ch ch ch changes

jennster says...
there are lots of changes going on in the ster/dot household. i recently got promoted at work and i've been so busy that i think that my head constantly spins on my shoulders. boyfriend and i are house hunting.. so are me and my husband. :) okay, we were house hunting. we've somewhat decided to put that plan on hold for the moment..... BUT, i feel good about it. not sure how he feels. to me, it seems like it's just better if we wait. there is no rush to buy a house right this very second- and i'd much rather wait for the right one to come along.

speaking of the right one, wanna know what pisses me off? when people (and by people i mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON) tells me that "your first home is never your dream house." okay, it may not be my dream house, but does that mean i have to settle for a house i can't stand?! i just hate people telling me what they think my house should be like. what if i do get close to my dream house my first time? why is this such a fucking impossibility? all it does is make me want to get an awesome house even more. you know what i mean?!?! i get it that the reality is that most people don't get perfect houses the first time they buy- but it still annoys me to no end to hear people remind me of that.... and even more, to hear people TELL ME that that is what WILL happen to us. how the hell do they know what will happen to us? just cause they bought a dump their first time around doesn't mean that's what we'll do. everyone can just shove their negative crap up right back up their ass where it belongs.

dot says:
i second what other people say and telling us what we should do or where we should do it. i personally could give 2 shits if its a dream house or not. i like fixing stuff and making it personal. i like the idea of having to do a bunch of home customizations.

I understand why we are on hold for house hunting. even though i would move tomorrow just for the reason of telling our landlord to kiss my ass. if the right house at the right price comes up then i want to go for it but going to that town every weekend is annoying and i am glad we are putting that off for a while.

But most importantly im trying to buy a 5.0 mustang. and every one i have gone to see off craigslist has been a total POS. i mean missing door locks.....as in a hole in the door where you put your keys. i wish someone would just put what it was instead of trying to get someone to see it but lying to them to get there.

jennster says:
please don't get me started on this car you suddenly MUST HAVE and no other car in the world will do. thanks.

Predictability

The following discussion is based on actual events. The characters depicted represent themselves and are, in no way, playing nice with one another.

Jen: (Monday morning) "Honey? Just a reminder that this Friday our post is up for 'Dad Said, Mom Said'."
John: "Awww, man! Great."
Jen: "That sounded a bit sarcastic. What's wrong with you?"
John: "It's just that every time it's our turn to create a post, we sit down to think of a topic but the end result is me sleeping on the couch."
Jen: "What??! What the hell are you talking about?"
John: (sigh) "Okay. You're the blogger in the family and are the creative-half between us. So you want to write about somethig that's gonna catch everyone's attention. So somethimes we decide to be a bit edgy and ask one another 'what have we been disagreeing about lately?' and I think to myself 'Well, there's our first mistake'. We're opening up a conversation that we obviously disagreed about and most likely argued about. But now we're reopening the argument so that we can bring it back to life and argue about it some more. What this leads to is us getting re-pissed off at each other which, in turn, leads to me sleeping on the couch and you going to bed alone."
Jen: (becoming a little annoyed) "So, what exactly are you saying? That it's not okay to disagree?"
John: "No, that's not what I'm saying at all! It's okay to disagree, in fact, it's healthy to disagree. But what I'm saying is that with our lives the way they are -- moving in with your folks, you and your crazy periods, and dealing with the kids and becoming exhausted from dealing with the kids -- that leaves roughly 2.2 days of any time I might hope to be intimate and spend time with you. And for some reason, it's like the planets and their moons align just right, our turn comes up to post during the week of those 2.2 days. And you know what happens then?
Jen: (sarcastically) "I'm sitting on the edge of my seat."
John: "Smartass. I'll tell ya what happens. We spend two days arguing..."
Jen: "We don't 'argue' about it!!"
John: "Okay. *shrug* So we spend two days 'disagreeing' about what we're to post, and the night before (that's the .2 part of the equation) drafting it! Then we both go to bed pissed off at one another."
Jen: "That's just about the most absurd thing I have ever heard! Honestly! You're blowing this waaaay out of proportion."
John: "Oh yeah? So, how about after we post this we sneak upstairs, get naked, and get some lovin' on?"
Jen: "Fuck you. I'm going to bed. Don't even think about coming in there asking for any."
John: (slight smile on his face) "Yup, that one was right on the money."
Then, calling to Jen, "Hey Honey? Throw me down my pillow, would ya?"

Daddy's Little Girl (as if she had a choice)

Jenn Said:
This third trimester is kicking my ass. I haven’t posted in weeks (maybe even a month) I hate my job, I’m a total emotional wreck, I’m in a ton of pain, and I’m feeling a bit guilty that I’ve been hangin a bit on Mike for support with Allie. The baby isn’t even here yet and I’m not able to play with her like I want, or put her to bed every night, or any of the other million things that I want to do with her. This is supposed to be the calm before the storm where I spend as much alone time with Allie as I can because it will never be the same for her again, and I can’t. And Allie is showing it too. She’s back to wanting Mike most of the time and not me. Of course, being that emotional wreck I mentioned before isn’t helping in this situation. Not only that, but once the baby is born I’m going to really have to hang heavily on Mike for support. Especially with a c-section it’s gonna be really hard until I’m healed. I’m afraid that, as strong and as wonderful as Mike is that he’s gonna crack under the pressure a bit. *cringe*

Mike Said:
Yes, Jenn has been uncomfortable for months now. I can see it all taking an toll on her. I'm not going to lie. It's going to be rough going for a while. I'm going to have to help Jenn do even the simplest things that she could normally do for herself. I remember how much trouble she had after she had Allie, and this is going to be even tougher. I feel badly for her and am doing whatever I can to make things easier on her, but already I only have about 45 min to an hour for me every day. There are times when I know Jenn really can't help, and I don't resent her for it at all, but I start to lose my patience and can't really walk away for a second. I just have to force myself to stay calm during the situation. I try not to take it out on Jenn, but sometimes it happens. I always acknowledge that I'm doing it right after and say I'm sorry. I have some things to do in the house still to get it it ready for Luke, but have no time. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon, cause his room is no where near ready.

Regardless, I know we'll get thru it. It's just going to be an adjustment period

Jenn Said:
THEN, as I continue to complain, I go to pick up Allie from school the other day and they tell me that they had a child that was diagnosed with the Coxackie Virus. Which apparently could be no big deal to Allie but could be a potential big deal for me and/or Luke. Supposedly there are some studies that if I get the virus I can pass it through the placenta and give it to Luke. He could get any number of things from it including but not limited to Viral Meningitis. WONDERFUL!!! 3 days later Allie has a fever. *sigh* So now, I have to what? Stay away from her as much as possible? Great, thanks, cause I wasn't having that problem AS IS!!!! Then, Mike tells me he doesn't feel well either. So I get the pleasure of telling him: "Gee babe, I know your not feeling well but you need to change Allie's diaper, and put her to bed, and play with her, and wipe her nose, even MORE than you normally do, cause I can't be in contact with her just in case.

Seriously, we must be the perfect match, cause if we're not fighting over stuff these last couple of months....I really think we could get through anything.

*fingers crossed it stays that way for the next couple of months*

I guess this isn't as much of a dad said mom said post as a bitch session from the two of us.....but hey....it's what's going on over here at the Maniacal Household.

Mr. Sandman

Jenn said:

Lately, the Dubyas haven't been getting much sleep -- or maybe I should say Mrs Big Dubya hasn't been getting much sleep.

In addition to the 'lil lady getting up twice a night absolutely starving due to a vicious growth spurt that good God in heaven, I pray comes to an end soon, the 'lil man's being plagued by nightmares/night terrors. I find myself leaping out of bed to respond to his bone chilling shrieks at least twice per night and dragging my butt into her room for a feeding another once or twice.

The infuriating part? The Big Dubya snores through the whole thing.

He wakes up in the morning all chipper and cheerfully asks how we all slept last night? The bags under my eyes are large enough to accommodate a weekend trip, and HE HAS TO ASK has to ask how we slept. When I tell him that I was up 2, 3, 4 even 5 times with one or the other (sometimes both!), he asks why I didn't wake him to help.

I guess my response to that is WHY THE HELL SHOULD I HAVE TO???

He maintains that if I weren't there, he'd hear them -- so, my question is.....Are these children my sole responsibility? Are the only times you are obligated to get up with them the times when I am not there (hardly ever) or when I wake you to ask for help? And if I have to wake you....I'm already up -- I may as well deal with it myself.

Don't get me wrong -- the majority of the time, I don't mind getting up for them....sometimes, in the quiet of the night -- cuddling your 'lil one is a wonderful thing, times to be cherished -- but sometimes I NEED SOME SLEEP!

Oh, and don't get me started on the one eye opening half way and pretending to be asleep....that's just plain old rude!

Warren said:

Ok, not exactly getting a fair shake here. It is a rather defenseless position I've been put in. I will say, however, my wife does have a flair for the dramatic - "bags...large enough to accommodate a weekend trip" - sheesh. But, I am not going to deny that it is, more often than not, Jenn who gets up during the night to tend to either or both of the kids.

My only defense (and it is tenuous at best) is that I am, indeed, a very heavy sleeper. I am the type of person who needs an alarm clock set on the highest volume and sitting no more then three feet away from my head. I can sleep through most anything and have always been that way. My biggest fear when Jenn has been away those few times is that I will not hear either child during the night -- but I am so stressed about that, I do not actually sleep, but rather power nap. Waking up pretty much every hour on the hour. With the monitor next to my head. At full volume.

I know I'm not alone in this - I have heard from others, as recently as this weekend, who have very similar sleep habits and offered up a lot of the same responses. I know that's no excuse nor is it a defense nor does it justify sleeping through whatever calamity should arise. But, neither is "I'm already up..." a good enough reason to shoulder the burden entirely yourself - wake me up and you get to go back to sleep - ta-da! - and then maybe we can work on the set of American Tourister you're sporting under those big, brown eyes.