some of the G-Rated Photos of last night because Geez, you guys...enough of the naughtiness....

Happy Birthday !!

The big 3-6 !!

Seven

Stolen from Oakland Girl's site

7 things you plan to do before you die

1. Become a grandparent
2. See Madonna in concert
3. Go oversees with my children, while they are still young
4. Drive ( as in not fly) across the country
5. Finish college
6. Pierce something other than my ears
7. Go Camping ( shudder)

7 things you can do

1. Handstands, cartwheels, round-off's etc
2. Find my way just about anywhere, especially if someone else is driving
3. Argue
4. Backdive into the pool
5. Rollerskate like a bad ass
6. I can talk to anyone ( this is per Brian... We had dinner with the president of US Bank a while back, a week later we went to some dive bar where I hung out with all of my skate punk friends...They are all the same to me)
7. I am good storyteller ( again per Brian....Usually I am an "embellisher" but tonight I am a "story teller")

7 things you can not do

1. Parallel park
2. Math in my head
3. Speak Japanese
4. Tell how far away things are ( ie moving cars...it's a depth perception thing)
5. Watch Fear Factor w/o literally gagging and vomiting
6. Poop anywhere but home ( makes traveling a lot of fun)
7. Handle finances
8. Stay up late


7 things you thought you'd never do

1. Drive a mini-van
2. Say " because I said so, that's why"
3. Scrapbook
4. Be married to the same man for 10 years ( and be happy)
5. Breastfeed for 2+ years
6. Clean human poop up off a Subway bench and not think twice about it.
7. Rush a f$cking $6 rat to the ER with one eyeball oozing out of his head, pay to have it surgically removed, feed the rat rat antibotics for 2 weeks via rat syringe. Take said rat back to the vet for stitch removal. Proceed to love that damn rat, the rat who loves to licks me like a puppy, to death.


7 things that attract you to other people

1. The ability to make me laugh
2. Intelligence
3. Security ( as opposed to insecurity)
4. Optimism
5. Good teeth
6. Confidence
7. Calmness ( because I am anything but)



7 things that you say most often

1. Jackass
2. Go to your room
3. I love you
4. Grande sugarfee vanilla non fat latte
5. OMG, my sinuses hurt
6. Have I already told you this?
7. What's your house chardonnay?


7 celebrity crushes

1. Vince Vaughn ( way before that Jennifer bitch made him hot)
2. Sting
3. Jeremy Piven
4. Tony Soprano
5. Julian McMahon
6. John Stewart
7. Seal

Yesterday

I ran.

And it felt good. And today, I don't hurt.

I started running regularly last year and was up to about 7 miles. However around December I had a groin injury that took forever to heal, and then I got sick, for like 6 months, and well, I just never got my groove back.

So last week some time, M and I were hanging out letting the kids play out back behind the school. We were sitting on a park bench staring at a brand new track which was installed a few months ago. We were talking about how we should reeeeally start exercising. Yeah, we agreed, maybe we should start walking the trail or something like that.....

Then it dawned on us.

We have a paved track, right next to a playground, water fountains, bathrooms with running water, telephones. We could actually walk THERE ! So we went Saturday after cheer, and we met again yesterday about an hour before the kids got out. I don't know how much I actually ran, but I know we did two miles. No one tried to run me over with their car, no one slowed down to yell obscenities at me, I got to go my speed and she got to do hers. And when we were done, we walked a couple of feet into the school and picked up our kids. Good for us.




Today dags has a timed math test. On multiplication. 3's, 4's, and 5's. Now I have not seen one thing come home with any true type of leaning multiplication. So I am not sure how or when this leaning has been done. So how she is being tested on it is beyond me. Parent teacher conferences are tomorrow, and I have a whole lotta questions.


J had to move desks yesterday. Apparently a couple of other boys needed to be separated, so J, who sits with 3 girls, got relocated. He now sits with his love from last year, another girl and another boy.

Christmas presents are slowly accumulating and being stashed away. I have the holiday bug.

Soccer and cheer are wrapping up. As the days grow short and dark, I look forward to being home early and getting all snuggled in. I love Fall.

lets all give thanks to....

The Good Lord Above


Thank you ST. So and So........

My husband

Loves to fall asleep now to Hawaiian music. Our satellite dish gives him channels of comfort, but by far he loves the tranquil uke sounds of 'da Islands. Vacations are beautiful things and why people and their children don't take them more often is truly a wonder to me. Brian and I savor our many trips both without our kids and more importantly with them.

Why would you raise an unseasoned traveler? Our " babies" are pushing 9 and 7 and are world class travelers. They have taken 10 hour journey back East .....10, 12 hour flight times. They have flown 5 hour flights to Hawaii.....Disneyland is a "silly" 2 hour flight... that we balk at. We have friends that travel by car and complain.... we giggle at our silly friends, and their car excurcions. They do not understand the bliss of "public travel" but I do hope they enjoy the beauty of it soon.

My kids may go cross-eyed and vomit upon command, but by in large, we have adaptable, traveling kids. I am not talking about taking them to the beach for the weekend. I am talking about taking them far away to a whole 'nother part of the the world. Please.....ecnourage traveling far away from home !!!

and then wake up at 4:48 AM with

a. really bad heartburn from all the Cuban food and
b. really bad headache from all the cocktails

owie

So it's almost my birthday and our DBC's rules state that when our monthly meeting falls in the month of your birthday, you do not pay for all of your wining and dining, and that you fellow DBC' ers will treat you to a night on the town.

My big 36th bday is this Friday, the 28th. Therefore it was my night ( week) to drink... We headed up to Salvador Molly's up in Hillsdale for lots and lots of happy hour food and drinks.

1. shot of Patron Silver
2. Moved onto a Cadillac Margaret
3. Next up were not one but two mystic mojitos
4. Next up, of course a glass of chardonnay








but why stop there? Let's move the party back to K's house, stop at mini mart and buy more Columbia Crest, and invite my kids in their jammies and their father over....for MORE WINE.

Good God, it's 9:44 on a school night.




We went and saw Charlie and the... this afternoon and I thought that was an absolutely BRILLIANT remake of a. the original and b. just a story in general. It is definitely an older kid movie, but boy, was it magnificent. The kids sat separate from me, with all of their friends. I sat with my mommy friends where we all ate popcorn and discussed our mommy-ness in general. Dags, got to sit with her "boyfriend" and OMG I thought she was in complete and utter heaven. GAWD......

One more week...

I love my husband because

1. He brings me coffee or diet coke, whichever I request every morning in bed.

2. When we moved up to Seattle, the first time we drove up I asked him to follow me because I was scared. And he did. He followed me three hours one way and then turned around and drove three hours back home.

3. I love his work ethic. I tease him about it ( go figure) but in truth, I love it. He has never, ever missed a day of work. EVER. EVER. Snow, sleet, sickness, childbirth ( he got there in time, no worries. Plus it was our second so we were both like "eh, whatever") His restaurant was just named one of Portland top 100 restaurants which it hasn't been since 1999, when of course, he was working there ( here's the complete list )

4. I love that he's my counterweight. For as crazy and loopy and wild as I am, he is a complete 180. Solid, surefooted, cautious, researching EVERY great "idea" I have to make sure it's a safe one. He allows me to be the crazy one while always keeping me in my safe perimeter. I guess what they say is true, you marry a man like your father, or in my case, like my stepfather ( meow)

5. I love that he is an amazing chef. There are about three things I can cook....Spaghetti and meatballs, anything with the word taco in it ( taco soup, soft tacos, taco casserole, I can turn a taco into anything) and mini meatloaves. Brian however, can look into an empty cupboard and fridge, and somehow produce, roasted pork tenderloin with a bing cherry glaze, penne pasta with prosciutto and Parmesan and a pumpkin butternut squash puree with roasted hazelnuts on top, in about 20 minutes. How the f3ck he manages that is seriously, beyond me.

6. I love that I will never ever be able to wear his clothes. There's nothing worse than being with a man that you have the possibility of outweighing.

7. I love that he 99% of the time, puts our needs above his. Maybe it's because 70% of the time he is at work and his needs are met yesterday, or else. So when he's home, he doesn't want to be the boss. He's happy to let other people make the decisions. Or maybe he's just a really nice guy.

8. I love that he calls be beautiful. All of the time. And I mean all of the time. The other morning I looked awful, and I mean AWFUL. I had mascara under my eyes, greasey hair pulled back in some ratty ponytail. My yellow sweatshirt which is full of holes and frayed and a pair of baggy pants, I had just got up and he wanted to go run an errand right then. I said "fine, can I go like this? How do I look?" he looked at me, and looked at me and there was this long pause and I thought 'A-HA ! I have FINALLY got him' and then he said to me " You look like a beautiful girl who just got out of bed" and I thought "dammit !! Tricked again" I love that I still take his breathaway despite an extra 20 pounds, some wrinkles and sun damage and my boobs not being in anywhere near the same spot that he found them when I was 23. And the smell of him does the same for me. I know I could kiss a line of 20 guys blindfolded and be able to pick out my husband.

9. I love that he has raised his voice with our children, maybe twice. I can only think of one time, but I am sure there has to be more, so I am going to go with twice. I tease him that he only has one emotion and it is this <--------------------------------> He is always steady and calm. Unless he is the state of Nevada at which time he gets drunk and giggly and smokes cigarettes and generally behaves like he's 16. But other than THAT. He is the calmest kindest father a woman could ask for. When I am about to tear my hair out with math homework, he swoops in with his Superdad cape on and tells me he'll handle this.

10. I love that he has never looked at another woman in front of me. I know he thinks girls are pretty or attractive or whathave you. But he has never so much as blinked an eye in the presence of some uberhot waitress who is taking our order, and as a matter of fact, he usually says something along the lines of " I am so glad I am married to you." He is the most trustworthy, respectful human being I know.

And he's all mine.

Milestones that sometimes go unnoticed

My daughter has a few.

First up, she now has textbooks. Not library books, or workbooks. Textbooks. She has an English book, a math book and a geography book. This means she's reading to learn. Not reading for pleasure, or reading for the sake of learning to read. That is very weird to me. She is reading material and then being tested on her comprehension. Like the George Washington Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey. I can tell you all about it and so can she...When it was built, how many lanes it had, when the second tier was added. She isn't reading Angelina Ballerina anymore. She is reading about the George Washington Bridge and South America.


Secondly, a few weeks ago, she took the American Red Cross Class " When I'm In Charge" and is certified to stay home alone for short periods of time. So the past few days while she was sick and I had to go back and forth to get Jack, she layed in bed or on the couch. She was never frightened or scared. In fact she loved it. She said to me " Mom, it is so nice to be alone. It is so quiet and peaceful". It is weird to look at this person who I was nursing 5 minutes ago being able to be home alone. I remember one day driving down Barnes Road with my mom when d was still in a rear facing car seat. I said to my mom " Won't it be WEIRD when someday we can say 'Dagny, how are you today?' and she can answer? Won't that be CRAZY?" and we howled at the "craziness" of that really CRAZY idea. Now look at my little pun'kin, staying home alone and reading textbooks.

She is teetering between being little and being big. We never know which way the hormones are going to go. But we'd like to encourage the more grownup Dagny because well, she's nicer. So occasionally dagny can earn sitting in the front seat ( she is the height and weight of an "average" 11 year old ) on short trips around town, ones that don't involve me doing 65 on the highway. Having my daughter sitting next to me while we are driving is, well, weird. I mean she is sitting next to me while we are driving. She isn't in her rear facing infant seat that she had to sit in months after the one year mark despite her daddylonglegs being folded and tucked in to the damn thing because she was so skinny and she didn't pass the 20 pound mark until she was close to 2. She is sitting next to me when she isn't home alone, reading a textbook.

Weird.

DAWG-ny

My dd is feeling much better. We ended up not taking her to the doctor' after the SWAT grandma team swooped in and was ready to rush her to intensive care. As a matter of fact, about 10 minutes after grandma arrived and grandma love was administered, and a piece of Franz white bread was consumed, Dags proclaimed that she felt like " doing a cartwheel ". I am convinced that EVERY CHILD on the face of this earth gets better once an appointment has been made with a doctor.

Whatever.



So since my darling daughter has not eaten since Sunday, tonight she was starving and needed to eat all of her favorite things immediately. DH's company opened a new store recently where Uncle J is the chef and we decided to cross the river ( yikes) and dine there. Our meal was wonderful, all of the Big Guys were there, the kids gnoshed on sushi, tempura, chowder, and steamed clams. But the highlight of our evening was our waiter. Our waiter was Irish, as in from Ireland. We introduced ourselves and he did a little Irish jig at the mention of the name DAG-ny, or as he pronounced it DAWG-ny. Turns out he knew lots of DAWG-nys growing up and it is quite the Irish name ( and of course I corrected him that it is Norwegian, not Irish). It didn't' matter. Our young Irish man spoke to DAWG-ny all night bringing her everything she needed and she basked in the limelight. I am quite sure she has gained back all of the weight she has lost over three days in one night out...

OK, now I am scared

Thanks mom.

D is still sick so she goes in today. My mom says " what if its meningitis?" to which I pshaw and say " right mom, BYE" and then of course proceed to do an on-line search of the disease.

The first symptoms of meningitis may surface several days after a child has had a cold and runny nose, diarrhea and vomiting check

fever check

lethargy check

Older children may complain of a headache check

photophobia (eye sensitivity to light), check

a stiff neck, check

I am sure it's not but geeez, what if it is?

my oldest

is still sick. We have to take her in tomorrow as she has been barfing w/ fever for more than 48 hours. Her face is so red and hot despite all the Advill we dose.

Despite her ailments, I took her to her first Kumon lesson today. SHe has s-t-r-u-g-g-l-e-d with math for almost 4 years now and at this point the gap has widened GREATLY. So we are off for tutoring and OMG it is such a huge relief for me to have her have a positive outlook and be excited about her homework. And to be doing something instead of watching her slide slide slide.

J's first after school MadScience class was today and OMG my little nerd was in sheer heaven. Today he made some sort of potion and constructed some sort of weird bead thing-y which, when it turns pink, lets him know it's "time to put on sunscreen". He attached it to his backpack so he will always "know when it's time to put on sunscreen". It is very very hard raising a dork.

J has also decided on his Halloween costume and he would like to be an imp. What f*cking 7 year old dresses as an imp? No one even knows what an imp is unless you've read shakespeare which pretty much rules out all of the 1st grade. And for the record, an imp is described as A mischievous child. A small demon so is Jack just planning on weraing regular clothes to school and going as himself?

He has decided that he needs a creepy tiny face, preferably green, creepy knotted hands, and big silly feet. He is very into creating his own costumes. SOme examples....

and yes, those are underpants on his head





Why can't he be a cowboy or a ghost like a regular 1st grader? I can just see the "positive" response to " I'm an imp !!" F U C K. I know I have to let him do what he wants to do and all that crap, but man it is so hard to sit on the side and watch my imp.

10:30 PM Monday night

Here I lie ( is that right "carrie" english teacher? Lie, lay? ) in my dd's queen bed with my oh so sick dd. Somehow Somewhere down this 9 year journey, being sick has = mommy sleeping with you.

I am sure this dates back to some prehistoric time when I slept in a crib with a 6 month old to ensure he or she "breathed all night" and somehow the tradition was born and here I lie with my snoring almost 9 year old and my handy dandy ( Dell) notebook, blogging. GOD !!! I am sure her fully developed lungs will be just fine.



Truth be known, I love these times.

When your dear babies are little and want you and need you and pretty much depend on you for their complete and total existence.....Well that is phase one. Then they sit up, then they walk and get teeth and start wiping their own butts, and the next thing you know they are studying for state testing and talking about who's getting boobs ( and who isn't). And suddenly the most unheard of and wonderful words a mommy can hear is " Momma, will you sleep with me?"

So hear I lie, listening to my mouth breathing daughter and her one eyed rat chewing up some sunflower seeds, trying to get some shut eye...... Her mouth breathing is awful becuse she reeks of vomit despite all the teeth brushing....



don't let me forget to tell you the story of the retainer tomorrow.


GAWD !!

In the middle of a " discussion" , my husband actually asked me...

"Where was your brain when you made that decision?"

Jackass


Although we have to give him credit, he is really really tired this morning. You see our dear friend "Carrie" had a surprise 40th bday party for her dh last night and all of the Ma-Ma's went but me. After the party, they thought it would be fun to go dancing at Embers which where we used to go about 20 years ago when we were cool. Carrie thought it would be a good idea to call the house about 7 times between the hours of midnight and 2:00 AM and play all of our favorite college dance songs into her cell phone leaving us LOTS and LOTS of messages. Thankfully someone pried her drunk ass off the speaker and sent her home to her preschooler and 7 month old so we didn't get many calls after 2:00 AM. I do hope that the guy wearing the "Drunk Chicks Dig Me" tshirt had a wonderful 40th birthday and was very surprised. And I am sure Carrie's hangover is all the reprimand she needs.

Song I currently can't listen to enough...

"Special"

I'm living without you
I know all about you
I have run you down into the ground
Spread disease about you over town
I used to adore you
I couldn't control you
There was nothing that I wouldn't do
To keep myself around and close to you
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
But I've run out of patience
I couldn't care less
I...
I...
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
I used to amuse you
I knew that I'd lose you
Now you're here and begging for a chance
But there's no way in hell I'd take you back
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
But I've run out of patience
I've run out of comments
I'm tired of the violence
I couldn't care less
I'm looking for a new (4x)
We were the talk of the town (4x)
I thought you were special (4x)

This lyrics are copyrighted by their respective owners (Garbage)

do you ever wonder.....

am I doing the best that I can???

Am I being the best parent I can be for these kids?

Do you ever think "Good God Woman....what are you saying to these younsters?"

Do the words you Swore To God you'd never say to your children pass your lips?

Do you ever think "Man.... I could be so much better?"

9 - nine year olds

Can reeeeeeeally wipe out !! We had a most wonderful trip to the Pumpkin Patch. We went here and it was a bit out of the way but man oh man, so worth it. Our girls had the place to themselves and loved every minute of it. We lost one girl in the hay maze, she handled it like a "true Girl Scout" and climbed up the nearest haystack she could (as we were screaming her name). We spotted our "downed soldier" and we immediately rescued her.....It was beautiful

we hit the pig races, the corn maze, the slide, the animal feeding area, the hay ride, and THEN ventured to the pumpkin patch to pick our 'kins. Our girls had a a wonderful time....The weather was gorgeous, the girls were perfect. It was a wonderful afternoon.




Later on we had a Extreme Cheer party which how most of the girls were standing after that is beeeeeeeeeeyond me ( Not to mention their mothers !!) Anyhoo, it was a wonderful ( busy) Fall day. Here is a snippet ...


d and Scar hanging in the N's yard...

one of our Billy goats...



our friend cow? Yak? We weren't really sure....



co leader- R was FIRED UP !!

I adore Fall

Especially Fall Teacher Work Days where we get to have an extra day off and enjoy the Fall. Today it is crisp, cool, clear and foggy. Today we are taking my 9 little Girl Scouts to the Pumkin Patch. They are absolutely dying to go. The patch is one of the "loaded" ones. We will get lost in the corn maze, go on hay ride, watch a pig race, have homemade ice cream, and then at the end of our adventure, award the girls their Pumpkin Patch Badge. They LOVE getting badges. I am so glad the weather is so perfect and Fall-ish.

Will post pix when we return !!

I love....

lying in bed and hearing my babies snore/sleep.... the comfort of D mouth breathing and J talking to himself in his sleep. I love the nest that we have created, up high and tucked away. With a BBD guarding the top of the stairs and another BWD guarding our BBD. I love that our doors are all with in a few feet of each other and we can a. hear them and b. see them from the comfort of our King bed and c they can talk to each other. We have a family bed, only it is seperated by a few feet.


I love that we go to the high school for football games and know a million people. I love it because it gives her the sense of community and belonging. Our accross the street neighbor is the softball coach at Our High School, so he was there working and D was tickled to death to see him. It seems suddenly *not weird* that that that high school is where my kids are going to be, very soon.

B and I are upstairs watching our DVR'd episode of Lost. The kids were downstairs playing quietly. Suddenly they appear and have "created" their own Halloween costumes. Here they are...

OK, I have slept and I have cooled off.

I won't abandon my blog because of a group of mean spirited people. Especially three days before my period starts and I can be legally considered insane. I have spent too much time here chronically my kids' lives and they are who I am doing this for.

When I post anything on the internet, before I hit send, I think " how would I feel if my mother in law read this, Brian's boss read this, or our school principal read this?" If it can't pass those standards, it doesn't get posted.

I used to belong to a "private" site with a group of women who had a child born the same time as my son. We started as a huge group and over the years the membership has dwindled and people have left and I decided that it was time for me to go too. I didn't make a big announcement, I just quit going. Eventually someone, someone I considered a friend, realized I wasn't there and asked me about it. I wrote her a letter explaining my decision. My letter wasn't mean, it explained that I felt I didn't fit in anymore, had too much going on IRL, blah blah blah. She took the letter, posted it for the group to see, and they proceeded to all bash me and my decision, saying things like " don't let the door hit ya" etc. Last night I was pissed, but today, I am not.



Because I was right.



They all post about the love and the unity and the bond and the support.

Then they private message and email each other about "I can't believe she said that" and "OMG thank you for defending me... I can't stand her". I decided to leave and the ones I knew would, came out with their guns drawn bashing away, name calling and questioning my character and integrity.

It makes me happy to know that my decision was a good one.

Peace~

Wow

In light of certain events, this blog is gone.

I will continue blogging, and if you are interested in the new website with only good intentions let me know.


buh-bye

Dagny is done with her first set of braces !!


Going in...



And going home...her and her ortho.

one of my oh so loyal readers alerted me to the fact that she can't comment using haloscan....therefore, I am turning regular comments back on !! Use either one:)

new pictures of cheer. Be patient, it is really slow...

cheer

My BBD ( Big Black Dog)

I love my BBD.

My BBD is not only the guardian of my children, but their very best playmate as well.

My BBD has various spots he sleeps. HE loves to sleep with D as she has a queen with LOTS of room. He also sleeps with J, curled up on his IKEA rug. But his numero uno spot is smack dab at the top of the stairs, right before J's room. No one can come in or out without passing my BBD. Seeing as how he nearly goes into cardiac arrest when a leaf falls, seeing him lying there at the top of the stairs makes me feel so warm and so much love for my BBD. He's laid ( lied? Help me out Amy) there for 4 years now, and sometimes now when I sit and pee with the door open ( as it always is since I have kids and all) and the light hits it right, I can see that, at the top of the stairs in his spot, there is an area where the varnish on my hardwoods is worn and I know that is Barkley's spot....His Watch Tower position.

And that little worn spot has started to tug at my heart almost as much as my kids telling me they don't need me to wipe their butts. My BBD is slowly getting grey-er and grey-er. We brought B home when he was about 4-6 months old. He's pushing 5 and being lab and all, still a pain in the ass. But I still watch him with my kids, and the love they have for him, and the patience he has with them, Dagny dressing him up, Jack attaching magnets to his collar, and oh the food that poor dog has consumed...When Jack was 3 he thought it was great to poop( unbeknownest to me and in the yard tree house...please don't call Animal Control ) and watch Barkley eat it ( please don't gag)

What is so sad is watching one of my children age so much faster than the other two. I know that Barkley will probably pass when my kids are in middle school or high school. I look at that spot on the hardwoods and I think about how my children's' hearts will break when their younger brother, their protector, their doll, their scientific experiment, their " wild tiger" they tamed, their dog who sat oh so ever impatiently underneath their armpits night after night nudging them for food scraps, their "intruder alert" who let them know WHENEVER anyone or anything walked up or down their street, the dog who, whenever they pulled on his tail... feet... nose or any other appendage would "mouth" the kids to tell them to stop....I have been bit by Barkley and mouthed by B and I am stunned at his discipline with the kids.....And if you could see the colors that Dags has painted Bark's nails.....OMG you couldn't ask for a better brother.....


I look at Barkley, and I look at his slowly, growing, grey beard and I think about the phone call that I make at college to tell my babies, their brother has died, and man....it makes me so sad

distracted

took the kids out to lunch yesterday, their favorite fast food, Taco Bell. J likes ketchup on his soft taco ( inside only please, soft tacos are the only item that's can't be dipped) Anyhoo, he's on his second one, I open the ketchup and pour it in. He takes a honking mouthful, starts chewing, and then turns, um.... maybe purple? Maroon? Magenta? Not really sure what the shade could be called. He spews his mouthful of food all over the table, starts to cry and sob, tries to remove his tongue from his mouth. I look down and notice that no, I had not infact put the ketchup on, I had slathered his taco and his mouth with Taco Bell Fire sauce. At this point everyone is staring at the scene and I am feeling like about the biggest asshole in the world. I am trying to calm him down, get him to drink something, eat some ( non tabasco flavored) lettuce. Finally he settles down and is able to eat the rest of his meal.


His demonic sister of course did little to help. In fact she thought it was one of the funniest damn things she'd ever seen, and sat there laughing her butt off.

20 years ago- I was a Junior in High School. I was very much the Molly Ringwald character in "Pretty In Pink" dating the oh so popular "Blane". We were madly in love and cruising around in his Chevy Chevelle , dining at the Burger King in Burlingame, cruising up to Council Crest for parties. At that pointI was growing out of my madonna/newwave/boygeorge/goth/punk ( in that order) phase and was actually relatively normal looking. However all of the girls still hated my guts and made school a nightmare. I hated every single day of high school.

10 years ago- I was getting ready to get married in 34 days. I was crapping my pants I was so scared. We were actually going to get married ahead of time and then have the ceremony be more for show, thinking it would calm our ( my) nerves. Our Justice o' da peace talked us out of it, and I am glad. But I was still fucking terrified.

5 years ago- I was living in Seattle with my hubby and kids in a rental house without a dishwasher. How I lived for two years with teeny tiny babies and no dishwasher is beyond me. I must have washed 10,000 sippy cups by hand. D had started her 3's preschool here and OMG, it chokes me up even looking at that little picture. We had the most wonderful couple of years up there. I am glad we are back with family, but I will always treasure those 2 years in the Emerald City. I think it was a wonderful experience for me, for my husband, and for our family.

2 years ago- My daughter started 1st grade. This was BY FAR the hardest year of my "school" parenting. I was fine with both kids in preschool, it was 2 hours and I could get the grocery shopping done. Kindergarten came and again, I was fine. She was gone for 2.5 hours, and I was back to swoop in and pick her up. We always did PM school so we could all stay together in our jammies every morning and not rush. Then came 1st grade and OMG I thought my heart would break in half. It all felt so wrong having her not be with me. Everything we did I'd think how much more fun it would be if our third wheel was there. I remember driving away from the school, calling Miranda and just sobbing and sobbing and sobbing all the way home. Thanks K for talking me throug that one.

1 month ago- I turned into a new person as I kissed both of my children goodbye for all day school. What a wonderful milestone.

"Carrie"
sent us this website.....so addicting and yet sooooo creepy.

Friday night thoughts

As you all know, Fridays are usually a day I detest. However, with the arrival of Two Kids In School All Day Long and Mommy Home Alone All Week Long, Friday nights are something that the kids, and I, have come to enjoy greatly and look forward to. In addition to school all day every day, we have events every night of the week. But come Friday at 3:05, the kids have learned the magical power behind the word "weekend". I spend all of Friday morn getting the house ready for the weekend from top to bottom...bathrooms scrubbed, Saturday game uniforms washed and line drying, sheets changed, 4 dozen cookies baked, dinner made, movies que'd. They walk in the door and separate...One retreats to an hour long bath, the other escapes in an hour of video playing in his PJ's. Mommy lights the candles, adds the bubble bath and changes her boy into his jammies. He is utterly tickled at the thought of going nowhere.

We eat dinner early, 5:00 or so. We have all of their faves...fried chicken, corn on the cob, biscuits and butter, macaroni salad. They eat and eat because due to no after school snack, they are ravenous. Next up they dunk their fresh baked cookies in their milk and get ready to toddle up to my bed for their movie. I pop the corn, divide it up into two bowls, pour myself a glass of wine, and head up for the movie. This week's pick was Return From Witch Mountain which was one of my All Time Favorite Movies EVER. I remember my Grandma Jean taking me to see these...We saw them at the Valley Theater. Bette Davis and her stained yellow teeth are even more frightening on the small screen ( which of course I took the opportunity to to a PSA about smoking ) Anyhoo, ever since we started our Netflix account, B and I have been torturing our children with all of " the best movies ever" which most of the time, our kids think suck. They didn't think Old Yeller was sad, they thought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was stupid and all but called Daddy a pussy for being terrified of it his whole life. So I was more than ready to have my cult classic ripped to shreds by our two critics. However, my two were just as fascinated by the story of Tony and Tia as I was * gulp gulp gulp* 30 years ago. I think the whole idea of a brother and sister being able to communicate like that was Completely Foreign. They are dying for the prequelle Escape From Witch Mountain.


Now they have plenty of time to sit in their room and Play. Jack is drawing and drawing and drawing. He has come in a3 times for more paper. Dagny is acting out some sort of Romeo and Juliet type play with her Barbies. Tomorrow they will wake up later than usual, maybe 7:30 or 8:00. Whoever wakes up first will go wake up the other sibling, being as QUIET as possible because now days, the LAST thing they want is their parents up. They will go downstairs to their " restaurant" ( which I have yet to eat at, but I hear the food and service are really good) and they will eat their breakfast and watch cartoons and say to each other repeatedly " Isn't this great? Aren't weekends the best EVER?" In a month, Fridays have gone from the worst day of the week to the most sacred. I am going to dread somewhere down the line, having Friday night games or activities or what have you.

Things I am thankful for

1. Ambien - My doctor prescribed this for me last WInter and it worked miracles. Since school has started up again, my sleep troubles have also flared back up. My problem is not falling asleep, it is staying asleep. I go to sleep around 10 ish ( good) and then wake up around 3 or 4 ish ( bad) and can not get back to sleep. Or eventually I do fall back asleep around 5:30 which is about 30 seconds before my husbands alarm goes off. I have over the counter sleep medication which is OK if you like meth and like twitching alot. It causes incredibly lathargy the next day and is almost worse than being tired. So I gave in yesterday and called my MD up for a refill. I took one at 8:20 , fell asleep at 9 and woke up feeling like a freaking NEW PERSON at 6:00. Why I have spent a month sleep deprived is beyond me.

2. Having a daughter- I feel really really sorry for mothers that don't have the daughter bond. I really do. However I don't feel sorry for people that have just girls, as they are forever blessed. For as much melodrama, hysteria, and hormones that mothers of daughters have to put up with, the trade-offs are tenfold. We get to be maternal grandparents ( read: territorial) and swoop in and take care of everything. Today my daughter and I have dermatalogist appointments and afterwards, I hope she is on her best behavior so I can take her to lunch with my knitting group. I love being with her, just her. I love the converstations we are able to have. SHe has so much to tell me, confide in me, ask me and often times she can't because she's gone all day or her brother is around. When it is just me and her, it is delicous. I grab her and hug her and smell her hair ( which just so happens to reach my nose, I will need a step stool to be able to do that soon) I can't keep my hands off her and I know any day now she's going to tell me to stop. Or maybe she won't, my mom and I still cuddle, hopefully d will let me snuggle her for ever.


3. Fall- We had our first fire inside last night. We had carmel apple pork chops with rice and green beans. I baked a carrot cake for dessert. After dinner, we snuggled by the fire and daddy finished up book 6 of the Series of Unfortunate Events. We only read these together as a family, and during summer we either a. don't read to the kids because we let them stay up so late or b. read to them seperately. So here it back to family snuggle up next to the fire time, and we are back to our series. We are ready to start the 3 box tonight " The Vile Village !!"


4. My new speakers

5. My mom is home !!! She was in Europe for a few weeks and got back yesterday ! I can't wait to see her ! And I REALLY can't wait to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!

6. I bought Jack's birthday present. I was sort of up in the air on what to get him. My *rule* is that on alternating years, my kids get a BIG party and less gifts. They each have a family birthday dinner, but as fas as the big elaborate deal, we only do one a year. The reason being ( since I know you are all DYING to know) is the children's bday are in mid November and late December. Trying to have two big parties in between Thanksgiving and Decemeber is awful after about 5 years, I said enough. Not only is it completely chaotic, but the amount of toys and crap that comes INTO my house and the amount of money that goes OUT of my house in a 28 day period is colossal. By December 26th of each year, I would just look around my house and think "what the hell has happened? And how am I paying the electric bill?" So this year J is having his party at Pomp It Up and I bought him this which if you knew my son, you'd know he is absolutely going to not be able to breathe.

7. That September is over. What a nightmare of a month.

Mondays

Wipe me out, 'nuff said

ohhhh mother of goodness

today we went up to the Apple store near our home ( and Sharper Image, and Brookstone, and Radio Shack, and Costco. Not to mention our trips to Best Buy Magnolia and Freddies) in search of the "most amazing sound system available for one's ipod" and we found it and OH. MY. GOD. I can not even believe the amount of boom for our buck. Anyhoo, here it is and I can not even begin to tell you what Miss E sounds like over these bad boys. I am convinced we will break a window come our Halloween party. They are oh so tiny and oh so OMG loud. Our entire house shakes. The Mac store and Sharper Image use the same system, but B said Image had a better return policy, so we went with them. Wait until you hear Dave Matthews in all his crispness.


B tried to pass this "household gift" off as my birthday gift, to which I laughed at hysterically. Everyone knows he 's going to get me a new digital camera, silly boy....
27 more days till 'da part-eeeeeee