Summers aren't kind to me

This summer got off to a great start.  Remember that post about how I'm so on top of things and I'm a responsible adult now?  Man, those were the good days.  Too bad they only lasted a couple of weeks.

My AC is broken again.  Not broken like how I thought my sewing machine was broken, but broken as in blowing smoke through my house.  This is the third time this summer, and let's not forget the incident with the drivers license that took 2 weeks out of my life.  And for some reason our AC always seems to break on a Friday, meaning all three times we have had to go the entire weekend in a sauna.  So in case you were wondering exactly how inconvenient this is for me, I'm about to let it all out.

We live in sweat.  My kids sleep in pools of their own sweat.  We stink.  We can't get a good breeze going through our house (since we only have windows on one side of the house), so it's actually hotter in here for much of the day than it is outside. The only way to sleep is with a fan blowing directly at your face, which is pretty annoying, because it blows the hair into my face and tickles like crazy.  All of the food in our pantry has gone soggy from the humidity.  We can't cook because turning on the oven makes it even hotter.  So we have to subsist on fast food, since no one in their right mind wants to sit down at a restaurant with my grumpy, sweaty, homeless-looking kids.  (I know that last part sounds mean, but it's kind of true.  It's too hot to make them wear real clothes or maintain appearances. When we went to pick up the pizza tonight, Charlie was wearing no shoes or pants, and Violet was shoeless with a homemade necklace and a dollar-store tiara.)  Because of all the fast food I'm about as limber as a beached whale right now, and if I don't drink at least twice as much as I normally do, I get terrible headaches.

On days like today, our mental and physical endurance has worn thin.  By 8:00 Charlie was screaming and I was so hot, tired, and frustrated that I passed out on my bed and slept for 2 hours.  Brandon was nice enough to stay up with Violet and put her to bed, but because of that he had to stay up 2 hours later to finish his presentation for tomorrow, and I feel terrible about that.

And I know exactly what everyone will say to this: Go stay at Mom's house!  Tell your landlord you won't put up with this!  That's nice, but going to my parents' house doesn't prevent me from having obligations here, and travelling out all the time is not my favorite thing.  I live here, I have a life here. Brandon has a job here. Is it too much to ask to have a livable house here?  And what exactly am I going to tell my landlord?  I'm not going to put up with unexpected problems that he didn't cause that he is trying to have fixed?  Is complaining going to make the repair company operate on weekends?

No. But it does make me feel a whole lot better right now.

New stuff

My personal blog has been lacking a bit lately.  I feel like no one cares about the blog when I don't post pictures, but when I do take pictures, they all go on my photo blog. I guess all my cell phone pictures will grace this blog.  Here's what I've been up to lately:

 

1. Being a high roller.  I know, I know, a picture of a hot dog doesn't make me look like a high roller.  But last week Brandon told me that there was a baseball game we could go to on Friday. I thought it was weird because he never watches baseball, but I figured that he got free tickets or something and I'm not one to pass up a date with my one true love.  That day, I realized that he was talking about an Astros game (I had assumed that he just meant a Rice game) and he pulled out the tickets when we got to Minute Maid Field.  To our surprise, there was a $15 credit tacked onto each of our tickets.  Brandon asked me what I was going to spend it on and without hesitation, I yelled, "Food!"  Then he looked at me and said, "There is already going to be food there."  Whaaaat? I was not expecting that.  After inspecting our tickets further we found out that we were supposed to go to the upper level where we found a sign that said "Private party" and there was a HUGE buffet and open bar.  Yes, I felt so cool about being part of a private party.  Then I got to meet Brandon's boss and advisor and have so many cokes with lime that I had to run to the bathroom 4 times during the game.  Fun night if you ask me, except that I thought that the Astros were the ones in gray and I spent the first 20 minutes of the game cheering for the wrong team.  

 2. Mooching off my mom.  It's true, I've been a mooch lately.  We headed out to her house for the weekend when our AC broke and I would be lying if I didn't say that I was at least a little bit happy about it.  She bought us snow cones for lunch (come on, I have the best mom, don't I?) and I even convinced her to give me the leopard print jacket that she had just bought.  I wore it to church on Sunday with a neon pink skirt. A little over-the-top, but I loved it.

3.  Having crazy kids.  No joke. Violet sleeps less than any other 3-year-old I've ever met, and has been pushing me into making her Halloween costume 3 months in advance.  Charlie's new thing is speaking in sentences, which is pretty funny.  He loves to talk about swimming (when we fed the ducks and turtles at the park, he constantly pointed out, "Turtle swimming!") and eating.  His first couple of sentences yesterday came right after he finished an Oreo: "All done!  Eat it all!" His next sentence was to tell me, "I pooping!"  Thanks for informing me, little guy.

Best reaction ever

Little Graham can always make my day. Yesterday I was talking to Carrie and told her that I'm for sure coming to visit.  She was so excited that she told Graham, and this was the reaction I overheard:
Graham:Yay!  They're my favorite people! Are they coming here on a train?
Carrie: No, I think they're just driving in their car.
Graham: Wow!  How fast does their car go?

I'm excited to see you, Grahammie!  You're my favorite, too!

Things I've heard this week that I never want to hear again

Some of these things are things I heard myself say, just to be clear.
- "BOOM!" (coming from my AC unit, followed by smoke through the house)
- "Brandon, how do you put out an electrical fire?"
- "That isn't covered by the warranty."
- "That needs to be replaced-- I'll have to order a part and come back on Monday."
- "He's booked for Monday.  He will come by on Tuesday."
- "The poop won't come, mommy!"
- "You can buy an enema at Walgreens."
- "Ouch! Mom, my bum itches!"
- "It might be pinworms."
- "We should test for Strep."
- "Probably a yeast infection."
- "Do you have any Pinex?" "No, we don't carry it. Nobody ever asks for it." "Well, I never thought I'd ask for it either, but, Surprise!"
- "I need new panties, mom!"
- "Somebody help me.  I've turned into white trash."
- "I can't find his other testicle."
- "Do you ever feel around for his balls?" (Of course not, Mom!  Who does that?!?!)

Yeah, not my best week.  Lots of doctors' visits, very little AC.  Thankfully that's all fixed now, and let's pray I NEVER HEAR ANY OF THIS EVER AGAIN.

The things I left out

Many things have happened lately that I've forgotten to blog about. Here's an update:

1. I was able to schedule a driving test for June instead of July.  I failed the first time because the lady told me to pull up to the curb, so I did (about 3 inches away from the curb) and then she told me to back up in a straight line until she told me to stop.  Since I was only inches from the curb, I got my back tire up on the curb, which is apparently a "dangerous act" and she failed me.  I spent the rest of the day almost crying and wanting to punch someone in the face.  Miraculously, Brandon found an appointment open for the next day (it usually takes weeks to reschedule) and Dad came to my rescue and drove me up for it.  I passed this time, and the lady didn't even make me drive backwards.  I honestly don't know why that can even be a requirement, since it is DANGEROUS to drive backwards, and if you need to get somewhere behind you, you should just turn around.  Oh well, I have a license again.

2. I bought an 85mm f/1.8g Nikon lens.  It's clear and sharp and I love it.  I can't wait to use it for a shoot.  Also, since starting my photo blog, my friends are starting to ask me to take pictures for them more and more.  I can't even explain how fun that is for me to do.  My friends probably think I'm weird for how excited I get.

3. We had a memorable 4th of July.  I had planned on doing a 3k that our church was putting on the morning of the 4th that started at 6:30 AM, but it didn't happen.  Days before, Brandon (being the supportive and enthusiastic husband that he is) asked me, "What do you think has a better chance of happening-- you running a 3k or you getting up at 6 to do it?"  Thanks.  We did have a fun time with friends that night, and stayed up well past our bedtime playing with sparklers.

4. Charlie went to nursery! I'm a free woman now!  He is doing well in there but gets very excited when we pick him up, yelling "Daddy, Daddy!" or "Ommy, Ommy!" (That's what he calls me.) I basically think everything he does is cute.  He is talking a ton, and loves playing with Eyelet (Violet). His chubby, gap-toothed smile kills me every time.