I'm thinking the novelty has worn off now...

...and I'm actually ambivalent about DH working swing shift.

The kids (well, the ones that can talk anyway) seem to think DH has a second job now, since he goes to work so early in the day. Then, around 9 AM they ask why he hasn't come home from work yet. (On graves he would come home during breakfast.) They are so surprised when I tell them he is sleeping. They are corn-fused!

So, I don't love it. I don't hate it. It works out "ok." One thing that is a bummer is that sometimes I'd be able to run to the store after kiddie bedtime and before DH took off for work. Well THAT ain't happenin' with DH on swings!

One funny item... We live near the station so there's a little carpool that will occasionally swing by to pick him up on the way in to work. The other night the driver got held over so DH walked home and offered to drive home anyone in the carpool (who are definitely NOT within walking distance!) in case the driver got held over too long. Well the crack in that perfectly planned idea was that DH had forgotten his keys at home so was not only locked out of the car, but also locked out of the house. I woke up about 40 minutes after DH was supposed to be home (that's right, Dallas is still not catching on to the sleep-all-night thing) and wondered if I should call and check in with him. I would never have called so soon after any other shift, but for some reason I thought about it.... and decided not to.

I puttered around a bit, feeding the baby and getting a drink of water when lo-and-behold the phone rings. DH had heard the baby crying from the street and was calling to ask if I would let him in the house. I should have said NO but I said yes. :) Aren't I the doting wife?

Happy Halloween to you crazy people and stay safe!

I just sit around and eat bonbons all day...

In addition to sitting around and eating bonbons all day (yes I've trained the three kidlets to care for themselves, and the baby even changes his own diaper!), I surf the web.

Tonight I was on Cafe Press. I typed in "police" in the search box, and here for your reading pleasure are some of my favorite slogans, in no particular order:

• BDRT: Baby Daddy Removal Team
• It Became My Problem When You Called 911
• God Made Police Officers so Firemen Would Have Heroes (I'm not commenting, just saying I think it's funny, 'k?)
• crooks+drunks+dummies+dumbasses=job security (ha ha ha)
  

For the younger set:

• resisting a rest ** THIS ONE would have been purchased in two seconds if I had found it a few months ago -- Dallas was NOT SLEEPING for those of you who recall my complaining.

Ok, well, that's enough of that entertainment. I'm happy to report, that if you have been around long enough, you know I've been longing for a new toaster oven. I'm sad to report that no, I did not get the one I'd been salivating over (with the $225 price tag) but I did get the next best thing (I hope) at Costco today ~ their Cuisinart Toaster/Convection Oven is on coupon right now... at $80 I couldn't pass it up! I'm so excited!!

And THAT, people, is this week's THANKFUL THURSDAY (on Friday).... Thankful for humor and thankful for my new toaster oven! :) Have a great weekend.

It's no fancy Bento...

...but it's what my kids had for lunch the other day.


See Mrs. Fuzz's posts on Fuzz Food for bento inspiration!!

boy, am I bummed!

I have been anxiously awaiting the Season 2 premiere of Southland on NBC since the last show of Season 1. I LOVED it. Yeah, ok, it had it's problems.... It was especially hilarious (as opposed to the drama they intended it to be!) watching it with a real life cop. Notice I said "WAS."

That's right, NBC canceled the show!

Yup, you heard it here (and I'm only repeating information I found here and here).

That rookie officer would turn me into a badge bunny any day. Oh well. I guess there are good things about watching LESS tv, not more. ;)

p.s. Hope you enjoy the new fall theme of the blog. In light of my inability to make any space whatsoever in our tiny home to be crafty, y'all are getting stuck with the little bit of "craftiness" I can create in my life. so, enjoy!

The novelty hasn't worn off yet...

Taking into account that the "newness" of being on swings ~ a pure NOVELTY, I tell ya! ~ has not worn off yet, I still think I'm going to like them. DH keeps repeating over and over how horrible swings are for families. Actually so far I really like it. He's around and (GET THIS!) coherent for lunch and early afternoon, then it's off to work. The evening is mellow without him and easy going. I'm less stressed out for some reason. I think because overall it's way fewer hours that I'm trying to keep the kidlets quiet while Daddy is sleeping. Who knows. Bedtime requires a well choreographed dance, but it always has. I can make a big meal for lunch alongside as I'm making breakfast. That works better for me.

But so far, I give it a reserved thumbs up. :)

Thankful Thursday on Friday

1. I'm thankful that my children and I were kept safe from the crazy man running around last weekend. He was *SO* crazy but not in a steer clear kind of way. He was crazy in the "Oh no I've already started a conversation with you and now I realize you are out of your mind and I'm terrified for my life" kind of way.

2. I'm thankful that DH wasn't too busy to "babysit" me while I waited for the local fuzz to come by for the burglary attempt. I'm assuming it was crazy guy (see #1 above) but who knows.

3. I'm thankful that whoever the criminal was (see #2 above).... s/he didn't steal anything.

4. I'm thankful for Mrs. Fuzz over at A Police Wife. She always has interesting things to say and today she shared a photo of a fun bag I would love to own (but am too cheap to buy).


5. I'm thankful for the "maturity" I displayed in the first week of DH on swing shift. (Don't everyone laugh at once.) I decided to just go with the flow and let a natural schedule emerge that we can tweak later. This is progress for the control freak, people!

And now I'm proud to say I have done ALL the dishes, cleaned ALL the counter tops (the visible parts of it anyway!), and I'm going to bed. Happy weekend, everyone!

a REAL 'thankful thursday'

Yes, REAL in that I'm REALLY posting on a Thursday!

First, I cannot BELIEVE it is already October. My life is passing me by as I sit on the side of the road in a sleep-deprived stupor. sigh.

I'm thankful that there was no fire in our building last night. Curious? Read on.

Around 6:30 PM last night the fire alarm went off. And it wasn't stopping. After thinking "gee I really should have a better renter's insurance policy" I peeked outside and, seeing nothing suspicious, carefully opened the door. I did a quick sweep of the three residential levels and saw nothing interesting. No pulled fire alarms, no smoke. My next thought was that the gas dryer in the laundry room had gone haywire (they recently replaced it with a new OLD -- yes, older than we had before !!!! -- gas dryer) and we had a raging fire in the laundry room. That would not be good. Anyway, nope, no smoke, no heat, and peeking in the window, no apparent fire in the laundry room. EXCEPT for the **pulled fire alarm handle** !!!! ugh!!! Nice. Don't you people have anything better to do than to maliciously pull the fire alarm?? Oh, I forgot, with the crappy economy you are jobless and trying to find ways to occupy your time.

Now I'm getting a little hazy on the order of events here but at some point I went into the bedroom and said to DH "Hey, dude, wake up! Do you know how to turn off the fire alarm?" (Come on, cops have to be good for *something*!) Negative. Note that by now the alarm had been going off for several minutes, and he is still sleeping. "Oh, that's ours? Call the fire department." [snore] I quickly Google the FD non emergency number (by this time I'm 99.99999% sure there is no fire), and call in the alarm. Sigh. Of course the dispatcher wants to know who pulled it (not me) and if I smell smoke or see a fire (nope).

Interesting factoid about our living situation: Our bedroom window faces the home where our affectionately named "crazy lady" neighbor lives. She drives an old, loud convertible and she likes to listen to loud (although generally decent) music in her convertible. She likes to warm up said loud convertible while listening to her loud music and talking -- at the only level she knows -- LOUD. While DH is trying to sleep during the day, this is a recipe for disaster. But evidently she's a good neighbor. While I was checking out the fire situation she had moseyed over to see what was going on, and how soon the cars in the garage would catch fire and then burn up her house. So nice. In fact, she had a nice little chat with Austin and Charlotte. Sooo nice.

So the alarm continues to scream while Austin, Charlotte, Dallas and I are waiting out front for the FD. (Because you know, no one "responsible" lives here and will give the FD access where they need it.) They sent two large ladder trucks (trucks? engines? happy medic would not be proud) and as they pull up I see several of them leaning out the window and assessing the building. (Yes, guys, honestly, no fire here.)

So they all hop out, swarm the building, I give them the keys they need for the access they need and eventually, after the 1950s era alarm is silenced, all is well. They agree with me that there is no fire and the alarm was maliciously pulled. Lovely.

So all's well that ends well. (I guess?) The funniest part of the whole thing was at the end, when one FF from each truck brought over a few hats for the kids, one older and one hot younger.... at which point the older one (who'd beaten him by a few seconds) says to the younger "Hey, rookie, too slow! Glad there's no fire!"