Freak Out!

So I am freaking out a bit.  I haven't had any time to look into this problem but it sits in the back of my mind freaking me out. 

My external hard drive where I keep all my pictures is not working.  I don't know if its a crash, or what. 

Who knew you needed a back up of the external hard drive.  I kind of thought it was the back up. 

I have all my pictures for my business on my computer.  Phew.  But every other picture is on the hard drive.  I know I have flikr as a pseudo back up.  However, I only put a fraction of the pictures I take on it.  Plus I started my flickr when I was pregnant with Hannah.  There are pictures on the hard drive that I need for the cook book.

The other problem is i have been getting an error message on my new camera.  Now I love that thing, more than I should, so this is breaking my heart a bit.  In the process of uploading the pictures from pizza night the other night and clearing  my card to go take senior pictures I have erased or lost all of the pictures of pizza night at grannies.  Now this wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact it was the first time all of the great grand children were together and I was the only one taking pictures of the night with a camera and not a cell phone. 

So I am going to take a couple of deep breaths and hopefully find someone who can help me.

over it

I am so over it. Too tired of my blog to write anymore.

Complain Complain

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

I have the never ending headache.

That's it.

A little too soon

I was feeling better yesterday. Phase 2 hit last night, or maybe I caught something new. So far I am the only sick one in our house. I hate it. But really who likes being sick?

The worst part is night time. I actually dread going to sleep at night when I am sick. I know it's not going to be a restful night. Then I have to get up and out of bed to nurse. Torture.

Off to drink some liquids and get a nap.

Toys

Not the first posting about toys.


The problem is there are too many toys.


The friends and family like to buy them toys.

The kids don't know how to clean up their toys.


The mom takes away the toys.

The lesson learned is they don't need so many toys.

The dad gets tired of the mess in the garage and back comes the toys.

The kids go back to playing with all the toys.


The mom wonders how she is going to manage the toys.

old lady coming through

I have been out walking this week. We have had a cooler week so I have taken advantage of the 90's and gone out waking. This is how we do it. In our neighborhood it goes yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb. So James rides his bike on the sidewalk and I walk in the street pushing the double stroller with Hannah and Caroline riding. I feel like this is the safest way to get around.

What I don't understand is why people in our neighborhood have to drive so fast. What time are they really saving by speeding through? Plus is it any safer to slow down as you approach us and to speed off. I think people walking in a neighborhood should be a pretty good visual reminder that you are in a neighborhood. Take it easy and slow down.

There I have vented. By the way the word of the day is neighborhood.

Kids in Pictures

So I am officially not a fan of children's (mall) photography studios. I mean the idea serves a purpose, but I keep getting let down by my own experiences.

After the kids are a year old I do one portrait a year. I like to do it at Easter time. Something else we have been doing, is my sister in law comes at the same time and we do a group of the cousins. On my wall in the hall I have two framed Easter pictures that I like. Each has James and Hannah together and one of each of them by themselves. I planned on getting one this year as well.

Well if the so called photographer cant spend five extra minutes to make sure I have a good shot of my two kids together I guess I won't be spending my money there. I am really upset and my hormones don't help but seriously, not a single shot I liked of the two of them together.

I have a nice camera I should hang a sheet, catch the bright morning sun and take some myself. I can even have them blown up at Costco. Thank you mall photo place for adding one more thing to my to do list.

I miss running

Today I am feeling sad. I miss running. We have had such nice weather I am craving a run. I had planned on running much further into this pregnancy than I did. Thank you never ending sinus infection.

Here is what I miss the most.

1. the running part
2. being outside
3. being alone
4. listening to music
5. exercising the dog
6. seeing what is new in the neighborhood
7. the endorphins
8. the feeling of accomplishment
9. sweating
10. the cute outfits ;)

Not long now and I will be back. I keep telling the dog that too.

A list of things

1. We still haven't settled 100% on a boys name.

2. Tomorrow's weigh in is going to be terrible. Housebound boredom eating = bad!

3. I can't seem to get my house cleaned up.

4. Have been enjoying TV less days.

5. Finally getting hair done. Last time was before I knew I was pregnant.

6. I have been getting leg cramps at night.

7. Bakersfield is blooming and my sinuses are paying for it.

8. I am beginning to like our dog Chip.

9. I got my kids haircuts and they look fabulous again.

10. I am going to go build a fort out of blankets and chairs for my kids.

Decorating with half a brain cell

"Don't take any advice you get from me." This should be my disclaimer. I have been working on organizing and decorating the office. The office/nursery I should say. As stated before in this blog, it will be black & white. So I found some cool wall stickers and the curtains I wanted. I ordered both and started moving forward with my plan. I sent my mom some black terry material to cover the changing pad.



So last week I got my wall art (stickers). I arranged them all fun and if I get bored I get to move them again. But I had been waiting forever for the curtains from Target.com. You see they said they shipped it on the 22 but they didn't, they started processing it. It still took 3 days to get here from Oakland once it finally made it into the truck.

So I eagerly opened my package tonight when it arrived and low and behold. One curtain panel is all you get in the package. Are you kidding me? How did I over look this and how long is it going to take to get another one? This just shows the diminished brain power of a pregnant woman.

The changing pad will be covered in a nice morbid black. Maybe it will hide stains.

I do love these animals.

The organized closet. By the way except for two of those compartments and the hanging yellow clothes, those are all baby blankets.

We still have to get the crib out of storage and sand the teethmarks from two previous teething babies out of it. I plan on some kind of bumper & sheet set in black and white as well. Hopefully I have the brain power to accomplish that task.

Little Cutie Syndrome

I have lost control over my two year old. I think, she thinks, she is too cute for rules. Her father and I have quit thinking she was cute awhile ago. Everyday I hear she is cute. I am not bragging. I am concerned. Because she hears it too. The other moms at the preschool don't believe she is as bratty as she is. She has the whole game figured out. Be cute and sweet in front of others and a tyrant at home.

Today alone she was put on time out at least 10 times. Nothing phases her. We need to find the worst possible punishment for her. Because she really doesn't care. She gives this look like "I am cute and that's all I need." Monster.

She fights with the best of them and sharing is not her forte. Jerry reminds me that she is just two. But I am seriously worried.

Memo to the Dogs

Dogs,

It is apparent that you need some guidance.

Lou, you are a dog. You eat dog food, sleep in a dog bed, so get used to the idea. Quit staring in the house and start acting like a dog. While you are at it, find some help for the whole licking the concrete thing. It seems a bit neurotic.

Chip, when are you going to get out of your puppy phase? I can not believe you chewed a hole in the bed I made you 5 days ago. Did you forget that you are a scaredy cat who wont come in to sleep at night. It is cold out there. If you don't want the luxury of a bed, fine, no more beds. Another thing, why do you dig soo many holes and why are they soo deep. What are you trying to find? If it's gold I will take it.

Thanks,
Stephanie

running rampant

I will admit I am a bit depressed this morning. When mainstream media has their mind made up they run with it. I wish I could feel more comfortable, but I haven't gotten all the information, just the parts others want me to hear.

I had a bit of a cold over the weekend. I squeezed my run in on Saturday but Sunday I skipped. I also chose not to get out of bed on Monday or Tuesday for the treadmill. But today I got up and took Chip on a run. I wasn't feeling the best, but I knew it would be the best thing I can do for myself. The funny thing is I have been seeing all these people out running lately and they look terrible, their posture is off and they look like they are in pain. Today as I am running I start thinking about my posture and stride and I feel off. I had to work hard to ignore all of that and just run, and hopefully I don't look like a dork.

Soapbox

I am sorry but I just have to get something off my chest. This blog is my soapbox, so however few of you do read it, here we go.

Why should anyone in America care which political candidate celebrities endorse?

How small of a population are celebrities, how much different are their lives than ours, why does anyone even care. Personally it makes me sick that these people can easily influence what could be the largest voting demographic the 18-25 year olds. Why do we care if Lindsey fresh out of rehab Lohen doesn't like Sarah Palin? The girl does drugs and doesn't wear underpants.

Are celebrities in touch with the needs of hardworking people? Is Obama?

"Earlier in the day, the Democratic presidential candidate spoke about the public’s deepening economic anxieties and portrayed Republican challenger John McCain as out of touch with the needs of hardworking people."

So I usually don't vocalize too many opinions about such topics as politics and religion but I feel that the media's constant coverage about what celebrities are saying and who they are voting for has gotten to be too much. Every person has a right to vote how they want to and hopefully America can make their own choice with out getting side tracked by celebrities.

the final days

I have been extremely busy lately. Family get togethers, Dodger games, errands, kids, gym, etc. But one event can not go un blogged about.

The final walk through of our rental...
For me, and even Jerry, it was as big of a nightmare as you can imagine. I have never had a landlord as crazy as this one. Part of me wants to put an add in the local newspaper stating don't rent a house from mr crazy ever. But I might get sued for defamation of character or something dumb and un worth it like that. I was pretty much sick the 2 days before and it turns out not a bug, but stress was making me feel awful. All this pent up stress and the cleaning of this house made for a big ball of angry steph. The end result was a tongue lashing for the landlord, a refusal to pay a maid to do what we had done already 3 times, an earth quake, and a full deposit back (we hope he doesn't back out for dust in the floor vents). It was funny after I gave him a piece of my mind, I didn't mind the cleaning. It felt good to tell this man that this is the most absurd rental situation ever. He is so weird, he just looked at me with a blank face, I tried to keep my calm because money was at stake but there were several times my head almost blew off the top of my neck. I told him, "we kept your house clean right?" he answered "no" I said "what?" He replied back, "there is dust on the ceiling fan blades" I said "that's because I left them spinning for 3 weeks after I shampooed the carpet." I could go on but it's just not worth it.

Jerry and I have gained nothing in our lives from ever knowing this man. I hope I never rent again, even though it turned out good from an investment standpoint. Best wishes to all renters out there, you have my sympathy.

my camera

I am devastated right now.

I can not find my camera. I always have my camera with me. The last place I had it was the 4th of July, front lawn of my in laws in the dark. I have searched my car 10 times, I looked all over their house, its gone.

How long do I wait for it to turn up before I get another one? I just got this one last fall.

I need my camera this weekend for the wedding we are going to. I just want to cry.

The ants go marching

I love my new house, however it comes with some pets, ants. No one has yet lived in this home so we are trying to take it back from the ants. We have border sprayed, baited, and poisoned again and they still keep coming back for more. Obviously the kitchen is the worst. I am trying my patience with the poison they take back to their nest. But to me it looks like they are just bellying up to the bar and staying there. Meanwhile all their drinking buddies keep showing up. I know it takes about 2 weeks to do it right but the raid is about to come out.

Upset all over again

It's the day before one of our famous inspections. I am completely upset over it. This feeling of knowing just how much our personal space is going to be invaded tomorrow is making me sick.

I have told our creepy landlord I don't like the inspections, they make me uncomfortable, you can't feel settled in the home your supposed to have as your own, etc. None of this information deters him. Jerry said tomorrow he would tell him this would be our last because we will be moving when our leases is up.

Do I really want to move before we move into the house we are going to build. No. But I will not do this again. I have been on the verge of tears and angry all day. Its not worth it, so I will move.
Plus it just makes the lack of movement on our property that much more discouraging.

Not to be a bummer, but I am.

Rental Schmental

My landlord called today to check up on the new faucet he installed because the last one leaked. I mustered up all the courage I had to explain to him how by not knowing what was expected during the rental I found it to be very awkward, uncomfortable and an invasion of our privacy. He was extremely apologetic and explained to me his method as well as why he does it. I guess its less to look at us and more to fix broken thing that just happen in a house. Still, I don't think I will handle much more than a year of this guy.

Then there is the Internet situation. Lebec finally got dial up. However the canyon we live in is only accessible to it near the beginning of the homes not up here near the top. I don't know what to do. Do we get another phone line for our dial up and tough out the rest of our time here or do we pay a fortune for satellite Internet. I know that I will have high speed in Lockwood Valley. So what do we do? Some of you empathise with our mourning of all things highspeed and some of you probably don't understand the fuss. But how I love to use the Internet at my in laws just because it is fast.

Oh, invasive day.

So today's maintenance inspection is pretty blog worthy. I go between letting the whole thing roll off my back and being pretty upset about the whole situation.

We basically had about 2 weeks to move once we thought our escrow was going through for sure. The house we found met all of our needs with regards to kids being safe in the yard and a garage for Jerry. Actually the house is not bad at all. However, the landlord. What a nut case. We joked that Jerry and I were clear to work for the FBI with our background check that we had to go through before we moved in. We seriously thought that OK, this guy is protecting his property but once he gets to know us he will ease up. Wrong.

He is very weird, nice but weird.

I decided to read through my lease yesterday again before I had him come in to try and guess what today was going to be like.
It said "Scheduled inspections shall be performed by Landlord to identify and make needed repairs. Inspections will be arranged at about the (3) month and then the (6) month point from move in date. Regular maintenance will be scheduled every (6) months thereafter. Such timely maintenance will assure your home remains in good working order."
Now after I read this I relaxed just a bit. I still cleaned from top to bottom. But I relaxed that it wouldn't be a fine tooth comb-over.

It was supposed to happen at 10 this morning and he shows up at 8 and is lurking around. We are clean and dressed and fed around 9 so I go outside and pretend I didn't know he was there. I asked him since he was early if he would like to start. I can only keep my house clean for so long. He said he couldn't because he had to trim the trees around the property and there was someone coming to haul off branches soon. So whatever. Then 30 minutes later he is back and ready to do the "inspection". In the mean time Hannah has fallen and has a huge goose egg and is crying. He starts in the kitchen looking at everything the walls, phone, sink, then he opens the microwave, oven, every single cupboard door and drawer, the window, turns on the lights and the fan. All the while still making small talk and smiling away. My skin was crawling. I don't like the guy much and he is looking at every single possession I have. Family doesn't even do that.

I get distracted with the kids and he moves on to the living room and then our room. He must have been in our room alone for 10 minutes. I didn't know if I should go in or stay out. He had a clipboard and was making notes on it. I felt violated because I know he was opening every drawer in the bathroom and the closet and looking in shower and the toilet.

So I just decided to play with my kids and ignore the big idiot rummaging through my house. All the while hating every second being alone in the house with him. Now he is nice, but how weird is this? He spent an hour fine tooth combing this 1200 square feet we are living in.

Actually I am sick just writing all of this down. I told Jerry about it tonight and he was like "we are out of there if he plans on doing that again, he can just take his mansion and shove it." However, we paid almost $5000 in deposits that I plan on getting every penny back. So I guess we will have to find a very civil way to deal with the invasion of our privacy. No stupid home is worth it. But money that I could be spending drilling a well is.

This rental is one of the more degrading life situations I have been in. We had more freedom in college. I had a landlord who gave us a checkbook and had us hire people to make repairs on the house. This nut wants to do everything himself. I don't know if he is OCD or what but I think we really need to talk to him before he head back to Mexico.