Need ideas

Dad's still in the hospital and probably will be through New Year's. We're going to celebrate with him, so I need ideas to make it a little fun. He's very active and is beginning to go stir crazy already. Last night, I stayed with him and had my mom go with hubby and the kids to dinner so she could get out of there for a moment. I took our portable DVD player and some movies he'd like, but forgot the power adapter. We'll take that to him tonight. And I'll stop by the blood bank to drop off some O-. I see that they are low and I've been called by the blood bank several times in the last few weeks.

So, back to my problem. Fun for New Year's Eve. Maybe take some games? If he's able to eat by then, some light snacky food? Need some help here!

Worried

Today my father is having surgery. It is due to begin in 20 minutes. He's having a part of his large intestine removed because it is precancerous. Hopefully it has not yet turned into cancer. My dad is one of the healthiest people I know. Eats right, is trim, and can outlast most 20 year olds on the bike. I know he's going to be fine and recover quickly, but I am still obviously concerned. Hopefully he'll be discharged from the hospital in time to spend New Year's at home.

Working from home

The joys of technology. Since I can log into our network from home with my company issued laptop, I decided to work the later half of last week and all of this week from home. Well, not really decided, but have to since the boy's out of school and the hubby's working. I have found out the benefits of a decent environment. Having a desk in a room with big windows really has made a difference in my psyche and my motivation. I am much more productive at home, even with my 5 year old interrupting occasionally for help with his lego projects. I do miss the interaction with colleagues, but since most of the office is out for the holidays, I am not missing much.

Not much can beat rolling out of bed and sitting down to work in your pajamas, well unless it's not having to work at all.

Some traditions are worth updating

Growing up, my dad always played Christmas music while decorating the tree. Unfortunately, it was not the style of music to my liking, John Denver or the like. After branching out on my own, beginning my own family, creating my own traditions, I of course went out and bought John Denver's Christmas CD (no offense intended for John Denver fans). After my husband would not even stay in the room while this was on, I decided I didn't need to subject my family to the same torture. While waiting in line behind 523 people at Bath and Body Works, I saw the Make a Wish CD with songs from Aretha Franklin to Melissa Ethridge. Much better.

Too contrived?

We have friends from out of town coming over this evening. Would it be too contrived to put their family's Christmas card front and center of our pile of cards? Or is it the polite thing to do, like wearing that hideous sweater from Aunt Pearl when you're going to her house?

Be specific

I'm working from home the rest of this week and most of next because the boy is out of school and the hubby is working. Of course that means too much tv for him while I'm preoccupied with my work, but I am calling in reinforcements to get him out of the house occasionally.

After lunch today, he asks if he can have the little box of jelly beans that I bought as a stocking stuffer, but forgot to hide, so now it was sitting on the counter. I say yes, but that he needs to save half of them for his sister. He took me literally. I picked up the container this afternoon and thought it was strange he could have made the package so sticky with just jelly beans. I found out why tonight. The boy tells the girl she can have the rest of the jelly beans after dinner. Exactly half. Because he only ate half of each one.

Ewwwww.

Broken record

I know I have complained about this before, but it seems the problem grows exponentially each year. I am referring to the sick and twisted individuals who develop product packaging, in particular toys.

The in-laws are heading out of town for the holidays, so we celebrated Hanukkah early this year. Sunday was an extravaganza of presents and food that almost rivaled Christmas. I guess with four grandchildren it all adds up.

So, back to my complaint. The developers must get great joy in the pain and torture they put parents through. Screaming kid on the left and another on the right- I want my helicopter! I want my Barbie! Calm down, 45 more minutes and I might have the first piece out. Plastic packing that requires kitchen shears strong enough to debone a chicken. Packing tape to hold the wires that is wrapped around every square inch. Tiny little hooks that don't spare a millimeter to grasp with the scissors.

If the same technology was applied to banks, jewelry stores and such- there'd never be another robbery again.

Catching up

I was so proud of myself. 95% complete with Christmas shopping, greeting cards mailed, most of the gifts wrapped weeks ago. I could sit back and enjoy the holidays with none of the stress.

Ha!

There's only 5 more days until Christmas!! Eick!! Went to the mall yesterday to get teacher gifts. Still collecting addresses to send out the last of the cards. Finally found the one remaining present for the boy from Santa -gave up looking for the Power Ranger Omegazord, which apparently has become some huge collector's item and instead decided to honor his wish for magic with a magic set. I already knew the force field was impossible and there was no way I was buying him a cell phone or an XBox 360.

I still haven't wrapped any of the Santa gifts. Have to figure out how to leave a clue from Santa that her big girl bed and dresser are upstairs in the spare bedroom. And if my Martha Stewart clone friend decides to bring over a big box of homemade rugala like she sometimes does, I'm totally hosed!

Ack! Holiday stress!

Special treat

When I picked the boy up from the extended day program at his school, the sun was starting to set. Clouds filled the sky and the sun reflected orange, purple, and pink across the horizon. Of course, I noticed none of this until my son exclaimed- "Look at the sky! It's beauuuuuutiful!". And it was.

As a special treat, after dinner, homework, and bath, we watched The Incredibles until the end (1 hour after bedtime) and I let them eat candy. Maybe I'm softening in my old age, but it was a special treat for the kids and me, spending quality time together during the week.

I'd love to retire and be able to do things like that regularly while they're still young. Maybe next year, maybe next year.

The Grocery Store Adventure

Grocery shopping with little ones is a challenge. Grocery shopping with little ones after work/school when everyone is tired and hungry is down right insane. Unfortunately, it was one chore not completed this weekend.

So tonight, I chose Mission Impossible. After breezing through the aisles, stuffing the kids full of samples, I make it to the checkout line a little smug. No melt downs, them or me. Unfortunately, I happen to have a knack for picking the line with the "high maintenance" person. Now, I've been THAT person before, but I try really hard not to be.

The old lady in front of me was really being a pain in the you know what. Don't get me wrong- I love old people. I want to be one some day. She's arguing the price on every item that goes through. "That's $1- check the ad! Can't you get any of the prices right? I picked the wrong cashier." I really feel for people making minimum wage, taking such abuse. Soon, a party of 6 employees has gathered, including the manager. I happen to know for a fact she was wrong- the yellow squash was not 1 for $1, it was the zucchini. But that's neither here nor there. I already had my groceries on the belt behind hers, so I was committed. And then the kids decided to lose it. Hold me! Can I have this! Uh! Pick me up! I want gum! I want candy!

Life with the little ones

Parenthood is a mixed bag of trying times peppered with moments of tenderness and always non-stop entertainment. Saturday night we took the kids out driving to look at lights.

"Look- candy canes!"
"I saw them"
"No you didn't. You missed them."
"No, I didn't. I saw them."
"Look- Santa!"
"I saw him"
"No you didn't. You missed them."
"Wait- go back- I wanted to see the gingerbread house!"
"waaaaaaa"
"I have to go potty"
"waaahhhhhh"
"You're going the wrong way- I have to go potty!!!!!!"
"waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Ah, the holidays.

Not buying it

It's the same game every year. Hubby starts putting up the Christmas lights and gives up muttering- I can't do this- I'm Jewish!

Like being a Christian gives you some innate ability to hang lights. I used to hear it putting up the tree until I bought a prelit that is super easy to put together.

Not sure

Not sure what to blog about. I'm finally feeling human again, which is good. The weekend was nice. We went to a Christmaka party Saturday (Christmas & Hanukkah), which was fun and nice to see our friends. Stocked up at the grocery store since we've had nothing to eat in the house for weeks. Even ran out of chicken nuggets- the horror!!

Yesterday, the girl was singing a song about making scurvy pirates walk the plank from The Backyardigans. I can't get it out of my head now.

I've finished Christmas shopping, expect a few stocking stuffers for the hubby. Got over half the stuff wrapped yesterday evening. I like to finish early so that I can just enjoy the season and not stress about it.

My department at work received early raises and the rest of the office found out about it and are really ticked. Can't say I blame them, I would be too.

The boy is riding his bike without training wheels and is so proud of himself! We're proud too.

I am nearly done with my work on this project and am down to boxing up my files.

Not my week

This is just not my week! I'd like to call a do-over.

My head is still hurting, but I'm not sure if it's the sinus infection or a side effect from the heavy duty antibiotics. And then I did the stupidest thing ever this morning. I was supposed to go with hubby on a trip to Charleston yesterday, but couldn't because of my head. I'd already told the kids they were staying at my folks and they were so excited, so not wanting to disappoint, I let them stay over last night.

Well....I should probably end the story there....I'm backing out of the driveway this morning and stop because the garage door won't go down. I get out of the car to make it go down and the door closes behind me. I was obviously backing up fast enough to engage the automatic door locks. So, now I'm locked out of the house (house key on the car key ring) and my vehicle, which is still running. And my cell phone is in my purse, locked in the car.

I borrow my neighbors phone and call my mom- Mom, before you take the kids to school, can you please unlock my house? 45 minutes later, I am finally on my way to work. And my head still hurts.

Ouch.

After a week of fighting a cold, losing my voice, and struggling with sinus pressure that was about to make my head explode, I went to see the doctor yesterday. Got some heavy duty antibiotics to combact the sinus infection and powerful decongestants that kept me up half the night and make me feel like I'm on speed.

I'm just glad that the pressure is starting to subside. Will resume my posting some point later this week.

Passing on the traditions

We took the boy to his first A&M football game yesterday. It is the biggest game of the season, against our rivals, the Longhorns. We spent Thursday alternating between both of our families for Thanksgiving feasts and then headed to College Station that evening. Arriving just before the midnight yell practice (which happens at 8 pm the night before the t.u. game), we met up with hubby's buddies from the corp. It's been 10 years since we've seen some of them.

It was so much fun to introduce our first born to the traditions that make A&M unique. Yell practice, corp march-ins, shooting the cannon, our fight song and yells, the amazing band. He was humming the Aggie war hymn the whole way home.

And even though we lost the game against the #1 ranked team in the nation, we gave them quite a scare.

There is no god

I am not an articulate writer, so I enjoy it when I find something already written that is exactly what I want to say.

Penn, of the Penn and Teller comedy act, has eloquently captured my beliefs in his article There Is No God.

Thanks to Frank for the link.

The CIA is Watching Me!

I just received an email from someone at the CIA stating someone with my IP address has been to over 30 illegal websites and there is a list of questions attached. Knowing this is probably a virus, but curious enough not to just delete, I first check snopes to see if they have anything about this. Not finding it quickly, I next decide to call the number listed at the bottom, expecting to get a wrong number. Instead, it is the public affairs office of CIA and a prerecorded message states if I am trying to reach Steven Allison with the CIA about an email I received about viewing illegal websites, please delete the email as it is a hoax.

Someone must have had a beef with Mr. Allison.

Disturbing news

It was brought to my attention today that one of my coworkers is a convicted sex offender. I'm a big believer in people minding their own business and 'live and let live' but this involves a minor child. According to the database, he's been released for 10 years, but I haven't seen any evidence that a child molester can be reformed.

I do not associate with this individual outside of work, but I have had my kids up here on occasion. I am not sure what to do with this information. All I know is that this information greatly disturbs me.

Bribes

My son is a young kindergartener and is still struggling a bit to control himself in class. He's very social and loves to make people laugh. In our attempt to help with this effort, we've instituded a reward/punishment system, which is continuously evolving. The kids behavior is based on a color coded chart, with each student getting a clip. As they get in trouble or do better, they move their clip up and down the chart. White is neutral with yellow, orange, and red being progressively worse. Green, blue, then purple is progressively better. Here's our system so far:

white = 1 piece of candy, gets to watch tv in the evening
yellow or worse = no candy, no tv and we take away his bear for the night
green = white + instant reward of Burger King for dinner
4 whites in a row = Chuck E Cheese
3 whites in a row = varying reward, was a disposable camera once, getting the film developed another time and right now is a pumpkin pie

Today might be day 3 for white, so I was looking up pumpkin pie recipes on the internet. I'll just follow the recipe on the can of pumpkin, but I was looking just for grins. I stumbled upon a recipe site for engineers.

Enjoy.

More funnies

On the drive home from school yesterday, the boy asks to go to the circus again. It's been well over a year since we've been since we missed it this year. He asked if he could get the cotton candy when we go. I answered probably not and he got really upset. I have a moral objection against paying $12 for cotton candy. I told him that if he wanted it, he could take his own money and buy it. He asked how much and I told him $12 and he started getting upset because he only had 3 dollars in his piggy bank. He then stated that he did have pennkils and diamonds also.

Some things are just too cute to correct.

Tag!

I've been tagged by Michael at Chasing the Wind.

1) Do you use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning?
Yes, but I am usually awakened before the alarm by one of the two kids, the cat, or the dog.

2) What time do you set it for?
5:15

3) Do you hit the snooze button? If so how many times?
Anywhere from 2 times to as many as 10.

4) Have you ever abused an alarm clock?
Does pressing the snooze button 10 times count?

5) It’s “time” to spread some “It’s Blogcess” linky love.

Ok, let's see who's paying attention:
Sara at Accepting the Echo
Eric at Little Bit of This 'n That
Darkle
Random Dale Earnhardt Jr fan

Sell, sell, sell!!

I could use a little extra spending cash....

My blog is worth $108,391.68.
How much is your blog worth?

It's sad when...

... you meet your husband at the tire store to get the tires rotated on both vehicles at the same time so you can have a conversation, the first you've had in weeks

... you wake up at 7 am on the weekend and are excited because you slept so late

... you are so thankful because no one has thrown up that day

... you have to start picking up the house 3 days before the maid comes so she can clean

... the house is trashed again 15 minutes after you arrive home the day the maid cleans

... you have to involve extended family members in your weekend plans just because the two of you have more than 2 places to be at the same time

... you fall asleep on the couch 15 minutes after the kids finally give up the bedtime fight and you wake up an hour later and realize you still have several hours worth of chores to do

But the saddest part of all is realizing that in such a short time from now, your kids will be grown and not need you anymore.

What the...

My kids say the funniest things. Saturday we're driving to my folks to pick up the boy who'd spent the night Friday night. My daughter in the back starts saying- "Hey! You want a piece of me?"

Some of her other favorite sayings:

"Don't say stupid"
"What the"
"That is so not cool"
"Awesome"

Hello?

Am I all alone in the this big, dark blogosphere? Is there anyone out there?

Oh, it is just me. I may have to turn the spam filter off.

Thank you, Darkle, for being my one, lone commenter.

Everyone has a price

Last night we had the in-laws over for dinner. My father-in-law asks my son if he'll sell him his prized, worn, must have in order to sleep lovey bear blanket. The boy looks at him as if he's nuts when he asks. I'll buy it for 50 cents. No? Two dollars? No? Then he takes out a $100 bill and lets my son hold it. Then he asks, $100? The boy answers do you want the brown one or the white one (he has two)?

Not available

I spent yesterday morning in a client presentation to win more work. We presented our plan and the clients interviewed myself and my boss for the position. This morning the proposed project manager comes over to tell us that neither of us are available to work on it. We're both promised on at least 4 other jobs, all starting in January. Next year should be fun. Has anyone perfected that cloning thing?

Shapes in the clouds

Growing up, my best friend and I would ride bikes around the neighborhood to exhaustion and then lay on the ground across the street from our houses and stare at the sky. We'd pick out different shapes in the clouds and go back at night to stare at the stars. I'd forgotten about this particular past time until my son starting pointing out dragons and birds and lions in the sky.

I've always been eager to get to the next stage in my life. In 8th grade, it killed me that I wasn't in high school. I graduated from high school in 3 years just to get to college sooner. I went to summer school every summer so that I could graduate from college in 4 years, when most took 5. My whole life I've been like that. Until having kids. Now I want time to stand still. To take in every day fully and live life every extent I can. Maybe it's because I'm older and realize every day is a step closer to the end. More likely it's because of the way I now see the world, through the eyes of my kids. I see the flowers, I see the butterflies, and once again, I see the shapes in the clouds.

This time, it is all about me!!

Talk to me about me!! (Stolen from Spin the Moon)

If you are reading this, leave one memory of you and me together! It doesn't matter if I know you a little or a lot, anything you remember! Next, post this in your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

The inside scoop

The project I am currently working on is funded by a large petro company in Venezuela. I see articles about Chavez insisting the US is going to invade, the coup in 2002 was the US, etc. Knowing that we do everything possible to funnel money back to the home country by work sharing with engineering companies in Venezuela as well as purchasing equipment from vendor shops there, I was intrigued to dig deeper than the headlines.

I found a blog entitled Caracas Chronicles and dug in. The post located here is particularly interesting, describing the coup in 2002.

Astros Fever

National League Champions!!!!

First game in the World Series against the White Sox is Saturday. My son's t-ball team is the Chicago White Sox. And we're from Houston. Are you beginning to see the problem? He's been saying "Go White Sox" for several weeks and we've had to nip this quickly. I hope we have convinced him that wearing his White Sox uniform to school is a very, very bad idea.

Superstition

The extended family spent a fabulous weekend on an exotic game ranch in Leakey, located in west Texas. We spent a weekend there every October. The weather was beautiful and the scenery couldn't be any better. So, of course all 17 of us were huddled around a small tv Saturday afternoon to watch the Astros.

My uncle's a former college baseball player and his kids all played and my cousin's boyfriend still plays in an adult league. We are a baseball loving family.

The Astros were up 4-3 in the ninth and it looks like the we're on our way to a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. My grandmother gets up and heads upstairs and the momentum starts to shift. It looks as if the Cardinals might score and everyone starts yelling "Maw-Maw- get back down here!!! You need to get back into your seat!" We finally get her back into her seat, Astros get the third out and everyone starts giving Maw-Maw high fives for winning the game.

Hmph. Baseball players and their superstitions.

Night stalker

Last night I dropped by a friend's mom house to pick up baby stuff I'd lent when my friend and her new adorable, little son and hubby were in town. I always get confused which street, which house and I'd already taken one wrong turn and was driving slowly to not miss it again. An older couple was out walking and they were walking in the street. Which always baffles me since it was dark and the neighborhood just installed sidewalks. But I guess it's just me that would rather not have a run in with a car when I'm on foot.

I digress. I am about three houses away when I come up behind the walking couple and I decide not to whip around and park right in front of them. So I slowly creep behind. And they start moving over to the side so that I can go around. But by this time it's too late. After about a minute of this, the guy starts getting agitated and turns around and throws his hands up in the air as if to say- WHY ARE YOU STALKING US???? At that very moment, I was in front of the correct house and put the car in park and turned off the headlights. They finally figure out I am not intentionally following behind and they continue on their merry way walking in the dark on the incorrect side of the street.

The sick part was how hard I was laughing about it all. Everyone seems to have a short fuse these days.

Let's go Astros!

We went to the Texans game yesterday. That was painful. Not sure how many times Carr was sacked because I lost count. Hubby brought a little tv to watch the Astros while we were at the Texans game. I found that a little strange and rude, but realized half the other men at the game had headphones on and were listening to the Astros while watching the Texans.

It's the 3rd quarter, we're down by umpteen thousand and the Titans are getting ready to score again. The Astros are down 6-1 and Berkman's at bat and the bases are loaded. He hits a grand slam and half the crowd at the Texans game goes wild!!! They post the score and the other half goes wild. The guys on the field break their huddle and look a little confused. The crowd starts chanting "Let's Go Astros!" and some are yelling to put the game on!

I felt bad for the Texans, but the Astros pulled it out against Atlanta in game 4 in 18 innings. Now it's on to the National League Championship Series.

Blood wagon

Our office hosted the semi-regular blood drive earlier this week. I haven't donated since before I was pregnant with my 2nd child and since I don't have anything disqualifying me at the moment since I'm not pregnant, recovering from child birth, or nursing, I decided it was time. My blood type is O-, so I feel a large responsibility to donate.

My last visit, the technician was obviously inept and my blood stopped flowing after a few ounces, so this time I asked for the most experienced person. The one with the supervisor tag on her white coat spent 5 minutes squeezing my arms, checking my veins before finally finding one. And since my skin is transparent white, you would think this would be an easy task. She finally found one and I'm happy to say no problems this time.

I did have a strange side effect that evening. Two servings of meat!! Ok, it was a side effect that is strange for me.

Why are fundamentalists so frightened by liberal family values?

Who's afraid of freedom and tolerance? is a very interesting article about the differences between the religious liberals and conservatives.

If there is one basic thing conservatives do not understand about religious liberals, it is this sense of commitment. They see us champion choice over obligation, but misunderstand our reasons. They understand us to be advocating a superficial and nihilistic way of life. They think we want to choose our own moral codes so that we can pick easy ones that rationalize our every whim. They believe that we want the freedom to define our relationships so that we can walk away from anything that looks difficult.

In fact, religious conservatives and liberals share more concerns and beliefs than either commonly admits. Both have loyalties that go beyond self and the convenience of the moment. Both reject the materialism of popular culture. Both seek something more substantial than the momentary satisfaction of desire or the endless striving after status. The committed life is a different way to pursue these goals, not a denial of them.
But the committed life requires freedom, because only voluntary commitment has meaning. We give our members the freedom to doubt and encourage them to question their beliefs not so they will see all beliefs as whimsical and contingent, but quite the opposite: We find that hard-tested and hard-won beliefs are more likely to withstand the challenges of modern life. A marriage whose every assumption and duty has been freely negotiated is not a house of straw, but rather a house whose every brick has been carefully laid. The freedom of liberal religion is an invitation to engage with the most significant issues of human life and society, not an excuse to fall into a shiftless and vacant hedonism.

Might have to look into the Unitarian Universalist church. This might be a good way to expose our children to religion without forcing us to believe something we don't.

Props again to Mister Crunchy for the link.

9 years today

It's hard to imagine that someone's put up with me that long. The man deserves a medal. Happy anniversary, hon.

All aboard!

Growing up, I knew my father was an engineer. And the only type of engineer I knew drove trains. I wondered why he didn't wear the striped suit with the funny hat to work. My husband never really believed me when I told him this- he just thought it was a funny story I liked to tell.

Well, with schools closed due to the hurricane, hubby is getting lots of quality time with the kids. The boy started asking lots of questions when they were watching CNBC. What does the green arrow mean? What does the red arrow mean? What are those letters across the bottom of the screen? Hubby proceeds to explain the stock market. Then he asks the boy how mommy and daddy earn their money. He answers with mommy is an engineer. So, what does she do at work? The boy answers she drives trains. Ha.

Misconceptions

Here are some of the more common misconceptions about atheists that I would really like people to understand:

• We are not a unified group. We do not belong to an organization, we do not meet every week to discuss our non-god beliefs and how to overthrow the ones who do.
• We have ethics and morals. They are just not based on punishment and reward after we die. We are not good to get the golden ticket in the afterlife and avoid the incinerator. They are simply based on living in harmony with their fellow neighbor.
• The bible is a book. A very old book written by some people a long, long time ago. It is nothing more than that. It is certainly not a guide book. Arguing with passages from the bible doesn't mean a hill of beans to us.
• Some are afraid to express their beliefs not because of embarrassment, but because of discrimination.
• We do not want to be 'saved', learn why our beliefs are wrong, or really hear anything else about why we're going to hell. Many of us got here through deep introspection, not because we're 'looking for the easy way out'. And the hell references have no impact, see #3.
• Just because we don't believe in a all mighty power, does not mean we are bad people.
• We are able to give from our hearts without strings attached. We don't have an ulterior motive, not looking to change other people, just to pass on good will and live harmoniously with others.

Any, all, or none of this may apply. The reason being, atheists are not a group. They are individuals finding their own way. They are conservatives, liberals and everything in between.

My Rita evacuation story

I'm not sure you can call it an evacuation, since this weekend was our extended family's annual trip to New Braunfels. Early in the week last week, I was calm, cool and collected. Glad that we already had reservations for the weekend and we would be out of town. As Wednesday started, my nerves caught up to me. I left work after lunch to make preparations at home. After the boy's school was cancelled for the remainder of the week, I decided we would leave Thursday morning instead of the afternoon.

Wednesday I spent packing up the few things that are irreplaceable- scrapbooks, wedding album and all important documents. We continued to pack for our trip, put everything from the back yard into the garage. I felt the need to clean, to clean everything. I also understood how ridiculous that seemed. Watching the news just increased my tension, yet I couldn't turn away. We finally went to bed at midnight Wednesday and were awakened at 3:30 am by my father. The eye of the category 5 storm was to pass right over our suburban town with 140 mile an hour winds. My parents hit the road and tell us to do the same. My husband insists on waiting. We're not sure what to do with the animals as the place we're staying does not allow pets. So, we sit and wait and watch the weather non-stop. At 4:30 am we start packing the truck. As the path shifts east, we decide it's safe to leave the animals.

After watching hours of stranded motorists on TV, we head out at 8:30 am Thursday. Years of my husband's fascination with taking the back roads finally paid off. We make it to New Braunfels in 5 hours. Some in our party took 11 and 12 hours to make the journey, so we felt fortunate. But mostly we were happy the family was safe and all together. Our usual vacation spent floating in the river, wasting the days away were instead spent interrupted with MSNBC updates. We arrived home yesterday afternoon to find not a drop of damage. The neighbors informed us we didn't even get any rain. We are all so thankful that the storm took itself elsewhere, but sad and concerned for those in its path.

Man versus juice drink

Hubby volunteered at the boy's school on Tuesday and then went to lunch with him. The boy was so excited to have his dad there and kept offering to share his lunch. Volunteer positions were filled by other parents, assisting the kids with opening condiment packages and juice boxes. The little girl sitting across from them (whom my son has a crush on) was having difficulty opening her juice drink. Hubby offers to help and after repeating attempts my son asks if he wants to ask one of the other adults to come help.

Ugh, doctors

I went to the dermatologist yesterday because of a rash I've had on and off. It's only been on my arms, but when it spread to my neck, I decided to take action. Knowing that it might take months to get in to see my dermatologist, I take a recommendation from my mom. They were able to see me that day. I wait the standard hour in the waiting room and am finally escorted back to my new waiting spot. The nurse comes in, writes down my complaints and steps out. The doctor comes in almost immediately, says "it hasn't been that long since I've seen you" to which I reply "this is my first time here". He looks at me for less than 20 seconds mumbles something about nonspecific dermititis and dry, sensitive skin and then starts listing off the medications he is prescribing. Two minutes later, he walks out and I have four prescriptions in my hand with instructions to come back in 3 weeks. Yeah, right. Of course, they are all name-brand, the tv advertised pills.

I am so fed up with doctors. I am beginning to think they are as crooked as politicians. In bed with the drug companies. Did I forget to mention the pharmaceutical sales rep that came in while I was waiting and I heard him passing out candy bars to the staff? Wonder what goodies the good doctor gets. Trips to the Bahamas?

Having said that, I do believe there are doctors out there that care, I have a few on my team. But as a healthy 30 year old, I have been prescribed more drugs than I care to count. And the fact that I have a team, that's sad in itself. Endocrinologist for thyroid problems, dermatologist since I'm the poster child for skin cancer with blond hair and blue eyes, gynecologist cuz I'm a girl. Don't even get me started on the rest of the family's team.

There has to be a better way. One person who will treat me, not just a specific symptom. One that will take the time to determine the cause rather than immediately reaching for the script pad. Someone who believes that medicine is a last resort.

The sky is falling!

Last evening, as hubby and I were watching Rock Star INXS, a loud crash along with the sound of glass breaking came from below. Thinking the cat or dog knocked something off the kitchen counter or a mirror fell off the wall, we slowly walked down the stairs. Imagine our surprise to discover the ceiling fan had fallen from the ceiling and broken the glass top on the coffee table below.

Almost as bizarre as our shower door shattering in the middle of the night. Maybe our house is haunted.

Torn

My employer is asking people to volunteer for an assignment working with FEMA for the hurricane Katrina victims. It's a 12 hour day, 7 days a week job for a minimum 30 days doing whatever FEMA needs. I feel like I really need to help out. I also worry about how my family would cope in my absence. I know the 30 days is unrealistic and I would most likely be gone for 4 - 6 months. Is it fair to ask my parents to take over my duties? Is it fair to my kids to be without their mother for months on end? I am torn between my sense of duty to my family and my country.

I can appreciate the irony

A week before last Friday, the evening my daughter ended up in the hospital, I received an unexpected and alarming phone call. It was from a law office and one of our rent houses was due to be sold on the courthouse steps in a little over a week. One of the main aspects of our business is helping people out of situations like this. Imagine our surprise at being in the very situation ourselves. Turns out we neglected to change our address with the homeowner's association and the association was foreclosing because of our deliquent dues. The following Monday I took in a cashier's check four times the original amount to save our property. I can certainly appreciate the irony.

Blogging the aftermath

If you're anything like me, you're constantly scanning the news for updates in the New Orleans area. Here are several blogs that I've been following:

Josh Britton
Kaye's Hurricane Katrina Blog
Instapundit

I can only imagine the desperation felt by all of those affected by hurricane Katrina. Natural disasters like this expose not only the dark side of human nature but also the good side as well. I know as a nation we will pull together and do whatever it takes to help those in need.

Emergency Room Part II

Not a good weekend. Little baby girl had to go back to the hospital. She wasn't responding to her inhaler Friday evening and hubby finally took her to the ER Friday around 9:30. He and my dad spent the night in the ER with her and my mom relieved them Saturday morning. The doctors were still concerned with her breathing and they admitted her that afternoon to watch her over night. We finally brought her home yesterday morning. She'll probably get the diagnosis of asthma at her pediatrician's office when I take her in tomorrow.

She is such a brave little girl. And she can manage to have fun no matter where she is. I just worry so much about her. Not being able to breathe must be the most terrifying experience. Fortunately this time was no nearly as bad as in April and she didn't have to get an IV or go to the progressive care unit. The incidence of asthma in children is growing rapidly and especially in the Houston area. Maybe we should move.

Quirks

I'm walking back from a snack break with several coworkers when one of my quirks came to light. They had ice cream bars and had finished and were chewing on the wooden sticks. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me and I couldn't hide my reaction.

Another quirk surfaced at the dentist's office today. I hate going to the dentist. I usually receive nothing but compliments (thanks for the great teeth genes folks, but I'd rather have the fast metabolism gene.) The hygenist is scraping and buffing and polishing and she starts working on the back of my top teeth and I can not stop giggling.

The weekend

The weekend was nice with not too much going on. The kids had swimming lessons Friday evening. It was the girl's first lesson without us being in the pool with her. She has no fear in the water whatsoever, which is terrifying. She'll push off the step out into the pool like she can swim. The Houston Swim Club teaches toddlers how to survive if they fall into a pool. After just 4 lessons, she can already flip over onto her back and float for a few seconds.

Saturday I ran 8 miles with Fort Bend Fit. I'm in training for the half-marathon in January, but our group is running with the full marathon training until next month. Saturday afternoon we headed over to Star Pizza to meet up with our friends who are in a fantasy football league. Half the group was busy with the draft and we visited with everyone else.

Saturday evening, hubby took the boy swimming and I put the girl to bed early since she'd missed her nap that afternoon. Sunday was filled with errands and laundry (fun stuff) and then we took dinner to my folks and after dinner we all went swimming in their neighborhood pool. Too bad every day can't be a weekend day.

First Day

I didn't make it into work yesterday. My baby started kindergarten. He did great- sat right down in his seat and started coloring. Looked up and smiled for the pictures. Didn't even notice when we left. I did have to drag hubby away from his class room. Said he wanted to just stand there and watch when class started. He probably could have stood there all day.

Afterwards, we took the little one to her day care and then went to breakfast. I really didn't feel like going to work after that, so instead we went home and took a nap. Then went to the grocery store and I prepared a special meal- snacky type stuff for dinner and a fruit pizza for dessert. Then dad and the boy headed off to sign up for teeball. It's all happening so fast. They don't stay babies for long, do they?

*giggle*

Is it terrible that the kids are in rare form tonight- bouncing off the walls- and I'm letting hubby deal with it all while I sit downstairs on the computer pretending to be working but just giggling to myself ?

Cafeteria changes

The food services group which runs our cafeteria changed hands this past weekend. Considering the only food I would eat before was salad, soup, or sandwich, I welcomed the changed. And became very excited once I saw the menu. Full of my kind of food- the frufru kind. Today I had the grilled salmon raspberry salad. It looked beautiful. Unfortunately, the salmon had no flavor and the price wasn't any better than I can get off-campus. I'll give it a try a few more times, but it looks like I won't be eating lunch in the new cafeteria, er cafe as we're supposed to call it, any more regularly.

Red swingline stapler!!!!

I would just like to thank S&K for my new red Swingline stapler (collector's edition). I went downstairs to the cafeteria for a bagel and when I got back to my office, my supervisor and engineering manager were standing in my office. Not sure whether to quietly back away without being noticed, I quickly became worried about them swiping my stapler. I rush into my office and I am greeted with- hey, nice stapler. And then, that makes quite a statement. Yeah, like you're going to burn the building down.

I answered- just don't move me to the basement. Or touch my stapler again.

Scenes from Office Space.

Day 2 no voice

Yesterday was fun- three teleconferences and I can't talk. I had to whisper my part to others in the room for them to relay. And the phone rang off the wall last night.

"Courtney? Are you there?"
yes
"Can you talk?"
no
"Ok, I'll talk but you don't have to answer."
"Still there?"
thought I didn't have to answer

It is coming back a little today, so now I sound like a 14 year old boy going through puberty.

Sticker shock

I've put off the eye doc for too long. It's been 7 years since I've had an exam and 5 since I wore my glasses. So I finally bit the bullet and went.

OMG!!!!!! $360 later (after a 40% coupon) and I get to the proud new owner of ONE pair of glasses. Have I forgotten or have they raised prices to cover their loss of business due to laser eye surgery?

I'm sitting here looking pretty damn cool in my office with sunglasses on and sitting back 4 feet from my screen thanks to pupil dilation.

The dangers of slippers

Saturday evening we had quite a scare with the boy. He was running from one side of the house to the other on the tile floor. He also happened to be wearing his spiderman slippers. And he slipped and fell, hard. He laid there for a few seconds in stunned silence and then started crying. We saw the event unfold and didn't think much of it until he stood up and tried to walk over to us. As he weaved from side to side, we saw the huge goose egg forming on his head. And panic took over. Hubby took him to the couch, I grabbed the ice and called the pediatrician. The nurse finally called back and told us to wake him up several times during the night for the next two nights to make sure he was still coherent and call back if his symptoms worsened. So of course I had to surf the internet for more information and totally freak myself out reading about concussions and bleeding in the brain. All is fine now except for a big knot and bruise on his head.

Is Santa real?

I think this question is coming soon. The boy, who turned 5 in June, is asking questions such as are Lilo and Stitch real? Is Buzz Lightyear? Is R2D2? Is 3CPO? And the other day he asked me if Santa was ever a baby. I hope we make it through one more Christmas at least, but it doesn't look promising.

New family tradition

I have started a new family tradition in my household. One that I'm sure the kids will gripe about when they get older. I've always been fascinated in learning how others around the world live and so I made a list of all the countries in the world and printed them out. Then I cut them into little strips of paper. Last night, I had my son draw one out of the bowl. We will learn about that country and make a native dish or two. I felt like this would be something educational as well as fun for all of us.

Country #1: Hungary

Are we finally getting it?

Hubby and I took the kids to the local high school track last night so we could get in some family time while I ran. My 5 year old has been asking to go running and that way we could each run at our own pace. He ended up meeting everyone at the track and racing several different runners. Too bad he's shy :)

What amazed me was just how many people were out exercising- a group doing some sort of boot camp, others walking around the track, some running, playing soccer, dad teaching his sons how to play football. Maybe all the advice is finally sinking in- it is important to exercise. It's hard to get and stay motivated, but so important for physical and mental health.

Biting my tongue

There's a guy who sits across the hall from me. And he sneezes louder than anyone I've ever heard. And he belches all day. Near the end of every day, he exclaims "what am I doing, what am I doing, oh, what am I doing."

I want so badly to retort- that's what we're all wondering.

Ain't cubeville grand?

How long would you last?

Because I like to torture myself, I've been thinking about how long I would continue to come to work even if I was independently wealthy. I would need a major incentive to put up with this crapola. How long would you last? I'm guessing I'd make it um, 2 days.

Buying a new car?

Be sure to check out Fighting Chance. Props again to Mister Crunchy for the link. They will help in negotiating the best deal on your new car. Buying a car must be my least favorite activity. Pulling into the dealership parking lot and seeing the vultures sitting on the steps. Watching as the rock/paper/scissors game quickly takes place and then the winner approaches before you can even open your door.

"Hi! How are you doing today? What are you looking for? How can I help you?"

Hours later, dazed, disoriented, hungry, and thirsty, you're left in a small office. The salesman enters with the huge grin.

"So, what is it going to take to get you in the driver's seat of this car today? What payments are you looking for?

Well, actually I would rather discuss price.

Sure, and how about $350 a month payments? That sound about right?

I don't care about payments, I care about the total price.

Okay, so, let's look at getting you in this fine vehicle for $350 a month."

And my favorite part is the dramatic pause, the passing papers back and forth, the salesmen running off to "get approval from his manager" and if you ever do get out of that loop, the financing and the extended warranty, rust protection, we'll keep adding costs until you say Uncle!

Maybe there is a better way to buy a vehicle.

Disclaimer: no offense intended towards car salesmen

America's Paradox

Thanks to Mister Crunchy for leading me to an interesting article concerning the values the majority of Americans say they hold and their actions, 'The Christian Paradox'.

"...therein is the paradox. America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior.

Christ was pretty specific about what he had in mind for his followers. What if we chose some simple criterion—say, giving aid to the poorest people—as a reasonable proxy for Christian behavior?
...nearly 18 percent of American children lived in poverty (compared with, say, 8 percent in Sweden). In fact, by pretty much any measure of caring for the least among us you want to propose—childhood nutrition, infant mortality, access to preschool—we come in nearly last among the rich nations, and often by a wide margin. "

Much of my negativity with religion, Christianity in particular, stems from this very issue. I presume it is much easier to give the talk, than to actually follow through with your convictions. I do know people who certainly do not follow this model. They actively live their beliefs and I can respect that greatly, even if I don't agree with their beliefs.

My core philosophy is that we all live together on this planet and we should treat each other respectfully and try to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Before kids, I was much more involved, and as the children need me less and less I plan to get back into volunteering. Right now I am focusing on raising adults who will carry on my philosophy to treat others respectfully.

Countdown to school

In just 21 days, my baby boy will be leaving the nest to start kindergarten. He's been in day care since he was a little over a year, so one would think this would be an easy transition for him. And most likely it will be. It's me that I'm worried about. I have been searching for any and all information about his school. I found out that he can purchase lunch for $1.35. Which is great, but we haven't taught him to count change! How is he going to do that on his own? What if he gets lost? What if he acts up in class? What if he eats glue? New thoughts pop up continuously to increase my paranoia.

Breathe Mom, just breathe.

Good god/bad god

My son is very interested in god lately. I try to encourage him to learn more and to teach him about the various religions that believe in god. Just because his father and I don't believe in god doesn't mean that it's not right for our children. I want them to follow their hearts and minds like we have. Hubby doesn't agree with this and thinks we're leading him down the wrong path, but I want him to learn about as many different things as he can and then judge for himself when he's old enough.

But none of that is the point of this story. We stopped by Natural Bridge Caverns on our trip to New Braunfels a month ago and took the cavern tour. We get down to the deepest part of the cave, and the boy turns to me and says "Good god made this, -dramatic pause- but bad god lives here'.

Freakonomics

For the first time in nearly a year, I am reading a book. And not even a real estate related book. It does talk about realtors, but it is not directly related to real estate. The book does not follow the traditional lines but instead seeks the underlying reasons for why things happen and not just blindly follow conventional wisdom. And I'm all about not blindly following conventional wisdom :)

Particularly interesting is his link between the drop in crime rate in the early 1990's and the legalization of abortion. An exerpt from from the Washington Post:

"Consider Levitt's notion of a relationship between abortion access and the crime drop. First, Freakonomics shows that although commonly cited factors such as improved policing tactics, more felons kept in prison and the declining popularity of crack account for some of the national reduction in crime that began in about the year 1990, none of these completes the explanation. (New York City and San Diego have enjoyed about the same percentage decrease in crime, for instance, though the former adopted new policing tactics and the latter did not.) What was the significance of the year 1990, Levitt asks? That was about 16 years after Roe v. Wade. Studies consistently show that a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by those raised in broken homes or who were unwanted as children. When abortion became legal nationally, Levitt theorizes, births of unwanted children declined; 16 years later crime began to decline, as around age 16 is the point at which many once-innocent boys start their descent into the criminal life. Leavitt's clincher point is that the crime drop commenced approximately five years sooner in Alaska, California, Hawaii, New York and Washington state than it did in the nation as a whole. What do these states have in common? All legalized abortion about five years before Roe."

Here's a review of Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

I've been tagged!

Michael, at Chasing the Wind, has tagged me. I am supposed to answer the question and tag 5 people. Alas, I'm not convinced 5 people read my blog, so this will end with me unless Darkle wants to take a stab at it. And since Jo at Spin the Moon started it and passed it on to Michael, they're untaggable.

Things you enjoy, not because you have to but because you WANT to, even when no one around you wants to go out and play. What lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level? Make a list, post it to your journal. And then tag 5 friends and ask them to post it to theirs.

1. Scrapbooking. Those that know me are surprised to find out I scrapbook. However girly an activity it might seem, I do enjoy having a creative outlet.

2. Jogging. You'd never know it by the shape I'm in at the moment....

3. Watching crap tv. Nothing better than zero brain activity.

4. Playing with my kids. Only when they're not fighting. Otherwise it raises my stress/blood pressure/anxiety level.

5. Swimming. I love the feel of the water gliding along my body, the relief from sounds from the chaotic world around.

That's it! So, if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged!

Goodbye Maggie

My parents cat died a week ago. And I feel mostly responsible. She had diabetes and I was in charge of her twice daily injections while they were out of town for the weekend. Saturday evening, I was fairly sure I missed when going in for the shot and I saw droplets on her fur. So, I gave her another shot. Sunday morning, she was very vocal, but I chalked it up to missing my folks. Sunday evening, when they arrived home, she did not seem well. My mother ended up taking her to the emergency clinic at 4 am July 4th. Her blood sugar was high and she wouldn't eat. Her body basically shut down and she was put to sleep Wednesday while my father was holding her. My mother assures me that the vet said it was not a result of too much insulin, but I'm not convinced.

My mother was crazy about Maggie. She was 13 years old and was my replacement. My freshman year of college, during spring break, Mom and I went to the pet store. I picked her out and named her. And she became my mother's companion since I was no longer living at home. She will be missed.

Wish upon a star

The boy asks me the other day how come wishes don't come true. He wished on a shooting star and nothing happened. I asked him what he wished for, thinking it would be something I could produce, and he tells me he wished for monkeys. Not exactly the answer I was expecting.

Rhyme

The boy's baby cousin was playing on the floor and one of my friends asked him what was the baby's name. He answers- it's Marlen, darlin'.

Let's play the opposite game!

My in-laws were taking the boy to his favorite fast food restaurant- the golden arches or as he calls it, dark tunnel and he explained the rules on the way there. If I say that I want chicken nuggets, then I want a hamburger. If I say I want milk, then I want a soda. If I say I want a hamburger, then I want chicken nuggets and if I say soda, then I want milk.

When the reach the counter, my father-in-law asks the boy what he wants to eat. "I want chicken nuggets and milk." My mother-in-law then asks if he really wants that or if he's playing opposite. He answers firmly that he wants chicken nuggets and milk. My father-in-law tells the clerk he wants a hamburger and soda. My mother-in-law then exclaims- "I'm confused"!

5 years old

I can't believe how quickly my little boy is growing up. Friday evening hubby and I and my folks gathered around the pool to watch his final swimming lesson. It's been 2 weeks for 30 minutes every weekday evening. And he's doing great. He knows how to put his head down and stroke his arms and turn his head to the side to breathe.

Saturday was his birthday and we had his party in the evening so that the outdoors were a little cooler and the house would be blocking the sun. The 10' water slide moonwalk was a huge hit and the thunderstorm held off until it was time for cake and ice cream. The kids seemed to have a great time.

Today it's a Father's day celebration at my parent's and then we're off to Atlanta to visit friends. Gotta love summer.

Breaking news!

I flip on the tv last night and several minutes into the program breaking news interrupts. My heart races a bit, after a week without television, I'm not used to the sensationalism. "We interrupt this program to inform you that nine counties are without power tonight. " Wow, I bet all those people without power are so happy you came in with this breaking news.

Life lesson #1023

Never let your five year old apply sunscreen on your back when you're spending the day at the beach.

Yes Sir!

The girl's latest is to answer all questions with yes, sir. Well, except the questions she answers no (she is turning 2 next month). It is absolutely hilarious to hear her tiny little voice saying yes sir. She says it to both of us and I always correct her with yes m'am. Then she answers 'yes sir man'. The girl is very polite and has much better manners than her 5 year old brother. Not sure why it takes with one and not the other, but we're not giving up hope on the boy. He is good about saying thank you.

Addiction

I am addicted to television. I love to space out in front of the tv in the evenings, emptying my mind of any useful thoughts. It helps me to unwind. It also prevents me from talking and spending quality time with my husband. And so, I have agreed to give up television for one week. I made it through day 1 with flying colors. Until I tried to go to sleep last night. Too many thoughts/worries/concerns about the day flowing through my head to fall asleep.

I'm hoping this no tv rule does not apply to the weekend, when hubby's not home. I'll have 4 Oprah shows to catch up on! Sick, I know.

Unbelievable

I got a strange phone call Friday evening. Someone trying to reach my neighbor and her phone was busy for the last three days. This caller seems very concerned and tells me it is very important she reaches her. I don't recognize the name, so she gives me her address. She lives several houses down, across the street from our old house. I take the message down- have her call Mrs. Buchanan at 888-......, claim number....., tell her it is extremely important. I am concerned up until the 888 phone number. Wow, a creditor! You have got to be kidding me. So now, they don't only harass the debtor, but the neighbors as well??? How is THAT legal?

Audit

My project is going through a technical audit right now. Just to make sure I've been following all the procedures and that nothing fell through the cracks. Seems like a smart idea, right? Well, the auditor just handed me the sheets to fill out for him. Hmmmm, he's supposed to be auditing me and now he wants me to fill out the report? Everything looks great from here.

I want one of those!

Hubby has a gold tooth. Really, it's just a filling but my son is fascinated with it. The other night, the boy complained about one of his teeth hurting and we mentioned if it kept hurting, we'd have to take him to the dentist and he might need a filling. This, apparently, was his plan. He gets excited and says that he wants to go. I tell him it will hurt.

"That's ok. I'm brave. I might cry, but that's ok."

Hmmm, might need another tactic. Hubby tells him, you don't want one of these. The boy answers, oh yes I do. So, hubby says tomorrow, I'll get my drill and my biggest drill bit and I'll drill out the cavity and then hammer metal into it. The boy goes to bed happy.

The next day, while swinging on the playground, the boy calls out to his dad. "Dad! Come here! I've got a secret for you. I need to tell you in the garage." They move to the garage and he whispers "I'm ready for my filling now". Hubby gets the drill and hammer and the boy, still unfazed asks, what metal he was going to use. He wants something shiny. Hubby tells him it will have to wait until he gets the right metal. Fortunately, the boy must have decided a little bling in him mouth is not all that.

What did you say???

Last weekend, the boy said "fart on me" when he passed gas. He happened to be with my parents and the time, so my mother says to him incredulously - what did you say and then he repeats it for her like it's what he's supposed to say. She then begins the interrogation- that is not nice to say that, who taught you how to say that, etc. The boy tells him Pawpi (my father) says that. My mom finally puts it all together and tells him, no, Pawpi says "pardon me". The boy simply responds 'oh'.

Isn't instant messaging great?

I am sitting in my office and sneezed. My coworker who sits 2 offices away instant messages me "bless you". I write him back "thank you". He answers "I didn't want to yell".

Random thoughts and observations about myself

It bothers me to no end when the cook time is left on the microwave. I must push the button to clear it and return to the clock, however, a pair of dirty socks left by the back door doesn't get to me for weeks.

I used to have tons of drive and motivation. Now the only way I'll do things is if the deadline is looming right over my head. I also used to do the tasks I hated most first. Now I procrastinate in hopes it will go away.

I am just like my mother no matter how hard I try.

I drank too much Saturday night and had a hangover for two entire days. Getting old sucks. Sad part is I wasn't even drunk.

I have a love/hate relationship with my job. I love working with the people, hate the work. I do enjoy having people do the work for me., however.

I've been blogging for a year and my writing skills have not improved a bit.

Searching for motivation

Before kids, I was an active, moderately in shape individual. I ate healthy the majority of the time, exercised regularly, and kept my weight in check. After my son was born, I resumed my regular exercise routine and after 2 years, was finally back to my prepregnancy weight. I assumed the same would happen with my daughter. No such luck. I have turned into a sloth. And I have never been so out of shape.

I went out of town for work last week and I took advantage of the time to myself. I "ran" on the treadmill at the hotel, swam in the pool, and scrapbooked all week long. And since I've been back home, I have not exercised once. Please, please someone lend me some words of inspiration. I can't take this much longer. I want to wear my clothes again and to be able to run a few miles without wishing I would die.

Words of inspiration

http://www.despair.com/indem.html

It's the little things in life

My daughter has a favorite stuffed animal which is a frog. When she says frog, the 'r' is silent, the 'o' sounds more like a 'u', and the 'g' is pronounced 'k". So, she's walking around this evening holding her favorite stuff frog saying 'f#ck mommy, f#ck' over and over again. Hubby and I just look at each other and start cracking up.

Don't even get me started on the silent 'r' in shirt.

My list

I'm sure everyone has a list of things they'd like to do sometime during their lifetime. Haven't had much time to think about mine lately, but I thought I'd revisit:

Completed Items (in no particular order):
- graduate high school in 3 years
- become a lead on a project
- run a marathon
- natural child birth
- jump out of a perfectly good airplane
- marry my soul mate
- produce adorable offspring
- get my ears double pierced
- start my own business
- take my kids to Disney World

Items Yet to be Completed:
- complete an ironman event
- create a successful business
- raise well adjusted, self sufficient, empathetic young adults
- quit my day job
- become 'rich' - i.e. passive income exceeds monthly expenses
- buy a hot car that's totally impractical
- scuba dive
- open a bed and breakfast
- write better
- play the drums
- sing in a band
- become a better person
- travel the world
- live overseas
- visit every state in the U.S.

The logic of a child

The boy tells us that his sister's nose is running. Daddy asks where is it running to? The boy answers her mouth. I start laughing and the boy is now confused and asks if Daddy said something funny.

The boy

The boy has been taking things out of his classmates bags at school which then end up in his bag. His teachers and ourselves are taking these acts of stealing very seriously. Trying to come up with appropriate discipline measures, the husband acts, where can we get a paddle? I answer cpscomeandtakemykids.com has a good selection.

I stopped at Sam's Club on the way home yesterday and the boy checks out each sample station to give his cute face for preferential treatment. He is disappointed at the toothpaste station until the lady gives him a little tube of toothpaste. He has to show it off to the cashier and she asks him, do you brush your teeth in the morning and at night? He says, I do at night, but sometimes my mommy forgets in the morning. Thanks, kid.

Political labels are not encompassing

I have been unable to fit myself into the label republican or democrat, liberal or conservative. I see strengths and weaknesses on both sides. I also see the hypocrisy. The right tends to believe that people can be trusted to make economic choices for themselves, but their personal lives are corrupt and must be regulated. The left holds the opposite view. I happen to agree with neither. The smaller our government, the better.

Eric at Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave explains political beliefs as a grid, versus a 2-dimensional scale. I like this model much better. Looking at the two spectrums, totalitarianism versus individualism, I definitely fall closer to individualism and between socialism versus capitalism, closer to capitalism. Knowing this, it still does not help me find mainstream politicians who support my views.

Be prepared

Getting farther away from the trauma of the weekend, I can begin to see the humor in certain situations. First, I didn't pack any bags to go to the ER. Figured we'd be there a couple of hours and back home in time to catch the news at 10. The girl threw up once in the middle of her breathing treatments and I happened to have her sitting in my lap at the time. I was soaked and the nurse brought me some scrubs to put on. After the morning shift change, the new nurse came in to check on her new charge and looked at me funny and asked- do you work here?

My mother became quite jumpy sometime in the middle of the night at the ER. They were pushing new meds on the girl to get her lungs to open back up and every time they suggested something else, my mom would pounce. What is that? Why are you doing that? Her reputation got around because when the fellow came in to talk to us, he was shaking a bit and stumbling over his words.

When I got back home Saturday morning after being awake for 30 hours straight, I wanted nothing more than to get clean and go to sleep. I found out that yes, you can fall asleep in a bath tub.

Before my daughter was discharged, the hospital provided asthma education. Just to make sure I was paying attention, there was a pop quiz at the end. I can only presume I passed as they let us take her home.

My poor, sweet baby

This weekend was close to my worst nightmare. Picked kids up from school on Friday afternoon and the school tells me the girl has been crying all afternoon. Still not sure why they didn't call me, but when I got to her, I realized she was having difficulty breathing. I rush home to give her benadryl, which has helped before. Waited an hour and she wasn't any better, so I called the pediatrician. He hears her in the background and tells me to take her to Texas Children's Hospital. Hubby is not home from work yet, so I call my parents. My dad stays with the boy and my mom rides with me. Hubby meets us at the ER. Several hours later, we finally get a room in the ER. They give her breathing treatments of albuterol which she fights terribly.

Several hours later, around midnight, we think we are leaving soon as she is breathing fine. They send us to x-ray for a chest x-ray, just to be sure it's not pneumonia. We get back to the ER and wait for the results. Doc comes and checks again and this time she's wheezing really hard. They start her on continuous wet breathing treatments and start pushing steroids and eventually trying several different meds to get her lungs to open up. She slowly starts improving and my husband comes back to relieve myself and my mother Saturday morning as we had 15 minutes of sleep in the night.

She moves to the progressive care unit, which is one step below intensive care Saturday morning. By the time my mom and I get back that evening, she is off the continuous treatment and doing much better. She continually improves through the night and we are discharged Sunday around 11. This morning she's not sounding as good and we are going to the pediatrician's office this afternoon. We also have a follow up with an ultrasound on Friday as they found a calcification on the x-ray. The doctor is sure it is nothing, but needs to follow up on it.

Needless to say, we are all exhausted physically and emotionally and seeing my baby girl hooked up the all kinds of monitors and an IV was almost more than I could bear. She was such a trooper. She fought the first treatment, but after that, she took every poke and prod so well. She was so brave.

Day 2

It's day 2 of hell week. I didn't think it was possible to cram so many meetings into 1 week. 7, in case you're curious.

Great birthday weekend

Well, it all ended Sunday morning at 12:01 am. My twenties, that is. Overall, it was a very nice weekend. My mother cooked my requested meal Friday night - artichokes, crab cakes, cold boiled shrimp, asparagus, and salad with strawberries and walnuts and my brother and his wife joined us. They gave me a cute outfit which I wore Saturday night when hubby and I met some friends at Japaneros. Had sushi and then we headed to my favorite hangout where I haven't been in years, Gingerman in the Village. Then my folks took just hubby and I (sans kids!!!) to brunch at C&H Steak house and then my in-laws took us out for dinner Sunday night. My parents gave me a custom headboard and hubby got the yard landscaped for my present. In-laws gave me a Lenny Kravitc CD and my son bought me flowers. Couldn't have asked for a nicer birthday. And my 30's look to be even better than my 20's.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Fans

Move on. Nothing to see here. Maybe here, here, here, here or here. But not here. Thanks.

Converting

Last night my husband and I have a conversation about religion. He says that he always wanted to marry a nice, Jewish girl. Then he asks me to convert. I ask why, since he's not Jewish. He tells me that he wants me to convert and then denounce the religion like he did. I then ask, I speak yiddish, I nag you, I give you guilt trips, I can't cook and I am cheap, how much more Jewish can I get? True, he answers.

DeLay and Terri Schiavo

Another fine example of DeLay in action. I have not formed an opinion on the Terri Schiavo case as I do not know all the facts. I do know that my husband knows more about my wishes than my parents would as I have discussed this very topic with him on multiple occasions, but never with my folks. I also know that starving is a terrible way to die, if your brain actually registers the feeling. And I know that I would never, ever, ever cast a vote for Tom DeLay, well unless it was to vote him off the island.

The hunt

I have a deep, dark family secret. It involves the annual easter egg hunt. I am the oldest of 4 on my mom's side of the family. The youngest is 25. We never stopped the hunt for eggs. Our parents still hide them every year. Even when I had children of my own, we did not stop. Granted, we give them a 30 second head start, but then it's ON. It has grown from the original 4 to include my hubby, my sister-in-law, her sister and husband, one of my brother's friends and his wife, and now my husband's brother and wife. Oh, and a few kids.

The trash talking started early yesterday. My cousin traded in her platform sandals for a pair of tennis shoes. I had the number 17 stuck in my head. Must beat 17. That was last year. I didn't win. This year will be different. Finally, the 50 something year old parents have hid the eggs for their late 20's, early 30 year old children and their children. Let the kids go. Then we're off!! I run down a path towards the creek and my 11 year old cousin is close behind. Focus, must focus. Man, I wish I hadn't finished that last glass of wine. I run back towards the house, right through the mud, not slowing down past the 2 years old picking up eggs. Must win this year! Victory! 23 eggs! Wait, sister-in-law's sister has 28. She probably stole her kid's eggs. Well, there's always next year.

Blonde moment again

As I am looking at the quarters I am about to toss into the soda machine to get my afternoon diet coke fix, I am perplexed. What is Sionilli? My first thought is some Canadian change was mixed into my stash of quarters. Then no, it feels like a US quarter. It took a minute before I turned the quarter 180 degrees.

Oh! Illinois!!

The Explosion

Working in the oil and gas industry, accidents such as the explosion at BP hit us hard. Especially so since I have quite a number of friends who work at that particular plant. Once I heard the news yesterday, I quickly called around to make sure everyone is okay. I finally heard back last night and everyone is accounted for and unharmed physically. Mentally, they all seem to be in shock. I feel so much for the employees and families of those involved in this terrible accident.

Breakfast or dinner?

On the way home from school the other day, my son fell asleep in the car. He didn't wake up when I carried him in from the car to the house and I finally decided to wake him around 7 pm. I had his dinner ready at the table and as he sat down to eat, he asked me, is this dinner or breakfast?

No need to advertise

About 5 years ago, hubby and I began our first attempt at small business ownership. We decided to resurrect his lawn mowing business from high school and college. So, we got a DBA, printed up some flyers and started to pass them out. That was as far as we got. Since we both had full time jobs, we quickly realized it wasn't going to work out. Our business name got into the Yahoo yellow pages and for years we would get phone calls from potential customers.

Pleasant surprise

I knew that we would find out about raises today. I wasn't holding my breath for anything too great, knowing how they've gone the last several years. I was also trying to head off disappointment. Imagine my surprise when I open it up to see not only a hefty raise, but a promotion to boot! What a great day!

Fast cars

I must admit, I never really got the fascination. Sure, I love to drive fast, take the turns tight, pretend I'm a Nascar driver, but I never understood spending premium dollars to buy a sports car. Since the @#$@% Focus hadn't been repaired as of yesterday, I was forced to drive my mother-in-law's Z3 BMW convertible. After an extremely intense day at work, on the drive home, I saw the light. What a release.

Stress free zone

Work has been pulling hard. Too hard. And if my personal life were a little less stressful, it probably wouldn't be such a big deal. But I'm burning the candle at both ends. I have been super stressed out today and decided I needed to blow off steam at lunch. Had plans with a friend, which fell through. Ok, I'll go run. Get to the locker area and the shower is closed. Argh. Headed back to my desk to eat lunch and stew. Decided this afternoon I had to leave or my head might pop off. Headed to a nearby park and walked around and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Drove back to work and felt 10 billion times better.

Phone manners

Last night the phone rings when I'm in the middle of a messy diaper change. Knowing that the only people who call are hubby, my mom, or telemarketers, I tell the boy to answer the phone. I hear part of the conversation- Hello? Who is this? A few minutes later he brings me the phone. It's one of my friends who has a daughter the boy's age. She proceeds to tell me when the boy was getting off the phone with her, he tells her he loves her and then bye. Of course she responds I love you too. How cute. :)

Sunday morning ritual

Sunday morning, hubby and I stop at his folks house to return their lawn mower. Another item we need to purchase after the wheel sheared right off our mower last fall. I walk in and they are sitting around the kitchen table, sipping coffee, reading the newspaper, and then I notice the television. And on it is the preacher from Lakewood Church. Now, this would seem normal for most people, only thing is, they are Jewish. So, I have a puzzled look on my face and they tell me he has a good message and they watch him every week. I answer that there is something not quite right here, but I can't put my finger on it.

@#$@#$XD#@$ Focus

Busy weekend again, but at least some things were accomplished. Friday, we closed on house #5. Everything went fairly smoothly with that. Saturday we spent most of the day working on the house. Wading through the mountains of laundry, whacking down the neck high weeds in the yard and celebrated my grandfather's 83rd birthday that evening. Sunday, we finished most of the detail work in rent house #4. Hubby and I were starting to feel in control of life again. That didn't last long.

Last evening, we go to move the 2000 Ford Focus, the car so well made it's had 12 recalls, and the key won't turn. Won't move at all. Flip through the owner's manual. Nothing. Check the internet. Oh boy. Thousands of irate Focus owners complaining of this same problem and it repeatedly happening. And the dealer charges around $400 to fix and Ford won't recall the part. Great. Luckily, I also found a link to how to replace the cylinder yourself for $50 in parts.

Dining with kids

Last night we met up with friends who have kids around the same age as ours for dinner. Dining out with kids is never relaxing, never easy, but it's nice when the kids have someone their own age to entertain them. My husband picked them up from school and met me there as I had to work a little late. I knew something was wrong with my daughter when I saw her. She was very clingy and kept laying her head on our shoulders. I chalked it up to the unresolved ear infection we're still dealing with. Halfway through dinner, she starts projectile vomiting. My husband takes her home while the rest of us finish up dinner. You can always tell who are parents in situations like that. Kids throw up and the parents just keep on eating.

Precious days

Took the boy to the dentist yesterday afternoon. His teeth look great, lots of space for the permanent ones to come in, no cavities. The visit took longer than expected, so instead of taking time to take him back to school, I brought him into the office with me. I sit him down next to me, pull out a pad of paper and all the colored highlighters I have around and he gets busy 'doing his work'. He looks up at my bulletin board where I have pics of the family and points to his picture and exclaims- 'Mom! That boy looks just like me!!' I explain that it's because it is him. I finish up a few loose ends, show him how the copy machine works, and then take him around to visit a few people. He was so well behaved and it was so nice spending time together, just the two of us. After work, we picked up the girl and I finally delivered on my promise of McDonald's. It's days like these that I will miss so much when my babies aren't babies anymore.

Girls night out

Saturday, my friend hosted a spa night at her house. Of course it's an in home party, with a rep trying to sell stuff, but it was so much fun. Put all kinds of stuff on our feet, our hands, wore aromatherapy neck wraps, cucumber masks on the eyes, drank great wine. The best part was after, where my friend had made wonderful spa food. We sat at the dining room table, complete with the fine china. I've been married 8 1/2 years and never used my fine china. Then we finished with desert and a champagne toast and sat and ranted about work. Someone finally checked their watch and it was almost 11 pm. I felt so relaxed, so rejuvenated after the evening. We must do that again.

Little stories that don't go together

Last weekend we were out of milk. My husband will not drink his coffee black, so he reaches for the Kahlua. I said, wow, getting started early, aren't we? He answers that it's just liqueur, it doesn't have alcohol. I answer, hello, liqueur, liquor? He grabs the bottle and reads off 17% alcohol, hmmm.

The boy's new favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz and along with that comes nonstop questions about tornadoes. Mom, when is a tornado coming? Where will it take us? Will it shut off all the power? What if we're in the car when a tornado comes? I answer them all with honey, tornadoes don't happen very often around here and it will be a long time before we see one, if ever. So, we had some bad storms roll through the area this morning. I have the kids strapped into their car seats to leave for school and turn on the radio and there's a tornado warning. Check outside and the rain is coming down sideways. Tell the kids we need to head back into the house because there may be a tornado coming :)

I get an invite about a girl's spa night this Saturday. I respond immediately, yes!, figuring there's no way I'm missing out on this. Tell hubby that I'm going and later mention to the boy his reward of McDonald's if he behaves well at school this week. Hubby immediately asks if he's being set up. Can't understand why he'd jump to conclusions since the last time I left him with the kids for the evening, I promised them Daddy would take them to Chuck E Cheese. I know my time is coming....

I can't dance

Fine, I'll admit it. You happy? I want to dance well. I try to dance well. Hubby loves to make fun of me as I try out different styles. My real style is stuck in the 80's, he insists. So what? The 80's was good. But I've tried to update my moves and nothing feels natural.

The man suggested I watch more MTV. Only problem with that is they don't play videos anymore. But I managed to find one on VH1. Ahhh, gangsta rap. Now that's too easy. Bounce side to side and throw your hands up every once in a while with your hands like guns. He says I should become a rapper, as he laughs uncontrollably. I break into Vanilla Ice.

Next song, more rap, with the dancers shaking it. I can do that too. Doesn't quite look like that though. More laughter. I finally give up and find a country song. Line dancing. Now anyone can do that, no rhythm required. Only problem is I hate country. What does that leave me?

Loch Ness Monster

When I am really stressed, it usually comes out in my dreams. Like last night. I dropped my kids off at my neighbor's pool. Unsupervised, but hey, they had on life jackets. Or at least my 19 month old did. Then I went next door. That's where I walked into this weird fantasy world. It was a jungle, with a river running through it and boulders covered with vines. The water was crystal clear.

This is where my memory gets fuzzy, but there was a man who'd been floating around in a lifeboat for what looked like many days. I swam over to help and that's when the loch ness monster attacked. It grabbed one of his near lifeless limbs and I didn't wait around to see what happened next. I swam to the nearest bank and the monster was right behind me. I scaled the boulders along the bank to safety. That's when I decided I needed to get out of there.

I left the jungle and went next door to get my kids. My husband and folks were there and were clearly upset that I'd left the kids unattended in a pool. I told then I just left for a second, but was really ashamed.

If you're a believer in dreams, I would think this has something to do with the fact that I haven't seen my kids much since we bought the rent house. We've spent a year and a half educating ourselves about real estate investing (which I spent a good part of the weekend in more training) and over and over the experts advise to work smarter, not harder. And what are we doing by trying to do most of it ourselves? And the very reason we're doing this- to spend more time with our kids means we spend less time with our kids.

Parenting dilemma

When I walk into the kid's school yesterday to pick them up after work, I realize I'm in for bad news. The director of the school is standing there with an incident report slip for me to sign. Nothing new, I get one of these several times a week. If one of the kids gets hurt or gets into trouble, I have to sign the paperwork. But I knew this was different by looking at her face.

The boy got into a fist fight with one of his friends. They both wanted to use the computer and the other boy hit him, so my son proceeded to throw him a straight punch to the face, hard. The other boy has a black eye now. And this is terrible, but honestly, my first reaction was to laugh. Instead I stifled it, and just shook my head. And said he'd be duly punished.

When I walked into the room to get my daughter, the director's step-father (the owner) followed me in. He tells me that what my son did was a good thing, that you don't want him to cower and run from bullies, but to fight back. But not to hit in the face where it leaves a mark. And to know when to hit (i.e. not when the teacher is watching).

I did punish my son and spent the drive home deciding punishment. He always gets tv taken away for a day when he misbehaves, but he needed something more. Ahhhh, candy. That'll get to him. So after dinner I told him to pick out a piece of candy. He picked out a box of sweethearts and then I told him to throw them in the trash. And every time he got in trouble at school, he would be throwing candy away.

I have mixed feelings about it all. I do want him to stand up for himself, but I don't want him to get expelled from school. I do not want him to be a bully or a coward. But he does need to learn self-control.

V-day wrap-up

For a day that I despise so much, it was actually quite pleasant. It's not that I despise the day, it's how contrived it is. You must buy your woman flowers, jewelry, and chocolate and either take her out to dinner or cook for her. And don't forget the card. All of the above irks me because it assumes that the man needs to be reminded to make his little lady feel special and that cooking dinner for her is a special occasion. Maybe I just demand more from my mate. We're more partners with an equal balance of power in the relationship. Plus I hate flowers. They die and I'm allergic. And don't even get me starting on how the day affects those who are not happily coupled.

So, where was I? Oh, yes. What a wonderful day it was. Hubby was working on the house, so I picked up his lunch order from Sonic- chili cheese dog, fries, cherry limeade slush and tried not to vomit when I delivered it. How anything that looks like that can be appetizing is beyond me. We cooked dinner for my folks and they watched the kids while we went to see Hitch. Laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Then we made coffee with a splash of Kahlua and ate tres leches that my folks had picked up for us.

Full Circle

It's amazing how we repeat the same actions of our parents. I have many memories of hanging out in one of the rental houses my parents owned, them painting and cleaning and repairing, my brother and I watching The Twilight Zone. And I remember how they smelled and I remember the calls for my dad to fix the stove, the sink, ..... and I remember thinking to myself, I will never....

And so this weekend, we spent sprucing up the latest house for lease. Dropped the girl off with my folks and brought the tv & vcr, leap pad, coloring books, and radio for my son and went to work. Bribed him to help with the promise of ice cream. Spent most of Saturday removing wallpaper and trying to remove a broken door handle that my son had closed. Sunday, we dropped both kids with hubby's folks and my parents came over the check out the house. First thing out of my dad's mouth is 'what can I do to help' as he picks up a shower head and says this looks easy. 4 hours later, they have to leave for their dinner reservations. And they thought their rental rehab days were over.

I imagine in 20 years, we'll be helping our kids with their rental properties.

On a side note, I was REALLY glad to come in to work today. This is so easy.

Silly camp songs

I learned all sorts of silly songs at the various camps I attended growing up - church camp, volleyball camp, fish camp at A&M. Several have stuck in my mind forever including Joe at the Button Factory. Maybe you've heard it too:

Hi! My name is Joe. And I work in a button factory. The other day, my boss comes up to me and says Hey Joe- are you busy? I say no, he says turn the button with your right hand.

And so it repeats until your hands are turning, your feet are turning, your back end is turning, your head is turning and you're sticking out your tongue to turn the button and finally Hey Joe- are you busy? I say yes! Only it sounds like hey thoe are thu buhy I thay yeth!

My husband did not attend camp, does not know any camp songs (besides jodies, but that's another story and not PG) and is sometimes annoyed when I try to sing them. So, I try to abstain. Which makes it even funnier when the boy busts out with Joe and the button factory at dinner the other night. Hubby turns to me laughing and asks if I taught it to him. But he'd learned it at school. Glad to know our 17K a year is going to good use.

Outwitted again

Another teaching lesson presented itself with the boy. It was a good time to reinforce about telling the truth. He tried to tell me his hairdresser did not have any candy for him when Daddy took him to get his hair cut. Daddy's shaking his head and raising his eyebrows, so I say to my son - you get in alot less trouble if you tell the truth than if you lie. And his response? I get in trouble if I tell the truth?

D'oh!

Conversations with Coworkers

Here's the topics I covered in conversations with coworkers today:

• Tsunamis
• Cannibalism
• Wife swapping
• Social conservatism
• Homosexuality
• Beastiality
• Earth's rotation
• Religion
• Copper wiring
• Children beating their parents

Nothing to blog about

I'm always complaining that I have nothing to blog about. This typically occurs right after another funny kid story I've told Michael. He usually responds- what about what you just told me? And I ask, but how can I tell it without the hand motions?

So, here goes.

The other morning I am eating Grape-nuts and my son asks- 'Mom? What are you eating?' I reply rocks. He says he likes rocks and wants some too. So, I pour him a bowl of Grape-nuts. After the first bite he exclaims- Yuck! These rocks are terrible and proceeds to run to the bathroom to scrape the remaining cereal off his tongue. I laugh. Later he says asks if I can still taste the rocks because he can and they are yucky.

Last night feeling a bit (mild understatement here) stressed. So, after dinner I turn on some AC/DC and play air guitar with the boy. Then we practice karate in the kitchen. I do a roundhouse kick above his head and his eyes get really wide and he says- Cool! My daughter's laughing and singing. The sad part is that my kids think this is normal.

Last Friday evening, after a long week at work, I tried to rest a bit before the evening's festivities. I laid down on the couch while the kids played and closed my eyes for a moment. All of a sudden- WHACK! Something hits me. Hard. I open my eyes startled, thinking I have a crushed skull, and my daughter's standing right next to me, smiling, with a microphone in her hand. As I scurry off to get ice, I hear my son scolding her- 'You do not hit! How would you like it if I did that to you?'

So, now I'm sporting a black eye. And my son fell off the slide at school and fell on his ear which blew up to the size of a small blimp. And the next day, my daughter's booster seat was not attached right at my folk's house and she takes a nose dive to the tile floor and winds up with a swollen eye. My husband wouldn't be seen in public with the three of us.

Maybe I did have something to blog about.

No voice and 4 yr olds

Having lost my voice this past weekend, I quickly found out how important it is to be able to talk. Especially with my son. He doesn't listen anyways and trying to get his attention without talking above a whisper was most comical, if you weren't me of course. Snapping my fingers and clapping my hands, jumping around like an ape on Red Bull. Yesterday he tells me that his voice is leaving him and he won't be able to talk soon just like me. A mom can only wish for a day or two reprieve from the nonstop chatter.

Pity party? Your table for 1 is now available.

What a weekend. Started off good enough. Had the day off Friday- got the tires rotated, bought a replacement for the broken coffee pot. Started prepping the house for the housekeeper's arrival today. My plan was to fly with hubby to Salt Lake City as he had a 42 hour layover there. Dropped the kids off at my folks, met him at the airport and didn't even come close to getting on the airplane. It was overbooked. Rats.

On to Plan B. Real estate meeting Saturday morning, but wasn't feeling so hot Friday, so I decided to not set the alarm and if I woke up in time, great. If not, I must have needed the sleep. I finally opened my eyes Saturday morning and it was 10:15 am. And I couldn't talk. Completely lost my voice and was feeling much worse. Decided probably not the best idea to pass it along to all the children at a birthday party that afternoon, so I blew that off.

Sunday, I continued prepping the house for the housekeeper (i.e. putting junk away, laundry, cleaning up the toys). Then went to the store to pick up things for the Superbowl party at a friend's that afternoon. Thought my daughter felt warm, but was still in denial. Finally took her temp and it was 101. Rats. Several hours later after her nap, it was 103.8. Gave her some medicine, tried to keep both the kids entertained, and had to convince my son that watching the game was better than the recorded Dora the Explorers. Hubby finally gets back from his tough weekend in Salt Lake.

Today, Daddy gets to take the girl to the doctor. And we're closing on a house this afternoon. This makes #4.

Caffeinated Beer

Really can't add much that wasn't already said here....

Get out of our house!!

I am fortunate enough to have a large extended family that lives close and gets together regularly. Yesterday was one of those events, my grandfather's 80th birthday party. We all gathered at my mom's, drank and ate too much and just enjoyed each other's company. My aunt and uncle are buying a new house, so we all loaded up to go look. Four cars pull up outside the house only there's a car already in the driveway. Who could be here? Yes, technically, the house is still on the market, but don't they know my aunt and uncle are getting it??

So we wait. And wait. Finally, my cousin's boyfriend rings the doorbell. My son is next to him. He tells them we have a showing and my son proceeds to tell them that this is someone else's house. 12 of us pile in while the other realtor exclaims- are you all going to live here??? My son waits by the door until the other people leave and as he's closing the door he yells out to them- this is Debbie and Ken's house and he closes the door.

Uncharted territory

I've been saying for years that I needed more responsibility at work. Now that I finally have it, I realize I have no idea what I'm doing. I had much more confidence when I had someone to fall back on. Now it's just me and I feel confused, disorganized, and overwhelmed. I'm terrified soon everyone will know I don't have a clue. What is that saying- be careful what you ask for?

This will be a great growing and learning experience. Here's to hoping I don't screw it up too bad.