Survivor DEX

Cross-posted at SAHP Forum.

Dex's party was today and he had a blast. The rain held off until the end of the party so we were able to have the party outside (yeah!). The kids started off making "immunity" necklaces then they tied their buffs either on their head, around their neck or around their arm.

Survivor Birthday boy and his cake which has a "Survivor - OurCityName" flag on it

Survivor Dex with his buff and Immunity Necklace

The first challenge was an obstacle course which consided of kicking a soccer ball into the net, climbing over a wagon, going across the monkey bars, up the rock ramp/wall, down the slide, in and out of tiki torches that were stuck in the ground, through a tunnel then touching the "Survivor - OurCityName" Flag.

The next challenge was to throw water balloon at signs with their names that were nailed to the retaining wall. The kids had the most fun with that and it is amazing how quickly you can go through 200 balloons! Next I told them the challenge was to pick up as many broken balloons as possible but Stephen got mad at me (heh) and told the kids to stop. Dex later said it was the worst challenge EVER!

Team Survivor

Next was cake and ice cream. Then presents and back outside for the pinata. The the kids just played in the yard for 30 minutes or so until it was time to go. Two of the kids were dropped off and two of them had their parents stay. Dex had a great time so it was a successful party.

A few dull days. Today, Jax had a baseball game (Dex has a "bye" this week). Tomorrow is Dex's b-day party and hopefully it will not rain. I bought these water balloon launchers for the kids and they have to hit their own name but if it is raining I am not sure what we will do.

I forgot to give the kids their allergy meds today and then in the late afternoon they were playing outside while Stephen cut the grass. Jax broke out in hives and Dex's cough returned. I hope that cough is gone tomorrow! He had it for 4 weeks and it had only just cleared up with antibiotics (sinus infection). :(

This coming week will mark 6 years since we moved to the Pacific Northwest. Let's see, we moved on Wednesday, June 9th. Spend Thursday and Friday (10th & 11th) looking at houses - 20 houses in 2 days. This is the last house we looked at on Friday at about 5pm. Then we went back to the real estate agent's office and put in an offer. Saturday and Sunday we waited word from the homeowners. They took the house off the market because of problems they were having with the sellers of the house they were buying. They said they would hold onto our offer. Monday the 14th, Stephen started his new job at the Evil Empire. Wednesday the 16th, my aunt called me and told me that my dad was hospitalized and I should think about coming home. I booked a flight for the 30th and she called me back and said to come right away. I called Air Canada back straight away and they were "kind" enough not to charge me for that flight and gave me the "compassion" fares of $1000 each for Jax and I to fly to Toronto on the 18th.

I arrived in T.O. on the 18th in the late afternoon and spent the next day and a half at the hospital. My dad got such a kick out of Jax who spent a lot of the time running in and out of the privacy curtain. Dad looked pretty ill but I remember thinking "Shit, I am going to have to go back to Seattle then come back again in a few weeks when it is really time for him to go". But, the next day I knew he knew it was time. He had such a final look on his face when he shook my cousin's hand as my cousin was leaving. I will never forget the knowing look on both of their faces.

Then on the 20th, Father's Day, my aunt came by my parents' place at 5am (Mom was spending all of her time at the hospital) to tell Wally and I (Wally was staying there too because it was too far to drive to his house) that we needed to get to the hospital. Mrs. Read came down from her house four doors up to watch Jax. Dad had died shortly before we arrived.

Wow, I still tear up thinking about my dad dying.

Dex had a great day yesterday and is really looking forward to his party this weekend.

Today is Leah Ann's *40th* birthday. I have only spoken to her once since Vegas (she wasn't home today). Just 7 more days until Ramona's 40th!

My mother is completely pissing me off these days. Grrr!

Happy Birthday, Baby!


Dex's First Moment
May 31, 2000


Dex
May 2005

The whole family went to see Madagascar today. Geez, the total with ticket prices and popcorn/drinks for everyone we paid $54! And Cars got in free! That was the first time I had been to the movies with the kids in over 3 years. The last time we all went 1) Cars was not born (nor was I yet pregnant!) and 2) We saw Ice Age but had to leave early because Jax was scared at the loud noises. Stephen has taken the kids to see a few movies in the last year but it was a long time before Jax would go because he doesn't like how loud they are. Even today he was holding his head and I asked him what was wrong and he said it was LOUD. :(

Anyway, the movie was cute but I could have waited for the DVD.

Stephen installed the air-conditioner just in time for the weather to cool 25 degrees! Brrrr! My feet have been cold all day.

I washed that grey right out of my hair, thanks to L'Oreal Couleur Experte 6.0. I missed a few strands at the temples...again. I was examining my hair very closely before I coloured it and the right side of my head is completely grey but the left side is more salt and pepper. Weird!

Today was hot and the kiddie pool did not have as big of a whole in it as I thought so I was able to fill it up for the kids to splash in for a while. Cars had a great time screaming "BAH! BAH!" (translation: "BATH! BATH!"). The water heated up very quickly and it sure did feel like a bath.

For this Memorial Day Weekend we have planned NOTHING. Well, not entirely true. I have insisted that we buy a new grill because once again I almost singed off my eyebrows trying to light the damn thing and the burgers I cooked yesterday were all ready at different times. So the grill is coming out of the Maybe-We'll-Go-To-Toronto trip fund.

Oh, and I do have some sewing to do this weekend and I have to iron on the "SURVIVOR - OURCITYNAME" transfers onto the buffs (more like bandanas) for Dex's party next weekend. I bought some tiki torches (99 cents after rebate at Ace. Oh and I was so glad I went to Ace because I found 3 PEZ dispensers that I did not have - Simba, Nala and Timon from "The Lion King". I had Pumba already - thanks to a friend in Australia! :)

Speaking of PEZ, JP called me the other day and he found the newest "Star Wars" PEZ for me and picked them up for me. Apparently there is this great store in Vancouver that always has the latest and greatest PEZ. He picked me up "The Incredibles" PEZ before they were available here (both the masked and unmasked <-not sold in the USA). Gotta love that brother of mine!

Oh, I just found out that there are Madagascar PEZ and I am still missing Mufasa from "The Lion King"!

And just when you think "Could she talk about PEZ anymore?"...the answer is yes! There are now "Star Wars" Giant PEZ which dispense packettes of PEZ candy rather than just individual pieces. They are so cool! I hope to buy one sometime - maybe the R2D2 or Darth Vader because they look the best.

And one last PEZ note...they are coming out with a PEZ MP3 player. You can go here to be put on the mailing list for when they become available.

No school for Jax tomorrow (4 day weekend) so we get to sleep in. Actually, I know the kids will be up at the crack of dawn but we don't have to rush around so that is almost like sleeping in, right?

Remember last month I wrote that to reduce stress, I have decided to buy things online and stop running around? Well, have been shopping! I bought myself these pants and this shirt:



except the shirt is in white - oh and a lot bigger. (I do so love the coupon code I got to use though - $25 off a $50 purchase!).

Then I ordered some sapphire sheets from The Company Store. Again, love those sale items with a coupon code!

Next, I ordered Dex's birthday present:

As if we don't have enough Imaginext and Pirate stuff around.

Finally, I ordered The Original Chocolate Factory:


I also had a shopping bagful of clothes for the kids at Gymboree but realized the insanity and closed my browser before I was tempted further.

Oh, the dryer buzzer just sounded. Off to take my new sheets upstairs to put on the bed.

Yesterday, I found out from an allergy forum I go to (WA-FEAST) that Safeway brand Dimetapp contains PEANUTS! (A mom had given it to her peanut-allergic dd who ended up with swollen eyes). So does the Safeway brand Tussin DM (Robitussin) (coconuts and nuts but the manufacturer was not able to verify what type of nuts until they hear back from a supplier). And Safeway brand Children's Ibuprofen (orange) DOES have nuts! This is ridiculous! I cannot believe that they can make these medications with a major food allergen and not list it on the label! And not only that, the new label law that goes into effect in January 2006 only covers food and NOT medicines!

So, I had to throw out the cough medicine I recntly bought for Dex's cough just in case we accidentally give it to Jax. And I will never buy orange or grape flavoured meds for them again.

Just when I think we have a handle on this allergy...

Dex's cough is getting a little better. He has developed a little throat clearing though and that is almost as loud and annoying as the cough. I hope it all clears up soon.

Jax finished his Movies By Kids class today. He won't actually get a copy of the movie for a week or so. I cannot wait to see how it turned out. He worked in a group of 4 other kids. He loved the class and wants to take it again next year.

Jax is going on a field trip tomorrow to a local slough. What is a slough, you ask? And just how do you pronounce slough? A slough is wetlands or swamp and here it is pronounced "slew" although I believe the correct pronunciation rhymes with "plough". The slough looks really interesting and I would love to go but once again, another field trip with no siblings allowed. I could of course just go there and walk around since it is just a public park but I won't. I think I will arrange a trip there this summer as part of our "Summer'o'Fun 2005".

I am still plugging along with the baby sweater. I am almost ready to start decreasing and shaping the shoulders. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The weekend is here so things are looking up.

Today I met my friend Lori and her dh and oldest son at the Seattle Aquarium. She flew into town last night and were driving out this afternoon to a wedding in North Eastern WA. It was great to see her. We used to work together at IBM. She, DeniSe and I would have lunch together. We had all started there within a few months of each other and we all did basically the same job but for different managers before we all were moved to new jobs (no more secretaries, excuse me, "Information Specialists" for the managers!). Then we were all trained for IT positions and became computer whizzes. I left in Nov '93 to move to Minnesota. Lori left in Feb '94 when she got married and moved to the Mennonite country outside of Kitchener. DeniSe stuck it out the longest and left in Mar '95 when she moved to...Minnesota too! Hard to imagine we three career women are all SAHM's now.

Anyway, it was great seeing her. It has hard to believe it had been 7 years since I had last seen her - she looks so pretty and still so young!

Dex went back to the doctor today because his cough is getting worse. Doc says he has a sinus infection and he is not sure about what is going on with the cough. Could be the infection is draining slightly. So he is now on antibiotics. If it gets worse still we are to go back. If it is not cleared up in 10 days we are to go back. In any event, he needs to stay on Zyrtec for a while.

I played "Fenopoly" (Dex's pronunciation) today with Jax and Dex. Dex never buys any properties because he wants to have the most money. Jax buys everything and then cannot afford to pay rent or taxes. Then he threw doubles three times and you would think I was sending him to an actual jail the way he acted. They want to continue the game tomorrow. God grant me patience.

Book club tonight. We had a good discussion about "Life of Pi". I find it so interesting to hear other people's opinions about a book or how they understand it to mean something different. Some did not find it as humourous as it was billed (where I LOL'd in places others were only mildly amused). And no one could really decide if the better story is the true one or not.

Next month: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

I did have a better day after my rotten day. Today was good too.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Today, Cars said "Thank you" for the first time without me prompting him. I handed him a toy he wanted and he said "Day Doo" and wandered off with it. This little boy continues to amaze me.

Jax told us a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to work for Microsoft in the xbox division when he grows up (after he has finished making movies like George Lucas). On the weekend we had to stop by the xbox building to pick something up. We walked in the building, picked up the item, spent a few minutes looking at all the games in the lobby. As we were walking out Jax stopped and took a wide look around and then with awe in his voice he said "This is where I am going to work when I grow up". It was such a magical moment for him. I loved it!

It was six years ago this past week that I became a stay-at-home mom. It was supposed to be temporary, just until we got settled after our upcoming move to WA. It wasn't until I was very pregnant with Dex one year later that we decided to make it permanent. Or at least until the kids were in school full-time. That's four years from now...

Forgot to mention that my re-pap earlier this month came back normal. ~whew~ I will have another one in December and if that one is normal I am back to an annual schedule.

If you are behind on your pap - schedule one now!

Knit One, Purl Two

I have picked up my knitting again. DeniSe is having a baby in October (please let it be a boy because I am knitting a little baby jacket in baby blue). This is how much I have knit so far.

Ok, so who can spot my mistake? I thought it was not that noticeable so I decided just to leave it. Now it is very glaring! Maybe I won't even finish this... Ok, but I am determined to finish it since I never did finish the baby blanket I started making for Adrienne who is now three. Anyway, if DeniSe has a girl, I will just girlie-up this sweather with some fancy ribbon ties or pretty buttons.

My next project is going to be this (but in a different colour). I am very excited about it! (so excited that I want to ditch the baby sweater!).

Dex has allergies. I knew it was just a matter of time before he had an official diagnosis. No food allergies (that we know of) thankfully but it seems he is probably allergic to grass. He has been coughing and sneezing like crazy so off to the ped we went and she said allergies so he too is now on Zyrtec too.

While I had Dex at the doctor I figured I would get Cars his 18 month shots that he was 3 months behind on (he had a bad cold when he went for his 18 month appt so we put off the shots). Dex watched intently while Cars had his three shots and by the end Dex was shaking. Then the nurse said to him "We'll see you at the end of the month for your 5 year appointment". Dex remembers all too well that Jax had shots at his 5 year appointment. He started tearing up and announced that he was never coming back to the doctor. I think I will let Stephen take him in for that appointment!

Dex has been such a pip lately. He shouts when he talks (I barely remember when he couldn't talk?!). In his not so soft voice, while we were walking up for communion, he demanded to know how old he had to be to get chips like the rest of us. When I just shook my head at him to shush he said "TELL ME! WHEN DO I GET CHIPS TOO?!"

At the grocery store:
Dex: MOM? IS IT AGAINST THE LAW TO BUY GROCERIES THAT ARE NOT ON SALE?
Me (shushing him): No, of course not.
Dex: WHY DO YOU ONLY BUY STUFF ON SALE THEN?

At baseball practice while the coach was playing Simon says with the kids and let Dex be Simon:
Dex: SIMON SAYS PRACTICE IS OVER
Coach: No it isn't Declan.
Dex: YOU SAID I COULD BE SIMON!

He reminds me so much of David from the book No, David! by David Shannon. LOL

I finished "Life of Pi" yesterday. I found it very interesting and I cannot wait until book club to discuss it (phooey that the meeting has been moved to next Thursday). I saw on www.imdb.com that there is to be a movie made of the book and the director is Alfonso Cuarón (he directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") so I am sure it will be a good movie.

I went grocery shopping today - we needed so many staples. I had over $20 in coupons (both store and manufacturer). So much for not clipping coupons, eh? lol Most were from the Fred Meyer Sunday ad (loss leader stuff) and others were for free things like FREE PINT of BEN & JERRY's (it was on sale so that was $2.50) and FREE TRIDENT (on sale too - $0.79) and FREE CELESTIAL SEASONINGS TEA ($3.59).

Now I need to figure out a time to get to Costco to get veggies, meat and bottled water.

I rearranged the living room and family room yesterday. Rearranging the family room really opened it up more and I love how it feels. Now if I can only get a handle on the clutter.

My mother's day:

Today was one of the days that are so wonderful for being nothing special. Stephen took the kids out for breakfast this morning then to buy a mother's day present for me. Then Dex had a t-ball game early in the afternoon. Afterwards we stopped at the local bike shop to buy new helmets for Dex and Jax. Stephen just happened to notice this cool shoes on clearance that were just his size. Serendipity.

Then the boys and I spent the rest of the afternoon outside, playing hockey, golf, watching them ride bikes and scooter. Then Jax and Dex spent almost an hour running up and down the street making kites fly. DingDong girl came by too for an hour and I didn't even mind except when we were standing in front of her house and she told me to go home and get her some water because she was thirsty. I reminded her that we were right in front of her house so she could run right in but she decided she really did not need the water (I think she didn't want to risk being told it was time to come in). lol

After dinner I pulled weeds from the garden while the kids played on the climber. I even climbed up too so I could take a good look around from the Gladys Kravitz perch.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I am having a bacon and tomato sandwich for breakfast. I can't stop thinking about it. Mmmm...

Thanks to everyone for the advice about dealing with my copy cat friend. I know I need to say something so I am just going to wait until the right moment when I can bring it up easily. Geez, I hate confrontation!

Forty minutes after dropping Jax off at school today I received a call on my cell phone that he was in the office covered in hives again! I had just given him Zyrtec before school (because I forgot to give it to him Thursday night- Survivor was on!) so it seems it had not yet kicked in when he was exposed to whatever allergen (I am still thinking grass). It was a half-day of school so I told the secretary I would just come and pick him up (it was not 9am yet) and take him home.

When I arrived at the school (I had been shopping for CONDITIONER at Fred Meyer and had to leave without buying it), Jax's hives were mostly gone (Zyrtec kicked in) but I took him home anyway and dropped him off with Nanny so I could go back out and buy some damned CONDITIONER.

Anyway, I hope he doesn't break out tomorrow. I will give him Zyrtec again in the morning but I need to get back onto an evening dosing schedule because it makes him sleepy.

And speaking of sleepy, it is late here and I must get my beauty rest.