General

I’m prepared to swear that Sea-Bands are a miracle product. Denis thinks they’re all a bunch of hooey. But see, here’s the thing: lately whenever I’m in the car as a passenger I end up with horrible motion sickness. So yesterday I bought a pair before we left on our trip. We were in the car for over 8 hours, and it wasn’t the smoothest ride ever, and I was in the back seat. I kept expecting to feel nauseous…but I didn’t.

I was able to knit. I was able to read. I was able to lean over to make silly faces at Carrie, look out the window at the passing fall foliage, and just generally act like a completely normal person in the car.

When I opened the package and saw exactly what they were, having spent $10 for the pair, I was almost ready to cry because I thought they’d never work. So Denis’ allegation that it’s all in my head can’t be true, because I was not expecting them to work at all, but they did. So there. It may be all a bunch of hooey, but I’m perfectly happy with it if it works! (And I’m keeping them around for if/when I’m pregnant again – maybe it will reduce the all-day morning sickness symptoms, too!)

OK, I was planning on doing everything so far in advance that I wasn’t going to have to stress about the party, but…that’s not working so well. The cake isn’t quite done yet due to a couple of (hopefully minor) setbacks, I haven’t vacuumed the first floor – and believe me, there’s enough dog fur (not to mention cheerios) that this is a requirement – and I haven’t transfered the playlist to the ipod. I haven’t even checked the batteries in the camera or hung a single streamer.

But the food is done! Those wraps were super easy: my mom, my brother and I made 24 wraps in under an hour – and that included plenty of kibitzing. I’ll slice them into pinwheels tomorrow right before we’re ready to put them out. Denis also made mini pumpkin muffins, and there are frozen appetizer thingies to pop in the oven before the party. People are bringing fruit, veggies and cheese. So there will be plenty to eat. And the really important part is that the colorful plates I bought have been stacked in rainbow order. (I may have gone a little overboard on the rainbow-y nature of this party. There’s lots of colors…)

I feel terrible, though. In the midst of everything I was trying to do, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the munchkin all this is for, and she toppled off a (kid-sized) chair face first onto the wood floor. So she’ll be sporting a nice bruise on her forehead for her party and birthday. I’m just glad she didn’t hurt herself worse. :( (Do you think that this will teach her not to stand up in chairs? Probably not.)

Anyway, I think I need to go to bed and worry about the cake and the vacuuming tomorrow. After all, the party’s not till 2!

You know, I meant to go to bed an hour ago. What am I still doing up?!?

I know there was something I had planned to blog about earlier today, but I can’t for the life of me remember what on earth it was… Was it the fact that Carrie seems to have picked up signs for “read” and “bear”? Or the fact that Lisa and I have started making the cake decorations and using rolled fondant is addictively fun? Or maybe that we bought Halloween candy today and it’s taking all of my willpower not to tear open the bag and eat several packs of yummy M&Ms?

See, this is why I’m still up. I’ve been pondering what I was going to blog about for an hour. Well, in between looking up recipes for wraps and planning out how I’m going to dust, vacuum and mop the entire house tomorrow during Carrie’s nap. Oh, and clean all four bathrooms again. Yeah, right. Guess I’d better go to bed now, because I’m going to have to get up at the crack of dawn to do all that – not a chance it will all happen during a two hour nap. But then, if I do manage to get it all done tomorrow, all that will be left to do on Thursday and Friday is cake and food prep, and hanging some decorations…

Oh, wait, maybe I was going to blog about the leaky bathroom faucet that really ought to get fixed before the party?

And this time, it’s not in anger or frustration! Denis, Denis’ dad, Mike (of the zedebia clan), and I all went to the Bills game today. It was fun – I’ve been to two or three other Bills games, and it’s definitely better to watch in person. We had a good time, despite the fact that apparently we got tickets in the section which was reserved for people who were planning on being total jerks even before they got drunk. I ended up having to watch a lot of the replays on the jumbotron because pretty much every time a play was about to happen someone would stand up in front of me or walk down the stairs (I was sitting on the end of an aisle) for more beer and block my view. Grr.

It was also c-c-c-cold. I ended up wearing long johns under my jeans, and a turtleneck with a t-shirt on top, and a sweatshirt on top of that. And over all that I had on my winter boots, winter coat, and gloves. And Denis’ Jayne hat. (I forgot mine!) Thank goodness for the Jayne hat. Even if some idiot spilled beer on it. Double grr.

Carrie stayed with Nana for the day, and they had a great time. Carrie is soundly sleeping and apparently drank her whole bottle, which is unheard of. Nana apparently has the magic touch! I had her snap this picture before I put Carrie down for her nap just before we left. (I have this awful fear that something bad will happen to us when both Denis and I go somewhere and leave Carrie with someone else, and all she’ll have to remember us are pictures – and I’m usually behind the camera, so there’s not that many pictures of me. Morbid, huh?)

(Get the Simpsons reference?)

I have been cleaning like a madwoman since last weekend, and haven’t had a spare ten minutes to even think about knitting, and it’s starting to drive me slowly insane. I absolutely have to get to Sit & Knit tonight so I can do nothing but knit for three straight hours!

The house is looking great, though, if you don’t count my craft room or the office. Oh, and I need to go through the entire house and dust, vacuum, and mop. But most of the clutter is gone. I swear, I’ve thrown out more things in the past few days than I have in the entire time we’ve lived in this house. It’s starting to get addictive, and I’m finding myself eyeing various things and thinking of finding new homes for them. It’s kind of nice to not have every flat surface covered and every drawer and shelf stuffed. Not that we don’t have a lot of excess stuff still…I straightened out the linen closet this afternoon and I swear the dish towels and sheets have been hiding in there multiplying…

Anyway, now that the bulk of the detailed cleaning is done I just have to maintain it for the next week – while making the cake and all the food – and by the day of the party I’ll just be able to relax and enjoy myself. Right?

I also took the time to make a massive number of mini pumpkin muffins this afternoon. (Well, OK, I suppose 4 dozen isn’t really all that many, it just seemed like it because I was only expecting 2 dozen!) They turned out really yummy! I think I may add those to the menu for Carrie’s birthday party. I just have to remember that they took 16 minutes (!) to bake, since I used a bread recipe and had to guess how long mini muffins should take. (I would have thought closer to 12, but at that point they were still really gooey.)

Update 10/12 PM: Yay! They’re going to issue the refund now and when (if?) I receive the shoes I’ve promised to send them right back. I was again told that they just found out another box of their shoes was held up still in customs, and that my shoes must be in that box. Obviously, I’m the most unlucky person ever…or perhaps the most naïve?

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve ordered things over the internet, and I’ve never had any problems…until now. I ordered Carrie a pair of shoes online from Preschoolians, to whom I will not link because the thought of them getting any business from my site makes my blood boil. I ordered them on August 18th. I finally received them (with their “fast shipping”) on September 1st. They didn’t fit, and it was coming up on the holiday weekend, so on the 6th I went ahead and initiated an exchange. I got a shipping notice for the new pair on the 14th.

I haven’t received the shoes yet.

When the shoes hadn’t arrived by the 21st – they were supposedly shipped via priority mail on the 14th – the company overnighted another pair of the same shoes…which again didn’t fit. I was told to wait for the original pair to arrive, send them both back, and they’d credit my card. That night I went and bought Carrie a pair of Stride Rites, which she’s been wearing ever since.

And I still haven’t received the effing shoes.

I’ve been told, on no less than 7 different occasions since the 23rd of September, that “there was a small problem with customs” (the shoes are made in China) “and your order was held up, but it just shipped yesterday”.

Unfortunately, I think it’s past the time limit where I can take it up with my credit card company, so the only thing I’m able to do is call every couple of days. The last time I spoke with anyone they told me they were actually shipped 2-day via DHL on Wednesday of last week. Uh-huh. It’s crossed my mind several times that they have been lying through their teeth this whole time. Maybe they figure if they never ship the shoes they never have to credit my money back?

I also think they’re screening my number (it seems to be a very small business, I’ve talked to the same 2 customer service reps every time I’ve called) because they *never* answer when I call, I have to leave a message. Until I started calling every other day they always answered the phone.

Anyway, this is just a public service announcement. Never, ever, ever order a pair of Preschoolians for your child, even if they come highly recommended. It’s not worth the hassle. (I do, however, think they have a good product, I just can’t in good conscience recommend them because of customer service issues.)

Denis is worried that I’ll get sued over this entry, but as far as I’m concerned, I have the right (first amendment, anyone?) to say whatever I please on my own personal site as long as it’s the truth.

With a munchkin in the house, detailed cleaning tasks have pretty much not happened at all – it’s amazing if we can keep up with the laundry, vacuuming and dishes on a regular basis, forget about dusting or cleaning windows. So with Carrie’s party coming up we’ve been trying to focus a bit on the details. I just cleaned out a windowsill with an ungodly number of dead moths and stuff and I’m going to have nightmares forever about it. (Well, OK, maybe not, but it was gross!)

What on earth was I thinking, inviting a gazillion people to my house, planning to make all the food and the cake myself?!? Thankfully, Lisa’s helping with the cake! I have a plan in place for the food, but it’s pretty dependent on finding a good variety of recipes for those wrap sandwiches you cut into rounds – like these. Anyone have any other good combos they like?

And I’m starting to come to the conclusion that cleaning the windows is a lost cause. They’re so dirty on the outside, and there’s absolutely no chance that I’m going to be able to get up on a ladder and deal with that anytime soon. Maybe I’ll just put a bunch of those window clings all over them so no one notices…

OK, back to cleaning!

Here’s a fun virtual pumpkin carving game. Two warnings: it has music and sound, so don’t play it at work, and this is not for individuals with weak constitutions. By clicking on the link above, you agree not to hold me responsible for anything that might result. Yadda, yadda…oh, and yadda.

…are singing right now! Not only did Carrie sleep from 8:15 to 6:30, but when she woke up she nursed and went right back to sleep and is still sleeping. I’m (almost) a well-rested mama today! I’m already showered, dressed and have a load of laundry in. It’s amazing what a little decent sleep will get you.

Tonight is the opening of Serenity, so Denis and I are going on a date. This will only be the second time we’re not around for Carrie’s bedtime, and the first time didn’t go so well – she cried pretty much the whole time we were gone. I’m (understandably, I think) a little nervous. But…even if she’s unhappy all this evening, tomorrow is Barktober Fest – and if you’ve got a spare $5, we could sure use a donation! – and Carrie is going to go nuts with all the doggies. It might be worth bringing the video camera just so we can capture her signing “dog” over and over again.