Post by maudefindlay on Jul 5, 2022 8:44:31 GMT -5
The kids and I leave for vacation tomorrow. My parents have never been to the vacation home we own with DH's older brother and sister, so I am taking them with us. They will stay 10 days, then leave and DH will arrive for a week, then we will go to Disney for a week and home. This means we are gone until August. We will get home and have 6 days till school starts, so I bought school supplies yesterday as that stuff gets so picked over.
I told my parents to pack light as we have a washer/dryer and might as well use it. They were still planning on bringing a ton of stuff and I had to insist they cut back as our Atlas' only downfall is a small trunk space. My mother has now taken this very literally, to the point of being absurd. DD told me yesterday "Grandma is packing two shirts and wearing her swimsuit in the car". I told DH yesterday my taking them along is now already a one time thing.
I can understand fireworks just after midnight, but why 3:30 am?
They were going off in our neighborhood until about 2:30. The dog stopped pacing the house by 3, I think. Thank goodness a lot of people are off today, so work should be slow. I might need a nap.
I’m sitting in jury duty (waiting to be called for something) and it’s completely quiet except for the 2 people closest to me who are having a snack. There’s no worse sound than having someone right behind your ear quietly open a plastic bag, then “quietly” bite and chew.
I might have to voir dire myself right on out of here.
We had a really great weekend in Philly with our friends. Yesterday was pretty low key - we just relaxed at the house we rented until dinner, and then came back afterwards and watched fireworks from the rooftop deck. The weather was beautiful and the deck had basically a 360 view of the city so we could see fireworks in all directions. It was not something we gave any thought to at all when deciding to rent the place, but it was a perfect place to be on the 4th. We were all pretty anti-celebration of America but I think fireworks are enjoyable no matter what they are for.
We also had a lovely moment after dinner last night -we came out of this great old Italian restaurant (Ralphs if anyone is wondering) and while we were waiting for our Lyft, this guy across the street was sitting in his window playing the guitar and singing. We started singing along and then he played a song my friend requested, and then this other guy with a guitar and harmonica walked by and started playing with him! That's the kind of stuff that I love about cities - you never know what's going to happen and I love those little moments of human connection that randomly occur.
We drove home first thing this morning and I'm tired. We were up until midnight and while it's only about a 2 hour or so drive, that's a lot of car time to do first thing in the morning after a long weekend.
Post by followyourarrow on Jul 5, 2022 10:16:42 GMT -5
I love my mom, and I'm glad she stayed with me for a few days, but I'm happy to have sent her off to my sister's. She was up and cleaning my cabinets and reorganizing my pantry at 7 am the last two days. To be fair, I did mention I haven't been happy with how my pantry is organized.
I just made the best breakfast sandwich. Brioche bun, toasted with a fried egg, a couple thin pieces of prosciutto that I crisped up in the frying pan, provolone cheese and a little homemade basil aioli. I kind of want to make another one. LOL.
We had such a nice weekend at the beach and the place we bought is finally starting to feel like "ours" (we bought it from my inlaws who had owned it for the last 15 years). We just need to get some new mattresses... or at least one for the "master" bedroom. All the beds are not only older mattresses, but also all full sized beds. I need at least a queen. I think my SIL and I have convinced H and BIL that we need to get one ASAP (we bought the property w/ H's brother and split weeks) We'll probably get a Zinus or some other cheaper bed in box type mattress.
Going back to work after a 4 day weekend is hard! We had a super busy weekend full of lots of fun family activities and I'm exhausted. I need a day off to recover from my weekend LOL.
My house is going up for sale in two weeks. I'm relieved that things are finally moving along with XH, but super sad. I love my house and I'm going to miss it so much.
I made the TiKTok cinnamon rolls, and I have no willpower!
Oooohhhh tell me more about this!
I pick the worst kickstarters to back. Today I received kinetic powered toothbrushes in the mail from kickstarter. I haven't used them, so I don't know if they're good or bad, but I ordered them back in 2017!!!!
I'm starting a petition that 7/5 should also be a federal holiday. This working after late night fireworks is for the birds.
Realized this morning that tonight is the only day I don't have evening stuff. It's all things I want to do (haircut, cardio tennis, happy hour with friends) but also at least somewhat social and I just want to not talk to people after a busy weekend and vacation with DH's family for the first half of next week. And I need to be in the office Tues-Thurs this week. Introvert me is dying.
Going back to work after a 4 day weekend is hard! We had a super busy weekend full of lots of fun family activities and I'm exhausted. I need a day off to recover from my weekend LOL.
Same! I’d have taken today off if I didn’t have a new hire starting today. It feels like the Mondyest Tuesday ever.
I feel for all of you dealing with never ending fireworks! Fortunately where I am they’re not bad. But last night after arriving home from the watching professional organized fireworks I went to take our dog out and to the bathroom and someone lit off quite a display very nearby and he freaked out and yanked me back into the house. Fortunately that was the end of it and I was able to take him out to go a little while later. I would lose it if I had to hear that all night!
Post by Patsy Baloney on Jul 5, 2022 11:06:14 GMT -5
This isn’t a downer post, so please don’t feel like you need to extend sympathy or anything, just wanted to share.
My H’s grandma is in hospice. We visited on Saturday and she was in good spirits, out of bed, and pleased as punch to see us! It was such a nice visit. We didn’t bring the kids because I didn’t feel like my 3YO should be terrorizing the elderly. We shared pics and videos of the kids and FaceTimed with them, looked at photos of my flowers and veggie garden (she has an amazing green thumb), and chatted away for a few hours until she kicked us out because she was tired, lol. I love that tough gal. She’s one of the warmest people I’ve ever met. She’s in a nursing home, but still has quite a few of the items from her old house in her room. She gave me her favorite plant!
It’s going to be a nice way to remember her when she goes. It’s a big aloe Vera planted with some kind of white succulent and a vining plant. She’s had it for as long as anyone can seem to remember. If I didn’t think I belonged to her family before, I do now ❤️
Post by maudefindlay on Jul 5, 2022 11:15:15 GMT -5
Patsy Baloney We have this beauty from Mil who passed in 2018 and she had it all the years I knew her, so it's at least 19 yrs old. I just trimmed it and we give starts to the nieces and nephews when they graduate college and get their own places.
Time with my family went okay. DS6 barfed on the way there. Carsickness is no fun. H spent much of our time there cleaning barf out of all the nooks and crannies of the car seat. DS6 did pretty well until the end of our full day of family time. Then he fell apart. We all slept badly both nights we were gone though. It was nice to arrive home early yesterday afternoon and chill.
I think I finally figured out how to parent my daughter that works for both of us! I've learned that instead of asking her to do something now that she works better if I give her a timeframe. For example, if I say before you go to bed I need you to do x, y and z then it is done whereas if I had asked her to do it and expect it to be done right then and there then it ends up in a major fight. We will see how this pans out.
I'm all about making 7/5 a federal holiday. I definitely could use another day off to catch up around the house.
Back in the mid to late 20-teens I had a Pixie Cut but have been growing it out since. I never really had a plan for how long I wanted to let it grow. Well it is now about 3" past my bra and still very healthy, so I might just let it keep going. Why not? YOLO
I think I finally figured out how to parent my daughter that works for both of us! I've learned that instead of asking her to do something now that she works better if I give her a timeframe. For example, if I say before you go to bed I need you to do x, y and z then it is done whereas if I had asked her to do it and expect it to be done right then and there then it ends up in a major fight. We will see how this pans out.
I'm all about making 7/5 a federal holiday. I definitely could use another day off to catch up around the house.
YES! Before kids, H and I went to the big fireworks display downtown every year for over a decade. It is one of my favorite things. H proposed to me 14 years ago today on a gondola in the river over which they do the fireworks because it is really special to us. BUT, it takes *forever* to get home with the traffic and we never got home before midnight. I wish it was like NYE where you get the next day off to sleep in!
I can't wait until my kids are old enough and not scared of fireworks so we can take them to the show.
Post by midwestmama on Jul 5, 2022 11:54:00 GMT -5
We got back on Saturday from a being gone since June 24 and then turned around Sunday morning for an overnight out of town to celebrate the 4th with my parents and some of my dad's family. I'm exhausted from being gone so long and have so much to catch up on.
Last week Thursday morning, we found out that MIL (age 64) had been in a car accident (DH got a voicemail from MIL and also one from his grandpa). It was bad enough she ended up in the hospital for 2 nights. (She had some fractured ribs and her face got messed up from the airbag deploying.) Apparently, she turned left in front of an oncoming car. We never know if she's telling the truth or not, so I'm not sure if we'll ever find out the whole, actual story of what happened. Her car is likely totaled, and because of another at-fault accident (she backed into an oncoming car in a parking lot) on her record in the last year, her insurance is probably going to be really expensive. MIL has a history of making bad choices (especially financial ones), and her dad would routinely help her out over the last 20 years, so she hasn't really had to experience full consequences for her choices over those 20 years. DH's grandpa now wants to be done helping out, after he enabled MIL for 20 years, and dump that onto DH (and he's assuming DH will continue the enablement). DH's sister isn't talking to MIL, and she lives 1,000 miles away (MIL only lives 10 minutes away from us), so she doesn't want to do anything to help (and can't do some things to help due to living so far away (though DH and I think she intentionally lives so far away, so she can't help)).
DH gets to have the conversation with MIL about 1) if she can even afford to get another car (insurance might be too expensive on top of a car payment) and 2) tell her again that it would be ideal for her to move into a senior apartment complex so that she has access to a shuttle that will take her at least to the grocery store. (She's on Medicaid, so she can get transportation (or transportation reimbursement) to any doctor appointments.) He will be very clear with her that even though we live close by, we both work full-time and are busy with family and kid activities and can't take her to all the places she might need or want to go every week, so she can't rely on us for transportation if she doesn't have a car. I'm also hoping that DH will have a talk with his sister about how she can't just let all the responsibility fall on him. She can at least do things to help him. She can at least help him out with things that can be done over the internet/phone if need be.
Our dog has allergies, and gets flare-ups that result in skin sores. He started a flare-up while we were gone (he was home with a dogsitter), and getting him into a vet in the next few days is apparently impossible. Why don't vets have a few appointment slots reserved for urgent appointments? I guess we have to try to manage with benadryl and topicals and pray that we are able to get in sooner due to an appointment cancellation.
ETA: I thought I would add, because my comments about MIL may seem inconsiderate, that MIL told DH when he was about 17/18 that she had raised him to that point and he could take care of himself from then on. So he did, and he did a damn good job of it. When DH was about 22 and working FT and finishing up his undergrad degree, he bought a double-wide that he planned to have MIL take over payments (and he would move out) when she "got back on her feet." (She lost a really good job and went through a divorce around the same time, about when DH was 16, and hasn't been financially stable since then.) That has never happened since I've known her (about 18 years now). She lied to DH about dating her XH (who was abusive and a drug addict), almost killed our first dog (when SIL was dogsitting, and MIL was living with her, and thought it would help SIL be able to sleep (our dog was barking at night and SIL had to work the next day) to give the puppy one of her (MIL's) Rx sedatives), and has basically been committing SSDI fraud since she started getting SSDI payments about 5-6 years ago (she got it for chronic back pain, but has done landscaping (e.g., hauling/spreading mulch) for a friend multiple times since then, helped a friend move (hauling boxes up and down flights of stairs), and is (somehow) working as a massage therapist). She talks about people behind their backs, has gone through our drawers when we weren't home to find out info about our finances, tried to take out a credit card in SIL's name, gave her mom an "I hate you and will never forgive you letter" when her mom was on her death bed. So many things.
Post by tarzanswife on Jul 5, 2022 11:56:44 GMT -5
We have had a full house all weekend and while I absolutely love that my kids want to bring all their friends over for 4th of July weekend, it is exhausting. We have had 9 people in our house since Saturday and I am tired from all of the cooking. We ended up with 17 total on the 4th and it was a blast. I am working from home on my couch today while all the kids are sleeping in. There will definitely be a nap at some point today. Either way we had an awesome time yesterday and hope this can become a yearly event now that the 2 out of 3 are off to college.
Our small backyard has always felt like a work in progress, but became a disaster when we got a puppy 2 years ago. About a third of it still has grass and the rest is dirt now. We started putting down cedar mulch to keep mud under control. The back corner next to our shed had a large evergreen tree when we bought the house and it died a couple of years ago, so that was like a dirt hill with a big tree stump in it. We thought we had found a landscaper that was going to dig everything out and level it, do sod on the sides with a mulch running path down the middle and a paver patio in that back corner. We gave him a deposit but he just wasn't scheduling us (while still going out and giving estimates to others) so we got our deposit back and were so disappointed/mad.
My husband scoured youtube for ideas and with the help of our 11 year old dug out and leveled that corner, built an amazing frame and installed trex-like decking. We now have a 12x12 deck. I got a deal on a screened gazebo on Overstock and a great furniture set at Home Depot. By next weekend all of that will be here and put together. I'm going to have to tackle the grass at the end of the summer, but I am so excited about this new "outdoor room" and I can't believe my husband was able to do it and do it so quickly! He also tried to hire a college kid looking for summer work to help him for a day, but he texted the night before and cancelled. We really have poor luck hiring people!
Post by karinothing on Jul 5, 2022 12:05:16 GMT -5
I am so annoyed. We got a new car, Polestar 2. I LOVE It. However, the other day this metal fence poll in the garage randomly fell over (I was no where near it) and hit the car. Now there is a small scratch. I mean its not a huge deal but it is my first new car and it makes me so sad. We have only had it a month. We have a scratch warranty on it but there is an auto body place across the street from my house and I thought if it wasn't $$ I would rather just do that because it is convenient. So the price is only a couple hundred to fix no big deal BUT the auto body shop had never heard of the car, had no idea where to get extra parts (they said they don't typically need extra parts in this repair but are terrified of accidentally breaking something, and not being able to fix it, which I respected). So now i guess we have to take it to the place we bought it from which is like 30 minutes away and not convenient. So annoying.
We got back from a great trip to the mountains Sunday and after being away from home for almost a month total (between 2 trips) I’m ready for some alone time.
As glad as I am to be home I am frustrated that we have lived here for a year and I still haven’t been able to figure out how to decorate.
I made the TiKTok cinnamon rolls, and I have no willpower!
Oooohhhh tell me more about this!
I pick the worst kickstarters to back. Today I received kinetic powered toothbrushes in the mail from kickstarter. I haven't used them, so I don't know if they're good or bad, but I ordered them back in 2017!!!!