Cars was sitting with me on the couch and he put his head in my lap. Suddenly, he turned his head and then reached over and patted my belly. "Looks like you have inflatable pants, Mom!".

You have to love a child's honesty.

And (another) diet starts tomorrow.

I am building up some nice calluses on my fingers as I continue to learn to play the guitar. I am struggling a bit with chords (well, transitioning from one chord to another) but I think I am doing well plucking away at song like "Waltzing Matilda" and "Jamaican Farewell". I am so happy that I decided to give this gift to myself this year.

I wish that my kids were interested in learning to play the guitar right now. They only want to play drums and there is no way I am buying a drum kit.

One last update (hopefully last) on Dex. He has Reactive Airway Disease so he is now on albuterol. We went to the doctor just to follow-up on the pneumonia and the doctor says he has something going on with his lungs so they gave him one treatment with albuterol then sent us to get a prescription filled. I hope he gets better soon. Poor boy.

It is snowing outside right now. Ugh. I hate snow. Actually, that is not true. I hate snow where it does not belong...and that would be in Seattle.

Now we play the wait'n'see game about school tomorrow...delayed, canceled or on time.

Dex made it to school today! Hurray! I spent two hours photocopying for Jax's teacher, an hour in Cars' class supervising kids on the computer then I finally made it to the grocery store for the first time in ages.

Dinner tonight was french toast. I was going to make pancakes since it was Pancake Tuesday but I really don't cook them very well. French toast is virtually idiot-proof...well, unless you soak the bread too long (btdt). I also cooked some bacon with brown sugar and cayenne pepper - yum!

I decided to give bacon up for Lent. I eat it every weekend so it is something that I will definitely miss. Still thinking about giving up chocolate too.

Dex stayed home today because his cough was bothering him. He had a TON of homework (Jax brought it home) but I only made him do 1.5 hours of it. Ugh!

I spent the day trying to find a great deal on a vacation. No luck yet!

Dex is feeling better but I am not sure if he will be up for school tomorrow or not. We'll see in the morning.

I am still feeling crappy. My voice comes and goes. Stephen is not feeling great either. We are a mess here! At least Jax and Cars are healthy right now.

Today was day 6 of fever for Dex. Stephen and I kept thinking he has *got* to get better but in fact, he slowly got worse as the day progressed. He also started having this dry cough last night. Tonight, his fever was up to 104.2F (40.1C) so I called the nurse line who asked me a bunch of questions then told me since he had had a fever for 6 days and it was so high, that he should be seen *immediately* and I was to take him to the ER. She mentioned meningitis which of course flipped me out. This was at 8:55pm. So I got him out of bed and he cried that he was so tired and he just wanted to sleep. Even trying to entice him with his Nintendo DS did not lift his spirits.

I went to the nearest ER which is actually a very small satellite of one of the downtown Seattle hospitals because I did not relish driving all the way into Seattle tonight to go to Children's Hospital. We arrived by 9:20 and by 9:25 we were in a room and they were handing him a little cup of liquid Tylenol because the Motrin I had given him at 8:30 had not yet bought down his fever. The doctor came in and examined him and a short while later we were on our way to X-Ray.

Dex has pneumonia!

OMG! I feel like such a horrible mom for keep telling him he is going to get better and for not taking him to the doctor sooner. To be honest though, there have been plenty of times I have taken him in for a fever only to be told "it's just a virus" and we go home empty-handed to await the end of the fever. I just thought this was the same. Geez, Stephen even had him at hockey today and Dex did not complain except to say he was tired so he did not skate the last 15 minutes.

We left the ER shortly after 10pm. I am sure we would have been out a little sooner but Dex could not decide on which Beanie Baby he wanted (he chose the rat). We went to Walgreens to get his prescription, more Motrin, some Tylenol (ok, Walgreen's brand of those drugs) and some kids' Robitussin DM. I also bought him some Mike'n'Ike's because he said, in the most pathetic and sweetest voice, that since he was sick he should get a treat. I let him eat 4 of them after we got home and he took his medicine.

Now he is lying in bed, coughing away. It is really funny because his cough seemed barely noticeable even just a few hours ago. Stephen and I agreed that his cough seemed like nothing before he went to the hospital but maybe that is just because we were just so concerned about his fever.

Dex is also very concerned that he might not be able to go to school on Monday. He cried in the ER "Great! Now I will miss *more* school". The doctor said he could go as long as his fever was gone by Monday. Jax would feel the same way but only because he'd be worried about how much school work he'd have to catch up on. Dex is missing his friends and teacher.

I am feeling like a failure of a parent. I had two sick kids this week and I decided that I was not going to drag them to the doctor to be told there was nothing to be done by wait it out. I did call the nurse line the other day about Cars' croup (was advised to give him warm liquids, honey and steam if he has trouble breathing). I really did not think there was anything more seriously wrong with Dex other than just a virus. Looking back, even though he did not have a cough, he complained bitterly about the couple blocks we walked in Seattle on Wednesday and he was sitting down to pee because it took too much effort to stand. I made sure he was drinking plenty of water all week but he really did not eat much because he had no appetite. Ugh, I suck.

Dex was still sick today and now I am too. Boo! I spent the day in bed except for walking Jax and Cars to/from the bus. Dex has had his fever for over 4 days so I wonder when it will finally break. Hopefully it will be gone in the morning.

I hope I am feeling better tomorrow too because our neighbourhood is having a meeting to a "Map Your Neighborhood" meeting where our neighbourhood (street) will gather everyone else's contact info, learn how to turn off water/gas in an emergency and learn which neighbours might have special concerns (disabilities or young children, etc). Should be interesting. And hopefully we'll never need it. Though I guess during the windstorm in Dec'06 a lot of trees fell on the homes on this street and across the road so there was a lot of clean up to be done.

Ok, off to lie down again. I am feeling woosy.

Dex was still sick today so no school for him and no MOPS or guitar lessons for me. Unfortunately my guitar instructor did not have times available to reschedule so looks like I paid for no lesson this week. Bummer.

I thought that Dex was feeling better during the day but by dinner time his fever was back (it was under 100 most of the day then back up over 100) so I am unsure if he will be able to go to school tomorrow or not. We'll see how he is in the morning.

I really hope he goes because we are desperate for groceries and I have some other errands to run. Plus it is Cosmo Friday so if he is sick, we cannot go. :(

Dex was still sick today but we had an appointment downtown so we packed into the car and drove downtown Seattle. We arrived a bit early so we walked a couple of blocks to the Pike Place Market sign (not even into the market, just to the sign where I took a photo of them). Then we walked back to the Canadian Consulate where I had to sit in front of bullet-proof glass while the woman reviewed the forms and identification for the kids' Canadian Citizenship applications (yes, the ones that I meant to send in last summer!). At least the woman behind the glass was friendly and funny unlike the very serious USCIS (formerly INS) workers who just glare and never crack a smile.

And even though the trip downtown was very quick, it was not without interest. First, there was the guy walking in front of us who seemed to know everyone walking down the street and who greeted one guy with “Hey! Remember me? We met a couple of years ago in County! Yeah, we were locked up together”. Next, there was Leroy's Mens Wear. Here are some photos of the clothes on display in the window:


Yes, that is a lavender plaid suit.

And here are the kids in front of the Pike Place Market sign:


After our appointment, we had originally planned to go to lunch then hang out at Gameworks for the afternoon but since Dex was burning up with fever and complained about walking three blocks, I decided to forgo Gameworks. Instead, after we arrived home, I gave the kids Mario Cart for Wii (we had purchased in December but had held it since they didn't really need more games). I let them play video games ALL afternoon. Like from 1pm until 6pm. I was feeling a bit guilty that we did not get to do anything really adventurous and fun these past couple of days. Though really, I think the kids playing video games all afternoon was very fun for them.

And I am glad that I got the Canadian Citizenship card applications out of the way. Now I just have to wait 12+ months for them. Good thing we are not in a hurry.

Today is day two of mid-winter break and both Dex and Cars are sick. Well, Dex has a fever and is lethargic (until the Advil kicks in and then he is fine for the next four hours and then miserable for two until it is time for another dose). Cars has croup. He gets it surprisingly often (his fingers are always in and around his mouth - ew germs!) but today it was different because he did not just have the cough during the night and in the morning but throughout the day. Anyway, we just hung out around the house today then and did not go to the movies with Spy and her kids as planned.

So, we decided to make stuffed pigs. If anyone is familiar with the story "The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs" by Phoebe Gilman, those are the pigs we attempted. In the story, Jillian makes tons of pigs out of old stockings and extra buttons, yarn, fabric scraps, etc. For years we've been saying that we'll make them but since we had nothing else on the go, today seemed like a good day.

I pulled out some stocking and cut them up (instructions are in the back of the book) and sewed up one end then the boys started stuffing. It was slow going because I was the only one sewing and so there was a lot of waiting around for them. Waiting around = boredom so Jax had a great idea about what to do with some of the extra stuffing and Dex just had to capture it (Sir Mix-A-Lot Anyone?):


So, after watching me sew up the ends, sew on the noses, glue on eyes, and sew a little mouth, the kids all announced that they were bored so we decided to put away the pigs for now.


Don't look too closely at my very uneven stitches


Sad unfinished pigs looking a lot like sausages. Dex wants to make his pig a Pirate Pig. I think even just getting it to look like a regular pig is ambitious enough!

Spoiler alert: Spy - stop reading here because I am going to talk about "The Middle Place"

I just finished reading The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I originally heard of her book after seeing her "Transcending" video that was making the email rounds (you can see it by clicking on "The Middle Place" link). Anyway, the Transcending essay was wonderful and so I too had to pass it along. One of our book club members then decided to chose this book for our March meeting.

I loved this book! I felt as though she were sometimes writing about bits of my life because she captured a lot of the feelings I had so exactly. Like when I was called back for a second mammogram and then having to have a biopsy. Unlike Kelly, mine came back clear. But that short time, for those long excrutiating days waiting for the call, I felt that way too. And how she felt about her dad getting cancer and what needed to be done to treat him and trying to be so involved when you are a million miles away.

And finally, feeling as though she were not quite a grown up, even though she had a husband, a house and children. That is me! I think I liked that my parents still treated me like their daughter who needed them because it made me feel safe and secure and like nothing bad would happen or go wrong.

I cried and laughed my way through this book. I worry a bit about discussing it at book club because I feel that somehow I will not be able to precisely express my feelings about the book. I feel a little selfish about it right now. Like I want to guard the feelings and thoughts I have about the book but at the same time I want everyone I know to read it! I am sure that every woman, because she is a daughter, mother or wife, will somehow relate to parts of this book.

Ok, I fell off the roof and my dreary mood has improved (thanks in part to Hershey Kisses - I have given up Kissables). Now I just have to wait for my face to clear up.

We took the kids skating today (no hockey this weekend) and then to the sporting goods store to buy new sleds. Not that we have any snow but just in case...plus the sleds were on clearance.

The kids have the next three days off school. No real plans yet and the weather will not be great so whatever we do will probably be indoors. Maybe we can get out to throw the baseball around a bit though because baseball season starts soon. I hope hockey and baseball do not conflict!

Two school Valentine's Day parties + Cosmo Friday = One tired Pez

Oh and book club last night. And for the record, children born in the USA to non-American parents can indeed be President of the United States, thank you very much. I perhaps made my point a little louder than need be but ignorance completely pisses me off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_born_citizen_of_the_United_States

Ok, since I obviously cannot buy clothes (see yesterday's post), I had to resort to buying make-up. Well, I bought skin care products, actually. Some nice eye cream to help get rid of the dark circles under my eyes. I did however, receive some make-up as a "gift with purchase". However, I failed to get any concealer to hide the huge zit on the bridge of my nose, right between my eyes. Aargh!

I am also hating my haircut. She really texturized it a lot at the back with the razor and the length is just not right so my hair is not doing what I want it to do. Good thing my hair grows quickly.

I am having an "ugly" week. I just need the weekend to come so I can prepare to start fresh next Monday.

I had a wardrobe crisis today. Nothing fit right or looked good. I am in between sizes and I hate how I look in all but one pair of my pants. Also, my thighs are getting bigger. I am not sure if it is from the all the squats and lunges or the Hershey Kissables! Hmmm...

I have now sworn off the Kissables and I'll be back to the gym tomorrow (if there is not another snow delay/day tomorrow). I have been doing the exercises ON Demand but I definitely need some fat-burning exercise to go along with it.

I need to go back to WW. Or invest in some full-body Spanx.

We awoke this morning to SNOW! Fortunately, school was only delayed two hours rather than being canceled. I missed my circuit training class as a result though. So, I did some exercise ON Demand to make up for it.

I also spent another hour looking for those damn Valentine's Day decorations. No luck! I will have to go buy another tablecloth tomorrow.

I also received a not from Cars' teacher today because:
1) I forgot to send in 100 gummi bears for 100 days of school which is coming up
2) I forgot to send in Valentine's Day cards for the Valentine's day party on Friday (!) and
3) I forgot to send in 100 things to count for 100 days of school (separate from the 100 gummi bears).

Oh, and the gummi bears and the 100 things (Cars and I ended up counting out 100 PEZ candies) in zippered sandwich bags which of course I do not have. I have gallon-sized, quart-sized and snack-sized bags but no sandwich-sized so I had to go to Safeway.

Aren't Mondays grand?

I spent two hours today looking for my Valentine's Day decorations. I do not have a lot (a tablecloth, some heart garland, a string of foam conversation hearts and gel window clings). I cannot believe I cannot find them anywhere!

In the process, though, I managed to clear off some of the junk on my "craft table" in the laundry room, organize my Christmas cards for next year (maybe I will even finish them next year!), find some bead-making/jewelry bits and pieces and the Art Start packet for 3rd grade.

If I cannot find it by end-of-day tomorrow, I am going to have to go to Fred Meyer of Joann's to buy a new tablecloth because I said I would bring one in for Dex's party on Friday.

Argh! This is so frustrating that I had to open a bag to Hershey Kissables to console myself.

For the past three days I have been doing some mini-workouts using Exercise ON Demand from Comcast. You can see and buy the workouts at exercisetv.tv as well. I really like it because I haven't had time to go to the gym and normally I am not motivated enough to exercise on my own. Now, I can just start one of the 10 minute workouts and get it over with! Today I did two mini workouts - one for abs and another for legs. It was great! If you have Comcast ON Demand, check it out.

I went to a Cookie Lee jewelry party tonight. I had a $25 credit because the hostess had booked from my party back in November. Before I went I decided I would buy one thing that was about $25 (free) and one more item that was no more than $30. Sure...

The first thing I fell in love with was a bracelet that was $29. Hmmm, ok, just $4 more than the credit I had. No problem. Then I just had to have the necklace that was featured with it (you can see the necklace and bracelet if you click on that link - it is the bracelet on her left wrist - of course I imagine that I look just like her when I wear them, nevermind that my skin is pasty white and I have at least 40 pounds on her). Of course the necklace was over $30.

Then there was this set of 7 skinny little bracelets that would look great with a few other bracelets that I have. One would never know that there was a recession going on the way I $pent money tonight.

Somebody take away my chequebook!

I am back. It wasn't that I was too sick to post. I just really had nothing to say. Well, I have a lot to say but nothing that I thought would be of interest.

What has been on my mind for the past few days is that kids are growing up too fast. I watched the movie "Thirteen" on Saturday night and I cannot stop thinking about it. Top that off with a girl in Jax's grade who is a self-described bisexual, having a relationship with a 7th grader girl (and boy? Spy, is the boy in 7th grade too?). She also apparently is also a cutter, has tried to commit suicide and there was a rumour going around this week that she is pregnant. THIS GIRL IS IN FIFTH GRADE!!

I feel sick about it all. I feel very badly for this girl but also for all of the other kids who are less mature (physically and emotionally) who are hearing all this! The pregnancy rumour is not true as she told Spy's dd (who is also in 5th grade) that. FIFTH GRADE!

These are not the kind of things that I would imagine my kids would need to start dealing with until they were in 7th or 8th grade. I guess I am living in some fantasy world.

Spy and I were talking the other day and discussing whether the counselor at the school should be notified about all of the rumours about this girl. I was wondering if the school might be aware of it all already and are dealing with it. However, today I was speaking to one of the "Mentor Moms" at my mom's club who used to be a school librarian. She said they had a 6th grader at her school become pregnant and apparently the "fun" thing to do at the school was for all of the kids to get together to have sex. The administration and teachers had no idea until there was an article printed about it in the local paper about the goings on at their school. These are just young kids!

So, I don't know what to do at the moment. I had decided that when my kids start asking the right questions, I would fill them in on what they need to know that is age appropriate. Jax knows how babies are made. What we really haven't discussed is having sex for pleasure rather than just for function. And when is the appropriate time (NOT 5th Grade!) and then about why people would want to try to kill themselves. Why people might try to harm themselves. All these things that, I think, a 10 year old should not have to worry about. I guess I am thinking back to me in grade 5 and what was going on then. The biggest worry was the Chris K might misbehave during the week so Mr. L would not play his guitar on Friday.

Anyway, I think I am having a paradigm shift about Fifth Graders and it has really blown me away.

I did not do much today because I wasn't feeling well. My stomach is so upset. Stephen's is too but he had to go to work. I even went back to bed for a while (from 9:30-11:00 - ok, a long while). Ugh. I did get out for an hour though to get my niece a b-day present (I am a week late - I suck!) and then I decided to invest in a good pair of athletic shoes because my feet have been hurting a lot lately.

I went to a store that specializes in running shoes and the guy analyzed my walk and the wear of my current runners and recommended three pair. Of course none of them were cheap. I think picked a pair that has great arch support (which should help since my arches are falling and I am too vain to get orthotics - they are for old people!). ;)

Anyway, I hope these shoes help my aching feet. Of course losing some weight would probably help too.

Go Steelers!

We went to a Superbowl Party at Spy's house today. I was the only one rooting for the Steelers so I was the only one who was delighted with the outcome. What an exciting game though, eh?!

And I am still stuffed from all of the food (loved the Corn chowder - yum!).