Smellyann Strikes Again

☺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.

Candy Girl

I'm going to do bullets for the highlights of our day:

• Rob took Jack to get a haircut. He was bouncing off the walls crazy when he returned. I tried to get a decent picture of it to show you. Here's the result: He was all thrilled to see his silly face afterward on the camera, after staying put for 0.0000001 second.
• Rob went and bought a brand-new BMW F650 GS motorcycle today. Well, he put down a deposit on it, and will get it in about a month when it arrives from overseas. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
• I took a nap.
• We made S'mores for dessert. The kids didn't quite know what to do with them, except for Chloë, who proclaimed the ones at camp better because they used Girl Scout Cookies. Well, duh!  Here are the other kids:  
• I blogged about Corfu, Greece.
• Rob mowed the grass.
• I put a dish of peanut M&Ms out, in the candy bowl I won from Bunco a while back. Jack was all over that. Literally:
• I vacuumed the downstairs.
• We're about to go watch Charlie Wilson's War. 

That's about it!

Fin.

Life Is Unfair

Our air conditioning is out. Oh, woe is me, woe is me. I feel like I'm back in Europe. Erin, I don't know how you stand it!

I woke up sick this morning, with congestion, a sore throat, fever, the whole works. So after feeding the Littles their breakfast, I decided to lie down while they played in the living room. The time to get ready to pick up Chloë was fast approaching, and I wanted to be all set.

Only, I wasn't.

I called Rob, who was going to half a half-day at work and leave to meet me up in Williamsburg, and asked if he'd mind going to get her alone. I was so upset - I was dying to see my baby - but I just didn't have the energy in me to drive the whole hour-plus up there and another hour back, let alone lug things around in the heat. I felt miserable. I felt rotten. Wah, wah, wahhhh.

He agreed.

So I felt like crap, and I felt like a crappy mother, but at least the wee ones were ready for their nap. I sent them upstairs and went right to sleep on the couch. I don't know how long I slept, it must have been hours. When I woke up, I suddenly felt tons better. I talked to Rob, who was on his way home with our little girl, and got excited to see her.

Then they were home!! She was back! She flew into my arms with full force, hugging and kissing and squeezing. Or was that me? We talked all about her time at camp, and she decided to post a blog about it. Did you read it?

Rob started unpacking her suitcase, so we could see what all she used and what she brought home - no bugs! - and I heard him behind me saying, "I don't want to say her raincoat is too big, but look at this!" and here he was. Silly boy. I don't want to say he's little, but...

I was feeling a little better, so Chloë and I went upstairs to take a shower together and do a whole bunch of laundry, while Rob worked on the air conditioning.  He decided the problem was lack of freon, so hopefully we can get someone to come out this weekend and fix it.  I'm dying here!

While I was posting about Katakolon tonight on the Europe blog,  Rob was playing around with the camera. From across the room, he zoomed in and took this lovely picture of my eye. 

Hey, I didn't promise to be fascinating today.

Or any day.

That's all I've got. Peace, I'm out.

Fin.

Swann Dive

I am the worst mother in the world, and do you know why?

Because my five-year-old son is going to kindergarten next week, and we met his new teacher and his new classroom today, and I did not remember to bring my camera!!!!

What is it with me and the camnesia lately??

After Stephanie returned with my van this morning - she needed it to go get her car keys from home! - the Littles and I headed to Jack's new school - and Chloë's all-along school - for the Back to School Picnic.

We didn't actually have time for all that picnicking stuff, though. Mommy had an appointment to get to up in Newport News.

So we made our way to the free t-shirt table, and collected one for Jack. They didn't want to give me one for Chloë since only kids present at the picnic were supposed to receive a shirt, but since everyone at that school just adores that child, they made an exception. I didn't even have to ask!

Wherever we went, it was, "Where's Chloë? Where's Chloë?" I swear everyone in school knows her. It amazes me. I was never popular, but my kid? Universally loved.  Of course, then they all looked at the three of us and wondered what the heck we were doing there without her, so I pointed out Jack as the new kid on the block to everyone. He was thrilled about this recognition. Ever since we bought his supplies and new backpack, he is dying to go to school!

We headed straight for the kindergarten wing of the school, to meet Mrs. Swann, Jack's new teacher. She was young! Way young. After Mrs. Meltzer's ancient teaching methods when Chloë was a kindergartner, I was thrilled to see this. She should have plenty of new tricks for getting the children to accomplish their goals, surely. Rote drilling? Not my style, not good for my kids.

Oh, let this be a wonderful new year of learning for Jack. I hope so.

Then, even though Chlo is still at camp, I wanted to meet her new second grade (OMG) teacher, Mrs. Duke. She turned out to be a lovely lady, and I liked her right from the start, just as I did with Mrs. Pfeiffer  last year. I hope that is a good sign. She already knew who Chloë was, so she was disappointed not to see her today.

We visited the art teacher, music teacher, and gym teacher, too. Jack won't have art this year, though - they do that right in the classroom. Oh, and the principal, Mr. Timlin. He and I know each other well from my work on the PTA board and from me pestering him to put out more recycling cans in the school, so his first greeting to me was, "You dyed your hair blond on me!" He's a Chloëphile too, so he seemed thrilled to meet my little guy, giving him high-fives and handshakes.

Because the kids were begging for something to eat, then, I bought them each a snowcone. We don't do hot dogs and  hamburgers, and I didn't want to buy them chips and sodas. It was super hot today, so a snowcone seemed like just the thing. And it was. I know, because Jack ate three bites of his and declared himself finished, and I tore into that thing. So good. Refreshing. Perfect.

We went home after that, making this the first year I didn't sign up for the PTA at the picnic. I'll do it when the papers come home next week. I just had to get out of that crowd, and I had to get ready for the drive up north. I was just looking up the address when Stephanie returned to babysit, toting her freaking adorable little niece, Carolynn. (Forgive me if I spelled her name wrong, Steph; I just know SO many Carolines right now!)

So.

I gave her a few quick instructions and then took off for my visit to the gastric bypass surgeon in Newport News. My appointment wasn't until 4:30, and I left just after 2. But I had to take their computer questionnaire first. I ended up being wicked early and finishing the test over an hour early. I was all set to take a snooze in my van when they called me back early to see the doctor. Yay! I wouldn't have to wait after all.

Dr. Clarke was very nice. He spent as much time as I needed, going over my questions and issues, and he never made me feel like a gross, disgusting fatass - not once - unlike the doc from Bariatric Surgery in the Naval hospital. I am glad I made the choice to stick with him; it was the right thing to do, I believe. Long drive notwithstanding.

I talked to the insurance lady about my upcoming hoop-jumping fest after that, and then I was on the road again, before my actual appointment time. Nice. I will have to do a lot of the same things I did for the other doc, and they could probably use the same tests, but I feel like I should just do them all over again in case things have changed. As soon as I get that - and the daunting psych consult (Lord, give me strength not to break down this time!) - out of the way, we'll be ready to schedule the surgery. I am excited! Skinny-me, come on down!

The drive home was excruciatingly slow, made worse by the fact that I was suddenly exhausted and doing touch-and-goes all the way home. The bridge and tunnel are always backed up at that time of the day, and this was no exception. If I could pulled over to take a nap, I would have. But, I made it home in one piece. Maybe I should store some No-Doze in the glove compartment.

I really wanted a nap when I arrived home, like Rob and the kiddies were doing, but Sam the Schwan's guy was due to be there in a half-hour. And I hadn't yet gone through the catalog to see what I wanted. So I grabbed it, and my pen, and lickety-split came up with a good list. We still had a lot of food from the last time, actually, so I just replenished the few things I knew we liked. A lot of it was ice cream. Hey, it's summer, and I don't mind if the kids eat a lot of it right now.

Well... I'm suddenly out of words. That's a good stopping point, I think. Tomorrow, we go pick up Chloë! I am beside myself with excitement!!!

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.

Thuper Thick Thummer Thurthday

No idea why I'm lisping. Random.

Nothing particularly spectacular happened today. We all woke up pretty early for us (around 0800) for a summer day, and we were all out of sorts because of it. I was too tired to do much with the kids, and they were cranky and irritable anyway. We got in each other's way until around noon when I decided all four of us needed naps. The kids seemed actually happy, for once, to be told to go to their rooms and rest.

We all took loooong naps, too. It was what we needed. We just aren't morning people!

I woke up to hear Chloë coming down the stairs, crying. I held her on top of me on the couch for a long time, as she whimpered about her headache. The child has been getting migraines lately. So I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere for the rest of the day. I canceled the two mystery shops (one was a Panera, dang it, and I couldn't reschedule) I had for today and just did the one phone-only shop while she rested some more.

When Daddy came home, he gave her some crushed-Tylenol and a little Coke, for the caffeine. Before she drank any, she was in the bathroom, vomiting her poor head off, with me holding up her hair. The headaches make her nauseous.

But then she drank. She hated it, but we made her - and it helped. Her headache was gone shortly after that. I'll definitely be bringing it up at her next check-up.

I did manage to make an appointment to get a referral to an allergist for myself. I tried just getting the referral over the phone, since I've already been in twice about it, but my PCP is away for an extended period, and I would need to see someone else. Bah! I wanted to get a neurology referral, too, for that weird eye thing I've got going on, but that would be a whole 'nother appoinment. *grumble*

There's not much else to report. At nine, Chloë and I hopped in the car and returned the kids' library books from last week, so they wouldn't be late while we're gone. Maybe I'll get a chance to take them for some new ones before we go.

I'm trying to work on clearing off my desk, doing all my paperwork stuff, getting papers in order for the cruise, etc. I've made up and printed out all the Bunco forms, since we're hosting it two days after our return. That's all ready to go... and I guess maybe I'll try to work on that zipper tonight, since it looks like Rob has gone to bed for the night.

Happy Friday, y'all!

Fin.

Something Pressing To Do

Foiled again.

I tried to be good. I went to bed much earlier than usual last night, so I could get up early with the kids, go do my errands, and then take them to the pool until Daddy got home. We haven't swum since the end of May, so we're due for a pool visit.

Instead, I was up at 0600 with an upset stomach, and I was shivering and feeling awful. When it was all over, I went downstairs to rest on the couch until they got up. Only, I fell back to sleep. And it was late morning before I woke up again.

Dammit.

Oh, well. No sense berating myself for it; what's done is done.

I just love Chloë's profile, especially when her glasses are missing and I can see it.

I got right up with the kids and we sprang to work in the kitchen, assembling our ingredients, preheating our oven and preparing ourselves to bake chocolate chip banana bread.

First, Sophia mashed up our three extremely overripe nanners.

Next, Chloë whisked in a few eggs.

Jack dumped in the shortening, and Chloë added the sugar.

Sophia mixed it all up, after adding the vanilla.

They added the rest of the ingredients, and Chloë mixed it all up.

Voilà! The kids dumped it into the pan {note to self: really must buy loaf pans!}, and their very own chocolate chip banana bread was ready to go into the oven!

During the 75-minutes baking time, Jack played downstairs with his cars, and the sisters took turns perched atop the fainting couch and sliding down it. Then they all took turns cuddling in my arms and singing lullabyes with me. Sophia didn't know many of the words, but she sung along anyway. This caused mucho hysterics on my part, and she laughed as hard as I did. It was a fun time.

It's ready!

Jack was the first lucky boy to dig in, once it cooled enough. He gave it his stamp of approval and demanded some margarine.

Any chance to show off the Fiestaware...

Daddy came home just as we were starting to dig in, so he enjoyed his piece, too. Then we showered and got ready to go out. We'd gotten some really good Moe's (Welcome to Moe's!) coupons, and Chloë was asking to go for her special dance recital dinner, so I looked up online to see if there was a Moe's mystery shop available. There was! Score.

Dinner was great, even though there were still no tomatoes for salsa, and even though the smoke from the North Carolina wildfires was too overpowering to let us sit outside. They way overstuffed our burritos with yummy good stuff.

Jack didn't want to eat his quesadillas. Just chips. Nope, not this time. I told him if he didn't take at least one good bite of his quesa, he was going right to bed when we got home.

Guess who went right to bed when he got home?

That's right, it didn't work. He didn't eat. He cried a whole bunch about going to bed, though. Oh, well! One thing I'm adamant about is following through; no empty threats here!

Once home, I sat outside in the nice evening air and called my father in Ohio. I never did reach him for Father's Day. He's doing well up there, just getting used to life there as opposed to South Carolina. It was good to hear from him.

Rob snapped this picture of Sophia once again up on her perch. She was also reaching back behind herself and licking her foot. Girlfriend is mighty flexible, which is why I'm going to go with the majority from the poll and put her in gymnastics this fall! I did manage to call and get the details from them about that; it's comparable in cost to dance class, and she can start anytime since it's a year-round program. Should be fun! Thanks for the help!

Stephanie soon joined us to have some cheesecake, again in celebration of Chloë's dance recital. It was supposed to be Friendly's, but we had all these Schwan's desserts already and decided to save our moulah. It was pretty good!  (The slices are bigger than theirs, which I'd cut in half for them to share.) I should have made some strawberres because I'm God, to put on top.

After dessert, Rob took the girls upstairs to bathe and get ready for bed, while Stephanie and I drove to Walgreen's so I could pick up my prescriptions. We got there, though, and I realized I'd forgotten my checkbook at home! Gah!

So we drove home, picked that up, and ran to Farm Fresh. I'm out of salt and wipey-wipes, and she needed chicken and rice for her poor sick doggies.  Then we went back to Walgreen's. Now I'm stocked up on my drugs for the cruise. Another item crossed off my list. Whee!

She soon said goodbye, and I decided to start back in on sewing Chloë's blue dress. It was not off to an auspicious start, however, when I couldn't even thread the darn needled and had to call in the troops for support. Took Rob a while, too, but he finally got it after cutting that fat yarn at an angle. So I was on my way to press some seams when I realized it was time to post my nightly blahg entry.

Time to get back to my ironing. Oh, how I toil.

Fin.

If My Dog Were Liquid

Okay, y'all didn't vote in the poll! There are only two votes, and one's mine, and one's Stephanie's. Y'all need to give me your input on this; I know there are more of you out there than that! ;)

So today, I had a whole heckuva lot more on my to-do list than there was actually time to accomplish. Perhaps tomorrow.

I tried to call for referrals to an allergist and a neurologist, but there was no answer after 20-odd rings at my clinic. Humph.

I called the cocky SOB who was going to paint our house, to see if he had a contractor's license or anything, and he does not. So I gave him the boot. Didn't like him, don't want to give him our business.

I did manage to (finally) make Sophia's 3-year well-child appointment. It'll be the day after we get back from Europe. No rest for the weary... traveler.

Tried calling the gymnastics place to at least get the deets for their 3yo program, but there was no answer. Yet another $#%(*& place that's closed on Mondays!!

Never made it to the bank to cash out our trip account and get some traveler's cheques. Never made it to the base to fill my scripts so I'll have enough meds for Europe.

Couldn't remember the name of the karate place, to get the deets for their 5yo program. Five years we've lived here, five years that we've been going to the same grocery store right next to the karate place. You'd think it would have sunk in by now.

Didn't do any sewing. Didn't have the desire today, after toiling on the floor with my fabric all laid out yesterday, cutting the huge pieces for Chloë's dress. But maybe I'll go do some after this.

Didn't crochet, either. No time. And we didn't bake.  I planned to make a new cookie recipe, from my Martha Stewart cookie book, with the kids... but we're out of flour and darn near out of butter. And dog food, not that that would make for great cookies. I sent Rob to the store for those three things tonight. He just got back. At least I cut out the coupons from yesterday's paper.

Oh, and I folded five loads of laundry and washed two more. I'm trying to really keep on top of it so there isn't a ton to do before our trip, and all my clothes will be clean.

After I folded all that, the Littles went down for nap, Chloë went downstairs to get ready and then play on Webkinz (finally, she knows how to log in by herself!), and I took a shower. I was going to do my make-up and, you know, try and look decent, but my face was so blustery and hot after I blow-dried my hair that it would have just slid right off. So I went nakey-faced. As usual. Oh, well. I wear glasses, anyway.

I didn't even really dress up for the Show. I'm wearing jean capris and a red polo shirt. Rob wore a polo and some khakis, but when we were walking in downtown Norfolk before the show, he noticed what I wore and cursed himself for not wearing shorts, too. Ha, ha. Sucka. I wasn't underdressed, though. Lots of folks wore dressy things, but plenty others went casual.

We forgot to take Chloë's earrings out when we dropped her off, and now they are gone. I am disappointed, because they were the little pink flowers with which she got pierced, and they were my favorites. Live and learn.

After she was backstage and taken under the instructors' wings, I drove around the corner to the market so Rob could run in and buy her flowers. We found a place to park nearby (there was a garage right there the whole time! Who knew?!) and then went to our favorite sushi place in the world, Domo.  We discovered it a few years ago when we went downtown for a Steven Wright concert. The food is out-of-this-world fresh, and so tasty. The service is good, too. If you're ever in Norfolk and like sushi, go!

Finally, it was time to get back across the street to the Roper and get ourselves seated. I was bemoaning having camnesia, so I wouldn't be able to get a backstage picture of Chloë and her teacher this year. So, I taught Rob how to use my phone's camera. Wouldn't you know, when he went around the block to get her at half-time intermission, he took a picture of her with her flowers, but no Miss Ashley! Just completely forgot!

The Show was great. Darlene did her usual introduction of all the graduating seniors, and for no reason at all, I found myself in tears. It's not like I know any of those girls! I guess it was just reminiscent of my years as a dancer. I just imagined my little Chloë, starting off at the age of three and, finally, still doing dance, graduating from high school. Imagine!

There were some pretty risqué moves going tonight, especially for some of the younger girls. Lyrics, too. I bet a few tongues were wagging!

There was one girl in at least four numbers on that stage tonight, who is every bit as heavy as I am, if not more. Rob can vouch. We talked about her afterward, in wonderment. She wasn't even good! I mean, I wasn't anywhere near that big when I danced, not at all, but I did the moves and then some. She barely tried. At what point does a parent look at that and say, We're wasting our money, let's get her into something else? I felt embarrassed for her. She just did not look good up there, nor did she look particularly enthused. Oh, well. Not my problem.

What is my problem: my own children's health. I can say, with a high degree of certainty, that I will never let them get that way as long as they are under my roof. Not that there's any danger of that anytime soon, but if one of them ballooned up, we'd do something about it, and pronto. (In a loving, we-want-you-to-be-healthy kind of way, not, ew, you fat freak, go to camp and lose it!) (I can say this all, because it takes one to know one.)

I looked at the lithe, flat-chested bodies of the 'serious' dancers, and wondered what my Chlo and Soap will look like at that age. Will they be like me? Will they be like their Dad? One of each? I think it's safe to say Chloë will be a skinny thing, and Sophia will be a bit more on the curvy side.

When we'd collected our Chloë, we sat back and watched the second half through her eyes. She wriggled and shimmied in her chair, copying the older girls. She clapped loud and tried to "wooo wooo" along with the appreciative audience. When I giggled, she looked up at me pointedly and said, "What!"

Normally, it's our tradition to go out for sundaes (again, stemming from my dancing days) after the recital, but it was 2200 when we got out of there! The Littles were put to bed by Stephanie, and we agreed to do it tomorrow, with Stim. Friendly's, here we come!

Hey, look, I found a picture of me when I danced - see, not so chubby (click to see it big):

Fin.

Ah, Father's Day

Today wasn't especially awesome for the Daddy in the household today. He had to stand watch again from 0530 to 1730. Is it me, or does every stinkin' holiday fall to my husband for duty?

So it fell to me to bring the Littles along to the theater for Chloë's dress rehearsal today. At first, I couldn't figure out where to drop off Chloë; she's supposed to go in the back, stage door, and no one else is allowed to enter except for drop-off and pick-up. The normal drop-off door was blocked for AC repair, though, and I didn't know there was another door. So we had to walk two entire city blocks to get back around to the front, in the heat, with three kids and only two hands, plus my magazine, camera, and her costume. We get to the main entrance, only to be told we have to go to the other door (there's another door?), where they're now letting people in. Gah. We trooped back around, dropped off our ballerina, and walked back to the front again. 

Meanwhile, I was illegally parked the whole time in a private lot, and there was no where to park my car on the street. So we dodged traffic to get across to the pilates store next to the lot, where I planned to ask permission to use their lot for two hours, only to find it closed on Sundays. I took that as permission granted, said a silent prayer that my van would till be there when we were all finished, and ran back across the street to the main entrance of the theater with the non-twins in tow.

Have I mentioned that this "June Show," as they refer to it instead of a "recital," is in a professional theatre in downtown Norfolk? They do things very classy-like at her dance academy. Lots of rules. No makeup, no jewelry, hair must be in a bun, arrive and depart only in street clothes, no flash photography, no pictures or video on Show night, yadda yadda. I actually like it that way. They pride themselves on providing a real dance education, and after all, that's what we're paying for!

Anyway.

By the time we got ourselves seated, it was almost Chloë's turn to come out with her duet partner (that's right, there's only one other little girl in her class this year; guess they all chose Saturdays instead of Tuesdays) to check for positioning on the stage. This is Chloë with her instructor, Miss Ashley, deciding what tape marks to stand on for their dance.

Soon after that, a very tall 6-foot-plus woman sat directly in front of us. You'll see her getting up in the following video of Chloë's run-through of her dance. I'm sorry about the quality, my video doesn't like to focus properly when I'm zoomed in.

 

 Aren't they cute? Keep in mind, she's only six. I can see a lot of improvement, especially in remembering the dance, over last year when I was in hysterics over her little forgetfulness. It was a hoot.

While we waited, Jack and Sophia confirmed that it was a brilliant idea to hire Stephanie to babysit tomorrow night instead of trying to bring them along to the Show like we did last year. They weren't too bad for dress rehearsal day, but for Show night, they would have been far too loud and fidgety for anyone's pleasure. When the actual music and dancing started, Sophia went into the aisle and danced along. She was so sweet! She twirled and leaped and sashayed. Which brings me to my poll: We have long been planning to put her in gymnastics this year, because she loves to do tumbling and because she is extremely flexible (this is the girl who can lick her own elbow and almost kiss her own tushy!). But now she says she wants to dance like the girls on the stage. What do you think?