Let's talk about...

Teenage girls.  They top my "most hated creatures" list.  And yesterday night, on my dinner break this fact was greatly enforced.

I'm in line waiting for my sandwich, when two very scantily dressed 12 year olds get in line behind me (I would later find out that they were 13, not that this makes the events any better).  I'm instantly appalled that their parents let them out dressed like that.  Then I hear one of them mention that a friend was recently found to be smoking by their parents and said parents then made child smoke an entire pack in front of them.  For a second I found this funny, since this was what my mom always said she would do if I tried smoking.  Then they turned to discussing what brands of cigarettes they liked the best, and who bought them cartons last.  Yeah.  I was agog.  I was aghast.  My sandwich being done, I took a seat and thought, "okay, i don't have to hear them any more." But, unfortunately, these mini-chainsmokers sat next to me.  And had a loud discussion of who hasn't turned 13 yet, and which sex acts they and their friends have tried already.  And where they've had sex.  Absolutely mind boggling.  I pointed out that the discussion was loud because on the other side of these lovely litle ladies were two tables of families with small kids.  I was so disgusted on so many levels.  It took every ounce of willpower for me to not start a scene and ream these girls out.  I was shaking by the time I went back to work.  How has parenting gone so ENORMOUSLY downhill since I was that age ? My mom would have rather fed me to rabid dogs than let me go to the mall by myself at 12-13 years old.  And while I had "the talk" by that point, I certainly didn't know all the details.  I didn't even have my first "real" kiss until I was 14.  And I was completely terrified of the idea of sex until almost 18.  The fact that these two girl were so flippantly talking about something so adult is so horrifying and awful.  These girls couldn't even take on the responsibilty of caring for a hamster, and yet they're out fucking.  Positively disgusting.  Yet another reason Finn will be homeschooled and another reason why we live out in the middel of nowhere, far, far away from horrendous people.

Filler for now

Until I get around to editing pictures of the past week....a lame meme.

1.What was the last thing you put in your mouth? toothpaste

2.Where was your [Facebook] profile picture taken? my backyard

3.Can you play Guitar Hero?absolutely not

4.Name someone who made you laugh today?Finn

5.What time did you go to bed and why? 10:30 ish? We stayed up to watch Dancing with the Stars.

6.If you could move somewhere else, would you? Canada

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?probably. until the fireworks started raining down on us and we had to run for cover.

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you?Aaron and Cassie and that whole lot

9. Do you believe ex’s can be friends? sometimes

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper?Tasty every now and then

11. When was the last time you cried really hard?last Wednesday when I realized how fucked we were financially

12. Who took your profile picture?me

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?A paint covered Finn

14. Was yesterday better than today?I don't know yet

15. Can you live a day without TV?yes, definitely

16. Are you upset about anything?being in the hole $600 and having to pay rent somehow in four days

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?yes

18. Are you a bad influence?Some would say yes, but I don't think so. Not these days anyhow

19. Night out or night in?Out

20. What items could you not go without during the day?Computer, fuzzy socks, camera

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?my grandpa right before he passed away

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?I have no idea

23. How do you feel about your life right now?Happy but stressed. Wishing that we could be financially stable for once

24. Do you hate anyone?not really

25. If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find?play date invites

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?yes, they might find copious amounts of ice cream though

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?yes, and they were bat shit crazy for thinking that

28. What song is stuck in your head?Lipgloss-Li'l Mama

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?Not a deranged stalker or a bear, that's for sure. and if someone was on our property at 2 a.m. I'm sure our neighbor would already have the person at gunpoint before they could knock on my window.

30.Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50?That's not really up to me

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow?make cookies

32. Do you think too much or too little?way too much

Cleveland rocks!

Well, this blog was going to include lots of hilarious pictures from our weekend in Cleveland, but since Steve uploaded them, heaven only knows where he filed them on the computer. Sigh

Anyways, we ventured to Cleveland on Friday afternoon to visit with Kent and Paula, arguably the cutest couple alive. Nana and Pap were even free to watch Finn overnight so we could go toddler free, which just about never happens. We kicked off our journey with a stop for lunch at our favorite Mexican place in Grove City before making the long drive west. The rest of the drive, pretty uneventful. We made it in one piece and waited with Paula for Kent to get home. After that we all headed to the House of Blues (aka the Biggest Ripoff Ever) since the guys were seeing the Mars Volta (aka worst band in history). We had a highly over priced and under tasty meal there before Paula and I split off on our own for the Cleveland Art Museum. I had never been there before (save wandering past it drunk and barefoot 6 or so years ago), so I had no idea what to expect. It was pretty mind blowing. Especially given that so far the only museum we've had Finn to is the Children's Museum in Pittsburgh. Which, don't get me wrong, is amazing, but it's not exactly old world masters. After a couple fantastic hours at the museum, Paula and I headed out for drinks and dessert while we waited for the guys to call us. Which they did, complaining about being cold and soggy. Our reunited group went to the Spitfire Saloon for a few drinks but the band there was too loud (but I loved them) so we journeyed elsewhere to have drinks and conversation. And did we ever! Steve somehow managed to get into a drunken debate with a random wino over Wings. I wasn't aware that Wings was worth debating. And this wino was apparently the biggest Wings fan ever, and the other three of us saw he night taking a possible bad turn. Luckily, crisis was avoided when they (thankfully) switched to discussing the re-release of the Beatles catalog. Phew. The evening ended with quite possibly the longest Taco Bell run ever (what the hell were the people in front of us doing?) and some long overdue sleep.
When we finally all got up and motoring on Saturday, we had lunch at BD's. And I ate myself into a food coma. With the exception of the lamb, everything was soooo yummy. Afterwards we went to teh used bookstore where I got a ridiculously cheap copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover. Steve and I headed home after that, even though Nana had called and told us that she was going to keep Finn for another night. So we returned to a toddler free house (which is pretty quiet and empty feeling) and I'm surprised that we didn't both pass out immediately. We're way too old and parent-y to keep up that pace. Luckily it doesn't occur that frequently. Otherwise we' be dead.

In summation, excellent, awesome weekend.

And now, the roofers are here. Much too early. I have no idea how Finn is going to nap today with them pounding and stomping around.

Pictures galore!

Ah, fall in western Pennsylvania. Usually my favorite season of all. But this year it came out of left field. There was no slow fade from summer, not pretty autumnal blue skies. Just this gross, rainy, soggy weather, and heavy winds. So far our leaves are still clinging to the branches, so at least we have some gorgeous foliage to brighten our days. Oh, and a million acorns littering our property. We must have the fattest squirrels in the universe. This may explain how, when we first moved in, I mistook a squirrel for a grey fox. Seriously.

Our last sunny day outside we spent cleaning out the garden (except for my sunflowers, which are holding on despite the temperature drop), and mowing the grass. And this led to figuring out what Finn is allergic to: fresh cut grass. The boy who lives for mowing the lawn with daddy, who begs "twactor! twactor! twactor!" all day long is allergic to cut grass. Sigh. Hopefully he'll grow out of it. He mowed the lawn with Steve one last time this past weekend and with full pants and sleeves he managed to not have a reaction. Hopefully he'll grow out of it. On the other hand, he's pretty happy that he can have oat-y cereal again, since I took it all away after his breakout of hives.

Since it's been so yucky, we've been baking up yummy treats. I tried my hand at vegan chocolate cupcakes, and I must say, the results were marvelous. And Finn thought so too. Since they contained no raw eggs I didn't feel quite as bad about letting him lick the batter spoon. O course then he kept bringing the spoon back to get reloaded with ooey, gooey goodness. And i was left with a chocolate covered toddler as well as a trail of batter from the kitchen into the living room.

Later that night while I was making spaetzel for dinner, he turned into a monkey. A cupcake seeking monkey. I never heard the chair being pulled out from the table, or the thud of little feet climbing. Darn kitchenaid mixer is a blessing, but it sure is loud. As I turned it off I heard "Mummy! Cakey!", and sought out the tiny voice. Low and behold:

And Finn was gracious enough to take a break outside to model for me for his 19 month pictures. Unfortunately this was almost a month ago and now I need to concoct something for his 20 month shots.

Wrong side of the bed.

I don't know what's up with today. Finn and I have been butting heads all day long. He didn't want to eat breakfast. I wanted him to finish his cereal. He wanted to watch shrek 2...again. I begged him to watch Martha Speaks or read some books. I wanted to go to dance class. He wanted to leave the second we got there. This is just not our day I guess. I'm hoping a dinner of grilled cheese sammiches and Nana's tomato soup will patch up our wounds. :crosses fingers:

Yesterday was quite fun for everyone. My friend Liz was in Erie visiting her in-laws, and made the drive down to spend the day with us. Sadly, her in-laws kept her gorgeous daughter Melia with them, so Finn had no buddy to play with (read: to terrorize adults with). She graciously did a little modeling for me since I don't get much practice these days with my trusty camera (other than with Finn and his hammy self). We had a super yummy dinner and played Scrabble until she had to leave (far too soon). Hopefully her next stay with us will be longer :)