banana-rama

mmmm....i've had the cooking bug in me the last week or so. i decided the other day to try out this delicious sounding recipe for banana bread from (who else?) the pioneer woman. she used a bundt pan, which i don't have; so i made one loaf and 12 muffins. worked great!! i personally liked the muffins better. they were very light and fluffy. but the bread turned out wonderful too! yummmmmmmy!

baby mine

(left-me, right-ashlan)i don't think anyone can say that this little cutie is not flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood.

cute kid contest

i SO want to enter my girls into the the cute kid contest! i registered and found a couple pictures and uploaded them and then find out it's $19.95 or so for each entry! :( and yes, i am biased, but i definitely think my girls have a chance at something like this. but i highly doubt i could talk steve into a $40 entry fee each month i want to enter them.

so, here is the work i went to to find a good picture of the girls. it is so hard picking one that i think shows their personality and cuteness, but here is what i chose.

at least they will be featured here, in my rarely viewed blog. talent agents, take note. :)

must. get.

SLEEP!

i would love to figure out what i do on the days ashlan sleeps through the night. these nights adding up where she is up all night is just taxing me to the edge of all reason. i feel snappy and short and unable to tolerate just about anything. i truly need some sleep!

i decided i am going to attempt to keep a log of ashlan's schedule for the day until i figure out what works. if, in fact, there is anything that is contributing to her sleeping through the night. heck, maybe she just got so worn out from a couple nights of being up all night and crashed on the third. but there was a time she was more consistently sleeping through. so there MUST be something to it.

and by God, i WILL find it. sleep WILL be mine!!!

final letter

i have been corresponding with a representative from HealthCheck Systems regarding a purchase i made through them. there was some slight damage and I was hoping to get a small refund. the gal offered to replace the pieces damaged. after about ten emails back and forth trying to explain to her the pieces that were damaged and sending what photos i could, i have given up. she kept saying she was confused as to the damaged "piece", even though i explained SEVERAL times that there was small damage to SEVERAL of the pieces. she finally said that i should contact the manufacturer directly and see if they can figure me out and help since she couldn't seem to understand which "piece" i needed replaced. this was my final email to her.

~

Jennifer,

Two pictures were of the same chip and two were of two additional parts with damage. And again, in the last picture, it was difficult to get the camera to focus at an angle close enough to show the dent in the wood. This appears to be a bit more complicated than I ever expected and it seems as though you are only offering to replace ONE of the damaged pieces. Therefore, that seems to be the source for your confusion since I have indicated that there are five separate pieces with damage. And I have listed each piece several times in my emails. I don't see how I can be much clearer on the matter. You have thus succeeded in wearing me down into submission. I no longer seem to care about having the items replaced, as it has been more frustrating than I ever imagined. So, well done. I will just think twice before ordering from your company again.

~

i am so sick of "customer service". blech.

at least the item is still fully functional and looks pretty. the damage really was minor. i was just annoyed at paying more than i would have liked for a slightly damaged product and wanted a little refund. that's it. all that fuss for that! for nothing apparently.

wasted

waste of money.

waste of gas.

waste of time.

waste of energy.

why didn't i just stay home?

*breathe*

why does it seem like the fit hits the shan every time steve leaves? the very day he leaves, the dogs decide it would be a good idea to dig a hole by our back fence and bust a post and escape. it seemed to happen while (or shortly after) i was taking steve back to work so his car would be left at home while he was gone. i had no clue the dogs were even gone till i happened to see a couple boys walking a boston and...hey, wait...a black pug right outside my front door at about 4pm. apparently they had been out since around one. :\ i guess i was just enjoying the quiet. i also bit my tongue and didn't tell the boys that maybe they wouldn't try to dig into their property if they stopped harassing my dogs and kicking balls at the fence and running along it taunting them. no, i did not say that. though i wanted to.

and then this morning i find that the dogs pissed in their crate. on the doggie bed that steve wanted to put into the crate. and the inner filling is partly ripped, so cedar crap came out all over the place as i was trying to get the cover off to wash it. and i don't even think i can wash the inner part given the cedar filling. so i'll probably have to toss it. fabulous. and that's not to mention the pee from their paws that's all over my carpet and kitchen floor from letting them out this morning before i saw that there was pee in the crate. *insert expletive*

so now i am counting down the minutes till the girls are down for their nap so i can finish cleaning stuff up. and i am just praying the vacuum doesn't wake emma, cuz it's just gotta happen.

and this is just the first official day without my husband. wonderful.

onto a lighter note....ashlan is on the verge of rolling over from her back to front! woo hoo! i am hoping it will be soon. i can't wait to see her accomplish it! heck, if she doesn't do it soon, i doubt she will at all....she's sitting up and i imagine will soon just want to sit and crawl and get-er-movin'!

and i've started her on formula after her nursing sessions. she's been increasingly fussier after feedings and seemingly not satisfied. though i would think 4 oz would be good for her, it just doesn't seem that way. and my supply goes down after the afternoon, so i imagine that doesn't help. while she was at the in-laws, they ended up feeding her both 4 oz packs i gave them for her in about one hour. so i figured maybe i would try and supplement. i opted for the formula before the cereal for some reason. so far so good. she seems to have adjusted to the awful smelling stuff pretty well, so that's a plus! :)

and on a oh-holy-crap-my-daughter-is-growing-up-too-fast note...emma just opened our child stair gate all by herself and then proclaimed, "yay, emma did it!" um...most adults can't seem to figure that thing out (it's a slide the thumb thing back and hold while lifting up and swinging gate open kind). great. lol