CO detectors

To all of you who don't have a CO detector in your house: please get one!

Last night my husband and I were woken up by three sharp beeps. It was obviously not the fire alarm, but the sound was loud enough, and sharp enough, that we were immediately awake. We went out into the hall to discover that the CO (carbon monoxide) detector was registering high enough to be a danger, and we immediately started ventilating the downstairs. I then took it upstairs to make sure that there wasn't any CO upstairs and to check on the kids. I had taken the upstairs CO detector out of the outlet because my daughter (still a toddler) continued to take it out and play with it, thereby setting it off. No more! She will just have to learn to leave it alone.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is highly toxic. It is found in many places in the house including, but not limited to, properly adjusted gas stoves (5-15 ppm), wood burning chimneys (5,000 ppm), undiluted car exhaust without a catalytic converter (7,000 ppm), and undiluted cigarette smoke (30,000 ppm). Our CO detector usually registers when the truck is started in the garage, but doesn't usually go above 45 ppm. Last night it was high enough to set off the alarm, and was at 62 ppm before I opened the garage door. This gas kills people every year, and is now legally required in all houses in Anchorage. Yes, the price is higher than any of us want to pay, but isn't it worth it to save you, your family, and your pets? Please consider this piece of equipment just as important as your fire alarm, and remember to change the batteries regularly!

More creativity

And here's a conversation (roughly) from tonight:

Q: "What are these?"
L: "I was feeling naughty today. It was a bad day."
Q: "They look like little turds, but I bet they don't taste like turds!"
L: (gives Q a dirty look)

Ok, what part of "it's been a bad day" did you not get?? And why, knowing it was a bad day, would you compare my chocolate oatmeal cookies to turds?? I called you at 11 this morning, threatening to run away to Hawaii and leave you with the kids, and you compare my cookies to TURDS??? Ah, my life is ever so interesting....

The creativity of Q

This is part of an actual conversation I had with my husband. I am in awe. (Cut and pasted from the chat window, no editing the comments whatsoever!)

Lirri says:
where are all my plates???!!! That's right, next to your monitor! (Would you please start bringing them downstairs at night? Thanks!!)

Q says:
I can't bring the plates down at night, they're scared of the dark.

AFK??

I work all day on Mondays while Q stays home with the kids. This past Monday I came in, and Q started to stand up and asked if he could "go AF..." and then realized he was going to say "AFK." I just lost it, and couldn't stop laughing! Since when does a husband ask his wife if he can go "AFK" rather than "I need to leave the house for a bit because the kids are driving me insane and my friend has something I want to borrow"??

Hehe - I think Q plays too many computer games!

A good quote

I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

- Stephen Roberts

No evil???

What the FUCK??!! We just picked up cell phones. We figured we'd pick up the cheap (!!) Net 10 phones until the new iPhones are released; this was Sat. It is now Thursday. I have been able to use my phone for maybe 5 calls, and have had battery power for MAYBE 3 hours. Customer service FINALLY got back to me, and told me to call a number. I did. It took 30 FUCKING MINUTES TO ORDER A BATTERY. She repeated everything AT LEAST 2 times. And the end result? It's going to take 5-10 days for the package to get here that contains an air bill for me to SEND THE FUCKING PHONE IN. 5-10 days for it to get to where ever it's being sent to, and an additional 5-10 days for it to be returned, NOT including the time it takes to fix the damn thing. What the hell is this for customer service??

I don't think I'll be staying with Net 10 after I use my minutes - will undoubtedly expire while the phone is being serviced. I was too pissed to ask for the minutes to be on hold while the phone is being serviced, but will have to remember to call them before sending the phone out. Did I mention that today has been a horrible day with whining and screaming children?

I kid you not, Net 10's logo is: No Bills * No Annual Contracts * No Evil

Kiss what??

We've been watching a lot of "The Little Mermaid" recently; tonight Q was singing "Kiss the Girl", and changing the words, as he's wont to do. The boy was a bit disturbed that Q was singing "kiss the squirrel" instead of "kiss the girl," and finally said "I want to hear Dada say kiss the girl." Q asked which girl, and the boy raised up his middle finger and said "this one." Now, part of this is the finger game he plays with Q (have him explain it), and he was joking with us. However, when you have a mind that hovers a bare millimeter above the gutter, it's funny as anything. I'm quietly dying of laughter, Q is trying to maintain his dignity, and the boy is completely oblivious.

It's 10 pm - do you know where your children are?

My boy is currently pounding on the door, calling out "Mama, I'm all done going night-night! I wanna come out!" A glass of port didn't help reduce the stress, nor did watching Susan get some on Desperate Housewives. I can only hope that he will stop kicking his door (albeit gently) soon. If he wakes his sister up, I may have to remove every single toy from his room (I'm sure the tantrum will be heard down in the wilds of Portland). Until then? I think I may get ready for bed, and hope that he doesn't notice my bedside lamp so that I can read until he quiets down - do you really think I can sleep through the pounding and the kicking?? Every now and then he does this, and if Q and I go to bed and are really quiet ("Sssshhhhh... we're hunting wabbits!"), he'll actually get the message. Unfortunately, I want to watch the next disk of Desperate Housewives. I wonder if he'd notice if I used headphones.... Damn you for getting me interested in this show - you know who you are, the both of you!

The good news? Q comes back tomorrow night. The bad news? I think I may have to curtail all future naps - the boy slept for about 2 hours this afternoon. Sigh. Silly boy! Naps are for moms, not kids!

Our local wildlife

Rabbits on our front porch.
I was on the front porch when the moose was in our front door - I'm about 15 feet from it. I never did see Mama Moose, but I was watching for her!
Dinner anyone?

The goodie package arrived!!

Fortunately for me, big Q came home at lunch to pick up the car. I don't think I could have waited for him to come home to open it up. The first thing that I noticed was that the package had a dent. The second thing I noticed was the big "FRAGILE" on the side - the same side as the dent. Oops. Fortunately, nothing was broken.

Toki put a condition on the goodie package: I have to say what I did/do with the items. (I like your personal stamp on the back of the card!) Here's what was inside:
The shrimp crackers and Badtz Maru cell phone case are for big Q (according the the card I have to share *pouts*). We'll have to wait for Q to say what he did with them.

The cards and bracelet are beautiful! You are truly a talented person, Toki! I am thinking I may try to find a frame to hold my favorite cards. The rest will be used on presents. The bracelet, obviously, will be worn - after G gets a little bigger and doesn't try to eat everything.

The notebook is very cute - I may put it in my purse to write down odd thoughts that need to be written down (like "bring pediatrician's baby's present to G's 12 month appointment").

I think the mini clothes pins will be put to work at my desk - when we get around to moving downstairs, that is.

The book mark will be used to mark my place in a book.

The cookies are delicious! I have promised little Q that he can have some - if he eats his lunch. Do you really want me to say more?

And the Cadbury Creme egg? All MINE!!! I don't like sharing those, and since it's my goodie package - I'M NOT SHARING!!

THANKS TOKI!!

G's first "bonk"

Kids sitting peacefully next to each other, playing with different things. Suddenly a piercing cry is made, and when I look over: G is laying on her side, crying and screaming. I scoop her up, holding her close, and notice the blood dripping from her lip. Yup, the first bonk is always the worst! She bit her lip just hard enough to make it bleed - down her chin, dripping onto her clothes. (The part of me that isn't consumed with calming both kids down, comforting G, and getting the blood cleaned up is quite happy I put her in pink today.) [One hour after the event, Q admits to pushing G; we had a discussion about pushing and how it's not nice to do. "Yes it is!" was his response. Oh boy, it's going to be a fun day.]

Fast forward about 30 minutes, G is again happily playing with the metal bowl, and now Q is sitting on the edge of the toy box. You guessed it! The toy box tipped over, causing Q to fall on his ass. This scares him, quite a lot, and I get the distinct pleasure of listening to him scream. Then G starts to scream - in sympathy, I'm sure. After about 5 minutes, I finally get them calmed down, and now they are enjoying their lunch.

Ibuprofen, please.

[Q wanted to feed G during lunch, and somehow or another managed to fall of his chair and land, literally, on his head. How does he do these things??]

Wild Jenga nights!

I played Jenga for the first time last week. It was fun, we had a great time, and I was willing to play it again. I tried practicing this past week for last night, but trying to practice a balancing game with a 3-year old is rather difficult.

C had a great time riding Moo, the yellow horse. (Moo was named by Quin when he was about 20 months old, and had a difficult time remembering that horses go neigh and cows go moo.)

She also had fun sitting in Quin's "Thinking Chair" - watch some Blue's Clues for an explanation.














The evening's entertainment by C wasn't over yet! G managed to hit her in the nose during a very dramatic Jenga move. Then, in retaliation, she managed to kick him. This caused a glass of Merlot to fall onto our beige carpet. Who says (mostly) 30-somethings can't have fun?

Friday night philosophy

What is it about relationships that cause sane people to become stark raving mad? No, Q and I aren't fighting, but I've been thinking about it a lot recently. I have a friend who's currently having an affair, and (my take) she's feeling guilty about being so happy, and is almost hoping her husband will find out in a manner that doesn't require her to tell him.

What's the big deal? What's so wrong about people changing, but still wanting to be happy? Q and I have been together for 11 years, and married for 6 years. Not every moment has been blissful (what true relationship is 100% candy and flowers?), but I have always wanted him to be happy. I know that part of that is not being around me. Let's face it, I can be a total bitch some times. Ok, maybe most of the time. I'm overbearing, and I like people to do things my way (after all, it's usually better, right?). I do temper that, and am not always an A personality. But I do want Q to be happy.

So why the guilt in having an affair? People change through time, and their needs change as well. If a relationship is to stay together, it must change and grow as well. If you are ultimately happy and satisfied with your current relationship, but you want a little extra spice in your life, what's wrong with finding it, and (hopefully) ultimately adding it to your current relationship in order to help strengthen it? If everyone is OK with the situation, that is.

Living Simple had an article on what makes a lasting relationship (Feb 2008 issue), and the following stuck out (paraphrased due to the magazine no longer being in the house):

- Always argue naked (this has it's obvious pros and cons; fines for indecent exposure could escalate if the couple in question tend to argue in public).

- If you don't see eye to eye on sex and money, it won't last (although half of this is why I'm posting).

- Don't go into a relationship trying to change someone (if you're not happy with who they are to begin with, why will you be happy with them 5, 10, or 15+ years down the road).

So, thought #2: sex. Why is it that this society is so hung up on monogamy? Is it due to our Christian/puritan heritage? Or something else? Other cultures have "allowed" polygamy without negative consequences, so why is it such a stigma for people to be in multiple relationships? If everyone in the situation is happy, why does it bother people outside of the situation? Isn't it up to the individuals in question to decide if the situation is working? Why should it be up to the public to decide some people's happiness? Not everyone is interested in this sort of relationship, but if you know people who are happy with this arrangement, why not be happy for them? And, let's face it, break ups suck, and having a partner stand by you when the third leaves can be very beneficial to the healing process.

To simplify: I'm not very excited about the Hello Kitty toaster, but I'm happy that Toki is happy with her toaster. I wouldn't be interested in owning one, but if she wants a smiling cat on her toast every morning, more power to her. Why is it so different when people are involved, when those who are involved are happy with the situation?

Stud finders

I hate them. With a passion. They never work consistently, they're not reliable, and they're out to get me. We've tried about 5 different stud finders since owning this house (I don't know how many while we rented), and NONE of them work for me. Q, on the other hand, looks at all my careful little pencil marks, does his stud finder magic, and lo and behold! I wasn't even close. It's humiliating, and, next to working the drill, is the main reason I don't do home improvement projects. I've tried saying "OK, the stud finder says there's a stud here three times, so I'll go ahead and drill with the drill bit the directions call for." And what do I find? NO STUD. And, after Q graciously listens to my rant and finds a stud for me, I use the drill (with the bit recommended by the instructions), and it doesn't work. So, after Q calms down my hysterics, he grabs a bit out of the box (it is also magic as to how the one he grabs works, but the one I use - as instructed by the directions - doesn't work), and proceeds to do the home improvement project for me.

All I wanted to do was hang some drapes in Quin's room and take down the partially destroyed blinds.

Stud finders: 10,856,762,873,647
Lirri: 0