It drives me insane.

Every time they call – “When are you coming home?”

We are home.

Our bed is here.

Our stuff is here.

Our kids go to school here.

We have friends here.

OUR FAMILY is here.

WE ARE HOME.

Why is the burden of expense put at our feet?

Why do you think that we should haul our family to you when you want to see us?

Roads go both ways.

Airplanes do too.

And OMG – your phone dials out as well.

IF we choose to move back to the area we were raised in – it will be OUR decision – NOT YOURS – no amount of nagging and haranging will have input on OUR decision.

IF we choose to visit you for our vacation – that again is our choice. Just as it is our choice if we choose to go someplace else.

DO NOT call and lament that you haven’t seen us in years – and tell us you can’t afford to come see us because you are saving to go to Hawaii with people you see every other weekend.

WE are a family – you are extended family.

YOU do not get to have input on where our family lives or what we do on vacation.

(I found this on another website… it hit too close to home not to repost.)

all i was trying to do was get rid of some excess baby stuff and maybe get a few dollars to use towards something that we need… that’s all…. i don’t really think that’s too much to ask…

evidently someone does….

first i list my stroller/car seat set on craigs list…. get no response
next i find someone on craigs list looking for a set like i have… after a few emails… she stops responding
ok… now i gather everything up and drive down to ouac… they don’t take carseats… fine…i leave the stroller and drop off the carseat at goodwill (it is too small for catherine and i just want it out of my house)

i get a call while at goodwill to come down to ouac i get down there and apparantly there is a stain from a spill that happened while the stroller was folded up in the house in the back and they will not take it.

my question is WHY COULDN’T THEY HAVE FOUND THE DAMN STAIN WHEN I FIRST BROUGHT THE STROLLER THERE?

i am seriously on the verge of tears.

At the Virginia Marine Science Museum.

Friday and Saturday were a girl scout event. The girls were to meet at the Virginia Marine Science Museum at 6:45 friday evening. That is quite a feat when driving from Richmond in beach traffic. What should be a 2 1/2 – 3 hour drive took FOUR HOURS. Mary, Catherine and I left home at 3:30 pm. We stopped to at a Wendy’s drive through to get dinner and IF traffic had cooperated we would have made the 6:45 pm arrival time… but NO… traffic didn’t cooperate and it took us close to an hour to get from the mile warning for the Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel to the other side.

Once we arrived (late along with about 1/2 the other girls) every thing went really well. The girls had a great time and Catherine surprised everyone by being very pleasant and cooperative. I got several comments the next morning about how they hadn’t heard her in the night at all.

I managed some pictures on my phone (i didn’t feel up to juggling a baby and a camera and the phone did a half decent job).

first up was a lesson on salinity of ocean water with Jenna.

And an experiment on floating in fresh and saltwater.

Then Kim talked to them about the Chesapeake bay watershed. Mary got REALLY excited when she mentioned the Susquehanna river.

The girls also got a chance to pet a salamander. Mary declined.

Lastly Harold talked to the girls about reptiles.

And the girls got a chance to pet Ruben the corn snake. And once again Mary declined.

Then we had some free time to explore the tanks.

We saw a Sea turtle.

Mary didn’t want to touch the rays.

even though they were VERY friendly.

We were spread through various areas of the aquarium to sleep… our troop was next to the tanks with the fish from the chesapeake bay.

The next morning we were served a small breakfast and packed up our gear before the museum opened for the day. But we were able to stay and walk through the exhibits as long as we liked.

It was fun. Mary AND Catherine both enjoyed it… Catherine didn’t know that fish or fish tanks came that big.

Well… Dell delayed my computer again… I placed my order on 2/21 and it was not going to arrive until AT LEAST 4/8…. so I canceled.

I just didn’t have it in me to wait another week just to have them delay it again. It’s been a few days so I am MUCH calmer than I was but it’ll be awhile until I am ready to deal with Dell again.

for Dell to ship my stupid computer.

I am now on my 4th ship date.

Well I ordered a new laptop from Dell and it was supposed to ship on the 4th… well instead of a shipping notice i got a “your shipment has been delayed” notice.

I would not have minded so much if they could have told me why it was being delayed.. but no they gave no reason.  And when I check online where I ordered it … none of the components i added where listed as being out of stock or delaying the shipment.

I WANT MY COMPUTER!!!!!!