Overwhelmed…

So who out there has felt completely inadequate at their job? Frustrated? Helpless? Overwhelmed? I had one of those days on Friday, and it sucked. I’ve been having those days, actually, since I switched jobs after we moved. I’ve never had it too bad when it comes to paperwork, but I truly feel that the amount of paperwork in this job gets in the way of how effective I can be at the MOST IMPORTANT PART of it, which is EXECUTING THE TREATMENT. Part of this job also involves going into people’s homes and, essentially, teach them how to encourage their child’s language development. I really, really don’t care for going into other people’s homes, particularly when said homes are, shall we say, of a certain amount of suckitude. Smoky, dirty, scary. Not all, but a good number of them are. Hey out there, if you’ve got people coming into your home to provide assistance with you or your child, here’s a tip: VACUUM YOUR FLOORS ONCE A DECADE. We do not want to sit on multi-month old Cheerios, Cheetos, or M&Ms. Nor do we want to step in animal crap, pee, or puke. Also–if you have other children in the house, DO NOT LET THEM CLIMB ALL OVER ME OR MY STUFF. You are sitting right there, I should NOT have to discipline your other children.

Feeling blue…

I can’t quite shake this blue feeling. It’s a sunny (albeit still cold) day, it’s FINALLY March, and it’s Saturday. My dad’s latest CT scan showed that the chemo is working. We decided what to do with the old house and are in the process of giving it back to the bank. We are getting a tax refund of a nice size. So why can’t I get happy?

I guess maybe it’s because I’m starting to feel sick again, and daughter is coming down with something as well. People at work have been dropping like flies, with the crud that’s going around turning into pneumonia and other lovely illnesses. I DON’T WANT THAT. I can’t afford to get sick. Daughter is unable to entertain herself today and is whiny as hell when she doesn’t get her way. She wouldn’t take a nap. She doesn’t like her big girl bed, that husband insisted we put up today. A certain retail store that carries many linens and other things pissed me off–I went online to price out mattress protectors and found a good one for a pretty good price; especially with a 20% off coupon. I thought about buying it online and just picking it up at the store, but decided against this. Got to the store and found the same mattress pad, but for $5 more. When I took it to the checkout, the gum-cracking sales wench pretty much told me “Lump it”, that my item had recently been marked up (you could actually see the old price tag under the new one). Wouldn’t you think that, since I saw it online for $5 less, they would honor that price? Nope. And I would’ve pursued it further, but there were no other lines open at the time and there was a good sized bunch of people gathering behind me. Lest I be one of “those people”, I took my purchase and vow to write the company a scathing email about customer service. I would’ve just left it there but since husband had set up the new bed WITHOUT consulting me, we needed to have it. Especially since we’re in the throes of potty training. That’s all I need, to have her pee and soak through to the mattress.

So the sickness and the store, coupled with a multitude of other crap and the whining of husband and daughter, is driving me batshit crazy today. I think maybe I need to take a walk BY MYSELF later. And I really need a vacation.

CFM

Things I Wish My Husband Wouldn’t Teach My Daughter…

On the phone today:

Daughter: “Mommy, I made big turd!”

Oy.

Things I Wish My Husband Wouldn’t Tell Me…

After eating copious amounts of peanuts last night:

“I think my poop is gonna look like a Payday bar tomorrow.”

Randomness…

Daughter’s third birthday party was successfully pulled off yesterday. We just had family and one family of friends here for sloppy joes, etc. and a “pink Charlie Brown” cake (request spawned by watching too much “Charlie Brown Christmas” this year). I was particularly happy that my parents made it up…my dad felt good enough to drive here and back (about an hour each way). I heard him comment to someone that “I just get to feeling good and it’s time to get poked again” (welcome weird search terms). Oh well. Anyway, M had a blast and was unbelievably wound up last night. Now we need to get used to being parents again after a week off.

I’m stressed. The pressure noose of our old house is tightening. Just got our last reimbursement check from the builder, and I’m worried now about what to do. The market in our old city is particularly bleak, and there are a lot of houses similar to ours that are selling for a lot less, to either foreclosure or b/c they were owned by older people who no longer had mortgages. So now we’re looking into several options: renting (not my favorite); short sale; and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. The short sale won’t be an option unless we stop paying the old mortgage–after 90 days, they will consider it. Seems ridiculous, huh? If we get rid of the home equity on it, then we might be able to do the deed-in-lieu. So tomorrow, I will be calling a local bank to see if we can get a home equity on the new house (with the stipulation that we will be paying off the old one), then probably trying to locate a real estate lawyer who can help us with the options. I just don’t think we can afford to keep paying the old mortgage, plus the $3100/year vacant home insurance. It’s not going to work. I guess I’d rather bruise our credit first, b/c I think we can repair it relatively quickly. And we’re not anticipating really needing to do any major purchases in the next several years, anyway.  More later on that.

snow day!

Ahhh. Nothing better than waking up to a ringing phone, announcing that school is closed. The roads totally suck here, though…it was raining like crazy with temps above freezing yesterday afternoon, then the temp dropped 20+ degrees, flash-freezing everything. Winds picked up, snow started. This morning? Ewww. I’m glad the munchkin is at G & G’s this week, so we don’t have to worry about having her out in this mess.

So last night, we’re watching The Biggest Loser, and I cannot tear my eyes away from the wretchedness that is Jillian’s nose. Her flaring nostrils capture my attention every time, mainly because it looks like you could shove Buicks up there with room to spare.  Ugh. Can you imagine what it would be like close up, especially if she didn’t trim the nose hair?

:(

My baby is at grandma and grandpa’s for a week. While a taste of freedom will be kind of nice, I miss her!!!!!

Oh well, we have a birthday party to plan for next week, anyway. It’ll take me at least a week to clean this hell hole.

Hyperventilating…

So while I was home today trying to enjoy my snow day off, I got a certified letter from the insurance company who carries our homeowner policy on our “second” home (aka the old house). The policy is not being renewed because the property is vacant. Why is it vacant? Because NO ONE WILL FRIGGING BUY OUR OLD HOUSE. The market in that area is saturated with houses very similar to ours in size and amenities (although ours is WAY cuter), and there are lots of houses that are priced way less than they might be worth. Ours has been on the market for 5 months now with only a few showings.

What, you might ask, does one do when their homeowner policy is not being renewed? You have to buy a policy that costs 3-5 times more than one costs if there is someone living in the house. So our insurance has been $700/year…with this, the CHEAPEST policy is $3100/year. Yeah. So we have a few weeks before we have to start paying that bad boy. Greeeeat.

Good times around here. Good times.

A question…

Yeah, yeah. I haven’t written for a while. I never realized that keeping up with a blog could be so overwhelming. Let me get to my question:

Is there ANYONE else out there who only has one child and MIGHT NOT WANT ANOTHER ONE? Why is it that almost every single mom blog I’m slogging through is about a family of more than just one? I tried to tell husband about a recent observation, regarding our status as potential couple-friends. It seems like we’ve always been on the outskirts of “fitting in” with other couples we don’t already know. We were either childless, therefore, did not really fit in with the child variety people; or now, one-child people who don’t fit in with the more-than-one-child people. Am I making sense at all? Is it just me making too much of the situation? I am thinking of this now, because of our fairly recent move and my really wanting to get back out there and get at least one set of friends. I feel like I’m going slightly batsh*t from not really socializing outside of work. I’m kind of picky about the people I hang out with, though–would feel bad if they were “too nice” (b/c I’m a bitchy person by nature and feel guilty around non-bitchies). My qualifications in the female half of the couple? Slightly neurotic and bitchy, yes! Love to shop? Bonus! Too skinny and cutesy? Deal breaker. (I can’t be the plain (read: ugly) friend yet again.)

Sorry for the random weirdness. Not like anyone reads this anyway.

I think I’ve found it…

So in my continuous search for exercise that is “new and different”, I found something that I think I will love. And not far from my house! It’s called EcoTrek Fitness — it’s all outdoors. Walking/jogging with intervals of strength training (using bands) and wrapping up with yoga stretches. Not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, since there’s a considerable amount of snow on the ground, but definitely gratifying. So much better than  joining a gym!!!