Someone has a case of the MONDAYS! (On a Thursday, no less!)

After a rough night last night (one kid peed the bed, one kid woke up screaming inconsolably twice, and one kid wouldn't go to sleep at the assigned time because he/she had to "use the bathroom" 25 times in a half-hour) and a rocky start this morning, I've been a cranky butt all day. No Holly, not a butt-hole (you have to click on this link to know why that is so very funny). Here's my sad, sad story:

You may remember Nils getting a contract job almost 4 weeks ago, which was supposed to last 8 days, but has turned into almost 4 weeks, which means that minus our 4 1/2-day CA excursion, we haven't seen much of him. I intentionally made that the longest run on sentence ever to stress my stress.

This job is a huge blessing, in that Nils is getting paid hourly at a pretty decent rate. The extra moolah will help tremendously over the next few months. This job is also a curse in that he goes from one full-time job to the other, works until the wee hours of the morning, and I really miss watching Arrested Development with him after the kids are in bed. Waa. And the kids miss their dad.

This brings me to my philosophical dilemma. Most of the time we're crunched for money, shaking our heads at the $68.00 gas fill-ups, etc. We're always trying to weasel our way into more cash in order to survive. When we're together, the stars are aligned and life is good, even if we have to pinch. When an opportunity like this comes along, we know it will suck for awhile, but when it's over we'll be in a better situation money-wise. I guess my unclear point is I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable. (Not that we're by any means rich; just a little less in the hole.)

In the meantime, Lord, please help me to be better at single-parenting with a happier disposition. And help my sticky kitchen floor to clean itself.

P.S. I had to go the dentist TWICE this week because of excruciating tooth issues. It has nothing to do with anything, I just want pity.

Our Disneyland Bargain

One of the best parts of our trip to Disneyland were the amazing bargains we got.

*I bought tires 2 years ago and got a free hotel stay for Southern CA. We paid $40 for room taxes, the kids ate free, and they drove us to and from the park every day. I loved it.

*Nils' brother lives in LA, and his partner knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a lady... anyway, someone owed someone else a favor and we were the ones to benefit. The lady works for Disney, so she met us every day and walked us into the park. We paid her $300 to do this, but it saved us about $600.

*Disneyland employees get a 35% discount on merchandise, so she went shopping with us and got us her discount on souvenirs. There are no words as to how happy it made us!

Here are some of the best visual highlights:

The first thing Anders noticed in Disneyland were the gigantic lollipops. He licked that thing for hours, and was really sad when I wouldn't let him finish it off the next day.

We were all really excited to see Goofy, except for the boy. He told me he knew that it was a person in a costume, and was really creeped out that Goofy wouldn't talk. I had to pull him into the picture at the last second. Note the lollipop.

The first day he was too cool for the carousel, the second day he loved it.

One of my favorite parts was taking Addie to meet the princesses. She met Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Pocahontas. Snow White was so sweet, hugging Addie and talking to her. Addie was in awe and speechless. It was so cute, I was actually choked up.

All of us with our Mickey ears.

Nils' dad was kind and brave enough to accompany us on our trip. It helped tons being able to switch off holding Aani and taking kids on rides. He was also our photographer for the most part. We loved Disneyland and want to go every year. Especially if we can get our new shooga mama to get us in for so cheap!

Mind Yer Beezwax!

Today was one of those days. I knew that for sure when at about 7:15 pm I was drinking chocolate syrup straight from the bottle.

At Disneyland they had a "stuff this box full of as many Mr. Potato Head parts as you can for $18" thing. Trouble is, we just gave our Mr. Potato Head head to DI a couple of months ago (due to a lack of parts). So I took the kids to the store to get a Mr. Potato Head. Anders whined, complained and begged the entire time; it had really been the whole day up to this point. He was ticked that I wouldn't buy blueberry Pop Tarts, and when I handed him Mr. Potato Head he said, "Why can't we get three of them?" I seriously almost lost it on the boy at that point. I told him if he asked for one more thing, whined one more time or gave me attitude, Mr. Potato Head was going back on the shelf.

While standing in line at the register, my boy picked up a box of goldfish crackers (which he doesn't even like, by the way) and looked at me like he would die if he didn't get them. I gave him one of those Mommy Looks of Death, and the guy in front of us noticed.

This guy then walked up to me and said, "If I were you, I would have given him the choice between the goldfish and Mr. Potato Head, and he would have put the goldfish back."

I wanted to smack him, but I decided it was not worth my time to respond verbally (or with physical violence), so I averted my Mommy Look of Death from Anders and gave it to this man. He quickly retreated back to his spot in line and said, "Sorry, none of my business." I said, "Yeah."

He said, "I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old." I said, "Wow."

I think I scared him. And I'm glad.

So the whining, complaining, arguing and begging continued throughout the day. I can not handle it. This is a serious issue with us lately. I am butting heads with this kid 90% of the time, and it makes me sad that I'm frustrated and irritated with my child as much as I am. I'm asking for sympathy, advice, commiseration- anything.

And if anyone has drank chocolate syrup straight from the bottle, I'd also appreciate knowing about it.

ps- I swear a Disneyland report is coming. Today was just not the day.

Rasmusson Disneyland Adventures

We're back from the D-land. It was fun, fun, fun. I have not the energy to write a detailed post, so here it is in a nutshell:

This was right after we got there.

This was 2 days later, right before we left.

Disneyland is a wonderful, magical place, and I want to move there. I'd just like a more comfortable place to rest.

Much more will come...

Kindly Obliterate a Species

Okely dokely, friends. I finished this book last night, and I'm a little surprised of what I thought of it. I had no preconceived notions of what the plot was so I didn't have any expectations. I like the Twilight series, but I'm not one of those people that goes to Forks on Stephenie Meyer Day.

I don't want to ruin anything for people who haven't read it yet, but I'm very curious to see what others thought of it.

I thought the ending was a little too neat and tidy. Perhaps I need more alien vs. human battles, so a sequel would help me feel better.

A penny for your thoughts?

The Rundown

This week has been nutty! First off, my shoe party was a big success! I know you were all worried about that, so fret no longer. I ended up with shoes for all the kids, which was really my main motivation. I also got a very cute purse- my very first grown-up purse! I'm all aflutter.

Nils scored a contract job on Monday, so he's been working his regular job full-time and this contract job full-time, so he's been absent most of the week. It has yet again been confirmed to me that I can not be a single parent. How do people do it?

Anyhoo, he has to be done with this project by Wednesday of next week because we're going to DISNEYLAND! Since I'll be the one to do all the packing, etc., any helpful road trip/Disneyland tips would be greatly appreciated. I may have a stroke if I have to pay $6 for a hot dog in the park. Can we smuggle in snacks?

Our ward had a 5K fun run this morning. Nils said he needed a diversion from coding, so he ran it. The thing about Nils is that he exercises very sporatically, yet he can run a 5K without too much trouble.

Anders and Addie ushering him in to the finish, sippy cup and all.

I really have to hand it to him. He's been working 20 hour days. No wonder he was a bit tuckered out at the end.

I'm all out of things to say. Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!

Shoe Party

Wednesday I'm having my shoe party! I've been really lazy about delivering invitations, so if I know you and you know where I live, please come. If I know you and you don't know where I live, email me and I'll tell you where I live so you can come. I'm pretty over the party scene, but this really is so much fun!

When: Wednesday, May 7 from 6:30-8:00 pm. (open house)
Where: My house.
Why: Cute shoes under $20. Oh, and there will be treats.

Email: nilsandkatrina@gmail.com