He has to use his spelling words to write a story.
Which means that he thinks that I should make up all the sentences and he will write them down.
And he's pouting because he tasted the mac&cheese tonight and said he wanted some and I gave him a small serving and he ate 2 bites and then wanted a slice of cheese instead and whined and whined and whined and I didn't give in and finally told him that he was done with dinner - he had some plain pasta already and a bunch of carrots and a glass of milk, so he's not gonna starve. so now he says he's hungry and whining about cheese.
Which means he can't do his homework, of course.
And he's pouting because DS1 clocked him in the head with a snorkel. He's holding ice to his forehead and it's very dramatic.
And it's going to take a few more hours to write 5 sentences.
The baby needs to go to bed soon, so it might just not get finished, because Dh tends to be even less help than I am.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
birthday again
My physical state, this time.
I've never been thin. I've always been tall. We have "The Picture" at my parents' house that shows me and my brother romping in the sprinkler. I'm probably five and my brother's probably seven. I'm about the same height he is and I have a round belly. His ribs are showing. No, I wasn't stealing his food and we went out and played a lot, probably as much as each other.
He was short and thin and picked on until he was sixteen or so, when he finally shot up and was tall and skinny. But those are his issues, not mine. Well, they are sort of because though there are 2 years and 5 days between us, people sometimes thought we were twins.
Anyway, I look at pictures of myself from when I was 10 or 11 and I have a round belly and I was already 5'8" and taller than all but one boy in my class. I was on a sort of modified weight watchers (my mom was pushing fruits and vegetables, but not putting me on a diet, really). By the end of junior high, i was still taller than all but that one boy, but was built a bit more like a woman. By high school, the boys started catching up, but i was still terribly awkward about my height and weight.
Oh, and I played a sport every season in junior high. I wasn't very good and was slow, but it was a small school and I was tall, so was 1st string basketball and volleyball and even track (though I was better at the shot put and discus than at running). We lost a lot.
I look at those high school pictures and yeah, I had a big butt and thighs, but really, i was in a size 12 or 14 or so. Yeah, that's enormous by supermodel standards, but for someone who's 5'9" and has a large bone structure (honestly, I do - broad shoulders help project that mannish look - I didn't wear shoulder pads in the 80's because i would have looked like a linebacker), it's pretty good. Seriously, if I were rail thin, my shoulders would still be in a size 12, my pelvis in a 12 too, most likely. It's never going to happen.
So then college and grad school were all up and down, depending on how much exercise I was getting. And I didn't exercise unless I HAD to, like walking to the bus stop or whatever.
And grad school, I felt pretty good about how I looked. And then up and down some more and then when I got married, we had been walking a lot and swimming laps once or twice a week, so i was pretty hot :)
Basically, since then, it has been up and down. I wouldn't quite call it yo-yo dieting, just yo-yo living, because it's been rare that I have considered myself to be on a diet.
I gained 60 pounds or more with my first two kids, lost it between the two boys by eating less and exercising more, lost most of it after DS2 and then gained it back and forth for a bit. I started this latest pregnancy already really overweight, so managed to not gain 60 pounds. And then I had the baby and, well, the weight just hasn't been coming off.
I finally found a sport that I can do to my own level, karate, and yet I've been getting bored with it lately and can't get there in the evenings because of DH's schedule. And my favorite instructor left and it's just not so fun. AND then on top of that, it hasn't been enough to get me really fit. But if I don't go to karate, if I don't have a time and place that I have to be there, I don't exercise much at all. so I've signed up for Curves and am exercising with the older crowd. I am worried that I am going to get bored with the same workout all the time.
But karate makes me feel strong and capable. Pumping a machine for 30 seconds at a time just doesn't come off as very practical.
So anyway, like so many women (and men too) before me, I look at my teenage body and think, wow, I should have appreciated it when I had it. And I know that even if I weighed the same now, it's all shifted and sagged and all that and I wouldn't look that good now.
I've never been thin. I've always been tall. We have "The Picture" at my parents' house that shows me and my brother romping in the sprinkler. I'm probably five and my brother's probably seven. I'm about the same height he is and I have a round belly. His ribs are showing. No, I wasn't stealing his food and we went out and played a lot, probably as much as each other.
He was short and thin and picked on until he was sixteen or so, when he finally shot up and was tall and skinny. But those are his issues, not mine. Well, they are sort of because though there are 2 years and 5 days between us, people sometimes thought we were twins.
Anyway, I look at pictures of myself from when I was 10 or 11 and I have a round belly and I was already 5'8" and taller than all but one boy in my class. I was on a sort of modified weight watchers (my mom was pushing fruits and vegetables, but not putting me on a diet, really). By the end of junior high, i was still taller than all but that one boy, but was built a bit more like a woman. By high school, the boys started catching up, but i was still terribly awkward about my height and weight.
Oh, and I played a sport every season in junior high. I wasn't very good and was slow, but it was a small school and I was tall, so was 1st string basketball and volleyball and even track (though I was better at the shot put and discus than at running). We lost a lot.
I look at those high school pictures and yeah, I had a big butt and thighs, but really, i was in a size 12 or 14 or so. Yeah, that's enormous by supermodel standards, but for someone who's 5'9" and has a large bone structure (honestly, I do - broad shoulders help project that mannish look - I didn't wear shoulder pads in the 80's because i would have looked like a linebacker), it's pretty good. Seriously, if I were rail thin, my shoulders would still be in a size 12, my pelvis in a 12 too, most likely. It's never going to happen.
So then college and grad school were all up and down, depending on how much exercise I was getting. And I didn't exercise unless I HAD to, like walking to the bus stop or whatever.
And grad school, I felt pretty good about how I looked. And then up and down some more and then when I got married, we had been walking a lot and swimming laps once or twice a week, so i was pretty hot :)
Basically, since then, it has been up and down. I wouldn't quite call it yo-yo dieting, just yo-yo living, because it's been rare that I have considered myself to be on a diet.
I gained 60 pounds or more with my first two kids, lost it between the two boys by eating less and exercising more, lost most of it after DS2 and then gained it back and forth for a bit. I started this latest pregnancy already really overweight, so managed to not gain 60 pounds. And then I had the baby and, well, the weight just hasn't been coming off.
I finally found a sport that I can do to my own level, karate, and yet I've been getting bored with it lately and can't get there in the evenings because of DH's schedule. And my favorite instructor left and it's just not so fun. AND then on top of that, it hasn't been enough to get me really fit. But if I don't go to karate, if I don't have a time and place that I have to be there, I don't exercise much at all. so I've signed up for Curves and am exercising with the older crowd. I am worried that I am going to get bored with the same workout all the time.
But karate makes me feel strong and capable. Pumping a machine for 30 seconds at a time just doesn't come off as very practical.
So anyway, like so many women (and men too) before me, I look at my teenage body and think, wow, I should have appreciated it when I had it. And I know that even if I weighed the same now, it's all shifted and sagged and all that and I wouldn't look that good now.
More about birthday
Also, in the last year, I have gradually been coming to terms with the fact that I will never have another baby. Yes, yes, DD was a surprise and came 5 1/2 years after DS2 and I had a miscarriage in between and I don't actually WANT any more children and after 40 is not a good time for me to have another one, in my opinion, because the risks of problems just keep going up from here. And three kids, that's replacing ourselves plus one. So DH got the snipsnip and now has the all clear. And if - dog forbid - something happened to our marriage or to him and if I ever found another partner in a few years, I would not be having any other children anyway.
But somewhere inside me, I keep looking at my kids, especially the baby, and thinking, "This is it. No more," and I feel old. Yeah, Mom's going to point out again about how I'm not old, but well, this is the end of my fertility. Even if I am technically still fertile though I think I'm on the front end of peri-menopause and have been for a couple of years. I still have a few years - anyone's guess from one to fifteen - before I hit the real thing. It's a bit of a nostalgic look back, I guess you could say.
Heave a deep sigh as I wave bye bye to my ovaries and mourn my empty womb.
Ooooh very dramatic doncha think?
But somewhere inside me, I keep looking at my kids, especially the baby, and thinking, "This is it. No more," and I feel old. Yeah, Mom's going to point out again about how I'm not old, but well, this is the end of my fertility. Even if I am technically still fertile though I think I'm on the front end of peri-menopause and have been for a couple of years. I still have a few years - anyone's guess from one to fifteen - before I hit the real thing. It's a bit of a nostalgic look back, I guess you could say.
Heave a deep sigh as I wave bye bye to my ovaries and mourn my empty womb.
Ooooh very dramatic doncha think?
yah yah. I know, Mom.
But I still feel like I'm getting old.
My 40th birthday is tomorrow and it's turning into one of those where I take stock of my life and wonder what's next.
Careers:
BA and MA in French - I can say "would you like fries with that?" in two languages. Four if I stretch and don't mind not really being able to understand the answer. And this was long ago now and I haven't spoken French all that much in ten years. I hear it all the time and I know it would come back.
I don't want to teach. I was a Language Lab Rat both undergrad and grad and I tutored and I never liked it much. Sure, with a good group it is fun and nice and fulfilling, but the good group to groups-that-don't-give-a-rat's-hiney ratio is about 1:10. And the second sort just drain all my joy, a commodity that I get low on anyway.
I worked in a marketing company for a couple years after grad school and before I got married. I started out taking and making calls, sometimes in French, which is why I was hired. After that, I mainly messed with databases and made presentations and did what my manager told me to do and it was much more administrative than marketing. And I took a couple of marketing classes from the community college in Austin and was amazed by the really startlingly common sense stuff that was taught as Amazing! Marketing! Truths! I guess you have to have a knack for schmoozing or something. I'm missing that gene.
I'm a pretty good mom. I yell too much and I don't really know how to motivate my kids and I am a bad example, especially for cleaning. But I think they'll only have a few years of therapy each, not a lifetime. And yeah, it's not a bad job if you can get it, but it doesn't pay much.
I've dabbled in desktop publishing and worked retail for a few years.
I like to read. I live far, far from the big publishing houses, so an editorial assistant job isn't going to just fall in my lap, is it?
And I can write, but not at some brilliant level. And honestly? The vast majority of authors haven't quit their day jobs. It's just not all that lucrative for the vast majority of them. So I need to finish a book and see if I can get it published.
But I need to find a job in the meantime. So... I have no idea.
To be continued...
My 40th birthday is tomorrow and it's turning into one of those where I take stock of my life and wonder what's next.
Careers:
BA and MA in French - I can say "would you like fries with that?" in two languages. Four if I stretch and don't mind not really being able to understand the answer. And this was long ago now and I haven't spoken French all that much in ten years. I hear it all the time and I know it would come back.
I don't want to teach. I was a Language Lab Rat both undergrad and grad and I tutored and I never liked it much. Sure, with a good group it is fun and nice and fulfilling, but the good group to groups-that-don't-give-a-rat's-hiney ratio is about 1:10. And the second sort just drain all my joy, a commodity that I get low on anyway.
I worked in a marketing company for a couple years after grad school and before I got married. I started out taking and making calls, sometimes in French, which is why I was hired. After that, I mainly messed with databases and made presentations and did what my manager told me to do and it was much more administrative than marketing. And I took a couple of marketing classes from the community college in Austin and was amazed by the really startlingly common sense stuff that was taught as Amazing! Marketing! Truths! I guess you have to have a knack for schmoozing or something. I'm missing that gene.
I'm a pretty good mom. I yell too much and I don't really know how to motivate my kids and I am a bad example, especially for cleaning. But I think they'll only have a few years of therapy each, not a lifetime. And yeah, it's not a bad job if you can get it, but it doesn't pay much.
I've dabbled in desktop publishing and worked retail for a few years.
I like to read. I live far, far from the big publishing houses, so an editorial assistant job isn't going to just fall in my lap, is it?
And I can write, but not at some brilliant level. And honestly? The vast majority of authors haven't quit their day jobs. It's just not all that lucrative for the vast majority of them. So I need to finish a book and see if I can get it published.
But I need to find a job in the meantime. So... I have no idea.
To be continued...
panic scream terror run hide! But wait a minute...
Scientists think the swine flu isn't really all that dangerous.
Well, then, ah. Can we dial down the hysteria please?
Well, then, ah. Can we dial down the hysteria please?
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
googling alpacas
I've just spent my morning googling alpacas. I just like saying that.
But really, I was gaining some basic knowledge of alpaca breeding, cashmere goats, angora, and merino wool.
I really think my heroine would like some alpacas, but apparently, they are hard to ship and this is the 1880's and I think the alpacas would die on the way from South America. Back then, there was essentially only one guy who imported alpaca fleeces from Peru into England and spun it into clothing for royalty.
She's going to have to settle for cashmere goats or maybe angora/mohair. I would say merino sheep, but that's a bit rougher, which is an important consideration for her.
I hope goats get along with sheep. They do, don't they?
But really, I was gaining some basic knowledge of alpaca breeding, cashmere goats, angora, and merino wool.
I really think my heroine would like some alpacas, but apparently, they are hard to ship and this is the 1880's and I think the alpacas would die on the way from South America. Back then, there was essentially only one guy who imported alpaca fleeces from Peru into England and spun it into clothing for royalty.
She's going to have to settle for cashmere goats or maybe angora/mohair. I would say merino sheep, but that's a bit rougher, which is an important consideration for her.
I hope goats get along with sheep. They do, don't they?
Friday, April 24, 2009
Book is not finished again
I thought it was done and then I thought of an unresolved issue and a character and situation that needed more space or at least mentioning again. So now I am going back through Strays and am going to add in some little bits and pieces and then say it's done. Again.
Yeah, someday, I'm going to have to stop messing with it and just let someone read it.
Yeah, someday, I'm going to have to stop messing with it and just let someone read it.
My enormous bruiser
There was a mom at karate today with a five month old baby (and an older daughter who was a white belt). DD got all excited when she saw the baby coming in and then the woman completely freaked out every time DD got within 5 feet. Because DD was going to hurt the baby. Um, ah. Yeah, she's so very mean. I don't think DD needs to touch the baby's face, because she does pinch and scratch sometimes, but yeah, her touching the baby's completely covered toe will probably not break anything. So did she need to shove DD's hand away and cover the baby's legs protectively? Was she sure this was her second child? She babbled something about knowing a two year old who isn't gentle. Big, huge difference between two year old and 14 month old, both in strength and in deliberately hurting to see what the reaction is. I swear the woman was really out there, not just averagely anxious. She made me nervous.
Anyway. I didn't make a friend today.
Anyway. I didn't make a friend today.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Clown car (PICTURES)
(My brilliant musicians)
(My kids, my sister's kids, the neighbor's kids)
(Where's my chauffeur?)
(neighbor's baby - a couple of weeks younger than DD)
(My mom has this dress-up box)
(Yeah. the wig's from that)
(Clown)
And here's the clown car as driven by DD:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
general catching up
I keep throwing little bitty updates on facebook and not much on here. Well, not a lot to say, except that the baby's not napping like I think she should. She was alllll worn out this morning and then napped for, oh, half an hour. I had squirted toilet cleaner in the toilet and turned on the computer and that was about it. When she got up, I had to make DH watch her (hooray for daddy who works at home) and go scrub the toilet -the sink will have to wait for another time. I also went out and tried again to spray the aphids and scale insects off the bushes they are killing and the rosebushes that just look a bit tired, not dying (yet). I should have trimmed the rosebushes in the winter, they are HUGE and flopping over. Gorgeous roses right now, though!
I need to test the lawn sprinklers and set the timer thing so they'll keep the lawn alive. The grass is starting to look tired and we are supposed to keep it greenish. I will wait until the boys are home, because sprinkler jumping is their favorie sport. I wish I could find DS2's swim trunks. Anyone have any ideas? His room's more or less picked up, but that means stuff shoved in the closet, so it might be there....
I still haven't downloaded the pictures from my camera. I still haven';t opened the box with all the junior high pictures in it and started scanning, either. The scanner and camera only work with one partition of one of our computers and I never seem to be in it. When I am not goofing off on the internet, I am on my laptop, trying to write.
I need new sandals. My Birkenstocks are just a bit older than DS2, so they'll turn 7 this year. The sole's been replaced twice, but now I think they are a lost cause, good for schlepping around the house and yard. The leather straps are fine, but the cork is deteriorating. I think I'm going to get something a bit strappier than the huge, basic black clunky things. Still Birkenstocks, though. I love my Birks! My inner hippie and all that. Well, I'm pretty much hippie all the way through. Revolution Breeze is my hippie name, according to the quiz on facebook.
I never noticed before, but I can sign my blog up to show google ads. With my vast readership, I should make a mint! What are we going to do with a buck fifty? (Mom will get the nuances of that....)
Oh, and I've been thinking of dropping karate. I like it when I get there, but it's only at an awkward time in the evening and DH seems to be going to more meetings and conferences and stuff. I'll miss kicking the C*** out of the wavemaster, though. Sigh. Decisions, decisions. I also feel like I should keep going this month, because we are making DS2 go until the end of his 6 month contract before deciding if he will quit. He took a break and any new person (or returning person) has to sign up for 6 months. His concept of time is shaky, so I don't know if it's really fair, but maybe I should keep going, too.
I've been thinking about it for a bit now and today on the way to the hardware store, instead of going into the donut shop, I went into Curves. They're doing a study right now, so the introductory rate is very low. If Dh is going to be at home, then I might as well lumber him with the baby for a half hour a few times a week (more like an hour+ especially if I walk there - it's not far) and actually get some exercise. It's more flexible, which is good, but that's also not good, because then I can keep putting off going. We'll see.
OK, the baby's saying "uh-ohhhhhh" and DH is wandering around talking on his cell phone. Back to being a mom...
I need to test the lawn sprinklers and set the timer thing so they'll keep the lawn alive. The grass is starting to look tired and we are supposed to keep it greenish. I will wait until the boys are home, because sprinkler jumping is their favorie sport. I wish I could find DS2's swim trunks. Anyone have any ideas? His room's more or less picked up, but that means stuff shoved in the closet, so it might be there....
I still haven't downloaded the pictures from my camera. I still haven';t opened the box with all the junior high pictures in it and started scanning, either. The scanner and camera only work with one partition of one of our computers and I never seem to be in it. When I am not goofing off on the internet, I am on my laptop, trying to write.
I need new sandals. My Birkenstocks are just a bit older than DS2, so they'll turn 7 this year. The sole's been replaced twice, but now I think they are a lost cause, good for schlepping around the house and yard. The leather straps are fine, but the cork is deteriorating. I think I'm going to get something a bit strappier than the huge, basic black clunky things. Still Birkenstocks, though. I love my Birks! My inner hippie and all that. Well, I'm pretty much hippie all the way through. Revolution Breeze is my hippie name, according to the quiz on facebook.
I never noticed before, but I can sign my blog up to show google ads. With my vast readership, I should make a mint! What are we going to do with a buck fifty? (Mom will get the nuances of that....)
Oh, and I've been thinking of dropping karate. I like it when I get there, but it's only at an awkward time in the evening and DH seems to be going to more meetings and conferences and stuff. I'll miss kicking the C*** out of the wavemaster, though. Sigh. Decisions, decisions. I also feel like I should keep going this month, because we are making DS2 go until the end of his 6 month contract before deciding if he will quit. He took a break and any new person (or returning person) has to sign up for 6 months. His concept of time is shaky, so I don't know if it's really fair, but maybe I should keep going, too.
I've been thinking about it for a bit now and today on the way to the hardware store, instead of going into the donut shop, I went into Curves. They're doing a study right now, so the introductory rate is very low. If Dh is going to be at home, then I might as well lumber him with the baby for a half hour a few times a week (more like an hour+ especially if I walk there - it's not far) and actually get some exercise. It's more flexible, which is good, but that's also not good, because then I can keep putting off going. We'll see.
OK, the baby's saying "uh-ohhhhhh" and DH is wandering around talking on his cell phone. Back to being a mom...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Yeah. I'm good.
I was making backups of various writing projects when i came across my NaNo novel from 2007. I read it. It's actually rather good, better than I remembered. It needs an ending, but it's already over 50K words (I won that year, too). Harriet's mom needs to either get back together with her husband or grow a pair of ovaries and get on with her life (either way, she has to grow a pair of ovaries) and Harriet and Ron need to go to the gala and have it out with Ron's mom. Ron's cousin's not going to get his life in order in this book. Maybe I could write the sequel as this year's NaNo...
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Well, I got a little writing done today, both while DD napped (it was a loooooong nap!) and then while she played and the boys played and everything was fairly calm.
I wrote a couple of short scene descriptions and a new scene. I am not sure if I need to have one more scene to resolve the sister's elopement or if that's enough. I'll probably write something from the father's POV. I have to get the line about 'prevailing on useless young men to marry his daughters' in there somehow. There was another Pride&Prejudice line that came into my head but then popped back out.
Oh wait, I need a failed music scene.
Oh, did I mention? The heroine has more in common with Mary Bennet than with Lizzy or Jane or even Lydia and Kitty.
And my computer's acting odd. It froze up as I was trying to close my document a little bit ago. I need to do a backup.
I also need to get the boys to get their stuff off the table so we can eat, because I have potatoes and sausage cooking.
I wrote a couple of short scene descriptions and a new scene. I am not sure if I need to have one more scene to resolve the sister's elopement or if that's enough. I'll probably write something from the father's POV. I have to get the line about 'prevailing on useless young men to marry his daughters' in there somehow. There was another Pride&Prejudice line that came into my head but then popped back out.
Oh wait, I need a failed music scene.
Oh, did I mention? The heroine has more in common with Mary Bennet than with Lizzy or Jane or even Lydia and Kitty.
And my computer's acting odd. It froze up as I was trying to close my document a little bit ago. I need to do a backup.
I also need to get the boys to get their stuff off the table so we can eat, because I have potatoes and sausage cooking.
age, book groups, and so on
I have two different book groups this week - one Monday, one Tuesday. Unless a miracle occurs, I won't even have either of the books, much less have read them. Dh has things both nights, so it looks like the Monday one waaaay over in El Dorado Hills is out. The Tuesday one is just up the road, so I might be able to get a sitter for a bit and just pop in.
Speaking of pop (oooooh I segued!) I have a silly pop up book called Men-O-Pop that I got online a couple of years ago. DS1 found it on the shelf today and is reading it. I hope none of it is too explicit because I can't remember. Maybe I'll take it to book group. I might be too young to take it to book group. My cycles have shifted over the years and I suppose I am in perimenopause, even with a one year old baby.
And it's less than 2 weeks until my birthday. OLD.
OK. I'm at least going to add in some one-line descriptions of scenes that I want to write when I have the time.
Speaking of pop (oooooh I segued!) I have a silly pop up book called Men-O-Pop that I got online a couple of years ago. DS1 found it on the shelf today and is reading it. I hope none of it is too explicit because I can't remember. Maybe I'll take it to book group. I might be too young to take it to book group. My cycles have shifted over the years and I suppose I am in perimenopause, even with a one year old baby.
And it's less than 2 weeks until my birthday. OLD.
OK. I'm at least going to add in some one-line descriptions of scenes that I want to write when I have the time.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
oh ugh!
It's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow and for a couple of days after! It looks like it will cool off a bit again after that and there's a chance of rain 9 days out (yeah. pfffffff). In Ohio, it went between 70 and snowing. here it goes between 70 and broiling. This is about the time of year when i start considering moving, because I know summer's coming.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
bubble butt
While we were out of town, we used disposables diapers on DD and it took a couple days to get used to how teeny tiny her bum looked. Now that we're back and using cloth diapers again, she has this huge huge bottom.
She's walking a bit on her toes and looks a bit like a raptor, bouncing along the way she does.
She's also still not taking good naps. Every time I shifted my weight to leave her, she woke up and finally I had to get up to use the restroom and she was up and going full speed. Sigh.
And she came in with a plasticky sheriff star and wanted it on her shirt. Such a smart girl!
We're applying for new health insurance (actually, the same one we had a couple years ago which they raised the price over and over on and then we switched, and now the new company is doing the same thing and switching back has it cheaper than before we switched) so we have to figure out when everyone went to the doctor last. DS1 hasn't been for over 2 years now, Dh is longer than that, I think. My last time was January of last year when I was coughing up a lung and wanted to know if it was bronchitis. I was heavily pregnant at the time (and yes, that means I didn't have a 6 week or whatever check-up after having the baby).
She's walking a bit on her toes and looks a bit like a raptor, bouncing along the way she does.
She's also still not taking good naps. Every time I shifted my weight to leave her, she woke up and finally I had to get up to use the restroom and she was up and going full speed. Sigh.
And she came in with a plasticky sheriff star and wanted it on her shirt. Such a smart girl!
We're applying for new health insurance (actually, the same one we had a couple years ago which they raised the price over and over on and then we switched, and now the new company is doing the same thing and switching back has it cheaper than before we switched) so we have to figure out when everyone went to the doctor last. DS1 hasn't been for over 2 years now, Dh is longer than that, I think. My last time was January of last year when I was coughing up a lung and wanted to know if it was bronchitis. I was heavily pregnant at the time (and yes, that means I didn't have a 6 week or whatever check-up after having the baby).
Walden Pond
Henry David Thoreau started a forest fire. Probably. Borrowed this link from bookninja.
Puts a spin on what we all read in high school, doesn't it?
Puts a spin on what we all read in high school, doesn't it?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
on poop, room cleaning, and school
Part of DD's problem has been massive quantities of poop at irregular (har) intervals today. I'm not sure what the rest of her problem is.
And DH decided to rinse her in the tub and she HATES baths these days. What a kind, sensitive daddy. yeesh.
DS2, instead of cleaning his room before dinner, came out and locked the door behind him. i ended up shouting a lot and then he still had to pick his junk up.
i also moved almost everything off the kitchen counters because i am tired of the stupid drainer always up there with maybe one thing in it. and for some reason, dh doesn't even notice the mildew and puts clean dishes in it without ever cleaning it. i also leaned the cutting board against the wall and combined the apples and oranges into one space and moved the plastic bags so the phone wouldn't be teetering on the edge and ta-da i have a counter.
and i'm still not a good person to be around today.
ps. oh yeah, the school part: ds2 got one job done at school again today. he says it's because the 2nd wasn't checked off and maybe his teachers aren't checking his work, but how do other kids finish 5 jobs and get them all checked and he can't seem to do it?
And DH decided to rinse her in the tub and she HATES baths these days. What a kind, sensitive daddy. yeesh.
DS2, instead of cleaning his room before dinner, came out and locked the door behind him. i ended up shouting a lot and then he still had to pick his junk up.
i also moved almost everything off the kitchen counters because i am tired of the stupid drainer always up there with maybe one thing in it. and for some reason, dh doesn't even notice the mildew and puts clean dishes in it without ever cleaning it. i also leaned the cutting board against the wall and combined the apples and oranges into one space and moved the plastic bags so the phone wouldn't be teetering on the edge and ta-da i have a counter.
and i'm still not a good person to be around today.
ps. oh yeah, the school part: ds2 got one job done at school again today. he says it's because the 2nd wasn't checked off and maybe his teachers aren't checking his work, but how do other kids finish 5 jobs and get them all checked and he can't seem to do it?
"I don't want to be a pie!"
"I don't like gravy." (I'm making beef pie, not chicken, but still.)
Yes, Liza, you might have been right that it was the wind that made the boys crazier than usual yesterday. The jet lag caught up to them, too. They were in bed and asleep before bedtime without complaint and under their own power. Much better today, though DS2 is following me around and making me nuts. I still have pms, but not as tense as yesterday.
DD is fussy this afternoon, too. The last 2 days, she's been waking at 5 am and nursing for an hour and then tossing and turning and nursing until time to get up, when she falls asleep until about 8. So basically, taking a nap. And then her usual naps are short and weird, so I haven't got anything done that I have to concentrate on - like, oh, writing. I'm making dinner right now, but she's started crying again. so now i'm typing 1-handed again.
Yes, Liza, you might have been right that it was the wind that made the boys crazier than usual yesterday. The jet lag caught up to them, too. They were in bed and asleep before bedtime without complaint and under their own power. Much better today, though DS2 is following me around and making me nuts. I still have pms, but not as tense as yesterday.
DD is fussy this afternoon, too. The last 2 days, she's been waking at 5 am and nursing for an hour and then tossing and turning and nursing until time to get up, when she falls asleep until about 8. So basically, taking a nap. And then her usual naps are short and weird, so I haven't got anything done that I have to concentrate on - like, oh, writing. I'm making dinner right now, but she's started crying again. so now i'm typing 1-handed again.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
AUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!
My kids are wound up. WOUND UP. It's a bit chilly to make them sleep outside tonight, but boy am I tempted.
Exactly HOW MANY times did I have to tell them to get out of the kitchen when I was making dinner? I can't count that high. And I lost track when my eyes popped out of my head due to the blood pressure, I think.
And the more I get mad at them, the sillier they get.
AND I have PMS and I keep shouting.
Which just makes them act crazier.
Go do your homework.
Exactly HOW MANY times did I have to tell them to get out of the kitchen when I was making dinner? I can't count that high. And I lost track when my eyes popped out of my head due to the blood pressure, I think.
And the more I get mad at them, the sillier they get.
AND I have PMS and I keep shouting.
Which just makes them act crazier.
Go do your homework.
outside
DD and I just spent 45 minutes outside, just wandering around, playing with a couple of plastic easter eggs, picking up spiky gumballs (the seed things, not the eating kind, though she does tend to taste them), and walking up and down the driveway, which is slanted, though not overly steep. She also decided to climb the small hill to the neighbor's drive over and over.
I thought she'd be tuckered out and she did yawn, but then DH came home from a meeting and she got her second wind. Now, she's helping him eat his oatmeal instead of having milkies and a happy nap.
She also wanted to go for a walk in her stroller once he came home and wasn't happy when I carried her inside anyway.
A bit chilly today - it'll only get up to about 60 (giggle snicker) - and it's sunny and windy. No rain forecast for the next 10 days. We're still in a D2 "severe" drought, but it's mid-April and I'm not holdng my breath for a whole lot more rain before the summer, which is nearly completely dry.
I still need to get the pictures from my camera from the trip to Ohio, plus I have a large shoebox of pictures to sort through and scan some to make my old friends scream.
oh, and dd's social security card finally showed up - we got it in the heap of stuff from our vacation hold. we had a letter right before we went away which was the receipt saying we had applied - SIX MONTHS AGO and should be getting the card in the next 2 weeks. It might take an extra 12 weeks on top of the usual 4 to 6 weeks if the baby isn't born in a US hospital. And yet I keep adding up their numbers and ending up with 4 1/2 months, not 6 1/2.
I thought she'd be tuckered out and she did yawn, but then DH came home from a meeting and she got her second wind. Now, she's helping him eat his oatmeal instead of having milkies and a happy nap.
She also wanted to go for a walk in her stroller once he came home and wasn't happy when I carried her inside anyway.
A bit chilly today - it'll only get up to about 60 (giggle snicker) - and it's sunny and windy. No rain forecast for the next 10 days. We're still in a D2 "severe" drought, but it's mid-April and I'm not holdng my breath for a whole lot more rain before the summer, which is nearly completely dry.
I still need to get the pictures from my camera from the trip to Ohio, plus I have a large shoebox of pictures to sort through and scan some to make my old friends scream.
oh, and dd's social security card finally showed up - we got it in the heap of stuff from our vacation hold. we had a letter right before we went away which was the receipt saying we had applied - SIX MONTHS AGO and should be getting the card in the next 2 weeks. It might take an extra 12 weeks on top of the usual 4 to 6 weeks if the baby isn't born in a US hospital. And yet I keep adding up their numbers and ending up with 4 1/2 months, not 6 1/2.
Monday, April 13, 2009
egg salad sandwich
love 'em. On mushy bread. My bread is a bit too starchy for mush, but close enough. I couldn't find the mayo at lunch time (found it this evening) and mixed my eggs with plain yogurt and a bit of mustard. Nice.
We're having easter eggs for supper, too, but I am making pasta. I'm thinking I should just make a big bowl of egg salad, but i'm not sure the boys would like it (or DH, for that matter, coming from a culture where they don't eat their eggs that way.) I'm not a fan of deviled eggs, either, though I guess if i made them, I could choose what to mix in the yolks, right?
We're having easter eggs for supper, too, but I am making pasta. I'm thinking I should just make a big bowl of egg salad, but i'm not sure the boys would like it (or DH, for that matter, coming from a culture where they don't eat their eggs that way.) I'm not a fan of deviled eggs, either, though I guess if i made them, I could choose what to mix in the yolks, right?
because i'm a sucker for prizes
AND I like their books. I'd almost rather have the 2nd prize books....
Dancing girls make me feel holy
We're home and recovering from the early start yesterday morning (4:15 am) and the long, BORING (at least DS1 thought it was - and told me REPEATEDLY) flights.
We spent one night in the airport hotel so we could catch the 6-whatever am flight from Cincinnati (and BTW, reservations person who couldn't find the Cinci airport hotel: the first shuttle is at 4:30. Not 5. Don't just make stuff up, OK?). We never adjusted to Ohio time completely, so we let the kids wind down for sleep by watching TV - and The Ten Commandments was on ABC. And after 3 hours, it was still only just past the burning bush and we hadn't even gotten to plagues and parting the Red Sea or anything really cool, like, you know, actual commandments. But, there had been dancing girls twice and lots of overacting. I would say that the dancing girls were meant as examples of decadence before Moses found God, but the second group was Jethro's daughters - they were Ishmaelites, apparently, and allegedly worshipped the same god - and M married one of them (the oldest one, who didn't dance for him - he was already feeling holy, having watched her sisters dance, when he went out and proposed to her, though.)
Anyway, lots of, for the lack of a better word, man-titty. Nice legs on the Yul Brenner guy.
It's been a long time since I saw that movie. At almost 4 hours, it's a serious investment of time. And with 10 or 12 or however many it is these days minutes of ads every hour on network TV, I'd have to say epic fail. Get it? Epic? Fail?
We spent one night in the airport hotel so we could catch the 6-whatever am flight from Cincinnati (and BTW, reservations person who couldn't find the Cinci airport hotel: the first shuttle is at 4:30. Not 5. Don't just make stuff up, OK?). We never adjusted to Ohio time completely, so we let the kids wind down for sleep by watching TV - and The Ten Commandments was on ABC. And after 3 hours, it was still only just past the burning bush and we hadn't even gotten to plagues and parting the Red Sea or anything really cool, like, you know, actual commandments. But, there had been dancing girls twice and lots of overacting. I would say that the dancing girls were meant as examples of decadence before Moses found God, but the second group was Jethro's daughters - they were Ishmaelites, apparently, and allegedly worshipped the same god - and M married one of them (the oldest one, who didn't dance for him - he was already feeling holy, having watched her sisters dance, when he went out and proposed to her, though.)
Anyway, lots of, for the lack of a better word, man-titty. Nice legs on the Yul Brenner guy.
It's been a long time since I saw that movie. At almost 4 hours, it's a serious investment of time. And with 10 or 12 or however many it is these days minutes of ads every hour on network TV, I'd have to say epic fail. Get it? Epic? Fail?
Friday, April 10, 2009
heading home
Once I get home to California and have time to think about it, I am sure I will have a longer post about my hometown and what it's like to come back again.
It's a small town, but it's a university town, so it's the odd dichotomy of everyone who lives there permanently (ie not the students or transitory grad students and visiting faculty) knowing everyone's business and yet most of the young people flee the town, leaving behind their professor/professional parents to gossip about them. I know they gossip about each other and not so much about us, but what gets passed on to the kids is about other kids, generally.
So anyway, here I was reserving a hotel room for Saturday night and the person at the reservation center couldn't find the hotel on her computer. She looked up Cincinnati when I said Cinci airport hotel and then informed me that there is no airport hotel. Ummmm... not that I expect everyone at the call center to know that the Cinci airport is in Kentucky, but I assume she could search on "airport hotel" and come up with it? And I almost got in trouble for being too honest because there are 5 of us and at first she wanted to make us rent 2 rooms. Well, it would be nice to put all the kids in their own room and I had a brief fantasy of sleeping all night.... But no, the baby sleeps with us and won't be taking up extra space. The first shuttle is at 5 and our flight is at 6:50 and I can't get the map of the airport to pull up on Mom's dial-up, so I'm hoping we won't get in any trouble for getting to the check-in late...
Oh, and I need some Easter chocs for the boys, since we'll be en route that day. And we haven't colored eggs, so we'll have to do that on the post-Easter egg close-out. Boy, I hope the grocery store is open Easter Sunday at home, because we don't have much food there.
But tomorrow, we're going to the zoo.
It's a small town, but it's a university town, so it's the odd dichotomy of everyone who lives there permanently (ie not the students or transitory grad students and visiting faculty) knowing everyone's business and yet most of the young people flee the town, leaving behind their professor/professional parents to gossip about them. I know they gossip about each other and not so much about us, but what gets passed on to the kids is about other kids, generally.
So anyway, here I was reserving a hotel room for Saturday night and the person at the reservation center couldn't find the hotel on her computer. She looked up Cincinnati when I said Cinci airport hotel and then informed me that there is no airport hotel. Ummmm... not that I expect everyone at the call center to know that the Cinci airport is in Kentucky, but I assume she could search on "airport hotel" and come up with it? And I almost got in trouble for being too honest because there are 5 of us and at first she wanted to make us rent 2 rooms. Well, it would be nice to put all the kids in their own room and I had a brief fantasy of sleeping all night.... But no, the baby sleeps with us and won't be taking up extra space. The first shuttle is at 5 and our flight is at 6:50 and I can't get the map of the airport to pull up on Mom's dial-up, so I'm hoping we won't get in any trouble for getting to the check-in late...
Oh, and I need some Easter chocs for the boys, since we'll be en route that day. And we haven't colored eggs, so we'll have to do that on the post-Easter egg close-out. Boy, I hope the grocery store is open Easter Sunday at home, because we don't have much food there.
But tomorrow, we're going to the zoo.
Monday, April 6, 2009
On Ohio and dial-up and other stuff
We're here in Ohio and the weather is... Ohio-ish. We've had a few gorgeous, warm days and DS2 informed me that it's not cold here and what was I talking about when I had them pack long pants, anyway? And then there have been days like today where it's maybe 45 and rainy and DS2 is wearing three shirts, 2 pairsof pants, 2 pairs of socks and a fleece and is still frozen solid after 5 minutes. This morning, the rain was definitely snow-like. Oh, and there was a thunder storm last night and they were having tornadoes just across the Indiana border (which my dad was more mad about because they kept interrupting the golf on TV, not because the storm could veer toward us and we could get blown off the face of the earth or even altruistic notions of worrying about the people in Indiana).
They test the tornado sirens every Wednesday for just a couple of seconds, except the first Weds of the month, when it runs for a couple of minutes. Woooooo the excitement last week!
I have seen a lot of my sister and her family. My mom is still taking care of her kids while she's on maternity leave, so I've seen even more of her kids than I have of her. All the cousins are enjoying each other, mostly, though the honeyoon periodis sort of wearing off. And DS2 seems to be stealing Nephew1's next-door neighbor girlfriend. OK, not really, but he's the same age she is and they're having fun playing together in a 6 1/2 year old way insteasd of a 5 year-old way. Though DS1 and Nephew1 have also played the run-and-hide-from-the-other-kid game, which the neighbor girl discovered isn't as much fun when they're running from you as when you're running from your little sister.
I had dinner last night with a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in ages and ages except once in passing when she was working in a retail store here in town (that has since closed along the vast quantities of dead retail space around where Walmart used to be before it moved just out of town so it wouldn't have to pay city taxes while it ruined the rest of the city's economy). Anyway, she's working as an accountant at the university and taking computer classes and looks good (Hi Liz!). And she had just run into another old friend from high school that neither of us had seen in ages and ages and so she stopped by for a while and we exchanged email addresses (Hi Taff!).
And Peggy's supposed to be calling me... (Hi Peggy!)
It has been a nice visit and I'm starting to get ready to go home. I want to live closer, but I don't think I could actually live here in this town again. Well, I suppose I could because it's a great town, but outside of the university, there aren't so very many jobs around and there isn't a whole lot that's family-oriented, like anywhere at all to take kids to play indoors if the weather is bad, unless you go to the university's Rec center.
I made shorter sticks out of a big bamboo pole my mom had and DS1 and I have practiced his stick techniques a few times. We need to pratcice some more and I should call the karate school to ask if we're doing it right and what else he's supposed to know for the belt test he needs to do the week we get back. I think it was mostly review, but we should, well, review it, before we go back. And now I know the stick work, too, and someday whe I am a big advanced belt like him, I will already have done it. Yay me!
DD is thrilled to have a ride-in Playskool car to get into and out of and into and out of. And then drive backwards in a circle and high sppeds until it swerves a bit and she runs into something and then gets frustrated because she's stuck because she can't figure out how to get it to go forward. I took a lovely little movie with my camera which I will post when we're back in California. She's not so thrilled by all the closed doors around here - closed so she doesn't fall down the stairs to the basement, closed so she doesn't all down the stairs to the garage, etc etc. She's very good at knocking and yelling.
Let's see.....
Those are the highlights. The fit-for-public-consumption highlights, at least.
And DH and I are going to go out to an Indian restaurant tonight. At least, I guess I should call to be sure it's open tonight, since it's Monday.
Oops, here comes my dad to tell me DD's awake.
They test the tornado sirens every Wednesday for just a couple of seconds, except the first Weds of the month, when it runs for a couple of minutes. Woooooo the excitement last week!
I have seen a lot of my sister and her family. My mom is still taking care of her kids while she's on maternity leave, so I've seen even more of her kids than I have of her. All the cousins are enjoying each other, mostly, though the honeyoon periodis sort of wearing off. And DS2 seems to be stealing Nephew1's next-door neighbor girlfriend. OK, not really, but he's the same age she is and they're having fun playing together in a 6 1/2 year old way insteasd of a 5 year-old way. Though DS1 and Nephew1 have also played the run-and-hide-from-the-other-kid game, which the neighbor girl discovered isn't as much fun when they're running from you as when you're running from your little sister.
I had dinner last night with a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in ages and ages except once in passing when she was working in a retail store here in town (that has since closed along the vast quantities of dead retail space around where Walmart used to be before it moved just out of town so it wouldn't have to pay city taxes while it ruined the rest of the city's economy). Anyway, she's working as an accountant at the university and taking computer classes and looks good (Hi Liz!). And she had just run into another old friend from high school that neither of us had seen in ages and ages and so she stopped by for a while and we exchanged email addresses (Hi Taff!).
And Peggy's supposed to be calling me... (Hi Peggy!)
It has been a nice visit and I'm starting to get ready to go home. I want to live closer, but I don't think I could actually live here in this town again. Well, I suppose I could because it's a great town, but outside of the university, there aren't so very many jobs around and there isn't a whole lot that's family-oriented, like anywhere at all to take kids to play indoors if the weather is bad, unless you go to the university's Rec center.
I made shorter sticks out of a big bamboo pole my mom had and DS1 and I have practiced his stick techniques a few times. We need to pratcice some more and I should call the karate school to ask if we're doing it right and what else he's supposed to know for the belt test he needs to do the week we get back. I think it was mostly review, but we should, well, review it, before we go back. And now I know the stick work, too, and someday whe I am a big advanced belt like him, I will already have done it. Yay me!
DD is thrilled to have a ride-in Playskool car to get into and out of and into and out of. And then drive backwards in a circle and high sppeds until it swerves a bit and she runs into something and then gets frustrated because she's stuck because she can't figure out how to get it to go forward. I took a lovely little movie with my camera which I will post when we're back in California. She's not so thrilled by all the closed doors around here - closed so she doesn't fall down the stairs to the basement, closed so she doesn't all down the stairs to the garage, etc etc. She's very good at knocking and yelling.
Let's see.....
Those are the highlights. The fit-for-public-consumption highlights, at least.
And DH and I are going to go out to an Indian restaurant tonight. At least, I guess I should call to be sure it's open tonight, since it's Monday.
Oops, here comes my dad to tell me DD's awake.
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