The Saab had another potentially lethal blow. It is in the shop for the weekend and we'll see if it can be revived yet again. The friggin lemon has 9 lives it seems. This is not a good weekend for us to be a one-car family. I have an all-day planning session for MOPS that ends right about the time Stephen will be dropping Dex off at a b-day party 7 miles away. And on Sunday, I have a MOPS steering committee meeting that ends right about the time when Dex has to be dropped off at his baseball game.

Looks like Stephen will be playing chauffeur all weekend while I sit around and wait for him. At least it will give me time to finish my book club selection.

And time to pull out the Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue.

A house a quarter of a mile up the street caught fire this afternoon. About 4:30 a fire truck when screaming up the street and there were two helicopters circling. Ash said three more trucks went by her house then too. Fortunately, no one was hurt (the teenage boys got out of the house) but their cat perished in the fire. I heard from neighbours that it was a "chemistry experiment" gone wrong. Not exactly sure what that means but it is scary to think of what may have happened with the boys in the house while the parents were at work.

Tomorrow, I am teaching Art Start in Dex's class. I do not have anyone to help out and the remaining lesson for the 1st grade curriculum is too involved (mixing dry tempera paint with liquid starch) for just me to handle/prep so I am teaching them from the 2nd grade lesson plans. There were no supplies in the Art Start supply cabinet for this project so I had to buy some beads at Michael's. It ticks me off that the supplies are not around for these lessons. If I had gone with the tempera/liquid starch plan, I would have had to buy those supplies too and no doubt will hear from the chair that there are no funds left to reimburse me. I won't be reimbursed for the beads for tomorrow's lesson but they were cheap enough and again, this is a 1st grade class. And besides, beading is FUN for me and I will be happy to keep whatever is left over.

And speaking of Art, well crafts, well my mom's club crafts...today was the last meeting and the last craft of the year. Now I can spend my time and energy PLANNING for next year's crafts. I seriously plan to do things differently this year and will try to get as many supplies/prep done during the summer so I will be far less stressed in the Fall/Winter/Spring. :)

And blather blather blather. What a boring blahg entry.

Dex had an appointment with an eye doctor today. Boy, was she ever great with him! Anyway, she checked everything, his eye muscles, his vision, his depth perception, etc and he checked out ok so nothing to do with his vision is causing his headaches. She said she was glad to hear that we were going to a neurologist because she was concerned when he told her he had a headache everyday.

She did start asking questions about glaucoma and did it run in the family. She explained that the optic disk is like a donut with a hole (or cup) in the middle. Typically, in "Northern Europeans" (as she referred to us) the cup is usually 30% of the whole disk. For people of colour, it can be bigger - perhaps 40% - and smaller for Asians (about 25%).. Well Dex's is 55%! She said that does not mean that he has glaucoma but we definitely need to monitor him and make sure he comes in regularly every 2 years for a check up. She said that if he never came back again but at age 40 had a check up the doctor would diagnose him with glaucoma based on the size of the cup. But, she said that it could just be normal for him.

Now we wait until for the appointment with the neurologist in July. Dex's head shaking has not yet disappeared. Only six more weeks!

Cars has been a little terror the last few days. Defiant and moody. Last night he had a temper tantrum at 2AM when I would not let him sleep in our bed (he is allowed to sleep on the floor beside my bed but not in my bed). He sat in the timeout chair three times today (he has not been in it in weeks and weeks and weeks!). Very frustrating! I think part of it is that the kids are staying up later since it is so light out. The new blinds we have up does a good job of blocking out the light in the evening but not the caw-cawing of the black crows at the crack of dawn. I hope things get back to normal soon.

I ordered a few things from Oriental Trading for Dex's birthday party. The stuff is "estimated" to arrive two days before the party. Now I sit on pins and needles hoping that the stuff won't be late.

I did a whole lot of not much today. I replanted more flowers (found more pots in the garage) and some herbs, I set up the slip'n'slide for the kids, swept the deck, tidied the garage and that's about it. What a lazy Sunday. I had a short nap before dinner too!

I made several stepping stones last weekend with the leftover cement that Stephen mixed for the fence post. I used lots of tumbled glass that I had and they all look so pretty. They are about 8" in diameter (the moulds were plastic plant trays) and today, I have lined them beside the walkway up to the front door, under the boxwood shrubs.

Oh, it just started raining and I hear thunder. It is pretty rare for us to have a thunderstorm! I think I will turn out the lights to see lightening (if there is any).

edited to add some photos that I taken before I blogged but did not post them:

The one on the left we made last year:

The one in the middle was made in 2004 and had handprints of Jax, Dex and Cars

I love this one!


I also have a few more that were made last year as examples for Dex's kindergarten class. We used ceramic tiles with the tumbled glass around (like the one in the first photo).
I would like to get some new bark to put in the gardens to make the stones look "built in" rather than just placed in the dirt. One day...

Jax's last day of baseball! It was again a devastating loss but they were all good sports. The coach had every player who had yet to pitch to go in the game and pitch to two players. Jax had his pitching debut and he walked the first runner (but he did throw two strikes) and then he again threw three balls and two strikes before the player his the ball (but he was thrown out at first!). Jax was so proud of himself and I am happy that his coach let them all play. And kudos to the coaches of the other team for being patient and kind about it.

The end-of-season party was held at a nearby country club where the kids swam for a couple of hours at the outdoor pool. The head coach did a great job of making little autograph books for each kid where the kids could go and sign by their own photos.

Dex has two more games and a party which has yet to be scheduled. I am so looking forward to the return of my Saturdays and Cosmo Fridays. ;)

After the party, the kids crashed and Stephen started working again on the fence. I cut the rhodies, birch tree (achoo!) and the japanese maple out the front. I need to work on the photinia bushes which grow like weeds. I would love to pull them all out (we have 6 - 2 in front and 4 in back). When I cut them I totally fill up the yard waste bins and it takes three weeks to clear it all out and leaves no room for grass clippings.

End in Sight

Jax's last baseball game is tomorrow. Looking forward to it! Then we just have two more weeks for Dex and we will be free of baseball! Yeah!

We have not booked a trip to Toronto for the summer. The cost of flights has sky-rocketed and while Stephen shrugs it off, I don't think I can bring myself to spend that much money just to go to Toronto! We'll keep watching for prices to drop but I think perhaps we have missed the boat on low fares.

Dex knocked his noggin three times today. I am a little worried about him! First, at recess, he was hit in the eye by a ball and then he fell backwards against the wall with his head. He showed up afterschool with a bright green bracelet to alert me of his injured head and a report about it. Then at baseball he was hit in the head with a baseball. And after baseball, I let him play on the playground for a few minutes and he fell off the monkey bars and landed on his head! Sheesh! The weird thing is that he hit the back of his head when he fell but told me that he landed on the top of his head and that is what hurt (where he says he always has a headache). Wonder if I can wait another 7 weeks until his appointment with the neurologist. :\

Dex is *7*

His first moment in the world:



A few moments ago:



Happy 7th Birthday, Declan!

Lazy Daisy Cake

Cake Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Topping Ingredients
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c butter
3 tbsp cream or milk
1/2 c shredded coconut

- Beat eggs until light. Gradually add sugar and vanilla
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture, stirring until no lumps
- Melt butter. Add milk and heat to lukewarm. Add to flour, stir until smooth
- Pour into 9x9 pan and bake in preheated 350F oven for 25 mins

Topping
- Combine all but coconut in a saucepan on low to melt
- Stir well and add coconut
- Spread on cake once you take it from the oven
- Place cake under broiler until lightly browned

Enjoy!

Jax's team lost their third straight baseball playoff game tonight. They've just one more practice (Friday) and one more game (Sat. morning) and we are done for the year. We finally has a warm day in which to watch a game (too bad they were annihilated!). Oh well. The kids still had a great time playing and we were not playing that team where the coach yells at all of the players, the opposing team's coach AND the umpire.

Dex's team still has three games and practices. Both he and Jax have a game at the same time on Saturday.

We have been checking on flights for the summer and it is outrageous how much the prices have jumped in the past few days. We should have booked a couple of weeks ago but we have been in "discussions" about the 4th of July and whether or not we will be around (now it just depends on the price of flights). We are considering a quick side trip to Minneapolis to see old friends and my brother who lives there.

Dex's b-day is in two more days. I bought him a book of trivia for kids. That kid loves spewing out facts and trivia. He wants a Lazy Daisy cake and spaghetti for dinner. I was hoping he'd ask to go to Red Robin for dinner. LOL

I think the hummingbird feeder is a bust. I saw a hummingbird buzzing around it one evening but other than that, nothing. And the nectar level never went down. I replaced it tonight with fresh stuff so we'll see what the next week brings.

Here's a picture of me and Lola from yesterday:

Lola

We drove to Vancouver (and back) today to meet Lola! Long trip but it was worth is! She is so lovely. And sooooo tiny. It is so easy to forget how tiny babies can be. I cannot wait to see her again!

It's back!

Cosmo Friday, that is. Well for today anyway. Dex's baseball practice was canceled and since it is the long weekend we figured that Jax's was optional so we did not take him. Laurie hosted Cosmo Friday which turned into BBQ Friday. The dh's joined us about 6pm and we stayed until 9. The weather was nice, we ate, sipped Cosmos and chatted while the kids played in Laurie's HUGE backyard. It was so much fun. Just another three weeks and Cosmos Fridays will be back on for good!

We are thinking about driving to Vancouver for the day on either Sunday or Monday. Actually, Sunday would be best because of the line-ups at the border on Monday will be disasterous. We'll see how tomorrow goes before we commit to driving six hours in one day.

Dex started shaking his head a while back, as though he is trying to shake his hair out of his eyes (his bangs were long). We've had his hair cut yet he still does it. I asked him why and he said that his head hurt and shaking his head helped. I asked him about his head hurting and he says it hurts everyday. (EVERYDAY?!) I asked him why he did not tell me and he shrugged. So off we went to the pediatrician who said that the head shaking was probably just a tic. She suggested that we wait a few weeks to see if the head shaking goes away. I believe her words were "Tics can go away within 1-6 months".

I told her to please not take any offense but I just do not think that his head shaking is "just a tic". I asked her to remember back when he had a throat-clearing thing going on and we saw one of the other doctors in the practice who said it was "just a tic". I went back two weeks later and insisted that it was a sinus infection (which I originally had told them) and they put him on antibiotics and guess what? The throat clearing stopped. Just like the many other times he has had the throat-clearing thing. And now - this is not "just a tic" when he has headaches and he says that head shaking helps the headaches.

She asked me what I wanted to do then. She gave me the following options:
1) (again) waiting it out
2) getting a CT-scan
3) see a neurologist who "specializes" in tics

{banging head against wall}

So, I left with a referral to the neurologist and I figure that is the most proactive thing to do. Of course we cannot get in to see him until mid-July. The tic thing still does not explain or address the headaches. Hopefully we'll have some answers in, what - 8 weeks?!

Two weeks ago, Dex came home from school so excited about a hummingbird feeder that his teacher hung outside of the classroom window. Already they have seen many hummingbirds. This week, I noticed that the drugstore had hummingbird feeders on sale so I picked one up. Yesterday, Dex and I made the syrup (1 part sugar to 4 parts water) and hung the feeder up. Today we saw our first hummingbird! He (or she) just hovered around it but did not stop to drink from it. I think I was more excited than the boys about it!

My mom leaves early tomorrow morning. I will miss her but I will not miss her comments (she claims she means nothing by them but if so, why say them?! I mean if you cannot say anything nice...) And I guess it is not that she is mean really but just what is the point of saying something about my hair or my weight. I am 42 years old and shall do what I like TYVM. I lost 2.6 pounds this week (going to WW yet again) and she was incredulous that I lost any weight because I had some chocolate and popcorn for a snack a few nights ago. And the comment "You look so much younger with your hair pulled back". Aargh!

Anyway, I should focus on the positive. The boys loved having her here. She made me a meat pie and a whole slew of cabbage rolls. We played Gin almost every night. She brought Smarties and Mars bars. :) We celebrated her 72nd birthday while she was here and she loves to shop for bargains so we spent a lot of time in the stores.

Ok, I am off to bed because I have to awaken her at 5:15am so she can get ready for her train to Vancouver. Quick note to Jean-Paul and Marilyn (and Lola)! Watch out! Granny's coming!!

My mother's visit has been good. I haven't been on the computer much though because as soon as I touch my laptop she says "Are you on the computer again?!" or "See if Jean-Paul is on so I can chat with him on MSN". So no time to read blogs or post to mine! She leaves early Wednesday morning.

The kids have so enjoyed having her here. They love telling Granny all about their days and she was able to see one of Jax's baseball games and one of Dex's. Cars is really taken with her and she is eating that up!

I'll be back to blogging and reading more regularly after she leaves.

Way back when classmates.com was free, I had reconnected with a few people from my high school. Then when classmates.com started to charge, one of the guys created an alumni site for our school. Most of the people who had signed up originally to this alumni site were people who went to school around the same time as I did. Anyway, one of the teachers signed up too. He was an art teacher (my art teacher one year). He was also an avid photographer and was always taking photos of the students and staff. He had a bulletin board where he would post new photos every Monday (I think it was Monday). Anyway, recently, he sent me a link to many of the photos that he had taken during my years at the school. Lo and behold, there was a photo of Ramona and I:

.
(The girl on the right is our friend, Debbi)

I think this must have been taken when I was in Grade 11 (so fall of 1980 - yikes!). We were obviously out watching a football game after school. Fun stuff!

Food Allergy Awareness Week

It is Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 13-19). Do what you can to promote and educate people!

Some FAQ's from www.foodallergy.org:

What is a food allergy?
A food allergy is an immune system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it creates specific antibodies to it. The next time the individual eats that food, the immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, including histamine, in order to protect the body. These chemicals trigger a cascade of allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or cardiovascular system. Scientists estimate that approximately 12 million Americans suffer from true food allergies.

What are the common symptoms of a reaction?
Symptoms range from a tingling sensation in the mouth, swelling of the tongue and the throat, difficulty breathing, hives, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, drop in blood pressure, and loss of consciousness to death. Symptoms typically appear within minutes to two hours after the person has eaten the food to which he or she is allergic.

What is the best treatment for food allergy?
Strict avoidance of the allergy-causing food is the only way to avoid a reaction. Reading ingredient labels for all foods is the key to maintaining control over the allergy. If a product doesn't have a label, allergic individuals should not eat that food. If a label contains unfamiliar terms, shoppers must call the manufacturer and ask for a definition or avoid eating that food.

Is there a cure for food allergies?
Currently, there are no medications that cure food allergies. Strict avoidance is the only way to prevent a reaction. Most people outgrow their food allergies, although peanuts, nuts, fish, and shellfish are often considered lifelong allergies. Some research is being done in this area and it looks promising. Click here for research information.

Should I stop eating the food that I think I'm allergic to?
Randomly taking food out of your diet can leave you with an unbalanced diet that can cause other health problems. Additionally, you may become frustrated because you reach a point where you believe that everything you eat is causing a reaction. Seek the help of a doctor before making significant changes in your diet.

What is the best treatment for a food allergy reaction?
Epinephrine, also called "adrenaline," is the medication of choice for controlling a severe reaction. It is available by prescription as a self-injectable device (EpiPen® or Twinject®).

What is the difference between food allergy and food intolerance?
Many people think the terms food allergy and food intolerance mean the same thing; however, they do not. A "food intolerance" is an adverse food-induced reaction that does not involve the immune system. Lactose intolerance is one example of a food intolerance. A person with lactose intolerance lacks an enzyme that is needed to digest milk sugar. When the person eats milk products, symptoms such as gas, bloating, and abdominal pain may occur.

A "food allergy" occurs when the immune system reacts to a certain food. The most common form of an immune system reaction occurs when the body creates immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to the food. When these IgE antibodies react with the food, histamine and other chemicals (called "mediators") cause hives, asthma, or other symptoms of an allergic reaction.

What information should I provide my doctor?
Keep a food diary, for 1 to 2 weeks, of everything you eat, what symptoms you experience, and how long after eating they occur. This information, combined with a physical examination and lab tests, will help the doctor determine what, if any, food is causing your symptoms.

What is the difference between a prick skin test and a blood test or RAST test?
The prick skin test or a blood test, such as the RAST (or radioallergosorbent test), is commonly used to begin to determine if an allergy exists. The RAST can sometimes be called the CAP-RAST or ImmunoCap test.

A prick skin test is usually cheaper and can be done in the doctor's office. The doctor places a drop of the substance being tested on the patients' forearm or back and pricks the skin with a needle, allowing a tiny amount to enter the skin. If the patient is allergic to the substance, a wheal (mosquito bite-like bump) will form at the site within about 15 minutes.

A RAST test requires a blood sample. The sample is sent to a medical laboratory where tests are done with specific foods to determine whether the patient has IgE antibodies to that food. The results are usually received within one week.

Which test is better?
Although both tests are reliable, there are instances where one is better than the other. Many doctors use a RAST for young children or patients who have eczema or other skin problems that would make if difficult to read the results of a prick skin test. The results of either test are combined with other information, such as a history of symptoms and a food challenge, to determine whether a food allergy exists.

My mom is coming to town this afternoon. Wish me luck!

Today is the second day in a row of warm weather. Back to 60's and clouds for the rest of the week - just in time for baseball. I think I need a SADD light.

Last week's manic schedule was stressful for me so what did I do? Ate of course. I am up at least a pound now. I'll find out for sure in an hour when I weigh-in. :\

Yesterday at the park, one of my friends was noticing that my forearms are virtually hairless. I had to confess to her that I burnt the hair off my arms the week before last week when lighting the grill (did I write about this already?!). The ignite button on the grill broke (we've had the damn thing less than a year) and so I had to turn the gas on and light it with lighter. I had to click three times before the lighter lit and of course by then the gas was accumulating in the grill so there was a big fireball - WHOOOSH! And the hair on my arms were singed off. I am very lucky that I only lost the hair on my arms and not my eyebrows, eyelashes or hair on my head! I refuse to light the grill anymore so no grilled dinners for us this summer except on the weekends when Stephen is home to cook.

Introducing Lola!



P.S. She does not have deformed baby fingers like her dad and her aunt! ;) Jean-Paul did the same thing I did when Jax was born and check out the baby fingers right away.

It's a GIRL!

I am an aunt again!! Lola was born about 30 minutes ago. No details about her weight yet but both mommy and baby are doing fine. JP will send photos in the morning.

Dex's teacher asked for a "kind note" from her students for Teacher Appreciation week. Here is Dex's (A fine example of his left-handed chicken scratch):



Apparently she did not teach him spelling. O.M.G. I laughed so hard.

This very busy week is half way over. Just have to:
- Take soy ice cream in for Cars' ice cream social at school
- Deliver "Teacher Appreciation" gifts to teachers
- Hang up paper background and then 20 pieces of art work after school
- Make something yummy for book club
- Attend Mother's Day lunch at Dex's class
- prep and teach art start in Dex's class
- buy b-day presents for Gav
- pack boys' things for sleepover b-day party
- baseball practice

Ok, I think that is it. I am just panicking a little because I don't know when I will get a chance to buy the presents! I will have to run to Target right after Cars' ice cream social tomorrow. Oh, but that is when I was planning to bake something for book club. Ok, ~breather ~ no baking tomorrow. Looks like I will be buying something.

Saturday we have the first of two baseball games that overlap Yikes! I just remembered that we are up for snack for Dex's team. Ok, add that to my list for tomorrow.

A little bit of this. A little bit of that.

My mother will be here a week today. Unless she decides to stay in Vancouver first.

Lola is still keeping her parents waiting. Come out to play, Baby! We are all eagerly awaiting your birthday!

Stephen's aunt's body was found and interred on Monday. Fortunately, one of Stephen's cousins was still in town for the very quick service at the cemetary.

I have told Jax and Dex that their long locks will be shorn this weekend. I am sick of them looking like ragamuffins.

Dex can manage to put a hole in any jacket, coat or hoodie within two weeks. I don't understand HOW.

The month of May is the busiest month of the year every year. Why do I never remember this?

100 Things About Pez

1. I love chocolate
2. I hate spiders
3. I am actually afraid of spiders
4. And bridges
5. I am Canadian
6. I have three boys
7. I cried when I found out the middle one was not a girl
8. It took two weeks to get over that
9. Fortunately, it was when I had an ultrasound and not when he was born
10. I have deformed baby fingers
11. I hate being late
12. I hate when people keep me waiting
13. I love looking up words in the dictionary
14. I love doing crossword puzzles
15. I love playing Scrabble but don’t play it often enough
16. I have grey hair
17. I stopped colouring my hair in 2005
18. It is still “growing in”
19. I hate peanuts because they can kill my oldest son
20. I hate tree nuts because they can kill my youngest son
21. I hate people who chose peanuts and nuts over my children’s lives
22. I think they are selfish
23. I am selfish (edited to clarify that it is not for reason #21!)
24. I am an Aries
25. My feet are always cold
26. My favourite things to wear are a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt and thick socks
27. I fancy myself an artist
28. I can make jewelry
29. I can paint
30. I can knit (a bit)
31. I can sew (badly)
32. I would like to go to school for graphic design
33. I teach art in my son’s class
34. I volunteer for the PTSA
35. Mostly I make (peanut-free) cookies for staff luncheons
36. I wish I had Shania teeth
37. I cry when I am very angry
38. When I was a child, I wanted to be a teacher (or an actress)
39. I would rather stick hot pokers in my eyes than speak in public
40. I am not very articulate when I speak
41. I worry that I will say the wrong thing so I often say the wrong thing
42. I skipped grade 4
43. I failed one class at university
44. I have a magenta cell phone
45. I want a Blackberry
46. I love the internet
47. I have met 10 people IRL whom I first knew on the internet
48. Most I first met via the SAHP forum on about.com
49. I kissed Scott Baio when I was 14
50. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology
51. I can kick anybody’s ass at Tetris
52. I like doing laundry (wash, dry, fold) but I hate putting it away
53. I love Christmas
54. I like tall trees that have coloured lights and a mish-mash of decorations
55. I like that my husband loves to spoil the kids rotten at Christmas
56. I like that my husband loves to spoil me rotten at Christmas
57. I have one sister and three brothers
58. My guilty pleasure is celebrity gossip
59. I love blue corn chips with salsa
60. I worry all.the.time about stupid stuff
61. Stephen calls me “Worst Case Scenario”
62. My favourite colours are red, purple and blue (not all together)
63. I have a cobalt blue glass collection
64. I collect Pez dispensers
65. I have over 350 Pez dispensers on display
66. I am obsessed with the weather
67. I check the weather at least three times each day but usually much more often
68. I get migraines from the weather
69. I get migraines from stress
70. I get migraines when I travel
71. I don’t like to travel
72. I belong to a book club
73. I hate it when people don’t read the book
74. I hate it when people pick lousy books
75. I picked a lousy book
76. Ok, two lousy books
77. The third book I picked ROCKED
78. I friggin’ Rock!
79. My favourite drink is ice cold Coca-Cola but I tell everyone it is water
80. I don’t drink diet pop because I think it will give me brain cancer
81. I had a breast biopsy for suspected cancer (it was benign)
82. I have had thyroid surgery
83. I had three c-sections
84. I played football in high school (ok, flag football)
85. I am too cheap to go to Starbucks but I love to go when I get coffee cards as gifts
86. I don’t drink coffee but I love tea (I guess I have to call it hot tea since I live in the States)
87. I once called it hot tea when I was back in Canada and my friends laughed at me – as did the waitress
88. I love Greek salad
89. I love souvlaki
90. Souvlaki and Greek salad were served as the meal at my wedding
91. I wish they made Cadbury’s Easter Crème Eggs year ‘round
92. I eat them by the dozen
93. I need to lose weight
94. I recently rejoined Weight Watchers
95. I replaced the 50 Things about Pez with 100 Things about Pez because some of the others were too honest and embarrass me now
96. I always spelt embarrass wrong for the first 35 years of my life
97. I miss Toronto but do not want to move back there
98. I would like to live in Vancouver
99. My favourite tv shows are Boston Legal, Heroes, Project Runway (Grey’s Anatomy recently fell off the list because it jumped the shark)
100. I love ribbon and could spend hours in fabric stores looking at it

Eeeeek!

Doctor finds spiders in boy with earache

Woke up today feeling crappy. My throat is killing me and I keep losing my voice. I think my family is happy about that.

We had baseball today (big surprise). Jax's team lost by like 20 runs or something like that. Oops! Dex has a game tomorrow afternoon. That will end 5 straight days of baseball. Five straight days in cold weather.

Ash and I went to Glo's 40th b-day party in Gig Harbor. The drive was surprisingly easy compared to the drive last year that took 2.5 hours (only took slightly over an hour today). It was so cool to see the new Tacoma Narrows bridge that is almost complete. Last time we drove by the deck had not yet been installed. Anyway, for some reason suspension bridges are not as scary to me as floating bridges. Although, it is still a little frightening.

Today, there was to be a Mass said for Stephen's aunt who died (the one from Houston). Then her body was to be interred in a cemetery just north of Toronto. Well, her body did not arrive in Toronto when it was scheduled to do so (Friday) and no one seems to know where she is! Hopefully she will show up soon!

The bracelet craft went well yesterday. People really seemed to love them. The volunteers will get theirs with their "thank you" baskets at the next mom's club meeting. We have just two left for this year (and no crafts for me to prepare - yeah!). Now on to planning for next year.

I have a cold and after yesterday's meeting, I crashed. I napped for almost two hours. Ash was kind enough to pick up Jax and Dex and bring them home from school. Then we had to rush around, finish homework, eat and back to the ball park for Jax's game. Once again, it was cold and windy! It is about 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. I was wearing my winter coat and sitting with a blanket over my knees while I watched the game. Cars, Dex and I left at 7:30 (Stephen met us there and he stayed until the game ended at about 8:15) so the kids could get a bath and warm up. (BTW, Jax's team won 14-11 - the scores would have been higher if not for those 5-run maximum innings!).

Today we have rain so perhaps both Dex and Jax's practices will be canceled. Jax has a game tomorrow and Dex has one on Sunday. And speaking of Dex, he seems to have lost his brand-new baseball hoodie that we bought for him. Aargh! Twenty-five dollars down the drain. I need to go and check out the school's lost and found box. Oh, I will have Stephen check the trunk of his car. Those are the last two places I can think of to look.

I desperately need to buy some groceries today but I just don't feel like going. I should make a trip to Costco but if I do go out, I am only driving as far as Safeway. Right now I am going to make myself another cup of tea.

Ok, my last mom's club craft is packed up in my market basket to take tomorrow. I think I spent close to 20 hours prepping this craft (deciding on beads/supplies, buying supplies, sorting 1000's of beads into little baggies, cutting beading wire, crimping beading wire, attaching charms and clasps to the bracelet (the moms will thread the beads on themselves), plus making 13 bracelets for the volunteers). well, now that I write it all out, I am sure it was well over 20 hours. Never again will I plan a craft as intricate as this one.

Anyway, here's a photo of some of the bracelets (one of each of the colours - amethyst, jade, rose quartz and blue quartz):



Again, next year's crafts are going to be simple, simple, simple!

A couple of weeks ago, my SIL called me (she is married to my youngest brother's wife) to tell me that they just found out that her sister's 1 yr old son had a peanut allergy. Then today, another SIL (married to my oldest brother) called me to tell me that her sister's son, who turned 3 on Sunday, had his first taste of peanut butter and he broke out in a rash and his eyes swelled shut. Weird that we have so many people around us allergic to it?!

Yesterday, Stephen brought home a copy of USA Today. I knew there *had* to be a special since he declared before we were married that USA Today was never allowed in our house since USA Today published an article about Arthur Ashe's medical problems, forcing him to go public about his HIV/AIDS. He won't even read it when it is the free newspaper delivered to us when we stay in hotels (well, like that even happens often!).

Anyway, the front page of USA Today had an article entitled Marketers zooming in on your daily routines". The part about the big software company is what Stephen does and the two people mentioned in the article report to him. So, I guess that made it ok to bring a copy into our house.
;)

I have soooo much to do for craft for the mom's club meeting on Thursday. In fact, I am so stressed out about it that all I can do is still and fret about it (rather than get going on it!). I think tonight (and tomorrow night) will be late nights. And I am so behind on my TV shows (Heroes and Grey's Anatomy and I won't be able to pay close attention to Boston Legal tonight!). What shall I do?!

This weekend, I am going to a 40th birthday party for Glo at her house in Gig Harbor. I will FREAK if the traffic is as bad as it was last year when we went to their house warming party. Anyway, it is a Cinco de Mayo party so lots of chips and salsa! Arriba!

Today is Lola's due date yet she has not arrived. Hmmm...just like her dad and grandfather to be late! ;)

Remember those shoes that I bought for Stephen for his birthday? The weirdest thing happened when I returned them. I had purchased them at Fred Meyer. Fred Meyer has a rewards program and every four months they mail you some coupons worth some dollars off based on how much you have spent there. They also have some really good coupons like $5 off kitchen gadgets or 50% off one clothing or shoe item.

So, I had the 50% off coupon which I used when I purchased Stephen's shoes. So, the shoes were regularly $70 but I got them for $35. When I returned them, I expected to get my $35 (plus tax) returned to me, right? No! The lady explained that they could not give me another 50% off coupon (I figured so much) so the $35 that I had saved when I used the coupon would have to go on a Fred Meyer gift card and I could get the rest back in cash. HUH? I dont' get it. So I buy a pair of shoes for $35 and they give me $70 back when I return them? That makes no sense whatsoever?! I mean what is to stop me from going back with my NEXT 50% off coupon and buying a winter coat for $200, getting it for $100, then returning it for $200? So they are out $100!

I need to call Fred Meyer and see if this is really right. But I think I will wait until after I spend my $35 gift card.

Our dinner party last night was fabulous! A great time had by all! Stephen made a wonderful dinner (grilled lamb, tzatziki sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and grill asparagus). Appetizers were baked brie (one with phyllo and one without to accommodate a wheat allergy) served with my favourite crackers (Mary's Gone Crackers Black Pepper). Dessert were those fabulous wheat-free brownies (my sole contribution to the dinner) with a raspberry coulis and a small scoop of ice cream.

I had banished my children to the upstairs to watch a movie until bedtime and they a great job of staying upstairs and going straight to bed after they came down to say good night.

I was striving to make the table look "perfect" for dinner and I realized that I needed some flowers to go with the glassybaby votives in the middle of the table. I thought "I'll just cut a couple of tulips from the garden". Easier said than done. My brilliant idea of trying to climb the retaining wall using a plastic patio chair and nearly stabbing myself in the heart with the kitchen shears when I fell (not once but TWICE) was somewhat successful in that I was able to cut three white tulips (the rest were too far gone). However, getting those three tulips came at the cost of a 30 minute time-out from dinner prep whilst I bandaged my lacerations and abrasions then Stephen plucked 25+ splinters out of my hand which I received in my unsuccessful attempt to break my fall (I grabbed the very old and rotting wooden posts on the retaining wall). If only I had the camera running - I am certain it would be worthy of the $10,000 Grand Prize (if even for stupidity).

Anyway, after a good cry, I went to Safeway to buy myself MORE tulips. The table looked great and I had a good story to share with my guests (while Stephen just shook his head).

Tomorrow, I will be making wheat-free brownies for a dinner party. Of course I had none of the strange ingredients and had to buy them at Whole Foods (or "Whole Paycheck" as Margi referred to them - and she is not wrong!).

Wish me luck!

The reason I asked about the colour of Dex's hair is that we had to apply for passports for the kids because we are considering a trip to Toronto this summer.

We went to the courthouse to apply and the person who was notorizing it told us that the passports would take 8-10 weeks!! They would arrive back past the date in which we had planned to leave. And the kids' birth certificates are attached to the application so we don't have those now either (ok, I do have an additional copy for each of them just-in-case).

Anyway, we had to use the "Expedited Service" the applications for a cost of $60 each. (on top of the regular passport fees!). And even then it is possible that the passports may take up to 4 weeks. YIKE$!

Bottom line, we might not be going to Toronto when I wanted to since Stephen refuses to by tickets unless the passports are in hand. That definitely will put a crimp in my Summer'O'Fun plans. :\

Guess who lost their two front teeth?



And a quick question - what colour is Dex's hair? Please post your opinion in comments section. I've asked ten different people and 5 answered one way while 5 answered another. I told them no "-ish" allowed. Think of what you would write on a passport application.

When Stephen was in university (well, I should clarify and say was an undergrad since his university career spanned over 10 years!), he said it was his goal to wear running shoes or "runners" to work every.single.day. This was in the mid to late '80s so at my part-time job in a bank, I wore wool skirts, silk blouses and blazers with ridiculously large shoulder pads. I always wore Hanes Silky Sheer in "Barely There" or "Barely Black" nylons and on my feet - 3-inch high, blakc, patent leather pumps. The thought that someone might wear runners to work seemed unlikely and so preposterous to me! I mean unless one was a gym teacher, who wore runners to work?!

Stephen's summer jobs were never what I considered conventional. He stripped phone wire for Bell Canada for a few weeks one summer (until Bell workers went on strike). He was then a quality control agent for an auto parts distributor, testing brake and signal lights. He worked in the campus bar at university. One summer, he worked for the Lottery Corporation where he drove around sticking 6/49 lotto stickers on the windows of every corner milk mart/variety store/drug store in the east end of Toronto.

And guess what? He wore runners for all of those jobs (though perhaps he might have worn construction boots for the Bell job...I cannot recall). He was happy. He was fulfilling his goal.

Graduate school brought new job opportunities. He taught a walking class at a university in Indiana (wearing runners, of course!). He was also a researcher where he sat at his desk, quite comfortable in his runners.

When he moved to Minnesota for his PhD, he worked in a research lab and his PhD is in Human Factors. The research lab was part of the school of Kinesiology (Gym, basically - ok, not really so no nasty comments, please!). Upon graduating, he continued to do research for the U. Again, no need for dress shoes or clothes. In all, seven more years of living his career goal.

Next came the move out here to the west coast where everyone is casual. He loved the idea of working for a Big Company where he could wear his runners. No way he could wear them to the companies where I worked over the years (bank, large insurance company, big blue computer company, financial advisor company).

All through the years, I have been trying to get him away from the runners. I tried to convince him to look at something other than runners in stores. Nope. He has never been interested. Non-runners were not part of the goal.

For his birthday, I decided to surprise him and buy some "dressy" runners with hopes that he would be something he would like. Ok, so they aren't really runners, but they kind-of sort-of look like them. They are leather and suede and would really, really good on him. No luck. He at least gave me the courtesy of trying them on but I know he was just humouring me. Back in the box they went.

So, really! Why have I been trying to get him to sway from his goal of wearing runners to work every.single.day? I am not sure. Perhaps at the beginning I was jealous that I was cramming my feet into pumps while he got to wear his Nikes. Even when my jobs became more casual (never so much that I could wear runners!), I was still trying to get him to try other shoes. And now as a SAHM, where I get to wear runners to work every.single.day (or I could if I chose to do so), I still want him out of those runners and into something "dressier".

I won't try it again. Really, I am proud of him for achieving his goal. He is proud that he has not had to sway from it. I'll let him wear his runners in peace.

Stephen's birthday is tomorrow so I spent today running around picking up things. He wants Nachos for dinner. From the local brew pub. I guess I can go in and order them to-go, right? I hope so.

My mother is feeling better and so her trip is on. She is going to shuffle her visit a bit. She'll stay with Jean-Paul and Marilyn (and baby-to-be) first then come here.

Ok, I am trying to blog and watch "Heroes" which I had dvr'd last night. I just found out that (whisper) OMG PETER DIED! So I have to go and pay better attention to the show!!!

At our last book club, P. brought a birthday cake for me that said "You Rock" because I often joke that I (Friggin') Rock! It was a sweet gesture and I had a little piece of the cake. Well, apparently I thoroughly and completely offended P (according to D) because I did not take the cake home that night. Huh?! I did not realize that I was supposed to. I mean we were at book club and everyone just takes home what ever is left over from what they brought (is that sentence even the slightest bit grammatically correct?). So, it never OCCURRED to me to take the cake home.

Geez, I guess I friggin' suck!

Dex had a baseball game today and we had to be there 30 minutes early. A few minutes after we arrived, another mom arrived with her son, who is on Dex's team. Then she looked around and said "Where is Tate?!". She started looking around frantically and said again "Where is Tate?!. I knew that look and that fear. I asked her quickly how old Tate was and what he was wearing. Tate is four and was wearing a jean jacket with a hood attached. I took off running, calling for Tate and scanning the crowds. The ball fields were jammed! Four teams (kids, coaches, parents and siblings!) arriving for two baseball games, plus two flag football games just ending and a soccer game. Cars and vans and trucks were driving around the parking lots and driveways. It was madness!

In a couple of minutes I found Tate walking behind the second ball diamond. I said "Are you Tate?" He looked at me warily and nodded. I told him that his mom was looking for him and that he should run back to the other diamond where his brother's team was. We ran back together but when I saw his mom, and she ran towards us, I stopped running. Then I burst into tears.

The same thing happened to me three years ago. We were at Jackson's t-ball game. Cars was a baby and in a stroller. Jax's team was playing t-ball on the soccer field and Dex was playing at the playground directly behind the field. Stephen and I were scanning the playground equipment what we thought was regularly when suddenly Dex was gone. Vanished! Stephen and I realized at the exact same moment and there was this crippling fear and we both stood there, paralyzed. We did not know what to do next. As with today, there were several games going on. Dozens of people wandering around. Everything was happening in slow motion. What do we do. I said "My son is missing!". It came out as a whisper. OMG, it was real. He was missing. I took a big gulp and said louder "MY SON IS MISSING!" Stephen was over at the playground, peering under the stairs and up the slide, as if he would find Dex hiding in plain sight. "MY SON IS MISSING!" A couple of moms came over and asked me what he was wearing and what he looked like. I felt sick to my stomach and felt as though I was going to faint.

Stephen had taken off running. Across the soccer fields (why do they play baseball on soccer fields?!) over to the school portables. He emerged between the portables with Dex in his arms. Dex had run clear across to the school portables and was playing between them. I never felt so relieved in my whole life. I cried - sobbed - with relief.

So, today when that mom was missing her son, Tate, I knew how she felt. That fear and disbelief. Thinking that any moment you will spot him and so forcing yourself to slow down and look harder and closer at all the groups of people. Wanting so badly to think that you were just scanning too quickly, that he is "right there" but you missed him the first, second, seventh time because you were looking too quickly, too frantically. But also knowing that he is just.not.there.

Because it has happened to me, I had made a decision. A decision that I would never just stand there when a mom was missing her child. Never. I have helped a couple of moms in the past but mostly the child was just right there (hiding under the stairs of the climber in the park or behind a bush). Sometimes I cannot do more than that because my kids are with me. Today, it was fortunate that Stephen was there and he had Cars and Jax (Dex was practicing on the field) so I could help that mom find Tate.

She grabbed Tate and hugged him hard. Then she took him to the car where I know she had a good cry. She came back when the game started and told me that she had made a decision. A decision that she would not just sit there when a mom said her child was missing. She told me that I was the only mom who helped her look (I hadn't noticed). That actually surprised and dismayed me. Really.

Anwyay, Tate was found. Dex's team played well and the sun peeked out for about 20 minutes. A happy ending.

A semi-warm day today. Spring?

I taught Art Start in Dex's class today. We studied Johannes Vermeer's "Milkmaid", concentrating on the light and shadows. Then the kids drew still life photos of some flowers in cobalt blue bottles with pears (I took the bottles in from my blue bottle collection). They worked with pastels which were actually very chalky. Anyway, it was fun and some of the kids really understood the light/shadow thing and it was exciting to see their results. I had to take Cars with me today which sucked because he was in the way a bit.

I freaked out a little when I went into the class to gather last month's project and it was GONE! The teacher gave it away to be showcased at the school district's resource center but I need it for the Art Auction night on May 10th! She promised it would be back by then. The kids studied Matisse's "Les Bêtes de la mer" and they cut paper sea creatures and glued them on the pages. They turned out really cute so I decided that those art pieces would be featured at the Art Auction. Anyway, I hope they are back on time! Please-please-please!

Tonight the PTSA was sponsoring a talk on "Stranger Danger". I had planned to but things got hairy after dinner. There have been a few attempted abductions around here lately and people are getting skittish - calling the police anytime a teal or white van drives by.

From sheriff's office:

"Citizens are asked to call 9-1-1 if they see a truly suspicious vehicle in their neighborhood. However absent some sort of suspicious activity, please don’t call 9-1-1 if only a white or teal van is seen, as this ties up call receivers and prevents other callers from reporting incidents."

Notes have been sent home from school so now my kids freak out when they see a white or teal van. The most recent letter from home mentioned a red van. Soon it will say beige, silver and grey and that will cover just about every van around here!

Anyway, I am sorry that I missed the talk at the school tonight. In the meanwhile, we'll just re-watch "The Safe Side" dvd and try to condition my kids to be cautious but not frightened of every van driving around.

More blather

Nothing new really. I took the kids swimming this afternoon (early dismissal) and then we went directly to Jax's baseball game. As much as I complain about baseball, I am enjoying watching the games at this level because the games are quicker than the coach-pitch and t-ball levels. Between the two kids we have 2 practices and three games each week and it is a lot, especially when Jax has to be at his games 1 hour early and Dex needs to be there 30 mins early. I wish it would warm up so I don't keep freezing my ass off every other day at the games/practices!

Tomorrow is our first MOPS meeting in over a month (last one was canceled due to snow then none over Easter/Spring break weeks. Our creative activity is YOGA! Ha - no craft to prepare. :) I still need to sort through 1000 silver beads though and start 55 bracelets for the May 3rd meeting (45 for the moms and 10 for the volunteers for babysitting).

Maybe I can get a couple bracelets started now...

Just Blathering

Our neighbourhood is finally getting the locked mailboxes this week. Only a year later than promised.

Jax started taking the WASL this week. Every morning for the next three weeks he will be writing this test. I know that a lot of people are not happy with this test and now the teachers are teaching to the test. Beth is very interested in this issue.

Terry is going to quit the club we go to and start going to Gold's Gym. I am so bummed. No work out partner! I hope this is not the end of my work outs. I really need some sort of accountability (i.e. meeting up with Terry) to get going. I did take my first Step class tonight and enjoyed it although I am a complete and utter klutz. Half the time I was facing the wrong way! Anyway, I will try it again next Monday and decide if I will keep going.

We filed our taxes today. Why on earth do we wait 'til the last minute every year? The minute the taxes were filed, Stephen ordered a new computer (from Dell of all places - friggin' Dell!).

My mom is starting to feel better (finally!). I hope she continues to improve because she leaves in just three weeks on her west coast tour (Edmonton, Seattle, Vancouver). I am looking forward to seeing her (I think the pneumonia took the Killjoy out of her).

In-laws are on their way to Houston tomorrow to visit MIL's sister who is gravely ill. Last week they actually thought that this trip might end up being a funeral trip but Stephen's aunt is hanging in there. She has lived in the States for over 50 years but wants to be buried back in Toronto with her parents. I am not sure why but I find that surprising. But if I think about it, I guess if I were to die I would want to be buried there too.

Cars needs a haircut soooo badly. As swimming lessons his hair is in his eyes all the time. Speaking of swimming, he no longer cries (as long as I buy him candy or chips afterwards). He actually caught some rings for the first time ever last week and today, he was strongly encouraged by the Swim N a z i to jump into the pool on his own (normally he insists that I walk him to the diving board and then he jumps almost into the arms of the swim teachers). I am really proud of him. And of the Swim N a z i for getting him to swim. She is firm with the kids, does not kiss the butts of the parents and she gets results!

I finally bought all (well almost all) of the supplies for MOPS crafts for the year. I am waaaay under budget this year because of the snow storms which canceled three meetings. And a fourth meeting (this week) we changed to a yoga demonstration. It is good that I am under budget because Hospitality is over budget (and still needs more money). I have some great ideas for next year and one craft already done (it was from a canceled snow day). Plus someone is co-chairing with me so it will be much easier next year.

Ok, end of the blather for today.

Jax turned 9 yesterday. Wow - 9 is huge!!

To celebrate his birthday, he had a sleepover birthday party on Friday night. I really did not want him to have a sleepover but after looking at our calendar for the next month, we could not find a day that would accommodate a chunk of time for a party at some other place or even to a movie (baseball is killing me!). So, we decided on a sleepover on Friday night (both older boys skipped their practices for it).

Anyway, I had planned an Easter Egg hunt in the dark but it was POURING rain and several of the kids did not bring coats or pjs (just planned to sleep in their clothes) so that was out. Our house is plenty big for 5 people but not for 10 so it was certainly a tight when the boys wanted to run around. Anyway, we had pizza for dinner, cake and ice cream then Jax opened presents. We played 2 games of bingo until everyone won (this was painful because when we were playing 4 corner bingo, the second last ball was B4 which two of the boys needed in order to win).

After bingo, it was jammie time and they watched a dvd, then a couple of episodes of Spongebob and then it was lights out. I gave each of them a flashlight and a glow stick. Of course there were tears (tears!) because someone did not get the colour they wanted (mental note to only buy the SAME colour glow sticks if we ever do this again). The boys talked well past 11:30 (I slept on the couch in the living room) and the first awoke at 5:15! They were all awake by 6am! Stephen had to leave at 8:30 to take Dex to his baseball game. All of the kids were picked up by 9:30 which some parents actually grumbled to me was too early! Huh? My kids never sleep past 7am so I did not think it was too early at all, especially since we had a day of baseball to deal with.

Jax had such a great time. I am so happy that he was happy. Since yesterday was his actual birthday, after his game (3-6pm) we went to dinner at Red Robin and came home for more cake and presents from the family. I went to bed when they did (8:45 - they stayed up to watch "Survivor" which they could not watch on Thursday because of, you guessed it, baseball).

Here is a picture of the birthday boy in his uniform (and with his long, frizzy hair).

Stuff

Book Club last night was interesting. We were to discuss "Suite Française" by Irene Nemirovsky. I was looking forward to the discussion because I found it so interesting and the letters in Appendix 2 were fascinating. Well it turns out that several people did not even read the book! So the hostess gave a brief recap, we spoke for maybe 20 minutes about the book then talk turned to other things.

We had some good laughs but the dynamics of the group have definitely changed. There are a couple of people who do not like each other. As well as a couple of people that some find odd so you can definitely feel the tension at times. Two people were away this week too so we'll see how things are next month. Could also be that J was just serving drinks with liquor (Cosmos and some coffee-type martini) rather than wine which tends to mellow people out a little (geez, we sound like a bunch of lushes!).

Today, I was supposed to teach Art Start in Dex's class but Cars was up a lot in the night with croup (again!) and he has a cold. I feel horrible at having to cancel. We've rescheduled to next week.

Now I'm off to pick up balloons for Jax's b-day party. More on that tomorrow.

IMDB Challenge

This is fun! I got it from Miss Arrogant's blog:

1. Think of 10 shows you currently watch or have liked over the years.
2. Find those shows at Internet Movie Database.
3. Copy down 3 Plot Keywords (they are mini descriptors of the show).
4. Make a list on your blog minus the actual show name.
5. Have visitors guess which shows they represent. No cheating!

Here are mine:

1) Mad Cow Disease/Courtroom/Social Commentary
2) Suburbia/Suicide/Plumber
3) Doctor/Hospital/Seattle
4) Roommate/Monkey/Insecurity
5) High School/Basement/Wisconsin
6) Advertising/Murder/Apartment
7) Memory Loss/Villain/Cheerleader
8) Detective/Jury/Social Commentary
9) Montage/Hit in Crotch/Slapstick
10) Awkward/Workplace/Pretzel

Let me know if you do it too so I can try to guess yours!

Cosmo Wednesday

Guys are out for their wings night so Laurie, Ash and I decided to meet at my house at 5pm for dinner. Kids had McDs, we had salad with turkey breast and a Cosmo. It was fun. I really miss Cosmo Fridays.

Busy time this week which is completely stressing me out. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appt which I totally spaced on the time and my appt is shortly after the kids get out of school and no way for me to get there on time. Then we have to be back here for Jax's baseball game. What am I going to do? Aargh!

Tomorrow night is book club. I finally finished the book which I really did enjoy. Then Friday I have to teach Art in Dex's class and it is Jax's sleepover b-day party! Yikes!! I am running out of time!

Cars and I did manage to get some b-day party supplies for Jax today though. Stephen and I still cannot agree on a present. Jax might end up with nothing!

My mom spent most of her Easter in the ER. She had had a bad cold all week and when I called her in the morning to wish her a happy Easter, she was sobbing and saying she did not know what was wrong. I immediately called my aunt who told me that she was just about to go over to pick my mom up to take her to the ER. Turns out she has pneumonia (which took hours to confirm because she had to wait forever to get x-rays taken). Apparently when I called she was having a bad reaction to the Dimetapp with codeine she had been prescribed the day before. The doctor assigned to her case at the ER had been my dad's PCP for years before my dad got sick. The same doctor who kept telling my dad for years that he only had reflux /heartburn and told him to take more maalox. Turned out to be stage IV esophageal cancer. :\ He came in and told my mother that just the night before he was talking about my dad to someone. Anyway, I hope this pneumonia diagnosis is correct.

My Easter was much less interesting. It was a good day all-around. We got up early and went to the 7:30am Mass (Stephen even went with us - another Easter miracle!) and when we arrived home the boys hunted for eggs. The past few days have been mostly dry so our backyard bog is almost dried up which meant the kids could play out there. Stephen cooked dinner (turkey) and made the best gravy ever using some tips from the cooking lesson he took. I went to be at 7pm with a migraine. :( I was asleep by 7:30 but awoke at 11:30 and did not get back to sleep until sometime after 3:30. Aargh! I did get to read a huge chunk of my book ("Suite Française") for book club so I am no longer worried about finishing it on time.

Today, I am exhausted from the weird sleep so after swimming lessons I think Cars and I are going to come back here, curl up on the couch and I will read and he can watch a movie.

I am a procrastinator. I do leave things for the last minute and am I prone to put off things indefinitely that do not need to be done by a certain time. This explains the three 18" stacks of paper on top of my filing cabinet in our closet. All paid bills, medical records, receipts, warranty information, credit card offers, credit card cheques, etc. that needed to either be shredded or filed in the cabinet instead just sat there, getting higher and higher each month.

Today, I tackled the piles.

For 4 and a half hours, I sorted by bill type and receipt type. I put the "to be shredded" stuff in one pile and I shredded it all (I almost wore out the poor motor of our shredder - which had not seen any action in over two years - and I had to clear paper jams about 10 times!). Then I filed it all. I did not spend the time to put everything in date order but just jammed the items in the corresponding hanging file.

What I have not yet filed are the receipts from the insurance company that we get for every doctor's visit/service we receive. That pile is about 8" high itself. Stephen says I should just toss it all (well, I would shred it but I think it would kill the shredder). Going through all that information too was kind of a throw back. Cars' birth (yes, I was *that* far behind on my filing!!), Cars' emergency room visit for bronchitis when he was just 3 months old, Dex's speech evaluations and speech therapy sessions, tons'o'allergists visits for Jax (including the notes I took at one when the doctor said he will *not* outgrow his allergy), Stephen's sinus surgery, my breast biopsy and subsequent f/u mammograms). How can I throw all that out?! Do I throw it out? Do I keep it? What do I do with it?!

And I vow to file my bills/receipts at least once a month. I wish I could say I would do it weekly (or better yet - daily!) but I know better than to set myself up to fail. :)

One

Taken from Margi's blog:
You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
ONE.
Word.

(Not as easy as you might think.)

1. Where is your cell phone? bench
2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O.? man
3. Your hair? grey
4. Your mother? worrier
5. Your father? missed
6. Your favorite item? chocolate
7. Your dream last night? yes
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream car? fast
10. The room you are in? kitchen
11. Your ex? none
12. Your fear? spiders
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? comfortable
14. Who did you hang out with last night? family
15. What you're not? slim
16. The last thing you did? drink
17. What are you wearing? capris
18. Your favorite book? entertaining
19. The last thing you ate? kisses
20. Your life? fine
21. Your mood? neutral
22. Your friends? far
23. What are you thinking about right now? sleep
24. Your car? van
25. What are you doing at the moment? typing
26. Your summer? fun
27. Your relationship status? married
28. What is on your tv? fights
29. When is the last time you laughed? hours
30. Last time you cried? afternoon
31. School? Toronto

Copy.
Paste.
Answer.
Questions.
In.
ONE.
Word

Last day of spring break today. Stephen took the day off and we planned to do something fun for the kids. We decided early this morning to go to the zoo since it was going to be a glorious day. Apparently every other person in the Puget Sound area had the same idea. We arrived at the zoo about 10:45 - much later than I had anticipated but we had to stop at Safeway to buy some sun screen (as I mentioned - a GLORIOUS day!).

The first zoo parking lot is jammed packed and a huge line of people at the zoo entrance. The next parking lot is the same, as is that zoo entrance. The next lot was full too but finally at the 4th lot we found the very last spot. We got out and in line behind 75 other people. Stephen and I looked at each other and said "Forget this" and we turned around and went back to the car. We decided to try the Aquarium so we drove downtown Seattle. We spent 30 minutes looking for a parking spot. We tried the metered parking all along the waterfront but found nothing. We went in two parking ramps and drove around and around. They were both full. Forget it! We drove back to the Eastside and had lunch in Bellevue. Then we went mini-putt golfing and took the kids swimming at the club. Not exactly the day we had planned but it was good just the same.

We came home, ordered pizza and then Stephen mowed the lawn (heh).

Now for the shameful part of the day. I did not go to church. I did not take the kids to church. Good Friday and I skipped it! I feel so guilty! :(

Y'know that bridge. The one that I don't like. Well, here are some of the reasons why not!
520 Bridge collapse 1 and 520 Bridge collapse 2

*gulp*

Ok, so we've done nothing exciting over this spring break. The kids have been skateboarding at the park a couple of days. They went to a b-day party yesterday and today Jax and Dex went on a playdate. As I mentioned, Cars still had swimming lessons and preschool this week.

Our lawn still is not mowed and I am terribly embarrassed about it. I am thinking of buying an electric mower so I can do it myself. I just don't know how to use the gas one (how to mix the oil and gas together and how to start it). Stephen is ADAMANT that he will not teach me how to do it. I am pissed off. Perhaps I will dig around the garage to find the user's manual.

I spent 2 hours today shredding stuff. Mostly old receipts but also some documents and those d*mn checks that the credit card companies send.

Jax has decided that he wants a Gameboy DS for his b-day and Stephen is considering getting him one. Um...no. He has a Gameboy Advanced already (rarely uses it) and I just don't think we need another game system in the house at the moment. I want to get him a new skateboard since his is a crappy one (was really a scooter but we did not install the handle on it). He *loves* it though because it has Star Wars on it but he really cannot make turns on it. Jax also wants an electric guitar and again, Stephen thinks it is a grand idea. *sigh*

Can you tell that this has been a contentious week at the Pez household?

:'(

One of my worst nightmares:

Allergic 13-year-old dies after eating burrito

These deaths always frighten me. Teens don't like to seem different and take risks that they should not. So many anaphylactic reactions and deaths happen to teens because they take these risks. I can't say that I hope that Jax and Cars will know better because this girl knew better too. I just hope it never happens.

It is day 2 of spring break. We really did not do much yesterday. Or today. Cars still has swimming lessons and he still has school this week because his school follows the vacation schedule of another school district. I watched Ash's kids this morning while she went to physical therapy then the hairdresser came over and cut hair for me, Jax, Dex and Ash when she arrived after her therapy.

We have a b-day party to go to tomorrow so this afternoon we'll go out and get a gift. Cars wants to buy the boy a Star Wars transformer. He is just turning three so I think that just might now be the right gift. We'll see...

Ramona posted some photos on her blog from her visit here so go take a look.

Spoiled Rotten

edited to add photos...

Well, I was utterly and completely spoiled rotten on my birthday. Stephen sent Ramona and I off for a pedicure in the late afternoon. My feet have never felt so soft or looked so pretty. Embarrassingly enough, the pedicurist broke two files while grinding down my rough heels! LOL

I bought myself a couple of "seconds" at Glassybaby as well as some of their "china babies" which were made in China and not the same quality that their hand-blown ones here are. The kids gave some to their Sunday school teachers today since it was the last day of class for the year. Ramona bought 13 china babies to give as gifts! I hope they survive the flight home in her luggage!

Here are my votives (three are glassybaby "seconds" and three are "china babies"):



Aren't they gorgeous? I want more (real ones, not seconds or the ones made in China)

My kids and Stephen all gave me a Pez dispenser (Nemo, Buzz Lightyear, Mike & Sully from Monsters, Inc.). My friend DeniSe knit me a beautiful afghan that is very cozy and goes nicely in my living room (it is red/gold/beige). Ramona gave me a very pretty cobalt blue vase.



Ramona left today. I took her to the airport and was able to chat with her right up until she went through the xray/metal detector. One of the TSA agents came up to me and asked me why I was "skulking around". I thought I was in trouble until I realized that she was flirting with me! LOL

Anyway, all-in-all I had a wonderful birthday weekend. I am so grateful for having such wonderful people in my life. From Stephen to my kids and my friends (especially Ramona!)! I am blessed.

Finally, here is a photo of Ramona and I taken on Friday night:

Happy Birthday to Me!

I am enjoying Ramona's visit so much! Yesterday I had the day off (Stephen took a vacation day and did my job for the day) and Ramona and I spend the day shopping. I totally splurged and bought four pairs of shoes (Macy's had a rockin' sale). Ramona bought a ton of things and we are wondering how she will get it all home! LOL

Then we had a special Birthday edition of Cosmo Friday with Ramona, Ash, Glo and myself. We had appetizers and a drink there then went to a local restaurant where Terry met us and we ate and drank a little more. It was great fun!

Today (my actual b-day), Ramona and I are heading to Glassybaby because they are having a moving sale. She loved her votives and wants to buy more because she is going to a wedding next month and wants to give them as a gift too.

And on a scary note:

Two 12-year-old girls contaminate their teacher's coffee cup: Lip gloss was intended to elicit allergic reaction

Ramona arrived yesterday! It is so great to see her! We just hung out most of the day. Today we have planned to run to a few stores. I have one sick child who has a very sore throat but that should not impede our plans. He can just come with us. I might stop at one of the Minute Clinics to have him tested for strep. Oh great, now all of my children want to stay home "to play". Aargh!

Complaint Free World

I saw this mentioned today on Oprah -> A Complaint Free World.

I love the idea of it, but what on earth could I talk about on my blahg?!?!?

Do People Really Believe These Types of Email?

A gem I received today that made it past the yahoo spam filter...

Dear Friend,

My name is Mrs.Rosemary C King I am a dying woman who has decided to
donate what I have to charity through you.You may be wondering why I
chose you. But someone has to be chosen. I am 59 years old and was
diagnosed for cancer about 2 years ago,after the death of my husband who had
left me everything he worked for.I have been touched by the Lord to
donate from what I have inherited from my late husband to charity through
you for the good work of humanity,rather than allow my relatives to use
my husband's hard earned funds inappropriately.

I have asked the Lord to forgive me all my sins and I believe he
has,because He is merciful. I will be going in for an operation,and I pray
that I survive the operation.I have decided to WILL/Donate the sum of
$15.5 (Fifteen Million, five hundred thousand Dollars)to charity through
you for the good work of the Lord, and to help the motherless,less
privileged and also for the assistance of the widows.At the moment I cannot
take any telephone calls, due to the fact that my relatives are around
me and I have been restricted by my doctor from taking telephone calls
because I deserve all the rest I can get.

Presently,I have informed my consultant about my decision in WILLING
this fund to charity through you. I wish you all the best and may the
good Lord bless you abundantly, and please use the funds well and always
extend the good work to others.If you are interested in carrying out
this task,i will inform my consultant, so that he can arrange the release
of the funds to you. I know i have never met you but my mind tells me
to do this,and I hope you act sincerely.I decided that 35% of this money
should be taken by you from the total sum upon the sucess release of
this fund, because I am now too weak and frigile to do things myself
because of my cancer.

NB:I sincerely know that a lot has been written about some SCAM coming
out of the world,but I assure you that this will never in any way
associated with that as you will be given the right to verify this directly
with the the finance company where the fund was deposited.

I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until the
task is accomplished,as I don't want anything that will Jeopardize my
last wish, due to the fact that I do not want relatives or family
members standing in the way of my last wish.

Your sincerely,
Rosemary C. King
PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME,ADDRESS,TELEPHONE/FAX NUMBER ON YOUR
REPLY FOR EASY AND IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION WITH MY CONSULTANT..

How convenient that she "cannot take any telephone calls, due to the fact that my relatives are around". What a joke!

And last week I apparently won a million pounds from Coca-Cola in the UK. I am so lucky! ;)

Dex's baseball game was canceled due to rain 11am. At 11:15 the skies cleared and now the sun is shining brightly. Oh well...

Stephen still has the flu but he left this morning on his trip. I called him patient zero and asked him how many people he might expect to infect along the way. I am sure tomorrow he will be feeling better but today? He really should not be traveling.

I did not make it to church this morning because I had to run to Safeway to get him some medication to take with him since the Theraflu he had been drinking comes in 8oz bottles only and it would not be allowed on the airplane. I wonder when companies will start coming out with smaller bottles to carry on because of the airline restrictions? I would love Benadryl to come in smaller bottles because lugging around 4oz bottles in case of emergencies is not very convenient.

Anyway, I did take the kids to their religion class after Mass though. My friend Jane gave me the name of a pediatric optometrist where I could take Dex for testing. I wonder if I should go that route vs a pediatric ophthalmologist. Jane said that ophthalmologist she went to did not detect her son's lack of 3D vision. I dunno...I guess I could do both, right?

The auction last night was a lot of fun. Of course I did not win the boys' class projects at the live auction. The starting bids were $100. Dex's class project (the one with the hands on the wooden game bench) went for $450. Jax's class project went for $650! Here is a picture of that one. It really is lovely.

I came home to find Stephen in bed with a bucket. He has the flu. Ugh. And he is to go on a business trip tomorrow. He has to fly to Detroit and then an hours drive. Not fun if you've got the flu.

Baseball season starts today. Jax's game should be on since the rain has now stopped. Dex has his first game tomorrow.

This'n'That

I am feeling better today. My back does not hurt as much and I am much better spirits. I think those back pills make me feel depressed!

It is pouring rain today. Cars and I went to Costco where I splurged and bought my self a 14-piece cosmetic brush kit for $21.97. It has a foundation brush which I wanted plus all of my brushes are probably 15-20 years old. A Estee Lauder foundation brush is $35 so I figure that I got a good deal.

I also had to find snacks for Jax's baseball game tomorrow as it is our turn to bring the snacks. Costco is really not the place to look for food when you are trying to avoid buying large quantities of snacks that are peanut-free and milk-free. I did pick up juice and some bubble gum for the players. I will have to go shopping at Safeway tomorrow for the rest.

Speaking of baseball, I imagine Declan's practice will be canceled since it is pouring rain. Jax's practice is on artificial turf so it will not be. I will be at the school auction tonight so Stephen will have to handle all three boys in the pouring rain.

I woke up in a blah mood today. It is grey and overcast. I have a chronic back/neck ache and I had to take a muscle relaxant last night but it did do anything but make me super tired and sleep though my alarm clock.

I am feeling a little stressed with all the busy-ness that is upcoming. Baseball is stressing me out already and the season hasn't started yet (starts Saturday).

Ok, off to get the boys from school.

Nothing new really. Just busy with day-to-day stuff.

Yesterday we had snow, hail, rain, sun, thunder and then of course more rain. The sliding doors on my car were frozen shut this morning. I hate this time of the year when it is 45 degrees one day,65 the next, then back to 45.

I bought a pair of jeans and a jean jacket at Value Village because I wanted to BeDazzle them for the auction on Friday night. I BeDazzled the pocket flaps on the jacket and it looks nice. Tomorrow evening a group of us are having a BeDazzler party at Ash's to prepare for the party. I'll BeDazzle my jeans then.

I bought some glassybaby votives that arrived smashed in a million little pieces. Fortunately, the UPS guy had not yet driven away so I ran the box out to him and refused it. The company apologized profusely and said that they rarely arrive broken and promptly sent me out replacements. They arrived a couple of days later and they are gorgeous! (Ramona don't read this whisper: they are a wedding gift for Ramona - only 16 months late!).

And speaking of Ramona, she will be arriving in a week's time! I am so looking forward to seeing her.

Notes to self:

1) Install filtering software on computer children use (in full sight of me) in case I leave the room for a few minutes.
2) Change computer password.
3) Do not let friend's child "google" anything ever again on our computer. Ever.

Another cry-free swimming lesson for Cars although it was questionable whether he would make it or not. The promise of Cheetos kept the tears at bay.

I had a conference with Dex's teacher today (report cards came home on Friday). She had originally sent a note last week saying no conference was needed but I wanted to ask her about his effort (major problem at home and in past years at school) and his reading. The the report card came home and he was not at standard with writing either. Shouldn't it be automatic conferences if kids are not at standard mid-year?!

Anyway, we started chatting then she said that she thought that Dex needed his eyes checked. Would she have told me this if I had not requested the conference?! I mean if she thought there was a problem, why did she not email me or mention it to me when I was in the class teaching Art Start? Hmmm...

So, we need to work on his handwriting too which I guess is not up to snuff. It seems hard for him too because he is a lefty and his hand covers what he has already written. His left hand is always filthy from being dragged across the pencil scratchings on the page. Stephen has really, really bad handwriting so perhaps Dex inherited the "chicken scratch" gene?

On a positive note, the teacher said Dex often thinks of things that other kids do not. She loves that he insists that he must "exercise" his brain everyday. He is very compassionate and wrote a story called "The Hard Thing" about how he had to approach some of his friends in class to ask them to stop teasing a girl in their class. He was worried they would not be friends with him anymore.

Jax's report card was good. He is a delight to have in class. Stephen said the teacher just wrote that because she is afraid of me and wanted to ensure I did not request a conference.

Cosmo Friday was good. It was a gorgeous day so we invited a couple other moms and their kids so there were 5 moms and 11 kids. The kids played outside a lot of the time on their scooters and ball hockey in the driveway.

Yesterday we invited Ash and her family over for dinner. Stephen made a corned beef dinner with boiled potatoes and cabbage. I never thought I would say this but the corned beef was very yummy. It was a standard dish in our house growing up and I hated-hated-hated it. Probably because my mother would boil all of the flavour out of it.

Today we are just having a lazy day. I might run to Value Village to find a pair of jeans to Bedazzle for the school auction on Friday night (the theme is "Denim and Diamonds" or rhinestones in my case!).

Happy Friday!

Here is a photo of the auction project that we worked on for Dex's class project. The school auction fundraiser is next Friday night.



The handprints go all around the toy box/bench.

Cosmo Friday is ON today because none of Dex's coaches can make it to tonight's practice. Whoo-hoo!

There is a very good article in Child Magazine this month called Allergy Nation. The article does a great job of explaining what parents of child with food allergies deal with as well as how the children themselves cope. Also, it mentions how parents of non-allergic children often don't get it or feel bullied into not feeding their children the particular allergen.

The article also addresses the fact that some parents have filed civil rights complaints with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) which is where the 504 plans come into play. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Two nut-allergic children in the Union County, NC, public schools were found by the DOE to have been harassed in separate incidents at Antioch Elementary School and Sun Valley Middle School. Among the shocking findings investigators documented: a parent of a nonallergic child announced at a PTO meeting that he'd continue sending his child to the elementary school with peanut butter sandwiches and tell his child to "smear" the peanut butter along the hallway walls.

Can you imagine?! Telling your child to intentionally harm another child?! It is outrageous but sadly what happens and what we might have to deal with. Recently, I saw a photo of a milk-allergic boy covered with hives after having a straw full of milk spit at him at school by another kid. (if you are interested - click here and then go to slide #7 (takes a minute to load)). The accompanying transcript can be found here (scroll down to pg 28-29).

Again, I know the 504 plan will not keep Jax (and eventually Cars) 100% safe but it ensures that we are doing all we can to keep him safe and live a relatively normal life. And it makes the schools responsible for providing a safe learning environment for them.

One sad note in the article cites a study that found children with peanut allergies have a lower quality of life that children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. How sad is that? :(

Cars made it through his swimming lesson without crying. He was on the verge several times but he pulled through and was able to buy some candy afterwards. He is very proud of himself. I wonder if this "incentive" (thanks Kimmer :) will work everytime.

Tomorrow's MOPS craft are thread eggs. Super easy. Super cheap! And very cute! I need to make more tonight as samples.

I took Dex to the allergist today. He has a sinus infection and he needed prescriptions renewed since allergy season is starting. I booked the visit at the Seattle office since I could not get an appointment at the regular office until the end of April (I called two weeks ago!). And it only took me 31 minutes to get there! It was incredible. No traffic and I think I only had to stop at 2 red lights the whole way. When I took Cars to the same office in January, it took 70 minutes! Anyway, since we were early they took us early (that office is so NOT busy) and we were out just a few minutes after the regularly scheduled appointment time! Now, if I knew it would always only take me 30 minutes to get to Seattle, I would never go back to the regular office again!

Ramona arrives in two weeks for my birthday week. Yes, I have decided it will be a week of celebration. Stephen told me I was spending waaaay too much time thinking about my birthday but I told him that when else is my bff going to be in town with me on my actual birthday to celebrate? Probably never again in my life! So, I have to make the most of it. I keep reminding him that he is responsible for the kids *all* day on the day that Ramona and I are going shopping and other fun stuff (still in the planning stages).

I don't wanna go to thwimmin' leth-thonth!

Day 1 of swimming lessons and the crying has started again. He was wailing, "I don't wanna go to swimming lessons!" over and over again as I drove there. He cried when I put in the pool until she told him "NO CRYING IN MY POOL". Then the crying turned to a whimper. He did blow bubbles when she asked him to but he would not put his face in the water (she will push them in if they do not). She has a very hard approach but she is effective. She rightly says that this is a life skill they need to learn and she will not pamper them.

Anyway, I told Cars I would buy him candy (nice bribe) after every swimming lesson that he does not cry. So, he did not get candy today but he said he will try not to cry on Wednesday because he really wants some Sweetarts!

Jax and Dex have their after school Legomation class. If I could be sure that Dex would not forget, I could stay home and have a nap. But, since he forgot last week and I intercepted him on his way to the park, I need to go to the school to ensure he gets to the class on time.

Plastic Info

For Kimmer:

Here are a few articles to start with:
http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/quicklist-detail.asp?Main_ID=353
http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=24
http://www.ewg.org/news/story.php?id=5164
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200311/lol5.asp

Personally, I know that we cannot get rid of plastics entirely in our kitchen, but doing a few little things (getting rid of the plastic plates and cups) is a good start. I am using more plastic containers to send food in with the kids rather than plastic ziploc bags and plastic wrap. Not ideal but, like you said, using glass is not practical for lunch.

Hope that helps!

Plastic-free

I have been doing a little research about plastic cups and bowls and storage containers, and how plastic can leech into food. So, I have decided to get rid of the plastic cups, bowls and plates in our kitchen. I only use them for the boys but started to think that since they are all old enough, we'll now graduate from plastic to something else. Today, I went to the Corning Ware outlet and bought some Corelle plates (2 sizes) and bowls for the boys. I also bought some juice glasses (which, btw, are extremely hard to find). Tonight, I ordered some anodized aluminum cups from UrbanOutfitters.com.

My next goal is to slowly replace our Gladware and Ziploc plastic containers with Pyrex (or similar) glass containers. Of course I will need to keep some of the plastic but I will not store food in the freezer or fridge in it. To change over, it will be expen$ive so I will do it slowly - instead of buying new plastic when I need it, I'll buy glass, stainless or ceramic.

Now, I know not all plastic is bad for you. Numbers 5,4 and 2 are supposed to be ok. Of course Stephen loves taking his lunch in the #7 collapsible Rubbermaid containers that we have and I cannot convince him to give them up. Hmmm, maybe they will accidentally be washed on the lower rack in the dishwasher and the lid will shrink and not fit? ;)

Plastic is such a big part of our everyday life. Plastic on food, plastic seals on bottles, the damn impossible-to-open hard plastic clamshelss around everything from inkjet cartidges to batteries and small electronics. Those things clamshells are so hard to open that someone has even invented a tool to use on them! Even though consumers complain about them, retails love those clamshells because they help deter theft. No kidding!

The biggest problem with plastic is that most of it is made from oil. Oil that we we just cannot afford to be using and wasting by making into things like plastic clamshells and plastic grocery bags. So, by cutting out some plastics, I am helping conserve oil, right?

BTW, I am not saying that plastic is bad but I just do not think that my kids need to be eating it.

And I also do not want them to be eating high fructose corn syrup. We are working on that too...

Oh, I miss Cosmo Fridays already!

Off to book club shortly. I am currently making an Artichoke Dip. This is not the same one that I had been making for Cosmo Friday but this one looks really good too. I found the recipe at IOW for those of you who know what that is. I was at Costco the other day and noticed a big block of the Dubliner cheese mentioned in the recipe so I bought it. That cheese is soooo good! I bet this dip will rock too!

I went to the doctor today for my annual exam. We have decided that I need to have surgery to fix the incisional endometriosis and have tentatively scheduled it for June or July. Because the pain seems to be worst during ovulation, he wants to do the surgery mid-cycle to take a look at my ovaries too. Of course with my worst-case scenario, in my mind I am already imagining that the laproscopy will result in a full hysterectomy or something. :\

Time to fix my make-up before book club since my eyes watered so badly while I was grating the onions for the dip. I look like Marilyn Manson!