As it should be

We survived the first of several Weekends of Festivity. A family date-night at the bowling alley, a scouting day camp, 2 birthday parties, and a sleepover at our house. And we managed to go to Mass and do (most of) the grocery shopping. I am impressed with us, aren't you?

Yesterday after the 2nd birthday party, held at a park in the suddenly freezing temperatures, KT and I were most thrilled to snuggle up under our blanket with a big bowl of popcorn, and watch a Tinkerbell movie. It was grey outside and the boys were away, and, oh, man, did I revel in the comfort of a free, cozy afternoon. We watched the whole movie, start to finish! I had forgotten just how rare that scenario has become in my life. Partly because of not having time, but partly because it's so rare that kids stay still that long!.But she did. She was tired, thank heaven and fresh air.

After that, I turned on the heat (yay!), and made Taco Night for dinner. (I can't just say, "tacos;" it doesn't feel right.) I've discovered (way past time) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. You can just BUY these?! In a can! So I had a chipotle-chicken version and a regular Old El Paso seasoning kit version. And we always have Scoops chips on-hand to make "mini-tacos" after we finish our full-sized tacos. 

I forgot to say that Friday I had the day off! Bless-ed PTO! It was parent-teacher-conferences day so we met with AJ's teacher, who was perfectly lovely and said nice things about our kid, even though we were late. Whoops. I don't remember what else we did but I let KT have the day off, too. I think I cleaned the kitchen after we got home from lunch. Oh! And I bought some plants for my front porch, which I now think looks very cute and welcoming! I would still like to get a small wooden bench to put up there, but a plant stand was a good start. We don't have a big, traditional Southern wraparound porch (shame), but we have plenty of surface area that needed a little decor. And I decided to give it some effort for once. ;)

This week is, of course, the dreaded Hallowe'en. Bleh. Kids up too late, out in the cold, and then have to go to school the very next morning? Who came up with this?! But after that (and our doctor's appointment on the same day), Grandmommy, Papa Joe, and Aunt Sissy arrive! The boys (even Papa Joe) are all headed off to Fort Benning for a Cub Scout campout, and the girls are going shopping! And possibly, to tea.KT suggested we need a bed big enough for all four of us (girls). Hee hee! I think we'll figure out some kind of sleeping arrangements.

Perhaps I'll try to get a little work done now -- squeezing it in from 9 to 5 as much as possible, mixed in with the good stuff, the real life, that's in the forefront in my mind. As it should be.

7 Quick Takes: Twitter, talents and treats

1. I'm not going to talk about the political issues because I'm polite, but I will tell you that Twitter makes the debates infinitely more fun (as if you didn't know that), and I definitely think during the debate on Monday we need to play a drinking game! (It's a shame it's on a Monday but hey, I support wine on Mondays already! Woo!) Twitter also makes it hard to pay attention to what they're saying with any seriousness. But that hardly matters -- it isn't like either candidate says anything meaningful, or even decipherable. I do agree with whoever suggested that their mics be automatically TURNED OFF after their allotted speaking time. When they and the moderator, all three, start stepping on each others' sentences, trying to get the very last word in, it makes me cringe and want to hide under my blanket.

My college had a well-known debate team (or conference? or event? I'm not sure) and I think about KIDS learning the "art" of debate. Hmm. That also makes me cringe a little. I'm hoping my kids won't be interested, heh.

2. But speaking of kids in public speaking situations, 8-year-old AJ has signed up for the Battle of the Books at his school. WAIT 'TIL YOU HEAR: They create their own teams of 4 (I hope he picks smart people and not just his buddies, if he gets to pick) and they divide a list of 24 age-appropriate books among themselves. Every other team has the same list (by grade level). Each kid gets 6 books which they have to read, study up on the author's bio, and other details, and then... Quiz Bowl! If one of your books is asked about, you're responsible to supply your team with the right answer. How I wish this had been available when I was a kid! Although... I did not have the memory for detail like AJ does. He will tell me in which chapter of which book of the 39 Clues mysteries that Dan and Amy found a silver dollar under a bench. And he read that book a year ago, and has read many, many books since. I can't fathom it. So I'm SLIGHTLY excited about sitting in the audience for his Jeopardy!-like debut.

3. And speaking of talents... despite all my worrying over him, that kid is doing so well in his martial arts class. Yesterday, they worked on some conditioning things first. One was "ball-jitsu." They used a stability ball and the instructor wanted the kids to swing one leg over the top of the ball and then bounce-sit on, and quickly back off, the top of the ball. Well, I thought there was no way AJ's little legs would manage that. But he DID. He adapts -- he kind of jumped over it at an angle, but impressed everyone. The instructors were like, "Whoa, AJ! Perfect!"

4. Blood pressure medication (DH) and heartburn (me). These are two things going on in my household right now. Great. We're old people. I ordered half-caff today at Starbucks and I expect to be getting my customized "LAME" badge any day now.

5. Because of the heartburn I was reading up on what we should and shouldn't eat. Always a comforting thing to do. I saw something about sugar being the complete enemy of health, and thought, I do really need to get my sugar intake under control. I don't drink my sugar (I drink alternatively-sweetened things or use Splenda), but I get a lot of it with little handfuls of M&Ms, and other treats. And then I remembered it's October. Hahahahahaha. Hmm.

6. The next couple of weeks are packed full of life and activity, so I'm putting this here so I'll remember it: I've got to figure out how and where to do early voting! I think Nov. 6 will be virtually impossible.

7. I found this Read the Catechism by email in a year yesterday, and I signed up. I don't know how long I'll stick to it, but it's worth a try, right? I also found this: calm.com. 2 minutes or ten, peace for hectic days. I love it more than toast. :)

Near to me

Jergens lotion original scent
Peanut Butter bars candies
The sound of that old white refrigerator's foot pedal, to open the freezer
The little chips of ice in the freezer
Ti-coups
Dr. Pepper
Spanish eggs (with stewed tomatoes)
The way she washed her face with a soapy washcloth
Ivory
English Lavendar
Raisin Bran for lunch
Pepperidge Farm Very Thin sliced bread
Toasted peanut butter
Toaster ovens in general
Raisin Toast
When she would sit down and draw the "buildings" we made with her wooden blocks, so we could recreate them later
Catholic Digest magazine
The cute way she "softened" toilet tissue by crinkling it around before using it
Her style and elegance
Her jewelry
Unloading the dishes early in the morning
Stopping to let me sit on her lap
Her refined Southern accent
Salted pecans
Coffee ice cream with cherry preserves and walnuts
Cut glass ice cream bowls
Brandy
Cranberry juice cocktail served in everyday stemware
Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies
When her kitchen door was open on nice days
The way she always called my singing voice 'velvety'
Sleepy Baby
That little electric keyboard we played on for hours
Froggy Went a-Courtin'
Woolworth's
Saengers
The red card table and chairs
"Yes, indeed"
"No damage done."
The dear Blessed Mother
"As for me and my house..."
September Morn
Her scrapbook
Boxes of photos
When she played the piano (once in a while)
"Running a household is hard"
Roast with gravy, white rice and lima beans
Eggs with Vienna Sausages
Watching the snow from her bright dining room window
Gumbo

Grandmother has been on my mind lately. I don't know why. I got to thinking about her -- had a hankering for Spanish eggs, actually -- and it spiraled the other night. I cried with missing her for some reason. KT asked me yesterday if she had died. When I said yes, she said kind-of wistfully, "Oh, it's too bad I didn't know her." Yes, sweet girl. It is too bad. She would have loved you.

So many of these memories came to me last night after thinking about them, and I got kind-of desperate to write them down. Many of them are part of my continued daily life. There are of course more, woven into who I am.




I wonder if she's keeping very near to me right now.

Generally good. (I have no headline mojo on this one) (Or maybe ever)

The October Craziness is here! Are we excited??

I am going to maintain my sanity and not get wigged out over the schedule stuff, not this year. But the weekend of October 26th, we have three kid birthday parties to attend (with costumes of course), plus a Scouts daycamp event, plus a family bowling party AND a sleepover request. Mak-ing mem-o-ries, wheeeee! This is the time of our lives. ;)


No, really, I believe that.

KT and I did the very brief Halloween decorating project shown here last weekend. She was thrilled with it -- guess she didn't realize that candy can be used in other ways besides mouth-stuffing and it blew her mind. I like it, too. It's festive.

We got our appointment time from the pediatric endocrinologist. Should be interesting. They of course want to know the patient's family medical history, plus. Mostly stuff about growth and development and if anyone else was known to be a late-bloomer or particularly undersized, and so that requires asking when did everyone (immediate family & relatives) develop? And so I have to ask both my mom and my MIL "When was your first menstural period?" For serious! It's on the form!! Argh. This thing is so weird.

I find that I'm really feeling hesitant around the topic. Caillou was on (ugh) the other day and it was an episode about 4-yo Caillou wanting to be taller like his friend Andre. KT was the one watching it, but I just cringed because AJ was in the room.

And I notice now, every time we're with other people, how small he is. I am much more aware of who's younger-but-taller (everyone). I wonder if he's noticing. I wonder if it bothers him, now that it's been brought up in such a medically concerned way. Yesterday E, his 6-yo friend next door, told us he has a loose tooth ("...because A. [other neighbor] threw a ball at my head, but still, it's loose!"). And I wondered if that bothered AJ. I asked him later if he wanted me to throw a ball at his head... and then I felt like a jerk for joking about it.

Diagnosis: Short Stature, the referral letter says. I just don't want AJ to be focused on it as A Thing, you know? I've not been talking too much about it with him; there's been no need. I know that he knows that we're doing this extra doctor's appointment, (and he already did the X-ray), but I don't want it to feel like a big deal. I don't want him to feel bad or nervous... or like he's defective, I guess is what I really mean.

You are perfect just as you ARE, AJ. Perfect.

But I am also curious and hopeful that maybe we could help him along...?

I said I wasn't going to talk/worry about it until there was something to worry about, so I guess by Oct. 31, the day of the appointment, we'll know whether I have more to say.

And at this point the only thing he HAS been worried about is that our appointment time of 1:00 might mean he has to miss his class Halloween party at 2:00. :) If that's the worst that happens, it's all good.

October. Crazy.

Gratitude Thursday

1. A good night's sleep. I was so tired yesterday but slept undisturbed for 6.5 hours. Heavy sleep (even with weird dreams about driving around on four flat tires) is so good.

2. Building dominoes towers on the floor with two happy kids last night after a dinner which they both ate.

3. The music part of choir practice tonight will be fulfilling, and will let my mind rest from all the other things that swirl around inside it.

4. Wednesday phone chats with my Mom. :)

5. Something to look forward to - my sis is coming to visit in early November!