took a nice long nap. He came to nap with me after he put Roman down and I heard him tell the kids, "If you need anything you come to me. Do not disturb Mommy." That was SO nice. They always come straight to my side of the bed.

When I woke up, Gabby gave me a card and a treat she had made while I was sleeping. The card said, 'Dear Mom, Happy Mother's Day! I'm so glad that your my mom! I know its hard but deal with it ok? Love you! Love your daughter Gabby.' For dessert she partially melted chocolate chips in the microwave and spread them on a plate and then topped them with peanut butter, peanuts, and heart-shaped sprinkles. And she told me she even scraped off the burnt parts from the chocolate chips for me. How nice. ;)

I relaxed the rest of the day and Dario played with the kids while I read my book and did what I liked. It was an absolutely wonderful day.

PS! How could I forget? The night before Dario had bought me some chocolate-covered strawberries which were delicious of course, and then on Mother's Day at some point he gave me two bags of chocolate- one was Dove bites and the other was Dove chocolate covered almonds. SO GOOD.

Supermarket woes

You know what I love at the grocery store? (Besides the candy aisle, I mean.) Normal and polite grocery cashiers who check me out quickly and are attentive and polite.

You know what I don't like at the grocery store?

1. cashiers who won't look me in the eye, and won't even say 'hello' unless I say it first

2. cashiers talking incessantly to the bagger, the cashier in the next lane, the co-worker walking by

3. cashiers who just look cranky and like they'd rather be anywhere else than checking out my stupid groceries

4. cashiers who are way too friendly and keep talking to me (in a non-solicited way) long after my stuff is bagged and paid for and I'm ready to get outta there.

And then there's a number 5, which is this kid I had check me out the other day at HEB, who I'm sure had good intentions, but drove me absolutely bonkers. He was of the overly friendly, way too helpful, creepy type.

I walked up to the checkout lane with my cart of groceries, and Roman in the kid seat. He came out from his spot behind the cash register and gave Roman 2 buddy bucks AND a buddy bucks book. Roman didn't care about the book and just took the buddy bucks, but the kid wasn't taking no for an answer and had to open up the book and point out all the cool prizes to Roman. Then when Roman still didn't care about the book, and he wasn't quitting, I finally said, "Here, I'll take it," so he'd stop already and go check out my groceries.

But no. He then proceeded to help me unload everything from my cart onto the belt. It was really awkward and quite maddening actually, because GEEZ KID, get up there and ring up my stuff! But also? He kept reaching for stuff in the same spot that I was going for, so his hand would go down and then recoil, and then reach again, and then pull back. And worst of all was when he went to grab the little box in the corner of the cart, which was a 'feminine product', and then pulled back because he didn't want to pick it up.

Only when that was the last thing left in the cart did he finally go to the cash register and ring up my purchases. And he talked the entire time. I lost count of how many times he said, "Boy, that sure is a lot of Fruity Pebbles!" (It was on sale for a dollar a box so I bought quite a few boxes, but do we seriously have to mention it once for every box?!) Thankfully there was no commentary on my feminine product. (Hey, maybe he felt so awkward about that that he couldn't think of anything to talk about except the cereal?)

I went and bagged up the groceries as fast as I could so I could get out of there, but alas, I just wasn't fast enough, and we got to play the dodging hands game again while he reached for the items that I was already putting in bags. (Dude, do you see me bagging the fruit? Don't grab the fruit then!)

Eventually everything was packed up and I got the blazes out of there, but seriously, I will be watching out for that guy in the future and choosing another lane.

Manic

Wow, I have been crazy full of energy today for some reason. Here's what I've done today:

Woke up and did the HUGE mound of dishes and pots and pans that's been gathering by the sink for days

Cleaned the rest of the kitchen

Cleaned out Dario's cooler that he brought home from camping

Totally cleared all the clutter out of my bedroom and freecycled stuff I didn't want

Cleaned and vacuumed carpet upstairs

Did 3 loads of laundry, including bedsheets

Bought and picked up a dresser off Craigslist

Painted a wicker table

Painted the new dresser

Hung a bird feeder high up in a tree

Took another trip to the store to buy bird food, and filled the feeder (had to be on a ladder to do this)

Painted my front door (it looks like heck by the way, so I'm gonna have to paint it again)

Cleaned up all the messes from my paint projects

Walked the dog in the dark

And now lookee here- I'm bloggin!

Worse than water

On Fridays Roman and his friend Logan have playdates. When they are at Julie's house, there is nary a problem. When they are at my house, all heck breaks loose.
So Logan was over here on Friday, and he and Roman were playing nicely. Then Roman walked into my room and I asked him what he and Logan were doing. "Playing,"he said. "Oh?" I asked. "What are you playing?" "Little People," he answered. Okay. Good. They can't get into much trouble with Little People.

Or so I thought.

Roman went back into his room and a moment later I heard Roman say to Logan, "No! You're gonna get it wet!"

"AH HA!" I thought. 'They're playing with water! I've caught them! And early enough that there can't be much mess!" He was, after all, just in my room. So I marched in there ready to take away the cup of water that they had probably sneaked (snuck?) in there from the bathroom. As I opened the door, Roman dove under his bed with the contraband. And it was not water. Oh no. It was much, much worse. Here, I'll give you a clue:

Any guesses?

It wasn't these red hot atomic bomb jawbreakers which they apparently tried first and then decided against-

Here you go.

This was after I drug Roman out from under the bed with the jar of peanut butter in his hands. Apparently our games of hide and seek, where he hides under the bed every time and I come into his room and check everywhere else first while saying, "Where is that Roman?", have convinced him that he is virtually invisible under there. Roman saw the camera and immediately started smiling about it, but I did my best to remain angry while saying in my meanest voice, "Stop smiling! This is not funny! And hold your hands up so you don't get everything messy!" (and so I can get a picture) "You are very naughty boys!" Click.

This is his smile starting to fade when he realized I really was not happy, even though I had a camera in my hand.

I made him try to scrub it off himself. That frustrated him. And I was GLAD. GLAD!!For all the mess they had on themselves, there were only a couple little streaks on the carpet from where Roman's arms hit as he lurched under the bed. I think there was probably a little around the room that I didn't see too, since I caught Chester in there a while later licking the toys, but he cleaned it up well, because I haven't seen any since.

*sigh*

A day in the life with Roman.