I'm Glad THAT'S Over

We just got back from "vacation." Wait. I think I started in the middle of the story. Or the end...

A couple of months ago... No wait. Let me go back farther.

A couple of years ago, when I was pregnant with Lulu and still working in Big Bank Land, Husbandguy and Pete met DH's parents and his gMa at the beach for a few days after Christmas and had a wonderful time playing in the sand and swimming in the pool and going out to eat and just doing beachy things in the middle of winter. So a couple of months ago, when my in-laws invited us to meet them at the beach again this year, we were all, "You bet! Sounds fun!" and we made plans to go up after Christmas morning at home and have Christmas dinner with them.

So the day before Christmas (some might say Christmas Eve), Lulu was all wheezing and sounding like she couldn't breathe and stuff so I took her to the doctor who gave us a nebulizer (should that be capitalized?) and some steroids and said that she could still go to the beach as long as she was feeling well, and since she seemed okay during all the Santa stuff in the morning, we packed the breathing machine and the baby and her sister in the car and headed out for our long-awaited vacation. And when we got there, we looked at our view of the beach from our balcony 21 stories up and greeted Nana and PopPop and sat down to Christmas ham (which was a little dry) and mac & cheese out of a bucket and frozen peas - not gourmet but acceptable. And about 20 minutes into dinner... Lulu threw up! And she continued to throw up constantly for the next 14 hours! And at least once a day for the next 4 days... And she had a fever and stuff so we called the nurse. From the beach. Which isn't easy. The nurse said to treat her fever (with suppositories! poor kid! she covered her little bottom when DH and I were talking about it before we even did it - the things she understands!) and not let her eat anything except Pedialite until she'd been throw up free for 8 hours (!!). It's phlegm now, we think, and she's going to the doctor tomorrow. But it kind of spoiled the vacation a little because we couldn't go to the pool or out to eat in case she threw up. And also she was miserable and didn't seem to be having fun, even when she wasn't throwing up. Except for a couple of times. She enjoyed the beach some...

Also, DH and I got a card from his parents that said, "We didn't get you a present." Okay, I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist. DH thinks that it means that our present is on the way, but that's not what the card said...

You know, it's always nice to get home from vacation, even when you had a good time. This time, though, it was extra nice. Lulu seemed relieved and slept all night in her own bed without fussing once. Me too!

Pete Says:

Sunday night, Pete couldn't sleep so Pete's dad rubbed her back for a little while. While Pete's dad was rubbing Pete's back, Pete asked, "Daddy? Is Rudolph real?"

Does that count as "visions of sugar plums"?

You Won't Believe This

It's 7:10 AM on Christmas Day, and my whole family except for me is still sleeping! Husbandguy I get. He'd sleep until noon if we'd let him. And Lulu doesn't really understand the whole Santa-came-last-night thing. But Pete? Still sleeping? She's not quite six and has been bouncing off the walls, warbling carols, tracking Santa on NORAD, watching "The Grinch," and just generally being, you know, little and ChristmasCool. BUT SHE'S STILL SLEEPING. I've gone into her room several times and made a little noise. No movement. I dunno. I wish she'd get up! IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, for Pete's sake! If Lulu wakes up, I'm going to go get her and have her help me wake up everybody (ehbahdee) else. Come on, Lulu. Wake up...

Cleaning Really Is Hazardous to Your Health

Well, it is hazardous to my health. This is bad. Don't scold me. I know it's bad.

On Thursday, I apparently cleaned the living room and put my stuff away that I use when I take my every-other-day shot, my calendar and the cool machine that does the shotting for me, instead of leaving it in the living room where I spend my evenings. Because of that, because of cleaning, I missed my shot on Friday. I went from Wednesday to Sunday. Totally spaced it. For three days (I don't count Thursday because that was supposed to be a day off). All because I cleaned.

Guess that won't happen again!

Peeves

I confess, I like to complain. I have a lot, A LOT, of pet peeves. I won't go into detail about them all today (you may get that another day), but I would like to address one of them right now, and it's not "heighTH."

Lulu is napping after her festive last school day, and I was cleaning out her bag, which is extra full today what with the toddler-made ornaments and, here comes the pet peeve, the goodie bags! Huh?! For children under two?! Really?! Chocolate candy bars? Giant candy canes? Really?!! I get that you want to share your... holiday spirit (?) with your child's classmates. I get it. So give them a coloring book from the dollar store or a very special little (age-appropriate) toy or something other than candy. Anything but candy! I appreciate the thought. I'd appreciate it more if the person the bags are from had actually thought about what they were giving my kid. My very small kid who doesn't eat chocolate because she's very small and doesn't need it. I haven't thoroughly searched the bags yet, but I bet at least one has peanut butter in it.

On the bright side, Lulu is too little to care if I and her dad and her sister eat all her candy bars. We'll share the candy canes with her and she can have the Santa cup, which she'll love and which would have been enough for my toddler by itself. Pete will be pleased. And also, one of the candy bars is that new 3 Musketeers Mint bar, which I've been wanting to try.

Heavy Sigh (and a Big Grin)

Today is Pete's last day of school until 2008. She is looking forward to spending more time with Husbandguy, who is having his last day of work until 2008 today. And Lulu is also out of school after today until 2008. My family is looking forward to next week. And here's the Heavy Sigh part: This morning is my last quiet morning until 2008. I like having time to myself.

And here's the Big Grin: My family will be around all next week and I won't be by myself most of the time. Wait, you say. That's the same thing as the Heavy Sigh just said different. I know! It's cool isn't it?

But check with me a week from tomorrow...

Also, if I'm absent from TIBM next week, just know that I'll be back in 2008 too. I'll post if I can, but don't count on me. Happy Holidays!

A New Rule in the MN House

You know how sometimes things happen to you in slow motion? Like car crashes or dropping expensive breakables or something like that that you just can't stop? That happened to me yesterday. And it was terrible because it was my girls in slow motion and there was nothing I could do.

Pete was helping me put icing on the cinnamon rolls we were having with our dinner, and she was standing on the step stool. Lulu climbed up behind her on the stool, like she always does, and for some reason Pete put her hands behind her and Lulu grabbed them and then they both fell (in slow motion) backwards. Pete fell on Lulu! Of course there was a jumble of girls in a pile on the floor. Since Pete was on top, I helped her up first and she said she wasn't hurt and I hugged her quickly and she calmed down a little (I think that took longer to write than to happen) so I picked Lulu up and there was all this blood coming from her mouth! And I said something smart like, "Oh no!" or "Oh dear!" or "Oh boy!" Then Pete wasn't okay anymore. But I couldn't stop helping Lulu. I needed to be two people at that moment. So I said very clearly to Pete, "She'll be fine. She's fine. It's okay," and I ran to the bathroom where I could make sure that was true. Which it was. You know, right? Mouth wounds bleed way more than most other wounds. I'm glad I know that. Otherwise I might have panicked. I did worry. Because that's what I do, but I decided to wait to see if it would stop bleeding, and if it didn't I'd call the nurse. That gave me a chance to find Pete, who was exactly where we'd left her (but not wailing anymore), and explain why there was so much blood and comfort her because it sucks when you fall on someone littler than you and there's nothing you can do to stop it (I know). It made her feel better to help me come up with this new rule (that should probably have been a rule to begin with but wasn't): Only one person on the step stool at a time. It'll be hard to enforce, but we'll manage because it's worth it.

Pete

You know what's a little unexpected and kind of freaky but in a cool and amazing way? When you're driving in the car with Pete and she says, "Conway," or "Game Stop," instead of, "Mom? What does that say?" And also it's the same thing when you're in another room and come into the living room to find Pete reading a book to her sister. Really reading the words. Not just remembering what each page says from the last time she heard it. And when Lulu says, "Mo plees," Pete says, "Go get another book," and she means it.

-------------------------
So you know, Pete gave her approval to the Frog and Fox story I posted yesterday. She said she might like it better when I write them down and read them to her instead of when I make them up on the spot. "Because then you can remember them."

Breakfast Table Conversation

L: Buhbuhbut!
P: You better not be saying 'bubblebutt!'
L: Buhbuhbut! tee hee hee
P: Ha Ha Ha! Stop saying 'bubblebutt!'
L: Puhpuhbut! tee hee hee
P: Did you just say 'poopoobutt'?
MN: No. She said 'bubblebutt.' Right Lulu?
L: Poopoobut! HAHAHAHA
P: Gigglegiggle! Stop saying 'poopoobutt!'
MN: You stop saying it and then she will. Lulu, say 'bubblebutt' instead.
L: Poopoobut! HAHAHAHAHA
P: HAHAHAHA
MN: Say 'bubblebutt!"
L: POOPOOBUT! HAHAHAHAHAHA
P: HAHAHAHAHA!

You get the picture. Wanna have breakfast with us?

Pete Says:

On Saturday, Pete and Pete's mom went to see the Nutcracker for the second time this season (read more about this in Pete's mom's other post). During intermission, Pete and Pete's mom talked a little about the differences between this performance, in a real theater, and the other one, which was in a high school auditorium. Pete's mom thought that this stage, the set and lighting and everything, was better. And Pete agreed. Like this, "Yeah. Except for the big hole in the middle of the stage." Pete's mom hadn't noticed a hole so she asked Pete what she was talking about and Pete said, "Where the orchestra is!"

Comparison

This past Saturday, Pete and I went to see The Nutcracker downtown. It was the second time this year that we've seen it. Remember? I told you about the last time. I love going to the theater with Pete. She's the best! It was rainy and cold, and all the way from the parking deck to the theater (4 blocks?), she talked about how she wished there was a taxi we could take, but she was a trooper and we made it. When we got there the Sugar Plum Fairy was set up taking pictures with people for $15. I totally would have paid that (exorbitant) price to let Pete have her picture taken with the Very Pretty Fairy, but she didn't ask. But she told Husbandguy later that she wanted to...

So last time, the dancers were better. There was way less looking-out-of-place that time, but this time the interpretation of the story was better, humor-full but not quite so silly, and the staging and costumes were beautiful, which I think, at least as far as the staging goes, has a little to do with the sets and lighting being permanent and not in a high school gym. Also, this time, the music was live. That was wonderful! And a little distracting because every time something interesting happened (singers, the harp, etc.), I found myself watching the musicians and not the dancers. And the audience was better. Less clapping at random times. Although Pete and I were both annoyed by them clapping along during the "jumping candy canes." And they did give a standing ovation at the end, which Pete and I used to gather our coats and umbrellas.

It was a very nice time, though. Even with the cold, rainy weather. And it takes a certain kind of kindergartner to not get bored about halfway through the second act (all the action is in the first act - the second is just dancing). My Pete's not one of those kinds of kids yet. But she lasted much longer than the little girls in front of us, and when she got bored she just asked how much longer one time and then waited patiently until it was finished. And she said she enjoyed it. Again. And wants to go back. Again.

Who Do You Love?

Kay. Here's the thing. Contrary to what Husbandguy thinks, I don't spend every waking minute "surfing the web." But I do have a couple of sites I like to visit every day. They make me laugh and say, "Oh no!" and sometimes they even make me feel cool. Just because I read them. And DH will tell you that is hard to do. Make me feel cool. Although he'd say it's because I'm not. Cool. I think I've gotten off track...

My #1, check-it-everyday-even-on-Sunday: Princess Sparklepants. Duh, right? She's the reason I blog. She's the reason I looked up what "blog" meant. Who even knew there was this thing out there that would make it possible for me to brag on my kids to anyone who would read it at any time, day or night? She's a funny cookie. I'm glad we found each other again. How weird was it that we weren't friends for, like, forever? And she even admitted that when we met, she thought I was cooler than she was (PSP: I'll totally take that out if you want me to), which is what I thought about her too. Her blog is full of interesting characters - adorable children, neurotic co-workers (I'm on the edge of my seat about this DADT thing), lovable friends...

Also, I enjoy reading these other blogs: Order Envy and Mean Girls Need Not Apply. They make me happy. I forget how I found them, but I'm glad I did.

I Haven't Forgotten

I have something to do at Lulu's school right now and then I'll tell you who I love.

Meet me in the library after lunch...

Note to Self:

December 14, 2007

The Cutest Thundercloud EVER

Last night, Husbandguy gave Lulu a little bite of his eclair. She didn't like it (weirdo!), and she made it clear with a "Yuck!" face. I told her she could spit it out onto her plate because that's not gross if it's just you and your family and everyone knows it's happening and she was really unhappy with it in her mouth. After she spit it out, though, she gave DH the best look. Her little eyebrows were pursed together in a Terrible Glare and her little mouth was a tiny, angry bow. Her face absolutely said, "How dare you feed me something so disgusting!" Our Tiny Tyrant! She found it hard to maintain, though, when DH and I laughed. Even though she tried.

Eggnog Bread

I promised you a picture. Remember? Isn't it pretty? It's yummy too.

LL Gets It... Sort of...

The other day I was cleaning around the house (nuh-huh! I was! For real!!), and I was carrying a grocery bag that had trash in it, and I realized that Lulu was following me around, and she was saying, "Present! Open it! Open it!" I don't know if she thought the trash bag was a present, but clearly she knows what to do with a present (you know, if you want to send her something...).

And also, we got a box from Big Brother and his family, and as soon as we brought it in from the porch she started asking to have it opened. "Open it! Open it!" When I told her I'd need the scissors to open it, she went off in search of scissors (don't worry - she can't reach them).

I think Christmas morning might be kind of interesting.

But then I've been surprised by my kids before...

Smoking Weather

See. I used to be a smoker. Sort of. I wasn't ever a really heavy smoker, and never had much trouble giving it up so maybe I wasn't really a smoker, but I used to smoke. Now I don't want to smoke anymore. In addition to being really bad for you in general (sorry, PSP, I'm not trying to be preachy - you make your own choices), it is especially bad for your nervous system, and I don't think my nervous system needs any more help being damaged. But sometimes, just sometimes, the weather is exactly perfect smoking weather and I almost wish I still smoked just so I'd have an excuse to sit outside. I know I could actually just sit outside, but somehow it doesn't seem like it would be the same without a cigarette interfering with the cool, fresh, clean air I would be breathing. You know? Last night was one of those nights. That's just wrong in December. It should be too cold to want to sit outside when there are just 2 more weeks until Christmas!

What to Say... What to Say...

Yeah. I got nothing. I used to do "Pete Says:" on Tuesday, but she's been sick and hasn't said much of anything recently. This morning she reminded me that one of Lulu's boots was in her (Pete's) room without being asked, which I had forgotten. That was helpful...

My resignation from the PTA has been accepted by both the President and VP. I think I've made it clear that I still want to help but someone else is going to have to do all the planning, etc. And I'm pushing for a new committee that I think I would be a good leader for. Even if it was just me on the committee. They haven't told me what they think, though. I have lots of good ideas. Maybe I'll write a formal proposal...

Oh and also, I totally left this house this morning without my wallet or my phone. It worked out okay, though, as I was only going for coffee with some moms and a dad and the principal and didn't have any trouble between here and there. This coffee was for the parents from Pete's class, but the principal does one every month for a different class and I get to be the hostess at all of them. It's cool. That's a job I'm keeping from the PTA. I might even do it next year if they'll let me.

Thought for the Day

Husbandguy and I should not do The Amazing Race together.

Ceptin' I Don't Know HOW to Order Starbucks

This morning I took my monthly... What does the doctor call it?... Oh yeah!... "steroid pulse." What that means is that tomorrow I'll feel great and really notice the carpet on my bare feet and barely notice the invisible wool knee socks I usually wear and all the colors will seem brighter and I won't pee. Actually, the not peeing will last longer than just tomorrow. TMI? Sorry.

But today, since the magic meds haven't had time to sufficiently tame any of Wild Inflammation I might have going on, I feel kind of cloudy. Partly because the feeling has been coming on for a couple of days (thank you, MS - you suck), and partly because I didn't have any coffee with my steroids 'cause that might upset my stomach and make me jittery. Extra jittery. But I think I should have had coffee. So after I dropped Lulu off at school, watched Pete's class for half-an-hour, and then sorted books, I went to the grocery store, where they are nice enough to have a Starbucks right inside the door in case you don't have time to drink coffee at home before you do your shopping. And I almost got some. Except, here's the thing, I don't know how to order there. What if I say the wrong size because isn't a small called something that doesn't sound small? And what if I just want plain old coffee? They have all those extra things! I know I just have to order "coffee." I could probably even order a "small coffee" and they would know what I mean, but it's so intimidating! And what if I want sugar? Do I tell them that? If so, why do they have the sugar off to the side? If not, what's all that extra stuff they're yelling to each other when someone buys something? If only there had been a Bojangles in the parking lot. I could have come with my own coffee.

Ooooo! I just had a money-making idea! Someone should give Starbucks Ordering Workshops. Except for it can't be me giving the workshops because I don't know how. But if you do it, I want a finders fee, okay?

I'm a Quitter

I just sent an email to the PTA president and vice president resigning my committee chairpersonship. I suck at it. Plus, nobody would help me. So maybe I don't suck at it, but I'm not pushy enough to make people help me, and there was too much to do for just one person. I spent too much time worrying. It actually kept me awake sometimes. After the first of the year, someone has to start planning the spring fling. I'd like to help with that, but I don't want to do the whole thing by myself, and that's what was going to happen. Since I resigned, that job now belongs to the PTA board, which is way bigger than my committee ever was, even when Pete and her stuffed animals came to the meeting. And they can do it together and not expect that I'm doing it when I'm not.

On a more positive note, in the same letter I proposed that they remove the responsibility of membership from this committee and I offered to keep working on this. Last year's chair agreed with me that membership should be a separate thing.

I just don't want to be the social director for a bunch of people who won't help anymore. It's discouraging.

So, yeah, I'm a quitter, but I was very professional about it. I'll post the letter if you're interested. Let me know...

Challenge

Okay. Work this word into a conversation:

"omphaloskepsis = navel-contemplation"

So you know, I got that word right at freerice.com. I got it right! Because of the ompha part. Finally! I'm using my Med Trans training to do some good.

Christmas Past

The Christmas gifts I remember best from when I was little didn't come from Santa, or even from Santa's little elf-helper, Sprinkle (who had handwriting that was very similar to my dad's...). They were from my parents. One was this little stove that my dad built, and the other was a cloth book that my mom made and won first prize, etc., at the Ohio State Fair. I still have the book, and the stove was part of the inspiration for Pete's 2nd birthday present, a play kitchen built by Husbandguy and painted with my help. So here's the thing. Santa's cool and all, and having children who believe in Santa kind of makes him real again for me in a way, and it's fun to visit our mall Santa and deliver what they've requested every year (so far it's been easy), but I hope that when Pete and Lulu grow up they can't remember what Santa brought them. Maybe instead they will remember helping me put my grandma's red birds on the tree and helping their dad hang the lights on the house and pinning the felt ornaments on the advent calendar tree that my aunt made when I was little and making a present for someone else in the family as part of my other grandma's gift exchange. And when their kids say, "Mom? Would you tell me a story of when you were little?" they will tell them about that.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm...

...done with all my Christmas shopping. You thought I was going to say "beautiful." Didn't you? Oh come on! You know me better than that.

Anyway, Santa ordered her his last present for the girls yesterday (it's cool - and kind of expensive - but Lulu and Pete are both going to like it even though it's mainly for Lulu). And I've been done shopping for Husbandguy and Moomie and Big Brother and Uncle Monkey and their families for a couple of weeks now. Oh wait! I have a couple of gifts I'm waiting until a little closer to the end of the month to get because they're perishable or would arrive too soon if I get them now. So I guess I'm not done. But still. I don't have anything Christmasy to do right now.

I think I'll make eggnog breads. Those are so pretty when they're all done. See?

You're going to have to wait on the picture. Our internet service is sucky again. But trust me. They're pretty.

P-New-Moan-Ya (Almost)

Remember how Pete had a fever on Thursday? Well, I kept her home on Friday and she still had a fever. She might have had a fever on Saturday but we didn't check because she wanted to go see Santa and said she felt fine. We checked on Sunday, and she did have a fever and also on Monday, when I kept her home from school again. So we went to the doctor who listened to her breathe and say, "Eeeeee," a whole lot and then said, "I don't think it's pneumonia." With any other doctor, I would have immediately questioned the "I don't think..." but I trust Dr. Y. She's been our pediatrician since Pete was a day old in the hospital. So I waited and she went on to say, then, "If we don't treat it, it could become pneumonia." Apparently poor little Pete had a little fluid in her left lung. Yikes! I hadn't even considered pneumonia! The good news is, though, that we went to the doctor in time, and now Pete is taking an antibiotic and that anti-mucus medicine, and she's been fever-free all day and did great at her piano lesson in spite of not practicing at all since last Wednesday. And tomorrow she'll go back to school and won't miss the book fair and I can go do the volunteer thing I'm signed up to do and everything will be normal again. Phew! And an advantage of Montessori school: if you're out sick for three days, you're not exactly behind. You might miss a "special," but you don't miss a lesson and have to make it up.

Our ISP Sucks!

A few years ago, Husbandguy and I got tired of the intermittantly available internet service we had and we switched to what we though was a better choice. The company we had our service from, which was originally a long distance company, wouldn't admit that the problem was on their end when we called "customer service" and told me to do all the things I had already tried on my end to reconnect. I hate calling customer service. So anyway we switched and had pretty good access for several years. Recently, though, our service was aquired by our original ISP, and guess what! We have had patchy or NO service for the last four days! DH called customer service and got a BUSY SIGNAL! You shouldn't ever get a busy signal from the customer service number at a large corporation. I'm just saying. When he finally got through, he got a message that said there was a "region-wide outage" and that the CS clerks didn't have any more information than that and that if he wanted to hold, his wait could be "greater than 60 minutes." Um. They suck. I'll be lucky to get this posted before it gives out again, I think, so don't be sad that you didn't get your "Pete Says:" this week. Blame it on The Corporation.

For TGFKABPG

Christmas on the...

Okay. Husbandguy and I do this thing at Christmas time where we'll see Christmas lights or decorations when we're driving around and we'll say, "Christmas on the right!" or "Christmas on the left!" And if we see someone bringing home a tree, we'll say...hahaha...we'll say, "Christmas on the..." hahaha... "Christmas on the car!" hahahahahaha! We're so funny! Hahahahaha!!

But at the mall on Saturday, we really did see Christmas on the car. It was dark when we were leaving and DH said, "Look at the Jeep!" and we looked and there was this Jeep driving around all covered with lights! That Jeep guy is silly. Now I'm tempted to do DH's car...

Picture with Santa

Yesterday the girls took us to see Santa Claus. Since she's a toddler, we weren't sure how Lulu would react to the big guy (her moment of recognition aside), but we got her into the same dress Pete wore in her first picture with Santa and headed out to the mall. On a Saturday afternoon. After Thanksgiving. Bleh! It wasn't too bad, though, and the line to see Santa wasn't Super Long like it usually is when we go (except last year when we went the weekend before Thanksgiving and there was no line). There was a little line, though, and Lulu didn't want to stand in it so Husbandguy took her and stood off to the side where she could watch Santa ho-ho-ho-ing while Pete and I waited in line. When it was our turn, he put her down and sent her my direction, and she started to come but then changed her mind and looked like she was going to run off (in a you-can't-catch-me way, not a scared way). And then... Santa called her (real) name! "Lulu," he said. And she stopped dead in her tracks and turned, as if in slow motion, and peered at him like, "How do you know my name?" Still not scared though. Then he called Pete over to him, by her (real) name, and Pete went, and Santa motioned to Lulu to come to him, and Lulu went, and they both wound up in his lap. He ho-ho-ho-ed with them for a minute. Then it was time to take the picture. The Cheese Elf waved her stuffed lion and said, "Lulu! Look at my lion!" and Lulu looked at it like "Yeah. And?" so I said, "Smile with your teeth!" and Lulu broke out the cutest smile, teeth and all, and the Cheese Elf snapped the picture. Awww! Thank goodness for smile-with-your-teeth! Santa was even impressed. He said, "If only they were all like that," and made the Money-Taking Elf show him the photo before he handed it over to us.

I hate to admit it, but this is actually only my second favorite picture-with-Santa. My first favorite is the one when Pete is wearing the same dress Lulu wore yesterday, and we couldn't get her to smile pretty, and while I was debating between two great shots, the demonic smile or the gloomy thunder cloud face she made when we told her to Please stop smiling!, the Cheese Elf looked up and snapped the most precious shot of Santa reading to Pete. That's my favorite. Sorry Lulu. You weren't there. But this is my first favorite picture-with-Santa story.

Also, Pete's mom knows how Santa knew their names. It's because this Santa is the Real Santa. He has to be. He's in all of Pete's Santa pictures since 2003.