Dear Dr. D

Dear Dr. D:

First off let me say that I am grateful to you for helping me in coping with my breathing issues during pregnancy and beyond.  I said it once and I'll say it again, "I am changed for the better." However... I feel the need to let you in on a few things.  

Today I had an appointment with you at 9:15.  I'm used to you running behind.  You're a thorough Doc and I know how people can get to talking and cause problems.  So I arrived at 9:13 just in case despite my desire to arrive 15-20 minutes later.  I wouldn't want to be responsible for you being behind- I prefer to let you handle that one all on your own.  I check in and notice only 1 other patient waiting.  After about 5 minutes the daughter of the elderly woman patient says she's going to get her up and let her walk around.  Lord knows what time their appointment was and how long they've been sitting there.  When the nurse comes out to call them in and they're gone she goes back in and waits 5-10 minutes before calling her again.  In that time you could have taken me in and been done with the whole thing.  But nope.  

Then the next patient arrives for her 9:30 appointment with you.  I want to go over and tell her that she better not get any ideas about going in anytime soon cause I'm first.  But I keep quiet and let her do her thing.  Her"thing" turns out to be talking loudly about everything.  You know the type.  They think everything has to be a dramatic event and want everyone in the room to know their business.  She loudly exclaimed about the way hand sanitizer works and tried to solve your receptionists' issues with her children like a seasoned child psychologist.  After 30minutes since my appointment time had come and gone I put my magazine down and of course since I had my 5 week old- (yes 5 week old  and we've been waiting now 30 minutes plus my 4 year old) she had to strike up a conversation.  Thank goodness we were across the room from her or I'm quite positive she would have done the "reach in and touch" with him. 

 

By this time your 10:00 has arrived early and I just want to go over and give her my condolences on a morning wasted because I'm thinking "Lady you're in for the long haul."  The other Dr. in your practice on the other side has somehow managed to call in his 10:00 and it's only 5 till.  Amazing!  After I've been here for 50 minutes a patient comes out from your side and I haven't seen her before.  She's about 13 and I'm guessing she's the reason for you being behind.  Those pesky teens with their damn asthma!  Hmm... No?  I wait a couple more minutes and what's that?  My name?  

So I'm finally in and an hour hasn't even passed since my original appointment time.  I'm thinking great this is about normal.  The nurse has apologized at this point twice by the way and "casually" informed me she doesn't usually work in this office.  I think we all know what she was saying here.  At 55 minutes after my appointment time there's a knock on the door.  Could it be you?  Nope.  Just your P.A.  He comes in and listens to me breathe and asks me the usual questions.  When I ask him a question about a test and what it is he says he's not sure because he's new at this.  If you're going to send in a distraction at least let him come in more prepared.  He leaves and I think anytime now...

At an hour and 30 minutes since my appointment time I'm thinking about trying to channel my inner bitch and go out there and give you a piece of my mind because you're outside my door laughing and talking to your staff while my infant is starting to fuss and my 4 year old is asking if we're trapped in here.  But I'm thinking perhaps you had to go to surgery somewhere in there.  No- You don't do that.  Deliver a baby?  No wrong doctor.  What could it be?  You value pharmaceutical reps and their time more than your patients?  Bingo.

So at 1 hour and 37 minutes after my appointment should have begun you come in.  We have the usual convos and then you ask me to recall something you told me at my last appointment that I should be doing.  Perhaps you don't remember but I was about 3 weeks from having a baby and I've slept (poorly) since then.  You tell me what you said.  I throw out a possible answer and it seems to work.  Then in a really strange turn of events you inform me there's one other thing you want to tell me.  You start in with some off the wall story about some little girl who had to have surgery because her parents always let her hair hang down in her face and something went awry with one of her eyes.  What?  You then inform me I might want to pull Kate's hair back from now on so she doesn't screw up her eyes.  Okay...  I then inform you we were in a hurry because we didn't want to be late and she had put on a hat herself and I didn't get a chance to pull her longer bangs back.  But thanks for making me feel like a slacker Mom.

So in essence Dr. D I'm just confused at how at 9:15 when your office has only been open for 1 hour and 15 minutes you can already be nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes behind.  I can't imagine those poor souls that have afternoon appointments.  I mean you're billing my insurance over 200.00 for 5 minutes of your time.  The least you could do is see your patients in oh let's say within 30 minutes of their appointment time.  If a pediatrician who has last minute appointments every day can get us in without having to wait more than 10 minutes over then I think you can do it too.

Well I've procrastinated enough from doing the things I should.  But unlike you I'm not getting paid.  I just value other people's time enough to try and keep on schedule.  Till next time...

CC

Courthouse fun and bottle success

I've only driven a car in 2 states: Kansas and Oklahoma.  In Oklahoma when you need to get your tag or license renewed or get a new plate for your car you go to the Tag Agency/DMV and deal with the lovely employees who feel obligated by some secret oath to belittle you and make you feel like you're an idiot for just being there.  In Kansas it's basically the same story if you need to get your license- new or transferring in from another state.  You head to the DMV (in our case it's at our amazing mall) and you'll be sure to not have the appropriate documents, be mocked, and the process will take up to three separate visits.  Just ask Daniel to tell you about his experience when we moved here. 

If you need to do something with your car tag you're out of luck at the DMV.  You get to go to the place where you're almost certain to come face to face with criminals and if you don't you'll sort of feel like one or get the feeling you're about to be involved in a hostage situation: The County Courthouse.  The good news is that the employees are slightly better here and only give you strange looks while you're talking and keep their snide remarks to themselves.  So kudos to the courthouse tag employees!  

We recently traded in our car which gave me great joy and now have the task of transferring the old tag to the new car.  But apparently since I wasn't on the title of the old car I have to jump through a few hoops to get the new one tagged since it's in both mine and Daniel's name.  So me and the kids trekked on down to the courthouse to get a piece of paper for Daniel to sign so I can go back tomorrow and pay some more money to the county to tag our new car.  I have the pleasure of living in a state that charges you to tag the car different prices depending on the make, model, and year of the car you're tagging.  I also have the pleasure of living in the county that charges the highest price to tag your car- Yeah!  So I can't wait to see the difference in a 1999 car and a 2007 one.   Oh how I miss Oklahoma sometimes!  OK all the time.

The whole process was fairly quick but ever since we moved here I always feel a bit on edge when I have to go to the courthouse.  When we first moved I was on my way out with Kate after tagging one of our cars and she had wondered off a little from me and I looked over to find her standing next to I kid you not three convicts who were chained together at the ankles and wrists who had just gotten off the elevator and were wearing I kid you not again, black and white old-timey striped jumpsuits.  I felt like I had stepped back in time.  Maybe this is the normal attire for prisoners in other states as well?  

In other news, this evening we had an exciting event and gave Aidan his first bottle that I pumped for him. Amazingly he took it with no problems.  Kate never got the hang of it and would scream if you tried to give her a bottle.  It made it very hard in the early days to go anywhere for too long without her.  So even though it will likely just be a every once in a while thing I'm happy to know he's not so picky.  Well we're off to Oklahoma tomorrow but not before I get to head to my Pulminologist appointment ( yes I have one and judging from the other patients I see there am about 50 years younger then most )and back to the Courthouse.  I'm sure one if not both will give me something to rant about.  

Who says you have to have boobs to feed me?

I have been instructed however not to get any ideas about this "bottle feeding thing" in the middle of the night.  Someone enjoys his beauty sleep.  

Caught a little smile in his sleep

He prefers smirks while awake

My Chunky Spunky Monkey

So the last few days have been blog worthy only if you're interested in knowing that I've resorted to staying in bed as late as possible only to wake up to change the channel on the TV for Kate or feed Aidan.  I also went to Walmart and tried on clothes at Target all by myself with 2 kids!  I'm disappointed to report that no one tried to touch or eat either child.  Oh yes there was the out of the ordinary trip to the UPS store although since we're not privileged enough here to actually have a UPS store we went to Joy's Packing and Shipping.  Very thrilling- as was all the laundry.  Daniel worked really late so we also got movies out of a redbox for $1.00 and I saw Bride Wars.  It was decent- not fantastic.  Next week we're headed down to Oklahoma so life should be more exciting.  Until we have something more interesting to report enjoy these pictures of our spunky chunky monkey in his monkey outfit.

You can tell he's unimpressed as well.

Big sister tries to amuse him to no avail.

So over this photo shoot.

Lemurs, Biting Lorikeets, and Camel rides Oh my!

Daniel had been prepared that he might have to work today- so I had planned to spend the day lounging around.  But lucky us he ended up not having to work.  What to do?!

Last year we learned about this new wildlife park that allowed you to interact with different animals and feed them.  We planned to try it out sometime but never made it before it closed for the winter.  So on the spur of the moment we decided to make the trek to Tanganyika Wildlife Park.  Yes I had to go back and figure out how in the world to spell it.  It's a bit on the over-priced side for what it os.  Plus once you get inside you have to pay 1.00 anytime you want to get food to feed an animal.  I think they'd benefit more by keeping their prices lower until they get more established.  But there was a good amount of people there.  We got to go into an area with some red kangaroos and saw the cutest thing.  

  

If you look closely you can see the baby kangaroo feet sticking out of the pouch.

We also got to feed some large turtles and bunny rabbits.  Kate was brave and went right up to the turtle until it snapped at her to get the lettuce and she screamed and ran for her life.  She was fine- these turtles don't bite or really snap.  Where does she get her dramatic side?  We also fed some lorikeets.  They actually were kind of snappy and apparently not all that interested in eating.  But here's a shot of her trying to entice one to eat from her cup.

We also saw a cute red panda and some giraffes.

Despite our offers of ice cream, toys, etc.  Kate chose to ride on a camel and since her Daddy is a nice guy and a good sport he went with her.  

The best part was an island you could go on and interact with lemurs.  It was almost worth the price of admission.  Lemurs are very cool animals and kind of reminded me of our cats.

  

 

On our way out we found a cute little bear so we smuggled him out to the car

My weekend in bullet form

Ahh...  My crazy family filled weekend has come to an end.  I have one child asleep on the couch, another asleep in his bassinet, and a husband out of the house.  It's time for a recap.

• I got my house clean and had it done in plenty of time before guests arrived.  However the cleaning, going to sleep late, and waking up to feed a certain someone caught up with me.  When Daniel's family said they would be a little later then expected I took full advantage and tried to have a nap on the couch.  However the noise of the baby swing and it's music, the ranting of Kate from Jon and Kate Plus 8 that my husband has become obsessed with watching this weekend, and his constant conversing with me despite the fact that my eyes were closed, did not produce the desired effect.  I showered later then I should have and we were almost late to meet everyone for lunch.

• Lunch was better then expected so that's a plus.  We ate at a very popular Amish restaurant in the area called Carriage Crossing.  In my past 2 visits I found the food to be incredibly bland but the pie is amazing.  This time the food was above par and the pie was as yummy and filling as ever. 

• In staying with tradition- upon arriving back at the house after our late lunch I believed we had plenty of time to get Kate ready for her dance recital but of course ended up running late.  It's not the world's easiest thing to convert your daughter into a prima ballerina complete with the beautifully constructed bun and perfect make-up.  Putting eyeliner and mascara on your 4 year old is ridiculous and difficult.  It worked out from a distance but up close she looked a bit umm...  

• Prior to our arrival at the auditorium Daniel and I had the following conversation regarding his apparel for the Father/Daughter finale dance...  Me:"You're not wearing those jeans with holes in it are you?"  Him: "Yes."  Me: "No you can't that looks stupid and trashy." Him: "I don't care."  Me: "Well you're gonna care because it looks bad."  Him: "They told us we were supposed to wear jean shorts and if we didn't have any to cut off jeans.  This doesn't look worse then that."  Me: "Just because other people want to look trashy doesn't mean you have to join them!" Him:"I only have one other pair and they're too long and I'm NOT wearing them because I'm not dancing in boots and I'd have to dance in boots because I'm not going to step on the back of them which I would if I wore my tennis shoes."   This proceeded to go on until I threatened tears and mentioned hurt feelings and the ruining of the evening.  I think we all know who won this one.  

• The dance recital was shorter then I expected.  Only 3 1/2 hours as opposed to the 4 or 5 I had predicted.  Our ballerina looked adorable, danced wonderfully, and the Dad/Daughter duo was priceless.  Many of the dances with the older girls did make me feel a bit like I was watching a Burlesque show but were pretty entertaining all the same.  Too bad the air-conditioning was either off or broken and it was like a sauna inside.  It was miserable.

• This morning the whole gang met in the hotel lobby where everyone was staying.  We annoyed the check-out lady and then when I had to breast-feed the baby discreetly with a blanket she stared at me and gave me the evil eye.  I willed her to say something to one of us about the noise or the bare boob under a blanket but no such luck.  My mother threatened to come to my aid by whipping one out too.  My father wasn't having the best day either- while cleaning gum off his shoe outside a pigeon pooped on him.  

• We had a yummy lunch at Montana Mikes and said our goodbyes.

• Daniel came home and is currently drilling holes in our house (oh so scary) to install a sump-pump in the basement to keep it from flooding from all the rain we've had and since we're expecting more soon.  I'm going to trust that someone with a PhD surely to goodness can get this right.  Since writing this he's informed me that he's succeeded and now is talking about renting something to dig trenches in our yard to install a sprinkler system-Oh help us!  

Friday Five 2.0

Since it's Friday I'll once again share 5 pertinent things everyone wants to know...

1) Yesterday was Kate's last day of school.  They went to the park and had a sack lunch to celebrate. She seemed relatively unaffected by the fact it was her last day.  I'm always emotional for things that are ending so as were leaving the parking lot I had to stop myself from tearing up.  My baby just finished Pre-K and it's kind of sad.  There are very few good books that don't cause me to tear up when they're over, I cry at the end of movies, and of course I cried when my time in Oklahoma came to an end.  We talked about it being her last day but I'm not sure she really gets it.  This morning she came in and got in bed with me and ask if she had school today.  So clearly not so much.  Luckily about 5 of the kids from her class and one from dance will be going to the same school for Kindergarten.  She'll adjust just fine.  This summer we have lots of activities planned to keep her from being bored and so she's able to socialize with other kids still.

2)This weekend we will have 15 people (babies and children included) in our house.  K's big dance recital is this weekend and my parents, in-laws, sister in law, her husband and their kids, and my husband's Grandmothers and Aunt are all coming.  Phew.  They are in for a show!  A 5 hour show mind you but a show it is!  Fortunately even though it's Memorial Day weekend they were all able to get hotel rooms.  Not that they weren't welcome to stay here- there's just not room for them all.  I'm also excited that I don't have to cook because that always ends up being more work then you think it's going to be.  But during the afternoon for a bit I'm guessing they'll all be here.  

3) I'm procrastinating right now from preparing the house for the masses of people coming.  I've seriously slacked this week and have a sparkly kitchen but that's about it.  On the list between now and 5 minutes until they arrive: Laundry, clean bathrooms, pick up Miss K's room, change our sheets because little monkey might have gotten a little bit of pee on my husband's side (twice in one change), vacuum and mop, pick up Miss K's room AGAIN, and get husband to mow.  I think I'll have to put on some good cleaning music and get to work.  

4) Being that it's now officially summer for us I really want to go on a trip.  Me and the kids (that seems so weird to say kids) are going to be at my parent's house for a few days and then with my husband's family.  We've talked about heading to Kansas City for the weekend.  But I want to do something like we did last year.  When I was a kid my parents took us down to Padre Island Texas a lot and I loved it and have many great memories of it.  So last year we packed up and took Kate down complete with stops in San Antonio for Schlitterbahn water park and Six Flags in Dallas.  It was long, gas was crazy expensive, there were blue crabs all over the beach, I think all of us almost drowned at the water park but all in all it was a great time and she still talks about it.  That and I heard her teacher say yesterday to another Mom that she was headed to Florida today- I'm jealous. :-(  Oh why can't Kansas have a beach, or a mountain, or a well anything but sunflowers and wheat?

5) Our newest spunky monkey celebrates his 1 month birthday today.  He rewarded his Mother early by sleeping a 5 hour stretch the night before and 4 1/2 hours last night.  Unfortunately because I'm so tuned into waking up earlier I kept waking up to make sure he was still breathing and wondering if he would start grunting as soon as I drifted off again.  Ah the plight of a Mom.  It's hard to believe that crazy long, 10 out of 10 on the pain scale, incredible day was a month ago.  It really has flown by.  He's grunting away in his swing right now and since I'm a pro at procrastinating:  I think he needs me.                                                        

Ice Cream "Not so" Social

Yesterday was a much calmer day then the day before.  Could it be because we didn't have any dance related things to attend tonight?  Hmm.  I'm just now getting around to it because my husband who tends to morph into an 8 year old "called the computer" as we were pulling up from the Ice cream "not so" social.  More on that later.  Also the American Idol finale and DWTS were on and I decided focusing my attention on them and a cute baby would be better.    

Miss K had hat day at school and in true fashion she chose an easter hat from a few years ago with flowers hanging down the side to wear.  I then ventured out and completed my errands and felt accomplished until I got back home and realized my family has too many clothes and I need a housekeeper that does laundry.  But instead of doing the laundry I pulled every article of clothing out of my closet to add to the fun and began my Type A need to organize things, but in true ADD fashion when I should be staying on task and doing other more pertinent things.  It's not done but is looking much better.  

I also for the first time took both kids to a public shopping place by myself!  This moment should be recorded because although it was a somewhat frightening prospect it turned out OK. Little A (if you watch All my Children you should hurt me for calling him that) slept, grunted, made faces, and slept some more through the whole thing and I found a cute summer skirt, some Hello Kitty PJ's for Pajama Day (today) and my intended purchase of some gift card holders for teacher gifts.  

Then came the Family Night at a nearby park complete with melting ice cream.  We've had several of these throughout the school year and the idea is to socialize and get to know the other parents.  But just like we do when we're young we hang out for the most part with the people we knew from before and don't venture out.  So in our case that meant we hung out on our own.  A lady from the gym and one of the other Moms and I did share a few words but I mostly strolled  monkey around and Daniel took a ridiculous amount of pictures in my opinion so he wouldn't have to chance talking to someone.   How we turned out with a social butterfly I know not~ Who by the way as soon as we got there found one of her friends to run up to and hug.  She had a great time and a full blown crying fit ensued when we left.  This is totally out of character and of course she fell asleep soon after.  Ahh summer here we come...

To assume...

Warning this is crazy long...

You know the saying.  "To assume makes an ass out of you and me."   No it doesn't.  What it does is make the person who assumes look incompetent and makes the person who was supposed to know what's going on just pissed off.  I'm in a ranting mood tonight.

The day didn't exactly start off well.  Today was crazy hair day at Miss K's school since this is the last week and my intention was to get up early enough to ensure there was enough time to create the perfect "crazy" hair style.  But you know what they say about good intentions...

Of course when my husband came in to suggest I go ahead and get up I informed him that the alarm was snoozed and would go off in 10 minutes and I'd get up then.  That and I don't like people telling me to get up.  40 minutes later I make it downstairs to discover Kate was up and and is now asleep in the chair happily dreaming of Dora and Boots.  I can hear a baby grunt from the next room but a blaring beep can sound for 30 minutes without me taking notice.  Amazing.  So by this point we have 15 minutes until school starts and she still has to get ready complete with the crazy hair.  Needless to say we were late.

Fast forward to this afternoon.  We all three manage to score a nap time at the exact same time.  When does that happen?  I wake up in what I felt was plenty of time to get her hair and make up done and get her fed before we headed to the auditorium for her dance dress rehearsal.  The kid refuses to wake up and baby monkey is screaming from his swing and wants to eat NOW.  I'm still unaware of exactly how long we're going to have to be at this dress rehearsal.  Her dance calendar said 4:30-10:00 but also said "See note" to which there was a note attached but it has zero information about tonight but instead talked about some other rehearsal.  

So we arrive and hear the owner saying for everyone to take their dance bags and other costumes to their assigned dressing room.  First off I wasn't aware that this auditorium had anywhere that could count as a dressing room.  I then find a crudely drawn sign at the front by the stage that looks like this... Seriously nothing else is on this sign.

Group 1                        Group 2                    Group 3

               \________________________/

                                         STAGE

       Group 4                                              Group 5

No where on here does it say that this is to help you in knowing where your dressing room is. No where does it mention that these are all located up on the second level in what could only be described as broom closets or that these are located behind the seating on said level.  All I could figure out was that she was in group 4.  So was I just being stupid or am I the only person who's kid is in her first year of dance here?  

Ugh I could write a book about how disorganized and annoyed I've felt about this place.  After she mentions it 3 times over the microphone I finally ask the lady in front of me where the dressing rooms are.  She too had a child in her first year and responded "I can't figure it out either so I'll just leave her stuff out here."  Then they start instructing us to take our kids up to their rooms where they'll wait until it's their time to dance.  OK.  Where are these rooms again?  I then ask another woman standing near me.  She informs me to check "The sign."  Uh huh.  When I inform her that I don't know what it means and where all these rooms are she finally vaguely points up to the second level and says they're up there.  Great!  I have a stroller, a 4 year old, her bags, my bag, costumes, and a sleeping newborn and have already hauled said stroller, bags, etc. down some stairs to get into the auditorium.  Finally after hauling them back up the stairs I locate a VERY steep wheelchair ramp to make it up to the 2nd floor.  The whole time I'm thinking don't let go or fall.  I get to the top only to realize over to the side there's an elevator.  Nice.  

So I get back down to the seats and settle in to watch some fine dancing.  Not to be terribly rude but I really was already annoyed and watching other kids dance and unfortunately not dance very well was not my idea of a good time.  There I've said it.  The older girls that are really good and my own kid- that's plenty.  Oh and then the best thing happened.  The baby is happily sleeping in his car seat with the shade DOWN and OVER his body and this 10 year old girl comes up and before I realize what's happening lifts up the shade and reaches in to rub his head.  Then she lifts up the other side and I finally regain my composure enough to say he's sleeping let's not wake him up.  So she bounces off and luckily he remained asleep.  

So I finally get to see her dance, my husband arrives , and then we have to wait until she can do the finale dance with her Dad.  It's a Father/Daughter dance by the way.  Too cute but note to the Dads: don't chew gum on stage- it makes you look stupid and if you don't know the dance at least move and try to look like you know the dance because when you just stand there  you might as well start picking your nose because that would be more entertaining then watching you look around and look like you don't care. 

After it was all said and done we had been there 3 1/2 hours.  I'd seen the first act minus about 1/3 the dances that the owner was skipping because of time. Ha.  We never even saw any of the 2nd act because even though the finale she's in is at the end of the second act in order to SAVE TIME they allowed them to go ahead and perform out of order.  Ha Ha.  All this is to say Saturday night we're going to be there like 5 hours at least I'm thinking.  Should be fun!    

So now lets look on the bright side.  Here's Kate with her crazy hair although it doesn't do it justice in the photo and a picture of her in her costume at dance photo day.  Another day that although I wasn't fortunate enough to be able to go to was apparently also a "super organized" event.  Oy Vay!

The Dude turns ??

Today is my Dad's Birthday who since Miss K was born has been affectionately known as the Dude, Grandude, Duder, and Dudey.  I have no idea how to spell these since surprisingly spell-check has alerted me to a possible misspell and has no viable suggestions.  

The story goes when I was in the hospital having Miss K the Grandparents to be were out eating and were talking about what they wanted the new grandchild to call them one day.  In true fashion my Dad announced he wanted to be called Grandude and it stuck.

 So on his special day I just wanted to let him know how much I love him and appreciate all he's done for me.  He's a great guy who's funny, hard-working, patient,and would do just about anything for his family.  Happy Birthday Dad!  

Here's a couple pictures of Dudey with his favorite Duders.  

       

One of my favorite pics of Miss K and my Dad.  

    

           My Dad and his newest little Duder.

And now for an off-topic Quick Point to Ponder...

Is it odd for strangers to try to carry on conversations with you in a public restroom while you are wiping gratuitous amounts of poop off your baby's butt?  More importantly why does it weird me out?   Since we've already established I'm just not social enough perhaps that is perfectly fine and it is I who need to expand my horizons.     

Friday Five

Today I'll begin a series of 5 random things on my mind...  I know you're all dying to know.

1. It's 1:30 and I just now got a shower for the day.  I feel like a loser and like I've wasted the day.  In order to make up for this I'll spend the afternoon zooming around at full speed trying to accomplish much or at least make it appear as if I've been productive over the course of the entire day- not just 3o minutes before my husband arrives home.  On today's schedule- trip to library to return books and get new ones, change out laundry- (oh wait re-wash laundry from yesterday that's been sitting in washer too long), move laundry basket upstairs to make it look as if I put laundry away, pile toys in basket and put at top of stairs to make it look as if I put toys away, put clothes on baby to replace ones that have slight pee stain on them, and head to Sonic for happy hour and maybe get lunch since everything in the house I could eat for lunch requires too much prep work.  

2. The Grey's Anatomy season finale did not make me cry- HUGE shocker because that never happens.  However I teared up watching All my Children.  There must be something wrong with me.  On another related note-  Soap operas have ridiculous story lines and even worse acting.  Yet I still watch it because after Spunky Monkey 1 was born I laid around in bed trying to rest and was too lazy to change the channel after The View came on and ended up getting caught up in this absurd show.  So by some really crude calculations if I've watched this show 5 days a week from August 04 to now I've spent (oh who am I kidding) WAY too much time on this show.

3. In honor of it being payday...  I love spending money and even if it's just buying groceries I get a sense of excitement over acquiring things.  On the list for this paycheck: Birthday gifts for Dad and 5 year old girl, food-particularly snacks (because as Miss K likes to remind me often "Babies are hard work." and I deserve snacks.), small token of appreciation for the Pre-K teachers, and last but not least new shirts for me to accommodate new "uh umms."

4. I'm so very thankful today that my husband got a new car so I could have mine back, I don't have that poop and pee filled little fur ball to deal with on top of everything else, that it's a warm day and isn't raining, that the little guy is a calm, semi-good sleeper and hardly ever cries, and that my life isn't as complicated as these people's lives on this other ridiculous soap opera that I refuse to start watching even though I'm too lazy to change the channel and accidently get hooked for a minute or two every once in a while.  I mean really- How many times can one be held hostage?  

5. I have procrastinated enough and must go forth and accomplish.  See # 1.  But before I do take a look at this gem from 3 weeks ago.  At least the out of your mind, I think I'm having an out of body experience kind of tiredness has finally escaped me.  

Don't we look like we belong in an In Style magazine spread?

Black and white can only do so much in making you look better.

Ready or Not

Although that moment so many of us parents dread is not officially here yet- yesterday it became apparent that whether I'm ready or not it's coming.  My first baby is going to Kindergarten in the fall and yesterday had a little informal meet the teachers, no parents allowed sort of thing.  We originally were told it would be half day which was OK with me for several reason.  She's already been going to Pre-K for 4 days a week half day.  But then the call came that probably was met with elation from most parents, but sadness from me.  They've gotten the go-ahead to have all day Kindergarten.  I won't go into my hesitation with this from the developmental standpoint.  I know she'll be fine.  She already knew about half the kids there from Pre-K and according to her current teacher she's "One of the smart ones."  Not sure if she was implying some of the kids in her class aren't- but I'll let that one go.  

But I think it's a selfish thing.  I was looking forward to having one more year where she had half the day at home.  Since our newest sweetheart was born I've really noticed how much she's grown up since last August when I first found out I was expecting.  I realized recently that I hadn't picked her up since before then and that now she's the huge heavy big girl.  Gone are the baby features that make her look like a preschool child.  She's all grown up complete with an extensive vocabulary that's verging on that of a tween.  She's independent beyond belief, caring and helpful, and this strange social creature that reminds us nothing of our childhood selves. 

 She walked in yesterday and saw the kids she knew and starting jabbering away and hugging all of them like she hadn't seen them in at least 30 minutes- which coincidentally is exactly how long it had been.  It cracked me up and reminded me of some SNL skit making fun of sorority sisters freaking out every time they see each other.  It was strange and like I said nothing like me.  But I'm proud of her and glad she's not afflicted with horrible shyness and isn't afraid to speak up and state her opinion.   

It's just amazing how fast it's gotten here.  People always say that and you take it for granted.  Then before you know it your baby girl is telling you how to change your outfit to look more like a diva.  She's not ALL grown-up yet.  Just this year she's gone from wanting to be Dorothy from Wizard of OZ when she grows up, to a ballerina, a fire fighter, and most recently a cat tamer- not a lion tamer but a cat tamer- as in house cats.  She still cries when she bumps her knee, and wants Daddy to carry her up the stairs after her bath.  She needs help tying her shoes and wants to have story time in bed with Mom and Dad.  But it's just around the corner- the boys, the attitude, the learning to drive... It's all coming whether I'm ready or not.  But for now we'll just tackle Kindergarten and dressing like a diva.  

Circa 2004~ around the time of the "I wanna eat you up" incident

Circa 2009~ Ready to go to a Tea Room

People are funny

Today I'll begin my series on People that are funny.  Not ha ha funny so much but people who rather amuse me in some way.  We'll begin with those people- usually women, who feel compelled to strike up conversations with pregnant women or people that have a baby with them.  

I suppose there's nothing really wrong with discussing due dates,  the sex of  baby, the name of baby, how many pounds said baby was when born, whether you're breast feeding, how the baby is sleeping, how precious baby is, or how much you could just eat baby up, etc.  I'm not really a cruel person that wants to deny people of looking at an adorable baby and I'm fine hearing compliments about how beautiful my children are.  People tend to be obsessed with them- especially when they're not the ones who have to change a poop filled diaper at 3 a.m. when their eyes are crusted over and ohh woops, a stream of pee just dowsed a pillow.  

If you know me at all then you know I'm not the most social of creatures.  I'm not overly outgoing and I rarely would consider approaching a random stranger and striking up a conversation about anything.  When I worked in retail I never really asked people personal questions.  I certainly never would have asked a pregnant woman, "Are you pregnant?" as was asked of me with pregnancy #1 at around 7 months.  Even if I see a cute baby at the mall I never feel compelled to approach the mother and ask her an array of questions.

So I think I'm most amused by those who are much like people that stand too close when talking to you, they keep oohing and awing just a touch too long.  They cross those invisible lines of appropriateness and put you in a situation that falls out of your comfort zone.  But maybe it's just me.  One of my favorite stories thus far was with our daughter when she was about 4 months old.  We were shopping at a Hickory Farms stand and I was holding her and a woman came up and told us how adorable she was and asked the typical questions of age and name.  Then she just kept on going and proceeded to inform us more than once that she could just eat her up.  I know, I know it's just an expression but really?  Then it happened.  "Can I hold her?"  Really?  You've just expressed your desire to consume my baby and I've never seen you before.  All I know we have in common is our desire to peruse boxes of meat and cheese and that isn't going to cut it.  We made up some excuse about her not being comfortable with people she didn't know and although she looked disappointed she backed off.

I liken it to the following: You wouldn't see someone carrying a purse you really liked, inform them of this, and then ask to try it on your shoulder.  Why would you hand your baby over to a complete stranger in a mall? So now that I'm venturing out of the cave known as my house a bit more, the comments, the encounters that last much too long, and the touching have begun.  So in my quest to be a better me I will try hard to be understanding and only amused by these people.  I will politely answer their questions and remember that this moment in time when your baby is actually a baby lasts only so long.  Those Moms who have watched their baby grow up and learn to walk and talk, go to school and beyond are perhaps just wistful and just can't help themselves.  So I will try and recognize this need, although it's not mine: yet.  Just don't ask me to hold my child when we've never met or tell him you want to eat him with a maniacal look in your eye.  Then all bets are off.

Couldn't you just eat these two up?

Carrie's Favorite Things

In recent years I've discovered those things in life that just make me undeniably pleased.  It's not necessarily a sense of happiness or excitement, but rather things that I step back and think, "You know that's a really great product and if I had to make out a list like Oprah does of my favorite things, this would be on there."  

My current list would include the following in no particular order: Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, tinted lip gloss from Bath and Body Works, the Itzbeen baby timer, Oregon Chai Tea, anything from the etsy website, the Cooshee baby changer, the Snoogle pillow (great during pregnancy and after), Easy Spirit sandals (see "old woman" previous post), Coach purses, this fairly inexpensive knife we got from Jc Penneys years ago that still out-cuts more expensive knives, the Maclaren Easy Traveler stroller, and most recently our new Canon camera.    

I'm absolutely, under no circumstances believe I'm a fantastic photographer.  I seem to have forgotten everything I learned in my college photography class about f-stops, flashes, and the like.  But I must say I'm pretty pleased with this camera and it might actually motivate me to re-learn everything I've clearly forgotten.  That and it does take some pretty nice pictures.  So here's a sampling of our 2 spunky monkeys taken yesterday at the park since that is part of the purpose of this blog.  We gotta showcase those two!

                       

I caved

It seems like everyone is blogging these days and I like to try and be up to date despite my husband's belief that I'm a 30 going on 70.  It's something to do with my attraction to what he calls old lady bags and shoes and an occasional exclamation or perhaps an inflection in my voice that apparently just sounds "old."  But I've gotten off subject... 

So here I am diving into the world of blogging and I'm thinking perhaps he's right that I am an older, quite distinguished of course, woman trapped in a young person's body.  It's a little past 10:00 in the evening and as I sit here in my cardigan sweater (well really it's a hoodie- but who's keeping tabs) to keep warm, all I want to do is go to sleep.  

But that could also be the direct result of still fluctuating hormones and the fact that one of my spunky monkeys is almost 3 weeks old and is asleep on me but will undoubtedly be waking up a minimum of 3 times before we get to rise for the next day and get the other spunky monkey to Pre-K at 8:30.  

We'll then come home and I'll hope that we can get a nap in before having to pick her back up at noon.  Then there's the assortment of other activities including dance or something else that is listed on no less than 3 calendars at my disposal to occupy our afternoon or evening.  Ahh the life of a stay-at-home Mom!   But I wouldn't trade it for anything.