angry birds
the weather here has turned gorgeous. granted, it’ll most likely only last for another 76 and a half hours before something catastrophic happens to change the course of the weather patterns (also, watch out on may 21, just FYI) but really, it’s been gloriously beautiful in the baltimore/dc and surrounding areas as of late.
a nice, crisp 65 degrees with sunshine and a breeze coming off the bay in the mornings, and a high in the low 70′s. it’s been my ideal weather for driving with my windows down… well, partially down b/c i don’t like to mess up my hair that much. i work too hard and use too much product to get it looking the “effortlessly messy” that it normally looks.
point being, i’ve been driving around with my windows down.
strange thing happened to be the other day… and as per usual, when strange things happen to me, i took to the twitter with it…

anyway, it’s been a few days since this incident occurred, and being the lazy ass super busy parent that i am, i haven’t had energy time to have my car washed.
yesterday, i took jackson to spend a gift card he had received for his birthday. we approached an intersection where roadwork was taking place and i was forced into the far left hand lane, with the crew painting arrows in the middle lane.
just out. painting. IN A MAIN INTERSECTION. in the middle of the day.
of course i get the red light at said intersection and my windows are rolled down and the road crew takes a look at the surrounding vehicles. as the crew stood there IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC, i couldn’t help but think about the way some people are when it comes to the whole “pedestrians have the right of way” law.
you know the people who will enter a pedestrian walkway regardless of the amount of high speed traffic taking place at 3:30 in the afternoon. they’ll walk out IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC and whoever is driving will be forced to stop, because, ya know, that’s THE LAW. then the pedestrian gives this look, a look like “yeah. that’s right. stop your car even though you’re running late for carpool. stop your car and watch me walk because THE PEDESTRIAN HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY.”
so the road crew scopes out my peace wagon and i don’t realize they are pointing at my car until i hear laughter that is so overwhelmingly loud, it drowns out lady gaga. jackson is entirely enthralled with all of the road crew equipment, so he is of no help when it comes to paying attention to what is going on around me.
then i am approached at my open window by a member of the road crew.
“lady, you need a car wash!”
“no kidding. you offering?”
::laughter::
“nah, i’ve got work to do.”
(uh… you’re not doing it if you’re talking to me dude.)
“funny thing is, i had rolled up my windows just before this happened.”
“WHAT?!?!?”
“yeah, true story. i had just rolled up the windows before the bird unleashed the fury of its bowels on my car.”
“awww damn. you got lucky.”
“i know!!! i should’ve bought a lottery ticket.”
::more laughter::
the light turned green, i waved goodbye and made my left turn through the intersection of death.
fast forward to this morning. i still haven’t mustered up the energy found the time to hit up a car wash.
i pull up to jackson’s school for drop off and one of his teachers comes out to the car and gets him out of his car seat. her eyes widen and for a split second, i wonder if she smells the fart i let go of as we turned in that hadn’t yet wafted out of my open windows.
“girl, you have got some ANGRY birds in your neighborhood.”
(phew… ok, she didn’t smell my fart.)
“ohhhh, i know. i’ve been getting laughed at and looks with each traffic light i’m stopped at.”
“seriously… what on EARTH?!?!”
“well, funny thing is, i had JUST ROLLED UP MY WINDOWS right before the bird pooped a plenty.”
::shakes her head and hoists jackson up onto her hip::
“MOM HAS ALL THE BIRD POOPS ON THE CAR!!!!”
::laughter::
“so, i guess now you have to keep it looking the way it does… if it’s making people laugh…”
::shrug::
i wave goodbye, head back home to shower, because while i may not clean my car, i do clean myself, sometimes. and then it struck me… jackson’s teacher gave me the go ahead to continue in my slothful manner and not clean my car.
BONUS!
so, if you’re a reader and you find yourself in this neck of the woods, and possibly scope out a peace wagon looking like this…



just know that it’s all for a good cause. i’m keeping my car shat upon for the sake of laughter and smiles. the things i do for you people!
weird stuff (alternately titled: the red meat query)
my dog may have had a seizure today. i’m not sure because i’ve never seen a dog have a seizure before. i haven’t seen a person have a seizure before either. it’s safe to say that i know nothing about seizures. i should’ve paid more attention in biology, but then again, i turned out getting a degree in english literature so obviously biology was not my thing.
my kid has hives… again. he had them a few weeks ago because a certain male father figure overdosed jackson’s bath tub with color changing tablets. apparently jackson is allergic to the dye in the tablets. who knew?
there was already weird shit going on today from the beginning… i had this horrible dream that caused me to wake up in the midst of a panic attack and choke down a xanax for breakfast. dropped off jackson at school, called my mom to tell her about my horrible panic attack inducing dream, came home, had coffee.
then i made the mistake of being link baited by babble which just pissed me off because i hate being link baited and for a moment considered writing all about that, but then i just spewed my pissed offedness to a friend, who validated my feelings, as she felt very much the same way i did.
i grab a quick shower because after being link baited, i felt dirty and in need of cleansing my body and soul. i continue to talk with my friend in segments after my shower, as i dry my hair, find a clean pair of jeans, etc… because, ya know, i was angry.
but i was already angry and had already had a panic attack about that damn dream.
i go get jackson from school. he wants fruit snacks, as per usual, and we’re out because i didn’t go grocery shopping yesterday because the weather was absolutely terrifying and made me want to crawl into a hole with my son and protect him. the hole probably would not have been even as dark as the sky was yesterday. i’m tellin ya… mother nature man… mother nature is pissed.
so we stop at the grocery store. i get a few things… fruit snacks, self tanning lotion (because while yesterday was scary rainy stormy dark doom weather, today is 55 and sunny) for my nearly translucent looking legs, ground beef, apples, pretzel nuggets, i don’t know what else… but more.
we fill up the car with the groceries and shlep next door to rite aid because the state of maryland is dumb and does not allow grocery stores to sell liquor. so we have to go to another store to get liquor. i didn’t even want liquor, people of maryland, i wanted wine… and hair product… and advil pm… and jackson wanted a mini garbage truck that he broke within 30 minutes of being home.
once we were home, i quickly made jackson’s lunch whilst putting the groceries away. i look over at the dog and he’s laying on his bed, head resting on the corner of it, but his head is shaking. he’s awake, eyes open, watching me put ground beef in the freezer (it’s paul’s night to cook, ha!) but his head is shaking. just his head and it’s kinda twitching/shaking. not like he has an itch, not like he’s panting because he wasn’t panting.
i stop putting away my groceries and just watch him for a minute or two. the shaking stops. i question myself and think that i’m seeing things and waiting for pictures to start flying off the walls and trees to evaporate into thin air because, ya know, mother nature is angry.
i head back to the bedroom to get my laptop and chord and notebooks and gear to set up office out on the kitchen table. typically i work from the kitchen table during jackson’s nap. i set my laptop on the kitchen table with other accoutrements and look back at the dog. his head is shaking again. the twitchy/shakey thing. and again, no other part of him is moving but his head, and he’s entirely awake.
with jackson content on the couch, eating his lunch and watching sesame street, i call paul and sit on the floor with the dog. i pet his head and after a few seconds, the shaky/twitchy shit stops. so paul is all “should i come home?” and i’m all “i don’t know, it could be nothing.” and paul’s all, “well was it like a seizure?” and i’m all “I DON’T KNOW MAN, I HAVE NEVER SEEN A DOG HAVE A SEIZURE OR A HUMAN HAVE A SEIZURE BUT I’M TRYING NOT TO FREAK OUT ABOUT IT BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO WORRY JACKSON.”
paul comes home. i had remained on the floor with the dog, just telling jackson that i was giving him a little extra love, but that “red’s fine. he just wants snuggles like jackson wants snuggles sometimes.” when the dog hears paul’s keys in the door, he hops up and runs to paul like he is perfectly fine. then he runs over to where his tennis ball stash is and indicates that he wants to play and is absolutely and completely fine. and he’s been fine since.
weird shit.
then… jackson finishes lunch and it’s about half an hour til his nap time, so i go ahead and get him out of his school clothes and change his t-shirt. the kid is covered in hives. HIVES AGAIN. WTF?!?! jackson is all “mom, i have the bumps again!!” paul administers benedryl. i wrestle jackson to put hydrocortizone cream on him though it serves no purpose because them he runs over to his carpet and rubs it all off.
i shoot a quick email to jackson’s preschool teacher, asking what they did today that may have affected jackson… did they snack on anything different, play on anything different, etc… still waiting to hear.
paul leaves to go back to work after i reassure him that i’ll do my best to get my mind off my dream and not have another panic attack, tell him that i’ll keep an eye on the dog, we’ll see how jackson is after his nap, bla bla bla…
after putting jackson down for his nap, i sit down at my laptop and check my email to find a query from a freelance writer, asking to guest post on my blog. i’ve never received one of these before. usually when i get weird emails or queries, i forward them to my friend and she says, “nic, it’s spam. learn what spam is and stop forwarding me this shit.”
instead of pestering my friend, who i had already pestered with this morning because of the frickin link bait that pissed me off, i take it to twitter and ask twitter what to do when receiving an email from someone asking to do a guest post on your blog WHEN THE CONTENT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CONTENT OF YOUR BLOG.
the twitter was hilarious and fantastic with responses… i got everything from “ignore it” to “no” to “tell them something polite and then imagine yourself squeezing their heads” to “i had to start including that in my ‘about’ page because link farm type posts.”
twitter is amazing.
i don’t ignore it. because, ya know what? today has already been strange enough. i reread the query and the person who sent it offered a few links to other posts… about global warming and making sure not to eat too much red meat.
WTF?!?!
i respond to the query in probably a strange and bitchy way, but ya know what? if you’re going to query someone about something, at least KNOW a little bit about who you are reaching out to. just a little bit… a pinch of something so that when we read your query, we feel like you have at least visited our blog before emailing us.
so it’s just now the early afternoon, and i’m wondering what’s next. the dog is resting at my feet and his head is still at the moment. jackson is napping, and i’m assuming his hives will have spread like wildfire when he wakes up because he sweats like a marathon runner when he sleeps. and ya know, hives breed and multiply and like hot sweaty little bodies like that.
as irritating as it is to be unable to purchase beer and wine in the same store that one purchases groceries in, i’m very glad i made that extra trip into rite aid today. i will be that much more glad come 5 pm.
because the world is ending, red meat is poisonous, my dog may have had a seizure, and my kid has hives… again.
deep thoughts on the commode
shhhh!!! he’s watching shaun the sheep. go quick!
quick, i said… QUICKER!!!
steps. little steps. little person steps.
dammit.
shhh… don’t breathe. he can hear you breathing.
this tile needs to be cleaned, again.
what IS THAT in the trash can?
never mind, i don’t wanna know.
if i bend myself in half, maybe i won’t have to pee again in 45 minutes.
does my iphone work in here?
check twitter…
i need to call mom later.
“NO BABY, MOMMY’S IN THE POTTY.”
how come HE gets to take 25 minutes of uninterrupted time with his ipad to take a dump?
i want 25 minutes of uninterrupted time… PERIOD.
oh what i could do with 25 minutes…
“yes, you can give mommy the paper.”
“no, mommy doesn’t need THAT MUCH paper.”
“red pees outside in the grass, right mommy?”
“yes baby, animals pee outside in the grass. you are right.”
shit, that’s not right. cats pee indoors.
and hamsters… and turtles…
at least this week i don’t have to worry about him asking about my tampon string.
does medication ever truly expire?
nyquil says it expires.
i bet it doesn’t expire… they just want you to buy more.
money grubbers.
“yes baby, you can wear mommy’s flip flops.”
new tooth brush is needed… asap.
“it’s under the sink. yes, you can build a tower.”
“sure hun, i guess you can flush.”
DON’T DROP THE TRUCK IN.
DON’T DROP YOUR ERNIE IN.
“try again… push the lever ALL THE WAY DOWN.”
my god, what must he think when he looks in the toilet?!?
he’ll need therapy one day.
which reminds me… i need to call my therapist today.
where did i put that number?
::FLUSH::
“let’s wash our hands.”
“more later mom?”
yup. more later.
cream cheese was made for mornings like this
our apartment is once again flooded with a team of construction workers. as luck would have it, tropical storm nicole (seriously y’all, mother nature is mocking me) strolled up the east coast like an over-priced hooker and unleashed her fury as though she were menstruating.
we have a walk-in closet in our master bedroom that currently has no ceiling. water sat for days on top of the roof of our building, collecting all sorts of disgusting i don’t know what, and then made it’s way through our ceiling and into our closet.
this has happened twice before, but has obviously never really been fixed. instead, the contracted ceiling dudes just patched up what parts of the ceiling had been damaged.
they put a bandaid on a gaping wound.
so neither of us were surprised when we went into our closet last week to find the mess that we found. and of course no one could get to us until the weekend because there were other jobs around our apartment complex to be done and we needed to wait in line… which meant that the puddle of soaking wet, stagnant water just sat above us, slowly saturating the ceiling.
and this morning, we have this…
our built-ins have transformed into rotting wood, and because there was no original assessment of the damage created by the two previous ceiling soaked situations, we now have this all up in our piece…
the depths of mold. and holy shit is it disgusting… in fact shit may be less disgusting than what is getting scraped out of our ceiling. the smell is absolutely putrid and has given me new perspective when it comes to changing my son’s shit pants.
our guest bedroom has been turned into a closet, which really just means that our clothes are piled on the bed, the dresser, the clothes-drying rack, and wherever we can find open space on the floor. paul’s uniforms are all hanging from the shower curtain rod in jackson’s bathroom. and our bedroom is a dusty mess of sheet rock on the floor and mold above our heads.
an air purifier and dehumidifier were placed in our bedroom in an attempt to clean up the damp air, give us each hacking coughs and chapped lips, as well as bloody noses because it’s as dry as the sahara where we sleep.
we should’ve thought things through a little more thoroughly and slept in the guest room instead of making it our closet. damn.
it was extra super fun this morning when we realized that it had once again rained all night long, and we opened our closet door to find water that had come through the damaged roof and into our closet because WE HAVE NO CEILING yet.
no worries though, one flick of the switch on the dehumidifier from hell and that water was evaporated before i was done brushing my teeth.
insurance adjusters need to come out and assess the damage. (for some reason that makes me laugh maniacally and long to hook up an IV drip to a bottle of grey goose and insert into my floating veins.) once that happens and the insurance adjusters give the contractors the OK to finish defunking our mold situation and then build us a new ceiling, we get to have another team of people come in to take care of that awesomeness.
i am told that all of this should be completed in 3 days. in the meantime, i am going to see how much weight i can gain in the comfort of sesame seed bagels and cream cheese.
did i mention that i am allergic to mold?












