The two adorable babies I get to see next week

Christopher: born 1/11/08



Joshua: born 2/4/08


I'm in newborn-head-smelling HEAVEN!

Announcement: Quick Trip

The Q Collective is making a trip out to the Fort to see recently-born babies (and quietly laugh at how one family is adjusting to THREE and how another is adjusting to their first. ha! been there! done that!).

This is a super-quick, just-coming-to-meet-the-newly-arrived-humans trip with NO side excersions to visit other family members. IF it can be arranged, we might be able to see local kin, but nothing else.

We are heading out Thursday and plan on leaving Saturday. Last November's trip was really, really rough on the kids (and especially John, the driver) and it took several days to recuperate. We decided we needed our day of rest before John and the kids head back to work/school.

Yes, I BADLY need a baby fix and am willing to force my husband to drive eight hours to get it. (It's the least he can do since he's cutting me off from future babies of my own.)

Grade A Prime DORK

Case #1:

Yesterday I went about my usual routine and got Mary out to the garage to wait for the bus in perfect time. Then I ran upstairs to get a cup of coffee. After the stirring of the French vanilla creamer, I ran down to peek out the door--and bumped into Mary in the den. "What are you doing in here?" "I had to go to the bathroom! I'm sorry, Mom, but I couldn't wait!" Grumbling about Mary's poorly-timed bathroom breaks, I glanced at the clock--and saw that Mary had most definitely missed her bus.

Normally, I stand with her in the cold garage or wait inside and open the door to peek every 30 seconds to make sure she gets her ride. I guess I thought my coffee-stirring break wouldn't take the four minutes that lasped, and I didn't hear the bus honk. No surprise there as I have learned that I usually DON'T hear it when I'm up in the kitchen. Sooo....I didn't think anything unusual about that. And what could I have done anyway since she was obviously in the john? "You can take the time to pull up your trousers on the bus! MOVE!" (Still can't believe I didn't hear her come in the door, though.)

So, we sat down and watched a bit of Curious George while we waited for the time I could drop her off. John was still home and in bed, so I woke him up, told him of the situation, and Mary and I headed over to the school.

Driving up to the school was like an ominous approach in a badly-filmed movie. As the school gradually came into view, I saw....NOTHING. No buses, no line of cars, no jam-packed parking lot. Just one little SUV. Oh God. There is no school today???!

I quickly racked my brains. NO, I'm SURE there is no holiday. They must have canceled due to the cold weather. And living here in Rotten-chester where snow and cold are just part of life, I didn't even think to check--I thought it was just another day.

So we went home, and I turned on the local news, and sure enough, school was canceled (and not just "delayed"). So...Mary got off all her things, and we enjoyed a nice day at home playing Wii. ;-)

Case #2:

John and I have cut out most of the meat out of our diet again. Not vegetarian, per se--just a "whittling down." Basically, we're taking meat away as the center-peice to our meals, and focusing more on the alternatives.

So, browsing about our vegetarian cookbooks, I found a good-sounding tofu dish I wanted to try (oxy-moron, I know--but give tofu a chance!). It called for a sesame marianade. Not in the mood to actually MAKE this marianade (this cookbook is RIDICULOUS in that the author seems to think we all have just oodles of time to create our five star vegetarian fare--all from scratch), I requested John look for a bottled version. I must say, Iron Chef brands really do save my butt sometimes. Anyway, the recipe called for "silken tofu." I'd never used that kind before, but whatever.

Let me just say now that you CANNOT POSSIBLY "SLICE" silken tofu, and this cookbook author is incredibly crazy for even suggesting it. My sliced silken tofu immediately turned into silken tofu MUSH. Trying to save our dinner, I gamely put the marinade in the mess, anyway. Oh God. Well....it wasn't really a dish for the kids, anyway. I'll just see if I can still "fry this up" for me and John. After plopping the whole bowl in the pan (you're supposed to strain the marianade from the tofu and "fry up" the slices--but how do you separate a chunky "main dish" liquid from a very thick--probably shouldn't have been used as a marianade--sauce? forget it!), and turning on the burner, I looked at my congealed plopped mush and thought, "Hmmm....take out?"

Yeah. I'll just have to start following the recipes for the marianades. And from now on, NO MORE SILKEN tofu. Even the hungriest beggar wouldn't have touched that regurgitated-looking stuff.

We ended up going out to eat.

Guilty Pleasure: The Avatar

Mary watched more TV than I would have liked her to in the daycare in which she was situated last year. [I was shocked one day when Keith and Mary mentioned that when this lady had to watch all three of my kids due to my other daycare being closed for the week, they had watched Spiderman II which is um, NOT rated for kids and I felt my permission should have been asked. Oh--her teenage son put it on. But, um...Lady, where were YOU when this not-suitable-for-young-kids movie was put on in your house?] BUT! One good thing came of Mary's TV viewing for that year--she got addicted to The Avatar.

I had heard about the show, of course, but I ignorantly thought that it was probably too "old" of a show for her to watch. But Mary kept talking it up. She had obviously developed a crush on Zuko--the bad guy (oh dear--what to think of that!). Then we happened to catch an episode with her on TV. And then we happened to catch part of a movie. And then John and I became hooked (and, in succession, Keith and Izzy).

With part of our Christmas money, we bought the first season--and watched at least one episode, if not two, a night (um...or more). THEN we had to go and buy the second season. And now we're on the third season--but alas! Only part of it is out on DVD right now.

This is a really, really fun show. Great stories, wonderful characters, awesome writing and dialogue--and the animation's not bad either. I never expected to be so taken away by an anime-like cartoon like that.

We are now on the last DVD that is out there right now. We have two episodes left to watch. THEN WHAT?! What will we do with our precious Avatar time once we're done actually watching it????? WHEN will the new DVD come out? And should we pay the extra money to boost up our Di$h Network so that we get Nick Toons again????

Our Big, Red Izzy

Izzy has a set of fleecy pajamas that have Clifford on them. She is actually the FOURTH child to wear them as they were a hand-me-down to us from another friend. Believe it or not, the jammies are still in pretty good condition. Well, I pulled them out of storage a few weeks ago (Hey! I forgot about THESE!) and it was LOVE at first sight for the Iz.

Izzy does enjoy pretending to be a puppy, but she really hadn't done it in a while. Now that she's got her Clifford jammies, we may have to put papers down on the carpet again. If I didn't "hide" them in the drawer for a few days after they've been washed, she'd be Clifford ALL THE TIME.

Last night we put her jammies on, and she instantly started crawling around on all fours like a puppy. When I said, "Izzy, go kiss Daddy good night." I got, "Not Izzy! Puppy!" as a response. OH. Sorry. And forget about getting the kid to bed. I finally had to pick her up and carry her to her room, where she REFUSED to climb in bed. She stayed on the floor--like all good puppies do, of course. I finally gave up and put her pillow and blanket on the floor with her--and she slept there all night. And last night it finally clicked with me that the last time she adamantly refused to get into bed and slept on the floor instead--was the last time she was wearing those Clifford jammies.

I'm lucky to get those jammies off her in the morning and into her regular clothes. "No, Mommy! No clothes! I want Clifford jammies!" Sometimes I just have to trick her. "But, Izzy, Clifford needs to be washed!" She will finally peel them off and put on her regular clothes and turn into a regular girl. Then I wash Clifford and put him in the drawer--and forget about him for another week.

The Evil Within. A Public Service Announcement

Anytime you volunteer for an organization, they are going to run you dry, dry, dry and use you up like a hankie (just keep washin' and ringin' it--we kin use it ag'in!)

And anytime you put an idea out there--or even, perhaps DO the job for which you volunteered and organize a very small event which fits in your comfort- and volunteer-level--the ONES over your head are going to TAKE OVER and RUN WITH IT and make it this HUGE thing with NEWSLETTERS and a PHONE CALL CAMPAIGN and the next thing you know, you're organizing an EVENT you don't feel you have the gumption--or even qualifications--to do, and THEN you find out that your main back-me-up, always helpful, co-chair-person-thingy suddenly cannot attend and you'll be doing the whole blasted, out-of-control, event ALONE. With lots of wound-up little girls. And possibly their younger (can't-find-a-sitter) siblings.

AUGH!!!!!

I just don't feel the love

How come when all the rest of you mammas post about the FABulous sales that you catch from Tar-jay and the like (75% off!), and post all those pictures of the FABulous deals you get--how come when *I* go there, the sales racks are completely EMPTY of any kind of useful attire that fit in ANY of my three kids' sizes--even FUTURE, to-grow-into sizes???

Even when I've chanced upon the GREAT Tar-jay sale BEFORE your wonderful posts, I canNOT find decent cheap clothes for my three well-deserving kids (and my lean-mean pocket book)!

I'm just saying, that I REALLY wanted that @#$% pink puffy dress, and the only size my local Tar-jay had it in was 18 mos. My three-year old is a bit petite for her size, but there is NO WAY she could pull off an 18 mos. Not even if she STARVED herself!

Sheesh! Tar-jay seems to give out the love to only CERTAIN, deserving girlfriends!
HMPH!

(At least I did get MYSELF a new sweater and a very sleek, satiny blouse for $4.98 each.)

TMI: The ultrasound

There is nothing wrong with my girly parts. Of course, I kinda knew that after going to the gyno the other day. When I told her the location of my pain, she said, "That high up?" Um, yes. And so I went to the ultrasound today, and when asked, I showed her the location of my pain. Guess what? I have a very normal, healthy uterus, and two normal, healthy ovaries. But the actual spot of pain, oh--that wasn't even checked. It's quite a distance from my baby-making machinery.

If the pain continues (and yes, I still feel a twinge even today) I will just have to go to an internist. Because the "next steps" the gyno was discussing with me the other day only have to do with possible female problems. And since my pain isn't anywhere NEAR my female parts, I DOUBT those steps will help.

I feel like saying, "How can you be so obtuse?"

So...should I be bitter at my gyno for sending me to a completely unnecessary ultrasound (when my spot of pain was a half a foot from the body parts in which she specializes?) or....should I be grateful that she dotted her i's and sent me there to verify what she already knew--there was no female problem. I'm stuck here. But I'm leaning more towards the bitterness. Because I am thinking she wasn't really listening to ME at all--just checking into what she knows best.

BRIGHT SIDE: That's one thing the pain is NOT.

The LULL before the next storm

Now is the time of year that I always feel as if I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've just had two birthdays and Christmas in close proximity--and then the two month LULL--and then POW! Another birthday! And the relatives emailing and calling and asking about presents.

Presents? I haven't even figured out where the heck to put the last batch from the November-December gift-giving extravaganza--and now you want to buy MORE???!

Seriously. Can't we just teach Keith that his birthday is at some other time of year? So that I have more time to adjust, and he can actually think of more stuff he wants--besides more Leapster games (which we've already bought him).

Poor middle child, too. He's never even had a proper birthday party yet (besides the 1-yr party that I always insist on having "home" in Indiana--and he doesn't remember, of course). We honestly tried two years in a row to have a party for him, but none of our/his friends could make it. (You're busy in FEBRUARY? Doing WHAT?! OH--skiing. That winter fun activity that I cannot do and absolutely refuse to start now that I'm old--and STILL can't afford it.) Ahem.

Anyway, now that he's in kindergarten and has a whole classroom of kids to invite, we're thinking of attempting the "real" party again. But we've got to act quick to get it done in time. But--WHERE? John wants to do the big Barfy-Cheese or Museum-Expensive kind of party. The noise. The pandemonium. The expense (most places you pay tons and still have to provide your own cake AND paper products!). And the EVEN-MORE-GIFTS! I have thrown parties for Mary where I actually requested the kids NOT to bring gifts--and yet! There! they! are! It's a birthday party, you crazy lady! We are COMPELLED to bring a gift!

So, here we have 34 days until his birthday..... I guess I'd better start saving up. And making phone calls. And maybe look into Prozak or Effexor or something....

TMI, part deux

The doctor seems to think that since I've been on the pill for SO MANY YEARS and currently am using a different form of bc, that I've just FORGOTTEN how bad menstrual cramps are.

OH HO. I've NOT forgotten. 'Cause you see, there IS this tiny little problem of my feeling pain the OTHER three weeks of the month!!!?

I am going in for an ultrasound tomorrow, but despite the above terseness, I agree with her that they probably won't find anything wrong. I still think I just need to eat better--and exercise more ("more" implying that I exercise now--ha!).

Good news--I've actually lost a few pounds since being home. So, no housewifely gain YET. And that after the holidays, too! Go ME!

How to get your house clean in one hour

Answer phone call from eight-year old's classmate's mom.

When she asks for playdate, feeling guilty that last two have been hosted by HER, offer YOUR house.

When she asks if she can drop off her child in an hour, FOOLISHLY agree.

Clean like a freakin' Minute Maid (get it?) on crack.

Just make sure kids know the "no going in my bedroom rule" as there is a definite hazard to opening the door and having all the CLUTTERED CRAP fall smack down on them--causing a severe injury and expensive lawsuit from said child's parents....

TMI

**WARNING**
*TOO MUCH INFORMATION for some readers*
But I feel posting it will actually help me cleanse it out of my system therefore keeping it off my mind. Yes, I'm Daffy. How are you?

I'm going to the doctor on Monday as my left-side pain (which never really went away--just faded) has come back with a VENGEANCE. And seems to be cycle related.

Mary also has her annual well-child check-up an hour later than mine on Monday. So I had to do some serious phone-calling and finagling in order to get this all to work. And I'm still not sure it's going to work! But the nurse at my gyno's office did not have an opening for today and did NOT want me to wait past Monday.

*sigh*

Storm of the Century

Last night a huge storm came through with fierce winds. Mary woke up freaked out of her mind. I didn't blame her. The sounds from that wind (and the pelting rain) would be enough to scare anybody. I convinced her the strange groaning sounds we were hearing were probably our storm door swinging and spent the rest of the night in bed with her--only way I could get her to calm down and go back to sleep.

The wind was still howling when Mary got on the bus this morning. And when I put Keith on the bus after lunch, I looked down the street and saw that a huge pine tree two yards over had been uprooted! The tree was hanging precariously over the road--barely hanging to the ground by one root. I had errands to run, so Izzy and I buckled up and drove to Wally-World, which is just five minutes down the road. The traffic lights were out, and when we got to Wally-World, the lot was empty. A sign on the door stated, "CLOSED--NO POWER." Needing stuff for my Girl Scout meeting tonight, I decided to try the grocery store just across the street. It was fine. On our way back home, we saw three more shattered/uprooted trees!

I'm still trying to figure out how our house--which has, I believe 26 living trees on the property?--managed to make it through without a collision from even ONE of them. And we didn't lose power once. Wow.

Resolutions, Anyone??

OK, so I was going to do a New Year's meme, then I realized that my life was really pathetically boring last year, and I didn't have ANYTHING interesting to say about it. Wow. But don't worry, I'm not too bummed about it or anything. My family and I are healthy, and I can tell that even though I still need a bit of work, I'm definitely becoming a better mother. Baby steps....

Anyway, I don't usually do New Year's resolutions. John and I will go every other year (or maybe skip an extra year) and go vegetarian. THIS is a veggie year, and he just informed me the other day (um, AFTER the groceries had been bought for the whole week) that he wanted to go ahead and do it again.

It's quite the challenge as we've not raised the kids to be vegetarian, and we don't force it on them when it's our year to do it. So I have a lot of "short-order" meals I have to cook: the tofu meal for us, and something a little more "palatable" for the kids (i.e. peanut butter). I think this year I will go out in search of a new cookbook. The one I have is too difficult to do for a busy mom of three kids. I did find a kid's vegetarian cookbook in the library when we did this in '06 that had lots of simple recipes that I liked. Maybe I'll just go and buy a copy of that one. Either way, I'm thinking I may actually use that gift card for Borders (er, if I find it) some very, very sweet co-workers gave me when I abandoned my job last fall.

I guess my other resolution for this year is to find a way to stay home at least a few more years with my kids. I'd like to be here until at least Izzy starts first grade. In order to do that, I have to try to find something I can do from home to earn a little extra dough. I've already got a lead-in on possibly watching before and after school kids (there is a desperate, desperate need for more of that in this community--as other moms and myself have noticed!). Tutoring is also an option, but a little more difficult to pull off. So wish me luck on this journey!

We are NOT having another kid!!

Don't even THINK about it.

But here are some boy names that I like:

Ian (top contender if Izzy had been a boy)
Ethan
Edward
Christopher
Ryan
Joshua (great choice, Jeff and Paula!)
Brandon

Just 'cause I've been pondering boy names lately....as JJ and Dave have just SEVEN DAYS to find one for their kid (or at least EIGHT as you really don't need the name until the Soc Sec office shows up in your hospital room)!

Excitement! Beh! Adventure! Beh! These do not a Jedi crave!

Happy New Year!

It was a bit anticlimactic in the Q household. John and I decided to put all three kids to bed on time--and then wake up Keith and Mary around 11:30 and let them watch the ball drop. Well, he and I got to playing the Star Wars Lego games on the Wii and next thing you know, it's 11:45. Oops! We hurriedly woke up Mary and Keith--but Keith wasn't budging. John and I played for a few more minutes, and then I made another attempt to wake Keith. He finally climbed out of his bed. As Keith and I were walking back to the living room, John was turning the channel to watch the ball. Oops! We missed it! Heh. Guess the clock in the living room is about two minutes slow!

So, we played a bit more Star Wars for the kids' viewing pleasure (I believe we were already on "Attack of the Clones") and then put them back to bed.

Yee. Haw.

Well, at least I made myself a Kahlua milkshake. THAT was pretty good.

I SURVIVED: The Holidays

Our kids are spoiled.

And so am I.

X-mas was a ball, of course. I had started coming down with another cold, but everyone else was healthy. I spent the whole day on X-mas Eve FINALLY getting all my baking done for the neighbors. Goodies were dropped off by 5:00. After the kids went to bed, I wrapped the rest of the presents while John and I watched Dr. Who.

At 6:15 Keith was up. I nudged John, thinking the FUN was about to start. Nope. Keith went to the bathroom and then immediately went back to bed. Ha! Around 7:30, I hear the pitter-patter of feet again--and excited whispers. Oh yes! NOW it's time! John and I got up and joined the kids as they gazed upon ALL. THOSE. PRESENTS! (Actually, John and I were very grateful that the haul didn't seem to be as big as last year....) Despite my protests to just "WAIT!" I heard them tearing into the wrapping paper as I was running down to get the camera. John took over the camera--and the new memory card he had bought the night before didn't work! So he made the kids stop (they probably had about two torn into a piece) while he figured it out. To stall time, I made the kids get up and eat their breakfast, "But I'm not hungry!" Finally, we got some sort of camera action going on, so the tearing commenced.

After the carnage, John says, "Hey, let's go to the movies." Um...OK (thinking...but what about dinner?) Ah! Let's go OUT to dinner!

So we went out and saw Desperaux and then drove around to find an open Chinese place (thinking..."Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra"). Just as we are walking into a Chinese place, we notice people walking into the Japanese place next door (which did NOT have their sign lit). Quick! We walk in--yeah,they don't open for five minutes. No problem! We'll wait!

So we sat at the hibachichi, and the kids got entertained, and the stead was absolutely PERFECT, and the waitress was amazed our kids would actually eat a) sushi and b) the onion soup. Yeah--we're raising them right!

On the way home we stopped at a gas station to buy outrageously priced batteries, so the kids could play with their new toys.

New favorites:
The Didjs and the Leapster 2 (thanks again, Aunt Lynnie!)
All! Those! Beads!
The ball thing for Keith....
New bikes for the girls!
Lots and LOTS of art supplies
Wii Fit (now I need to force myself to actually USE it)

...and we also plan on getting the kids swim lessons with leftover funds.

Much, much fun.

For New Year's we invited the neighbors over. We adults ended up just having a few beers and chatting while the kids all watched movies downstairs. All the kids (well, except the baby) made it past midnight this year. Anyway, we adults were having so much fun just yakking, that we never even managed to get out the Wii. I know! Good times....

On Health

Today is the very last day that any of my family can go to the doctor or emergency room on my old company's dime. Yep, I've been "bought out" for three months now, and the free health care that came with it is gone. As of tomorrow, all health issues will be referred to John's employer. And that policy--compared to the one I had--completely SUCKS. So, there is to be NO ONE going to the doctor or getting sick FROM NOW ON! And I MEAN IT.

Of course, that promise has already been broken. Mary went to the dentist last month and for the first time in her eight short years, she had cavities. But, but...how??? She's so good about brushing her teeth! And her teeth were FINE six months ago! The hygienist wants to do a root canal on one of her baby teeth. I say NAY to that. The child has NEVER complained of being in pain (the hygienist kept saying, "Seriously? She hasn't complained her teeth hurt?"), and until she does, that baby tooth can just ROT until the adult one takes responsibility and kicks the little cretin out. While we continue brushing and try to remember to FLOSS EVERY NIGHT.... I did, however, agree to filling the tooth that was NOT a baby tooth.

As for Mary's UTI problems--she has completely bamboozled me. She went several days with no complaints and feeling fine. Then out of the blue, she was complaining of having problems going again. My theory is that she just holds it too long.... Anyway, today she seems fine again, so I guess I'm waiting it out for a few more days again. She does have her annual check-up in two weeks, so maybe she can hold out until then.

Izzy has caught Keith's cold. Although he had more of a cough while she has a bad case of the sniffles. Poor Keith coughed so bad the other day that he pulled an "Andrew" and ended up puking all over his bedroom rug (which I had JUST put down the day before). Anyway, I thumbed my nose at the AMA and have given BOTH kids cold medicine. Keith slept better as he was no longer coughing up a lung (and his breakfast), and Izzy has slept a LITTLE better as her nose was no longer running Niagara Falls. Oh, and she can breathe better, too.

As for myself, I've been having a strange pain in my side for several weeks now, and I can't figure out what the issue is. And of course, I'm just too stubborn to see a doctor about it. Webmd has many theories about what the problem could be, but mostly I'm thinking that once the holidays are over and I've improved my diet a bit, it will hopefully go away. It's already down to just a dull twinge instead of the sharp-ish twinge it was a few weeks ago. If it gets sharp again, I will definitely choke down the astronomical deductible and go see the @#$% doctor.

Now this little hypochondriac is going to prepare for yet ANOTHER boring New Year's Eve. The family we usually get together with is celebrating with their parents this year (although not necessarily "willingly"), so it's just going to be us. The kids were just sent down for a nap with the strict edict that if they didn't actually SLEEP they would not get to stay up and watch the ball drop--um, although Izzy isn't going to get to anyway. Miss Sniffles will be put to bed promptly on time tonight, thank you. I'm a little apprehensive about letting them stay up at all since they have to go back to school on Wednesday and they've gotten in the habit of sleeping in later this break, and I'm afraid they're going to be quite GROUCHY on Wednesday morning. And Miss Mary gets QUITE snippy when she hasn't had enough sleep. And Mr. Keith turns into the whiniest boy in the world. Ugh.

The Christmas Explosion!

Toys and boxes and wrapping EVERYWHERE! Polly Pockets, Littlest Pets, and Star Wars Transformers, oh my!

Let's see:

We opened (gifts)...
We ate (a PERFECT Christmas dinner--I ROCK!)...
Wii PLAYED...

(The Wii is addictive. The kids both kick butt bowling, which is really amusing to watch. And I will probably be setting out buffets of leftovers and ignoring my precious babies until I solve Super Paper Mario.)

We exchanged/returned duplicate gifts to buy MORE gifts (and games for Wii)...
We spent an obscene amount of money at Build-A-Bear...

And at 9:00 this morning (just THREE days after X-mas and FIVE days after her gloriously gift-filled birthday), the eldest came up to me and said:

"I'm bored."


Ah yes. The thrill is apparently gone.

Mary is EIGHT!?

Yesterday was Mary's eighth birthday. 'Scuse me while I attempt to absorb that.

EIGHT years? Wow.

As part of the birthday tradition, we took the family on a scenic drive through Rochester--showing Mary the tiny apartment we lived in when she was born and the hospital where she was born (which is now closed--but her pediatrician's office is still there).

Friday night Mary got to have three of her friends over for a slumber party. We did a reindeer craft (which didn't hold together too well with Elmer's--oh well), played with the balloons, watched Ratatouille, and even built a snowman (which proceeded to melt in the rain yesterday). And she had an "Avatar" cake. It was fun.

Mary, our first-born, is definitely spoiled. She got lots of toys and clothes (she wasn't too thrilled about the clothes--but I know she will be given a few more years!). We tried to get her to pick our dinner location yesterday, but she was hesitant. Apparently it's still too difficult for an eight-year old to fathom eating ANYWHERE but Wendy's for dinner. John chose Friendly's (for the ice cream, of course). I reminded him that our last few experiences there weren't too great, but he wanted to give it another try (different branch). Yeah--we're not going back again.

The last two years Mary's been sick on her birthday, but this year she seemingly made it through and actually got to share her class treat in a timely manner instead of the week after the Holiday break (last year she had pink eye, the year before that it was the barfing flu--both of which hit the rest of the family with a vengeance). She did, however get sent to the nurse on Friday. Peeing issues again. We all thought she was fine (including the school nurse!), but now she's started showing some symptoms that SEEM to point to a UTI. And of COURSE she now won't get to make it to the doctor until WEDNESDAY. She's not in pain, so maybe it's just a fluke, and we'll make it through our presents and our turkey dinner OK.... Let's hope....

And now we're all buckling down for Christmas Eve. We will miss out on a couple of our presents as they were mailed to the wrong address, but we'll just pick them up on Wednesday and extend the holiday out a little longer. Other than that, all the cookies are baked (and exchanged!), the pumpkin pie is made, and I'm looking forward to watching "It's a Wonderful Life" tonight.

Happy Holidays to all! Love you!

Monster Cookies

When my Mom first tried this recipe, she followed all the directions. We had to use a roasting pan to mix all the ingredients. After the first cookie sheet-full, we realized that as much as we like cookies, these were WAY too big for our appetites. Now we simplify the recipe. Obviously, we only make half the batter. And we just drop regular-sized cookies on the sheet--NOT ice cream scoop-sized. We make them every year at Christmas time. So if any of YOU are adventurous (and don't tire easily from mixing all that batter), you might want to try these tasty cookies.....

Here's the whole recipe:

Monster Cookies

12 eggs (are you sweating already?)
2 lbs brown sugar (yikes!)
4 C white sugar
1 T vanilla
1 T maple syrup
8 teaspoons baking soda
1 lb butter (urp!)
3 lbs peanut butter (whoa--I gotta get to Sam's Club!)
18 C quick oatmeal (add that to the list!)
1 lb choc chips
1 lb M&Ms (no comment on how many of these last two ingredients actually make it INTO the batter)

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix all ingredients in order in large pan (where is that darn roasting pan?). Begin by beating the eggs. You can use an ice cream scoop to drop the cookies (if you dare). Flatten the cookies before baking. Bake 12 minutes. Do not over bake.

Now, excuse me while I mix this behemoth batter. 'Cause it's just NOT Christmas without these cookies!

Perfect Souvenir

John brought me back a Harvard hoodie from his trip to Boston.

Now at least when I'm slobbing on the couch, I'll look SMART.

My Routine

...has completely um, crapped the bed.

Somewhere around week THREE I suddenly lost all interest in being together, organized, and housewifely. Know how it all started? When ONE day that third week John needed to get up at the same time as I do--and asked to get in the shower first. So I didn't get a shower right away. So then my day STARTED with kids needing to be awakened, fed, homework checked, lunches packed, and sent on the bus (well, so only ONE kid goes to school in the morning, but the rest are still THERE, demanding my ATTENTION), but withOUT my wake-up shower. At that point, all I could do was mail it in and wait to get in the shower until the precious 1:30 naptime. That's a LONG time to get caught up on one's shower.

And then the next day--it happened AGAIN. John jumped the morning shower spot leaving me frumpy, grumpy and out-of-sorts. And then with a whip of the wand, there you have it--a ROUTINE!

Well, it didn't help that the bus driver had to change his route a bit, having him come to the house six minutes SOONER than before. SIX MINUTES, PEOPLE! Talk about screwing up a routine!

So for some reason, I can NOT physically MAKE myself get out of bed in enough time for this six minute adjustment. I just can't seem to make it to the shower in the morning.

I do NOT do well without my morning shower. In addition to the grumpies and frumpies I now feel that since I'm not awake nor properly attired, it's OK to sit and read or watch TV (Hey, we've only got a few weeks left of those FREE movie channels!) and do other household tasks (just not as much as before) and NOT GO ANYWHERE or pay much attention to the kids except reading to them on the couch. Add the snowfall (which started on DECEMBER FIRST!), and I've transformed myself into a Mother Bear. Snug on my couch in my sweats and blankets, waiting for the nap hour when I can transform myself into an alert--yet still sweat-pants clad--bear who is stuck in the den until APRIL.

I need to find some Mom groups or story hours or something just to get OUT in this bitter cold and get my butt moving and give me a REASON to get up six minutes sooner so that I have TIME to take my morning shower.



Do you think I complain too much? John says my blog is a bunch of whining. (And that's after EDITING.) Hmmmm.....

Golden Compass

John is out of town cavorting with his internet friends (read: FREE Steelers tickets!), so I'm Home Alone--with three kids. (Did I ever tell you that within one week's time in college I had TWO people tell me I looked like Macaulay Culkin--one of them being my now-husband? I don't think I do. But look at pics of my BROTHER as a kid--oh yeah, he coulda been a star. My parents are probably SHUDDERING at the thought of all that money they could have exploited out of him IF ONLY THEY'D KNOWN!)

Anyway, I decided to kill some time Saturday and take the kids to the movies. It's hard to find a movie that a 7, 5, and 3-year old will all sit through--and that the 35-year old can stomach, too. I suggested "Enchanted" (worrying it was going to be a bit too girly for my boy-man). Neither Keith nor Mary took the bait (maybe they're onto my obviously unhealthy Dr. McDreamy crush and didn't want to see me embarrass them OR myself while I screamed "Love Me! Choose Me! Pick Me!" at the screen at the top of my lungs).

Ahem. Next suggestion: Golden Compass. Keith got all shiny-eyed. "YES! I want to see THAT!" Hmmmm....well....OK.

I knew it might be difficult for the 3-year old's attention span, and might be too "much" of a movie for the other two, but oh well....

I don't think I can give an adequate review since I missed most of the dialogue due to the chatter, fidgeting, popcorn-stealing, water-bottle-hogging, lap and seat leap-frogging, and temper tantrum-brimming (after told ENOUGH popcorn and water!) of the 3-year old. But the movie was very confusing to follow, more violent than I expected, and Keith started whining "Mommy! I'm scared!" during the big fight scene. Yeah, I KNEW that was a bad idea. Should have listened to my HORMONES and went to see the McDreamy Fest!

Ah well. It killed some time, and I GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE.

Mommy Brain Moment

"Mommy, I gotta go potty!"

"OK!"

Take three-year old to bathroom. Hoist her up on the johnny. Notice that the dirty clothes basket is over-flowing. Heck, by the wafting fragrance this'll probably take awhile.... Gather up all the dirty towels. Carry clothes basket to basement. Hmmm...still need to move a load from the washer into the dryer from last night. Do so. Better start a new load (waaay behind on laundry despite determined effort to do one load a day). Go upstairs to get a sip of coffee. Stopped half-way up with "Mommy! I done!"

Crap! Kid still on potty!

Realize am victim yet again of the Mommy Brain. Multi-tasking is sometimes just a big no-no.

I See Spots

Red KETCHUP spots. On Keith's face in his school pictures.

Ah well. He's got a brilliant smile anyway.

More wish list stuff

OK, so I forgot to put the kids' sizes. Sorry, Mom.

Izzy: 3T
Keith: 5 slim jeans (or 6 slim for future), 5
Mary: 7 slim jeans, 7

If you buy pants/jeans, please make sure they have adjustable waists. My tiny-waisted kids can't wear anything else. :-)

Also wanted to put a note here on behalf of Izzy thanking everyone for her presents. The rocket ship and the baby doll and the Dora game are new favorites!

Love to all!

Still Recuperating

After a late start on Sunday (our usual alarm clocks--the kids--slept in late), and the trip to Three Rivers, and a pit stop to the very last Steak and Shake on the highway (Pennsylvania), we didn't get home Sunday night until 11:30.

Ugh.

Another whirlwind trip. Another series of exhausting car rides. But at least the kids were pretty good. And it was nice to see all our family/friends again....

Love you!

Turkey Plans

John and I are trying to hammer out our trip back home. We're planning on being in Fort Wayne either Thursday night or Friday. We will leave the Fort on Sunday (stopping at Three Rivers on the way home).

That's the tentative plan. Let's see what REALLY happens.

Happy Birthday to Me

Thanks to all of you who remembered (not that you had a choice since I'm narcissistic and put a big ol' countdown clock on my blog and all). BUT it's still nice to see the comments--and get the phone calls!

Love you ALL!

Dear Family: More Wish Lists

I'm in the process of throwing together wish lists for the kids.

These are basically just "suggestions" and trust me, the kids will survive if they do not get what's on the list. And obviously, these items do NOT have to be purchased from Amazon.com. I've already noticed a few items are $10 cheaper if bought from Toys R Us...!

General breakdown:

John wants to get the family a Wii this year. I put a few games that the kids would love to play on the Q Collective list. We ARE taking donations for the Wii if you don't feel like shipping boxes of other goodies in the next few weeks!

Mary: She's still into Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop. Refrain from buying any "playsets" for these creatures. Mary doesn't play with them. She extracts the doll/pet and ignores the big, hulking, ugly plastic playset which collects dust until I finally remove it from the toyroom and put in the "Goodwill" bag. Seriously. It's not worth your money to buy that really, really cute revolving pet house or that tiny, converts-into-a-fashion-show jet plane. She will not even LOOK at them. Save your money, folks! Anyway, she is also reading through books like there is no tomorrow. She loves Junie B and the Magic Tree House. She's also into "real" books--about nature and science.

Keith: Still a pirate and Star Wars man. And cars. He's learning to read, so we're going through "level 1" reading books right now. He loves me to read the Magic Tree House books to him.

Izzy: Um....she'll play with whatever the other two will let her.

I know I missed TONS of things that they told me they liked. Know what? They don't need them anyway! But I'll add more stuff as I get inspired.... (Amazon.com is just SO slow! It'd be much easier for me to just type you all out a list--but not nearly as cool!)

Thank you all! We love you! :-)

Staying Home Is Already Reaping It's Rewards

It's not the time with the kids. It's not the chance to ATTEMPT to keep the house clean. It's not the opportunity to cook dinner without feeling rushed.

It's that dreaded phone call from the school nurse: "Mary has been here for a few hours today with a headache."

Yes! No more having to beg the boss to let me leave (unpaid) to pick up my sick kid. No more fighting with my husband over who's work is going to get further behind or who's got some important meeting/task that has to get done ASAP and therefore the company we work for would absolutely EXPLODE if we left.

I can now just get in the car, and GET HER!

And when she's still complaining about a tummy ache the next morning, I don't have to have a panic attack about having to call my boss at 7:00 and completely @#$$ing her off! Yay!

...but I must add that Mary's "headache" from yesterday (which did seem legitimate--and we're attributing to lack of sleep as she's afraid of the dark AGAIN), turned into that upset tummy this morning--with the prerequisite moaning and sighing--which "magically" went away an hour after the bus passed by the house.

I'm thinking she just must have been hungry.

And yeah, she was BACK in school by 10:45 this morning!

Brat.

Cosmetic Surgery: What would YOU do????

Friday the kids didn't have school, so I set up a physical for Izzy and flu shots for the other two.

I LOVE my pediatrician. She's just WONDERFUL with the kids, and someone I would hang out with IRL. Well, as she's examining Izzy's belly, she comments on Izzy's outie belly button: "Oh yes, she DOES have an outie, doesn't she? Well, we can refer you to a surgeon who can fix that for her." It took a second for that to register with me. "Yes," she goes on, "we recommend it if there's still an outie present after the age of two--particularly for girls. No rush to get it done, though...."

At that, the conversation steered over to insurance coverage (her hubby works for the same company as mine--so we're both having to deal with the same changing-of-insurance issues right now). And with the other two kids around distracting us, and the general gotta-check-your-kid's-lungs thing, I didn't really get up a chance to pick up where we left off.

Surgery? For an outie?

Well, I mean, I know that technically outies ARE a type of hernia--but I never heard of kids having to have them fixed--and why girls in particular? Well, John is the smart one who explained it to me. Of course! COSMETIC. A girl is probably going to want to wear a bikini or mid-drift--so yeah, she may not WANT an outie.

Gosh, I never even THOUGHT of that!

So now all these questions are swirling through my mind (and obviously, I will have to call the doctor when I get a chance later this week). Should I put my three-year old through an unnecessary, cosmetic surgery just so that she possibly won't get teased later in life? Is it safer now than later--when she could just decide on her own? Will my insurance even COVER a cosmetic surgery like that? And she'd have to be put under--do I want to take that kind of risk for something so....well, silly?

I LOVE my daughter's outie. I love to tickle it and pinch it and say, "Look at that cute, little outie!" And Izzy loves it, too.

But what about 10-12 years from now? When puberty and peer pressure are starting to hit? Is an outie belly button as bad as having ears that stick out (I know there's a cosmetic surgery for THAT too)? Will my daughter be socially retarded if I don't get this thing tucked in NOW?

What do you think folks? Cosmetic surgery for a three year old? Or--wait until she's old enough to decide on her own?

The Day the Appliances Stood Still

I'm trying very hard, now that I'm home, to meal plan better and make healthier, heartier meals. Yeah. Not-so-easy (not that I expected it to be).

So the other night I decided to make a ham since I know that at least Keith and Izzy love it and will gobble it up without complaint (Mary is still wishy-washy about it, but can't please everyone, right?).

With the ham, I decided to bake some sweet potatoes (favorite of Keith, Mary is so-so--she prefers "white" potatoes, but Izzy doesn't like). And steamed broccoli and cauliflower (Mary loves broccoli, Keith and Izzy will eat one "stem", Izzy will usually eat cauliflower). See where I'm going here? A meal where at least ONE item will be eaten by ONE kid???

So, I decide to "really" bake the potatoes since, hello! I'm home now and actually have TIME to do it instead of just sticking them in the microwave oven--and I was going to have the oven on anyway to heat up the ham. The potatoes turned out beautifully--except for the sweet potato "slurp" that ended up on the bottom of my oven. Oh yeah--forgot about that. What the heck, after the ham's done, I'll use the self-cleaning option on my oven (not used since we've moved in over a year ago).

Now, while all this is going on, I set up the steamer. Maybe ten minutes later when I check on the food, I notice that the steamer isn't steaming. The counter is counting down, but the steamer isn't even warm--and no tell-tale sign of misty steaminess. Uh oh. So I throw the broccoli and cauliflower in a pan and boil it up (turned out great anyway, thank you). But what the heck is wrong with the steamer?

After the ham is done, and we're getting ready to eat, I turn on the self-cleaner for the oven and enjoy my almost-no-whining-from-the-kids meal. About twenty minutes into it, the oven starts beeping frantically. Wha??? I know it's not done cleaning YET!

NO, there is an "F2" error flashing. Crap. I don't know what that means, but I know it CAN'T be good. After fiddling with the buttons, and hurriedly finding the oven manual (can you believe I could FIND it at that moment?), and fiddling with more of the same buttons, we still couldn't get the darn thing to STOP BEEPING. Not even knowing how a built-in oven is plugged in, John finally pulled the circuit.

After the oven cooled off, John flipped the circuit back on--and the oven was all fine and happy again.

THEN John says to me, "Do you maybe remember the previous owners telling us NOT to use the self-cleaner on the oven?" No--oh, wait--is that a really, really foggy memory of us and them in the kitchen while they told us that? Or is that now an "imagined--this-must-be-what-happened" thought that's been implanted in my head?

Whatever--now I know that it's only Easy-Off for OUR oven.

But what about the steamer? What happened THERE?

Two days later, I'm trying to make a phone call, but all the phones in the house claim "extension in use." Huh? What the freak is wrong with the phone?

Then it clicks. SOMETIMES the plug-in with phone will trip, and we have to reset it.

Guess which plug-in I used for our steamer. Yeah--the same one the phone is on.

My steamer is fine.

SO, Easy-off for my oven--and line the bottom with foil (or just use the @#$% microwave!). Use different plug for my steamer. And MAYBE then the plug to the phone won't trip.

Or maybe sandwich night every night is BACK ON.

Izzy's Wish List

Dear Family:

I threw together a very quick list for birthday ideas for Izzy. You can find the link to your right. -->

Izzy also needs 3T clothes.

I will post the X-mas lists in a few days....

Love you and Thank you!

Jack-o-Lantern Smile

I think I deserve a pat on the back. I managed to completely IGNORE Mary's loose tooth this time. I didn't bug her about it, I didn't beg to feel it "just to see how loose it is," and I didn't even ONCE offer to pull it--even when she showed me that she could completely bend it over.

Nope, I was good and LEFT IT ALONE. And then on Tuesday she came home with her little tooth in a little envelope and a very cute pumpkin smile.

Apparently, when she bit into her sandwich at lunch, it just "fell over" in her mouth. She went to the nurse where SHE CLAIMS she then pulled the rest of it out ALL ON HER OWN.

Yes! I get Mommy-of-the-Moment for that one!

Too bad I lost the title two seconds later when I lost my temper at Keith for some goofball thing he was doing. *sigh* Work in progress, folks!

Mario and Luigi

Mario found his brother Luigi during the school parade.

(Image thanks to Keith's class website.)

The Black Cat, Mario, and Laura Ingalls Wilder

Yesterday I got to go to school with Keith and help out for his class's Halloween party. We did crafts, were in a parade around the outside of the school (beautiful weather here, folks!), danced and sang in the gym, and saw a play the teachers put on (freaking hilarious).

I did the unthinkable and re-wore my Sorceress costume from three years ago. I know, I know. But there just comes a time when one thinks: Do I really need to pay more money for ANOTHER costume when I have SO MANY? (Besides, no one on THIS side of town had ever seen me in it.) Mary decided to go as a Black Cat, and Keith--after warbling between three costume ideas for the last month--got the decision made FOR him--and was Mario. Izzy got to wear a "specially handmade by [my] grandma" work: a prairie girl. Oh--they were oh, so cute!

We did as threatened last year and drove to our old neighborhood for trick-or-treating. The kids had a ball. And since one of the adults was pulling a cart with a cooler (and we all know what THAT means), many of the adults had a ball, too.

This was Izzy's first year sans stroller (or other carrying device), and she was having problems keeping up. It's hard for an almost-three-year old to run so fast and go up and down all those stairs. She skipped a lot of houses--but she was having so much fun she didn't notice!

We headed to a looped street where there were many houses and no need to back-track. Impossibly, the kids started begging to call it quits and whine about their heavy pumpkins before the adults were ready to stop. We all got back to Leona's house where the kids got a few pieces of candy and played Nintendo, and the adults all nursed their sinus headaches (three of the four of us were sniveling). We got back home very late, so I'm sure the kids are dragging in school today (and Mary showed her exhaustion this morning when she wouldn't cooperate during her violin lesson *sigh*).

So much fun. I just wish it hadn't been a school night.....

Now if I can just get John to re-install our picture software....Oh well....

NaBloPoMo

I was GOING to join the NaBloPoMo challenge of writing a post a day. THEN I realized that we might be taking a trip out of state in a couple of weeks where my daily Internet access might be challenged. And what would I have to say, anyway? Half of the posts would probably be a countdown to my birthday (OH God, 35!!), and then to Izzy's birthday (three, REALLY?), and then about my lame-@$$ attempts to get a routine going here at home. Bo-ring! So, I spared all of you all that nonsense, and will post sporadically as usual. Consider it my Christmas gift!

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!