Where to Start?!

I guess I'll just give a quick overview of our hectic, fun-filled holiday season and hope it makes sense for you.  Ha!

So, we started off the season with a trip to Hammond's Candy Factory for the tour and the holiday themed madness.  It wasn't as much fun as advertised...but I'd go again a different time of the year to take the tour again and pick up some fantastic candy!

And there was shopping.  And more shopping.  Here's the bad part, and why all of Santa's shopping will be done online or by herself next year:  Dante can look at something I purchased, and he'll remember the store.  He sees his juice boxes, and he says "Juice box from Target, Mama!" or when he saw the MAYONNAISE of all things, and said "Albertson's, Mama."  *headdesk*  So he announced where everything was purchased on Christmas day except for the Xbox (my friend Donna Ann distracted him while I bought it and they put it in a thick red bag and stapled it shut.), my outfit (purchased online), Hubby's jeans (online) and the candy (Donna Ann's distracting abilities shone again!).

Had a picture taken with Santa, which was less than fun since Dante didn't sleep much that day...but he slept on the way home, which is better than nothing, I guess.

One of the high (and low) -lights of this holiday season was baking cookies with my best friend Katie.  We had a blast, working off hardly any sleep with kids who hardly slept and it got more interesting as the day went on...  Near the end of the day, when we were both so incredibly silly and delirious from lack of sleep, Katie went to pull fudge out of the fridge.  She was faced with a dilemma:  save the fudge or save two cartons of eggs.  She made the rational (instinctual) choice and saved the fudge.  Unfortunately, that meant that a few eggs fell on the ground.  So we cleaned that up, and cleaning it actually made the floor even more slick.  We went to the dining room to start organizing platters for our friends, and I noticed the new platters needed to be washed, so I grabbed them and turned around to get to the sink.  As we were joking that my clumsy ass needed to be careful, I slipped, and in my infinite grace, somehow managed to both land on my left hip and twist my right ankle.  Oh, and both hands got hurt in some way.  But I was so amused, I sat and laughed for what may have been a seconds, but it felt like a good five minutes.  It was hilarious!  I sat, crying because I was laughing so hard, and because it hurt like a motha'!  So I limped for a bit, and we got everything baked, everything sorted and labeled and divvied up, and the three of us (Scarlett, Dante and myself) got ready to go.

So, at one point during the day, the kids decided that playing with Dante's super cool Converse with the flames would be a blast, and they disappeared.  No biggie, I thought.  I figured this happens all the time; we were bound to find them when I actually needed them!  Or, not.  I asked him to please put away a toy, and bless his giant, tiny heart, he tried.  He was wearing "non-skid" socks, and he slid on the hardwood floor and slammed his face into a busy box-type thing.  I yelped, and nearly passed out when I saw the pool of blood that started pooling near his eye, eventually finding its way to his gorgeous peepers.  It was everywhere, on me, on Katie, all over his face.  Scarlett was asleep in her car seat, all buckled and ready to go, but considering the severity of the situation, Katie threw my jacket on me (that thankfully had my wallet), grabbed my keys, and shooed Dante and myself out the door and into the car, telling me as we slid our way down her ice rink of a driveway that she had Scarlett, just get him patched up.

Ran to the Children's hospital up near them (AKA: BFE) and there was no wait.  (On the way there, he freaked out a bit (can't blame him) and then he tried to sleep.  But fearing a severe concussion, I kept him awake and made him sing the alphabet.)  They took my insurance card and ID and shuffled us into triage.  While the triage nurse entered info, I got my cards back and we were shown to our exam room.  By this point, Dante was having an adventure.  He jumped on the gurney, and even tried to stand on the doc's spinning seat, but I got him off of that.  Then he moved the child sized chair over to the computer and when the doc came in to talk to us, he told her he was checking his email.  Ha!  But he got cleaned up, and we saw that the gash was smaller than it could have been, and not as close to his eye as I had feared.  So they had me help them pin him down (!) and they washed out his eye again with saline and then glued the skin back together.  For being a good sport (well, as good a sport as an almost 3 year old can be when he's pinned down and scared out his mind) he got a really cool handmade wooden toy from the Kiwanis; a rabbit that rolls.  He also got a really cool sticker, which made him super happy.

Then he played in the waiting room while I paid the co-pay and got all the paperwork together.  I tried to get him to leave and he refused!  I told him we had to get Scarlett so we could go home and he yelled!  "No Scarlett!  Dante play!"  Aw, poor little buddy!  But I pried him away, went back to Katie's to grab my other child and all my stuff, and I stopped by McD's on the way home.  I figured nutrition can take a flying leap when my brave little man wants french fries.  And now his little scar is fading, but gods help me!  That freaked me out!!!

Christmas day was pretty uneventful.  We played Santa, ate cookies and got stuff set up.  And subsequently didn't get much sleep.  But it was all worth it to see the joy on Dante's face as he ripped into his gifts!  I tried to guide Scarlett's hands into opening hers and Dante did most of the dirty work.  We ate leftovers from our huge pot roast dinner on Saturday and nibbled on cookies as Dante and I made ourselves look like idiots, dancing all over the living room.

But I am really looking forward to Spring.  More walks, more greenery, more sunshine...I'm a Spring baby, can't help it.  I can't believe Dante is going to be 3 in March!!  How scary!  It feels like it's been both ten years and ten minutes.  But I have to admit, I was always pretty good at playing by ear, and this has been no exception.

And now I have to pretend to be a grown up and get stuff done.  Blech.

No kidding...

Here I was, enjoying Whitney (Thursday nights on NBC!  HILARIOUS!) and joking around with my husband as I looked at homemade gift ideas.

We hear "Daddy?" out of Dante's room, and I thought it sounded pretty close to the door.  My exact words?  "Nah, if he can get out, he'd open the door."

LO AND BEHOLD, the door opened seconds after I shut my fat mouth.  And my Hubby and I just laughed.  And laughed.  And laughed some more.  I nearly stopped breathing as Dante grabbed my face and said "Dante get down, Mama!"

We take him back to the scene of the crime, and he did exactly what I thought he'd do.  He stuck his foot through the slats and onto the top of the short filing cabinet that was next to his crib.

I got him out before he could do it again, and gave him a banana to eat as my dear husband moved said filing cabinet.  Dante then proceeded to dance around the living room munching on his banana.

It took a bit of finagling and some reminding that we're seeing Santa in the morning to get him to calm down and go to bed.  And now I'm worried that he's going to try again without the relative safety of the filing cabinet and land on his head.  How am I supposed to sleep again?!?!

Ketchup. Or, Catsup? Nah, Catch Up.

So, I have been meaning to write about our trip, but there's not a lot that I didn't write about in blurbs on Facebook.  We visited with family, saw the friends that matter most (that weren't sick or not feeling up to seeing anyone, let alone visitors from a strange land) and we had fun!  Halloween was incredibly painful, as I knew it would be.  I'm grateful that we got to spend a good chunk of the day with Chris' parents, who are some of the most awesome people to ever walk the earth, and we went trick or treating with Marisol and her son, Diego.  Nothing exceptionally noteworthy, aside from spending the Sunday before we left with my friend Saz and her gorgeous kids, and the trip from LC to ABQ with Chris' mom (and my terrible bout of stomach flu that lasted exactly 24 hours.  WTF?  Seems I left that little souvenir for my step dad to catch.  Whoops.)

We got to see my brother, whom Dante absolutely adores.  For days, all he could say was "Uncle Jesse!" and it sucked that we didn't get to see more of him.  I must demand in this very public platform that my brother gets his narrow butt up here soon for a visit.  No ands, ifs or buts, J.  You need to get here and stay for at least a warm weekend so we can go to the zoo and a museum and such.  Start saving; food and couch space is on me.

What surprised me the most (in an awesome way) was seeing my cousin Lauren.  I knew in the back of my head that she is now an adult (!)  and going to school, but to see what a gorgeous young lady she has become just blew my mind!  She's incredibly smart, bright, responsible and sweet.  She truly has become the Whole Package, and I am incredibly proud of her.  But part of my brain still goes back 21 years and I remember holding her a month after she was born.  She just blows my mind!

There are a few people I wish I got to spend more time with (Yvonne G., Emilia. Robert, Stacie...) but I sincerely hope they know I tried so hard to see as many people as I could and stretched all three of us incredibly thin.  At the very latest, I'll be there next year for Emilia's wedding come hell or high water, so there's that....

While we were there, Dante's vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds!  Scarlett had her first taste of solid food! She started holding her head up much better!  Dante is making even more of a transition from "toddler" to "real live boy" a la Pinocchio, and we're all richer for the experience.

Since we've been home, I've watched as Dante is even more autonomous and Scarlett is showing her true, precious colors.  Dante is defiant, but I have to remember to step back and be mindful that I can't helicopter him until he's 30.  Scarlett is very much my diva.  She likes things done a certain way, and she'll reward me with a smile and her tongue sticking out.  She has started to cut her first tooth this week, and is now eating solid food twice a day. She's so incredibly pretty, to boot!  Her eyes sparkle when she smiles at me.  I think she's fully aware that I will do anything for her, and it shows.

My gorgeous husband is gone this week, visiting his family.  Before he left, he set up Skype on his computer, and then since he's been down there, he set it up for his mom, too.  So every day since we bought the mic (Wednesday) we've chatted a few times, and Dante is not happy until we call Daddy.  It's sweet.  I love how much Dante loves his dad.

So, I am off to get Dante up, get Scarlett up and cuddle up with some Sesame Street before I make Dante help me clean.  This morning, he emptied out the dishwasher.  Kinda.  He took all the silverware and put it in one spot of the silverware divider, and he put the stock pots where they go without me having to show him.  I did have to show him where the cookie sheet went, but he was so happy to help, I thought his head was going to explode!

Good night!

Chocolate Tush with a Side of Baby Powder

Today was ....a day.  Woke up at ten because both Scarlett and Dante didn't want me to get any sleep.  Figured I'd get up, go get a bus ticket for a friend (long story), then go get Skyrim for the Love of My Life.

Got to 7-11 near our apartment to grab the bus ticket (new feature on greyhound's site!  You can pay cash and get the web fare, and avoid the gift ticket fee!  Sweet!) and I got the card set up only to have the douche behind the counter tell me they've never had it work (he didn't even try!) and he basically shooed me out the door.

Went to Starbucks to borrow a pen and make a phone call to Greyhound, and let Dante blow off some steam. Decided to look for another 7-11 at home online to save myself some time, and brought us upstairs for diaper changes and cup/bottle refills.  I immediately sit in front of my computer and I'm done with phone calls and "research" in less than 3 minutes.  I get up to ask Dante where his cup is, walk into his room.....and he's COVERED in baby powder.  He must've "made it rain" up in that be-otch!  He looked like he had grey hair!  I asked if he was a Mexican in white-face and he just said "yeah" in that cute voice of his that makes me both want to scream and give him a hug.  Took the obligatory pictures, sent one to his dad to remind him that keeping baby powder in this kids' reach is a bad idea, and brushed him off with my big ol' kabuki brush.  Seemed appropriate.

Got them strapped into the car, hit construction traffic, and heard FOUR "Chris Songs" in a row on the radio.  Not a cd that I threw in, on the radio.  Sigh.  Hit up the 7-11 near where I used to live in Glendale, ran in with both kids, and got the ticket.  Ran out, got them strapped back in and went a block away to GameStop.  Got them out again and this time got the stroller out because I wanted to hit the loo and I *hate* putting Scarlett's car seat on bathroom floors.  Got the game for my dear Hubby and figured I'd run to Safeway, since I had a coupon for a free Starbucks drink from Safeway's Starbucks that expired today.  I didn't have my binder with me (DAMN!), but I was only going for bread, milk and mayo, stuff I don't have coupons for anyway.

On the drive to Safeway, I was behind a lady with 6 kids in the car.  Yup.  A CAR.  Not a single one of those kids, who seemed to be between the ages of 3 to 12, were in a car seat.  Two kids were in the front passenger seat without the seat belt, and the other four were fighting in the back.  And they were fighting with the kids in the front!  I did what any other mom who loves their kids would do:  I called dispatch.  I gave the lady the make and model of the car, the color, the plates, and explained what I saw and where we were down to the block.  She was as dumbfounded as I was!  I really hope that driver got busted!  What if something had happened?  What if my brakes failed and I accidentally rear ended her?  My kids and I would have been safe, but those kids would have been roadkill!  I couldn't in good conscience let that go unreported!

Got to Safeway, got them out, and decided to let Dante ride in a car cart.  Ugh.  I hate those things.  They don't steer for squat, and the floors in this particular store leave a lot to be desired.  I hit Starbucks first, and the poor kid behind the counter was very confused by my coupon.  Seems it was his first day back there all alone, and the bar code had faded a bit.  Sigh.  While I was waiting for him to figure it out, Dante decided he wanted "Dante Coffee" (hot chocolate, for those keeping score), so I said "Sure!  But you have to stay in your seat or I'm taking it away!"  Bless his tiny heart, he tried!  The tiny, cut off straw that the barista gave him was too short even for the short cup and got stuck in the opening.  Add the sad state of the floors and the rickety-ness of the cart, and it was a recipe for disaster.  I checked out and ran back to Starbucks on the way out to get water to make Scarlett a bottle, and that was when I saw how much of Dante's chocolate had spilled.  Aw, crap.  I was thinking we left a trail of hot chocolate all over the store!  Then I saw his butt.  Oh, my goth.  He had a chocolate stain from his middle back to his upper thigh on the left side of his Osh Kosh overalls!  I turned around, and there was a reporter from 9News, talking to a manager as a camera guy set up.  I ran.  Heaven forbid my child's chocolate-y butt winds up on the local newscast.

 Got them home, fed them both, and now they are both out cold.  Wow.  What.  A.  Day!!!!

A few more for good measure....

It was fantastic seeing his parents today.  I'm still in an amazing amount of pain, but I can only assume that it will lessen as years pass.

This was the one cd from his collection that I asked for.  I loved giving him shit about it.  I'd do almost anything to give him shit about it again...

We went to Spirit Winds first, so I could get HIS mocha, and damn, it was sweet!  We chatted, and it was good.

Then we went for pizza.  Tiffany's is closed on Mondays, so we went to Dion's.  Chatted some more.  Then I went to where Nabes used to be and listened to Silence by Delerium.  I'm spent.

Days 28-31

I haven't been able to get on the computer.  Busy, yes, but also not able to get the damn internet to work on my mom's computer.

This past year has been...odd.  I can't put into words how much I miss him.  I feel like I lost a limb, at best.  There is no way I can describe with words or music what we had.  It was an intangible bond that was so strong, his death woke me from a deep sleep.  Let me explain.

Last October 30, I put Dante to bed early and was out cold by midnight.  I sat straight up, wide awake around 1 or 130am, and I knew in my soul that something was wrong.  I knew someone had died.  I put my hand on my  husbands chest...he was fine.  I crept into Dante's room, and he was fine.  But I couldn't shake that feeling. I was baffled, so I went to the bathroom, smoked a cigarette, and went to bed.  It was a scary, fitful sleep.  Woke up early and went with Dante to Walgreen's to get candy on the off chance we got trick or treaters, and took him home to get us ready for trick or treating at the zoo.

At the zoo, I got a text message from facebook telling me that Brenda, his mom, had finally accepted my friend request, and I was stoked!  At this point, I had finally gotten Chris back for exactly two weeks.  I didn't get the text message from facebook telling me Brenda sent me a message.  I got that message when I got home.

It was hell on earth.  I felt like my lungs were trying to escape from the confines of my chest.  I could have  be a sworn that if I looked down, there was going to be a gaping hole square in the center of my chest.  Then that feeling that woke me in the middle of the night washed over me like a bath of hot lava.  This was it.  I thought I was going to snap under the weight of this crushing news.

Chris was so much more than my best friend.  He was my platonic soul mate.  He was my rock for an amazing amount of time, if I let myself remember.  He celebrated my joys with me and mourned my losses.  When he needed me (so rare for him to admit it....), I was there.  I cried with him when his grandmother died, he held me after I lost a few friends.  He made me laugh when I thought the dumbest things were the end of the world, and as far as I am concerned, he hung the moon.  He challenged my beliefs, he shoved me when I needed it most, and best of all he listened to things I didn't have to say.  On more than one occasion he sacrificed his bed so I could crash between trips to and from Denver and Las Cruces.  He'd grab a pillow and crash on his madly uncomfortable couch so I could rest.  He shared his music collection with me.  Convinced me to see movies I had no interest in (I had no desire to see the Matrix.  Seriously.)  He gave me so very much.  I took him for granted, and for that, I am eternally sorry.  I hope he got as much from me.  I'll never know, and that is a chunk of my pain.

It's a constant hum in my ears.  This fear that I wasn't as good to him as he was to me.  He asked for so little, it's hard to tell.  But it nags and gnaws at me like a wolf at my heels.  Whomever created the Universe broke the mold when they made him.  I have yet to meet anyone who is anything like him.

In my head, I can replay his old voicemail message, I heard it so many times.  I hope I never lose that.  That
would be a terrible day in a way I don't want to imagine.  His tone, his infliction...you can tell someone pissed him off and he was trying to mask said anger with a sing-song tone on his "Hi."  I remember the bitch that pissed him off, too.  She'd call until his phone wanted to kill itself, then she'd get mad at him for  not answering while he was at work!  Sheesh!

I have so many stories.  So many happy memories with him.  We gave each other so much crap, I'm sure we were fantastic to watch from afar.

At the very least, I know I amused the hell out of him.

~*~

Yes.  Dead Man's Party.  As sad as I am, I have to be grateful for him.  To him.  I have to celebrate the life that made mine infinitely better.  I love and miss you, Chris.  I hope somewhere in the ether you love and miss me, too. My heart hurts without you.

Days 26 and 27

TWICE I heard this song while trying to get here to Las Cruces:  Once on the first trip to the airport, and I tried to ignore it, and again at 7-11 before we went to the airport at 5am yesterday.  I took it as a sign.

Chris is the one that introduced me to this band, and he still liked them, I think, after I gave up on them.  I think I wore this cd out, for one, and two, I saw them on Leno.  She can't carry a tune!  This is all in-studio artwork, not talent.  But this song brought back so many memories when I heard it (twice) and I barely stopped myself from crying both times I heard it.

~*~

Oi.   So here I am in Las Cruces, and I am trying very hard to keep it together.  Monday is gedtting here faster than I had imagined it would, and I'm getting to bat shit crazy faster than I thought was possible...

This is the song Scarlett was born to.  Her eyes are still an amazing blue that make me miss him even more if I stare at them long enough.  While I'm not sure if he was a Diorama fan, this has to go somewhere in this mess....

Are "Jackals" the Animal You Were Going For?

Kayla came and we went to Starbucks for a quick cup of joe before running to the airport.  Got to the airport at about 115p!  PERFECT, because my flight was at 3pm!  Then we didn't find a parking space until 225pm.  Seriously.  We ran inside, got to an agent at the counter, and I nearly hit her.  She laughed and took about 7 minutes to check in my one bag and Dante's car seat (remember that:  WE CHECKED HIS CAR SEAT!) and then she told us that there was no way we were gonna make it.  As she was checking us in, I had asked for a gate pass for Kayla, and it wasn't until after she gave us a lecture about getting to the airport on time that she printed one up for her.  We put Dante in the stroller and RAN to TSA.  There, the little old bitty read every syllable of both mine and Dante's boarding passes and then, even though mine had my name and Scarlett's, she tried to tell me that Scarlett needed her own boarding pass even though she's a lap infant.  Set her straight, then we waited for the 5 people in front of us to go through.  I had to take Dante's jacket off, get all the liquids out of my bag, get my laptop out of the bag, take off my shoes, get Scarlett out of her car seat, put the car seat, bags, laptop, all of it AND THE STROLLER on the conveyor belt, and then we had to put it mostly back together again and we RAN to gate 40.  I saw the door close as I got there, and was told "Sorry, we waited as long as we could" as I'm struggling to breathe and crying my eyes out.  That jackass then told me to go to the Customer service desk and there, the "lady" that helped us spent the whole time (aside from a phone call to over sell a flight) on her personal cell phone trying to find out when she can get her flu shot.  She had the AUDACITY to tell me to rent a hotel room nearby so I could be here on time and gave me a lecture about being here two hours early.  I WAS EARLY.  THERE WERE NO GODDAMN PARKING SPOTS ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE TERMINAL.  So we schlep back to the parking lot when we realized that Dante's car seat was in the air.  I made an angry phone call to the fine folks at reservations, and I had to explain FIVE TIMES that yes, I know Dante doesn't need a car seat on the plane, but he DOES need one to get home in a car.  The asshat I spoke with, Craig, was such a fucking idiot, I wanted to hit him.  The first agent I spoke with said that Craig from Help Desk was here in Denver, and I was so very tempted to illegally drive with Dante merely buckled in to the call center and wait for him. Let him take us home and get the ticket.  Finally, I got so pissed I was headed toward the counter when I had posted my predicament on Facebook, and a friend told me I could borrow a loaner.  So we went and picked up a loaner and came home.  Dante's diapers are in Albuquerque, so I was so happy to hear that my friend and neighbor could bring a couple up for me.  Phew!

This has been a shitty day, and I really want to hit a few people.  Instead, I am going to take a 30 minute nap with my little girl.

Clean Babies

Both babies are clean, fed, and asleep.

Earlier today, Dante and I ran to Kmart for paper plates, dishwasher tabs, and pizza.  I also got him Batman slippers.  I had to!  They are SO CUTE!  And my mom, my grandmother, and my mother in law all have tile in their homes.  This way he's less likely to slip, since he gets so excited.  Such a ball of fun, that boy.

I am very, VERY excited for our trip.  As per usual, I can't sleep.  But the apartment is sparkling and we're mostly packed.  I just need Dante's sleepy stuff (his dragon, gloworm and his Elmo lovey) and snacks and extra diapers and this here laptop.

I am so damn excited, I even went and got my teeth cleaned to try to bring myself down a notch.  Didn't work, and now my teeth are all sensitive.  They better be able to handle some massive chile consumption, or I'm demanding a refund.  Ha!

I can't wait to see my mom!  Sure, I saw her when Scarlett was born, but I was in a daze!  Not counting it!  Besides, she was here less than a week.  And I get to see my Gramma!  She may be a few decades older than me, but she's one of my best friends.  I get to see so many fantastic people!  I am doing a happy dance!  

But really, I have to pack this thing.  And make sure there is room for all the little things, like my camera and such.  I will keep posting throughout my trip...but YAY!  *happy happy joy joy dance*

Day 25

I heard this song in the car yesterday when Dante and I went to run an errand, and I almost had to pull over.

I posted the video with the lyrics for a reason.  Read 'em and weep.

Days 23 & 24

I am very excited for my trip to NM, so let's see what my brain looks for on YouTube....

HA!  Chris asked me to listen to this album, and I did.  And this is madly appropriate since I'm flying out of Denver tomorrow.....

~*~

I had to post this version of this song.  This song brings back some amazing memories, and this tour is when I got to see Skinny Puppy (Chris = Skinny Puppy for me...) with Chris in 2004.  There is no one else on Earth that I could have seen Skinny Puppy live with and been satisfied.  I feel like I have to clutch these memories to my chest as tight as I can.  

This trip is going to be rough.  The last time I was in LC, he was alive; we just weren't speaking.  Now that he's gone, and I am planning on still going to places we used to go, I may just randomly burst into tears.  If I'm going to see you while I'm there, don't be surprised.

Mini Reunion! And a MESS.....

Whew!  What a day!  Woke up, made plans to visit with a friend who is in town to see her Gramma (and her new baby boy!  YAY) and our other local friend,  then while we were on the phone, my left contact lens jumped out of my eye.  It just jumped ship!  So I took out my right lens and figured since I needed to throw on another pair, I'd switch colors while I was at it.  So I easily stuck a honey colored one into my right eye, but my left wasn't having it.  Realizing I was short on time, I just threw on my geek glasses and went for Dante.

I was in a rush, so I just ran in, scooped him up and we were then getting the both of us and his sister dressed.  We ran to the Panera Tiffany and I agreed on, and it was no biggie.  Dante sang the clean up song (kinda) and we got there just a few minutes late.  Whoops.

Had a great time at Panera!  The coffee was delicious, the food was great, and the company was incredible.  Howard is incredibly precious (I reaaaaallllly want to eat his squishy cheeks!) and Dante was charming, and Scarlet is just a gorgeous little sight to behold no matter where we are.  LOL!

We were there for a bit, and after Tiffany left to take her sweet boy back to Gramma's for a bath, Jill joined Dante, Scarlett and myself at Target.  We did well!  I saved over 25 bucks, so yay for me!  Ha!

Got home, made mac and cheese for the wee boy, and I was about to put him to bed because he was obviously running on fumes when I go grab his water cup....and there's a MESS on his sheets.  It looked like a 5 foot rabbit slept there last night, and I forgot to lay down the newspaper.  It was pellets all over!  Crap!  (Literally!)  So I ran to kitchen, grabbed paper towels, got them all up, and threw the sheet in the laundry pile. Then I realized this was the 2nd time his diaper has done this THIS WEEK and there are no more sheets for him.  So I said "SCREW IT!" and got all the kids laundry together.  I figure since Scarlett's been going through sheets, too (she FILLS a diaper with every feed, and she wakes up and SCREAMS if I change her at night!), it was a good idea to just get it all together for a hot water wash and a little extra laundry soap.  So, I have a cranky 2 year old yelling "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" down the hall as I get a kids load into the washer, a sleeping Scarlett locked in the apartment as I'm down the hall, furiously (on more than one level) shoving kids stuff into a washer and getting it started.  

Came back, fed Scarlett (for the second time since we got back!), and got the bulk of the rest of the laundry together. I usually do it on Sundays, but since I started that one load, why stop there?  Had to switch the kiddie stuff and throw the other stuff in the laundry before Hubby got home, so again, it was a mad dash to the laundry room with an even more cranky Dante and a sleeping Scarlett locked away again.  Got home to a confused hubby, hahaha!  He was standing in the foyer, asking where we were when I was holding the laundry basket in my hand.  And had told him I had started a load over an hour earlier.  His real confusion was Scarlett's whereabouts, and I just pointed in the direction of our room where her bassinet is.

Made an almost healthy dinner (chili dogs made with turkey chili and potato salad) and then as soon as Dante's sheets were dry, he went to bed!!!!!  And since I washed all of his bedtime buddies, he got them back!  As soon as Dante was in bed, I made a batch of break apart, bake yourself cookies, and I must say, the oatmeal chocolate chip ones are INSANE!  *droooool*

I can't believe how much Scarlett has had to eat today!  I'm waiting to be able to see her from space!  But alas!  She is still skinny enough to pick your teeth with, and longer than I thought was possible.  It's cute!  She's like a spaghetti noodle!  *giggle*  

That little girl is too damn gorgeous for words.  When I picked her up earlier to feed her, change her diaper and change her pj's (WET!) (Oh, and her sheets!  Again!), she was fussy until I put her on the ground to change her.  Then she looked me dead in the eye, smiled, cooed, and kicked me.  

Have you ever taken a step back just to take it all in?  If you haven't, I must recommend it.  Step outside of yourself and take a look around.  I know I don't have much in the way of material goods, but what I have that is intangible is also immeasurable.  I have a gorgeous family, amazing friends, and a fantastic extended family.  I am mostly healthy aside from seasonal allergies and a problem with authority, and I'm madly in love with everything I have.  I think if everyone loved what they had (regardless of how little) and appreciated it, this world would be amazing.

I will say, though, that my eyes hurt.  I'm thinking it's because they are used to having their correction ON them instead of IN FRONT OF them,,,Oh, well.  I'll live.  I'm willing to bet that I will feel better after a little shut eye.  I am looking forward to seeing one of my dearest friends tomorrow and her baby girl.  

Eye pain aside, I think I am going to play my silly games, roll a few more smokes, make a few more bottles and hit the hay.  I think I am just going to grab the coupon inserts and wait til I get to NM to cut them out and sort them.  It can be a Mother/Daughter "craft" while kids sleep.  I also have to wash sheets and a few more blankets tomorrow so I can start packing.  I should also go through Scarlett's 3-6 month clothes and wash them since they are currently stored.  Oooo...those I can actually wash at Mom's.  I hope I remember to take my super cool laundry soap with me.  

I am off to fight vampires, build a fictitious city, and test my trivia....

Day 19-22

Four songs.

ok.

I will never forget when Chris asked me to listen to this.  I knew the song; I have the album somewhere....I fell in love with this band when I saw them open for Staind and Godsmack many, many moons ago.  But I hadn't heard this acoustic version.  It took these lyrics to a whole new level...

Another song he wanted me to hear.  And I listened.

If you didn't know this was by the Pet Shop Boys, and you were born after 1970, I will hit you.

BIG OL' SIGH.

Day 18

Hittin' the home stretch...it may get more sappy and goopy from here on out.  You've been warned!

Blood by System Syn - Music and Lyrics written by Clint Carney

A new day has opened up
Another sunrise you have missed
We miss you,
But it's not the same
On the road, the years move fast
And every state of mind won't last
We thought we'd live forever
Or just long enough to say goodbye

Say everything
Say anything to me
Say everything
And they will bury it with me

One day I may learn to speak
Say all the things I've buried deep
But I'm a coward so I hide
Behind these songs

Say everything
Say anything to me
Say everything
And they will bury it with me

Say everything
Say anything to me
Say everything
And they will bury it with me
And they will bury it with me

When years have passed
And I'm not here
Know that we shared this fear
All the things you couldn't say
Well, you weren't the only one

Say everything
Say anything to me
Say everything
And they will bury it with me

Say everything
Say anything to me
Say everything
And they will bury it with me

And they will bury it with me

And they will bury it with me


One of the last times we chatted before he stopped talking to me, this album came out, and when he passed, this song haunted me.  Had I been lucky enough to see System Syn last month, Clint actually promised to play this song if I made it.  Clint was very nice about it, and understood why I wanted (nay, NEEDED) to hear it.  How perfect is this song?  How perfect are the lyrics?  Never in a million years did I ever think my best friend would die while we are still in our 30's.  Never did I think I wouldn't have the opportunity to say goodbye.  His death has shaken my beliefs to the point where I find myself grasping at straws, praying for an afterlife, but keenly aware that the odds are not in my favor.  On one hand, I have to cling to the belief that there is an afterlife, so that when I shuffle off this mortal coil, I will see him, and my great grandparents, and my friends that I lost in Iraq.  But the more shit that piles upon my little world (and the whole world in general) regardless of my actions and morals, the more I can't help but think this is it.  It scares me.  It shakes me.  Some days I am left wondering if all this time the direction I thought was "up" was actually "sideways."  Damn.  I miss him.

I Wondered, and Now I Know

Today (Sunday, for those that sleep regular hours) was one of our Usual Sundays.  We got up, made breakfast, I got the kids dressed and fed and we went to Starbucks so I could get my Sunday papers.  (Yes.  Papers, plural.  I get 3 every week.  CRAZY COUPON LADY ALERT!)  We got there, and I got my coffee, got my papers, and I took us outside so I could get my vitamin D and sort the inserts.

I got all my inserts together and picked out the weekly ads I needed and I was going through them as Dante ran laps around the patio.  He was playing right next to me on the higher part of the patio close to Bombay Bowl when all of a sudden, he started WAILING.  He showed me his thumb and it looked like a black thorny sticker.  I couldn't get it from the angle I was at, and I had him run around the railing to me since the stroller had me pinned and it was easier for him to get to me.  He climbed into my lap with his thumb in my face, and upon closer inspection it looked like a bee stinger.  And it was.  I was able to get it with one of my longer nails and I kissed his thumb until he started to breathe normally.  Just a few short minutes later, he was running laps again, and you'd never know that he was recently stung by a bee.  That stinger was in his cuticle, which may have been his saving grace.

I looked where he was playing and I got a couple pictures of the offending bee as it writhed and finally died.  It was a tiny little sucker, not even an inch long.  I'm thinking Dante had no idea what it was, but since it was in a pile a leaves, it was fair game.

We hung out for a little bit more, and then we went home.  After I put him down for his nap, I started working on my coupons, and now I think I need to buy more baseball card pages.  Crazy, right?  I"m pretty impressed.

Not sure why I'm still up.  Last night (Saturday night, I guess), we went to bed around 2am, and I was up again at 5 (to feed the sweetheart), again at 8a, then 1030am.  Then I got to sleep until almost 2pm since My Love took over for me.  Pretty much doing the same tonight, except instead of sleep, I am watching the news and getting the latest on the protests and all the other stuff I care about.  I love being caught up with the news.  =D

So, I have some more to read.  I just really wanted to share with y'all what happened to Dante.  But I'm glad he's not allergic.  No swelling, no fever, no chills, just pain, confusion, then it was forgotten.  Whew!

Days 16 and 17

I didn't touch my computer from around 2am yesterday until about half an hour ago.  I feel ... off.

Then again, I've always been a bit off; 'bout damn time I felt it, non?

Right.  So....

I just love this song.  I love that no matter where I was, or who I was with, if this song came on, I thought of Chris.  This song is like an audible hug.  I appreciate that now even more than I used to.

I can't help but not make comments and just sigh.  If I let myself, I can momentarily forget that he's gone.  The longer I keep posting these songs, the more glaring and painful it is.  But he always noted that I'm notorious for not finishing what I start, so gods help me, I am going to see this through.

~*~

Another karaoke post.  He sang this one really well, too.  More than once, I witnessed his prowess with this particular tune get him either a phone number or a drink.  (Or both.)  Seriously.  And on more than one occasion, we discussed this song and its psychology.

I butchered so many songs, but this one I was actually consistently good with.  Once, he told me it was because, obviously, this song is about being my particular breed of nut.  I punched him in the arm, we finished our drinks, and got on with our night.

There was this one bar we went to on Juan Tabo (gods help me, I can't remember the name!) and once, this drunk girl decided she was going to annihilate this song beyond recognition.  The look on her face was that of embarrassment,  shame, and shock, so in a flash, I ran up behind her and sang loudly over her shoulder.  Then she got a bit quieter and put her arm around me and we finished it together.  Kinda.  She then bought my drink, ordered herself a coffee and a cab ride, and she was gone in two songs.  Chris just sat at our table, chuckling the whole time, and he thanked me, too.  It was HORRENDOUS what that girl was doing to this song!  LOL!

Day 15

These are from cd's that he had that didn't make it ripped to his hard drive, but I loved giving him smack about them.  Every time I admired his collection, these two cd's (and there's one more, but that's for later) stood out like a sore thumb.

Oh, the crap I gave him for this.  I never understood why he had it, and Chris being Chris, he never even tried to justify it.  He'd just shrug, and divert my attention, which is quite easy when you have my attention span.

I'm fairly certain it was this Mariah Carey album he had.  I just remember spraining my eyebrow when I saw it between all those industrial, ebm and metal cd's.  Quite amusing.  I know there are skeletons of odd things in my collection, but I think it's different in my case.  I have New Kids on the Block tapes that I got in 5th grade.  Very different from being a Megadeth fan in your late teens purchasing a Mariah Carey album.  =P

Day 14

So, here's some more hilarity that I found on Chris' old hard drive.  Just when you think you know a guy....

I can't help but think he was reeeeeaaaaaallllllly bored and decided to think outside the Rivet Head Box.  I will admit that this song is incredibly catchy, and if it gets stuck in your head like it just did mine, sorry!

I've got one more up my sleeve for now.  I'll post it tomorrow.

Day 13

When he gave me his old hard drive, I was pleasantly surprised to find this song on there.  It's a fantastic song, and I should have known better.  I think, for the next few days, I will share some of the more hilarious stuff I found on there.  And it's hilarious because if you saw him, and saw the rest of his collection, these songs would make your brain start smoking.  And to be honest, his eclectic (and almost surprising) taste is one of the many things I absolutely loved about him.  That, and he can take the ribbing better than most people.  And I'm ruthless.  =D

You have no idea what I'd give to give him mad amounts of crap just one more time.  Sigh.

Day 12

Only one song today....

There isn't an actual video for this song and that makes for a sad Brandy.  I love this song, and I love why I love it.  Let me explain.  I told Chris that I was going to see And One here in Denver, and he told me that The Echoing Green was opening for them.  He suggested I find them online and give them a listen before the show so I'd know what to expect, and I decided I wanted a surprise.  He told me that a mutual friend was taking classes from the bands mastermind and lead singer, Joey, and I was intrigued.  (The Echoing Green is from ABQ.)  But I waited, like a good little girl.  I figured it would be like Christmas in February.  (2008, if you're curious.)

I dragged my bestie to the show, and we had fun before the bands even started.  It was nice to get out and such.  As soon as they took the stage, she recognized the live key player.  Seems she went to HS with him!  What are the odds?  I forgot the name of the band he was actually in, but they're pretty good, too.  (They opened for another band I saw.  Damn, I wish I remembered their name!)

As soon as this song started, I felt something stir in my innards, and I fell in love with this song by the time he got to the chorus the first time.  I decided in that second that I needed to own this album.  (I actually bought it the next day at Vendetta Records, another indie record store that no longer exists.  Damn.)

I called Chris the next day gushing about how much I loved The Echoing Green and thanked him repeatedly for telling me about them.  I'm sure if he hadn't, I would have gotten there late and spent the last bit of their set outside chain smoking.  I am so glad I was there on time to give them a listen.  In hindsight, I'm sure I amused the hell out of him, I'm just this side of insane....

I can't help but sit and wonder where on Earth I'd be if Chris hadn't made his way into my life.  He's saved me on numerous occasions, and he gave me a different, albeit warped, perspective that I'd never think to think about.  I'm sad that I missed time with him while he was in Michigan.  I'm sorry that I missed his entire stint in the Pacific Northwest.  I'm incredibly sorry that I missed as many moments as I did.

Days 9, 10, and 11...

Gotta love weekends...

*big sigh*

It's all Chris' fault I fell in love with this song.  So here are a few comedy videos for day 9.

HA!  In case anyone wonders how I even heard of Bob and Tom.... (since they're a morning show, and I am NOT a morning person...)

Yeah.  Chris and I made an interesting pair.  =D

~*~

Yeah, another day, yet there's a funny video?  We had a blast running through these on the internet many moons ago.  =D

This is a rare instance where I don't remember who got who into Rotersand.  I think I saw 'em live first, but I could be wrong.

Oh, And One...This was another song that reminded him of me.  In hindsight, that's probably not a good thing.  LOL!  This song is a gateway drug to the rest of their music.  Seriously.  And for the record, they put on a helluva show...

~*~

We agreed on this album as a whole.  It may be why we got along so well....

I got into Mazzy Star in high school, before I even met Chris, but long after the memory of this song had all but faded, he reminded me how much I loved it.  =D

When I met Kristi Thursk, I told her how much I loved this album, and especially this song.  (Chris found it many, MANY moons ago...) and she looked at me like I had two heads.  Apparently I was the first person she met during that tour that even knew she ever was in The Rose Chronicles.  I felt all kinds of bad ass.  

*sigh*

I miss him.

You and Me Have Seen Everything to See...

An extra for today.  Today was one of those days that The Universe just decided to give me what I needed.  I went to bed around 4am, which is earlier than usual.  Slept until Scarlett needed to be fed around 6, and again around 9.  I woke up around noon to hit the loo and Dante was up.  I figured that was odd since he didn't fall asleep until almost 4am, and I know this because I can't sleep until he's out.  So Hubby got him up, and I made him some oatmeal and threw on some Sesame Street for him and then Scarlett decided she was hungry, so I fed her, put her back down, put Dante back to bed, and went down myself for a few extra Z's.

Woke up around 345p, and lo and behold, I missed a call from Chris' mom.  I called her back, and what do you know?!  They were in Ft. Collins!  WHOOT!  So we made plans to meet up and I got the kids dressed and we went to Walgreen's really quick for a couple things and luckily, my neighbor (and precious friend) went with us.  Came home, dropped off the goodies and ran to Starbucks.  Chris' parents got here pretty quick and we had a great chat.  Seems they were on an adventure across the West, and were on their way home.  I got to see pictures of an amazing cattle drive, and all kinds of cool things.  I am so incredibly grateful that my friend stayed with her cuties!  A) they are incredibly precious, and B) Dante wasn't so interested at first to see his Other Grandparents; he wanted to hang out with his buddy.

While we were getting ready to go, I realized that the DVR recorded Death Cab for Cutie's Storytellers episode.  I really only like them because of this song, and because the lead singer is married to one of my favorite actresses (Zooey Deschanel).  I never would have even heard this song if it wasn't for That Episode of Scrubs.  Have you seen the episode where JD and Turk hang out with George, who's on his deathbed, skipping their Steak Night?  I had seen that episode countless times before Chris passed, and last year, after he was gone, I saw it again, and this song caught my ear.  I sat and sobbed when I saw that episode and heard this song, and today was no different.  I skipped to this part of that Storytellers, and without even realizing what happened, I started sobbing.  Again.  Before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself singing along, in tears, clutching my framed photograph of Chris and one of our mutual friends.  If there was an upside to my crying like a limb fell off my body, Dante listened to me.  In between sobs, I asked him to please get into his seat in the stroller, and he did.

When the song was over, I wiped my face, found Dante's sippy cup and tucked him into the stroller with a blanket.  I ran downstairs and we were off.

Bless my precious son.  While I was in tears, before I asked him to sit in his stroller, he hugged my legs.  I think I am raising a very empathetic child, and I am sure that it's a good thing.  This is the gorgeous little boy that will kiss his sister when she cries.  When she was sleeping yesterday, he took her a comb and a couple binkies so she wouldn't be alone.  He gives her hugs and kisses and he will tell me "Scarlett mad" when she screams and my hands are full.  It's sweet.  Just when I thought I couldn't love that child anymore, he finds a way to make my heart swell.

I may be incredibly sad.  I may be missing a limb I didn't know I had until it was gone.  But gods help me, I am so incredibly blessed.  I know it, and I am incredibly grateful.

Day 7 and 8, While I'm Here....

I didn't spend a whole of time on the computer today...it was lovely.

This one goes hand in hand (for obvious reasons) with this:

I actually considered naming Scarlett "Carmina" because of these two songs.  When I first heard "Love Never Dies," I knew I knew where I'd heard that sample, and it was Chris that found the opera for me.  I went over, he turned in on, cranked up "O Fortuna" and we sat on his patio and watched the sun set, Dr. Peppers in one hand, Camels in the other.  And there was nothing to say, which - for us - was an oddity.  Usually, we could talk like our mouths were on fire, but we just sat.  And enjoyed beautiful music and the gorgeous Albuquerque sunset.

~*~

He tried quizzing me with this song.  But the second I heard her voice, I knew who it was.  I am a HUGE fan of her music, and for once, he wasn't able to fool me.  LOL!

I am of the opinion that this song doesn't need any of my bull.  I picked this of all of her songs for obvious reasons.

Day 6

I heard this in the car today, and I think it's fitting...

Sigh.  I remember when this album came out.  I bought it from this cute record store that doesn't exist in Las Cruces any more, and as soon as I popped into the cd player in my darling blue zit of a Honda Civic, I called Chris and we chatted about it.  It's amazing how many cd's I have that are thanks to him.  I trusted him.  If he told me to RUN to get an album, I trusted him and hauled balls to either that little indie record store or Hastings and picked it up or special ordered it.  Very rarely did he steer me wrong.  (Personal taste being what it is...)  Wow...I'm blown away by how much I miss him....

Happy Feet!

I'll post the song for the day later.  Right now, I have to write about how gorgeous my son is.  (Sick of me yet?)

He was wide awake at 2-3 am, yelling the alphabet at the top of his lungs.  I didn't have the heart to go in there and let him know that he'd get to sing it at his Toe Tappin' Toddler class.

Got him and Scarlett up and hauled butt to class.  We ran into our friends that got us hooked (ENABLERS!  ENABLERS!  Lol!)  and then Dante took the stairs like a champ and took his shoes off.  He then ran into the classroom and started flirting with the two little girls that came in after us.  We sang a few songs, Dante got to strum the auto harp, bang on a drum, play with a parachute and balls and bubbles...he's now an addict!  He even got to strum his instructors' guitar when we sang the goodbye song!  It blows my mind how his mind works.  He was attentive, charming, sweet...he really came close to getting my heart to beat out of my chest.

And my some odd miracle, Scarlett slept through the whole class!  She slept all the way to my besties house!

Once we got to my besties house, I plopped Dante down in front of the chicken nuggets he requested and I got a little downtime.  All in all, this was an awesome day!

Now I get to try and figure out what headspace I'm in and find a song for today....

Day 5

This is harder than I thought it was going to be.  Not just because I miss him, but because there are SO MANY songs that mean a lot to me!  There are literally THOUSANDS of songs that remind me of him, or are by bands that we enjoyed together or saw together.  Or bands that he found on accident that he HAD to share with me.  Or bands that I found by accident...This has been rough.  How do you define 14+ years with just 31 days of music posts?  I sure am trying, though.  I want so bad to do him justice.

There will be more Skinny Puppy, trust me.  But this one had to be posted first since we saw Skinny Puppy on this tour on October 17th, 2004.  He totally understood how proud I was to have Nivek Oghr spittle/green jell-o on my chest and the chocolate pudding.  (That's how close we were to the stage!)  This date rings a bell, too, not only because it's my mom's birthday, but when we finally spoke again, it was October 17th, 2010.  And then he was gone two weeks later....

I hate the Cruxshadows.  I didn't for a long time...hell, I think I've seen them 8 or 9 times, all but one time with Chris.  I got pretty tired of them, and this stuff gets pretty old.  But he loved them.  And he loved this video.  He thought it was hilarious, though I doubt that was their intention.  We had a fun road trip to Denver to see them.  I lived in Las Cruces and since he was in ABQ, I drove up to see him, then we took his car to Denver and we saw them at The Gothic.  We got here, saw the show, turned around and I crashed at his place and drove back to LC the next day.  As much as I don't like this band anymore, that was a really fun trip.  We got to pick each others' brains, and while we were so very different, we were kindred spirits, if you believe in that hooey.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  I'm weird, I guess.  All I know is that I miss him.

Day 4

I'm posting two videos today, and I'll explain why....

This is my karaoke post.  We used to sing karaoke at a couple different bars around ABQ, and he sang this SO WELL!  If you were standing outside when he sang this, you'd swear the dj was just blasting Megadeth.  He had perfect pitch, the perfect tone...it was insanely awesome to watch/see!

And this is the song that I butchered week after week.  He never bitched, just gave me a hug.  Every time.  Kinda weird, now that I think about it.  But I guess that's all I can do, right?  Think...and think...and think....

*sigh*

Yet another thing that we always did that we'll never get to do again.

On that note (ha!), I am going to bed.

A song a Day: Days 2 & 3

I'm posting 2 tonight for a few reasons, and one of them is because I just barely hopped on the computer.  Who knew there is a world outside from my computer?  Heh.

I picked House on Fire because while I don't specifically remember when we found Assemblage 23, but it was right after this album came out.  If memory serves, this is the song that Kentifyr played that got the both of us hooked.  I will ALWAYS equate Assemblage 23 with Chris.  I am sure there will be another A23 track somewhere on this list, but I figure this is a good place to start.

I probably should have put this track before A23, but this isn't really supposed to be in any order.  This song (maybe not this version...) was on a compilation album called Tales from the Vault that my friend Hek made on his own label.  I had an extra copy, and I gave it to Chris.  I knew he'd like it, and this (consider the imagery) was one of the first tracks he picked up on.

So far, this is a nice (and appropriate) outlet for what I'm going through in my head.  It's a mess up there.

A Song a Day: Day One

I am going to post a song a day, give or take, that reminds me of Chris.  This is for me, but if you didn't have the pleasure of knowing him, consider this an introduction.  If you were lucky enough to know him, since he was quite the music hound, maybe this will bring you some joy like I hope it does for me.

I remember when I met him, and I thought he was two sheets to the wind.  I was freak friendly, and I figured he was another one of the freaks that I attract like fly paper.  I was always nice to him, and gave him the same snark I give everyone, and one day I was at Nabes (that space is a flower shop now, last time I looked...) and I was outside, like always, drinking coffee and chain-smoking with some friends and he pulled up in his silver MG and insisted I hear this song.  He was in his security uniform, and the grocery store that he "secured" was across the street, and since he was always a punctual guy, he had the time to make sure that I heard this song.  He heard it and thought of me, and in that second, I knew I was going to keep him come hell or high water.  I knew that even though I had dated one of his friends and it didn't work, what we had was a friendship that was anchored in a mutual love of music.  This song, as overplayed as it is, will always hold a place in my heart.  When I saw it live while I was pregnant with Dante, I cried.  It brought back the end of my teenage years for me, and reminded me why I was friends with him.  This was around the time he stopped talking to me (long story that I NEVER want to re-live) and it hurt.  I even got to meet Kristi Thursk and Leigh Nash that night, and I called him anyways, even though he wouldn't answer.  I hope he heard my message.