All Is Right With the World Again

Welcome home Gigi. You were sorely missed...

(look at that face on The Boy...seriously...he is SO happy to have her back he could jump out of his skin...)

You Can't Make This $hit Up!

This was my post on facebook yesterday:

2 sick kids + no Gigi + last week in January = my own private hell.

Yes, both my kids have colds. Nasty ones. And probably neither one of them should be going to school. But my backup (mother) is basking away in the sun drinking Mai Tai's in Hawaii. So I forced them to go. The Girl is sicker than The Boy and it became apparent that she probably needed to stay home today. So I moved around my schedule and was able to cancel all of my clients for the day so I could work from home (HA!) and take care of her. However after sleeping MUCH later than usual, once she got up it appeared she was better. Not great, and definitely still sick, but not as bad as yesterday and no fever. After being home with me for a couple of hours she was asking to go to school and see her friends so I took her and told them to please call me if she got worse or needed to come home. They didn't call. I got to have lunch with a good friend and got a bunch of work done at home. Yay for me.

But don't go congratulating me yet.

So my kitchen sink has been dripping. I mentioned this to The Ex and asked her if that's something that should warrant a call to a plumber (read: $$$) or if I should just let it drip until it gets bad. She said she would come over tonight and take a look at it; that it was probably just a worn out washer or something that she could fix and save me the money of a plumber who would do the same thing but charge me big bucks. I agreed to cook her dinner and she came over. After dinner she went to work on the sink.

All of a sudden I hear a big crash and then water. Lots and lots of water. I look into the kitchen and she is holding the top of one of the handles while water was GUSHING out of the faucet itself. She goes, "I need a little help here!" I came running in and she told me to go under the sink and turn off the shut off valve on the right side under the sink. I throw everything under the sink onto the floor and attempt to turn the valve. It's really hard to turn (and admittedly I am not the strongest thing in the world) and I turned and turned and turned and finally it stopped. But the water did not. I said, "It's off." And she goes, "Ummm...no...apparently it isn't." So we switched places with me holding the water (so it didn't shoot straight up and therefore ALL over my kitchen, which was already sopping wet) and her going under the sink. After a minute she confirms that it is, indeed shut, and WTF!?!?! Why isn't the water going off? So she grabs a pipe wrench or a something and runs outside and eventually turns off the water to the entire house. I start mopping up the mess. Fuck.

It was at this point that I asked her why she didn't turn off the freaking water to the sink BEFORE screwing around with the parts. She explains that she wanted to be able to see where the leak was coming from. Seems a little strange to me but apparently there was a broken part in the handle to the faucet all along that was causing the drip and that broken part would have eventually given way and the entire thing would have gone to shit at some point anyway. But that doesn't really matter right now. All that matters is that the faucet is now busted. And since the shut off valve to the kitchen sink apparently doesn't work, I have no water to the entire house. So she heads off to the hardware store to replace the broken part.

You know where this is going, right? Right. The part is no longer made. So she buys an entirely new faucet while she's there. Problem solved? Of course not. For some reason my pipes are some funky size and it doesn't fit. Of course.

It was about at this time that I seriously lost my shit. I have no water to my entire house. I obviously have to call a plumber but when the hell am I going to meet them? I moved my entire schedule around to be at home with sick kids today so I am 100% completely booked every single minute of the entire day tomorrow. And have I mentioned I have a total of TWO work days to finish ALL my stuff for January? Tomorrow is one of those days. When exactly I am supposed to be home to meet a plumber is beyond me. Not to even mention what this whole shit is going to cost me. Did I mention my mom is in Hawaii having drinks? Oh I did? Yeah, well she's STILL there. Grrr... I cannot go over 24 hours with no water to my entire house. And while I am having this conversation The Boy goes into the potty and pees and...you guessed it...flushes the toilet. Everyone knows when there is no water you have exactly one flush. And he used it. We have three bathrooms but that was one down. Fuck again.

So The Ex goes back to the hardware store. I sat down and had a good cry. Because...really? REALLY???? I then called my BFF and ranted to her voicemail. Then I had to deal. I decided I would cancel my first thing in the morning client and call a plumber and take it from there. I decided I would beg The Ex to take a half day or something so I didn't have to cancel ALL of my clients if the plumber couldn't come until later...and I already felt stinky at the prospect of not being able to shower in the morning.

So The Ex came back and had bought caps for the kitchen sink. It wasn't easy, and we both got sopping wet (again) during the process but she got the damn things on. And we were able to turn the water back on to the rest of the house. So that's where things stand right now. I have no kitchen sink, which with two small children is a bit of a challenge. But you know what? It's 1000 times better than no water to the entire house so I'll take it. I'm going to work all day tomorrow and make some phone calls and hopefully on Friday (when I am home with the kids anyway) a plumber will be able to come out and fix this shit. And I'm sure it won't cost me much at all...

Too Hysterical to NOT Share...

I warned you that January would be a heavy photo posting month...I am still deep in the trenches that is my world in January...BUT! I picked these pictures up from The Boy's school today and they are just too hilarious to not share with you all. Enjoy!!

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A brother and sister tea party while sitting on the changing table...

Hold Me

My mother...my best friend...my co-parent...my confidant...just pulled out of my driveway and will depart at 6:30 tomorrow morning for a week long trip in Hawaii. There is no one on this earth who deserves it more.

And there is a little red-headed boy sitting in his room crying right now at the prospect of a week without his Gigi. And I can almost guarantee you that there is a sixty-something (cough cough) year old Gigi sitting in a car right now crying those same tears. They have a truly unbreakable bond and love each other more than anyone could ever understand. Here's photo documentation at his last birthday...

It's only a week, right? RIGHT?!?!?! Travel safe, Gigi...

A Little Boy's Birthday Party

Since I am super busy at work, I will put you all off by giving you photos. That works, right?

It's his birthday!! Everyone must know about this. And if you don't know? He will tell you. Again and again and again. His teachers at school were cracking up... "Wait...do you think he's 5?" Here are his balloons...

Super heros are always a hit. Thanks to the gay boyfriends...
He got a ton of cool gifts...including the binoculars around his neck...
...which his sister thought would be great for her as well...
Did I mention that we are really into Super Heros right now?
Of course there were cupcakes...and at least one member of my family enjoys treats!
The other one sometimes prefers to just do jazz hands...
Happy 5th birthday to the best little boy in the world!
Love you buddy!!

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Snuggling together after waking up from their respective naps...

Wordless Wednesday

Yes my daughter is wearing a cat tail. It was a gift she got for Christmas from the gay boyfriends (it also comes with cat ears on a headband) and I love how she rocks it. :)

My Job

Or..."Why You Won't Hear From Me Until February..."

I am a self employed bookkeeper for lots of small businesses in the Bay Area. It really is a great job as I make decent money and am able to make my own schedule and am my own boss. But for obvious reason, January is my busiest month of the year (all year end stuff needs to be done in addition to getting out W2's, 1099's and all the payroll and sales tax that are due...) so I rarely see the light of day. Or night for that matter. My DVR suffers horribly in January. And as a result, so does my psyche. :)

But things might be changing. And change is really hard. But I have one client that I have worked for for over 8 years at this point. I really like the client. He is a hard working guy who has been nothing but great in all the time we have worked together. He used to work for a big tech firm in Silicon Valley but left to start his own company. And over the last 8 years he has seen varying degrees of success. I have been there through it all with him. From working in a big office to shutting it all down and then doing his books sitting as his kitchen table chatting with his wife. We have been through a lot together. And I would consider him a friend. He knows all about me and my life and my kids (and he still talks to me!). If I were ever to leave my little cushion of a job to get a "real job" he would be one of the only people that would give me pause to actually make that happen. There are very few of my clients that could persuade me to leave my "self employment" and go work for someone else again. He might be that person.

About 6 months ago he developed a product which has really taken off. In the span of the last 6 months he has done more business and made more money than he has in the past 5 years combined. He now has several hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings and is back in an office and, as of today, has 5 employees including me (although I am not an employee). And today we had "the talk" about whether or not I would be interested in coming to work for him full time if/when the time comes. And even though there isn't enough room in my brain to even complete my regular tasks, I can't stop thinking about this.

There are so many pros and cons to this. The "Pros" are huge. Guaranteed salary. BENEFITS!!! (I don't think I can stress what a huge PRO that one is...). Paid time off. A regular schedule. A boss that I admire and enjoy in a work atmosphere that is pretty freaking cool. A boss who knows that I have small children and will allow me to work from home at least half the time. The ability to know where I will be going everyday and what I will be doing. Working at a job that is new and challenging. And did I mention BENEFITS? Oh good lord how I could just dream at that concept...

But the cons. They are more tricky. The one and only "Con" is that in order to do this I would have to give up all of my other clients. This is beyond scary to me for so many reasons. First of all I have been working for some of these other clients for over 10 years. These people know me, they trust me, and they have sustained me over the years. I would hate to just up and dump them. I know they could find someone else, but I would feel badly to make them do that. But more importantly, they are my safety net. As I mentioned above, this company has had several rises and falls over the years (although never have we "risen" to this extent before) and there is always the chance that things will fall again and everything will go away. And I will have nothing. I will have bailed on all the people who have supported and trusted in me over the past 13 years and I will have to start at square one. Right now, even with the economy as bad as it has been, I am relatively safe. I say that because even if one of my clients has to shut their doors and I lose my job, I have 14 others to pick up the pieces. I am not reliant on any one company for my livelihood.

I could get rid of most of my small clients and keep a handful of the other ones and try and take care of them in my spare time, but really, is that fair to anyone? Is that fair to my new employer that expects me to put all of my energy into that particular job? Is that fair to ME? To work a full time job and then still have commitments at the end of each day? Part of what is so positive about this new opportunity is the concept of driving out of work at the end of the day and actually being done. Right now I work out of my home a lot so I am never done. Even right now, as I type this, my daughter just went down to sleep and my son is watching his half hour show on TV to wind down and once he is in bed? I will be back at this computer working. And I will work until my eyelids get very heavy and I can no longer make out the numbers on the screen and then, at that point, I will drag myself to bed and fall down on the bed to pass out so I can wake up and start all over. So I don't want to over extend myself. I don't want to promise more than I can give. That defeats the entire purpose.

So I'm at a loss. Fortunately it isn't "decision time" right now because I haven't been offered a full time position yet. It isn't in my lap to have to decide right at this moment. But we did have "the talk." And I told him I was certainly interested. I know for sure that financially, he will make it worth my while. I'm not worried about that. In fact, if this thing goes, this could be one of those things where getting in the ground floor in a company like this could seriously set me and my kids for life. (I am trying to be a little cryptic in talking about this company obviously, but keep in mind I live in the middle of Silicon Valley and this is a tech company that has a serious product that might be required to be in all computers very shortly...). But as those of us who live in this area know...tech companies can also come crashing down just as quickly as they shot up. So it is a big risk. One that if it pays off will be SO worth it, but still a very large risk either way.

I am not sure why I am talking to you, my internet friends, about this. I guess because I don't want to talk about it out loud or with any of my real friends who might be in some way affiliated with any of my other clients. But it is very much on my mind. If you don't take risks in life then there is little chance for great things to come. But then again, it is called a "risk" for a reason...

...sigh...

Regardless of what happens with this, if my posts are light this month just know that I am up to my eyeballs in numbers and equations and spreadsheets. And I am thinking of all of you and I will come back soon with some quality posts. I really need to do a post about the HELL that is trying to get my son registered for Kindergarten. When did that become along the same lines as applying for college? Seriously! It's kindergarten people... But like I said, another post!

Happy January everyone. Hope yours is more restful than mine...

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy 5th Birthday to The Boy!!!

I can’t believe he turns 5 today! Wanna know what I was doing this time 5 years ago? J Well since I wasn’t blogging back then I will give you the short (very short!) version of his birth story:

I checked into the hospital the previous night to be induced the morning of the 5^th. I went into labor that night and after 12 hours of tough labor with no progress got an epidural. The Boy didn’t so much like that apparently and he “crashed” three times within an hour long period. An emergency c-section was ordered at about 8:50am, and at 9:17am my beautiful boy came screaming into the world with his bright red hair apparent from the very start.

And what a time it has been…

This past year he has become so much older and wiser and more mature. He is a full-on “kid” now and I can’t believe I am filling out forms to enroll him in kindergarten. He is still the sweet, sensitive little boy he has always been but I now find him increasingly strong and proud; he has definitely grown into his own skin. I sit here trying to find the words to express what a wonderful little boy my son is, but I don’t think I could ever find the words to properly explain him. Plus I just get all emotional and end up crying, which isn't helping any of us... Fortunately for those reading this, you have most likely been reading about my love for this little boy for two years already and have a picture in your mind of who he is and what he is about.

I think this year the biggest emotion I am experiencing where he is concerned is pride. I am so damn PROUD of this kid. His little life on this planet has not been without its challenges but he has gone past all of that and has turned into this amazing son, brother, friend and grandson. The most defining adjective used to describe him is sweet. And he really is. He is sweet with his love and kisses, he is sweet and gentle with all things on the planet and in nature, he is sweet to his sister and to his fellow classmates… People come up to me all the time and tell me, “What did you do to make him so sweet?” Truth be told, I take no responsibility in that whatsoever. I am a lot of things, but “sweet” certainly wouldn’t be the word most used to describe me. So that is all him. It is all his own little journey on this planet. I am just lucky enough to be able to share it with him.

Happy Birthday my boy. I love you so much! Here’s to another fabulous year together!!

Here's a little picture montage of his 4th year...

Welcome 2011

I am a few days late in getting this post out but that's because I was busy trying to start off the new year right. And I think we have done that. If the 25 year old me was able to look into the future and see where I am in my life right now I am sure my response would be something along the lines of, "Really?!?! How BORING!!!" But that suits me just fine right now.

We spent New Year's Eve at home alone just the three of us. We had a great dinner and Mommy got to enjoy a nice(r) couple of glasses of wine than my usual and we were all in bed asleep by around 10:00. See? Totally boring. But you know what? We were all safe in our homes and we all woke up feeling great the next morning. One day my kids will be old enough to understand it all and stay up late and make noise, but until then? We celebrate like we are on the East Coast (at 9:00pm) and watch the ball drop and watch the fireworks and then we head to bed.

On New Year's Day we started the year off with a great day. We had a relaxing morning and then went and had lunch with my BFF and then back to her house to play for a while. We came home and The Girl went right to sleep while The Boy and I took to building him a fort. He has been really into forts lately and I told him since it was a special day we would build him a fort and he could take his nap in there. So we did. Because, after all, what little boy doesn't need to start out the new year with a good fort?

And he took a fabulous nap in said fort while I got some (much needed) work done. And then when they all woke up we had a really nice, relaxing Saturday evening. And guess what? I guess forts are universal for ALL kids because The Girl loved the fort as well. And much to my surprise, The Boy actually enjoyed sharing it with her. They both spent ALL evening (minus dinner time) inside that fort playing together. It was so sweet I almost died. I would hear The Girl say, "I drop my banket..." and then hear The Boy respond, "I will get it for you..." and hear him hop down and then a second later hear, "Tank you" from The Girl. They sang songs and brought his batcave into the fort and all the toys they could muster and sat in it all evening long and had a great time. I mostly left them alone to their sibling time, but I have to admit, I did pop in every once in a while to say hi...and of course to take a picture...
But it was a great start to a new year. I don't have any major resolutions to speak of...I just want to find a balance in my life. I want to continue to love and cherish these two kids I was blessed enough to have, but this year, I want to see if I can find a bit more time for me and MY life (I know...what life?). So that is what I am going to work on. But we are all here and we are all healthy and happy and there's really not much more I can ask for in life right now.

Happy New Year to everyone. May 2011 bring you all that you dream of.