Today is Chewlee’s birthday and we had a nice family party for her here.  Johnnycakes rented a bounce house for her (and those inclined) to enjoy.  Here it is:

We seem to have an abundance of power failures that have nothing to do with high winds, tornadoes or even electrical storms (you know, those full of lightning).  It was raining gently when the Beast woke up around 7:30am.  He had barely poured himself a cup of fresh coffee when he heard a loud bang and the lights went out.  He barely had time to react when the lights came back on again.

About an hour later, ANOTHER big bang and off went the lights again.  That time, the lights stayed off about 15 minutes.  When I got up around 9am (yeah, I’m a slug!), I had just sat down at the table when the lights went off.  The Beast laughed and said at least there hadn’t been a big bang beforehand.  I hate the sound of those dynamite charges when they trip the big breakers on the electric lines so I was just as glad I got to stay in my skin.

That time, however, they stayed off for almost four hours.  After two, I figured the power company should be giving an estimated time for repairs on their main number and I was right.  They were pretty much dead on the money.  Poor Sheepie went back to bed about a half hour before the lights came on.  She said when she heard me turn on the TV she KNEW the lights were on.  She jumped out of bed because she wanted some spaghetti-o’s.  That was her idea of a tasty breakfast treat.

A little later, Johnnycakes came over to the house, dropped off Chewlee and hitched up the Beast’s trailer he uses for the ATV.  I had no idea he was taking it.  I just thought he was dropping Chewlee off for me to watch until the Princess got off work.  Little did I know!  It seems he has rented a bouncy house for Chewlee’s birthday.  Not a little kids one but one adults could jump around in, too.  At least he has the compressor for blowing it up.

Later on, after he brought it back here and he and the Beast got it into the back yard, he stuck around watching a basketball game with the Beast for a bit before he and Chewlee left for home.  He DID drop her off later on with some jammies since the Princess had to do some running around after work for things for the birthday party and he had somewhere to go (I think he was going somewhere for tonight, tomorrow and Monday but don’t quote me).  Thankfully, Sheepie and I were at Walmart getting the gift bags, tissue and a couple things for the party, too, when he came by or I probably would have had to run out in the morning when I am so NOT in the mood for that.

Johnnycakes stuck around until I got back (I was just heading for the cashiers when I was informed he had her at the house) and didn’t just leave her with the Beast.  He can be unpredictable when *surprised* like that and he might have ignored her to MY detriment.

She has really been in a cute mood but I discovered the poor baby has a sore bottom.  She still isn’t going potty for #2 all the time, mainly because she gets diarrhea so easily.  She also seems to get a rash at the drop of a hat when that happens so I let her soak in the tub.  That pretty much takes care of the worst of the problem.  I knew she had a tender bottom when she started crying and begging me not to use the wipes on her.  I had to get a wet washcloth, pat her with it, dry it and then powder her.  That was *pre-bath* since we were almost ready to eat.

The Beast started trimming back the bushes out front that are under the bedroom and living room windows.  That was during the short time it stopped raining and the sun came out.  I’m hoping he gets to finish it up before he leaves for his aunt’s house.  He’s not even sure he will be able to cut the grass and he’s kicking himself for not doing it the other day.  It really needs cutting and, give it another 10 days, it will be knee deep. 

Sheepie has been playing with the laser light and driving the dog nuts.  She just cracks up at him slipping and sliding all over the wood floors.  He sometimes gets tired and will sit down and just watch it.  He gets excited when she picks it up but hasn’t seemed to realize it doesn’t have a life of it’s own just yet.  I do hate it when he gets so excited that he’s crashing into the furniture.  I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself.

The Princess and Sheepie went out for a late meal and then are going to the show.  After that, the Princess will pick up Chewlee to take home for the night so I can do a few things around here before the party.  I am assuming they will be sleeping in a bit but I will go to bed earlier than normal tonight to make sure I can damp mop the floors before they get here.  Shortly after Chewlee took her bath (and I gave her half a popsicle as promised), I turned off the overhead light in here, gave her a pillow and got the blanket she insisted she had to have.  I swear, within 5 minutes, she was out like a light! 

We had rain and thunderstorms roll in here today so we ended up losing our TV satellite.   I decided I would throw in a movie or two until the storm passed us.  I tried one, then another one, another, etc. and NONE of them would work in the DVD player that the Beast swapped with mine while I was gone.  I was so totally pissed that I was ready to throw it at the Beast or beat him over the head with it.  I went out and started to take it off the big TV to take it into my room and he had the NERVE to ask me what I was doing.

I just kept disconnecting it and told him, *What do you think?*  He then said, *But you have the one from here on your TV!*  To which I replied, *It’s a piece of shit!  I tried 10 different movies on it and it said it couldn’t read any of them!  I don’t care that it’s only two or three years old!  It’s totally useless and I am taking mine back.*  Know what he said?  *Gee, sounds to me like the DVD is broken!*  YA THINK?????

He really hated me taking it off.  Not because he watches any DVD’s.  He’s stuck on his news programs and Glenn Beck type programs or else, depending on the season, either football or basketball.  That is ALMOST the extent of his interests.  I do catch him occasionally watching some old movie or other on Turner Classics but he usually can’t sit still long enough to watch a movie.  Even his basketball finals can’t keep him in front of the TV; he goes into our room, gets on his computer and has the sound up loud so he can hear how the game is going.  At least, that’s what he says.

My TV satellite is back so I am watching some of my usual Friday fare but my DVD player is where it needs to be.  If our weather continues to be bad tomorrow, at least we will be able to watch movies.  Sheepie wants to watch 2012 but only in daylight.  That way she can shake off the doomed feeling before she goes to bed. 

She told me she can’t watch monster or alien type movies before going to bed because her mother (Buttmunch) used to tell her that she had to make sure the closet doors were closed to keep the monsters out of her room.  That’s back in the days she believed in monsters and worried about them.  Now, although she says she doesn’t REALLY believe in monsters, she won’t get out of bed during the night (after watching a scary movie) even to pee but will wait for a couple hours until daylight. 

That reminds me a lot of Chewlee, who will close my closet doors here in my room to keep the monsters out.  She thinks she is locking them in and I have no idea where she came up with that unless it’s something the Princess or Johnnycakes told her.  Who knows at this point?

The Princess and Sheepie went shopping for a gift for Chewlee’s birthday party.  I was told it would be here since there won’t be a lot of people coming.  Tara is in Ohio to see her oldest son’s graduation and then to wait to bring her two younger kids home for a month to visit.  So it will more than likely just be us and them.  It won’t matter but I sure hope we have a little bit of good weather so she can enjoy her pool for a bit.  Since they will be moving to an apartment, I think we will be keeping the pool here for her to enjoy.    Since I will probably have her on Saturdays again, that will be fun for her to enjoy during the summer.

Sheepie came home bragging that she had eaten Mexican food for dinner (she and the Princess ate before they shopped, I believe) but she hasn’t eaten at the really GOOD Mexican restaurant yet.  She was a bit disappointed in it but I promised her the kind of Mexican food you only get from one’s run by families.

She went to bed early yesterday and again tonight.   She has to wait until she talks to the boyfriend (who is apparently a workaholic from the amount of hours he works).  Then she can go to bed happy.  We will run up to the shopping center near Walmart tomorrow because she saw a Claire’s there and she loves the inexpensive but cute jewelry they sell.  She *just wants to look*.    I want to stop in at Sally’s and see if I can pick up a hair cutting razor so I have it here for cutting stick-straight hair.  It makes a much nicer layer than scissors can.

Once we no longer had to worry about the Princess, Sheepie got online on the Beast’s computer (and his Pogo account) to play some games while I read my email and then worked on my challenges for the week on Pogo.  We spent time talking and then, after I showered and dressed, we went to Walmart.  She was so horrified that I would go without a bra on that it made me laugh.  I told her I had my nips covered so they wouldn’t show through my (heavy) white cotton knit top but the idea of it was what got to her.  She’s young enough that she wouldn’t be caught DEAD outside of her house without a bra. 

She managed to live through it, however, and we got some of the *girlie* things she needed and picked up some food items.  She decided she wanted me to make fried chicken and some green bean casserole.  I also picked up some fresh corn since it was really sweet and cheap, too.  She helped me put together the casserole and also dipped and shook the chicken for me.  The Princess and Chewlee came for dinner around six and the girls cleared the table after we were done, like good girls.  *Grin*

Then the Princess took Sheepie for a ride on her ATV and showed her how to drive it.  I watched Sheepie driving it around the area and even thru the creek (where the Princess had an unfortunate encounter with a pile of doggy doo-doo ),  They both came in laughing. 

Chewlee had come running into my room because she couldn’t find her flip-flops first.  Then, when she couldn’t find her mother, she grabbed my shoes, tried to put them on my feet and dragged me outside so I could help her look for her.  I had her listen to the sound of the ATV and, sure enough, shortly thereafter, the Princess and Sheepie came tearing down the street and beyond almost as quickly (Sheepie was driving).  Not long afterward, the Princess took Chewlee home so they could both get some sleep, hopefully, without further incident this time.

I promised Sheepie that we would both go out bathing suit shopping (maybe when the Beast leaves for NC).  If we must, we will go to Huntsville but we will go to the outlet stores in Boaz first.  It’s been a while since I have been there and I’m anxious to see what’s new.  Right now, Sheepie is on the Beast’s computer (still) playing games and I am going to be as soon as I get this posted.

After all the drama yesterday, Sheepie’s boyfriend’s mom and dad ended up driving her to the bus station in Tallahassee so she could make it her for her visit.  It was an hour and a half drive from where they live in Georgia so that was no small favor.  She offered to pay for their gas but they feel she’s family since she’s been dating their son for over a year and she spends a lot of time at their house.  Thank you very much nice people!  **Hug, hug**

The Princess drove to Birmingham to pick her up and I kept Chewlee here with us.  I fed her when we came home since she and the Beast were both hungry.  While I was cooking our corned beef hash and eggs, she ate a mixed fruit cup and then some peaches.  She wasn’t thrilled with the hash but she liked the eggs.  She even ate a half banana.  It was only then that I let her have her Tootsie roll pop.  I was a bit surprised that she didn’t want more than one but she was in a strange mood.  She wanted to be on my lap a lot of times but then she would be off to spend some time with the Beast or the dog.

The Beast accidentally closed the screen door on her fingers.  It wasn’t as bad as it could have been…no bleeding, not even any black and blue marks.  I think it was as much surprise and mostly pressure but I did the bandage thing for her and she was happy.  Especially since she has Dora the Explorer bandages (so I AM an indulgent grandmother..wanna make something of it???).

Later on I put her in the bathtub, shampooed and creme rinsed her hair and then let her play for a while.  After about a half hour, I convinced her it was time to get her jammies on and she let me brush her hair and put part of it up into a pony tail.  She has a lot of natural curl in it so you are surprised at how long it is when wet.  It is almost down to her waist.    I know!  But it looks so cute on her that I was ready to choke the Princess when she told me she was going to cut it shoulder length.  Then, when I had a fit, she laughed and said she was only joking.  She only had it trimmed to even it out a little.

When the Princess picked up Sheepie they went out to eat first and then hit one of the shopping malls there in Birmingham.  Sheepie needed to buy some new flip-flops so she wanted to go to Old Navy.  They will hit Huntsville at some time or another during the two weeks that she is here.  By the time they reached our house, it was after 10pm.

I am letting everyone know that the Princess’s engagement is officially over.  I am not going to go into details but I am sad over it in many ways.  Mostly because Chewlee adores Johnnycakes.  But, I think they may both need some time to grow up a bit and experience life.  I suppose it sounds strange since the Princess has a daughter but she has never really *dated* if you know what I mean.  She’s had boyfriends but they didn’t really do much except go to a movie or grab some food at Mickey D’s or Sonic. 

The Princess makes very good money and can afford to pay for everything and still have money in the bank.  She doesn’t NEED a man to help with the bills so what is the big hurry to the altar?  She found an apartment today and signed a lease.  She will be able to move into it in a few weeks since they are putting in new carpeting and doing painting, etc.  I think they may have been damaged slightly by the tornado last month and thats why she isn’t getting in quickly.  At least, I think that is the apartment complex she decided on.  It’s a bit further away from us but Chewlee will continue at the same preschool so I will be picking her up as usual.

I intended to get this written earlier but ended up having the baby and the Princess here for dinner.  I had picked up the baby from preschool and, when the Princess came to pick her up after work, we got so busy talking about this and that I invited her to stay to eat.  I was only making some fish fillets, cheese rice and corn but it’s always easier to let someone else cook, right?  She wanted me to watch Chewlee for a few hours after dinner.  I told her she might as well let the baby stay overnight if she could get here early enough to bring some clothes and take her to school.  She ran home to shower her and Chewlee and got here just as everything was ready for the table.

She made the tartar sauce (we prefer to make our own) and we ate.  Well, Chewlee decided she didn’t like the fish but she ate some spaghetti-o’s so that worked, too.  She DID give me a hard time at first when I went to put her to bed.  I reminded her that she had school in the morning and Kim (her favorite teacher) would be unhappy is she didn’t get to school on time.  That was when she decided it was time for her and she went to bed happy.  She had to take her little baby doll (new) and she gave me a hug and said, *See you in the morning!*  You just gotta love her.

The reason I said it was a good thing is I just got a call from Buttmunch that her daughter might not make it tomorrow.  That made me very unhappy.  It’s all because her father’s girlfriend got upset when she found out that he was going to send her here with cash to spend.  Her father was drunk and passed out so Buttmunch and I are going to start calling early to let her father know this about the girlfriend (and why) so he can browbeat her or whatever it is he does when she isn’t happy about his daughter getting ANYTHING from him (or anyone else).

We need to know because the Princess is going to be out and about tomorrow and had planned on going to Birmingham early to check out the Mall there before she picked up Sheepie/  She thought she might even take Sheepie to the Mall before coming back here if she found it had a lot of nice stores. 

Me?  I’m really pissed at *the girlfriend* (who shall never merit an actual name here by me) because she could care less that *I* paid for Sheepie’s ticket already (and it’s non-refundable).  Not that I care about that as much as I want to see Sheepie and give her a chance to visit with the family up here.  If it were up to me, I would keep her all summer but the sperm donor wouldn’t let her stay that long for fear we wouldn’t send her back or, worse in his mind, she might actually end up with her mother (who seldom drinks and wouldn’t get drunk when she does).  We promised him from the start that we would always return her and WE keep our word.  But, when you are a natural liar like he is, he is always suspicious of everyone doing things the same way.

I am ready for her to come regardless.  If she doesn’t come tomorrow, it just means they will have to pay $15 to change the date of departure and that I would have to pick her up instead.  Tomorrow is the Princess’s day off and she had volunteered when Sheepie texted her to tell her she was coming to visit.

If I get to talk to him in the morning, I’m going to ask him why his girlfriend is so jealous of a 16 yr.old.  Inquiring minds want to know.  I’m also going to tell him that it will cost HIM more money to change the departure date that he shouldn’t have to pay and we shall see what we shall see after that.  As long as we find out when she will finally get here.  I know she will make it.  I just don’t want to hear that she’s been made to cry again.  He causes her more heartbreak than I could even tell you.  I have to cut this short because the more I think about it, the angrier I get and I must be calm in the morning.

Pray for me and for our Sheepie.  Love you all.  Hope you have a wonderful day and lots of reasons to smile. 

That’s just my luck.  After riding up and down a couple rows in that general area, however, we did finally find it.  We had driven past it a couple times when it was blocked from view by SUV’s surrounding it and in the path when we went past.  The poor little Toyota was just dwarfed until the cars in the area had gotten out of the aisle and exposed it.  PHEW!!!  I was so grateful to the driver who went that extra mile, I gave him a BIG tip.  I was very, very grateful that they don’t just drop you off.  I could imagine me dragging my suitcase behind me in that heat, trying to find it.  They would probably have found my body sometime tomorrow.

I enjoyed myself a lot.  It was so nice to see my youngest sister, Babybrat, looking and acting so good.  She’s tan, has put on weight and muscle and really doesn’t need the cane she keeps in hand except that her one knee still is a bit weak and will sometimes feel like it might *give* on her.  Her short-term memory still sucks and she just hates that but she’s doing things that will, hopefully, help the brain build new synapses to replace the damaged ones. 

Cee looks good, too.  Their routine of walking and swimming a couple times a week has helped her lose weight and trim down quite a bit.  She’s not as tan as Babybrat but she never did tan as well as some of us do. 

My cousin, Jim and his wife, Suzy Q looked good.  They will both be happy now that the whole wedding thing is over and they can get back to THEIR regular routine now.  Suzy Q’s brother from Colorado (or one of those states) was there with his wife and one of his daughters also flew in from the state next to them (forgive me, I didn’t take notes).  They were wonderful people and a lot of fun.  Everyone at the wedding had fun, trust me on that.  I’m sure some people had to hit a hot tub on Sunday, however.   

My trip home was not as bad as it could have been.  They talked about some rain possible but I managed to dodge that and the thunderstorms expected in our area haven’t hit us yet.  If that happens later, it will be music to my ears and will NOT keep me from sleeping.  I was clutching the steering wheel of the car so tightly (without realizing it) that my hands hurt when I went to take them off it.  I had a hard time opening my fingers.

The Beast was happy I was home but Baron was even happier.  He wanted to lay in MY lap, have me scratch him, lick my face and lay on my feet all at the same time.  He didn’t know what to do with himself, he was THAT happy!  I looked at the Beast and said, *Don’t you give him ANY attention?*

Baron followed me everywhere for the first two hours I was home.  When I went into my bedroom to get clean jammies to put on, I told Baron, *You aren’t kidding me, dog!  As soon as your buddy goes to bed, you will be on MY side of the bed.*  And he will, wait and see.

When I called the Princess to let her know I was home and try to find out if I had to pick up Chewlee tomorrow, she was shocked.  Like the Beast, she thought I wasn’t going to be home until tomorrow (Tuesday).  She was trying to get Chewlee ready for bed and said she would call me later but I figure I’ll hear from her tomorrow.  It’s tiring getting Chewlee bathed, in her nightie and into bed. 

I finally got my smokeless ashtray in the mail.  It’s a penguin and the ashtray portion is in the tummy.  You put that down and the fan or whatever it is turns on and it goes off when you close that up.  I’m looking at it and thinking to myself, *Did I buy this for Bratfink and forget I did?*  It’s something I know she would get a kick out of.  I’m going to have to hid it from Chewlee or that will be a mess.