Our Trip to the Aquarium ... Part 2

Okay okay ... it's been almost a week now!!!  Part 2 has just been HANGING around....   so here it is... 

Once we got off the Ferry we walked down to the Aquarium ...   which has changed A LOT since we were there last!

First big change we saw was the huge aquarium in the lobby, it has a scuba diver and basically teaches you about some of the local fish!  You have your speaker on the outside, and the scuba diver on the inside, and both are able to talk and answer questions.  (Cal and Noah are sitting on the back bench, we were standing in line paying admission)

Then we started to walk around and look at all the wonderful sights to see .... First we came across an extension of the tank from the front, where it showed how the tide works....  and then we got to the Touch Tanks... where you could stick your hands in the water and FEEL all the interesting sea life...  here are some of the fabulous pictures that Mommy took ...  

Did you know ...  Some Starfish have MORE then 5 points????  See the picture above???  That one has 10!  Some have more... some have less!

What can YOU find in the above picture!?!  I'll give you a hint, you eat it... cuz it's "seafood" ... it's a Shrimp!

Stay Tuned for PART 3!

Our Trip to the Aquarium ... Part 1: The Trip to Seattle

So, I haven't blogged in awhile, and when I have ... it's been one big huge vent.   I haven't been reading my favorites, or thanking anyone for notes (THANK YOU!!) ....  I appreciate each note that is left, that's for sure.

Anyway, I wanted to share some things that we've been doing over the past couple months.

We went to the Aquarium in the middle of June and had a lot of fun :)  We're still playing catch up on everything and we haven't been able to do a whole lot, but we've still been having fun.   Anyway, it was our first trip to Seattle, and it was the first first trip for Dennis, Ashley, and the babies.  Cal, Noah and I have already been there, years ago, Noah doesn't remember so it's like his first trip, and Cal doesn't remember a lot.

So we took the ferry over ....

All four boys in front of a ship propeller ... Nathan is doing a "ta-da" moment...

In front of the Dancing Water Fountain ... 

The Ferry itself was a huge adventure for, especially, the babies.

Out on the deck of the ferry ...  Ashley, Noah and Calahan

Nathan and Kaedyn ... 

 

Calahan and the Seattle Space Needle...

And here are some various photos of Seattle from the ferry 

(this is a ferry -in front- and a cruise ship behind it...)

Seattle Space Needle

When Calahan was 5 years old we made our first trip to Washington to visit my mom.  Calahan  has loved killer whales since he was 3, so it was a big deal any killer whale that was spotted, even if it was a painting or a picture ...  so on our very first trip to Seattle, I had taken this picture of Calahan in his rain slicker ..... 

And then 9 years later...  Calahan and Noah ... under the same thing.... 

Stay Tuned for Part 2!

It's all about the WATER .... Psycho Neighbor... da da dahhhh da...

 Yes, we have NEIGHBOR DRAMA!!

Well.... one, it's our fault she's on medication ... and two, it our fault that her marriage is crumbling.... 

WOW..... I love the fact that we have so much control over HER life! 

Yep... I got out my magic wand and said "BAM you are in need of medication!" and then I got the Psycho Neighbor Remote out and pressed the "divorce" button... yep yep....  See... here it is... 

Sooooooooooooooooo ...  we were messing around with our water last night ... the controls in our cellar, ya know, trying to figure out which one turned on the outside water spigots ...  when it's on, it bum rushes water under our porch cuz it's got a pipe that keeps getting disjointed or whatever.  So Dennis was messing with it all last night, and he got it fixed, then we watered some of our plants, grass, etc ...  I was thinking "YAY" talking about getting a sprinkler to fix our dying grass and let the kids have a little fun...  and then he turned it back off under the house (because who can trust the neighbors), and we came in (before 8 pm) ...  and watched Twilight.  K?  Following so far???  

So this morning, Dennis and I are up playing on the computer .. it's about 11 ...  the psycho neighbor starts to scream and shout and shout and scream and CRYYYYYYY and swear - every other word is F*** this and F*** that - and slam stuff on her patio... (later I found out it was a plastic pail and she smashed it to bits) 

In order for this woman to be reacting this way over the silliest stuff, she has some major issues, and I'm literally scared for the safety of my family at times.

So I'm sorta watching her, and with my patio door shut, and window behind my computer open, I can hear her and her "I AM SO SICK OF THIS S**T" and "I HAVE A SCHEDULE TO KEEP and whatever else...then she yells "I WORK UNTIL 2AM... I GET UP, WANT TO SHOWER AND BRUSH MY TEETH AND I CAN'T!" 

So...... she apparently called *CJ* and *L* last night, because of her leaky hose.  And so *L* came over to fix it...   Same time Dennis was messing with the water to our place... 

So this morning, she is throwing her off the charts psycho melt down, and *L* shows up ... while she's cussing on the phone yet again...  apparently, the water has been off since 8-9 o'clock last night, and so he starts coming over to our place, like it's our fault, looking at the pipes under our deck.  Our water and their water should be two separate things!  So ... he tells Dennis to show him exactly what he was messing with last night, so he did.  None of it effected her place.  Go figure!   However, the pipe did break again under our patio, so we KNOW when that water is on and when it's not!  It was only on for a short period of time yesterday so if it had any effect on their water, they should have known LONG before. 

But there is a faucet on the side of the garage by our entry way that she claims is hers, it's connected to their water...  when Dennis brought that up, *L* went to check it out with Dennis, it had apparently been turned off.  Now, I don't know if *L* did it last night when he was trying to fix their water, I know Dennis didn't have any reason to touch it because he was messing with stuff in the cellar, he says he "might" have turned it off (but really says he doesn't remember going over there ever last night, we already knew that one was working, but we didn't know who's it was...) ... so anyway ... they turn that valve at the side of the garage on, and sure enough, it works... 

So Dennis makes some stupid comment to *L* about maybe one of the kids came out and was messing with it, and I immediately said "The kids were all inside last night when we were," which she HEARD. 

So they tell her to try it, and so she goes in and says it's working...  then she slams the door, then pops it back open and screams SERIOUSLY? at her husband... then slams the door again. Apparently when I wasn't outside Ashley over heard *L* tell her to ask to use our shower, because she was screaming how she was going to have to get a hotel and this was ridicules, and she said "No, they HATE me!" ... well, we don't like her but hate is an awful strong word.

We are genuinely nice people, and easy to get along with - if respect is given to us, respect is given to others...  it's the simple human factor.  You treat us kindly, we will do the same.  We don't deny if we make mistakes, just bring it up and we'll try to fix it if it's in our control.  We go out of our way to help out others, when we can.  

The problem is, she made a SNAP judgment about us before we even moved in!  And to think, we were looking forward to getting to know our neighbors, becoming friendly with them, because we don't know anyone in WA really!  We just made a HUGE move ... why would we be doing crap like she claims.  Fact is, we walk on EGGSHELLS around this woman just to try to keep some peace!

So then, after her shower... she comes back out, bitching on her cell phone once again about us...  and Ashley over hears her talking about how it's our fault she's on medication...

Then my cell rings, it's *CJ* ...  go fucking figure!!

I answered and she says "Did you guys tell her that the kids turned off the water?"  ... and so I had to go through the whole story!  I told her that she basically took what she wanted out of that conversation, and ran with it.  Nothing is ever her fault, she takes no blame in anything...  I told her that Dennis was basically trying to come up with what happened and, I told him that wasn't even a possibility since the kids were inside with us all night, we were watching a movie while Nathan and Kaedyn were going to sleep and Cal came down to join us (he was upstairs playing a game the rest of the time,) and Noah was upstairs too..

So she tells me that she just called her up ... chewing her a new behind ... about how we blamed it on the kids and obviously if we are leaving our children outside unattended at 9pm then we are not good parents and just ripping on us. 

So I went outside, stood right next to Ashley and started YELLING about the phone conversation with *CJ*.... telling her what *CJ* said about how we are bad parents and how it's OUR fault her marriage is falling apart and this and that...  and I'm yelling so if she's by any open window, she can hear, and then I came back in, but pop'd my head out a second later and screamed, in their direction "SEE ... YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN PLAY THE SCREAMING OUTSIDE GAME"

Then she was outside bitching about us on the phone again later. 

*CJ* says she completely washes her hands of it....  she's a lunatic and she's tired of the phone calls everyday bitching about this and that.  It told *CJ*, we aren't making complaints because we know she's going to be leaving soon, not soon enough, but soon... and that we're trying to keep peace but every single thing we do is wrong! 

I'm just tired of it!!

Psycho Neighbor STRIKES again.....

I have been working hard on my most recent book and haven't been blogging lately, for that I apologize ...  however I had a really bad day yesterday... and I just can't take it anymore....  I need to vent!


That's right, the psycho neighbor struck again, and again, and again...... 

This btw, is the magnet she has on her car, the one I mentioned at the end of the last entry....  it's funny, but in her case, it almost makes it scary....

Yeah....  can I be like Danielle on Real Housewives of New Jersey and be all flipping out going "IS THAT A THREAT!?!?!  She said she's going to kill me!" ...

:::sigh:::: Yeah.....   so after I left off in   "Let me introduce you.... to.... my psycho neighbor" ....  I got a phone call on the 5th.  Yep, the very next day after posting the first post in the Neighbor Drama collection....  now before I tell you what she called about, let me back up just a second.  On the 4th of July there was a big truck in the driveway behind their cars...  BLOCKING IN ... our car...  luckily, when I went to leave, her husband and this friend of theirs, were walking out to ... I assume ... leave.   So I just waited for them to leave.  The husband actually moved their second car further up so that the friend could fit better in the driveway when they got back.  So it took a few for them to leave, but they did, and then I backed out.   The following morning I got a phone call from the manager CJ ...  this is how the convo went ....

"So your neighbor called and wanted to know how to handle a situation" 

OH GAWD .... 

"She says that you guys threw a beef jerky or pepperoni wrapper in her garbage and she wanted to know how to handle asking you, nicely, not to throw stuff in her garbage."   
Are you SERIOUS???  We have our own garbage cans, why the hell would we throw something in hers!?!?  Especially when ours is bigger and not full?? 

"I don't know, but I was just telling you what was going on.  She wanted to leave you a note and I suggested that she doesn't, I just told her if she thinks that, maybe she should put bungy cords on her garbage can to keep whoever did out, because I know you guys, you wouldn't do something like that." 

(I realize at this point that she meant pepperoni like the long pepperoni sticks you can buy at the gas stations, that resemble the beef jerky type ones... so I go on...) We don't even eat that stuff, occasionally Dennis does, but he hasn't since we moved here, and she had COMPANY yesterday .... who's to say that he didn't throw something in her garbage???  (and that's what I assumed happened, because it wasn't us!!  The only other possibility is her husband, who didn't own up to it, or some homeless person, cuz we have a few who by our place and stay down on the shore somewhere....)
"I know Annissa, I am just letting you know what's going on."  CJ is such a sweetie and stuck in such a effed up place ... 

We go outside later, and we see this......

Yep, she really ... really did ..  I was like, if they want to deal with having to remove them every time you throw something away .... then go for it.  Lately, we've been seeing stuff left on top of their cans.  Apparently, they've been getting a little lazy in putting stuff IN the cans, and no longer care about the "bad raccoon problem" that she was so concerned out that she had to leave me a note telling me to take out my garbage on garbage day (see previous entry) ...  

I was just thinking...  WHATEVER .... at this point...

Things were quite for a little while after that.   Then late last week, maybe Friday or Saturday ...  it was late, the babies were going down for bed, and they were being increasingly difficult that night.   We laid them down, it's still daylight out when we lay them down around 7....  we have the blinds down, but they allow us to see out, you can't see in.   Anyway .....  Nathan was obsessively screaming .. he does this high pitched scream, and he does it right at Kaedyn, it's as if he's yelling at him, screaming at him... and he does it until Kaedyn starts crying and then he continues to do it...  well, he was doing that this night.  His face pressed up against the crib and screaming at him.  Kaedyn starts to cry, so Dennis got up.  He firmly said "Knock it off" and he spotted.  He laid him back down, sat with him a little bit...  and that was that.   He comes back out.   A little while later, they were screwing around again.  So then it's my turn.  I get up, and I walk in there, and I see Kaedyn straddling the high bar of his crib.  So he's half in his crib and half out.  It wasn't even the rail, it's the higher end piece.  Anyway ...  I yelled "GET DOWN" because I thought he was going to fall .... and as I'm walking to him, out of the corner of my eye, I see her STOMP across her patio and go in her house, then ten seconds later she's stomping BACK down her patio, jumps off and over by the patio that is (technically ours) between our two houses pick something up off the ground, and throw it down on her porch.... not just throw it down, but she threw it down with ATTITUDE....  like ... arm above the head, all the strength she had ... slammed it down by force on the porch ... (picture a football player having a temper tantrum with the ball on the field.)  ...  Then she STOMPS across her porch again and SLAMS HER DOOR THREE TIMES ... BANG BANG BANG ...

Seriously?

So I text messaged the manager and told CJ that I'm sorry if she calls, explained sorta what happened....  I got a text message back saying "thanks for letting me know" followed up by a "she's psycho" ...

Then on Sunday, this weekend, my Mom and Step-Dad had rented a U-haul to transport some stuff from my Step-Dad's ex-wife that she wanted to get rid of and give to us if we could use it.  So, it was about 9:30 when they got to our place, my Step-Dad was hanging out in the driveway and then we were going back and forth, carrying stuff in the house or into the garage (mostly in the garage) ...  we weren't being that loud, there wasn't any yelling going on, just talking, and walking and carrying stuff.

While no one else was outside by my step-dad, she marched herself out there and went up to him, she told him to "keep it down" ...  I donno what else was said, my step-dad says he didn't say anything or respond to her.  Mom says, before that even happened, she was outside with her dog.

So I ask........ WTF!?!?!

So I later found out that she called, complaining about the noise and who knows what else.

And then, she called because her water was off.   Dennis had been trying to figure out how to get water to our water spigots outside.  So he was messing around with the water, but none of it should have affected her place because it was all in our spider hole... from what I understand.   So CJ called us and asked if we lost water, and we hadn't.  I think she figured, or maybe she called, because she said something about the city flushing the line.

Then, also on Monday, we found this posted outside across from the garage door, on the wall of her building.

Most local noise ordinances designate certain "quiet hours" -- for example, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and until 8 or 9 a.m. on weekends. So running a power mower may be perfectly acceptable at 10 a.m. on Saturday, but not at 7 a.m. Some universally disturbing sounds are commonly banned or restricted. For instance, most cities prohibit honking car horns unless there is danger. This means that the daily early morning tooting across the street for the carpool is a violation. Dogs and motorcycles may also be singled out.

 That is the city ordinance on noise...  so, 10pm to 7am weekdays, and 10pm to 8-9am on weekends....  so, at 9:30 on a Sunday morning, we were perfectly with in our rights.  Any time after 7am is PERFECTLY with in our rights on weekdays....

Now, in all fairness, she did mention that there is a dresser under the window and it reverberates any noise made outside.  So I DO try to keep things down to a minimum noise level at ALL times, not just in the morning.  and the sign she put up isn't RUDE in the literal sense, but the fact that she put it up is rude.

So, now lets go to Tuesday morning (yesterday) ...  I got Cal up because he didn't do his chores the night before, before he went to bed.  The garbage was overflowing, and there was a bunch of dishes all over.  So he got to get up early and deal with it.  I got him up around 7-7:30... had him take his pills, allowed him to take a shower, and basically wake up and let his pills kick in before really asking him to do anything.  It was about 8:30 when he went out there with the garbage.  He had to take the whole can out because it was that full.  So...  I don't know if he was dragging the can, or hitting it against his legs when he was carrying it, or what was going on - however ... he says....  at one point he burped quietly and right after he did that he heard her yell "WHAT THE FRIG" ... course, he said frig, she said F*** ....   and he wondered how she even heard it.... so he continued to throw away the garbage.  Now all the garbage cans are against her place.  It's just where the cans happen to go.  She has her three closer to her porch, and our three are closer to the walkway down to our place.  So he says he flipped the lid open slowly, and as soon as he did, there was a BANG BANG BANG on the wall from her place.  He said it startled him. So he finished throwing away the garbage and brought the can back in, and as soon as he did, he told me what happened, and I was pissed.  SERIOUSLY ...  who the HELL does she think she is????

Some of you maybe saying, well can't you see her point of view, if she's working nights and sleeping later in the morning, it's an acceptable request.  And if someone came up to me and approached me about something like that, then I would be more then happy to *try* to not make noise, and as I already stated, we have in fact tried to keep quite out there PERIOD....  but she also has to understand that we don't live our lives around HER and sometimes things happen, and if she's going to be a bitch about things, then I'm not going to be so nice anymore!

I was already fuming when the phone rang......... it was the manager, CJ....

My heart started racing and the fume started to barrel out of my ears!!  I knew what was coming!  I'm not pissed at CJ of course... but COME ON.......

I answer ...

Hello

Hey Hon, was someone just outside banging on the neighbors wall?

Um, NO, Cal was taking the garbage out because it was overflowing...  

Oh well she just called and said someone was banging on her wall....

So I went through the story the way Calahan told me... and I told her that I didn't know if he had been dragging it or not because it was heavy, but she was the one out of line, not us.  CJ agreed, and she knew I was pissed.  Now usually I just laugh off her crap and brush it off.  But now, I'm just PISSED!!   I tell her how I don't take the kids outside much right now because (well beside the waiting for the patio to be replaced) I don't want to deal with her, I feel like she is going to call and complain about EVERYTHING we do, if we breathe wrong, step wrong, look at her for a half a second  ...  God forbid Cal ever look at her, but she did say "HI" to him on Monday when he was working on his bike.  I had told him to ignore her and pretend like she doesn't exist.  So I guess, he was going to say "you don't exist" to her but her husband was by her so he didn't... Anyway...  I told her that I honestly feel like a hostage in my own home. I am not comfortable taking the kids in the yard, so I walk them a block away to the big park. I can't sit in the back yard - at all - and enjoy myself, because she's going to call and complain about something.  I told her, I honestly feel like she's complaining about EVERYTHING because she is trying to get us kicked out.  She wants to complain about everything and paint us as bad people because she wants them to turn around and say "okay enough is enough, these people are obviously bad renters and we need to get rid of them" ...  and CJ tells me it's not going to happen.  Well I realize that, but on another note, her calling and complaining all the time about us for whatever reason she justifies in her head has got to be annoying for CJ.  

So I'm pacing back and forth between the quite of my room, and the living room ...  and when I walk out into the living room at one point, Ash is getting off the chair and saying "I hear someone yelling" ...  both TVs are on (the one in the living room and ten feet away the one in the babies room) ... so she walks out into the babies room, she says "She's out here screaming" ... so I walked in there and sure enough, she was on OUR side of the patio, there is a privacy wall on her patio that gives a clear divide.  She was on OUR PATIO by the babies windows on her cell phone complaining about US.  

 

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo pissed by now that I'm shaking ... SHAKING ... and anyone who knows me, knows that when I start shaking with anger, I'm to the point where I can't take anymore.  So I tell CJ that I can't take anymore of this crap.  If she leaves me one more note, I'm calling the cops.  I'm trying to be nice but I'm done, and I'm just not going to live my life around her anymore.  

CJ tells me she's going to call the other manager (not her boyfriend, there is another manager J....) ...  so she calls J up and calls me back and says "J was getting pulled over while he was on the phone with me because he wasn't on his blue tooth, but he says ... don't keep the kids, in, take them outside, as long as you are on your part of the yard, she can't say anything about it.  Noise Limit hours posted by the city are 10pm to 7am so follow that.  Just don't worry about it.  She's going to find something to complain about no matter what.  He also said not to worry about us kicking you out because of this, it's not going to happen.  

Whew, I mean I knew that ... but whew....   and she also told me that if I felt the need to call the cops on her, then do it.  She asked for copies of all her notes and stuff, so I told her I'd give her a couple copies.  One set for her, one set for J ...  

So .... I get dressed and go storming outside, she's not out there anymore....  and then I go back in, I go check the garage for any notes, there aren't any.... so then I come back in and a little while later, she's back outside, this time sitting on her porch, on her cell phone, bitching again... so I went and sat on my porch..  I never looked at her, kept looking out at the water.... never looked her way....  acted like I couldn't hear her. 

I heard stuff like... 

"I'm sorry I just can't come in, I haven't gotten any sleep for three days now." 

"But Mom, I'm so tired!  I took a sleeping pill last night and only got 4 hours of sleep, that's not the 8 hours they tell you that you need to get on those things, I have been woken up at 8:30 so much." 

"I have been a bartender for 8 years, it's the hours I'm use to" 

"I don't want to take my Xanax, I don't like taking them"

"I am just so stressed out" 

"I can't take this anymore, I just want to live in peace" 

Then she starts going off about the landlords/management.  Now, just so you know, CJ and her boyfriend L didn't even know about this place until May when the lady who lived here before hand gave her notice.  So they've only seen this place a few times.  She's going on and on about how last year they were suppose to come clean out the gutters and didn't, how she has to put her hand in the back of the toilet all the time to turn off the water because it over flows, and how she was doing dishes the other day and all of a sudden the water just turned off and so she called, and then it started back up.  How she calls and complains all the time and nothing ever gets done.

"I am so tired about bitching about everything and nothing gets done, and my husband is tired of my bitching about everything to."
"The place is falling apart around us"
"Our outside water won't shut off, it's always going .. I keep it in a plant, and our water bill is $200 a month!  I've told them about that, and they have done nothing."
"I can't find a new place, and we only have 3 1/2 months left here anyway"  (Her husband is in the military and is getting transferred in 3 1/2 months to a different base.  Where ever she ends up, I feel sorry for you ...  and I warn you ... SHE HATED EFFING KIDS! .. her words, not mine... only she said F***ing .... )

I just sat there....  I figured I'd sit there until she was done, then a few more minutes, and give her a chance to talk to me face to face.  She got off the phone, and nothing.  Yep, nothing.   So I got the kids climbing thing put together with Cal and brought Nathan out, by then Kaedyn was sleeping.  

Yeah, and I am absolutely in no way going to tip toe around her anymore.   I'm DONE...... so the war will probably be good here soon.  I've been ranting about her in my house with the windows open.

Hopefully she's caught a couple words drifting in the air....

So, this is now the image in my head of my psycho neighbor...  

Actually, now that I think about it.....  that print is to pretty for the monster next door..... 

Stay tuned, because I'm sure there will be more!

Happy 4th Of July .......day after...

First 4th of July in our new home, in Washington State......

What did we do?
 ......  Not much at all....  but the neighbors across the street started to set off a bunch of fireworks, and so the older two boys went out to watch, later followed by Kaedyn & I, Dennis, and finally Ashley (Nathan was asleep) ...  So we enjoyed those and once it got dark all sorts of things started to happen ....  there were big fireworks going off in about 10 different areas or so ... all seen from our yard!!

Sitting out front ...

Nathan sleeping

The rest of the clan outside, Noah was laying on his blanket outside relaxing...

At first, Kaedyn shook and scream and cried and ran away and then he got use to it...

Tons of firework debris in the street .. lol.. 

Some Fireworks...

Then we moved to the back yard and saw all sorts of other fireworks!

(Videos)