Summer is here again!

There's so much to catch you up on! Summer is here and we're taking advantage of it to the fullest! We spend most of our days at Auntie Beth's pool, where, (drumroll please) Veronica swam by herself for the first time two days ago! She wears a turtle suit, of course, but she is now fully mobile in the pool. She even swims in the deep end and jumps off the diving board! We'll get video of that soon. We have a very busy week coming up. Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow and I am volunteering 3 days out of the week. I think I'm going to regret that humanitarian urge...but I'm hoping it will be more fun than harassment! Here's some recent photos!

Here we are at Auntie Beth's pool! The coolest place in town...well, sort of cool. (Average water temperature 120 degrees-haha)

Veronica is very confident in Beth's pool and it's so fun to watch her swim around in that suit. She's getting very adventurous!

On Father's Day we had Jason's parents over for dinner. Here's Dad and Jason enjoying cigars on the balcony. Veronica had a great time playing with Gramma! We've been enjoying excellent weather and good company and delicious BBQ. Can't get much better than that.
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Neighbor update...

There's nothing really to tell except that I called the building and the village and the health inspector and animal control. If that doesn't do it nothing will. So far so good. No more mystery puddles on my balcony rug.

Neighbors from Hell

I realize I've turned this blog into my rant-fest lately, but it's my blog and there it is! So you have to put up with it! Or go back to bored.com or whatever it is you do when you're supposed to be working...lol

I live in the most annoying apartment building on earth. Lately, three neighbors on upper floors are allowing their dogs to pee on the balconies. Which, of course, drips down onto mine (and onto my rug and my chairs and my grill...)

What does one do about people like this? These are obviously not people you can reason with. Who does that to a dog? And we're talking about three different people with 5 to 6 dogs between them. (And large dogs too) These are the same people who allow their dogs to poop right outside the front entrance and don't pick it up. Also the same people who allow them to pee on our front entrance and kill all the grass so it looks like we're living in a ghetto.

What is a reasonable person to do? Please post advice below.

Trading Spaces Rant

I like TLC's Trading Spaces but I can't figure out why they insist on torturing the homeowners with Hildi Santos. She is terrific at creating fantasy spaces no one in their right mind would ever, or could ever, live in. Remember the million silk flowers stapled onto the walls of a bathroom? How do you dust that? And do they mildew in the steam? Ew. Then there was the recent shredded paper wall covering. She literally took trash and glued it to some poor unsuspecting homeowner's walls. Again...how do you dust that? The best part is, after wreaking design vomit all over someone's home, she gets to leave and go back to her house which I hear is all white. And I'd put my life savings at risk to bet that she doesn't have one wall covered in shredded bank statements. Another of her favorite wall coverings is silk. What do you do if your toddler puts Cheeto-fingers on that? It's nailed up there. Where is her brain? Does she have one? I think she's just sadistic. Every other designer actually seems to take the homeowner's lifestyle and needs into consideration. Hildi, on the other hand, only seems interested in outdoing herself regardless of the cost to the people that have to live with it. One particularly cruel "design" was when she put plastic containers of brightly colored candy on the walls in a home that had children. Doesn't sound mean right? They don't open. The candy is decorative. I can't even get out of Blockbuster without a toddler tantrum when we have to walk by the candy aisles. Can you imagine what it would be like to have to explain every day in your own home that the candy isn't for eating??? And then there was the hay on the walls. This girl has a real hatred for beauty. I couldn't find any photos unfortunately, but if any of you have seen this show you know what I'm talking about.

Why am I writing about this you ask? Because it's late, there's nothing else on, and I can't sleep because my matress is trying to cripple me. It's time for a new one. So I've banned myself to the couch for the night and this is where it got me. Complaining about a TV show.

New Phrases

So here are a few things that have made us laugh recently:

In the car yesterday Veronica said, "I go to sleep now." and promptly passed out with a half-eaten chip in her hand

"Mommy broke the car. It scared me!" Referring to when I rear-ended someone this week. She keeps telling everyone that I broke the car.

I made her a bed on the floor to watch a movie and she said "O Mommy it's perfect!"

When I picked her up from Sunday school yesterday, "I pooped the pants."

She's getting so verbal!

Sleepoverpalooza!

What a weekend! I'm still recovering! Kayla, Veronica's cousin, came to stay Friday night. We did so much! We went to two parks, we made cookies, hand puppets, candle votives for mother's day, picture frames decorated with painted noodles, we painted, colored, watched at least 4 movies and had a terriffic time!

I may not leave the house for a week.

Kayla was a lot of fun at the park. She watches over her cousin so well!
This is Veronica's favorite car at the park. She calls it "my car" and anyone who tries to get in it better watch out!

Double Trouble!

Look at that form! She can get all the way to the top on her own. It's awesome.

Pretty girls

Exhausted!

This is such a cute photo but I can't figure out how to flip it around.

Cheese!


kissing cousins!

A Day in the Life of the New Me

(For those of you who don't know me that well, it is okay to laugh at the following post.)

Some of you have questioned my identity. It appears that it is unbelievable to many of you that I am the one actually cleaning my house. The situation calls for photographic evidence. (Alternative title for this post was "Fun with the auto-shutter"

Please observe.

She vacuums!!!

Can I fluff your pillows?

(10 points to anyone who can name the movie that's from)

Alright. There may be some TV watching.

Domestic Goddess!

(This is what I write in that space for "occupation" when I fill out forms)

So to all of you Doubting Thomases, do you believe now???