You’ve managed to light a fire under my ass, and I seem to be inspired, so I’m going to  write a post dedicated to each one of you completely reneg on what I previously said because it’s stressing me out and just get on with the posting.

Here ya go.

OLD——————————————————

Meet the Neighbors - June 17 - For my wonderful husband who says I don’t smell even when I don’t shower for two days.

NEW—————————————————–

May Day - May 5 -

Bedtime Struggles - May 6 -

The Sun Also Shines - May 6 -

Sunshine Day-ee-ay (and Night) - May 7 -

Playdates - May 8 -

Self Satisfaction On Projects (Not) Well Done - May 9 -

Two Social Events In One Day - May 10 -

Happy Mummy’s Day - May 11 -

A Day Amiss - May 12 -

How do the days turn into almost a week? - May 17 -

Big Girl - May 21 -

I’ve exceeded the amount of TV the kids should watch in a week in a day and a half. - May 22 -

Mmmm…pizza on the patio - for breakfast. - May 31 -

Good Stuff - June 12 -

Happy Birthday, Baby - June 13 -

At least she likes to read. - June 15 -

Yes, very smart of me…very smart. It definitely takes a “special” person to do this sort of thing.

Fortunately I can see that everything is still there, and there seems to be a common occurrence of “dangling” accounts, as those in the biz refer to the problem, so I’m hoping that the “Flickereenos” will be able to converse with the “Magic Donkey” and I’ll get my Heidi Chronicles back AND have it merged with my heidichronicles account.

However, this did not stop me from crying into my keyboard over it because I am hormonal I spent days uploading pictures to the damn thing and now I can’t even log in, much less figure out how in the hell I am supposed to get the pics in my blog - which I USED to be able to do without any problems.

a’sfu =q[wg n7q9]- ]O3R] weo a;ow [co ] 20- uhw’earlbae’bhaq [

(Consider that outburst a whole shit ton of nasty swear words far worse than “shit.” Actually some of it looks more like math…which is appropriate as it also makes me swear .)

Anyhoo, I can’t focus on this any more, and I’m sure I won’t get an answer from them until next week, so I’m going to bed.

Here I sit with time to do it and no pics to post.  So, SO frustrating.

Damn, I’m just hearing the echo of my own voice.

Is anyone still there?  Tell me what you’re up to these days - maybe how you spent your summer vacation or something.  I need some encouragement.

(Yes, this is a blatant attempt to get you to comment.  C’mon…spread the love.)

Oh, and I actually do have a lot to write, and so many pictures to show.  It’ll be just a bit though, as I’m in the process of moving things to flickr since I’ve used all of my space on picasa.  I’ll let you know when the transition is complete…if anyone is interested.  ;D

It did suck that when we got to the airport and tried to check in our tickets had been canceled, but fortunately Aaron’s dad got us on the overbooked flight. Bless that man.

I wish you could have seen my trying to get through security with two squirrelly kids, a stroller, and two carry on bags - one with a laptop that I forgot to remove, not to mention the removal of three pairs of shoes, liquids, and the sneaking in of Starbucks in sippy cups.

I have to say, for as much as people complain about TSA, they certainly were nice to me. And so was everyone else. Some woman helped me get my luggage up on the security belt, and people were talking to the kids to keep them occupied so that Elena wouldn’t run away from me.  Liam also did a good job of keeping her in check with his arms wrapped around her neck.  Fortunately that was the most stressful part of the trip…everything else was just annoying.

We got into Chicago early, but our flight out was delayed an hour and a half. I walked all over that airport with my rolling bag attached to the stroller and my 50 pound backpack creating sweat marks where the straps came across my front.

Liam and Elena both fell asleep in the stroller while I was pushing it and of course woke up as soon as I stopped, but I had to slow down so that I could hear what the announcement was. Basically they were looking for people to take the first flight out the next day. I didn’t even bother talking to them about it until I heard them call for three more people. Thank goodness by the time I got up there they just needed two more, so it wasn’t even an option. Whew!

I have to say, the kids did great on the flight. Liam made friends with his seat mates, and we all three slept.  I didn’t even pull out the DVD players!

So, that said, our next trip is planned for October 24-November 9 (Aaron will come back earlier.), and our first trip in 2009 is planned for January 15th-ish through Feb 6th-ish.  I will be flying both ways alone with the kids.

“Alone with the kids….”  Ha.  Such an appropriate statement.    I can’t even express how happy I was to see Aaron waiting for us when we arrived - with bagels and water, no less!

And now I must go and try to catch up a bit with pictures from our trip.  It was crazy, but fun.

She woke with a fever and it went up to 103.1 early this afternoon.  Since we fly in a week, I didn’t want to risk an ear infection, so in we went.  No ear infection at this point, but she does have fluid back there, which the dr. said feels like an infection.

She told us to get guaifenesin, which is nearly impossible to find, and to load her up with ibuprofen and acetaminophen.  The ibuprofen has helped much more this afternoon as I didn’t know her weight and wasn’t giving her the correct dosage.  So that’s one good thing that came out of it.

I’m really just glad we were in a different town.  The number of times we’ve been to the emergency room in the past year is enough to make ME wonder if we’re making them sick!

It was AWESOME.  No pain, no stitches.

They numbed him with a cotton ball and used the most amazing substance to glue his cut shut.  It should wear off in a week or so and he’ll be good as new.

Super duper!

We’re in KC until Friday and then we’re headed to CA for the weekend.  Looking forward to seeing everyone!

which was a good thing because prior to their arrival, my two children screaming “MIIIIIIIINE” back and forth at each other made me want to shoot them.

And Aaron got home from Milan.  That was a good thing too.

But later when he told me about the delicious Italian food he ate?  Then I wanted shoot him.

The fact of the matter is, we have yet to find any place here that serves good Italian food.  I’ve had better in Vancouver.  Seriously…can someone please explain to me how Canada can have better Italian food than a country within a two hour flight of ethnic epicenter?

Elena was grumpy all morning, so it was no problem for me to put her down and send Liam on his merry way.  E slept until 4.15 and L ended up eating dinner at Penny’s.

How quickly one forgets the difference between having one child and two children. My afternoon was so easy.  There wasn’t any arguing about why L had to stay in his room, or asking for food, or drinks, or to brush teeth, or read during quiet time, or how to play “Guy Jumps Around” (Super Mario 4) on the DS.  It was just peaceful.

I got my payback though.  I fully expected Liam to be worn out and ready to go to bed at a decent time since he played hard this afternoon.  So, I put both kids in bed at  7.30.  Elena went right to sleep, but Liam procrastinated.  His latest thing is to tell me that he’s sick - that he has throw up in his stomach - and then ask for milk.

Dude…you don’t ask for milk when you have throw up in your stomach.  It just doesn’t work that way.

Anyway, he’s not sick, and when I asked him if he remembered why we don’t have milk at bedtime, he quickly recalled that his “teeth will get bleeded and he’ll have to have the drill at the gentist.”

Then I told him if he was really sick that he wouldn’t be able to go to school in the morning.  THAT certainly did not go over well.

Suddenly he was healed, and water was just fine.

He finally went to sleep around 8.30.  Not soon enough for me.

******************************************************************

I’ve had a rough couple of days. I don’t know how I can be so tired and have such a foggy brain. Must have something to do with hormones. I’m feeling a lot better today though. I even had the gumption to try something new at lunch. Anyone had quinoa? Um, LURVE it.

So, now that we got that behind us, I should tell you that we’ve had the opportunity to meet both of our neighbors in the past week.

The last couple of days have been cold, but not rainy, so the kids and I have been spending time in the garden. Our neighbor has been out a few times and we’ve been chatting a bit. She’s a lovely older lady and she often brings in our trash bins, so I know she’s looking out for us.

I mentioned our upcoming trip to the U.S. (NEXT TUESDAY! YAY!) and she asked if there was anything that she could do for us while we’re gone. The only thing I could think of was to keep an eye on the house, which I already knew she was doing anyway. We made chit chat for a few more minutes and then she went to mow her lawn, which she shouldn’t have to do.

We also had the opportunity to do a good deed and take a package for our neighbor on the left, who wasn’t home when the post came. These are the neighbors who share our wall and we haven’t had much opportunity to talk to them, so I was looking forward to them stopping in to get the bag.

A few days went by and no one had come, so I just figured they must be out of town or had other things going on. The package just sat on the floor by the door and didn’t bother anyone, and we went about our lives, until this afternoon.

It didn’t surprise me at all to see a random person at our door this afternoon since I knew that someone would be by to get the package eventually. Granted, it could have been a better time since Liam was in his room yelling and crying about being in time out, but whatever…he’s almost four.

The woman at the door was a little younger than I expected Harry’s wife to be, but I figured she was his daughter and thought maybe she lived with him or was visiting from out of town. Needless to say, my greeting was warm and friendly when I opened the door.

I was bending down to pick up the package when she asked me a weird question: “Duh yew ‘ave  a bayee-bee?”

I was a little stumped by that one after thinking she was just coming to get the package, right?

Me (completely confused because baby is sleeping): Yeesss….

Woman (you’re on your own for the British accent from now on): I was next door and could hear a baby crying and crying and I just wondered if anyone was home.

Me: Oh no! Is he bothering you? He’s just really mad because I’m making him stay in his room.

Woman: Oh! Um, ok then…as long as you’re home. (she turns to leave)

Me: Did you want your package?
Woman (clearly thinking I’m nuts): What?

Me: Your package. Isn’t this you? (pointing at the name)

Woman: Uh, yeah. Yeah sure. Thanks.

Me: Ok, see you later. Have a good afternoon.

Um…did you get that?

SHE THOUGHT THE FREAKING BABY WAS HOME ALONE!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

I almost didn’t hear the door. What if I wouldn’t have answered?  Would she have called the cops?  It would have been bad if she did because I looked like complete crap because I hadn’t showered or anything. I’m sure they would have hauled me in thinking I’m a total loser.

As I got to thinking about it later, I realized that I’d completely neglected to clarify that the “baby” was asleep and it was my my four year old son who had been driving me bonkers all day long screaming his lungs bloody.

Smart.  Very smart, Heidi.

So, when Aaron got home, we agreed that Liam should go over there and ‘pologize.  I still hadn’t showered (just a glimpse into how glamorous my life is these days) and I was cooking a pasta dinner for Aaron’s birthday so A offered to take him over there to do the deed.

As the story goes, the neighbors invited them in and they chatted for about 30 minutes.  Liam apologized in addition to asking about their refrigerator, for a drink, and if they had any cookies, and the couple was charmed by him.

But, when Aaron got home and I asked about the younger woman he looked at me like I was mad.  The woman that L apologized to was older than dirt - clearly not the woman who’d come knocking.

I felt SO bad.  Poor Aaron went through all of the explanation to these people who most likely hadn’t heard a damn thing because they’re both nearly DEAF.

I’m sure that they think we are CRAZY PEOPLE.  In fact, they’re over there right now talking about the Crazy Americans who live next door.  I know they are.

My only hope is that someday they’ll mention just how crazy we are to the person who picked up their package and she’ll figure out that I’m not a child abuser.

And from now on, Liam goes in the bathroom when he’s screaming.  There’s one on each floor and they are all on the OPPOSITE side of the house from the shared wall.

I’ll just have to remember to close the windows.

It was beautiful.  I got all kinds of stuff done, and I didn’t have to hide in the front room to do it.  AND, she asked if Liam could come over and play in the near future!

Oh, well, I guess that might be ok.

WTF!  Hello, of COURSE he can come over and play - take Elena too!

Anyway, I don’t think I’ll be complaining about Alfie any more.

Now, I’m not particularly a fan of Starbucks, but I do like to make iced lattes at home and I was so excited to see a sturdy plastic replica of their flimsy plastic iced coffee cups  - with a twist-on lid, and a thick plastic straw - that I couldn’t stand it.  So, I bought my cup and paid $8 (4 pounds - check the date…this is before the dollar’s stellar performance as of late.), in addition to the cup, for my iced latte.

And it was SO. freaking. good.

I do love a nice iced coffee in the mornings when the summer sun is beating down between the clouds and it’s a sweaty 73 degrees.

Dear, sweet London.

The New First Commandment: Thou shalt not take thy children with thee on vacation.

Five Days of Family

Z-Trip