pomegranate pretty

For Melinda: Baby Crap I Like

2009-07-08T05:27:00.004-05:00

Baby Crap I Like:

Melinda. I have no idea what your price range is or really what you're interested in but here are some things I love.

Baby Hawk - this is a baby carrier you tie on. It's insanely comfortable and Beebs loved/loves being in it. I loved picking out the fabric too. You can make it reversible so you get even more options. These are pricey but I love mine. You can give a certificate so the person you're buying for can pick their own fabrics too.

Swing - Beebs LOVED her swing. So did we!! haha. Lots of different swings.

California Baby anything - I'm such a sucker for this stuff. I rarely buy it but damn it smells good. I love the calming and I love you baby bath. The diaper cream is my favorite diaper cream. Oh and the calendula cream is super awesome for baby and mamas. I like to rub a little on my face, under my eyes and stuff. If your mama friend doesn't have an ounce of hippie in her she might not like these scents.

Play Mat - this is the one we have. Beebs enjoyed it a lot.

Little Hoot - cute book. :) there's also little pea, little oink. amy rosenthal does cute stuff!!

Swaddler - We received this as a gift and it's great but sometimes Beebs liked sleeping in it and sometimes not. She's been an arms & legs free kind of girl from the beginning. It's super easy to swaddle in this though when you're like half asleep and it stays pretty secure/snug. (These look cute too - err, I love the prints!!)

Itzbeen - I heard I would like this but we're not really timer people. I know some Type A's that would enjoy this. I would throw it.

The First 1000 Days - Man. I LOVE anything Nikki McClure does. This book is so lovely and so perfect for writing in. You don't feel like you're going to mar its lovely pages by jotting and drawing and scribbling about your baby all over it. I have sucked at writing in this but I love it! the one entry (oh my gosh! mom of the year!) is under First Laugh, August 1. She has more fun kids' books too.

Avent - wide neck bottles. I breastfeed but when I'm at work, Beebs has gotten bottles. I tried a whole bunch and got a little obsessive about finding the coolest most breast-like one. These were given to us as a gift from one of my co-workers and they have been the ones we have always used even after trying 800 others. They make BPA free ones. Beebs had no problems going back and forth between these and breast. I was looking for wide neck on their website..maybe it's called the Natural Feeder? Either way, big wide nipple.

Trumpette Socks - we had the Cheeritoes (one sock is striped, the other is polka dots - box set). Beebs wore these every day. They're just cute. :)

Speesees - Love their stuff. All of it. Every last drop. We got a natural teether here that Beebs still loves to gnaw on. We also have a bib from here that is super thick and durable. Still looks great after a zillion washes. (cute mobile!)

Melinda, this is where I evaluate my list and see that maybe it's not that helpful? Ha. I keep thinking ok, super useful gadgets.. I guess we don't own any gadgety stuff really. We're simpletons. My friend LOVED having a little bottle mixer whirler thing for formula. We used a wipes warmer for awhile but then it was just annoying and I felt like Beebs should be introduced to the cruel cruel world.

Earth's Best - We really loved their variety of baby foods and I always thought it would be fun to give/receive one of their sampler cases.

Happy Baby Food - same thing - they have great cereals (frozen baby food that you won't be giving at a shower but..still..cool!)

Nerdling onesie - I always really wanted this.

Gowns - handy if they're easy to get over the head! We had some that were torture. I've always coveted Kate Quinn stuff but honestly do not own any. heh. These look SO soft and cozy.

Zutano - Love their Itzy Bitzy newborn line. The prints and colors and very very mixy matchy. Beebs came home in one of their outfits.

Soft Landing - great, non-toxic stuff.

Hope you've made it this far.

Sophie - this is one of the first things we bought for Beebs while she was still nestled in the ol' womb. (like i'm just a regular baby factory) -- She still loves this. I love it. Cute, great to chew on, squeaks, adorable, etc. Sophie! Roommate once made fun of paying so much for a teether but..worth it!

Boon - pretty cute stuff. We have the sippy cup which looks weird and people always wonder what the hell it is but it's easy for Beebs to hold, doesn't leak all over the place and doesn't have an annoying valve or something. We also have the snack ball - love it. These won't be immediately used for a baby but...soon enough!! It's fun to have baby gifts around that come in handy a few months down the road. We had a stash of those items and it'd be like oh cool, let's open this one now! Delayed satisfaction. Target carries some Boon stuff, a couple bath things, the cup & snack ball, the spoons & baby food squirter. I haven't tried the spoons or squirter. haha. squirter.

Grow with me walker - something we love now - got this when she was about 9 months old so she could start walking around with it. Versatile, sturdy, will last for years, changes.

Inhabitots - man they just link CUTE stuff.

Co-sleeper - we used this when she was tiny. Now she gets 3/4 of the bed and we share the last 1/4.

Combi - stroller and car seat from here. LOVE them both. love love.

American Apparel Kids - Super soft, super durable, very very washable, very easy to mix/match. We bought Beebs all diff color karate pants/onesies, a beanie, some long sleeve, some short sleeve. Wonderful!! I purchased from Amazon, it was cheaper.

MightyJunior - always links to things I covet or buy. ha. Here are some of their links for things babies 0-1 might like. :) -- love those Spanish blocks, Baby update cards, Once a year baby book, growth charts and I'm dying over the gorgeous letterpress alphabet prints. ((also see Mighty Goods and Mighty Haus))

Footprint kit - this looks sweet.

I'm pretty confident the baby needs these, Melinda. I've got some great stuff for my nephew from Knuckleheads.

I feel like I missed the mark some on this list. I feel like I've included anything we used the hell out of. Oh here's the highchair we have and love and use daily - since she was little little. We got it on sale though. Trust that I drooled over gorgeous pieces from Switzerland or something but this is the one we use. heh. I guess people usually register for those big items anyway. I always heard good things about Phil & Teds MeToo chair.

Let me know if you pick anything from this list!!

Here's a WAY cooler/more concise list from Maggie at MightyGirl!! I love this list and looked at it while pregnant and indeed purchased some of these items. Maggie's got her stuff together, man. OOooh, glass bottles! And a nursing cover is essential (err, was to me). I was super picky about the fabric though so I don't think someone else could've picked this for me as a gift. I love the idea of putting together a nursing kid. Ok, I'm going to delete my entire list now because you have everything you need with Maggie's list.

* Some Toddler things too!!

MONDAY!

2009-07-06T21:12:00.003-05:00

I questioned whether maybe I'm bi-polar but can't think of any uppity ups so I'm thinking no. Then, after a couple of online quizzes (not of the facebook variety but almost as absurd) questioning bi-polarness I instead searched out the employee assistance program my hospital place of employment offers and decided tomorrow OR my next day off (Thursday) I'll make an appointment. The lows are getting lower and longer and more ragey. Ew.

We swam today and this girl, 12 or so, would NOT leave us alone. It was crowded, much more crowded than I prefer (empty, please) and she was all touchy talky with the baby. I understand, people do this, and I've yet to find my comfort level. I can't decide if I should interact with that person or just ignore it or? Usually I give a polite little "Say Hi!" and then I do not interact anymore. She would latch onto the baby's floaty and spin her around and then she wanted to know where we live (to which I responded, "at the bottom of the hill") and I'm telling you, this went on the ENTIRE time we were there. She basically had the 3 of us backed into a corner and sometimes she'd go underwater and I'd attempt to escape and then HERE she comes! Roommate was annoyed too and we ended up cuting our water escapades short because of her. I feel kind of mean for responding that way but MAN.

Anyway.
I made an attempt at grooming myself prior to work tomorrow. I showered, put this shine stuff on my hair and then put it in curlers. Sponge curlers. To sleep in.

Hope you had a fun holiday weekend and such.

The History of Love.

2009-06-28T11:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was good and awful. Not good and also awful but good and awful.
I woke up too early and was excited to start the day and be so productive but instead I spent much of the day feeling totally exhausted and I was grumpy and snippy and mean to my Roommate/s. The baby girl we have decided sleep was useless until after dinner when she had a full belly and drifted off to sleep in her highchair doing the slow slow blinks. We lifted her out and washed her hands before laying her down and she was up up up for the rest of the day. I fell asleep on the bare bed that had no sheets on it because one of my roommates had put them in the wash yesterday morning. I woke up periodically to hear the baby girl screeching or laughing or fussing and toddling around while her roommate, our roommate, THE Roommate cleaned up after dinner and operated quietly after I'd snipped and snapped and lay sleeping in our bare bed. I woke up after 11 and then we spent a long, confusing while getting the baby to sleep. I just wanted to fall back asleep but she was so awake and and and.

Right now they're still both asleep. I made scones and cleaned the kitchen and drank coffee and started the dishwasher and a load of towels in the wash and then I got my book out, The History of Love and ripped off a scrap of paper to be my bookmark as the hair tie of baby girl's I'd been using fell out at some point. I went out on the porch in the sun to read and I propped up my feet so my legs were also in the sunny part of the porch and I kept thinking Vitamin D will make me happier. Vitamin D. I need this sun to make some Vitamin D in me to make some happiness in me. I finished my book out there so I didn't need that scrap of paper. I kept flipping those last blank pages looking for some more words but it was finished. I felt a little drop of sweat slip under my breast and felt more alive than I have in months. Do not breathe too much conditioned air or it will kill you.

post work, pre sleep, pre work.

2009-06-25T22:53:00.003-05:00

Hi! Regular'ish posting is fun!

Man, long day at work, buddies. I was almost late, clocked in about 0640 and clocked out at like 2109. what's that? I don't know. long. Great patients, great co-workers. K helped me tie up a bunch of loose ends while I gave report. Thank you.

Can't believe Michael Jackson died but what's with calling him MJ? Ok, you're on Twitter and space is limited but come on. I don't like it. But who asked me? Also it makes me think of Kirsten Dunst. stoppit.
I gave Beebs a bite of my peanut butter/honey sandwich. I felt like I was giving her a beer and cigarette. I'm all googling that shit WHILE she's panting at my side desperate for a bite. I told Roommate to get ready to call 911 just in case.

I've decided Beebs looks like a Beatle. Total moptop, man.
(Yay for this post, right?!)

Ok, back to work in a bit. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

My mom's coming over this weekend. She's never seen our new place because we work like opposite schedules.

Suggest a new job for me.
What would I love?
Ha.
I don't want to work 5 days a week. 12 hrs is fine, but 15 or 16 is hard sometimes. oy.

We're goin' to bed.
shoot.

Oh hi again.

2009-06-24T23:09:00.004-05:00

Hi again. Trying to clean out my brain.
Roommate and I went on a date tonight and it was fun! We'd never been gone from Beebs for so long. I mean, I'm gone all day when I go to work but never both of us, gone, away. She had so much fun without us! heh. We ate food and went to see Drag Me to Hell. Roommate's choice.

I'm kind of dreading work tomorrow. I get to work with my favorite co-worker so that takes the sting out.

I really meant to come home, hop in the shower, go to bed.
And then I started looking at Liz's blog and I got all engrossed in it. (Man I love when ppl update their blogs regularly!!! It's like I can work a couple days or something and then have something to get all lost in. Glorious!) Also I'm reading my library books and gah! Love reading. I got The Three Incestuous Sisters because it's by the author of The Time Traveler's Wife and that one had a 71 day wait at the library. Two of those books I heard of via H.
And what the hell..google books? I can read the whole thing online? all 800 something pages? Hrm.
Thank you for giving my brain something to think about besides the 8 million boxes we haven't unpacked. Go ahead and picture 8 million boxes in a 2 bedroom apartment.
Crowded, right?
Stressful!!
Now picture the glorious wonderland it is for a toddler tot.

Ok crud. I better shower and get to bed. The alarm is going off early!! ew.

Eat a plum in your underwear today, err tomorrow!!
Also, that Big Bird chair? It was mine!

2009-06-24T12:13:00.003-05:00

I got in trouble this past week at work and I just can't shake the way it has made me feel. My feeling-like-a-failureness has been amped up bigger and nastier than before and I don't know how to handle it. Part of me is like oh F it! Who cares? So I got in trouble. I'm not getting fired. And part of me would kick your ass if you flat out told me I suck but if you try to say it in a more subtle way, I'll probably agree and sink. Hate these qualities about myself.

This post brought to you by Target. oy.

2009-06-19T15:32:00.004-05:00

Trying on clothes at Target makes me feel super fat.

When people say on their blogs they have nothing to say and then write some long rambling post about "nothing"(a la this post) - those are my favorites.

Tonight Beebs and I are going to a baby shower for one of my closest friends in HS that now lives in China. I'm excited to see her. We were close in HS and hardly talk now. So it goes.

I was a serious consumer today and spent way too much $$ at Target. Bad sign when I spent way too much money and could carry everything in from the car in 1 measly trip. Meep. Should work some overtime. ick!

Hey, Kristen - update your blog when you're not busy working for me. :)

I still have to remind myself I don't need to look at Father's Day cards for my own dad each year.
At Target when I was getting a lame storebought card for my father in law and father of my child this mom was telling her son they'd make cards at home and he kept whining and saying NOoooo, I want a REAL card!! heh. oh kid.

TV sucks since the digital conversion. We get hardly any channels with our stupid converter box and I'm annoyed to think about going to get a special antenna or something. Ahh well. We don't need it, right?

I'm still jumpy when I can hear other people talking and such right outside my door. So weird.

Went swimming alone yesterday morning. Pool was empty. It was glorious.

Was considering a nap while my family sleeps and now I hear them stirring.
bye!

Today!

2009-06-17T12:29:00.002-05:00

I'm drained so I've had nothin' but pictures to share with you lately. a thousand words and all that.

This is an adorable shirt our friend made for us. I've yet to send out thank you cards from Beebs' birthday because I suck and...busy and that drained thing and also I suck. We vowed last night that today was a productive day and then we slept in and now we're planning a trip to the pool so whatevs. That's productive, right? Productive in filling up the reserves again. Hope you're having a great day. I love pigtails and this shirt! Thank you!! (P.S. The next time some ice cream inspiration washes over you, I'm rushing over with a spoon and open maw.)

If you meet someone with no bean, you should give them half your bean 'cause you will be less hungry than if you eat your bean in front of someone with no bean. (from kimya d)

fave

2009-06-15T11:20:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite photos from the Old Shawnee Days Parade.

This was so fun. (sorry 'bout the squeezies, baby ckn and frog)

2009-06-01T11:02:00.006-05:00

Our House.

2009-05-25T17:15:00.004-05:00

Feeling emotional about our upcoming move. Thought I'd share a few random shots of our house as we slowly pack. Every time we sit on the porch or walk through the backyard or play at the park across the street I feel like I've got to really seal those memories in. I'm not sure if I'm emotional because we're making a big switch going from our spacious 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom apartment or because this is Beebs' first house or what.

We're moving June 8 - 2 weeks from today, er at least that's the first day we can have the apartment. I know, I know - who moves on a Monday? But that's what we're doing.

Tell me some good moving/packing tips! Last time we moved I remember reading stuff online about How to Move on Ask Metafilter. aha.

How cool is this? Treehouse Point Seen on not martha. (I LOVE not martha.) COVET!
Also awesome: vertical garden, growing decor. NEAT!! Oh I totally love this! Wonder if someone could make one for me. My mom's pretty good at stuff like that.
Tricks for your coffee! mm. coffee.
Oh how I love cold brew coffee via Smitten. Mmmmmm!!! (xoxo, K)
all of these links seen on not martha. see how she's so easy to love? she's so handy!

This last one was snapped this evening - she's much less baby, way more toddler in that one! meep.

Ahh, fresh start coming. Well, I'm going to make it one.
There's a pool at our new apt place and I'm really excited. It's probably generally overrun by teens but whatev.
I think we might discover we really like apartment living? Roommate and I have never lived in an apartment together. dot dot dot

2009-05-20T21:51:00.004-05:00

Just scrubbed some MRSA from my body probably. Mentally beat.
work today.
work tomorrow.

the employment screens from some other area hospitals stay up on my computer pretty much all the time.

I need a vacation. I need to get out of this town, away from my job, for more than a couple days.

I'll put my nose to the grind and try to just get through with moving and then I can put more energy into searching for a job.

Oh random, but.. damn. my kid is GOOD at growin' teeth. shoot, man. My not-quite-13-month-old has 4 more teeth coming in right now. She can't cut a tooth, girl's gotta go for 4. She'll now have 12 teeth. 12 teeth?! monster! ((I guess probably if you don't have a kid like.. this age.. it's like, um..who the hell cares how many damn teeth your kid has? but ya'know. whatevs. proud mama or something))

Here's something happier.

2009-05-11T19:11:00.002-05:00

As I twittered too much about, today Roommate took Beebs to visit his brother and Mom and I was left home alone for the very first time since before Beebs was born. Weird. I didn't realize it'd been that long. Roommate quit his job before the baby was born so we were together a lot on my days off and then the baby came and fast forward to today. We spend a lot of time at home together. We spend a lot of time together, period. And I love that. But today sure was nice. I felt like the possibilities were endless!

I did a few productive things and a few indulgent things. One of the indulgent things I did was spend some alone-time with my own thoughts. I need to try to figure out why exactly I am so unhappy at my job. It's a rollercoaster in my brain because it seemed like I was tolerating it for awhile and then the past few shifts I've just been painfully miserable. I'm not lazy. I like working. I like being a nurse. I like most of my co-workers. I don't like the situation at work I encounter daily where I'm running running and behind behind. I try so hard and seem to just FAIL. I get overwhelmed and frustrated. I end up staying there to chart often until after 9 pm. It sucks to get home at 9:30 or 10 at night and have my alarm going off at 5 am the next day for work. Maybe I'm just wimpy? haha. Yeah, I am a little maybe. I like being around my baby. I like getting sleep at night.

I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with my thoughts. I don't know what area of nursing I'd like better. Sometimes I think I'd like OB. In nursing school I thought I wanted to go into that area but it seemed so TYPICAL and sometimes I envision Labor & Delivery nurses or Mother Baby nurses as like..a sorority. I'd miss working with male patients..especially cute older gentlemen.

Oh, K told me today about one of our patients that died. I really liked him. He reminded me of my dad. I'm sad he died. Speakin' of..I loved this post by Sheri. I was totally weeping reading that.

My girl & guy will be home soon so...talk to me a little on here will ya? Do you have any insight to my never-ending job quest?

Hope you're feelin' good.

2009-05-11T08:58:00.002-05:00

We had our moms over yesterday and BBQ'ed. Beebs entertained us all with her non-stop near-running all over the house. She is so fast. She had her first run-in with the corner of the coffee table yesterday and it instantly bruised and started swelling. Heart=broken. It sucks when the wee ones get hurt, man .

I just finished reading Hungry Monkey (love his blog) and really enjoyed it in the way that it allowed me to look at feeding my kid differently.

I've decided to try harder to develop friendships. I have felt deeply lonely lately and mused over that a bit last night when I heard someone on television call loneliness weakness.

Have talked about it before but it's time for me to find a new job. I'm intensely unhappy at the one I have. There are a variety of reasons why but I will miss several co-workers that I feel I've finally gotten into a groove with. Some of my co-workers are so helpful and encouraging that they are the only reason I sometimes survive there. Right now I just can't decide whether it's time to move on now or if I should complete my time there in order to have the student loan paid off.

Baby awake now.
adieu.

2009-05-07T18:39:00.002-05:00

Oh hey, guys.
Just finishing up writing out some Mother's Day cards. I've gotten really lame with my gift-giving and hoo boy, greeting cards are so unnecessarily expensive! Damn.

Today we went and played with our friends. We ate lunch and played outside in the sunshine. There was a lovely breeze and nice company. Do it again sometime, eh?

I was trying to think of something cool to make for dinner but I've come up with nothing. It's such a perfect evening to sit on the porch and drink beer. I wish I liked beer. Perhaps some woodchuck or something. heh.

I have that yo gabba gabba song "Don't bite your friends" song stuck in my head.

Can't think of anything to write.
Gonna porch sit now.
laterz.

it ain't pretty.

2009-05-03T15:34:00.002-05:00

damn, man. i'm just outta control grumpy today! i think it's a combination of being overwhelmed, tired and lonely.

I've been off work a few days 'cause Roommate was sick enough that I felt like a horrible person leaving him alone with Beebs. My mom works until 11 pm and his mom was out of town so our options were limited. He is still sick and I think his poor body is seriously just drained.

Yesterday we visited my mom and I was standing in her kitchen in the house I grew up in watching her hold Beebs' hand and walk around the yard, going out to see cows and her now lone chicken. (the neighbor's dog killed the rest and now that poor lone chicken is sitting on a nest full of eggs hoping to hatch out a little family) Anyway, I was trying to say how surreal that was..to see my daughter out there toddling around holding my mom's hand. I have a kid! A toddler! A wee 1 yr old tot!

Happy Birthday!!

2009-04-28T09:57:00.004-05:00

This time a year ago I was praying that the next time that nurse inserted her hand into my vagina she would tell me 10! It would be another hour and a half or so until she'd tell me I was indeed dilated to a 10, have me try to push once and then the doc would come in and tell me I was having a C-section immediately as there was infection and the baby's heart rate was dropping.

Sadly, our digital camera stopped working just in time for her first birthday party so hopefully other people got great pictures. I am so sad I don't have a first birthday party pic to share with you.

We're going to go have family breakfast pretty soon and then go to a play place and then nap time and then who knows.

This hybrid girl is so awesome. I just love her so much.

Happy Earth Day.

2009-04-22T08:31:00.003-05:00

I haven't been sleeping well. I wake up and can briefly remember unpleasant dreams. The other day Roommate and I started kissing and kissing and then we stopped and I've also dreamt about that ever since. (see, I said also..to indicate that was a different sort of dream than "unpleasant")

I'm (sort of) working on my grocery list for the items I'm making for Beebs' Birthday Brunch Saturday! We're having raspberry-topped lemon [mini] muffins, 3 different kinds of quiche, Greek yogurt with homemade granola, a fruit & cheese! platter and...more! I'm so excited!! I hope people will be able to come in, fill their plates, get a cup of coffee and just relax while we hang out. I'm romanticizing.

The party is Saturday and I work Thursday and Friday so I'm getting all frizzed about when I'm going to prep. Thankfully, a co-worker has agreed to come in at 3 for me in Friday so I can leave a few hours early. That will help SO MUCH.

Today I'm going into work for some online training and then a class and blah blah blah. No time for this, people! I've got a party to plan!

Beebs is imitating us so much. It's hysterical and terrifying. We're totally going to have to reign in our nose-picking and body scratching.

I hope you get to escape whatever needs escaping today and bask in the sunshine.

almost 1

2009-04-19T16:14:00.003-05:00

9 days before the big 1st birthday

2009-04-13T18:05:00.002-05:00

I miss my blog.

Yesterday I read April of 08's blog entries. I cannot believe our hybrid is going to be a year old. This past weekend she took her first steps.

K. told me that today has been a good day and then I realized yes, it has been.

I was off today and slept until 9 am.
I went for a late breakfast/early lunch with K. at Whole Foods and purchased everything I needed to make a damn good pot of vegetable barley soup, recipe sent along from K.
Our landlord gave us the okay on staying here an extra week in order to wait for our
New Apartment! to be ready.
We (finally!) received our federal tax refund after filing the first week of February. (direct deposit mess-up and then file a claim and then wait...)
A co-worker agreed to work part of Friday, April 24th for me so I can prep for the following day - Beebs' First Birthday Party! ((actual birthday April 28))
ate soup, Beebs loved it, now she's asleep.

Now, about work tomorrow...

Better Business Blog

2009-04-05T15:15:00.002-05:00

I'm not going to keep this brief.

We started the apartment search some time ago. After looking at what felt like 100 apartments we kept going back to the same one, price was reasonable and we really liked the apartment. They had offered us a couple of different options and we were really picky about location. We did not like the apartments with a patio facing the parking lot. We did like the apartment with the patio facing a bunch of trees. We finally decided to put the deposit down on that one and learned that it had been rented. We were too late.

They offered us a different apartment they hadn't mentioned before and asked if we liked the location. It was in a different building and the back view was a grassy hill leading up to the clubhouse. Eh. It wasn't our top choice but it was good so Roommate went while I was at work to look. We decided we'd take it. Apparently they can only hold an apartment 20 days. The current tenants would be moving out at the beginning of May, us moving in at the end of May so in order to hold that apartment we needed to put down the security deposit so we did. Roommate wrote them a check that evening and then we did our lease application. She said they'd run our application/credit check etc and get back to us.

I waited two weeks, which seemed too long to wait because what the hell was taking so long? When I called I talked to the same girl we'd talked to from the very beginning, the first day we went there to look at an apartment over a month ago. She said um, my manager called you and left you a message. I informed her we never received a call. Note here this had happened another time when I called her. She said she'd called and left me a message while I never received the call/message. Nor did I receive a call from her manager. She insisted yes, the manager had called me quite awhile back and then said she wanted to pull my file to read the notes on it. She said she didn't want to put me on hold while she grabbed the file that it would just take her a minute and she'd call right back. I waited about 30 minutes, called back and couldn't get her, waited another 15 and they were closed at this point so I left a message. She totally blew me off.

Next day I call again and talk to another person in the office. There are two girls that work in the office and then their manager. She puts me on hold and pulls my file. It takes less than a minute. Oh yes, application was approved - waiting to hear the official word from our current and past landlord but we're approved nonetheless. Relief! She happily says, yes! We still have an apartment for you in another building on the 3rd floor. Huh? But I put a deposit down on apartment 4 in building blah blah blah. Yeah, I guess while she was renting you that one I was also renting it out so we had a mix-up. Um..when was anyone going to let us know? On move-in day? Oops, no no! Head on up the stairs, that's not your apartment!

I was NOT ok with this. We should've been notified immediately. The whole purpose of putting the deposit down months in advance was to hold THAT SPECIFIC APARTMENT..not a apartment, somewhere. And that bitch Friday night knew EXACTLY what had happened and chose to avoid me instead of being honest about what SHE had done. Girl #2 says she'll get in contact with her manager and call me back. Never calls so I call yesterday before they close and she assures me she had not forgotten me but never got to talk to her manager.

Today. Girl #2 calls after talking to her manager. They're sorry, this isn't the way they do business, etc. She says they have an apartment we could move into June 8. Our lease here ends May 31. I told her I don't think I can rent from them now, that this situation was handled totally inappropriately. Girl #2 says she'd be willing to help me find an apartment somewhere else. Not sure if she meant at another complex they own or what.

So in my gut I don't feel like I can go into a rental agreement with these people that totally screwed us over. I'm imagining all sorts of nightmare move-out situations and financial mess-ups. Sadly, it was the apartment we liked the best. I can't possibly rent an apartment there now, right?

Any good leads on another location?

Signed,

Frustrated.

things that make me feel good.

2009-03-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

This isn't one of those out-on-a-limb lists you might find somewhere else. It's just a reminder to myself. List is not exhaustive.

Reading people's blogs and then following the web they might create so I can know more. Looking at their flickr, reading other blogs they read.
cooking a warm meal on a cold day
reading when people write about gluttonous things. this might be about hot summer days and cold beers and the way music makes someone feel or food or sex or just any sort of guilty pleasure a person has. i love that. i love love love it. i think i got a lot of that really heady stuff from reading sarah cash's livejournal here. She could describe a summer day in Arkansas and have my head swimming. amazing. I love her.
when my roommate touches me. today we were out and about with his mom and brother and Beebs and I started to trail behind and he reached his arm out and my heart swelled.
really soft lineny type clothing after a shower.
having lunch at whole foods with K.
making coffee. this was such an ingrained ritual in my house. my mom made coffee every morning. she and my dad were always up while it was still dark outside. they'd sit at the kitchen table and smoke and drink coffee in their robes. they rarely ate breakfast. they alllllways had coffee.
music. music. music.
organization. however, this is not a skill i possess. i love when others are organized around me. i love the lists people make in notebooks.

I have to stop my own list-making now as the baby just woke up.

2009-03-22T17:30:00.002-05:00

Today we sat in the car in the driveway and ate lunch together because neither of us wanted to wake Beebs, asleep in the back seat. We had the windows rolled down and the sun was streaming in.

I've been looking online for a few birthday gifts for her. I can't believe the wee Hybrid is going to be a year old next month! Insanity.

I just read this. I'm so longing for the community she talks about here. It's so hard though because I simultaneously feel this constant, nagging, "Leave me alone!" sentiment that sorta gets in the way of community.

We're moving at the end of May/beginning of June. And wow, that's just over 2 months away. Our landlord is going to start showing the house April 15. I'm sad but I think I'm excited too. Like Andrea mentions in her superhero journal, we're pruning here. I think a good portion of our belongings (those things we want to keep) are going to be stored out at my mom's house. I'm excited about this necessary step and being "forced" to purge. I rarely buy new clothes and that's fine as I generally hate purchasing clothes when I've got so much self-loathing for my body going on but most of my clothes are leftover from high school and college with a few loungewear items thrown in. It needs updating but that's not pressing. More pressing is this need to get rid of so much stuff we're just not using and don't need. Any cool ideas for this purge process?
I need motivation to get started but I know it will feel so good. So many of my belongings have no home and just reside in varying piles around the house.

Any good cause I could donate items to?
Maybe I'll take some things to Once Upon a Child or something?

We are getting back $300 more than we thought on our income taxes and I'm desperate to spend it on a little trip or something. See how my brain works? Must save money! Must prune and purge our belongings and save money! Ooh, look, over here, a snail! Let's take a trip!

I should note for those with the "if you haven't used it in the last 12 months get rid of it" philosophy that a lot of those things we're keeping are baby things to be used with future children! (more babies!!!)

One year ago.

Spring!

2009-03-20T08:53:00.002-05:00

Happy First Day Of.

I am joyous today.

I spent 15 1/2 hours at work yesterday. Yes, I'm including that 1/2. Shift started at 0645 and I left work at 2220. When I sat down to give report I just started crying. I'm absurd. A co-worker informed me I am "too soft" and I better "stop caring so much" or I will "never make it."
So that all I'm going to say about work right now.

It looks gorgeous outside. I am drinking coffee while my family sleeps. It's almost 9 am. We are a tired family. This week has drained us.

I'm looking for a lunch partner today. Mom & I were going to go to Masalas for Indian food and I'm drooling thinking about it but she is working today.

Totally in love with this Etsy shop. Seriously great stuff there and those really fun plantable cards!! Part of the proceeds go to charities. I love the colors and the artwork and the plantableness. I emailed her to ask if I could buy plantable birthday party invites for Beebs' first birthday! That'd be really cool.

The day we brought her home from the hospital the lilacs were just insane here. It was all warm outside and when we got out of the car it was completely surreal. Sun shining, the scent of lilacs seriously swirling around us and holy shit here we are with our new daughter (!!!??!!). 100% Surreal. My mom had the thought of digging up some shoots of the lilac bushes so that we can keep them after we move. She took 2 to plant and my mother-in-law took 2 to plant. I love that.

It's Friday, dudes!! I hope you have made it through this week in 1 whole piece. If you're preparing for a weekend of work, I'm thinkin' about you.
Thanks for reading this!
xoxo

Bummed. (still?! again?!)

2009-03-17T18:01:00.002-05:00

Today's weather is amazing!!!
What's the current temp? 78?!
Happy St. Patrick's Day.
Today Roommate wore these charcoal cargo pants with a gray t-shirt and his gray hoodie.
What the hell.

I wore: black flowy soft pants, white nursing tank, various-shades-of-green hoodie (for parts of the day), green butterfly barrette in my hair, green flower necklace and green ring.

I got up early to get a jump on my day off. While my family slept I read online about Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen and watched youtube videos of Amy Winehouse and old Erykah Badu. Erykah was carryin' her sexy drug dealer man's baby and looking like an African princess and her hair was 1997 Badu lovely. Her man was all takin' a steamy shower then putting on this white linen outfit that looked so airy and they were both throwin' open the curtains and they kept the mattress on the floor with blankets and throws and pillows strewn about in a love nest. She was slicing an orange in the kitchen.

Beebs slept until after 8. I'd finished a bowl of raisin bran and put on a pot of coffee.

So anyway, we had a little list of apartments to see today. We looked at a few and then went back to scope out the one we've liked all along. Then we left to look at some more and that pretty much sealed the deal, we were still loving that same apartment. As we pulled out of the parking lot of one I said I was ready to put down a deposit on the other apartment and Roommate said he was too and we drove there and I felt excited to have you know, made a decision. I went in to get paperwork and put down the deposit and she told me the apartment had been rented. It's my fault 'cause I thought that would happen all along.

Now I feel like we're back to square 1 or we settle for something we're not happy with. The last one we looked at today had this tiny little galley kitchen with the washer and dryer across from the refrigerator. I said "Holy crap!" and then after gawking at the smallness I think I said "Holy small!" and the girl said, "Erm, I take it you're not loving the kitchen?" and then sort of said some ramble salesgirl bullshit to make me sound stupid for caring and I sort of felt bad for exclaiming my disapproval. Also, pet rent? Give me a break. You can start charging pet rent when my pet gets a job.