My First Field Trip: aka Calgon take me Away!

John went to Curriculum Night and signed ME up for a bunch of stuff this year....

So Thursday morning, I got to go with Mary on an "Urban field trip" where we visited a bunch of parks/sites in the city of Rochester. But first--what to do with the other two kids?

Yeah, John wasn't thinking about day care issues for the other two when he signed me up for this stuff. So after many phone calls and panicking on my part and schedule rearranging and meeting-missing on his, we finally arranged it so that Izzy went to Leona's for the day and John stayed home and put Keith on the bus at 12:30.

I got up later than I intended (ugh) and got Izzy across town later than intended. John and Mary had violin lessons, so I had to drag Keith on the round trip, too. We got back late, and I had to drop off Keith with John, pick up our lunches, and then rush to Mary's school and attempt to find her classroom (labyrinth, people!). I was almost 15 minutes late--but still had 10 minutes until the bus left, at least. Mary was all in a panic because she didn't have her lunch in her backpack ('cause *I* have it, sweetie, you're OK!).

We first drove to Cobbs Hill Park to walk around and see the highest point in Rochester and the reservoir. Back into the bus for a trip to Highland Park (where we have our annual Lilac Festival) to see the conservatory (beautiful!). Back on the bus for a drive around and through the campus of University of Rochester (the reason John and I moved to this @#$% city in the first place). Then we drove to High Falls (Yes, Rochester has a waterfall DOWNTOWN where they used to mill grain--it's so cool! We have taken some of our visitors for a walk through there....). There we had a guided tour through the museum (I didn't even know it was there!). We ate at the museum then walked around and gawked at the Falls. Now it's back on the bus AGAIN (and this is where my head started HURTING) for a quick trip to the Charlotte Light House--which is on Lake Ontario. And if it weren't for this trip, I would never have known about it. The kids got to run around here and play tag (the lighthouse itself was closed) and expend some stuck-on-the-bus-for-too-many-trips energy. Then we went home--my head splitting the whole way through the bus fumes and bumps and noise--and Mary and I just cuddled together throughout....

Fun trip--despite the headache. I learned a lot about Rochester and its origins. Mary's favorite part was the museum, of course. Lots of hands-on stuff to do there.

After the trip, I had to go back across town to pick up Izzy, and after chatting a bit with my gf, I had to rush home to get Keith and Mary off the bus.

Busy, busy day.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with Izzy while I have to go to Keith's Halloween party next Wednesday. I'm hoping his teacher will let me bring her--just so that I don't have to make an extra trip to Leona's that day (as we're going there that evening to trick-or-treat with them, anyway....

On Pictures

Just a side note to tell you about the kids' school pictures.

In Keith's poses, if we squinted very, very hard, John and I swore we could see the ketchup specks on his chin. But those sample photos are very, very grainy. Will the actual prints show more detail? We decided that his smile for BOTH poses was so wonderful that we would take that chance--and we bought some.

Only one of Mary's poses had her pretty (toothless!) smile, but her hair was indeed, well, TERRIBLE. The way she put her hair clips in did not suit her face, but that wasn't the bad part. One hair clip had a piece of hair with a big LOOP in it that stuck out and was indeed VERY noticeable. Scrap it, folks! Retake time! (And I know teachers and photographers aren't paid to be obsessive MOTHERS, but seriously? They can't attempt to smooth a kid's hair on PICTURE DAY?)

And I was good and non-obsessive and did NOT show up for retakes day. I just took more time with her hair and pulled it back in clips that hold better. She came home without the clips in her hair (and one lost)--but she claims she didn't mess with it until AFTER the pictures. We'll see....

How We're Doing

John and I have noticed a wonderful change in Mary. She's so much NICER now. Not so teen-agey, if you will. I mean, we still have issues with her talking back from time to time, and let's not get into the issue of when/how to get her homework done (seriously! you should SEE how much homework this poor little 2nd grader has!), BUT there is a marked difference. We contribute it to her getting more sleep.

Keith: he's still wavering. On the one hand, I can see definite improvement in the fact that he gets up and gets dressed on his own with absolutely NO yelling from me! Again: sleeping in is SUCH a good thing. On the other hand, we are still having problems with his behaviour. We assume part of it is the "middle child" thing. I'm trying SO hard to pay attention to the GOOD behaviour and IGNORE the whiny/crying/annoying behaviour, but it's just. so. hard. I've been working with his reading with him, and I'm hoping that this positive attention will be enough to stave off that bad attention he's trying to get. *sigh* We've got a long way to go.
(I got a note from his teacher that said, "Keith can READ!" *snicker* I've KNOWN that since this summer! But it would be rude and retort that back. I mean, it IS a new discovery to his new teacher! And she was just being all happy and sharing it with me, BUT...yes, he's been reading for a while now! Thank YOU!)

Izzy: she's just a good kid, period. I mean, she's not perfect. I've noticed more little temper tantrums lately. Usually due to Keith being mean to her or if I've asked her to do something she doesn't want to do. But she's so funny. When she gets all mad and crying, she will usually put HERSELF in time-out. "FINE! I go in time-out!" OK--you just DO that then! You showed ME! And I can even trust her to come OUT when she's all better without a word from me. WHERE did this child come from?!

I have to do a lot of work on MYSELF, too. I am trying not to resort to YELLING so quickly. I can tell I'm better THIS week than I was LAST week. Hmmmm....probably due more to the cycles of the moon rather than a conscious effort on my part, though. Oh well, will keep trying to work on that.

KEITH IS SLEEPING IN HIS OWN ROOM!!!

I finished most of the trim around the walls and started on the closet/doorway before I finally had to mail it in and just start clearing all the junk out of the room. I was going to mop the floor, but John said to skip it for now. So I vacuumed and swept and then Friday morning the furniture store guys showed up and put together Keith's loft. Wow. It's a lot BIGGER than I thought--er, actually, Keith's room is really, really small!

Keith was apprehensive at first. It's been over a year since we've had any kind of bunked bed around (and Mary usually slept on the top bunk), so he was a little nervous about going up and down the ladder. But Friday night, he got up in his bed (early!), and John and I told him just to call for us if he needed to get down (Keith ALWAYS has to use the bathroom around 11:00 at night--no matter how many times he's used it before he gets into bed). Keith made it through the bathroom break, and the drink-of-water break with help and by morning, he actually got out of the bed on his OWN. Victory!

He's one happy little boy.

John has NOW decided that he DOESN'T WANT the rest of the trim painted orange--this after I had already started DOING it. Now what?

Now we just gotta get Izzy moved into Mary's room. So, should we re-bunk those two beds (requiring the purchase of another twin mattress)? Or should we leave them separate (still requiring said purchase)? OR should we just take down the one bed and then move Izzy's toddler bed in it's place? Which--I reminded John--she really does need to move out of soon as she's almost three! *sigh* Should probably look at mattresses with next pay check....

Tally

Number of times Mary has almost missed the bus: SIX

Times just last week: FOUR

Number of times she needed to ride the bus last week: FOUR

Number of times she has actually MISSED the bus: ONE

Number of times Keith has almost missed the bus: TWO

Number of times Keith and I were coming home from somewhere and ended up pulling up to the house DIRECTLY BEHIND THE BUS, therefore missing it: ONE

Number of times I've planned and showed up for a Girl Scout meeting that didn't actually exist: ONE

Number of times I've plotted our current Girl Scout meeting dates on the calendar: NONE

Number of times I've put Keith in time out for not listening, disobeying, and whining/crying: Well, I know HE can't count that high...!

Cups of coffee I'm swinging in a day: up to two.

Number of times I cooked a real breakfast of eggs and bacon: ONE

How many children complained about the eggs-and-bacon-instead-of-cold-cereal breakfast: THREE

Number of times a square meal has been planned, cooked, and ready by 6:00: FIVE

Number of times John didn't get home from work in time to eat it: THREE

Number of times I said "to heck with it" and made sandwiches: EVERY OTHER NIGHT

Loaves of bread we're going through: WOW

And Jugs of Milk: Might as well buy a cow

How many times I wished I were back at work: NONE

Number of outfits worn today:

THREE

1: Not-so-favorite jeans and long-sleeved shirt with sweater--for general outfit of the day and for neighborhood appearance of putting kids on buses.

2: VERY ill-fitting jeans and crappy t-shirt for painting Keith's room. (Got ONE wall of trim done, by the way.)

3: Favorite jeans and new layered sweater--for meeting tonight (I won't be putting this on until after dinner as I don't want to get it all "cooked on").


Three outfits a day? I'm starting to feel like a movie star--without the perks of the money, GOOD clothes, and entourage--oh, and the paparazzi, of course.

High Hopes

John bought Keith a new loft with a desk underneath for his room. You know, the one that we haven't finished painting yet in what, 15 months? John scheduled delivery (and installation!) for Friday. So I guess my new mission, if I choose to accept it, is to finish painting the trim, clear out all the decorating paraphernalia, and sweep and mop the floors BY FRIDAY.

I have to write some important Girl Scout emails today.

I have a Service Team meeting tonight.

I have to finish preparing for our next Girl Scout meeting.

Which is Wednesday night.

Uh oh.

Wish me luck.

And THIS is why I'm doing it

Yesterday I took Keith and Izzy to visit a friend of mine across town. The kids all played, and my friend and I got caught up and exchanged "how-to-cope" advice (she's been doing this longer--and she home-schools to boot). We ended our outing with all six kids sitting outside enjoying a nice fall picnic. While everyone was sitting eating their pb&j contentedly and enjoying the fresh fall breeze (What on EARTH would I do if one of my kids were allergic to peanuts?!), Izzy, sitting next to me, leans over and pats me on the shoulder, then gives me the sweetest grin while trying to wink at me (which constitutes of her blinking both eyes, but I knew what she meant).

Yeah. THAT'S why I'm doing this.

Adjustments to be made

I know that FlyLady suggests that you "dress down to your shoes," and I completely get the concept, but I have a problem with it. Wearing my shoes inside the house is causing my kitchen floor to get prematurely dirty. By sweeping like a mad woman after EVERY meal, I am able to get my kitchen floor to last a week without mopping. Wearing shoes? Now I've got these grimy, big SPOTS in front of the fridge and the sink. And I want to mop more often. NO! MUST NOT! Too much time spent on cleaning as it is! Will rugs help? Or will they just be new hazards to the running-through-the-kitchen children?

Also, I've been trying to wrap my head about how to dress in my new lifestyle for quite a while now. I want to be comfortable and yet not look FRUMPY.

My job had a VERY lax dress code. We could wear jeans every day--and I did. But I noticed that I would start to get too relaxed, and look more and more like I did in college--sweatshirt and jeans--which just didn't look RIGHT on a woman with three children in her *cough* mid-thirties. So, now I've got a new outlook on life, where I could possibly get away with the same wardrobe.... But the problem is still there. I don't want to be frumpy, yet I want to be comfortable. I don't want to wear those J-Lo-like velor suits, but I want to be able to PLAY with my kids in comfort.

I think I've decided jeans are a no go. As much as I like them, sitting on the floor playing blocks with Izzy for hours in them is not conducive to comfort. And then jeans can wrinkle in funny ways when you wear them ALL DAY like that.

So, I turned to one of my favorite programs for inspiration: What Not To Wear. Sure, not every episode does apply to me, but surely there is something there I can use?

So today, I went and spent $100.00 on two new pairs of slacks (tweed-like and comfy) and three shirts (two layered, one henley). Now I'm thinking, "Gosh, am I now OVER-DRESSED?" I will be chic. I will be comfortable. I will be able to go to my Girl Scout meetings and Parent-Teacher conferences and playdates at least LOOKING put-together. But what about baking? And finishing the painting in Keith's room? And spending two hours pulling the moon flowers out of our garden (like I did yesterday--yipes!)? Obviously, I can't wear those clothes to do THAT stuff. Am I going to have to spend my day changing my clothes all day? A different outfit for each different purpose? OH GOD, THE LAUNDRY!!!!

So, I'm begging all you SAHers. HELP ME! Can it be done? Comfort, style, PLUS utility--and yet reasonably keeping the laundry load the same ('cause I can't POSSIBLY do more laundry than I'm doing now, I tell you!).

(And I won't even START on the freakish style that my hair has turned into. THAT needs a post of its own--and a stylist to come to my house EVERY DAY and do my hair for me.)

Not missing it AT ALL

I figured I would miss going to work. I thought I would have this over-whelming urge that I was in the wrong place--that I was supposed to BE somewhere else. Like this was just a vacation and I was due back to work any day.

I didn't.

I felt I was exactly where I should be--temper tantrums and all.

It was nice.

First Week

Monday: Keith got up and got dressed ALL BY HIMSELF. It was a beautiful day, so after I put Mary on the bus (and verified the driver knew to pick up Keith later and that yes, they were being dropped off, too), I took Keith and Izzy to the park that's two blocks down the street. It was great--until Keith got upset that he couldn't swing himself high enough (he's still learning to swing himself) which culminated into a temper tantrum. This, of course, led to our hasty retrieval--which led to another fit from Izzy. Yeah. Real great job on the first day. After Keith went to school, and I put Izzy down for her nap, I spent two hours getting a ton of my work done for Girl Scouts (yes, I actually do have "work" I have to do in my little service team position). Got pretty disgusted at the inner-politics of it all and wondered if Campfire Girls were still around?

Tuesday: Keith got up and got dressed ALL BY HIMSELF! It turned out to be a rainy, overcast day, so I spent most of it working with Keith with his reading and working with Izzy and her letter recognition (she knows "W" and "O" and sometimes "H"). I spent the whole precious afternoon naptime getting acquainted with the 100 channels we just got from Dish Network. Getting Dish was probably a big mistake--spent all afternoon watching a movie and getting nothing done. Mary came home and complained that she had "nothing to read" for homework (She has to read 20 minutes every night. She just finished reading the first two Harry Potters, but I won't let her go any further than that for fear of recurring dementor nightmares. And everything else seems "boring" to her after being exposed to Harry Potter!). Took all three kids to library--giving them the "Rules of Going to the Library" along the way. 1) Be quiet. 2) NO RUNNING. 3) NO WHINING (this directed at Keith, the cranky boy). 4) LISTEN AND FOLLOW MOMMY'S INSTRUCTIONS. We hadn't been there two minutes and Keith had broken all four. After his "WARNING" was issued, he behaved, and we all got a bunch of new books to read--that hopefully aren't boring. Had more fun with G.S. politics at Service Unit meeting that night.

Wednesday: Keith got up at 6:30 for some strange reason. First day I actually had to goad him a little to get motivated (he was cranky from getting up too early). Another nice day. We played kickball outside and worked more on reading and letters. Naptime spent getting prepared for our first G.S. meeting that night. Thankfully new co-leader did most of the work. I wasn't in the mood after dealing with some immature, little leaders for the last couple of days. Fun meeting, though. Mary enjoyed herself, too.

Thursday: Keith got up and got dressed ALL BY HIMSELF (I'm sorry, but this is REALLY a big deal. When I was working, getting him up and dressed was teeth-clenching!). Another nice day outside. I took the kids for a surprise visit to see Leona, our friend and previous care-giver. Keith was so excited to see his best buddy, Jack. The kids all played while Leona and I caught up (and I got a sympathetic ear for all my G.S. troubles). Keith was filthy by the time we left, and I ended up having to change his shirt before the bus came.

Friday: The kids didn't have school. The whole day felt like a Saturday. I got some reading done and some laundry done. Friday night was the "Girl Scout Cookie Kick-Off." Tons of girls and leaders/moms in a stuffy/hot gymnasium for an hour. I was supposed to perform a song with the Service Team, but I left early. Mary was getting bored, and I was glad to get out of that hot gym. But at least I behaved myself.

Saturday: HOT! Mary and I spent an hour and a half going up and down the block trying to sell Girl Scout cookies. She sold about 12 boxes. Then, while talking to our next-door neighbor who was having a garage sale, a truck stops by--and it's the person who used to own our house (BEFORE the people who sold it to us)! We've heard from our neighbors what nice people they were, and had a treat meeting him and talking about the house with him. Only the thought of how cluttered the house was with TOYS EVERYWHERE prevented me from inviting him in. After putting Izzy down for a nap, I took Mary to a friend's house for a play date. I stayed for a while, getting acquainted with the Mom. I then went home and picked up the house feverishly. I straightened up the toy room, the den, the living room, and the kitchen--all in about an hour and a half. It was the most housework I'd gotten done ALL WEEK. We picked up Mary from her playdate and headed to a furniture store looking for a dining room table. The kids were going from chair to sofa to loveseat to bed "testing" them. John and I got frustrated with trying to keep the kids in check while looking at furniture. We threw in the towel, threw the kids back in the car, and headed home.

Reassuring Advice from a fellow SAH'er

"After you rattle around all morning, the first day, fascinated by the fact that you are home alone and the day is WILD with potential, you will settle into days that resemble this. . .

1. Drop off kids, send off husband who says, since you're home now, could you do x,y, and z? You say, "Sure" because you have all day to do that without distractions!
2. Pour coffee and actually finish a whole cup while it's hot.
3. Repeat step 2 and make list of good intentions and relish the idea of having "all the time in the world to do it"
4. Answer calls or emails from jealous fellow co-workers or confused replacement.
5. Review list and put away breakfast dishes
6. Begin a load of laundry
7. Find right after the clothes go in that you are out of soap. Stop washer.
8. Run to the grocery store ALONE to get more laundry soap. You have forgotten the giant list at home but decide to "wing it" You treat yourself to a mocha latte - with whipped cream of course.
9. Wander through the store, stopping at every tasting station. Explain to each of them with a huge smile that this is your first day of freedom and are going to actually enjoy this shopping trip. While in check out, you realize school is almost out and you rush out, throwing things in the car and spilling what's left of the mocha latte.
10.Put away groceries as kids unpack from school and realize you are missing at least one key ingredient to all the possible menu items for the week.
11. Put children in the car and return to grocery store, swearing under your breath all the way, You have list this time but, with kids, this 15 minute run lasts 45 minutes longer and costs 30% more.
12. While doing homework, one child reminds you that they have some meeting, game, practice or school activity that requires a certain item of clothing and you suddenly remember that you have a whole load that WAS in hot water but is no longer and you put in the soap and start the cycle all over.
13. Greet husband who asks, "How was your day? Did you get x,y and z done like I asked?"
14. Refrain from murder. and promise you will get to it tomorrow.
15. Wonder what happened to the day and promise you will get more done tomorrow."

Obligatory Birthday Post

After all the reminders, I'd better give a shout out to MR on his birthday.

Don't get too trashed--you have to go to work tomorrow. :-)

On Why We Will Need a Retake

Keith came home from picture day with spots of ketchup all over his mouth.

Mary came home and proudly told me that she put her barrettes in "all by herself."


Yeah. Retakes will mostly likely be in order. With obsessive Mom standing in the wings with combs and barrettes and wet-wipes in hand....

One mean mama

Mary had a front tooth DANGLING for the last three weeks. The very first week, John asked me not to "obsess" about it (who me?), so I let it go. And let it go. And tried very, very hard NOT to pester her about it. But, oh my God, it was just HANGING there. I tried to be nice. I tried to offer my help (I have, in fact, pulled all of her previous loose teeth but one--which I ended up finding out that a teacher at school pulled for her....which I thought was kind of strange....). I tried vanity. "Grandpa would LOVE to see you with both teeth missing. Can we pull it so that he can see while he's here?" and "Remember how cute Katie looked with her two front teeth out? You will be SO cute! Let's get it out now!" I tried teasing, "The tooth fairy has been knocking on the door for the last two weeks, are you going to finally let her in?" I tried the sanitary argument, "Honey, I think if you leave it too long, you might cause your gums to get sick." Laughable. Realizing that she seemed very adamant on pulling the tooth herself, I even offered bribery, "The tooth fairy will probably leave you more money if you pull it yourself." No avail. She was scared. And wanted that tooth to just fall out of its own accord.

I tried so hard to be understanding. Even though Mary had been through this four other times, it IS a bit of a trauma to go through. I let it go. And let it go.

On the night that her toothbrush just barely touched the tooth and it started to bleed, I tried to be demanding. "It's gone on long enough. It MUST come out. NOW." Seriously. Only a quarter of the tooth was still stubbornly attached. How easy to pull it! No go.

Finally last weekend, my "unobsessive obsessiveness," i.e. pestering/nagging, must have finally got to her (not to mention the reassuring confidences of her best friend Katie who said SHE ALWAYS pulled her own teeth). She tried all weekend to pull her tooth. She would tug and pull for minutes on end until she would get frustrated and stop--while my mind was screaming, "Just one more tug! Surely! She CAN'T be pulling hard enough!" But, I let it go. She will do it when she's ready darnit! LET IT GO!

Then comes Monday. We get a neat little notice from the school that Friday is to be Picture Day. I'm looking at that stubborn dangling tooth in Mary's mouth--which is SO loose that it is pushed over to practically the middle of her mouth. Oh no. NOT on picture day. THIS will not do.

So I entreated her again. She was determined to stay on her course of non-action. And I let it go for just a few more days....

Wednesday night was Curriculum Night. John went, and I stayed home with our three darlings. And decided that it was to be the night of the attack.

After begging and consoling and giving reassurances ("Remember, it only hurts for a second?"), I finally had to lay down the law. And get mean.

It's not my finest hour. I definitely should have let it go. But the thought of that horribly hanging tooth in her school yearbook, my own vanity of what my kid looked like, got precedence. And I pulled her tooth. And she was not happy about it. She fought and fought and screamed--even after giving me permission to do it. And if I hadn't had to fight with her, it would have only taken 10 seconds (and why wouldn't she listen to REASON when I told her so in the beginning?). 'Cause that tooth was just BEGGING to come out, folks.

And not even 10 SECONDS after it was out, Mary was FINE. And giddy. And so very, very happy to see her tooth and to put it in the pocket of the little stuffed tooth fairy doll she'd gotten years ago from Grandma Mary.

So, did I do the right thing? Even John reassured me that indeed, the tooth HAD to come out before Picture Day. Seriously, you just should have SEEN it, folks. And Mary even reported her teacher saying, "Wow. I thought that tooth would NEVER come out." So, others were obviously noticing it. And upon rinsing the tooth in the sink, I even noticed food particles in it, and who knows how long they were stuck there and whether or not, if left alone, that darn tooth may have caused an infection or SOMETHING icky to grow in her tender gums.

But I wish I could have held out a little longer. Wish Picture Day could have been put off for another week. Wish I could have had the self-control to let her do her own thing and pull it in her own time. Because she really, really needs to learn to do this. And I really, really need to learn to let her.

But, last week, in the middle of all this drama, Mary discovered yet another loose tooth. Guess I'll have another chance to let her do it her own way--even if it's just letting it go until it falls out of its own accord, and she runs the risk of swallowing the tooth in her sleep (seriously, obsess much?).

I will try very hard.

And hope that she does not need a re-take of her pictures.

Week of Lasts

So, you all might be wondering why my blog hasn't been updated more since I had absolutely nothing to do this last week and a half? Well, fortune, although not so kind to a co-worker, forced a change on me. My 8 mos. pregnant co-worker got pulled out of work for a few days as she was exhibiting the symptoms of pre-eclampsia. So, the honors of training my replacement did indeed, fall on me--at least for a few days. As then the co-worker, whose swelling and blood pressure went back down (thank goodness!), came back, and I was pulled from my training duties again. After that, I was still involved in transitioning my work and winding down out of the job. So, I apologize to Dave and Jage--I couldn't blog nor send emails as I ended up being much busier than anticipated.

So, Monday was my last payroll. And Tuesday was my last lowlist (don't ask--but it's a big part of my job). And then Wednesday we took the boss out for her birthday to the new Cheesecake Factory (ouch! that hurt the wallet--but very, very good). And then on Thursday, the boss brought in a breakfast pizza and a HUGE cake--and gave me the added bonus of granting me a day off today. SO, I got to "retire" early, and as of today, I am officially a stay at home mom.

So, now I'm home. NOW WHAT???

Yikes.

Happy Birthday, Michelle

Just a shout out to my ol' buddy, Michelle.

Happy birthday, sweetie! ;-)

Smokin' Mad

So, I went out of my way to stay this extra month at work--despite having the gosh darn RIGHT to gripe when they allowed my lower-seniority co-worker go a month early. I had hardships trying to find daycare for a freakin' month. I'm having to pay a MINT for said daycare which, frankly, has put us in a slight bit of a financial set-back. All this JUST so that I could be a nice guy and help them train my replacement.

AFTER ALL THAT, and we FINALLY get my replacement in here....imagine my surpise when they get here...and my boss decides to have SOMEONE ELSE train them IN MY JOB.

WTF???????

UM....WHAT WAS THE POINT OF MY BEING HERE FOR THAT EXTRA FREAKIN' MONTH?????

Now I basically have NOTHING to do for the last week and a half of my gainful employment and get to sit idly by while someone else does my work (and gets my 5% training pay).

I've suddenly turned into the most guilable, used-up, washrag in the telecommunications industry.

Nice to meet ya.

Digging Out (i.e. Dad's Visit)

So I haven't gotten around yet to discussing my father's visit last week. I'm sure he's peeved that he hasn't gotten this momentous occasion discussed to the web at large, so I'd better get this post out there.... ;-)

John and I spent most of Saturday and Sunday completely rearranging our furniture and cleaning our house getting ready for the visit. We've never been happy with how our den was set up, so now ALL the furniture in the house is now in the living room (We actually had to cart it out the garage, outside, up the side of the house, and then into the front door in order to move it. Thank goodness for the hand truck or else I would have been even more entirely useless than I was and John would have had to grab a neighbor or two for help with that freakin' heavy sectional). Now we have all this mis-matched furniture in the living room, but there was actually room for everyone to sit, and we didn't feel so "squashed" in while watching TV. The den has now become the play room, and the previous play room is now being transitioned into a spare room/office.

All this, and Keith's room is STILL not done.

Anyway, Dad and Ruth came in Sunday evening, and the kids were just beyond themselves with joy. We haven't seen the folks since we were in Indiana last Thanksgiving, so it's been almost a YEAR of growth he's missed out on there!

As school has now started, only Izzy got to stay home with the folks on Monday and Tuesday while John and I were at work. The grandparents got exposed to our darling Izzy's exuberant personality. The child chats and chats and chats non-stop. She is certainly the least-shy and most-friendly of the three kids. "She's a trip" was Dad's comment. And indeed, she is.

Monday night, the folks treated us to dinner at Beale Street where we all pigged out. Tuesday night Dad cooked(YES!). And the kids got to share one of their favorite movies--Cars--with them.

Keith and Mary got played with more, and the house was noisier than ever with Grandpa teasing them. Wow--my house has good acoustics!

Dad brought us some Indiana home-grown tomatoes, and there were so many, I brought them to work and Leona's house to distribute to others. No way we could have eaten all those before they went bad! Most delicious. He also brought some home-grown squash. I need to figure out what to do with that (anyone got any good recipes for butternut squash? I only know of ONE).

Wednesday morning, the folks headed back home to Indiana, and for the next two days, Izzy kept asking about them. "Where's Grandpa?" and "Grandpa's not going to play with me?" [with a big sob] were heard on many occasions. She even mistook Daddy's car for Grandpa's car--in her hopes to find him waiting for her when we came home Wednesday evening, I'm sure.

Two days playing with Grandpa and "Grandpa Ruth" were not enough time for the little girl. Dad, you need to come visit again, and longer, SOON.

"Mock" Roast

I based this recipe on a campfire recipe we did in Girl Scouts when I was a kid. I make this when I don't have much in the house, but I'm still craving a "real" meal.

I call it "mock" roast since it's made out of hamburger, but has all the fixin's of a pot roast....

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, sliced
3-4 stalks celery, sliced
3-4 carrots, sliced (when I'm really lazy, I just use the baby ones)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3-4 potatoes, sliced (if I'm lazy, I don't peel 'em)

Spray a 9X12 baking dish with cooking spray (or, use a roaster pan if you have one. I don't and get along fine with my 9X12, thank you very much). Mold your ground beef into a flattened loaf and plop it in the middle. Dump the soup all over the meat and along the sides of the dish. Put in all your veggies--I try to drown them in the soup as best as possible. Season. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 350-400* until the meat is done.

I have wanted to try making a generic meat loaf (you know, with crackers and eggs and all that) with this, 'cause I'm sure that would be good, too. And I've even thought of trying mini loaves to make the cooking time go down faster. Must try that this winter....


(And in case you're wondering, what we did in Scouts was put individual hamburger patties in foil packets and put the onions/celery/carrots/soup on top of the burger. Then we put the packets in the coals to cook. Absolutely the best campfire meal I'd ever had.)

You can only have this much fun once a year

Yes, it was THAT time a year again. Time for the annual exam.

Now, I like my ob/gyn. She has a kind of dry humor that I get. And she's also got three kids! But sometimes....

She complimented me on my hair cut. When I told her that I cut off 12 inches, she was incredulous. "You can grow that much hair at your age?!"

At my age? AT MY AGE????

HEY! I'M NOT THAT OLD YET! Check the chart! The CHART! I'm NOT that old yet!!!

Oh God, do I LOOK old?????????

Please don't remove the Name Tag

Yesterday when John went to the school to pick up Keith and Mary, they only presented him with Mary. (Um...didn't I order TWO???) After a bit of scrambling, the teachers/adults involved found Keith. Apparently, his teacher sent him and another child with an adult helper (or whoever). One child was supposed to go to after-school care (those children are shuttled to a different school) and of course, Keith was supposed to go to the cafeteria--which is the parent pick-up spot. I don't know how it got confused, but Keith was found playing on the playground--with all the other after-school care kids.

Whew!

The first two weeks of school kindergartners wear NAME TAGS which also announce their am/pm status, HOW they're getting to school (bus, drop off, whatever) and HOW they're leaving (bus, pick-up, after-school care). I did remember to put Keith's name tag on yesterday morning, but for some reason, he wasn't wearing it. Hence, the reason he got "lost." (Oh, he wasn't really "lost!" See, we found him! He was just right there!) But, if John had been even a few minutes late, good grief! The kid would have been on the shuttle to the Y program half-way to the other elementary school. How fun to track him down THEN!

When questioned, my son said that "a teacher" took his name tag off. Poor little guy couldn't remember who or when, but he finally surmised that it was at the day care center that morning. I did check with the center this morning, but there was no name tag there, and they swore that they didn't remove it ("I remember it being on him when I put him on the bus!"). Not that I was being accusatory or anything, I just needed to FIND it. 'Cause now that he doesn't have it for another day, who knows if he'll make it to the right pick-up place?!

And how nice to know how much my kids pay attention to us. No big deal on the five-year old. I can't really expect too much of him, I know. But the seven-year old? How many times I explained the pick-up procedure and how she needed to find her brother in the cafeteria at the end of the day? And good grief--she couldn't mention to a teacher that "Gee, I don't see my brother here?"

Oh well, she's not her brother's keeper, I guess.

Back to School

Tuesday Mary and Keith had their farewell party at our day-care provider's house (Izzy will still be there till the end of the month). They had an ice cream sundae party with a million toppings. Leona got them all a going away present and had the other kids sign them (so sweet!). I had to leave work early to take Mary (with the Keith and Izzy ducklings in tow) to her classroom to meet her teacher and dump off her $100 worth of supplies we had to buy this year. Remembering the chaos of last year, I decided not to rush and to take her at the end of the open hour. So at ten to four, we four traipse in--to a practically empty school. Mary got to meet her teacher, and I got to distribute all the supplies withOUT fighting through a mad crowd. Awesome! Go me! We stopped and said hi to Mary's first grade teacher (who is teaching second grade this year) and headed home.

I found out a few days before that I had a Girl Scout Service Unit meeting Tuesday night (funny how I'm now an official member of the service team and yet had received no word on any of the service team OR service unit meetings--to which I'm REQUIRED to attend). So the Girl Scout chaos has also officially started. Wee! I'm in the process of merging my old troop with another troop. It's funny how I've been in communication with the leader of the other troop several times, but I can never seem to reach my co-leader from my current troop--she doesn't even know yet that we're attempting to change locations for meetings--or even when we're attempting to HAVE a first meeting--or even that I OFFICIALLY merged the two troops and that we're actually dropping OUR troop number and gaining the OTHER. Funny how I can NEVER reach that woman when I need her....

*ahem* I digress....

Wednesday was the kids' first day of school. Mary had a full day, but Keith only had half of his half-day of school--it was an orientation of sorts for two hours WITH parent required. So Wednesday morning I had to take just Mary to the new day care center (John worked from home in the morning and took Keith to the orientation that afternoon). Keith was apparently too excited about his first day of school. He got up at 5:45 in the morning and proceeded to follow me around while I was struggling to get myself and his sisters ready--making loud and annoying noises the whole time ("WHERE'S MY PEN!" *GIGGLE GIGGLE* "WHERE'S MY PEN!") Yikes! I eventually had to tell him to go grab his new game and GO BACK TO BED.

Mary fell right into place at the new day care center no problem (one of her classmates from this year and last went there, so she was actually excited about it). She got on the bus no problem and seemed very excited about her new class and new teacher. She was only upset when John showed up to pick her up ("Why are YOU picking me up?") We're trying to figure out why she had anything ELSE in her head since we've been talking to her and Keith till we were blue in the face about the transportation set up???? Whatever.... I had to make a run back to the day care center that evening because I'd forgotten to take the check book in that morning, and they demand payment on the first day--and charge $5 for every day you're late. I understand why--but what a pain in the neck!

Thursday was the first day I had to get all three kids up--and I almost forgot. It took me about five minutes after waking Mary up to realize that cripes! I had to get Keith up, too!

It was a bit of a slow morning, and I didn't have time to even blow dry my hair. Oh well. No big deal. I work in a super casual office and no one really cares. Well, about a half hour into the day, one of my co-workers mentions something about people going to a company luncheon. Oh crap! That's right! The company threw together a very nice luncheon for us "retirees" (I still get the giggles when anyone calls me that)in a hotel in downtown Rochester. Needless to say, although my laid-back look was fine for the office, it certainly wouldn't do in a swanky downtown hotel! So, I went to my boss and said, "Um, I've got a fashion emergency...?" I left for the luncheon early, raced home, and changed into a shirt/skirt combo and heels and attempted a better "definition" to my hair do. Took me 10 minutes. Then I was back on the road and made it to the luncheon on time. Unfortunately, John completely forgot about the luncheon, too. He was supposed to be my date. He'd already made plans and meetings for the day and couldn't go, so I went solo. The food was excellent--topped off with an awesome piece of chocolate cake--and the company gave everyone a nice little desk clock with their names and "This award is presented in appreciation of your years of service and loyalty to Frontier" engraved on them. Very nice.

(And I must have done a good job in my 10 minute quick change. I got a LOT of compliments. Goes to show you that sometimes the dress does indeed make the woman!)

Keith came home from his first "full" day of school in good spirits and eager to go back. Interestingly, he seems to prefer the day care center--and remembers the kids in his day care class better than from school. Guess that's to be expected since they probably have more play time at day care.

Friday I was relieved that I had a day that was basically normal--everyone on schedule and no important luncheons or forgotten bills to be paid. It was nice to have a "normal" day for once.

Days of Non-Labor

*Warning! This post contains much griping and whining (shocking, I know!)*

Here was my Labor Day weekend....

Sat: Allergy attack and massive sinus headache. Ordered the kids to clean out their toy room and bedrooms in preparation for upcoming visit from father. Started laundry. Wrote out list of chores to be completed (even with dollar amounts the kids could earn if THEY did them). Nachos for dinner!

Sun: Worked 4 hours (my LAST early payroll! YES!!). Still had massive sinus headache. Took a nap (well, more of a "lie there while whining about aching head"). Did more laundry. Dug through a couple of the boxes in the basement. Got distracted with family albums and finally-uncovered, much-coveted, falling-apart-at-the-seams Jane Austin book. Kids not interested in chores. I'm not interested in bribing them or doing them myself. Wendy's for dinner 'cause we waited so late to go to the store.

Mon: More laundry. Got all the sheets/towels washed in house. Eventually gave up chores as lost cause (the house'll just get dirty AGAIN and I'll just have to clean AGAIN before father arrives next weekend) and returned to Jane Austin. Sinus headache down to dull nagging sensation--no longer booming. Finally felt I must do SOMETHING and sorted through all the kids' summer/fall clothes. Grilled sirloin for dinner.

Exciting, no?

John was actually more productive than I this weekend. He started out the weekend determined to finish Keith's room in time for the start of school (um, TODAY). There's so little left to be done, but once you start it, you realize there really IS more to be done than you thought. *sigh* He did finish painting the closet. Now he just has to finish painting the trim. He put in a valiant effort, but he still didn't get it all done in time for the start of school. Oh well--Keith really doesn't seem to mind!

John also got to spend some time brushing up his computer skills as his external hard drive bit the dust. John pulled out the old server and found all the family photos (which were the only files he really cared about). He lost all of his burned music--but basically because he figured he was planning on re-burning it all anyway, so he just "let it go." BUT that's 500+ CDs! Well, I guess it'll be a good winter project.... Um...IF we ever get Keith's room done, that is.

So even though I whined all weekend about my head and basically got NOTHING done, I'm kind of glad for it. It's the last weekend before school and Girl Scouts and all the OTHER fun fall activities coming up, so WHY NOT waste it with napping and reading and daydreaming(and yes, I did play with the kids, too).

Will post later about the first day of school--once I get the low-down from the kids on how it all went!

More trouble than it's worth

So I called Mary and Keith's school last week to make arrangements to have the bus pick up Keith from the sitter's house for the first month of school. Come to find out that Debbie's house--even though it's practically in my back yard--is apparently zoned for a different elementary school. The transportation department absolutely REFUSED to pick up Keith from Debbie's home--even though she's been running a day care for 15 years and hasn't had a problem having kindergarteners bussed before now!

The parents have the right to choose whatever elementary school their kids go to in the school district, but sometimes there is a transportation problem with the shuttling of kids back and forth (no room on the shuttles)--and sometimes if a parent demands a certain school--or even a certain kindergarten slot--then the parents just might be responsible for transportation. Well, Debbie's house has been on the line right between two different schools for a while, but both schools have bussed to her house no problem (older kids go to a bus stop, kindergardeners are taken straight to the door)--until *I* need it, of course. Now I could still have Keith picked up from the Scribner bus stop--but it's quite a long walk from Debbie's house. Keith can't possibly walk all that way by himself. And I'm not going to ask Debbie to walk him when she's got to drag a house full of day care kids with her every day.

So last Friday the search for new day care began. FOR A MONTH. How frustrating is THAT? I didn't know of any other at-home people who were in the school's bussing zone, so I started hitting all the day care centers. One had a spot for Keith, but no after-school spots for Mary. One had a spot for Mary, but no room for Keith. One didn't return any of my phone calls (how do the PARENTS reach them?) (and--it's too bad 'cause we "inspected" them last year and liked them). One was closed due to the fact that somehow or another a man snuck in last year and molested a four-year old in the bathroom (OH yeah! That's why the number had been disconnected! Yikes!).

Meanwhile, my union rep is BEGGING me to let her go to labor and management to force them to let me leave on Friday. You see, my co-worker also originally had the September 28 exit date, but she got another job and asked them to let her leave by the August 31 date instead. They agreed. My union rep's beef is that they should have offered the same date to ME--especially since I have more seniority! I actually thought the same thing when that happened. But at the time I was under the foolish impression that all my eggs were tidily in their basket and that I could afford to be a "nice guy" for an extra month and help train my replacement. I wasn't expecting THIS. I told her to hold back until I had exhausted ALL my resources.

John and I put our heads together again. He said he could probably pick up the kids as long as I found a place to take them both in the morning. So I called back the center that could take Keith to see if they could take Mary in the mornings. "Well, we do have a spot open, but it was promised to another family. They have until the end of the day to confirm it. We'll call you back tomorrow." Fine. All morning yesterday I waited for them to call me back. Nothing. I called them around 11:00. "OH! We're having one of THOSE mornings! We haven't even had time to meet and discuss it yet! We'll call you back in about twenty minutes."

Tuesday is one of my busiest days at work, so I didn't have time to call them again until around 3:30. "OH! Well, the director isn't at her desk right now! But I think we've made a decision." [on hold for five minutes] "OK, well, the director is out with the kids right now, so I'll just tell you that we decided that we could take her!"

GRRR....

So last night I went to the day care center (and it's a Lutheran Church, how ironic is that) to sign all the paperwork. Great! $50 registration fee. Great! They demand payment UP-FRONT on the first day every week (which is only truly a hardship the first week--as I'll have just made a payment to my OTHER provider the Friday previous). (And don't get me started on how much they charge for a half day and a couple of hours care.) Whatever.

So today the center calls to tell me that I didn't put down the dates the kids were going to start going there (I specifically remembering doing that on ONE of the million forms I had to fill out--just apparently NOT on the form they wanted it on). AND I didn't write down the approximate time of drop-off (I don't remember seeing a blank for that on ANY of the forms). "Oh, and you forgot to pay your registrations feeS." Fees? "Yes, it's $50 PER CHILD." OI VEY!

I'm REALLY wishing I had taken Sue's advice and just demanded to leave Friday. This is more expensive and more hassle than it's really worth for me to just be a "nice guy" to a company I only got to leave just so that they wouldn't have to lay off someone else.....FOR A FREAKIN' MONTH!!!

I demand LOBSTER with my steak at my company luncheon now, Thank you very much!

Darian [urp!] Lake

Our friends Dave and Leona got some free tickets to go to Darian Lake when they bought their season passes and bestowed them upon us. Up until the end of last summer, Darian Lake was owned by Six Flags. Apparently Six Flags decided to drop them, but the amusement park is still running--just for cheaper tickets AND without the Looney Tunes theme (and no more "freaky guy doin' that freaky dance" commercials).

Last Sunday, we set out to meet our friends at the park. We headed out later than intended and then John and I were talking and missed our exit. The kids were getting quite impatient, but we finally found the place and met Dave and Leona at the water park. All played in the wave pool and a few of the other water attractions. Then it was getting to be around 2:00, and we were all hungry, so we got some hamburgers and hot dogs at the concession stand. $35.00 for two hot dogs, two hamburgers, two orders of fries, an order of chicken fingers, and ONE drink. Yikes!

Well, we ate and then decided to head to the kiddie attractions where Dave, Leona, and their kids were waiting for us. On the way there, we got on a couple of rides.

[Now, I had a problem when we were at Sesame Place (oh, guess I forgot to mention that) where I got very nauseous and had to back out of rides for a couple of hours. It was well over 90* that day and extremely humid, so I chalked it up to that. I was smart and sat down with Izzy (still in the heat, though--ugh) and drank Sprite and ate a pretzel until I felt better and was able to get on rides again.]

Well, the first ride we went on I was basically OK. It was kind of like a swing and went around and around. I rode it twice; I felt a bit dizzy, but not too sick. Then John and Mary went on the "Silver Bullet." This one not only goes around, it goes completely upside down, too. When they got off, Mary grabs me and begs me to go on with her, too.

Now, I was eyeing that thing with some trepidation, but since I made it fine through the other ride (and darnit! I LOVE upside-down rides!) I figured I'd make it OK. Big mistake. I was fine until the thing went completely upside down and the centripetal forces started pulling on me. When we got off, I was dizzy and a bit out of it, so I figured I'd better steer clear of those spin-ny rides for a while.

We got in line for the Ferris wheel. A big, huge one, too. It took forever to load/unload people on the thing, so the line was very slow. As we were standing there, I was getting more and more nauseous. I felt as if I were still spinning on that stupid Silver Bullet. I said to John, "I don't feel good." I started to feel faint, so I sat down. I felt better, I stood up again. I got dizzy again, and I sat down. Meanwhile Izzy thinks it's funny and is trying to sit in my lap while I'm on the ground (Oh, PLEASE stay off Mommy, honey!). Finally, I got a huge surge of dizziness and ended up laying down on the floor. John said I turned as white as a sheet (which is really saying something since I'm such a pale person, anyway). Within seconds, my portion of our $35.00 lunch was spilling onto the floor. Lovely.

The girls running the ride were freaking out and asking if they should get an ambulance. About 20 people asked if I were diabetic. Um, no, I'm not diabetic. I don't need an ambulance, I just need help OUT OF THIS LINE. Someone shoved a cup of water at me. Meanwhile, the ride has stopped and people are trying to get past us to get on the next ride. I'm moaning, "Um, watch your step, please!" Apparently the employees hadn't noticed my high-dollar lunch clogging up the line yet--they just thought I'd fainted. Finally the girls start yelling at the other people to stop so that they could redirect the line away from me and my pile of puke.

The medic shows, helps us out of line, and eventually puts me on the golf cart to take me to the first aid station. John and the kids were walked to it by another medic. The medic wouldn't let me leave until I had a bottle of water, my pulse slowed down, and my blood pressure got a little higher.

I think poor Izzy was a little scared at the site of seeing her mother sick like that. While I was lying down in bed, she kept crying to John, "I don't know what to do!" I wonder if she wanted to help me?

Mary and Keith were pretty good. Although they did keep asking me if I felt better yet so that they could go and ride on more rides.

After probably about an hour and a half I felt well enough to brave the amusement park again. But no more rides. I'm sure by the end of the day I could have pulled off one of the roller coasters, but I decided to just play it safe and be the boring "Izzy watcher" all day.

Yep. Learned my lesson. No more amusement park fries. And no more round-and-round upside-down rides. I'm sticking to the roller coasters now and THAT'S IT.

Dude--it SO sucks to get old.

Par-TAY

The gang at work threw myself and my co-worker a "Farewell" party last Thursday night (SHE gets to leave at the end of August--this FRIDAY--lucky girl). It was the same ol' crowd there who always goes to the bars after work. John wanted to go, but we couldn't find a babysitter, so I went solo.

Had a good time. I even drank a beer and had a couple of shots. Amber kept getting shots sent her way and foolishly kept accepting them. I said, "Hey! We've got to work tomorrow!" Well, she got quite toasty and ended up sharing her shots with the parking lot out in front of the bar. At that point the rest of us figured it was time to go, so we shut down the party around 10:00.

And she's a YOUNG whipper-snapper, too! Sheesh!

Anyway, the bosses are taking us out for a Farewell lunch tomorrow. AND the company is throwing a swanky luncheon next Thursday, too. My job is getting wrapped up nice and quietly, and I'm still not used to the fact that I won't be here come Monday, October 1st.

Scene from the day care

Izzy wasn't paying much attention to me yesterday when I was making several feeble attempts to get her to drag her eyes away from "Toy Story" and get out to the porch to put her shoes on to go. Leona, trying to see if making it a game would help, chimes in, "Hey, Izzy! See if you can beat Mom..." She was going to say "...out to the porch," but cut off in throes of laughter.

My precocious child had run not to the porch, but back to me--and started flailing her fists and feet in my direction.

Um, "NO, not BEAT Mommy! See if you can get to the porch first!"

Little brat. I'm still cracking up over that one!

The Tooth Fairy is a Canuk!

Last June, Mary lost one of her bottom teeth. The tooth fairy was quite generous and gave her a dollar bill. But strangely, when John was getting up with Mary that morning, she showed him the dollar AND two Canadian quarters the fairy left her! Amazing! The dollar MULTIPLIED: AND into Canadian money, too!

We let Mary know, with very carefully phrased wording (er, I least I *think* so anyway) that we knew the Tooth Fairy wouldn't leave Canadian money, and if Mary wants extra change from our change mug, she needs to talk to us first.

So last night Mary lost one of her front teeth (oh! so cute!). This morning when I woke her up, Mary hesitantly picked up her pillow to find the four quarters the Tooth Fairy very quickly deposited there last night instead of a boring dollar (Mary still only vaguely understands money--last time she really did think two quarters was worth more than that flimsy piece of paper--hence the breaking into the change mug to get "more"). She's rifling through her pile while I'm attempting to wake up Keith. "Hey! One of these is Canadian!"

D'oh!

"Um, yeah--I can 'exchange' that for you," I tell her and quickly run to get one WITHOUT the "deer" on the front.

Yeah, guess the Tooth Fairy's going to have to pay more attention as she goes through her money bags. *Ahem*

At least the kid can tell an American quarter from a Canadian one now!

Beer Bread

I'm posting this recipe because I thought some of the mommy bloggers who happen to come by might be interested in it....

Beer Bread
3 C self-rising flour **
3 T sugar
12 oz beer

Mix and bake at 350* for 45-60 minutes.

**If you don't have any self-rising flour on hand:
1 C self-rising flour = 1 C all purpose flour + 1 1/2 t. baking powder + 1/8 t. salt.


I can't even make the expensive Name Brand stuff without thinking of my buddy JJ--who introduced me to the stuff when we were in college.

Our Vacation

We left Sunday and drove straight to Sesame Place in Philadelphia. Let me just say, that this is a great amusement park for kids 7 and under. We went before--when Mary was 4, Keith was 2, and Izzy was just a bump in my belly--and liked it so much we decided to go again. It's very clean with lots of age-appropriate rides. It's a tad expensive--I think it's now up to $44.00 for ages TWO and up--but that buys you two-day passes, so it's a good deal if you use it. We got there around 4:00 Sunday and stayed until just about 7:30 (they close at 8:00).

We headed out towards the hotel. And had our first issue with Yahoo maps. After driving back and forth down the same road for almost an hour looking for our hotel, we finally figured out that the map was telling us to go the wrong direction down the road. What was really frustrating is that after we found it, we realized that one of the times we'd turned around--thinking we had missed it--we turned around just one office park next to the bloody hotel. If only we'd gone just a tad further!

Monday morning we woke up to a rainy, overcast sky (with the weatherman calling for scattered thunderstorms). Remembering that these were the exact conditions we were at Sesame Place three years before--and that there were hardly any lines for any of the rides--we decided to chance it. Mary was getting very grumpy about having to wait around for breakfast (this place didn't have continental breakfast, and we didn't rush around since we were on VACATION--HELLO!), and then she started complaining that her head hurt. We had packed several snacks for the trip, so I suggested she eat a pear or an apple. She gobbled down the pear, and we finally made it to the hotel restaurant (kids eat free!) for breakfast around 9:30. Well, she didn't want to eat (strange for her), and then she started complaining her tummy hurt.

After breakfast (of which Mary ate NONE), we decided to find a pharmacy to get Mary some Tylenol (she rused to take the kind I had on me, and we were hoping she'd go for a different kind)--and maybe some Dramamine. How come there is a freaking pharmacy or even a freakin' Wal-Mart on every street corner in America, but when you NEED one, you can't find one for MILES! We drove around forever. Meanwhile, Mary's moaning in the back seat. Finally we found a Rite-Aid. While John was in the store, Mary couldn't wait anymore. I helped her out of the van, and she did a Jackson Pollack all over Rite-Aid's mulch. There goes the pear!

Mary felt better. We convinced her to take a Dramamine (Oh God, you just don't want to hear about the drama of getting that child to take medicine). Thinking it was just waiting to eat too long making her queasy (plus the horrible, horrible heat, plus the motion sickness of the car), we piled back into the car and started heading to Sesame Place again. On the drive over, Mary's tummy starts acting up again. I threw a grocery bag to her. She was filling it up as we were paying the ridiculous parking fee to get in. Well, there went the meds.

Mary was fine the instant we walked in the park. We suggested she wait a half hour or so before going on rides, but she wasn't having it. She and John got on the Super Grover roller coaster the minute we walked in. And she was fine the rest of the day. (Thank goodness).

We didn't leave the park until almost 7:30 again and then headed for our next destination: Absecon, New Jersey. John found a decent price on a hotel there--and it's only about an hour from Ocean City. Once again, Yahoo maps let us down as upon getting there, it took us forever to find our hotel as Yahoo maps got their directions (East vs. West) backwards again.

Tuesday morning we headed out to the beach (thank goodness this hotel had continental breakfast, so Mary could be fed the second she woke up). Of course, it ended up being one of the hottest days EVER! We stopped at a beach store and bought a couple of chairs and an umbrella. The we walked the boardwalk. Ugh! So hot! The kids weren't interested in the really neat stores and foods on the boardwalk--they wanted to get in the ocean, darn it! Well, John and I stopped our silly, touristy thing, and we all got in the ocean.

Mary and Keith loved it. Mary kept wandering farther and farther out, jumping into the waves as they came in. Keith preferred to keep a tight grip on a grown-up's hand--where he would swing out with the big, big waves--giggling the whole time. Izzy was fine at first, when we were in the shallow water. But she didn't like the big waves that would come in and almost knocked her onto her butt. John and I took turns holding her. She kept saying, "Pick me up! Pick me up! Don't drop me! Don't drop me!" What a great time we had.

Wednesday morning we headed back home. A short vacation, but a most enjoyable one. We're thinking of maybe looking into renting a house for a few days next year so that we can spend more days out there and maybe see a little more of the city and the boardwalk.

(Oh! On the way home, we had to stop in Philadelphia to get gas, and give motion-sickness Mary a slight break. As John is filling up, and Mary and I are standing around, I thought I felt something tickling my leg. Thinking it must be a fly or something, I look down--no! it was a praying mantis! After I got over the startle, I let him walk back and forth on my hands to show Mary. I was showing it to Keith through the window of the mini-van when the mantis apparently decided he didn't want to be a freak show and flew away. That was pretty cool, though. Startling at first, but cool!)

Maybe one of these days--hey, maybe after September 28!--I'll find the time and the energy to download the photos onto flickr.

Just Don't

If you're mid-way through your 25 minute commute home, and the recently-potty-trained two-year old bellows out that she needs to go potty and then the five-year old also chimes in that HE needs to go potty, JUST DON'T think of the condition of the toddler's car seat and stop at the first place you see, which ends up being a Krispy Kreme donuts. Just don't. Even if the "hot now" sign is not lit. Just don't. Even if you don't particularly care for donuts (and in fact are teased a bit at work about it). Just don't.

And if the three children that you so adore start acting like complete goofballs in the restroom, making you freak out that their screams (of joy--and even one of frustration) will be echoed throughout the dining room JUST DON'T yell back. Because now YOUR louder voice is echoing too, making you sound like the stressed-out parent of the week (which you truly are, but you just don't want to publicize it to the world!).

And then when all have pottied, washed and dried their hands JUST DON'T think that letting them watch the donuts go down the conveyor belt for "just a minute" will somehow make up for your loud, panic-stricken outburst in the restroom. JUST DON'T. 'Cause now all those ooey, gooey donuts are flipping, frying, and GLAZING right in front of your children's very eyes, and the begging shall commence! And when the nice girl behind the counter offers all three kids PLUS YOURSELF a free freakin' donut JUST DON'T take it! Even if you don't like donuts--even if you think they're just too sickly sweet and not worth the lack of anything resembling good nutrition for the two seconds of sweetness WHO ON EARTH COULD RESIST a freakin' "hot now" donut that just simply melts in your mouth? And then WHO CAN RESIST the begging of the children? WHO????

And then when you cave and buy a dozen delectable donuts, JUST DON'T decide to be economical and make all four of you share one bottled water (since you're all dying of thirst after eating your sample donut). The crying and screaming that ensue (some from yourself) aren't worth the money you saved.

JUST DON'T let your kids have that sugar rush. As your own patience after the whole incredibly harassing ordeal is now GONE--and you're own blood is rushing after the glazed insulin injection you just received. JUST DON'T listen to the crying and whining of the five-year old and the giggling and taunting of the seven-year old as she mercilessly picks on him and drives your nerves to the FREAKIN' MOON. Because the more you yell, while driving in rush hour with jangling nerves, the louder you get, and the less you pay attention to the road, and then the more you panic you'll have yet another freakin' wreck which makes you yell at the kids to KNOCK IT OFF even more and turns your sugar rush into the Calgon-take-me-away headache of the week which will last the rest of the freakin' night.

And just try to keep in mind that binging on a half dozen donuts will NOT make it all go away....

Soooo tired

Sunday was my company picnic at the local amusement park. It's always a good deal: amusement and water park and food for a small price! The kids had a ball. The adults were still lamenting that we couldn't go on the big coaster (Mary JUST hit the line--John didn't want to wait a half hour in line just to find out they decided she didn't quite stretch it). We were exhausted and slightly sunburnt, but it was a good day.

Monday Mary and I went to Girl Scout Camp where she earned three Try-Its for her Brownie sash. It was fun, but two days of walking around all day in the blazing sun was a bit much for the both of us. We were draggin' our butts last night.

My ego is getting slightly inflated here at work. Now that the list of "retirees" is posted, I'm getting a lot of phone calls from folks telling me how much they're going to miss me and how the company is losing a great employee. However I am staying humble in realizing that chances are no one's going to call to tell me that I was a terrible worker and they are THRILLED to see me go. ER, let's hope not, anyway.

John and I have a week's vacation next week--for the simple reason that our day care provider is on vacation, so we didn't have to find a back-up. We're thinking of spending one day at Sesame Place with the kids then heading back home to MAYBE finally put the finishing touches on Keith's room. One can dream, anyway.

Adjustment

Had to adjust my countdown clock a little. In my excitement to post the news, I forgot that while I'm officially an employee until September 30, technically my last day will actually be September 28--as the 30th is a Sunday.

Duh.

GREAT NEWS

The company offered an early buy-out trying to refrain from laying off. John and I debated all the last month and finally decided to go for it....

I WILL OFFICIALLY BE A STAY-AT-HOME-MOM AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2007.

I'm a little freaked out, here! But I'm so happy. It was a tough decision, and I know we'll be pinching pennies like crazy, but I'm thrilled to think of the time I'll get to spend with my kids and how I'll have more time to do ten million other things that go along with the maintenance of them (and the house). And maybe I won't be so stressed out, so maybe I won't wreck the car so much. :-)


Wish us luck!

Done!

It took me just under 11 and a half hours to read "Deathly Hallows." That's pretty good considering I had to feed and clothe kids--and even take one to the potty from time to time. They're just so darn needy, those kids! Well, it's almost 5:00 now, so I guess I should take them for a romp outside or something since I've been "absent" for most of the day.

All I can say is: Fantastic.

Maybe I'll read it again tomorrow....

Goofy Goober

Yesterday when Keith was getting dressed for the day, he suddenly started cracking up. I look up at him, and he shows me his pile of clothes on the floor. "Mommy! I was wearing two pairs of underwear!" So that meant that the day before he had put on his clean underwear OVER his day-old underwear--and wore it like that ALL DAY.

I'm starting to wonder if he's going to make it through kindergarten.

:-)

Three more days! I can't take it!!

Well, actually 2 days and 14 hours left until the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PARTY! I pity my husband children as this weekend they will become widowed and orphaned as I spend the whole weekend reading, reading, reading. Oh good gracious me! Is Snape really evil? Will she kill off Harry? Who on earth WILL she kill off, 'cause I love these characters so, so much I won't be able to handle any of them biting it!

John and I did get to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last Wednesday (I took off work early to go see a movie--how lame!). It's just too difficult to put books 2-6 in movie format. As a huge book fan, I will never be completely pleased with one of these movies. I did like the fight scene at the end, and I also liked the D.A. sequences. It was just too slow in the other places. I was fine with most of the changes put in the movie EXCEPT ONE. It was kinda lame and not necessary, and they kinda leave you hangin' with a confused expression on your face as it isn't really RESOLVED, per se. I won't elaborate since I don't want to spoil others' movie-going experience.

**[SPOILER: I DO want to say that the Weasley escape scene was almost FLAT compared to the book. Seriously--they could have done more there!]**

And WHAT was I thinking inviting people over to the house for a cook-out Sunday afternoon? I guess I'll just have to stay up all night Saturday night reading, so I finish it before they get here. Then I better make sure I don't doze off while flippin' the burgers. That--would be BAD.

The Obligatory Cerpicio and Wife Visit Post

So last weekend we had houseguests. Anybody catch that?

It was great to see Jeff and Paula, of course. The best part--free energetic entertainment for the kids. As soon as Jeff and Paula were awake, our house would suddenly turn into a circus tent filled with outstanding feats of running, jumping, shouting, and throwing of stuffed animals EVERYWHERE! I was kinda envious. I remember when I used to have the energy to play with other people's kids. It was so much fun, I had three of my own. Now I'm so tired all the time I've turned into one of those "Mmmm Hmmmm" parents. Look Mommy! Look at this toy I've shown you 27 times already today! Mmmm Hmmm. Look Mommy! Bubbles and Buttercup saved Mario from the evil Baby Bowser! Mmmm Hmmmm. Look Mommy! I just created an artistic masterpiece I'm going to submit to the Louvre! Mmmm Hmmmm.

So John took Jeff and Paula around town on Friday while I was stuck at work. Then they picked up the kids early from day care and took them to the Strong Museum. II met them there for the last bit. I was planning on cooking out Friday night, but the kids vetoed me in favor of our traditional Friday night pizza and a movie....

Saturday we sweat our pants off at Niagara Falls, but it was beautiful, as always. And the kids enjoyed it, as always. And yes, Jeff and Paula got to witness first-hand the trials and tribulations of trying to get three kids into the car, out of the car, and to go to the bathroom AT THE SAME CONVENIENT TIME. And maybe even to go when they FIRST need to and not when they've held it so freakin' long they're in pain. Then Izzy fell on the sidewalk while we were watching the not-quite-so-whirly whirlpool. She's STILL telling us about falling and hurting her knees on the sidewalk!

I love how Izzy spent the weekend complimenting Jeff and Paula (I like your eyes! I like your hair!)--but I was also amused that Izzy apparently couldn't quite pick up their names. If we said, "Go see Jeff. Go see Paula" she knew what we meant, but anytime she talked about them she would say "HER" and "HIM."

The kids were bummed when Jeff and Paula left Sunday morning. All that attention taken away from them! Being left with boring Mommy and Daddy! Gasp!

Most enjoyable visit. Too bad we didn't have time (and I couldn't take time off work) to do more. We must do this more often!

Oh! My aching back!

I've warned my co-workers--I'm going to be a whiny-butt today. Because on our national holiday, John and I worked ALL DAY.

Yesterday morning he went to work for a few hours while I did a few things around the house. Not a lot, mind you (so I guess it's really unfair me to to say *I* worked "all day", but watching the kids counts, alright?), but I did get some of the menial housework done. Around lunch time I kicked it in full gear. When the younger two went down for their nap I faced the ultimate challenge: that @#$% blue paint. Yes, I did yet another coat of paint on the walls in Keith's room.

After John came home, brandishing the desperately-needed new mop head, I finished mopping all the floors and getting more of the menial housework done. John started mulching. Yeah--we've got an enormous pile of mulch blocking one side of our garage right now. It was raining on and off all day, but John still got some of it done.

John also decided to put the spare bed in the spare--previously "toy"--room. Now all the toys are in the middle of the den, but at least Jeff and Paula have a decent bed on which to sleep when they come into town. The theory is that when we finish Keith's room and disperse the kids accordingly, the kids will have room in their own bedrooms for a good chuck of the toys. So more pressure to finish that room by 6:00 TONIGHT before Jeff and Paula's arrival.

So last night after the kids went to bed, I faced the blue room again--and put another coat of blue on the ceiling. Let me just say that I'm too freakin' short--even with the long handle on the paint roller--to reach the ceiling properly. I've got spaghetti arms with absolutely NO upper body strength. As a result, this morning, I was greeted with a back, upper arm, and neck ache. Ugh.

BUT I checked the room this morning, and despite a few wobbly streaks here and there on the ceiling, I think the room looks MUCH BETTER. It appears 6 (or was that 7?) is the magic number when dealing with coats of super-dark, outer-space blue paint.

John has today off. Will he be able to get all the mulch distributed to our million flower beds (why did we buy a house with so much freakin' landscaping?) AND Keith's room cleaned out and mopped, and the kids' beds and toys distributed properly by the time Jeff and Paula pull up? High odds on this one, folks!

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies--the long version

I'm a little late for the chocolate chip cookie challenge posted by others, but I still wanted to get this recipe out there because it's just so darn good. I guess when my mother initially moved to Indiana, she went to a party where someone brought these. They were so good, she begged for the recipe. And now that's the only recipe we use (er, so I thought).

Here are the steps I took to make these....

1. Call and wake mother up at 8:30 on a Sunday because can't find that blasted recipe. Talk to step-father for 45 minutes about miscellaneous while she tries to wake up. Finally get Mom--and get cut off. After 15 minutes, call her home line instead of cell phone. Sure enough, her phone lost it's charge. Ask for cookie recipe. Mom says, "just use the one on the back of the bag." Um--NO. YOUR recipe is the best, darn it, and is the only one I'll use. She finally agrees to email it. NO! I want to start it now! She begrudgingly reads it to me over the phone.

2. Get kids in kitchen to "help" make the cookies. Pull out huge mixer.

3. Start to cream the 1 cup of shortening (I always use butter-flavored). Hmmm....shortening is sticking to beater and not acting right. Add sugars and mix some more. Realize using wrong attachment on ultra-mega mixer. Reach for the other attachment and try again.

4. Add eggs and vanilla. About to start mixer--realize grabbed OTHER wrong attachment. Grab right one this time, and batter is now starting to go smoothly.

5. Kids have already lost interest and are running amok in house in chaos. What was the point of all the cleaning I did yesterday? Add soda mixture. Then flour.

6. Mom suggested add more chocolate chips to recipe (already changed in recipe below). She always uses one bag of chips for the half recipe. But I bought a mega-bag. Guess I'll add half of it. Hmmm...still doesn't seem enough. Add another quarter of the bag. Perfect!

(Take a few minutes to put Izzy on the potty and then run yet ANOTHER load of laundry. When go back upstairs, realize Izzy had grabbed glasses and contorted them into a shape not "quite" right for my face. *sigh*)

7. Re-write recipe more neatly. Realize as writing, forgot to add the salt! Throw it in and mix real quick--wow, that mega-huge mixer is GREAT for that!

8. Clean up kitchen, put dough in fridge, take shower, go to work 1/2 hour late to enter @#$% early payroll due to @#$% holiday (remind self that it IS double-time.)

9. Come home three hours later, clean more of the house due to impending visit, start charcoal AND oven at same time.

10. Proceed to bake cookies at the same time as cooking hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob on the grill.

11. Remember why although I LOVE to bake I hardly ever do it--and can only manage HALF a cookie recipe. Too many kids running around, too much housework to do, and I am the WORST multitasker ever (well, while cooking, anyway).

Gotta give myself SOME credit. The cookies AND the hamburgers turned out GREAT.

I'm already late posting this, so no pics. I have to go and paint yet ANOTHER coat of paint in that eternally blue-paint-sucking room of Keith's.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies--the short version

Chocolate Chip Cookies (1/2 recipe)
1 Cup shortening (I use butter-flavored)
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 Cups flour
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream shortening, add sugars. Stir in beaten eggs and vanilla. Add soda to water; add to first mixture. Add flour, salt, chips.

Bake in 350* oven for 10-12 minutes.

Catsup

Yes, I'm back. I've been "demoted" back to my "real" job again. Bleh.

I just wanted to update you all on the goings-on of the Q Collective for the last month.

Um...let's see. The Isabelle Experiment. After about a week of it, both Leona and I gave up and put the kid back in pull-ups. She was actually doing OK, but it was just getting tiring cleaning up when she WASN'T doing OK. After about another week, you could actually *see* the thought processes CLICK--and she was going potty on her own. She's back in underwear! Izzy has had two or three accidents in the last couple of weeks, but I am confident enough in her progress to say, "YAY! SHE'S POTTY TRAINED!" I might even get brave enough to stop putting her in pull-ups at night--as she's been pretty consistent staying dry through the night, too. YAY!

Keith's room: still not done. I got two more coats of paint done (we're up to either 5 or 6 now--I've kinda lost count)--and it's still not quite right. We pulled up the tape and everything getting ready to clean up the room, but when the sun hits the room (as it does for a good chunk of the day) you can still see paint strokes and primer. John's even thinking of giving the ceiling another coat. We were hoping to have this room done and Keith moved in by this weekend, but it just didn't happen. Maybe we'll put in a few late nights of painting in the next few days. One thing we can say for sure: we will NEVER paint with such a dark color EVER again. This room should have been done ages and ages ago!

I've been getting lots of compliments on my new do--but in all actuality I don't really like it. Too much maintenance (yes--shorter hair is NOT always easier when there is more STYING you have to do), and I'm not 100% happy with the style of it being shorter in the back and longer in the front. But I'm not really complaining (THAT much) because I know that I'm just going to grow it out again the way I like it!

Saturday while Mary, Izzy and I were in the grocery store "I've been waiting for a girl like you" came on. I stopped Mary and said, "Hear this song? That's N--'s dad singing that song! See, I told you he was famous!" She thought that was pretty cool.

The last two weeks we've been trying to get the house ready for the impending arrival of Jeff and Paula. I keep wondering if I would be more helpful out back weeding with John as all the cleaning I do on the inside gets completely demolished 5 minutes after I let the kids in. It's exhausting. So, I put up my broom and mop last night. No more major cleaning until Wednesday night. Maybe I'll try to put in a few coats of paint in Keith's room instead....

Lou...and a new do!

Pic of me and Lou Gramm. And with TWELVE INCHES LESS of hair. Locks of Love is going to make some kid really, really happy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in mourning for the next three years until I grow it back!















OH--and here's John with Lou, too!

How cool is THAT?

So last week I'm the lucky one who had to take Mary to her t-ball game (with Izzy in tow). Now, there's this older guy who's there for every game--but John and I could never figure out if he was a grandparent, parent, uncle, or what to the boy and girl he watches there..?? He's overweight with shoulder-length, curly, grey hair. So, my question was answered that night as the girl runs up to him and says, "Daddy!" OK--parent, an OLDER parent.

Well, later on, I see two 10-12 year old boys run up to this guy and ask him for an autograph. HUH? I'm trying to listen in, without being obvious, but the only thing I hear is "it's for my dad," and I thought I heard "music." Hmmm.... Who IS this guy? So at home that night, I ask John (who's been helping coach from time to time) if he knows who this guy is. Some local musician of some sort???? John looks at the team roster, gets the kids' last name (Grammatico), then googles it.

"HOLY SHIT!" he exclaims, "THAT'S LOU GRAM!" Um, who? "The lead-freakin' singer of FOREIGNER, that's who!!!!" No, shit!

Now, John had always known that Lou Gramm was from Rochester--being the geeky kind of guy who researches that kind of trivia after moving somewhere (Fort Wayne--Shelly Long! Oxford--some old baseball player I can't place right now!) Well, I never knew. But....

HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THAT?? THE LEAD FREAKIN' SINGER FROM FOREIGNER'S KIDS ARE ON THE SAME FREAKIN' T-BALL TEAM AS MY OWN KID????!!!!

John doesn't even care much for Foreinger but decides that he's just got to get a picture (partly to PROVE the phenomenon to his doubting internet friends). What a freakin' jinx. We've had two t-ball games since our discovery, and the dude hasn't been there! Been to every freakin' t-ball game the whole freakin' season, and he doesn't show now??? How uncool is that?

Oh, I guess he's on tour....
http://www.lougramm.com/

Oh well, I can say I was hob-nobbing with a REAL rockstar for a bit there. (And that picture on his website so does NOT look like the guy always sitting next to me at the ball park.) And I can say that he seems like a really, really nice guy. AND he even asked me to watch his stuff while he went to the bathroom! AND he did the same for me when I had to run Izzy down there. Wow! HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THAT?!

(By the way, his kids are really well-behaved and not bad t-ball players, either!)

Out for training

No new blog entries for a while. Anyone notice? Anyone care? Wait--don't answer that!

In case anyone DOES care; I've been away from my desk at work--getting training for a temporary position. I won't even try to explain all the hows and whys of this opportunity. Basically, I've been qualified for a promotion for the last EIGHT years, and I'm getting the chance to do it--but only for a few weeks/months. The good part: it's a significant raise for the short time I'm doing it. The bad part: since the company just announced even more downsizing, the chances of it ever becoming permanent are slim to none. That's OK, I'll take the training (training is ALWAYS good) and the extra pay (even BETTER) for however long I'll get it.

So, since I'm in a different building and being trained with someone else on THEIR pc, I don't have access to my own computer and not even to my own files. And I'm just usually too tired at night to do any blogging (working on little sleep/nil brain function as it is right now. oh well). Hence, no blogging.

Just in case ya missed me....that's the scoop.

Pics

Here are two pictures of my Girl Scout troop: one of us marching in the Memorial Day parade, another of us at our Bridging ceremony last night.

Great Weekend

Friday my mother and her husband got in, and they admired the grandkids, and we all munched on pizza and watched a movie. Mary and Keith got to pick the movie--Mom and Barry got subjected to the super-silliness of the Spongebob Movie.

(HAVE to include the background story of the silly Spongebob Movie. We took Mary and Keith to see it opening night: November 19, 2004. That day was my last full day of work before my maternity leave for Izzy [then known as the Isabelle or Ian "mystery bump" in my belly]. I didn't want to go [so, SO tired] but John talked me into it--we knew it would probably be the last movie I'd get to see in a while. Exactly ONE HOUR after we walked out of the theatre, I went into labor. So instead of getting the "few days to rest" before baby "I" came, I got NONE. So even though the movie isn't nearly as funny and even more silly than a typical Spongebob cartoon, I still had to buy it just for posterity's sake.)

Saturday Mary had a t-ball game. And except for the slight temper tantrum at the bottom of the sixth where she suddenly decided that she "didn't feel like batting," she played very well. Later we took the whole gang to the High Falls district and checked out the waterfalls and all the old buildings/mills here in downtown Rochester. And we ate barbecue.

Sunday I had to come in to work a few hours (@#$% holidays). After that we were originally planning on going to Niagara Falls, but we opted out as it was supposed to thunderstorm all day. Instead, we took the crew to the Corning Museum of Glass. It's a very nice museum and I could get lost in it all day (and did--stay tuned...), but it's not the most exciting place to take three young kids. Mary especially was pretty vocal about being bored. So John would keep wandering with the kids while my mother and I peeked at exhibits, and then my step-father was tagging way behind--reading every freaking place card in the museum. After a bit, I look up and say, "Hey, where are my husband and kids?" No one knew. I started running around in all the nooks and crannies trying to catch up with them. It took me twenty minutes to find them. When we finally joined the main hallway--where I'd just left my mother and her husband--THEY were now gone. John and I started going through the rest of the museum looking for them--while quickly glancing at exhibits on the way. We didn't see them ANYWHERE. Finally, the kids were getting hungry, so John took them down to the cafeteria. While they were there, I kept on my search for the illusive parents. I went all the way through the museum and still didn't find them. I finally gave up, ran back down to the cafeteria, bolted down a bowl of potato soup (pretty good soup, too), and then we all started the search again. After a while, we finally caught up with them--in the part of the museum where I'd lost them in the first place. I must have kept just missing them as they'd already been through the whole museum--and even in to the glass-making show. I swear--you can't take them anywhere! We headed outside, caught another glass-making show (the only thing I think the kids can say they legitimately enjoyed), stopped at the coffee bar so that the "old folks" could get a drink and snack (as they'd missed lunch!), and then headed out. We wanted to stop at Letchworth State Park on the way home, but we were just too, too tired.

Monday the folks headed home (although they had to make a quick detour back after 20 minutes into their trip as John had left our garage door opener in their car), and the rest of us headed downtown again. Mary and I got to march in the Memorial Day parade with the Girl Scouts. It was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day and just perfect for a parade. It was fun, and I'm glad we got to go.

I spent the rest of the day Monday PAINTING KEITH'S ROOM. That's right. I brushed the dust off the old rollers, cleaned up the cobwebs off his walls, and settled in to do 2 more coats of dark blue paint. Three of the four walls STILL need one more coat of paint. Sheesh! (My father keeps teasing me how we're just making this tiny bedroom smaller and smaller as we add more and more coats of paint on it.) I'm confident that one more coat oughtta do it--but then we'll still have to paint the closet--and THEN we have to clean up the mess--and THEN we've got to put some furniture in there--and THEN the room will be done. It's taken 10 1/2 months to get this far. I wonder how much longer until the poor boy finally has a place of his own????

Monday night I started up the charcoal in the ol' grill and made corn on the cob and sirloin steak. The steak was absolutely perfect (I humbly think even MR would approve).

Experimental Failure?

Izzy has gotten exponentially worse each day after her successful Tuesday. One accident on Wednesday; two on Thursday. I'm trying to figure out how to redefine the parameters to help tweak a success here. Make her sit on the potty every half hour? Buy those rubber pants to help make the clean up easier? Instead of re-reading my Harry Potters and just let her toddle aimlessly around the house where she's getting into Mary's markers and marking all over her legs and feet and then pooping in her undies, actually PAYING ATTENTION to my kid? You know--stuff like that.

Actually, one or two accidents a day isn't really that bad--all things considered. She's still been staying dry during naps and even sometimes through the night. I just need to let it happen as it happens--she's obviously right on the brink of a break-through here.

This morning's car ride in was interesting. We're 10 minutes from our destination, and she starts bellowing from behind me, "Mommy! I gotta go potty!" Great. There are no public restrooms to be found in the last 10 minutes of the car ride to Leona's. So I'm begging her to try to hold it. And she's crying, "I gotta go poopy!" We got to Leona's and raced in as fast as we could--but she just didn't make it (usually when she says she's gotta go, it's right that second and there's no "holding" allotment time left). So I was late for work since I had to clean up my stinky, poopy kid. And it was slimey green, too. Lovely.

In the spirit of non-human-bodily-functions news: my mother and her husband are coming for a visit this weekend. The kids are so excited that they didn't even complain much when we had to go through the "Oh crap! We're having company and have to scourgify the house!" routine. And even though their cleaning of the play room wasn't up to company-coming-over scratch, I still think I'm going to give them a bonus on their allowance just for their eagerness and non-whinyness.

Shocker that my step-father is able to travel since just a few weeks ago he was still "LOST" and shot by that madman Ben and even though he was still alive this week, he was definitely weak due to the loss of blood. (See photo).

Sidenote:

I STILL haven't gotten my Mother's Day gift from my husband. It still hasn't got here. OK, buddy, are you just pulling my leg?? Did you order it midnight Saturday night in the hopes it would get to me by Mother's Day morning?? HMPH!

The Great Experiment

I got brave this weekend. Since it's been pretty nice for so many days, I decided to take Izzy to the next phase of potty training: real underwear.

It's a bold decision since she still doesn't tell me every time she needs to go. Usually I have to remind her. But with nice weather comes fewer (and thinner) layers of clothing--which makes accident clean-up a little quicker and easier. And then the theory is that she won't like the wet feeling when she does have an accident and will go pee-pee in the potty like she's supposed to. This didn't seem to work with my other two--but let's give it another go, eh?

I can't really give a good percentage of the effectiveness because for half of both Saturday and Sunday we were out of the house (or it was nap time), so I lost my boldness and put her back in a pull-up. But for the short times she was actually in the undies, she didn't have one accident.

Monday: She got to wear underwear to day care. This is a big deal as 1) someone else will be doing the clean-up--and has to be WILLING to partake of this great experiment--besides me and 2) Izzy had to take a 25 minute car trip strapped down in her car seat IN HER UNDERWEAR. Anyone who's had to clean car seats will understand my boldness in deciding to do this.

She did great. In fact, the only accident she had all day was after we'd been home around an hour. She came running to me telling me she had to go potty with a funny little hunchbacked walk--while pulling on her jeans. Oh yeah, she'd already done it. (But how funny that after I cleaned her up, she insisted on sitting on the potty again--and actually went again.)

Tuesday: It's no holds barred now. Underwear all day. Leona even forgot to change her into a pull up for naptime, and the kid stayed dry. ALL DAY. Even after John had to take her to Mary's t-ball game. She stayed dry.

Woah. I wonder if this is really working?