Tofu Chicken and Waffles for ALL!

Oh,um, Hi much neglected blog.How've ya been?

I have been busy and lazy all at the same time.
Plus.
new tv shows.
I should have warned you folks- "new seasons of loads of my fav shows, Cya next summer!"

To top it off, I have still had a lot on my plate with Ri out of commission (he broke his collarbone sept 11).
Dinner , cleaning ,school runs(and now volunteering), shopping- and helping Ri around the house.
Mentally, 90percent of the time I have rolled with these punches and almost enjoyed the responsibility and combined with our friends and family coming together so strongly to support us through this whole thing- It has helped my mental state in so many ways.
..but there is still that other 10 percent of me that just wants to hide in bed and cry.
I don't get to see my bed often lately- I typically fall asleep on the couch next to Ri.

Ri is recovering SLOWLY- his 1st visit with the ortho didn't go fantastically, it will be a long time for him to heal, a long time of him out of work... and there is some concern the part of his bone that is sticking up might pierce the skin- and he MIGHT end up needing a plate put in.I didn't want to hear that.. I had one of those breakdown-cry moments when he told me.
and now , they are having trouble with medically needy health care thing- and we can't find a place that will take that..I fear medical debt.We have enough debt .thanks.

I am trying though. trying trying trying.In an odd way that is almost therapeutic. I just wish trying got ME money.

Ri was able to pull himself up to go to curriculum night with me(Jess watched Rory and they had an awesome time playing all sorts of games).
We met with the teacher and got to talk about some of the things they have done(found out Rory's vegetarianism came into play in an argument with her and a boy about hunting- eek.Rory is pretty much the class sweetheart though)
and also about what she will be doing... Soon they will start sending home homework
..I gotta say I was happy to see they didn't have homework,
So I am NOT thrilled she will have kindy homework-but Rory loves the idea, and I guess it can't hurt if it doesn't bother her. I also signed up to volunteer and help in class during station time. I come in on Tuesday afternoon- It is right after lunch so I can come to lunch with Rory and stay for part of class.I got to check out her class dynamic and how she is in school and meet all of her new "best friends"It was really fun, -- even if I spent all of Tuesday morning with my stomach in KNOTS over it.I get to go tomorrow too.. at least a bit least panicked this time.

Part of the panic was leaving Ri home alone though, and he seems to be a bit better on his own now
, his friends have stopped in to help where ever they can. Poor guy lives in his phone- so he texts everyone, begs them to visit. We have had game nights with Jay, Jess and Steve.( I lost the survival game- but I kicked ass at trivial pursuit 90s edition)
Jay has even taken Ri outside of the house a few times.
Ri went in to work (visit mostly) on the weekends at the Nalu's.
(Side note: As I mentioned in my last post, 5$ Raffle tickets are still on sale at Nalu's- they are practically giving away an AWESOME surf board AND gift certificates just to help us out ! Linky link will take you to their FB page, you should like them.everyone likes them :) )

Lissy and Boo came and brought their old pick-up truck so he CAN be a bit more mobile since he can't bike it. I also let them borrow our cam so they could take coool underwater pics at the springs-

If Anyone can relate to suddenly having to do everything on her own it is Lissy. Boo just left for training- He will be gone 'til NOV, then go to DC for the year. She posted a vid, I didn't ask her but I'll share it anyway:


Lissy came over Wednesday to take me grocery shopping and pick up Rory.. I really feared it would rain. I have mini anxiety attacks it will storm on us one of these afternoons...storms keep looming but so far i have only been sprinkled on a little...

We went to wallyworld to get a few things, I let sniffly allergy nosed Nico run a muck in the store while Lissy shopped. We were spies eluding capture from giant mommy Lissy.
We embarrassed her and waved at old people.
I am extra socially awkward when I have a kid with me- added bonus of really not giving a shit about other people."the kid isn't fussing ,is he? Good, then move, we're gonna make a TP fort on this aisle"
But, then I try to kiss his chunky cheeks and he screams.-sigh-I am that aunt.

Ri even hobbled around and cleaned up the living room while we cavorted through wallyworld.

We picked up the kid in humidity instead of rain
Pale Nico probably would have fared better in rain.


He was on the phone with his Dad- indestructaphone FTW


Rory was super excited to see Aunt Lissy and Nico pick her up.
AND to show off the bear a big 5th grader gave her..
... it has pit stains and armpit hair,and is dressed all punkrock and grungy.
..5th graders.lol

We went and got Donuts.
we had coupons for Dunkin' Donuts so we HAD to.

or how about, Ri wanted them, and lots of milk ... to help his bone heal, yeah.
That's it ,that's the story I'm going with.





Libby hung out and let the kids run around the back yard for a bit. Nico was SUPER worn out by the time she left.

Most the week was same old same old.. well what has suddenly become the same
- making Rory a healthy lunch that she will inevitably trade for chips. Trying to make something for dinner we will all eat.
"Who wants frozen waffles?"
People stopping in to keep Ri company- Ri helped Mel computer shopping, and Jay became such a regular Noobs stopped barking at him, we spent some time trying to get Noobs and his dog Bullets to play, but they could never agree on when they both wanted to play or argue.Maybe a few more visits and they will both chill?

Rory got 10 bluebehaviorbears and got to go in the treasure box today. She hasn't brought home anything other than a blue bear yet, she is proud :) .


Lissy woke us up early Sunday to go to the flea market.

It may not have been the best idea

We are both pretty tight financially and had no real plans of shopping. The kids were both sort of fussy .. and well. its the flea market.
We explored but didn't stay long.
Came here to grub and let the kids play instead.
Ri had went to Nalu's so Noobie was happy we were home:
even if she is completely rotten for attention.


It was a bit too sunny and buggy out there so we tried getting the kids to color..





-Rory was still being a bit fussy.
Sometimes it is very obvious she is an only child.


Lissy watched the kids while I did dishes...
Dishes=Lilith Fair cd..
which means DANCE PARTY



I crashed and actually slept the whole night in bed last night- leaving poor Ri up by himself, instead of sleeping on the couch with him..
Damn lucky I did fall asleep at a decent hour though,
because Ri didn't set his alarm. Somehow I still woke up on time, a little early even.
and then I napped most the day.


Well. I am sure there is more.but it is almost midnight, and I have to go to bed. ..
...and watch some tv.

Wish me luck at Rory's school (again) tomorrow.
and just ANY luck.
I need some freaking luck.
Some healing vibes too- 'cause if Ri's bone breaks through the skin I WILL vomit.

PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE

Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is. ~ Gary Zukav

Procrastination Is my favorite word, and my favorite past time.
No time for that now.

Really the only thing I have put off the past few days IS my blog. I have done a lot.
Seriously.
If you don't keep up with me on various other social media- You may not be caught up.. so, I'll do what I can to catch you up.

Starting with Friday night when we went to the school's Family Movie Night.

Rory's closest friends from "The Good Girl Group™" didn't come ,but her other friends/classmates were there. -(even one girl Rory told me she was trying to get included in "The Good Girl Group™" LOL)We tried to watch the movie- and filled them with popcorn and drinks.
LOL As though, a group of kindy kids are going to sit quietly and watch a movie with their classmates.
On our way to a bathroom break I noticed loads of other kids on the playground. "we can go on the playground?!"
..Um,Yes.please!

Watching her on the playground may not have been as socially uncomfortable, but I was reeling thinking of how rough she climbs this huge equipment,runs and plays with the other kids. Well, it is no wonder she comes home soo beat up!

We rode to Ri's work (it was weird riding in the dark without him, at least I had on our obnoxious bike lights)- we were a little early, so waited for him to close up. Rory loves just hanging out there(she is always trying to beg him to take her to work).
He gave her blueberries to munch on while she waited,and turned on some music to clean to- so she was even more thrilled.

I was beyond exhausted that night-Mel was in town talking about having me come over to the hotel and go for a swim the next day too..
Usually, I stay up when Ri goes on a bike ride with Jay..but I cuddled in bed.

....until my phone rang at 1am.
Jay was taking Ri to the hospital. Ri had wreaked his bicycle coming off the Bridge Of Lions - he tried to go into a driveway where they are doing all that construction ,and got caught on the lip.

I was a MESS! "what?!" ... "WHAT?!" I seem to always assume people are playing a prank on me with such calls. I don't like believing things like that.
Things have been going soo well for us! I swear just when I start to think things are almost perfect SOMETHING happens. I was up all night looking for someone to distract me from the thoughts racing around my brain keeping my exhausted body from the sleep I needed. I also didn't really want to call anyone and panic them. I did find some support online people talking me through it all, and reassuring me :) . At some point I did pass out- once I finally received a text that Ri was in a room and being taken care of.

Ri didn't have good cellphone service in the hosp. He ended up in the waiting room for HOURS.Jay stayed with him the whole time.They told me later the dr thought they were a cute gay couple,lol.
They gave him a catscan ,meds, a sling , bandaging and sent him home with a cleanser for his road rash.
Jay finally brought him home at almost SEVEN AM!

Looking ROUGH.
:(
He DID break his collar bone, and got road rash down his arm, his hands, he head, and his knee.

He encouraged me to take his pic, and I posted it online- I figured it was the best way to tell everyone what happened.
He looks so pathetic. :(
On the other hand, in my panic - I had pictured casts and something much more frightening,

and ,(though we haven't really rode and checked it) other than a bent pedal his bike looks ok.

Thank goodness we had Medically Needy in place( it covers a little based on your income if you are just over the limit for receiving Medicaid).Ri still needs to make a follow up appointment for an ortho- and we haven't found one that will take that-or patients without insurance.

Saturday, we all tried to get some rest. Rory was soo careful with Ri. Noobie was being so fiercely over protective she barked at the slightest sound(and she isn't really a barker by nature).
Ri should have been at work that morn, and his boss ended up SUPER busy without him.
Ri was adamant- all pain medicated and delirious -that he would be at work in "a few days"
...and yet he could barely manage to get himself out of bed.

He was sort of hard to deal with at 1st.
Confession: I am NO nurse.Yeah, maybe a lot of people in my family have medical backgrounds
-and Rory may have ran right for her bone book to compare the xray of Ri's bone to the picture of an intact Clavicle.
but ME- I was cringing at the sight of his wounds while trying to help him unwrap them, and it took me even longer to stop averting my eyes past the bump of his collarbone.Plus, when people get TOO grumpy it is hard for me to not be grumpy back.I'm a big meaner. Poor Ri. Plus, I have had to help him shower and wash his road rash with the stinging stuff called HIBICLENS that burns and hurts- on top of the pain of his broken bone while he has his sling off...the 1st night I seriously thought he might have a random "HULK SMASH!" reaction to the pain of it all, and just blindly toss me across the room.. not that he could, he was having trouble just getting himself across the room. It is getting better, and he smells a bit less of pus. eww.


Soo much support poured through when people found out about Ri . When I finally got ahold of my mom she told me Dad had spent the night in the ER too. He had an allergic reaction to something...they think the antibiotic he was on.Too many people were in the hospital or ER this weekend. I could list all day. Lots of people need Healing Vibes.I don't know seems a bad vibe going around.I just feel blessed most are as well off as they are.

Ri's older sis stopped in to see him- Rory was thrilled to get to play with Haley and Eli
- she was bored silly playing in her bathingsuit with her makeup:


With no car AND Ri one armed and not very mobile- I have had to take on more than I EVER have. Honestly, From dinner to errands Ri does tons around here.
I just sorta watch bad tv, play with the kid and clean. I also realized when I do do things I rely on him for advice. Even things I COULD probably do on my own, I am so used to him right there overseeing, it is weird to not be like: "Hey, give me a hand with this"-or "how do I do that?"
Jerry(Ri's boss) even stopped in to bring us lunch!
And Steve and Jess stopped in to visit.

Tons of phone calls and well wishes. :)
Much needed,I think Ri is going a little stir crazy. All he can really do is prop himself up on his iphone. He has become the facebook advice guru stalking peoples updates. I should make him go use twitter or plurk.

Monday morn started well all things considered- we had a rough nights sleep, Ri was in so much pain I ended up surrendering our bed and sleeping with Rory...
But,I got Rory to school and started cleaning the house even managing to clean Rory's room while helping Ri around the house...
Then the school called-
One of Rory's classmates was out of school with lice! They checked them all and found some eggs in Rory's hair. GAH! Can things not just go well for a second!?
PANIC!
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I have dreads! I have been treating her hair every day with teatreeoil! She cannot.What will we do?!
It isn't even noon and I have to pick her up from school. I call my mom panicked,begging her to come bring me treatment. By the time I made it to the office I could hear poor Rory tantruming. "WHY ME! I Don't want to go home! Noo! It's not fair!!" and I can't say the voice in me was feeling the same way.

Rory hasn't missed a day yet ,I knew she would be heartbroken.It was hard to get her to even agree to leave. I told her Eggy was coming over, and we would get rid of it and she could come in tomorrow after a check from the nurse.

I felt soo selfish! as upset as I was for her, I was more panicked about the thought of possibly having to cut my hair off.
Also really fearing that other parents will instantly blame me. I could just hear the "You know that gross mom with dreads must have brought the lice to the classroom". When actually, Just a week or two ago- I had started getting heat rashes under my dreads- and feared them,panicked and checked us all thoroughly and found nothing!(AND starting using tea tree oil more diligently!
The nurse and secratary were very reassuring though. Telling me she ONLY has eggs, and it happens all the time.No biggie.
I came home and covered our heads with oliveoil mixed with tea tree oil. - then rinsed and washed Rory's hair with dishsoap, and combed Rory's hair until mom came with more supplies.

She even brought the baby, and Amy-
and sammich fixings(including cheetos and chips), AND ice cream. My mom is soo awesome. I don't know what I would have done.
Allura isn't a big fan of me. :( I used to think she hated me for my annoying flashy thing..but really she just isn't fond. She does seem to recognize my voice from the phone.


I started in on washing everything- boiling EVERYTHING treating EVERYTHING.

Jay came over to hang with Ri and check on him. Ri also called a lawyer to consult about the construction there ,and it's safety. There just needs to be a safe place to go for bike riders- everyone out here rides a bike and yet around the bridge- on both sides are completely unsafe intersections with no bikelane and no shoulder.
I discouraged Ri from calling a lawyer.. I am not a complainer,but everyone else told him he should.

Allura thought she was big spying on Jay, and using the glass door to stand

...I need to wash that door...

The rest of my night was spent frantically, washing , cleaning, combing, boiling, vacuuming, washing.Damn- it is a good thing I had cleaned the house BEFORE that happened.ugh.

I used shampoo on all of us(despite not finding anything in Ri's hair or mine) - then let dry and combed Rory's hair AGAIN. Then we washed our hair again with selson blue mixed with tea tree oil, and THEN we went to bed with a helmet of conditioner to top it off. I am taking NO chances.
By the end of the night I was SO TIRED I passed out cold leaving Ri up by himself- and unable to get anything for himself. I felt Soo bad-but I woke up with a little rest at least.

Rory said she actually enjoyed me combing her hair. I inspected every strand. I would have been insane, and was as a child when I went through it,She thought it was like a salon.
Plus she got to eat crap, and I packed her lunchbox with cheetos to cheer her up.

We rode to school- and the nurse went over every strand and Rory got the all clear !ALL CLEAR! Woooo! She was SOO thrilled. :)
-Today, before school I coated her hair in mint scented aloe gel (to discourage the bugs from wanting her hair) , and braided it.
At least the gel makes it easier to give her flyaway hair cool hairdos-
My hair has some crazy poofiness going on from being over conditioned..but the dreadlocks ,THEY LIVE!!!MWHAHA!
In a few days we will inspect everything AND treat us all again to make SURE of it.
Hell,Maybe I will just make it a monthly thing to do the coat our hair in oil/dish soap rinse-followed by TTO shampoo and deep condition- I DO NOT want a scare like that AGAIN. My body won't survive.My dryer wont survive.
I'll never find the bottom of that laundry basket now. House is pretty clean though.


Ri's Mom &Baby Sis(and Lily) stopped in to make him feel better Tuesday. Ri somehow talked his Mom into coming over to make him Fried Chicken and Rice and Cream Gravy. He has been craving meat soo much.
Rory was thrilled to come home to see them
She had soo much fun playing with Lily.


They played dress up- and seemed to enjoy the food.
Ri's mom even made me some not quite gravy-cream sauce for my rice and veggies. Ri finally ate a full plate of food.Then we had brownies and ice cream.
Maybe, Ri will even gain a little of the weight he lost too much of.

Soo Awesome. And made Ri feel a lot better.
Later he sent me off on a booze run with Jess... he was hoping having a few drinks instead of the yucky pills would be better for a little while- but then he got scared he would be in too much pain and not be able to have a pill,and didn't drink. Oh well,We also needed some cheap beer to make boiled peanuts.
Really,I think maybe Ri was a trying to force me out of the stressful house if only for a second.

I mentioned to mom he has been craving her mini meatloaf -
So she made a point to bring those AND come drive me to the store today(Wednesday).
My fridge has never been so full of things I had no part in making.Shopping was fun they had a deal on everything I needed!
, and I left Aaron here with Ri so I wasn't worried about him either..
I did get a bit of a sensory overload by the time were waiting in line though. I am just soo beat down.. I need some dark, and quiet .Rest.My brain wants me to slow the hell down for a second.


The past few days Rory's best friend in class has been on vacation, and her other friend has been out sick(lice). It's cool though,She has started making new friends in class. She even says some of the boys are nice/funny and knows some of the boys names(she had nothing to say about the boys in class before LOL).I am eager to see what her teacher says on teacher/parent night. Jess says she will hang here with Rory if Ri can get up on his feet to go with me,AWESOMENESS.



I figured out how to wiggle the old loveseat into reclining position and he is doing much better sleeping there.

Ri really wants to go back to work.How crazy is that? I think if he could somehow cover his drippy skinless arm(dr said it was better for it to let it breathe)- he would be hobbling around over there one handed, no lie.

Some of his regulars have asked about him and sent well wishes as well. .They have been struggling to fill the gap of Ri gone ,then they had some schedule issues with the new guy and ended up letting him go.
They have been SUPER great about it. Asking for lots of good wishes for him and offering to help out in anyway they can.
Jerry&Bobbie have become family and been amazing to us in soo many ways, I think I even mentioned that in my last blogpost before any of this happened.

AND THEN to top if off they post this on their facebook:

I don't even know what to say. I teared up.I have no idea how to respond.We are so so blessed to have them in our lives.

-I'm getting a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: Rhode Island is neither a rhode nor an island.

When he heals, and life returns to normal and I am complaining of petty things, will you remind me of this? Our circle of friends and family came together so much to be here for him/us in whatever way that could.

It seems like the clouds suddenly got so dark and gray, but for once all I can see is the silver linings:
Ri WILL be ok. lol- Now that he is is past the grumpy bear part of pain I am enjoying having more of his company. Even if I am spoiling him.
Rory loves riding her bike to and from school and hasn't had any other trouble
Lice is the fastest way to get a sparkling clean house- and I needed that deep condition,
I probably won't need to make dinner for a week.
The support we have from other people in times of trouble is simple AMAZING

We might not have everything-but we have A LOT of love, in the end that's worth more.
That was so cheesy it was painful to type. True though.

It is late...right now I need sleep.I think this post is a mess..
and ALL OVER the place,Sorry.
welcome to my frazzled brain and emotional state.

PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE

Crazier than Toucan Sam

What the hell am I doing?
Midnight,AND I just posted last night-
PLUS , I have other crap to do , like sleep. Tomorrow should be a busy day.
Sometimes, I swear my brain tries to fight on coming busy days by avoiding sleep.
As if I think , if never sleep I won't have to take Rory to school and back..,
then go back AGAIN to go to Family Movie Night with her..

Ri even wants to go on a long ride while she is at school.
(he is fruit-loops,I'm planning a nap.)

I mainly just wanted to share that I finally finished the wall art project I have been working on.
1st- i finished this wall:


The top frames I stole from Mom- I think she was planning on giving them to Lissy. Sorry Lissy.
The bottom paisley frames were on sale for quarters at goodwill-
and the middle frames (sigh- I don't know how well you can see them) I made those with craft sticks and seashells.
Yes. They are uneven. They are different sizes-so i did it on purpose to balance them

That's the story I'm going with anyway.

Oh.And that huge mirror in the left corner.. yeah,it's huge. Need a drill to bolt sucker to wall...
it needs seashells ,too :)


On to the Next step ,and the next wall.

Warning:Book lovers may want to look away.


Days of carnage

I had these old VERY dated Golden Book Encyclopedias with funky covers.
..and basically just started cutting frames out of them all.

All but one "boats to cereals"- because Rory loves that editions chapter on the body, with all the diagrams of bones, nervous system..
She is weird. I lover her.


Eventually I matched pictures with frames:

(yes, I framed the air guitar picture..I HAD to)


On the wall:
(the one on the top right is artwork by a friend of ours, from a LONG time ago :) )
I assure you ,there was a method- and I did plan out and measure the distance between each picture..
and staggered them with purpose
....
but.that's how they turned out.It's kitschy ,dammit.
Go with it.

and ignore that strange man on my couch playing with his phone. I don't know him


...nope. he isn't with me.
Not a clue. I think he is fruit-loops.I think I love him though.

and I did not leave that hammer there either.

Today,
Rory did put up a bit of a stink about which pink outfit was perfect.-She picked one eventually though.

.. My morning bike ride included getting sung "Good Morning America "- by the teenage boys at the bus stop near Rory's school? Lord knows.

Running Noobie around the block- and into the oldest dog I have ever seen in my life- who knew dogs got gray, wrinkled and started balding?!-Oddly , the dog liked Noobie.

Then, we were almost late to pick the kid up.. and I almost passed out cold when we made it to the extraordinarily hot parking lot after racing there. I should have jumped at Ri's offer to go alone to get her.lesson learned.

Rory's eye looks better , and she got her 10th BlueBestBehaviourBear.

Ri went out surfing, AND talked his surfing buddy into taking him grocery shopping.

I also drank too much coffee.(Obviously, huh?)
I did eventually put that hammer up....Not that I left it out.
I really need to go to bed, and steal my new comforter from that fruit-loops weirdo in there.


PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE

This post was color coded for your enjoyment.

HEY!!! I'm still buried in this whole back -to-school grind,but I have some stuff to share.. before I pass out cold on the floor.

The above picture is of Rory on Purple day. I am digging the color days, I will be sad when they finish the color days, and have to worry about clothing battles.
Tomorrow is pink day though- Considering her closet is 90% pink and she didn't lay out an outfit tonight ,I fear the outcome.

Rory has kept on with her good behavior in school, she is now 1 BlueBestBehaviorBears away from getting to go in the treasure box.

I have been working on picture frames and hanging them while she is at school. I have some OLD, OLD- terribly outdated children's encyclopedias Mom gave me. I was going to toss them, but the covers are so fun,colorful, and neat- I decided to fire up the photoprinter and make frames of them.Turned out awesomely shabby sheik- I also made some with these craft sticks and sea shells we'd collected. Now I just have to figure out how to arrange them- and tidy this place up ..
hopefully my next post I will be able to share that.

I have started chatting with/ meeting a few of the other mom's in the parent-pick up area. One Mom invited us to the pool after school one day( I still haven't set a date to for sure do that-I'm still flying by the seat of my pants to get used to this whole schedule).
- Her daughter isn't adjusting well to being away from home- but Rory has been super nice and tried to get her friends in the "goodgirlgroup" to include her , and cheer her up. The teacher still says Rory is the class sweetheart :) .

Rory finally started eating some of the foods I shove into her lunch box...and now she is talking about getting the school lunch Friday, if she MUST. I also finally asked if/when I could come into lunch with her. I thought we had to wait until they cleared our volunteer app, and discouraged it at the beginning of the school year, but apparently not- and just about every parent has been in.

Monday was Labor day- and Ri was off work. We pretty much just hid out. The tourist town thing - it was packed around here, but the locals don't go out in that.
Ri did talk me into putting the bike trailer on his bike and going for an evening ride downtown-
which means going OVER the Bridge of Lions!
I was pretty mortified behind them. Rory loved every second of it. We rode all over after dark- Rory was SOO big.
She was good and exhausted to start her short school week.me.freaking.too.
Plus, I have been riding Noobs around the block after dropping Rory off each morning.
All together I get in at least 5 miles a day on the bike.

.... which I guess is great.
Since the car got towed while I was picking Rory up from school today.
:( .
Sorta surprised they came today with all the waterpipe construction and our road closed to outside traffic.
but not, For MONTHS we have called begging them to tell us when/where to drop it off for voluntary repo.So that THAT wouldn't happen. We knew moving here the huge car payment would have to go.. I just feel bad it probably made a scene- there was no reason for it...
, car alarm and all. Our sweet landlord even called us to tell us. :( . So while things look abismal in our credit dept, they are looking great in other aspects-sigh-


I am loving that Wednesday's Ri gets off work early, and Rory gets out of school early. After heading home to cool down and snack, we went on another evening bike ride downtown...well, after getting chased down the street by a loose dog- and having to run in and make sure noobie was secure.



We were out early enough this time Rory got to check out the loghouse at Ripley's- She wanted to go to Ripley's- but we will have to go another time






We rode around and went to Rory's fav playground with the carousel
- then headed back towards St.George ...
Not go to the olde fudge shoppe before dinner,
surely not- if that's what you are thinking....


I don't know whose child this is..
Ri's DNA would head right for chocolate everything.Mine would go towards chewy or taffy or caramel if not chocolate-
This child came out with a lollypop
Also,
She got a black eye in school today. When I picked her up she was holding a wet cloth to her eye, and the teacher explained.
Right before dismissal when they were playing on the playground- another girl was kicking sand and kicked Rory accidentally.
I hope accidentally ,at least.Rory was more worried about the sand than the bruise. She didn't seem bothered - beyond wondering why "EVERYONE" rushed to ask if she was ok- and the girl said she was sorry "soo many times"-
..but dude. Now it is turning purple.My baby got a black eye. .
I'm not ready for this school stuff.

Anyway.
I did get a super short video of the last leg of our ride:



We have been living off frozen veg and bag rice. I have to figure out how to get on the ball about cooking within the school schedule.

There is probably more, but I really need to go pass out . At least for a bit so I can have enough energy for the pink outfit debate in the morning. My legs feel like rubber.
carry me?
-wait.brush my teeth first!

PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE

(ps... My title was funny to me- considering Rory wears a color every day and got a black eye on black day..but I may be too tired if I find such things humorous.)

If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend. ~Doug Larson

I should really get in to the groove of posting more than just on Saturday. Sorry about that.
This whole school week thing will probably become more casual in no time....
but that doesn't guarantee I will find time to write inane clever things here,
especially with the new fall tv line up coming.

Everyday I'd wake up- get the kid up and dressed, make sure her lunch is together feed her, then hop on the bike with her.
-You'd think that then I would have this large stretch of childless time with which to clean, or blog and all that..
Instead, Friday evening snuck up on me with this huge mountain of undone dishes and mess like I have never seen!

I did catch up on some tv shows, and spend time with Ri -
Monday we rode all over downtown St.Auggy , we stopped and got a cupcake downtown and had a really sweet afternoon :)
- he even tried to get me to go over the HUGE Vilano Bridge- but I didn't make it... I was so overheated I almost puked every where. I have a pretty iron gut as far as nausea ,but overheated nausea is a whole other beast. it felt terrible..
My bike was not cooperating either(later my fender went crash, into my tire and I realized why it was having so much trouble).
Monday was a bit hard for me though-Rory had been a little under the weather Sunday, I really went back and forth about letting her go to school.. She just had a little sniffle,and hadn't run a high fever, but I felt like I was waiting for her teacher to call all day.

I have been playing with the cam a little more:







I tried out the Macro mode- the macro mode on the old PIMP cam was way nicer,but for whatever reason I rarely played with it. Ha. Just something I would do, get a camera with weaker macro setting and suddenly show interest.
but,
That was last weekend even, I think.
I kept trying to get vid of the bike ride to school but it was shakey and noisy and not a good watch. I will figure it out one day,maybe, and take you with us.

I am really enjoying the early ride there, and even the warm ride home surprisingly.
Rory LOVES it. She just thinks she is SO COOL, on her bike.
The morning ride back, when I am usually by myself I get to go super slow and just enjoy being up so early , in that little bit of cool air. By nature, I am such a morning person I really feel nice about that time a day. It is sort of wonderful after years of nocturnalness to be up at that hour and not be BEATdown, dead tired.
When I am with Ri we usually run the dog around the neighborhood and get a decent little ride in too :) .
I think he is secretly trying to make me lose weight like he has.

The afternoon rides have been sickly hot though. I got a wicked heat rash under my dreads- had to start using dandruff shampoo.. thought I had lice for a second, that was a frightening thought.
Plus, there is the whole anxiousness of the ParentPickUp cliques . I almost drew you a picture. I am not sure I have the words to describe the scene I wait in for the 5-10 minutes until Rory's class comes out. Most the parents are MUCH older than me, most of them are in shoes I couldn't afford - If they aren't the somewhat intimidating plastic fantastic, super polished ,heavy make-up, business women, super-mom, on the go type;Then they are probably the soccer-mom extremely social breeder type(The ones that all know each other and have three other little ones in high end clothes , and all of their kids are already involved in hundred of events and heavy weekly schedules of activities together). .Not there is really anything wrong with either of these parents - I could see even being friends with them...
I just feel very,very,very out of place... with the bike,the dreads, the beatup jeans, and the random humorous t-shirt.
I am starting to get to know a few other parents though- it is getting a little less intimidating. Promise me i won't turn into a Stepford wife, okay?

Rory's BestFriend since day one, in school is named Rosie- I have talked to her mom a bit in the wait and she seems really nice and down to earth. I am really grateful for that.

Rory says she is part of the "good girl group", her and a few of the girls are best-best-best-best- friends- the have a "super secret laboratory" under the playground and play all sorts of silly games, and tell jokes at lunch(which Rory hardly eats any of usually).
Her BehaviorBear has stayed Blue all week-,which means she has made "right choices"- So I guess she is doing pretty great. they don't really have homework- once a month or so she brings in the class snack (she brought oranges for orange day and was super thrilled), and occasionally little things for projects. I like that their schedule isn't so extreme. She even gets a naptime, few Kindergarten classes seem like Kindy anymore.

I will say, on rough/long days, she comes home and is a complete nightmare..So I do believe Lissy was right when she told me Rory saves all her grumpiness for me. Then crashes SOO hard at the end of the night. The other night she even fell full out asleep on the potty. Snoring and everything all slumped over, poor thing.

Thursday, Ri was off work again- so after we dropped Rory off we rode toward the beach to look out at the GIANT Hurricane Earl waves. It was crazy looking. Ri even went out in that yuck a few times. The waves were insane.

We took the kid for Sno-cone Thursday afternoon
..I felt bad because I had accidentally left my cellphone in her backpack-Don't ask me how I have NO IDEA. I didn't really think she would be in trouble, but maybe embarrassed, I know I was embarrassed.

Rory thought that that was a perfect after school treat,and has been begging to go there since school started.
.. I had tried to take her Wednesday but the place was closed. She was not pleased- but I let her play in the playground until Ri got off work so it wasn't so terrible.

She is going to start expecting some sort of afterschool treat every day, I can feel it- she had even had Ice Cream on Thursday, because we turned in a summer reading log she got to go to an Ice cream party!-We didn't even know!

AND On Monday the Ice cream truck parks right next to the school.. So Ri just HAD to buy her one, and she rode home riding one handed dripping ice cream all over.


Friday morn, after dropping Rory off we went to the beach.
The Earl swell had died down a little, plus it was low tide- IOW, I was ok with coming along.
I don't typically DO big waves. that's just for crazy people... ones who know how to actually swim, or something.
..Finally got to test out the waterproofyness
Ri tried to surf a bit- I didn't get any great epic pics of him doing so-

Soo many waves-
too many I guess.
Ri played with the cam a bit and got some really epic pics


It's an eye!


I love this pic!!
-

He took some vid too- I may some day edit some music over the annoying water crashy wave microphone noises..but not tonight. ..crap this morning.

This has been the longest Saturday ever! It is 2 am Sunday now gah.


I have been trying unsuccessfully to clean up this dangerzone all day,-but while it was still way wreck city ... Suprise inlaw visit from Ri's dad. He brought us a hot pepper plant. pretty cool. I was the whole time like
"please . don't judge me ,please please please..This school week has been soo hectic!"
Thankfully it was a short visit, and if fueled my urge to clean more.
I am finally making some headway with the new shelfy organize bin thingy I bought for Rory's room.With very little tantrummy yelling fussing help from Rory.

Ah,yeah- we made this trip last weekend to FINALLY buy that bed for Rory, but it isn't on sale any more- So now I am on the look out for a decent priced twin frame again.sigh...but they shelfy thing was super cheap. lol.

Ri's been super slammed at work-with the surf and the holiday, and things are looking up all over in that aspect. I think he loves his job and his boss/coworkers- what more can you really ask for?

I may even have the chance to really look around for work... it will probably be hard to find a place that I can only work VERY part time during Rory's school week,though.

Sometime next week or so I am hoping to go to lunch with Rory at school. I know some of the other parents come in(ALL THE TIME) , but I still feel weird about it. I still need to join the PTAO ,as well...should I. I guess I should anyway.

What else? Hmm, well there are all sorts of local activities going on for the Labor Day weekend-but I don't wanna go out in that mess- So I probably won't lol.

Last , I really want to thank everyone for the awesomely awesome comments,
or reading this, and support on my last few posts -or just anywhere over the last few weeks in general. I know I sorta said it in my last post-..but,
I'd been super ridiculously stressed out and the support I received from people was so overwhelming and awesome.
Some of you just said simple nice things and probably without knowing it- added to this huge support net I felt from others.
I don't know. I needed it. I got really overwhelmed.I was so far OVER whelmed I was on the moon-or something clever(it's 2 am -gimme slack) ..
..and you were all there for me, some of you probably without even realizing it.Hell, if you even took the time to read this you can be considered part of that feeling.

Just, THANK YOU!

and -Ri is a goddamned trooper ,too- for dealing with me like that last month.

Well, before I get any freaking sappier,or even more incoherent I am going to bed.

PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE