Friday, February 29, 2008

Friday Follow Up

One of my favorite blogs, Because I Said So, does a thing she calls Sunday Shout Out. Its where she answers questions left for her in the comments. I kinda look forward to it and I’m thinking, why not take her idea and run with it? Think she’d mind?

So, here’s my version and I’m calling it Friday Follow Up, with my responses to comments from my blog comments and little updates.

Do they have OTB endless enchilada anonymous? Or enchilada rehab?
Living With Cavemen

I think there is a 12 step program for On The Border addicts. Will you be my sponsor?

Shouldn't you be reading Kubla Khan instead of blogging?
Jenn

Yes. I should be! I also have to read the last 2/3 of Tender is the Night, Merchants of Venice, Chapter 9 of Will in the World, and start writing both of my 20 page research papers that are due next month. But... I'm blogging.

Can't she take classes on-line?
Fannie-Mae

No, she’s only in high school. Attendance required. Darn the luck!

Sounds like Disney movies are working on taking you out.
Desirae

That’s why we are never watching Bambi!

Don't you love to hear stories like that from grandmas!! They are a wealth of knowledge. You need to get more stories like that and write them down mary!!
Alicia

My Grandma amazes me! Her stories always bring me back down to earth. I really would like to write up a collection of her stories. That would be a great memoir!

I was so scared I was crying at night, and there was a really mean nurse who told me to shut up and go to sleep. I WAS SIX!! Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Shelley

That’s horrible! Glad you aren’t bitter.

And a little follow-up….

My eye is healing but still has a light spot. Not sure if it’ll ever go away. I did get a few questions and a lot of people just look and then look again a little more intently. Now it just looks like a light smudge or a slight shadow. You can't tell anymore.

The tonsillectomy was scheduled for next month at the beginning of my daughter's 2 week spring break. She shouldn’t miss any school. She’s actually excited! How sad is that?

Monday, February 25, 2008

Endless Enchilada Hangover


I have finally recovered from my Endless Enchilada Hangover. My husband and I went out for lunch with some friends on Saturday (no kids!) and we all ordered the Endless Enchiladas. So delicious!!! I'm drooling just thinking about it.

I'm not sure why I thought I was a starving lumberjack, but I sure ate like one! After loading up on chips and salsa - which is the very best salsa ever! - I had a beef enchilada and a cheese & onion enchilada plus the rice and beans on the side. So good! I cleaned up my plate and the waiter brought more! Endless....

I can never finish a whole plate of food at On The Border, so now here comes plate number two. Rice, beans and a chicken and another cheese & onion. Yum! I ate two bites. "Una caja, por favor"

Mr. Nice Waiter kept bringing the chips and salsa and refilling my lemonade too. I kept eating the chips and salsa and sucking down the lemonade like I hadn't eaten or quenched my thirst in a week.

I was so miserable. I waddled out to the van and got in the side door like a walrus getting pushed onto the ice. I spent the next 24 hours bloated and miserable. I've never had an enchilada hangover! It's bad. The next 24 hours I wasn't miserable, but I was still feeling full. These Endless Enchiladas are sticking with me for an endless bloaty weekend!

Finally, it's Monday and I feel back to normal. I've recovered from my Endless Enchilada bender. I've never been so drunk on Mexican food. It was awesome but my tummy paid the price. I'd do it again in a minute too!!! So gooooooooood!!!!!!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

I am not a Sea Turtle

The sea turtles in "Finding Nemo" konk heads and say "Noggin!". That's how I got my black eye. Gracie noggin'd me and clocked me pretty good with her hard as rock skull. Apparently, she's more of a sea turtle than I am.

My fat lip healed up though. I only had the fat bruised lip and the black eye together for a day. While I was napping on the couch.... She took one of her hard plastic Ariel dolls and smacked me on the face with it. Yes, I woke up.

My lip healed, and my eye is healing. I'm looking better every day! And thankfully, I'm a lot less colorful than I was a few days ago.

In other news.... I may have an opportunity to ship my middle daughter off for six weeks of hard manual labor. Yippee! A mother's dream come true! I sure hope it works out but it's a longshot. She was offered a job at a summer camp as a kitchen helper. The problem is that they want her to start June 1st but school doesn't get out till mid-June. And they want her to stay till the end of August, but her school starts up again in the second week of August. Her school takes these incredibly ridiculous long vacation breaks during the year (a month off for Xmas!) and so they have to start very early and go a few weeks after Memorial Day. It makes summer jobs hard to come by. Wish her luck getting this job even though the dates don't match up. The kid could use a hard labor experience, not to mention she'd get away from her computer for 6 whole weeks! Aren't I devious? And she'd make some money too. Of course, it helps that she'd be stuck at camp with nowhere to spend her paycheck. hee hee hee. The overlap of camp and school might really be the deal breaker. Keep your fingers crossed!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Tonsillectomy

I was talking to my grandma this morning, she is 99 yrs & 10mths old and has more stories than anyone could imagine. I told her that my middle daughter finally got approval to get her tonsils out. I took middle princess to the ENT earlier this week and the guy gave us the go ahead to get those nasty things out! Yippee!

She has been sick with tonsillitis a million times since she was born. But every doc I've taken her to says "We don't do that anymore". So she's been suffering and continuously sick for over 16 years. Finally, I found a doc who felt sorry for her and thinks her life shouldn't be spent with a sore throat.

We are waiting for the surgery center to verify our insurance and then call us with her surgery date.

My grandma says, "Back when I had my tonsils out we didn't have all that paperwork to worry about. And I didn't have to wait either. When I got my tonsils out they just put me in a chair and used a wire loop to pull them out. Then they sent me back to school. It hurt but it was quick and there wasn't any paperwork." She went on to say, "I was at boarding school so they didn't have to bother with insurance and things. They just took care of it. I was on soup for a week or so until it was healed up. They didn't take me to the hospital or give me pain medicine because they didn't think it was a big deal back then."

Then she added, "Don't tell Lexie that story or she'll faint." Shoot, I almost fainted!

Can you imagine the 1920 version of the tonsillectomy? yikes! Poor little unsuspecting school girl... sit here, open wide.... YANK! oh wow. Times were different weren't they? And no sympathy. Back to class you go.

My grandmother went to a convent boarding school from 1918 - 1925. That is from 5th grade thru 12th grade. I might be off on the dates, but she was 10 yrs old when she started and she was born in 1908 so I think I'm close anyway.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Happy Birthday to Princess Katie


Today is the day! The anniversary of my painful push into motherhood. It was a day I'll never forget. Full of excitement, nervousness, anticipation, and contractions. I love being a mom, it's the best thing I've ever done and I'm glad motherhood lasts forever!

Happy Birthday to my first princess. The one who started it all.





Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Skipping School

I'm skipping school! La la la la la

Oh I wish I were having fun though. The weather is gorgeous! 80 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. Just gorgeous!

But, I am ditching school to nap, blow my nose, and battle germs. Mommies aren't supposed to get sick and this is my second cold in a month! I've been in my pajamas for days and days. No, silly, I have been showering and changing from one jammie to another.

As a college student, you aren't really allowed to stay home sick. Every absence is a black mark on your permanent record. A possible zero in the gradebook. Darn if you go "human" on them.

I've been enjoying my lazy days at home. Hubby has been waiting on me and taking care of the house and kids while I sleep. That in itself is worth getting sick! I'm all caught up on my movie watching, blog reading, and time wasting. Of course I didn't stick my nose in a book like I should have. Didn't want to risk sneezing on my expensive college texts!

But tomorrow, it's back to reality and back to classes. My germs have a deadline. Party's over, time to go. Mary's got a life. It was a nice (but miserable) break though.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

The 5 Minute Car Seat Nap

This happens all too often.... Baby Princess falls asleep half a mile from home and wakes up as soon as I shut off the engine and open the door. Thus, completing the 5 minute carseat nap!

Invariably, this ruins any chance of a real nap. The 5 minute carseat nap is a powerful one that can get her through the rest of the day. Me? I need her to nap longer. Much much longer. But, noooooooooo! The 5 min power-nap ruins the whole day.

This short little nap doesn't mean we avoid a good case of the crabbies. Oh no. Even though she thinks she had a real nap, albeit a short one, she still has a short fuse for the rest of the day. It also doesn't mean we get the tot to bed any earlier. She can't tell time yet? Oh, please! I think she can!

Today is one of those lucky days. It's almost 8pm and currently, she is half naked and sliding down a slide of books that she built all by herself- Weeeee! - while running intermittent laps around the living room. Why am I letting her? Well, because I finally got her to quit jumping on the couch, that's why! And she won't keep her shirt on. That's an every day battle though. I don't think the 5 minute carseat nap had any effect on her aversion to wearing a shirt.

I love that quiet 2 hours in the middle of the day when she's napping and I can have a hot tea, put my feet up and read. Ahhhh! But not on the dreaded 5 minute Car Seat Nap day.

Her short fuse was getting the best of her tonight. She went bezerk with jealousy! We saw a whole new level of the toddler tantrum when we put the dog in the bathtub and not the baby. Oh, she was mad! And very jealous! As soon as the dog got out, we went upstairs to "her" tub and put her in and all was right with the world again. I guess if the dog gets a bath, so does Baby Princess.

On that note.... yes, we gave the dog a bath tonight. You see, my middle Princess went to the dog park to meet a boy there so she took the dog. She must have let the dog roll in the mud cuz when I picked her and the dog up, someone was very wet and muddy! And stinky!

The dog hung her head and did her best to avoid the tub. But I got her in there, shampooed her with Baby shampoo - extra conditioning! By the time I was ready to rinse her, my husband came in and took over because he said Gracie was screaming and crying too loud and I was cussing too much. Really? Oh, I didn't think a hundred cuss words were near enough. Ok, I wasn't in the mood to bathe the stinky muddy dog.

So after the dog's bath, Gracie got hers while the dog laid next to the tub and got dried and brushed and trimmed. She loves being brushed. I don't mind brushing her but I'm not crazy about trimming her dingleberries. Oh yes, I trimmed off her dingleberries. I also trimmed behind her ears and between her toes. She was forming armpit dreadlocks too. Gosh, when was the last time I washed the dog?

Next time, I'm not going to wash the dog on 5 min carseat nap day! I'm living and learning. This combination of events really ought to be avoided for sanity reasons.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Prince Charming was in the kitchen

I don't post much about my husband. He's fairly well behaved. But he was in MY kitchen last night! I just spent a couple of hours cleaning up after him.MI Stick

He made beer. His first batch of home brewed beer. It's going to be great! But, that man can sure make a mess. Last night he was bottling his brew. Bottling the beer involves... bottles mostly. Caps, crimper, buckets, lids, tubing, thermometers, long spoons, etc. After he was all done bottling I told him "You better rinse out your tube" Giggle! That sounded funny!

An hour later I said "Did you clean out your tube?" Giggle! I'm so easily amused!

When I went to bed just before midnight I said to the man.... "Clean your beer equipment or you'll ruin it and have to buy all that stuff all over again". There. I spoke to his wallet this time. Around 1:30am I woke up and heard water running and a lot of clanging and banging in the kitchen. Good, Prince Charming was cleaning his mess!

Oh my goodness is all I could say when I got up this morning. Sure, the tubing was clean, but everything else was half scrubbed, soaking in soapy water, scattered here and there, and just in general chaos. Good thing he went to work or I'd have to beat him with his beer spoon!

Not only that but he scrubbed the bottles in the bathtub. Oh yeah, there are labels in my bathtub along with extra bottles, a ring in the tub, beer boxes, bleach, scrub brushes.... and just in general sloppy messiness. MI Stick

I know I should have just left it for him to take care of tonight, but I wanted some breakfast. So, I got to work and cleaned it all up and put away and made breakfast too. What a crazy mess! That beer better be good; I think I earned a couple of bottles.

Good thing he's so darn charming!

Monday, February 4, 2008

All By Myself

"All By Myself"..... sing it with me.... "I took a shower, All By Myself!"

It was fabulous! Yesterday I spent a good long time alone in the shower. Just me. Nobody banging on the door. No toddler trying to get in the shower with me. No husband walking in on me. I truly appreciated not being bothered. It was a rare and glorious 20 minutes of solitude.

Our bathroom doesn't have a door between it and our bedroom. It's this master suite with an open design. Yeah. Hippies built our house! No privacy! Even though I lock the bedroom door, my husband sticks a little screwdriver in the lock and lets himself in. Then he leaves the door open. The teens go in an out. They too know how to pick the lock. They also know I can't get away and they take these opportunities to whine about whatever it is that I cannot fix for them anyway. In the meantime I am cowering in the corner behind a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap screaming "Get Out!". The dog likes to watch too. I must be very entertaining while in the shower!

Usually I cannot take a shower without Baby Princess. And I don't mind if she comes in too. She likes the shower and its about the only time I can scrub her head without her pitching a fit. Washing her hair in the tub is like scrubbing a screaming tornado.

Taking a shower under the supervision of a toddler is an experience in itself.
Whaz zat? Toes? Yes, toes.
Whaz zat? Knee. Yes, knee.
Knee. Owie. No, honey, that's a scar. It doesn't hurt.
Whaz zat? Tum. Yes, thumb.
Whaz zat? Ewww Poop. No, honey, that's not poop. That's my butt. Poop goes in the potty. Poop? No, Butt.
Whaz zat? Eye? Ow! Yes, that's my eye. You just poked me in the eye!

This is about the time the dog tries to lick the water off my leg. And someone will bang on the door and yell "Mom! where's my.....???"

Not yesterday. Sing with me again... "All by myself.... I took a shower all by myself.... Until the water ran cold I was ... All By Myself!"

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Groundhog's Day



Every Saturday morning I get up early and brew some coffee and call my mother. We have coffee together and talk about anything and everything and nothing. It's great! Today our conversation went like this:

Mom: Hello
Me: Happy Birthday! Did you see your shadow?
Mom: No. It's overcast.
Both of us at the same time: Phil saw his!
Both again: Laughing laughing laughing

We decided she is our family groundhog so we'll go with her prediction of winter ending soon. Hey, there's hope!

I sent her a birthday card which I mailed to her other house thinking she'd be there today. Oops. And I ordered her an official Punxsutawney Phil Beanie Baby Groundhog. She didn't get that yet either. Oh, I am not organized enough!

She also said there were 25 deer in the yard this morning to greet her and tell her happy birthday. I'm sure that's why they were there. Giggle! I actually have a sneaky suspicion that the deer may have been enjoying eating up her yard and garden for breakfast.

After we got the groundhog, the weather, the deer and the birthday conversation out of the way I was able to tell her about Gracie's daycare experience. My baby went to a babysitter on Monday and Wednesday this week and it was the first time. It went pretty well I thought.

Monday she was happy to be there and she scampered off to the toy room before I left. So, I just snuck out and went to college. She had a full day of playing and eating and more playing. Sounds like she had a good day. The sitter had to take her along to watch her 4 yr old go to dance class. Well, sounds like that was a struggle as my little princess wanted to dance too! The teacher finally let her join the class for their last dance - The Hokey-Pokey. That's what it's all about!

Wednesday I made sure to say good bye before I left since I've been told that sneaking out causes trust issues. Oh that didn't go well! I'll be sneaking out! Trust issues, ha! After being consoled since her mother just abandoned her, she did have a good day. The sitter cannot understand a thing she says yet. They'll get to know each other and learn each other's language I'm sure. In the afternoon they walked to the park and my little tomboy was happy to run in the grass and play in the sand. That's my baby! She cried when they left the park and was not happy to leave such a fun place behind.

All in all, I'd say this week at the sitter's has gone well. Plus that, Gracie responded to the sitter when she spoke Spanish to her. The sitter said "Donde esta la pelota?" and Gracie turned around, grabbed her ball and said BALL! Good job, baby!