So Sad

Today, David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok. After failing to appear on the set of new movie just beginning filming, a maid found him after an apparent suicide. He is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman, and mourned by many.


Strangely enough, this coincides with another death. Though perhaps not as widely affecting as David's death, it still has an affect. On his way up the stairs to our apartment last night, my boyfriend herd this very loud thud on the wall at the top. This morning, we discovered one of the swallows that nest in our alcove every year, dead on the floor, right against the wall.


To counter the sadness and negativity such news can bring, I would like to share this article I found on CNN. Every day oridnary people who have re-evaluated their lives and determined that Superhero work is their calling in this life, this economy.

I'm seriously tickled by this.

Ok, the links are not even showing up. WTH? I'll deal later.

Kangaroo Cake and More

Yesterday was Princess Potato's First Birthday!!! We celebrated by going out to Spanaway Lake Park and barbecuing hot dogs and stuffed pork chops. The food was fabulous, the company wonderful, and the weather fantastic!

We started working on the cake the previous night. It needed to be cut into the shape we wanted, then cut in half and filled. I drew the design, then Jeremy being of the mathematical mind that he is, figured out scale before cutting. Yes, that's a tape measure in his hand.


The morning of her birthday, we were up by 8 to begin frosting. Jeremy really wanted to use this whipped cream frosting that you buy as liquid and whip yourself. I usually do a buttercream, but I was willing to give it a go. Of course, this was a total arm sore as we don't have an electric mixer and had to whip by hand. It was rough, but it tasted fabulous and was less work on my hands for actual decorating. Jeremy's mother used to do wedding cakes for a living, so he knew how to do roses. He also layed the primary layer of frosting and the border. It was up to me for the kangaroo, duck, and writing. They're supposed to have a kinda puffy stuffed animal look to them.




Jeremy's mother was pretty upset we didn't let her do the cake. Everybody else always lets her do the cakes. It's her thing, since she did do it professionally. Well, I'm new to this family, and I've done the cakes for my kids every year for the past 9 years. I wasn't budging on getting to do Potato's first cake when his mother has had how many firsts of her own kids, not mention numerous grandbabies? I'm told she didn't even look at the cakes, and the only bite she had was one Jeremy gave her from his plate. I'm pretty miffed over this. His mother did get to do a bunch of other preps for the party though, and I think that assuaged some of the hurt she was feeling about the cake. But not enough, I guess.

So many people showed up. Everybody that we invited that we knew would be able to. His sister Dottie heads down to Palm Springs every year around this time, so we knew she wouldn't be. My parents have other priorities, so I just don't expect too much from them unless it's something local to them, which means Spokane.
This is a shot of most the party taken in to seperate shots at dif moments.



My friend Nola was kind enough to lend her husband, Scott, for playground duty. She says he owes her. lol What a sweet guy.


I'm really surprised that the little Princess didn't rip off the little crown I'd made her. Usually hats don't last long.


We got the kids some giant punch balloons, which they proceeded to use as their namesake. Even Potato got in on it... with herself.



Miss Potato spent alot of time hanging out with my friend Nola, and our other friends Dianna and Debbie. That kid eats like a champ, tearing through a hot dog and wedge of watermelon in no time.



Finally, it was time for the cake! She was such a little lady. She didn't touch until she was sure she was allowed to.


And then she really got into it!


After everybody had their fill of cake, and the ice cream cups that Jeremy's mother brought, it was time for presents. This little girl sure made out! Cute musical toys from Aunts and Uncles, clothes from cousins and friends. But I think her favorite thing was this cute, soft little doggy from Dianna that she kept hugging on and didn't want to let go. See Jeremy's hands in the "careful not to touch" position.


Immediately after the party, we of course had to drive back to Ellensburg for MonkeyBug to be picked up by her father. Dianna was sweet enough to have Miss Potato spend the night at her house. That might have been the best gift to that little baby girl. Rather than spending almost 6 hours in her carseat, she got to go hang out, chase her puppy buddy GusGus, and get to bed at a decent hour in a crib. I'm betting she even got pudding. lol What a great way to end her birthday.

Proud Potato!!!

My Potato Wedge stood tonight, and walked.

Stress Sickness

Today just isn't a good day. I'm so stressed out, I just feel sick. Of course, I'm just trying to keep everything I'm feeling closed and bottled up inside because Jeremy is stressed out, too. I know I can be very snappy when I'm stressed, and I've been working on that as well. An episode of Malcolm in the Middle keeps popping into my mind. Malcolm trys saying nothing negative for a time to see where it gets him. It actually gets things going pretty good for him. That is until he spits up blood from a bleeding ulcer that's developed as a result of witholding his sarcasm and bits of corrective information.

My apartment is too small. I despise it. The apartment manager is hateful little woman who lacks any sort of compassion. The Audi is still out of commission. I've been unemployed since October. Every time I think things may be getting better, something comes up. Almost got a job that would have been great for our situation, but as I was getting interviews set up, I lost my cell service. No job. Money sucks. Or maybe it blows... away. Seems like there is never enough. Not seems. There really isn't. We're surviving, but I wouldn't call it living. To live, we'd have to ignore responsibility.

The depression keeps cycling. Even when I'm not totally stressed. Some days are just so awful for me. I can't cope with life. I just want to curl up in bed, cry, sleep, and do nothing else. Most days it's hard to drag myself out of bed. Somedays, once I do I can trudge through the day. Somedays are good. Somedays I'm just not getting out of bed except because I simply have to, and then I'm running on minimum capacity.

Right now I'm thinking about everything I have to do this weekend, and with the way I'm feeling I feel like what the hell was I thinking? I was thinking my baby girl is turning One! So much to do. One large purple kangaroo cake to feed 20+ people, plus a small cake for Potato. Plus we're grilling, at the park, which not everybody was keen on. Tough for them. Plus this, plus that, etc. It better be sunny, or I'm murdering a meteorologist, and I don't care which one. It doesn't feel like it's been a year since the midwife put that baby girl on my chest and my Potato raised her head to look up at me. It's gone by way too fast. On the other hand, I think of how much she's grown, how smart she is, how funny she is, and about how excited she is going to be when her own personal cake is set before her to enjoy as she sees fit. She's such a silly baby. She makes me laugh with her love of all things feet. She loves shoes, socks, playing with her toes and sucking on them. She even occasionally attacks my feet! She bosses her siblings around, despite being the runt. She's constantly into everything, and wants that keyboard now! And I need to go charge video camera batteries, and digital camera batteries.

I'm now going to go distract myself with something crafty and put a blade to good use. No pics for now. Maybe later.

The Unofficial Beginning to Summer!

It's Memorial Day weekend. As in, everybody get the heck outta Dodge and clog all major highways to reach some destination greener, cleaner, and away from home. Unfortunately, the only reason I was leaving town was to take two of my kids to go have their visitation with their father. No getting out of town for me this weekend. Jeremy has to work. Miraculously though, he actually gets Memorial Day off. The first time in 14 years due to the fact he works retail.

I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass was crammed. When I called to tell my ex we'd be late, he calls me back and says the Department of Transportation website said the back up was from mile 44 to mile 62. Well, the DOT wasn't sitting at mile 37 in stop and go traffic, and hadn't been since mile 34. Pisssh.
Miles Ahead.

And Miles Behind.

My Zoo-tots. Yes, I pilfered my children's Sonic kids meals. I'm a bad person.


Miss Potato was feeling pretty cranky cause she was hungry, and the bottle was no longer acceptable to her. But mini oreos however were acceptable!

Pix & Bear were happy with juice since they'd eaten dinner already.

We finally approached Summit at about 8pm, which is when we should have been reaching Ellensburg another 60 miles away.


After we reached the other side of the Summit, we decided to stop at the Price Creek rest stop. Apparently so did everybody else who lacks the capability to pee in the trees without piddling on themselves. It was a quite a line of folks, considering the number of guys I saw get out of their cars to water the shrubbery. People were lined up into the parking area, and a high percentage of the parking spaces were filled.


We didn't make the drop off point until 9:45. The ex even drove further west to meet us at Elk Heights so we didn't have to drive to Ellensburg. We made it home just before midnight. Little Potato was so grateful to be out of her carseat and into her crib. We're not picking the kids up til Monday, so it's going to be more of the same in reverse. Yippee. Ick.

Yesterday Potato and I just ran errands. So many loads of laundry for six people. Again, she spent most the day in her carseat. She was so---- angry every time she got put back in it. She would build up for a scream, and I would have to clap my hands in front of her face to get her to breathe before she started turning blue. Talk about dedication to getting your point across. I think she gets gearing on it so hard, she can't figure out how to start up breathing again. It's kinda interesting to watch. I've never had a kid do this before. Usually I count to five, and the scream lets out. Not her. That would be her Daddy's temper. Not good.

This morning, Potato announced she was ready for the day after sleeping in til almost 9. Her dad went to get her from her crib, and called me in there. The little Sweet Potato was so proud of herself. She'd started her diaper change. Diaper off, baby and bedding a mess. Ugh. Another trip to the laundry mat. We also went to Michael's. SO much of their scrapbook stuff is on clearance. It was hard not to start filling a cart. I'll drag Jeremy in there tomorrow and reason it out with him. lol I've decided that for my birthday this year, I just want gift cards to Michaels and Artco Crafts. I want card making supplies and fabric to start making vintage pinup dresses. Artco has this adorable cherry fabric I think will be perfect for a swing dress. And another fabric for an apron. So many desired projects. So little money.

Zoo Days

Wednesday was Tacoma Free Day at the Point Defiance Zoo. So after Potato's appointment, we headed out to the zoo. It was completely necessary. We would have gone even if it was raining. In March, Qannik, the younger and smaller of the two belugas became sick. The doctors caring for him just weren't able to help him get over it and he died. Beethoven, the older and much larger beluga whale, is doing fine. Unfortunately, Tacoma will be losing their playful friend. Beethoven is being moved to Texas in June to take part in the breeding program and to be around other beluga whales.
Here's some pics of Beethoven and Qannik from previous years.



And here are a few pics from our visit this year. We always start with the Kids Zone. They have a little playground. It's also where they keep goats, lemurs, and meerkats. The indoor viewing area of the meerkats was closed for repairs, which means the spiders and some snakes were missed.




Next were the fish and sharks. Potato LOVES this area. She has a great fascination with aquarium life. It's definetly her favorite part. Marine biologist in the making perhaps?

Nemos!



Here sharky sharky sharky...

Let me ride it!


Next was the Indian Sanctuary. The tigers were lounging up in the shade, under the trees, behind the tall grasses. One did finally emerge, but she stayed up in the shade. One of the zoo employees showed us a ball that they had played with for about two hours when they were two months old. I think Potato wanted to take it home.


We moved on to the penguins, which Pix was very excited to see. Potato held on to the rail and leaned over as far as I would let her. Then she didn't want to let go! I think she wanted to join in their play. Bear preferred to maintain possession of the zoo map and navigate our adventure.


Bear however did pause for a pose with the bronze statue of Dub Dub, the harbor seal that lived to be 33yrs old and was part of inspiration for building the zoo.


We then moved on to the main purpose of our visit. I explained to the children how there was only one beluga now, and that this would be the last time we'll get to see Beethoven before he goes to Texas. It's unfortunate, since the whales are a big reason we go to the zoo.
Beethoven doing his usual circling about.

One of two seals residing with the beluga.


I think Bear's favorite part was the walruses.

Sonic Boom

Some months ago the Tacoma metro area got their first Sonic franchise out in Graham. The place has been busy ever since. Crazy busy. Going there for dinner is pretty much a bad idea unless you are willing to wait quite a while. We went for lunch yesterday. They had four rows that were each about 5 to 6 cars deep in the Staging Area. Thankfully, all those cars were for drive-thru. Insane. It would be nice if the employee asking you Drive-Thru or Stall would explain the wait is longer for drive-thru. Who goes to a drive-in to go through the drive-thru? It kinda defeats the purpose and blows the experience.


I've never been to Sonic. Jeremy has since he has stepped foot in Cali before. He had a serious hankering for cherry limeade, but deciding what to eat without ordering one of everything was a bit of a test.


Thankfully, he was able to make a decision with the double cheeseburger. Of course he got his Cherry Limeade. He even resisted getting a milkshake.


I love their alternative additions for kids meals! The kids got grilled cheese sandwiches and bananas. Yum! Bear ate his banana before even touching his sandwich. Such a good boy. Pix was able to decide quickly she wanted a cherry slushy drink. Bear took a while though. There were so many choices!! Finally, he decided on Blue Coconut. I don't think he was disappointed.


I decided to go with the old standby of a bacon cheeseburger toaster, my all time fave no matter the situation. It was so good, and then I bit into the onion ring they put on it, and it got even better! lol The onion ring just really makes it. Mmmmm. I wish I'd gotten onion rings instead of chili cheese tots. The chili left something to be desired, like something more than colored mush. While my boyfriend is a sucker for cherry limeade wherever he goes, my weakness is strawberry. I wasn't disappointed.


Of course, Miss Potato does not tolerate not having her own food. She doesn't eat baby food. She looks at us like we're stupid and hiding the real stuff. So, we don't even bother. She eats everything we do, mostly. So Miss Potato got tater tots. She loved tearing them apart and tearing into them with her six teeth.


Afterwards, we ventured over to Joe's, formerly known as G.I.Joe's. They're going out of business and everything is clearanced. There isn't much left, except for little stuff. Jeremy really wanted to check it out though. So, he got some fishing stuff, and found a really good Kershaw electric carving knife for cheap. He tells me it's really good. I don't really know. I don't play with electric knives. I figure I shouldn't push my luck. I however was able to finally replace my WSU Cougar shirt after 10 years of not having one.

Then we moved on to dinner at Rory & Dianna's place. I found out Shantelle had taken the invitation to Potato's birthday, ripped it in half, and stuck the kangaroo in her binder cause she liked it so much. The little dog that Potato once started out absolutely terrified of is now her best friend. She follows that dog, pets and pulls on him, and gives him kisses. She's even started playing with him with his toys.


I really think her favorite thing of all though is the way Dianna spoils her. For example, with pudding....