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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Wine & chocolate kind of day

N has been sick since Saturday.
I have not been out of the house since Saturday.
Snow & ice make it look unlikely that I will get out of the house for many more days.
Hence, the need for wine & chocolate this evening.
We don't have enough wine & chocolate in this house to last me until I can get out to the grocery store.
Goddamn ice & snow!!!!!!

My class is going well. I am staying ahead of things for the most part. Unfortunately, due to said class and my inability to blog often, probably only D will read this since my dear readers have moved onto to bigger and more interesting/reliable blogging fare, and he already spent a few hours tonight watching the steam spew from my ears in an effort not to wring the necks of my beloved children.

My dad is going to have his colon removed next week. He has had ulcerative colitis for 20 years, and it has gotten to the point where taking 20 pills a day doesn't help at all. Plus, there is the issue of cancer possibly lying within the inflammed parts of the colon. Even though I think this surgery is the best possible thing for him, I am simply nervous about surgery, in general (me spazzing off about my c-section....ring a bell?).

Ok, need to hit the books and read about emergent literacy.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Drama queen or anxiety sufferer?

Or both.

I am not dead yet from this online class, but I admit to having some physical symptoms of anxiety this past Tuesday night, when the class "preview" opened up---heavy chest feeling, heart palpitations, sleep problems, and obsessing. But it was short-lived.
Technically, the class doesn't even begin until this coming Tuesday, the 20th, but had I waited until then to check things out I would be in need of Klonopin, BuSpar, Xanax, and Ativan, if not all of the above.

There is ALOT of reading in the class, and I have found it a little difficult to read all of the instructions online. Whereas in a "real" class I would be handed a syllabus and sent on my merry way, I have had to scroll through endless online pages. There are 11 modules to the class, and each module comes with readings, activities and checklists. I have completed Module I and am about halfway through with Module II. A worried freak-a-zoid I am. A procrastinator I am not.

When I was a "real" student, I always got first week jitters....seizures....whatever. And within a couple weeks, once I got into a groove and got a handle on what I had to do and when and found my pacing, I was fine. Once upon a time, fine meant I MUST GET AN A. Now fine means, I just want to pass this thing so I can get my certificate renewed. I would have enjoyed my education so much more if I hadn't been so wrapped up in grades, which mean so much less than nada in the big scheme of things that it makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

So now that I've got my head screwed on a little better, I think I will not actually crawl into a hole and slowly wither away for the next 11 weeks.

I will bitch here on my blog for all the world to read! Hurray for blogs.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Torture

I have had many definitions of torture over the years, none of which align with the Geneva Conventions.

For a long time, torture for me would be having to iron clothes while wearing pantyhose. I don't loathe ironing as much as I used to, so while this remains something I do not like to do or want to do particularly in pantyhose, it no longer qualifies as torturous.

Torture is no longer spending time with a certain in-law, nor is it getting poop on my hands (thank you antidepressants).

Starting today and ending March 31, 2009, my definition of torture is the online graduate class I am taking to keep my teaching certificate current.

Starting today chances are slim I will be blogging much, if at all. Chances are slim you will see my on FB, if you do FB. I will not be at bookclub. I will hopefully make it to bunco, but I will likely come decked out in a grimace.

So adieu my loves, at least for a time.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

A mouthy milestone

It was January 28, 2008 when I took N for a visit to the pediatric dentist and was informed by Dr. K that N had a loose tooth. It was only barely wobbly, but it did have some give to it.

Today, January 10, 2009, N lost her first tooth. All day she kept complaining that it hurt...primarily because she kept pushing it back and forth, back and forth. Finally, while I was giving her teeth a once-0ver before bed, I decided the tooth, which had begun the day vertical and was now horizontal, could probably easily be pulled. With barely a movement, I had N's tooth in my hand.

Boy howdy! Talk about an excited kid!! (Ok, and an excited mom!!!)

Pictures were taken. Video was shot. Phone calls to grandparents were made!

How did this day get here so fast???? It seems like just yesterday I was taking the pregnancy test....


People always ask if she has lost a tooth in the middle of her top front teeth....which is why I had her point to the REAL lost-tooth gap, not the hereditary one.

The baby tooth.

The face of utter joy and excitement when making the calls to Nana & Pa and Mamaw.

Friday, January 9, 2009

15-month update

How can G possibly be 15 months old?

We visited the doctor today for his well check-up. He got stuck twice in the leg, his ear tubes are still in place, and all seems well. He's 32.25 inches (75%), 26 lb, 5.8 oz (70%), and his head is 19 in (75%), so he is totally proportional.

And a total buster. He is often as stubborn as a mule and has quite a temper. I guess D is right that he takes after his momma.

I love, love, love this age of discovery. It is so wonderful to hear him picking up new words. He says, "nana," for cars and trucks, as in "nananananana," the sound of a motor running. It amazes me that I can say to him, "Let's put on your coat," and I know he understands since he walks toward me with his arm out, ready for the sleeve. When he waddles past me, I often have to do a double-take like, "Who is that short little blonde person walking around here?" This time has passed so very quickly.

It is such a precious thing when he toddles over, book in hand, and settles down on my lap for me to read to him. Or when I am on my back on the floor, and he dives onto me for hugs and kisses. Or when he lays his tired head on my shoulder after running around at open gym.

If only I could put snippets of this time in a little box to open many years from now when he towers over me, grunts even though he is fully capable of comprehendible speech, and doesn't care so much for momma anymore.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

How I "do" Girl Scout cookies

I am starting to think my relationship with Girl Scout cookies is a little weird. D would most likely concur.

Here's how things play out every single year.

We get an email from the B family in January or February asking if we want to buy cookies from their daughter. I always order a few boxes of Samoas, a box of Tagalongs, and a box of Thin Mints. When they arrive, we eat (excuse me, I eat) the box of Thin Mints, and D and I share a box of Samoas. Into the freezer go the other boxes of Samoas and the box of Tagalongs.
....12 months later....
In January or February we get another email from the B family asking if we want to buy cookies from their daughter. I order the same as last year. Immediately after placing my order I get into the freezer and retrieve the boxes of Samoas and Tagalongs so they can thaw. I eat most of those boxes before D even realizes that we have boxes of Girl Scout cookies from last year sitting in the pantry.

My mother-in-law is astounded that I can keep the cookies in the freezer so long without eating them. Girl Scout cookies are like Elaine Bennis's contraceptive sponges....they aren't going to be wasted on just any old day. I pay a chunk of change for them, so we aren't gonna suck 'em down like we would an inexpensive box of graham crackers or Chips A'hoy.

Why am I thinking about this????
Because today I have eaten 4 Samoas and 2 Tagalongs.
And the day ain't over yet.

Monday, January 5, 2009

TGI a week of normalcy and routine

Yeah, it's Jan 5th. D is back at work....a real work-week. N goes back to preschool on Wednesday. G has playdate on Thursday. My life is back to normal.

Oh, how I craved this day.

Bear in mind, I didn't kill D or even think about murdering him during his time off for Christmas. How's that for restraint?
And N didn't drive me batty either, but I kept her quite busy.

Today I took the kids to a library we don't normally visit, where G kept trying to nosedive into a reading pit-like area, which meant I didn't get to peruse the picture books as much as I normally would. Oh, let's be honest--since that boy started walking, even on perfectly level surfaces, I haven't been able to look through the picture books as much as I like.

And then I took them to McDonald's with a play-area. But N informed me once we were inside and had ordered our food that she doesn't like this particular McDonald's play-area. She didn't pitch a fit, though (which is a small miracle). And G ate half a plain hamburger.

The rest of the day was playing, reading, housework and fixing dinner. And picking D up from work since his car is really near death....like will have to be towed to the dealership. I thought we'd be able to save more money in 2009 but obviously that frackin cabbage I ate on New Year's Day had NO EFFECT whatsoever.

But it was a structured, normal day....so I am more relaxed than I have been in weeks.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Shopping....yuck

Today I took off by myself for a couple hours to do some shopping for moi, an excursion which reinforced why I rarely shop for myself. I am not a clothes, purse, jewelry, shoe or any kind of apparel/accessory horse. I wear what is comfortable, and I wear it repeatedly until it can almost walk itself to the hamper. Truth be told, I only actually need 2 shirts and 2 pairs of jeans to last me 21-27 days (I do more regularly change undies and socks--I do have some standards). I am also extraordinarily cheap. Makes for real fun times at the mall.

So I headed to Old Navy, since I had such success buying summer shirts there (they were actually long enough to cover my pooch). This time around there was NOTHIN. Well, there were some things I liked but they were all size S or XS. I weigh 133(ish) lb, am 5'7" and buy a size L because I like for my clothes to fit both before and after I wash them (size 9 or 10 when numerals are used as sizes). Who are these anorexic munchkins who wear size S or XS, and why don't they like Old Navy clothes?

Whenever I've been in a conversation with others about sizes, I usually find someone throwing the word skinny in my direction (I dislike being called skinny. Thin, I can accept.) So if I am considered skinny and wear a L, and there is an obesity problem in the US, then shouldn't these designers send like 1 or 2 size S or XS to Old Navy and ship buttloads of L, XL, XXL, and DDL to them instead, so that there are leftovers for the folks like me who don't get out on Dec 26th?

Failure at Old Navy.
Off to New York & Company, which was a waste of time. I thought I remembered them having some casual clothes (in my pre-kid days), but I found nothing that I would purchase and be ok with having snot, slobber or spoiled milk on.
Then to the Gap. Found 2 long-sleeved t-shirts for $15 each. A little pricier than what I like, but they will cover my pooch, and so I am willing to splurge.

By this time, I'm thinking I better go ahead and get socks and undies, but I didn't want to make a trip to Target. So I start wondering where in the mall I can purchase cheap unmentionables???

Ah yes! Sears.

I love the look of hipster undies, but, again, I am all about comfort, and I don't like the seam that runs straight up the butt crack of these delightfully cute panties. I did manage to stay away from granny panties, so I can still consider myself somewhat "with it" in terms of underclothes.

Three pairs of socks and a pajama set later, and I was SO READY to go home.

I had such high hopes for this excursion, but I found the sales were pathetic. The media had hyped up how crappy retail sales were in December and how great the clearance sales would be, but not so much. A sale means it originally cost $24.99, and I get it for $6.43. That is a my version of a cheap shopper's wet dream. Um, I mean, sale.