Even House Buying gets Dramatic September 29, 2006

You know how I’ve hinted at the fact that we’re buying a house? Well I actually have time to talk about it today.

My MIL lives in a house on 3 acres out in the country. Although she lives there, it is not technically her house. My FIL owns it. When they got divorced, he agreed to let her and the kids live there until the youngest one graduated from high school. After that, she would either have to take over payments or move out.

Two years ago, their youngest son was killed in an accident. He was only 15. Since the other two boys were out of the house, my FIL did the nice thing and decided to still hold up their agreement. He would continue to pay until she could get on her feet.

Well, this coming May would be the date of graduation, and my MIL has still made no plans to either move or start paying for the house. My FIL is really wanting to sell the house so that he can buy his own. He informed my MIL that he was going to start looking at selling. Before he contacted anyone else, he came to us and offered it to us for what’s left on the mortgage. Since we love the location, we decided it would be a great home for us. The only problem would be that we need to move out of our current house in November, so my MIL would need to find a place by then.

We’ve all sat down and had meetings about it, discussing the house and discussing where my MIL is going to go and how she’s going to afford it (she is lazy and refuses to work more than 15 hours a week, even though she has a college degree). Right now we’re picking which mortgage company we’re going to use. Basically, the ball is rolling, except for getting rid of the MIL.

I have made one thing loud and clear. She is NOT living with us. If she was old and dying, maybe, but she’s not (sadly, hehe). Instead of looking for a better paying job, she’s sitting around hoping that either her ex-husband or her father will buy her a place to live. She’s that crazy.

Anyway, this week she found a cheap house that her father has hinted that he might buy for her. The good thing: she will be out of “our” house. The bad thing: it’s two doors down. Yeah, you read that right. She wants to be our neighbor. So the whole situation is bittersweet for me. Last night The Hubby and I decided that if she moves there, we will have to set boundaries. She will NOT be coming over every day. She will NOT come over without calling first. We WILL change all the locks and not give her a key!

Next week we will be starting the paperwork, so stay tuned to see what happens with the MIL…

A Pleasant Surprise September 28, 2006

I am married to the best man in the world. But let me backtrack…

Five years ago, I started taking antidepressants. The doctors have switched my medication and doses numerous times until they’ve finally found a combination that works well for me. When I was pregnant, I was advised that it would be best for me to continue my meds through pregnancy and nursing, as I have severe depression. They were convinced it was better for my safety (and the baby’s) if I stayed on it. Although I was worried about the side effects of the medication on the baby, I agreed with them.

When I was going through such horrible PPD, I was still on meds. In my mind, if I was on medication and still suffering this much, then it was hopeless. We didn’t have insurance at the time, so I didn’t see any doctors about increasing dosages, etc. I just fought it. I read books, I talked to other moms, and I worked hard, but I finally overcame that urge to throw my daughter against the wall.

Since then, I’ve still had what I call relapses. I feel like my depression isn’t as bad, but I still don’t really feel happy. Althought I can get a handle on it, I am still having problems. I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it, but I was wrong. About a month ago, The Hubby asked me out of the blue what would make me happy. He told me that he wanted to help me to be myself again (whoever that is). We had a long talk about it, but nothing has been said since then.

Tonight when I got home from running some errands, I noticed that The Hubby had left me a note on the couch. He had been on the internet all afternoon, researching people who still have depression, despite medications. He had ordered me some DVDs about it. He had called doctors, asking advice. In his note he told me all of those things, then said “Let’s get you through this. Smile. I love you.”.

For a man who literally can not wrap his mind around depression, he is being such a wonderful husband. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to marry him! With his support, maybe I can get some answers and some help.

Help Wanted September 28, 2006

I’m sick to death of Blogger and thinking of moving to WordPress. How hard is it to transfer everything over? I need some advice here, before I take the plunge.

Because I Don’t Have Much to say Today September 26, 2006

Something about a baby in footed pajamas just makes my uterus drop.

Itchy Times September 25, 2006

I have finally found a legitimate reason not to let Squeaks go stay at my MIL’s house.

Squeaks spent most of the weekend over there. You see, we are buying my MIL’s place (it’s a long story that I will tell on another day), so we spend a lot of time out there working on some things. Today we went up there only for a few minutes, then spent the rest of the day at The Hubby’s grandparents’, who live next door to my MIL.

When we got home tonight, I was catching up on some homework, so The Hubby was taking care of the kiddo. At one point, he went to give her a bath before bedtime. Things sounded like they were ok until I heard him yell, “Oh gross! She is NOT hanging out at Nana’s anymore!”.

My first thought was to be excited…no more of my MIL!

But then I got concerned as to what was going on. I went in the bathroom to investigate and found that Squeaks had fleas all in her hair! I didn’t even know how to respond to that, but I was very upset. My MIL has no animals in her house, but she does have one dog and 30-something cats that she doesn’t take care of at all, except to feed them occasionally. Needless to say, they are fleabags and it has gotten so bad that her house is infested with them, even though there are no inside pets.

Thankfully we were able to pick them all out of her hair, but I’m still a little freaked out about the whole thing. My MIL often comments on how she will pick up fleas in the yard, but I don’t believe much of anything she says anymore. The fact that she let it get so bad that my DAUGHTER caught them pisses me off. I know it’s not entirely her fault, but it just gives me that reason I’ve been waiting for!

*****EDIT*****
I want to defend my MIL a little bit, as much as I hate it. Her house is not disguisting or filthy. In fact, she is OCD so it is quite the opposite. But the fact still remains that she has fleas in the house. All of her outside pets sleep either on the porch or under the house, so their little parasites are bound to come inside. The woman can’t afford to get rid of the fleas, so she thinks it’s best to just ignore the fact. That’s the part that’s horrible. In my opinion she shouldn’t have so many animals if she can’t afford to take care of them!

Bliss. Pure Bliss. September 22, 2006

Squeaks has turned into this little angel this week. I don’t know what’s caused it, but I’m loving every second of it.

She lets me know when she wants a nap (she grabs her teddy bear and sticks her thumb in her mouth), then proceeds to put herself to sleep in her crib after a few minutes of rocking with me.

She is eating her meals much better than before. I have not found one food that she will not eat.

She is paying attention when I tell her no, and most of the time she actually obeys me!

She is learning all kinds of new things that crack me up. I love playing with her and seeing what new tricks she has up her sleeve.

She is playing independantly enough that I can get some things done around here.

She still loves to stop running amock long enough to cuddle up with me for a few minutes. Usually at this time she plays with my hair and gives me kisses.

Every morning she greets me with a shrill, high-pitched “Hiiii”!

She is cutting another tooth right now, but you can’t hardly tell. She is being wonderful!

I have loved her all along, but the way she is acting now makes all of those sleepless nights and mental breakdowns worth it. I love this age!

TT #12 September 21, 2006

13 Television Shows I am Excited to Watch this Season

1. Grey’s Anatomy…obviously! I can’t wait for tonight so that I can start watching again! Yay!
2. Nip/Tuck. No one give anything away yet. I’ve only seen one episode of the season and I have the other two left to watch. I’m pumped for it, but I’m waiting for a time when The Hubby can watch with me, as he’s equally addicted.
3. Law and Order SVU.
4. Dancing with the Stars.
5. ‘Til Death. It’s been pretty funny so far.
6. Survivor. I’ve only seen one other season of Survivor, but I’m interested in this one.
7. The Bachelor: Rome. Anyone know when this is supposed to start?
8. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Finally a show that really does good for the community.
9. Family Guy. What can I say? I’m just a big kid.
10. American Idol, but it probably won’t start until spring.
11. The new season of The Backyardigans. Squeaks watches this a lot and I’m tired of seeing the same episodes!
12. America’s Next Top Model.
13. My Music Appreciation Live Broadcast class. Ok, so I’m not that excited, but I have to watch it, so I’m trying to get pumped for it. Not gonna happen, but it’s a good try!

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Checking In September 20, 2006

I want to start off by apologizing to all of my usual readers. My posting lately has been sporadic, at best. I’ve had a lot of things going on lately that have kept me from blogging.

First, I have been so totally consumed by the kidnapping of Baby Abby in Missouri. It was torn me apart, for some reason. So when I got up in the middle of the night and saw the news report that said she had been found, I was ecstatic! That right there is a huge weight off of my chest. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it and imagining what the parents were going through. Thankfully they are all alive and reunited!

Next, the college work has really picked up this week. So far I’ve done an excellent job at staying ahead of the game, but now I’m really getting bogged down. This is also reflecting in my housework, so anytime I get a minute free from Squeaks, I am either cleaning or doing homework!

So, that’s why I haven’t been around much lately. I promise that I will be posting more often.

So Sad September 19, 2006

Have you all heard about the missing baby in Missouri? It’s horrible.

When we were there this weekend, we kept seeing signs on the side of the road about a missing child, but there weren’t any details. Last night after I got home, I was watching the news and found out the whole story.

A family in Missouri had a little girl last week. Like many people do, they placed a big “It’s a Girl!” sign out in the yard. I’m still sketchy on all the details, but I know that a woman broke into the house, slashed the mother’s neck and told her she was taking the baby. Somehow, the mother lived and is still fighting for her life in the hospital, but this week-old baby is still missing.

How could anyone have the nerve to kidnap a child, much less a brand new one? It just tears me apart to think about it. That poor mother was probably so weak from having just given birth that she couldn’t even fight for her daughter. It’s so depressing.

If this doesn’t teach people not to put these signs in your yard, I don’t know what will.

My thoughts are with this family right now. So pray, cross your fingers, or whatever it is you do, but send some positive thoughts their way and hope that this little girl gets returned asap.

Time for a MIL Tale September 16, 2006

I thought she was getting better, but I found out today that she still drives me nuts.

The Hubby usually watched Squeaks on the mornings that I go to school (he’s working the evening shift). However, this morning he had a meeting, so the only other person I had to ask was my MIL. Before I left, I gave a few simple instructions: a bottle at 10:00 and no nap this morning because she slept in. Simple enough, huh?

When I got home, the first thing I noticed was that all of my pictures were moved around. I have a lot of framed pictures, either on the walls or on the end tables. My MIL had gone around the living room and moved them to her liking. I hate it! First of all, don’t come into my house and move shit around, but secondly, I had them how I wanted them!

Then I asked her where Squeaks was. She told me, “Well, I’ve been fighting her to go down for a nap, so she’s in her bed, screaming”. Excuse me? What part of ’she doesn’t need a nap’ did you not understand? I calmly said, “Why did you do that? I told you no nap. No. Nap. Now she’s in there all worked up and by herself because it’s not even close to time for her to go to sleep!”. My MIL shrugged and said something about how she thought that Squeaks should stick to her same naptime, no matter how she sleeps at night.

After rescuing my daughter, I took her in the kitchen to get her lunch. When I opened the fridge, I found that my MIL had eaten all of last night’s leftovers, the ones I was planning on having for lunch! She was only here for 3 hours — from 9-12! Not to mention, I’m doing Weight Watchers, so the food I have planned on eating is part of my delicate points system. Now I’m scrambling trying to find something around here to eat that is the same amount of points.

Next, my MIL informed me that she dug through Squeaks’ toybox to find a little blanket toy that my MIL gave her when she was born. She informed me that this toy was to be her lovey from now on, not her teddy bear. I just laughed at this. Fat fucking chance, lady. I didn’t pick which toy she would become attached to, and you certainly can’t change it this late in the game! That teddy bear is a part of this family. He eats and sleeps with us, he travels with us, he plays with us.

So just when I thought things were getting better, she decides to wreak havoc today. Since I’m dieting I’m more of a bitch than ever, so lets just say our encounter didn’t go well. Thankfully I’m going away for a girls’ trip this weekend, so I should be able to get her out of my mind!