Secret Admirer

So I got home today from taking some photos and lookie what I had waiting for me:




How sweet! I wonder who they are from!? Hehe

I miss my husband so much!

Rockin' and a Rollin'

Many people don't know a little fact about me:

I HATE EARTHQUAKES!!!

So when the earthquake started, I started crying. My next door neighbor heard me and came over to comfort me. DDT had no idea what happened as I was holding him.

Why did this have to happen when Panda is out of town? Since I would not be able to sleep soundly because I would be thinking when the next one would hit, I decided to go to my folk's house in the LBC and hang there for a few days.

I am sure once I get back home there will be a bigger earthquake. That is just my luck.

Busy Fun Filled Day

Today DDT and I have a fun filled day planned.

1st stop - Barnes and Noble - apparently they have a whole section on potty training books. Who would have thought?!

2nd stop - Petsmart - DDT and I are going to find a fish to add to our family. DDT really liked having Midnight around and still waves at the table where he was perched.

3rd stop - Great Park Balloon - The old El Toro military base has this huge orange balloon that you can take rides on and you can see it from the freeway. Everytime I get on the freeway, DDT gets very excited and points at the balloon. Unfortunately, DDT will not be riding in the balloon because I am scared of heights but he will get to see it close up.

4th stop - this one is a maybe and will be post naptime, the W family.

Tonight is mama's night out with Kiki. DDT will be in the caring hands of the most amazing babysitter ever!

So far, we have made it 2 days without Panda and I actually don't think it is that bad due to the fact that DDT is older and wiser. If DDT was a little baby that needed to be tended to constantly then I might have gone crazy by now. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have Panda here because I love and miss him but I know he is doing what needs to be done to bring home some extra bacon.

Smokey the Bear says....

only you can prevent wildfires.....

Well my hubby came home this morning and then took off around 10:45 or so to fight the wildfires burning around Yosemite. DDT was not happy at all with daddy leaving and it breaks my heart to see him cry when daddy leaves. I too had tears in my eyes, I love my husband dearly and love spending time with him so his absence is going to put a big void in our lives.

I am hoping that this adventure will not take long but who knows. Of course, the only positive I see is the overtime he will be getting. Hopefully, DDT and I will make it through one day at a time.

Logos

Okay, so after looking at some websites it appears that people that are photographers just use their name as the logo. Below are some logo options, let me know which one you like the most:










Image by Cool Text: Logo and Button Generator - Create Your Own

A New Venture?

So I received great feedback on some pictures I took today at a playdate. Not to toot my own horn (toot, toot) but I have to admit that a lot of my pics turn out really great.

Several people have suggested that I start a photography business but I am not so sure. I really only love taking pics of kiddies because they are so innocent and I don't stage them. I take them while they are playing around and being themselves. If they happen to look at the camera, great! but I don't expect them to just sit there and smile. I want to capture them climbing, jumping, and just plain ol' goofing around.

I definitely think I could use some training and I guess that I should start looking into that.

I mean how does one go about starting a business? What would it be called? How much do I charge? Do I print the pics or just give you a CD and you print away? How do I market?

I am sure Panda would love it if I was able to contribute financially but I guess the question is....am I good enough to contribute?

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

So on Friday Panda and I decided that on Saturday we were going to head to Temecula to drink some wine at our favorite winery, Ponte. We then decided to try and stay the night at Pechanga, the local indian reservation which of course is a Casino.

We dropped off DDT and Hankers at my folks house in the LBC and headed off. We got to the winery around noon or so and got our glasses for our free wine tasting. That very day Ponte opened up the wine club tasting area. It was nice and relaxing to sit out by the vineyard and drink some of our favorite vinos.

After a few more wineries we headed back to our hotel and did a little gambling. Panda ended up back by my side after a hour or so looking for money. I played for a few hours on my initial $20. It wasn't until after dinner that I felt a little more adventurous and headed over to the $1 slots.

It was a roller coaster ride with the $1 machine and after about 1/2 hour I hit $1000!! I wanted to scream but didn't want to be like the other tards around me screaming for hitting $20. So I cashed out and found Panda and we called it a night.

This morning, we gave back some of our winnings but not that much. It was a great time hanging out with my husband and the gazillon other folks that don't want to make the long trek to Las Vegas.

In Memory of Midnight

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
your bug eyes I loved
and I will miss you.

It is with great sadness that I let you all know that Midnight passed away.

I am still questioning if it was a natural death or if NEETS played a part but for now I have a heavy heart and will think of the good times we spent together.

How many....

rats are in a rat family? I don't know the answer but I have a feeling I am going to find out.

I am 2 for 2 on the rat hunt and have been instructed by my rodent fearing hubby to get more traps. Yes, my husband will not go near the trap or rodent, I guess in this case, I wear the pants in the family.

Sorry ChiTown Girl for not placing the warning sooner in the original post. I will save you all and not post any more pics.

So Long, Farewell....

Midnight has just been retrieved and DDT is not handling it to well. I put an emergency call into NEETS (Midnight's dad) at the station because Midnight was not acting like his normal energetic self. Even though NEETS was working, he stopped by in the fire engine and picked up the fish. He said he didn't want Midnight to die on my watch since I have taken such great care of him.

I am going to miss that fish!

National F$&king Geographic

We all know that I have skunks and racoons roaming our yard at various times so it should be no surprise that we have rats. We live along an alley and with all the trash cans, it is only obvious that the rats scurry along fence.

Well, yesterday I noticed that our dog food bin had been tampered with. Not by a human but rather a rodent. I set up a trap and at 11:30 I heard it snap! Yea, I caught it but then I heard lots of noise and I started to think that it got away. So I check - WTF?!! It got away! I blame it on the lame ass peanut butter. So I reloaded the trap with a different kind of peanut butter, put some dog food in the peanut butter and set the trap. I only tried to break my fingers twice....

At 11:45, I heard it again. I heard the struggle and knew Ben (the rat) was not going to make it out this time. I was eager to go check but decided to hold off and check in the morning, it was kinda like Christmas. I was actually thinking of setting up another trap just to see what would happen but I knoew the vicious cycle would go all night.

*****WARNING - IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE AN ANIMAL INJURED, SKIP THIS!!!!!*****

So I opened the top of our dutch door and saw it:

DDT's 18 Month Checkup

I am in shock that DDT is going to be 18 months in 4 days!! He had his checkup today and here are his stats:

Weight - 31 lbs.
Height - 35 inches

Can you believe that?! Try lugging that chunky monkey around!!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To the Fair We Go....

Panda, DDT, RED (our Neice) and I decided to brave out the OC Fair on Sunday. I was SHOCKED to learn that Red has never been and this will be her first time. Oh my, DDT is going for his 2nd time!

We had a great time gawking at the carnies, looking at the animals, looking at the crafts, and riding some of the safer looking rides.

Here are some pics from the day:

1st Pic of the day:


Posing by the largest pumpkin winner:


Just cruising:


Our family friend who is legally blind won 3rd place for this:


1st ride of the day:


Wannabe Dumbo ride:




The loooonnnnggg slide - Wheeeeeeeee!:






Oh my, Carebear and DDT in a pic together:




DDT thought this move was funny for the longest time:


We saw pig races:




Panda and Red went down a very long slide:






Overall, it was a great day!

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear mom, Happy Birthday to you!!

Panda, DDT, Hankers and I spent the day in Long Beach and hung out with my folks. It is my mom's bday and what better gift than a day with us and a wonderful meal cooked by yours truly!

Of course, I took some pics to capture the day:

My Favorite Pic of the day!


Swimming with the bday girl:


Blowing mommy kisses:


Trying to push daddy into the pool:


Ready for the bday party:


The bday girl:


The best gift, a birthday kiss:

A Day at the Park

Kiki and I have decided that we should start a website that rates parks. We (or should I say I) found a great park. It is Bill Barber park in Irvine. This park was like a mini Disneyland. It had ramps going in every different direction, big slides, little slides.

DDT and Munchi had a great time, check out the pics:

How Many Times....

do I have to tell you to stop pulling Hankers ears? Will you stop when you have four to hear from?

do I have to tell you to stop digging in the planter? Will you stop when you hit China?

do I have to tell you to stop eating Hankers food? Will you stop when you start growing fur and barking like a dog?

do I have to tell you to stop climbing on chairs? Will you stop when you meet the giant at the top?

do I have to tell you I love you? I guess I will never know the answer to that one because no matter how much you drive me crazy, I will let you know how much I love you.

Go Angels!!

Last night we planned a little get together with our good friends McLovin and Rabijay. Unfortunately, Rabijay decided to help a fellow fire guy out and worked an OT and he was not able to join us. McLovin was flying solo in the house of the Hills.

We ate some yummy sushi, drank some Kirin Ichiban and watched the Angels lose. McLovin has decided to hold off on having children after watching our crazy son in action.

DDT and McLovin sporting their Angel gear:

Midnight....

is the fish that I volunteered to "fish" sit. I think he has been here for 2 weeks, I am actually thinking that he has been abandoned.

Midnight belongs to one of Panda's co-worker and said that he was just going to flush the fish before the trip. OMG! So I volunteered to sit. NEETS (the co-worker) wsa trying to jinx my sitting efforts from the get go and kept saying, "If he is floating, just flush it". So it has been my main goal in life to keep this fish alive.

We have gone through 2 bowl cleanings and he is still kicking...I mean flipping.

A Night Out with my Men

We decided to be like villagers and go check out the Sawdust Festival and Festival of the Arts. We walked from our house to the Sawdust and I was sweating my a$$ off by the time we got there.

Of course, the first place we stopped was the beer counter and then we set off to look at the wonderful arts and crafts our fellow villagers created. We bought a few things - two mushrooms for Ms. Di's garden (one was a replacement that DDT broke on Sunday and the second was a house warming gift), a new toe ring for me, and then a cute Hula Girl picture for CM.

While we were hanging out at the Festival of Arts, I decided to take DDT out of his stroller but I was not going to put him down because it would cost him his college education if he broke anything. Well I handed him off to Panda and he set him down. After a few seconds Panda said we have a missing child. OH MY GOSH!! Well we found him around the corner and he didn't break a thing.

We then decided to take the village bus home because my pups were barking loud. DDT was in awe. I don't think he said a word the entire time. Trust me, he loves buses and waves at them all the time but to actually have a ride in one just blew his mind. He sat in Panda's lap the entire time and held on to the handle on the back of the seat. The bus driver was very nice and actually dropped us off right by our house....THANK GOD!!

I loved my "date" with my men!

DDT and Panda on the bus: