Friday, June 22, 2007

Are All Contractors Lame?


It has been approximately one month since I started a fire in my kitchen. Since that time the contractors who have been working in my home have stolen (food) from me. They have lied to me and attempted to cheat me out of money. The latest fiasco involves my living room, which had minor smoke damage that was supposed to be cleaned. But, the soot wouldn't come off entirely so the contractor opted to paint the entire room instead.

First they took the liberty of deciding that brown was a good color for my ceiling even though white was my instruction. My guess, the white paint can was empty, the brown was full. Another run to the paint store or a brown ceiling? They didn't think I'd care.

Second, the color we originally painted our walls is unavailable so we picked the closest possible match which is only slightly different. The contractor promised on three different occassions that the walls had received TWO COATS. Our walls have never received an entire coat and that's obvious because flaws that we left in our original paint job remain and color changes between the original and the new paint (where they did touch up work to cover soot) also remain. They must think I'm really stupid!

And, now to top it off, I called the contractor's buff. Told him that I didn't want him working in my house anymore since he's trying to shortcut this job and leave my house in disrepair. He told me that I'm trying to cheat him out of money that he's earned!! Is it possible to earn money by doing a half fast job? Should I let him back in my house to paint the living room and fix the other mistakes that remain? Should I pay him for the work that he has so clearly done poorly? Why do I have to work with morons?

Wish I was still on vacation! I'll post some cute pictures of that soon... Henry LOVED the ocean.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

What a month!

This past month has been interesting, to say the least.



At some point in the last couple months, we discovered Henry's love for animals. Our friends Kevin & Tori have a pet ferret, Jezebel, that, for Henry, is extremely captivating. Dogs are also a source of enjoyment for Henry. Whenever a dog walks by Henry excitedly kicks his legs and follows the animal's every move. It is no secret that this kid loves animals! It is no secret that his mom doesn't. So, he'll have to settle for playing with everyone else's pets... In the meantime, he's been to the zoo at least four times in his short life and now he's even played with baby animals at This is the Place Heritage Park. Super fun!!



A few weeks ago was my first official mothers day. Nothing in this life has brought me more happiness than my family. It is a tremendous blessing to be a mother, to have a child who so obviously loves you and needs you. The rewards of Motherhood are neverending, as are the challenges. We are so grateful for our mothers for all that they have brought into our lives and I am excited that I now have the opportunity to share what I can with my guy - Henry!


In an attempt to make Mother's day a special day for me, Joe purchased a bike trailer so that he, Henry and I can go on bike rides. Joe's bike is broken and I don't have one so we rounded up bikes from our parents and Joe spent hours cleaning them up so we could ride them. Let me just say, riding bikes is great fun for everyone in this family except for Henry. He HATES the helmet and he hates the bike trailer. We got not more than 50 feet before we knew that it was never going to work. I have never heard Henry cry so hard.



Earlier this month I ran in the Race for the Cure. Just a 5k, but my first organized race. It was really fun. If I could do an organized race like that once a week, I think I would. The environment is enticing. It's almost fair-like with all the vendors and booths and free stuff. There are tons of runners, which helped motivate me to keep running, and the fanfare at the end was really exciting. Spectators lined the streets, cheering us on and music was blaring in the background... as if the approximate 3.5 miles was the accomplishment of a lifetime.


And, to top everything off, this has been perhaps the worst week ever! Good news is, everything is looking up from here. Last Monday, I set my kitchen on fire. The following day my car broke down, then the cleaning lady ate my food and made me feel violated, my car broke again, and the neighbors threatened me. What a treat!



Friday, May 04, 2007

Get in, play for a while and get out as fast as you can!


He got in this morning and got clean with no troubles. He seemed to be having a great time so I let him play for a while. It was really fun to watch him scoot around on his bottom chasing the toys that were floating in the water. And then I noticed that there was another guest in his bath water. He was concentrating so hard he lost his balance and fell right on top of his new friend. All I can say is that was one nasty bath. Enjoy the photo.


[I'm feeling embarassed because the photo was so uncouth, so I erased it. If you really want to see it, I'll email it to you.]

Friday, April 20, 2007

Whatever makes him happy, makes me happy!



Most parents can relate to the unfortunate inability to have private time - even for the most private moments like going to the bathroom. Recently, Henry discovered that there's a whole new world full of exciting adventures - in the bathroom! So, finally I gave in and let him explore the sink (don't worry, I won't give in and let him explore the toilet, the line may be fine, but it must be drawn somewhere). The result, well, it had to be captured on film. Isn't he cute!


Monday, March 12, 2007

A Tooth

Today I discovered Henry's first tooth creeping in on the bottom right. Guess I know why he's been so unhappy the past couple days.