Unconscious Mutterings:

1. Cruel ::


2. Jive ::


3. Weak ::


4. Understand ::


5. Bum ::


6. Stairs ::


7. Tone ::


8. Quickly ::


9. Moment ::


10. Beating ::

Here are my answers:

Cruel: Joke
Jive: Turkey
Weak: Sister
Understand: Rubberband
Bum: Rap
Stairs: Elevator
Tone: Ring
Quickly: Get in the Car!
Moment: To breathe
Beating: Heart

Borrowed from Kim

5 things Great about today:

Keen shoes. 'Nuf said.

Youngest, poring over a train catalog. Thank goodness it's good old AFFORDABLE Thomas. Not the Bachman catalog that his Daddy prefers to pore over...


Hair care products. But, Oh Darn; it's raining here today. Shucks, no point in fixing my hair for lunch out with the See Jane Run bookies (old book group friends) today!


COSTCO! Christmas this year will be All About Costco. One boy is getting bunk beds, the other is getting a double bed. He keeps falling out of his twin. So there are new flannel sheets (from Portugal! The Best!) for the boys. Down lap blankies for my parents in lovely shades of green and purple. Borghese cosmetics (Ok, these are for me), Flannel sleep bottoms for somebody.

Oldest, playing with Tinker Toys. And Magnetix. And building paper airplanes. And bouncing Silly Putty around. Because? He Can.

Because it's Friday, and because I've not done the 5 things in a long time.

Outside Play Areas - For Karin

The Trex (or manufactured lumber made with plastic) sides for the Pea Gravel Diggin' Pit

View of entire gravel pit. It stays in the shade 'til 1 or so, shaded by the off-kitchen deck above

Peach/Blueberry/Almond tart that I made a couple of days ago. Puff Pastry shell. Yummy!

Boys' Play Structure. They give it a workout daily.

Close-up of mitered corner. Treated lumber inside, Trex outside. We keep meaning to put on the cap....but in the meantime? It's fully in use.

For Karin, with three, 3 and under.

Answering "Yes." to "Do You work?"

It's becoming more automatic each time I answer the question "Do you work?"
"Yes." I simply say.
Boy, do I work.
In fact, I'm working right now. My sons are enjoying a nutritious snack that I prepared, and we're discussing what we are going to prepare for dinner.
Because Tuesdays?
They are our Candlelight Dinner Nights. We always have whatever fish is most fresh at our local fishmongers. Today, it is Sea Bass - YUMMMMMMMMMM! I am going to bake it with delicate Asian spices. Served along side will be jasmine rice, a vegetable stir fry (some from our garden!) and dipping sauces.

Back to the "Do You Work?" question. Of course I work. As does every parent who takes care of home and brood. We essentially keep the World Running, in fact. Some of us have to have second jobs to make ends meet. And that's very difficult. As frequently? The huge full-time job of running the home is still left entirely up to them. And that's simply not fair. They then have two full-time jobs. And the spouse who only works the one job and seldom pitches in or offers to help with the home work? And who arrives home and expects to be able to sit and watch tv, be fed and not help with children's homework or bedtime routines? These are the idiots who wonder why the spouse with two jobs is exhausted, angry, resentful and eventually hateful. Feeling underappreciated and overworked will do that to you. Almost with certainty.

So, to the PTA President (in Oldest's class) who asked "Do you work?" with a gleam in her eye today, sure she was going to guilt trip me into never-ending school servitude at the school; I answered simply "Yes. Long hours. It is sometimes exhausting." and left it at that.

Because, you see, I have filled our calendar until the end of December with all our family's important dates:

Every afternoon the boys have school. Those times went in first.
Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays are club mornings, when we will swim in the warm therapy pool, or the children will go to daycare while I workout or just read for 2 hours
Tuesdays or Thursday are bi-weekly Excursion mornings - so much to do and see here! The alternating Tue/Thur are Do-Nothing mornings. Lay around, read, play, whatever.
Mon/Tue/Thur afternoons are TaeKwonDo/portable DVD movie for youngest/reading for me
Wed/Fri afternoons are therapy/portable DVD movie for oldest/reading for me
Evenings? They are scheduled for game nights/restaurant nights/babysitting nights.

We are busy. Being a family. With our extended family and friends.

This new scheduling, actually writing down what I wish we were doing so it will actually happen for a change, is giving me a sense of peace and power. There is not much room in our lives for much more.

Vocalizing YES I WORK is more powerful than I ever knew.

Dell Laptops are being recalled

Seems the battery can overheat to the point where they catch fire. I thought this baby was getting a little too toasty - I'm glad I'm in the habit of turning it off. So are the boys.

If you have a Dell laptop, I think it's any that shipped Jun 04 - Jul 06 (don't quote me on that). And I had to enter my numbers a few times to get "Replacement Required" - I knew we had purchased in the right time, and my 2nd set of numbers were in the recall - I had to change some of my alphabetical o's to zero's, even in alpha streams. Shame on them for making it so difficult.

Daily Me-ander

It's been brewing for awhile; this desire to 'do' less, 'spend' less, 'have' less.

But, it's easier said than done.

The money? She flies through my fingertips, albeit more slowly.
The purging? Is happening, albeit more slowly than I thought it would happen. I reckoned this summer I would get this house whipped into shape.
I
Had
Lofty
Plans
The reality is that I found a new skill - R E L A X I N G

How? You ask?

By saying "No.":
To continuing to organize the Special Needs preschool playgroup, which only one or two parents were extremely motivated to attend (actually; which they were very avid to have their babysitters/children attend) I told them to exchange phone numbers with the two other parents and continue themselves. They wanted the email group to continue. I told them they were welcome to do that, too.

To the exchange babysitting we had been participating in. It wasn't working out for me, anymore. Many reasons. And we won't be doing it through the school year, either. After more thought, I have decided paid babysitting is not a luxury, it's a necessity to running a household smoothly when the working spouse is gone 60+ hours a week. One of the summer camp counselors is available for reasonable cost.

To so many TaeKwonDo lessons for Oldest every week. He just needs to practice more at home. He set up a mirror in the living room to accomplish this all by himself.

To more volunteering at their schools. It is somebody else's turn for awhile. I won't say I'll never volunteer again; but for now, No.

To get-togethers with mothers whose tales of woe I'm tired of and their cantankerous children. And have you noticed how, so often times, the two go together? Children who are well mannered and whose visits are pleasant? Those will continue. Others? We Are Done.

Saying YES! to:

The continuing purge of stuff and junque from this household. Clicking my heels with each box that goes OUT.

Reading! I've had many books on every horizontal surface for months. I am reading during the day and at night. It. Is. Devine. Like finding an old friend and getting a huge hug.

Keeping the TV off. Turning the radio ON.

Eating better.
Game Night (Wednesday)
Carry-out Night (Friday)
Sleep-in Morning (Sunday)

Buying, this week:

More fabric for Christmas gifts.
An answering machine so I can screen phone calls. (thanks, LC!)
More art supplies when back-to-school supplies go on sale.
Flattering jeans.

And my birthday month is coming up! I'm going to give myself a health workover - professional diet plan/workout schedule. I am excited about this!

How about you? What's on your No/Yes/Plans for Autumn (or Spring for you Southern Hemisphere folk)?

Show & Tell: Collections

The boys' train collection. Thomas is a Thing of the Past. Expensive G-Gauge trains, with brass track installed outside, have almost taken affordable Thomas's place. The menfolk in this house are All Trains, All the Time.

The yellow funny-looking engine is a diesel switcher, made to shunt trains around a trainyard, not for long hauls. The blue engine is a steam locamotive. And the bring blue fellow - well, that's Thomas, of course! A BIG Thomas. Annie & Clarabelle are lurking in the top photo, I think...

Youngest trotted by and yelped "That's my Santa Fe. My FAVORITE!" You can see how big these fellows are by the brass door hinge to the engine's lower right...You need at least 8 feet of track to turn a corner without a mishap.

And tonight, my K brought home these vegetables out of the garden. Missing are some tomatoes, basil and zucchini, soaking in another sink.

My old, and much reduced collection of enamel boxes. These few left have alot of sentimental meaning to me. Except for the blue and white Wedgwood box in the back. I have no idea from whence that one came. Who was it who was admiring Wedgwood?!

For Joke, via blackbird: Collections

Starting to Panic

Today and Thursday are the Last Days of 6-hour summer day camp for the boys of mine. I've had 16 blessed 6-hour days, and I've pissed them all away. Well, not pissed in the English sense, but pissed as in wasted. Well, not wasted in the American sense... ACK! I Have Not Done Anything Productive On Tuesday Or Thursday throughout the entire summer except polyurethaning the floors that one day. Which may not have even been a Tuesday or Thursday...

And.
I am not going to have weekly babysitting anymore. Since we've been parents, I've had babysitting 3 evenings a week during the arsenic hours of 4-7 pm (or more). Well, no more. We have to start severely cutting costs, and part of it has to be discretionary things like babysitting, eating out, fancy coffees. Which now that I type it doesn't sound discretionary at all; it sounds like How I Get Through My Days! Uh-oh...

And I'm 2 years from a clean getaway with both children in all-day school. Kindergarten is half day here. Youngest will go to kindy next year. Half Day.

I know those of you who have jobs are thinking "Oh, put a fucking sock in it! I do everything that you do, and work too!" Well, possibly. But I would not consent to working 2 essentially full-time jobs. My husband would have to do more or fork over the funds to pay for what he is not doing, chore-wise, around the house. And he works at least 60 hours a week. Usually more. When he makes the "Go back to work so I can eventually retire" noises, I wave the Word document I created with the 3 columns showing task/time/$$$ to hire out and ask him which half he is going to do, or pay to hire out. End of discussion. We still have that chat annually, but he's not stepped up to the plate with service providers or a written agreement on what he'll take over.

Running errands, food shopping, dry cleaners, all that stuff - I've been able to do child-free for 6 years. The thought of doing it with 2 little boys is making me bug-eyed.

I'm going to need to find the Zen in these chores. And so far? I'm just scared.

And, I'm also having trouble getting my head around leaving Oldest off at such a large institution - public school. Even though our neighborhood school is new, best in the district, blah blah blah; It's got 80+ kindergartners. EIGHTY kindergarten children! And there are 8 grades in the school. Grades 5 and above have even more children in them, as the school bond that funded under 22-per-classroom affected classrooms beginning after that was voted in - 5 years ago. They have 'strict bullying rules'. Yeah, so what? Kids are mean and that's just a fact. Our sons are sweet. They will get picked on. Every child does. I hate that my sons will ever suffer at the hands of classmates! But it's inevitable. So, we work on 'what to say, when', and we practice saying "So?" and walking away. But in reality? Who knows.

Yes, they will have good days and lots of them. And a few bad ones. Please dear god let me have my shit together enough to not overreact and make more of it than it needs to be to help them survive. They are not Me. My wounds may never be their wounds.

Expect Angsty posting for awhile. That's where I am in this space/time/continuim.

That is all.

65 Things Meme; Stolen

Stolen From Carolyn, Joke, Badger and some other Austinite:

"It's another meme. I haven't felt very creative as of late so I'm cheating."

Ah, Ditto.

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Yes. And once by someone pretending to be a cop.

2. What color are your eyes? My eyes are the color of cold, hard cash.

3. When was the last time you went sledding? This past winter. I can't wait 'til the boys are old enough to go tubing!

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? Alone.

5. Do you believe in ghosts? No. But I believe in other weird stuff.

6. Do you consider yourself creative? Hell, Yes!

7. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? Jolie.

8. Who was your first crush? His name was George and he was a chubby, but nice, nerd.

9. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Yes.

10. Have you ever been ice skating? Yes, lots. But I can't skate backwards except by doing ugly hourglass thingys, and can only do cross-over turns going to the left.

11. How often do you remember your dreams? Every night. But not all of them.

12. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? Yesterday talking to my sister.

13. Can you name 4 songs by The Beatles? Hell-I can name all the songs on Rubber Soul!

14. What's the one thing always on your mind? My next meal. I swear I have a tapeworm or something - I am always hungry!

15. What talent do you wish you had? Lowering my triglycerides. without drugs or dieting. *sigh*

16. Do you know anyone in jail? Yes. My niece has friends in low places.

17. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Yes. But I don't think I would stick my neck out now that I have kids.

18. Have you ever been punched in the face? Yes, accidently and on purpose.

19. Do you own any stuffed animals? Yes.

20. Do you have a major crush on someone? Not anymore.

21. Do you miss someone right now? Yes! My girlfriends, some old boyfriends and my sister. Since I've had children I just don't have the time to keep up with my buddies.

22. What are you listening to right now? Blessed Silence. And a car just drove by.

23. Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry? Yes, Pope John Paul. He was a Pope in a million.

24. What color underwear/boxers are you wearing? Tightie Whities.

25. Where do you work? I work where I am.

26. What ended your last relationship? Marriage.

27. What food do you crave right now? Dark Chocolate.

28. What was the last TV show you watched? Curb Your Enthusiasm off Netflix.

29. What is the last thing you ate? Dinner - restaurant Mexican. *buuuuuurp*

30. Are you on any medication? Yes.

31. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Whichever side has the most room. And usually furthest from the door.

32. What color shirt are you wearing? White Life is Good t shirt.

33. What is your favorite frozen treat? Italian Ices.

34. How many tattoos/piercing do you have? Pierced ears.

35. Can you imagine yourself ever getting married? Yes, but not so many times.

36. Have you ever done something to instigate trouble? Constantly.

37. Do you like your nose? Yes.

38. What color is your bedroom? India Ink navy blue - almost black.

39. Where do you live? Mocky Rountains.

40. Are you an aggressive driver? In a minivan? Puh-leze.

41. What color is your car? Dirt.

42. What do you smell like right now? Verbena soap.

43. What is your favorite color? Periwinkle, puce, heliotrope, burnt sienna

44. What character from a movie/TV most reminds you of yourself? Hmmmmm...

45. Do you enjoy giving hugs? It very much depends on whom I am hugging.

46. Do you own a digital camera? Yes. Numerous. I operate all of them badly.

47. What books, if any, have made you cry? So many

48. Are you a jealous person? Not anymore. I've mellowed.

49. (I took out a question of a sexual nature.)

50. What shoes are you wearing right now? None. Usually, Keens.

51. What is your major weakness? Dark Chocolate.

52. Do you suffer motion sickness? Never.

53. What's the best pizza? Mine.

54. Longest relationship? My parents. My sisters. My friend Sherry since 1971. My friends in Chicago since 1983. My husband since 1990.

55. Are you afraid of thunderstorms? I love them.

56. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Very, very old lady.

57. Have you ever given or been given an engagement ring? Yes, four.

58. What was the last gift someone gave you? A 3-stone anniversary ring from my husband.

59. Who would you call first if you won the lottery? 911 as I would probably have a stroke.

60. Can you cook? Yes.

61. What is your favorite jelly/jam? Cherry.

62. Can you swim? Yes, I enjoy it.

63. What is your first memory? Being at a birthday party in an itchy dress. I was 14 months old. I remember walking home, and my mother saying "You can do it!" and her turning around to wait for me. I remember taking off the itchy dress, and standing in front of the fan with my silk slip on. And then my grandmother trying to comb the knots out of my sweaty, curly long hair. So, it's pain that I remember first - it figures!

64. What item would you like to have buried with you? I'm getting cremated. So, nothing.

65. What are three things you're dying to have right now that would make everything just about perfect? World Peace, endless energy and yeah - a cure for autism.

Show & Tell Thursday: Chicken (EDITED)

I don't know what blogger is doing.
Anyway, the first photo is Early Bird - Youngest's baby toy. I sent it to him in S. Korea while we were waiting for him to come home, along with dozens of sweet baby outfits. None of which fit him! He was A Moose. His lovely Foster Mother never said a word about the tiny clothing that never fit him. She sent him home to us, carefully packing his beloved Early Bird, his Blankie that I had made and more than a few gorgeous Korean-made cotton outfits that fit him for many months. Lovely padded and lined winter outfits, that were perfect for our cold winters. She continues to send him very lovely things.

The second photo is a Chicken, all right. He is a Hot Dip Chicken. Since I don't many Hot Dips, or casseroles of such a small stature, this Chicken resides in a top shelf of the cabinet. He used to hold coins out on a mud room counter. Now Spare Change is plucked from Daddy's pocket and run upstairs to Piggy Banks in hot little hands. So Hot Dip Chicken rests with other things that are being safe from little hands.

Edited: Okay, Youngest's chicken is Earl E. Bird not Early Bird. Thanks for the email.
Hot Dip Chicken is my own moniker for the small tureen. He arrived with a half dozen recipes, all of which were essentially heated dips. Like artichoke, 4 cheese, blue cheese, bean, vegetable and an Asian flavor one which was delicious. I have lost all the recipes, unfortunately.

Tuesday Confessions:

1. I take great satisfaction in keeping our home clean. I clean something and do laundry nearly every day. When I stay at friends' houses, I clean their homes, too.
2. I have a collection of cleaning and maintenance books. I just bought 2 new ones, but I am finding them a tiresome read.
3. I am really good at sewing and alterations. I made all my clothing -- even dress jackets and coats -- in high school. I made our sons' crib bedding, and am going to make quilts for their beds.
4. I keep my closet and the boys' closets arranged according to color and season. The boys are hanging up their shirts this way now, too. "Blue lives with the other blue shirts..." Youngest said as he re-hung a shirt today. I've never said a word about it, but I guess the boys have Eyes.
5. I love to cook and bake.
6. We have brunches or dinner parties every week.
7. I had a job for 30 years straight. I have no desire to return to a job or career. (If someone asks me if I work, I quip "Oh, yes; full-time - long hours, too")

I feel embarrassed to admit these things. The jobs I value doing; keeping our home and yard in good shape, gardening, sewing, needlework, being with my children, doting on our pets, cooking, entertaining - these things are not valued much in our society. But people? Love to come to our home.

What about you? Like to clean/cook/entertain? Hate to clean? Cook? Entertain?

Swiped from Sarah Louise:

You Are a Kinetic Learner

You learn best by doing, and you have a talent for complicated, physical tasks. You excel at athletics, drama, and fixing things. You would be an excellent Olympic athlete - or a Broadway star!

What's Your Learning Style?

Hair, today.

The hair, which was washed, conditioned, styling misted and styled, for 30 minutes.

It takes that long to get it almost dry. Yes, my blow dryer is powerful and hot. Yes, I use metal core brushes - 4 of them, which get left rolled in the hair, smokin' hot.

I am hair inept. So, I blow dry my hair maybe once a month. The rest of the time? Air dried and then twisted up and held in a huge hair-clip thingy.

But it's not really my hair. It's hair I am growing for a little girl with alopacia, or going through chemo. Every 3 years, it is carefully brushed, banded into 3 big pony tails, cut above the bands, wrapped in thick plastic and boxed, and shipped to Locks of Love. Where it is combined with hair from 8 other people, and made into a wig for a child. Who doesn't have any hair.

So, I try to make it good hair, by eating good stuff and taking supplements, and not using too many chemicals and certainly not much blow drying. No siree - this hair has to be pretty pristine for that little girl who is patiently waiting. Which is mighty convenient for me - this hair of hers grows amazingly fast on this old head, and I then have the perfect excuse for not fixing my hair.

And honestly? I was All About Hair for so many years that this is just perfect.

If anyone you know is thinking about cutting off more than 10" of hair, please tell them about Locks of Love. Most salons will happily participate. And your hair can be colored. And the haircut is FREE!
Locks of Love

We are munching on grub from our garden!

Plump, juicy roma tomatoes.
Crisp, gleaming green peppers.
Luscious Cucumbers.
Fragrant bunches of basil.
Gobs of bok choy.

Just give me a shaker of salt.
Okay, and a steamer.

Soon we'll have beans, zukes and pickling cukes.

Watermelon? Maybe.
Pumpkins? YES!

And waist-high weeds. Which we will mercilessly attack tomorrow. The garden plot, initial plowing and tilling and all the water is provided by my K's employer. So K has done nearly all the work. Which is very much appreciated.

Show & Tell Thursday: Sugar Bowls

Hey look! It's last week's Show & Tell - the Coffee Pot. And it's keeping company with the Dansk Sugar Bowl. The husband's bachelor pad china.

Next we have the Daily Raw Sugar. Oldest would point out that is his first Lego Bionicle in the background, which I could not quite get together properly, but which he loves anyway.

Next is the Lovely Coronado sugar bowl. It lives where it should; in the China Cabinet. With the rest of its kind. Away from hockey sticks and bats and flying objects.

Last is our frou-frou daily china sugar bowl, given to us as a wedding gift. I love it. The pattern is Noritake Royal Orchard. So pretty!

As requested by blackbird
and kitty cafe

And more affiant sayeth not.

A perfect day.

A hottish day.
A clear cool blue mountain water lake.
Lots of dappled shade.
The proper amount of sand.
Friendly, eager little sunfish.
I Huge, Rolling, free-floating, Slippery log.
4 kids, excited; 2 mothers, happy. 1 babysitter, athletic
Make that 2 mothers, really happy.

We spent 5 hours in the lake or on the shady shore. Not a cross word was heard.
The babysitter kept very close tabs of Dangerous Youngest. And played with all of them.
And Daring Oldest showed us his survival skills by floating on his back and kicking like mad for shore when he got into various pickles (Read: Over his head and lost his boogey board).
And me?
I spent hours; HOURS I'm telling you, floating, swimming, feeding sunfish, walking along the shore, snacking, visiting with my dear friend and just inhaling deeply an inch or so above the fresh, non-chlorinated lake water.
And thinking what a lucky woman I am most days.

Buying what You Buy.

First it was Joke's towels.

Now, it's shirts from Badger's favorite clothing store, Target.

What's next? Chocolate from Australia?!

What flavor Ice Cream are you?

You Are Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

You are kind, popular, and generous. You tend to be successful at anything you try. A social butterfly, you are great at entertaining a crowd. You are most compatible with strawberry ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Show & Tell Thursday: Coffee Maker

Here is what serves the daily java around here
Coffee Maker

We also have a little espresso machine, which got moved out for a buffet dinner months ago, and I cannot now locate.

As requested by PJ via Blackbird.

Dull

It's been SSDD here - but with the absence of the Dad. Who is visiting his parents out of State. And I have been having alot of medical checkups which were scheduled before we knew he would making the trips - yes; he's leaving town again as soon as he gets back. I haven't told the boys. I like to spring stuff on them.

And I've lost the handy-dandy cable that makes the digital camera talk to the computer, and share things.

Dull.

But - I'm reading and commenting. You guys? Are not dull at all! You're brilliant!

Sunday Meme: Queer ?'s for the Queasy& Quaint

You are cordially invited to borrow this meme of queer questions for the queasy and quaint.
I stold it from blackbird who lifted it from stuff and junk.

GRUB-OLOGY
• What is your salad dressing of choice?
I love French vinaigrette. Preferable eaten in a Paris restaurant. The ones I make are pretty good...but never taste like the ones made in Paris.

• What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Chik Fil A - it is nearby.

• What is your favorite sit down restaurant?
A restaurant called Bloom that is nearby.

• On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
15 - 20%.

• What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Mexican.

• Name three foods you detest above all others.
Organ meats, Spam, rutabegas.

• What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant?
Garlic chicken.

• What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Kitchen Sink.

• What do you like to put on your toast?
Icy chips of sweet butter and raspberry jam.

• What is your favorite type of gum?
Don't chew it, but used to love bubble gum.

BI-OLOGY
• What do you consider to be your best physical attribute?
The right side of my face

• Are you right handed or left handed?
Righty

• Do you like your smile?
Yes.

• Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Tonsils, Fibroids, thyroid.
And sadly, 5 dead embryos or fetuses. Horrible.

• Would you like to?
Please - No more souvenirs for surgeons from my body! Enough!

• Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
Smell - I am darn near neanderthal in this sense.

• When was the last time you had a cavity?
Can't remember.

• What is the heaviest item you lift regularly?
Our 45-pound youngest, regularly.

• Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Yes: At 14, in a car roll-over, and then for 8 surgeries with anesthesia

MISC-OLOGY
• If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
No.

• If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
Depends on circumstances.

• How do you express your artistic side?
I create stuff w/textiles and yarn (sewing and knitting sounds boring!)
I paint and draw with my sons
I cook and plate beautiful arrangements
I write

• What color do you think you look best in?
Lime green or periwinkle

• How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison?
I hope to never find out.

• Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
Yes.

• If we weren’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at?
No. I like my 70 first cousins, but not THAT much.

• How often do you go to church?
Never.

• Have you ever saved someone’s life?
Yes. My sister's. I pulled her out of violent surf by her hair and left arm in Creta, Greece. I don't know where I found the strength, but I THREW her up on shore. She was 15.

• Has someone ever saved yours?
Yes.

DARE-OLOGY
For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.

• Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
I'd do it for less!

• Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
Yes, but no tongues.

• Would you have sex with a member of the same sex for $10,000?
Depends. Possibly if there were another 0 added to the number. Nah - probably not. I'd be laughing too hard.

• Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
No.

• Would you never blog again for $50,000?
No.

• Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
I've done it for much less.

• Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
No.

• Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
Yes. Pick any rapist or child sex abuser. But I'd need therapy afterwards.

• Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000?
Yes. And donate the hair off my head to Locks of Love.

• Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
Yes, easily. I'd give it up for $1,000.

Oh yeah, saving LOTS of time and $$$ here!

HA!

"I'll do Oldest's party and save us a TON of money!"
"How difficult can it be?"

How could I have been this ignorant?
I have spent PLENTY on this party.
I have done research for age-appropriate games.
For wily, clever 5, 6 and 7 yos.
Some of whom are autistic.
This wasn't easy. Why did I think it would be? WHAT PLANET HAVE I BEEN LIVING ON?

I said Drop Off so I would not have to entertain parents.
I think only 2 parents are dropping off!

And...
You know
I.
Hate.
Potluck.

EVERYONE is hinting that they will bring 'something'. I have repeatedly stated "That something better just be your child and possibly a gift."

If this turns into a 7 hour potluck I am going to be pissed.

It's happened before.

More More Meme - 62 Things

1. How old do you wish you were? 35. I was in perfect shape, physically and emotionally.
2. Where were you when 9/11 happened?I was home, with Oldest, who was 14 months old, our Nanny and her husband, who was our housekeeper. She screamed for her husband when I clicked through the channels looking for PBS for Oldest, and we all three sat down and hugged each other and the baby and cried.
3. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? N/A
4. Do you consider yourself kind? Yes. But I rarely give 2nd chances. And I am a Really Mean person when and if I need to be.
5. If you had to get a tattoo, where and what would it be? HAD TO?! I would hope to never have to join such a Club.
6. If you could be fluent in any other language what would it be? Spanish.
7. Do you know your neighbors? Most of them. We have been really lucky in this hood.
8. What do you consider a vacation? Travel AWAY from home, with cooks, cleaning staff and gardeners lined up. Cruises work well.
9. Do you follow your horoscope? No.
10. Would you move for the person you loved? Depends where. If it's an undesirable place, we would maintain 2 households. Our little one needs special ed - everything would hinge on what was available elsewhere.
11. Are you touchy feely? Depends.
12. Do you believe that opposites attract? Yes. My husband and I are living proof.
13. Dream job? I'm doing it. Staying home with our sons and paying myself well.
14. Favorite channels? N/A
15. Favorite place to go on a weekend? The mountains.
16. Showers or Bath? Long, steamy bubble baths. In the winter. Otherwise, Long, steamy showers. With top-drawer soaps.
17. Do you paint your nails? Nail tech does. French Mani.
18. Do you trust people easily? Not so much.
19. What are your phobias? Heights and me are not a good match.
20. Do you want kids? Just Two and I'm Through. And I love them to pieces.
21. Do you keep a handwritten journal? No.
22. Where would you rather be right now? Getting a massage.
23. What makes you feel warm and safe? Cold, Hard Cash.
24. Heavy or light sleep? Heavy.
25. Are you paranoid? No.
26. Are you impatient? Yes.
27. Who can you relate to? Other mothers, kids.
28. How do you feel about interracial couples? No problemo. We are a bi-racial family.
29. Have you been burned by love? Usually the Burner, not the Burnee.
30. Whats your life motto? "Slow Down! There is no prize for finishing first."
31. What's your main ringtone on your mobile? Whatever it came with 5 years ago.
32. What were you doing at midnight last night? Snoozing away.
33. Who was your last text message from? Don't know nothin' about textin' no messages.
34. Who's bed did you sleep in last night? Ours, with Oldest, sans dh. (who was working)
35. What color shirt are you wearing? White Polo.
36. Most recent movie you watched? Can't remember! MI-5 series on tv (NetFlix)
37. Name five things you have on you at all times? Scars, freckles, hair, aches & guilt
38. What color are your bed sheets? This week they are Raymond Waites taupy floral.
39. How much cash do you have on you right now? $2.00? I never carry cash.
40. What is your favorite part of a chicken? Thighs.
41. What's your favorite town/city? US - Chicago, San Francisco or New York. Europe - Paris, Siena, London - depends on the time of year.
42. I cant wait till... We go to Hawaii for my sister's wedding!
43. Who got you to join MySpace? Isn't that TeenyBopper Heaven?
44. What did you have for dinner last night? Chicken Curry.
45. How tall are you barefoot? 5'5"
46. Have you ever smoked crack? Yes. Over 25 years ago. I inhaled, coughed, coughed, hacked, gagged and then puked. Then had diahrrea. Lovely!
47. Do you own a gun? Yes.
48. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water following by coffee w/cream.
49. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? My wit and sense of humor.
50. Do you have A.D.D.? Yes.
51. What time did you wake up today? 6:30 or earlier.
52. Current worry? My outta sight triglyceride levels.
53. Current hate? Parkinson's - it is killing my beautiful father in law.
54. Favorite place to be? Home with my boys.
55. Where would you like to travel? Anywhere. Although the Middle East and parts of Africa might be a bit dicey right now.
56. Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs? Hopefully, right here.
57. Last thing you ate? Chicken Curry. Yes, 2 nights in a row.
58. What songs do you sing in the shower? I enjoy Peace and Quiet in the shower.
59. Last person that made you laugh? Oldest!
60. Worst injury you've ever had? One that hurt the most in the getting of it was dislocating my shoulder when I crashed a motorcycle I was learning how to drive. The one that hurt the most healing was a concussion I got rolling a car in a ditch when I was 14 and driving a bunch of drunk 21+'s yo's back from a liquor store. I am not kidding. They thought I was older. Yep - they were That Drunk.
61. Does someone have a crush on you? Both my sons want to marry me.
62. What is your favorite candy? I'm easy - make it Dark Chocolate and I'm Yours.

Planning a 6-year old's Party.

Well, I'm NOT actually planning Oldest's party right this minute. NO! I'm reading your blog and doing other avoidance behaviors. What's next? Washing the floors? Dyeing my hair? (No. Did it already. Never mind) Sorting through a closet? NO! I AM working on this party plan! Right Now! This very Minute! As in HEY! We have a plan, Cosmo!

Note: "Prizes" are a dip into the candy bowl

Theme: Sponge Bob

Arrival Activity:
Kiddy Bocce:

Each child gets 2 ball-pit balls with their names written in Sharpie. Adult lines up chilluns and then Adult tosses a bigger ball (the 'pallino' or "P" as it's usually called) a ways out. The children then sorta take turns throwing their ball-pit balls trying to get as close to the "P" as they can. Much measuring (BDay Boy will weild the measuring tape). Prizes for closest, furthest, worst throw, best attention, etc.

Everyone's Here! Activity:
Water Blasters, Bubbles, Water Balloons, Pistols, Pools, Slip N Slides. Prizes for tricks on the Slip N Slide. I think. Maaaaaaybe Not - don't want to encourage ridiculous behavior. Don't want to send them home bruised and bleeding...

Gone Fishin'! Activity:

The boys and babysitter will make an 'ocean' today -- Sheet painted with water, fish, seashells, Sponge Bob characters. Said sheet will then be hung across a clothesline placed Very Very High at the party. We will have a fishing pole rigged up from a broom handle, string and clothespin. The children will 'fish' using gummy worms clothespinned to the string, flung over the sheet. Adult will then replace worm with a fish or pool diving toy, and give the fisherman a bit of a fight for the reel back in, depending on the size of the fisherman. We will call out "Small Fry" so the Adult doesn't jerk a little one off his pins, forever traumatizing them for Party Games.

Rocket Dogs Rockets Activity:

We have two Rocket Dog rockets where you use your foot to Blast Off the rocket. We will line the children up in 2 lines and have 2 compete for highest rocket. Prizes for who is highest, best form, best attention, etc.

Sponge Bob Puzzle Race:

The children will draw numbers and then form teams of 2 or 3 to race to put a Sponge Bob puzzle together. We have a few 60-piece puzzles. This is the wind-down indoor activity waiting for pizzas to arrive.

PIZZA! Yes, we have Sponge Bob plates! Don't forget to Use Them!

Pin Sponge Bob on Shark Activity:

Prizes awarded for closest to jaws, furthest from jaws, highest, lowest, most spins; everyone gets Candy.

Decorate Your Own Bucket Activity:

We'll have permanent markers (GASP!) and doo-dads in an ocean theme to stick on small buckets. The kids will need the buckets for their next activity:

Treasure Hunt Activity:

Adult will read clues to where piles of booty reside. Booty includes yo-yo's (full size, not those ridiculous little things), bags of Jelly Beans, Hot Wheels Cars, Gold Fish boxes, Goofy tape dispensers, and other goodies I am ON A MISSION to discover today. Maybe 6 different things.

CAKE Activity:
Self-explanatory. Costco cake. Picked up ahead of time, I hope.

Sponge Bob Pinata Activity:

Self explanatory. Please say prayers that no adult gets delivered a death-to-the gonads blow.

Final Waiting-For-Parental Pick-up Activity:

Sponge Bob Movie in the Theatre Room. Supervised by Attila the Husband.

And feel free: Chirp in here with Any Ideas.
Really.

5 Things Meme:

Knicked from Blackbird, who stole it from elsewhere:

5 Things In My Closet:

A double laundry hamper, half empty
Four sacks of goodies from hither and yon, full of treasure hunt items for Oldest's upcoming birthday party
An ironing board and iron
My First Holy Communion Dress and Veil (we were living in Okinawa for that momentous event, and my mother had to send to New York City for one that wouldn't itch me - every seam is French seamed)
A big clear plastic box of medical remedies, all a-jumble and up Very High

5 Things In My Car:

Three tubes of Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in different colors
Dental Floss
Two straw sippy cups
Rubberneckers - an "I spy with my Little Eye" type of deck of cards
A Transponder to use on tollways and HOV lanes

5 Things in My Refrigerator:

Kafir Lime Leaves, big sprigs of Rosemary, fresh sage and basil
Vegetables we may or may not eat
Rockfish fillets waiting to be prepared tonight (eta: They were okay, nothing great)
Pink Lady apples
Lotsa Pickles

5 Things in My Purse:

Credit cards
2 Stamps
Receipt for Target to return any unused goodies from Oldest's party
Grocery store card
Medical ID card

We have a Yellow Belt in Residence!

Oldest has been taking TaeKwonDo since March. It's probably been the best thing imaginable for him - he is painfully shy, very quiet, a sweet boy. Sweet boys are great around the house, but don't fare so well in their peer group. Since he's a July baby (he will be SIX soon!), we felt well within our rights to have him wait to go to Kindergarten as a young six v. a Very Young Five. Then I found our TaeKwonDo place, and it has been heaven-sent for him.

Oldest worked himself into a bit of a lather worrying about the test ahead of time; I could cheerfully deliver a swift uppercut to his father for talking ad nauseum a few days ago about it being fine and normal if Oldest was nervous and upset about the test! And also, it would be perfectly fine if he didn't pass the test! IDIOT! Gee, thanks for putting that clever idea in the kid's head! Oldest immediately got eyes the size of luncheon plates and commenced fretting and worrying. He woke up this morning without a care in the world - only concern was what to choose for breakfast. Then, here comes Daddy, trotting downstairs after breakfast has been prepared, eaten and cleaned up, bidding cheerful good mornings and then loudly declaring "Hey! It's TaeKwonDo Testing Day!" Oldest immediately knitted his eyebrows together and started worrying. Lovely. It was 9 a.m. He had a full five hours to dwell on it. We practiced his creed, counting, what belt meant what, some other things I thought might crop up.

We got there a half hour early so Oldest could gallop off some steam. No other small fry arrived for 15 minutes, so it was Oldest with 20 BIG kids - like high school and college aged. He tried to make himself invisible. Master Kim worked with him a bit and that loosened him up. Then four other Little Dragons showed up (4-6) and they started tearing around like the devil was on their heels. Everyone Oh'd and Ah'd seeing these darling little guys zipping around in the uniforms. Rosy apple-red cheeks and gleaming pearly whites, giggles and shrieks. So Cute. And one of them was my Very Own. One of the youngest two there.

There were many black belts there. Four were judges, and were eventually seated at a long, draped table. Two Korean men, one anglo man and one anglo woman. Oldest's group was called first - 3 college students testing for yellow, and the two smallest students. They tested the group of 3 oldest first, and I was praying Oldest was watching them do their routines. It took longer and they did more than I dreamed they would! My heart started pounding and I started getting really nervous - YIKES! Oldest has severe anxiety during tests - and he didn't know the entire routine at practice. He is the only white belt during his practice, and there are yellow and purple belt routines to go over. Anyway, Oldest and the other little one were called up, and the other kid took off like a rocket with his routine - leaving Oldest looking lost and forlorn. They have more than a few near misses and start giggling. The crowd giggles with them. The other boy almost fell over backward and did a Speedy Gonzales backshuffle and Parker stopped to watch. They were both giggling. The crowd was laughing. The Lead Judge called a stop to the routines, and had the other child go first while Oldest was seated and waiting. I could see Oldest getting pretty flushed - the backs of his ears were magenta. I started feeling sick to my stomach! Great! I have turned into my worst fear - the mother who collapses and pisses herself during her child's presentations! Master Kim saw that Parker was losing it, so he offered some words of immediate encouragement, which I think backfired. Parker then lost all confidence and his routine flew out the window. He ended up doing parts of it alone, parts of it shadowing Master Kim. I am now dying for him - I just know this is going to cork his TKD career, which means so much to him. But then he has a burst of confidence, I see his dimples appear and then a big grin - he remembers what to do! He finishes nicely. His form is pretty darn good. His gives a big bow and his little feet practically twiddle in midair with joy! He Is DONE. He Did It. I suddenly hear the crowd again. They are ohing and ahing his performance. A dad leans over to me and says "That is the cutest kid I have ever seen." I realize I have tears in my eyes. They spill over. I leaned back into my chair and started breathing again. Then I sat straight up again - all 5 of them are now up by the judges, and they are holding up boards for the students to break! Their are two groups, 3 older students and the 2 young ones. The other boy went first, and took 2 tries to break his board. The crowd applauded. Then it is Oldest's turn. I started to sweat bullets - he hasn't done much of this, and never very successfully with the yellow practice boards. Oldest stared intently at his board, steps-behind-steps and WHACK! The board snapped in two. Oldest stared at it in amazement. The crowd breaks into tremendous appplause. The judges give him alot of praise. The grin on Oldest is dazzling; I swear his molars made an appearance.

They then line them up, and critique every performance. Oldest seems to have lost the ability to speak. They cannot find a report card for his last term, and he cannot seem to answer the question "What grade are you in?" The judge asks "Parents, what grade is he going into?" I warble "Kindergarten, Ma'am" and find my voice is two octaves higher than normal. I curse myself for not bringing in his 20-page Montessori report, then think of the trouble I had deciphering it, and reckon I did the correct thing by leaving it home. Later I find that they discuss every single student's report card or GPA, the significance of good attendance and excellent grades, the importance of balance in life, with emphasis on schooling. They ask Oldest "Who are your heros?" and he is silent. They ask an older student and he quips "My mom and dad, sir!" and they ask Oldest again. He say "My Mom and Dad?" and I felt him cringe. The judge says "YES!" and then asked "Why?" Silence again. The Judge reminded Oldest of all we do for him, and asks the other young student for his answers. Both little boys were told that they should love their fathers and mothers very much. And they were instructed to run and find us right then, and tell us how much they loved us! I was almost bawling at this point! The crowd went "AWWWW!" as the other boy and Oldest sped over and gave huge hugs and kisses.

I was mpressed that they gave many of the students difficult questions to answer; not only about the Korean flag, nation, meaning of different commands and creed, but "What would you do if another kid at school was taunting you, even pushing you, trying to get you to fight?" I was very impressed when the waiting-to-test students were brought up on a short leash when they burst out laughing at an older student's somersaulting fall (It was funny) and the lead Judge bellowed "Next one who laughs get 100 pushups! Next time laugh get sent outside. For rest of the day!" Not Another Laugh was Heard, but there was some choking. The higher belts (blue, red, brown) sparred at the end. I was open-mouth shocked at the amount of THONKS and THUDS (they were helmeted, padded on chest, legs and feet) and full contact they had.

I thought I was the Big Emotional Weirdo until I witnessed every single parent reacting as I did. One father hid bent over in his chair while his high school daughter did her routine. Every time he watched her, he giggled! The dad next to me audibly grunted and rose an inch or two off his seat during his son's routine, and stopped breathing altogether when his son was unable to break the board with more than 15 tries. His head was buried in his hands and he missed the shot of his son breaking the board. Everyone wildly applauded when that board snapped. I saw parents' lips moving in silent supplication, and saw more than a few tears - it wasn't Just Me.

Then there was the Belt Presentation. All the judges hugged or patted Oldest and his little chest was puffed out like a Capon. Other students hugged Oldest, too. The girls really hugged and patted him. I found his snapped board (they keep them - I didn't know that) and shoes while he was wrapping up. Then suddenly he was in my arms, and my heart burst.

And what was dh doing the entire time? Videoing and wrangling Youngest. Who was bored shitless and starting to misbehave. They ended up leaving and running a few errands. Youngest came back in and shrilly whispered "MOMMY! I HAVE A SPRITE!" which made me levitate about 3" off my chair. It was Dead Silent at that point. Then Master Kim's 18 month old son Daniel let out a shriek as he spotted Youngest (they are buddies - Youngest brings a portable DVD player and Daniel watches the train movies, too) so they were hustled back outside poste haste. It was actually a good tension breaker.

I am beat. We also went out to dinner and celebrated Oldest's victory. And Oldest got to call all the relatives and crow a bit. He was still sporting the Capon Look as he went to bed. He told me he loved me and said "This has been the Best Day Ever, Mommy!" I told him "For me too, my love." And I think it truly was.

Small-town parade - Most Excellent!

We beat a hot path out of here with breakfast bars to line up to watch our city's parade. It was great! Sports clubs, boy and girls clubs, politicians, companies, police/firemen and neighborhoods had floats or walked in the parade. The boys were ecstatic - candy and goody bags were tossed their way, and there was even a Shrek float, complete with steam hissing dragon and the donkey! There is also a pancake breakfast, but the one year we indulged in that breakfast we all suffered indigestion for hours - the pancakes spend more time in the air being flipped and tossed around, and they are therefore made to be tough enough to withstand the entertainment feature that they bring to the table, so to speak.

Did we get a single picture? NO! We had 5 minutes to get out the door and the cameras were forgotten.

Tonight? There are parties and many fireworks to choose from. Dh and oldest will participate. Youngest and I will have an early evening at home. He will have general anesthesia tomorrow to get dental work. I have to have him at Children's Hospital by 5:30 a.m. tomorrow - so no late night for us tonight.

Tomorrow? Will be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day for youngest and me. Please keep a good thought for our sweet little one. Thanks.

What He WILL Eat.

It's been going around; this What My Spouse Will Eat thing. Babelbabe and Joke have done it; maybe others as well.

I can whup you all with what my spouse won't eat. Instead, it's infinitely easier to make up the very short list of what he will eat.

Salmon, cooked medium well done (I like it barely done and very juicy)
Scrambled eggs or well-done omelettes
Swiss cheeses and their direct relations, like Jarlsburg
Cheddar cheese, the sharper the better
Romaine lettuce, oak leaf lettuce and leafy green lettuce
Pasta of almost any kind
Pesto
Tomatoes
Olives - preferably black
Mushrooms
Green beans
Broccoli
Corn
Bread of almost any kind
Almost any rice
Honey Gone Nuts Granola
Chocolate, banana nut or poppy seed muffins
Cherry Pie
Mosts cake
Dark Chocolate
Some cookies
Most nuts, but not Brazil nuts
Coffee with cream
Tofu
Canned beans
Pizza with black olives, mushrooms and onions
He will eat Italian food and mexican food, but no meat of any kind
Will eat spicy broccoli Chinese food, some lo mein

You will notice there is NO flesh except for salmon. Few vegetables. Limited cheese selections.

I'm telling you, it's a bitch.

Guess what I'm doing today!

WRONG!

No. Not Unpacking.

No. Not returning 13 phone calls or answering 39 emails.

I. Am. Polyurethaning. Hardwood. Floors.

1700 sf.

On the Main Level.

Jay-sus - I haven't been this exhaustsed in years. YEARS, I tell you.

We've Waddled Back!

YES! Back from To Hell and Back.

The trip in a nutshell?
1. No Planes, 2 trains.
2. Lotsa Automobile
3. A blow-up mattress & pump
4. Four Slightly Seedy Sleeping Accommodations
5. A few ailments
6. Swimming pools with crystal clarity - devine.
7. Swimming pools with bad test results - not so devine. Baths for all. Scrubdowns, in fact.
8. Korean Heritage Camp - the experience has left me speechless with emotion.

I'm Outta Heah!

No, not trotting off in a fit of pique.

It's VaCay. It's 2-season packing. It's trying to remember to do Everything beforehand - but one never can. So we have a BackUp Plan. Or Two.

But probably no blog posting; and worse, no blog READING.

And I have No Idea where we are going. But it may involve planes, trains and automobiles.

List Friday: What's Missing?

As suggested by Loretta

1. My mind, or at least parts of it.
2. The rest of that sentence I was just uttering.
3. The little sack of dried bay leaves I purchased not 2 days ago. The corned beef won't be the same without it.
4. The Jenny sweater I left in The Broadmoor in 1989, along with the panty half of a fancy Italian bra and panty set.
5. 3 sets of earrings; opal triplets, sapphires and 1/2 of a diamond stud set.
6. 47 pair of sunglasses, at least.
7. A one-piece swim suit that was flattering. Left in the pool cabana at my Chicago friends' country house.
8. Oldest's kindergarten interview appointment, sometime in August at 10:40 -day unknown. We can find out what day when teachers come back to school Aug 11. That leaves alot of days in August un-vacationable.
9. My box of tools! It's gone, I tell you!
10. A pillow sham. I tore the house apart looking for it 4 years ago. Didn't find it in the move 3 years ago. I finally gave away the matching duvet in utter disgust. And found the sham Last Week.

My current favorite summer hat

It's washable and ever-so-wearable. It's comfy, cool and provides good coverage. And it's in earth tones.

I hope to be sporting a bicycle helmet most of next year. But the rattlers are out something fierce right now, and I'm not testing fate with the training wheel set.

For blackbird
and yes, it's a day early. I had an adult handy today to help. Oldest tends to shoot great pictures of nostril hairs.

There are two 5 year olds in our house for a month.

Our sons are not quite 11 months apart. Irish Twins. Of Korean Ancestry. These sons were not born of my uterus; they were born in my heart and adopted a year apart.

Oldest is an Old Five; he seems very much older than his years in so many ways, and so much younger than his years in other ways. Oldest is very sensitive and takes life seriously. Most of the time. He has learned that being the class clown is a cover up for extreme shyness. So we now have a serious goofball on our hands, if that makes sense. He also treads lightly on the planet. Unless someone spills something on him, his clothing remains pristine. If he sneaks into bed with us, he is considerate and tries not to wake us and will nearly always go back to sleep.

Youngest is a Very Young Five; he is just now talking in full sentences some of the time, entering into conversations at a very basic level, and able to trade niceties in two, possibly three word, exchanges. If it is a subject that interests him. Like trains, cars or crunchy carbohydrates. The expression 'sneakin' along' has absolutely no application for this child. He thunders and roars! I am woken daily to a very happy, sturdy little boy climbing into bed beside me, rooting around to get the most choice spots of the bed and pillow, and whispering "I want WAFFLES, Mommy!"

Yesterday, they started their Summer Adventure Day Camp at our neighboring town's rec center. It has about 45-60 kids enrolled, ages 5-10. I put some effort into picking out their backpacks, water bottles and extra clothing/hats/sunscreen/lunch/snacks. We did it together so they would know how to open everything and where their items were stored in their new backpacks. The 11 months between them seemed more like 2 years with their abilities to absorb the information I was trying to impart the last few days:
1. What to expect at camp.
2. How I expected them to behave.
3. Handling adoption questions.
4. Asking for help with toileting, etc.

Oldest? Asked questions about everything. Youngest? Begged for a movie during the entire exchange.

So I had 6 hours OFF yesterday. I spent at least 5 hours of that missing them.

I HAVE A BLOGROLL!

Yes! They are shamelessly cut n pasted from Carolyn (TMI Spot)!
I will add YOU later! I am a bit confused at how I did this! Bye!

The Summer 1978 Meme: My Torrid Tale

Summer of 1978 was the year of my 1st divorce. Yes, I was a child bride. Both sets of parents had to sign permission for us to marry. And he was 2 years older than me! Why did I marry so young? No - no baby on the way. Because I was an IDIOT, that's why.

I spent the next 6 years after the wedding thusly: Spent 2 weeks opening gifts and setting up a tiny duplex as 'home'. When the last gift was opened, I called my mother and said I wanted to move back home as I couldn't cook and was sick of husband complaining. She replied "You ARE home. Figure it out." We bought a house, with his parents as co-buyers as we were too young to originate a loan. The house cost $18,900. It was built in 1880.

I worked in law offices, then started my own business. Modeled for hair/makeup photo shoots early mornings/evenings and weekends. Worked out Every.Single.Day at the downtown YMCA, which had exactly 3 women members in their co-ed phyed classes when I started working out. Meanwhile, I put husband through 6 years of undergrad and part of grad school. And paid for Every. Single. Thing. Did I mention he was a spoiled Mama's Boy? And that his parents were wealthy, and he was used to buying whatever he wanted? And that I loved his mother to pieces? More than him?

In 1977, I decided I was done raising my soon to be ex-husband. By now, I was living between 2 communities, as dh had gotten a job 4 hours away up in the mountains. We bought a nice condo up there, right at the bottom of a ski lift. But I was still essentially maintaining 2 households on my income, as his seemed to evaporate. I filed my own 'dissolution of marriage' paperwork and had him served. I hammered out our separation agreement, giving myself 75% of the assets. It still cost me a huge sum of money in 1977 dollars - $25,000 - to get out of that marriage. We did not tell his parents for 6 months. It broke his mother's heart. We were That Close.

I found cajones I never knew I had that year. I left a man who had controlled me since I was 15. And I never looked back.

And I discovered P.A.R.T.Y.I.N.G While you guys were riding your bikes around and playing in forts made of tangled roots, I was partying. Aspen. Vail. Boulder. Lower Downtown Denver at a gay dance club called Tracks, which was the Studio 54 of the West. Their sound system was so great, it was worth the drive.

So, here's a typical day, summer of 1977. I might work; I might not. My house payment was $144.06. Bills were low. I had a huge garden and ate out of that. Friends always brought over tons of food and booze. If I had scheduled work that day, I might have to start REALLY early if it was a photo shoot. If it was office work, I could get up around 7. Throw on nice clothes and catch the bus. Read on the bus. Read for lunch. Read on the bus ride home. Miss my stop. Read some more. Get home, find guests waiting on my big front porch. We'd cook, drink and eat. Go clubbing, or maybe not. Get home, catch 4 or 6 hours of sleep, and do it all over again. Weekends were parties, trips to lakes for boat rides (I couldn't risk water skiing - no health insurance!) trips to the mountains for hikes and picnics, sometimes packing in and camping. Life was not just good - it was great. I had never had such fun in my life.

I met J in a bookstore, winter of 1977. He was 10 years older than me. He was a vegetarian, very well educated, very handsome, very laid back. He had greenhouses of gorgeous plants. And lots of cash. Since math wasn't my forte, it never occurred to me that That Much Money probably didn't come from owning greenhouses. And that he traveled to California alot. Plant business, you know? Nah, that wasn't it. If you saw the movie 'Blow' with Johnny Depp, you get the idea. It took me 3 years to finally figure it out. He was very slick about it. And not a user. I'd drive to San Francisco while he was 'working', and buy clothing from little known designers. Go to City Lights bookstore. Entertain myself. The fact that we had a Mercedes, a BMW and flew first class to places to party should have been sending off alarm bells. But, everyone loved us, you know? We were The Couple.

I decided that we should start hosting big dinner parties. But I couldn't cook! J sent me to cooking school. So Summer of 1978, I learned how to cook properly. It was a great summer. I sold my business and gardened, read about history, and religions and sure; some trash - and cooked. I do believe that 1978 was the best summer of my life.

Things went to hell later, but this is Summer of 1978.

Is it REALLY so dangerous, so different, today?

Badger's post got me thinking: Is it Really that dangerous, so terrorist-ridden, so snatch-your-child horrible, that we can never take our eyes off our children for even a minute? Are there Really that many more perverts in the world? Will our children ever be allowed to roam our neighborhoods at any age? Or were our parents just "Bad Parents"?

What do you think? What is your comfort level with allowing your children out of sight?

30 Seconds of Terror - The Mystic Tan

Vanity, thy name is Victoria.

I decided I needed to have some color for all the end-of-school year parties, birthday parties, visits to the pool, an evening event, etc; all happening this week. Me and the tan-in-a-can? Not so good. A few neighbors, friends and my younger sister have used an instant salon tan with great success. For $20.00, how could I go wrong?

HA!

First off, I read the brochure while waiting for the room to be vacated and cleaned. The photos of the process and equipment should have given me a clue - anything that advises you to wear eye guards, breathing guards and to coat certain areas might not be a great idea for the dramatic and/or faint of heart. 'Phfft!' I told myself. When the very deeply tanned host called my name, I confidently strode forth. To Experience the Mystic Tan. To.My.Doom.

We entered the room, and I was surprised at the size of the tanning 'shower'. I should also have noted that the host had to give a good tug on the door - more on that later. He then went through the entire process, poo-pooing the need for eye or nose guard wear (thank God! I said to myself) but stressed the use of the hair net, lotion to block absorption on certain area "Dry Areas" he repeated again and again - heck, I'm dry all over - this is the desert! and also to stand on the metal plate in the shower. Something about how the metal plate negatively charges your body, attracting the liquid to you, or something like that - I was starting to do my usual shutdown when people rattle off instructions. The host rattles off something and then states "And this is important - be sure to dry yourself off, starting with your feet and working towards your head. Dry off very well to avoid streaking." "I don't leave it on until it's dry?!" I ask. NO! He starts to leave, waving a hand toward the poster full of photos and directions, then pops back in and stresses to use the lotion "UNDER your fingernails!" and then he firmly shuts the door. I'm alone with a sink, 2 jugs of tanning-blocking lotion, a bowl of candy and a basket full of big, fluffy hair nets. And 2 towels. And the Shower of Doom.

I shed all clothing and don the hair net after removing my jewelry. I start to really lotion up areas that he said - feet, hands, knees, elbows, between fingers and toes. For some reason I remember him stressing the bottom of my feet - so I really slather the lotion on my soles. Which means I am now sliding around the room, thinking "What a ridiculous thing to have people do!" but I make it into the shower okay. I note the red Start Button. I stand as I have been instructed; legs shoulder width apart, arms out from the sides, with lower arms and hands pointing down down from the elbows, fingers spread. I feel like Quick-Draw McGraw at this point, and I'm getting nervous. The myriad of directions is swimming in my head - Let's see; it's 15 seconds of spray in the front, then a 10 second delay to allow you to turn around, position yourself and then it sprays your back. Okay! I push the button and suddenly remember the first warning "The.Spray.Will.Feel.Quite.Cold."

I immediately forget to take the huge, deep breath I am supposed to take immediately after pushing the red start button.

SHIT!

I hear the nozzels powering up.

SHIT!

SHIT! IT"S FREEZING! And OH GOD! It's misting a Toxic Soup, and oh Crap I was supposed to keep my eyes closed and HOLY CRAP I'm going to have to breath in this lung-dissolving goo! ACK! HELLLLLLLLLLP!

I start panting like I've run a 10k with a fanny-kicking sprint at the end. I am squealing. I am terrified.

The mist shuts off, and I try to push open the door to escape. IT.IS.LOCKED. I am a prisoner.

The spigots power up again. I squeal and shut my eyes. And get blasted on the side. OH FUCK! I was supposed to turn around. I quickly spin and pray my back is now facing the spigots at the right angle. I am almost hyperventilating and cannot seem to keep my eyes closed. I try to squeeze them shut, but they fly open, and start watering with the chemical soup.

It's the longest 15 seconds of my life.

I burst out of the tanning shower and miss the rug so I slide across the floor into the towels. I grab one and immediately give my face a brisk rubdown. I look in the mirror and see a wild-eyed Thing looking back at me. I whip off the stained shower cap and then remember - I'm still covered in this stuff!

I towel off completely opposite of what I've been told (and read in the directions). Do I notice this at the time? No. What I do notice, in bold print on the poster, is an admonition to NOT lotion up the bottoms of your feet. wtf?! He TOLD me to do this. I swear I remember him telling me this!

My stuff is in a pile on the floor. I put on my clothes, find my hat, sunglasses, keys, coin purse that serves as my purse, phone and jewelry. I feel amazingly fine as soon as I get the door open and go out into the waiting room.

It takes hours to process (really, overnight) and I smell that funky smell of self-tanning products. I am excited to see what I look like tan!

I got out of bed with my usual covey of fans present. Oldest immediately asks "Mommy! What is wrong with that toe?" I look down and see a Very Dark Big Toe. On both feet. Streaks on the rest of my feet, with blobs of very dark skin on my ankles. The boys are now rubbing my toes, trying to clean them! Youngest trots off to the bathroom, and comes back with a wet washcloth.

While Youngest is scrubbing for all he's worth on my right big toe, I notice I have a huge white streak on the inside of my legs. And a matching white streak on the other leg. Lovely! And, what's this? My hands now resemble Baboon hands and are a palm reader's dream - all the lines are extra dramatic. And did I mention, Orange?! And my fingertips? Looks like I've been digging in piles of rich, dark loam - not the crappy clay we have here. Youngest notices my hand and starts scrubbing away at it with the washcloth. I decide to shower. And really survey the damage in the bathroom mirrors. I look like an idiot! Splotchy, streaky, And decidedly orange.

It was 98 degrees here today. And guess who wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, foot-covering shoes and a big hat today?

Rambling thoughts on a Sunday...

I really need to plan our summer vacations. We have an impending Korean culture camp; do we even have room reservations? NO! Have I set up Chicago, Las Vegas, Florida and Points East? NO!
The house is disorganized - a chronic situation - remember the packrats that reside here - and there will be no cleaning today - too much going on (HOORAY!). Meanwhile dh and Oldest are sleeping in the guest room, and Youngest is not 2" away, snoozing in his nest of pillows in our bedroom. We have had guests staying until waaaaaaaaaay after dinner, and we have played movies for the children to keep them inside and away from the mosquitoes - I guess Scooby Doo is a bit scary and causing night upsets - oops!

We have a largeish garden plot at dh's company community garden plot. Today, we will plant something, anything, in our garden plot. Yes, I know; we're Very Late. We've been waiting to get the rototiller from my parents' house, but now we'll just use a spade and turn over bits of soil here and there and plop big vegetable plants in the dirt - instant garden. The rest I will sow to cut flowers. The other gardeners will share vegetables with us, and we will happily share cut bouquets. I think that's a good arrangment! So today, we will take tools, seeds, and chairs to our city garden plot.

We have a barbeque to attend mid-afternoon, and afterwards we will go to our community pool for an evening swim. I like to swim after the heat of the day and the crowds. Then we shower the boys there, put them in their pajamas and they are nearly asleep on the short drive home. A quick read and rock, and they are off in dreamland.

I need to make summer-weight quilts for the boys' beds. There is a fabulous quilting shop not too far away, full of delicious cottons and flannels. I'm going to let the boys pick their patterns and colors. With the boys in full-day summer camp 2 days a week, I should be able to finish them - probably just in time for fall... hmmmmm. I should've started this in the spring. Are those quilts-in-a-day patterns really possible?!

A few of my friends want to learn how to can, pickle and put up jellies and jams. I've done all this, but not lately. I'm going to get all my recipes and equipment out, check it over and start planning some canning days. The girlfriend I used to can with is now too busy to participate, I fear. It seems like just a couple of years ago that we were learning to do this, but it's been more like 25 years! I'll invite her. Does anyone have any favorite recipes or tips to share? I know to put the pickling cukes on ice for a few hours before pickling. Any other tricks you use, or resources you have found invaluable?

Refinishing the hardwood flooring needs to be done this summer, too. I use Bona Kemi's easy refinishing products - a water based polyurethane applied twice with a special applicator. It is really easy to apply and lasts about a year. But it's tedious in that all the furniture has to be moved, the floors scrupulously vacuumed, washed and dried, and no children can be around. The smell fades very quickly - it's pretty non-toxic. And the scratches and abuse on the floors? Disappears into a gleaming gloss of perfection. Here where I buy the supplies: Floor refinishing supplies

K and I need to finish the window treatment in our bedroom. The pieces are lurking in every corner. It's just finding the time to do it. I'm looking forward to having black-out drapes in here - it's bright at 6 a.m. now. We bought the dark velvet off Ebay a long time ago - really a bargain. Who knew we'd be using it in our bedroom - K got it to make 'media room curtains' for his future media room. Sometimes his bargain hunting pays off in mysterious ways. Not that I'm condoning pack-rat-iness, but sometimes...?

And I'm making myself tired just thinking about all this future busy-ness. It's not so bad while one is doing it, but the planning of it - e x h a u s t i n g!

Stolen from My Float:

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Show and Tell Thursday: A day early

A Despised chair, nestled. Isn't it bachelor pad appropriate? Please note how fetching it appears in the playroom. It usually has piles of blankets and play cloths on it.

The ridiculously uncomfortable chair, with leg rest unfurled. Looks comfy, doesn't it? WRONG! This chair is guaranteed to give you a rib-wrenching backache in no time.

Sunset over the skeeter-breeder, to take my mind off that dreadful chair.

ACK! Here's it mate! Yes, in the 'library' ('it's a store room', she says in an embarrassed whisper) And - what's that - yes, it's oodles and gobs of towels, the ones recommended by Joke!

Why all the towels when we already have these, you ask! Because I'm tired of the boys using these wonderful Espalma and Home Spa towels. They now have their Very Own Sage-y Blue popcorn textured towels, thank you. Blackbird, note the wear on the Espalma. Not bad, when you consider that these 4 towels get washed at least twice a week, in very hot water sometimes. In fact, I am going to sew over the edges of the Joke towels so make them last longer. I think that's the key to towel wear - the edges wear long before the loop.

Yes, I'm posting a day early. Because look what happened last week when I waited! This was requested by Blackbird for Poppy.

Lordy, what have I done?!

A new cleaners/laundry opened up in the area. Not one to ever pass up a deal, I trotted in with Oldest (out of school) and 3 old pillow cases full of shirt laundry and dry cleaning. 50% Off! Who could resist.

The coupon expires today. The Manager, sizing me up as an easy fish to hook, says "What about blankets, comforters, duvets; stuff like that? Expires today! Get it back to you in two days if you get the stuff in by 10:30!" It was then 9:45. I have Youngest and Buddy to pick up at 10:30 -- and the Discount Clock is not only ticking, it's fairly gonging in my skull!

Oldest and I set a new speed record leaping into the faithful stead (the minivan) and grabbing the reins (buckling up). I shout "Ride like the wind, Bullseye!" and off we shoot for home. I speed around, collecting blankets, comforters and duvets and then think; 'Hey, what about the pillows?!' I gather up what I can easily shinny out of their double protectors, and end up with over 10. I reckon the newer ones don't need a bath yet. In that pile are Our Favorite Pillows. For Sleeping. Which we do every night. Does this occur to me? NO!

The back of the van is full with bedding. We unload back at the dry cleaners, and she gets the okay to clean the down pillows. I then prepay for the bedding. Comes to over $100, even with the half off. It's now 10:20 and we need to sprint to pick up Youngest and Buddy.

Do I get receipts? Well, yes; a handwritten charge slip. Do I even get a count of previous items dropped off, or pillows, blankets, comforters, duvets, etc? NO! I've got BUPKISS if that place goes out of business tomorrow. Then Parker told me something that really made me go YIKES: He wandered back where cleaners usually have acres of hanging stuff on automated rods, and there were No.Clothes.On.The.Rods.

Just call me Lucinda; I'm seeing dire opportunities everywhere. And I have Family History of bad experiences with dry cleaners: Losing custom duvet covers (Okay, I did leave them there for months, but still - they had my phone numbers!). Losing a hunter green cashmere sweater that was the most beautifully cabled, perfectly made sweater I've ever owned. My Dad getting uniform pants cleaned by a new cleaners in Chicago when he was an airline pilot, then showing up 2 days later to collect - the place had burned to the ground! Leaving him to borrow some trousers from a fellow pilot who was about 4" shorter. So my dad had the Flood Pants look for 2 days until he could get new pants ordered.

Is there a Laundry Saint to pray to?

Do you think DH will notice?

Another one off into the world

Today was the graduation party for my goddaughter Alyssa. She is an exquisitely beautiful woman, very centered, loyal and hardworking. The world is lucky to have her. Of course she and her mother go around and around. This is the way of things.

Of course her party was lovely, set up in a pretty setting, with the smell of pines and sweet flowering shrubs. I was expecting a great event. But what was so surprising was seeing so many old friends, friends of 25 years; we've all matured, lived unbelievable lives, and have so many stories to share and enjoy. The history makes the tales richer, somehow. I was also surprised at how great we all look - we are carrying our years with joy and a grandness I never dreamed when I was in my 20's. Lots of people are on their 2nd or even 3rd careers. Friends are living in far corners of the world. A few are sniffing about for possible retirement settings - and no, not Florida or Baja. Little pearls here and there. What a lucky bunch we are, whatever our fortunes have been. We have all been blessed.

And to my best friend Sherry and her daughter? Another life is beginning for the two of you. I hope you enjoy the tenderness and new-found love that living separate lives often brings. May God go with you, Alyssa. Always. I love you.

A query for the avid readers:

I have a confession to make.

There was NO TV in the house when I was growing up. In fact, my parents only have one in their house now because I took an extra one over there about 10 years ago. They get movies from the library and use the TV to watch the movies, mainly. The DVD player was a Christmas gift 5 years ago from my sisters and myself. My dad has been thinking about getting a computer for 2 years - this is a huge technological advancement for the household.

I used to think the No TV thing was the reason I was a voracious reader. But methinks that you all were not TV deprived, yet you read as youngsters. And you all seem to be able to read now. Babelbabe must read while she cooks, eats and does laundry. Or maybe she reads instead of sleeps. Same for Badger. And you other literary folk; SL and Lazy Cow - how do you read so much? I feel like an abject reading failure - this was my passion until I became a parent. We might watch a movie from Netflix after the children are in bed 2-3 times a week. But we're usually too tired for even that much stimulation.

Same with music - I used to listen to NPR and stations low on the FM dial - World Music with attitude, while I futzed around the house or garden. Now, I only listen to music in the car. In.The.Car. How pathetic is that? And only when I am alone, as I use the time to play a Seek & Find card game called Rubberneckers in the car with the children. Yipes!

I tried to read this morning while allowing the boys to watch network cartoons. At first, they were thrilled to watch TV. Then they started jumping around. Leaping over me on the sofa, giggling and yelping "Just Missed Ya!" as they sailed over me. Then they laid on me and tried to pick out words! After 20 minutes of this, I gave up.

And for those of you who are clucking and saying "HA! You spend time on the computer while you could be reading!" True. But I spend 5 minutes here and there, jumping around, posting later, leaving the computer on line all day. I can't read like that!

If we lived in Kansas, I could read and drive like the rest of the idiots on the freeways.

So, how do you guys get in any reading?