Limits

The Edge, the breaking point....whatever you want to call it, I have hit it.  My Superwoman cape needs to goto the cleaners like yesterday!  But moving on, there is a light at the end of the audit from hades tunnel and I am hoping that by Monday at the latest, part 1 will be completed.  Part 2 should go much faster and they are friendlier people to work with.  Sometime transistion sucks, no?

Our happy little girl is a very happy little girl except when she has an over abundance amount of fun at daycare and comes home exhausted.  Then happy little girl turns into the Very Angry Elf.  Angry elf is not to be dealt with, usually meaning an early bedtime.  She returns that favor by waking me up and hour early and wanting to play with the dogs.  She has yet to learn there is no such thing as 6 am.  We are working on this leasson very hard, because truly any good night owl knows you must not rise before the sun.

Her 18 month appointment went well and we spent most of the time talking about dental hygiene.  Our pedi was impressed with her ability to floss and wanted B to make an instructional video for you tube. :)

Shots are next week so we have to stop back in.  She made it all week in the 2 year old room and my gosh it is baby palooza there.  3 of the 5 teachers are pregnant and 1 is "not avoiding."  Craziness.

Talking Smack

Stepping on soapbox;

Like any good state in America, Kansas has a college rivalry.  K-State/KU goes back forever.  Some years the competition is good and some not so hot.  Especially the 90's in basketball and really the early 2000's. Ok, so KSU was horrible at the round ball and people didn't even know KU had a football team.  Really you are either a Wildcat or a Jayhawk and maybe the exception to the rule, my Dad who will root for KU because it's better when we beat them if they are good.  I think he has just rooted for them forever and now that is his excuse.  But I digress. 

I love watching KU lose.  Not because I don't respect the team or the players, because I do.  I love a great game and they are usually a great team.  But because it brings out the whiny hypocrites I call facebook/high school friends.  Last week after a great KSU/Wisconsin game that left us a little short, KU fans were out in force.  Today I witnessed several statuses that made me shake my head.  My favorite I think was, the first person to say anything Anti-KU is getting deleted, then there was the wow, I am pretty sure I don't know anyone that went to Butler/VCU, etc. but all this hate.   Then there is the hating of the refs.  I really can't stand that, because besides the rare games, the refs do a pretty good job.  Make your shots and quit fouling, then the refs won't matter.  However, one guy admitted defeat and said gotta hit your shots to win the game.  I think those are the fans that get it.

I feel bad for all the seniors in the last weeks that have suited up for the last time. I've been there, witnessed it and it is always emotional.  So in conclusion, I am all for a good game of smack talk before the game, because it's fun to defend your team and show some school spirit.  But after, shake hands, say good game and leave it at that until next year.

Off soapbox.

After my craptacular beginning of the week, it started looking up and my stress level lowered.  My ticked off client is not completely off my back yet, but I do feel like I got some things accomplished this week.  I got some tax returns out the door on Friday and finished up some loose ends on a couple audits.  I still have a ton to do and not so many hours to do it, but at least it is forward motion.

We went to a Birthday party yesterday and Willa had a good time.  The bounce house was fun and she got to stuff one of those critter things.  I think I got about 5,000 steps over my average just chasing her around.  It was about a half hour to long in my opinion only because I was tired and just wanted her to sit down for a few minutes.  She kept wanting to run out into the mall.  Maybe I should suggest to them to gate off the bounce house so kids can't escape?  We went a saw the baby chicks and rabbits today and we were nervous she would call them a dog.  She called them ducks which was pretty close.  Sadly, B learned you are allowed 3 hens and no roosters if you live in town.  He is now trying to figure out to keep the Fox (Belle) out of a hen house.  Lord help me....

Rough days

I have to say that I work with some very great people and that we have some really great clients.  Some are weird, crazy, high maintenance and sometimes all three.  For the most, they are pretty go with the flow.  I learned a new side of the business today and it is not one I want to experience again.  I was basically yelled at today because an audit is not done.  It was supposed to be done in February, but the management company has finally got me the information I need last week.  Unfortunately for them, I have been booked solid on projects that are normally scheduled at this time and there is only so many hours in the day.  Thankfully, my boss was outside my door when the guy called and totally went to bat for me and that guys "boss" called later and was a lot more reasonable.  I feel for their predicament too, because they are waiting on the audit to finish tax returns.  It's also going slow because it is an industry I am not completely confident in myself in.  One of those learning curve ones where I feel like I know something and then I second guess myself.  I just want to make sure it is right.  So instead going out to a clients today like I was scheduled I spent the day trying to foot a cash flow and working on memos.  Le sigh.  It made me want to throw up knowing a client wasn't happy with the service I am trying to provide.

Willa has been having some good days.  She has been transitioning to the 2 year old class and will be over there full time as soon as two other kids move to the 3 year old class.  She goes over most preschool days and the teacher is ready to have her everyday.  B has been working on colors with her and so far she says green, pink, and I have gotten a few blues out of her.  She pesters the poor dogs to no end though when we are at home, I almost feel sorry for them.

Granola

This might be one of my all time favorite snacks and it is so easy.  I thought I had posted it before, but I couldn't find it.

2 1/2 cups oats
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 cup flour
Extras of your choosing (nuts, flax seed, raisins, chocolate chips, etc) 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees-lightly grease baking sheet and toast oats and if you like a nutty taste....the nuts for 20 minutes.  In a small saucepan heat butter, brown sugar and honey until melted.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Raise heat to 350-mix flour with oats and stir in brown sugar mixture.  Bake for 5 minutes, add extras and bake an additional 5.

I don't like my raisins and chocolate chips "cooked" so I add those afterwards.  I let the mixture cool a little bit and then toss in the in the chocolate, it melts so nicely.  Often, I double the recipe because I eat it so fast.  I have experimented with adding more brown sugar mixture if I want chunky granola and less if I want it more loose.  I eat it by itself, but my favorite is to mix it with some yogurt for breakfast.

Enjoy

3 in a day

My new page links are now working!!!  I just had to get that out so somebody would notice.

A Test

I know I have talked ad nauseum about Willa's love for Lady Antebellum, but you might be glad to know she is starting to branch out and like other artists. She is already passing her Dad's tests in recognizing music only a few bars into the song. Because I am horrible at that game, I am amazed at how well she does.

Last Sunday, her and I were having lunch when she cocked her head and got really quiet. I couldn't figure out what she was doing until she started dancing in her high chair. She could hear the music on in the living room and it was one of her new favorite songs.

My new favorite word of hers this week is Oh Jeeze which is usually proceeded by Uh Oh. My not so favorite this week is the temper tantrums that come out of nowhere. So far, the only way to combat the meltdowns is bedtime. My other favorite is her attempts at picking out her clothes. It's pretty comical. If mom is home I help direct to matching outfits. If dad is home, she gets to wear what she wants.

I took a break from work on Saturday and went with B and Willa to feed the geese at Gibson Park. B was not impressed with a loaf of bread I bought so he donated it to the birds. He thought it was rather comical when the geese wouldn't eat it. They liked the jelly filled powdered donuts better I guess. I did find a squirrel to partake though. We also went to feed the fish at the hatchery. Little girl just wanted to chase birds and watch the fish. She was not happy to leave either place. We went for a walk on Sunday up to Walgreens and Joann's (next post!) and a little while later she was trying to climb back in her stroller to go out again.

I hate to break her heart, but I am sure winter is not over yet. She got to play outside today and help B grill and she was just so happy about it.

Then she went to bed early.

Pinch Proof

I meant to take lots of pictures for this post but just got too excited and didn't.

I saw the idea over at Skip to My Lou and knew my little Irish one needed a new shirt.

This has all my favorite things....craftiness and thriftiness. I was at Target looking for a shirt I could do this to and what do I find but $1.50 boys shirts! They had little pockets on the front, but if there is one thing I have learned from blogging is that it only takes a little effort to make something into something else. I broke out my seam ripper and took those little pockets off. We headed off to Joann's and spent $1.11 on velveteen fabric paint. Printed off the template, traced it onto my freezer paper, painted, and voila! For $2.61, you can't beat it.

Note to self: Do not let child play with unopened paint container, despite it having a seal. Childproof seals are not childproof and child's mouth will be covered in green paint. Parent points: paint was non-toxic and a little teeth-brushing can cure many problems.

Thanks  Skip To My Lou

Words Galore

It seems like there was a new word a day around here. Some I didn’t know she knew but B did and some really were new. The one I taught her was REBOUND. We had to break that one out for the K-State game. They need to work on that as much as they do their free throws.

She really worked on her animal names and I am pleased to say Duck is definitely Duck. Piggy sounds like kitty but goat is pretty good. Please and thanks is still pretty hit or miss depending on how badly she wants something. She has decided she can replace book with please when she wants to be read to. Milk and more is getting more distinct too.

The in-laws got us a kitchen aid for Christmas and it truly is one of the greatest things to have in the kitchen. Its so nice to just throw the ingredients in and turn it on and then go about mixing up the rest and pouring it in all hands free. B asked for chocolate chip cookies and we have all ate a few to many this weekend.

I am off to a rough start reaching my billable budget this month. B had guard drill this weekend and my babysitter didn’t show up today for me to go into the office. I have decided I am not worried about my hours per se, I just want to get some of my audits out the door. It’s been a pretty strange tax season thus far, mostly laid back and easy going. We are about even with the number of returns we had done at this time last year.

Pretty boring week though, we are just getting used to B’s new schedule and trying to fit everything in and get it all done.