7 Home repairs I'm sure the agent will suggest! An exciting QT post!

I'm sorry - I just need to list this stuff out to get it out of my head, so I can do my actual work today. I'm having a hard time concentrating with all the house nonsense swirling around in there. (Not to mention Christmas present-buying, travel-plans-making, where-to-put-the-Elf-deciding, aiiieeeee!)

1. Fix three bad places (I don't even know what to call these) on three different ceilings. There's the place that became wet after a big storm, which was our indication we needed a new roof; the place where, once, when we had some plumbing done upstairs, the ceiling downstairs was never the same; and the place in our bedroom where it looks like someone took a box cutter to the ceiling (I don't even know). Who do you call for work like that? Dry wall people? Are there such?

2. Replace the front porch and stairs and back deck. I don't know if she'll say we MUST do this, but the decks are wood and looking pretty sad right now.

3. Paint the garage walls. (I mean, we could stand to do a LOT of painting, but for sure the garage.)

4. Replace the dishwasher? Maybe. I didn't even think of this one until today, but we have a stainless fridge and a stainless stove/oven, and then a cream colored dishwasher. Seems like, even if we don't re-do the kitchen completely, maybe we should have matching appliances. ? (Clueless)

5. I fear she'll say we need to tear down the master bath and start over. And then I fear that one brand-new master bath will look out of place alongside the rest of the house. How does this work?

6. Okay, I can't think of anything else except the kitchen, kitchen, kitchen which I've mentioned a billion times already. I'll shut up.

7. I drove through a new neighborhood in our part of town on Wednesday morning before work, and there's a house that looks like the right size and price range with a lovely front yard and porch, and it's for sale. I wish I had time to drive around every neighborhood I can think of, and start looking. That's the fun stuff, although I promised DH I wouldn't get my hopes up because we may decide we're not doing this after all. I'm sure he's thrilled about all the blog posts. On the other hand, he put me in charge of starting the investigation, so he can't really say anything. Heh.

Happy weekend, y'all! I'm going to decorate for Christmas and make the house feel pretty! Selling point! Woo!

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My Thanksgiving leftovers

There is nothing worse than the Monday after a long vacation. Nothing. Today is officially the worst!

Even though we were reminded all weekend to be thankful, and I was. Am!

*Smiley-face* *deep breath* *merry-sunshine*

But it's back to the grind, and back to days on which calories DO count, and I am working to keep mine at 1200 or less. Blech. Shredded wheat, anyone? It's good we traveled and don't have any leftovers that need eating, like pie.

Related, the neighborhood near my office will soon have a new Jason's Deli, a new Chipotle (!), and a new Panera Bread. Awesome and terrible! :)

Maybe all the exclamation points I'm using here are leftover from our trip to Disneyworld. That place, man. It is so much fun. We rode more rides than ever before, covered more ground in a day. Part of it is that the kids are older -- no need to stop for naps (we tried to the first day, but only the adults slept!), no diapers and sippy cups to lug around, no stroller.

We had an amazing tour guide this time -- my aunt, who is Mickey Mouse's biggest fan, and lives nearby so she goes to the parks every Saturday. Yes, you read that right. We didn't even have to look at a map, and besides that, she was KT's new BFF, so we had a built-in babysitter.

This was definitely our "Princess" trip -- in case you don't follow me on FB, and for record-keeping's sake, I'll tell you -- we had a character dining experience with the princesses. KT was in heaven. I'm so glad we did it while she's this age, and still loves the princesses as if they're real, and believes they're her friends.

It was also a very big trip for AJ because he rode the kinds of rides he's been scared of before. Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, Mission: Space at Epcot, and Peter Pan (yes, he used to be scared of it because it's so dark) at The Magic Kingdom. I am so proud of him. He learned exactly how much FUN those rides are. Next time, Haunted Mansion! Someday, Space Mountain!

DH and I got to finally try The Tower of Terror, which I loved and he tolerated. :) We stayed out late that night to watch one of the laser/fireworks shows, also a first for us.

And we spent four wonderful days with my parents, who are so patient and generous, and let us dictate what we will and won't do, and absolutely cherish getting to see their grandkids enjoy it all. They're so good to us. You're so good to us, Mom and Dad. And not just for taking us to Disney. We love you and we're exceptionally thankful for you. 

Weekly review of things: 7QT

Lots of things happened this week. :) Let me tell you them.

1. First of all, AJ got, and we have confirmed, his first loose tooth. Hooray! This is all very exciting and we've spent a lot of time talking about it; that it DOES feel weird and sort-of scary when a part of you is FALLING OUT; that saying "baby teeth" doesn't mean anyone thinks you're a baby, KT; that some kids lose teeth at around 5 years old, but others, not until 8 (or, last night, as AJ was telling his sister this very thing, he even stretched it to "8 or 9 because you're related to me so you may not lose them right away, either." He clearly has a secret wish she won't lose her first until after 8 and 4 months. Hee hee.

2. Yesterday the endocrinology office called to report that his labs all came back "normal, nothing for growth factor," and the doc still wants us to follow up in 4 months. Praise God! I always like phone calls from doctors that include the word "normal."

3. We have been working hard on eating habits. Unfortunately, we've also had a LOT of activities this week (it's possible November is WORSE than October for superfluous extra-curriculars), so we had McDonald's one night and then a cheap pizza buffet (fundraising night) the next. I mean, those are good, fatty foods for sure, and I think AJ ate plenty, but I wasn't monitoring or actively adding butter. LOL. Last night's Kraft mac and cheese was made using the "Classic prep" method-Plus: Half a stick of full-fat butter (what?!), whole milk, and because I put too much whole milk in before I realized it, I threw in a generous handful of cheddar cheese on top. Haha! Just casually tossed in a handful of extra cheese! So carefree! HOLY COW (literally), was that good mac. Yeah, I ate it.

4. KT visited a public elementary school yesterday, a field trip with her Pre-K class. I love this. I remember when I was four, I also got to visit a "big school." It was a childhood highlight. KT and her buddies saw the Kindergarteners perform some Thanksgiving songs (awww), and got to eat lunch in the cafeteria, with TRAYS and everything. Her favorite part was that they had "chocolate milk, vanilla milk, strawberry milk, and plain milk." I forgot to ask her which kind she chose.

5. I had my annual review. Let's all agree that annual reviews are stupid and annoying, but when they go nicely, they're sorta okay I guess. I have some new work things to try to improve, and some kudos for when I'm feeling low. I do not, however, have a raise. No one got any raises this year. Booooo. You suck, Economy.

6. (Yet to happen:) Thanksgiving lunch with KT at her school today. I can't wait to sit my fatass adult-sized frame down in one of those little red chairs. I love doing that. At least we know some of the parents, now that we've been attending each others' birthday parties for a couple of years. Wonder if I'll get a construction paper pilgrim hat, or Indian headdress? The good news is we did not MISS this event. Yesterday the school mistakenly posted on Facebook that her class had already HAD their luncheon, and there were tears in my cubicle, because WHAT IF I'd gotten the date wrong? I was picturing a forlorn KT, and believe me, you don't want to picture that. It hurts right in the heart.

7. (Yet to happen:) Date Night. On a whim, I asked our babysitter to come over tonight because DH and I are severely overdue. I think I've been a pretty decent roommate to him the last couple of months, but probably not a very good girlfriend. Sigh. We've just been so busy. And we're old. So, a night on the town! Doctor's orders! I don't want to see a movie -- I mean, I do, there are several I'd like to see, but I do NOT want to have to fight the mob that will be there to see Breaking Dawn 2 tonight -- so maybe we'll have dinner and then go shopping? No, scratch that -- we should definitely shop before we eat. Anyway, it will be good to only be the two of us for several hours, and to be away from the TV, couch and my blanket. (Our den is drafty, so when I get cold at 9:30pm I bundle up, and if I'm bundled up I'm basically asleep in five seconds. I'm a LOT of fun, let me tell you.)

Hope you're all as excited as I am that a very short week and its accompanying long vacation is coming up! More QTs at www.conversiondiary.com!

Small thing = big thing

Pray with me, Internet! 8-year-old AJ may have his first loose tooth.

He wouldn't let me near it to confirm (MAN did I want to get my hands in there and wiggle everything!) but woke up complaining that he thought he had something in between his bottom two front teeth. When I offered him floss, he said, "Yes, after breakfast." But after breakfast he declined.... and he, poor bunny, was whimper-y and nervous because he thought it might be loose. Arm-flappy, even. What do we do? What do we do?

We hope, son! :)

Friendship milestone

Our Book Club was started by two women, in their twenties at the time, and me. They worked together, and I was the book-loving sorority sister of one of them, who was kindly invited to the first "meeting." We read "The Book of Ruth," by Jane Hamilton.

We have continued to meet since 1997 -- that's fifteen years this year. In that time several other members have come and gone, but the three, and then four, of us have stayed constant. We have mostly continued reading together, until these last several months. And oh, the books! So many John Irving novels, Fannie Flagg and Wally Lamb, some fiction that nobody liked except me, some enlightening non-fiction, some historical easy-reads, of course the Twilight and Hunger Games series, and lots and lots of others along the way. We've done spa-days, dinners out, a wine tasting, New Year's parties, a road trip, and impromptu baby showers for each of us.

We met last night because one of us is moving to Ohio. It's unexpected. So we poured the red wine and talked until nearly midnight on a school night. (Over the years, as you can imagine, our meetings have grown less and less book-focused.) And we laughed and laughed, at our twenty-something selves, at the absudity of life sometimes, at people we've known, at our shared and separate stories, some that we've told over and over again.

I know I've said this before, but I am so grateful that these women are my friends. I'm glad we got together again. There's a renewed need to be more regular about gathering, I think. But we're going to miss you, Stacy.

First

The doctor's appointment was fine. A nice doctor. She uses a more detailed growth chart, obviously, and shows AJ in the 1st percentile. Says he likely has been there a while, and isn't sure why our pediatrician didn't see a red flag sooner. But on the other hand, she said we came to her at just the right time; sometimes people come to endocrinology when the kid is still too young and she just has to defer judgment/testing for a year.

As I said on Twitter, the first thing she wants us to do is work hard at helping AJ gain some weight before we see her next, in 4 months. Up to a pound per month if possible. I'm trying to just focus on that. Whole milk is going to make its grand re-entrance into our home (much to my husband's delight, I'm sure). Lots of proteins. Also, Mashed potatoes. Ice cream milkshakes. She actually said, give him ice cream. She said it's hard to "prescribe" that to moms these days, but that in this case, the kid could use a little fattening up and it's OKAY. I've decided (she didn't say this) that we'll need to serve more of AJ's favorite foods, so he'll want seconds -- that means meatballs! Hamburgers! Taco Night! Chicken Sandwiches! Hamburgers! Taco Night! Yes, we will be repeating things. She spoke to him directly about trying to eat more. Do his part. Said that gaining some weight would give him the energy he needs to grow taller. And I'm going to have to train myself to give him larger portions. It's going to be difficult in some ways because the calorie-dense things that a lot of sources suggest -- cheese, butter, mayonnaise, nuts, avocados, sour cream, bagels with cream cheese, salads with lots of dressing -- are things he definitely doesn't like. But we'll just have to try. Maybe hide some foods, maybe try gentle introductions.

You understand that I have to feel some measure of guilt, right? That's the mother's job. Although I was doing the best I had with the information I was given -- which was, from every side, "Their stomachs are only the size of their fists," and "America has an epidemic of obese children." The guilt lies in not having any gut instinct that AJ was NOT THAT WAY, and that maybe I should have been bucking the system all along, sticking with whole milk. (There's also a very brief recall of our first 2 weeks of his life, when nursing went so badly and one mean nurse made me feel terrible about that and said out loud, I think, "failure to thrive." No, bad memory: Go away! Not welcome here. I have to shake it off every time.) Oh well. I'm not feeling OVERLY guilty, just only slightly. HE was the picky one all those toddler years, I remind myself. Heh. But things are going to be slightly different now.

One other thing the doctor wants us to do is maybe get a second opinion in the dentistry department. She's unsure why our dentist has remained completely nonchalant about the fact that a child is 8 years old and hasn't had a single loose tooth yet. I agree. I am happy to make that appointment.


She did indicate that her instinct, and her observation, tells her he's just a late bloomer. He hasn't had other "symptoms" of growth hormone deficiency. And she said she doesn't usually tell patients that; she typically says, "I can't say until we have test results." So I'm grateful for that little nugget of hope that everything's fine.

We'll take these first steps and see what happens.