It NEVER fails.....

In light of recent events......PREPARE FOR A VENTING SESSION!!!

Why is it that I ALWAYS pay more at the nail salon than I expect. How does a $15.99 pedicure turn into a $30 bill (not including my eyebrow wax)????

This is how the event unfolded.....

I walked into the NAIL salon and asked for a pedicure ....The Asian lady immediately responded by saying...."pick color"....Then they sat me down, put my feet in a bathtub thing, and asked if I wanted the chair to give me back massage in the process. Well, I am not one to shy away from a backrub and I said "sure!".....In my mind I thought this was part of the service....In her mind she was thinking "cha ching $$$"
Then she asked me if I wanted my calluses removed....Which is the main reason why I save the money to get pedicures in the first place (San Diego girls wear flip flops all year).....In my mind I thought it was nice of her to ask because some people may not want their calluses removed (it can really tickle!!!)....In her mind she was thinking "cha ching $$$"
After the massage (my favorite part)....She asked me if I wanted a design on my toes....Now, I am not stupid....I know this is an extra service....So I asked how much (if it's less than $5....I'll usually spring for it)....And she said "free"...At least that is what I thought.....When in her mind she was thinking "cha ching $$$" ....I guess she said 3 ....But she neglected to say the price was per toe!
Little did I know at the time what this pedicure was costing me......
So, after the pedicure was over....She asked me if I wanted to dry my nails under the lamp.....Again, I thought this was included.....But, in her mind she was thinking "cha ching $$$"

Then it came to the eyebrow wax.....Which was $8....Now, again....Who would have thought it was $8 per eyebrow? Honestly....What person only get one eyebrow done!!!!

Needless to say....All of those extra add-ons really added onto my bill. Thankfully I am doing enough hair this week to cover the extra amount....Otherwise, I would not have a happy husband. This happens every time I visit the nail salon....And it does not matter how many different salons I try....I always tend to get ripped off!
Not to mention that I will probably have to see the doctor after this whole ordeal.....
As I was getting my nails done....I realized that the salon was all kinds of shady.....I would not be surprised if I end up seeing Dr. House by the end of this week with a staph infection.
Kory said I need to stand up to these ladies....But I get sooo intimidated when they yell all that Asian talk and I always tend to back down.

Have You Ever Seen Something More Hideous?

Kory has called me Scrooge all month.....But, I have had NO motivation to decorate for Christmas this year. I could not pin point why......However, after much begging, I finally gave in. As we were setting up the tree....It finally hit my why I was not motivated to decorate....Have you ever seen such a hideous tree? Its just awful. Kory and I bought this tree a few years ago during an artificial Christmas tree sale.....And after putting up the tree we both realized the tree on the box was NOT the same tree in the box. No matter what we did to "fluff" out the branches....It still looked pathetic. Lets just say our tree will NOT be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens this year....Especially with the ornaments half way up (the joys of having a baby.)

As we were decorating....Braxton started doing the weirdest thing....
Like I have said in the past, despite Braxton's rough start....He is a relatively healthy child. However, the doctors have put a few limitations on Braxton's future lifestyle....He can play most sports, but doctors want him to refrain from boxing, rugby, and yes...football. Doctors believe Braxton will have an especially hard time refraining from football seeing as Kory and I are huge fans of the sport. So, if this is the case....Doctors said we could encourage him to be a kicker. BUT....It looks like he is already preparing to be a defensive end....
As we were getting out the Christmas decorations, Braxton kept taking this extra large stuffed animal we have and tackling it to the ground. It happened over and over again.....And not only did he tackle the stuffed animal.....He kept making these grunting noises as if it was physically difficult to "take this thing down."

Here is Braxton picking up the stuffed animal

Then he would slam it on the ground....


Make sure it was down for good....


And then roll around with the stuffed animal a few more times just to make sure it was not getting up


Little does he know that kickers do VERY little tackling

R&R

Kory and I flew my parents out last weekend to watch Braxton while we went to Palm Springs for some much needed R&R.
You know what's sad? I cannot tell you one thing we did in Palm Springs that we could not do in San Diego. I have no idea why we even bothered to drive 3 hours to "get away". I guess some regular activities become more of a luxury after becoming a parent.

Such As..............

Eating Out

Going to movies......(I am actually not a big movie person....Well, I should not say that....I am not a fan of paying $13 to see a movie.....I am more of a Red Box girl....But I have followed Michael Oher since college....So I could not wait to see The Blindside....And of course....I also wanted to see The New Moon.)

We enjoyed watching something other than Noggin......

We enjoyed a nice LONG drive through a national forest WITHOUT crying, screaming, and having to pack a diaper bag!

And of course......Sleep! Poor Kory....I do not think he has had more than 5 hours of sleep for two years. Salary is a great thing....But if we go by hour....I wonder how much $$ he makes an hour being a Civil Engineer for the Navy.

An Unforgettable Thanksgiving

Yes....Kory, Braxton, and I spent our Thanksgiving in an ER. This was not the way Kory and I pictured our Thanksgiving going. Braxton has had a cold ALL month.....But nothing too severe. However, the night before Thanksgiving we knew his cold had taken a turn for the worse. He started gasping for air because of the congestion in his lungs....So Thursday areternoon we had no choice but to take him to the ER. Thankfully, the ER was DEAD! Which meant we were in and out within three hours....But of course we missed Thanksgiving dinner. I was so grateful to our friend Elizabeth.... She saved plenty of food for Kory and I to have our own little Thanksgiving dinner at home.....With Braxton curled up like a cat in our arms. Thank you Elizabeth!
As for Braxton....He is still sick....They're not sure what he has....But, its pretty obvious he has a bad case of the flu.....Which of course we vaccinated against at the beggining of the flu season!

The Battle of the Dishwasher!

Is this a guy thing? Or an engineer thing?....Kory never seems to be satisfied with the way I load the dishwasher....

Forgive This Post!

I just made this invite for my brothers open house....But my mom's computer is too slow for her to download it.....So I am posting it on my blog for her to copy and paste (if she can copy and paste! she has been struggling to learn copy and paste for past months).

Jaime's Birthday Party!!!!!

Here are the pictures from Jamie's surprise party.....Instead of flooding your email accounts with all the pictures, blogging them seemed a lot easier. Feel free to copy and paste!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE!

My Poor Mom.....

My poor mom has been DYING for Halloween pictures.....However, I left my camera at Gina's and I kept forgetting to get it back. Its been two weeks....Which is way to long for a grandmother to wait. I am not sure if my mom will ever forgive me...But I hope this posting will help.

My own beehive!....Both kids hated wearing their costumes. Yesterday, Fenway ran when I pulled his costume out of the dryer.

I have no idea why we spent so much money on tickets for Braxton to ride all the rides at the pumpkin patch.....He just liked having an endless amount of space to run

Braxton really enjoys the aftermath of mommy hosting babyshowes....Kory and I would have saved a lot of money on toys if we just purchased balloons once week....Balloons keep Braxton occupied for hours and hours!!!

My sister and brother-in-law came to visit....Which gave us an excuse to get a babysitter and eat dinner without Braxton. Words cannot express how much I love Braxton, but Kory and I HATE eating out with him (I think I mentioned this before).....And we're tired of tipping an extra 5% to clean up the additional mess Braxton leaves behind.

I think Kory and his bother have the same exact stance and walk....Its funny to watch....But Kory does not see it. Braxton is starting to walk the same way.

OH......MY.......GOSH!!!!!!!!!

Those were my exact words when I witnessed this crime scene.
You would think I learned my lesson from the yogurt situation a few weeks ago....But apparently I didn't. Our house is far from baby proof (is any house fully babyproff?)....But Kory and I are comfortable letting Braxton have free reign of the upstairs while we're up there. Besides the office and bathrooms...Braxton has endless toys in his room and playroom to keep him occupied for a few hours. Well, this morning I was cleaning our room and talking to my mom on the phone about Top Chef when I noticed that it was a little too quiet in the room next store. And I was right. Braxton and his partner in crime got into the cornstarch (which we use for diaper rash). I have no idea how he opened the lid....But it was such a mess to clean up....And it was right after I had gotten Braxton dressed for the day. Not to mention, I had another child to clean up too (I have no idea why Fenny had to get involved). Although I was really frustrated with the situation, my mom said I had to take a picture for her....Soo...Here you go mom! It must be soo nice being a grandma.

Honky Tonk Badonkadonk

This made my week.....

Thanks to my fabulous girlfriends (Elizabeth and Cessily), I have fallen in LOVE with the San Ysidro Outlets. The name pretty much speaks for itself....The outlets are one exit away from the border. You literally can see a completely different life a few yards away. I am so intrigued with it!

Anyway, I have a funny story....You know those annoying little booths in the middle of the mall walkways? Well....I noticed there was a both selling jeans with a little extra padding in the back. Lets just say there are some women who really DO want some "junk in the truck." Now, we all know that I am not shy about my JLo BooTAY...So I had to laugh when the sales rep was encouraging me to come over....I was "interested" on what he wanted to sell me....Even though I knew I would never buy anything....Needless to say....He took one look at my behind and sent me away before I could say gesundheit....LAUGHING OUT LOUD

Like I said, this totally made my week....However, the strawberry lemonade at The Soup Plantation was a close second. That was BEST GIRLS NIGHT OUT ever!!!! Thanks April!