Last day of work in 2008, huzzah!

I am carefully avoiding my work Inbox this morning, because I'm hoping to pawn off a client conversation that I'd rather not have: "No, your job did not print on the day after Christmas because you never called to say it was okay, ya moron. And now it isn't going to ship in time. TOO BAD."

Not that I'm grumpy about being here all day on the 26th WAITING for that phone call, with no success. Nah.

So here's a great way to pass the time instead: Linda's End of Year questionnaire. She does this one every year, and I've done it once or twice before but can't seem to find the posts to link to -- perils of having a blog for nearly FOUR YEARS.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Gave birth to a precious little girl.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My only new year's resolution in '08 was to try to make each day better than the last. I even printed it on my personalized Starbucks gift card last year! I didn't keep it EXACTLY, but a resolution like that one stuck in my mind much more easily than a laundry list of items; I thought of it often through the year. If I ate four cookies one day, I would try to only eat ONE the next. Or if I spoke harshly, the next day I really tried to be more gentle. Obviously it's a good resolution to carry with me EVERY year, so I will resolve it again on the 1st of January. Other than that, of course I'm resolving to eat more healthfully than I have in the last month, and exercise again. No, really. REALLY. I mean it this time... I do.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Me.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Why this question? No, thankfully, no one close to me died this year.

5. What countries did you visit? Exactly none.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Muscle tone in my abs, and lower cholesterol. A pain-free back. My side of the bed to myself. (I'd better stop here...)

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Clearly, Feb 15, 2008 will remain in my heart forever, the day of KT's birth. Other than that I don't know that I'll remember any dates particularly, except maybe 12/26/08, as it was the first 12/26 that I have ever WORKED, in my entire life, I think. Seriously -- never been in school on the 26th, and I've always managed to take that day off, even when I was a brand-new low-level employee. It was WEIRD.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? In the last few months I have actually "come around," to quote my husband, to his way of thinking re: cleanliness and order. He is a neatnik, I'm not afraid to tell you. And I....? Am Messy Marvin, in comparison. But lately I've really been doing better keeping things straightened up, put away, etc. I am trying to help more in this area. He is very proud of me when I say something like, "Let's get a plastic bin for those action figures." Heh.

9. What was your biggest failure? This isn't a failure, exactly, but it something that I lack, and I miss -- I gave up choral singing. I had kept singing in one performance chorus until this year, and in August when the renewal letter came around, I just couldn't bring myself to commit to it. Truly, it's a success in the "Saying No/Knowing Your Limits" category, but I still feel the loss. However, it's a huge win on Saturday mornings when I don't have to haul myself to a 4-hour rehearsal.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Plenty of illness, none of it serious. No injuries except the carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy. Oof.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Groceries. Seriously.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? DH's did! When he sent AJ away from the Thanksgiving table because the conversation of the grandpas and great-uncles turned impolite (not to each other, but re: politics).

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The Real Housewives of Atlanta. EPIC FAIL. Way to make Atlanta look bad.

14. Where did most of your money go? Say it with me: DAY. CARE.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting to stretch my maternity leave as long as I did. That worked SUPER WELL and it was such a great gift to myself. (Remember, I was off 8 weeks, worked from home 2 weeks and then took Fridays off for 3 more months? That was awesome.)

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Love You, by the Free Design. I downloaded it shortly after KT was born and I loved singing along with it while she and I were on leave.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? hm. I'd have to say neutral. No change. Is that bad? Are you supposed to say 'happier?'
b) thinner or fatter? woo hoo! thinner! (because I was PREGNANT, so it hardly counts)
c) richer or poorer? poorer. aren't we all?

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? The 30-Day Shred. I got started and LOVED IT, and then had to come back to work 5 days a week and gave it up.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Telling AJ to eat his dinner. (GRAND SIGH.)

20. How did you spend Christmas? At home with my family; my in-laws came to visit. Honestly, I spent a lot of it on the floor playing with the kids in our jammies. Bliss!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Oh, yes. :)

22. What was your favorite TV program? This important item, right after "did you fall in love." HA! I think I've said before: 30 Rock, 30 Rock, 30 Rock.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? There is a woman at work that I didn't even know last year, and she's difficult to deal with. I don't hate her. She's nice enough. But I experience stabby feelings toward her sometimes, yes.

24. What was the best book you read? Ahab's Wife, by Sena Jeter Naslund. I have never read Moby Dick, but this story of Captain Ahab's wife, Una, really gripped my mind. I loved it.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Didn't have one. I am so sad that DH and I have really left "new musical discoveries" behind. He used to be great about listening to the college radio station and ALWAYS developing his musical tastes. Now we just don't. We don't buy CDs, we don't download new iTunes very much... I don't know why. We NEED more music in our life, I think.

26. What did you want and get? A baby! AND, a niece or nephew!! My sis- and bro-in-law announced that they're having a baby! Eeeee! Oh, and also a programmable crock-pot. ;)

27. What did you want and not get? A raise. :(

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I like how they say "film," as if I've been seeing lots of good art films and not repeats of Ben 10: Race Against Time [ad nauseum]. My favorite film of this year was The Duchess; the one girly flick I got out to see.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Thirty-four, and not much.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Can't really say out loud. (wait... no, not THAT!)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Laughable, as usual. I keep buying things that are either: Cheap from Target or Old Navy, and therefore, don't last (get holes!), or Cheap/Convenient from Marshall's across the street from my office, but end up being hand-wash only. Ugh. I seriously need a fashion assistant.

32. What kept you sane? Meal-planning and having family dinner together almost every night in 2008, despite some of the meals being from a box. I will say we are very successful at this, and I think it does keep us grounded, no matter how difficult the mealtimes sometimes are. (Sit straight. Eat your food. No dessert. Don't kick the table. Etc.)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Sadly, Heath Ledger. I finally saw Brokeback Mountain this year and developed quite a fascination with him after that.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? GAWD. Let's not talk about it. No, I mean, I was stirred, for sure, by the election. I think I got most 'het up' when all the liberals/feminists were trying to say Sarah Palin wasn't "thinking of her faaaamily" in running for VP. Grrrr. Hypocritical.

35. Who did you miss? I wish my grandmothers could meet KT baby. I miss them both very much when I think about them. I miss my family in Florida. And in Copenhagen.

36. Who was the best new person you met? Ooh, my co-teacher in Sunday School. She is great. I'm worried about her because her husband lost his job right before Christmas.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Enough to eat is exactly that: Enough to eat.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. U2 always has good lyrics for questions like this. I think "Some Days Are Better Than Others" is pretty universal:

Some days are dry, some days are leaky
Some days come clean, other days are sneaky
Some days take less, most days take more
Some slip through your fingers and onto the floor

Some days you're quick but most days you're speedy
Some days you use more force than is necessary
Some days just drop in on us
Some days are better than others

Some days it all adds up
And what you got is enough
Some days are better than others.

We really did have a great year. Happy and healthy, and that's the goal, right? Play along if you like! Let me know - I love reading these things.

Trader Tuesday - Recipes... for disaster

I've had real trouble with my holiday goodies this week. I tried, first, to make my Grandmother's Cherry Bourbon Balls. I don't particularly love bourbon balls, but these are made with cherry licqueur and are better than most. Besides that, I had all the ingredients on-hand and knew I'd need to fill up some Christmas tins as gifts for our neighbors, and these are good for filling. But my walnuts were much too old. The finished product tasted stale slash awful, and ended up in my garbage disposal. Dismay.

I also made the most delicious of recipes, Swistle's mint-chocolate wonder. I do that in cookie form, and they turned out wonderfully! However, I didn't eat them all as quickly as I would have liked, and even though I've stored them in an airtight container, they're dry and crumbly now. Sigh.

Then I tried making what I call "Melanie's Extra Rich Chocolate Graham Bites," but surely they have a real name. I don't know. Those tasted good, but they were a bitch to get out of the pan. I used Pam, even, but they were so sticky and gooey and did not deliver on their promise that I could "cool completely, then turn out and cut!" Like it's so easy! "Ha, ha," they said.

Since they turned out the best, albeit the most sinister (and since they are the one recipe I can remember because it only has 3 ingredients), they are what I'll share today. Enjoy!

1 1/3 c. (I think... just use a whole sleeve) graham crackers, finely crushed
1 6-oz bag semi-sweet morsels (I sometimes use a few white choc chips to make my 6 oz, if I don't have a whole bag of regular)
1 can condensed milk

Mix up the ingredients. Pour into a 9x9" greased pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool completely and turn out, then cut into 1 inch bites.

Wrapping it up

This year has come and gone incredibly fast. Some highlights (courtesy of Wordle):

7 Quick Takes For a Friday

---1---

Is it REALLY Friday? Finally?? This week has seemed so long! So much to do! Wednesday and Thursday I just took the night off, though, from decorating or laundering or present-wrapping or baking. Last night I watched two episodes of 30 Rock, played on Facebook, and did little else. Tonight, though, I have to get productive. I'm planning to 1) bake something and 2) really give the kitchen a thorough cleaning before ALL the cooking of next week must begin.

---2---

Any Ally McBeal fans still out there? I find myself amused lately in the Unisex. (We actually DO have a Unisex! True story! It's a one-holer so you won't find someone of the opposite sex IN THERE, but it functions for both.) Seems I get to the office first nowadays, and this predicates something that makes me unreasonably happy.... I get a Fresh Bowl. Just like The Biscuit! Hee hee. I chuckle to myself every time. (And reading all his other eccentricities on that linked page makes me miss that show so much!) Strangely, I have never once listened to the show's CD which someone gave me as a Christmas gift several years ago. Might have to remedy that.

---3---

I'm having a hard time deciding WHAT to bake. I want to do some things that AJ will like, such as the easy cookies shaped like reindeer, that you make by slicing pre-fab cookie dough, pinching it in the middle, and putting on a red hot candy for the nose and mini-pretzels for antlers. BUT! Those aren't necessarily portable and I'm also baking for neighbors and coworker gifts. There are several old family recipes (Cathedral Candies, Sand Tarts, Bourbon Balls) but I'm feeling like they're a lot of trouble. Then there's Holiday Snow which is delicious, but not a cookie. What to do.

---4---

I'm getting tired of sharing our bed with AJ. God bless him, he comes in every night, and begins by sleeping on the floor right next to our bed (I toss one of our extra pillows down there to get it out of my way, and it has become HIS pillow). Later, though, once I'm GOOD AND ZONKED, he taps me on the arm and climbs into bed behind me. Sneaky kid -- I think he KNOWS I'm so far gone he can get away with it. I barely remember him doing this each night but I know I sit up so he can scoot into the middle. And then, 2 hours later I'm getting kicked in the back or poked up the nose. Last night I came to and dragged him back to his bed. He returned AGAIN. Usually, though, I don't even come to the first time.

What was I posting about it being a privilege yesterday? Hrmph.

---5---

Don't know what to do about Christmas Mass, as usual. It's so NOT a good time for Mass, y'know? (Isn't THAT the most despicable thing for a Catholic to say?) For one, it's a Wednesday/Thursday. For another, the 4:00 p.m. vigil Masses are packed with kids whose parents don't want to have to dress them up and haul them out the next morning. I hate the crowds even though I know, it's lovely that everyone wants to be there. But the next morning.... who wants to dress the kids up and haul them out?! There are presents! And coffee! And secular Christmas to celebrate! Plus, my in-laws aren't Catholic and none of THEM wants to get dressed up... You can suggest Midnight Mass and that I should just go alone, but ... whine. I don't want to be ALONE, and I need to get some CHURCH instilled in my kids, after all. I struggle with this every year.

---6---

Billing and reporting and invoicing and end-of-year, oh my! At work. These are a few of my non-favorite things.

---7---

I have five dollars in my wallet and I'm looking forward to Taco Bell for lunch today. Hee. I've eaten Office Holiday Potluck leftovers 2 days in a row (plus the actual Potluck making 3), and some good ol' fast food is going to be a welcome change. One of my Facebook buddies from West Texas was saying yesterday she ate an Allsup's (convenience store) burrito for lunch and felt no guilt. I've never had one of those, but I bet I would LOVE IT. I can chow down on low-budg burritos, LET ME TELL YOU. I like the kind you can buy frozen individually at the grocery store, and I used to LURVH the ones my elementary schools carried (both schools! different burritos!). My parents used to even get a bag of frozen ones from Sam's and MAN did I ever eat my share. Beans and whatnot wrapped in a tortilla? HAND IT OVER. :)


Go see Jen for other Quick Takes!

Privilege

Sometimes motherhood is Such Hard Work, y'all.

(Understate, much?)

We all find our little ways to get through the tough parts, especially at 1:00 a.m. MightyMaggie recently caught herself saying Hail Marys, and rediscovered the phrase full of grace. Her post struck a chord with me, because oh, MAN, I've prayed that prayer too sometimes when I'm desperately tired, but STILL AWAKE with a baby. Oh, Man. Dear Mary, YOU understand. YOU DID THIS, TOO. Please pray for me, and let me have just a teensy bit of your grace in motherhood. (NOT that I'm devout enough to pray as a usual response to midnight wakings. Usually I'm more grumbly than prayer-y, or still trying to figure out whatever wacko dream I've been shaken from ...while trying to find KT's (always missing!) pacifier.)

One night when I was baby-pacing and cold because KT's room is so stupid and badly insulated, and she was fitful on my shoulder and just wouldn't settle down, the thought crossed my mind -- it has to be God speaking when this happens, right? -- "What a privilege, to hold this child." I'm telling you this NOT because I am so wise and calm to KNOW THAT, but because I want to remember it, myself. That one thought has really kept me in check through KT's infanthood, and carries over into daytime life, too. When 29-pound AJ wants me to carry him down the stairs EVERY MORNING and I think, "But my knees hurt and I'm tired and he's HEAVY," I'm reminded that it's simply a privilege to carry him. Not only because of all the women in the world who'd do anything to have a 4-year-old to carry downstairs... but a little because of that. A little because he'll be 15 one day and won't let me near him. And a little because it just IS. A privilege and a gift to be a mother. To have need to beg for grace.

Maybe "privilege" is just another word, another way to say I'm counting my blessings. But it gets to the heart of each of my moments, lately, most especially the tender little ones with my family. I might have to call it a resolution for 2009: To recognize this life, all of it, as a privilege.

She's almost 10 months now, but whatevs

Rrr! I was going try to type a single entry, for once in my life, without being pissy, but two of my coworkers were just in here for 20 minutes CONVERSING IN ALL CAPS and would not SHUTTUP. Rrrr! So loud! So annoying! SO PISSY.

You know, I never did do a "3rd quarter update" on KT baby. She is getting so big! Man, it's hard to believe how fast the rush-wind of this year has flown. Blink! Here we are. I have to record the things I will want to remember of her right now:

• that she talks and talks while we eat dinner, "ba-ba-ba-baH-BAH!" getting louder and louder 'til the exclamation point at the end!
• that she is driving me CRAY-ZEE with the rolling over and standing up on the changing table! Sit Down, Young Lady, and get your pants changed like a good little incontinent!
• that she likes Napoleon's Squeaker almost better than toys -- it must taste the best judging by how she crams it into her mouth, eww
• that she also loves Little People, which AJ just didn't get interested in, probably because I introduced them too late; we've enjoyed the Mayflower and Thanksgiving sets, and now our Christmas Little People
• that she WAVES! Not "bye bye," but "hello. hi. da-da." With her whole arm, shoulder and everything
• that she really does say "Da-Da" to indicate Daddy! And once in a while, "Ma-Ma" means me
• that she still LOVES bathtime, and playing in the water, and getting splashed
• that she also still kicks her own feet when she sees something she wants, like her bottle, which is about the only thing left that still feels like a baby.

Hey, we re-sitemapped (work jargon, woo!) our living room for Christmas this year. With two kids now, and Grandparents, an Aunt-&-Uncle set, and possibly an extra dog (don't get me started) all coming to our house for the holiday weekend, we needed to get the tree out of the middle of the room. To say the least. Sofa - to the other side of the room with you! Coffee-table-bench, off to the side so that you're almost useless, but still might hold a Pepsi my Ginger and Seven while I'm admiring the beauty of twinkling lights. I'm really excited because we think we might leave our furniture thus arranged, minus the tree, after Christmas. I've always admired my friends who can rearrange their furniture every few months. It's such a great way to satisfy your decorating urge without really doing (buying) anything.

... I started this post at approximately 9:24 and it's now 11:50. In the meantime I've dealt with several headaches at work and so my train of thought is lost on the Track to Nowhere at this point. I'm going to eat my lunch now. And go to Party City for paper plates and napkins for AJ's class party. See ya.

The dreaded Monday

I get so DOWN, during the Monday morning routine/commute. When I'm walking back out of the daycare after dropping off the kids, I sigh and feel a little sad. Driving to work I fret about facing a big, stupid to-do list of things I dislike. I typically feel okay about the work week by Tuesday, because it's just something I do, but on Mondays, ugh.

I know it's because we have the nicest weekends. This one was especially pleasant: both tantrum- and ear infection-free. I think part of that was the absence of my laptop. I left it in the car all weekend. Out of sight, out of AJ's mind, so there was no inquiry about "can I do my work?" nor subsequent whining when the Mean Old Parents responded, "Not right now." Surprisingly, there were also no naps -- but still no tantrums. He must be on his best behavior because he knows Santa is watching. MAN, I LOVE THAT GAG.

We decorated the house this weekend. Yesterday while I was winding garland around the stair rails on the front porch, I thought, "Who am I doing this for? The pizza guy and the UPS man." I would love to host parties... wait, no... one party would probably be enough... but our relatives are coming for the ACTUAL holiday, and that's probably all we can handle. It'd be nice to do impromptu entertaining. DH and I lament that our neighbor-relationships aren't like some, where you can pop in and enjoy each other's casual friendship. Maybe I could think of SOMEONE to have over for just a little dessert and hot cocoa. Because unless we spend atypical time with friends and family, why IS IT the "most wonderful time of the year?" It's NOT, in a word. It's the most stressful! You have to counterbalance that with something of hospitality and fun, I think. We should do it on a weeknight. Easy breezy. Cookies and candy canes.

And there, in three paragraphs, I have altered my mood somewhat, from frowny to hopeful. Time for warm oatmeal.

Good News Choir

By posting this I'm entering myself into a lovely giveaway at WorkIt Mom! You can, too. Click the link. But first, enjoy my good news!

Mantra

I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS. I WILL NOT GET STRESSED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS.

NaHoBloPoMo FAIL

Tee hee. FAIL. I did not post every day in the end of November. Lucky for me no one but me was policing Nahoblopomo, so I still win. I've been just enjoying the time with my family, my kiddos, my cousins, and my parents' couch. Blogging takes a back seat to all of that, every time.

We watched "Sweeney Todd" last night from 10 to midnight; it seems staying up really late to watch a gory movie is becoming my weird Thanksgiving tradition. Johnny Depp definitely rocked it, as he is wont to do, but I'm sorry that my husband didn't enjoy our musical evening as much as I did. He doesn't do musicals.

Tomorrow morning we'll leave sunny (rainy) Florida, with our fingers crossed that traffic is kind to us. We'll re-enter Georgia with plans to decorate for Christmas, shopping to do, and new Thanksgiving memories to hang onto, until next year.

The Parade

I'm writing this on Wednesday, but when you read it, you may have already watched the parade! Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I'm thankful for you!


I have so many different memories of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving. In fact, when I wake up before nine, I'm usually IMPATIENT for it to start. I hope I'll be able to convince AJ to turn off his DVD player, or whatever cartoons he's watching, and switch it to parade coverage. I heard this year they're going to have a Smurf balloon for the first time! They didn't ever have one in the '80s, how crazy is that? And they're having Buzz Lightyear, which I think is odd since he's so ten years ago. I didn't hear them say Barry Manilow is going to be there and that is just a shame.

A few of my memories:
-- watching with my Granny when she'd come to visit in Pensacola for Thanksgiving;
-- being in the musical "Here's Love," which is the musical version of Miracle on 34th Street, and singing about "the big calown (clown) balloons, just a-sauntering, 49 feet from the ground..."
-- watching in Thibodeaux while we all got dressed in our hotel rooms before Thanksgiving dinner at our cousins' house -- we'd go from our room to Aunt L's room to Nan L's room, and in every room, the parade was on. :)

Crazy Eights

Thank you, Mandy!

8 Things I'm looking forward to

1. Eating fried turkey and sausage dressing and cranberry sauce. Forkfuls (forks ful?) with a bit of each of those things = heaven!
2. Watching everyone marvel over how big KT has gotten.
3. Hugs and smiles from my parents, cousins, aunts and uncles.
4. Finishing up all my files and reports and crap.
5. AJ getting past this latest whiny drama-fest stage and finding his happy face.
6. The next time I see my sister. I don't know when that will be, but I'm looking forward to it!
7. NOT driving to work on Thursday and Friday.
8. Disney's Animal Kingdom in February '09.

8 Things on my Wish List

1. Bath and Body Works Lotions (does that make me white-trashy? They're still my fave.)
2. iTunes giftcard.
3. Short or mid-length rain jacket.
4. New shoes.
5. Books by Philippa Gregory.
6. Someday, new kitchen cabinets, paint, and counter tops. And dishwasher and fridge, as long as I'm wishing.
7. Delicious chocolates.
8. A programmable crock pot.

8 TV Shows I Like To Watch

1. 30 Rock
2. Real Housewives
3. Project Runway
4. Amazing Race
5. Ace of Cakes
6. Dirty Jobs
7. Lost (come back!!)
8. Ghost Hunters (I hate having to admit this but these guys are so incredibly cheesy slash paranoid that I CAN'T. STOP. MYSELF.)

8 Things that Happened Yesterday

1. KT woke up at 5:40 am and wanted a bottle.
2. AJ ate all his breakfast, and even threw away his own trash afterwards!
3. I did some online window-shopping.
4. I ate Taco Hell for lunch and it was gross. (Avoid the "Spicy Chicken" burrito.)
5. Our doggie went to "camp" for the Thanksgiving holiday and I think it made my husband sad. :(
6. My neighbor asked to borrow a casserole dish and a shot of bourbon, for a recipe.
7. I briefly considered a shot of bourbon, myself.
8. We almost couldn't find the Elf on the Shelf, who is supposed to magically appear right after Thanksgiving. But we found him. Whew!

More drama and trauma

We haven't heard of any additional hitting/kicking/pushing at school. DH did talk with the teachers and they were less than 100% encouraging, but said they, too, had and would try to help AJ stand up for himself, and that they were obviously separating him from those who give him trouble. They did report that he's one of the most popular kids in the class, which is why the (bigger) girls want to hang on and hug him, and the boys all vie for his attention which leads to roughhousing. So I guess that's good?

Luckily a lot of kids are out this week so I think it's been a lot more quiet in the classroom.

Mandy asked a good question, about whether or not we've considered holding him back a year. ...It's been brought up. A friend of ours did that with his son and I think it piqued my husband's interest. ...I guess I'm proud, and think that he's too smart to be held back -- because he really is. His verbal skills have always been impressive and he's doing great with numbers and reading and all those academic things. But also? I can't afford to pay for another year of daycare. It is sucking us bone-dry. Yes, we plan to put him in Catholic school which isn't free, but a quick calculation says I'll save $4,000 by graduating him from dear old Kids R Kids. THANK GOD.

So. The bullying drama aside, we have time to talk about the tantrum drama.

I feel like we have tried every Correct Way To Punish and Disapprove of Unacceptable Behavior while still being Gentle and Calm, and those ways...? ...are bunk as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes kids are little shitheads. So last night AJ and I had a really big stupid fight about bedtime wherein I got hit with a flashlight. (Yeah. Ow.) So he got that flashlight taken away, and got put to bed, but then kicked and screamed like a banshee and thrashed around upstairs for a good long while, while I attempted to NOT ENGAGE THAT BEHAVIOR (See? Trying to do the right thing)... but then DH had to come in and referee because we kept ON not engaging each other for about 10 minutes, and also fighting and not staying in the bed or the room, and I don't LIKE that DH had to join in at ALL, much less punish his son's rear end four times, but that is the way it had to be, and everything ended swiftly after that. I'm counting on John Rosemond to back us up. It needed to be done.

We made up, all of us, but I hated every minute of it.

Flashback!

Here is a statement I recently made to my Mom about KT baby:

Ooh, she has another new trick! When I say, "Wanna play pat-a-cake?" she puts her two hands together in front of her! Soooo cute.

Flashback to 2004...*doodley music*... doodooloodoodooloodoodooloo:

I love that when I say, "AJ, wanna play patty cake?" he lights up. He knows words!! Other than Mama and Dada! (He's a genius.) And, unless I'm making this up, he gets his hands ready when I say that, too. So cute.

At least I learned to spell pat-a-cake in the 4 years since then.

Goals

...132 pounds, I'll go right ahead and tell you.

...Christmas shopping EEEEEEEEKs. Without breaking the stupid (government-pwned?) bank.

...Clean house on a regular basis?

...This time next year, be happy with my professional life. No, really. I'd like a calling to my next career. Could I just order one up? I want to be meant to do something.

...Raise respectful, hardworking kids.

...Laugh more often. Laugh every single day. Here, I'll start that off:


Knock, knock.


Who's there?


Mayonnaise.


....Mayonnaise who?




Man, 'eys a lotta work to be done!

(We love this one at our house.)

Saturday post!

(Yes, I totally set this to auto-post because AS IF Mommy gets a chance to compute on a Saturday. Ha. The MacBook is dedicated to Ben10 Alien Force as a general rule, on this day of the week. Or turned off. We are too busy playing!)

Do you know our county has the whole week off school next week? I think that's crazy. I guess maybe they've combined fall break with Thanksgiving or something? Which... hello, we didn't get Fall Break until I was in college. That was a fabricated vacation, in my day! Fall Break? Oh, that isn't real, there's only Spring Break. Anyway, so a lot of moms in my area are probably sighing into their coffee right now, thinking, "This is the -- you kids turn that &*!@^ing SpongeBob DOWN!! -- (sob!) first of NINE LONG DAYS."

Those poor, poor souls.

Very current topic! Get it while it's hot!

I need your help with something, Internets, and rather than wait until next week (would you believe I have posts LINED UP in draft for Saturday through MONDAY? I am rocking NaHoBloPoMo!) I have to toss something up right now and then go combing through Ask Moxie shortly thereafter. (And do my boatload of work. Sigh.)

So. Ever since AJ was a tiny baby, Husband and I have differed on him, hitting. Not about our son starting a fight -- we've always told him NOT to hit other people/pets/etc. But if he gets hit first by another kid. My instruction has been to tell the other kid to Stop, and Get Away from him/her. Hubby is more along the lines of "he needs to stand up for himself -- hit 'em back."

I know that it's different for little boys (isn't it?), and Daddies want their boys to grow up tough, and I'm okay with that. *I* was never taught by my parents that hitting back is okay. Even when my cousin (a girl) would hit my sister regularly, HARD, we were not instructed that it was okay to hurt her just as much in return.

But I also don't want my kid getting beaten up, which he has been, apparently, in school lately. Some of the bigger, wilder kids do push him, and even kick him. He doesn't know what to do in reaction, and as a result he's acting out at other times of the day, throwing toys, knocking down their blocks, etc. He's clearly frustrated by the situation. He's told me he doesn't know what to do.

DH thinks we've taught him to be a pushover. Here's my response to that, sent in an email ten minutes ago:

...we have told him to be nice, and I STILL SAY that's the right thing to teach a kid. You don't teach your kid to NOT be nice. You have to lay the foundation for moral goodness and in simple terms, that equals "be nice to your friends." At the same time, you're right, I have probably hindered our being able to teach him to stand up for himself because I didn't want him to be the bully. And I completely agree with you that now he needs to know how to do that. (I don't think that before his age, you can teach kids the concept "stand up for yourself." It's too gray when they're toddlers what's real hitting/being mean, and what's just another kid losing control of his arms/legs/balance.) At age four, obviously, there are some kids who are trying to take advantage of their size [big] and of his [small]. And I don't want that to happen. I think the 1, 2, 3 approach is a good one -- Tell the person to Stop, Tell a teacher, and then "do what you gotta do."

You better believe I will be posting/asking/searching about this on the blogs....

I just want to know what you think should be done. Not a "who's right and who's wrong" commentary, but how do we navigate the tricky balance? We're having talks with the teacher today, and of course with each other, trying to come to agreement about this -- and I think we mostly are in agreement -- mostly -- I just feel like I want your experience/opinion on the matter.

7 Quick Takes, à la Jen

Head over to Conversion Diary to meet Jen. She's fab. :)

---1---

You should SEE the number of leaves in our yard. We have giant poplar and sycamore trees all over our property and DANG but they produce a mess in the fall. My dear husband plans to tackle that tomorrow (with the mulch setting on the mower), bless his soul. I'm sorry, honey. I'll keep the Gatorade coming.

---2---

I finally figured out who Kristen Stewart is. You know, the one who looks all nonplussed but is supposedly burning-hot-in-love with the vampire guy? ...The movie? The current hype-machine? Oh, if you don't know, Google it... I've been seeing the commercials and thinking she was vaguely familiar... but she's the sister from Zathura! Lisa! Somehow AJ watched that movie on TV a year or so ago, and because it had one scene with a maniacal, giant robot, he declared it "his robot movie" And then somehow it ended up in our DVD collection. Hmm. Anyway, she is LISA to me. My husband has heard me talk about how everyone's reading the Twilight series, and he doesn't understand why I'm not interested. ...I just don't get the vampire genre. (He should know that by seeing also: BLADE.) I tried to read an Anne Rice novel once and never could get into it. I saw the Tom Cruise movie... total snore.

---3---

Today I'm missing AJ's Thanksgiving Day Pre-K luncheon, and that is sucky. DH gets to go, since he works close by. In the olden days when I could work from home.... oh, sorry. I'm not going to get all negative right here on Pre-K Thanksgiving. I made my Granny's "Waldorf Salad" for AJ's contribution. It's a time-honored tradition on my Dad's side of the family... and also a bit of a family joke. I think everyone must have one of these recipes: Great-Aunt Someone's Jello Mold, Mrs. X's soupy Squash Cassrole... right? Ours is Waldorf Salad, made with apples, celery, nuts, a mayonnaise dressing, and mini-marshmallows. Yeah. My dear Uncle proudly carries on his mother's tradition and makes a big bowl of it every year, and it usually goes home with him, largely untouched. So sad. (I plan to eat a big serving this year, if just to make him feel good.) Anyway, I made it for AJ with the tiniest amount of mayo, extra marshmallows, and no celery or nuts. He did some quality assurance with me this morning and declared it GREAT. :)

---4---

30Rock30Rock30Rock30Rock30Rock. It's the only fun thing on television anymore. Even The Office is getting less funny to me, in comparison. (I HATE when Michael's mean to Toby. I like poor Toby.) But 30 Rock. I have the biggest TV-show-crush on that show. I want to kiss is and MARRY it.

---5---

Here's a funny little anecdote. KT is crawling, right? And she's gotten really good at it. When her Daddy gets home, she gets that motor running, to get to him as fast as she can! So cute! Well, located in that same area where DH enters the house every afternoon are Napoleon's food and water. Today I set KT up on the living room floor, turned my back for 30 seconds to start putting my lunch in a bag, and next thing you know I heard crunching. "KT!" I called, "Where are you, baby?" ...Of course. She was eating dog food. Had a piece in her mouth and didn't even look like she was going to spit it out, like she does Cheerios. Ha hahahahahahaaha no. Ew.

---6---

Anybody know if Starbucks is losing money yet? Everywhere, I read of people giving up their daily Sbux. Tightening of the belts, and all. I have, too. (Mine wasn't daily, but still.) I'm so curious if they're noticing, behind the cappucino machine.

---7---

Just about everyone at work has decided to take off the rest of this month. Our company has an assinine "use 'em or lose 'em" vacation days policy. (I, of course, used all of mine for maternity leave earlier this year.) Yesterday was skeletal crew, today looks to also be skeletal crew, and next week, I may well be the only one here at all. At least that's what it feels like. Guess I'll get to choose what music is blasting from my computer. Maybe choral. Maybe I'll sing along. It might be awesome.

L is for Love Thursday

Is there anything cuter than an alphabet lesson in jammies? (Okay, maybe it'd be cuter without the garbage can in the background...)

Happy Love Thursday, people!

A diversion

Are You There, God? It's Me, Lee. Could you possibly DIAL DOWN the sick just a little bit? It's been, let me think... I guess about 6 weeks of an unwell KT now. There was ear infection #1, then ear infection #2, probably a little teething in between, and now The Great Tummy and Cold Virus of Late '08 (never mind my own cold, it barely counts), complete with mucus drainage and the terrible horking of large volumes of warm formula ON MOMMY'S PRETTY NEW SWEATER LAST NIGHT OMG.. Oh. My... was I shouting just there? Sorry about that, God. Just... consider my request. Mkay? Thanks. Later.

************

I have been thinking that all my (4) lovely readers are probably staying occupied during this drought in my own posting by the wonderful people who've signed up for NaBloPoMo. Right? (Is anyone we know doing NaBloPoMo?) And then I was thinking, it's obviously too late for me to sign up for that gig, but I have half a month I could use to kick-start myself back into blogging gear. And I think that'd be good. I do miss having something to say. So I think I'm going to institute Na-HO-BloPoMo (Nat'l HALF-OF Blog Post Month) here on my own site and try to post once a day 'til December first. Surprise! I once declared I'd never ever sign up for something like this, and that was probably wise since this time of year is STRESS-TASTIC for me, but... never mind that. I'm going to do it, and it's going to be fun, and WHEEE! Here we go!

I'm excited about Thanksgiving, are you? Mostly because.... drumroll, please... I have made it to my goal pre-pregnancy weight! Nine months on, nine months off, just like They said! Wooo hooo! Yee-haw! I haven't been exercising the last 2 weeks (SHAME), but I also haven't been eating a lot (see above: SICK), but whatever. My scale says 1-mrfljsomething-2, and that's what I've wanted it to say since February. Now for these last ten pounds... Right after turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce and PIE. I plan to enjoy Thanksgiving in a reasonable way (sort of reasonable), and then right back on track through December.

Maryb and I were chatting about PIE last night. I love neither pumpkin nor pecan. My Aunt, however, is making both for our Thanksgiving dessert table. My Mom makes a pumpkin creme pie, which I like better, but what about the glories of cherry pie? Chocolate pie?! And also, hail our American Excess! We hardly need three pies for the group of 9 of us, two of which -- my two kids -- don't even EAT pie. The greatness of our nation, right there.

Meh. (No really, it's about "Meh.")

Did you hear that "Meh" made the dictionary?

Heh. (They considered 'Heh,' too.)

Others

So I see everyone's getting in on the gratitude deal! (Not that I invented it or anything. I haven't even done it in forever.) It's a good economy for counting your blessings. I've been feeling better about things the last couple of days, and trying to be more grateful, too.

I have also been considering, in a very self-help-book kind of way, that to focus on OTHERS rather than oneself is probably a good way to get out of the self-centered funk. Another reason I've felt like blogging is too much for me at the moment -- it's keeping me too focused on ME (hello, self!). Been trying to think more of the kids, my family, and each person I see. Fellow journey-ers, all in this together, that kind of schlock thing.

So I'm glad my office is going to spearhead some social activism after all these years. I'm eager to get involved but I'm one of those terrible people who needs someone else to organize it for me. Tell me when and where, and I'll (try to) show up. Ask me to initiate the service project? You might have to wait a long time. So anyway, we're doing a food drive which is awesome. :) I'm glad to go shopping and buy some "most needed" Mac and cheese dinners. And I hope we can help with a Habitat House or something hands-on, too. They were even talking about taking a half-day to do such things sometimes, as a group. It'll be interesting (read: surprising) to see if the corporate higher-ups approve that.

We're also doing Operation Christmas Child for PSR/Sunday School. One year I was lucky enough to join a friend (an Organizer) at one of the warehouses/drop-off locations. It's an enormous charity effort, and we volunteered for a shift of sorting the boxes, stacking, I don't remember now what-all. But I was glad I did it (glad my friend planned it!). Such fun to see the inner workings of an animal that large! I enjoy putting together the shoebox gifts, and AJ seems excited about it, too, which is good -- it balances out the fact that we had him make out his own Christmas wish list tonight. Y'know, to "practice" for writing a letter to Santa. Hee. What can I say, we're victims of early holiday marketing. Victims!

A few items of note

1. Lag Liv passed the Bar! Woooo! It made me say YAY! out loud to my computer screen.
2. Paying for daycare sucks. Especially when the admins can't get their sh*t together and give us a consistent charge. How are we supposed to budget? I never quite know what I'm paying for with them, I just keep handing over lots of dollars. Today they tell me AJ's been eating breakfast since August. TODAY. ...I haven't been paying for breakfast. I've also been feeding AJ breakfast before we leave every morning. It was hard to tell him, "Honey, you can't have breakfast at school, okay? You eat your breakfast at home." Most of the other kids are eating at that time. It's just $1.05 a day, but still. The cereal and Gogurt in my pantry are not cheap, either.
   
3. Fridays are not good days for a client visiting the office AND a big sales demo/conference call. On Fridays I want to do mindless things slash NOTHING.
4. I'm becoming sensitive to the aftertaste (and duringtaste) of Splenda. It's too bad, I love using it in place of sugar and feeling virtuous and saving calories. But I made these little no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies? And they taste aspertamey. I'm trying to decide if I'll keep them or throw them out. Probably throw out.
5. My dieting efforts faltered during Halloween/PMS Week but I'm going back on the wagon today. I had been doing well and feeling good about it before all that candy entered the picture. Oh, and the oatmeal things mentioned above were supposed to be for my healthful chocolate fix - only 70 cals each.
   
6. I very much dislike what I'm being asked to do at work right now. I feel guilty about it. My feelings about it are why I'm posting little of substance right now. My emotions are swirly but it's not stuff I can talk about online.
7. Thanks be, we've been having fun PLAYING lately! Partly because AJ will play once he gets started, without more prompting from us. He's making up stories and scenes, setting up "classrooms" for his dinosaurs, mixing Transformers with Ben 10 characters, and having the bad guys eat/blow up/crash into the good guys, all on his own. Meanwhile KT baby steals his Hot Wheels cars and tries to pull up on the furniture. It's been fun. I'm excited about what to get her for Christmas (girly things like "My First Purse") but also because as a little girl myself, I always LOVED playing with my cousin's Hot Wheels.
8. I'm proud of us because so far, KT has not watched a single Baby Einstein video. She's nearly 9 months old! Of course, she watches her share of Ninja Turtles and Ben 10, but still.
   
9. We've been trying to use Baby Signs with her but she hasn't started signing back to us yet. I forget when that starts to happen.
10. She now has FIVE teeth! Two on the bottom, and three up top! It shows what little time I get to spend... exploring her mouth... because I just discovered this last night. But exploring your kid's mouth isn't necessarily quality time, I suppose. She GRINDS her teeth constantly and it drives me batty. I hate to rely on the pacifier and I dread when it's time to wean her from it, but I RELY on the pacifier.
    

Knob

The knob on my crockpot has broken off! We resorted to using needle-nose pliers this morning, because I am making this for dinner.

Pliers just Will Not Do, now that I have discovered that site, and now that I'm working outside the home 5 days/week. I need a new crockpot! Who's excited for Christmas?!

Tuesday, Tuesday!

Trader Recipe is below! (sort-of lame) Broccoli-Rice Casserole.


We did all those things on my list from last weekend, and they were all great. Trick or treating was fun! AJ stayed out 2 hours or more with his Daddy, and was excited to run up to each and every house and ring the bell (if it was his turn). It was nice for us parents to have a different neighborhood to walk around in. I was bored with our neighborhood, so we went to our friends' house. They had a great party, actually -- witches' brew punch for us, plenty of cookies and candy, and a big bowl of chili for dinner. Awe.Some.

Lunch with my friend was nice! She was super sweet and I felt bad for saying something mean about her. Our haircuts: great! Except our stylist knows us too well and Talked My Ear Off. Sometimes I don't like a stylist to Talk so much. But whatever, it was fine and at least she didn't scalp me. :)

Of course I have a new to-do list now, but things are okay this week. So far. I voted, and only had to wait an hour and fifteen minutes. I'm determined to get the house clean this week, with Hubby's help. The kids are healthy and sweet.

Last night we had the most boring dinner ever!

Ham steaks (which DH really dislikes, but eats anyway)
Green beans (from a can!)
Rice with butter, and S&P

Isn't that LAME?! But it's easy, and that's what I was going for. C'mon, it was MONDAY. I tried to think of ways to jazz up the rice, but other than Ro-Tel, which is too spicy for AJ, I couldn't come up with anything. What do you do with rice?

Here's a rice recipe I want to try (because it looks easy). From All Recipes.

INGREDIENTS
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
* 1 cup cooked long-grain rice
* 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
* 1 1/2 cups cubed process American cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook broccoli according to package directions; drain. Stir in rice and celery salt. Stir in cheese until melted. Serve immediately.

Howdy-do

I'm enjoying my "oap-meal" on this chilly morning. That's what AJ calls it. He eats it nearly every day and now, so do I! I call it "cholesterol-begone" and I'm just about sick of it already. But guess what? I'm down a pound and a half this week! So rock on, Mr. Quaker.

I really need to be calling a client about his Domain Keys and SPF record, and sending a couple of jobs over to production for some (more) color correction, but... eh. Not interested.

My babies are all dressed up and ready to participate in the Halloween parade at school (KT) and the pre-K field trip to a retirement home (AJ). They'll sing Halloween songs and everything! DH is curious what kind of candy he'll bring home from there. Ha. We made Cocoa Krispies Treats for his class party.

The big news around here is that yesterday, KT crawled for real, for the first time. :) She had become a master scooter/roller but now she has the knees coordinated. We are mobile! Amazing how an antibiotic turns her around immediately, too. She's like a different child now that she's on the mend from this cold/ear infection.

I haven't voted yet, and I'm dreading it. The lines for early voting -- I pass an early-voting place on my way to work every day -- have been out the door and around the block. People are parking a half-mile away and walking uphill to stand in those lines for hours. The thought of doing that to check one tiny box and Christmas-tree the rest of the ballot makes me want to gouge my eyes. I guess I have to, though. (I won't really Christmas-tree it.)

I'm feeling more optimistic than earlier in the week, but still a little bit in a funk. The Office and 30 Rock helped some. Things I'm looking forward to this weekend:

• obviously, trick or treating tonight in our friends' neighborhood


• going through the candy bucket after a certain someone has gone to bed


• lunch Saturday at Einstein's Bagels with a friend (I'm happier about the lunch than the friend, but still)


• haircuts for me and for AJ


• menu planning and grocery shopping (does that make me weird?)


• finishing my book... I hope


• dinner out somewhere, perhaps, if the kids are in a good mood

What about you?

Hamster wheel

Lately it feels like we're just being chewed on by this never-ending machine -- DH and I, the parents. We clock in, 5:30 am, and get to pounding out our day. Feed kids, feed dog, dress kids, dress selves, gather up stuff, forget stuff, pound, pound, pound, out the door, drive. Kids: school. Barely time to ponder on that fact, just set them down and GO, on to the next classroom. Drive, drive, drive. Fill up with gas. Work. Drive again. Dinner. TV. Drinks. Napkins. Oh, don't forget to hug the kids once in a while, or engage with them once in a while (now I'm tearing up as I type). Eat. Plead with kid to eat. Bath. Bed. Make bottles. Start over. Even the weekends sometimes feel this hurried. Even when we sit on the couch, we know it's just another half-hour until we have to go somewhere or feed someone.

Do we communicate? Yeah, but not well. I'm snippy and defensive. He's quiet. We coo at the baby and hope some of the love for her and her brother (when he's being sweet) runs off the sides and seeps into each other, too. We gripe at him for being four, and so, so trying. The hamster wheel spits us out, creaks a little back and forth while we sleep, then sucks us back in for another round, another day.

Blah-gging (Edited)

We had a busy, busy weekend. You?

Ours included the school's Fall Festival, a trip to the nursery for our pumpkin (which rolled around in the backseat of my car during the commute this morning -- greaaaat), a Publix run for essentials (formula, baby food, oatmeal, bananas, and Pop Tarts), and a Sunday School lesson in which I failed to even mention All Saints' Day, but did engage the kids with a rousing game of "Dear St. Anthony, please look around...", with a chocolate prize of course.

I'm really trying to be attentive and grateful about everything - each moment, each memory. It's a little hard. I feel like I've been in a bad mood for 3 weeks.

My feelings about blogging, especially, have been up and down all last week and over the weekend. I know we all get this way from time to time. Feeling that it's trite and narciss, narcisiss- terribly selfish to Whine Online (™! I just coined that!) when there are people in the world out there actually suffering. Feeling that I can't possibly say anything here that hasn't already been said by someone else, and better. Blah, blah, blah. (Aside: AJ has taken to saying "Blah, blah, blah," while he's performing little tasks like cleaning up, or if he's telling himself a story, and it cracks me up.) So anyway, forgive me if posting is dry around here for a while. I'm just in the funk.

We all have colds; KT baby's must be related to teething, but I'm hoping she doesn't develop her 2nd ear infection. Oog. A friend just had tubes put in his son's ears and I know that helps kids but I really don't want to have to go down that road. (See? You can tell I'm all negative right now, that I'm already diagnosing her with chronic ear infections.)

Traffic was really crappy this morning.

The Fall Festival was really fun, I think, for AJ. I forgot to say that. He and his daddy stayed for "Movie Night Under the Stars." It was too cold for that event, of course, but I know AJ had a good time. Oh, also, I was "asked out" by one of the other moms! Well, not really -- but AJ was invited to a playdate. I thought it was sweet because the mom specified that her son is an only child. Like she needed to justify asking AJ over. I was all, "You're the first person in HISTORY to invite us to a real playdate, I love you." Heh. Hope I didn't scare her away.

EDITED TO ADD: Not 30 minutes after hitting publish, I got my sorry butt up off my chair and took a 25-min walk down the long, winding drive on which sits my gray cinder-block of an office building. It was actually quite pretty (trees alongside the road, enormous blue sky above), and envigorating, what with the 20-mile-an-hour gusts we're having here today. And guess what? I felt better.

I was going to wait a whole week to post that, but I thought you should know in case you're feeling the blahs: Take a walk.

Dispatch from trenches

Several things I'm fretting over -- no good time to reflect or even type nice sentences.

Baskets to be auctioned for this weekend's Fall Festival at school. Try on and alter Halloween costumes. Iron a shirt that's been in laundry room for 2 weeks so I have something to wear tomorrow (5 days a week = need more clothes all of a sudden). Retreive winter clothes from basement and pray they fit.

Watch what I eat. Figure out when, each day, to fit in exercise. (I so don't want to have to regiment my week this way but I feel like it's the only way I'll stick to it.)

Figure out when and where to vote, early if possible. Don't want to wait 'til Nov 4th but the way it's looking with 2-hour LINES for early voting, Nov 4th might actually be a breeze. Find time to read about all the local candidates... ha, yeah right...

Pay bills some night this week after dinner? Also, do laundry (load of towels is critical). Maybe clean a bathroom. Oh, the kids' bath toys and KT's humidifier NEED to be rinsed/sanitized. Oogh.

Figure out if we're going to fly, drive, or rent a car for our Disney trip in February '09. Figure out what parks we want to visit and how to celebrate KT baby's 1st birthday while we're there! Yipes. Had totally forgotten about this. Excited about the trip, though.

Christmas shopping, holy mike.

Finish the two Mommy Club books I'm now behind on, and get ready for my turn to host next month. (It's not really "Book Club" any more, who are we kidding?) Figure out what to serve. (Had so much nice conversation last night with my girlfriends.)

Try not to worry about... lots of stuff. Good gracious, I'm grateful for a husband who's helpful, kind, and here in town. I don't know how you guys with traveling husbands do it.

That is all.

Tuesday Trade: Useful Tips

In lieu of a recipe today (I am running out of recipes!), I thought I would share a few ideas for making things last longer.

...when I make tacos using 1 lb of ground beef: We never eat all the beef. Nor do we finish all the tiny bits of tomato that I painstakingly dice up for garnish. AND, taco shells don't reheat, so I try not to bake more than I need for that night. So I take the leftover fillings (minus lettuce) and make simple burritos to freeze -- meat, cheese, salsa, tomato. They're great to take for lunch at the office. (Tortillas are something I always keep on hand; don't you?)

...when I make a casserole: I will put 1 or 2 lunches worth in the fridge as leftovers, but who are we kidding? We're not going to eat this 4 days in a row. Make it a habit to freeze at least half of your leftovers immediately, in single-serv portions if you can. Reheat for lunch. You'll throw away less.

...when I drink Crystal Light: I always dilute mine by half, with water. We go through a metric ton of Crystal Light peach tea mix around here, and that stuff is not cheap. I feel like I can sacrifice half the flavor, no biggie, to make it last a little longer.

...when we make anything rice-y, from a box or otherwise (as we do quite often), we've started using additional plain rice to stretch it out. This also helps us feed the picky boy-child, who prefers more rice than flavor anyway, and it usually means we get 2 leftover lunches out of the meal instead of just one. OBVS I'll be making brown rice now since I Have High Cholesterol, Woe Is Me... ;)

...when we buy deli meat for sandwiches: We have to USE that stuff or it goes bad every time. We had sandwiches one night last week for dinner. I did them "roll-up" style (tortillas, again!). I just don't want to throw out that ham and turkey, which is what we've historically had to do. Sandwiches for lunch every day is okay in theory, but in practice we just don't like them enough to have them every day. But dinner sammies seem... I don't know, youthful or bohemian or something.

...when I make coffee: I've started putting just a splash of flavored creamer in, and using milk to get it to my desired creaminess. Not that milk is cheap, but it's probably cheaper than flavored creamer! Also, I don't want to throw out expensive milk, which sometimes goes bad at our house because we're not milk lovers.

This isn't for cooking, but ...when I run the dishwasher: I resist the temptation to put detergent in the "optional" open cup, too. You know, how the dishwasher has one cup with a little "door" and another cup for if you want to begin the soaping with the first rinse? Just resist! You double the life of your bottle/box of detergent. One soap cycle is plenty in a good dishwasher!

If you have any good tips like these, please share. Maybe this stuff is obvious but I think we're being much more conscientious lately.

Sorry

I'm feeling bad for getting so potty mouthed emotional in my previous post, but you guys are great, making me feel better.

But I swear, sitting there, the tech handing me a paper with my numbers written on it (because of privacy, you know, she couldn't say them out loud).... it felt like getting back an important exam with a big fat (har) D- on the top.

And one thing I could never handle in school (and am not used to) was bad grades. I know I'm not in excellent shape, I've known I was a little overweight, and that I'm genetically predisposed... but I didn't think my actual health was in "danger" yet. And high numbers before 35 feels like danger.

Anyway, it's not as terrible as I'd made it out to be, I guess. My Mom suggested fish oil capsules, I'll eat some oatmeal, get exercising (I was going to have to re-figure that schedule, anyway, for work), and get better numbers next year.

Heart-y congratulations to me. Not.

This morning is good news/bad news about my health and weight-loss efforts.

My pleasant little bathroom scale at home, at 5:49 am, told me, "Congratulations, el-e-e! You are whipping your butt into shape one little baby step at a time. Down a half-pound! Good on you! Now get out there and face your day. You're doing it the right way."

I like that scale. He's friendly.

Then I came to the office, where Concentra Medical Services is conducting Health Screenings today so that we can tell the insurance people that we're aware we ... have health. Or something. The screenings have nothing to do with much of anything, but we get a pre-determined dollar amount "knocked off our premium" if we fill in these numbers: height, weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

I should have made up numbers. The ones I got were not friendly.

I usually skate by in the cholesterol department with a 175-ish total score. Not today.

You know what? I am going to tell you my numbers. I am going to be brave.

My LDL.... 125 (should be under 100!)
My HDL.... 38 (should be at least 50, ideally greater than 60!)
My total cholesterol... 196 (under 200 is okay)
My triglycerides... 196 (should be 50 to 150!)
My BP... somewhat high today at 124/82

GOOD G*DAMN.

I'm sorry but that is the ONLY word that comes to mind. I *NEVER* have high blood pressure. In fact, doctors are usually amazed at how GOOD my BP is. What. Thehell. I am wondering how much of this is fluke-y and how much is real. Oh, who am I kidding, it's likely all real. Some of it might be genes -- my little 92-pound grandmother had cholesterol over 200, I think -- but a lot of it is BUTTER. And CHEDDAR. And WHITE BREAD and BACON.

So. Let me just say again... Damn.

Jillian Michaels, here I come.
New supportive shoes, here I come.
5:15 am, here I effing come.
Mister Quaker Oatmeal guy, here I come.
V-8 low-sodium (gag), here I come.
Pickles and water, here I come. (little joke with my Mom)
WeightWatchers vegetable soup, here I come.
Skinny latte (tall), here I come. Once in a blue moon as a much-needed treat.

Goodbye, 1 piece of chocolate after dinner. (Okay, 2.)
Goodbye, ice cream.
Goodbye, cheddar cheese.
Goodbye, sour cream (lite).
Goodbye, Squeeze Parkay convenience.
Goodbye, cookies.
Goodbye, regular pasta.
Goodbye, loaded potato soup.
Goodbye, white rice all the time because it's economical -- too bad!

Should be loads of fun. I can't wait to get down to business. <--- (sarcasm.)

Quelque fois (Sometimes)

Jess asked yesterday, "What goes through your head sometimes?"

And I thought, The House on Southwestern.

No one will understand that but my Mom and my Sis, but I'll explain for you.

When I was about 11, my parents were considering a big move from our small town in Texas to someplace larger. It might have been Dallas -- my grandparents lived there. It ended up being Florida, but in the meantime we casually drooled over walked through a couple of houses in University Park*, right near Grandmother and Granddaddy's. There was one, on Southwestern Boulevard, that I LOVED. I guess I'd never looked at an empty, brand-new house before, with any kind of idea that I might move into it. This one had a pretty staircase in the foyer -- something our house, a ranch-style, didn't have. It had a big "multi-purpose" room upstairs, and a cedar linen closet. It had a tiny backyard, but a bright kitchen with white cabinets. I remember how the light felt in that kitchen, that day. We might have walked through it twice. I think it had just been built and therefore wasn't locked, but I may be wrong about that. I don't remember any realtor taking us there.

Anyway, images of being in this house pop into my mind all the time lately, and have done so, as long as I can remember since then. Just the tiniest, fleeting thoughts, while I'm bathing the kids, or driving to work. I don't dwell on them; I just think, "Oh, the house on Southwestern," and continue doing whatever I'm doing. It's not like I am really sad that we didn't get to move there -- I'm not. It really wasn't even a significant possibility, I don't think -- we mostly looked at houses in Dallas for fun, I think. (I remember The House on Colgate, too.) But I wonder why being in that house made such an indelible impression on my mind? What about it has caused it to stay with me all these years?

*Mom, Sis, and anyone -- have you played with Google Maps lately? Check out Street View! You can actually WALK down the street that you search. I found my own house, Grandmother's old house right there in Dallas, DH parents' house...I tried to find the actual House on S'western, but didn't see one that looked familiar. Just search any address. Super fun. Not every address has a "street view" yet, but I'm sure they're working on it!

Quelque choses (Some things)

I haven't had a good blog-thought in ages. Thank goodness for the Tuesday recipes thing and for my little job thing or I'd have been a blank page for 2 weeks straight. ENTER: The Six Random Things Meme. Woo hoo! Everybody's doing it, most recently Mandy, who tagged you, me and everyone.

I am supposed to share 6 random things about myself that I have never shared before, which is funny because I've done variations of this meme about eleventy times already. Never mind... Here you are:


1. I do that thing where I twist my body around both ways to crack my spine at least once a day, if not more. I especially like it when they tell me to do this in yoga cool-down sessions, because it makes me feel like it won't actually cause arthritis. Like it may even be GOOD for me. I also crack my toes.

2. Every "month" I get one zit. Usually a prominent place on my forehead or face. It's just delightful. This week, for some other, unknown reason, I have three. GAWD. (You're welcome!)

3. I'm definitely a design snob, having been in the design/print industry this many years. My favorite fonts are sans-serif ones like Helvetica Condensed, Arial Narrow, Gil Sans Light, Tahoma. I really dislike serif fonts. Especially on blogs. (Except on yours... On yours they're pretty.)

4. We had tuna casserole for dinner last night. Mmmm. One of my favorites.

5. Yesterday at work, I was supposed to make a phone call to someone my coworkers and I would like to meet/work with. This person is sort-of a rock star in his field (at least I think of him as one -- entrepreneur, very smart, finger on the pulse, etc.). I emailed him first, then waited and waited before I placed the call... because I was hoping my manager would leave for the day and NOT HEAR ME make the call. We all share this office space and I don't know, I just didn't want him listening in.

6. I am the "stereotypical male" in our household; I often leave my nightshirt/underwear on the floor of the bathroom after I shower and get dressed. Isn't that HORRIBLE? I was reading a blog the other day wherein the wife wrote a letter to her husband saying "COULD YOU PLEASE just pick up your underwear? Is that so hard??" ...and I was mortified. Sorry, DH. I can't BELIEVE I've done this for so long. I'll try to do better.

Tuesday Trade: more from Pancho (or someone similarly named)

I have been loving Maryb's "Pancho's Chicken." I've made it twice now. Yum! Last night I gorged myself. All within my daily calorie limit, I think, but MAN, was I full afterwards. I guess I ate slowly enough to really feel the Full.

Here's my recipe for today, and it's for the crock pot. It's from this cook book, for which I refuse to type the title here on my (perfect) blog, because it is grammatically incorrect. (FEWER!!) Also, it's not a classic "throw everything in and turn it on" crock-pot recipe. You have to use the stove. I know! THE HORRIBLE STOVE! But it's not too hard.

Tamale Casserole

1 lb. lean ground beef (sorry, Sis!)
1 c. chopped onion
1 can (14.5 oz) chunky tomatoes, drained
1 can (4 oz) diced/chopped green chiles
8 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
2 cups (8 oz) Cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Add tomatoes and green chiles and heat through.

Tear 4 of the tortillas into bite-size pieces and place in a sprayed slow cooker. Add half of the meat mixture; then sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat, ending with cheese. Cover and cook on LOW 2 to 2.5 hours. Makes 4 generous servings. Garnish with salsa and serve* with some sort of vegetable/salad. Seriously, you need your vegetables, people.


*I made a note in the margin: Add salt.

So, looking straight ahead

The meeting was not, as I'd feared, about my performance or about any sort of layoff. Whew. Thanks for your votes of confidence. It was about shifting my responsibilities (again) within the company, which is never really a *bad* thing, just a *different* thing. It's going to mean, in the short-term (I'm covering an additional position that Corporate won't let us fill in These Uncertain Economic Times), that I won't get to work from home anymore. Sigh. This is a bummer. Thankfully it's not a deal-breaker, since the kids are both in daycare 5 days a week already. Those 2 days at home have been a real convenience and blessing to me, allowing me to actually DO laundry or take a 15 minute vacuuming break, but they aren't critical to our family operations or bottom line. Helpful, yes. Green, yes. (Hello, company, I'll be pumping 2 more days' worth of junk into the area's smog, thanks.) Critical? I guess not. My manager says it's a temporary thing. I'm not sure I believe him on that.

I'm still ironing out a few details of how it's all going to work, and honestly, additional responsibility makes me more marketable for the next time they might call an unexpected meeting, the outcome of which might not be so good. Blah blah glass half full. We never know in this job market, and it's best to be prepared. I have mixed feelings overall, but am glad to still have a paycheck. Perhaps with this extra stuff I can more easily lobby to increase said paycheck at my next review.

Don't look down

I've been concentrating an awful lot on our floors lately, since I seem to spend a lot of time down there. It's the easiest place to go when AJ wants to play something, usually "Alien Creation Chamber," and KT wants to practice her army crawl. I pour out some soft blocks on one side of me and some alien parts on the other side, and let the kids go to work.

Safe to say I will never be like someone I know who amazes me by vacuuming every day, or at least every other day. But I would LIKE to have floors that clean, seeing as how we roll around on them so much. I just vacuumed but it won't last long.

*****WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST to announce... my manager just asked me to meet with him tomorrow morning 30 minutes before our regular weekly staff meeting. He "has something he wants to discuss with me." Panic panic panic WHAT COULD IT BE?? Am I in trouble? Will I be extremely nervous and worry about this all day? Will I lose my job less than 24 hours from now? Will I be privy to some top-secret work-related information? What could take 30 minutes to discuss? Will I be given a very substantial and unexpected raise and promotion?? Tune in tomorrow... cue the foreboding and dread*****

Giving the economy a caboost

Nobody's sick at my house, whew. My DH jokingly accused me of wishing sickness upon us in that last post. Not so... I'm just feeling nervous/stressy about a lot of things and Baby catching a dread disease was one of them, yesterday.

Retail therapy helps. I found some BARGAINS at The Children's Place today, and went ahead and did my civic duty, injecting forty-one whole dollars into our economy. You're welcome. Got this cute dress:
... and this one,
both for less than $7.00 which feels extremely good to me. Also found some other small things like long-sleeve t-shirts and one shirt for AJ. (He's plenty clothed, as you know, with hand-me-downs from cousin Grant, who has impeccable taste and an eye for fashion.)

Also did $75-worth of destressing at Snapfish's gift shop. Boosted the economy AND got some Christmas gifts taken care of... double win!

The library was equally fun. I think I made a good suggestion for Book Club -- something different from our normal fare -- and I'm jazzed about libraries in general again. I've got to get AJ over there with me at some point. Maybe when we take these back -- I got him a few new picture books, too, of course. I think his class goes on a field trip there sometime during the school year, but I want him to go there with Mama and hold my hand while he discovers the treasures of so many (free) books. We have really enjoyed some new books my Mom sent this week, especially a Halloween I Spy picture book. It's given us 2 half-hour sessions of focused, fun family time, and we're only 2/3 finished with it! LOVE.

I don't have anything profound to share. I feel like I should. I also feel like I should be watching the news all the time, when I'm not wringing my hands about the news. That's why it was nice to watch Project Runway last night, and why I'd like to watch Pirates of the Caribbean this weekend (can you believe I still haven't seen all of #2, or any of #3?). Something completely unrelated to the election or the economy, and completely frivolous.

Refreshingly...

...politics free today. (Like Swistle!)

I will say this, as my only report on last night's debate: I fell asleep.

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Tomorrow I'm planning to go to the library to pick up Madeleine L'Engle's The Small Rain for Book Club. I'm not buying it. Books have come off the "essential purchase" list, and even the "it's okay, books are small" justification list. Fourteen dollars is more money than it used to be, at least when it's still inside my wallet.

I am excited - I haven't been to a library in a long time.

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The pediatrician's office is falling in love with us because we give them 25 dollars two, maybe three times a week these days. Just for fun! Last week it was for the privilege of sitting in their exam room for 45 minutes so the doctor could come in right before 5:00 to declare KT baby ear-infection-free. He breezed in and out of there so fast I barely saw his face. At that point she WAS still coughing and had a very runny nose -- I wanted to ask him a few questions -- but he disappeared before I could. I took him at his word and left with my fingers crossed. (I think she's getting better. I think.)

Who knew I'd be back there 4 days later for darling AJ's adventure of the week: sticking something in his ear "just to see what would happen." He saw what happened, alright. A nice metal forceps AND a warm earwash later, and I don't think he'll be sticking paper OR crumbs anywhere but his pockets from now on (he'd better not)! Poor kid screamed his little head off during the ear wash. I couldn't blame him -- when I go swimming and my ear fills with water accidentally, I jump around and shake my head and jiggle my BRAIN until that water drips back out. I HATE having water in my ears.

But he deserved it.

Today there's a sign on the Infant 2 door saying "A case of hand-foot-mouth disease has been reported in this classroom," so I'm expecting to see my darling pediatrician again real soon despite wiping KT baby down every time I get a chance. I know they'll swoon when I walk in the door. Easy money, baby.

Not saying anything one way or the other

I keep searching online, wanting to know what people thought about the VP debate. I've read a few articles, blog posts. Probably what I really want to determine, though, is what *I* thought about the debate. It was historic for me, but only because I managed to watch the entire thing and not fall asleep (for longer than 5 minutes during the Sudan/Afghanistan part). Ha. Mostly I thought it was the same old typical political schlock, with a bit of "I'll charm 'em" talk thrown in from Palin, which is her deal. I didn't think either one of them said anything we hadn't heard before, and both of them likely spoke some untruths.

I found it funny the couple of times they "agreed" on something -- the gay marriage issue, when Ifill said "Good, you agree." and the sworn-to-silence audience couldn't help laughing. And then that they "both love Israel." Heh. And I liked when Biden said "I love him," referring to McCain. I, myself, loved Palin's suit and the highlights in her hair. And I hope no one will take that as me bashing her OR being a dumb-ass who is voting for or against gender alone. Because I'm not, I'm just observing.

(Here's stating the obvious:) If we could have Tivo'd it, watched about 10 minutes, and then rewound to start over, we would have made it a drinking game. Anytime Palin said the word, "Maverick..." or mispronounced "Nu-cue-lar..."

DRINK!

(What is it with that word, by the way?!? NUCLEAR. New-Clear. How hard is it? Aaaghggh.)

Anytime Biden started his answer with the word "Look," or added a superfluous "fundamental..."

DRINK!

It could go on and on and we'd all have been completely wasted by the end.

I thought the NBC commentator got it just right, though, that both of them exceeded expectations. Palin spoke to the people, as one of the (lowly) people, and that was what she needed to do, not let herself get ruffled as she has by the bright lights and fast-talking, hard-pressing media. And I actually think Biden did well on that front, too, aligning himself with regular people who've had hardship in their lives. I thought he was well spoken and I think others have said this, HE might appeal to more people as the Presidential nominee than smooth-talker Barack. (And I'm sorry, yes, he's a GOOD speaker, but he's also Reeeeel Smmoooth. Trained in speaking is what I mean.)

Anyway, I'm pretty much your classic swing-voter according to this, and although my mom and dad will cringe to hear it, I'm still not absolutely sure whom to vote for. I'm pretty sure, but not absolutely. I'm not convinced my vote will even matter in Georgia, although this year we might have a more interesting electorate than we usually do.

I don't know. I never know about politics. Moving on.

Since it's October, we finally opened the Halloween CD my Mom brought a couple of weeks ago, and AJ's taken it to school 2 days in a row (they listen to music while eating breakfast and at the end of the day). He LOVES the songs "Ghostbusters," and "I Want Candy," which are, of course, fun for us grownups too. And he LIKES, but gets SCARED, listening to the "Spooky Sounds" portion of the CD. It has tracks like "Evening in the Dark Forest," "Midnight at a Cemetery," and "Dr. Frankenstein's Laboratory," complete with creaky door effects, hooting owls, and faraway bell-tolling. Spooooooky. He wants me to play those tracks, but then 30 seconds into them, he says, "Turn it off, Mommy! I'm scared!" Hee hee hee. I think he really LIKES getting scared like that, you know, the thrill we all have about non-threatening scary things. :)


(Someone's going to see that last sentence as a subtle reference, since everyone's referring to either Palin or Obama as "scary" in the political rhetoric going around. But it was just coincidence that I wrote about both those things today... really.)

Scent of a woman

I pulled out the remainder of my Bath and Body Works "Sensual Amber" lotion a few weeks ago, because it's a "fall" scent in my mind. And I slathered it on this morning, because boy, have my arms and elbows been dry.

So I smell nice today. Of course, KT zinged me right before we left the house, so every once in a while, I get a little whiff of eau de baby spit-up from my right shoulder.

Excellent mix.

Trader Tuesdays: Healthy Chocolate Candy Bites

My Mom and Dad showed up 2 weekends ago with a little Ziploc baggie of these awesome chocolate bites. My TOTAL DIET WEAKNESS is wanting just a bite (or 4) of something sweet after a meal. These make me feel better because they have cholesterol-lowering Cheerios, anti-oxidants-rich dark chocolate, and protein-filled walnuts! And fruit! They're like, the perfect food!


Healthy Chocolate Candy Bites

15 oz dark chocolate for baking/candy-making (NOT semi-sweet choc chips, I tried them and they're not as good. Go for Ghiardelli or something similar)

1.5 C. Cheerios

1/2 C. chopped walnuts

1 C. dried cherries


Melt chocolate over low heat, or in a double-boiler. Add other ingredients and stir to coat. Drop by small spoonfuls onto wax paper and let cool. Store in airtight container -- in the fridge works best. Can also freeze them to save for later.

Thanks, Mom! Hope you don't mind I shared!

Walk in the forest

Sundays are good days for walking, and so yesterday afternoon, we did. We gathered up nothing but ourselves -- the baby had just been fed and changed, and AJ was raring to go so I didn't even think to get sunscreen, water bottles, or any other superfluous thing that we millenial moms always pack up when we leave the house. I just grabbed my phone in case we got lost or hurt, my camera, and the stroller. We took DH's car because (AJ wanted to, for some reason, and) it's the most fuel-efficient. Since DH had spent both Saturday and Sunday mornings in line for gas before dawn, this was important. Freaking gas shortage. Crazy.

Anyway, all free-wheedlin' and sans accoutrements, we drove the 3 miles to the trail, and then we walked! Once again I was reminded: We live less than 3 miles from a National Park! How cool is that? I was thinking we'd only be out 20 minutes or so, but we ended up doing nearly the whole loop, I think - closer to an hour. Sometimes AJ ran ahead, sometimes he fell behind and shouted, "Hey guys, wait up!" He fell once and lamented that he probably wouldn't be able to play his Hulk Smash board game now, with this owwie (a tiny scrape in the middle of his palm). KT endured the roots and rocks and sand without so much as a whimper -- such a bumpy path would have made me grouchy, I think, if I'd been riding. But she's more agreeable than I. We even took a picture or two.





It was warmer than I'd hoped, but I am so, so glad we did that. There's nothing quite like the companionable "silence" of tall trees, grassy fields, and a chatty preschooler to make you feel contented.

Stream of Consciousness

KT baby may not have this year's most up-do-date baby clothes, I guess, but between hand-me-downs and gifts, she's got a lot of nice things to wear. Will soon need more shoes as it gets cool, and hadn't realized that little girls need more than 2 pairs, unlike little boys. Good news: Saw a bunch at Marshall's for cheap. Also Need: long-sleeve dresses. All I have is summer dresses. People didn't count out the months when they gave us these 9-month sizes.

Marshall's. Shopped last Tuesday in desperate attempt to put something in *my* closet that I like. Paid with cash to alleviate my poor, overused debit card. Came away with three nice tops, and have a little more I can spend. Not sure where.

I owe my neighbor some banana bread. Borrowed 1 egg from them last week, in order to make Loaf #1. Promised to bring them some, but then.... we ate it all. Heh. Went to store, got own eggs, made Loaf #2. Now should really share that. I am not really good at being "neighborly." They're always bringing us some of what they bake. I have to say, their kids are being taught very well how to share with friends. They always say, "Kelsey wanted AJ to have some brownies." So nice.

DH did a great job grocery shopping for me last week. Only bad thing is I forgot to tell him to get milk, and cheese (cheddar, mozz). How can I stretch groceries for 2 weeks without milk and cheese? Esp cheese: no lasagna, no pizza, no enchiladas, quesadillas -- all my go-to meals. Funny; I didn't realize that. Maybe I need some new go-to meals. ("Yes," says my diet.) Maybe black bean chili. Oh, fajitas don't require cheese. We've already baked and grilled chicken breasts twice this week, that always works... will continue to ponder. AJ not eating dinner again. So frustrating. Need to remember to ask his teacher if he really eats his lunch, drinks his milk, at school.

We took kids to Waffle House Monday morning for breakfast, before my parents left to go back home. I loved it. Breakfast out is such a treat. We rarely do it, but SHOULD. (We do donuts, but it's not the same as 2 eggs, grits, bacon and coffee for $4.99!) There used to be a little girl in AJ's class who had b'fast with her daddy every Wednesday, at Waffle House. I think that's really cool. Think it would be a good way to give each kid some individual time with Mommy or Daddy, maybe once a month. Too bad there's not a bagel place up here in the 'burbs, though. Too much W.H. not good for the waistline!

I am blessed with shelter, food, clothing, a little savings (not much, but a little), beautiful kids, kind, funny and handsome husband, family in all corners of the world who love us, a job... so many things. I've been reminding myself of all these, all week.

Thinking a lot about economy, though. Wonder if our kids will have the habits that older generations sometimes have, like saving/reusing things, because our grandparents grew up in Depression era, you know? Will our kids say, "We didn't have much, growing up, but we had everything we needed." Not a bad thing to have to say, really, but I wonder if they'll be aware of it -- if they'll gain "character" because of it (ha). I wonder how long it will all last?

Work's been a combo of some mindless things, and some hard things this week. I guess that's good. Am trying to be proactive and good, and not put things off. Difficult when everyone I need to talk with is out of town at annual conference.

Holy cow, are you still reading this? I don't think I could BE more boring.

We have to enjoy the gorgeous weather this weekend (sorry, MB). No sitting around inside the house all day! We should find a new park/playground. I'm kinda done with the regular one and it's always so crowded. Maybe dinner al fresco (even at our own house would be fun).