Extended absence

Well I honestly have no excuse for being away.   The power struggle for now between my daughter and I is now to a dull roar. She still tests me but, now she knows that I am serious and will take away toys (I do give them back). 

 Right now I am slowly getting rid of most of her plastic toys that I am not thrilled she has mainly the ones from McPukes aka McDonalds.  Not my favorite institution.  

 I have been knitting like a mad fiend and had to restart my gift for my dad.  The cowl is what I had to restart after not doing my yarn overs which basically means you make a “new” stitch grrr.  So had to rip out and start again. Now I am about as far along as I was when I restarted and it is going better.  It looks great and will be very warm for my dad.  I hope he likes it.  The bag I was making him is still a work in progress but, truthfully it is rather boring you knit then purl and repeat until it is 9in.  Guess I need more challenge with yarn overs  slipping stitches, etc.  I wanted to cry yesterday because I did not realize that my cat was still sitting under my chair as I knitted and she chewed and broke my yarn. I tried to refelt it back together but, for some reason this yarn refuses to stay together.  So I tied a knot into my yarn and only I can tell where it is and it does not look that bad. I refused to restart yet again and possibly waste a whole skein of yarn.  So I took my revenge and got my cat back by white washing her.  We still have snow in the back yard so I picked up kitty and put her in the snow then put snow all over her.  She was not thrilled!  I did feel better after I did this.  Childish yeah, possibly immature sure.  Maybe cruel to my cat who knows I dont think so but, others may feel differently.  

My daughter and I discovered the joys of static especially when it comes to hair.  Here is a picture of her 

Thursday Nature

I heard a squeak outside and was a little surprised since I know we do not have mice and I would hope they would not be out in our balmy 9 degree F weather.  So I looked outside and saw a hawk I was really shocked.  Have not seen one since last year.  As I was trying to get closer to take a picture he/she took off and had a bird in its talons.  The squeak was explained.  Poor bird did manage to escape but, really wish I had something besides birds to offer the hawk.  The birds were getting food that I had put out for them and had no idea that a hawk would be stopping by for a visit.  Guess everyone was hungry yesterday.  I also saw bunny tracks in the snow yesterday.  YEA!  I have not seen a bunny or at least signs of a bunny since last spring.  The rabbits have been missing since people have been letting their cats outside but, now with the bitterly cold temperatures I hope they keep them in more.  

 

More battles have been dealt with my daughter.  This time it is getting dressed in the am.  Whew will I be glad when this stops for a bit. I have been taking away more and more toys and other things.  The other issue is hair brushed.  Is it bad to say I want to shave her head to 1/2 inch?  No more tangles at least or really worrying about hair getting brushed.  I have had things thrown at me, screamed and yelled at etc. Basically the usual.  Gotta put a kaibash on this asap before she turns into a teenager and then it might just get worse or better.  

 

New book

I just got a new book via my Kindle called Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal suffering.  You can read a review here http://thekindlife.com/blog/2014/01/book-review-bleating-hearts-the-hidden-world-of-animal-suffering-by-mark-hawthorne/ .  I have not read it yet but, it is one of the very few Kindle titles that I have actually paid for since the new year.  It sounds interesting.   I really like that there are actions that you can take at the end of the chapters.  

I am feeling much better today. I slept for almost 12 hours.  I went to bed last night very early and feel much better today and we are still having a good day so far.  Hope this trend continues.  Plus I gave my daughter an incentive to no longer scream and yell at me.  She has to earn her right to go visit grandpa this spring. I told her I did not want to deal with her screaming and yelling at me on the plane, at my dads or in the airport.  We will see what happens.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  

Better

Things are better so far today.  Right now I hope it lasts because I need to get the license plate number of the truck that ran me over.  My guts are hurting so much right now so this will be brief.  

Yesterday my husband was off so that was nice and he spent a lot of time with our daughter so I really hope it helps.  I also called my dad, mom and my mother in law.  My mother in law was the most helpful in giving me suggestions on how to handle and deal with the craziness.  

Our daughter spent one night at her grandparents and then decided she was coming home Sunday.  I was not thrilled because I was actually relaxing and enjoying my time away from her bad to say but, after all the drama and stuff I have been dealing with what can I say? The hubby and I were talking without being interrupted so that was really nice.  

I started yet another project this time a cowl for my dad and I might just make one for my mom as well for the holidays. It is a rather fast knit and will be great to keep the neck warm where your scarf might have missed a bit of the neck area of course you can always pull it up over your nose and mouth to keep a bit more heat and warmth in if needed.  

 

Take care.

A talk

My daughter once again started in crying and yelling at me.  So this time I asked her to talk to me about what was going on and bugging her.  We talked and I at least feel better.  No I cannot solve this particular issue for her but, at least we talked.  

Today she is spending time with her grandmother and I get a free night and most of the day.  It has been very quiet and calm and rather weird.  Not saying I dont like it, just different.  

Wanted to give folks a link to some serious cuteness courtesy of Yahoo.  So if the link doesnt work just go to yahoo and find the “story of kids and animals pictures”. Here is the link http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/stop-39-doing-swoon-over-slideshow/-photo-2746736-192000211.html.  

Enjoy. 

The saga continues

Well unfortunately I jinxed myself.  My daughter decided to scream, yell, and throw things at me.  Thankfully what she threw at me were cat toys and mostly soft.  She also used foul language again.  To say I would not win the award of mother of the year is an understatement.  It was not fun and ended up being a two drink night for me.  The only saving grace for me was that my husband had to see his parents to fix something so I got to enjoy “silence”.  I did jam a few tunes and made a drink I was actually craving the adult version of hot chocolate.  It was tasty. 

Today I put in a call to my mother in law to discuss some things I had been noticing.  That our daughters language gets more foul when she comes back from a visit with them on the weekends.  

Plus I actually get a much deserved break because my husband will take our daughter to spend the night at my moms or she will pick her up tomorrow.  YEA!  

I really was dreading today and did not feel very motivated to get up and face the day.  I really wanted to just stay in bed.  I did get up and just made a few calls and deposits/transfers.  Trying to not dread the day as it keeps going.  I really want to stop the ride I am currently on and just need a break.  

I hope your day is fantastic.  

On hold

I went through my amazon wishlist and have been borrowing books from the library and deleting things off the wishlist.  It has been liberating and unfortunately due to me reading like a mad woman I have been neglecting my knitting of my dads bag.   I guess that I see that I have a lot of time so it can wait.  I will probably get back into it by tomorrow if possible.  

My daughter was being rather silly and cantankerous by saying she did not want a veggie dog or anything else for lunch yesterday so since I was out of options she went without but, made up for it and had two dinners and two deserts last night lol. 

Since my daughter was wanting some sparkly shoes I thought about getting her some Toms and discovered that according to her shoe size and what they believe fits a 7 year old I was shocked and amazed.  I just hope she doesnt end up wearing a size 13 shoe when she gets older the teasing will be endless.  

Weekend and other news

Wow it is a nicer week and it is only Monday.  My daughter is being better behaved and nicer at least so far the week is still young.  We will be having rough weather but, thankfully no more at least for now subzero temperatures.  

The last of my Amazon order arrived Monday most of it is for my daughter because lets face it I only got more PJs because it was a need and a want but, the need out weighed the want.  I also got my ramp for my rabbit.  Her ramp that came with her area broke and was plastic.  This is wood and a lot longer and doesnt really fit but, was the only one I could find.   

This past weekend we went to Walmart for a few things we needed like a bookcase for our books even though I got rid of a lot of them most of them are the husbands and the daughters books.  I might have one shelf if I put it all together.  I spent far entirely too much time there  and was not thrilled with being there.  

We also got our daughter some new tennis shoes not from Walmart her others were too small for her.  At over 4 years old not quite 5 she wears a size 3 ahhhhh she has big feet. 

I also stopped by Goodwill to get rid of a few things and the library to pick up more books I reserved.  

That was my weekend how was yours?  

Hulk

My mom was getting her newspaper early Monday morning during our subzero temps and well lets just say that my mom keeps her house locked up like Fort Knox and that the door froze again once it shut.   No worries my mom got the door open but, broke the handle of the door fighting to get it open.  Pssst metal gets very bitter and will break easily in sub zero temps.  

On the upside of the very cold temps my car got a new battery and tires.  It was having a lot of trouble starting during our bitter cold temps.  Now it seems to be a bit happier not that I would know since I have not driven my car in awhile.  

I really hope I do not jinx myself in saying that I am having a better time with our daughter.  Whew it has been rough for the past 3 days.  She has not been doing as I ask her to do (not trying to be a dictator or anything).   She has had fewer melt downs WHEW!  She is learning that I will ask nicely 2xs and then I will do the dreaded count.  If I get to three then a toy of hers disappears for 24 hrs.  It has been calmer and maybe this time I will not have to drink a beer.  I have been having a beer most nights normally after my husband gets home so he can have fun.  Last night I had to go to bed early it was such a lousy day.  I did a load of laundry because our daughter has forgotten how to use the bathroom and now she is out of jeans to wear and I forgot to add soap.  So I restarted it and told my husband that I was going to bed.  I was exhausted.  I guess three days of meltdowns, temper tantrums, not doing as I asked politely to do is exhausting.  I admit that by day three I might not have been the nicest person to her and maybe hulked out a bit.  Ah well not perfect.  

On the bright side today I got my new PJs.  I ordered for myself Hello Kitty Nerd PJs. Did I fail to mention that my daughter is a bad influence and that I might as well embrace my inner nerd?   I will post pics as soon as I can.  

I love the news yesterday they talked about global warming mentioning how hot it is in Australia and other areas (of course it is hot they are blessed with having summer while the rest of us freeze our collective backsides off).  

Ahhh me public

More like aaahhhh it is actually 12 degrees above zero and actually feels really balmy almost ready to bust out my bikini lol.  Even with wind chill factored in it feels great.  I am so happy to be above zero.  This still does not get folks off the hook so to speak regarding their animals outside.  Please keep them in and stay warm.  Just because it feels great being x degrees above zero does not mean go outside without a coat or other winter gear.  I even finally let my poor Noel have some run time in her usual place.  I could not do it because it was far too cold for her.  She had a blast and was really happy.  

I placed an order with Amazon post holidays because I needed some new pjs and did not want to go to the mall plus I splurged and ordered Monty Python Fluxx.  The reviews are great and now that I can read some of the cards they will make for a great game.  You might need to see Flying Circus and even though it has the Holy Grail knights on it remember it is called Monty Python.  It looks like a lot of fun and I cant wait to play it.    I do not order too much from Amazon even though I have quite a bit on my wish list.  Most of it is Kindle books but, I still do not want too much clutter.  

Last night I took pity on Noel and let her have a bit of run time upstairs.  She had an audience of myself and two cats.   She had a lot of fun and was a bit happier.  It does the bunny psyche good to have time out from their usual area.    

Hope you are staying warm or are slowly getting warmer.  Stay safe and remember your animals in extreme temperatures.