As promised, a photo of Cars with his haircut (Mar, please ignore his dirty face! ;)



I have tried for days to take a nice photo of him but he keeps making faces. Or doing things like this:



T-minus 8 days until the outlaws arrive. One good thing about their visit is that they will help replenish our Smarties supply.

Last night I went out to dinner with my playgroup friends. I miss them so much since we no longer meet. I think we are going to get all of the kids together on November 11th since most people have that day off school/preschool/etc.

Stephen told me he'd be "a couple of minutes late tonight". I asked him for his definition of "a couple of minutes" and he replied two hours. Oh brother. I am glad that I asked him. Now, off to clean up from dinner, fold the laundry, bathe the kids and put the garbage (and recycling and yard waste) out. I cannot imagine how others do it all when their dh's work away from home week after week.

A glorious day today! I love warm fall days like this.

Ok, I've cut out one nursing session for Cars. I'll wait a few more days and cut out another.

Horrible mom report:

After school at the park, as we were getting ready to leave Jax said he had to go to the bathroom so I let him go to the mens room alone. I was maybe 50 feet away. I figured I had a couple of minutes so I knit a row (16 stitches). Jax was not back yet so I knit another row. As I was getting to the end of the second row, I thought I heard some banging. I put my knitting away and started walking towards the bathrooms. The banging became louder and then I could hear a muffled frantic "MOMMY!". I broke into a run and as I approached the door to the mens room I could see these little finger waving out under the door. The door was STUCK shut and poor Jax had been trying to get out. I called to him to step back then I had to throw my weight against the door to get it open. He was sweaty and dirty from lying on the ground trying to get my attention. He had also been crying. Poor boy! I felt horrible! Why was the door sticking like that? What if there had been a pervert in the bathroom with him? What if the sticking door had been a trap?! I called the city to report the problem but I still cannot get this out of my mind. Why did I have to knit a row...two rows?! Sh!t!

Costumes are set. Jax will be Unknown Phantom and Dex will be Frodo. Of course this Frodo will also have green vampire teeth (don't ask!). I still need to see if the Skeleton costume I made for Jax way back will fit Cars. Dex wore it too.

I finally was able to get a haircut. It looks nice, I think. I went back to the old place I used to go to but not to the stylist I went to for 3 years because she does not work on Sundays and I needed a cut NOW! Anyway, I am still growing it out but is now has a little more shape to it and the bangs are not in my eyes anymore.

Tonight was Jax's turn in the Celebration Chair because he lost his first tooth! The tooth fairy left $5 for this first tooth (the tooth fairy's wife wanted only to leave $3 but lost that arguement). Subsequent teeth will only be worth $1.

Stephen spent the day touching up the walls in the kitchen and family room with spackle and then paint. What a huge difference not to have a dozen or so knicks in the yellow and red painted walls. Now, what to do about the clutter before the outlaws arrive. Stephen has a Honey-Do list that he plans on completing when his father is here. I am not sure why he thinks it would be a good idea to ask his father to help. It is bugging me already because I know his dad will go home and tell everyone that he came here and fixed up our house. Even if that means he just held the drill. Why do I care?!

I have almost finished Terry's scarf. I just need to cast off. It is shorter than the other two I made and I cannot decide if I should make it another 4" longer so that is why I am not completely done with it.

OMG - I just heard that Christopher Reeve died. I cannot find anything on the internet yet though. Hmmm... John Kerry just spoke about him at the debate the other night. Speaking about embryonic stem cell research and how it could help Christopher Reeve walk again.

Ok, I need to go to bed. I am a walking zombie these days...zzzzzzz

Jax was home from school today. Strep throat. I wonder who will get it next - Dex, Cars, me or Stephen.

Jax and Dex lost the priviledge of movie night tonight. I think Stephen was upset for me for taking it away from them but too bad! They were both rude to me about dinner and my feelings were a little hurt too. Let's hope tomorrow they are better...

It is nearly 11 pm and I am baking a cake so Jax can take a piece to a birthday party tomorrow since the place told the b-day kid's mom that they could not guarantee a peanut-free cake. A lady in Michael's overheard me talking to Jax about his peanut allergy and she told me she was allergic too and suggest that we join the Seattle Food Allergy group. The she told me about Pcc's Vegan Chocolate Cake. I was skeptical about the cake because it has Red Wine Vinegar but I tasted the batter and it was good and the cake smells sooooo yummy.

I bought myself some gorgeous yarn to make ME a scarf. I figure I am worth it, right? :) Let's see if I can finish Terry's first!

The Other

I drove Jax to the park behind the school and he walked from there so he could get his prize (A pencil that says "I WALKED TO SCHOOL TODAY"). Not really cheating...

I remembered to take Dex to school today. Good thing because it was PICTURE DAY. After school he said "I smiled like this" and gave me the cheesiest grin. Can't wait to see those pictures. Jax's picture day is tomorrow. His loose tooth is hanging on by a thread of flesh so when he smiles it sticks straight forward. Another lovely photo to look forward to.

Cars got a haircut today. He cried through most of it and I had to hold him so I was covered with hair. He looks like a little boy. He is also 14 months old now. Blink and tomorrow he will be two.

After I picked Jax up from school at the park, I told him he had 10 minutes to play before we had to pick up Declan. This man looked over at me and said "Did you say 'Declan'?" and I said yes and he said "I have a Declan too". We both laughed because we knew instantly...that we were both the parents "the other Declan". His Declan was born 3 weeks before my Declan at the same hospital. I had run into his FIL in Safeway 4 years ago (he overheard me saying Declan's name) and since then people here and there have been asking us if we knew "the other Declan". Apparently people had been asking him too! lol He told me his name was Mike and he really wanted to ensure his kids had unique names and here he named his son Declan and it will turn out that both Declans will be in the same grade/school as each other once they start Kindergarten. Anyway, I hope I run into him again sometime because I want to see what "the other Declan" looks like (he was at preschool too and his dad was at the park with "the other Declan"'s sister).

My MIL called today and asked if they should stay in a hotel while they were here. That was my perfect opportunity to say "Yes please!" and you know what I said? "Oh, we have plenty of room. You can stay here. It is not a problem." Erp

Cars is allergic to milk and eggs. He reacted strongly to milk even though it was diluted 1/100. The tests for peanuts and soy were negative. Of course as far as I know he has never ever ever been exposed to peanuts. Anyway, I need to get to the drug store to fill the Epi-Pen prescription. Oh, and he is allergic to eggs too.

I hope I remember to take Dex to school tomorrow. It is picture day.

Jax's tooth is hanging by a thin thread of skin. I wonder if it will fall out before his picture day on Thursday.

This week is "Walk to School Week" and tomorrow is "Walk to School Day". We walked Jax to school on Monday morning which was a glorious morning with sun, fog, mist, changing leaves. Tomorrow it is going to pour rain. Tomorrow, the kids who walk to school get prizes. Jax has been talking about the prize he is going to get for walking to school tomorrow. Ugh - why didn't they give the prizes out on Monday??!. So I think I will drive and park around the corner from the school and walk the rest of the way. I do not want to walk in the pissing rain.

I finished reading The Da Vinci Code. I enjoyed it but it did not make me think twice about religion or the Church. It made me want to learn a little more about Art history and cryptography.

Now that I have finished reading it I can get back to my knitting.

Random thoughts today...

Eighteen years ago today Stephen and I had our first date.

I forgot to take Dex to school today - how did I manage that?

Cars is going to see the allergist tomorrow so we can verify once and for all if he is indeed allergic to dairy. I need to find out why he keeps getting hives.

I fell off the roof today too so I am feeling extremely icky.

Dex gets to sit in the CELEBRATION CHAIR today because he had ALL of his teeth cleaned at the dentist for the first time (usually they can only get 4 or 6 before he flips out).

Kraft Caramels are yummy.

Sponge Bob Squarepants is a retarded concept.

I am lazy and I hate exercising.

One of my rhodies are blooming - only 5 months late!

If I had another baby boy I would name him Michael.

Jax wants to be a grim reaper for Halloween.

Dex wants to be Frodo.

Cars can talk. A little. He calls Stephen "Ya-Ya" which is hilarious. "Hi Ya-Ya!" when Stephen comes home from work. Sooooo cute.

Cars is also cutting more teeth. Last time he let me check he had 10. He has been miserable! Neither he nor I slept much last night.

Dex has been a real pip lately. He rambles on and on going from one thought to the next without a breath! Also, today he and Jax were playing "Star Wars" and he was Darth Vader "I'm your dad" he says in a monotone to Jax. Jax of course says "No! You say 'Luke, I am your father'". Dex sighs heavily and repeats "I'm your father" in that monotone. Hilarious!

Jax loves showing off his reading skills. He lectures Dex day in and day out about what sounds certain combination of words make. Tonight it was "ING". Jax was also delighted that today when he ate his apple at lunch his loose tooth became looser. Now he says he will eat an apple everyday until his tooth falls out.

I signed on to volunteer to be a "material/supply person" for Dex's Sunday School class. What a mistake! OMG the commitment is way more than I was lead to believe. Plus I also have to volunteer one day during the class AND sub as a teacher if one of the teachers are sick. UGH!

One volunteer thing I am really looking forward to doing is working at Jax's school on the reading program. I go in once each month (I'd like to go in more often but cannot guarantee I can get someone to watch the Dex and Cars!). Right now I am assuming that Nanny will be there on those days. If not, I am sure I can get Ash to watch them for that hour.

I did not knit one stitch today. Maybe I'll pick it up tomorrow...

Pictures of the scarves:
The first one I made using Lion Brand Fun Fur:

This is the Firenze (lovely yarn!) Hard to get the detail in this picture:

This is the one I just started using Fun Fur again:

Knit knit knit

I was babysitting for Ash. She said she and G would be home at 10. Then she called at 10 and said they would be "a little bit longer" but she was being evasive so I knew they would not be home anytime soon. They arrived home at 11:35pm. So basically I had all evening long to knit. I finished the second scarf and started on the third.

Another glitch with our green cards application. Aaargh! Actually, it is the same glitch that has come up again. Stephen is trying to track down info from the U of MN and other places. All this because in 1992 an INS agent checked the wrong box on his VISA. His fault for not catching it at the time I guess but honestly, how is he supposed to know the job of the INS agent? We'll see what happens next...

Dex has his friend over for a playdate. They usually get along pretty well but I can hear them arguing upstairs. I guess the constant yelling is an age thing and not just Dex...

I made Baker, Baker for dessert tonight. I found a link to the recipe posted in Katiefleck's blog. It was yummy. It is a keeper.

Off to knit.

Friggin Riggin Briggin!

Last night while knitting, I had a problem when I started a new skein of yarn and the friggin thing started to fall apart. No problem! I'll just rip out a few rows, hook them back on my needles and start again. No luck! I could not for the life of me see the rows because of the type of yarn I was using. So I had to rip out the whole scarf and start again. And YES I think knitting is hard.

Then today Ash asked me to teach her to knit. She said that if I can knit a scarf up in 8 hours then she could do it in maybe 10. Ok. Anyway, I'll start teaching her next week.

Outlaws are coming Oct 21-28th. Last time they came I went crazy. Literally. Lord help me.

Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Aggunaryd (IKEA for short). LOVE IT! We spent two hours there today. The older kids went in the ball pit for an hour (man, they need to extend that play time). Then we had lunch in the marketplace (Swedish Meatballs of course). We were looking for a new unit to house the cd's and dvd's since Stephen took a sledge hammer to the top of ours to fit the new tv. Anyway, they did not have exactly what I was looking for but I did buy a new coat hook for the front hall and a new chair in red

It is nice to have Stephen home. I don't realize how much he does with the kids until he is gone. Time to appreciate him more! :)

Haven't heard from Marc and Marlene since Hurricane Jeanne hit. I think the power must be out. I know that Marlene took the girls to the hotel to ride this one out since Marc had to be at the hotel since it was full.

Ok, off to do more knitting.

Yeah! He's home!!

Ok, I think I have the ornament swap stuff all figured out. Now just need to recheck it then send out individual emails with addresses. That will be sooooo time consuming. I don't think I ever want organize this again! lol

Stephen will be home tomorrow night. The boys are excited. They really miss him and I can see that their behaviour reflects that things are out of sorts. :
I finished one scarf and started a new one. The yarn for this new one is so pretty. I think I might need to keep it for myself.

Three days down...two to go.

I bought the Star Wars Trilogy today. I bought the widescreen edition. The boys will be so excited when I give it to them. Hell, I am excited about it! Friday night will be Star Wars Movie Night!

Nanny just called. She was to babysit for me tomorrow evening while I go to cirriculum night at the school but her ex-dh is dying and she has to go seem him one last time before he passes away (she got the call tonight from his current dw). I hope I can get the teen across the street to sit for me. I'll try to catch her tomorrow morning before she gets on the bus (at 7:15!!). Anyway, so no Nanny on Friday either.

I have almost finished my first fancy scarf. I think it will be for Leah Ann for Christmas. Next one I'll do is for Ramona. I am so pleased with it. Easy knitting scarves - just 18 stitches/row.

Today was another day. Not perfect but better...

I found out on the weekend that when I was a teenager, my cat, who I thought had just disappeared one night, was taken to the pound by my mom and put to sleep. I guess he had been sick and she figured it would be cheaper to euthanize him than it would be to take him to the vet. So I spent 22 years thinking he had run away from home. I missed him terribly, spent weeks looking for him. And she led me to believe these things. I am stunned still to find out that she did that. And this sounds completely juvenile but I am pissed off at her! ~shaking head~

I was a horrible mother today. I yell. F*ck I hate that about me.

Tomorrow is another day.

JP and Marilyn were here for a day. We had a great time last night playing Rummoli and like last month when we played poker, I kicked ass. Too bad we were just playing with chips, not money.

Stephen left a couple of hours ago to the airport. He has a red-eye to New Orleans with a stop somewhere along the way. He'll be back on Friday.

Cars' cold is not getting any better. I am covered in snot. *sigh*

Jax has an inhaler now. Allergist was worried about a cough he has. She said there was no real "wheeze" but the cough was bad enough. Anyway, Albuterol completely wires him up for about 1/2 hour after he takes it...so I did not give it to him tonight. I hope he sleeps ok.

Tomorrow morning Stephen and I are going to a baptism class. We need to take it before the church will baptize Cars. Stephen is livid because he thinks it is a waste of time, you know the whole "I was raised a Catholic, why do I need to go?!" and "They just want our money". Cripes, if I could go alone I would. Anyway, it is a whole 2.5 hours out of his life and another hour for the mass while Cars is baptized. I am a little upset with him at the moment about this.

Dex had a great first day of preschool at the new school. The drop-off/pick-up worked out well (although it was a bit of a wait at the drop-off). The school has a rule that if the child is not in a car seat they will not take them out of the car. The parent must go and park the car on the road and walk the child into the school. I saw one dad being told to park because the child was STANDING in the back seat as the dad drove in.

Cars has another cold. Poor boy.

Ok, JP and Marilyn are coming this weekend. Good because I need my SMARTIE fix. JP said they bought 6 bags of the mini boxes. Jax will be happy too because he has been asking for chocolate.

Hurricane Ivan spared New Orleans so Stephen is flying there on Sunday for a week. I wonder if I can get a babysitter one or two evenings while he is gone...

I think I popped a vein in my leg...is that possible? I was sitting down when suddenly I felt a bump in my leg and it hurt. I stood up and the bump when away but it looks kind of bruised and it hurts! Shit, getting old sucks.

Nanny comes tomorrow! Yippee! Four hours of freedom.

HDTV cable is in and Stephen has fallen in love with the tv. Nymphe said in my previous comments that big tvs scare her. This one scares me. It is freaking HUGE and since I can see it out of the corner of my eye while I am on the computer, I am very distracted by it. Jax has not stopped talking about this thing. They played N64 on it last night and I thought he was going to cry he was so happy.

Dex met his new teachers today at the new preschool. I am so excited about him going to this new place. Tonight was the parent info night and they could not stress the NO NUTS policy enough. Of course I have the wrong child going there for that policy but it makes me realize that the other preschool was a joke with their claim to be "Peanut Free". This new place has sent home snacks if they are not sure if they are safe whereas the other place would serve them and maybe suggest to the parent not to bring them in again.

The most exciting thing about this school is that I do not have to get out of the car to walk Dex to his class. Last year, trudging in and out of the preschool with three kids was enough to drive me crazy (and it did!). This will be so nice. I drive up, the teachers open the door, Dex jumps out, I sign the clipboard that they pass to me and then I close the door and drive off. Picking him up, they open the door, I sign the clip board, they buckle him in and then off I go. Love it!

I made a kick-ass dinner tonight! Baked Parmesan chicken breasts (one thing I do not screw up usually), and a purchased bag of salad greens. I added some purple onion, peppered feta cheese and balsamic/oil dressing. YUM-MY! Perhaps there is some hope for me after all.

What happens when you send a men out to replace a television that is on the fritz? You end up with this in your family room:


Stephen took the rubber mallet and took off the top part of our entertainment centre to accommodate this 50 inch tv. So at least he saved us some money by not having to buy the stand, right?

I cannot believe he bought it.

I cannot believe he bought it.

*sigh*

Apparently a kid in Jax's class is obsessed with him. I am a little disturbed by the whole thing but I think I will just sit tight and see what the teacher does next. Details can be found here.

Cars broke out in hives today at lunch. I had given him Kraft dinner and a cup of milk (which I knew he would not drink but I can dream, right?). Anyway, after a few minutes he threw it on the floor and when I looked at him I noticed the hives all under his chin and across his cheeks. I have an appointment now with the allergist on the 5th of October. I am assuming it is from milk but maybe the soy in the margarine from the Kraft dinner? Dunno...

Ok, tv is finally working so I am off to bed. Shit this thing is huge.

This weekend was painful. Stephen had a golf tournament all day yesterday and the kids had cabin fever but I had a headache and did not want to take them outside. So we watched movies all day long.

Today I took two hours to myself and spent most of the time at Sears, looking at things I wasn't buying. I really wanted to buy this jacket in red but decided it was impractical because I really need a rain coat which is much more useful here in the Pacific Northwest.

I did buy myself a fridge magnet today. It reads "Good mothers have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids". I hope my kids are happy because I have to justify the floors and oven.

A few weeks after 9/11, my friend DeniSe called me to tell me that she was pregnant. I feel horrible saying this but I was not happy for her at all! I kept thinking that people had to be insane to want to bring children into this world after what had happened. Didn't she realize that the world as we knew it was changing? Why on earth would she want to subject a child to it?

I held this believe for a couple of years...until I got pregnant with Cars. Actually, from time to time I still doubted that I was doing the right thing. There were people who would want to KILL my children because of the country of their birth and here I was bringing another target into this very scary world.

But here we are, three years after the event and 13 months after Cars's birth. Despite the uncertainty, I know we made the best decision. My life is not filled with dread but with hope for the future. The future for my children and for the world.

One a day. Just like the vitamins. That is how often people are going on IGNORE. Hostile, indeed!

Today was the "Return to School Barbeque" at Jax's school. They needed to know how many people in advance because it was "catered" by a bbq place north of here. The bbq (beef ribs, pork ribs, chicken) is supposed to be the best around. It smelled so good, smoking away in the parking lot. There were 650 tickets sold ($10/adults, $4/children). There were 650 tickets sold and there were 2 people serving dinner. Let me rephrase... There were 2 people serving dinner to 650 people. So I stood in line for an hour while Stephen watched the kids on the playground. At least I was standing close to Ash and I met two very nice women, one of whom is the mom of a kid in Jax's class. Finally we got our food and it was incredibly mediocre. And it was also nearly bedtime for the boys.

JP and Marilyn were to come again this weekend but have pushed it out another weekend. I have no Smarties! What shall I do?

I am getting cranky in my old age. Chalk up another person for the ignore list.

Dex started back at swim lessons today. He was excited that he got to swim with CJ rather than the Swim Nazi (CJ is her son). Dex needs practice kicking his legs. Seems he forgot how over the summer.

I signed Dex up for sports sampler too which starts at the end of the month. I am bummed though because the 10 o'clock class is full and that is the class that his friend, Ramsey is signed up for. So we are in the 11 o'clock class. Ramsey's mom said she might move the the 11 class because the son of another friend of hers is in it. I hope so.

Ok, time to go clean the kitchen. Have to shine my sink before bed. (right - I am just going to scrap the big pieces of food off the floor).

Migraine hangover today. Which does not mean I have a migraine from a hangover. ;) It means I had a migraine and today I have a migraine hangover.

Slow, dull, limp. That is me today.

We took the boys to the driving range today. Dex is good! He connects with the ball everytime. Jax swings like me. He pulls up and hits the top of the ball (if at all!). LOL They had a blast and it was so fun to watch them.

Tonight when I took the boys to bed Jax wanted to read from his science book that I bought for him from Costco. He is getting so good at reading. And he is excited about reading which is so great.

While Jax was reading, Dex asked me to help him write his name. I wrote it in upper then lower case letters. A few minutes later he wrote a 4 but it looked a little wonky. I told him that it looked almost like a 4 and he announced that it was a "lower case 4" and that was why it looked different.

Cars sprouted another tooth. I think he now has 8 or 9 in his mouth. He is so funny. He will not sit in the high chair anymore so it is going back in the garage. He sat at the table in a regular chair for two days until Stephen fished out the booster chair from the garage. He is quite happy to sit there with us. He insists on being outside when Jax and Dex are. He gets mad when I have ketchup or salsa to dip my food in if I have not given him any.

God I love my kids.

Once a year night on the town:

Babysitter for the evening: $40
Pre-movie beers and appetizers at an overpriced pub: $35
Two movie tickets: $17.50
One tub of popcorn and two drinks: $16

Sleeping through most of the movie: Priceless

(Stephen, not me). ;)

Eleven Years ago today.

1985

I love this song:

1985
Debbie just hit the wall
She never had it all
One prozac a day
Husband's a C.P.A.
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned 24
Only been with one man
What happened to her plans
She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ass
On the hood of Whitesnake's car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
Nothing has been alright... since

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana there was U2
And Blondie and music still on MTV
Her 2 kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985

She's seen all the classics
She knows every line
Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink,
Even St. Elmo's Fire
She rocked out to Wham!
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she'd get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran
Where's the mini-skirt
Made of snake skin
And who's the other guy
Singing in Van Halen
When did reality
become tv
What ever happened ever happened to
Sitcoms, Game Shows
(on the radio)

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana there was U2
And Blondie and music still on MTV
Her 2 kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985

She hates time - make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock
When did Ozzy become an actor
Please make it stop stop stop
And bring back

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana there was U2
And Blondie and music still on MTV
Her 2 kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985

I just watched the video on the official Bowling for Soup website. It is so very fun!

Hurricane Frances is huge and heading for Florida. I hope that it changes course or diminished its intensity. Scary stuff. Marc said this evening that he cannot evacuate his hotel because there is nowhere for anyone to go now that most shelters are full and no flights in/out. He will stay there during the storm while Marlene and the girls stay at home. I am so proud of Melis. She put up all of the storm shutters herself, drilling them all on. She just needed help from Marc when he got home from work with the ones for the sliding doors because they were just too big for her to manage.

More retail therapy for me today. It has got to stop!

Thunder and Lightening

Today could not decide if it wanted to be summer or fall. It pissed rain in the morning, then the sun came out. Then it clouded over - big, black clouds with lots of thunder (a rarity here).

Jax had another successful day at school today. He told dh tonight that he wanted to buy his lunch at school one day but then he quickly decided not to because he is saving his money! LOL Poor kid didn't realize that we would pay for his lunch.

Playgroup was here today. It was nice to meet everyone again at someone's home rather than at a park because at the park the kids are scattered and the mom's are distracted and it is harder to keep conversations going.

I made another cruddy dinner tonight. Yes, I know I had given up but decided to try again. This was Crock-pot "Fried" chicken. The "Fried" was in quotes so I should have realized. Anyway, it wasn't too bad, I guess. Just didn't have the texture I was expecting.

I have finally put someone on ignore at the forums. Finally as in finally that person's time...not that I haven't ignored someone before.

I had a friend at one forum who was "run off" by someone who had a pickle up her butt and the forum mods were less than supportive. I miss her. We have emailed back and forth but it is not quite the same thing as reading day-to-day stuff about what is going on in her life.

One last forums comment...I finally hit 10,000 posts at SAHP by September 1st. Now I can stop posting as much. lol

1st day of 1st grade

There's my big boy 1st grader!

The first day went well. We parked at the park and walked through the park and school playground* to Jax's class. The teen from across the street was not starting school until 11am so she offered to watch Dex and Cars for me. So it was nice that Jax and I went alone and we chatted without interruptions. My little boy is so grown up!
*edited to change playgroup to playground. Doh!

Testing testing

Blogger ate three blahgs from yesterday so I will keep this short just in case it does it today too.

School starts tomorrow. Jax has insisted on Veggie soup for lunch because I told him I had a thermos for him. He is fascinated with it. I hope he can open it up by himself tomorrow.

Dex had another friggin meltdown tonight. Stephen and I got in an argument about the way I handled it. Guess who was the hardass?

I was planning to go to bed early but Primary Colors came on. This movie is so good. It is almost over so I need to pay attention to the last little bit...

Damn blogger eating my new blagh entry.

So I will not report that nothing happened today.

Boohoohoo

I think blogger ate my blahg.

In that case, nothing new to report today.

Oh my aching back!

I scrubbed the kitchen floor today which took ages. The swifter wet mop does not work as well as I had hoped (or maybe I just need to use it more often - lol) so today I spent almost an hour washing the floor with vinegar and water. It took so long because it is wood so I would have to wipe each 3'x3' section dry after I washed it to protect the wood. I think we need to refinish the floor. Add that to the job jar.

Stephen wanted the kids to have one last summer blast so we went downtown Seattle to Gameworks. While they played, I wondered around the shops downtown. I bought a bra and free undies from Victoria Secret (a coupon came in the mail for free pair plus $5 off a bra). I was so excited to buy a bra that was not a nursing or maternity bra! I am sure it won't fit me once I finish nursing but it looks good now! It is the same size I was before I got pregnant so hopefully my boobies won't shrink too much once Cars is weaned.

Speaking of that, the little stinker turns up his nose at vanilla soy milk too. So who knows what I am going to do. I was speaking to a friend of one of my playgroup friends and she said she recently weaned her 20 month old dd and her dd will not drink milk or eat yogurt or cheese so she just ensures she drinks calcium enriched oj. Adding that to my shopping list...

Two more days until school starts for Jax in his peanut-free classroom! ;)

My boys on MOVIE NIGHT.

Cars kept wrestling Dex for his bowl of popcorn so I finally got him the container of Toddler treats and he was so happy to sit down and munch away, next to his brothers.

Over the past two weeks he has become so determined! He wants to do whatever his brothers do. Today he almost burst through the screen door because he wanted to play outside with them. Yesterday, he climbed up the ladder to Jackson's bunk. Today he tried again and fell off (bad mommy was in the bathroom and forgot to shut the big boys' door - yesterday was daddy's fault). Anyway, he has become quite a challenge. He is also teething so he is a little miserable and hard to distract with something more "age appropriate" when he gets into his brothers' things.

An apple for the Teacher

Jax met his teacher today. We found the class and he found his spot at the shared tables. She was great - remembered him from last year (she was the full-day K teacher in the class next to his). She had a little letter for each student as well as a letter to the parents stating that the classroom was PEANUT-FREE! Wow. She said it was what was best for all involved. So no peanut butter sandwiches allowed for that class. I was so happy I could have kissed her!

Next, I went to the office to drop off Jax's benadryl and epi-pen and the nurse gave me a letter from her that will go home to every parent reminding them that the class was peanut-free (yeah!) and a list of common foods that kids are not to bring to class (m&m's, pb, granola bars, cracker jacks, etc). The note also reminded parents to READ labels.

There are *5* 1st grade classes this year. After they re-drew the school boundaries last year, they apparently had no idea of the real number of students coming into this school. There are also a large number of 3rd graders too.

Remember my vow never to cook again? (August 3, 2004). I broke it and I should not have. I made pizza tonight, with pizza dough from SCRATCH. Problem is that the dough tasted awful and was as hard as a rock. Why oh why do I not listen to myself? I.CANNOT.COOK. End of story. I have got to quit pretending!

Nothing new here. Stephen is feeling ill from a major allergy attack. He was trying to tough it out but all that resulted in was a bitchy wife listening to a moaning grown man. I drove to Safeway late last night to get him some Claritin.

My mother is getting on my nerves. I love her dearly, of course, but she seems to think that I am not capable of handling Jax's peanut allergy issue with the school. See, the thing is, there is no issue at the moment. I spoke to the teacher and we appear to be on the same page. We'll see what happens and I will re-address it if it is not working. My mother, from 2500 miles away, is insisting that I march over to the school district and DEMAND that the school become peanut-free. She says "Andrea says at HER school they would make a classroom peanut-free. Every child has the right to an education in an environment that is safe for them". My gawd! Give it a rest. I am going to stop talking to her about it.

And then the rain came...

Ok, remember how I was complaining because it was too hot and too dry. It just start raining a few days ago and never let up? And it is COLD! Well, cool, but feels COLD compared to 85F. Twenty degrees cooler and here we are. Brrr - I am not ready for wearing pants and sweaters again. Man, I hope they fit me!

Called the school yesterday and spoke to Jax's teacher about the peanut thing in the classroom. She has had a peanut-allergic child in her class before so I am confident she will be on top of things. She was the full-day kindergarten teacher until this year so Jax also knows who she is already. And she spoke at length about him and his allergy to his k teacher.

Dex has been a bit of a pill lately. I think he is struggling being the middle child. I am trying to work more on making sure he expresses his opinions (without whining, please!) and we take into account his wishes but for the most part he is so easy going that it seems it is only for very minor things (in my eyes) where he is insisting things are his way. Let's hope that once school starts things will improve for him.

I am being a big PITA at the SAHP forum because I want to hit 10000 posts by September 1st. Only 168 to go! ;)

We've decided to hold off repairing the cracked pipe for now. I need to call for an estimate from the drywall guy to find out what the overall cost will be. Insurance broker advised me not to go through insurance unless it was "catastrophic" else my rates could go up or I could be deemed "uninsurable". I don't get it - wtf do I have insurance for then?

Anyway, off to watch the news then to bed to read my book.

I cut this out and laugh (and cry) over it:

Drip Drip Splash Sploosh

Ok, it is much later now and panic mode is over. Our bathtub drain is leaking and it seems a my bath last night drained unto our family room ceiling. Lots of drywall to repair and hopefully not replace. We'll know after the plumber gets here later today (can't imagine how much that will cost us - a plumber on a Sunday). Sh*t - now I am worrying about mold...

Anyway, we finally found the main turn off (both to the house and from the street - I highly recommend that people know where it is and I cannot believe we were such dolts and didn't know beforehand).

F*ck - burst water pipe (awaiting a call from a plumber and cannot find shut-off valve. Stephen is still looking and I am just sitting here panicking!).

The waterpark was FUN. The kids had a blast and even Stephen had fun. Sometimes he spends too much time trying to ensure that the kids are having fun that he takes the fun out of it, you know what I mean?

Canada has only won 2 Olympic medals. I am disappointed and a lot of Canadians are PISSED. Wondering where all the taxpayer's money is going...

We went to the Seattle Aquarium today with Ash, Gav and Kins. It was so nice. Even better because the discount card (called Prime Card) that MS employees get got us all in for $3 (except for Cars - he was free). Anyway, just as we were getting ready to go it was feeding time for the octopus. To feed him, they throw a peanut butter jar with fish in it into his tank. He used the suckers on his tentacles to open it up to get the fish. Too cool! We also saw them feeding the sea otters. They have a really neat area that is like the tidal pools and there are sea cucumbers, star fish, purple sea urchins (like in Freddie the Fish!). Way cool. Then we went to Red Robin for lunch the home.

Here's a shocker. Stephen is actually taking a VACATION day tomorrow. We are taking the kids to a waterpark. This is the first vacation day he has taken all year, not counting the month he had off in February which was covered under his paternity leave. Anyway, let's hope the sun continues to shine tomorrow!

I have some sort of bite on my arm and it is so itchy. I noticed it on Monday and it started to hurt last night and work me up. Still so very itchy! Today it has "spread" and is red and lumpy. The redness is about 2" long and 1/2" wide. If it hasn't gotten better after the weekend I will go to the doctor. Ash says she thinks it is a ~shudder~ spider bite! eeek!

Summer is almost over and I feel that I need to pack a million more things into the last few days remaining. Jax meets his teacher a week tomorrow then starts school the following Monday. Today we nothing and I feel like I wasted a day! Playgroup was canceled because no one could make it (various doctor appts). So we just hung out at home until about 2pm when I piled the kids in the car for a trip to Sears (reminded me of the scene from The Brady Bunch Movie when Mike says "Put on your Sunday best kids; we're going to Sears!".

I bought the bigger boys a pair of Land's End All Weather Zip Mocs and a couple of long-sleeved t-shirts for school. I think Jax is probably set for clothes now and Dex is too (need to haul out the size 5 pants bin). Jax's Land's End raincoat is due to arrive the first week of Sept (back-ordered). They will both need new winter coats (just a fleece-lined nylon coat). Cars is out-of-season on the outerwear so I may have to buy him more fall/winter clothes. I am finally hitting the sizes where I started keeping clothes.

Stephen mentioned tonight that his bonus will be coming in his mid-Sept pay. I told him I was going to buy a new grill because about four times this summer I have almost caught fire in a huge fireball trying to light the damn one that we have. On Saturday, I even singed all of the hair off my right hand and forearm. The ignition is broken so we have to light it with matches or a lighter and it is frightening! Anyway, I told him that he could use whatever was left of the bonus to buy what he wanted except for any damn Lego!

Time for bed. Actually I am reading a good book (see to the right -->) and I want to read before I get too tired.

Midwest Weather

It was humid today. Humid summer days = migraines. Off to bed.

Low Tide

We went to Alki Beach in Seattle today. The stress of driving across the lake then through the city was not as overwhelming as I had expected. Dex was enthralled while driving across the West Seattle Bridge which made my palms sweatty - tight lanes and way too friggin high! Anyway, we got to Alki about an hour before low tide (11:58am) but the tide was out already and it was so fun poking around under rocks to look for crabs, clams, eels, shrimp (at least they looked like shrimp - but very tiny), etc. No starfish but I guess the birds got to them before we arrived. By the time we left a 2pm the tide had come back in and the flats and tidal pools were long since gone. It was chilly there (only 60 degrees whereas it was mid-70's on the Eastside when we left!) but still a great time. I would love to go next year during the extreme low tides.

Saw my psychologist for the first time in three weeks. I thought I would have nothing to say (since I am cured, don't-ya-know) but I bathered away for an hour. Next appt is two weeks today.

Tried to get Cars to go back to sleep in his crib after he awoke last night but to no avail. I think he is destined to sleep forever in our bed from midnight to 6am. *sigh*

Missed 9am mass because we had company still. Then after they left Stephen went to get his haircut and now it is three minutes before 11:30 Mass. My kids are glad about it.

JP and Marilyn arrived yesterday and stayed overnight. It was a short but nice visit as always. We played poker last night and of course I won because we were only playing with chips and not money.

Stephen fed Cars a scrambled egg this morning. He gobbled it right up. Now of course I need to watch him for any signs of an allergy. Nothing in the past has given me any indication that he has an egg allergy but because of Jax's allergies, I worry and fret about it. Cars would not take a cup of homo milk (aka whole milk but it is called homo milk in Canada - short for homogenized). I will try again today and tomorrow and if not I am off to buy him some soy milk, I guess. I'll probably buy him the vanilla stuff because it looks like it would be yummier than plain soy shit.

Stephen took the boys to the mall yesterday to visit the newly opened Lego Store. Of course he had to buy them not a $5 lego set but a freaking $30 set - one for each of them! Crips! Here I am trying to be frugal and he's off pissing our money away. I have also stopped driving around in the heat without the air conditioning on in the car because he drives around in his car with the air set at 68 degrees!

Ok, ranting about that made me feel a little better.

Twenty-five dollars and two cents ($25.02). That is the cost for 2 passport pictures. Thanks Canada. They changed the specs for passport photos last year. Before that, Canadians living in the States could just get the US sized passport photos (you know the ones that cost like $4.99/set at Costco or $7.99 at the drug store?!). Well now they need to be 50mm x 70mm with the head between 32-36mm (or some such nonsense). So I had to go to this specialty photo place that charged $23+ tax for the pictures. Next, I need to FedEx it (they recommend FedEx vs regular mail because that adds another MONTH to the processing time) and the cost is $95 for the actual passport. Holy Crap! And with my luck we'll be called for our green card meeting with the USICS while my passport is being processed. *sigh*

Ok, why do magazines send the renewal notices to you six months in advance? I just received a notice for a renewal for
Better Homes and Gardens but my subscription does not run out until January. And I swear that Consumer Reports has sent me four renewals already for a December renewal! Sheesh! Like I don't get enough junk mail!

HOT HOT HOT

Ok, the hot weather has returned and it is a little more humid that usual. Ugh. Our poor little air conditioner just does not do enough. I think we will need to relegate it upstairs and at least cool one of the bedrooms off...

Yesterday we went to Meydenbauer Beach Park again yesterday for playgroup. It was hot this time and the beach was re-opened. The kids splashed around in the water until I saw a big rat (or muskrat or something) swimming in the water so then I suggested that they just play on the beach unti we left shortly thereafter.

Speaking of big rat, Ash had a strange animal on her deck last week. She said she had no idea what is was. Lori suggested it might be a Mountain Beaver. I'd never heard of them and Ash looked it up online and sure enough that is what it was. So much wildlife around here!

Today we are heading back to Lk Samm State Park and we'll see the family of Bald Headed Eagles as well as cool birds as they go fishing.

This weekend JP and Marilyn are coming. They will bring all sorts of good things with them from Hickory Sticks (for Stephen) to Smarties and PeaButter for all of the kids. Yeah!

Oh, time to go pack a lunch for the beach!

Sorry for no updates...I've been so busy!

Saturday: Pissing rain in the morning cleared to sunny skies and the bbq went well. Fun time had by all although Cars cried again when I put his hat back on him. :(

Sunday: Clean out the garage and put together a shelving system for the garage

Monday: Trip to Remlinger Farms. It was stinking hot but the boys had a great time.

Monday Night: Friend drove up from Portland to stay for a couple of days.

Tuesday: Bought closet organizer for under the stairs closet and Friend installed it and helped me organize.

Will post more updates later!

Of course the first time it rains in a month has to be the weekend that we are having a bbq.

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

I spent the day getting ready for the party and reading the forums. Cars has loose stools and I am guessing it is from the cheese on the pizza he had for dinner last night. Poor boy. Oh, I guess it could have been the cake too.

Ok, off to clean the kitchen.

Somebody doesn't like his birthday hat.

** Warning ** This is whiny and has TMI at times. Read at your own risk! ;)

Tuesday, August 5th. The day had finally arrived for baby boy #3 to be born. Stephen and I took some photos of our family of four before we became a family of five. It is strange waiting around all day waiting for a c-section. Why could they have not scheduled it for the morning?

We arrived at the hospital at 3:35pm for my 5:30pm c-section. They prep'd me for surgery and about 5:00pm the anesthesiologist came in. A few minutes later my OB dropped in and we chatted about the surgery and the baby. At 5:35pm they wrapped me in a warm blanket and I walked across the hall into the operating room. I laid down on the table and started getting really scared. This was my third c-section but that did not make it any easier or more reassuring. I was very frightened. I was also upset that my yet to be born son did not have a name! We had just spent the last 1.5 hours narrowing our list of 10+ names down to four and then finally to two as we left for the operating room (Cameron and Carson).

The spinal was inserted about 5:40 and by 5:55 they started the operation. Things progressed quickly and my baby was born at 6:00pm on the dot! He came out peeing! I took a quick peek at him and saw a mass of black hair! Stephen announced that he looked like a Carson - he finally had a name! Stephen went across the room with Carson while they cleaned him up. I started getting really, really hot and told the anesthesiologist that I was hot and I felt pains in my chest. He reassured me that my ekg was fine but there was a lot of discussion with the staff in the operating room. All I could think about was how hot I was. I couldn't even concentrate on the baby. About 35 minutes later we were all moved back to my room for recovery. Stephen and I had decided not to call anyone to tell them the news until the baby had a full name. I loved the name Carson but was so uncomfortable that I didn't really want to discuss a middle name. Finally I told Stephen that if he really loved the name Ezra so much would could call the baby Carson Ezra. We made our first phone call announcing Carson Ezra's birth about 90 minutes after he was born. I do love his name.

I threw up several times from the spinal. I remember cuddling Carson at one point then yelling "I'm going to barf!". I felt like a horrible mom and I was not a good patient.

I finally started feeling better the next afternoon. I was no longer hot. My IV and catheter was removed around dinner time. I started to get some really terrible pains about an hour later and after an unsuccessful trip to the bathroom to urinate, I nearly fainted on the floor. Stephen and the nurse caught me. I kept telling them my bladder was too full to pee but they assured me that could not be the case. Finally I was given a special bladder ultrasound and my bladder had nearly a litre of urine in it. I had to have the catheter reinserted (NO FUN!). Within minutes the pain was gone. They think the other catheter had been pressing against the wall of my bladder so it could not empty properly.

The rest of our stay was uneventful. Carson was latching on wonderfully and I was able to get about 1.5 hours of sleep at a time during the night! Friday morning we left the hospital to go home to our new life as a family of five

* * * * *

Happy 1st Birthday to my baby.

As promised, I made the kids corn dogs and I had leftover Burrito Pie. Stephen just got home now and he is having a hotdog on the George Foreman Grill.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese today and met
Heidi and her kids. It was a nice time. She took some photos so hopefully they will be up on her blog. ~hint hint, Heidi~ Ok, I've only met her three times but I feel like I've know her for ages and this sounds silly but I will miss her when she moves to Alaska next week. Her kids are GREAT fun too.

Stephen snuck me home an Oreo Blizzard so I am off to take the kids to bed so I can eat it in peace.

I cannot cook

I pretend to cook. Oh sure, I can toss a couple of skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the oven, steam some veggies then and say I "cooked" dinner. But really I cannot cook. Today I burnt dessert and undercooked a roast chicken(Beer can chicken on the grill). I could not believe I am so friggin lame at cooking.

I had put the cake under the broiler to brown the topping and heard the thermometer going off outside because the chicken was "done" (at the right temp). I ran out to check on it (the temp said it was cooked - but perhaps I hit a bone with the probe) and thought it was probably done so I had to delicately balance it off the grill and into a pan without spilling the can of beer or burning myself. I finally got back inside in time to smell that putrid burnt sugar smell that I recall so well from high school science class (anyone have to do that experience where you burn sugar with the bunsen burner??). The topping was BLACK and not salvagable. Then I started cutting up the bird and the whole one side was still pink! I could not believe it. My thermometer LIED! I cried. Then Stephen arrived home, had a good laugh which then just made me mad then he made dinner (grilled burgers and hot dogs) since we didn't feel that microwaving the bird would make us feel good about eating it.

I am not going to pretend to cook anymore. I am not even going to try to make Cars' b-day cake. I suck!

Met some friends at a park today. It was a lovely day, sunny, warm but not hot. The kids were running around by some big old trees behind us when suddenly CRACK, WHOOMP, THUD! A huge limb about 4" in diameter and 12 feet long feel from one of the trees! It landed at the feet of a little girl. Another six inches and she would have been seriously hurt! Man, I am shaking again just thinking about it. Jax and Gav had just been in that spot, kicking a soccer ball around. Tami and I freaked and called the city of Redmond. They send a crew out and one of the guys said he had trimmed the tree last week and it was so old and diseased that he recommended chopping it down but it is an old tree and is in a perfect spot for shade. The park is brand-new (just had the official opening on Saturday - it was farm land donated to the city). The next limb that falls will probably crush the picnic shelter and hopefully not a little kid.

Cars is cracking me up tonight. He is running around like he is hopped up on sugar or something. Stephen let him carry the tv remote around and he thinks he is KING. lol

Our playgroup families met at a beautiful park on Lake Washington for a bbq dinner. It was fun and nice to see everyone's spouses again. It is a little sad because after four years, our playgroup will probably disband at the end of the summer.

Ticked at Stephen (over something stupid but screw it - I wanna be pissed!) so I am off to go pout.

This is us at the BigSoftwareCompany Picnic today. That is a mountain behind us (Mount Si)

It was fun. We were there for a long time - 11am-4:15pm. Lots of good food but the line ups for all of the free food and rides were so bloody long. The last ride the kids went on - bumper boats - took us 1 hour and 20 minutes to go through. I was ready to give up but Dex really, really, really wanted to go on so we persevered.

We were smart this time and brought bathing suits for the kids so they could run through the "Kid Wash" and they did not get their clothes wet on the bumper boats. My garage sale purchase last year of a double jogger worked out well for us. It pushed smoothly over the farmers field where the picnic was held and easily transported Cars, the diaper bag, towels, swimsuits, hats, sandals (while the kids were in the "Kid Wash") as well as several cups of water in the side pockets. I think Ash was a little sore that she sold it to me when she could clearly have made good use of it still this year at the picnic (teeheehee).

Bugger

The van is at the dealership. It will require several hours worth of work. Good thing it is covered under the warranty (or at least it had better be!). It is a transmission problem which means we have a piece of junk from here on out. Aaargh!

Tomorrow morning we will have to drive into Seattle to pick it up then turn around and drive back home before driving to the Microsoft Company picnic. That will put the kids in a pissy mood - all that driving around in the car.

I coloured my hair last night and missed a lot of spots so I still have grey roots here and there. Now that my hair is a little longer (it is longer on top but by no means long) I don't think one box of hair colour will do. Later this afternooon I am getting my hair cut. I wonder if the lady will mention my patchy colour job.

We finally caught up with the ice cream truck (a beat-up red pickup with a freezer strapped to the back). Yesterday, we chased it around the neighbourhood and missed it at each bend. The kids bought a snowcone with bubble gum in it. Of course their first, second and third choices all had peanuts in them. Anyway, they had a grand time and I think they will remember it for a long time (especially since we won't be buying from the truck again anytime soon!)

Mervyn's One Day sale took a big bite out of my wallet. Two pairs of pants for Jax, one sweater, one long-sleeved t, a pair of pants for Dex, a long sleeved t, a pair of shoes (on clearance!), a windsuit for Cars and a pair of shoes = $100. Not too bad I guess.

Shopping was an ordeal because we went with Ash and her kids. Gav encouraged Dex to run around the store. Jax ran in the opposite direction, trying to get the other two to follow. Cars cannot sit down in their little stroller carts - all shopping carts really need to have 5-pt harnesses.

Then we decided to head to the park. Of course it was at that moment that the CHECK ENGINE light in my car went on. F*ck. I called Stephen to call the dealership (since we were at the park) to see if it were 1) ok to drive and 2) if we could take the car in tomorrow. Apparently the car is ok to drive as long as the CHECK ENGINE light is not flashing (FLASHING = VERY VERY BAD) and they do not have any openings until Friday morning. So he makes an appt for 8am on Friday. So now I have to get my kids up at the crack of dawn and shuttle them 22 miles, across the floating bridge, into Seattle. Curses! At least the car is still under warranty.

I called today to change Dex from T/TH/F P.M. preschool to MWF P.M. preschool. I didn't think about the fact that all of his friends from last year would be free on T/TH to play but he would be in school those days. But with the change, they are all going the same days and he can invite some over from time-to-time to play.

Gladys Kravtiz Watch
The little doorbell-ringing girl came over today to see if Jax could play. Fortunately Ash answered the door (I was frantically looking for my AMEX card which had disappeared). She would not leave after Ash said that Jax could not come out because we were going out momentarily. She kept asking where and why and could she come too. Finally she left after about 5 mins of questions. (I found the AMEX card btw!). When we got home from shopping and the park I saw that she was playing at the nextdoor neighbour's house. :D

Things are back to normal. Garage sale is over. Heat wave is over. Now time to enjoy summer again.

Nothing new to report.

This week's theme is SCIENCE so I did float/sink experiments. FYI, play-doh gets really slimy and gross when wet. Thursday I need to come up with a new batch of experiments that will be interesting and portable (to the beach). I found a cool one on the Magic School Bus website but it isn't that portable.

Jax keeps telling me that he has a black heart whenever he gets into trouble. I got another "I heet my mom" notes today too.

Well, I am off to take the kids around the block for a walk. We have gotten into a nasty habit of watching TV when we are at home and I've got to break it.

Enough said?



That was INSIDE. Who knows what the actual temperature was outside. The "official" one taken about 25 miles from here was 95F I believe. I am sure it was 100F here though. I am such a hot weather wimp!

Garage sale went well although it was a lot of work. We packed it up early today (at noon) because there weren't that many people today, we didn't have a lot left and it was just too hot. Overall we made over $500. Not too bad. Now I have to inventory and pack up what is left then take it all over to Goodwill.

It is going to be a very long time before I have another garage sale and NEVER AGAIN in July!

One hundred degrees. One hundred degrees was the temperature yesterday. One hundred degrees was the temperature on the day we had a garage sale. Today is due to be the same. I am closing by noon. I most likely will need to anyway because I am almost out of stuff (compared to what we had).

Terry and I did well yesterday. The big ticket items did not sell. Hopefully they will today.

We went out for dinner last night then for a drive just so we could be in some air conditioning. We'll probably do the same today. Tomorrow should be cooler.

Ok, this garage sale thing is out of control. My garage is full of junk and there is no room to move about to organize it. I am panicking about getting it all organized and so panicked that I cannot do anything. Stephen *knew* I would get like this. So did I actually. WTF was I thinking? BREATHE! BREATHE!

Ok, the only think keeping me from going off the deep end is the entertainment in a forum I go to. Well, perhaps entertainment is the wrong word. Someone called someone else a "completely dumb bitch" then she said it was ok because she was not saying it due to a disagreement the other one but because her feelings were hurt. Oh my! And all of this in a Fahrenheit 9/11 thread. lol

Well, back to the garage and the heaps of junk!

Whew - getting ready for a garage sale is exhausting. I forgot how much so. I spent Sunday going through more closets, the garage, the toys, etc and I think I have a lot of junk to sell. No really big items, other than a stroller and an Evenflo Megasaucer. But lots of good stuff priced really well.

We have a major yellow jacket problem in our yard. Stephen thinks he can solve it himself. He has already been stung once. I think I am going to have to call an exterminator. Good-bye garage sale profit$.

Stephen took Cars for a haircut this evening. I asked him to just have them cut around the ears and neck. Off Stephen went with my baby and he came back with a little boy! Oh I cried! The little curly wisps are gone. He does not look like a baby. Oh I am tearing up again!

Not a happy boy.


All done! Handsome boy!
.

Taking a break from clearing out junk out of my house! Getting ready for the garage sale and I finally tackled the closet under the stairs. I put all of the kids crafts stuff in a huge plastic bin - much better than that stuff being scattered in several different plastic bags.

While cleaning out that closet, I found out the following:
1) I will never ever ever ever need to buy white glue again in my lifetime
2) ditto on crayons
3) ditto on gift bags
4) The closet is not a good place to store wrapping paper if I think it will not get crumpled

This closet is used to store office supplies, craft supplies, art supplies, wrapping paper and ribbon, fabric ribbon, sewing machine, sewing basket, brooms, all cleaning supplies as well as crystal glasses and china tea cups because I have no room in the kitchen cupboards and no buffet in the dining room (which is now a craft room/lego room anyway). Anyway, whenever I bought some art or craft stuff, or school supplies when they were on sale super-cheap, I would toss (literally!) the bag into the closet. I didn't realize until I pulled it all out and looked at it together that I had 9-4oz, 1-7.6oz (nearly empty though), 4-2 oz bottles of white glue! Who needs that much glue???? Now I am going to have to think of crafts to use it all up.

So the closet is organized (for now) but still very full. It does not even have my bead stuff, my acrylics or any of my scrapbooking stuff in it.

I NEED MORE STORAGE SPACE!

Ok, I also tidied up the "game" closet which holds our board games and puzzles. I had no less than 4 Trivial Pursuits games. Two are slotted for the garage sale although I must say it goes give me great pains to do that. I also put out my original Scrabble game that Stephen and I played from the time we started dating, oh so many years ago (18). We used to have great Scrabble matches. However, he started losing to me all.the.time. Badly. And now he will not play at all. So that game is going into the garage sale (not to worry though - I do have my Deluxe Edition that he bought me about 8 years ago. I cannot wait until Jax can spell a little better so I can teach him to play.

Stephen took the kids out to mini-putt while I finish up the closet and get the stuff I am selling out to the garage. Then the fun begins...cleaning everything in order to sell it so I get top dollar for everything. I hate-hate-hate going to garage sales when things are over-priced and not even CLEAN. Ick!

Enough rambling from me...back to work!

Date Night?

Stephen asked me to find a baby sitter and we are going OUT tonight.  I am so excited.  We are going to a movie - probably to see Anchorman. Katie will babysit. I am a little anxious because she has not babysat for us since Cars was born. Well she actually has, I guess, but she only watched Jax and Dex. Good thing her parents will be home right across the street!

Took Jax back to the doctor today. He was lethargic and just lay on the couch all morning. He also has a fever of 101.7*. His throat is bright red but he tested negative for strep. His ear infections are nearly cleared up so it is just some crummy virus. I am sick of my kids being sick. It is wearing on all of us!

So, the kids are having movie night tonight while Stephen and I go out. They rented Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Original Movie. Jax wanted to rent Lord of the Rings but I think we'll save that for a time when I will be home to watch it with them (besides, I want to see it too!).

Nanny came today for the first time in three weeks. I stayed home most of the time, taking a bunch of junk out of the closets upstairs out to the garage. Garage Sale next weekend!

Cars is climbing up on everything! Two days ago I found him like this
So I moved the chairs away from the table but he has figured out how to push them around the kitchen. Today:


He will then cry when he wants to get down because he has not figured out how to GET down without falling.

Ok, time to put that pizza in the background of the last photo into the oven.

Crazy on You

Ok, Blogger changed their dashboard again...

We went to the Locks today in Seattle. It was so cool. I hadn't been there before although I had been to the locks in the upper Mississippi across from our apt in Minneapolis (here if you are interested:
St. Anthony Falls Locks. Other than a major meltdown by Dex and the neverending traffic back-ups (Seattle traffic SUCKS!) it was a great day.

After dinner while Stephen gave the kids baths, I headed out to Costco for a few things ($180 later - how does that happen??). They had a few aisles blocked off because Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart were there signing copies of their newest album. I was sad for them because there were not big crowds but then I realized the had been there for hours and the lineup for autographs was CLOSED. So I didn't buy their CD - lol

Ok, so back to the $180 I spent at Costco. Shit! I really didn't buy anything extravagant or what we didn't need. Here's the list:

Venus Razors (16 count) $24.99 (ouch!)
Tampax Tampons(100)$10.99
RainCoat for Dex $11.99**
Infant Tylenol (ioz) $6.19
Children's Kirkland Brand Ibuprofin $6.89
Chicken Breasts $18.45
Pork Chops $17.05
SugarSnapPeas $5.49
Skintimate Shave Gel $6.99
Rainier Cherries $6.99 (2lbs)
Goldfish Crackers (58oz) $5.99
Ritz Crackers $4.99
Eggos $6.89
Carrots $3.49
English Cukes $2.99
Pears (6lbs) $4.99
Comet (6 cans) $4.79
Choc Milk $10.99 ***
Yellow 5x8 paper Pads $4.99

**(will take it back because Stephen says it is girly)
*** ok,this was a convenience splurge Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk 10-8 oz individual boxes

And that comes to $179.95! I cannot believe I spent that much there. I think I need to stop going there alone!

Mean Mom

It was one of those days when I could just not make any right decisions/moves/etc for the kids.

Mean Mom was on duty. Jax said wrote a note to tell me that "I hat my mom". Mean Mom laughed and thanked him for hatting her. He then snatched the note from Mean Mom and changed it. Next, he heeted Mean Mom. Mean Mom had a good laugh at that too.

Mean Mom then made Jax go outside without tying his shoes because he spent the time when he should have been getting them on writing that lovely note and Mean Mom no longer had time to tie them (a sleeping Cars was in her arms). So of course he walks outside and trips on his shoe laces and it was Mean Mom's fault again. Now Mean Mom is "ruining everything!". Oh the tragedy!

So, Mean Mom took the kids out to run errands instead of meeting friends at the beach. The errands were to buy school supplies which are on sale this week so that perked Jax and Dex up a little. They were very well-behaved and loved picking out school supplies. Nice Mom is back. Nice Mom decides then that maybe a stop at the beach is in order after all (Nice Mom packed bathing suits and towels anyway even though she had no plans to go). It was too late to meet friends though.

The friggin park was packed (well duh! It is 2pm and HOT). Mean Mom is back. Mean Mom drove around for 10 minutes ("Why are we just staying in the car?") then was able to get the parking spot that Ash vacated as they were leaving as we arrived. The kids change into their swimsuits in the car. Nice Mom reminds them to bring their towels which they of course forget. Get to the beach and they want Mean Mom to march back to the car (1/4 mile) to get them. Mean Mom thinks not. Mean Mom tells them to stand in the sun to warm up and dry off then wipe their feet off with Cars' blanket.

Anyway, home again, home again, jiggity-jig. Of course this is the day that Stephen is golfing. So...tick tock tick tock the day drags on and on and once again Mean Mom and Nice Mom alternate, based on how often Jax and Dex fight with each other and how often they are sent out of the room for timeouts.

Mean Mom then makes everyone go for a walk. Meaner Mom won't let them take their bikes. Meanest Mom shows up when we take a walk around the BIG block. By the time we got home, Nice Mom had helped pick out some great rocks for their collection and lets them ride their bikes back and forth in front of the house for a while.

Nice Mom was who put a bandaid on Dex's scraped knee and let Jax stay up a moment longer to show off the school supplies when Daddy finally arrived home. Nicest Mom put let them read for 5 extra minutes before lights out.

I hope Nicest Mom comes back tomorrow.

Ok, I do have some good news to share.

I ~think~ I am over my ppd. I was thinking the other day that I can see clearly now. No more fog. No more anxiety (other than the standard mom-type stuff). No more panic. No more thinking about how I will get through each day. I can almost say I am happy. I still have a hang-up about admitting I am happy (admit and the shoe will drop - dumb superstitions). I have learned a lot of tools to handle things. I have changed my way of thinking that has allowed me to let go and I am much better for it.

I go to counseling once every two weeks now and I think after September, I may drop it once/month until after Christmas then say good-bye to my therapist all together.

Life is good.

(that, in spite of the double ear infections that Jax and Cars have, and the single ear infection that Dex has).

Oh so tired

Another nearly sleepless night. Cars is so sick. At least this morning he is not crying and needing to be held as he did all day yesterday. Jax is feeling better today too (not all better but no more complaints of a sore ear). Dex said his ears hurt yesterday too but this morning he seems fine.

So yesterday was a complete write-off. I spent most of the day holding Cars. He wanted nothing to do with Stephen. My arms are sore. My back is sore. I need some sleep.

Ok, end of the bitching and moaning. I'll write more when I have something interesting to say.

Ta-Da!

Here it is. The new blagh template. Still a work in progress as you can see.

Not much going on today. Stephen is still nursing his noochies. Cars, Dex and Jax all have mild colds (although Cars is perhaps a little sicker than the rest).

(edited to say spoke too soon. Cars and Jax are up now with fevers and crying. This is gonna be a long night)

Gladys Kravitz Watch
New next-door neighbour wanted to know if I wanted to have a garage sale with her. They went from a much bigger house in Oregon to this one and need to get rid of stuff. I too have stuff to dispose of so I think we will do it. Now we just need to plan a weekend...

Template Blues

I thought I was in love with my new blagh template. I mean it was BLUE (fav colour...well purple is my ACTUAL fav colour but purple and blue are virtually the same - at least purple is made from blue). But the more I look at it the more boring I think it really is. I think I chose it because I loved the number guessing game.

So I am on a quest to find the perfect blaghskin for my blagh. Be prepared (hear that Nymphe?).

Took Stephen in for the old snip and tuck. He is lying upstairs in bed where he will no doubt remain for a couple of days.

JP and Marilyn are not coming down (Marilyn put her back out) so no Smarties for another few weeks. How will I survive??

I am addicted

Jean-Paul sent me this link CLICK HERE that will go on Livejournal.com and grab the last 30 images that have been posted on public journal entries in users journals and community journals. It is fascination and disgusting and intriguing and very humourous.

I Don't Want to Live on the Moon

I Don't Want to Live on the Moon

Written by Jeff Moss
1978 Festival Attractions, Inc. (ASCAP)
Sung by Ernie (Jim Henson)

Well, I'd like to visit the moon
On a rocket ship high in the air
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon
But I don't think I'd like to live there
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I might like it for one afternoon
I don't want to live on the moon

I'd like to travel under the sea
I could meet all the fish everywhere
Yes, I'd travel under the sea
But I don't think I'd like to live there
I might stay for a day there if I had my wish
But there's not much to do when your friends are all fish
And an oyster and clam aren't real family
So I don't want to live in the sea

I'd like to visit the jungle, hear the lions roar
Go back in time and meet a dinosaur
There's so many strange places I'd like to be
But none of them permanently

So if I should visit the moon
Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam and then
I will make a wish on a star
And I'll wish I was home once again
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go I'll be coming home soon
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon
No, I don't want to live on the moon

Warning Label!

Edited out because my blahg was too wide.

On the Road Again

Took a road-trip to the State Capitol today to visit an online friend. We had a lovely visit (at least I think we did!) lol Jax complained about the long drive (1.5 hours) and all three kids slept on the way home.

Stephen is working late this evening so it is take it easy night right now. Flylady would be disappointed.

OH! Cars just took 10 steps across the room. What a big boy!

Rain Rain Go Away!

Ok, buh-bye rain. You've been here long enough today. Non-stop pissing rain. My Gladys Kravitz Perch will be handy as an Ark in another couple of hours.

JP and Marilyn are coming to town with my, I mean "the boys'" smartie stash. Also, JP of course has some ebay packages to pick up. They are also bringing down a jar or two of Pea Butter, which looks and kind-of-but-no-really tastes like peanut butter. Both Jax and Dex love the stuff, Dex especially on waffles. I can stomach it over soy butter but I do prefer almond butter but much of it is made on the same lines as peanut butter so it is not safe.

Speaking of not being safe, after we shot off all of our fireworks we all got a traveler or road pop and headed up the cul-de-sac to see Nosey Neighbour who was quite tipsy. The neighbours had a nice set up with chairs and tables out in the middle of the road. One of the snacks on the table was a bag of peanuts. So tipsy Nosey Neighbour is munching away on the peanuts, throwing the shells on the ground. My anxiety is going up with each shell as I was thinking "Shit! What if Jax falls on the ground RIGHT HERE next time he rides his bike". Then she started pawing Cars who was wrapped in a blanket. Everytime Jax came near I walked away from her so he could talk to me. We left a short time later and I immediately threw all of Cars' clothes in the washing machine (yes, at nearly midnight!). One good thing about all this rain is that hopefully every speck of peanut residue has washed away and it will be safe for Jax to ride up there again.

Well, I must get my beauty rest...

Brrrrr!

Where did summer go? It is cool and rainy today. It is supposed to be like this all week. How depressing!

The 4th of July was fun. The sun came out after a mostly overcast day. We had three other families here for a bbq then we started lighting off fireworks about 8pm. We had some big ones (read ILLEGAL in our city) and it was great fun watching them go. My favourites where the ones that would shoot parachutes into the air and smoke on the way down. They were good to set off while it was still light. We had two small grass fires (oops - gotta water the lawn) from sparklers.

Tomorrow we are off to Olympia to visit one silly and evil Sage. I am looking forward to seeing her.

Thursday is Stephen's stress test at the cardiologist. Then Friday is the big snip-snip for him. I need to find someone to watch the kids for a couple of hours in the morning because of course Nanny isn't coming yet again. I am going to get rid of her at the end of the summer since I don't think I really need that time to myself anymore (it is nice but not necessary) and it is getting to be very spotty when she can actually come.

Ok, hacking up a lung here so off to take my meds.


Boys on the Fourth of July

Hack-hack-hack

Cough is back with a vengence. I didn't take any allergy meds yesterday and I think that was a big mistake. Let's hope this will clear up now that I have used the inhaler and Safeway-brand Claritin.

We have an arsenal of fireworks for tomorrow night. We'll probably light them off before it gets really dark. Stephen bought them outside of the city limits so we have some real aerials. Then the teenager across the street gave him some real firecrackers that he bought at the Indian reservation. I wonder how severely Stephen will burn himself tomorrow.

I made some sugar cookies for tomorrow. Man I love that gel food colouring. The icing on them looks great! Bright Blue. Bright Red. They look good enough to eat! :)

I talked to Jen for a long time tonight. The girls are both doing well. Both are in NICU and were transfered to St. Mike's. They are both back up to their birth weights. They are working now on getting them to learn to swallow so they can take a bottle or nurse.

Jen is feeling so out of sorts. She gave birth and then goes home without the babies. It feels so wrong, she thinks. Jen also still has PUPPPS that has not gone away (it usually goes away post-partum). She and Greg are pretty sure she will never get pregnant again.

Well, off to bed to get my beauty rest.

IKEA

I went to IKEA today (are you jealous, Sarag?). We met up with Heidi and kids and had a good time. Geez, her kids are soooo adorable. I spent over $60 on nothing. Ok, I did buy two reading lamps for Jax and Dex - but that was only $20. Hmmm...

Spent too much money at Costco last night too. And Fred Meyer. Can you see a pattern here? Retail therapy.

Cars does not scream when he is shown his shoes anymore.

Ah, the sun has finally poked through the clouds today. It is chilly! It should never be less than 70F on July 2nd!

Gladys Kravitz Watch
The neighbours up the cul-de-sac behind us are planning a big bash for the 4th. Nosey Neighbour invited me up but we are having our own barbeque. Perhaps we'll head up there with our MHL after our guests leave. :)

Again, nothing to see here. Come back another time.

Fell off the roof today. Bllaaahhhhg.

The meeting with the lady at the church was really great. She made me feel very comfortable. I met the parish priest and she showed me around the church which is HUGE (intimidation factor #1). I signed Jax up for RE classes that start in September. I also signed Dex up for "preschool" that runs during Mass times. I now need to call another woman to make arrangements to baptize Cars.

Met an online friend today from my Aug2003 Babies forum. She has twin boys who are so cute! They are a few days older than Cars. She lives about two minutes from my house and used to live in my neighbourhood. Small world. I knew she lived in the Seattle-area but didn't realize she was in my city!

Stephen is golfing tonight so he won't be home for another hour or so. I am taking it easy tonight and letting the kids watch Cartoon Network.

Oh, I finally saw some pictures of the twins. They are beautiful! Ally (Alexandra) looks like she has curly blonde hair! There was just one picture of Tori (Victoria) and I couldn't see much because she has tubes in still and she had a hat on. They are both so wee.

Cars has a viral infection. At least that is what the doctor said. His fever keeps spiking to 102 and he is moody as hell. Doesn't help that he has had 3 teeth pop in the past week.

We canceled playgroup today because of Cars' sickness. So it just ended up being a very looooong day. Jax and Dex did pretty well though, pretending to be singers in a band most of the day. Stephen bought them a microphone and microphone stand yesterday when I was at my psych appt. They think they are IT and are trying to think of a name of their band.

One of my favourite online people will be going offline in the next day or two. I will really miss her and hope that her time offline will not last as long as she is anticipating.

Cute Roof Guy came today to collect the cheque for the roof. He also did another quick inspection so I am assured that all is well. Now I cannot wait for rainy season so I can laugh at the elements and know that I will be high and dry inside of my house.

The Liberals won the election in Canada yesterday with a minority government. So not much will get done over the next few years but at least those PC will keep their hands off of the social programs. I know JP is glad that the PC lost but also sad that the NDP didn't win. Even I am not as Pinko as my brother! lol

Tomorrow I am meeting with a woman at the Church. It is time to go back.

Puff-Puff

Ok, who knew an inhaler could clear up a cough? Ok, it isn't totally cleared but I can actually BREATHE! I got an Rx for Albuterol and was told to take Sudafed and Claritin - all safe for nursing moms. I should be back to normal in no time.

Cars has a fever today and he is miserable. And to make matters worse, I bought him his first pair of shoes and he HATES them. He screams and screams when they are on his feet. Before today, he has only ever worn Robeez so I think the walkers must feel so weird on his feet.

LOL - for snack tonight Dex wanted carrots. Usually they get a piece of fruit or some yogurt and he does not usually even eat carrots. He is an enigma.

Ash keeps talking about switching kids for a day. She says it will help them appreciate us. Thanks but no thanks. Her kids can be very sweet but can also be very difficult (as can mine!). At least I can yell at my kids and send them to their rooms!

Sunday Sunday

Usual weekend crap here. Fred Meyer's yesterday for a b-day present for a b-day party Dex was invited to. Also bought another baby gate and some flowers to plant in our containers. We are only a month and a half late on those flowers. Anyway, Stephen planted them today and they look good. Nice to finally have some colour in the backyard.

I filled the kiddy pool today and Cars had a blast in it. He was flopping around and laughing. Much better than last time I put him in and he screamed. Of course last time I had just filled the pool and it was ice-cold. This time I filled it in the morning and by the time he went in it was almost warm.

Stephen took the kids to the driving range and then to Home Depot today. I had 2.5 lovely hours to myself. I painted a painting while they were gone. I really like it too. (pat myself on the back much?) It is not like anything I have done before sans the COBALT colour that all of my paintings have. Anyway, I totally ripped the idea off someone on eBay too. But, the painting is just for me and I like it.

Tomorrow I am going to see the doctor about this cough I've had for nearly 3 weeks. I'm a little nervous because the last time I had a cough this long I had a thyroid problem which was causing my cough (nodules compressing on my windpipe).

I am so busy this week! Tomorrow is our summer playgroup, doctor appt and then psych appt; Tues is regular playgroup; Wed I am meeting someone from my August03 Babies forum; Thurs is summer playgroup again and Friday I am meeting Heidi et al at IKEA. Busy busy busy!

Ok, better run. Jax wants to talk to me and I need to cherish these moments since they are few and far between these days.

The cardiologist says Stephen is having unusual symptoms (atypical) so he is being sent for a stress test on July 8th. He also has to get a full blood work-up done to check to see if his cholesterol is fine, if he is anemic, etc. No sense worrying until then so I won't...much.

Greg called today. Jen was released from the hospital today but went to her parents' place because it is closer to the hospital and has no stairs. Greg is going back to work but his work right next door to the hospital so he can go in and see the girls often.

Alexandra has been upgraded to NICU 2 from NICU 3 (not exactly sure what it means but she is doing very well). Victoria is struggling a bit. She is the one with the kidney problems too. Poor little things!

Gladys Kravitz Watch
Not sure if I mentioned this before but the lady behind me is divorced. Her dh left her about 6 months after they moved in for a woman he met on the internet. Anyway, I was chatting with her the other day while she was working in the yard and I said I hated yardwork and just let my husband handle it. She said "I wish I could do that" and I was so embarrassed. I wish I hadn't said that. >:

Ok, so it is officially summer vacation. School is now over for both kids. Swimming lessons ended too. Now what do we do?

Stephen is going to see the cardiologist in a few hours. He was upset with me for telling his mom that he went to the doctor about pains in his chest. What-ever. Of course I am pissed at him for being upset with me. Stalemate.

I noticed this morning that Cars has a 4th tooth. It is his upper right tooth next to his incisor. No left incisor yet for the snaggle-tooth little boy.

Jax's report card was good but not stellar. Not sure why I expected him to have an exception report card for kindergarten. Aaargh. Why am I doing this to him (and me) already?

Oh great, he just jumped off of the swingset which is too close to the deck so off I go to bring him inside. *sigh*

Blah day.

Jax is at school. It is the next-to-last day for him. Then I will have a 1st grader-to-be! *gasp*

Cars vomited twice (well more like spit-up) since last night. Guess I over did the dairy with a big bowl of chocolate ice cream last night. I will go back to having the occasional piece of cheese and see how that goes.

The roofing company sent a drywall guy here to fix the big dings in the skylights and the whole in the master bedroom ceiling. He said he will finish patching the drywall and come back tomorrow to paint. Problem is we do not have any paint for the bedroom ceiling or upstairs skylight (we do for the kitchen skylight) so they are going to repaint the whole bedroom ceiling! Stephen is very impressed that they are doing all of this for us (whereas I expect them to do so).

Speaking of Stephen, he has been having chest pains for well over a month and so my DH finally went to the doctor yesterday. She said she thinks he probably just strained a muscle but to be sure (history of heart disease in his family) she is sending him to the cardiologist. He goes on Thursday.

Stephen is also trying out a motorcycle today. He wants to see what all of the fuss is about.

The babies are named Alexandra Mary and Victoria Jane. They are both doing well, as is Jen. The twins are expected to stay in the hospital for two weeks and are still on ventilators are the moment.

Lots of excitement on the forums this weekend. Chard is a woman, which I suspected for a long time. But the kicker is that Chard is Amie which just totally blows me away. Amie is a sociopath. Crys is just a freak.

We put up a permanent baby gate at the door from the kitchen to the dining room. One of the MouseTrap ball bearings went missing after Dex played with it and left it out. Stephen is SURE that Cars ate it. I am sure he did not. We'll see if it turns up in a couple of days.

Dad died five years ago today. June 20, 1999. It was Father's Day that year also. I miss him.

They're Here!

I am an aunt again! Twin A and Twin B were born last night at 2:41am ET and 2:44am ET. They were 8 weeks early and 4 weeks before their planned arrival via c-section. Jen was hospitalized on Thursday for pre-eclampsia. Last night her kidneys started to shut down so they had to take the babies. Jen has barely seen them and will not name them until she does (they are in NICU and she is under a special watch to make sure her pre-eclampsia goes away and her kidneys start working normally again). Greg is concerned but elated about being a dad. I cannot wait to see pictures of them!

Hot-Hot-Hot

Hot day today. The air-conditioner is keeping the family room around 79 which is much better than 85 that is usually gets in this hot weather.

And of course the hot weather brings out the big huge
spiders. Saw my first one last night in the bathroom. Had to awaken Stephen to kill it. ~shudder~ Even though I was really creeped out I kept my cool. I am proud of myself for that.

Climbed the Gladys Kravitz perch today to admire my new roof. They still haven't taken away the dumpster. They sent a follow-up guy came to inspect the roof. He said they need to come back and fix something near the chimney. I also showed him the hole in my master bedroom ceiling (!) and the big digs in both skylight wells. He said they would repair all of the drywall but I do not have any more paint to match my bedroom. :
Kindergartend end-of-year party. They tried to make ice cream in ziploc baggies. Not smart on the hottest day of the year so far. Of course the school is not air-conditioned. Anyway, Ash ran home and got a big tub on ice cream that she had just purchased (she said she knew the home made ice cream would not work out). Nosey Neighbour's nose got out of joint when Bossy Room Mom started going on about whose dumb idea was it anyway (Nosey Neighbours). LOL

The kindergarten teacher got all choked up when they presented her with a book "What I like about Miss C". She is a lovely person and did such a great job this year for her first year teaching!

Well, I am hot and tired so I am going to bed.