Toilet Fishing

Nope. It's not a new sport. It's what I just did in my house!

Angry Husband has gotten fairly lazy recently about the child proofing. He leaves our bedroom door unlocked, thinking Angry Toddler will think it's locked and not go in there.

I didn't see Angry Toddler anywhere. I asked AH where is Caden. He said "I don't know". Seriously how can you lose a 2 year old in a 1200 sq foot house? So I hear him in our bathroom, which he is not supposed to be in.

The kid has AH's flashlight in his hand standing over the toilet. I look in the toilet and see a glimmer of metal. I pull up my shirt sleeve and reach in. Argh, a Hot Wheels. While my hand is in there, I feel more. I pulled out 7 Hot Wheels and our metal sliding glass door lock.

I'm yelling! Why did you leave the bedroom door open. AH says, "Oh I did?"

As I was washing off toilet funk, Caden's Christmas cars. I swear Hot Wheels are going to be the death of me. Oh, and the day after Christmas, I caught AT throwing Hot Wheels into our 125 Gallon fish tank. Trying sticking you're hand in that! Ugh!!!

Maybe it's not a bad thing that I work tonight. Seriously, dealing with criminals is sometimes better than dealing with a toddler.

The Aftermath

Well for me, the Holiday Season is officially over. I'm so glad, really I am.

Last week, Caden came home from school with a slight runny nose. Uh oh, the sickies have come home for the Holidays. Saturday night before Christmas, boom, he had another febrile seizure. The kid's temperature was 104 when we took it. Where do these fevers come from? I swear the kid can't regulate his body temps. So we drag him the ER, to get him checked out. They run a ton of tests, doing a breathing treatment (he was kinda wheezy), and send us on home.

Throughout the next two days, we battled his fever. Seriously, I think we went through 4 bottles of Motrin and Tylenol. Finally on Monday, I took him to the Dr. She diagnosed him with yet, another, ear infection, and sent me home with a prescription for antibiotics. We gave him the antibiotics and they stopped the fevers.

We went to a family friend's house for Christmas Eve and Angry Husband's Birthday. It was a great time. Caden loved playing with my friend's kids, whom are 5 and 8. We then went home and anticipated the arrived of SANTA!

Santa came and all the goodness that comes along with Santa. Caden came out of his room on Christmas morning, and was quite delighted. He unwrapped all of his presents, yet kept asking for "more presents peas"! Thankfully, my parents showed up a few hours later with some more goodies for him.

Angry Husband and I unwrapped some gifts from my parents. I got a new Louis Vuitton make-up bag (yippee), some pajamas, and some perfume. Angry Husband got a HUGE gift certificate to the local fish store, and some Bettie Page collectible crap. He loves Bettie Page. I will NEVER be Bettie Page.

Caden seemed to get sicker on Christmas Eve, Caden's sickness was up and down. He was really weak still and all of the excitement wore him out. He took 2 naps that day.

We had a great dinner of turkey, stuffed, mashed potatoes, and some salad. Poor Caden missed dinner cause he was taking one of his naps.

Since Christmas, we've been trying to organize the house. We keep stepping on little Hot Wheels and Cars toys. Ouch, those little Cars hurt!

Mike and I hit the after-Christmas Target extravaganza. Mike went a little overboard on the lights. I'm sure you will be able to see our house from space next year.

I've been a really bad blogger lately. I will and try to blog more in the upcoming year. It's been soo hectic with work, preschool, holiday shopping, food, sickness, cleaning, and sleeping! I will do another post later and include some Holiday pictures!

101 Things About Me

1. I met my husband at a bar. It was actually an eighteen and over club. It was the day after, I got my walking brace off from breaking my leg.
2. We've been married for 9 years.
3. We have one child. I’m an only child, and my mother is an only child.
4. I have two degrees. One is a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and the other is a Masters in Forensic Science.
5. I actually work in a job field that is actually related to my degrees.
6. I was in a sorority in college. I went alumna from that sorority, because of mandatory house move-ins., and the fact that I don’t like to share.
7. I once tried to join the Navy as an Officer. But the written test was all about the aviation part, which I had no clue on. I decided not to join, also, because I wanted to get Lasik.
8. I had Lasik eye surgery in 1999. I now wear glasses again at night. It’s really hard for me to read street signs in the dark.
9. I've had plastic surgery. I’ve reduced things, not added on.
10. I do not like to cook. Ok, so I don’t know how to cook much.
11. I drove a Mercedes for three years. I gave it up this year for my Tahoe, which is a lot more practical.
12. I love reading chick lit books. I read at least one book a week.
13. I have one tattoo. It’s the word “Justice” written in Kanji on my upper back, below my neck.
14. I have an addiction to shopping at Target. I go there at least 2-3 times a week.
15. I hate mayonnaise with a very strong passion. My husband thinks this is funny and always tells me that he ordered extra mayonnaise on my food.
16. BBQ sauce is my favorite condiment. I could put it on almost everything.
17. I live in a one story house. We’ve lived here for two years. This is the longest we’ve lived anywhere since we’ve been married.
18. I have two dogs. They are both Chihuahua mixes. The dogs, like my son, refuse to be potty trained. Unfortunately, I can’t put a toddler in the garage.
19. Ice Tea is my favorite drink. My husband thinks it’s absolutely disgusting and makes gagging faces when he accidentally drinks it sometimes.
20. I gave up drinking soda October 1, 2007. It used to be my favorite drink. I have only cheated once. I had a small one in Vegas. It tasted really nasty.
21. I do not like to clean. I have someone come and clean my house every other week. While I sit on the Internet and lurk.
22. My son has more clothes in his closet than my husband and I combined. Ok, maybe my whole neighborhood. Seriously, I have a problem. I’ve stopped, but Grandma hasn’t learned. It’s not my money.
23. I don't eat anything that once "swam", i.e. fish, seafood
24. I'm a very picky eater. Like you can’t tell.
25. I love reality shows on MTV. The Hills and Laguna Beach are some of my faves!
26. My favorite TV shows are Little People, Big World and Private Practice.
27. I hate Sci-Fi shows and movie. Sci-Fi is my husband's favorite type of show.
28. I have two DVR's in my house. The husband and I each have our own.
29. I love to throw away and shred things. Of course, this has backfired. I have thrown away some important papers and a bunch of my son’s professional baby pictures.
30. I hate my neighbors. We literally have no “cool” neighbors to hang out with or talk to.
31. I grind my teeth at night. I wear a mouth guard because of my grinding. I've had 5 root canals because of my grinding.
32. I've been highlighting/coloring my hair since I was in 5th grade. I have no clue on what my natural hair color is.
33. I go to Disneyland at least once a month. I have a Season Pass.
34. I have been to the movies since December of 2006.
35. My first concert without my parents was Ozzy Osbourne. I got hit in the eye at that concert by a drunk person, who swung at the person behind him, missed, and hit me.
36. My first concert that my mom went to with me, Metallica. I've seen Metallica in concert about ten times.
37. My favorite book is Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I read Gone with the Wind for the first time in sixth grade. I've re-read it about six times.
38. I always carry a Designer purse. I have a small obsession with purses.
39. I also have a little obsession with Louis Vuitton.
40. I wear a uniform for work. Almost every job I worked, I’ve had a name tag or uniform.
41. My first car was a 1966 Mustang. My parents still own the car.
42. I'm a registered Republican. My friend told me recently that I am not a Republican and that she wouldn't be friends with a Republican.
43. I don't like coffee. Yet, I like going to Starbucks.
44. I’ve met some of my best friends on the Internet. I met one of my first Internet friends in a chatroom on AOL in 1996.
45. My favorite movie is GI Jane. Everytime I watch it, it makes me want to work out
46. I love sleeping. I could sleep 20 out of 24 hours in the day.
47. Like my son, I have my own blankie. It's green and white. I can't sleep without it. Caden calls it, "Mama Blankie".
48. I almost spelled my son's name "Kaden", instead of "Caden". But I did a poll at work and everyone said that "Kaden", sounded more like a girl's name.
49. My girl name for him was Tabitha Jayne. The Tabitha part was from the Soap Opera "Passions". Jayne is my mother's middle name.
50. I have personalized "vanity" license plates on my car. My nickname is what is personalized on them.
51. My favorite restaurant is Lucille's BBQ. It just opened near us at the end of the summer. It is quite yummy, but expensive.
52. I have worked three different jobs for the same employer. I've worked here over 10 years.
53. My co-workers are like one big dysfunctional family.
54. I don't know what my favorite color is. It used to be purple, but I change my mind alot.
54. My signature perfume is Calvin Klein Escape. I've been wearing it since college.
55. The High School I went to, is an actual TV show on MTV. And yes, that city is pretty much like that in real life.
56. I work in the city I grew up in.
57. I've gone to public school my entire life. The only private school that I've ever attended is where I got my Master's Degree. Does that count?
58. I listen to a variety of music. But really, Hip Hop is my favorite. Rap is second.
59. I have 2 cats, but they are at my mom's. They've lived there since 2002. I'm highly allergic to them now.
60. I don't iron clothes. I take them to the dry cleaners. Or I have my friend come over and iron.
61. I have blond hair right now. My hair has also been red. I love the red, but it's hard to keep up.
62. I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
63. I had to take Clomid to get pregnant. I got pregnant on the last month I could take it.
64. I delivered my son via c-section. He was breech.
65. My son was 4 weeks early, because I needed to have Gallbladder surgery.
66. I hate the tv show "Southpark". I used to like it, but now I find it offensive.
67. My first real job was when I was 14, at a fast food place called "Panda Express"
68. I used to collect little mouse figures called "Charming Tails". But then I stopped suddenly and sold them all on e-bay.
69. I am really bad at doing finances. Yet, I'm in charge of doing them. The husband and I are both spenders.
70. I love my cellphone. It's an LG enV by Verizon. If someone asked me if I wanted a new cellphone, I would just ask for a brand new enV.
71. I started playing softball in fifth grade. I played until I was a sophomore in high school. I have a softball player's body still.
72. I love getting mail. I think the UPS and Fed Ex peeps are my heroes right now.
73. I'm totally non-confrontational, yet I have a big mouth.
74. I saw Britney Spears in concert in 2002. I bought the tickets last minute off of e-bay.
75. I have a total obsession with e-bay.
76. I went to elementary school with "Fergie". We were in Girl Scouts together.
77. I live 10 minutes from my parents. Yet, I would like to move out of state.
78. I was a psychology major going into college. I wanted to study abnormal personalities. I changed my major after my first year because it was impacted.
79. My favorite kind of make-up is Bobbi Brown. Not that I ever wear it. I have a ton of really nice make-up that never gets worn.
80. I refer to Emily Post's Etiquette, almost weekly. I have friends who call me to ask the golden question, "What is the rule for this XYZ"?
81. I love to give advice. I hate to receive advice. I need to work on this.
82. My favorite shoes are my Birkenstocks. I've had about 10 pairs since I was 12. They last a really long time. I'm sad though, because my current broken in pair is missing a mate. I think Angry Toddler did something with my shoe.
83. I hate wearing socks. It's a good thing that I live in Southern California and it's not freezing cold all year long.
84. My favorite department store to shop at is Nordstrom. Several of the employees know me there. I don't know if that's a good thing.
85. I've had two Palm Pilots. I'm back to using a traditional planner. I like to write my dates and notes in there. I had issues with actually charging and using my Palms.
86. My hair is quite short right now. I would love to grow it out long, but I don't have the patience. I almost considered getting extensions once to take care of the grow out phase, but ended up cutting my hair even shorter.
87. I love taking baths. I haven't taken a bath at home in over 2 years. Angry Toddler's bathroom is the only one with a bath tub. The tub is super tiny and not comfortable at all.
88. I don't like sandwiches. I think alot of it has to deal with my dislike for mayonnaise. Angry Husband suggested getting sandwiches for dinner the other night, and I finally said, you know what? I really don't like sandwiches.
89. I secretly despise people who live near Sonic Drive-In. I tried it while I was visiting a friend and Texas, and now I'm hooked. Our closest one is over 30 minutes away, and it sucks.
90. I leave out words when I type out or write things. I have to go back and check things several times because of this. Yet, I can easily find grammar mistakes in other people's documents.
91. I subscribe to several magazines. I love to read about new things.
92. I'm called several different names by different people. My names/nicknames are as follows: Julie, Jules, Hula, and one of my most favorites, ha Mary Sunshine.
93. I like things my way. I need to learn to accept that my husband also has his opinion of things.
94. I hope that my son doesn't turn out like me, medical wise. I had childhood asthma almost all of my youth. My son had his first attack at 16 months. I don't want him to spend all his vacations in the hospital doing breathing treatments.
95. I want my son to play organized sports. I've already researched when he can start baseball. The kid isn't even potty trained.
96. My son is in preschool five days a week. It's not because we need daycare, it's because I need a break and sometimes he gives me anxiety.
97. It is officially my husband's birthday. I feel bad for him that his birthday is on Christmas Eve. I'm sure that it sucked when he was younger.
98. I curse like a sailor. I try and behave myself when I'm on the Internet. My mouth is terrible in real life.
99. I love reading people's blogs. It gives me a little piece of their lives. I enjoy relating to other parent's and people. I sometimes say out loud he/she is just like me.
100. It took me almost ten days to type this blog post.
101. Merry Christmas Eve!!!! Thanks for Reading Angry Julie Monday!

Ick, Flu...and some shopping

So the entire family was sick all weekend long with the flu. Angry Husband and I both missed two days of work because of it. I swear, I haven't been this sick in a very long time. The only good thing about being sick was, I gotta lots of sleep, and I lost some weight.

But today is a new day and I'm feeling alot better. Angry Husband is at work, and Angry Toddler is at preschool. I took the dogs to the groomer. Actually, I walked the dogs to the groomer, because they were soo stinky, I wouldn't even put them in the husband's man vehicle. Then I stopped for bagel McDonald's, to have some breakfast. I walked my butt home after that.

Then I proceeded to catch up on all my blog and forum reading. Big mistake!!! I should have stayed away a couple of days longer. Three hours later, I had placed orders with Pottery Barn Kids, Williams Sonoma, Amazon, and Franklin Mint. There are all kinds of good deals out there, with codes, rebates, and such.

I went and picked up the doggies. They smell soo pretty now. I actually allowed them to get into the man vehicle. I think Angry Husband knew I was going to drive it today, because I did not see any fast food wrappers in the backseat like usual.

When I finally got time to relax, I sat down and watched The Hills. It was a lovely episode. I hope Heidi and Spencer stay broken up. I loathe those two. I know everyone wants Lauren to be with Brody. But I think he's just out for the media attention. Do Spencer and Brody even have jobs? What do they do all day?

Well, I am about done with blogging for the moment. This is my 100th blog post! Yippee!!

I'm working on my next post, which will be 101 Things about Me. As soon as I find 101 Interesting Things, I will post it!

Britax Marathon

How I love you so much most days. You keep my son safe when we are driving.

But, today, Mr. Marathon, you are on my list. Angry Toddler puked all over you. Why must you consist of soo many pieces to take apart, when you need to be washed.

December: The Month of Red

So one of my favorite blogs is 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic. She has great beauty product tips.

This month she is highlighting red nail polish. I thought I would join in on the fun.

I went and got a pedicure the other day. Angry Julie does not paint her own toes. That would make a huge mess. I did have my toes painted with OPI The Thrill of Brazil. It had been awhile since I've had a pedicure. But boy, I needed it.



I'm including a photo of my toes. I have short Flintstone feet, so no comments about my ugly toes.

Secret Santa-ism

It's the time of year for gift giving.

Angry Julie loves to participate in the Spirit of Christmas and all this gift giving. I'm on several message forums. Going along with these forums, are several types of Secret Santa events. Silly me, has four people to buy for. I have a problem of taking too much on.

So I went shopping today. I really need to get all of these things in the mail. I'm sure with the weather acting up all over the U.S., it's going to slow the mail down. I of course, over spent, yet again. I'm such a perfectionist. I make a list, I really try to stick to it, but I never do.

For example, I'm participating in an ornament exchange. We are supposed to buy one ornament. Do I buy one? No, I buy two, plus candy. That's how I roll. Then, I have to wrap them all cute. Plus, I need to add in one of my personalized cards with a little note. This is how it begins, with one little ornament.\

Then Angry Husband is participating in a Secret Santa, on his Saltwater Fish Forum. He actually went and bought the gift himself. I was very proud of him. But then, I have to step in and take over. I asked him last night, "Oh, do you want me to wrap it up and package it to mail tommorrow?" He gave me that look, the "why are you taking over my project", look~ So I'm sitting here, looking at his Secret Santa gift right now. I think I'm going to wrap it anyway. He can sign the card, right?

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their Secret Santa goodies from me. I went totally overboard. Why can't I follow the simple rules? The funny thing is, I'm in charge of one of the ornament exchanges. I made the rules, which I can't even follow properly.

Dry Nail Applique

My friend Lindsay, told me about this product recently. It's a Dry Nail Applique. It's nail polish, but not the wet kind. It's really kewl.

Unfortunately, I can't use it on my nails, because I have a permanent crack on my right hand. I slammed my hand in a car door when I was 13. The only time my nails look good is if I have acrylics.

So Lindsay purchased this kit at her local Walgreens, for $3.99 on sale.

Lindsay sent me a pic of her hand after 48 hours. She is amazed by this. I told her I would blog about it, why?, because I can. I really want to try if, but unfortunately my jacked up nails won't let me.



Disclaimer: The company didn't pay me to advertise this, I just thought it was cool and wanted to get the word out to my mommy blogger pals.

Christmas Countdown

Get a Christmas Countdown for your page!

This means that I have this many days left to shop.

What Santa's Reindeer Am I?

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

I swear people, I did not fix this. I just filled out the little questionaire thingy. I mean really, wow, it's soo true. I am a Dancer. Wink Wink!

My Person of the Week: Co-worker Jen

I would like to give a shout out to my co-worker, Jen. I came into work today and was pleasantly surprised. Jen signed up to work Christmas Eve night for me. Yay Jen!

Jen also bought me a drink last week when we were out and about.

I'm including this pic of Jen, that I stole from her MySpace account. This is one of the last few pictures taken of her as a blond last year. She realized that being a brunette was not for her today. She will be going back to the old-Jen at the beginning of 2008!

Thank You Jen!

Another Note to Self

When purchasing next couch for the family room in the house, here are a few tips:

1. Don't buy ginormous couch that fit perfectly in your much bigger house, and had to be cut down for newer tiny house.

2. Don't get couch covered in chenille fabric,it does this weird fading thing, and you have to rub it and move around the fabric, otherwise it gets a shiny appearance.

3. Don't get couch stuffed with down feathers, because 3 years later; the feathers are sticking out of the chenille and are all over the family room.

Things I realize after kid puked on couch 3 times last night, when I was at work. Things I realize when this morning, I go into the garage and see three cushions, with no covers on. Things I realize when I see cushion covers in washing machine.

P.S. Now my garage stinks like kid puke.

Come Meet the Fishies!

I haven't updated you all in awhile about the Great American Fish Tank Build. It's taken some time, but it's coming together. We moved all of our smaller fishes to the bigger tank. We moved our smaller fish tank out of the kitchen, so now we have a usable kitchen counter back. We have added some new additions to the big tank, so let's meet them. Oh, and Angry Toddler named all the fish.

Biffy




Bob





Snake

Rainy Day

I guess I wasn't paying attention to the news this week. But the forcast was heavy rain. Thank goodness the roofers completed most of our roof. I went out on Thursday night with some friends. It started to rain on my way home.

We woke up to a stream of steady rain at our house on Friday morning. The husband made sure we got up and motivated, otherwise the rain would make us even more sleepy than we already were.

We actually accomplished alot. We took Angry Toddler to preschool. Then we went to breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. While we were at breakfast, we made a grocery list. Funny thing is, we never used the list when we got to the grocery store.

We then went to the grocery store, oh $200 and some change later. By then it was pouring down. We put all the food in the car and went home. We unloaded all the groceries onto our tiny kitchen floor. Meanwhile, we went through the cupboards. We probably got rid of over a $100 worth of food. Then we packed all the new food back in the fridge.

After Costco opened up, we went there. We paced around the warehouse, looking at all their goodies. They had all kinds of really neat things for the Holidays. Unfortunately, we can't have too many decorations in our house, cause Angry Toddler would destroy them. We then left Costco after spending around $160. It was still raining when we left Costco, so we hopped back in the car and went home.

Oh my gosh, I could barely keep my eyes open. But then AH checked the mail and this was in the mail. A brand new Wii game, Carnival. Oh, and yes, the Wii is somehow now working... We played the Carnival game. It was pretty fun.

And then I went to work. Where it continued to rain all night long....

Angry Toddler got a haircut!

Angry Toddler has this weird hay-like hair. It's straight as a board and doesn't lay flat. When it starts to get past an inch, it just looks awful. He never had those cute baby curls. He had this weird hair that grew over his ears and just laid there.

He got his first haircut at about 10-11 months. We've been getting them ever since about every 2 months or so. He needs haircuts sooner, but well, it's a complete nightmare doing it.

We thought we would try a new place closer to our house. We went to an actual barber shop. Of course, they had a toy area set-up in the back, so Caden wanted nothing to do with the rest of us. We tried to put him in the chair, and of course he screamed. We even gave him suckers. Nope, that didn't work. Cause all he said was, "More suckers peas, more SUCKERS".

He finally calmed down, but Angry Husband had to sit in the chair and hold Angry Toddler in his lap. One of the other barbers felt bad that AT was crying. He got a tissue and was wiping away his tears. It was soo cute!

The barber spent alot of time on his haircut and did an awesome job. Even AH said that she was worried at first, but it turned out really good.

I was able to take a picture last night when we got home. He was not happy when I took it. The husband had just promised him a bath, and he was anxious to get in the bathroom. He keep saying, "Mama, noo picture, noo picture!"

It's more of a buzz cut than a hair cut, I know!

Oh, and the best moment of the night. I'm warning you....TMI. The kid pooped in the tub for the second night in a row.. Angry Husband told me that it was my turn to clean it up.

RAOK Gymboree and Old Navy Codes

Random Act of Kindness from Angry Julie!

I have an Old Navy Friends and Family Code for 20% off (online only), it is good for the dates of November 26 through December 2nd.

I also have a Gymboree 20% Off code that expires December 24th (online and in-store).

Post a comment on my blog and I will choose the lucky winners.

Thanks!!

I'm going to stop over

I'm going to stop over. Angry Husband just called me and told me this. Angry Husband does installations of custom home theaters. He is in a mobil job. He works with a partner, well actually, he has a temporary new partner.

Angry Julie just woke up, cause she got off work at 2:30. Julie is sitting at her computer, reading her blogs and e-mails. Julie is wearing a white t-shirt and underwear, no pants, no bra.

Thanks for the notice, Angry Husband. So I ran and threw on some pants and a bra. Our house is a mess, cause mommy was at work last night. I really don't feel like picking up all the toys and clothes, that all belong to Angry Toddler. I always try and pick everything up before bedtime. It's kinda my ritual. I always warn the husband to pick up, cause you never know if someone is going to stop by.

Oh, and it's lunchtime, does he offer to bring me some lunch? No. I bet that HE will show up with lunch though.

Ok, my rant is over. But seriously, this happens like every other week.

The Dreaded Christmas Shopping

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I love buying all the presents, but I hate spending all the money. It doesn't help things when the property taxes, car registration, mortgage, and preschool tuition are all due at the same time. Having your husband's birthday fall on December 24th, is probably not the best either.

I went shopping with my mom on Friday, after she finally showed up at my house. We ventured to Toys R' Us first. It was quite calm there, and not crowded. We got a basketball hoop for Angry Toddler. My mom bought some random Anniversary Edition Care Bear. She buys random things like that.

We then ventured on to the mall. We started at Sak's Fifth Avenue. Usually, I don't shop at Sak's, because it's a little rich for my blood. But, when they have a sale, they have an awesome sale. We got 5 shirts, 1 pair of pants, and 1 pair of shorts for Caden. They were all Ralph Lauren. We paid around $60 with tax.

We then ventured around the rest of the mall. It was crowded, but not to full capacity. I think we beat the early shoppers, since they had already gone home. My mom bought a shirt for my dad.

We then went to one of my mecca stores. I don't know why I get soo excited, but I love love love Pottery Barn Kids. I walked in and saw the bed that I've been eyeing for Caden. It's a twin size bed with storage drawers underneath. Caden is getting really restless in his toddler bed. He barely sleeps in there the entire night. I think that he likes to spread out. My mom bought the bed for Caden on Friday. I'm repaying her when we get our taxes back, or hit the lottery, whichever comes first.

That was a really big purchase, and I think we were done shopping after that. I'm soo excited. But, now I have to clean up the Angry Toddler's current furniture and put it on Craig's List. It is in almost mint condition, except for some teeth marks.

Throughout the weekend, I have come across some deals. I ordered a Wii game on Buy.com (for my non-functioning Wii), and I bought one of my holy grail items tonight for Caden (a Step 2 slide).

I still have tons of shopping to do, plus all my Secret Santa items.

We need to take some pictures of the Angry Toddler this week for Christmas Cards. It's going to be a busy week.

Wii

So Angry Husband bought me a Wii for my birthday two weeks ago. We've been really busy with sick child, work, holidays, etc.

Mike turned it on so that I could play it last night. He put in a game and got it all ready.

There was an error message. He has played with it before, and he told me that he got that error message the other day. So he called the store where he bought it. They told him that they've seen that message before. They said that they would do an exchange, BUT they have no Wii's in stock. Well of course, they don't.

So Mike had to go on Nintendo.com and place a repair order. Now WE have to send it out to Nintendo and get it replaced.

This is really annoying. Especially since we have some new games coming in the mail for it. I couldn't imagine if some child opened it on Christmas Day and this has happened.

Ugh....Women of the 1950's..

My mother is one of them.

The woman takes literally two hours to get ready. I don't know what she does? I mean really, how long can it take to get ready?

My mother is one of those people who can't leave the house without full make-up or her hair done. She has never been one of those wash and go people. I called her at 7am, YES SEVEN AM. It's now 9:30AM. She is still not at my house.

I just want to go to the mall. Is that too much to ask? It's Black Friday, there's going to be no parking. I'm gonna have to valet my large SUV.

I know that I said, I wasn't going to go shopping today. But why not? I have a minor addiction to shopping. I have the day off, why not!!!

Thanksgiving went well yesterday. We had both sets of our parents here yesterday. This was the second time that they had been together since our wedding, which was in 1998. All went well.

I bought a custom outfit for Thanksgiving. Of course, the kid looked adorable. But after like 10 minutes, he stripped down to his diaper. So the jammies came back on. I hope this phase ends soon. I'm getting really tired of the stripping.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am giving a tribute to Mickey and Minnie Mouse, since we cannot be with them today. Angry Toddler is just too wild now to sit a table and behave for more than 5 minutes. I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving and not too much family drama!

Bark, Bark, Bark

We live in a townhome community. They are re-doing our roofs. This has been going on since last week. I knew that this was going to be a nightmare because of the dogs.

Sure enough, someone is stomping on my roof at 7am. Yes, 7am! Hello, Angry Julie needs her beauty sleep. What happens. Bark, bark, bark!!!!

Both of our dogs, are running around like crazy animals, barking in circles. It is quite obnoxious.

Here are some pictures of them.

Suspect #1: Bruiser, Primary Barker and Almighty White Wimp


Suspect #2: Wolfie, Shrill Barker, Who Won't Stop


I hope they finish these roofs soon. I couldn't handle it any more this morning. I had to put a bark collar on Wolfie. I know, I know. It's not humane. But at least she's quiet.

My good deed for the week

Usually, I'm a pretty selfish person. Not that it's a bad thing..

I was searching Craig's List the other night when I was at work. Can you tell, I was really bored. So anyway, I sometimes check the wanted section. We have alot of crap in our house, and sometimes people are actually looking for our crap.

Last week, I found someone looking for a Step 2 Play Kitchen. The same play kitchen that Angry Toddler has, that he has not played with in over 6 months. I e-mailed the lady and within a day, the kitchen was sold. I had $80 cash in my pocket!

So on this weekends search, I came across a family looking for reservations to Disneyland on Thanksgiving. They were arriving on Wednesday, and staying through the weekend. They didn't realize that all of the nicer places took reservations and that everything was sold out.

Well, Angry Husband and I made an Executive Decision last week that we would not be using out reservations at the Grand Ballroom. Caden is just too wild right now. We can't put him in a high chair, and he won't sit still for more than 10 minutes. I really don't want to be chasing him around. I would like to enjoy my food.

So, I e-mailed the lady on Craig's List and told her that I had a reservation for 6 people. She was very happy. I gave her all the confirmation information this morning, after I confirmed everything with Disneyland.

We are doing Thanksgiving at our house now. And no, Angry Julie is not cooking. Duh, if you knew me, you already know, I can't cook a thing, yet even boil water. I ordered a pre-made meal from a restaurant called Claim Jumper. It's going to be very tasty!

A glee of happiness in my week

We finally picked shifts at work for next year. I'm working days from January through September, and then nights from September through January 2009. Yippeeee, I get to sleep like normal people.

It's been a long two months so far. I really love working nights, but not with a wild two year old. He gets up at like 7am on the weekends, when I've had only like 3hours of sleep. I've had alot of headaches and back problems with this. I even did a sleep study and they told me that I have sleep apnea. I'm still undergoing testing for that.

So I thought I would post a nice little ticker to remind myself of how long I have to normal sleep!

Starbucks Vent Again!

I went to Starbucks tonight. If you know me, I don't drink coffee. Last week I went to Starbucks with my co-worker, Nicole. She got me hooked on Venti Caramel Apple Cider.

For the past two nights, I've tried to get myself some Apple Cider. But dammit, they are all sold out. Seriously, Starbucks, pull your head out of your butt, and keep this in stock. You are losing customers, not that you care.

Us, non-coffee drinkers, love when there's something new we can try. I got all excited tonight, cause I was waiting till like 10pm, to go to Starbucks. I waited in line, and went to order. Only to be told, that they are sold out. "I'm sorry, but we ran out of cider early tonight." "It's really not the Holiday Season yet, so we are not fully stocked with it".

So I didn't want to look like a total idiot. I ordered a Hot Chocolate, which my stomach did not like. I sometimes tend to ignore my lactose intolerance and it bothers me much much later, like right now at 1am.....

I think I'm going to give up on my quest for cider.

Black Friday

It seems all of my message forums are talking about Black Friday. Everyone is planning out their shopping agendas.

I have not seen anything yet, that I have to have. I'm a total shopper, but I'm just not feeling anything this year. I might some things from Gymboree because I have a 20% off coupon, and with the 30% black friday discount, things might be really cheap.

The Angry Toddler is still too little to "want" the hot new toy. Although, I did find one of those Little Einstein Pat Pat Rockets last week. I see alot of ads with those digital picture frames. I thought about getting one of those for my parents, but the husband nixed that idea.

I think I'm going to sleep in and enjoy my day. I put in to take the day off. I didn't realize that taking off was a tradition for me, but my co-worker told me today, that I take it off every year.

The husband is also off this year too. He is very happy. Since he works for a major retailer, having that day off is a really big thing. I'm sure he will be lounging all day, and playing video games.

Note to self....time to do laundry

I've been totally slacking on the laundry lately. I need to wash towels. The Angry Husband and I had to use this towel to dry off yesterday. It's the Pottery Barn Kids hooded towel. Except, we were using the octopus one.

Angry Toddler Update

We were released from Children's Hospital at 5:15PM, last night.

Caden had a MRI and EEG yesterday morning. The neurologist came in and spoke with us about 4pm. Everything looked normal. She just told us the same thing that his pediatrician told us. He has seizures due to a spike in his fever, and he will outgrow them.

Angry Husband spent the night, Tuesday through Wednesday, with the Angry Toddler. He said that Caden slept and he did not. Apparently there was an infant in the room next door that was not allowed to have any food. The baby cried ALL night long according the husband.

This was our second time at Children's Hospital since Caden was born. I'm not too impressed with them. I'm sure if your kid had a very serious illness, they would receive excellent care. But unfortunately, the average kid doesn't get the same treatment. We were pretty much ignored. We never saw nurses, mostly techs. We had to beg, I mean beg for milk for Caden. We saw two doctors in two days, for about 5 minutes each time.

I cannot wait for the bills to roll in. We have a PPO, so we will have some lovely co-pays.

1. 3 ER Visits
2. 1 Ambulance Ride
3. 3 Different ER doctors
4. Numerous blood tests
5. 1 Chest X-Ray
6. 1 Admitting Doctor at Children's Hospital
7. 1 Overnight Hospital Stay
8. 1 MRI
9. 1 EEG
10. 1 Neurologist

The Angry Toddler is fine today. He woke up with a tiny cough, thanks sick girl from the hospital. We were going to keep him home from preschool today. But at like 8:15, he asked to go see his friends and to play. He hadn't coughed since 6am. I grabbed some clothes and promptly dropped him off at preschool.

We have a follow-up appointment at his pediatrician's office today. I'm sure she will shake her head over all this drama. I don't even think the hospital contacted her about his history.

Thirty-Two

Happy Birthday to ME~

32 Years Old Today!!!

Ok, now that I posted that, I have to go back to the Hospital. I will do an update on the kid later!

Children's Hospital Orange County

Well, I hate to say this...but he had another seizure at 4:55am, this morning. His temperature was 104 when we left the house for the hospital. We went to the local hospital, they monitored him for about two hours, and then transferred the kid to Children's Hospital Orange County.

The doctors wanted to get him a better consult since this was his 3rd seizure in 24 hours. Angry Husband rode with Caden in the ambulance to the hospital. The EMT had put an IV in his hand and off they went.

Caden wasn't at the hospital for more than 30 minutes, when AH said, why is there blood everywhere? Seriously, the blood was all over the floor. Well, you guessed it! Angry Toddler ripped the IV out like I said he would. Idiots! I then gave them the look, don't you even dare try and put in another IV. He has been taking fluids, needs no IV meds, so don't you dare! They complied.

They stuck in a room with a little girl with bronchitis. Cough, cough, cough!!! Doctors, um my kid is prone to asthma, bronchitis, and upper respiratory infections. Helloooooo!!! Apparently, they are thinking/waiting/who knows on a neurology consult for him. They then said that he would be there overnight.

The kid is in FULL Angry Toddler mode right now. They stuck him in one of those jails, prisons cribs. He was screaming like a caged animal.

I came home to grab some things and then I gotta go back and relieve Angry Husband. Hopefully, we will find out what is wrong with him and get freed from the coop soon!!!

Thanks to everyone who sent their positive thoughts!!!

Seizures....

I've been blogging about myself lately. So I guess I will blog about the Angry Toddler tonight...

The toddler has had some slight sniffles and a cough for the past two weeks. He's adjusting to a new preschool, so we knew this was going to happen. We've been giving him Tylenol, Cold Meds, and Breathing Treatments off and on during this time. It looked like he was going to fight his way through this.

At 5:55AM, this morning, yea that's right, a little over 2 hours after I went to bed, the kid was crying and screaming. This wasn't his normal, I had a bad nightmare scream. This was the omg, it hurts, something is wrong scream. I got off my couch bed and went to his room. Meanwhile the snorer husband was also going to the toddler's room. Angry Husband picked him out of bed. He told me, he's had a seizure, I can tell. The husband moved him to our bed and laid him down. We immediately took off the toddler's clothes and started cooling him down. The toddler still didn't look right, he wouldn't open his eyes and he was grinding his teeth. I made the executive decision and called 911. The paramedics came in full force. As they arrived at our house, AT opened his eyes, and started to look normal.

We advised the medics that AT had a history of Febrile Seizures. This was his 8th or 9th one since he was 16 months old. The medics said that he still looked lethargic and decided to transport him to the hospital.

A febrile seizure, also known as a fever fit or febrile convulsion is a generalized convulsion caused by elevated body temperature. They most commonly occur in children below the age of three and should not be diagnosed in children under the age of 6 months or over the age of 6 years. In many cases, the first sign of fever is the onset of the seizure. It has been theorized that the seizure is triggered by the rapidity of the rise in temperature, rather than the actual temperature reached.

Febrile seizures represent the meeting point between a low seizure threshold (genetically and age determined) - some children have a greater tendency to have a seizure under certain circumstances - and a trigger: fever. The genetic causes of febrile seizures are still being researched.

We then went to the hospital. They checked him out and his temperature was 101 degrees. We do not know what his temperature was at the time of seizure, cause panic had set in. They observed him for a couple of hours; ruled out any illnesses, ear infections, etc, and released us after about an hour.

Good news!!! One of my best friends from Jr. High and High School is a nurse in the ER. I'm very excited and we are going to lunch soon. I had to throw in a little happiness for my day. Now back to the original story.

So we went home and proceeded to eat lunch, nap, and do all the other normal things that we do. We gave AT some Tylenol and Motrin, alternating every couple of hours.

At about 5pm, Angry Husband shouted at me. He's having another seizure. AH felt his forehead and it was extremely hot. I ran and got the ear thermometer. It was all jacked up. WE couldn't get a right temperature reading. So after everything calmed down, we put AT in the car and drove back to the hospital.

We were greeted by the same friendly nurses from this morning. Good thing, I have an awesome working relationship with this hospital, due to me being in there for work all the time. They promptly grabbed a TV and some videos for the AT. They took his temperature at the Hospital and it was 103.5 degrees this time. They do a full blood count, and chest x-ray while we were there. They said that most likely he has a viral infection, due to some spots on his tongue. We were told to follow-up with his doctor and then we were discharged.

AH and I are both really tired. The toddler is now sound asleep, poor little guy. AH and I both called in sick for work today, not that we really missed anything. Although, I ran into a co-worker at the hospital tonight.

We still do not know what is going on with these seizures. I need to make an appointment with the Pediatric Neurologist just to make sure everything is alright. Everyone keeps saying that he will outgrow all of this, I hope so.

I just wanted to type this all out, because all of my friends are asking what happened today. I felt it was easier to do a blog post, then tell the same story via text message 100 times today.

All is well now. I'm going to go watch some TV and enjoy the rest of my work free Monday night!

Rhett Butler's People

I am a huge, huge fan of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I've read the book over ten times. I first read the book in sixth grade. I think that's when my love of reading truly started.

But lately, I've been reading alot of chick lit type books. I try and stay away from the crime dramas, due to my job. I really get sick of crime, sometimes....

But, I was sooo giddy when I saw that there was a new authorized sequel to GWTW coming out. Rhett's Butler's People came out on Tuesday. The book begins twelve years before the Gone with the Wind timeframe.

I reserved the book online Friday night, and picked it up last night. I rarely read hardback books, so this was a moment for me. I decided to take my lunch at Panera Bread, and hide in a booth.

As I was hiding in my booth, I couldn't help but listen to a conversation going on next to me. I admit it, I'm a truly nosey person by nature. Well it appeared that these people were on a blind date. They were in the early 50's. The woman would say, "Oh I love red wine", and then the man would say, "Oh I don't drink nor do I eat red meat". It was hysterical. I felt bad for this woman. She was all done up, make-up, hair, and all. The guy was a total geek. She had this look on her face like she wanted to run away.

I think I got to page two in the book. I will save it for a later day. I'm going to try and relax more this week. It's the week of my 32nd Birthday and I want to enjoy it a little.

Viva Las Vegas Part 3..............Pictures

Here are some photos taken while at LAX Nightclub in Las Vegas.

This picture was taken by Erica. This is a picture of Lindsay and I. Angry Julie is the one with the boy short hair, obviously.




The rest of these pictures were taken by Spy on Vegas dot Com.







P.S. I swear I only had one drink. I have a 2 year old. I don't get out and party much anymore......

Viva Las Vegas Part 2

After leaving Egypt, we returned to our hotel, and ate dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. We had some delicious food and drinks. We ran upstairs and changed into our "clubbing clothes".

We then jumped on the monorail and ventured to the Luxor Hotel and Casino. Why? Because it's a big giant pyramid? NO! Because the Luxor, has one of the newest and hottest clubs in Las Vegas. Believe me, Angry Julie is not that hip and original to know these things. I saw this club via a recent episode of The Hills.

I thought, why not? Try and get into this club. Wow, my friends and I were way overdressed. I was wearing jeans, a short, and boots. I did not realize that the dress code was spandex black dress, 1 inch below my butt, with v-neck. I was also about ten years older than most of the other patrons.

I had put my name on a VIP list. But I realized that about 300 people had also done the same thing. We were all in a large group, shoving each other to the front of the line. The bouncers were individually picking people to go into the club. Lindsay and I pushed our way to the front of the line, it took us over an hour to finally get selected to go in. We paid our $20 cover charge (Ladies price), and walked up a dark flight of stairs. I then walked straight to the bar. I decided that I needed a drink after standing in line for so long. I ordered an Adios... Why? Because the drink was $13 and I wanted the drink with the most alcohol in it.

We then pushed our way to the front of the dance floor. We were right behind the line the separated the celebrities and the average peeps. The tunes were flowing, and we started dancing. I hadn't danced like that in a very long time.

As the night passed on, the crowd got deeper and pushier. What a rude crowd it was. Lindsay got yelled at because some girl said, Lindsay's purse was touching her butt. We were like sardines, how could we avoid that. At about midnight, the moment finally came, "Usher stood up and starting singing!!!". I just got better and better from there. The celebrities were flowing, one by one, followed by their Entourages.

According to Spy on Vegas dot Com, the following people were seen at LAX: USHER, Chris Tucker, Quincey Jones, Criss Angel, Grand Master Flash, Laura Prepon, Danny Masterson, BabyFace, Doug E Fresh, David Williams, and Todd Brunson.

I will have to say, I hadn't had fun like that in a very long time. I will do a 3rd installment of this series with the pictures taken at LAX.

Stay Tuned.....

In Search of a Mermaid

I dropped the Angry Toddler off at preschool this morning. He was pissed, because Angry Husband usually takes him. The husband does not understand that you do not break the routine with a toddler. The toddler threw a fit and sat down in the parking lot of the school. I had to carry him into the school like an infant as he was screaming. Of course, as soon as we got to his classroom, he sat right down and played Legos.

I then hop into my vehicle and proceed to leave. As a good wife, I call the house, and speak with the Angry Husband. The husband is home sick, because he's got some cough, snot thing going on. I ask the husband if he wants any medications, concoctions, etc. The Angry Husband requests throat spray on some Vick's. As a good wife, I comply and drive over to the CVS drugstore.

The local CVS drugstore is situated between the local Starbucks and a grocery store. I get parking right up front, a few spaces away from Starbucks. As I park and get out, I get dirty looks from other people trying to park, in front of Starbucks. Like how could I park in front of the store, and not go in there. What is my deal? Can't I park somewhere else? Whatever.....

So I go into CVS, and get the meds for the husband. $12.00 worth, not too bad.

I then decide to go into the local Starbucks. Nothing that I'm a coffee drink, but I wanted one of their yogurt parfaits. I stand in the line of impatient people, and patiently pay for my yogurt. I get a strange look from the cashier when I only want to pay for my yogurt. I get the, "Why are you at Starbucks and not ordering coffee, you idiot" look. I usually order my Venti Passion Tazo Tea Unsweetened, but didn't feel like it today. So I pay my $3.45 for my yogurt and go on my way.

I walk past other angry Starbucks customers. I'm Angry Julie, but these people take the cake. So I walk to my car, as 5 other people are waiting for my spot. I try to back out, but everyone is trying to pull in at the same time. The people are in such a hurry to get their fancy drinks in their white paper cups.

I almost got into 2 separate car accidents trying to get out of that parking lot.

I made it home and sat down to eat my lovely parfait, which they changed their recipe and now it sucks!

Where I've Been...Viva Las Vegas!!

I took a little siesta this weekend and went to Las Vegas. I went to Vegas to visit some friends and other things. I couldn't get Friday off (thanks co-worker who took the night off, but came into work anyway), so I went Saturday and Sunday.

I flew from the airport here in Orange County to Las Vegas, NV. Of course, the flight had barely any people in it. I choose to sit next to a typical Orange County. Mr. Orange County proceeded to tell me that he works for the railroad, that he makes loads of money, and that he brought $12,000 cash with him to Vegas. Mr. Orange County did not care to see that I had my iPod on, and was in the process of reading three different magazines. I tried to ignore Mr. Orange County but he would not shut up!

After a very rough flight, we arrived in Las Vegas. Ahhh, I love the sound of slot machines when you enter the airport terminal. It's such a calming sound to me.

I did a few things in town and then I met up with my friend, Lindsay. Lindsay know each other from parenting forums, and have been chatting online for over a year. We started off the night by going outlet shopping.

I went to the Stride Rite outlet and bought Angry Toddler some shoes. And I know some might be offended, but I got him some light up tennis shoes. They have firetrucks on them with lights.



Lindsay and I agreed that the Angry Toddler would love jumping around in his new shoes. We shopped some more and decided that there was nothing else we would need. Shocking, I know!!! I just wasn't feeling the shopping!

We then ventured to Lindsay's Hotel Egypt. I met some of her Boutique Design Group friends. Lindsay is a customs designer on e-bay. I met some very nice girls. We then ventured back to my Hotel, to get ready for dinner.

I will continue the saga of my Vegas Trip in Part 2 later today...

Mickey's Treat

So we went to Mickey's Treat last night at Disneyland's California Adventure. We debated whether or not to take the stroller. The kid hates the stroller right now, well at least for the past 10 months or so. But, we thought he might flip out, and we would have to shove him in there.

We put his costume on in the parking structure. He really liked the sword. He walked alongside the stroller with no problem.

He was very excited when we got inside. Even more excited when we gave him his treat bucket. He thought the candy was a fabulous thing. "More candy peas!", was his favorite line of the night. The kid would butt in the line and shove other little kids just to get his candy.

My parents and hsuband were quite entertained with all the adult costumes. We saw lots of male, yes male, princesses. I even saw a Snow White with a goatee. There were all sorts of pirates, princesses, Hanna Montanas, and various other costumes.

Overall, it was a great night for the kid.

Halloween Costumes of the Past

2005-Monkey




2006-Dalmation, #1 Costume




2006-Beaver, #2 Costume

Happy Halloween

Today is Halloween!!! It's already been very chaotic for me. Well at least in my head. Angry Toddler's school did orange day today. I am glad that I bought a long sleeve orange shirt from Old Navy about a month ago.

Tonight we are going to Mickey's Treat at Disney's California Adventure. We went last year. We had a great time. We trick or treated around and took lots of pictures with the characters.

I'm soo not ready for this. I need to organize Angry Toddler's costume, and do some modifications. I need to take a shower and do some laundry.

Plus, I need to go to the Toddler's school at 3pm. They are having some pumpkin thing, I think?

Angry Husband played around with my camera yesterday. I think he has it fixed. He compared the settings to my work camera. Stupid Nikon!!! I wish I would have bought a Canon.

The Great American Fish Tank Build Part 2

So I previously blogged about our fish tank build, September post.

I thought I would update y'all a little bit. The Angry Husband has been working alot on his days off to get some funds to complete this project. I know it's a totally expensive hobby, and I hate seeing money go towards it. But, I was really sick of looking at this six foot long, empty plastic tank. He saved up enough money to get his sand, rocks, water, and lights.

I'm including the pictures taken a few days ago. It's got a neon glow to it. And it's hella loud. Like soooo loud, that it sounds like our dishwasher is running 24/7. The husband said that it's the pumps, and that he needs to UPGRADE them. Well of course he does.. My husband never does anything simple. The man must always upgrade things.

My mom is freaking. Seriously, everytime she comes over our house, she gets anxiety. She keeps thinking that the tank is going to break and that water is going to destroy everything in our house.

I will actually be happy when we get some fish. I'm tired of looking at ugly rock. I want to see pretty fish. I told Angry Husband that I want the tank to look like the one at the Pediatrician's office. It's soo purty.

Too Wordy

I just realized that my blog is looking a little wordy. I will try and add some pictures later.

Daylight Savings Not

So I crashed on the couch this morning when I got home from work. I really truly wanted to sleep in our bed. But, alas, angry Toddler was lying horizontal on my side of the bed, snoring. I grabbed my blanket, drug it down the hall, and plopped myself on the couch.

I woke to the sound this morning, of AT screaming, "DADDY, DADDY". I knew that my husband was getting ready for work, which meant it was like 7am. Oh, oh no, this is way too early for me. The husband put the toddler to bed especially late last night so I could get some extra sleep. His plan did not work.

The toddler is extremely wild and hyper this morning. I swear, it was like he was eating candy in his sleep.

So Angry Husband's cellphone rings, can you wake me up even more... It's his co-worker, AH is late. The husband looks at the clock, 8am, what? I mumbled from the couch, ummmm, I think your alarm switched to Daylight Savings. AH shouts back, "Is it Daylight Savings?" I reply, "No, Congress voted to push it back this year. It's next weekend.". AH grabs his keys and runs out the door.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking, ok 8am is much better than 7am. I got to sleep in a little, 5 hours of sleep is better than 4. Meanwhile, the toddler is galloping up and down the hall. He's crazy.

I then call my parents.. "What's for breakfast?", I say. "Meet us at Ruby's, at 9am", my mom says. Yay, free food. I don't even think we have any breakfast-y food here anyway. We took Angry Toddler to breakfast last weekend also. He was pretty good for his usual self, I guess we will try it again.

Now, I gotta pick out an outfit for him. One of his many "Halloween" themed outfits. I decide on a lovely Gap shirt with Frankenstein, and Gap jeans. I have a slight obesession with baby Gap this Fall. I'm debating whether or not, it is cold enough for a sweater.

Working, Nine 2 Five

It's been ten years since I graduated college. I graduated in December of 1997, and in January, I joined the work force. My parents stressed the fact that I needed to get a full-time job with health insurance. I did. I've been working full time since then without a break, at the same damn place!!!

But alas, the life of a public servant. We work shift work, yes crappy, non-normal hours. So I'm sitting here at 2am writing this post, why, because I'm at work. Normal people work Monday through Friday, from 9-5. Noo, Angry Julie works Friday through Monday from 4pm-2:30am.

I'm half asleep, waiting patiently until the clock turns 2:30, so I can run out of her, jump in my SUV and drive home. Then I will try and crawl in bed. 75% Angry Toddler will be on my side of the bed, under the covers. So I will have to make the decision, sleep in our bed, or go to the couch.

Then, at around 7:30am, Angry Toddler was come to wake me up. Most likey by hitting me on the head with some small toy, "Mama mama, wake up!".

It's been busy here tonight. Lots of drunk people and Halloween parties.

On a positive note, I did get to visit one of my favorite places tonight. Yes, Target. I am one of those nuts hunting down The Little Einsteins Pat Pat Rocket. Does my son even like The Little Einsteins, probably not! But I must hunt one of those things down. It has become my quest. Knowing my luck I will finally find one, and decide that he doesn't need it. I think I just like the hunt. I ended up walking about of Target with a skull shaped trick or treat bucket, and some cleaning products.

I've been sitting here in the office the rest of the night lurking on all my favorite blogs and websites. I've found a couple of new ones tonight. I'm always anxious to read about people like me.

I hope I survive the day tommorrow. Angry Husband is going to be working and it's up to me to entertain. We can't go outside, there is tons of ash from the fires. Then back to work, I go, same time, same place. But alas, definately not 9-5.

Thirteen Things

For today's post, I will point out thirteen things I found in my car tonight. I cleaned it out, finally. What a mess a 2 year old and 31 year old woman can make!

1. Bob Revolution Jogging Stroller-This stroller kicks ass and has a 5-point harness. This is my second Bob Stroller. The Angry Toddler cannot escape from this.

2. Camouflage Backpack-A cute little backpack from baby Gap. I use it as a diaper bag. Sometimes, I have the Angry Toddler carry it on his back. Less for mama to carry.

3. Parking Pass-The parking pass for the City I work for. I don't know why I have it on my dashboard. Everyone knows my car.

4. Toll roads Transponder-I cancelled my membership to the toll roads over a year ago. They keep upping the prices. One of their routes is over $8.00 for one way. Alas, sometimes I need to take the shortcut, I never have cash, so I rejoined.

5. Cellphone Charger-I'm always talking on my phone, hence I need to charge it. I have like 5 chargers spread out between two cars, work, and home.

6. Work Uniforms-My dirty uniforms from working last weekend. They are still on the front passenger floorboard of my car. I need to wash them tonight so I can wear them tomorrow.

7. Artwork-Angry Toddler's artwork from preschool. About once a week, I get handed a pile of drawings, paintings, and cut/paste work. I have no idea what to do with it all. Somehow it's piling up on my rear passenger floorboard.

8. Map of Disneyland-We frequently go to Disneyland. I have no clue why we collect/use maps. I think Angry Husband grabs them at the gate.

9. Wedding Ring-My wedding ring was in the cup holder. I mostly wear it for work. Ever since my other ring was lost/stolen, I refused to get a new one. I finally broke down this summer and had a white gold Hawaiian wedding ring made. It has Plumeria flowers on it with our names inscribed inside.

10. iPod-My pink little Nano. It's soo cute. I love that the Tahoe has an adaptor so I can listen to my tunes in the car.

11. Magazines-Angry Husbands fish magazines. There's like 4 of them in there. He reads them while I drive. I always drive. Sometimes I like to be chauffeured around.

12. Britax Marathon Carseat-We have owned 4 Britax since having Angry Toddler. I swear by them, I love them.

13. Noisy Toys-How come all the noisy toys make it to my car? We have a small basket of toys in the backseat. It seems to be filled with loud noisy cars. One of the toys is this chicken sitting inside a car. When it moves, it starts clucking. This damn toy always seems to get stuck under the seat. It was the first thing to go to the trash when I cleaned out my car tonight. I can't handle the clucking anymore!

TV and the Internet

Because of the Fires here in Southern California, our local television has been filled with news, news, news. So I got home after being out with the Girls last night, and checked my DVR. Yay! My new favorite show, Private Practice, had recorded.

So I got comfortable in my bed and hit "Play". What do I see? Fire, Fire, Fire..... I all about being informed. Believe me, I'm really concerned about the fires and the victims of the fires.

I just wanted a break from all this. So alas, I could not watch my show last night. I settled for watching the Eleven o'clock news.

So I took Angry Toddler to preschool this morning. I got myself a bow of cereal and sat down at my desk. Woo-hoo!! I can watch the full episode of Private Practice on the Internet. So alas I'm watching it right now in the background while typing this.

What's My Preppy Name?

Your Preppy Name Is...

Townsend Phinney Rockwood the Fifth But most people know you as Missy

What's Your Preppy Name?

Fire

Right now the fires are out of control here in Southern California. I live about 10 miles from one of the main fires, here in Orange County. It would have to jump a main freeway to get to us.

The air quality is awful right now. It's all smokey and dusty.I took Angry Toddler to preschool this morning and they are keeping the students inside. Angry Toddler has asthma and this would not been good for him.

It was really crazy at work last night. We had alot of power transformers go down, which led to signals and power going down. There was like an orange haze over the sky, it was quite scary.

Everyone was having major allergy and sinus problems last night also. I hid most of the night in the building. I hope I can hide in there tonight. I'm going to bring my inhaler just in case, I actually have to work.

Alot of people, I know have been evacuated from their homes. I hope that they can return to their homes soon. Apparently, the fires near my home were set by an arsonist. Some people are soo stupid.

My thoughts go out to the people affected by these fires.

I'm ignoring the toddler....

I'm sitting here in my office, checking my e-mail and such. I can hear Angry Toddler, we have a small house. Angry Toddler is in his closet, stuck I'm sure. He's making this sound, "Coo Coo, Coo Coo". He's like a little bird.

We have that Container Store Elfa System in his closet. He always climbs it and gets stuck. I know if he gets really stuck, he screams "Stuck, stuck".

Why must my child climb everything?

Preschool Woes and Stages of Grief

It has been a really bad week for us here. Angry Toddler's preschool owner called me on Thursday afternoon, she told me that her husband is terminally ill and that she would be closing down the preschool "for a while". We are totally devastated. Angry Toddler has been going to this school since June. He has already achieved so much. They have worked with him independently on all of his skills.

I feel like I'm going through the five stages of dying myself right now.

1. Denial-This isn't happening? His school is going to be closed after next week. Where will he go then? What about all his little friends?

2. Anger-How could they do this to us? We counted on this school. Angry Toddler was supposed to go there until kindergarten. Now we have to look for a new school, mid-Fall, when almost all the other schools are all full.

3. Bargaining-At least we have another week. He can go there until almost the end of the month. Five more days of seeing his friends. Will his friends be there next week?

4. Depression-Thursday was not a good day in our household. I'm soo upset. I finally felt comfortable with this school. AT was thriving. He knows all his friend's and teacher's names. He asks about them at night. He was talking about his friend, Jacob, when we were watching tv. I can't help but feel sad, these people were almost like family. In such a short time, we've bonded with everyone.

5. Acceptance-I realized that we need to seek other arrangements. After the school's owner called, I came right home. So much for a relaxing day off for me. I googled every preschool in our city and neighboring cities. I started calling them. About 90% of the schools, were full, or had huge waiting lists. I called one school and they had an 18-month long waiting list. I was able to find three schools that had openings and that fit our needs.

We went on Friday, and toured the three schools. I will do an update of this post at a later time. Right now, I gotta go check on Angry Toddler. Angry Husband is at work. I'm here alone with AT on three hours of sleep...

The Kid Sleeps Like a Teenager

It is a constant struggle with Angry Toddler and his sleep habits. Ever since we lost the crib, moment of silence for "THE CRIB". His sleep habits have been Crap!

He refuses to go to sleep in his bed. We've tried all the methods, even Super Nannying him. Nope, didn't work. Basically AT falls asleep on the couch in our living room. He usually falls asleep watching TV. This is how it is for naps and bedtime. His naps range anywhere from 1pm-4pm. His bedtime ranges anywhere from 8pm-10pm. Yes, that's right 10pm.

He actually went to bed around 9pm last night. Today, he goes to preschool. I walk into his room. His is asleep on his stomach with his blanket covering his head. I say, "Caden, Get up, It's time for school." The kid actually grunts and rolls to his side. He now covers his entire body with the blanket and curls into the fetal position.

So I roll him over. He growls at me. Then I take off his pajamas. He then gets onto his stomach, pushes up his knees, and sticks his butt in the air, and says "Night Night".

Then I have to flip him onto his back, change his diaper. I then continue to put on his jeans, shirt, socks, and shoes, all while Mr. Lazy is laying there. Then I leave the room. He comes walking down the hall, scratching his head, dragging the blanket. He's got those red sleep scars all over his neck and face. The kid sleeps in the strangest positions.

We jump in my car, and head to preschool.

The owner of the preschool just laughs when she sees him. She said, oh rough morning. I said my 12 year old, oops I mean 2 year old didn't want to get up. He gives her the "Angry White Man" look, which is typical in my household, and then says, "What"? She proceeds to then take him into the school and get him some breakfast. Why does the preschool teacher have to feed him? Because the kid is stubborn and never wants to eat breakfast right away. He's just like me and has almost all of my bad habits.

Then I jump into my mommy mobile car and head home. I race into the garage, take off my jeans and throw on my pajamas again. I then jump into my bed, and watch all my DVR'ed shows. Yes, it's a hard life for me, don't be jealous.

I couldn't wait to get home and watch my new favorite show, Private Practice. I love that show, but alas that's another post to come later!

Diaper Vent

My son has been wearing size 5 diapers for about a year. He was starting to potty train but regressed. We are ok with that.

One of my forums was talking about diapers recently, what size their kiddos wear, how much they weigh, etc.

I realized that Angry Toddler has been leaking alot. Duh, he needs to move up to next size. Which means, I need to get the 6's. No problem.

So I drop him off at preschool today and then head to my local Heaven Target, to buy diapers. Luckily, there is a sale on diapers so I grab two packs. I then realize how small the pack is. This truly annoys me. It's like every time we go up a size, we lose like 10 diapers in the package. The packages just keep getting smaller and smaller. That is not fair!!! There is nothing I can do about it, cause we need diapers, but NOT fair. Dammit Pampers, you make me mad.

No Soda, Cranky Julie

I gave up drinking soda on October 1st. I should have done that long ago. It really irritates my stomach. I love my soda though. I love my 32 oz. goodness from the local convienence store. The ice, the carbonation, and the caffeine....

It's killing me at work though. Working almost 11 hours with no soda, no caffeine, I cna barely stay awake. Normal people don't work from 4pm to almost 3am. I keep drinking water, but it's not the same.

I know I've lost weight from not drinking my lovely soda. My work pants fit me betterm but I still miss it.

Ok, enough of my ranting....You can probably tell it's 10:30pm here and I still have 4 hours to work. Oh wait, hence my blog title....Angry Julie Monday...

A Few of My Favorite Things

My friend, Londie, and I decided to do a swap. We gave each other a budget to send our favorite things to each other. This was a very difficult task for both of us. We like alot of the same things. Londie sent me her goodies. I got it this weekend. She lives in Texas.





I mailed out mine today. Londie will take a pic of my goodies when she gets them in the mail. It was really fun to do this with my friend.

P.S. Don't look at the horrible chair, that I placed everything on. Angry Toddler destroyed it when he was a baby....ok, he's still kinda of a baby, but before he was a year old.

Halloween Card

So after all my bitching about my pumpkin patch pictures, I was able to come up with ones I like. I did not have the time nor the patience to screw around edit the photographs.

I contacted Crystal at Photo Card Designs. She was able to edit my mess, and come up with a really cute card.

I can't wait to get these cards in the mail. And as bad as he was that day, he actually looks quite cute!

Pumpkin Patch

So I took Angry Toddler to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. It's the October thing to do. I wanted to take pictures of him in his cute outfit let him see all the cute pumpkins. My parents also went with me.

AT loved it. I don't think he remembered that we went this same time last year. He ran around like a crazy man. I took my pictures to send out record the moments while he dodged from pumpkin to pumpkin. He then wanted to go into the bounce house, so I told my mom to go pay the $4 entry fee. He jumped in there for like 5 minutes and then, as he says "all done".

My camera was acting up again. I'm about ready to throw this Nikon over a cliff. It's been sent to Nikon for service two times this year. I have all these expensive lens and flashes, yet I have no flash in my pictures, ugh..

So then AT got biatchy, why? Because no nap. He gets to be quite angry around 2pm lately. This is what happens when you refuse to take a nap, Mr. Toddler. I put him over my shoulder and frantically went looking for my parents. Alas, I found them by the snack bar.

Then AT wanted to see the blue chicken, aka peacock. He thought that this bird was the coolest thing ever. He kept calling it blue chicken.

We finally left said pumpkin patch after about an hour. I was done, AT was done. When we got into the car, I asked Angry Toddler if he was hungry. He said, "Yes". I said, do you want chicken nuggets... He started crying.. Oops, I forgot, he just saw that "blue chicken" at the patch..

Now, I have to spend this entire day trying to edit these photos that have no flash, and are dark....

P.S. I hate my camera. Anyone wanted a used Nikon d70?

So at the end of the day, I get pie...

It was a very long day... I will blog about the day at the Pumpkin Patch tommorrow. But some co-workers thought they would be nice tonight at work. They went out and bought 6, yes SIX pies.....

So I walk by the breakroom tonight, I see these pies calling me...Julie, hey Julie, come eat me...

So I look for a plate, no plates to be found. I grabbed some napkins, ok paper towels from the dispenser in the breakroom. I slice myself a lovely peace of Pumpkin Pie. I then search for an eating utensil. All I can find is a spoon.

So I sit down at the table eating my tiny, yes, it was small, piece of pie. In walks a co-worker. I'm sitting a table, with six partially eaten, molested pies in front of me. I have a spoon up to my mouth, eating my piece of pie.

Co-worker looks at me, looks at pies. This does not look good. Semi-chubby girl, eating pie, at midnight, with a spoon, six other pies around her.

Ugh...

Message Boards or Forums

Do you frequent them?

Do you have regular ones you go to?

I do. I have been using message boards forums ever since I was Trying To Conceive. It's an awesome thing about the Internet. There are people out there like myself, going through the same struggles of TTC, parenting, marriage, and life.

We post about our daily lives, what's going on, issues we are having. People respond with comments, tips, and such.

But alas, my favorite part of the forums, is the drama. Yes, I'm a Drama Ho, and proud of it. Because of the Internet being so anonymous, you can post just about anything, unless you are on a forum that is censored. I've seen tons of debates natural/c-section birth; breastfeeding/formula feeding; circ/no-circ; co-sleep/crib....

I could go on and on. People love to argue. I think alot of people will not say things in real life, because they are shy, or don't want to start fights. But, hey on the Internet, it's fair game. You can post your opinion, defend your opinion, and if people don't like it, you sign off your computer. You can come back in a few days, and a lot of steam has been blown off. Why? Cause there is some new drama that everyone is talking about.

I'm writing this post today, because one of the Forums that I subscribe to is down. There are over 6,000 members on this Forum. It is unknown on how many people are actually active. I'm also on several sub-boards of this message board. This is a sad day for everyone....people can't wait for this Forum to come back up, we WANT, we CRAVE, the DRAMA....

So all my other peeps out there, hopefully, the Forum will be back up soon, so we can eat our dinners in peace tonight, in front of the computer, and rehash some awesome DRAMA.

The Great American Fish Tank Build

I'm such an enabler. I admit it. I bought Angry Husband the 12 gallon saltwater fish tank for Father's Day. I thought it was cute and small, sometime for him to do. Angry Toddler would love looking at the little fishies swimming around. I was wrong. I should know better by name, AH obsesses, I mean obsesses when he gets a new hobby.

I should know better. There is a quite a cult of fish people at work. All they talk about it their coral, new fish, chemical measurements, water evaporation, etc. I have joined the cult. The local fish store knows us by name now. The owner has become friends with AH. We discuss my co-workers fish tanks and what they have learned from the experience.

I could have fore casted this, but I didn't. AH wanted a bigger and better tank. His first thought, saw out the wall between the dining room and garage. Umm, no, we are not sawing out walls for a FISH TANK.

Then it came to him, he was going to turn out dining room buffet into a tank stand. Hence, the Great American Fish Tank Build. Oh, yes, 125 GALLONS of acrylic fish tank.....

My dining room before:


Dining room after, The Great American Fish Tank Build:


The tank isn't done yet. AH needs to buy lighting, rock, and water still.........

I have no clue how much money he's spent on this. Thankfully, he's been doing some side work for my friends...

My Pre-School Drop Off Attire

Angry Toddler started preschool in June. I used to get up before him, take a shower, get dressed and pulled myself together. I was ok with doing this, because I was awake. Also, Angry Husband took the small child to school most of the days.

At the beginning of the September, AT started school 5 days a week. My morning went to, grabbing jeans and a shirt from the closet, with no shower.

Today, I'm picking my pants from the floor, throwing them on, putting on a t-shirt (no bra), grabbing a pink fleece jacket, and putting on blue Crocs. I combed my hair, because I looked like a rooster. I then grabbed the kid and off we went.

I'm a complete mess today, oh well...

Believe me, if I didn't have to go sign the kid in, I would be wearing pajama pants every day.

Wordless Wednesday: Self-Portrait

For a list of all Wordless Wednesday Participants, go here.

Owls are HOT for Kid's Clothes Right Now

For some unknown reason, owls are the big thing for children's clothing this Fall. If you look at any of these sites; Gymboree, babyGap, Boden, you will see them.

I've really gotten into buying custom clothing for Angry Toddler in the past year. All these wonderful sellers on e-bay make awesome designs. I really love how every piece is unique and different.

One of my online buddies, Lindsay, designed this awesome custom woodpecker/owl tee for boy's. It seems that the girls always get the cutest designs by the big manufacturers. I instantly saw the tee and said, "Wow".





Lindsay has been doing custom outfits for over a year now. Her designs just keep getting more and more spectacular. Her e-bay id is fancy*pants*customs.

I love to spam my friends!

A Day in the Life of Julie, Not So Angry Monday

I rolled out of bed at 8:30am, this morning. AH asks, "Do you want eggs, breakfast?" Well of course I do. I venture to the kitchen table while he prepares me some eggs and toast. He knows this is the only normal meal I will eat today, as I can't even boil water.

I proceed to eat my delicious plate of eggs and toast. A few minutes later the doorbell rings, it's our cleaning people. I deal with dirty people at work all day, I refuse to clean dirty toilets. So the girls get to work, while I hop on the computer.

So I sit here reading the blogs, surfing e-bay, and g-chatting it up with my friends.

I then suddenly realize that I'm on call for court for work. Yep, that's right, I'm getting paid for two hours of work while I sit here in my pajamas, surfing the net, while people clean my house.

Sometimes, it's good to be me...

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you all..Angry Toddler is at preschool!

Contents of old purse....

While I was cleaning out my old purse to transfer everything into the new purse, I discovered the following:

1. Wallet (exploding with ATM/Debit receipts)
2. Planner (exploding with various store coupons, receipts, etc.)
3. Pair of sunglasses
4. Pair of eyeglasses
5. Dog Collar (pink leather)
6. 2 bottles of OPI nail polish
7. 5 crayons
8. Casio g-Shock watch (work watch), with incorrect time
9. Work ID card to get into door
10. Container of bobby pins
11. Business cards with my husband's name on them
12. Business cards with my name on them
13. 2 checkbooks
14. 2 postcards that came in the mail from businesses

My New Pretty!!

I went shopping with my mom and Angry Toddler today. AT has not been cooperating the past few months when I take him to the mall. He gets very angry. So I take AT out of the car and attempt to shove him in the stroller. He screams, NOOO, Walk!!! I say, No!! So my mom and I manage to shove him into the stroller and buckle him in. He then tries to escape. I shove two suckers in my hand. Ahhh, AT is Happy Toddler now.

We all shopped for about two hours. I ventured in Coach. I saw this purse online the other night and became fixated on it. I knew my mom had a 25% coupon for Coach that expires tommorrow.

Like I spoiled brat, I begged. She gave in and got me the purse as an early birthday present. My birthday is in November, remember that, people!

So anyway, check out my new Coach Legacy Shoulder Flap Purse in Black Leather. I love the print on the inside too. I can't wait to put all my goodies in it!

A Rainy Day in the OC

Well, I woke up to the loud sound of pouring rain at 3am this morning. I got up and checked outside, because I thought the noise was Angry Toddler running around the house. The rain was really loud. It's a good thing the dogs were locked up in the garage. They hate getting wet, wimps.

The forecast for today is in the low 60's. It's going to rain all day. I had to put a long sleeve shirt and pants on AT today. He was not happy. He's a shorts and t-shirt kind of kid. Plus, when I dropped him off at school, he was also not happy cause he could not play on the playground. He stood in the middle of the playground and threw a mini tantrum.

I then went to Starbucks and got myself a lovely Yogurt Parfait and Passion Ice Tea. Of course, I could make myself a yogurt parfait at home, but why, when Starbucks packages it soo nicely with their yummy granola. All the coffee addicts looked at me like I was a freak when I ordered my ice tea. I'm just not a coffee person, never was, never will be.

It's kinda sad, how Starbucks has become such an icon here. The place was full of giggly high school girls, talking about school and boys.

Instead of loafing around today, I'm going to go and get my hair colored and cut. Maybe I will share some pictures later. My hair is quite diabolical right now. Nothing worse than a blonde girl going without her hairlights for too long.