I have stopped and started this post about 17 times, and I am now totally and completely 100% committed to finishing it. My main problem is that when i log onto blogger from our Macbook it shows different editing options so I can't link to anything and the spell check is all screwy. Anyone know what i am talking about and have a solutiono? No? I still like you anyway.
A Few things on my mind (some of these are quite stale, but you will live):
What the hell? Can they just swab Dannilynne's mouth and get this shit over with? And really that Vergie woman who wants to appeal the crying judge's verdict that Anna Nicole Smith should be buried next to her son. Seriously? And who does Larry Birkhead's color? He really should rethink that blond because it was starting to look brassy towards the end of last week's trial. One more thing, I want to start a conspiracy theory that Daniel is the father of that kid, anyone want to help?
The Oscars, old news I know, but someone I know posted this about all the gowns he liked and didn't like, and I am mad. How could one overlook the glamour that was Nicole Kidman? Sure, she forgot to get her hair did, but he dress was fantastic. Jessica Biel, not so much. And poor Abigail Breslein. I know she is like 6 or something, but did we need to dress her like Dakota Fanning? Speaking of Dakota Fanning, have you all seen this? I hate Amy Pohler, but this is f-in hilarious.
I was reading that Indie Mama is doing this whole vegan thing and for that I give her props. I have started to comment twice now, but it keeps going on and on and I thought I would just make it a post on here, but my week has been crazy and I haven't gotten to it. At any rate, due to the fact that I spent 4 years in a valley under a pork processing plant, and I was a dramatic college student opposed to the hog confines of west central Illinois I refuse to eat pork. I will begrudgingly prepare it for Tim every now and again, but I hate it. I eat bacon, but sometimes have to stop because it creeps me out. That is meat issue #1.
#2 is that I read the book Fast Food Nation in the first trimester of my pregnancy with Eleanor and from then on I could barely think about meat let alone prepare or serve it. I used to talk to my friend Charles about how I wanted to become a vegetarian and he was all supportive, but then I gave birth and as soon as that was over I was hoping they would hand me a steak with my new infant. We are hardcore carnivores around here (I think that Tim would die if I told him that we weren't eating meat anymore, it is bad enough that I won't prepare pork), except for Nora, she is not that into it. I think she is going to be my picky kid, which is fine, but I am trying to let her know that there is more out there than Kraft singles and peas, the two foods that she can't seem to get enough of.
Also on the subject of food, we hit a crossroad with milk consumption in my house yesterday. Here is how it breaks down, I drink skim, Abby, Tim and Tony drink 2%, and Eleanor drinks Organic whole. Usually I buy a gallon of skim, a gallon of 2% and a half gallon of whole. Since Tony has stopped coming over and Tim now drinks skim my whole system is fucked. This is not my issue, my issue is the organic milk. I love feeding Nora natural things. I like knowing that she is getting hormone free milk that comes from happy cows that are not all doped up. HOWEVER I do not afford the same luxury for Abby and I never did. I made Tim stop and get milk yesterday because I swear we bathe in it we go through so much, but when he saw that a gallon of Organic whole milk is $6 a pop he about hit the roof, and I had no good argument as to why Nora gets milk from the golden calf and not the rest of the family. He called me from the dairly aisle at Jewel to inquire and I told him to make the call, he of course went with the cheap milk and the funny thing is that she has been drinking it all day and her ears didn't fall off and she didn't sprout hair on her chest so I think she might be ok. My organinc thing is another post entirely.
One last thing, I need both of the people who read this to send happy thoughts to my sweet sister who is not only suffering a massive head trauma, but a visit from my mother as well. Punk Rock Mama was doing her punk rock thing and had a little tumble while snowboarding which led to some double vision, and a vacay to the local hospital where they held her hostage for observation. I will let her tell you all about it, but I think her head is fine, we just need to find a way to get my mom the hell out of ther before blood is drawn. So send some zen her way so that she can recover quickly and peacefully and that she can find the strength to deal with my mom. I don't know what it is about those two when they get together.....
O.k., I think we are caught up for now.
Oh, wait, if you get a second, read this
Monday, February 26, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
What is a girl to do?
I am catching up on some stuff around here while Tim is working late tonight. Along with the 8 loads of laundry, the basement that needs to be cleaned and some other stuff that I was too sick to tend to today (read: the Anna Nicole Trial was on), I had some pictures to upload to Flickr. While sifting through he pictures from the auto show, and random ones from around the house I came across this candid photo I snapped of Tim last weekend:
Seriously?
What is he so miserable about? Maybe he was sad about his tiff with Tony, but they have since kissed and made up. I know he is not sad about the war in Iraq because I am not sure he knows there is one. He hates his job, but he chooses to not find a new one because his dad told him not to. He claims that the nonsense with his parents doesn't bother him, so that might not be it. He may be tired here, but I think that there is an underlying sadness and depression that clouds any tiredness here.
What do I do? Or does he really look just tired?
Down With Disease or How I Developed an Addiction to Court TV
At 3:39am on Wednesday I got sick. I proceeded to throw up every hour for the next 16 hours. It was so much fun, I hope to do it again next week. (Not really) At one point I told Tim to take me to the hospital or have me killed, despite my pleading he did neither.
Apparently I can never get sick again after what happened in my house yesterday.
Tim was rather inconvenienced at 6:45 yesterday morning when I called him from the bathroom floor to go look in on Nora who was making noise. I thought she would go back to sleep, but instead she work up Abby. Tim always tries to reason with them to get them to sleep later, which kind of works on Abby, but not so much on Nora. Knowing that I was truly ill Tim called into work and told them that he would be in "later" and tried to do the morning routine. Making instant oatmeal was "too much" so he passed out breakfast bars. He came in to ask me a million questions- from what to pack Abby for lunch to what Nora should wear to drop Abby off. He finally got her ready and took her to school. Now Nora has been tinkering with her schedule and she no longer naps from 9:30 to whenever, it is more like 10-10:30, but Tim was determined to get her to sleep and despite her protests she finally did fall asleep (at 10:30) and that was when Tim announced that he was off to work.
I could barely pick my head up off the pillow to hang it over the side of the toilet, but he was leaving me with Nora, and was going to "try" to get home to pick Abby up at 1, but "knew" that I could "handle it" if wasn't back in time.
Seriously?
It takes an act of God (or the last 2 hours of an all you can drink at the Abbey Pub) to make me vomit, and the fact that I was doing it without the aid of crappy beer or too much Wild Turkey should have clued my darling husband in that I was probably not up to the challenge of my daily grind. But alas, he is the only one who matters in his world, and he had to get to work. So off he went leaving me to fend for myself.
Thank heavens for my mom living so close. She was able to pick Abby up and tend to the ladies while I slept most of the afternoon. Of course there was a lot of screaming and Nora wasn't getting the best of care, but you get what you pay for, right?
Around dinner time I was feeling better, and rather than deal with dinner I ordered pizza. My mom fed the gang and Tim came home a little early. Poor Nora ended up with food everywhere but Tim decided a bath would be "too much" so he wiped her off and put her to bed. No jammies, no diaper change, no nothing. He couldn't figure out why I was up with her at 8:30pm. Abby was fine, and did her bedtime thing as per usual. Once they were in bed I was feeling a lot better, and I asked Tim if he wanted to watch a movie with me. I got the standard "I have paperwork to do" and thought nothing of it until I heard him playing video games downstairs.
He came to be early because it was" hard" being him and me for the day (ummm, the only thing he really did was get Abby to school and clean up dinner, but he didn't even really do that). I got up to get some water and ended up cleaning up dinner. He had left the pizza in boxes on the stove and Nora's high chair was filthy. He came out to see what I was doing and I totally freaked out on him. Then I threw up and went to bed.
Tonight Tim has to work late because he missed so much work yesterday, so I shouldn't expect him until after 10. Hopefully I will be sleeping by then.
The upside to all this- I have been able to follow the Anna Nicole Smith probate trial in my waking hours. I think I love Court TV.
Apparently I can never get sick again after what happened in my house yesterday.
Tim was rather inconvenienced at 6:45 yesterday morning when I called him from the bathroom floor to go look in on Nora who was making noise. I thought she would go back to sleep, but instead she work up Abby. Tim always tries to reason with them to get them to sleep later, which kind of works on Abby, but not so much on Nora. Knowing that I was truly ill Tim called into work and told them that he would be in "later" and tried to do the morning routine. Making instant oatmeal was "too much" so he passed out breakfast bars. He came in to ask me a million questions- from what to pack Abby for lunch to what Nora should wear to drop Abby off. He finally got her ready and took her to school. Now Nora has been tinkering with her schedule and she no longer naps from 9:30 to whenever, it is more like 10-10:30, but Tim was determined to get her to sleep and despite her protests she finally did fall asleep (at 10:30) and that was when Tim announced that he was off to work.
I could barely pick my head up off the pillow to hang it over the side of the toilet, but he was leaving me with Nora, and was going to "try" to get home to pick Abby up at 1, but "knew" that I could "handle it" if wasn't back in time.
Seriously?
It takes an act of God (or the last 2 hours of an all you can drink at the Abbey Pub) to make me vomit, and the fact that I was doing it without the aid of crappy beer or too much Wild Turkey should have clued my darling husband in that I was probably not up to the challenge of my daily grind. But alas, he is the only one who matters in his world, and he had to get to work. So off he went leaving me to fend for myself.
Thank heavens for my mom living so close. She was able to pick Abby up and tend to the ladies while I slept most of the afternoon. Of course there was a lot of screaming and Nora wasn't getting the best of care, but you get what you pay for, right?
Around dinner time I was feeling better, and rather than deal with dinner I ordered pizza. My mom fed the gang and Tim came home a little early. Poor Nora ended up with food everywhere but Tim decided a bath would be "too much" so he wiped her off and put her to bed. No jammies, no diaper change, no nothing. He couldn't figure out why I was up with her at 8:30pm. Abby was fine, and did her bedtime thing as per usual. Once they were in bed I was feeling a lot better, and I asked Tim if he wanted to watch a movie with me. I got the standard "I have paperwork to do" and thought nothing of it until I heard him playing video games downstairs.
He came to be early because it was" hard" being him and me for the day (ummm, the only thing he really did was get Abby to school and clean up dinner, but he didn't even really do that). I got up to get some water and ended up cleaning up dinner. He had left the pizza in boxes on the stove and Nora's high chair was filthy. He came out to see what I was doing and I totally freaked out on him. Then I threw up and went to bed.
Tonight Tim has to work late because he missed so much work yesterday, so I shouldn't expect him until after 10. Hopefully I will be sleeping by then.
The upside to all this- I have been able to follow the Anna Nicole Smith probate trial in my waking hours. I think I love Court TV.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
2007 Chicago Auto Show Review
When I was a kid my dad would take us to the Chicago Auto Show, and today I carried on that tradition of draging my children through throngs of people to look at shiny new cars. Tim got tickets from his dad, and origionally we had talked about going one evening, but we decided to make it a family affair. I had started to pave the way for Nora and I to stay home earlier this week, but I couldn't do that to Tim. Friday night we went to see a friend's band play and kind of celebrate Tim's birthday. He was hoping Tony would go because he never goes with us to see this band which is somethign that Tim strangely likes to do. When we usually hang out with Tony outside of our basement like this it is around Tony's friends which makes my socially inept husband kind of twitchy. Tony never really committed to it, eventhough Tim thought he had, and Tim got all weird when he decided not to go. Weird like how he gets when we talk about his parents and you can see that it bothers him, but he won't talk about it. Anyway...this kind of put a black cloud over Tim for most of the weekend so I decided not to make it worse by not going to the Auto Show with him. He has this thing about wanting to do stuff "together" which usually means that one of us is doing somethign that the other doesn't really have any interest in. I think it is weird, but he gets all giddy taking me to look at the SRT collection. Whatever makes him smile, I guess.
So we went to the Auto Show and met Tim's cousin and his wife and 3 kids there. It was crowded. There were cars there. There were a lot of people pushing strollers, I was one of them. There were lots of people taking pictures, I tried to be one of them but there were too many people there. It was hot.
That is my review of the 2007 Chicago Auto Show.
The Auto Show also brought back a ton of memories. When I was a kid my dad would take us and juggle coats, adn make us hold hands and get frustrated by the crowds the same way I did today. As with most of my childhood memories that come flooding back by parenting triggers I feel like I owe my dad an apology. I feel bad that I told him the concept cars were boring. I feel bad that I always had to go to the bathroom, even if it was just to wash my hands. Abby was pretty good. The cousins helped her keep up, and there were only 2 instances of tears which I think are attributed to a night at Grandma's and waking up at 5:45 this mornign. Nora hung out in her stroller and charmed everyone. They all seem to love it. I think I just hate the Auto Show.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Reason #869
This is reason #869 why I am ineligible for that highly coveted Mother of the Year trophy:
Abby got up this morning and told me her tummy hurt. At this I broke a promise I made to myself when I was in 3rd grade that I would never tell a child who told me that their tummy hurt to "go to the bathroom, you will feel better". She drank half a sippy of milk and we did our morning thing. She was a little pokey, but that is fairly normal. She kept telling me she wasn't hungry, but I made her eat 3 bites of Kix anyway and we got all set to sled to school. So I get my boots on, put the baby in the snuggli, get Abby in her snow suit, boots hat, mittens, etc. and we start to head out. We are in the doorway to our garage and she starts to cough a little bit. That was when I knew what was coming. I told her to lean forward and out came her cough complete with whatever phlegmy goodness was in her tummy. I tried to get her to go back inside and stay home from school, but she was adamant about not missing her Valentine's Day party. I kind of blew it off because when Nora was puking her guts out the doc told me it was part of the RSV- all that junk in their nose drains to their tummy and it makes kids sick. So I pull her to school in the sled, which she thought was fabulous, and I dropped her off. I told the teacher that she was a bit off, and to call me if it got worse.
Yes, I am the mom who drops her kid off even though she is illin.
In my defense, she really didn't want to miss her party at school, and I couldn't bear the thought of her being sad (or listening to her talk about the Strawberry Shortcake Valentines she was going to hand out). Anyway...Nora and I come home, we do some stuff, I put her down for a nap. Not 20 minutes into her nap do I get a phone call from Miss Carolyn, could I come get Abby she wants to go home. Shit.
I wasn't upset that she wanted to come home, I was just at a loss as to what to do with Nora. So I did what any mother would do, I left her sleeping and walked the 1/2 a block to grab Abby. She didn't even know I was gone, and proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. Please don't call the authorities.
Abby is feeling better, but still hasn't eaten all day.
Will this plague on my house ever leave?
Abby got up this morning and told me her tummy hurt. At this I broke a promise I made to myself when I was in 3rd grade that I would never tell a child who told me that their tummy hurt to "go to the bathroom, you will feel better". She drank half a sippy of milk and we did our morning thing. She was a little pokey, but that is fairly normal. She kept telling me she wasn't hungry, but I made her eat 3 bites of Kix anyway and we got all set to sled to school. So I get my boots on, put the baby in the snuggli, get Abby in her snow suit, boots hat, mittens, etc. and we start to head out. We are in the doorway to our garage and she starts to cough a little bit. That was when I knew what was coming. I told her to lean forward and out came her cough complete with whatever phlegmy goodness was in her tummy. I tried to get her to go back inside and stay home from school, but she was adamant about not missing her Valentine's Day party. I kind of blew it off because when Nora was puking her guts out the doc told me it was part of the RSV- all that junk in their nose drains to their tummy and it makes kids sick. So I pull her to school in the sled, which she thought was fabulous, and I dropped her off. I told the teacher that she was a bit off, and to call me if it got worse.
Yes, I am the mom who drops her kid off even though she is illin.
In my defense, she really didn't want to miss her party at school, and I couldn't bear the thought of her being sad (or listening to her talk about the Strawberry Shortcake Valentines she was going to hand out). Anyway...Nora and I come home, we do some stuff, I put her down for a nap. Not 20 minutes into her nap do I get a phone call from Miss Carolyn, could I come get Abby she wants to go home. Shit.
I wasn't upset that she wanted to come home, I was just at a loss as to what to do with Nora. So I did what any mother would do, I left her sleeping and walked the 1/2 a block to grab Abby. She didn't even know I was gone, and proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. Please don't call the authorities.
Abby is feeling better, but still hasn't eaten all day.
Will this plague on my house ever leave?
Trooping the Storm
This is the Storm Trooper cake Abby and I made for Tim's birthday. He is kind of boring when it comes to cake, he doesn't like chocolate and he prefers not to have layer cake, so this was it.
He didn't get it at first, but then it hit him. Hey, I tried, right.
His birthday was...well, it just kind of was. There was a huge snowstorm all day, but he got to leave work early. Tony and Tim2 were supposed to come over but the roads were too bad to pick up/drop off Tim2 and Tony didn't want to drive either so we had a quiet night.
He did presents and cake before the girls went to bed and his mom (who had been there to baby-sit and was planning to NEVER leave) left. Tim is weird about gifts. He was into it being his birthday, but I couldn't tell what he was looking for. Abby had picked out some clothes for him, so between that, an awesome dinner, and a storm trooper cake I was thinking he would think it was a good birthday, but all he wanted to do was complain about having to snow blow the driveway (I did the sidewalks). When he opened his gifts he referred to the sweater we got him as "poo brown" and he didn't even take anything out of the other box to see what else there was.
So why do I bother?
Well, I guess it is because I am hoping to set a good example for my kids. I want them to know that there is at least one day a year that is all about them so that the other 364 that aren't about them are a little easier to deal with.
One day I will get Tim's birthday right and I won't spend Valentine's Day irritated that I worked my ass off for him to prance around and tell me that he would have rather had this or rather done that. Which leads us down this ugly road about V-Day.
I don't care.
Really, I don't, but because I am usually cranky the day after his birthday because I have done everything short of standing on my head for him to turn his nose up at, he thinks I am mad because he didn't stop at Jewel and buy me the last mixed bouquet they have.
Oy.
He didn't get it at first, but then it hit him. Hey, I tried, right.
His birthday was...well, it just kind of was. There was a huge snowstorm all day, but he got to leave work early. Tony and Tim2 were supposed to come over but the roads were too bad to pick up/drop off Tim2 and Tony didn't want to drive either so we had a quiet night.
He did presents and cake before the girls went to bed and his mom (who had been there to baby-sit and was planning to NEVER leave) left. Tim is weird about gifts. He was into it being his birthday, but I couldn't tell what he was looking for. Abby had picked out some clothes for him, so between that, an awesome dinner, and a storm trooper cake I was thinking he would think it was a good birthday, but all he wanted to do was complain about having to snow blow the driveway (I did the sidewalks). When he opened his gifts he referred to the sweater we got him as "poo brown" and he didn't even take anything out of the other box to see what else there was.
So why do I bother?
Well, I guess it is because I am hoping to set a good example for my kids. I want them to know that there is at least one day a year that is all about them so that the other 364 that aren't about them are a little easier to deal with.
One day I will get Tim's birthday right and I won't spend Valentine's Day irritated that I worked my ass off for him to prance around and tell me that he would have rather had this or rather done that. Which leads us down this ugly road about V-Day.
I don't care.
Really, I don't, but because I am usually cranky the day after his birthday because I have done everything short of standing on my head for him to turn his nose up at, he thinks I am mad because he didn't stop at Jewel and buy me the last mixed bouquet they have.
Oy.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Winter Weather Warning
There is a blizzard outside.
We have gotten some pretty substantial snow so far today and it doesn’t look like it is going to let up anytime soon. Today is one of those rare occasions that I would totally be ok with staying inside in our jammies all day. Alas, I have to go teach Mad Science this afternoon because everyone who lives in the Buffalo Grove district drives fucking Hummers and can plow through the snow at 50 miles per hour. Marc at Mad Science told me that my class is the only one running this afternoon. Figures.
Along with the snow has come Tim's 31st birthday. He keeps saying that it is just another day, but I know that he loves when I make a fuss about it. I am trying to figure out how to ice his cake to make it look like a storm trooper. Any suggestions?
We have gotten some pretty substantial snow so far today and it doesn’t look like it is going to let up anytime soon. Today is one of those rare occasions that I would totally be ok with staying inside in our jammies all day. Alas, I have to go teach Mad Science this afternoon because everyone who lives in the Buffalo Grove district drives fucking Hummers and can plow through the snow at 50 miles per hour. Marc at Mad Science told me that my class is the only one running this afternoon. Figures.
Along with the snow has come Tim's 31st birthday. He keeps saying that it is just another day, but I know that he loves when I make a fuss about it. I am trying to figure out how to ice his cake to make it look like a storm trooper. Any suggestions?
Monday, February 12, 2007
Scheduling Conflict
The plague that has been on my house for the past two weeks is finally leaving. Miss Nora is feeling much better, and despite her reaction to her antibiotic (I don't like being that mother who discusses her child's poo, all you need to know is that there was a lot of it), she has her sparkle back.
I have been waiting for someone else in my house to get sick, but knock on wood it hasn’t happened yet so all we have left of this is the new routine Nora has established for herself. This included several parades through the house after bedtime in the arms of whoever lost the round of rock, paper, scissors (this is how Tim and I do most of our parenting as well as make decisions). She has all kinds of new tricks.
Here is what she can do:
Walk, wave, clap and say "Yay" with the same inflection I say it to her, blow kisses, say dada to Tim, say Mama.
She has also figured out that Abby gets things that she may want, but doesn’t yet understand that she can't have them, such as a slushie from Target.
She can also manipulate Tim into scolding Abby whenever she is within 6 inches of her dance space (the ultimate little sister move)
Here is what she can't do:
Diagram a sentence, blow her nose, play soccer, or be not touching me when I am in her line of vision, go to bed and stay sleeping without waking up first around 9ish and expecting a parade around the house some milk/juice/water and a snuggle, then on and off until about 12:30 am when she finally falls asleep until 6:30 when Abby wakes up to tell me that she will be getting up at 7 so she can watch Little Einstein’s which wakes Nora up also. But Nora doesn't get that she can't leave her room until 7:00
All I want in life is for my kids to willingly sleep until 7:30. Is that so much to ask?
I have been waiting for someone else in my house to get sick, but knock on wood it hasn’t happened yet so all we have left of this is the new routine Nora has established for herself. This included several parades through the house after bedtime in the arms of whoever lost the round of rock, paper, scissors (this is how Tim and I do most of our parenting as well as make decisions). She has all kinds of new tricks.
Here is what she can do:
Walk, wave, clap and say "Yay" with the same inflection I say it to her, blow kisses, say dada to Tim, say Mama.
She has also figured out that Abby gets things that she may want, but doesn’t yet understand that she can't have them, such as a slushie from Target.
She can also manipulate Tim into scolding Abby whenever she is within 6 inches of her dance space (the ultimate little sister move)
Here is what she can't do:
Diagram a sentence, blow her nose, play soccer, or be not touching me when I am in her line of vision, go to bed and stay sleeping without waking up first around 9ish and expecting a parade around the house some milk/juice/water and a snuggle, then on and off until about 12:30 am when she finally falls asleep until 6:30 when Abby wakes up to tell me that she will be getting up at 7 so she can watch Little Einstein’s which wakes Nora up also. But Nora doesn't get that she can't leave her room until 7:00
All I want in life is for my kids to willingly sleep until 7:30. Is that so much to ask?
Friday, February 09, 2007
Attack of the Alpha Mom
After our run in with the mean girls at preschool on Wednesday, I was trying to get Abby to school before I had to run into any of the other moms this morning. Of course as I was walking throught he parking lot Annie's mom (the one who took them all home the other day) pulled in and I knew I was caught. Usually Annie's mom goes and drops her younger daughter off first so I thought I had a few minutes to get in and out, but alas, she changed things up, specifically to corner me and explain that she was just taking Kate and Jackie home so that Annie would "stay out of her hair" while she gestated.
I took my sister's advice and told her that it was fine, I just didn't want Abby to notice that they were all getting together and not including her. She tried to tell me that wasn't the case, but I (kindly) explained that it was the case. They were all getting together, and Abby had not been invited, it is that simple. While I am used to being let out of Alpha Mom gatherings, and I am more than ok with it, I don't want to have to explain it to my kid.
I really don't think she cares about leaving my kid out of the clique she is trying to create, I think she just doesn't want me trashing her to any of my other mom friends. That is why she has tried to make such a production out of this, she is very protective of her Alpha Mom status.
Whatever.
I took my sister's advice and told her that it was fine, I just didn't want Abby to notice that they were all getting together and not including her. She tried to tell me that wasn't the case, but I (kindly) explained that it was the case. They were all getting together, and Abby had not been invited, it is that simple. While I am used to being let out of Alpha Mom gatherings, and I am more than ok with it, I don't want to have to explain it to my kid.
I really don't think she cares about leaving my kid out of the clique she is trying to create, I think she just doesn't want me trashing her to any of my other mom friends. That is why she has tried to make such a production out of this, she is very protective of her Alpha Mom status.
Whatever.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Again, am I mad?
Have I told you about the trend at Abby's preschool to have these ridiculous play dates with all the girls in the class? It ends up being 5 girls since Audrey never comes to them, and we now have "New" Kate who come over and trash your house then go home. I was the hostess of the last one, and we all kind of rotate and have these about every other week.
Now I am kind of odd man out among the moms. Jackie's mom and I get along, but I think that when given the choice she would rather hang with Annie's mom. I don't really know either of the Kate's' moms really well, but they live in "Scarsdale" which is where Annie lives so they are all friends.
Anyway, today I go to pick up Abby and I run into Annie's mom. We chatted, I asked her how #4 is cooking, she asked how Nora was feeling, blah, blah, blah. The doors open and kids start coming out. I got Abby suited up to walk home, and while i am telling her to put on her boots for the 11th time I notice that Annie's mom is getting all the other girls ready to go home. Once Abby was ready we started to walk out and Jackie says, "Hey Abby, aren't you coming to Annie's house with us?". At that Annie's mom refuses eye contact with me and tells Jackie that she is just taking everyone home. Jackie would not let it go and told her that her mom said that all the girls were going to Annie's house to play. Abby asked if she could go too, but I just rushed her out of there with no explanation.
What the hell?
Were we seriously excluded from a play date?
While we were walking home I tried to justify it- Nora has been sick, I work on Wednesdays, but those are lame. Nora is the one who is sick, not Abby, and Jackie lives 2 blocks from us and I am sure that her mom would drive Abby home. The worst part was having to explain it to Abby. I don't want to tell her it was because they were having an "alone" play date because it wasn't that. It was everyone except her. I don't want to tell her it was because I had to work because that is a reason for a lot of other things she doesn't get to do thus she resents it already. All I could do was tell her that it was what the other mommies decided and that they didn't ask me. then I gave her chocolate covered rice krispie treats as a snack. Now we are going to play every game she feels like and tear apart he basement that I worked really hard to clean while she was at school.
What the hell?
When did preschool become high school?
Now I am kind of odd man out among the moms. Jackie's mom and I get along, but I think that when given the choice she would rather hang with Annie's mom. I don't really know either of the Kate's' moms really well, but they live in "Scarsdale" which is where Annie lives so they are all friends.
Anyway, today I go to pick up Abby and I run into Annie's mom. We chatted, I asked her how #4 is cooking, she asked how Nora was feeling, blah, blah, blah. The doors open and kids start coming out. I got Abby suited up to walk home, and while i am telling her to put on her boots for the 11th time I notice that Annie's mom is getting all the other girls ready to go home. Once Abby was ready we started to walk out and Jackie says, "Hey Abby, aren't you coming to Annie's house with us?". At that Annie's mom refuses eye contact with me and tells Jackie that she is just taking everyone home. Jackie would not let it go and told her that her mom said that all the girls were going to Annie's house to play. Abby asked if she could go too, but I just rushed her out of there with no explanation.
What the hell?
Were we seriously excluded from a play date?
While we were walking home I tried to justify it- Nora has been sick, I work on Wednesdays, but those are lame. Nora is the one who is sick, not Abby, and Jackie lives 2 blocks from us and I am sure that her mom would drive Abby home. The worst part was having to explain it to Abby. I don't want to tell her it was because they were having an "alone" play date because it wasn't that. It was everyone except her. I don't want to tell her it was because I had to work because that is a reason for a lot of other things she doesn't get to do thus she resents it already. All I could do was tell her that it was what the other mommies decided and that they didn't ask me. then I gave her chocolate covered rice krispie treats as a snack. Now we are going to play every game she feels like and tear apart he basement that I worked really hard to clean while she was at school.
What the hell?
When did preschool become high school?
Monday, February 05, 2007
Can I get some help over here?
I am just now finishig my thank you notes from Christmas. I then have to start on the ones for Nora's birthday.
At the rate I am going they will be in the mail by Easter.
(Don't worry, Dad, I sent one to the Aunt in Milwaukee who already nagged about it)
Here is what I need help with....where is my camera? I took it sledding when Abby and I went the other day and I haven't seen it since. I know it made it home because I showed my mom the pictures of Abby sledding by herself (am I a bad mom or a good mom for pushing my kid down a hill all alone?). Where is it?
Also, what should I get Tim for his birthday? I was going to get him a Bears jersey, but I think he is mad at them for losing the Super Bowl. And I also think his dad should get him that, btu I don't think his dad even is aware that it is his birthday.
Any suggestions? I totally blew off our anniversary so I have to make it somethign good.
Help.
Ok, I am done whining.
At the rate I am going they will be in the mail by Easter.
(Don't worry, Dad, I sent one to the Aunt in Milwaukee who already nagged about it)
Here is what I need help with....where is my camera? I took it sledding when Abby and I went the other day and I haven't seen it since. I know it made it home because I showed my mom the pictures of Abby sledding by herself (am I a bad mom or a good mom for pushing my kid down a hill all alone?). Where is it?
Also, what should I get Tim for his birthday? I was going to get him a Bears jersey, but I think he is mad at them for losing the Super Bowl. And I also think his dad should get him that, btu I don't think his dad even is aware that it is his birthday.
Any suggestions? I totally blew off our anniversary so I have to make it somethign good.
Help.
Ok, I am done whining.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Keeping Up with The Joneses
Not to be out done by Clementine's recent trip to the Emergency room, Nora decided it was her turn to see what goes on in the hospital.
When I left you last she had a raging ear infection and was to be comforted by her cool mist humidifier and antibiotics. When I took Abby to preschool the next morning one of the moms (who is a nurse) commented on how ill Miss Nora seemed and how fast she was breathing. I gave her a rundown of the doctor's diagnosis and she told me that I should be counting how many breaths per minute she was having and suggested that she might be a bit dehydrated. Most advice like that I kind of blow off, but Nora was breathing like a worn out porn star and it did kind of worry me that she hadn't peed at all that day so I called the doctor's office. Nothing is scarier than when the nurse tells you that you need to come in "immediately" and that if her condition changes to reroute to the emergency room.
So off we went to see the doctor (who should seriously be on some best dressed list somewhere) who had me give her this breathing treatment which was awful for both of us and did little to improve her status. He gave us a deadline of 4 pm for her to pee, and if she didn't we had to pack it up and head to the emergency room. 4 came and went with no pee so I dropped Abby off with my mom and off we went.
After some parking issues, we got checked in and waited. They asked me about her symptoms and they must have thought I was lying to them. Fever, check. Vomiting? Diarrhea? Over here! Cough, runny nose or trouble breathing? Obviously. Skin irritation? You should see her poor tush. The peeps in the ER confirmed what we thought, she has RSV and was severely dehydrated.I had to hold her down while they stuck her in both arms to get an iv going. She was a trooper, and started to perk up a bit, but not enough. Some snake oil salesman doctor ordered a chest x-ray (again, not to be outdone by C-Dog's broken arm) which showed that she had a bit of Pneumonia and needed to spend the night and get IV antibiotics.
Since her condition is fairly contagious she was put in a quarantined room and all the nurses who came near her were decked out in what looked like Haz-mat suits. It was late when we got up there and they had to do some stuff, like suction out her nose, take her temp etc. (note that turning on the cool mist humidifier which is supposed to heal all that ails small children was not something that they did because there wasn't one in there. Why do I have to have one running at all times but the hospital doesn't?) By midnight we were finally settled and tucked in, she fell asleep, and so did I only to be woken up at 1:30 am by a nurse with a flashlight. What the fuck. It was like we were at a Rave. Her stats were fine, nothing was out of the ordinary but she was breathing fast so the nurse decided to suction her. Not fun. And really, lose that flashlight you are fumbling with and shining in my eyes and my kid's. If you are going to shoot stuff up her nose then suck it out just turn on the damn lights. Don't pull this crap that "it will wake her" because the stuff you are doing to her little nose is going to wake her up more. Common sense was apparently evading this woman, (aside on this nurse- she wore hearing aids, but took them out to listen to her breath sounds. Does that make ANY sense?)
So we go back to sleep only to have the flashlight come at us again at 3 to take her temp. I asked the nurse to leave her since she didn't feel warm, but alas we had to unwrap the sick, sleeping baby and stick the thermometer under her arm to prove that I was right. And thank God she had that flashlight, I don't think Nora had been traumatized enough at this point.
We made it though to 7am with little interruption after that, which was good. Nora sucked down some formula and seemed to be ok until I left her in the Romanian Orphanage crib to go pee. I was gone for a total of maybe 45 seconds and was washing my hands when I heard her gagging. Of course she threw up her bottle, and it was all over precious blankie. I think we were more upset that we could not clutch blankie anymore than we were about the vomit.
So Nora and I cuddled all morning. She ate a little (with no vomit-hooray!) and we just killed time until they told us we could go home. Since she was quarantined we couldn't leave the room and the poor kid was stuck walking in circles, tangling up her IV.
While she is not 100% better, she definitely has some of her sparkle back. I gave her a bath tonight which had to have felt amazing for her. She is sleeping soundly with high doses of antibiotics and Tylenol coursing through her veins and the cool mist humidifier humming away.
Tim has calmed down some. His mom sent up the bat signal or something so all night long I have been fielding calls from his thousands of aunts and uncles checking on our girl. I think I hurt my dad's feelings because I didn't call him sooner, but I didn't want to freak him out in the middle of the night or at work today.
Bottom line is that she is on the mend and we are home now. Tim has scaled back his drama. Abby has school tomorrow and I have laundry to do and a house to clean. My little babe will be ok, and I will post a picture or two that I took with my camera phone when I can.
And just like when we won the baby legs from Mamac-ta all I have to say is- Suck it Clementine! Your broken arm and pink eye have noting on our chest x-ray and overnight in the hospital!
(Just kidding sweetie! You know I adore you and don't want anything bad to ever happen to you or my babies. Now don't share your toys during cold an flu season, make sure your mommy and daddy have the cool mist humidifier going at all times, wash your hands before and after you do ANYTHING, and go to sleep!)
When I left you last she had a raging ear infection and was to be comforted by her cool mist humidifier and antibiotics. When I took Abby to preschool the next morning one of the moms (who is a nurse) commented on how ill Miss Nora seemed and how fast she was breathing. I gave her a rundown of the doctor's diagnosis and she told me that I should be counting how many breaths per minute she was having and suggested that she might be a bit dehydrated. Most advice like that I kind of blow off, but Nora was breathing like a worn out porn star and it did kind of worry me that she hadn't peed at all that day so I called the doctor's office. Nothing is scarier than when the nurse tells you that you need to come in "immediately" and that if her condition changes to reroute to the emergency room.
So off we went to see the doctor (who should seriously be on some best dressed list somewhere) who had me give her this breathing treatment which was awful for both of us and did little to improve her status. He gave us a deadline of 4 pm for her to pee, and if she didn't we had to pack it up and head to the emergency room. 4 came and went with no pee so I dropped Abby off with my mom and off we went.
After some parking issues, we got checked in and waited. They asked me about her symptoms and they must have thought I was lying to them. Fever, check. Vomiting? Diarrhea? Over here! Cough, runny nose or trouble breathing? Obviously. Skin irritation? You should see her poor tush. The peeps in the ER confirmed what we thought, she has RSV and was severely dehydrated.I had to hold her down while they stuck her in both arms to get an iv going. She was a trooper, and started to perk up a bit, but not enough. Some snake oil salesman doctor ordered a chest x-ray (again, not to be outdone by C-Dog's broken arm) which showed that she had a bit of Pneumonia and needed to spend the night and get IV antibiotics.
Since her condition is fairly contagious she was put in a quarantined room and all the nurses who came near her were decked out in what looked like Haz-mat suits. It was late when we got up there and they had to do some stuff, like suction out her nose, take her temp etc. (note that turning on the cool mist humidifier which is supposed to heal all that ails small children was not something that they did because there wasn't one in there. Why do I have to have one running at all times but the hospital doesn't?) By midnight we were finally settled and tucked in, she fell asleep, and so did I only to be woken up at 1:30 am by a nurse with a flashlight. What the fuck. It was like we were at a Rave. Her stats were fine, nothing was out of the ordinary but she was breathing fast so the nurse decided to suction her. Not fun. And really, lose that flashlight you are fumbling with and shining in my eyes and my kid's. If you are going to shoot stuff up her nose then suck it out just turn on the damn lights. Don't pull this crap that "it will wake her" because the stuff you are doing to her little nose is going to wake her up more. Common sense was apparently evading this woman, (aside on this nurse- she wore hearing aids, but took them out to listen to her breath sounds. Does that make ANY sense?)
So we go back to sleep only to have the flashlight come at us again at 3 to take her temp. I asked the nurse to leave her since she didn't feel warm, but alas we had to unwrap the sick, sleeping baby and stick the thermometer under her arm to prove that I was right. And thank God she had that flashlight, I don't think Nora had been traumatized enough at this point.
We made it though to 7am with little interruption after that, which was good. Nora sucked down some formula and seemed to be ok until I left her in the Romanian Orphanage crib to go pee. I was gone for a total of maybe 45 seconds and was washing my hands when I heard her gagging. Of course she threw up her bottle, and it was all over precious blankie. I think we were more upset that we could not clutch blankie anymore than we were about the vomit.
So Nora and I cuddled all morning. She ate a little (with no vomit-hooray!) and we just killed time until they told us we could go home. Since she was quarantined we couldn't leave the room and the poor kid was stuck walking in circles, tangling up her IV.
While she is not 100% better, she definitely has some of her sparkle back. I gave her a bath tonight which had to have felt amazing for her. She is sleeping soundly with high doses of antibiotics and Tylenol coursing through her veins and the cool mist humidifier humming away.
Tim has calmed down some. His mom sent up the bat signal or something so all night long I have been fielding calls from his thousands of aunts and uncles checking on our girl. I think I hurt my dad's feelings because I didn't call him sooner, but I didn't want to freak him out in the middle of the night or at work today.
Bottom line is that she is on the mend and we are home now. Tim has scaled back his drama. Abby has school tomorrow and I have laundry to do and a house to clean. My little babe will be ok, and I will post a picture or two that I took with my camera phone when I can.
And just like when we won the baby legs from Mamac-ta all I have to say is- Suck it Clementine! Your broken arm and pink eye have noting on our chest x-ray and overnight in the hospital!
(Just kidding sweetie! You know I adore you and don't want anything bad to ever happen to you or my babies. Now don't share your toys during cold an flu season, make sure your mommy and daddy have the cool mist humidifier going at all times, wash your hands before and after you do ANYTHING, and go to sleep!)
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