Happy Birthday BFF!!!

Who is Stacey?

Who isn't she?

Sorority sister, met through alumna messes
Preggo Partner 2004-2005
Baby Mentor
Babysitter
The person who answers my fifteen phone calls a day with "WHAT NOW"?
Co-Eater/Co-Weight Watcher
Vent-er/Vent-ee
Rainbow Sandal Wearing
Starbucks Drinking
Foodie
Best Friend
Almost Birthday Twin, by One Week

and the BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!!!!!

Happy 34th BFF!!

I promise not to rub it in, that you are one week older.
Moment of silence for 2002...inside BFF joke.

P.S. Doesn't she look like an awesome mentor. Teaching Angry Toddler and Stella, the power of the iPhone.

Angry Julie on a Budget-Saving on Electricity (Guest Poster)

I still haven't recovered from BlogHer. I have clothes all over my bedroom, the garage floor, and the bathroom. My computer is on the kitchen table, surrounded by business cards, and notes. I'm trying to visit all the new sites that I've discovered. I will get to you all by the end of the weekend, I promise.

My best friend, Stacey, offered to write a guest post for me. One of these days, I will write my own stories about being on a budget, saving money, etc. Stacey has cut her electric bill drastically. It's so low, it's scary. And we live in Southern California.

I'm adding a wonderful photograph I took of Stacey, Angry Toddler, and her daughter, Stella. Stacey was "parenting" via her iPhone.


From Stacey:

I’ve been budgeting a lot since I decided to open my own business about 2 years ago. It’s hard to go from a decent salary to no salary at all. My husband suggested we just try a little to save on energy. It started small by just replacing our incandescent light bulbs as they burned out with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL’s). I loathe the way the spirally ones look in recessed cans. We have recessed lights throughout our house, but they have CFL’s with the traditional glass casing around them so they look “normal”. I bought a whole bunch of dimmable and regular CFL’s at Costco. Go here for a funny story about me changing a light bulb. They aren’t much more than regular recessed lights. I think the non-dimmable lights were $14 and the dimmable are $18. I would say that about 75% of our lights are CFL’s now and it’s made a difference in the electric bill.

The other thing that has helped our electric bill is only doing laundry with cold water and during off peak hours. You can look at your electric provider’s website to get a list of their off peak hours. I do all our laundry (between 5 and 8 loads a week) on Sunday. When I started doing this my electric bill went from $170/month range to the $130/month. I liked that so I tried to see what else I could do.

I started turning off some excess junk not being used. You know that little red light on your DVD player that’s on while you are NOT using it? It eats up power. So we started small by just turning off the power to the TV, amplifier, DVD and cable box, as well as completely shutting down the computers and monitors every night. The next bill was $100. Hmmm, me likely..so then I started turning everything that was not necessary bill, our bill was $64.

Here is the list of what we do:

*Unplug everything in kitchen when not in use (coffee pot, margarita maker , toaster, kitchen aid mixer)
*Every night we turn off the power button on the, cable box and amplifier. I don’t need the glow of the power button. I have suggested putting a surge protector on there but I’m afraid all the stuff on my DVR will disappear and I still need to watch like 14 episodes of Heros.
*Turn off ceiling fans and lights when we leave the room.
*Turn OFF your computer and monitor every night (off, not power save mode)
*Unplug the laptop cord from the wall. It does not need to charge all night.
*Unplug your phone/camera chargers when you aren’t using them.

I know a lot of you are probably freaking out by a $64/month bill. Our lowest bill ever was $53.88. I do have kind of a small house, it’s a condo that’s just over 1400 square feet. We have a plasma TV and all the media junk that my husband says has to come with it. We have 2 computers and I think we have a pretty normal lifestyle. My house is only 5 years old, so I’m sure some of the newer building standards helps out.

also..

I was watching this Living With Ed episode where he installed a green switch to eliminate all "phantom power" while you are away. With the flip of one switch you can turn off ALL unnecessary power when you are away from your home. It leaves things like refrigerators, answering machines and alarm clocks on. But, it completely kills the phantom electrical feed to all other unused power sources while you are gone. Apparently, most homes can be outfitted for between $500-$1000 but there are estimates that 45% of power use is actually phantom power.


Now if we could just get the cable company to lower their prices!!!

20 Minutes of Free Therapy

I had my morning phone call with my BFF, Stacey, this morning. We do this every weekday morning before/after preschool drop off. We vent about work, husbands, and our mothers.  We need this phone call to get through our day. We call it our free therapy.  We understand each other. We understand the issues we each have in our lives.

I vented about Disneyland yesterday. Which was supposed to be a nice birthday treat for Angry Toddler, turned into Birthday Hell. 

She vented about work and dance classes.  I understand.

And an I was drinking my 24 oz. Monster Energy throughout this entire phone call. I really really needed a 24 oz. today.

Do you have a daily ritual? Do you have to get your coffee? Check your e-mail?

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Drink Wine

My poor BFF Stacey..she is the topic of many blog posts. I can't help it, she cracks me up. I don't think she realizes how funny she is.

Yesterday we were chatting via cellphone. She made a confession to me. She bought a bottle of wine at the grocery store, with a screw-off lid. She then also proceeded to tell me, she just might have screwed off the lid and drank some. This was during the afternoon. She was having a bad day already.

Last night was Tuesday night dinner. Stacey had a paper bag in her cute Coach Spring purse. Sure enough, she took the bag out of her purse, grabbed a cup from the pizza parlor, and poured some of that wine into the cup. She then also mentioned that she did not like the salad dressing at the pizza place. She brought out a bottle of salad dressing from her purse.

What else does Stacey have in her purse?

I told Stacey that her white trash-ness was coming out in full force. She laughed.

And she knew, yes she already knew I would be blogging about this.

Photo courtesy of gmonster25 from Flickr.

San Clemente Carnival

After work, preschool, and everything else...we headed to San Clemente last Friday for their Carnival. It was a small carnival set up in the Talega area. We were meeting up with my BFF, Stacey, and her family.

Before we we went to the Carnival, we wanted to get some real food. We stopped over at First Class Pizza in the Talega Village Center prior to the Carnival. It was PACKED. FCP has a good thing going on. They are a family friendly restaurant. Everyone from San Clemente seemed to be there. Luckily we were there just in time to get a table. I highly recommend getting the Family Special there. It's $26 and well worth it.

We then met Stacey and her family at the Carnival. I bought $20 worth of ride tickets...thanks Angry Toddler for that. I did not participate in the rides. I made Angry Husband go with Angry Toddler when it required an adult to be present.

Angry Toddler and Stella Enjoying Their First Ride

Stella and Angry Toddler on the Motorcycles..Stella was scared of the Creepy Castle in front of the Motorcycles.

Angry Toddler and a Pink Elephant

Stacey and I..We both look crazy..ack look at those lines in the corners of my eyes.

I Didn't Order This

Today is my last day working the night shift aka swing shift until May. It's been a pretty sucky four months. On Saturdays, I'm usually woken up by Angry Toddler stating, "It's daylight time, time for clothes, and get me some chocolate milk". Aww good times, when you've had three to four hours of sleep.

Luckily, my BFF, Stacey, was able to help me entertain Angry Toddler for a few hours every Saturday morning for most of the four months. If I get Angry Toddler out of the house for a few hours in the morning, he's a better kid, and he will also take a long nap.

Stacey was available this morning, so we met up for breakfast with the kiddos. It only took me an hour to get out of the house, because Angry Toddler refused to take off an USC (University of Southern California) jersey that he had been wearing for THREE days. Seriously kid, yes, I know they won the Rose Bowl, but take off the shirt. I told him that he clothes smelled bad, he immediately ripped off the shirt and willingly put on a new one. Of course, I was barely awake, so I was sporting my jeans, Converse, a shirt from a running event, and the non-optional baseball hat.

I met them at Ruby's Diner, a local restaurant. Stacey and Stella were already sitting in a booth waiting for us. Of course, I'm Ms. Residence People Watcher, so I'm looking around with my usual annoyed look. I see a family sitting behind us, they had just sat down and were looking at their menu's. The Dad walks in after Angry Toddler and I order some drinks. The dad is carrying two Starbucks cups. Seriously, couldn't you wait until after your breakfast to get your fix? Is the Starbucks coffee that much better? I just rolled my eyes, and Stacey laughed. I even make a joke about it to our waiter, but he didn't get it. Well really, I don't even think the waiter spoke English.

We had another waiter take our food order, the previous waiter only took our drink order. Seriously, the second waiter was just as dumb. We ordered off the kid's menu and he kept asking suggestions for the combo, Stacey and I got very confused. We were like, "Umm, there are no combos on the kid's menu." The waiter checked and sure enough, he came back "oh, ya, I guess there is no combos for the kid's." Ya, umm duh...

So approximately 20 minutes later our food arrives, and this is what I see:



Why are there French fries with my eggs? I gave the waiter a look, Stacey giggled..and then I said, "Why are there fries with my eggs, I didn't order this?" The waiter says, "Didn't they tell you, we are out of Ruby's Spuds, so they are serving fries." I respond with, "Umm, no. They didn't tell us that." I would have ordered something else.

This was how my last morning of our fun Saturdays went. I seriously couldn't stop laughing and this all my made up for the fact that, Angry Toddler was being a total pain in the ass and I needed a very large Margarita at 9am.

Bless my BFF, Momma Stacey

We've always had Angry Toddler call my BFF, Stacey, "Momma Stacey". Momma Stacey is doing a wonderful thing for me today. She is taking Angry Toddler and her daughter, Stella, to the snow today. This is his first time seeing snow. I think it's about a 2 hour drive.

Angry Husband and I have been working alot this past week. Plus, Angry Toddler has been out of preschool also. It's been soo hard to get simple things done, like the laundry, dishes and stuff.

Stacey volunteered to take the kids along with her husband. YAY!!! She's a crazy woman though. Two 3 year olds? NUTS!! But then again, she does own a kid's gym.

Oh and sure enough, Angry Toddler had his asthma-bronchitis cough going on today. I was sure to give him all his meds. He even requested a breathing treatment. I hate these weather transitions, we are having. It's soo hard on his system.

Yep, We got on the cupcake bandwagon!

We hopped up on the cupcake bandwagon this past weekend. Saturday, is Operation Entertain Angry Toddler so I can sleep day. Stacey, my BFF, and I took the kids out to breakfast at IHOP (nasty, will never ever set foot in that establishment again!) and then went to a little mini-mall area in Newport Beach.

While we were leaving breakfast, Stacey asked where Sprinkles Cupcakes was? I said, ohh, the land of the almost $4.00 cupcake. Well I gave her the directions and we went on our way. We did some walking around when we got there.

I found all kinds of lovely things that I wanted at Tommy Bahama. I wish everything wasn't $100+. Me and my expensive-ass taste. It always gets me in trouble.

So we finally arrived at Sprinkles. Stacey got (3) cupcakes for her family and I got two. Angry Toddler picked out the vanilla one and I picked out the coconut flavor.

I made Angry Toddler wait until we got home to eat the cupcake. For $3.25, he was going to ENJOY IT. Ok, well maybe I wanted to enjoy mine. Angry Toddler ate (2) bites of his when we got home. Angry Husband ate most of mine, as I only ate one bite. I've brought Sprinkles home before, and Angry Husband was not very impressed. It seemed like he liked their stuff this time.

Saturday Morning with the Kiddos

In my previous post about Fashion Island, I stated that I would add in some photos of the kiddos. Stella is Angry Toddler's BFF. He's known her since birth. Well she is 2 months older.

Stacey and I love watching them grow up together. It's soo damn cute. I really love our Saturday morning tradition that we've started. Even though, I'm half awake, and my hair usually looks like a rooster.

They really tire each other out. Usually on Saturdays, Angry Toddler takes a 4-5 hour nap. Seriously, I don't know why, but Stella really tires him out.

Just getting to the mall, they were very excited. We told them to hold hands and they obliged us.

We told them to hug each other. Can't you just feel the love in this picture?

Angry Toddler's version of a hug. I think he will be an outstanding football player.


You can really see Angry Toddler's military-style haircut in these pics. His jeans are rolled up cause they were way too big. They were a size 4T, and he's definately a 3T. The poor child has extremely short legs like my side of the family. I only have a 26 inch inseam. We were at the mall to buy him some jeans. I didn't have any clean ones for him to wear.

Fashion Island

I had to devote a post just to talk about a local mall. We have several malls around here in Orange County. My BFF, Stacey and I, decided we needed to take a trip to Fashion Island, here in Newport Beach. Both of our kiddos needed jeans. We were being cheapskates, and headed to Fashion Island to go visit the local, The Chilren's Place. Seriously $11.00 for a pair of jeans is a good deal. Angry Toddler has been wearing jeans almost every day for the past week. I love babyGap's jeans, but at $24.50, they get quite expensive.

Stacey drove us all to the mall. She knows that I'm barely awake on Saturdays. She put her extra carsear in her Volvo, so Angry Toddler can have somewhere to sit. He loves that pink Britax Regent. She parked on the top level of the parking structure. It was a beautiful day in Newport Beach. I usually have a camera in my purse, so I had to pull it out to take the pictures below. Seriously, this was the view from the parking structure.



As I was taking pictures of our view, I looked down. I saw a huge dirt lot. There used to be a Macy's Women's store at the place of the dirt lot. I got a little tear in the corner of my eye. I used to work loss prevention at this paarticular Macy's. I would actually call it the start of my law enforcement career. Anyway, I looked further, and got the most fantastic feeling in my chest. YESSSS!!! They are building a brand new Nordstrom. It will be finished in 2010. Yes, that' over a year away. But all my favorite stores will pretty much be at this mall. I love walking around here. There is some awesome people watching.



I'm going to do a seperate post to show some photos of the kiddos while we were shopping.

Holiday Wear

I got addicted to custom clothing about 2 years ago, because of my pal, Londie. I loved all the cute Holiday-themed things we got. Unfortunately, Angry Toddler has become quite picky now that he's 3. Also, it seems that the customs that I purchased before have come quite expensive.

Manisha posted a comment the other day on my blog asking if I had gotten Angry Toddler any special custom tees for the Holidays. Actually, I have. My BFF and gal pal, Stacey, called me the other day. She told me that the children's boutique near her business was having a sale. She called for my approval. Ha, which is funny, cause she totally knows my taste. She picked up two tees from the brand, Haute Boyz. They are a local brand, right out of the O.C. I first heard of Haute Boyz when I went to the Junior League's Christmas Company, a few years ago. I love their stuff.

Here are the shirts that Stacey picked up for Angry Toddler.

Pumpkin Patch

Angry Toddler, Angry Husband, and I went to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. We went with my BFF Stacey, and her daughter, Stella. I think we are starting a Saturday morning ritual. The kiddos had a great time. I took like 400 pictures, just trying to get one decent picture. Angry Toddler kept turning his head, or running away. I would like to get some decent pictures, just once.

Angry Toddler and Stella got to go into the bounce house and the train ride also. They really liked it. Angry Toddler kept kicking the pumpkins though. He was kicking them like soccer balls.

Here are some pictures of our fabulous Saturday morning.

A Saturday Afternoon with Angry Toddler

I was really stumped the past few weeks on how to entertain Angry Toddler on Saturdays. I usually only get a few hours of sleep right before he gets up in the morning.

My gal pal, Stacey, surprised me this week and wanted to bond with us. Her daughter, Stella, is Angry Toddler's bestest friend. They've known each other since birth. I love watching them interact because they are soo funny together.

Stacey and I rarely get to meet up anymore, since she opened up a new business last March. She's been really busy getting it up and started.

We took the kiddos to breakfast and then for some shopping. Angry Toddler even picked out his outfit for the day. He is hilarious. He's got quite the fashion sense now. He's leaning towards a "skater" look.

Yo Gabba What?

So I was sitting at home yesterday. I was patiently waiting while the contractor finished our lovely fence addition in our front yard. Stacey and her daughter, Stella, had come over to entertain my small child. We sat there with the kids watching THEIR shows. Not that we as adults, have any free will in daytime programming if the kids are home.

It's either George, Cars, Wonderpets, or other similar shows in our homes. So we are watching Noggin. This show comes on, "Yo Gabba Gabba." It has these robots and creatures. It also has the normal person, but yet he is kinda of geeky. The graphics and music are really weird. We just didn't get it. Why would someone like this type of show?

This is a description of the show per Noggin's website:
Yo Gabba Gabba! is a fun live-action program for young children ages 1 and up. Join our host DJ Lance Rock as he introduces us to friendly toy monsters in a magical land full of music, dance, colorful cartoons, and simple life lessons that will get you and your children up off the floor to learn and dance along. Just say the magic words! YO GABBA GABBA!!

Meet the Cast!
DJ Lance Rock. He's our host, and in each episode he gets the show started with the magic words, "Yo Gabba Gabba!"

Muno, the red cyclops. He's very friendly, mild-mannered, but sometimes slightly impatient. He loves to learn and is very outgoing. Sometimes he can be a bit clumsy and has been known to break things.

Foofa, the pink flower bubble. She's giggly, outgoing, happy, bubbly, and likes things that are cute and cuddly. But sometimes she gets a little moody if things don't go her way.

Brobee, the green little one. He's cuddly and cute, but also cautious and needs constant reassurance. He's sometimes scared to try new things. Music, singing, and dancing help give him confidence and help him to learn.

Toodee, the blue cat-dragon. She's very smart and independent. She's also athletic and mischievous. Sometimes she gets too excited about things and can be selfish.

Plex, the yellow robot. He's always there to provide music, teach lessons, and use his wonderful magical powers to beam guests into Yo Gabba Gabba Land. Like a parent, he typically knows how to solve problems.

They're all ready to sing, play, and teach whenever you are. Just say the magic words! "YO GABBA GABBA!"

So this was my theory after watching this show. The only person who would love this show would be someone on ecstasy. Seriously, you have to be on some kind of tripping, mind numbing drug? Something that would make you hallucinate?

I don't know. I made the husband watch this junk last night. Yes, I had to DVR it to show him. He was like this is stupid.

Caden wasn't interested in it. Which I'm soo happy for!

OC Mommies at the Chick!!!

So I dragged my expensively dressed child out to the local Chick-Fil-A today for some lunch. They have this totally cool play area for toddlers that the kiddo loves. He runs around like a crazy man. I met my friend, Stacey, and her daughter, Stella there too. This is the second time we've been to the place.

So the kiddos are playing happily.....and then....they show up..The kids that are way too big for the TODDLER area. Those 5,6, 7 year olds. The ones that won't take their shoes off. That are really rough...

So within ten minutes, Stella is being pushed and my kid's finger is bleeding..

What are the parents of the other kids doing? Sitting in the main dining room, eating their food, chatting away, and IGNORING their bratty kids..

What Happens Next? Stacey and I are the referees of the play place. We are trying to watch our kids and theirs too. Making sure our kids don't get hurt from these brats. Do the mom's pay attention to their kids? Nooo. One mom pops in for like 1 second, yells something at her daughter, then mentions something to me, "Oh they have siblings, etc.." Then leaves....

Another 1 to 2 mommies meet up with the other mommies... They send in their kids to the play place too. Finally, Stacey grabs Stella, who is screaming... Then I throw Angry Toddler under my armpit and we leave out the door.

So much for having my kid play....get really tired, and then take a really long nap..

So basically, these mommies ruined my nap time!!! I take a nap, rest, do stuff, etc. while small child is napping.....

Damn OC Mommies!!