Random Thoughts...

It's a bit after 3 a.m. I am awake (ouch), editing pictures from the nearly perfect day of yesterday, listening to my old radio station from the town Bennett was born in, and wrestling with my thoughts (and yes the damn cricket is still going at it like a stuck record player...) Ever have those moments when you know you have so much to be thankful for, yet just can't shake the damn blues? I'm having one of those moments. So many things that are going great and so many things that don't deserve my attention because they are not positive in any way...

Charming

The Cricket outside my window has been going strong for THREE SOLID DAYS. At fist the sound was charming and now it is down right annoying. I hope the bugger gets laid soon...if that's what shuts 'em up...

Almost Useless...

My baby brother was moving apartments this evening, and I willy nilly volunteered to go help load the truck... Then I arrived and remembered how terrified I am of lifting anything, for fear of buggering up my back...again! Seriously, I hurt it on the job, nearly two years ago; lifted my end of a large and very heavy saw & stand with one arm and lifted it into a truck...don't do that! ...and ripped a couple of ribs out of their sockets below my right shoulder blade...ouch! And, at this point, I have currently been without pain for about a month...and every time I think I am fine, I lift something and rip one of the ribs out of the socket...again! It is a truly annoying cycle to say the least; a cycle that has been going on for NEARLY TWO YEARS!

What does this long rant mean? It means that I quickly volunteered to go on a 'packing tape' run. Two stores and one hour later, we came back with packing tape (and mangos) and it was officially an hour and a half past the boy's bedtime...b'bye y'all!

We did not leave before being offered a hamster; a nice, tame, already-lived-out-half-its-annoying-life-span, cute and cuddly hamster...complete with cage! I was tempted for about two seconds, as Bennett was very, VERY keen on this idea! Then I remembered that grey feline we have at home...the one that would eat this rodent for breaky...even if he had to chew through the cage...yeah, that one. NO THANKS! (The white feline would be cool with a rodent in a cage, I think...)

And this gurgling in my left ear? Seriously, ears are not supposed to gurgle. There is no water in my ear...but it feels like a wee river is currently residing in there. Is this an ear infection? Wouldn't there be pain? What the hell do I know? I'm the one with the ear that gurgles...

Now, re-runs of Grey's Anatomy are playing on the TV, the boy is fast asleep, and I think I have a load of homework to do... Ciao!

Did I ever mention how much I don't like surprises? (or at least that I knew what colour I was shopping for...)

The sister-in-law's ultrasound has come and gone. Can you guess who had his/her legs twisted together like a pretzel? So, this means that there will be no gender specific shopping as of yet. Sigh.

My brother is quite certain that it is a girl! Of course, I knew Bennett was a girl! And my sister knew that The Niece! was a boy! So, family history with such predictions is not exactly in his corner on this one...

Said child (& the Mama) are reportedly healthy and all is well!

One Million Bucks in Nine Miles...

***According to the E-mail***

New Ferrari for Dad: $1,000,000

Son borrows Dad's new car to try it out...and hits a Power Pole at 200 MPH!

Son walks away from the crash with some bruising from the seat belt and 2 small cuts!

Car loss: One Million bucks

Waiting list for a new one: Two Years

But his kid is still alive...

The car had only 9 miles on it...one of which was during the wreck...

For Those In Need of a Cheap Laugh...

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Conversation with my Mom this afternoon:

Mom: "I can tell that you are stressed out today."

Me: "Oh? How can you tell?"

Mom: "Your shirt is on wrong side out."

Me: "Ah."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*Indeed it was...and had been all day long!

Wishing She Could Play...

While Bennett *reluctantly* hung out with his team and contemplated the idea of actually participating, The Niece! was strutting her stuff on the sidelines...

~ SINGLES AD ~

*Reported to have been listed in the Atlanta Journal

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy, I'll be waiting...



*Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society...

A Rare Moment: I am Usually on the Other Side of the Camera...

Apparently, Mama could use training wheels... (and a Tan)

SOCCER SURVIVAL?

Bennett's indoor soccer practice (yesterday) was the best yet...sooo much better than the first two sessions that left me wondering if I should pull him out of that league before he started hating the game! Also, he starts on a second team (this one outdoors) this Saturday and I am crossing my fingers that it will be a positive experience for him...being as he is booked solid on the second team until mid October! (& the indoor league for two more months:-) Swimming lessons, however, remain his favorite "activity" by far; two weeks and four lessons in, it is very clear that he wishes this was a daily activity!

First Glimpse of THE NIECE! (II) or THE NEPHEW!

ETA: Late September

Call me Crazy! but I would swear that this offspring has the sister-in-law's forehead!

Gender confirmation to come...I think she said her next ultrasound is next week...and she's roughly half way through the pregnancy...so, four or five months along!

Bennett & The Niece! are excited to have BABY COUSIN (II) on the way! Well, as excited as a five-year-old and eighteen-month-old can be...which means they will hopefully appreciate having another cousin a couple of years down the road...

My *official* prediction is that this is THE NEPHEW! Which, with my fantastic ESP abilities, probably means it is a girl...

Lotsa 2's on the 'ole Kilometerage Meter...

Furry Friday Blogging

*Insert Your Own Captions*

Soccer Mom Syndrome: Highly Contagious

After my recent experiences on the sidelines of a 4 & 5 year-olds soccer practice/why-the-hell-did-I-actually-pay-money-for-this/match/game, I found this site to be rather amusing:

www.museumofconceptualart.com/accomplished/

The plague of the side lines is of course the parents who like to play the 'offspring comparison' game; a truly annoying sport where one earns points for constantly trying to one-up their opponent; a masquerade that is mystifyingly easy to be sucked into. The cost of this situation would be totally worth it if my child were actually enjoying himself; the ideal situation being coaches who actually coached and my kid learning something about soccer besides how to hate the game that I was sorta hoping he would like...even if by coercion... Sigh.

~Auntie's Little Shopper~

The Niece! (a week and a day shy of 19 mos)

~A Morning at Nursery School~

Last night, a drunk driver, plowed into the back of my sister's van, causing a four-car-pile-up, involving three parked cars and his own, and totaling them all. Thank god all of the innocent vehicles in the accident were parked and not occupied by human beings, thus the damage was mostly limited to an extensive clean-up and a HUGE inconvenience for the owners of the vehicles. My sister & brother-in-law, however, were up most of the night with the circus that followed and were more than slightly exhausted come today.

So as The Niece! did not miss an important orientation day at her new daycare, I volunteered to take her. She did so well! And I have to say, that hanging out with a dozen one & two-year-olds was an interesting way to spend a morning!

What a big girl! A year ago, she was a bald little peanut, learning how to crawl; today, while still a peanut that weighs next to nothing, she is a big girl, with a full head of beautiful hair, and on her way off to Nursery School!

I hate to tell you, big brother, but the stroller you were slated to inherit from our little sister, for your soon-to-be-offspring, was in the back of her van, which happened to be the drunkard's point of impact, thus smashing the little hot rod to smithereens! So, Happy Stroller Shopping to y'all!

**UPDATE** In the evening, after all was said and done, my sister received a call from her daycare of choice, with the news that they had an opening and it was hers for the taking. So...turns out our little auntie/niece orientation day was at a daycare The Niece! will not be attending after all. Figures.

~SHITTY~

Bird Shit on Bennett's Passenger Window.
Obnoxious. Annoying. But still has to be cleaned up.
Pretty much a metaphor for life lately...

~Bad Directions~

Go to Google.ca

Click on 'maps'

Click on 'get directions'

Type in 'New York' (in the "from" box)

Type in 'London' (in the "to" box)

Click on 'get directions' (next to the "to" box)

On the left, scroll down to #24

HaHaHa!