Driving, Goldendoodles and Achilles Tendons

So, today I remembered the fallen veterans by grooming. Not a typical remembrance, but it works! So, since I felt like it, I took some pictures!

This is the drive to work. Exciting, huh?

This is one of my request clients, Luke. He is a goldendoodle--a golden retriever/standard poodle mix. That is a very popular mix right now, along with labradoodles (labrador retrievers and standard poodles). This is him before his bath, brush and haircut.

Still before. Taking a picture was difficult. He is still kind of a puppy (16 months), so he is in constant motion!

And this is him after! I left the hair an inch all over, which took an hour long bath/blowdry and another hour and a half to brush and cut.

Isn't he handsome? He is a very good boy.

Anyway, somehow on my lunch (Sean brought Matt down to visit), I really hurt my achilles tendon (the tendon on the back of the foot above the heel). Really, really sucks. It hurts unbelievably bad. I can hardly walk and it is super painful. It goes all the way up my leg. :-( Hope it heals as fast as the pain came on! Soo lame...
Anyway, that is all for now! I am going to hobble over to the kitchen and eat something.

A Working Tv...for me?

Yes, we finally traded in our hand-me-down big screen tv for another hand-me-down big screen tv of the same variety. They are alike in most ways except one--our new one has a perfect picture...RIGHT WHEN YOU TURN IT ON!
WOW!
Let me tell you how ridiculous it had gotten with our other one.
It needed at least 3-4 days of being completely off before operation. During that time if you turned it on, the picture would jump and distort so violently it would make you sick. It wouldn't ever warm up.
After the 3-4 day waiting period, however, you could turn it on and it would warm up within two hours. Then we'd get a good 20-30 minutes of good viewing time, and the picture would begin to jump violently again. Then begins the cycle of waiting another 3-4 days. Fun!
My friend Jana's uncle took it, presumably to fix it and use/sell it. He can go right ahead! We paid $100 for a 52 inch big screen RCA tv that works perfectly fine for now. Everything is hooked up, and it's so nice not to have a big space waster in the living room now.
Anyway, everything else is going good. Looking forward to my birthday and my vacation. Yay!

Toddlers Are Wierd.

Today he woke up from him afternoon nap in an awful mood. Nothing would calm him down. Drugged him up, but still nothing. Still on an angry tirade. screaming, rolling around on the floor, hitting things (hitting himself which was actually sort of funny, because the pain really made him mad) ... (I know, I'm terrible). Etc, screaming like we were strangling him, the whole works.
Finally after about 10 minutes we decide to completely ignore him. Sean leaves the room. Matt stops crying in about 2 min (after screaming louder and throwing himself around more dramatically in an attempt to get my attention), takes a deep breath, grabs his sippy cup with milk, climbs up to the couch and snuggles with me, totally quiet. And gives me a kiss.
.....
ohh...kay...
Oh and he was fine from then on.

Matt Plays In The Tornado...er...Rain

Just a quick post, to say that today was really weird! It started off normally, sorta overcast and normal temperature, and progressed to rain, hail, thunder, lightning and...TORNADOES!
Yes, tornadoes in Southern Cali...and no, it's not the Day After Tomorrow. Unless it is the 22nd...hmm...through some strange time twist...maybe it is!

Here it is! It touched down less than 20 miles away. It tore up railroad tracks and flipped over an oil tanker on the highway. Amazingly, only one building was struck (see above).
I think that company said they are giving all their employees paid time off while it is repaired or something...? I don't know.
Anyway, I am sure the people in Kansas think that's baby stuff, but we literally never get tornadoes here. If we do (which I have heard of), they don't touch down!
Paired with a very unusual rain/thunderstorm in May, and it's some freaky stuff! So of course, I just had to go outside and take pictures of Matthew in the rain.

Matt is cute in the rain...and my font is weird and huge for some reason! Great!


Water...from the sky? I can finally get wet some other way than dumping the doggie water bowl all over me when mommy isn't looking...

The troubled clouds.."okay, so this IS Wichita, right dude? ...Um....let me check...ARGH I HATE YOU TOM TOM!!!"

lala....I am a wet baby...but I am drinking hot chocolate so it's okay.

Rain, I command you to halt!

This is Matt running around in the rain. Nothing amazing...okay except for one part. Let's just say...don't blink!

Goodnight everyone! Don't let the tornadoes bite!

Airlines Are Cheap Bastards

Sooo...in preparation for my trip back east I decided to confirm some things so I could plan ahead. I am flying on two different airlines, one to Hartford and one back. On both of their websites, they say that the first checked bag is free, the second is $25, and the third one is $100. That sorta freaked me out because I was planning on checking three bags. A piece of luggage, the pack and play and the carseat. So I wondered if the carseat counted as a personal assistance device (which are free to check), and called. US Air said yes, they are free, and United said no. I think the US Air rep was confused and thought Matt had his own seat. But maybe I can argue that in the airport and get it free. But either way I am now looking at $125 each way!!! Yikes!!! So, the carseat isn't optional, but the pack and play sort of is. I figure if I can find one back east for Matt to sleep in then that will certainly be cheaper than $100 extra each way. I can do $25. Not 100! That is so evil and ridiculous.
Anyway, just was frustrated and had to vent. Found some on Craigslist back there, so hope is there. Heck, it would be cheaper to buy one off the shelf there! Or send it via mail! Lame airlines...

Laptop!

This is my second post on a laptop, and the first on MY laptop! I love it! Okay, well I love it now that all the bloatware has been un-installed. And I will love it even more when it has more ram. It is so nice to post wherever I want to! And to be able to watch Matt and do necessary computer stuff. Yay! Now I just have to concentrate on not dropping it or spilling any drinks on it. Better concentrate REALLY hard because I have a bad feeling I will. Or Matt. Or both.
Anyway, not much other news to report. Should expect more posts because now it is a little easier to post. Have a good day, everyone!

Early Birthday Present!

Yay! Sean ordered my birthday present!!! I've wanted one for a long, long time...


A brain! Yay!

And he also got me a laptop!!! Finally! I have wanted one for a really long time, and this one can replace my current computer. It was the right price and everything. He also ordered 4 extra gigs of ram so that Vista could run properly (properly for Vista, which isn't saying much).
I am so excited!
Now I have a hope of making it to the east coast in a saner state of mind. Since Matt doesn't watch TV very often (not because we are excellent parents but because our living room tv is broken), hopefully if I put some hypnotizing brain melting toddler-aimed dvd on he will be happy and distracted for a bit so we can relax. Ah...to be able to surf the web AND watch tv...to be able to take my computer anywhere I go!
To have a cd rom drive that works...
Ah...
Oh and it comes with a carrying case...yay!
I know it isn't the biggest screen, but it doesn't have to be. It only has to be big enough to be visible at close range. Anyway, I have to go to bed soon. Just wanted to gloat about my present!

Matt and the "Other" Baby

I finally found the connector cord! Yay! I have lots of pictures I have been meaning to post, but never could (and that's part of the reason I haven't really been posting). Now I can! I am going to start with some shots of the baby shower that I promised but couldn't deliver a while before:

Matt pumps up to go with a Rockstar energy drink.

Three of my friends: (from the left) Tina, Kim, and Annie. Kim is the pregnant one :-)

Matt plays with a cute little girl who really seemed to love having someone littler than her to boss around.

Those energy drink crashes are horrible! He was so tired and fussy he had to take a bath with his pacifier (he doesn't get it during the day usually), AND his balloon. (see the red around his eyes?)

Sort of off the subject, but this is Nostromo's newest sleeping spot.

Well, anyway, that was a fun day. For us, that was. Matt got really fussy towards the end. Anyway, I have been watching my friend Lorenza's baby, as I mentioned before, so here are some pictures. He is 7 months old, but only 8 lbs, so he is newborn size. Read on for the shocking side-by-side comparison!

Here he is about to fall asleep on my bed last time I watched him. He is so cute!

Smile!

Matt loves the baby.

"Jeez, you're so little!"...."Oh my god, you're Gigantasor!"

And, the infamous side-by-side comparison!!!! Matt used to be that little! I can't believe it! SO ridiculous. How fast they grow!
Well, now the two are napping, so I am going to be productive and relax! I took a walk to Target today with both of them, Robert (the baby) in the baby sling and Matt in the stroller. Fun, but tiring in the sun.
Alright, hope you enjoyed the post! Be sure to check out my new poll!

Free Time

Just had a bit of free time between Matt's nap and a shower and thought I would post again. The connector cord is still MIA which is pretty lame.
I worked on Mother's Day yesterday, which kinda sucked, but I made good money so I guess I can count that as my present. Also, I logged on to my Sprint account today and it looks like I have a credit. Yay! I haven't been able to afford to pay my whole bill recently, so I have been just paying $50 once in a while without looking at the total, and apparently I overpaid. So I got some stuff I wouldn't normally, like a few song ringers and a call tone (you know the one that is really irritating and plays instead of a ringer when you call?). I got a song called 1985 by Bowling For Soup in honor of my impending birthday. Tried to get one that wouldn't make everyone in a crappy mood by the time I picked up the phone.
In other news, Brenda got the tickets for my trip back east, and it's official! I am going to visit ALL my family (which is the joy of going for two weeks), and finally maybe get some relaxation time in between! I guess I will have to rent my own car so I can easily facilitate trips between the two sides of the family. Hmm...I am really trying to think of a way to NOT rent a car so I can have some free money for the trip. Well, car or no car, everyone is getting a visit and the itinerary will be planned soon and I will let everyone know what's going on! I am excited for the trip and REALLY REALLY dreading the flight.
Poor Matt, it's not his fault he's a toddler. I love the one part of flying with him--he is an amazing people repellent. It is a guarantee the seat next to him will be the last to fill up.
Anyway, lots more time to worry about that later. Today is my last day of work before my days off. Yay! I always look forward to today.
Off to my shower!

Time Flies

...When you're not posting! I am really sorry, I have just been busy as usual and haven't been online much. Nothing much is going on out of the ordinary except that Sean is working (and he loves it, by the way), and that means things are a little more stretched around here time-wise. He did get offered the full-time position, so he will become full time after his AT (his mandatory two-week training) in June. I am taking my vacation during that time, then when he goes full-time, I will be able to go part time, which will be wonderful. And that means...school! Yay! That's going to be really hard. Since we will both we working and dealing with childcare, I will probably start out with only one or two classes a week. Then when Sean is able to completely support the family and I can quit work altogether, then I will be able to go full time in school and get it done faster. Probably just going to take out student loans--we are up to our necks in debt from Sean's school already and be paying that forever, so what's more? It'll all be worth it in the end, hopefully.
Other than that, everything else is going well. I'm working on Mother's Day and Sean will be at drill, so it's definitely going to be a no-celebration day. Maybe I'll get a "Happy Mother's Day" bite from a dog. :-P My mom did send me a package, so I can't wait to open that. I sent her something too, but I can't afford much (Sean has only gotten paid once and we still had to draw massively out of savings to make rent plus we are paying for childcare). Hope she likes it anyway! One thing that is helping with childcare is my friend Lorenza. She has a really cute baby that I am starting to watch for her, and she watches Matt if I need her on her days off. It's nice, and it gives me a taste of what it's like to have a very young baby and a toddler (not too fun). But Matt LOVES the baby. He stares, and baby stares back, and they both smile and it's really cute. Today I am going to take both of them on a nice walk. Baby in the sling and Matt in the stroller. I would post pics but I can't find the connector cord to the camera and I don't know where our external hard drive is. Those darn external drives. Give them an inch of cord and they take a mile!
Well, you can guarantee more posts once I become part-time, I promise! Things will be less hectic. Well--we are moving in August into a house (hopefully), and then I can see which colleges are around and pick one.
Well, if I find the cord, I will post pics of Matt and the baby later! Bye!