The sad state of affairs in our house right now...

Adam is currently working nights and has himself on a pretty strict diet. In light of this I've barely cooked full dinners in the past couple of weeks. Nic is insanely picky and it seems like a ton of work to make stuff just for me and Bella. So tonight I decide to make spaghetti, garlic bread, and meatballs - a favorite around here. I put the water to boil, then start preheating the oven for the bread.

Pretty soon I notice the kitchen smells like something is burning. The oven hasn't been cleaned recently so I figure whatever it is will burn off, but it gets worse. I finally wander over to the oven to see what is causing the smell.

What did I find?

A pizza box with 2 pieces of pizza in it.

From Nic's birthday party.

On May 17th.

Ooops.



It does make one wonder why the pizza wasn't smelly or moldy....

She's trying to turn me gray, isn't she?

While in the drive-thru for a McFlurry last night, both of my kids declared that they wanted to work at McDonald's when they grow up. That isn't bad, what worried me is when I told Bella she couldn't work until she was 15 she replied with "But how will I support all my kids?"

Uh honey, you aren't having any kids until your 30s, ok?

Bella's campaigns

Bella is one of those people who latches on to an idea and won't let it go. It doesn't matter what you say to her, she is determined that you will eventually see it her way. Some of her campaigns have been to have another baby in the house, to get a dog, to get a guinea pig, to get a lizard (ok, she just wants a pet), to stop her dad from listening to Howard Stern, and to get her dad to stop drinking beer.

Now before you go calling CPS on us because Adam is a drunk, that's not the case. He will often have one with dinner after work, and maybe two on the weekend. He doesn't get so much as buzzed, and after a 10 hour workday with a minimum 3 hour commute I think he deserves it. Bella does not agree, as seen in the notes she was giving her dad while he was eating dinner last night:

(all spelling and punctuation is exactly how it was written by Bella)

BEER IS JUNK JUICE!!

IF YOU WATCH HOWARD STERN ALL DAY YOU'LL SAY BAD WORDS!!!!!!!!!

YOU MIGHT PUKE TODAY BECUASE BEER!

and my favorite, Adam was laughing so hard he was crying at this one:

WHAT A GUY. YOU EAT CHEESE BURGERS. WHAT A FAT MAN! CAN YOU EAT FURITS AND VEGETIBLE? YOUR A VEGATERIAN!!!!

Someday I'll have to bind them all into a book to embarrass her with when she gets older.

What I found in place of Bella's math homework...

Was a note that said this:

Dear Mom,

My skin is tired and weak. I'm starting to sleep in peace. So I'll do it tomorrow.

Love Bella

Where does she come up with this stuff?

You may notice a lack of cute sayings from Nic. That would be because instead of acting like a sweet almost 5 year old, he's suddenly developed the attitude of a 16 year old. Almost everything he says has that tone. You know the one I mean, the one that just drips with attitude. Accompanying the tone is lots of sighing. Thankfully he hasn't learned to roll his eyes yet, or he might not live to see 5.

Highs and Lows

I should be terribly excited and happy right now, see 9 of my closest friends whom I've never met in real life are flying to California this weekend to visit myself and 3 other ladies. We've been planning it for some time and I get giddier with each passing day. I may not have met most of them in person, but I've talked with, laughed, cried, consoled, and pretty much lived my life with them for the past 2 years. The chance to actually be in the same room as them is amazing to me, much less spending a whole weekend hanging out without the kids. I. Can't. Wait.

But I'm still sad.

There was a mom of one of Bella's classmates that I volunteered with in Kindergarten, and we often still talk even though our kids are in different classes this year. They live right across a park from us, and although I didn't see us becoming best buddies, I thought it would be lovely to have another mom to chat with at the park, walk home with, etc... For a time we would wait for each other and walk home together or out to our cars. Our kids all got along well and love to play together.

Then Bella had a huge meltdown while walking home one day and it all changed. They were actually a block or so ahead of us, but I know she heard the screaming. She heard Bella screaming such gems as: "Help! Save me!" "I hate you!" "You're not my mother!" "I want to live with a new family!" "You're just a fat woman with no children", etc... This was all accomplished while hitting me, kicking me, biting me, and trying to run away. It was horrible. I was trying to keep myself from crying all the way home, and we haven't walked home since. The other mom no longer waits for us anymore. She says hi but barely seems to make eye contact with me now. Not only is her PDD-NOS isolating for Bella, it has the same affect on me too. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever have other mom friends, most just don't understand the challenges in dealing with Bella sometimes.

If that wasn't bad enough another good friend seems to have cut me off as well. I'm not going into why here, but I thought our friendship was stronger then that. I guess I was wrong. :(

More from the mouth of Bella....

"Dad, I will give you $100 for a turn on the computer"

Dramatic much?

"My heart hurts. I think I'm going to throw up."


~Bella's reply to Adam when he told her she couldn't use the computer yet.

Crime and Punishment

Both kids are currently being punished for an epic meltdown that Bella had on the way home from school yesterday. Although Bella was the one crying, screaming, hitting, etc... on the way home, Nic said something to trigger it so he's in trouble too.

I promptly took Bella's beloved Webkinz away when we got home and told her there would be no special trips with Grandpa this week. When Adam got home he took away all tv, computer, and Leapster time for the whole weekend. He even took the tv out of their room.

I wonder who will crack first, the kids or us?


Update:

Day 1 has gone fairly smoothly with minimal whining from the kids. Adam hasn't been bothered too much because he's been shut up in our room watching DVDs. I feel like I'm being punished though, I can't stand the quiet. I like having the background noise of the tv and the silence is deafening to me. Only one more day to go....

Why?

*shakes head*

Bella the Songwriter

Bella has always loved music and singing, nothing makes her happier then cranking up the volume on iTunes and singing away. So it was no surprise when she started writing her own songs. This is her work in progress that she started last night...
(now you have to read this while imagining the vocal style of a 6.5 year old)

Believe in My Heart

I was thinking I could write a love song.
But nothing went right,
I don't have enough driving lessons. (honest, we've never let her drive, LOL)

When I was having a -
We all must have a part
So believe in my heart!

Isn't she adorable?

The quickest way to get on the bad side of PG&E...

Have your 4.5 year old son open the front window at 8 o'clock in the morning and repeatedly scream "Can you keep it down out there?!?!" while they are working in front of your house.

Fun with Dad

Most of you know that we rent the house I grew up in from my parents. They moved out a year ago this month. Since then I have slowly rearranged things to suit my needs. Most of this has occurred in the kitchen, moving the silverware drawer, switching things in the cupboards, etc... It causes Adam and I a minor inconvenience at first, but we adapt to the new placement and life goes on.

My dad is having a hard time with it.

He regularly huffs and sighs when the tape is not in the drawer he was accustomed to. Grumbling can be heard when he realizes the screwdrivers aren't where he left them. And why on earth are there cookbooks in the cupboard next to the stove? Don't I know that the stamps and envelopes belong there????

Apparently he's forgotten that he doesn't live here anymore. I suspect in a few years he will adjust, or maybe I'll have a map made for him to use when he stops by.

Until then I am eagerly awaiting his reaction to the great medicine exodus I have planned. ;)

He's plotting to get rid of me....

"Maybe we should get flowers for Daddy's new wife"

As told to me by Nic at Safeway today. Hmmm....

Maybe it's time to start buying Kidz Bop....

Nic has recently become obsessed with this song:



Both kids love to dance so I showed them this video and they were hooked, so I bought it on iTunes and they listen to it quite often. In fact, as I type this, I can hear Nic singing it in his tent. I generally by the radio edits for songs so I don't have to turn it down for bad words or explain why they shouldn't say it. Unfortunately, it seems to be kosher to say "Bitch" on the radio now and it's even on the "clean" versions of songs. So I really shouldn't have been surprised to hear Nic sing "Yeah you, PMS, like a bitch, I would know" yesterday.

Oops. Obviously not my best mommy moment. (although I promise you there are worse moments out there)

Now I understand why people just buy Kidz Bop...

For posterity, here are some other songs on their play list right now, thus ensuring that I am totally sick of them. ;)

So What by P!nk
Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolph
She Bop by Cyndi Lauper

Further proof that having kids makes you stupid...

This morning I was replacing burned out light bulbs in various ceiling fans throughout the house. When I got to the fan over the kitchen table I spent quite a bit of time trying to get a bulb out that seemed to be stuck. After a minute or two I got the bulb out and grabbed a new bulb to put in, but it would not screw in at all. After turning the bulb for a few minutes, trying different angles, and getting angrier by the minute I realized one important detail....

I was trying to screw in the bulb by turning it to the left.

*sigh*