The Husband

Husbands are funny.

Funny as in haha, and funny as in, well, funny.

A few things from The Husband lately:

Last week The Husband mentioned that he scheduled a client meeting at our house.

What?!?!

He then reminded me that it is one of his long-time clients, one that is also like a friend. He also reminded me that she had been to our house before, something that I had forgotten.

Her appointment is for Monday (today) at 4:00.

Sunday morning, early, I'm cleaning up the kitchen. I made a big dinner on Saturday, and we took it easy Saturday night, so the kitchen was still a mess. I'm wiping up the counters when The Husband walks in and says, "You're not cleaning up for my client, are you, you know you don't have to do that."

I just stopped right in my tracks. "Cleaning up for your client," I thought. "Do you think wiping the kitchen counters off, from last night's dinner no less, is "company cleaning"?"

Hehe, I couldn't help but laugh inside. I forget that there are two standards of clean in our house, my standard, and The Husband's standard.

I know I'm not alone here.

Also:

Today is The Husband's birthday. Happy birthday, Husband!

Anyway, The Husband is notoriously hard to buy for (aren't most guys?). He's one of those people who, if he wants something, he'll go out and buy it - within reason, of course. Well, he only asked for one thing for his birthday this year, white dress shirts.

(Come on Husband, live a little!)

So the only person who asked me for ideas for The Husband this year was my stepmom, so I told her about the dress shirts. She and my dad had planned a birthday dinner for him on Sunday at 5:00. So about 2:30 on a lazy Sunday afternoon, The Husband abruptly gets up and asks, "You don't mind if I go out and buy some dress shirts, do you? I'll be back in time for dinner."

"Yes, Husband, I do mind," I said. He looked at me a bit funny, but then figured it out. Only 2 1/2 hours to go before his birthday dinner and he's trying to buy the one thing he asked for.

I know I'm not alone here, either.

Here's to husbands, for keeping us on our toes and giving us a good laugh!

Disappointment

The trip has been cancelled.

Thank you, Mother Nature, for making it impossible to surprise V. with a visit.

The very roads we were to drive upon have a 1/2" of ice on them, covered by varying amounts of snow.

We could probably make it, most of the drive is interstate, but who wants to turn a 4 hour trip into a 10 hour trip. Much less take the chance of wrecking the car.

I'm so disappointed. Not only that I can't go visit V., but that I can't even commiserate with her, she didn't know we were coming! We didn't want to tell her that the trip was cancelled because we're hoping to try the surprise again in a few weeks. We don't want to give her the heads up, you see.

We are now working with her husband to try to schedule another visit, it's going to be at least three weeks. :(

This is so petty, but it's KILLING me to see comments on V.'s facebook page that say something like this, "It was so good to see you and meet the baby....blah, blah, blah."

These are from people she's admitted she doesn't even know very well, as they've only been in their current city for a year.

I'm not even going to write down the childish, immature thoughts I'm having right now.

Sigh.

Ok, I'm good, really I am, just needing to get a bit of frustration out.

Surprise!

Planning a surprise trip to go see one of my best friends and her new baby! I'm so, so, so very excited!!!

Another friend and I were going to drive up early in the morning, visit, and then drive home, but The Husband, who is being so sweet, said we should reserve a hotel room. And if that's not good enough, he said to forget finding a cheap hotel and go find a fun place to stay! Whoo hoo! We found one with a snazzy lobby bar and, even more importantly, a Starbucks!


I can't wait to see my friend!


This will be my first overnight trip without my kids - EVER!


It's been a long time coming, on both accounts!

Do you have a card?

I haven't written about it lately, but I'm still making/decorating cakes! Admittedly, I did take a bit of a break, but am now back in full swing. The last cake I made was a Tiramisu layer cake. And it was delicious! It was for my family's annual Christmas Eve party, and it was so crazy trying to get everything ready for Christmas that I forgot to take a picture. :( Since Christmas, though, I've had inquiries for two orders! I ended up not getting the first order, which is fine, but the second order has already been placed. Forty-eight mini cupcakes in chocolate, strawberry, and caramel, with poured fondant icing and fondant rose decoration. I practiced making them today, since I've never made mini cupcakes before. Some turned out well, some didn't. Oh well, that's why they were practice cakes!

On another note, I was at a birthday party yesterday for one of Little Man's Kindermusik friends, and the Kindermusik moms all know that I'm learning to decorate cakes. In fact that's where my cupcake order came from. Anyway, one of the moms and I were talking about it, and another lady overheard us. So she looked at me and asked, "Do you have a business card, I might call you?"

Hehe.

I just was asked if I had a business card. For my cake business.

I had to tell her "no," that I was just learning and that it was only a hobby at this point.

She looked a little disappointed, which made me feel a bit good inside.

Which brings me to another point.

I'm ready to take a baking/decorating class. I've had so many friends tell me that when so-and- so's birthday rolls around, they want me to make a cake for it. So far I've only charged for two cakes, and I only asked for what it cost me in supplies. However, while fun, it is also a huge pain in the rear to make one of these super decorated cakes, and I'm ready to start being compensated for the time and effort. The thing is, though, is that I'm not a professional, and sometimes my cakes come out well and sometimes they don't,and I feel uncomfortable charging unless it is something I know I can do. Another reason I'd like to take a class is that I've hit a ceiling with what I'm able to do, and I would love to try some of the more intricate cakes. Mmm, tiered cakes, royal icing, figurines...

Waistline, beware, I see more cakes in your future!

No Change

There hasn't been any change in the situation.

We did hear from The Brother this morning, he is still okay.

He is more optimistic about getting a flight out today, but no one will be surprised if he can't.

We are glad to hear that he is at the airport, the US military is there, along with all the supplies. At least, thank God, he's not roaming the streets.

I just talked to The Husband, who is out of town waiting for his brother to arrive on a plane, he's not sure if he'll still be away tonight or on his way home. He's going to stay there until his brother arrives, even if he only has time to give him a hug and send him on his way (The Brother has to catch another flight to go home to his family).

The Husband said our sister-in-law is having a hard time with this, as I can imagine. I knew it must be so, but it just broke my heart to hear it.

The waiting and wondering are very difficult, indeed.


Edit:


As I wrote this post things were happening!! I checked my email after logging off of blogger, and had received notice that The Brother was finally on a plane!!


Saying a thousand prayers of thanks!!


He's still not quite on his way home, but at least he's out of what must be hell on Earth.


It's a start, and if everything falls into place he may very well be able to give his wife and children a big hug in the next 24 hours!


Praise be to God.

We Watch and Wait

Well, we received some bad news yesterday morning. We learned that The Husband's brother, who travels quite a bit to out-of-the-way places for work, was in Haiti on Tuesday.

Thankfully, his hotel was not damaged too badly in the earthquake, and he is fine. We think some of his coworkers may not have been as lucky, but, like everything else in this chaotic situation, no one knows for sure yet.

Of all the places to be.

We are blessed beyond belief to know that he is alive and mostly well. We know he made it to the Embassy at some point, and he's been able to make contact a few times over the past few days. He's now trying to evacuate. The Husband has flown out to meet him. The Brother's had several reservations on many different flights, but his reservations keep getting pushed back, the planes are so full.

It continues to be a waiting game. When will The Brother get out, when will The Husband get to see him and then come home?

My heart aches.

The news coverage is horrible, gut-wrenching.

The Brother will surely be a changed man, and I feel for him, as I do for everyone there, for all the death and tragedy they must be witnessing.

My heart hurts for everyone in this horrible, horrible situation.

Words cannot describe it. I myself feel shell-shocked, and I have only watched the news coverage on the television while sitting on my couch and having all the comforts of an intact home. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be there.

God has been good to us. He always is, but especially so this week.

Anxiously awaiting to hear that The Brother is on a plane, safe and sound.

Bye bye pageboy, hello buzz cut

Ever since Little Man has had enough hair to actually have a hair style, he's worn it long. During his second year, he had curly little ringlets all over his head. Eventually they became too long and unruly, so I had his hair trimmed, and sadly the ringlets went away and never came back. After that we kind of played around with a few styles for several months. It's turns out that Little Man's hair has just a touch of curl to it, just like his mamma's, and if it's too short it just looks like he has a permanent case of bedhead. So we grew it out, and discovered that Little Man is adorable with long, shaggy hair. It was convenient and easy on the budget, too. We would go several months between haircuts, waiting until the hair was getting in Little Man's eyes. Well, it had been time for Little Man to have a trim for a few weeks now. What with Christmas, then with the Arctic Blast that seemed to have parked itself over our region for weeks on end, we just hadn't gotten around to it. (Seriously, we had a week where the highs didn't even reach 20- in the South -we're just not used to that kind of weather!) Anyway, The Husband decided to go with Little Man for his cut, thinking they could have some father/son time. I gave The Husband explicit instructions to pass onto the stylist. "Just a little trim so it's out of his eyes and has a little shape, but keep it long and a bit shaggy." The Husband repeated it back to me, several times, in fact. So The Husband and Little Man go off together, for a haircut the the reward of a sucker afterwards.

About an hour later they come back. As I watch Little Man walk up the driveway, I notice that he has a new baseball cap on - and that I don't see any hair sticking out from underneath it. "Oh no," I think, "this can't be good." I brace myself for what I know I'm about to see. They walk inside, Little Man takes off his cap, and...

Buzz Cut.

Long, shaggy, adorable pageboy to buzz cut.

Now let me just say, I know it is just hair and I know it will grow back. But nevertheless, when I looked at my sweet baby's head, my heart started to hammer, my stomach became queasy, and a big knot formed in my throat.

My body stayed in that state for a few hours.

The Husband looked at me sheepishly. "I'm so sorry," he said. "She cut it once, but it was all crooked and sticking out funny, so I asked her to take just a little bit more off."

Then he said, "The next thing I knew, she had a razor out and had shaved a big stripe in the back of his head. What was I going to do, she had already done it?"

I told him there was nothing he could do, after all, I had taken Little Man to a haircut or two where they cut it way shorter than I had asked them to. (but they never shaved it, shaved a pageboy, I still don't get it!)

However, I did tell him he should have protested and then refused to pay, I mean, telling the stylist to trim a little but keep it long and a bit shaggy does not in any way, shape, or form mean pull out a razor.

Sigh.

Well, the good news is that Little Man loves his new hair. He looks at himself in the mirror, get a big and wide smile on his face, and says his hair looks like Daddy's, which it does.

I'm getting used to it, too, and I'm actually starting to like it a bit, but from now on I think I will take Little Man for his haircuts!