We got a bike!
All evening I've been thinking about Pink Floyd:
I've got a bike
You can ride it if you like
It's got a basket
A bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could
But I borrowed it
Today we finished assembly, test rode it, tweaked & tightened stuff and now we're anxious to give it another go. We found it online for a great price: under $350 including shipping & tax. It folds too. That will allow us to transport and hang it in the garage. Of course now we need to buy a few accessories like a bike rack for the car and a child bike tow bar.
And now we need to get rid of Rusty's old bike that he's held on to forever.
It's my night to read to the boy's for bedtime. I'll be sure to sing this song:
Daisy, Daisy,
Give me your answer do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a fancy marriage,
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!
Yeah ok, so it’s been 77 days since my last post. I’m not sure why exactly I lagged in posts other than just being busy and not making my blog a priority. I intended to post shortly following significant events. So here’s what’s happened since May 8:
New play set – We splurged on a new play set in May. It happened to be put up a week before Joshua’s birthday thus he thought it was a present for him. No. It’s to replace the play set that came with the house that was in disrepair. The old set was carefully taken down and donated to a friend who has plenty of room in her backyard and a handy-hubby committed to replacing certain parts.
Joshua’s 5th birthday – He had a great party at Cinemark in Plano. They now have party rooms. I managed to invite 19 kids in less than 24 hours to watch Shrek 4 then have pizza & cake in the party room. The original plan was to have a grill party in the backyard. But we got a downpour the day prior that flooded one area of our yard. We had standing water for two days. (The flooding problem has since been corrected by installing a French drain.) Our gifts to him were a few t-shirts, some books and an insect catching kit. 
Rusty's belated birthday present - I commissioned a painting for Rusty's birthday. It finally was finished and arrived early June. Wendy Hudman did a wonderful job! I told her to make something with music, science, colors from our piano room & office, and birds. 
Mother’s Day – This year was low key. We went out for breakfast at The Egg & I in Addison. I don't remember much about that day now. I guess nothing significant happened. I mailed my mom’s gifts on time. She got a couple books (a new Dexter book and Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields by Charles Bowden) and a shirt from Threadless.com with an owl in a tree sitting next to a cat with a sniper rifle and night-vision goggles. Awesome.
Father’s Day – I took the boys to- a place, shall we say- to get large wind chimes for Rusty’s Father’s Day gift. Although the boys were helpful in testing out the chimes (all of them!) they stressed me out in a store of breakables. I believe we had steak for dinner that night. A typical “Dad” dinner. I remember now that I didn’t think of my own dad at all that day.
Corpus Christi & Galveston vacation – Late June we took a mini vacation to visit my grandma Carlean in Corpus Christi. The purpose of the trip was to finally see the new grave marker I had ordered. But the cemetery let me down once again. They had received the marker but failed to tell me I would have to wait 15 days for the stone to be set. I would also not be able to view the marker myself. They were supposed to call me when the stone was finally set. It’s been a month and those bastards haven’t called me. I hate them. After that disappointment, we drove through Bay City, TX to see some of the old neighborhoods I lived in as a kid. It was much as I remembered but 25 years older. An old house that was once by a trailer home I lived in was gone. I guess they razed it. But the trailer was still there. The neat green house I lived in on 4th Street had motorcycles in the yard and a fence around the property. The neighbor’s on one side had junk on the porch and their own fence. When I was a kid there were no fences.
We took a scenic route to Galveston then stayed with my good friend Stephanie Rhoades and her family. The kids got along like kids and loved each others company. We spent most of one day at the Johnson Space Center near NASA. I highly recommend it for all ages.
Identity theft – On our last day in Galveston Rusty got a call from Bank of America confirming that we requested a new debit card be sent to our new address in Georgia. Wha?!? Apparently someone had stolen my identity (no, I don’t know how) so extensively they called the bank, passed all the security questions, changed our address to some place in Georgia then proceeded to request replacement cards. Luckily we stopped that nonsense before the replacement cards arrived. A week or so later they managed to get into our joint credit card and spend a few thousand bucks on car stuff and order from some catalog. I’ve since locked my credit, reported to the police, changed all my passwords, cancel cards and even reformatted my hard drive in case it had a spybot. I don’t have a credit card in my name and don’t intend on having one for a while until this seems to be behind us.
Matt Peck got married - Our good friend Matt Peck got married. It was a very traditional wedding with a reception at a golf course clubhouse. After they drove off in their limo we invited all our friends to our place to talk about the event and reconnect. In the beginning of the day we were not expecting company but somehow managed to clean up, provide snacks and have plenty of beverages for everyone. The after-party was way more fun than the wedding. :-)
July 4th - We saw fireworks. It was awesome as usual. Joshua was in a patriot music medley at school.
11 year anniversary – We celebrated our anniversary by going out to the Melting Pot (yum!) and stopping by The Flying Saucer where we happen to see Matt Peck and his new wife.
Getting ready for kindergarten – Joshua is ready to start kindergarten in late August. I think the big day is August 23rd. I plan to take that day off work. I expect to be a bit teary eyed. I’d like to walk him to school, walk in with him, see him settle in, then cry my butt off as I walk back home. I’m excited that he’s starting “big school” for a number of reasons. I hope Elliot does well with the transition. He’ll still be going to Glen Hollow dayschool but without his brother.
Today – Today is a typical Saturday. We got stuff done: laundry, cleaned some rugs, dishes, replaced batteries, played at a pocket park, etc. I expect tomorrow to be much of the same if maybe one small adventure like the science museum or Dallas farmer’s market. There’s no telling yet what we’ll do!
I haven't mentioned much about Elliot. He's very well. He's talking like a 3 year old already, tripping less, and still following and copying his brother at every turn. We're about to start potty training him. Wish me luck!
Today was a good, busy day! We were part of a surprise party for Hannah then after a short pit stop at home, I was out again this time carting Joshua to another birthday party for friend Mika. Sadly, on the way out of the second birthday he stumbled on some stairs scrapping a knee and ankle. Luckily he didn't tumble much worse than he did.
I somehow found time to do some birthday shopping online for Joshua this morning. I found a couple books (about volcanoes and storms, his current obsessions), a Spider-Man t-shirt, and a bug catching kit. Sometime very very soon I need to finalize birthday plans. I still haven't worked out the date or festivities. I also want to get him his new bed by his birthday. He's outgrown his daybed by length. It's the same mattress he slept on as an infant, though now it's sagging in the middle from years of sleeping on it. I remember trying to image how he'd look in later years filling up the bed space. Now I struggle to remember how tiny he was back then! He does not need crayons or markers or paint. He's overly stocked on art supplies and rarely requests to use them anyway. I almost got him a string of multi-colored lights for his 3' Christmas tree in his room. I'm afraid that will have to wait though since I don't know where to find a string of lights this time of year.
We're also waiting for 2 replacement parts before we can build the new play set in the backyard. Unfortunately the slide arrived with large scratches and one beam had a disconcerting crack. Once those are in, we'll get it built, hopefully in time for Joshua's birthday.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I don't know what the day will be like yet. I know the morning: drive in-laws to airport. Then we'll look for brunch somewhere, maybe some place where I can eat for free. :-) Beyond that, the day is open for whatever. Perhaps I'll get my feet worked on, or do some much needed shoe shopping.
Today we did Spring like things. We planted two flats of flowers from the Farmer's Market, refilled the bird feeder, let Elliot & Josh splash in puddles with their rain boots, watched bees fly around the flowers and at the end of the day we played with the stomp rocket at a pocket park letting the gusty winds carry the foam rockets high up. 
One of Joshua's bottom teeth came out today! It's his first tooth to come out on its own. The first tooth he lost was due to a dentist who spotted an abscess root after he cracked a neighboring tooth from a fall in the bathroom. He first discovered this loose tooth on Wednesday or Thursday and by this morning it was hanging out practically horizontal when he pushed on it. Rusty made a quick run to the bank for a few gold dollar coins. I'll put one under his pillow tonight.
I almost bought Rusty a really cool expensive birthday present. I was on the phone about to give my credit card number when a very quiet thought suggested he might not think it's all that. It's completely out of character for me to talk about or show a gift prior to the giving, but I made a rare exception this time. We drove to the store, the sales person showed him a picture, they talked, Rusty asked a lot of the same questions I had asked, then we left for him to ponder things over. After a day of thinking, he decided it wasn't all that. So instead of a high-key birthday, we'll settle instead on a low-key birthday. I'll try to get out work around lunch time so we can catch a movie or do some disc golfing or do something fun and special together.
And on the topic of gifts, I have Mother's Day taken care and am just waiting to mail it out. Which is also unusual. I'm rarely this ahead of schedule when it comes to mailing stuff.
The black shirt pictures are from Easter before we dyed eggs. 
Today was a most excellent day. I've got my work caught up at work, Easter plans are coming together, and the new car is totally awesome. That's right new beautiful shiny fast Brabus Mercedes McLaren SLR Roadster with it's cushy red interior, front spoiler and V8 compressor. It goes deliriously fast and has super-awesome doors that open upward, not out. We had been talking about a new car for the fun of it and this week we decided we finally could afford it and really wanted it. So what of my Mazda? It's parked in the front now, exposed to the harsh elements and dangers of street life while our new beau is making everything in our garage look blah. This car is no kids allowed so we'll only drive it on dates and special occasions. And now we're back to being broke but hey- we can drive fast!
Our patio is finally refinished- yay! I thought the guy would never finish. Due to bad weather that project has dragged on for weeks. The contractor was real pleasant to work with though. He offered, half-jokingly, to watch our kids last week so today we decided to take him up on his offer. He's working on some ladies gutters and a neighbor's kitchen tile tomorrow then he'll come by to watch our kiddos while we catch a movie. I feel real confident he'll do a good job. I haven't met him much beyond a few hellos and updates about our patio, but I figure his dad-like instincts will kick in. He doesn't have kids or even a girlfriend so he's not constrained to a schedule. I thought about doing a background check and asking for referrals, but I'm worried that will seem rude so I'm just going with good vibes.
Last bit of insight: I read on the internet recently about alternative fertilizers in an attempt to save a bit of cash and be more eco-friendly. I read that human excrement brewed with food (like the stuff you'd put into your compost) is actually extremely nutritious for the plants. I've requested HOA approval to use this method of fertilization on our yard. The first test batch I brewed did smell pretty bad but it also left a noticeably greener patch of grass. It also attracts insects which help aerate the ground and provides a habitat for them. The first I brewed contained a week's worth of pee, several bowel movements from all of us, and about 3 pounds of food waste. You brew it in a large pot, cool it, then spread it evenly. I totally recommend it!
An excerpt from an email from me to a mom friend asking how I've been doing lately:
I've been very well. I really enjoy my job right now, enjoy my time at home w/ kiddos, and love this Spring weather. I am working full time now and work is keeping me very busy but in a good way. Other than that, not much new to report. Oh, we are talking about buying a new play set for the backyard this spring. THAT will be exciting. We can finally afford to upgrade. How are *you*? And how is Jensen? Is he a big talker these days? Elliot is doing good going to day school at Glen Hollow 5 days a week. He enjoys it and comes home hungry and with stories about his day like "Sophia took my crayon" and "Jayden pushed me into the trash and I laughed" and "I heard the lightening and the thunder BOOM! at the school!" And Elliot's got a HUGE obsession with Wall-E. I swear we've watched that movie 2 dozen times!
In other news, Joshua recently went to the pulmonologist for a check up. He's doing fine with his asthma. He weighs 44 pounds and is 44¾ inches tall. I've started buying 5T shirts and shorts or size 5/6 depending on the brand. He also got new shoes recently, kids 11. Joshua is growing like a beanstalk! I asked him the other day what color car he wants to drive when he grows and he said "Orange with stripes of color so everyone will know my car."
Gotta love his creativity!
One month after Josh left karate I have to report he has improved remarkably! It could be a number of other influences, but the timing is uncanny. Here's what got better:
He's doing school work- 2-4 pages of writing letters/numbers each day
He's helping more at home with less complaint
He's having fewer "accidents"
He's less punchy
Now, we did have a stern word or two around the time he was taken out of karate. Perhaps it was the impact of our schpiel and being removed from karate that sunk in.
Now, we have introduced some new brain exercises to promote further development. By the advice of Donna Bateman (a development brain specialist who also raised 8 kids) we're now having him crawl around, smell things, listen for the location of sounds, and occasionally stimulating his fight-or-flight response. All of these are supposed to stimulate areas of his brain that are slightly lagging behind such as the mid-brain, pons and amygdala. She has a program that involves lots of stimulation each day but honesty we only have/make time for some. I figure some is still better than none.
Speaking of time (which I'm almost out of because the kids' bedtime is quickly approaching) I am now working full time at work and still enjoying it. My pay increased, I got benefits and I got new responsibilities. The drawback of course is I'm home less than before. Rusty is now Mr. Homemaker as well as his more-than-full-time job at Bank of America. He cooks, cleans, makes dinner and still manages a day of packed with conference calls and other tasks. He is super awesome and I don't tell him often enough. (But I did today via text message.)
This week marks the end of a karate era for our home. For nine months our four year old Joshua has been taking karate classes at a local studio learning how to punch, kick, stand at attention, defend against teachers with cushions and yell "ai-ya!" He hated going half the time but once he was lined up he got into it and did fairly well. He competed winning a trophy and a medal and earned several belts getting as high as orange. But then a conversation with his day school teacher alerted us to bad behaviors. One day when picking him up, his friend was crying holding his mouth. Apparently Joshua had just punched his friend in the mouth. Surprised, I put him into time-out right there on the playground with all friends and a teacher watching. He pleaded to just go home but I stood my ground that his behavior was unacceptable and would not be ignored. We talked about what he did, reminded him how bad that was and told him if he hit anyone again we would stop going to karate.
Two weeks later his teacher told us he had punched a kid in the stomach. Karate was over.
For selfish reasons I'm glad karate is over because I was getting tired of taking him two times a week. It forced me to leave work early and made us fret over whether one day was gloves day or not. That's me whining. The real reason I'm glad karate is over is because I don't want him to learn conflict resolution by punching or kicking. I want him to use his words or even walk away from stressful moments, not lash out like a two year old. And for a child that, I am convinced, is practically ADHD with poor impulse control, karate wasn't a good match.
I'm not sure what the next class will be. Swimming is in early summer but for only two weeks. Maybe Spanish or dance or science depending on his interest in these topics. Whatever it is, I don't support punching and kicking until he's more mature.
Josh: Hey guess what mom- a hundred cameras and a hundred lights makes you blue.
Me: *snicker* No, lights and cameras don't make you blue, but computers can make your picture blue.
The blue people conversation was prompted by a news blurb about Avatar. We saw the movie (it was really fantastic) and have decided Josh is too young for it now. Harsh language aside, it has more violence than a 4 year old needs. I'm thinking he'll be mature enough when he's in his teens, like 13 or 14. Which is- wow -10 years from now!
Talk about time flying! Tens years ago...
I was newly married.
I was a student at UNT.
I worked at Homewood Suites Hotel.
I drove a Ford Taurus.
Rusty worked at Verio.
We lived in a small apartment.
I have no idea what's in store for the next ten years. In ten years Josh will be 14 and Elliot will be twelve. Josh might be dating or at least interested in girls. Elliot will no longer be free at most "kids eat free" places. Rusty & I will both be earning more (God willing) but will probably be spending and saving more too. Some of our furnishings will be upgraded. Hell, we may be in a different home! I feel secure that our family will be in tact and my kids won't totally hate me. Hopefully that much of the future comes true.
I am loving my job more than I thought I would. I actually look forward to work. I enjoy the challenges, I enjoy the people I work with, I enjoy the newness of the company and, most of all, I enjoy that I actually do well without being bored. I didn't expect to stay this long nor to care about it this much when I first applied. I was expecting this to be traditional sales support role that involved running errands, ordering supplies, printing, filing, etc. This job falsely advertised its position. It's NOT sales support in the traditional sense. Which is probably why I enjoy it so much. So what on Earth do I do, you ask?
I work for Forex Capital Markets, a small growing firm that helps clients trade currencies. Instead of trading stocks forex traders are trading on the value of a certain currency against another. As with anything that is technology based, things go wrong either from a confused user learning to use the software or unforeseen technology issues. That's- ta-daa! -where I come in (well, my team I should say) to solve the mystery of happened and whether the client needs a credit. Some cases are relatively easy taking 15 or less to resolve, some are very complicated taking multiple sets of eyes from the most senior of staff. The team has gotten so good at expediting audit cases that the company is looking to expand our team into other areas around the company. For example, I get to sit with the QC team (quality control for the call center) for the next two weeks to see if/how we can get involved in helping them. And I'm looking forward to this- it's something I've never done before!
In other news, we're going to see Eddie Izzard live tomorrow. Yay! We're going with Dave, whose name is actually pronounced Daaaaaave!
Welcome 2010!
Our New Year's Eve celebration was hardly a celebration. This year we were tired and drifted off to sleep just as the clock turned midnight. I know this because I heard some shouts and fireworks as I started to drift off and Rusty was already breathing heavy. I don't expect this year to be some great replacement for this year's woes. We're still in a Recession, still in a war overseas, and still making some of the same mistakes and still looking for the future to somehow magically fix it all.
I don't make resolutions anymore. I used to. Instead I aspire to be better in some way all year long. Know who else doesn't make resolutions? Organizations. I wish companies would publish a resolution to make some improvement we all care about like using less plastic, reducing waste, hiring more staff, etc. I wish countries would make resolutions like raise GDP or reduce air pollution or update some policy that effects everyone. It would be great if even families made resolutions like to get everyone together one time in the next year or share in taking care of someone or cook healthier foods. Making a personal resolution doesn't work because you are only accountable to you and you will always let yourself off the hook. But being part of a larger project makes everyone accountable and gives everyone something to work towards and get re-inspired together. Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe MY family could start this idea by making our own resolution. Check back soon to see what decided to do.
Merry Christmas!
Our family enjoyed the Christmas holiday this year with the surprise of snow. Joshua and Elliot bot got great toys that they love. Today we'll go to stores to make a few exchanges. Joshua has made cookies with his Easy Bake Oven, both boys have zapped us with their space guns. Joshua reminds me every so often that we need to tell Santa that the bike he got was too big. We'll fix that tomorrow.
Tonight we'll have a friend over for dinner and libations. Then I'm heading out for a party at Rob's. Ever since Rob suggested we all take a limo from airport to our hotels in Vancouver he's been on my A+ list. How smooth! I expect to meet new people and stay up late. Rusty has already said he wants to go to be early so we both will be happy.
For New Years we don't have plans. I'm working my normal schedule this week (Tuesday through Thursday) and kids are in school Monday through Wednesday). Monday will be Rusty and I's day to play disc golf, see a movie and do some things we can't do with the kids like get my car registered and replace the windshield wipers.
Today was almost a very good day for Josh. He's been on good behavior all day, just a charm to be with. And then this.
We suggested he go to the bathroom before he plays outside. He doesn't want to go so we insist he try or else he can't go out. He mills around in the bathroom quietly for a minute or two. I check on him to see what he's up to only to discover-
-he peed on the bathroom floor!
Not like by accident as if he missed the bowl. Oh no. It was smack dab in the center of the small room. I responded with disappointment. I made him clean the floor first with two paper towels, then with a mop. He sat in timeout then we talked about his decision to do this bad behavior. As a final way to let this sink in, we banned him from watching 'little boy shows' for the evening, as he calls them. I'm not sure why he did this. He didn't seem mad when he went to he bathroom, we weren't cross with him prior to going, and he'd never peed on the floor before even as a toddler running around without a diaper. He didn't give us a reason for his action other then "I don't know".
"Were you just not thinking when you decided to pee on the floor?" I asked.
"No."
Apparently not. Hopefully this will be the last time he chooses to act out by urinating on my floors.
Thanksgiving this year was low key for us. Last year was drama with Rusty's grandmother slowly succumbing to cancer and his mother cooking for like twelve people. This year the in-laws wanted a break from cooking and to start the holiday on a fresh note. So we ate out at Maggiano's. And it was very awesome!
Then Black Friday I actually got up at 4:40am to venture out for shopping. I had never done this before, not sure if I will again next year. There is something nice about shopping alone and getting it mostly done in one day. I was back home by 6:30am before anyone was awake. I even stopped for kolache breakfast for everyone. I did get good deals on toys and clothes. I was surprised at how many guys were shopping. I expected it to be mostly women but it was all people: young, old, men, women, various backgrounds. My first store was Target and the line at their 5am opening was wrapped half way around the side. Before I was even inside three people left with flat screen TVs. The electronics section was crazy busy. Toys were busy too but navigable. I was probable the few well dressed. Most everyone else was wearing sweats and pajamas with coats over them.
Today we're decorating for Christmas. Lights are up outside, inflatables are blown up and secured to the ground, and the tree is assembled if also naked. Despite the outward holiday cheer Rusty & I are grumbly towards each other today. We're not mad and not fighting just bickering. It's like we're not on the same page. There's growing tension on my mind that he spends so much time at his computer for various reasons instead of being in the common area with us. The office is sort of off-limits to the kids although they frequently get in there with limit permission. I check stuff at my computer throughout the day but I'm in the common area able to supervise, participate with the kids, engage them, and just be present. I hate the office that it keeps Rusty preoccupied from other things, even if they are menial and trivial in the grand scheme of things. He doesn't do this intentionally and he's not in there all day, it's just how the home is laid out with his computer in a room away from the action. I don't have a good solution so I probably won't bring it up right now.
Happy Birthday Elliot!! Today our little guy is 2!
We celebrated this morning by having Cocoa Puffs. I'm starting a new tradition of having super-yummy (i.e. too sugary for ordinary consumption) breakfast cereals for birthdays. For Joshua's birthday they will enjoy Cookie Crisps or Fruity Pebbles or something like that. Then it's back to healthy granola flakes or Lucky Charms or some variety of Cheerios. The boys went to school then for dinner I had balloons and a banner decorating the dining room. We had Elliot's favorite dinner: hot dogs, blueberries, cheese and chips. Of course nothing escapes me without some nutritional value. The buns were whole wheat with no sugar added and the chips were veggie chips.
And then there was cake! Or rather, over-sized chocolate cupcakes with balloon shaped frosting. Again, as healthy as a cupcake can be, these were from Whole Foods made of whole ingredients, no trans fats, no hydrogenated anything. And still very yummy!
Elliot's gift from us were bongos.
I can still remember the night he was born like it was last week. Labor came on quickly and was intense. My midwife was excellent, our labor assistant was wonderful, Rusty was a super coach and Elliot was a plump, quiet baby. He was so quiet he scared the midwife for a second. Immediately after coming out he didn't cry or respond right away then a second or two later he wailed like all newborns do. It startled Dinah but he turned out just fine.
At two, he's bright, opinionated, eager to try new things (but not vegetables), he loves to hear singing, show off his counting skills and look at books. His favorite item in the house is his fuzzy blanket which he drags (literally) everywhere around the house. He's rough with the cats, always getting into the bathroom drawers and climbs anything that will hold his weight. His favorite foods do not include vegetables although he tolerates corn and peas. He's easy to put to bed, he naps well and he wakes up happy nearly every morning. He's a charm to be with! I am so lucky to know him and be his mommy!
Despite unfounded fears of vaccine safety, I got both my boys vaccinated this morning against the H1N1 virus. They'll have a follow up booster shot in a month. I searched for a couple months and waited for my pediatrician to get it then while chatting with my dentist it struck me like a brick that his pulmonologist would likely have it or know where I could get it. Score! And thanks to our tax dollars it was free. Joshua is definitely in the high risk group having his asthma-like respiratory problems. Elliot is not in the high risk group but he got it too. Neither cried nor screamed although Josh was much more reluctant than Elliot.
So why are so many people afraid of this vaccine? Most seasonal flu shots don't cause an uproar of rejection like this one does. Some are afraid the vaccine was rushed into production with minimal testing for safety. There may have been a rush in the face of deaths and demand but the same stringent testing and approval processes were in place. There have been more news announcements about people dying from the virus and it's complications than from people with bad reactions to the vaccine. I understand fears to some vaccines. I was fearful of the MMR vaccine for both of my children. Although there is no conclusive evidence that the MMR vaccine causes autism [fda.gov], the correlation is noteworthy and difficult to ignore. Rather than snub the vaccine entirely I delayed it until my kids were older than 18 months old and requested that it be the only vaccine for that visit. Not surprisingly, my kids did not develop autism. I was afraid the smallest trace of mercury-containing preservative thimerosal [fda.gov]. Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish [epa.gov]. My kids have eaten tuna, shrimp and salmon with absolutely no reaction. To be fearful of a tiny amount of mercury akin to eating fish seems ludicrous in retrospect.
Not getting vaccinated against a terrible illness is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. There's wrong with doing that until the bike crashes, and then you'd wish you'd had your helmet.
I'm either going to love it or hate it but I successfully charmed everyone in an interview today for an entry level position at a small marketing & advertising agency in Plano. If I land this job I'll be helping a small team to develop html based emails, testing, content management, and working with databases of client provided information. It would be a full-time job so that would be the end of being home on Mondays & Fridays with the kids. But it would bring in much needed income and put me more on a career path than my current part-time gig. I hope to hear back from them tomorrow as follow up to today's interview.
Halloween was fantastic and busy this year! It seems that each year gets bigger and we hand out more candy than the year before. It helps that we are literally two blocks from a cemetery and our neighborhood gets festive with decorations and people in costume sitting on porches. Our house is known as "the monster house". We have huge scary wooden teeth shapes fastened to our porch (from atop and along a rail in center), and two red Chinese lanterns in two windows on the second floor to resemble eyes. Throw in cob webs, bats taped to the windows, a plasma lamp, creepy ghost things hanging from the porch and yard, scary sounds blasting from the windows, and a skeleton in the grass and you've got over a 100 kids at your door over the course of the night. I started out generous handing out 3-4 pieces at a time, maybe even throwing in a small toy too. As we began scraping the bottom of our bucket at 8:15, I was much more reserved. Rusty dashed out for a few bags to refill us. Every year we exaggerate on how much candy we buy and how busy our porch is then the next year meets that exaggeration. Next year I've got an idea to add arms to the side of the house, I want to get a red flood light for the porch, some walk-way lights, and a few more yard trinkets. Next year we will buy more candy & treats to last us comfortably until at least 9:30. Next year I'll need someone to help us manage the mayhem!
This year Joshua was a Transformer and Elliot was Underdog. Both boys had a super good time both trick 'r treating and handing out candy on the porch.
My older son is so excited about Halloween that he asks me several times a day whether it's Halloween yet. He wants to know if it will happen after Elliot's nap or after dinner or in the morning. The repeated explanation of one more week doesn't connect with him.
Meanwhile, I'm already preparing for a Halloween party at our house on Friday. I'm expecting about ten kids and their chauffeurs. I love hosting and Halloween so much it's hard not to go all out. Tonight I'm cutting construction paper into bat shapes to hang around the patio. Thursday night or Friday morning I'll bake either cupcakes or muffins with a pumpkin ingredient. some time this week I'll make a playlist of music. I already have matching plates, table cover, napkins and goody bag toy. It's a compulsion of mine to not just open my home to others but to also include an element of entertaining. I want my guests to feel welcomed, to have a good time and remember the event. Think of it as my brand of hosting.
With that in mind, I've got some tracing and clipping to do. Better not stay up all night typing!
I survived my third week of work at my new job. I have to admit I've got it very easy right now. I decided to re-enter the working world not with a canon ball jump but with one toe in to test the waters first. My schedule allows me to be home two weekdays and home late afternoon to I can prep dinner and prepare for everyone's home coming. The job doesn't pay well ($12/hr) but I'm not in retail, food service or a customer facing position. Not to say those types of jobs are undesirable. At the end of my day as sales support, I am done with work- no obligations, no lingering responsibilities, no emails to check, I'm the opposite of on-call. Alas, it's not a career move. I'm still looking for something that will make more money per paycheck and engage me a bit more.
But I know a career move means giving up some of the perks of a small job. What I'll miss the most are my days off with the kids, even at the expense of tantrums, sticky floors and snacks tucked into the couch cushions. The second thing I'll miss is being home in time to prep dinner well before everyone else comes home. It's more than being able to cook a (somewhat) healthy meal; it's about having that moment to get ahead of the crazy evening to come. And, admittedly, catch a segment of Ellen or Oprah. I'll also miss the flexibility that comes with a low-impact job. If I need to leave suddenly, I can just leave. There's no shift changing, no reports to finish, no deadlines.
Did I mention the low pay?
I have an interview next week with a reputable company for a marketing reporting analyst position. It isn't glamorous work but it would pay better and put me back on the career oriented path. It will probably mean the end of perks too. Although I'm a working mom like millions of other mothers, I feel like I haven't walked their shoes yet. If I get this next job I certainly will.
I just hope the shoe fits and that I don't trip too often.
The first baby is always an exciting time for parents-to-be. Not always happy excitement either considering the added coming financial stress, decisions about work versus staying at home, the physical discomforts of carrying a baby to term, and all the anxieties surrounding unknowns. Will the baby be healthy? Will labor go smoothly? Will my baby be colicky? What IS colic??
For this, we have baby showers! A time to celebrate the positives, collect unsolicited advise, and hopefully get a few gifts to help the new parents. We treated a good friend to baby shower this weekend. The event was a smashing success by most standards: good food, games, gabbing, gifts galore, and a buzzy happy friendly mood that spread person to person like a wildfire. In the background, sometimes unnoticed, sometimes a discussion point, was the music. I created a playlist of music to last most of the party. After an hour of downloading a few must-haves that I didn't already have in my library, I added a mix of all-around good tunes for any party scene.
Several people requested the playlist. So here it is presented in the order played, which is roughly by duration.
Buddy Holly - Little Baby*
The Beatles - I'm So Tired*
The Beatles - All My Loving
The Drifters - There Goes My Baby*
Bobby Darin - You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby (Rock Version)
The Beatles - And I Love Her
Aretha Franklin - Baby, I Love You*
Smash Mouth - Can't Get Enough of You Baby*
Presidents of USA - Ladybug
Diana Ross - Baby Love*
Jonathan Coutlon - Stroller Town*
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Bing Crosby - You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby*
Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out*
Sufjn Stevens - DECATUR, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!
Smash Mouth - Then the Morning Comes
Paul Simon - Mother And Child Reunion*
The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
The Beatles - Cry Baby Cry*
Smash Mouth - Home
Phoenix - 1901
Sarah Hudson - Girl On The Verge
The Shins - Caring Is Creepy
Ben Folds Five - Battle Of Who Could Care Less
Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire*
Smash Mouth - All Star
No Doubt - Sixteen
ThruYOU - just_a_lady
Modest Mouse - Float On
No Doubt - Just A Girl
Beastie Boys – Intergalactic
White Stripes - The Hardest Button To Button
Cat Power - Free
Monty Python - Always Look On the Bright Side of Life*
ThruYOU - the_mother_of_all_funk_chords
Black Eyed Peas - Let's Get It Started
Madonna - Lucky Star
ThruYOU - someday
Pizzicato Five - The Girl From Ipanema
Beastie Boys - Hey Ladies
The Shins - New Slang
Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces
Talking Heads - Up All Night*
Madonna - Material Girl
Supreme Beings of Leisure - You're Always The Sun
Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
DaVinci's Notebook - Another Irish Drinking Song
Basement Jaxx - Hush Boy
Jewel - Who Will Save Your Soul
Basement Jaxx - Tonight
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
ThruYOU - this_is_what_it_became
Lamb - Alien*
Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
No Doubt - You Can Do It
Supreme Beings of Leisure - Last Girl On Earth
Basement Jaxx - Red Alert
Basement Jaxx - Cish Cash
Talking Heads - As The Days Go By
Talking Heads - Our House In The Middle of the Street
Gorillaz - Demon Days
Eels - Trouble With Dreams
Basement Jaxx - do_your_thing
Basement Jaxx - wheres_your_head_at
Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
Jonathan Coulton - Creepy Doll
Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart
Fatboy Slim - Praise You
Beastie Boys - Body movin' (Fatboy Slim remix)
Mighty Dub Katz - Magic Carpet Ride
Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely*
Stretch 'N Vern - Get Up! Go Insane! (Fatboy Really Lost It Mix)
Fatboy Slim - You've Come a Long Way, Baby
Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey
White Stripes - Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine
White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
* Indicates songs put on a CD for the mom-to-be.
PS- I should add, for those who don't know Tommy & Kathy, they are expecting a girl, hence some of the girl themed songs like "Isn't She Lovely".
As if picky eaters, artificial colors, trans fats, excessive sugar and sodium content weren't enough to stress out any nutrient conscience mother, now it's mercury. That's right, mercury in our foods. Granted, in trace amounts that probably won't do significant damage unless ingested in alarming quantities, but it's there. Scientists recently tested high-fructose corn syrup and discovered as much as 0.570 micrograms of mercury per gram. The average American consumes roughly 50 grams daily, give or take depending on diet. However, pregnant mothers should be wary of what they eat since mercury passes to the baby and there is no "safe" level determined for developing fetuses.
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade published their own research findings along with a list of foods and beverages high in HFCS that top the list. View the complete list here.
What's the top ten on the list?
1. Quaker Oatmeal to Go
2. Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce (Heinz)
3. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
4. Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
5. Nutri‐Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
6. Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe
7. Market Pantry Grape Jelly
8. Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly
9. Pop‐Tarts Frosted Blueberry
10. Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
Scientific journal publishing one study in Environmental Health
Institute for Agriculture and Trade report
We took Joshua to an ADHD Center on Friday to get a second opinion on whether he's ADHD/ADD. Joshua likely has ADD or ADHD. Although the doctor we met can't officially diagnosis him as such until he starts public school, he felt confident that Joshua would be, so we're going to treat him as though he does. We'll let his teachers know in kindergarten next year that he'll have an attention deficit and higher energy than his peers and may be a distraction to others. It also explains his pants wetting. The doctor told us that children with ADHD/ADD tend to take longer with potty training (i.e. they wet themselves more frequently) because they don't listen to their bodies, they're so distracted with the surroundings. I know you're thinking, "Josh is hyper? Surely you jest!" But it felt good to get some official confirmation so we know what we're truly dealing with and can respond effectively. The frequent wetting seems less of a choice now so I'm a little less mad when he wets himself and a little less discouraged about how long it's taking to get past the frequent wetting. We both agreed no drugs until he's at least in first grade, and then we'll carefully evaluate the options. The center offers play therapy and we may consider that later on. But for now we're content to have a specialist for extra guidance.