Opportunity

In June 2011, I wrote a post, declaring myself to be an idiot because I didn't apply for an available position, assuming I'd be able to apply for the job left vacant by the guy who was assured the position.  I found out too late that the same applicant pool was being used for both positions. 

Bummer, right? 

Until ... it wasn't.  Instead, what I referred to as Job B was frozen and never was filled. 

Today, I got a call letting me know that it might be thawing, and inquiring whether I still eligible to and interested in applying.  Yes to both.  So I am applying.

Commute kind of sucks, but there is a pay raise (not a huge raise, but maybe enough to make the commute worth it).

So ... we'll see.

MILP #266

Magic Cookie (who should forever be referred to as Magic Cookie, The Awesome) rounded up the past two weeks, because I utterly failed to do the bailout I offered to RG. 

I believe it will be AAL next.

Dear Cheryl...

We had many qualified applicants for the firm position, and chose one who is not you. Also, we suck at mail merge so, in the salutation, we're calling you Cheryl, even though its not your name.  We probably should have included the name and bio of the lucky new associate in this rejection letter cuz we know you're totally gonna stalk our website til you know who it was ... but where's the fun in that? 

We wish you blah blah blah to the blah blah.

Sincerely,

Awesome law firm you'd love to work for if you were not ... well, you.

Letters to Bullshark

Hi Papa. This is Clownfish talking to Mommy.  My LEGO camp is awesome and I want to go next year. I made a new friend Nicholas. I love you Papa. Happy birthday (again) Papa.  I am looking forward to science camp.  I have had a lot lot of fun this summer.  I found a new television show. Its called Beywheelz.  Also, Mommy has been watching too much BBC America, but we found a new show called Top Gear and its about cars and it is funny.  Oops. I just tooted. I miss you. See you soon. Love, Clownfish

Hi Papa. This is Mommy and Clownfish pretending to be Angelfish.  I have started to say lots of new words and sentences. I get very excited when I am in the car and see a house, a tree or a BIG BUS. I am so sad when Clownfish leaves to go to his camp.  Mommy told me we were going to go get Clownfish in the car. I cried when I got to the car and there was NO CLOWNFISH. Mommy said we had to drive to get him but I wanted Clownfish to be in the car.  I ran up and down the hallway at the school.  I yelled walkie walkie walkie and I didn't want to go home.  I tried to hide around a corner with Clownfish but Mommy came and found us. I ask for you every morning.  I grew two more teeth on the bottom.  I am a little less chubalub. I love you Papa. I see you soon.

Hi Papa. This is Mommy and Clownfish pretending to be Lionfish.  I rolled over two times! Sort of!!  I like to eat the tail end of my dolphin. It is yummy.  I have swamp gas toots.  They are really really really stinky. Its like a whole new level of stinky. But I finally pooped today so maybe swamp gas butt will stop. Once I fall asleep, I have been kind to Mommy and have slept til either 1 or 330 every night. Its the falling asleep part that is hard. Mommy does not pat my butt right.  Tonight I went down at 8:15.  We'll see how long I sleep. I also growl like a dinosaur. It is meant to be very scary. Run away! Clownfish recorded it so you can hear it when you come home.  I am still a squirmy wormy. I love you Papa. I drool on you soon.


_______________________
The influence of an almost 8 year old boy on the content of these letters is noticeable, huh?

But not the hippopotomus

You know how when you hang out with a particular subset of geek friends, conversations often devolve into quotes from, say Star Wars or Star Trek or Kevin Smith movies or ... I don't know, Madonna songs?* In our house, conversations lately tend to devolve into quotes from Sandra Boynton boardbooks.

Some I perpetuate.
Scene, Angelfish in crib calling to be picked up.  Mommy enters.
Me: Shout out loud good morning sun!
Angelfish: Happy morning everyone!
  
More happen organically. 
Scene, kitchen. Clownfish in fridge, Angelfish eating breakfast in high chair.
Clownfish: Can I have a (yogurt treat) with my breakfast?
Me:  Well, you've had a bunch of fruit... why not save it for a morning snack?
Clownfiah: Morning snack is here for you. Milk and cookies and broccoli stew.
Angelfish: EW!
Clownfish: For the bunny, not for you.
Angelfish: OH WHEW!

Scene, shopping mall, with stroller full of girls. Conversation in which Clownfish and I discuss our family "dinosaur names" -- I am mommysaurolophus, as an example.
Me: We can't take the stairs. 
Clownfish:  Dinosaurs crammed in an elevator!

____________________
* No? Maybe its just my friends then. Hmm.

Quotes are from Hey Wake Up! and Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! by Sandra Boynton.

More little things: Solo edition

Bullshark is still gone. I'm a few days into my solo mommy for the rest of the summer adventure. Here's what's happening, as cribbed from an email to hubby.

Sunday, we went to a water park up by my sister's house. It was very last minute, and my brother in law paid for our admission, which was extraordinarily sweet. Brother in law took his two kids and my son. My sister pretty much spent the day with Angelfish, and I was on baby watch.  Lionfish, of course, refused to nap except for during the brief time we ate dinner.  Overall, it was a relaxing fun time and a really necessary distraction from Bullshark's departure for Clownfish.  Angelfish LOVED it. Loved loved. She who shrieks in the tub "no spray" (she only takes baths as a result) was getting sprayed all over and happy as can be. Sister thinks she'll be fine in shower now, so long as she's wearing sun hat.


Sunday night I drank caffeine on the way home from the waterpark. Needless to say, sleep didn't happen Sunday night. But I did watch a lot of Doctor Who on demand.   I'm a new viewer, so watching a show about time travel all sorts of out of order is confuzzling.  I've seen most of season 3, the first episode of season 1, and some of season 5.  So, yeah, I've seen three different Doctors, but haven't seen enough to know precisely why yet.  Creeped out by the Weeping Angels. They absolutely scare me more than Daleks do. Yep. Totally hooked. 

Clownfish loves LEGO camp.  If you're interested, its through this company.  He has a disposable 27 shot camera and he's taking pics of his projects. Can't wait to see them.  He finds it very weird to use a manual- wind camera with no preview, though. 

I got a haircut today on my "free" Tuesday afternoon, when I was down to only one child.  Yes, I know, pics or it didn't happen.  I'll try today on FB.

I made the Alton Brown tomato sauce using tomatoes from my garden.  Hopefully it'll keep in the fridge til Bullshark gets home.  We'll just have to add the one cup white wine and heat to boil then simmer for 5 before serving. Seems like it will be YUMMY.

Super bummed that our housing appraisal came in lower than we were expecting/needing.  Not sure if it will affect the refi at this point.

Planning to make chicken fajitas, black beans and rice tomorrow because my friend is coming for dinner on Friday night.  We'll see how that goes with Angelfish hanging onto my leg as I cook.  Clueless as to what's on the menu for tonight.  Thinking breakfast for dinner ...

MILP #265: Quickie

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis among several blogs.  You can always check in here and I'll direct you.

Kate needed a bailout -- dead computer in the middle of a move -- so here is a quickie Roundup of what happened in the MILPverse, posts ending Sunday, August 12.  Baby in hand, so forgive short descriptions and typos.

Decisions on Margaritas is jogging in Hawaii.
Geeky Lawmom has Big Things coming her way ... in CAPITALS.
Kate is moving.
Fumbling for Truth has a new job.
But I do have a law degree ... on a good day.
Commenters are peer pressuring Magic Cookie into revealing her haircut. Also, her kid is funny.
Reluctant Grownup is shooting ... photos.
Frenchie is back in Sin City, with pics.
Lag Liv and the case of Claire v. Haircut.
LC on the work life weekend dance.
LEO is looking for a place to set down roots.
Dinei and her partner in parenting... and then there was this too.
Grace and how to worklife without daycare.
Alice on being a corporate working mom.
CP on baby fever.
AAL needed and got some good news on a good day, and has great posts on practice of law  and an e-Book available.

sorry if i missed anyone baby meltdown imminent may edit add more later

Little things

This summer has been record hot and sticky. The no air conditioning (except for a single bedroom window unit) thing has gotten old.

Lionfish still fights expressed milk from a bottle.  Our fifth different bottle brand (Playtex nurser with latex not silicone nipple) is fought somewhat less.  Bullshark has given her a bottle about every other day for the last two weeks.  She still won't take formula, though.

Angelfish, meanwhile, is on a sippy cup strike. She only wants a bottle.  How it goes, I guess.

You park on the street in front of my house at your peril when it rains.  You never know if the deadly combination of high tide and fast rain will cause the entire block to flood.  We had our house appraised for the re-fi at 1 p.m. yesterday.  At 3 p.m., we had our annual flash flood, which covered our entire block and threatened to swamp our cars in the driveway and (yikes) even approached the foundation. Dodged a bullet there, in more ways than one.

Bullshark leaves in the morning for the rest of summer.  We gave him his birthday presents -- he has spent a lot of birthdays overseas.  But it was too hot/humid and too kid & flood crazy to bake for him.

Clownfish  goes to LEGO camp on Monday.  Jealous.

Fresh basil and tomatoes from our garden is possibly my favorite summer thing.

So money

We've been in our house since 2003 and have been paying mortgage interest in the high 5s on a thirty year fixed.  We might be able to refinance, keeping our payment roughly the same, but dropping the interest rate significantly and knocking at least six years off of our term.

Dialogue of the day:

"So, if we're gonna save something like $XX,000 over the next 21 years, doesn't that mean we can afford a new kitchen right now?"

"What do you think this is? The U.S. Treasury?" 

MILP #264

Attorney Work Product had it. 

Pretty sure Kate is next.

First world problem

Aren't they all?

If you thought I was joking when I said we were looking into a reality show to renovate our kitchen, you'd be wrong.  Bullshark convinced me it was a good idea and got the process started, but he really wanted me to pull it together because I am apparently so much better at that sort of thing.  Like we apply for reality shows all the time, right?

So instead of sleeping, I've spent the last two nights working on this project.  And although our submission is 1/10 the size of the maximum upload, and we triple checked the format, etc., the stupid reality show website won't accept our submission.  It won't upload. 

I do think the whole thing was a waste of time and effort, but I wasn't angry about it til now, when it seems like technical glitches will keep the submission from ever making it onto the site.

How's that for reality?