Simon the Wise, Escaper of Crates

Guess what guys.....

WE GOT A NEW DOG.

His name is Simon, a little dog recently brought to Ohio from Tennessee, where he and his brother were picked up by someone who saw them being tossed out of a moving car.  He is a sweet, kind of skittish, but pretty well-behaved.  Last night there was about 15 minutes of on-and-off whining/barking after being locked up in his crate, and then when we got back from church this morning Houdini here made his way out of the crate and was just hanging out.  He only mildly chewed up this basket/tray thing he pulled off the coffee table and I wasn't even mad about it.

So anyway, without further ado...meet Simon the Wise, Escaper of Crates:

The little booger doesn't hold still long enough to get a photo so hopefully he mellows out over the next few days and we'll have some better shots.

weekend summary

Three day weekends are fantastic.  And this one was especially good.  Here is a recap:

Friday: My new German friend, Anka, met Rob and I at Dewey's and we partook of delicious, perfect pizza.  Afterward she came over and we watched a movie, introduced her to The Office and then Parks and Recreation, and then played Mario and Sonic Olympics on the Wii until TWO O'CLOCK in the morning.  Whew.  It was super fun though.  Her only question about America to me was, "Are American high schools really like they are in the movies?"

Rob thought we looked like idiots while sword fighting so he made a video to prove it.

Saturday: We went and looked at dogs!  Though we didn't see one that particularly captivated us, it is fun to start the search.  Afterward we went to my mom's house for a family cook-out in celebration of my Aunt's birthday.  We watched 3 Ninjas with my cousins.  It was awesome.  It's always awesome.

Sunday: I taught Sunday school for the firs time in forrrrrrrrrrrevs.  I wasn't supposed to teach this week, but to observe the current teacher to kind of get to know the kids and style or whatever.  Well, the night prior I had a feeling that maybe I should print out the curriculum just in case something came up and lo and behold, I get there Sunday morning to find out the teacher canceled the night before, so I was on my own.  It was fun though.

In the evening Rob and I went to our friend Andy's wedding.  Rob and Andy were in a band together (as most people reading this blog know) and so we got see a bunch of people we don't see all that often.  It was fun, even though the reception was basically a game show.  A really awkward game show with an obnoxious host.

Rob and I looking totally normal after the wedding.

Monday: We slept in until 11:30!  I haven't slept in that long in forever, and it was amazing.  When we woke up I did some laundry and other boring household chores and then we got ready to go to his sister's for a cookout with his family.  We played corn hole (terribly) and pulled our nephew Ethan around the backyard in his wagon.  I managed to choke on a piece of cake and then we called it a night.

Here's Rob pulling Ethan around in the wagon whilst Duke the dog bounds joyously about.

Anyway, my new littlegirl'sinschoolnow schedule is in effect and it has been a good day.  I got my pumpkin spice latte and I met Anka after work in Clifton to hang out a bit.  Today her question about America was, "So do Americans name their babies just anything like, Book?" (said as she carelessly picked up a book off of a shelf).  Good times.

my new favorite blog.

This girl is a genius.  A friend sent me a link to her blog yesterday and I have not stopped reading it.  And seriously EVERY post makes me laugh out loud.  It's perfect.

September!

Autumn will soon be upon us!

With pretty colors!

And cooler air!

And pumpkin spice lattes!

I am ready for it.

recent happenings

I feel like I need a more organized way to approach this blog, as I never feel I put anything that worthwhile and that it is too random for even me to enjoy.  So, until that day comes (which is likely a long way off), I will give you some random updates on events that have occurred recently:

1. Little girl starts preschool next week.  At first, I saw this as a decent opportunity to quit.  Then I started thinking, why would I quit?  I have been doing this a year and now I am being presented the opportunity to keep my full-time pay, with less hours and I calculated the 3 days she is at school, I will only be working an average of 3-4 hours per day yet being paid for the full 8.  I know that is a pitiful way of looking at it but for right now, it is worth it.

2. An awkward event in my life needs a bit of a back story: little girl's family lives in Oakley, and Hyde Park Plaza is behind their street.  We frequently walk to different places within the plaza (Bigg's, Michael's, Panera, Starbucks) and always have to pass by Bob Sumerel tire shop.  Well, we have become a certain amount of friends with several of the employees, guys who know our names, that I am little girl's nanny, and wave, sometimes engage us in conversation and little girl enjoys seeing.  Anyway, about 2 weeks ago I walked to Panera to get lunch after little girl went down for her nap (remember, her mom works from home so I did not leave her there alone) and had to yes, pass by Bob Sumerel.  This is the first time I have done this without little girl.  The 'friendliest' of the mechanics waves hello to me as I passed and asked where little girl was, and I told him she was napping and I was just grabbing lunch.  That was that...until I came back.  I saw him walking from the parking lot and coming toward me, trying to get my attention.  He started out by saying, "I probably shouldn't say this..." (oh dear, oh dear) "but there are a few guys in there who talk about you" (stop, please stop) "and we kind of figured you had to have a boyfriend since you seem pretty indifferent.  Do you have a boyfriend?" (...what? 'Umm...I'm actually married') "Oh, you're married!?  How long?" ('A little over a year') "Wow!  How is that?  I'm 38 and I've never been married!  I'll probably never get married.  I don't like change" (...umm...'I think it's pretty okay if you find the right person...'?) "Yeah, yeah, that's true.  Just so you know, it wasn't me who talks about you!  Just so you know!  I'm just nice to everyone!  I'm from the country and that's just how we are!" (...what is happening right now?! k...well bye!)

Yes, that is pretty much verbatim.  It was a lot less awkward than it could have been, I think, because I never got creepy vibes from the guy before and I believed him when he said it wasn't him.  Anyway - I told little girl's mom the story because I thought it was funny, since no guy has said anything like that to me since, well, I guess 4 years ago when I met Rob, and little girl's mom was upset about it!  For real!  She was all, "I'm going to go talk to them about it!" and started speculating as to which of the guys she thought he could be talking about and I was like, "I really don't think he was trying to hit on me!  It was just kind of awkward and funny" and she was like, "Well I'm going to say something next time I see them."

I thought she was kind of joking, except I seriously haven't seen any of the guys since that day!  They are never hanging out by the back door where we pass anymore, and today we finally saw the guy who inquired of my relational status, and he totally saw us and did nothing.  It was way more awkward than being asked if I had a boyfriend.  I should ask her if she said anything, because if so, that is humiliating.  Also I'm afraid they got in trouble or something.  Ugh.  Anyway, my life is awkward.

That was long.

3. On a completely different note, we are now in the market for a dog!  I worked up the guts to talk to mon pere about it and he did not seem thrilled with the idea (he thinks it is unfair to leave a dog home alone all day)  but he said that if we wanted one, we could get one.  If you are unaware as to why I feel the need to ask my dad permission to get a dog when I'm married and we live on our own, it is because my parents are our landlords.  BUT YES.  A DOG!  Finally!  Though we are abandoning our first plan to get a specific dog from a breeder because (1) though I would love a puppy in the breed of my choice, we just are not around enough to give it the proper care and training it would need throughout the day and (2) a rescue dog is in much greater need of us and (3) is cheaper.  Tonight I asked Rob if we got a female dog could I name it "Genevieve" a la Madeline's Rescue, which has been my dream since I was a small child.  He said no.

If you are unfamiliar with the book, the plot goes something like Madeline falls into a river and everyone's freaking out but then a stray dog saves her and Miss Clavel let's her keep the dog and she names it Genevieve.  Rob denying this request literally crushes a childhood dream.

4.  I finally made my first nanny friend!  One of the hardest parts about being a nanny is the lack of peer interaction.  The places I take little girl put me in the circles of more stay-at-home moms than nannies so I haven't really made any friends.  Except now!  She's not exactly a nanny, but an au pair from Germany!  We met a couple weeks ago at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Rookwood and exchanged numbers.  It was completely inconvenient timing though, as the two boys she cares for started school this week and little girl starts next, but we are hanging out officially as friends this Friday!

So...that's an update on my life.

parks and recreation

not feeling too hot.

I totally had it in mind this week that I was going to try and take control of my schedule so I would stop feeling so stressed.  I had this stupid theory that if I went to bed earlier and got enough sleep, and then woke up in the morning with adequate time to prepare for my day before I headed to work and actually made it on time, that I would perhaps have a less stressful week.

Well that was only a theory.

Because, here it is, Wednesday, and I am about to curl up in the fetal position.  

So, just to get it off my chest, a list of complaints in my life (in no particular order)

1. My back.  I get it fixed, then I move furniture, and now it is destroyed again.
2. Period.  Yeah, I said it.  Period.
3. Nannying for a work-from-home mom.  GAH.

4. Wanting to quit but having absolutely no idea where to go from there and also not wanting to screw over my current employer.

5. Going to my brother's facebook page and seeing a whole slew of flirty comments from dumb, skanky teenage girls.

6. My stupid driveway that is crumbling apart.

7. The wrinkles starting on my face and I'm only 26.

8. Speaking of, the fact that my entire body is aging like I'm 10 years older than I really am.

9. All the dumb things I see and hear every day that somehow make me 20x more irate during this special time of the month.

10.  I don't know, probably something else.  But I felt like I needed 10.

Rawr.