Hide And Seek

Baby was copping a serious 'tude tonight. For whatever reason she wouldn't go to bed and was acting all pissed off. 

Mr F and I ignored her. 

After a half an hour or so we hadn't heard any sound coming out of her (and our episode of The Office was over) so we got up to see what she was up to...

You'll have to use your xray goggles... but it you look really hard you should be able to spot her. I shoved my camera in that tiny crack between the egg chair and it's orange top.  And of course I couldn't turn the lights on or use the flash.  Just imagine you are looking at an ultrasound... 
If you try REALLY hard you should be able to make out her pink monkey PJ top and the white circle of her pacie above that.

She curled up like she was in the womb and fell asleep. Unfortunately she lodged herself in there upside down with her head holding the top shut.

I would have left her in there, but I imagine that when her nightmares start in a couple of hours (yes nightly people) it won't help matters for her to be stuck inside a giant red egg.  

Michiganders...

What is wrong with Jackson?
Cause we could buy a house there in cash.
And I kind of want to.

Bitch Fest Friday

Feeling like this?

We understand.

Sure My Office Still Looks Like Shit

But behold this seasonal transformation:


We all know how important my mantel display is!

First impressions, people. If this looks good who is going to judge the fact that my floors are covered in a sea of toys, shoes, and strange outdoor debris?

The correct answer is... NO ONE.

It's too bad the lighting in my house always sucks and you can't behold it's true magnificence. Trust me.. it's lush and seasonally appropriate. It says "winter" without saying "HO HO HO".

P.S. Did you notice the cardinals? I am loving the glittery cardinals. I just can't help myself.

Short Lived

Well that break didn't turn out exactly as I had planned it.

Kid's got the stomach flu (let's hope that is what it is... she's got her party in 3 days... so...).

AND I'm babysitting (joy).

Today is going to be awesome.

Please Excuse Me

But do you see this...


This makes me feel bad. And crazy. And overwhelmed ON A DAILY BASIS (no not Baby... the room!).

Since babysitting this fall I do have a handle on EVERY other room in the house. (For real)

But this desk just does not work. AT ALL.
Even when the papers are not piled up in teetering towers.

As hard as it may be to believe we can actually clean this space up. BUT it will return to this within a few hours or days. This space has just always been the family dumping grounds. In part because this one room has 5 doors leading in and out of it. Partly because it is on the way out (or in) our back door. Partly because it is next to the laundry room (note clothes all over floor and spilling out of closets). Partly because it is Mr F's "dressing room". Partly because it is my "craft room". But mostly because it is apparently a war zone of paper, trash, and junk.

This office has just never worked for us in this house. It does not have adequate storage for the things we actually need to store in here. It doesn't have appropriate furniture that defines the space.

Since the moment we moved in this space has floundered about undefined. This is the room we never really unpacked. This is the room where all those bizarre odds and ends got placed while they awaited their final resting spot (only to remain here FOREVER). This room didn't have to be *presentable* and so it never has been.

One reason I was excited about the prospect of moving was that we could move away from it.

Now we're staying and I need this space to feel less like a large trash can and more like an extension of our house.

And it needs to be my priority.

I need to fix it.

I'll see you all when I have done that (it could be hours... or days... it could be YEARS).



If you want to play along put a link in the comments. I will check them out (on my sanctioned breaks of course)

Mr F On Hooters...

"Family friendly if you want your sons to be dicks and your daughters to be completely fucked up."


Word to that Mr F. Word to that.

All Over The Place... Updates Of All Kinds

This is shaping up to be a good week (as long as we don't catch H1N1). I don't have too much on my plate for a change and I'm hoping to pull down and store the Halloween decorations today and clean the house. I'm not babysitting until Thursday & Friday... which happen to be off for school conferences... so I'll need to hammer out anything I was hoping to get done BEFORE then. Kid's party is on Sunday, and while I debated that (Sunday that is vs Saturday), I'm really glad I chose that day... it gives me a whole day to make cupcakes and gather stuff without juggling babysitting on top of it all. I would have been a real bitch if I had had to do all that on Friday!


This weekend was fantastic. We drove about 6 hours to Myrtle Beach, SC. Mr F had two nights at a hotel there and we really made the best of it. Fellow blogger Kiki lives there so it was a good opportunity for us to hang out with her again. While it was not exactly beach weather (oh boo... you mean I don 't have to wear a bathing suit?) there were tons of fun things for us to do with the kids. They really enjoyed it and want to go back... and they LOVE Kiki (who doesn't?). When I can get Mr F to stop correcting his photos maybe I'll get a chance to put some up?!


For those of you wondering about Kid's shared birthday party... we are doing it. They came over for a playdate to hammer the details out and while it wasn't... hmm... how do I say this?... NORMAL... we do have it down to low key (I hope). Again let me say there is nothing about this woman that is evil she's just living in a slightly different reality. I'm really just going to show up with my plates & cupcakes & maybe a bunch of balloons. I'm letting everything else go. She can decorate as she sees fit. We did do an evite which I highly recommend (even though in some ways I'm anti) because you have an update tallying of who has seen the invite & who is coming (and how many uninvited siblings they're bringing... not that that is happening in this situation). She's bringing juice boxes which I find hilarious seeing as they are NOT low waste in any way. We are having presents... and after an hour's discourse on the topic she finally agreed to just NOT MENTION any part of it on the invitation. You know? People will either bring them or not... they really don't need a whole bunch of rules about the gifts. She wanted (and, boy, this is starting to get more involved then I intended) to have people RSVP and then she would call them and tell them which girl they would bring a gift for. Okay. I don't need Kid to get 20 presents but I'm pretty sure that step is completely unnecessary and only serves to complicate the party for the parents attending (which negates the whole point of doing a joint party). I will update you as things progress. I think I'm doing really well with this whole thing and am not feeling pressure to do more than I was.


Other updates... In Laws... they did call on her birthday. Now, I will have you know that they haven't called our house in close to 4 or 5 months. I suspect (and have... which is partly why I do it) that some people ARE reading the blog. When I mention how their actions/inactions make Kid feel things seem to happen. But I'm not expecting any kind of additional follow through from them at this point. They might call Mr F on Christmas.


Oh and Disney! I booked our hotel. This is our first time staying off site at Disney. I'm more than a little nervous about some of that (I realize it will be fine... but we are used to the WDW system) but our room is twice the size and has a separate living room and with two kids underfoot that could be the best mental health decision we've ever made. Plus it's about 40% cheaper... which means we can stay 40% longer. We're taking the full week of Thanksgiving off and heading down on the 21st. I'm hoping that will allow us a couple of days before the Thanksgiving crowds come. Oh and added bonus our hotel has a Thanksgiving buffet... which.... means I don't have to stress about the fact that all the Disney venues have been booked for the last year. And we're driving... which means... packing just got a LOT easier.

That's all I've got for now.