Tap Out

Take a guess as to what the cap is for police officer's overtime is for a month.
They shouldn't be allowed to work any more than 35 hours.
Take a wild guess as to what Chancho has worked this month. Just throw a number out there.

50. Yep, he has worked 50 hours of overtime. So not only has he worked his regular hours, he's added on 50 more hours to it. He got yelled at. They told him no more for this month. That was earlier this week.
Want to play again?
Take a guess as to what the cap is for doing Paid Details is for a month.
I actually don't know that answer, but he was yelled at for doing 80+ hours.
So needless to say I haven't seen Chancho very much this past month. In fact there were days when I only saw him for literally 5 minutes while he was working at the deli. Oh yeah, he now has added on another day to his deli schedule. I swear he just can't get enough of work. Oh and another thing before I forget, he mentioned lightly over dinner yesterday that there have been rumors going around that by next year the domestic violence officers will be getting shields because the work that they do is essentially detective work. He doesn't think that it will actually happen, but he wanted to keep me in the loop. He said not to get my hopes up, but I think he was really trying to tell himself that.
As for me, I have been working 40+ weeks myself, which meant our schedules overlapped and we were back to having a relationship with our phones. It also has allowed me to bond with my coworkers. I've gone out with them almost every night now. It's actually been a lot of fun.

I've also been babysitting Buster a lot. They really are paying for that cruise. On Monday it was getting late, as I was trying to get Buster to wind down so we could have bath time and then I could put him to bed when the doorbell rang. I contemplated answering the door, but I knew that the room that I was in they would be able to see me so, I went and answered it. I had Buster in my arms and I was only going to open the main door, keeping the glass door shut. Well I open it and this Hulk Hogan guy is standing there. Before I know it he's opening the outside door and reaching for Buster. I quickly pull back and say "Can I help you?" He answers with "Oh hi! Hey [Buster] I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would stop over and say hi."
I'm still starring wondering who the hell this guy is. I obviously don't know him and he still hasn't introduced himself. So I begin to say something when he cuts me off and asks if Buster's mother is home. I say no and that if he wanted I could just let them know he stopped by. "Oh that would be great! I'm their painter, Eddie." (They got their house painted months ago.) I say "Okay, great, I'll let them know. You have yourself a good night." Eddie steps closer "Do you think it would okay if I came in?" Me: "No. I'd rather you not." Eddie: "Right, okay, sure, understandable. I'll see ya around." Then he turns and walks away. I was totally freaked out. I locked that door and double checked all the other doors in the house. I kept an eye on him as he was sitting on the front lawn. He eventually got a ride with some other guys that happened to be on the road with some car problems, but if he had left my line of sight you better believe I would have had the cops on their way.
Wrapping things up, Chancho and I really have a date planned for this Friday. We have high hopes to go to the drive in movie theatre after his class. Then Saturday we're going to my sister's for the UFC fight. It's going to be a small sibling reunion as my brother is going too. Saweeeet. I'm really pumped for it. Be ready for a recap of the weekend. So for now I'm tapping out. Ha.

Quote of the Day: “We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.” - Bill Watterson
Listening to:

Chinchillas, iguanas, and turtles, oh my!

As promised, I took Buster to the Nature Center. I got my first experience of taking him out in public and it went beyond well. I met 4 of my friends there, two couples, one of which has an almost 2 year old son, LJ. I pulled up in the parking lot and got out putting Buster into his stroller and my two friends say Wow You really look like an adult. I guess seeing me with a baby, a stroller, diaper bag and an SUV would constitute an adult like appearance. All I could say was Hears a glimpse into my future, enjoy it while you can. One of my friends new the lady who was in charge of allowing kids to pet the animals so we luckily were able to get in for free. The fee would have been $7 per adult, free for kids under 2. Buster was a little shy at first as he was shown a large turtle, but he slowly came out of his shell. Ha no pun intended. He liked looking in all of the windows, I'm not sure he knew there were animals in many of them, but he was entertained. When we moved into the "furry" animal room, he lit up. He was able to pet a Chinchilla, which is the softest animal in the world, a Guinea pig, named squash, a ferret, and a hedgehog. His favorite was the hedgehog. He pet them very nicely. I was a little worried, but he was gentle and didn't want to bash their heads in or anything. My friends son was rambunctious to say the least. He has learned how to run and has taken advantage of it. He was also very talkative, in his own baby language. I think Buster and LJ would have gotten along great if Buster could walk. He's still in need of a hand to get around on his own.
From there we went outside to the Turkey area. There were about 5 turkeys, a goat, and two sheep. It was such a beautiful day out that we were able to stay out there for a good 45 minutes and chat. Buster played in the dirt collecting all of the wood chips that he was sitting and LJ ran up and down a small hill over and over again. We made one last stop to see prairie dogs, chickens and rabbits before heading home.
I made it back home just in time for his nap, but he beat me to it by falling asleep in the car seat.

Here are some pictures from our first adventure together.

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers; remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs that just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care; some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers..." - Garth Brooks
Listening to: "Glitter In the Air" by Pink

I need to Learn Spanish

Phone call #1 came one out from the end of the game. Chancho needed to know the score. I've gotten phone calls everyday since he's been able to have a working phone. Some days, he's been able to call twice, but I am definitely glued to my phone waiting for an odd number to pop up. I missed one phone call and attempted to call Peru. Let's just say it was...a disaster...interesting. Remember I don't speak Spanish at all. I can understand a few words, but mostly nothing. Chancho said that if I call I would just have to repeat his name and someone would go and get him. Well we didn't go over the plan for if he wasn't home when I called. It went as so:
Female voice: "Hola?"
Me: "Is Chancho there?"
Female voice: "something in Spanish...Chancho y Mama...something in Spanish."
Me: "Chancho?"
Female voice: "something in Spanish"
Awkward silence not knowing what to say
Me: "It's TM calling for Chancho?"
Female voice (I now recognize it's Chancho's grandmother): "Oh Hiiiiii TM, Khow are choo?"
Me: "Good...."
Chancho's grandmother: "More Spanish....Byeeee"

So I hung up. Confused as ever, but at least I knew that his grandmother knew who I was and that there was a chance that he would get the message. I heard Mama so I figured that he was out with his mother. When Chancho called back later that night he goes "I heard you had an interesting conversation with my grandmother. How come you didn't answer her when she asked who was calling?" I quickly asked if he just asked that question and then he laughed and said "Oh yeah, well at least she knew it was you."

Now I'm waiting for the second phone call. There were two games played today so he should be calling after the end of this second one. I jokingly said that the only reason he calls me is to find out the final scores, but he laughed and reassured me that he had other reasons for calling like me buying him a book so he had something to read on the flight back.

I'm super excited for tomorrow. I'm babysitting Buster, but unlike every other day, we're going on a field trip. My friend suggested that we go to a Nature Center with another friend who has a kid. I am a little nervous as to how Buster will react to being in public with me. I haven't had to deal with any temper tantrums and I know he likes to have them when he's tired and we'll be skipping a nap to go there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll be too busy with the other kid and looking at stuff that he won't get crazy. I'm just excited that we won't be doing the same thing that we do every day that I'm there. I was going bat crazy in the same routine. Now that I know that his parents are comfortable with me taking him somewhere, I think this has opened a whole new world for us.

5 days down and only 10 more days to go til Chancho gets home. Then vacation for the both of us!

Quote of the Day: "Every person you meet knows something you don't. Learn from them." -H. Jackson Brown 
Listening to:  "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel

What a poopie day

Remember how I had thought that it was going to be an okay day? I was wrong. It only got worse from 9am on. Buster woke up at 9 and was in a cheerful mood. The dog on the other hand decided it would be terrific to follow me back inside after being put out to use the potty. She had diarrhea and let it flow all over the living room carpet! It was squirting out as she walked from the living room and on in to the dining room. I did one of those "What are you doing?! Oh crap! Crap! Crap! Stoppppp!" type scenarios with my arms raised and flailing about thinking that would stop her from, what she obviously could not control. I was out of my mind. I mean, how do you stop an ill/handicapped dog from releasing herself? Of course she went to go lay back down for the rest of the day after that incident, but left me with a huge mess to clean. They had run out of paper towels so I couldn't clean it with that and I wasn't sure where to find the dog towels, so there I stood with the spot remover just spraying like crazy. My gag reflex was being tested good today. I had to walk away a few times to take a breather and recoup. Thank goodness Buster was down for his nap at this time, otherwise, who knows what I would have done.

Then it was Buster's time. His diaper exploded. And I mean exploded. He did his usually poop face and I just figured, quick and easy change and back to playing. Nope. It couldn't be that easy. He too, had diarrhea and it squished out of his diaper and all over. It covered his back and coated his onesie. It was another huge mess. I managed to get him all cleaned up and ready to go. It happened 2 more times...

If I have to see any more poop...

In the middle of all of that, I received a text from Chancho saying that an officer was shot today. 3 times in the stomach. He responded to an EDP who locked himself inside his house and then let loose firing his gun. As of now, he's in critical condition. Chancho, thankfully, has not been sent out, yet, like many other officers. My thoughts are prayers are with all officers and their families tonight. Please stay safe out there!

Round 2

We're making progress. Buster and I made it through another successful day together. It was a lot better than day one. He once again was awake when I got there, allowing me to dive right into my duties. He thankfully took an hour and a half nap though. I was almost bored while he was sleeping until I remembered the mess that is in the apartment. I have noticed that since I've succumbed to The Container Store life I can't feel rest easily unless there isn't a mess around me. They live in a one bedroom apartment with very little space. So the overflowing clothing mountain of Buster's clothes is slowly taking over the living room. I decided to tackle it. In the hour and a half that I had, I was able to fold all of his clothes in the first closet. I can't believe how many clothes this child has. I'm not sure if it will stay nicely folded and organized by color and short/long sleeve, but at least for the time being I was able to be satisfied. My next task will be to organize the kitchen cupboards. As of right now they just toss things into them. There isn't any rhyme or reason to it. It's just a complete mess. Hopefully, I can fix it. I think it would save them a lot more time if there was a spot for everything and it was easily accessible. I know it would help me out a bunch.
Anyways, back to my day, I think I have mastered the concept of walking a dog and a baby at the same time. I have everything laid out for me waiting. The keys, poop bag, backpack, jackets and shoes. I just go down the line and I'm out the door before the dog is peeing on the carpet. I've also used the music channel to help keep Buster occupied and it has helped given me a work out. We dance around the living room. It really wears him down. There was very little fussing when it came to nap time. He's also a lot quieter when we sit to read books. In fact, when it came to putting him down for the night, I fed him his bottle and he passed out in the middle of it. All I had to do was scoop him up and put him into the crib. I had a good half hour left to myself until his parents came home. I was able to clean up all the toys and wash dishes for them.
Great day. I'm ready for next week.

Listening to : "Perfect Day" by Lady Antebellum
Quote of the Day: "Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man."  ~Rabindranath Tagore

Bubbles

Today was my first 12 hour day. Yep that is correct, a 12 hour day of watching Buster. He's 8 months old now and has skipped over the whole idea of crawling and has moved straight on to standing and wanting to walk.
We had an okay day.
He woke up early, which didn't give me any time to make breakfast beforehand or have breakfast by myself. He was cranky way before he was supposed to nap, but after his first nap he seemed to wake up on the right side of the bed and was very playful and happy, right up until it was time for his second nap. He fought Mr. Sandman so hard. He refused to close his eyes. Every single time they would close he would catch himself and they would pop right back open. He cried and fussed and then his father called. He heard his voice and BAM he was out like a light switch. Must have just needed a familiar voice to settle him down, I'm sure my singing wasn't doing the trick. I bet that was what was keeping him up. After his second nap we took a nice long walk, played on the balcony, and blew bubbles. Bubbles are my life savor. If a frown showed up, a tear started to fall, or a crinkle in the nose, out came the bubbles and he was smiling again. 
Today's toy of choice was this: He has a xylophone and this is the stick to hit it with. He only likes the stick.

Dinner. I'm not sure what happened. We were doing so well. I had him bathed and in his PJ's. He was still very happy and then I attempted to feed him dinner. He screamed. That boy has a set of lungs on him. I don't know if he just didn't like it or if it wasn't the right temperature or what, but he wasn't having it. I, however, wasn't going to let a 8 month old tell me no. He needed to have dinner so that's exactly what happened. Every chance I had I stuck that spoon into his mouth. He ate. He ate it all. I felt very accomplished after that.
We're still learning each other. Me, more than him, but he needs to know what can and can't be done with me and how I do certain things. I think it being the first day of 12 hours, it turned out just fine. I am exhausted though. I work at The Container Store tomorrow so I need to get to bed. Then Wed. I'm back to a 12 hour day with Buster. Round 2.

Listening to: "Fearless" by Taylor Swift
Quote of the Day: "Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future"