Secular Confessions

[daylilies]

Chrissy, that would be awesome!
I am also a skeptic when it comes to ghosts. I've never had any real experiences but I'm still one to say "why not?" I guess I'm agnostic about ghosts. LOL


I like it that DH is a handyman of sorts. He'd rather try to fix or do something himself and not hire someone. Of course that makes for a lot of botched experiments but I still like it that he tries. And he actually learns from his mistakes. He painted our living room recently and it was quite a chore because he had to remove layers of stubborn wallpaper. He did one half of the room kind of clueless about how to do it, learned from what he did wrong and did the second half a lot faster.

[Gwenn]

Chrissy, it's hot in more than one sense of the word!

My DH would rather hire someone, but it's cheaper for him to do it himself. Makes for lots of botched experiments and cursing. All of which is enjoyable to watch.

[missychrissy]

Chrissy, it's hot in more than one sense of the word!

ooo la la...I'd tend to agree. I like a guy that's...capable.

[Gwenn]

ooo la la...I'd tend to agree. I like a guy that's...capable.

LOL. Me too.

[Smplyme89]

My hubby is pretty much always working on something around the house. Struting around with his tool belt

He's really handy though I can't think of anything that has needed fixing that he couldn't do! He won't pay for anyone else to do anything, which works for me since I'm cheap

[missychrissy]

I'm cheap too (heehee). Even though at this point we could afford to pay for some things, it's difficult for me to do so. We had so many lean years where we had to do it ourselves and now it's impossible to pay someone $500 when we know the part to whatever is only $45.

I had my VW for sale and a college kid came to test drive it. Wouldn't you know it-reverse and 5th stopped working! It was running fine or I wouldn't have put it up for sale (I'm not like that). Anyway, my husband and brother were poking around under the hood this afternoon trying to figure it out. I had to replace something not all that long ago because a linkage broke and I didn't have reverse for a long time. Now there's some sheath thing that's related that may need to be replaced. I can only guess how much that would cost to have done in a real garage...no thanks. And I think the car did it on purpose. It hates me for listing it for sale.

[daylilies]

Oh nooo. sorry it stopped working just as someone came to see it!
One thing DH doesn't know how to do and doesn't really want to mess with is electric stuff. I don't blame him. But cable, internet, phone, we're all set, stuff around the yard, he does, fixes wires, paints, reorganizes my kitchen...oh wait, that last one, I don't like.

[missychrissy]

Rich isn't a fan of doing electric either but both my stepbrother and Rich's brother are real electricians. When we moved back to our house, we had to have our electric company send someone out to inspect our box because there hadn't been service here for 3 years. Because of that, we also had to do some things up to code (whereas if we'd kept continuous electric, we would have been 'grandfathered in' and those things wouldn't have been necessary). Anyway, he described to Rich what needed to be done and he did it himself, then had his brother come and look at it before he called NYSEG to come back out. Rich said it was a really simple thing to do, otherwise he wouldn't have done it.

[daylilies]

Cool!

[Smplyme89]

I forgot about electrical, DH isn't a huge fan either. He has this tendency to shock himself My BIL is an electrician though, so it all works out

[3andMe]

DH loves doing repairs. I like that he's very capable, but I often try to nudge him away from doing it, because I would almost rather spend the money to get it fixed than have him spend his time doing it. Like, one time he spent all day removing our toilet and resealing it after DS flushed a fairy down it, when we were planning on going to the beach as a family. We actually had a 'discussion' about our broken heater not too long ago because I dissuaded him from trying to fix it when he was all gung-ho about it. I waved the warranty in front of him and told him it was parts and labor for 10 years, and he still wanted to take it apart when it was 10 minutes until kid bedtime. He's spent the past month learning how to create circuits and making intricate Arduino microcontrollers for this invention he has been developing. Right now he's got the entire dining room table taken over with bits of wiring and circuits and his soldering iron, and he's borrowed one of my cookie sheets to keep the little bits under control because they're really tiny and they tend to get loose easily. He talks to me about potentiometers and nanocoulomb meters and I try to understand the intricacies but really I am doing well to understand the basic concept of what he's trying to accomplish with his invention.

It's been a rough day here in our house. I've had a bad headache since last night, and I've not had as much patience, and the children have been not as well-behaved as usual. We participated in a child development study at UC Berkeley, and it was a huge strain to get them out of the house on time and then we got there and they all tried to take their shoes off. I told them not to take their shoes off, and they still kept taking their shoes off. I told them again not to take their shoes off, and they still proceeded to take their shoes and socks off. It was like that all day long. We went to a playground for a couple of hours, which was a nice break for me, but there has been this kind of constant headache and constant disregard for things I say. I am struggling with frustration and feeling guilty because I want to make the last few days before Ro's surgery really wonderful and peaceful days, just in case.

Baby S. has decided I'm really slacking in the potty training department, so he's potty training himself. I really did not want to do this yet. He has been stripping and opening the baby gate and running into the bathroom (he apparently does not think the small potty in the living room is good enough for him) and trying to go every few minutes. It happened about 30 times before we left the house this morning, and about 10 times while we were trying to sit down and eat dinner tonight, before he finally pooped in his diaper on his 10th trip and collapsed in the bathroom, crying in failure and exhaustion. He must get that from me.

Oh, and to top it off, I went to Target in the late afternoon. As I was wrestling S. into the cart and he was refusing to go in (it took a kitty and a doggy sticker and about five minutes to get him to put his legs through the holes), an unfamiliar woman came up to me, addressed me by name, and said, "I thought it was you! I recognized you and your kids from your pictures!" She told me her name, and I realized she is the lady who married the guy I was engaged to before I married my DH, the one who I broke it off with two weeks before the wedding. She was friendly but I was too startled by her and too distracted by S. to be friendly other than to introduce her to my kids, and I kind of regret it now. But that was weird. I was very glad I had nice clothes on and I'd showered in the morning (albeit with three screaming kids).

Sigh. I'm having a glass of wine. What a strange and unpleasant day. I hope tomorrow is better.

[Gwenn]

Wow, that does sound like a strange day. Enjoy your wine.

[AbbeysMom]

I've used Arduino microcontrollers before in art projects, they are awesome.

Dh is an electrical engineer, and can do almost anything handy around the house, but he prefers to avoid manual labor that involves heavy lifting. That means things like moving boxes or mowing the lawn are irritating to him, but wiring surround sound or making a DVR out of an old computer is a 'neat project'. He takes on cool projects around the house that impress me too, like installing a reverse osmosis filter for our water or putting up a pretty chandelier with a dimmer switch for Abbey. Love that guy.

[daylilies]

Oh L! I'm sorry you had a tough day!

How is R handling his upcoming surgery? He's going to be fine.

[missychrissy]

I hate bad days like that L. I'm glad too that you looked good for the ex's wife. How strange that she walked up and started talking to you like you'd know here.

[Inca]

Nothing sexier than a man who ignores you for 2 weeks then suddenly one day (today) gets the urge, won't keep his hands off you (me) and wants action. Bleh. To cave, or not to cave? That is the question...

[Gwenn]

Only if you want action, I'd say.

[daylilies]

I'd be like, here's a towel. LOL

[missychrissy]

I'd have a hard time with that. It would make me feel used I mean, I can get the concept of having sex for the sake of sex, but personally I'd find it very difficult to pull of with someone that is supposed to love me.

[daylilies]

Seriously, I feel like if they want their sexual needs met they have to meet our emotional needs of being loved and appreciated.

[Inca]

I fell asleep. Darn.

[Bridget]

I agree that if they want their sexual needs met they should step up and meet our needs. I am one that needs sex as well and I often find that even if I'm not in the mood, and even if he's being a jerk, if I "give in" it brings us closer and he's better at meeting my other needs when he's happy. So I usually find myself having sex with him even when I can't stand him. Meet Sawyer

24 hours and counting, btw.....and I have held my tongue and even managed to let go of my negative feelings and enjoy the visit. Mostly. I really want to give myself a medal.

[missychrissy]

You definitely deserve a medal Bridget.

I don't know what's going on here with my kids. Everyone was watching an awful movie (Human Centipede 2 blech!) and I was in my bedroom reading and hiding from it. I took a break from my book and opened Facebook on my Kindle and saw that Bobbie had posted something like, "I don't know why I look forward to weekends, nothing ever changes." Apparently she was listening to a song on her cell phone and Jesi shot her a look and Syd asked her if she had to, and Bobbie freaked out and took it that no one wants her around, blah blah blah.

It's not just Bobbie though. All my girls can tweak out about the most ridiculous things. It blows over fast, but there's been a lot yelling over this stuff and it's exhausting.

[Bridget]

So what you're saying is that nothing changes from when they are 5-6 years old to when they are teenagers? Because that sounds a lot like what's happening around here.

[missychrissy]

So what you're saying is that nothing changes from when they are 5-6 years old to when they are teenagers? Because that sounds a lot like what's happening around here.

In my house it's worse. I don't remember them having these stupid arguments when they were little. Maybe a bit between Syd and Bobbie, but it wasn't a daily thing.

[Bridget]

Aw, that sucks. I'm sorry, Chrissy. Hopefully when they get past the teenage angst they will be kind to each other again.

[missychrissy]

Maybe it just seems worse in comparison because they're so vicious, but I do know Bobbie and Jesi never, ever fought or argued when they were little. Now, they are shocking in the things they say to each other. Jesi was always so 'go with the flow' and now she'll suddenly burst out with something and go on and on. Friday we were all watching tv and she suddenly started screaming at Syd to get her her shorts that she borrowed a week ago. And I mean SCREAMING. She called her a little b1tch and everything. I'm telling you-it's appalling and I don't know what to do about it. Grounding them doesn't do anything and getting in the midst of it only escalates it.

Moving out and separating them seems to be the best solution. I have never, ever thought of running away before but more than once I've thought it would be nice to get in my car and just head west...somewhere. Anywhere. Away.

[Gwenn]

I'm sorry, Chrissy.

[missychrissy]

Thanks. I've threatened to get a spritz bottle and spray them in the face with water every time they get going. So far today it's been peaceful, so I'm hoping it'll remain that way. I feel like I never get any down time any more.

[Inca]

Chrissy. Sounds a *bit* like my brother and I. We argued a lot, though it wasn't quite viscous.