Holiday Crazy

I will preface this post with mentioning that I know the “reason for the season” and I hate the commercialism of what Christmas has become. However, I’m a cheap bitch and rarely buy piles or random stuff for people. Christmas is the one time of the year where I take money from savings and just go nuts. It makes me feel a little fuzzy when I see someone really like a gift I’ve given them. I’ll freely admit that I probably spend way too much, but right now I can. There may be times in the future when I am not able to be as generous.

I know myself well, and there’s a reason I wait until the last minute to shop for the girls. If I do my shopping too early, it gets out of control fast. For example, Sugar’s first Christmas was ridiculous. She was 7 ½ months old and didn’t know the difference. However, I bought her everything, piles and piles of crap. Then I wrapped every single gift in Classic Pooh wrapping paper… to match her nursery. Did I put the wrapped gifts in the nursery so we could see how cutesy matchy-matchy it was? No, I’m just a freak and it made me happy to be able to survey my hard work.

Fast forward ten years and we have double the fun. EN and I normally take the Friday before Christmas off and shop for everyone on our list. Since the “Friday before Christmas” is the day before, our schedule was off this year. We started last Saturday night. When we got home I was disappointed with the stuff that I had gotten them. So throughout the week I’ve gone shopping nearly every day. There are 15 people on our list, so it wasn’t just all about the girls.

Sugar didn’t have much on her list. One item is a surfboard and I refuse to buy her one because she will hardly use it. She’s at a weird age where she doesn’t really want a whole lot of toys (though she’ll play with her sister’s!) and she’s too young to really care about clothes.

Spice’s list is very long. She asked for a wide assortment of items, including a nightstand for her room (she asked my mother in law to give her a vase of flowers to put on that night stand as well), an iPad, DS, Barbie stuff, Build a Bear stuff, etc. She said she wanted to ask Santa for the night stand so I wouldn’t have to pay for it. Bless her little heart. Since I had been unsuccessful in finding a night stand to match her dresser, I resigned myself to buying one of those cheap round tables and a table cloth.

I had a stroke of brilliance today and decided to search ONE MORE TIME for the night stand. As luck would have it, they have some online. For a whopping $200, I could order it today and have it in time for Christmas. Because even I am not that fucking crazy, I have a choice, I can stick with the original plan and spend $9, or I can write a letter from Santa… This is how I roll:

My Dear Spice,

I am very sorry that I didn’t have this nightstand ready for you! One elf measured everything wrong and it came out looking like a dog cage! Then they built another one and Rudolph pooped in it! So we had to build a third one and the paint wasn’t dry when I left the North Pole last night. I promise you that you will get this nightstand within the next week.

I hope you are able to enjoy the rest of your toys in the meantime. Thank you for being such a good girl this year. Mrs. H has great things to say about you, and so do your mom and dad. Try not to fight with your sister so much!

Love,

Santa

And there you have it, folks. I’ve officially gone crazy. But not crazy enough to buy an iPad for a six year old. 

xoxo

Ice Princess

Spice Girl is Six!

Spice Girl is six today. In honor of her birthday, I went back and read what I wrote about her last year. Mostly I talked about the day of her birth, which I still remember vividly. I simply cannot believe that was six years ago. Where has the time gone?

My baby is in kindergarten now. She’s learning to read, do basic math and most importantly, she’s learning how to act appropriately and follow rules. That was our biggest worry when she went off to kindergarten. We know that she’s headstrong and sassy. If something is going on that she doesn’t like, she’ll be sure to bitch. One on hand, I’m proud that she’s assertive enough to stand up for herself and anyone else she thinks has been wronged. On the other hand though, she lacks a filter and will just say things without taking another person’s feelings into consideration. I was told many stories when she was in preschool, about the times that someone would want to play with her and she had no interest, so she’d say so… and just walk away. It’s hard for a mama to teach kids how to stand up for themselves, yet at the same time, how to be aware of the impact of your words on other people.

Spice loves her new bedroom and playroom in the new house. She has arranged and rearranged things a thousand times. The playroom has been set up to resemble a doll/stuffed animal sleepover, a restaurant with tables with menus and place settings, an art studio, dollhouse village, etc. Her imagination knows no limit.

She’s just as obsessive compulsive about weird things as ever. She now needs to “organize her dinner” before she eats it. This basically means that she separates all the food into different piles and eats one type of food at a time. She separated a dinner of prosciutto, pasta and peas with freakish accuracy. I’m surprised the parmesan was allowed to mingle with the other items.

She asked Santa to bring her hangers from Build a Bear so she could hang up her animals’ clothes when they aren’t being worn. Given the expression on the sales clerks face, I believe that I am the first person in the history of that store to ask if I could buy just hangers. This after making that damn coyote wearing a tutu last year.  They really should start sending me Christmas cards.

I didn’t really pay attention to this until my mother said something over the weekend. Apparently there is an extreme level of organization in Spice’s closet. She took my niece on a tour over it this weekend and explained in great detail that “shirts go here, dresses here, tutus here…” Given that she refused to sleep under her sheet and comforter (because it will mess up her bed), I shouldn’t be surprised.

Tonight we will celebrate Spice’s birthday with a scavenger hunt. Last night, EN and I drew pictures of different things in our house to give her clues to where she needs to look next. The final clue will lead her to the Closet Hopper where she will find the gift that she wants most in this world… the Barbie Princess Dream Castle.

I’m amazed when I look back over the six years of her life… her funny habits, her ability to give “hairy eyeballs” even as an infant, the year of pictures that she refused to smile for, her silly jokes and wacky sense of humor. I love who she is right now, in this moment… And I think I’m going to love watching her take on the world… even if I am just a teensy bit scared-for the world.

Happy Birthday Princess Spice Girl!

xoxo

Ice Princess

An Update on Sugar's Smackdown...

As I have had multiple texts and emails asking what is going on with Sugar and her altercation last week, I thought I would post an update. Note, this is an ‘update’ and not a final answer. Why hasn’t this been wrapped up and put to rest yet? That’s an easy answer, because the individuals working at Sugar’s school seem to be unable to respond to emails and phone calls in a timely fashion.

Last Friday we had Parent-Teacher Conferences and sadly, much of my time with Sugar’s teachers was cluttered with this situation. I would much rather have spent my time discussing Sugar’s performance and behavior within the classroom. Instead, we had to discuss why her teacher never responded to the email I sent on Wednesday night.

As it turns out, she did respond. However, the district had some sort of virus and emails looked like they had gone out but really had not. She showed me the email with the time and date stamp and I believe her. This is what she tried to send to me:

Good Morning,
   Sugar did tell me what happened on the playground 
yesterday, however, I did not see what happened.  She 
pulled me aside and told me what happened, but she had a 
smile on her face.  I asked her if she was ok and she 
said, 'yes'.  I do know that sometimes children try to put 
on a brave face so I asked her again and she said, 'yes'. 
 I then asked Sugar if she knew the person and her reply 
was confusing because she told me she wasn't sure.
   Is Sophie ok?  I will speak with her today.
Warm regards,
L

I should mention here that my meeting with her was on Friday. She received my email Thursday morning. Despite saying that she would talk to Sugar again, she did not. I probably don’t need to mention that this teacher was made aware of the situation on Wednesday morning and did nothing about it… because Sugar had a smile on her face. Let's talk about that smile. That smile is called "Smile big or collapse into humongous gut-wrenching, nose running tears. 

Since last Thursday progressed with no response from the school, I finally called the Dean of Students around noon. I know that he went to Sugar’s classroom and spoke to her. He then called me and said that the teacher had emailed me back. We went over what he learned from Sugar. As I thought, either Sugar got confused or he did. That night when I got home, I had Sugar write down her account of what happened.

Well, first, Sam got off of her bus (bus13) and I said “Hi Sam!”. Then she started making these weird big growls like she was a dog that had rabies. After she did that she went and put her backpack where she would line up, then from where she was standing, she charged at me. (I was on the pavement at first just chatting with my friends). So then she chased me onto the rocks and grabbed my hands and squeezed my wrists until my hands turned white. Then she grabbed me by the neck and pushed me to the ground (into a position so I couldn’t move my arms and I also couldn’t stand up). Then she sat on my head and she also held my legs (so I actually couldn’t move at all). Sam was pulled off of me by Merideth, Serena, and Emma. They also helped me get up off of the rocks, while they helped me Ms. B saw Sam, so she called Sam over to her and they had a little talk. After Ms. B let her go and play again she started to charge back and forth (like she was pacing but she was running) maybe six or seven times into my friends, Victoria, Erin, Merideth, Ava, Emma, Tarren ,  and me. Then she started doing the weird big growls. She was doing both on purpose until morning recess was over. During Steffi’s first class she told her teacher Mrs. S. Sam was written up later in the day. 

I sent her account in an email so it would be on his desk first thing Monday morning. By the end of Monday, I still hadn’t heard a word back from the school. So I sent the following email to the Dean of Students and the Principal.

Mr. C: 

Although still unresolved, I would like to voice my concerns regarding the situation that occurred during morning drop-off on Wednesday, December 7.

It is my understanding that my daughter Sugar was physically pushed down and sat on by another child. This child was pulled off my daughter by some of her friends, but the other child continued to follow her around the playground before the bell rang.

When Sugar transitioned to middle school, I was under the impression that the 5^th graders would be separated from the other students. I completely understand that this is not always possible. However, I would assume then that when the 5^th graders are mingling with 6^th graders, there would be supervision by the multiple staff members. If that’s the case, where were the adults on duty that morning?

Once my daughter went into the school, she told Mrs. B what happened to her and another student, Steffi, told her own teacher, who then filed a report of some sort. My daughter came home from school that night and told me what happened. I then emailed Mrs. B to get a handle on what happened.

At this point, I’m both concerned and shocked that NO ONE thought to notify either me or my husband to let us know what had happened to our daughter while at school.

On Thursday, I left you a voice mail when I didn’t hear back from Mrs. B. I later found out that the district was experiencing technical difficulties, so I understand the disconnect there. However, it seems that from the time Sugar talked to her teacher and Mrs. S filed her report on Wednesday morning, there was no further mention of the incident to my child or to me until you received my voice mail Thursday afternoon. 

While I understand that this may not fall under the category of bullying, I would assume that physical altercations fall under the “Zero Tolerance Policy?” In that case, I have read that policy and understand that someone from the school had 48 hours to call me back about this issue.. I’m interested to know why a parent isn’t contacted immediately so that they are aware of the situation before the upset child arrives home from school?

I imagine that if I had not emailed and left two voice mail messages, nothing would have occurred with this situation. While I don’t expect her to be coddled and wrapped in bubble wrap, I certainly do expect to hear about things like this in a timely manner. My child should feel as safe at school as she does at home. I’m disappointed as to how this situation was handled.

I appreciate the time you spent on this situation and I look forward to hearing back from you.

All day yesterday I waited for his response. Finally, at 4:30, this is what I got:

Hello Ms. J,

I wanted to let you know the progress to date.  I have finished up a number of interviews with staff and students regarding last week’s incident.  I have a call in to the parent of the child involved and am awaiting a call back.

Out principal, has been apprised of the situation and we are coordinating our efforts at this end.

I trust this issue will be resolved shortly and will call you tomorrow.

And that my friends, is where we stand. The impatient side of me says, “Just drop it and you will be relieved of frustration.” However, I’m concerned about how incidents such as these are handled at my child’s school. Do I expect Sam to be tarred and feathered? Of course not. I just want to know that her behavior was dealt with timely and adequately, and I want to be sure that behavior such as this is not tolerated and reported to the parents a whole lot faster. But then I remember, schools are also government bureaucracies… I shouldn’t be surprised. 

xoxo

Ice Princess

How a Princess makes Lemonade

Since we moved I’ve really done nothing more than complain about the new house. Sure, I put up a post about the things I actually like, but we’ve also made great strides in setting things up so we are able to live comfortably. Granted, much that has been done is temporary fixes, but after this weekend I’m feeling so much better about where we are and what’s ahead of us. Yes, that means I might not complain about this house in the near future. But that’s not a promise. It also means that I’ve taken the lemon that we bought and started to make lemonade.

Today, I washed the dining room windows, both inside and out. This means that when I sit in the kitchen now, I can look out those windows and see all the pretty trees around us, rather than the schmutz that covered the windows.

Don't mind the box on the table... look at those
sparkly windows!!

I would never say that I’m a fanatic about cleaning or even a neat freak (stop by unannounced and that will be easy to prove!), but the sparkly windows gave me a feeling of accomplishment and made me feel that I did something to start this house on its way to looking better.

I’ve complained about all the lighting being replaced with cheap crap. You can see an example here…

You can see the light on the far right. 

This was the first fixture we replaced, and now it looks like this…

I’ve complained about the lack of cabinet and closet space, but over the last few weeks, we’ve set up a few areas in the house that will make living nearly “closet free” more convenient.

The make-shift kitchen in the basement. The stuff on the
shelves is not alphabetized... Yikes. 

The "linen closet" set up in the Boom Boom Room. 

EN and Little Joe have been working hard, removing the interior door to the outside and replacing with a glass door, that too is beautiful, but I’m too lazy to get up to take a picture right now!

And so… we moved in just a few weeks ago, and we are actually getting somewhere. I’ve tentatively chosen tile and have another meeting with some kitchen people this week. I won’t have a completed kitchen for Christmas, but I’m hopeful that the hard part will be done by then… making the decisions on cabinets, counters, paint… We all know I hate to make decisions.

I walk through the house and finally, I can see for myself that it really will be beautiful someday. I  knew this when we first looked at this beast, but it was easy to forget when I was so frustrated, trying to find new places for our stuff. When I get really down, I just pop into The Closet Hopper and check out the little bunny, dutifully holding the toilet paper. Who wouldn’t laugh at that? 

She's doing a great job!

What's next? Oh, Christmas is in two weeks?! SHIT!

xoxo

Ice Princess

It's Not Bullying Until It Happens More than Once, Right?

Bullying is a hot topic these days. We hear about it on the news on a regular basis and we can find it written about all over the Internet. Over the past several years, it’s become almost standard procedure to add a “Zero Tolerance” policy in very school district. Of course there are those that criticize these policies and say that one kid torturing another is standard adolescent behavior. They also say that anti-bullying programs cause children to grow up and be unprepared to deal with unpleasant social interactions.

I call bullshit.

As a grown up, our children will have jobs and live in a society where there are rules and laws. Most companies have policies that protect their employees from actions by another. In society there are laws protecting citizens from stalking and harassment. Therefore, I contend that these policies absolutely fit into our school system. They need to be there. Our babies need to be protected. They deserve to feel safe and secure in the environment that we send them off to every day.

Ask almost anyone and I’m sure they can share a story of their own childhood and being bullied, or seeing someone get kicked around. The girl that tormented me at Nathan Hale Junior High was Ann Epperson. Yes, that’s her real name. Maybe someday she’ll google herself to see what kind of lasting impact her behavior had on someone. She harassed me for nearly two years. She would walk behind me and make fun of the way I walked. She’d copy me walking with my back straight and head held high. When I noticed her doing this, I started to walk in a more slumpish fashion, and still walk this way some 25 years later. I was lucky enough to have Ann on my school bus as well, so I was got to deal with her from morning pick up to afternoon drop off. She got her friends in on the action too, and they’d gleefully spend their lunches making fun of everything I ate and did. I was lucky that it never escalated into anything physical, but the things they said and the way they mimicked me still makes me cringe. I look back now and wonder what ever happened to that merry band of losers, because that’s really what they were; pathetic mean people that had nothing better to do with their time.

Did I ever say or do anything to stop this behavior? No. While I was a “nice girl” and friendly with my teachers and classmates, I always knew that if I told on Ann, there would be hell to pay. She was already smart enough to figure out where all my classes were and stand outside them and taunt me from the hallways. I was never as happy as I was to see her move on to high school.

I am thankful today that my daughter’s school district has a zero tolerance policy. I am glad that there are counselors on hand to help them if they need it. I am glad that the students are well-versed in the steps to take if they feel they are being targeted by a bully. So I was horrified to come home last night and be part of this conversation:

Sugar: Next time Little Joe comes over, he should bring Cam.

Spice: Why would you want Cam to come over?

Sugar: Because Cam is nice.

Spice: But Cam sat on your head today.

Sugar: No, that wasn’t Cam, that was Sam.

Me: What on earth are you talking about?

As it turns out, a girl from our former neighborhood came up to Sugar in the playground while she was waiting for school to start. They have always been friendly so Sugar wasn’t concerned. Then Sam wrapped her arm around Sugar’s neck and put her in a headlock, which dropped her to her knees. Sam then pushed her down, sat on her head and held her legs down so she couldn’t move. This 6^th grade girl sat on my child while making animal noises.

As is typical when trying to get details out of Sugar, she gets confused and upset and the details start to change. Between last night and this morning, I was able to ascertain that Sam sat on her until Sugar’s homeroom teacher saw it and came and pulled her off. She had a private conversation with Sam, but Sam was allowed to stay on the playground. She then proceeded to follow Sugar and her friends around, while continuing to make animal noises. BFFL’s twin was part of this group, and immediately told her teacher what happened when the school day started. The teacher assured her that Sam would be “written up,” whatever that means. BFFL's twin deserves a prize for protecting the sisterhood. 

I am at a loss. I don’t know exactly what happened, as seen through the eyes of the adult in charge because I was never notified. My daughter was physically assaulted on the playground, which was witnessed by a teacher, and no one thought to call EN or me? Why was Sam allowed to stay on the playground after behaving like that? Why did she continue to follow my kid and her friends around? Is it over the top to think that the adults in charge might have been watching Sam a little closer, to ensure that she behaved-and stayed away from my kid-for the rest of the time on the playground?

And now, we circle back to policy. What exactly is the policy for dealing with situations like this? The policy is easy enough to find online and I know now that the incident should have been reported to the principal and that they are required to notify me of the incident within 48 hours.

Tick tock.

It’s easy for me to call this bullying because that’s the hot topic today, as was the “Just Say No” program when I was young. But is it? Or is it an isolated incident of a creepy kid being mean to my kid? In that case, should the Anti-Bullying Procedures set forth by the school board in my town be followed?

Last night I sent an email to the teacher that took Sam aside in the playground. I also emailed BFFL’s mother to see if her daughter told her what happened. This morning, I left a message on the same teacher’s voice mail. I’ve yet to hear anything back from anyone.

Tick tock.

xoxo

Ice Princess 

Unsettled

Given that I lived in my last house nine years, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that I’m having a difficult time settling in to the new place. The fact is, that surprises me. I thought that after moving multiple times through my life, I’d be able to just pick up and move on. That hasn’t been the case at all.

Despite my comfy new bed, I’ve yet to sleep through the night. I love to sleep and I adore my new bed, so I am infuriated when I wake up at 3 am for no good reason. Once I wake up, I rarely get to fall right back to sleep… sometimes I stay awake for hours. Couple this with the not having time to nap since we moved there and I’m severely sleep deprived.

There are many reasons why I could be unsettled… We live in a new house with new noises, windows and layout. It’s weird for me to sleep on the first floor of a house, street level in fact. I haven’t done that since the mid 90’s. I really shouldn’t say street level though because it’s not like anyone EVER drives by our house. In the 2+ weeks we’ve been living there, I think one car has driven past after we’ve been in bed. I didn’t think it was possible for a house to be quieter than our last one.

We also still have shit everywhere. It’s impossible to put anything away. We have six cabinets in the kitchen, which aren’t even attached to the wall, so they are mostly empty. Instead, there is a temporary kitchen set up in the basement. It’s actually kind of cute and I can set it up like a store, because I am OCD like that. On the other hand, there’s a shitload of stuff that one keeps in the kitchen that doesn’t get used very often, so that’s all still in boxes. I hate being surrounded by boxes.

We have very limited closet space. Yet the closets in the girls’ rooms are ridiculous and Spice even uses hers as a dressing room (yes, really). However, mine sucks, the coat closet sucks and I’ve already discussed the linen closet situation. However, I did notice that there’s a nice sized closet in the Boom Boom Room. Since we’ve been using that bathroom to shower in, I’ve asked EN to get some shelves to install there, so at least my towels and toiletries can get unpacked. He’s only been to Depot once and forgot the shelves… maybe next time. Or better yet, maybe Santa will bring them for me. He better not, that’s right up there with appliances!

I still can’t do laundry at my own house. The former owners took all the plumbing, drains, electrical wiring, so that all needed to be redone. EN promises I’ll be able to do laundry this week. I need to. It’s making me crazy.

I can’t bathe the girls yet and they have to shower. This is fabulous seeing as Spice has hair down to her ass. Twenty minutes to brush through that shit WITH detangler. Just shoot me now. And another question, she has been wearing socks and shoes every day, how did her feet get so dirty? I swear she has dirty toenails, which makes me gag. How does that happen?

To top it all off, the house is filthy. I’m already sucking it in to get through the pathways of boxes and STUFF, so I don’t even know how I’d get anything clean. Since I can access all the toilets, I clean those. As soon as I notice that I can’t smell toilet bowl cleaner any more, I clean one. That’s what Germans do. Swear.

And the most definite indicator that this isn’t home yet? None of us race to pee. Every night when the girls and I get home, we would bolt into our old house because we all had to pee. We’d run screaming for the bathroom closest to the door and the losers would run upstairs. Even if we had only been at the neighbors and peed right before leaving their house, we all had to pee when we got home. Is this a form of marking our territory or what?

We do have progress though… I found my lesbian clogs that I searched everywhere for. I found a little basket that I can keep my brushes and makeup bag in. It gives me a sense of order. I already said it, I’m German… something somewhere needs to be in its proper place. We have a new wall light installed in the dining room. In fact, EN did this while I was at work and was kind enough to leave it on so I’d notice and bow to the fixture-changing god. The glass door that’s been reordered three times should be installed today. One kitchen place came up and took measurements yesterday and we’ve yet to hear back from Vinnie Bagadonuts at the other place. People keep bitching about the fucking economy, but then when you try and throw money at them they aren’t interested.

Yes, someday this house will be beautiful, but I’ll consider myself settled before that. Like when I can go through an entire day without searching through boxes for one thing or another. 

xoxo

Ice Princess

Willful Destruction

It’s not often that I use my blog space to jump on my soapbox to tout my views on things that impact the country (or world). It’s ok for me to do that here, it’s my space. You can agree or disagree, but remember, it’s my space and you can move along if I offend you.

After a late night exchange with the biggest idiot I know, I’m fired up over the foreclosure problem in this country. Now I realize that there are particular circumstances in which foreclosure is the only option. I get it, shit happens and there comes a point where you have no other choice. However, we seem to be living in a society in which it’s ok to want the world and not have to work for it. We live beyond our means and spend more than we make. We are a spoiled society and we want it all, and we want it now. We live in a society where others tell us it’s ok to just walk away from your obligations and if you’re pissed off at the bank for coming after you to pay your debt, well, just fuck up the property you hold the mortgage on. Revenge is sweet.

So we closed on the foreclosed property we wanted to buy earlier this week. EN put up a picture of it and called it the “money pit.” A Facebook friend, we’ll call her ;/, in keeping with the secret names, asked if this was the unfinished house that we bought. I tried to clarify for her itty bitty brain that no, it’s not unfinished. It was once a gorgeous home that was foreclosed on and raped by the owner. They took central air systems, the cabinetry and appliances, copper piping from the propane tank to the house, exhaust fans from the bathrooms, toilets, gas fireplaces, doors to the house, lighting… I could go on and on. Part of me says, “Thank you for making this property affordable for EN and me” and the other part of me wants to know what kind of immature freak does this to a house?

So I start to go back and forth with my friend ;/ because she starts defending the actions of the people that do these things to their homes when they leave. She shares the story that she and her boyfriend’s home was foreclosed on and the realtor gave them money to leave the house alone. What she neglects to say is that she and her boyfriend share the same itty bitty brain and they signed an ARM mortgage and bought more than they could afford. Instead of sucking up and paying the higher payments when their mortgage went up, they got mad and just stopped paying altogether. They said they couldn’t afford the payments, yet they continued buying jet skis, a Mercedes SUV, a corvette, a motorcycle. Shall I go on?

Let’s get a few things clear here folks. No one forces you to buy a property or take out a mortgage. You alone make that decision. An educated consumer walks into making a huge decision like a home purchase with open eyes. Know what you can afford and learn about loans. It’s not that hard. The internet is full of helpful information and calculators. Also know that the loan officer working with you on your mortgage application EARNS COMMISSION on their loan. Therefore, the bigger the loan, the bigger the commission. Be comfortable with the amount of your monthly payment. If you take an adjustable rate mortgage, educate yourself on what your payments could end up being in the future.

Let’s go back to the home that I just bought to understand why I am so upset by this issue. The home was owned by someone I have met. In fact, she lives right up the street. She sells real estate and her husband is in construction. The amount that they foreclosed on is small. Had they listed the home when they were in trouble-even in this terrible market, they easily could have sold it and had a shitload of money left over after paying off the mortgage. Instead, they trashed the house and took everything they could. I firmly believe that banks should punish the consumers who behave in this fashion. Trashing a house that you refuse to pay for is simply NOT ok.

I wrote this post several weeks ago, before we even moved into the house. As I look around my new home, I’m even more disgusted by the behavior of these people. There are sinks we can’t use because they cut the plumbing. I am unable to do laundry because they took all the electrical and water hook-ups. My girls are unable to take baths because the original tubs were taken and the new ones aren’t even plumbed in.

Yes, we were fully aware of most of this and bought this house with our eyes wide open. I just can’t wrap my brain around willfully destructing property that is no longer your own. This morning, the former owner’s daughter chatted me up at the bus stop and told me her Mimi and Papa used to live in that house. Sugar was shooting me “keep your mouth shut” glares, but you all know it was killing me not to say, “Your Mimi and Papa and Mama and Daddy all deserve bitch slaps.”

xoxo

Ice Princess 

Things I Like

I’ve been in such a bad mood all week and so focused on the negative and on how much I despise certain people that I either need to vent about them on my own blog, where I can say whatever I want, or I need to focus on something positive and hope that helps alter my mood.

I thought I would take the high road and try to be positive. I am going to try to list ten things I like about the new house without letting any negativity creep in.

• I love all the windows. Unless it’s raining or super dreary outside, there’s loads of light coming in all the time.
• The master bath. Granted, it’s nothing now, but y’all, that bathroom is 10 x 13, bigger than some bedrooms! I imagine the finished product to look something like this: 

I don't know how much this gorgeous bathroom 

costs, but a girl can dream... 

• There’s loads of extra space. In fact, there’s so much room it looks like we hardly have any junk. Spice recently told me that Santa better bring her a lot because their play room looks empty!
• The girls’ rooms are freshly painted and so pretty. They are in love with their bedrooms. This helped them adjust so much easier.
• The Closet Hopper. When we moved in, Killjoy commented to Skinny Bitch that there wasn't a hopper in the master bath. Little Joe said, “Oh, you haven’t seen the closet hopper?!” Then Joe brought Killjoy to see the potty in its own separate room. This little separate room is not included in the square footage mentioned above.
• I've found homes for some useless garbage that I should have thrown away years ago. I jokingly put the tacky bunny I got for Christmas from Bug in the Closet Hopper (bunny, hop, get it?). EN stuck the roll of toilet paper on her ear. She fits nicely and serves a purpose. The black velvet painting of Snoopy and the Penis on the Shelf now reside in the Boom Boom Room in those creepy little niches.
•  The non-functional kitchen means I haven’t been able to cook much. I've rediscovered the joys of microwave cooking and cinnamon toast. Cinnamon toast must be covered under at least three food groups: dairy, grain and cinnamon is a spice which must somehow be a fruit or vegetable.  Argue my logic. I fucking dare you.
• My new bed. It’s taken some time to get used to it, but I think I will like it. The bedding is super soft and the mattress just kind of hugs me and all my fat and makes me feel loved. Plus it’s spacious so I don’t have anyone breathing on me.
• One almost completely functioning bathroom. Tiny Mike sold us a toilet, so the toiletless bathroom is now the most usable. Once I get a mirror hung up above the sink there will be no holding me back
• The kitchen dream is closer to becoming a reality. We closed on the other house this week and walked away with a check. Now we have the funds to pay for counters, cabinets and appliances. I've met with one designer already and due to meet with another tomorrow. I don’t look forward to making decisions about all this shit, but I can’t help but envision how pretty it will be when it’s done. 

There you have it. And FYI, the mood is not better. I attempted to number this list to show that I did in fact come up with ten things I liked but when I inserted the picture, the count messed up. Bullets points, it is. 

xoxo

Ice Princess