Smellyann Strikes Again

Sunday Stealing: The OC 25 Meme

Link up here if you're playing along today! Happy Easter/Passover to all who celebrate!

Sunday Stealing: The OC 25 Meme

1. What is your origin of your first name? What about any nicknames?

My mom just randomly came up with it. I was supposed to be "Eleanor" after my dad's mom, or "Clayton" if I was a boy, but when my dad wasn't in the room, my mom quickly put down "Melanie" instead. Hee! I've come to appreciate that, although my elementary school BFF was Eleanor, so of course I had wanted that to be my name then. My middle name is Ann, so my dad always called me "Mellie Ann," which my wonderful older sister changed to "Smellyann" at some point. And there you have it.

2. Have you any claims to fame?

Apparently, I'm meant to be a writer. In college, I came in second (or third?) in a huge poetry contest - you've probably seen the ads for it - and my published poem was analyzed in the front of the anthology in which it appeared. I was supposed to have my boys' and my story published in the Chicken Soup for the Twins Soul book, but apparently they decided it was too sad and took it out later on, which is fine with me. And more recently, my "Works for Me Wednesday" pets edition blahg post was published in a book called That Works For Me! or something like that; I had to give the proper permissions and all that. I've always been a pretty decent writer and thought I've had more poetry and maybe a novel rattling around in there, but I haven't been able to get started. We'll see if that ever comes to fruition.

3. If you were famous, how would you introduce yourself to someone who had never heard of you?

The same way I do now, I suppose: I'd have the head of my huge entourage do it. Heh.

4. Which of your country's achievements do you hold in highest regard?

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation couldn't have come soon enough; I think it just edges out winning the American Revolution. JMHO

5. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

First, I wanted to be a teacher and librarian. As I grew up, though, I wanted to be a marine biologist. And until I got married, I was one. For a brief time, I was livin' the dream I grew up having. Now, I'm happier things worked out this way. I wouldn't change a thing, except for maybe a fatter wallet..

6. What was your most prized possession as a child? Do you still have it?

It was my red-and-white stuffed puppy dog named Snowflake, who eventually was missing an ear. The other ear had holly leaves and berries on it. I loved that puppy. I don't know what happened to her.

7. What would you change about yourself, if you could?

Pfft. What wouldn't I? That would be a shorter list. I would take away the Bi-Polar Disorder from which I suffer (as do those around me, I'm afraid), and I would give myself more strength of character. People who know the sorts of things I've been through always tell me what a strong person I am, but I don't feel that way. I feel like a weak, meek little mouse. My therapist tells me I am progressing though - she told me recently that I was "individuating," since I am no longer seeking my father's approval. I laughed and said it was high-time at 35, but she says she sees people much older than I am who haven't gotten that far and wow! I am babbling! Anyway, physically, I'd get my plastics to remove the skin I have hanging around (literally) after my 200+-lb weight loss.

8. What are you obsessed with?

Yarn. Picking at myself. My husband's nuts. Jafra. Couponing. And more yarn.

9. What is your greatest achievement so far, or the high point of your career?

Oh, I've received my fair share of academic accolades, but my proudest achievement was winning "Class Giggler" in 3rd grade. I still have the certificate!

10. When/where were you happiest?

January 2, 2001: The day we eloped was the most blissful day in my life. I'll never, ever forget that high.

11. And the lowest point in your life thus far?

March 25, 2003: The day I held my older twin son as he shuddered taking his last breath. Nothing is worse than outliving your child.

12. What was the best decision you ever made?

Marrying Rob! He is so good for, and to, me. We both have our share of shortcomings, but I definitely ended up with the better end of the deal. God knew what he was doing when he brought me this man.

13. If you have any body modifications, which was most painful, or which do you regret the most? If you haven't got any, do you have any planned, or would you ever consider getting any?

Other than four piercings in each ear, I have a nose ring. So that was the most painful. I haven't fully decided on getting a tattoo, but if I do, it'll be a joint one with Rob, honoring our four children together.

14. What is the most idiotic thing you have ever done while intoxicated?

We don't have to go there, do we? Let's not. Maybe the next time I get that intoxicated, which will be never, I'll share that story with y'all. ;) Let's just say I'll probably never drink Goldschläger again!

15. What is your favorite joke?

I am so terrible at remembering things like jokes and movie quotes. Asking me to tell a joke is putting me on the spot. I like stupid jokes anyway, like this one:

Knock Knock?

Who's there?

Little old lady.

Little old lady who?

I didn't know you could yodel!

16. What is the coolest/most impressive thing you own?

You mean aside from my iPhone? (You know I love that dang thing.) Okay, let me think on it a minute... probably the Britto. We bought a limited edition giclée of his called Deep Night Romance on our Mediterranean cruise, and it sums up our love for each other beautifully.

17. When did you last cry, and why?

I cried a little bit last night, thinking about this coming Monday. It'll be the 28th anniversary of my mom's death, and I always get a little weepy.

18. What's the best piece of advice you've ever had?

Surprisingly, it came from my dad. I'll paraphrase: "Don't let anyone rob you of your joy."

19. Similarly, what's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you?

A semi-anonymous benefactor helped me pay for my college degree, the day I was going to get kicked out for non-payment of my classes. Biggest relief of my life!

20. Have you any vices?

I'm too self-indulgent.

21. Do you regret anything?

No regrets. I live for today, and tomorrow. There are things I wish I'd done differently, but I didn't, and I have learned and grown from them.

22. What is the best invention ever?

Hello?! The iPhone! lol

23. How would you describe your relationship with your family?

I have a very small living family. My mom is gone, my dad and I aren't speaking at the moment, and my sister and I are as close as we can possibly be from a distance. I love that broad! ♥

24. Who is your biggest inspiration?

Anyone with deep emotional fortitude, who can come through a tragedy and not completely fall to pieces. Well, falling to pieces isn't the thing, but someone who can pick up those pieces and make life work again - that's inspiring to me.

25. What are you going to do when you've finished Sunday Stealing?

Work on my April/May Jafra newsletter, a week later than I'd planned. Oops.

Happy Easter!

Fin.

Sunday Stealing: The Eve Was Framed Meme

Link up here if you're a dirty, dirty meme'er like me.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

 

1. Why is your favorite color your favorite?

It's the color of the clear sea in the medium depths of the Caribbean, the most beautiful color I've ever seen, and reminds me of what I love in the world.

 

2. Do you prefer dogs or cats or do you just hate animals, and want to kill baby seals?

That question made me snort! I prefer itty bitty little puppy doggies, but I love all animals. Even the ugly ones.

 

3. How much time do you spend on the computer?

Six.

 

4. Not including porn, what do you do on the computer?

This meme is cheeky, eh? I do everything, a little of this, a little of that, a little of s'more stuff... nunya, mostly.

 

5. Are you a clock watcher?

Rarely. Only if I'm bored, which I try not to be.

 

6. What did you look for in a partner?

Intelligence and a good sense of humor, decency and kindness, love and passion.... and obviously not height. Sorry, baby. Hee.

 

7. What type of clothing do you prefer?

Whatever I look good in and disguises my 7-to-10-year-old baby belly!

 

8. What is your favorite type of music?

I can't lie. I like my Pop music best. I know it's lame, but it's so... singalongable, mostly!

 

9. Do you believe in the paranormal, ghosts, ESP, levitation, spoon bending?

Not right now, nope.

 

10. The most important question: Do you have a innie or outie belly button?

I've got a way-the-hell-innie.

 

11. What kind of car do you drive?

C'mon, I've got three kiddos. A minivan. 2010 Honda Odyssey. I've had it a year and a half, and I still miss my old van.

 

12. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or The Boys Are Back in Town?

 

The former!

 

13. Camping or the Ritz?

 

As much as I love the great outdoors, I'm more at home in a fancy hotel.

 

14. What food are you craving RIGHT NOW . . . did you eat it?

 

I don't know, but no, because whatever it is, we don't have it. Oberweis cottage cheese, I think. It's the best!

 

15. The most thrilling place you've ever visited. Why?

 

Oh, gosh. I'm hard-pressed... Okay. Our 2008 Mediterranean cruise was pretty awesome. I love culture, I love travel, I love being on the water... and I was with my darling husband. The only downside about that trip was that I was still mighty big (I had my surgery the following January), and we couldn't do a few of the excursions we'd planned because of my size.

  

16. If you could slip into the skin of one public figure--celebrity, artist,--who would it be?

 

Does Matt Damon's wife count? Then he could slip into my skin. Did I just say that?

 

17. Look up from your computer. What do you see first?

The Britto we bought on the aforementioned cruise!

 

18. Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence. You can borrow it from someone else, if you'd like.

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all, and there you have the facts of life, oh, the facts of life... sorry. I'm in a singing mood.

 

19. Name the one thing you just don't understand about kids today.

No. The kids, I get. It's their parents I don't often get!

 

20. If you could steal one work of art from a museum or gallery, which would it be?

 

Dalí's The Persistence of Memory has always captivated me.

 

Have a stellar week, kids!

 

Fin.

Sunday Stealing: The 99'er Meme, Part The Third

Link up here if you're playing along late this week(end), like I am.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

51) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?
 

Yeah. Unless they apologize. Then I'm easily forgiving.

  

52) What's your astrological sign? 

 

Virgo. Unless we're talking Chinese, and then I'm a Dragon.

  

53) Do you save money for anything? What?

 

Spending.

 

54) What's the last thing you purchased?

Cat litter. Whew, we were desperate. Four cats who all prefer ONE box? Yick.

 

55) Have you ever had a relationship that you realized was lust not love?

Of course. I'm a hot-blooded American female. ;)

 

56) In a relationship?

That is not a complete sentence. Are you asking if I'm in one now? If so, yes, I'm on my dozenth year of marriage. Is dozenth a word?

 

57) How many relationships have you had?

Too many to count. See my answer to #55.

 

58) What do you want to tell us about your day?

I took my nearly-9yo son out with me to run errands, including shipping a bunch of boxes at the post office (using the automated machine), 7-11 for Diet Coke and a reward snack for him (and to pick out something for his sisters, too), and the grocery store for the afore-mentioned cat litter. He was a perfect little gentleman: without asking, he held open the P.O. door for me when my arms were full of packages, and since had my keys and likes to lock and unlock the van doors, he did so and then opened my driver's door for me, just because. I was very touched and impressed. He's so sweet! ♥ (And he put a lot of thought into what his sisters would enjoy, too.)

 

59) Where were you yesterday?

I'm going to answer this as if "yesterday" was Saturday, so I'll tell you that. In the morning, my daughters and I went to a Girl Scout event wherein they learnt, on real sewing machines (something I've been wanting to do but haven't yet...) how to make drawstring bags. The bags will be given to Operation Smile and filled before being sent to cleft palate and other oral surgery patients overseas.

 

Then we dropped off a couple Valentine's Day cards I had made for some nearby friends (we were far-ish from home) before stopping at a few stores to play with the iPhone (and Droid?) apps CheckPoints and shopkick, where you get points and then rewards for checking into stores and scanning the designated products. It's fun and addicting. And me like prizey.

 

(If you're into TV and want rewards for checking into TV shows, check out Viggle as well. Even if you don't watch TV, like me, you can still rack up quite a lot of points in other ways, so it's worth having.)

 

60) Is there anything interesting within 10 feet of you?

A mirror. No, for serious, there's tons of interesting things, in my opinion. There's the Britto, Deep Night Romance, that we bought on our Mediterranean cruise 3½ years ago, which speaks volumes about my hubs' and my love for each other. Then there's Hubs himself, who is a wonder of wonders. I'd go on, but you're practically snoring and drooling over there, so never mind for now.

 

61) Are you wearing socks right now?

No, and 9 times out of 10, I won't be. I love bare feet.

62) What's your favorite animal?

Sharks, but my favorite land animal and a close second are elephants. I've always been fascinated by elephants.

 

 

63) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

I wish I knew. I mean, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

64) Where is your best friend?

Sleeping on the couch 5' away.

65) How did you end your last relationship end?

We lived together. We got in a fight. He shoved me into a bookshelf, breaking my two front teeth. I kicked him out. The end. (Wow, I made a long story short, imagine that!)

66) What is your heritage?

I'm 2/3 German/Pennsylvania Dutch, with some English and Hungarian, and I'm sure a smidge of "mutt."

67) What were you doing last night at 12 AM?

I believe I was actually sound asleep for once. Rare for me, at that hour. I was tonight, too, but I woke up wide awake at 0200 (it's 0311 now) and that was it. Maybe I'll sleep more later, maybe not. I sure hope so.

68) What's new?

I can't really answer that. If this is your first time here, then everything is new. If not, you pretty much know everything. I got the Girl Scout cookies my girls have sold so far today, and so I'm like a mother bird sitting on her nest now, protecting them from the snack-thieving Sophia. I guess that's news? LOL

69) What is the key to seduction?

Leaving more to the imagination than is revealed, at least at first...

70) What was the weirdest thing that happened to you this week??

My usually-grumpy psychopharmacologist, who prescribes my bipolar and anxiety disorder meds, smiled genuinely at me after I complemented him on his nice sweater. I nearly fell over from the shock.

71) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Get fired.

72) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

(a) I'd tell some people, but I wouldn't have it, like, emblazoned on a t-shirt.

(b) I'd try like hell to get to Australia and Japan, and finish up as much else on my bucket list as I could.

(c) No. I've never been afraid of death. Honestly, I'd be excited about seeing my mommy and my baby boy again.

73) You can only have one of these things: trust or love.

F**k you. Oh, are you asking me to pick? Wow. That's a tough one. Um, love, I guess. I'd rather be madly in love and always suspicious than completely trusting and have someone betray that. So, love.

74) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

Lots of songs do, but the first one that comes to mind is "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega. Can't help but dance!

75) Who has your cell phone number (other than family)?

Half of North America, it seems like. Lots of people. LOOOOTS of people. (We don't have a home phone line, so it's all I have.)

Well, I'm off to 7-11 to get me another Diet Coke. Yes, I realize it's the midding hours, but I'm fairly well immune to the caffiene-keeping-me-awake properties of the stuff by now. If I'm meant to sleep, I will, worry not.

And with that -

Fin.

Aloha Friday

 

Link up with Kailani if you're playing along today!

My question for you this week is:

Are you allergic to anything? What?

I don't think I'm allergic to anything... anymore. In 2008, I suddenly had allergic reactions to all sorts of things: the yarn I was knitting with, chlorine at the pool, strawberries and apples and other foods, medications I was given... it was really bizarre. And then, that summer, we went to Europe, and all of a sudden, the constant reactions stopped as suddenly as they had started. It was so weird, but I was grateful!

Moral of the story: Europe - it's the cure for what ails ya! Ha!

Fin.

Britto 'N' Burpee Love

Or should I say "Burpee 'n' Britto"?

Anyway, here's what I'm talkin' 'bout:

I happened across this luggage collection at Heys USA via OK! Magazine. (Why I get that magazine, I don't know, but it was free, so hey. And it seems to be the only one I make time for lately, out of all my subscriptions - free and otherwise - so... okay!)

Thee luggage ist drool-worthy, no? I am coveting it.

For those who don't know, Rob and I bought one of Romero Britto's works of art on our European cruise two years ago, so this was quite cool to see. If I could afford a $300 piece of loogage, I would definitely snatch one or four pieces right up!

(My birthday's in September, if you're reading this, Mr. Trump.)

As for the Burpee love...

our seedy seedies arrived today! Pretty colorful, huh? Compared the Britto, these packages kind of put me to sleep.

But that's okay, because the goodness contained within will brighten up our backyard this summer, with the bright red tomatoes, purple peppers, yellow squash, orange carrots and... so much more.

I can't wait!

(Mr. Trump, I need some money for the wood for our raised beds, the soil, some tools, a compost bin... all in the name of education, you know.)

********

Not a particularly exciting day in Casa de Odette, I'm afraid. But that won't keep me from sharing all the details that I know you love so much. Both of you.

Someone on Freecycle posted 7 boxes of Annie's organic mac & cheese, so you know I snatched those babies right up! Even better, she lived right around the corner from us. Rob made some for the kids for dinner tonight. The girls LOVED it and Jack, who rarely loves any food that doesn't have sugar as its frst four ingredients, said he prefered the 'dark orange stuff instead.' Two out of three ain't bad.

Speaking of organic (because I never do that), Jack and I went on a leetle shopping spree at Harris Teeter today. The sales start on Wednesdays, so I took a look-see to figure out what they might have on sale that's actually organic. I think there were TWO things in the whole ad, which was sucktastic. But we were out of milk (because some unknown elf left out an ENTIRE half-gallon of organic leche, which made me want to weep), and Jack doesn't like his oatmeal prepared with water. Oatmeal snob! I had a bunch of coupons from Organc Valley's website, and a few others for organic stuff, so I figured we might as well go see what was to be had.

I bought about $72 worth of stuff for $50 with my coupons, which isn't too bad for organic. We picked up something like four half-gallons of milk, some cheese, yogurt, the above pizzas (I had some of the Spinach Feta for dinner, and it was okay, but weirdly spicy), and some chocolate ice cream. That shit was good!! I had about four small bites, and while I wanted more, I didn't really feel like summoning the Dumping Syndrome fairies, so I let it be.

I'm still enjoying this organic mess, though. It's expensive, but that'll be another challenge for me to overcome: finding room in our budget to eat all local, all organic, all the time. With Burpee's help, we should do just fine.

Or we'll starve to death.

You'll see.

I got all of this knitting done tonight, between dance class and sitting with my two "we're not sleepy" imps who fell asleep within minutes after I started playing the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales on Audiobook for them, courtesy of my iPhone. Well, except for the first two rows, which I did during dance class last night. (Would have been more, but I messed up the count and had to frog and restart.)

I'm not sure I'm loving this project. I don't even think I have enough yarn to finish it, but that actually adds to the excitement for me. Will she or won't she? Only one way to find out. (Okay, there's more than one way to find out, but I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants on these things.) Just in case, I'm keeping every last inch of my snippings, in case I need them!

***

See those pants I'm wearing? They're jammies, and I think it embarrasses the hell out of Chloë that I wore them to the bus stop. But that's beside the point. The point is, I bought them around Halloween '09 (hence the skulls), and I could not get them up past my thighs at that point. Now, they not only fit, but they are loose-ish and very comfy!

AND

with them, I'm wearing one of Rob's size M Harley t-shirts, just because I can. I think he likes it. I know he likes it, actually, when his girl wears his shirts, so I'm excited that for the first time ever, I can!

AND

just for kicks, I put on a pair of his zip-and-button-up shorts - no elastic in the waist - while I was doing laundry today, and I could button them!!! I had to shove my saggy belly all down in there to do it, but hello! Have you seen my husband? He is a very thin man!

AND

While wearing this ensemble, I went out to get the mail, and a neighbor across the street called out, "Are you on a diet? You've gotten so skinny!"

SKINNY!!!!!!

So yeah, I'm all full of my SKINNY self at the moment, thankyouverymuch.

And on that note, I have shop reports to do.

Fin. 

P.S. Oh yeah. Rob took Jack to see the doc at the ADHD therapy clinic, you know, where Chloë goes? To see about the pediatrician's diagnoses of ADHD and ODD. The doc pretty much observed him for the hour and questioned Rob, and then summed it up with, "So why are you here?" In other words, he has neither, in that doc's opinion. We're going to go with that one. Joy!

P.P.S. The girls and I went to the library tonight after dinner. Sophia got her own library card and picked the first three books off the shelf to borrow. Chloë picked three more chapter books (she finished two in a week, so I figured she could handle a third this time), and I picked three more books related to teaching and homeschooling. Never mind that I still haven't read the last three. Never mind, I said!

 

Nine Years

On Saturday, Rob and I celebrated our ninth anniversary. Nine wonderful years:

In November, 2000, we met online. We lived in Florida then.

In January, 2001, we eloped!

In September, 2001, we had our first baby, Chloë Raine.

In August, 2002, I became pregnant with our identical twin boys, Jack River and Robert William.

In October, 2002, we moved to Guam.

In December, 2002, Guam was hit by the worst supertyphoon on record. Because of a complicated twin pregnancy, I was declared "unfit" to live on the island.

In February, 2003, we moved back to the States, to Virginia.

In March, 2003, our sons were born 9 weeks early. Three days later, Robby died. Something in me broke. I would not be "myself" again for about four more years.

In July, 2004, I became pregnant with our baby, Sophia Lorelei.

In April, 2005, we welcomed Baby #4 to the world.

In October, 2006, we took a family trip to Disneyworld!

Around that same time frame, I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the medication trials began in earnest. My weight gain started to be out of control from the meds. I hated myself.  It was an awful two years for us, while I tried to get the weight under control and qualify for gastric bypass surgery.

In June-July, 2008, we finally took our honeymoon, the trip of our dreams, a two-week European cruise, without the kids. It was an incredible trip. We were so happy.

In January, 2009, I finally had my gastric bypass surgery. I had ballooned up to 341.3 pounds. My husband still loved me, despite the weight, although we had a rocky next couple of months while we sorted out the major ups-and-downs of the previous eight years. We went to marriage counseling. Everything worked out well, and we are now stronger than ever before. We realized that sometimes it takes a crisis to appreciate how much we love each other.

And now, in January 2010, we are celebrating nine years of marriage, four children, one child's death, a few bumps in the road, and my having lost (so far) 155 pounds since surgery. (I weigh 14 pounds less than when we met!) We are completely in love. He is my everything. I hope I am his.

********

For an anniversary present, Stephanie offered us a free night of babysitting.  In our marriage counseling sessions, we were "ordered" to have a date night once a week. We did that at first but can't really afford it regularly anymore, so we jumped at the chance! It wasn't until we were actually ON that date that we decided exactly where we were going to go.

We had a Restaurant.com certificate to Taza in the Westin hotel in Town Center, but when we arrived, it turned out that Taza was gone, and Lucky Star was in its place. After some conferring, the manager of Lucky Star decided he would honor our certificate, but because the restaurant portion was closed and only the bar area was open, we decided to eat somewhere else. It just wasn't the ambiance we were looking for tonight.

We headed out into the freezing cold night to find somewhere else to eat. I thought about Ruth's Chris, but since we've eaten there several times before, I didn't mention it. We stopped in at Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro next to Ruth's Chris, where we ate one time with the kids, although it's most definitely not a kids' restaurant. It would have been more than satisfactory, but they were completely booked.

So we decided to head down to a new place where we hadn't been before but had seen on the drive over: Zushi Japanese Bistro. It was a great find! We were greeted immediately by a man who seated us and took our coats. He pulled out my chair, and pushed it in for me when I was seated. He recommended the spicy soup to us, since it was so cold out, to warm us up.

Rob took him up on the soup offer. It was REALLY spicy. When the server took his drink away to refill it and forgot to bring it back - the only slip in the otherwise outstanding service - he had to steal some sips from my Diet Coke!

The tableware was really cool. I loved the silver chopsticks!

 
  
We ordered a LOT of sushi. Far too much. I don't know what we were thinking, other than we LOVE sushi.  This wasn't even all of it - there was another plate I forgot to photograph!  So when we were finished, and I asked for a box for more than half the food, the sushi chef came over and showed genuine concern for our satisfaction. "Everything is all right? Lot of food came back to the kitchen!" I assured him everything was great and that we were just full, and he laughed and said, "Yes, only two of you!" Lucky us, though, there were plenty of leftovers for snacking later!

Rob felt brave enough to try the sea urchin. Like I've said, he'll eat anything once. I took a scoop of the orange stuff. Blech. In my past life as a marine biologist, I dissected enough sea urchins to know there's nothing in there that makes me go, "Ooh, I wanna eat that." Rob didn't like it either. Our assessment? Don't order it!

The server took our picture. I thought we looked pretty good tonight! Except for my red chest, from the allergic reaction I'm currently having to who-knows-what.

The server, the chef, and the host checked on us multiple times during the meal. When we were finished, the host immediately went to retrieve our coats for us.  We weren't near the garage where we'd parked, so I stayed behind while Rob ran to fetch the van for me. The host asked what he's driving and said he would keep an eye out for him for me. When Rob pulled up, the Host walked out - in the freezing cold, without a coat, with me and opened the car door for me. I was very impressed by that; I almost wanted to give him a hug! So if you love sushi and appreciate good service, do check out Zushi in the Town Center of Virginia Beach!

After dinner, we drove two minutes down the road to go to the movies. We saw It's Complicated, with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin.  I'd heard it was hysterically funny from beginning to end, so I really wanted to see it. I'd heard wrong. There were a few funny moments, including one absolutely hilarious scene that had me going, "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" but it was no all-out laugh-fest. It was okay. I could have waited for the DVD to come from Netflix. Maybe we should have seen Avatar instead, after all!

All-in-all, it was a pretty good date night for us. We came home, and Steph and Tim were there with their baby Luke asleep in Tim's arms, our three kid still up and running around after eating THREE times in our absence (!!!), and two more sleeping charges of Stim's on the couch.  A full house. The other two kids' mom was coming in a half-hour to pick them up, so we sent our chirren to bed and then hung out with Stim for the rest of the time. I held Luke the whole time. I just love that kid, as much as I love my own kids, which is saying a lot for me because I don't tend to like other peoples' kids, in general! He's beautiful and sweet and perfect, and I'm so happy for them.

And now... I'm waiting for Rob to go upstairs and clean the tub and all his crap off our bed, so we can go have a spa night together, with a good, hot soak and massages and... ;)

Fin.
  

 

☺You Never Know Where You'll Find A Lava Rock☺

First Day of School
So this morning was a little rough on my schoolchildren! I woke up just fine, thankfully (and Rob called me to wake me up, which makes him a heckuva guy), but the kids did not. I opened the door, sweetly called out, "Jaaaaack! Chlooooooëeee!" and waited. No answer. I went in, started rustling up my boy, and he cried, "I'm too tired!" "Come on, buddy, it's time for school! Your first day! Kindergarten!" "I don't wannnnnaaaaaaaa."

I had less luck with Chloë.

When they were finally in a standing position, both buried themselves into my chest and sobbed.  I comforted them as long as I could, and then left them to get dressed while I called their father.

R: Hi, honey.

M: Hey baby.

R: What's up?

M: I just wanted to let you know, bedtime has officially been moved up one hour! These kids are whiny crybabies this morning!

Then, of course, came the flurry. Go get your socks, put on your glasses, let's eat some breakfast, who wants what? Nope, no sandals, you have to wear sneakers. Wrong feet, buddy, switch your shoes! Pick out a hair doodle, Chlo, we gotta do something with that hair. C'mon, finish your breakfast Jack, you won't get anything to eat at school today!

Finally, it was time to go to the bus. I forgot two things. My camera, as stated in the earlier post, and the name badge that Jack's required to wear around his neck for the first month of school. D'oh! I wouldn't have remembered, but we had a cute little girl kindergartener at the bus stop who was wearing hers. 

I gave Chloë explicit directions for where it was, and sent her running. One door down, two, three, uh-oh, there's a truck in the way, she doesn't know which way to go, "C'mon Chlo! Hurry up!" She made it around the truck and disappeared into the house. One minute, two minutes... still no bus, pleeease don't come... five, and she's out! And running this way! And she's got something yellow in her hands!

Whew. She found it. And then we waited another 15 minutes for the bus to come. Don't they practice the routes the week before?? It was already over 90 degrees outside by 8 AM. We were dying.

Finally, it showed. The instant it pulled up, Jack dashed ahead of everyone else and sprinted up the steps. He was excited! But I guess he got confused, not being on the special bus and having his own carseat, because he held up the line for a few minutes. Things got squared away, and as instructed, Chloë sat with her little brother. And off they went!

I shuffled back home and, because Sophia was still sound asleep, went to lie down on the couch. After checking emails, of course. The doorbell rang an hour or so later, the dog barked, and it was a freecycler to pick up all the small boxes I'd accumulated in the office. Still, no sound from Sophia, so I went back to sleep.

I dreamed about a certain cute boy I had a crush on in junior high (JK, Erin!). It was my first day of school, in 8th grade, and we were to choose secretly who we wanted to sit next to for the  year. I chose him, and he chose me! As soon as that was announced for seating, my alarm went off. Dang, I didn't want to goooooo.... oh, yeah, Jack.


I got up and waited and waited and waited, once again, for his bus. I waited 25 minutes, not having an exact idea when it would arrive and where it would drop him. I sat just inside the door to cool off in between going outside to check, and finally, I heard the rumbling of a school bus.


I forgot about the new little girl, so I was surprised when the bus stopped three doors ahead of mine, even though I was waving at the bus driver. Out Miss Cuteness hopped. Oh, yeah. I thought she was going to pull up, but then Jack came running out. No smile, no look in my direction, no 'Hi, Mom!' as he tore into the house. Just like that, he was gone, while I stood at the end of the driveway like a dumbass.

Good thing. The bus driver pulled up in front of me and told me she'd have forms for our cell numbers and such for tomorrow, saying something about Chloë, and mentioning she was glad I was feeling better now. Um? I swear I have never seen this person before in my life, but okay, yes, I'm feeling fine now, thanks.

Once inside, I had Jack go wake up Sophia, and she came down for breakfast while he had a snack. And then they had more snacks. And more. They were hungry little beavers. Some of it was healthy, and some of it was not so much, but whatev.

After a spell, I had Sophie run and put on some clothes, and we all put on our shoes. I had made an appointment for that afternoon with my prescribing shrink, because I was ... uh-oh, I still am, thank God Walgreens is open all night! ... out of my mind meds. We hustled out, got down the road, and made it just in time.

Dr. Pal was actually not an ass this time, even though I was bringing along twice my usual number of children. He kept his mouth shut, anyway, as I think he could tell I was not at all stressed out, and they were in good control today. At any rate, he quickly prescribed my meds, set my next appointment date, and sent us packing.

Back home again in the space of 45 minutes, well in advance of Chloë's bus, it was time for some fun. Dress-up fun! Sophia came running in with just unnerpannies, and I asked where her clothes were. "I'm going to put on my tutu, Mawm!"


                   
Only, she's not the giggling little creature who came running out in the tutu!


Instead, she wore  one of Grandma's purty contributions to the dress-up box.  And she's looking so cute in ponies and piggies lately!

Today, on the message board I frequent, I was given a link for making a tutu. I'm so totally going to do that! If it turns out, I'll  make more. Maybe sell them! I can't wait. Tutus are very popular right now.

Let's see... soon Chloë was running in from her bus.  I couldn't get a whole lot out of them about what happened in  kindergarten and second grade (!!!!) today. I still cannot believe that child is in second grade! And is going on seven! And has a loose tooth, and another growing in!

Anyway, Jack was in high spirits all day after school, so I'm guessing it was great, although he won't actually admit to having been there. "I didn't go to school! I went to the dentist," he says. The one thing he did say was that none of friends were there. Aw, buddy. He'll make new ones soon, I hope.

Chloë was in a great mood, too. She told me her favorite part of the day was lunch, because she was so hungry. She did eat all her breakfast, though. As for the rest, I have no idea what either of them did! Apparently no one went to PE, or art, or music, or the library, so your guess is as good as mine?

The kids went upstairs to rest after that, while I farted around all afternoon online, and worked on cleaning up my desk (a constant work in progress), and went through the kids' backpacks and folders. Daddy came home, but I can't remember anything special that he did.  Chlo soon returned from Quiet Time, and then Jack, but Sophia was sound asleep. Sleepy girl today!

Rob made dinner when I reminded him that they had to go to bed an hour earlier tonight. Nothing special, chicken breasts, mixed veggies, and tater tots, but they all ate a great dinner!  Rob gave them ice cream for dessert and then whisked everyone upstairs for baths.


I took that time to finish up the little dress for Carolynn, Steph's niece.  It has a few little imperfections (just in the evenness of the assembly) but for the most part, it turned out cute, right? I have a feeling it's going to be too small, though. I couldn't find a suitable stuffed critter in the house to model it, so we shall just have to see. I believe I made this dress for Sophie when she was  a tiny baby.
Nope, but I  did make it for the charity, and here it is! Much tinier than the current one, though.

Well,  two weeks after we arrived home, I finished blogging the Europe trip. Check it out and leave comments, please!

That is all. Tomorrow, I will  remember to take pictures of the kids' , er, um,  second first day of school!

Fin.

Already Falling Behind

Whoops, I'm a day behind already and we've only been back since Monday!

Wednesday was a busy one for me. We got up pretty early for us on a Wednesday morning (8:30 ish) and had breakfast. Afterward, since Barbara was coming, we had to do some cleaning up. Not a terrible amount, since Stephanie did an awesome job of keeping the place neat while we were gone, but we had gotten some toys out and had a lot to put away still from the trip. The kids were a great help. When they are in the mood to clean up, you can't beat them! When they are not in the mood, you want to! Hehe, kidding of course.

Barbara came while I was still downstairs in my nighty, picking things up, so we said our hellos and how-do-you-dos, and then I high-tailed it up into a shower. Oh, the cool water felt so good. I love a cold shower in the summer, especially after working up a sweat doing some cleaning or something. Do you? Am I the only one? My husband HATES them and will take the hottest shower possible, no matter how hot he already is.

So after my shower, I unpacked my suitcases and put them away, piddled around doing a few more things so she could clean in there, and left.  The kids love going for rides in the car, so I planned several errands for Barbara Day.

First stop: New glasses for Chloë! The day we left for Spain (hi, my trip is over and I'm still excited about it), I had taken her to For Eyes to pick them up. Well, guess what? They were the wrong effing prescription!  Someone had put minuses where there should have been plusses, and my girl said, "Uh, these are not the glasses I ordered. I can't see a thing!" What?! Sure enough, when the tech checked them, they were for near-sighted folks and not my extremely far-sighted little darling. So, anyway, they never called Stephanie in our absence, and she was still wearing the old-old glasses (the old glasses broke) of yore.

[I'd show you a really cute picture of her in her glasses, because I think they look just DARLING on her, but now I can't upload pictures to the computer from my camera at all. Freaking technology!! I finally get Typepad settled down, by switching to Firefox instead of IE once again, and now the computer doesn't recognize that there are pictures on my camera to upload. Thankfully the Europe ones worked, but now I have to settle that mess. Another pictureless blog for you, sorry!]

After that, we headed to the library, to bring back the last book before it was due the following day. I don't relish paying those kinds of fees at all. Well, any fees, come to think of it, but certainly not something totally avoidable. Anyway, I let Chloë out at the curb so she could put her book in the drop box, a new 'chore' she loves to do. I also recently started letting her cross the street by herself, to put out the outgoing mail, and I know she feels so grown up doing it!

Meanwhile, there are kids younger than her doing far more adventurous things on their own, but ours is a busy street, and what can I say? I don't like the idea of a squashed Chloë.

The babies started yammering about being hungry (always wanting to be fed, that lot), so before I knew what was happening, Vanna started turning away from the grocery store and toward our favorite Barbara Day locale: Panera. Oh, Panera, how I missed you during our fortnight away!  Lunch was good, very, very good, and the kids ate all their food. Love that!

A silly old goose of a lady stopped by our table and said, "Look at all your children! They're all yours? Did they all come at the same time?" I just smirked and said "no," but Chloë felt the need to be more informative: "I'm six and a half. I'm the oldest. He's five, and she's three. And he had a twin brother, but he died." The lady looked at me, made a face, shrugged, and walked away, saying, "How nice." I had to laugh, before I turned to Chloë and, yet again, explained that we don't need to tell Every. Single. Person. that we meet about Robby. "But why?" she asked. I blurted out, "Because it's none of their damn business!" And you know what? It's not.

But I know I'll be explaining that one for a while.

I had planned to go grocery shopping, to get a few things in the house that we needed and in preparation for Bunco, but Jack was rubbing his eyes at the table. His father called to check in, and when I asked him if he'd mind going to the store for me when he got home, because his son was tired and needed a nap, Jack snapped, "I'm NOT tired!!"

In the car, five minutes later, he was sound asleep and snoring his little sweet snore.

So we drove home, where I chided the kids as usual for walking on my freshly-cleaned carpet with their shoes on, and settled the kids down for naps. They all must have been tired, because I didn't hear a peep out of them. Zonk.

I would have liked to nap myself, but it was time to set up for Bunco! It took me about 15 minutes, but I finally lugged the big-ass treadmill out of the middle of the room, to the side by the back door. I opened the two new packages of card table and chairs, setting one up on the living room and the other in the office. I took all the booster seats off the kitchen chairs, and set out the Bunco dice, pencils, and bell. Ready! Now I just needed that food.

I was hoping people would be late as usual to Bunco, but every single person showed up right on time! Gah! I was still rushing around, making the vodka punch for Drunko Bunko, and putting out the dishes and forks and server-ware stuff, while the house was filling up with food. I have decided, since we're not leaving this area, at least we need to buy a bigger house so I can properly host Bunco. There just is not a lot of room here!

No? You don't think so? Well, at least I have managed to talk my husband into new carpets. Ours are SHOT. Maybe we'll go for wood floors, though. We'll see. And kitchen appliances are next on the list. Ours SUUUUCK.

Anyway, Bunco was a lot of fun. If you remember my blogging about hosting it last September, I was a nervous wreck!!  This time was so different. I didn't have time to stress about it, Barbara had cleaned the place up, and there was just one issue: the litter box. Ugh. It was full to bursting after two weeks away, and though I emptied it, the smell lingered on. Even my new Oust Air & Surface cleaner didn't take the stench away, dagnabbit, and I found out from Stephanie that they were talking about it during Bunco! Ahhhh! How embarassing. I sent out an email after Bunco, apologizing to everyone about it!

I had bought enough Bunco prizes in Europe for everyone to go away with something. Usually, there are seven prizes, to split amongst 12 people. I bought extras, a little from Spain, some from France, from Italy, from Greece, and from Croatia, so that each person would get something. They loved this idea! They all oohed and ahhed as I brought the items out of the bag where I'd hidden them, and when I asked 15 times if they liked the prizes, they all assured me that they did. Stephanie won top prize, so she picked out a coconut necklace from Nice and a leather-and-beads bracelet from Croatia. Looks great on her, with her coloring, too! (Yes, I actually bought something leather. I know!)

Oh. Drunko Bunko: Steph and I had made prior arrangements to get completely smashed and have her spend the night. I was buzzed early on, but I get red-faced and sweaty when I drink, so I decided to save my drinking for the private post-party.  Stephanie, not so much. She was HAMMERED. And hilarious. We were all laughing at her, and she was laughing at herself. (Now that you know she won first prize, you can see how little skill this game requires!) When everyone left, she insisted on pouring me some more punch. Spiked with the Limoncello from Sicily. Ahh, good stuff. I was toast shortly afterward.  I haven't been that way since I turned 21 ten years ago, and we had a good time, just laaaaughing and laaaaaughing and being silly and raunchy. Rob joined in on the party - not the drinking, just the funning - and the three of us giggled ourselves into oblivion. I have a few funny pictures, but again, I can't show them tonight!

Soon enough, we were passed out on our respective couches, and Rob went upstairs to bed. When he got up at 0400 for work, Steph woke up and texted him that the shower and my snoring were keeping her awake! So he ushered her upstairs to our bed, where she spent the rest of the night.

This morning, I woke up first, when Sophia and Jack got right in my face singing, "Good morning, Mommy, we're hungry!!" Chloë joined shortly afterward, and then Steph made her way down. We had a very unhealthy breakfast of Bunco leftovers, and then we sat at the new card table in the office and made a stickers-and-foam Christmas craft that my MIL had sent months ago (obviously) for project time. I have pictures of this, too, but alas...  We all helped, and it came together quickly. The kids did a really good job, even though Jack threw in the towel early to go play with cars.

After that it was lunch time, and I think I made five different things for lunch. But no matter. Everyone ate something healthy, and their bellies were filled. Time to go to the pool! We suited up the kids and sprayed them down with sunscreen, before getting ready ourselves. Of course, we neglected to use SPF on our own bodies, and that was our fatal mistake.

Man, after two weeks in the Mediterranean and no burn (and no sunscreen then, either, because I am apparently stupid), it was pretty annoying to get such a bad burn today after ONE HOUR at the pool on an overcast day!  Just goes to show you, you can never be too careful or sure where the sun is going to get you. But I am fried, and Steph got herself a nice sunburn, too, for the sixth time in her life. A couple of dumb bunnies we are!

Fortunately, the kids were unharmed. Sophie did get a little color, but Sophie always gets a little color. She tans, though - and yes, I know, even a tan is a sign of sun damage. But it's far better than a burn, especially on one so small.

Anyway, we came home, gave the kiddies a snack, and sent them down for much-needed naps. Again, they were quite worn out and didn't make a peep! Stephanie left then, and I tried a dozen times more to post on the European blog, with no success. But if you'll check, I have finished posting about Day One now, so go read!

Argh, I'm yawning my head off, so it's time to cut this pictureless saga short. Long? Not much happened the rest of the day, anyway, other than my getting the chills so bad that Rob had to lay on top of me to get me warm. I'm better now, and tomorrow is another day.

Fin.

Keepin' It Low-Key

First, a whine: I hurt my hand!! I don't what I did to it but it feels all twisted and tight and... hurty. Actually, I tend to sleep with my hand tucked under me when I snooze on the couch, and I think I did it then. But, owie! I hope the kinks work out in my sleep tonight so that I am free to do all kinds of crazy things with my hands when we're wrangling 50 bajillion suitcases at the airport tomorrow.

TOMORROW! Yeeee! By this time tomorrow, we'll be thousands of feet high over the Atlantic Ocean, taking an overnight flight to Barcelona from Atlanta. I don't know how, but I managed to get some sleep last night. I don't know how I'll ever manage that tonight!

So today, I'm sure you thought I was plenty busy, running around like a crazy lady, getting things done.

Ha.

Ha!

Not me.

I did that this weekend. The jobs are mostly done, except for the toiletries that I still need to pack after my shower tomorrow, and shoes! Oh, don't forget the shoes... and make-up. I still haven't decided if I am going to wear any make-up in Europe. It's just soooo frigging hot, y'all, and when you're fat like me, I swear, you feel it double. And that makes my face sweaty. And that makes my make-up goo up and slide down. You know? I may just take a little to wear to dinner and then whisk right off before we ... well, who knows what we'll do, of an evening, on a ship?

So instead of doing any mad dashing around today, and instead of taking on any projects with the kids, we mostly sat around, watched TV, read stories, and cuddled. Who knows, this may have been the last day I ever spend with my children, and I wanted to soak them up. But let's not talk like that... this is a happy time, not a sad, scary one!

I sent Chloë into the backyard with my camera, to snap some pictures of the wonderful lilies, and Rob's tree, growing in a corner there. Here are a couple:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We'd all gotten up around 0800, so by noon, we were all ready to crash. They had lunch, and were kissing me and going upstairs before I even sent them. Those are the days it's clear to me they still need their daily rest.

And I crashed, so hard, under my beloved new stripey blanket, on the couch. Oh, I love that blanket. Every night, when Rob is near me, I sit under that blanket and extoll its virtues. It just feels so good!!

When I woke up, it was just in time to get into the shower and get ready to go to my appointment at the nail salon. I was getting my first-ever pedicure, and a fill for my acrylics, and I had two nails that fell off and were in need of repair.

I tell ya, these things require some upkeep, and I may be a high-maintenance girl in some regards, but that's not one of them. I still haven't decided whether they're coming off when we get back, but for sure they're going to go shorter, at least.

Anyway, so I went.

Oh, the pedicure was nice. I wasn't at all squeamish about it, like I thought I'd be. Two funnyish things happened during it:

1. If you've spent a lot of time in the ocean, like I have, you know that sometimes, things brush up against your legs when you're not expecting it. And no matter how much you might know about the things in the ocean, this still probably tends to make you  jump up and squeal. Well, my feet were soaking in the foot bath, one at a time, while she worked on the other. And once, while I was in the middle of crocheting on the baby dress for Stephanie and completely zoned out, something brushed up against me. I jumped and squealed, as if I had been standing in the dang ocean!! Everyone stared at me. Turns out, she'd left a foot brush in the water, and it was floating around. Hi, I'm embarrassed, go back to your magazines now...
2. The chairs were like massage chairs, and they moved forward and back, reclined and upright. There was a remote control for doing so on my right armrest. Well, I was in kind of an uncomfortable, squinched up position, so after she adjusted my chair and went to work on my feet, I tried moving it back and reclining it. She reached over and moved it more forward and upright than it had been before! Every time she would stop and start chattering to the other ladies in Vietnamese, I would tap-tap-tap quietly on the buttons, inching my way back again. And each time, she would come back and move me forward. This went on about three or four times before I gave up. She never said a word to me about it.

We did talk, though. I hate hiring someone to do something for me (wash my feet, cut my hair, clean my house) and then acting like they are not there. [Although, now that I think about it, I am usually silent during hair cuts, because I'm reveling in the feeling of not hearing "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I'm hungry! I want a snack! I want some milk! I want a toy!" for that hour or so.] It's demeaning, isn't it? You pay someone for a service, but they are still human beings like everyone else, and you should acknowledge them. I know some people like to act like service people are invisible, but I am not one of them.

So anyway, Mimi and I talked about crocheting and knitting, and my children and hers, and it was very pleasant. She knows how to knit and not crochet, so we teased that she would give me free pedicures and I would teach her how to crochet. Hey, I'm all for it. I doubt it will work that way, though. Ours is not really a bartering society!

When it was done, I had 10 cute little bright red piggy toes and heavily lotioned legs and feet. I slipped on the disposable flip-flops and crossed the hall for my manicure with Amy.   We talked about my trip, and about their family-run shop, and her childhood in Viet Nam. She wished me a good journey and a happy Fourth, and I said the same... without thinking. Maybe they do celebrate it, I don't know? When in Rome...

I got back into my van, where the 'low fuel' light was flashing angrily at me. All right, all right... I went and filled 'er up again. $78, and I hadn't even reached 300 miles this tank. Sad. I really wish there were a hybrid minivan. I'd snap one up in a heartbeat.

Back at home, Rob was making Schwan's Cheesy Enchiladas for dinner, and singing a little song about them. I wish I could remember it; it was amusing. But then, he often is. Don't tell him I said that, though. I have tried to convince him he's not funny for years now.

We ate, and behold, it was good. That's one we'll order again.  A bit on the spicy side, but manageable for me. I'm not one for spicy. I just can't handle it Pain on your tongue is fun? I don't get that.

ETA: Here's what Rob does when he finds a piece of rubber cement lying around:

I went outside, back to the van, to search high and low for the pool passes, so Steph can take the Odettelettes whenever she wants. I had left them in the car on Friday after we swam, I was sure of it! But they were not there. Stink. Just as I was convincing myself that the van repair people, where Rob took my van to be inspected and repaired on Saturday, had stolen them, I walked back in the house and spotted them immediately on the shelf by the front door, where I pretty much always keep them during the pool-heavy summer days. Duh! So much for that wonderful system.

Chloë and I did a bit (a very little bit, sorry Steph) of cleaning in the office, and I cleaned out the litter box so Her Highness would have fresh clay on which to poop, and then Rob set up the vacuum cleaner outside for me on an extension cord. We'd never cleaned out the van as planned, and looking for the pool passes made it clear how necessary it was before handing over the reigns to Miss Stephanie. How much I sucked up out there! It was so dark, so I probably missed a lot, but I know I got lots of goldfish crumbs, cereal, and whatever else I let my kids eat in the car for the past five years. So much better.

And here I am, indecisive about whether to try and go to sleep, or to go up and finish the little bit of packing I can do before tomorrow. Or fart around on the computer some more, oblivious of the few hours left before we get on that big ol' plane...

Fart it is.

Fin.

Intense Russian: NYET!!

Well, I'm starting to feel a bit better. I know you're all on pins and needles about that.

Jack and Chloë both had a half-day of school today. I put Chloë on her bus, turned around and got Jack ready, took a little nappykins while Sophia was still sleeping, got Jack off the bus, Sophia woke up, and Sis came off the bus soon after that. Those half-days seem so pointless! Except for the nap I get. That part I like.

We had 80-degree weather today. Just thought I'd share, for those of you having snow. Sorry.

Rob got out of work really early. That's the best thing ever. Except for the part when we argue about who gets to take a nap. I didn't mention that I had already had a nap. But then, I didn't take another one, so it's all good.

I spent a lot of time online today, preparing for our trip. I like to plan in advance. Way in advance. Like, I've already got our boarding passes printed out, advanced. I also booked our hotel in Barcelona and our residenza in Venice, which is on the canals near the Bridge of Sighs! I can't wait to take a romantic gondola ride with my husband - maybe our gondolier will even croon. ;)

I typed up our detailed itinerary, which grew each time we made new plans and arrangements, and I took great pleasure in editing it and re-editing it. I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to planning things, I must say. And I like it that way just fine. Then I added more and more to the babysitter's guide we're leaving with Stephanie, who'll care for the children while we're gone for more than two weeks. Two weeks! Without my babies! Rob says I won't get homesick. I don't know. I'm already missing them!

I did, at least, before this:

That's our office carpeting. Where Sophia and Jack had just been coloring with those new super-slick Crayola Twist-Up crayons? You know those ones? They're great. Until you turn your back for five seconds to tippy-type some more on your little Europe planny-plans. Here's the culprit:

I'd show you the rest of her, which is very colorful, but as you can see, she's desnuda. (See? Already practicing mi español.) So that was a fun little interlude tonight. Coloring will strictly be a kitchen table activitiy with those things from now on!

So then I went back to the planning, figuring out which ports we want to do an excursion and what kind. Oh, it's going to be so fun! We're going to see a flamenco show and eat tapas in Barcelona. In Monaco, we might hit the casino before heading to France to visit Nice and Eze (Get it? Nice and Eze? Har har) and shop in the famous flower market there. At least, the website tells me it's famous. When we get to Livorno, near Florence, Italy, we'll tour Lucca in the Tuscan countryside and then go to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. I'm ecstatic about that! There's so much to do in Rome, we'll just tour around on our own, but I plan on making a beeline to see the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. We're on our own in Messina, Sicily, and Navplion and Katakolòn Greece, where I hope we'll get to do some actual swimming in the Mediterranean, Ionian, and Ægean seas. In Corfu, Greece, we're going to take a four-wheeling adventure through villages and vineyards and have a meal at a large country estate. Then in Dubrovnik, which I keep saying with a heavy Russian accent, we're going to go sea kayaking. What else would you do in Croatia, am I right? You know that crazy kayaking in Croatia. Then in Venice, we're going to take a tasting tour through the city, sampling everything that's great about Venetian food.

I am so in heaven just thinking about this stuff. I can't even imagine how I'll be when I'm actually there.

So I called my sister, who is apparently jealous?? Who knew she wanted to go to Europe? to tell her hey! She can go on the Holland America website to gift us with shipboard credit. She was delighted to hear about this opportunity. Absolutely thrilled.

Don't worry. Soon I'll run out of things to say about this trip, and you won't have to hear anymore about it until we actually go.

So then I had to run out and do a Sonic shop. The only good thing about that was getting to drive on the newly paved stretch of the Boulevard west of Witchduck. Niiice. Oh yeah, I have to do that report still.

We're about to go watch Man of the Year while I do some knitting on the baby sweater I haven't touched in too long. And that's about all that's fit to print.

Fin.

Come Sail Away With Me

Well, here we are, two days before Thanksgiving and I'm fighting off this upper respiratory infection. I'm on the z-pack now though, so hopefully we'll be good to go come Thursday morning.

Not terribly much to report from the last few days. I pretty much canceled everything I could in order to stay home and rest. Rob and I did a dinner shop at Mahi-Mah's on Saturday night, and I couldn't get that report done until Monday night. Just blah.

While I had Chloë at her acting classes that day, Rob was home with the little ones. He put them down for naps, and Sophia said to him, "Where's Chloë?" and he explained she was with me. "Where's Jackie?" and he explained Jack was taking a nap, too. "Where's me?"  Silly girl.

And today Chloë cracked me up when she said to Jack, "What in the planet are you doing?!!" instead of "what in the world." Heh heh heh.

And now for the big news: We're going to Europe! We're going to Europe!!

In summer 2008, we're going on a Mediterranean cruise. We'll be flying to Barcelona a couple days early and exploring that city (note to self: brush up on Spanish), then boarding Holland America's ms Zuiderdam for their "Mediterranean Tapestry" cruise. From Barcelona, we head to Monte Carlo, Monaco; then Livorno, Florence, Italy; then Civitavecchia, Rome; then Messina, Sicily; spend a day at sea; then three days and three different ports of Greece (Navplion, Katakolon, and Corfu); on to Dubrovnkik, Croatia, and ending up in Venice, Italy. OMG, Venice!!! We're going to spend a couple days there, too, before flying back to Barcelona and then home by way of New York City.

I am beyond excited. Rob's been to Europe twice before, so he's trying to act like it's no big, but come on! The only place he's been, of the above, is Corfu, so there will be tons of new experiences for both of us. And it will be my longest cruise by two days, and his by nine. I adore cruising, and he's pretty fond of it too, when it's not on an aircraft carrier.  Oh, so much to do, so much to plan! Thank goodness we already have our passports.

Anyway, anyhow. That's our stuff. What are all of you planning for Thanksgiving??

Fin.