To (Whiny) Do List

I made the fudge yesterday--but nothing else.

I started wrapping gifts this morning. Still have just over half to go.

I realized while wrapping that we still do not have a "Santa" gift for a certain little girl. (We don't push Santa on the kids, but we don't NOT push him either.... So the kids still look for a gift from Santa. ) I am trying to figure out what we can AFFORD that still has a WOW factor it it--that she will actually LIKE and PLAY WITH.

I need BIRTHDAY wrapping paper for poor Mary. Nothing is more annoying to a December baby than getting birthday gifts wrapped in X-mas paper!

I knitted a hat and ONE mitten for Keith. And...I'm afraid I don't have enough yarn for the second mitten. *sigh* Better put another skein of yarn on the shopping list!

And I don't have enough powdered sugar for the peanut butter cups. And we don't have our pizzas for pizza-and-a-movie night tonight. And the kids were about to mutiny this morning due to the lack of "good" (i.e. SUGARY) cereal.

And it's very cold, so I don't feel like leaving the house.

I desperately need help from my neighbor for a certain sewing project--and for some reason I am having difficulties finding/making the time to get together with her?

WHY am I still writing whiny lists instead of getting this crap DONE?

(Interestingly, I'm probably way ahead of where I usually am at this time of year--including the one year I took off to stay at home.)

Ah well

I was going to do more holiday treat-making today--fudge! and chocolate-covered pretzels! and peanut butter cups (thank you, Semi-Desperate Housewife, for reminding me I had that recipe!)! and Cheerios treats! and...I spent three hours on the phone with my girlfriend instead.

My BRAND NEW CELL PHONE--just purchased last October--has started dying DAILY. Clearly SOMETHING must be done about this! (If anything so that I don't have to be connected to the wall for my ENTIRE three-hour conversation with my girlfriend!) Somehow, I haven't managed to find the time to drive across town to take care of it yet?

95% of the Holiday cards went out. And now...I've lost interest. If you didn't get one it's not because we don't love you or weren't thinking of you, I just...ran out of fuel....

I drove around and around and FINALLY found the food shelter at which I was donating items from myself and from the GS troops--stuff that's been sitting in my dining room for three weeks. I get there, and the sign on the door says, "By appointment only." *sigh*

I actually went out and cleared off the sidewalk this morning--which is now covered with snow again....

I was going to wrap presents this morning (my bedroom looks like Santa's Workshop due to all these out-of-state deliveries piled up in there!), and...well, you know...three-hour phone call....

And the other kids will be home in an hour, and I didn't even get the DISHES done today!

My youngest daughter wants to PLAY! WITH! ME! and I'm online writing whiny lists instead....

OK! OK! I'm turning it off!

But...at least Mommy Daisy loves me! And...I'm soooo excited to get a package in the mail for ME! and not for my kids! Thank you! Thank you!

OK, Izzy! OK!

Just Keep Swimming

I've been settling in to this unemployed thing. I check the job listings every day and dutifully fill in my list of jobs for which I'm applying. I haven't been set up for my "peer" interview with the unemployment agency yet which makes me someone nervous and skittish, and I'm checking the mail with a fine tooth comb for any questionnaires or other paperwork coming my way (and X-mas cards! tee hee!).

I've actually seen TWO jobs that I actually WANTED and for which I felt I would be a good fit. Not holding my breath on the response, though. *sigh*

The kids are riding the bus home from school now, much to their chagrin. Mary took it the hardest, but she's already adapted. Such is life, kid!

My routine has not solidified yet--it's more of a mish-mash of tasks and activities I decide to do from day to day. I've kept the house clean-ish--there's still clutter here and there, and no, I'm not a big fan of dusting, but at least the kitchen and living room and bathrooms are usually clean, and honestly, what else needs to be a priority?

The tree is up and decorated. The house is decorated. 95% of the X-mas cards have ACTUALLY GONE OUT. Cookies have been baked and decorated (and slowly getting eaten!). I even made rice krispie treats for the kids--which were gone in a day!

I've almost finished one knitting project, and I'm about to start another. I am wishing I had just a bit more spare cash so that I could buy more needles/yarn, but I'm making due with what I've got.

I actually got the Wii Fit out the other day ("It has been 338 days since you were last on!" ha ha!). And then I used it AGAIN two days later! I know! Time to exercise--what a concept! (And wow--the hula hoop one is a killer!)

Izzy came down with the stomach bug yesterday morning, so she got to stay home, and I didn't have to worry about early morning phone calls to cranky bosses or taking time off without pay (already am! ha ha!), and we enjoyed our day home together--albeit with the Hello Kitty barf can by her side. And I kept her home today since she didn't stop puking until after lunch yesterday, and you are SUPPOSED to wait 24 hours after the last puking until you send your kid back to school. And wow--I could do that, and not have to have a second thought/fret over it!

Oh, to be home again. What a luxury!

I am trying to stay busy to keep the "worries" at bay. Yesterday was tough. Even though it was nice cuddling with the pukey child all day just watching TV, it caused me to have a lot of "thinking" time which did not help my Positive Attitude about all this. I don't want to sink into the depths of despair, and keeping busy and focusing on the fun of the upcoming holiday is definitely key to that right now.

Retail therapy would be nice. Ah well...in its absence I will enjoy wrapping the gifts being sent in from Indiana for the kids--that's always fun. My bedroom is getting re-cluttered with boxes, and I'm thinking that 10 days until X-mas is probably a good time to start the wrapping. Although, I guess I should wait until Izzy Monster is back to school before I start pulling all those out....

(A couple of X-mas gifts will be late-if we're able to buy them at all. The TIMING of all this! GRRRR!)

Keeping positive.... The holidays aren't a bad time to be home....

I heart contests!

Oh! Swistle just posted a review of Hershey kisses--with new recipes! And a chance to win a $100 gift card! And...seriously, folks. I maybe need to step this blogging thing up to get a chance to do stuff like THAT!

TODAY

I didn't remember until the kids got on the bus (in a timely manner, thankyouverymuch) that Mary was supposed to bring her violin to school for concert practice.

Neither did she.

*sigh* Another trip to the school! The school secretaries sure do get a kick out of me.

Failure to Launch

I'm trying to get a routine going together now that I'm home (for who knows how long?), and...I'm a big, fat failure. I mean, at least I HAVE managed to get up and get showered and dressed before I get the kids up--already one up on the slobby routine I had slipped into the year I was home previously--but apparently, my getting-the-kids-out-the-door routine needs some readjustments.

Yesterday after lunch I decided to make a quick run to Wally World to take a duplicate gift back. As the garage door came up, I spied...my son's backpack. WT..? He apparently took it off when he was running around on the driveway that morning while waiting for the bus. I was outside with him. I didn't even NOTICE he got on the bus without it! And...I got Izzy off HER bus before lunch without noticing it setting in front of the garage. (um...duh?)

TODAY the kids almost missed the bus. I decided to take "just one quick glance" at my emails, and then I hear the driver honking the horn. Keith, for once the most ready, ran right out there without a glance back for his two sisters. Izzy was ready--but then we couldn't find her backpack. WT...? Mary--was in the bathroom. And when she came tearing down the stairs she had neither her coat NOR her shoes on. (DIDN'T I ASK YOU TO PUT THOSE ON TEN MINUTES AGO?!!!)

(While I was helping Izzy look for her shoes, Mary was also wandering around looking for HER shoes. *I* knew exactly where they were, but I didn't say anything since I was distracted with Izzy--and Mary was RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. I figured Mary would look down in the next two seconds and notice them. Ahhh...apparently not? And WHY, WHY, WHY won't these kids put their shoes and coats and backpacks in the cubby that we bought for this very purpose???? WHY???????????)

Anyway, Mary found her things and ran out.

I walk back in the house and walk by the cubby--where I now finally notice Izzy's backpack. ARG! Mary had apparently hung HER ginormous backpack on top of Izzy's tiny one, therefore hiding it from both Izzy AND me. (THERE ARE FOUR HOOKS!!! FOUR!!! AND I ONLY HAVE *THREE* CHILDREN!!! GRRRR!!!!!)

An hour later I get a call from the school nurse. BOTH Mary AND Izzy are down there. Mary had a frustrated math moment again (ummm...I thought we were going to send her out to the hall to calm down instead of the nurse first..?), but she was already better. Izzy was down there because of her cold (oh yes, the poor thing's nose is running like a faucet, and her eyes are all watery). She had a fever of 99, but really, the cold wasn't the BIG issue. It was that she was still upset because she didn't have her backpack, so she'd been crying. *sigh* All right. If my kindergartener, who only brings papers home MAYBE once a week, needs her backpack THAT badly, I'll bring it out....

Clearly, I need some help. And I maybe should take "pays attention to details" OFF my resume.

My Grandmother's Quilts: A Gallery

My Grandmother has been making quilts for years. She makes one for every baby that comes into the family. And she'll usually try to make a NEW quilt when the baby's not a baby anymore.

I have kept every single one of my Grandmother's quilts I can get my hands on.

Here is MY baby quilt. Still in pretty good shape for 37 years old. She uses coloring book pages to make the blocks....



Close up of the darling Granny Bunny.



The fabric on the back. Big-bummed babies--I love them! (Too bad they are starting to fade.)



A quilt Grandma made for me when I was about 7. I used this quilt on my bed for years and years and years (even in my dorm in college!) until finally the poor, tired thing started wearing thin and the patches started coming off. What I loved the most about this quilt as a kid is that she used fabric leftover from clothes she had sewn for the patches--so I would look at it for ages and would pick out the patches made from the clothes she made me or my brother or whomever.... Nothing reminded me more of my Grandmother's love more than this quilt.



A quilt Grandma made for my baby doll. Because EVERY baby got a quilt--even plastic ones. I loved this quilt because it was made from flannel pieces and was sooooo soft (and the border is made from leftover fabric from another outfit she made for me).



Mary's baby quilt. Grandma made it a bit smaller so that it was "more portable." I asked for primary colors--and the coloring book patches are back!



Close up. Grandma always called me her "Little Miss Muffett," so she embroidered it on the one square.



Grandma puts a "mistake" on each quilt for the babies to find. The adults have more fun looking for them, though. Here's Mary's "mistake"--a little bear she patched on.



Keith's quilt. Grandma was having troubles with her thumbs, so the actual quilting was done by machine instead of hand. She still hand-embroidered all the patches, though! I did not know I was having a boy, but I still requested a blue quilt because I loved the one she made for my cousin's baby so much. I love this one because it's really thick, and she used flannel for the back, so it's really soft,too.



The "mistake."



Close up of the funny little pig.



Can you find the second "mistake?" (Should I ask her if she intended to that?)



Izzy's quilt. And probably my favorite. I picked purple--she did such a lovely job with it!



Close up. Mary loved horses, so Grandma made sure to put a patch of them on the quilt just for her....



The "mistake."



A close up of the American Mice Idol. heh. (This was Grandma's favorite block. "Look! He's judging them!" And I flipped the corner to show the back--gorgeous dragonfly print. Really, really pretty.



My "new" quilt she made for me a few years ago--with matching pillow shams. It really pretties up my whole room (um...when the bed is made!).




Look how pretty!




My goal is to learn how to quilt, too. I want to make sure this tradition continues. I want to quilt my grandbabies' quilts....

Ain't that a kick in the head....

The other shoe that I've been waiting to drop since APRIL finally fell with big KICK in my head.

I was let go from my job today.

Even when you're expecting it (EVERY DAY for MONTHS and MONTHS and MONTHS), it STILL sucks.

Big time.

*sigh* Back to the unemployment lines we go!

Thankfully, we made it home

The Qs are completely BEAT. Our trip to Indiana was way too short. Cramming visits to that many folks in that short of a time span is impossible and a guaranteed way to tick off the folks we couldn't squeeze in. Sorry. Only so much time to fit you all in!

Thursday morning we set out at a pretty decent hour and made it to my Dad's house around 5:00--about an hour late for the turkey. We gulped down the "leftovers" quickly and hung out with my Dad, Ruth, my brother Robert, and his wife Rae. Of course, upon first entering the front door, I heard a pretty loud "meow!" coming from the bushes. Ruth and I went out and investigated, and finally tracked down the teeny, tiny little kitten who was making all the noise. The dear little thing had a hurt leg and gunky eyes (he almost looked like he had been burned somehow), and was obviously starving. Yes, indeed, my father has a NEW KITTY in his now THREE-CAT household.

I'd been thinking of maybe ignoring my allergies and getting John a new cat, so I probably would have taken this one back home with us if my poor son didn't have a major allergy attack while staying at my Dad's house. I took my pills too late, so I was sniveling right along with him--and...it was not pretty. My poor boy just could not breathe, and then he started coughing which kept him up all night. (And I lost my voice while singing Beatle's Rock Band and had to switch to guitar/bass!) Rough night without a lot of sleep, and I actually had to get my inhaler out (thank goodness I packed it!).

Friday morning we all headed to the Big Town (tee-hee) to visit with my Grandmother and get some lunch. On the way to Grandma's house, the ever-sniveling Keith barfed his breakfast up all over the car mat and his shoes (I gave him a bag when he first started saying he didn't feel well, but he "missed"). Keith felt fine while at Grandma's house, but he managed to puke up the sprite he drank there just as we were walking into Pizza Hut. Good one, kid. Thankfully, that was the last of the puking for the day. No fever....I'm pretty sure it was from all that post-nasal drip from his allergy attack. (Ewwwwww......)

Our only Black Friday shopping took place after lunch when we went to the local Wally World to buy Keith a new jacket since he had gotten a little bit of puke on his sweater.... I kept looking, but I didn't see anyone I recognized! All my old high school friends must have gone out of town for their shopping! LOL

After that, we headed to Fort Wayne and caught up with Jeff and Paula and little Josh and Dave and JJ and their three boys. It was a crazy amount of kids all running back and forth through the house playing "puppies." And little Josh running in the back, trying to keep up. Mary was a bit too old for such nonsense and spent most of the evening watching Wall-E. Keith was still having allergy issues and didn't run around quite as much as all the other kids.

Keith was so miserable and over the top about this allergy attack, that I ended up laying down in bed with him that night. Dave set up the vaporizer for us. After some salt adjustment (um....are the lights SUPPOSED to flicker like that?), we both were breathing a little better. I was too exhausted to try to sit up talking with Dave and JJ--and then John came up a while later to tell me that they had both fallen asleep, anyway. We iz old!

Saturday morning we caught up with John's sisters and then went out to lunch with Aunt Lynnie and Aunt Michele. We left right from lunch to get home. After a dinner break at our favorite Erie restaurant (Steak n Shake! yeah!), we got home around 10:00. And for once, all three kids actually slept a bit for the trip!

Sunday the kids didn't get out of bed until 9:30 (Keith, normally the early riser, was up all night coughing again). We all just lay around the house doing absolutely NOTHING until finally I decided to maybe do a "smidge"of housework and laundry after lunch.... And John eventually started getting all the Christmas decorations out.

Izzy was whining after her bath last night that she did NOT want to go back to school this morning. Kid, I hear ya!

Special Mention

To my girlfriend Shannon, who was the first person EVER to comment on my blog!

Shannon said...

Hey Carrie! I'm so excited to be the first one to leave a comment in your blog!!! :)

I love this, it makes me want to do one!

Sounds like you are nice and busy! :)

Thank your First Commenter Day?

Thank you for this, Playgroupie!

Oh! What fun!

I set up this blog for my long-distance family and friends to read. So...what a SURPRISE to get a comment from a complete stranger! It changed the whole scope of my blog so that now I have problems figuring out my audience. Family/friends? Other bloggers? And maybe I should set up a secondary blog to keep the two apart? Ah well....thank you, Saly, for being the first to take notice of me.... And putting me on the path to MAYBE becoming a better blogger (um...once I get that "audience" thing figured out).

FIVE? REALLY?

My sweet baby turns FIVE today. I...still can't quite grasp it.




She's in Kindergarten...but she still sucks her two fingers when we're in the car, or she's in bed.

She can dress herself...but I still have to pick out the clothes--and NAG her to get up to do it.

She can wash herself...but her hair is so long, I have to do that part (and I still have to brush it, too).

She's the last baby...so I babied her as much as possible. Yes, I freely admit it. And now...she's this fun, spunky, chattering-all-the-time, lovely kid. A tad spoiled, yes, but really...I don't think my spoiling did her much harm.... MUCH.


Pics that I LOVE and must post again....

I'z Old

Thursday night my step-father and recently unemployed mother (did I tell you guys about that--the poor dear!) decided to come and visit us for the weekend. Since I knew she was debating on whether or not to come, I started cleaning the house on Thursday afternoon--just in case (lol).

It was nice to see them. Barry helped John clean up some more leaves Saturday while I took Mary to the library to do some research for a school project, and then Mom and I went to the store to get fixin's for dinner for the weekend. Saturday was a chili kind of day, so we threw that together and enjoyed it (Mom thought we made too much--boy, was she surprised when it ALL got eaten up!).

Saturday night we kept Barry up late (almost 3 am!) playing Beatles Rock Band. I used the money my Dad sent me for my birthday to buy a second microphone so that we could try harmonizing. Wow. It's been a while since I've done any sight-reading, and...that was tough! I was Paul, John was um, John--and then even Barry took the mic and traded off lead/harmony with me. By the end of the night, I hardly had any voice left and was dead tired.

Sunday was my birthday. Hey! How nice to have my mother in town for my birthday, huh? I slept in kinda late since we were up so late the night before. I could hear all the kids up (and did get up enough to verify that SOMEONE had fed Izzy breakfast before I crawled back in bed for another 20 minutes). When I finally got up at 9:00, Mary giddily showed me her Birthday Surprise for me. Mary, Keith, and Izzy made me a card and then emptied the dishwasher, picked up the den, and even cleaned the bunny cage WITHOUT BEING TOLD (and ALL before 9:00?! WOW!). Isn't that the best present ever?

I dragged my mother to our GS meeting that afternoon where the girls made paper bag turkeys for table settings for the homeless shelter (we're making them pies for their Thanksgiving dinner next weekend). We cut the meeting short so that we could all go outside and rake the leaves for the church who lets us use their facilities. It was a MASSIVE amount of leaves. It's a MASSIVELY HUGE yard. We got about a third of it done in just over an hour. It was fun--and a nice day to rake leaves!

...And this is when I just started to DRAG. I had been up late the night before, my throat still kinda hurt from singing all night, and all that raking really did me in. Thank goodness Mom and I decided to do a small Thanksgiving for my birthday meal--we kept it simple and cooked a turkey breast in the crockpot. We get home, and DINNER'S READY!

John was kinda bummed because he wanted to take me out to our favorite Japanese restaurant for my birthday. I told him it was no big deal--he can take me out ANOTHER night! LOL

Mom made me a cake, so we all enjoyed two huge pieces, and then after the kids went to bed, all but John fell asleep watching the Colts game. Sorry--my body just wasn't having it--and I missed a great finish, too!

I dragged all day yesterday, too--and then finally figured out that no, I'm not tired from the weekend's activities and my age, and no, my throat is not still sore from singing--it's because I caught Keith's cold that he'd had all weekend! I'm still dragging today, but at least I have my friend The Cold Pill to help keep me sane (Yes, I'z old--I never used to take cold pills--now I can't weather colds like I used to).

Now we're all looking forward to Izzy's birthday. She turns five on Friday, and boy, is she excited about it! And...I finally figured out a party idea for her. I invited all the girls in her class to the bowling alley on Saturday. Bowling, pizza, and cake--she's so thrilled! I can't help but be excited, too through my virus-haze. It's going to be a fun weekend!

BTW: I must give credit to my husband about the "special nights" for the kids. It was HIS idea from a couple of years ago when we realized that in the chaos of the three children, we hardly ever got to spend one-on-one time with them--particularly Izzy. We stopped doing it for some reason last year, but we decided to start them up again. It's more fun now that Izzy's old enough to play NON-toddler games. LOL. He's a great Dad.

A Thankful List....

I love it when I cook dinner and all five people in the house actually eat it. I REALLY love it if it's actually a healthy dinner and not hot dogs and Doritos.

I love "special nights." Two kids go to "bed" early, and the third one gets to stay up a bit late and hang out with Mom and Dad. I love that we get to play different games every week. I love the one-on-one time. I love that the other two "get" the rules and get ready for bed with NO complaints and happily ponder what game THEY will pick when it's their turn.

I love it when one kid voluntarily helps out another one.

I love it that my son is almost always up, dressed, and starting his breakfast before I even get out of the shower most mornings--and I didn't have to say a word!

I love how after she FINALLY gets up, and finally gets dressed, and finally gets her hair brushed, Izzy is the happiest, sweetest girl in the world--and pretty much stays that way all day.

I love my husband's sense of humor--we really need to get out together more often.

I love to watch Mary interact with her best friend everyday. Even her teacher commented on how well the two girls compliment each other. I also love how the best friend and her little sister both play well with all three of my kids. I love that I got a chance to go part-time so that we could do this. I hope we get to do this for a long time.

I love the looks on my kids' faces when I surprise them with "junk food" at snacktime. Like, you know, muffins. heh

I love that Mary wants me to teach her how to knit now (oh, dear!).

I love that we've built up a tiny, little support system so that if I need a last minute baby sitter, I just MIGHT actually find one. And I love that they know that I'd drop anything to do the SAME for them (Within reason on BOTH sides, of course! I also love that no one takes advantage of the other).

I am starting to love craft stores. (Wish my pocketbook did....*sigh*)

(I think I'll stop while I'm ahead.) :-)

These Dreams

Last Friday the kids didn't have school, so I got to sneak out of a semi-quiet house again (Mary and Keith were up by the time I left). I guess that when Izzy finally woke up, she came running out to the living room yelling, "Mary! Mary! Twilight's ALIVE! Mary! TWILIGHT'S ALIVE!" One semi-heart attack later, Mary realized that her sister had just been having a dream. "But it's NOT a dream!" says Izzy, running downstairs to find--just Brownie. I guess she then came to her senses.

Wow.

And I also had my own heart-wrenching dream over the weekend. I think poor Beck and her Baby's recent episode really affected me, as I had the most vivid and horrible dream I've ever had. Similar to those really, really vivid and horrible pregnancy dreams.... Just so awful that I refuse to even write about it here. I seriously haven't had a dream that bad since some really bad stressed-induced ones from college--and a particularly horrid one I had while pregnant with Mary, from which I woke up BAWLING MY EYES OUT and begging my poor husband to hold me. (Ah yes...THOSE were the days....) Anyway, THAT was bad... REALLY, REALLY BAD. *shudder*

Dizzy, NOT Ditsy!

Saturday morning we dropped off Izzy to play at the neighbor's, and John and I took Keith and Mary to the school to assemble the pizzas for Cub Scouts. We put on pepperoni and veggies, smeared sauce, lay down pizza dough, ran complete pizzas to the shrink-wrappers, and had a fun, but tiring time. THEN there was the problem of our order forms not being present. Um....? THEN we got to at least fill our orders off the master list (but--did not know which customers got which?). THEN we got home, and after a phone conversation with the sickly den leader, we discovered that the forms WERE at the school, just apparently x did not communicate with y, and so....back to the school we went! ugh. We dropped off the pizzas (and cookies!) to the the neighbors present, dropped off the undeliverables in our fridge, and then headed out for a quick lunch.

After lunch, the girls and I went out and delivered more cookies. When we got back, John and Keith were in full leaf-removal mode. So, we grabbed rakes and helped make up piles. I knew I'd pay for the day later, but it was just so nice and beautiful outside, I didn't even mind the yard work.

Sunday Keith, Mary, and I delivered the LAST of the pizzas and the cookies (seriously?), and then Mary and I geared up for GS. She got her new Junior pin, and I got a week "off" as my co-leader did ALL the work.

Yesterday I started feeling very, very dizzy at work. Hmmm...I'd had an achy ear for a couple of days....time to pop a Cold and Sinus pill! I didn't even drive anywhere on lunch, it was hard to keep my balance, and I wasn't comfortable driving. I spent lunch with my head on the desk of a recently-scarce employee (lot of those offices around!). By the time the meds started kicking in, it was time to get the kids, and thankfully, I wasn't quite as light-headed.

Today I'm still a bit out of sorts. Not as dizzy, but not 100% well, either. My body is still sore from all that standing/walking/assembling/raking on Saturday, too. I am feeling every bit of my age this week.... Bleh!

Headaches: Self-inflicted ones

1. I caused a stupid, idiotic fight with my husband Saturday after a perfectly wonderful day and fantastic night of Trick-or-Treating with the kids.
2. I LOST the cookie order forms. LOST them. They were IN MY HAND at one point on Halloween night and then somehow DISAPPEARED. BEFORE we sorted the cookies--BEFORE we even got them out of the back of the mini-van. (Bullet One probably had something to do with this.)
   
3. You already know about the idiotic forgetting of the time change thing.
4. I planned and planned and planned for Izzy's GS meeting. And then forgot to bring glue sticks for the craft.
5. I did not remember the time correctly for Keith's Parent-Teacher Conference--so we were five minutes late. And then the teacher had written down the wrong time, anyway, and so...we got about a seven minute conference.
6. I yelled at Mary for about 10 minutes when she REFUSED to brush her hair on Monday. In a MEAN, HURTFUL, STUBBORN way.
7. I'm overwhelmed.
   
8. I had the brain wave this morning that I'm Rushing My Life Away again, and I need to take steps to slow things down again.

Somewhat related to my whiny topic:

• Mary started coming down with a bad headache yesterday and went to the nurse. She took her pain killers, chilled out at the nurse's office for a little while, and then went back to class. We think we can pinpoint a definite trigger--Math.

The GOOD NEWS

1. He is talking to me again.
2. I did some MAJOR brain-wringing and back-tracking and FOUND the order forms. It took me two days to find them.
3. Hey, we got a LOT done.
4. I at least had ONE glue stick in my box o' craft supplies. And the girls got to learn how to SHARE.
5. There were no major issues with Keith, and we know and are comfortable with the teacher and his report card, so...seven minutes was really all we needed.
6. I SHUT UP and apologized profusely and hugged her tears away. And then self-medicated with Halloween chocolate and Milanos. And actually HELD MY BREATH to prevent any more stupid outbursts with the kids the NEXT morning. At least now I'm clued in to ONE OF THE REASONS why I was so grumpy Halloween night--and why I now have the BIGGEST ZIT EVER on the very tip of my chin.
   
7. I am trying to take steps to dump some of my load by the fall.
   
8. See #7.

And...

• We still feel Mary's headaches are legitimate, but we are working with the teacher on other ways to help Mary calm down about her Math work--which is apparently getting her so worked up and stressed out that it's helping cause her migraines (or at least giving her stress headaches). Especially considering that she doesn't even STRUGGLE at Math! She really IS good at it! And really, heading down to the nurse's office is NOT a good idea right now. The GERMS, oh my goodness, THE GERMS!

In other news: Izzy apparently really does just have a cold--and a minor one at that. Of course, I showed up at my co-leader's house last night for planning--and she now has a fever. This is just about a week after she first started showing symptoms of being sick. Am now carrier #1. Fun.

Two of the three kids had to have their pictures re-taken this year (the school used a different company--there were a LOT of complaints about the results). Izzy, the kindergartner, got hers in just fine. Keith, the mature second-grader, did not go down when re-takes were paged. We're pretty sure he just didn't want to be bothered (he KNEW he had to have them re-taken!). So, his 2nd grade school pic has some weird hair action going on. Ah well. We'll laugh about it later.... (Kind of like the ketchup incident, I suppose.)

Pics!

Izzy's Pumpkin--or what happens when you hand a kindergartener a sharpie and a pumpkin!




Mary's Pumpkin



Keith and Izzy's Pumpkins on the stoop



Helping Dad with the leaves--with blue hair.



Can you find Coraline?



This is Halloween
(I love how the Clone Trooper is "striking a pose!"






First House

As per your request

Family:

What does Izzy want for her birthday?

Um.....

Hmmmm....



I don't know if it's because she's the third kid and we have soooo many toys already in the house--or if it's because she's just such a happy-go-lucky kid who plays with ANYTHING? and doesn't seem to have many preferences (except puppies, and frankly, we have ENOUGH stuffed animals in the house!)--but this kid is really tough to put together a wish list for!

OK. Here are a few things I know she would like:


Glo Doodle

Pixos

Leapster: Draw and Write (Keith's version doesn't work on her Leapster)

Leapster Pet Pals

(Just double check that the Leapster games work on the Leapster 2.)

Also Izzy has had an amazing growth spurt recently and is now in need of 5 slim jeans and 5 shirts.

I'll attempt to cobble together the wish lists for the other two soon!

Love to all!

No pics--yet

I um, apparently grabbed the wrong cord for our camera, so...um, no pics of our ghoulish Trick-or-Treaters yet.

It was a great night. Mary agonized for weeks about what to be for Halloween until I had the idea of her dressing up as Coraline. One yellow raincoat and a can of blue hair spray later--and we had a winner! Mary really enjoyed surprising her classmates on Friday with the blue hair (and I even "bobbed" her hair by pinning it underneath for her).

Izzy kept going back and forth between Bat Girl and a Butterfly (which is what MARY wanted her to be). Mom made the executive decision--Bat Girl just fits her personality soooo much better!

Keith originally wanted to be Wolverine. One glimpse of all the Clone Trooper costumes out there changed that decision QUICKLY. Go Star Wars!

We were supposed to go out with two families Saturday night. Well, our neighbors bailed on us to go with another family. Then our other friends decided to stay in due to the Flu from Hell which had hit their house last week. We Q's hit a few of our immediate neighbor's houses and then went ahead and trick-or-treated in our Sickly Friends' neighborhood (better neighborhood for trick-or-treating--and then we could ALSO pick up our GS cookies which had just been shipped in THAT DAY!).

The wind/rain started picking up just as we were heading out. The kids were upset, but it didn't stay bad but for a few minutes. Mary kept the hood up on her raincoat anyway to help protect the precious blue hair. If anyone was confused about her costume of just a simple yellow raincoat (with a little black cat stuffed in the pocket), they never said anything (our friends teased her by saying she looked like the Gorton's Fisherman--or the Morton salt girl).

Izzy was the most exuberant one. She was cracking us up. Every house she would just YELL "TRICK OR TREAT!" while bouncing up and down. And "THANK YOU." Even if her brother/sister forget, any patrons were well-assured that SHE was grateful for the candy!

We weren't out long when the kids started whining about the heaviness of their pumpkins. Woo hoo! Our work here is done!

We let the kids stay up late as we ate a late dinner (had a late lunch that day at our favorite Japanese restaurant--yum!). All slept well.

Saturday morning I got up as normal and then rushed to the meeting I had--showing up a whole hour early as I COMPLETELY FORGOT ALL ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS!!! D'oh! Ah well--we got more done! (This is the first time I've ever done that. Crap!) This family had been hit hard with the Flu from Hell the prior week, too. And the one little boy's temperature had gone back up (that's one of the big symptoms--roller coaster temperatures), so he was in bed for the whole time I was there.

So then Mary and I got ready to go to our GS meeting. Guess what? My co-leader (the one who bailed on us due to whole family getting this flu--whose neighborhood we trick-or-treated in?) still didn't feel well--so I got to run the meeting all by myself.

So...I guess it should be no surprise that Friday--just about an hour before we headed out the door to demand candy from the neighbors--Izzy developed a slight cough. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The good news is--it's still only a slight cough. She only coughs a handful of times in the day, and has a some-what "frogginess" to her voice. She is still playing and bouncing around just like our fun-loving, normal Izzy. The bad part--the cough is one of the first symptoms to this Plague from Hell.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I suspect time off from work in my future....

You see your Gypsy....

Growing Up

Mary is almost ten, and I find that while I get exasperated by her scowls and grumbles and sighs and laments (most usually expressed when I have the audacity to ask her to do her chores or her homework or practice her violin or brush her hair), I am also seeing this incredible young woman starting to emerge. She's so the oldest sibling--constantly bossing around her brother and sister to play the games she wants to play with HER rules and not much room for THEIR interpretation, but she can also be very sweet to them (um...when she's in the mood)--and she's almost motherly to Izzy sometimes.

Mary wants to come along to Izzy's Girl Scout meetings so that she can "help" (I have had to explain a little that "help" does not mean that she color pages with them--and then KEEP coloring and shutting the other girls and her mother's need for an assistant OUT when the meeting moves ON while she's still in her creative la-la land). But the point is, she's starting to take on the more adult roles--and not because her mother is forcing her to do it.

When I heaved out the pumpkins and started hollowing them out for a carve fest (determined to do it this year since last year the pumpkins got thrown on the front step and then completely forgotten about until John finally threw them away), she wanted to carve. My mother-persona said, "No." Then my Girl Scout leader-persona took over and said, "Why not?" So, I handed her the knife, and...wow--she did such a great job! And I realized once again that I still need to learn to let go of some "control" and let the kids learn in their own way.

I am trying. A few weeks back I decided to make an apple pie. I had Mary do all the measuring and mixing--and I didn't even hover over her shoulder.

Sunday night I called Mary upstairs to teach her how to make spaghetti (the simple "dinner-needs-to-be-ready-in-like-two-minutes" style of noodles and jar sauce). She grumbled a little at first (see: chores, homework, practice, hairbrush), but then she really started to enjoy it. I let her choose the veggie (salad). She even served the plates. And then she asked me at the dinner table, "Mom, can I help you cook every night?" YES. YES, YOU CAN! She was just so darn proud of herself for cooking a WHOLE meal!

And while I'm noticing all these wonderful things about Mary, I've noticed that Keith is trying to mature a little, too.

One weekend in an attempt to GET AWAY FROM CHATTERING IZZY while on the phone with my mother, I actually locked myself in KEITH's room (Well...John was asleep in OUR room!). And since I am the multi-task type of phone-talker (I've mentioned before that sometimes I will put a call through to my mother just because I know that then I have about an hour where I will get stuff DONE), I started picking up his room. Keith's room was just so cluttered! And while yes, perhaps HE should have been the one to clean it--WHATEVER, it got DONE, OK? Anyway, I even vacuumed after I got off the phone, and even Keith was amazed at the end product (and we found those two game cartridges that have been lost for EONS). And guess what? HE'S KEPT HIS ROOM NEAT SINCE THEN. I mean, it's not been perfect--sometimes a few pieces of clothing aren't in the laundry basket or there are a few scattered legos--but he has definitely made an EFFORT to keep the clutter under control. John and I have made it a point to tell him what a great job he's doing.

And Izzy. Well...while we still have those EVIL Izzy mornings every now and then, she is definitely having more GOOD Izzy mornings lately than EVIL. Weekends, of course, are the best, since then she gets to sleep in as late as she wants (and Mommy does NOT stir from her own bed until Izzy does--which means 8:00 and even sometimes 9:00 sleep-ins lately! Yay!). Last Sunday she got up and picked out her clothes and got dressed all by herself--then tip-toed in to show me. So was soooo excited and proud of herself! She also seems to do a better job of keeping her own stuff picked up in the room she and Mary shares than Mary does (yeah--we're still working on that with Mary...).

Last night I took ownership of my responsibility to be a role model--I cleaned the bedroom. It was a daunting task since my bedroom is the LAST room in the whole house (well, except for the basement, of course) that gets ANY attention. I put away clothes, took out trash, gathered up all the millions of empty shopping bags that I was for some strange reason accumulating under the bed and tossed them, finally finished putting away all the summer clothes, and even SWEPT--oh, dear Lord, the dust DINOSAURS!!! But the room is almost inviting now! And maybe, just maybe, I can keep up with my ever-growing/changing children and do a little growing up myself....

What day is it?

The crazy kid schedule is just NOT getting any better. And although I know it WILL calm down soon-ish, it just seems like getting to that point is going to drive me out of my mind. I keep reminding myself that my kids just aren't NEARLY as involved as a lot of the other kids we know. But still....ugh.

Last Saturday, I went on a guided two hour hike with the GS troop (with my co-leader and ONE girl), and we saw a deer jump into then swim across the creek and then jump right onto the path behind us. That was sooooo cool! And wasn't Mary upset that she "bailed" on the hike on me because she thought it was too rainy and gloomy (Oh! It ended up being such a beautiful morning!).

After the hike, I took my tired body back out with the kids to sell MORE cookies and pizzas. ALMOST to the crappy-stuffed-animal goal. Ugh!

After we got home, I started cleaning the house and cleaning out all the summer clothes--and I basically didn't stop working until Sunday evening. Well...except that I did manage to knit ONE mitten for Izzy. Seriously, folks! *I* knitted a mitten! ME! And..it actually LOOKS like a mitten! The girls were muy impressed, and even Keith asked for a set of mittens when I get done making this set for Izzy.

Almost every day the woman who watches Izzy emails or FBs me the Lunch Conversation of the day. OMG--I wish I could be there to witness these conversations first hand!

Izzy: My brother likes Star Wars.
R: My brother likes Star Wars, too!
Izzy: That's cuz boys like violent stuff!

R: Moms are always so busy!
Izzy: But Dads just lay around the house!

Christmas Budget!

Oompa toys are giving away a $100 gift certificate! Beautifully made toys, folks! And, yes, we are on a budget, and I know lots of little ones I'd love to buy these beautiful toys for FREE!

Go! Enter! Now!

Quiet

There is no school today. I got up at my normal time. I did my normal routine--EXCEPT for that whole waking of the children, fighting with Izzy, nagging them to get their dirty clothes IN the basket, nagging at them to clean up the spilled milk and spilled cereal, nagging at them to start packing their lunches, brushing Izzy's hair, nagging at Mary to PLEASE brush HER hair and pull the bangs back, realizing I should have been on the road FIVE MINUTES ago when I haven't even packed my lunch yet, and rushing to pour my coffee....

It was just sooooo quiet. I tip-toed around like a little mouse and had coffee and my hair ready in record time. I had time to eat breakfast--but I couldn't quite grasp the concept of actually eating it at HOME and not at my desk, so I brought it with me like normal. The girls did wake up (I tripped on a box of beads lying in the middle of Mary's bedroom floor when I went to put a pair of clean socks in the drawer for Izzy--since all the clean socks are currently in a huge basket in the middle of my own bedroom), but I shushed them as fast as I could and talked Izzy into going BACK to bed (I know!).

And then I realized I had nothing else I needed to do to get ready. Everything was in the car and ready to go, and I even knew where my purse was. And then I felt kinda lonely. I didn't want to disturb anyone's slumbers (or rouse them BACK out of bed) to say good-bye, so I just said it quickly and quietly to those awake. And...I got to work 15 minutes early. A feat that hasn't been accomplished since probably before I had children....

It was too quiet. A lovely morning, but no goofy Keith running around in his own little goofy way. No Motherly Mary nagging him to Pour his Cereal! and Pack his Lunch! while still giving me her sweet, gentle good morning (BEFORE the hair-brushing request and SCOWL, of course!), no Grumpy Izzy who almost magically turns into the Happy Izzy we all know and love the second she FINALLY gets out of bed and FINALLY deigns to put her clothes on and get down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Quiet. Lovely. But just not quite right....

Migraines, anyone?

Got the call from the nurse yesterday afternoon, "Mary's in here." I gotta give the nurse some credit. After the first rocky year at that school where she seemed to call us for every single whimper, she seemed to finally "get" Mary and that Mary can sometimes um, "over-play" her symptoms. So, yesterday the nurse waited until Mary had been sent there for the fourth time (by different teachers), and the nurse had actually observed Mary herself over recess before she finally called.

The nurse starts describing Mary's ailments. "Her eyes were bugging her. Her head hurt. She felt nauseous. She even dry-heaved a little." Whoa. Wait a minute....

*sigh*

After the first incident of an "apparent" migraine which happened months ago, and the feeble thought that maybe it was just a one-time occurrence, it appears that the Migraines are BACK. Crap.

It was almost the end of the school day, but John managed to get away and pick her up. By then she'd fallen asleep at the nurse's office. She slept for a little while longer until the other kids and I got home. Then she said she felt much better (except that her head still hurt just a bit), got up, did her homework, and played with her friends. She also said she felt just fine to go to Izzy's Girl Scout meeting (which she kinda didn't have much choice about as Keith's den leader called a last-minute Cub Scout meeting to which John had to take Keith). Anyway, we got through the meeting (we're up to about 11-12 girls in the kindergarten troop now!), and she was just fine.

She slept well last night. She was fine when she got up this morning. By mid-morning, she was back at the nurse's office. Same symptoms: blurry eyes, yada, yada, yada. Sooooo....I abandoned my post at work (which had JUST gotten "somewhat" exciting as I'd gotten a new time-killing, mind-numbing project today!), and we came home. Mary was so nauseous, she was afraid to eat in fear that she may throw it up. I gave her some Tylenol and tried to get her to go to sleep, but she begged to watch a movie instead to "distract her from her upset stomach." We watched Corpse Bride ($5 at Target!), and then it was time to go get the other kids.

Mary's only other complaint was that she felt a tightness in her chest and seemed to be having problems breathing. This only happened for a short while. When we were leaving to go to the school, she says, "It's gone!" (meaning the chest pain--she still had a bit of a headache).

I finally got a hold of the pediatric nurse. Tylenol or Motrin are definitely the way to go, and we're going to send a stock to the nurse at school for Mary to take when she feels the blurry eyes start coming on. Maybe if she takes the meds quick enough, she won't sink into that painful/nauseous hole and be able to get back to class.

And...I guess we'll finally get to start the headache diary. I'm wondering if the change in weather could have been one contributing factor. Definitely some barometric changes here the last couple of days--I know I've had sinus headaches for a few weeks straight now.

*sigh* Poor kid.

Soooo tired

The weekend was all about the kids. Friday night was the Cookie Kick-Off for Girl Scouts. Saturday we went out around the neighborhood and sold GS cookies and Cub Scout pizzas. Sunday morning the girls and I did the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk. Sunday afternoon Girl Scout meeting. I tried to get housework and laundry done in the middle of it all, but...the kids destroyed EVERYTHING I did the minute my back was turned.

My friend and I had the perfect plan for the Breast Cancer Walk--go REALLY early, walk, and GO HOME. Well, our other team-members apparently didn't read the memo--so we ended up waiting at the Walk for over an hour for them to show before we got to start. But since we were in line and waiting, we were basically at the head of the MASSIVE pack that all started at the "official" start-time of 10:00.

It was kinda chilly waiting there all that time (we dressed in t-shirts and light jackets thinking we would be walking RIGHT AWAY and therefore not really cold for very long), so Mary was upset about that.

Izzy, apparently tired from the long wait, started whining the minute we finally set off on our walk. She whined all the way to the half-way point, "I WANT TO DRIVE! I WANT TO DRIVE!" (Yes, I can laugh about it, NOW!) She finally cheered up only to start crying again towards the end because she had dropped the flower Mary picked for her (which was immediately TRAMPLED in the big, MASS of people), and the OTHER flower Mary presented her was apparently just NOT good enough. *sigh*

Other than that, it was a great walk, and since we did start it late and were at the start of the group, we got to pass the huge WAVE of people as we turned around and headed back. The kids were just AMAZED by all the people (well, except for the flower-lamenting Izzy).

It's GONE! ALL GONE!

I cut off my gorgeously beautiful hair Saturday. My 10-inch ponytail is drying out and waiting to be mailed off to Locks for Love.

*sigh* I MISS my hair!

Till I'm Blue in the Face

"Put your homework in your folder and then into your backpack, please."

"Flush the toilet, Keith."

"Did you wash your hands?"

"Izzy, wake up, honey. Time to get up."

"Please put your dishes in the sink."

"Mary, here is the form for the Family Fun Night with the five dollars. Please go put that in your folder in your backpack."

"Can you PLEASE clean up the cereal that you spilled?"

"PLEASE put your homework in your folder and into your backpack!"

"Izzy--you HAVE to get dressed!"

"Mary! Dinner time!"

"Keith! You didn't finish your homework?!"

"Where is your backpack?"

"S/He no longer works here, can I direct you to ___?"

"You LOST the Family Fun Form? AND the five dollars? Didn't you put it IN YOUR BACKPACK like I asked you?"

"Where are your shoes?"

"Izzy! GET! UP!"

"MARY! COME AND EAT!"

"Go brush your teeth and give Daddy hugs and kisses."

"PUT THIS IN YOUR FOLDER AND INTO YOUR BACKPACK!"

"Keith, you STILL need to do your homework!"

"Mary! Please put down your toys and come and brush your teeth!"

"Butt on the SEAT."

"Where's your folder? Did you leave it at school?"

"Mary, please brush your hair."

"S/He no longer works here, can I direct you to ___?"

"Izzy! Hush!"

"Your homework is STILL not in your backpack!"

"Who didn't flush?"

"You left your agenda book at school AGAIN?"

"Get your shoes on."

"Please put your dishes in the sink."

"Go brush your teeth!"

"YOU HAVE TO GET UP AND GET DRESSED NOW!"

"Did you put your homework in your folder and in your backpack?"

"Put your backpack away!"

"Well, it doesn't LOOK like it, so could you please brush your hair again?"

"How many times do I have to ask...?"

...

Ugh.

Where do the days go?

I've had something Scout or school-ish going on every day/evening since Saturday. Tonight is PTA and even though for ONCE it's in a day/time I can ACTUALLY attend, I'm NOT going. I'd like ONE NIGHT with an clean slate, thankyouverymuch.

Last night was Curriculum night for kindergarten. (The school split it up into three nights--and guess who's children were spaced just right so that she had to go to ALL THREE FREAKIN' NIGHTS?) I stayed after for a second just to introduce myself to the teacher (John met her on the first day, but I haven't had a chance yet). Mrs. M., "Oh! I just LOVE Izzy! She's always so excited every day! Every days she asks, 'WHAT are we doing today?' or 'WHAT are we reading today?'" Per Mrs. M., Izzy is one of the students REALLY into reading.

Awesome. So maybe the third-child syndrome did NOT affect her as much as I feared! See--barely reading to her AT ALL from the ages of 2 to 4 is actually making her EAGER to learn it at school! Go, Tired-and-Lazy ME!


And...Penny Update. There has been a BM, but no penny visable. I'm thinking, if she had a BM at all, that must mean that everything is running smoothly, right???

Not panicking

It was an insanely busy weekend with Girl Scout recruitment events and Girl Scout meeting planning and Mary's first Girl Scout meeting. And then trying to get the housework done and trying to get to the store and trying to get something decent on the table both nights. And the horrible, horrible sinus pressure I woke up to Saturday night which reminded me that perhaps I should get some new filters for the humidifiers so that maybe I don't feel as if my face will explode every time I clench my teeth.

By Sunday night I was a fatigued mess. It's been a while since I felt THAT tired.

And then Sunday night....

Anytime Izzy finds a penny or quarter or something, she wants to put it her piggy bank. I keep the bank on a shelf in her closet--she has to ask me for it every time. No big deal. But this weekend, she seemed to find quite a handful of pennies. Sunday I took the bank down for her, and she wanted to KEEP it off the shelf. Well...OK. Whatever.

Sunday evening she and Mary are cleaning their room (OK, Mary is rearranging the stuffed animals on their beds and Izzy is just wandering around the room and not much "cleaning" is really going on). Izzy finds another penny and excitedly shows it to me, and proudly tells me she's going to put it in her bank, and even takes the bank and walks around with it and the penny and then says, "I'm going to show Daddy!" Daddy INSISTS that he did, in fact, SEE her put the penny in her bank.

Meanwhile, I'm in bedroom putting clothes away (where, except for the random pile of clothes here and there, not much cleaning ever gets done, either). Suddenly, I hear Izzy SCREAMING in her bedroom. And it's a definite "my brother or SOMETHING freaked me out and I'm SCARED" scream. She comes running into my room all frantic yelling, "I SWALLOWED A PENNY! AUUUUUUUUGH!"

I take a look at my screaming, crying, and obviously BREATHING kid (Oh. Em. GEE!), take a cleansing breath and tell her, "Well, kid, we're just going to have to wait for it to come out the other end."

I did have the random thought of taking Izzy to the 24-hr care place, but she was just OBVIOUSLY fine, so I decided to spare the insurance company and myself the cost of the x-rays which would show Abe on his way to her intestines and the obvious wait-for-nature-to-take-its-course advice I would get from the docs. I had her drink a cup of water. Asked her to please stop trying to COUGH up Abe, as he wasn't coming out THAT way anymore, and briefly wondered if I should mention it to her teachers in case SHE said something to THEM first...? John: "naaaah." Okey dokey, then!

Where on EARTH did she find YET another penny? Where is this treasure trove she has uncovered? Where on EARTH did she get the idea to put that disgusting thing in her MOUTH?

God. I'm so glad it wasn't anything worse!

What the...?

I have an earache. The second one in so many months.

Keith wore his brand-new jeans to school the other day. When I went to pick him up from school, I noticed that throughout the school day they SUDDENLY became about an INCH too short?

Every time I send mail to the company's plant in Mexico, it comes back "No Reclamada" (unclaimed). Even after I verified I had the correct address. Um...? I KNOW people work there! And the addressee is the PLANT MANAGER!

Intramurals started this week at school--and I have YET to get paperwork/permissions slips for Mary to join.

I went to the Store-I-Don't-Like because they have an ATM from my bank. I forgot to buy milk. Then I started to walk out of the store without getting the money for the sitter. (Yes, this falls more under the heading of "Dumb Blonde" than "What the...," but I felt like whining, OK?)

Let's end this on a POSITIVE note:

A picture my neighbor took of the kids getting ready to go on the bus the first day Izzy got to ride--on the second day of school.

Even more so....

I apparently left my bagels in the kitchen at work the other day instead of stashing them in my desk like I normally do. So, today, when I was STARVING and CRAVING a toasted bagel with peanut butter, there were NONE.

The meeting location I picked for our GS meetings is apparently not going to work as one of the mothers has a daughter with severe allergies, and the dampness of our meeting place could set her off. Granted, the daughter actually coming to these meetings does not have allergies as severe as her sister, but the mother is still worried.

*sigh* Guess I gotta go find another meeting place.

(Yes, poor Swistle and Devan are having even worse days than I am!)

Lovely

This morning as I was reaching to get the creamer from the cabinet , my fingers fumbled, and the container fell onto the counter top, knocking over my cup and it's whole contents of freshly-brewed, freshly-HOT coffee all over the counter, the floor, me and even splattering Mary who was three feet away.

RIGHT as I was getting ready to walk out the door! @#$% (No burns, thank goodness. Just annoyance.)

I can't find the GS book I just bought. I'm hoping my co-leader accidentally snagged it when we met last night.

Oh! Come to find out the troop number we were given for our new Daisy troop is still an active troop number, so we'll be getting a different one. AFTER I've already bought and IRONED the troop numbers on my daughter's uniform!

John called a little while ago to find out what time the kids can be dropped off at school. They missed the bus this morning. "What happened? Were they goofing off?" "No...," he sighed, "It was me."

Most Peculiar, Mama.

We are all still adjusting to our new school/work schedules--but I think it's working lovely.

Izzy has good days and bad days about getting up in the mornings. The first day of school, she was fine since she was so excited, but the second day was more of my begging/pleading/nagging/demanding and her just crawling back under the covers every time I walked away.

"It's your first day riding the bus!"
"I don't care" (while grinning).
"Aren't you excited to see Mrs. M. again? And Mrs. F. and R?"
Grin: "I don't care."
"What if I tickle you?"
Really grinning, "I don't care!"
Me, laughing, "I guess I'll have to spank you, then?"
REALLY grinning, "I DON'T CARE!"

*sigh* At least she wasn't CRYING!

Yesterday I forgot to set my alarm and woke up about 20 minutes before I needed to leave for work. Izzy didn't get any sort of gentle wake-up call. No, I just pulled the covers off of her and dragged her out of bed (slowly, though, OK?), and then set her down to do her hair. So far, that has been the most pleasant morning (um, with HER) yet. Apparently forcefully dragging her semi-conscious body is the KINDEST and MOST QUIET way to get her out of bed. Who knew?

Izzy has been a little more whiny lately, and I'm wondering if it's due to all these changes (school, new day care lady, etc.). I was told she had to be "talked to" yesterday by her daycare lady because she burst into tears while Mrs. F. at the museum when they were moving on to new exhibits. Mrs. F. was surprised--and realizes that Izzy needs more transition time. I was surprised as I've never really known her to be like that for others.... So, yeah, Izzy needs to STOP the drama! Oi!

Mary is loving having her BFF over to the house every day. I know the newness of this will wear off soon. As nice as this kid is, I also know that she gets bored VERY EASILY, and I will be hard-put to keep her entertained once the cold weather sets in, and we can't go outside every day. Luckily, homework takes up PART of the time she's with us, so the entertainment time isn't as much as it could be! Yay for fourth grade homework!

We're already having issues with take-home folders and agendas and instruments being left home or at school and....ugh. WHEN does this stuff EVER click? (No comments on how much stuff *I* forget on a daily basis!)

The extra-curricular madness is about to kick in. I'm just NOT ready. First GS meetings take place in a week, and I'm still fluttering around like a lost fruit fly (Which have TAKEN OVER our garage and are trying to take over the kitchen/bathroom, and killed off all my happy live-and-let-live thoughts as I spray EVERY little red-eyed offender with Windex and smash them with a towel!). Anyway, thank goodness my co-leader for Mary's troop is so freakin' AWESOME--otherwise I'd be even more zany!

Mary decided to join choir this year instead of orchestra--she's still going to take violin lessons, she just doesn't want to be in the orchestra. The teacher called John all in a panic, "She can't! She HAS to stay in orchestra!" After talking with him a few minutes, John got out of him that Mary can still take violin lessons and not orchestra, but the teacher just really likes her and really, really wants her to stay in orchestra (we think it's because she actually BEHAVES in class and apparently yells at the other wound-up kids who DON'T). John's going to talk to Mary again, but he's still going to leave it up to her. Even though the teacher said she could do both orchestra and choir, we're afraid that's just a few too many activities going on and a little too much time out of the classroom, so we're going to give it another try and see how she feels about this choir vs. orchestra mess!

Keith? Meh--he's the same happy-go-lucky kid. His biggest concern right now seems to be whether or not his Star Wars cartridge is working in his Didj (it IS, he just has to be more PATIENT with it) and whether or not he can take his Pokemon cards to school (yes, but....well, we're pretty sure he's getting jipped on his trades since he's so nice--and he doesn't even know how to play the game yet!).

Cramming it all in

What a full week!

Dad got here last Sunday night and spent Monday and Tuesday spoiling the kids. He took them to the park, Micky D's, Adventure Landing, and all of us to the hibachi for his birthday (ha!) Izzy was most upset when he left Wednesday morning.

John and I decided to cram as much fun stuff into this last weekend of the summer as possible. Luckily we had great weather in which to cram it all in! Saturday after some light house-cleaning, I set up the tent and made a fire pit, and we had a cook-out. Mary is an old pro at roasting hotdogs/marshmallows and was eager to extend her knowledge to her little brother. Right as we were getting ready to go into the tent, Mary somehow got a bee stuck in her sandal and got stung. The poor thing was so traumatized she decided to sleep in the house. So, Keith and I settled in (Izzy was already GONE by this point, poor, tired thing). Around midnight Keith decided he was "too cold" and went back in the house. Izzy and I stayed through until 6:45 the next morning, with Izzy just waking up occasionally because she had snuggled outside her sleeping bag and got cold. She was pretty tickled that she was the only one who made it in the tent all night!

Sunday John found some cheap tickets to Darien Lake, and after a brief fight with the printer to get our tickets, we headed out. Keith got brave and got on the big, upside-down coaster (a first!), and Mary got on everything she was tall enough to ride. Izzy was pretty patient with her fate as the little one who still has some growing to do before she can get on the big rides. And mom did NOT puke (whew!). I did get a nasty bruise when that coaster tripped me up while I was getting out. Ouch!

Monday was spent sleeping in as late as possible and catching up on more housework. I ran to the store for much-needed lunch and after-school snack items. Mary and Keith packed their lunches, and we got all the backpacks ready for the big first day of school. (And why did the girls both have to catch a cold the day before school started, hmmmm?)

All was smooth getting Mary and Keith up and ready for school (despite Mary not sleeping well due to what I assume were pre-school jitters and her cold). Izzy was a bit groggy, but mainly got up with no problem. Mary and Keith took the bus in. John took Izzy in for her first day. She apparently was so excited about school that she was carrying her backpack around this morning--so that when it was needed as they were heading out the door, John couldn't find it! (He finally found it in her bedroom--stinker!)

It's my first day as a part-timer (but really, is 32 1/2 hours REALLY part-time?), and I'm excited about getting to go home early to pick up the kids (plus two) from school.

Here are some pics. What a great first day!

Back to School Madness

Because I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed about all this back to school crap, I just thought I'd take the time to post the list of supplies I have YET to buy for the kids for this year. This is all three lists combined into ONE (and keep in mind I took some things OFF the list that we had that could STILL be used from last year).

• Pocket folders: 2 green, 2 blue, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 purple
• 4 composition books
• 2 dry erase markers
• 17 11 glue sticks (15 JUST FOR IZZY) Good thing I bought extra. I read one of the lists wrong and actually needed 23!
  
• 3 boxes of #2 pencils
• 1 package wide-ruled paper
• 2 boxes thin markers
• 2 boxes crayons
• red pen, blue pen
• 2 packages 1" x 2" post-it notes
• 1 pair scissors (cuz I can't find Keith's from last year!)
• 1 pencil box (seriously, Keith--where did you hide this stuff?) Found it!
  
• 2 boxes of tissues
• 1-3 in 3 ring binder with clear front
• 1 subject, wide-ruled notebook
• 1 clipboard
• 1 box colored pencils
• 3 large pink erasers
• 1 package 7 notebook dividers with tabs
• 1 box gallon size ziplock bags
• 1 plastic pocket folder
• 2 new backpacks (Mary's and Keith's are SHOT--we got Izzy's in the mail the other day, thank you JJ!)

TODAY was supply drop-off day. Dad's visit sort of distracted me from that fact. Um....OOPS! So! I'm running around today to grab everything I can, and we're dropping off tomorrow instead because we are complete DORKS.

And I have the sinus headache from HELL.

Five more days, folks. Five more days! AUGH!

Three stores and about $120-$130 later, and I still could not find the stupid 1" x 2" post-it notes. WELL, they will just have to DEAL with the 1" x 1" I bought instead! (I also bought the girls some new barrettes and a new jacket for Mary).

Thank you for your concern, MR--but no amount of meds is even TOUCHING this headache yet. (Of course, I haven't tried Advil cold and sinus yet--that may be the next step.) My poor kids are paying the price--I was quite the angry crank this morning (Izzy's refusal to get up and get dressed and Mary's doping around the house and not starting to fix her oatmeal until 5 minutes before we normally leave did NOT help!) GRRRRRR.....