Screw perfection

The joke is on me

2011-11-08T07:35:00.001-05:00

Wow, that is the fastest I've ever failed at NaBloPoMo - I didn't make it a week! Not to sound sour grapes, but I guess I just can't prioritize it. My real life has too much going on right now. Yay, me!

Baked

2011-11-06T17:58:00.001-05:00

That is, I baked:

6 loaves of honey whole wheat sandwich bread
2 1/2 dozen white chocolate almond Stoll House cookies
1 dozen cranberry corn muffins

All my stores are now full of baked goods, and my kitchen is toasty warm and smells like a bakery.

I am almost done knitting my 10th pair of booties this year. This pair is for a friend from my daily gratitude email list who had a baby boy last week. He had a rough start, but I was relieved to hear he is doing better.

Everyone in my house is on their favorite electronic. Lindsay is on a laptop behind me playing a game with Dora who she professes to hate, because it is deeply uncool in Kindergarten to "still" like Dora. Lauren is watching Netflix on my iPad. Alec is playing Arkham Asylum on the XBox, and I'm here on my Mac Mini blogging over a cup of Yerba Mate cocoa tea and my nearly finished booties.

We're having take out Chinese, and hopefully logging an hour or so on the game Lauren, Alec and I have been playing - Iron Dragon.

Hooray for the weekend!

2011-11-05T14:53:00.002-04:00

I love the weekend. I rarely get to sleep in these days - we are pretty busy all the time, but there's something different about the pace on the weekends that I just love. Lots of time to indulge in hobbies. No homework. No packing lunches. The only thing better than the weekend is a LONG weekend...and we have one coming up!

Clean, fueled car

2011-11-04T10:10:00.002-04:00

I try to get to vacuuming the car out once a week. I hated the way my car looked when my kids were littler - every surface was either greasy or sticky and it always smelled. My car is still new-ish, and mostly vacuums up and comes clean with wipes (except for where crayon melted on my dashboard, but that is a different story).

Somehow, the car always feels better if I vacuum it right after I fuel up. I think it's funny that it's taken me this long to realize it since there's a car wash next door to the gas station, and they are both right near Lindsay's school. It's also the perfect length of errand between the times of Lauren's drop off and Lindsay's.

Today, I am grateful for a clean car that's all fueled up and ready to go.

Long walk

2011-11-03T10:37:00.002-04:00

I took a long walk today in Donaldson Park with my friend Tammy. Generally, I prefer to exercise alone. It's hard to walk at a pace that's not mine, and both when it's too fast or too slow. I don't know how many more weeks we have until it's just too cold to walk in the park - it was about 35 degrees today, and we were both cold when we started, but once we finished the first mile, I was pretty warm. By mile 3, I was getting hot. I have that pleasant ache that muscles have after being warm and stretched.

Today I am grateful for a beautiful, cold fall morning, and a walk with a friend. The quiet of my house in the morning. And enjoying tea and breakfast with the Internets.

Lessons in powerlessness

2011-11-02T10:00:00.001-04:00

Any situation I'm faced with has the potential for experiencing gratitude. I was reminded that being without power isn't what's happening to ME, it's just what's happening. I don't get what I deserve, thankfully. I get what I get.

Last night, I took a bath in the dark with my scented Yankee candle, reading my eBook with its book light. Not because I didn't have power, but something about the practice of being in the mostly darkness at night is actually very relaxing - and when I got into bed, I was ready to go to sleep instead of that state of waiting for my mind to wind down. Without being forcibly unplugged, I wouldn't have realized this.

I am grateful to know this today.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T14:14:00.001-04:00

It's NaBloPoMo! And I'm in despite being powerless. Halloween was fun, see? We trick or treated for 2 hours. Awesomesauce.

Posing vampires?

My costume: I was lunch. Ouch.

My friend Kim called this her "Vampire Bunny" pose

Nom nom nom

High drama, like always.

Lauren is nine

2011-09-12T13:17:00.001-04:00

Saturday was Lauren's birthday...and she turned 9. I have no idea how that happened so fast.

Lauren opened her present from Alec and I, which was tickets for Saturday's matinee to see Wicked in New York City. She was SO excited. We scored awesome tickets, and they had a fabulous time. it was her first Broadway experience.

Lauren opening her presents from her sis.

Tutu (Alec's mom) sent Lauren her very own iPod shuffle, in her favorite color - green! Alec and I opened it so that it was already loaded with some of her favorite music, and the soundtrack for Wicked.

Wow, look at ALL those presents!

Lauren got Field Notes from our friend Mark who shares her birthday. Alec contemplates snagging one of them.

Reading a card.

An angel necklace from Grampie Fisher. She hasn't taken it off.

A pretty good haul.

We went out for a sushi dinner - Lauren's favorite...and finished our day with ice cream cake. Lauren declared it was the best birthday yet.

My girls are so big

2011-09-11T11:16:00.001-04:00

September 2011

September 2009

May 2007

First Day of School

2011-09-11T11:02:00.001-04:00

Lauren dressed for the third time for the first day of school. Little did I know the changing clothes thing would start in 4th Grade. She finally settled on this classy top from GG, her comfy yoga pants, and the All Stars that Alec and I bought her.

Lindsay, ready for kindergarten. Wearing the first day of school dress that Tutu bought for her. She added the charm, which came on a scented candle. Fancy.

Oh, so much cuteness.

Lindsay found her seat, which was at a table with plates and teddy bears. She was feeling a little shy. Her teacher announced that their first class on Wednesdays is Art, so we said our goodbyes and they lined up for Art.

But as we got into the hallway, the fire alarm sounded. We exited the school, and lined up on the sidewalk quietly. Ironically, on the way to school, Lindsay had asked if I thought there would be a fire drill on the first day. I said I didn't think so. While we were in line, I whispered, "You were right!" As it turned out, there was a malfunction in the sprinkler system, so the fire department had to come and override the system error so that the kids could return to class. We stood outside for about 20 minutes, and Lindsay made friends with Claire, who had the umbrella. Her other friends names are Lucy and Katie.

Lindsay's class heard a story called "The Kissing Hand", which is a great tale about a raccoon and his mama on the first day of school. Lindsay brought home her writing assignment. She said, "Oops, I got mixed up."

We had gymnastics at the end of the day on Wednesday, which is always fun. Lindsay was pretty tired, but she did get a stamp, and she made a new friend.

Vacation in Scenic Schenectady NY

2011-07-17T15:12:00.002-04:00

There isn't a whole lot to do in Schenectady, I'll assure you. But we had a hotel with a very nice indoor pool, and we were the only ones in it the whole time we were there. I'm raising a couple of water rats, so, it was a good time indeed.It was nice and warm in the pool, but the atrium was air conditioned, so it was a little chilly getting out. I hung out in one of the lawn chairs.
Yeah, I am wearing a dress and pants. Did I mention the air conditioning?
Oddly, the hotel restaurant was not open for lunch, so we had to head elsewhere. Lauren helped by navigating using my iPhone's map. We made it to Friendly's.
We write each other fortunes on the paper wrapping for the silverware. Mine read "I love you more than ice cream. Oh, and thanks."

Lindsay, modeling a dress I'd fashioned from a hotel towel.

The first day were in Schenectady, we had lunch at the movie theater and saw Zookeeper, which was surprisingly funny, and not too raunchy. On the walk home, we noticed that there was a Museum with a planetarium across the street from the hotel. On Thursday, we headed to check it out - the museum included displays about electricity (GE has a big plant there) and information about the history of Schenectady, which was a bit of a yawner in my opinion, but I was excited for the planetarium. We had a planetarium in the town I grew up, and I remember our times there fondly. Besides, it's cool and dark, and it was not quite as hella hot as it is in Jersey, but it was about 90 degrees. Disappointingly, the projector wasn't working right, so there was only about a third of the sky lit, and during the slide presentation, most of the constellations they were referring to were in the other two-thirds of the sky (of course). The girls thought it was cool anyway.

Not as cool as the pool, though.

Diving board

2011-07-17T15:08:00.002-04:00

There's my little swimmer! Go Lindsay!
About to dive in...
Taking the plunge!
Very proud of herself.

My cold loves

2011-07-04T23:42:00.000-04:00

Pictures at the Park

2011-06-30T08:04:00.002-04:00

Rinsing our feet off in the Raritan River.
I am just as tall as Lauren!!

Throwing rocks. There were plenty of them.
When I'm not "looking" they're holding hands.
Pretty summer day.

Me and my littlest billy goat

2011-06-16T16:38:00.002-04:00

This week, Chez Stoll

2011-06-16T09:58:00.003-04:00

It was Alec's birthday, and we took a (very short!) trip to TD Bank Ballpark to watch the Somerset Patriots. We're always up for a good minor league game. We had dinner at the park, plenty of treats, and watched the Patriots succumb to the York Revolution.
It was bat night. The girls were psyched, and nearly gave both of us black eyes swinging the darn bats. They went to Alec's office, where his coworkers will likely injure each other with them.
Lindsay got to bring her friend Mackenzie to gymnastics. They had fun. Mackenzie navigates the balance beam in reverse, with some help from Miss Allie. Lindsay tries to wait her turn.
My baby geese are gawky teens. Swimming in the Raritan.
Lindsay's class presented a musical version of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff". Lindsay is the little goat wearing red boots.

Mercer County Park

2011-06-06T10:17:00.002-04:00

Movie night! We girlies watched Tangled together on Friday night - a birthday present for Lindsay from a friend of hers. Lauren commented that it would really be a problem if Rapunzel got head lice. Ewww.
We had a tournament in Plainsboro over the weekend (yeah, near where Dr House works.) This was a climbing structure on the playground that the girls really liked. Here they are wearing their "away" uniforms. Lauren is next to the center support.
Lindsay enjoyed climbing also. A rare look for rockstar Linds, cotton dress and sneakers - you can tell she didn't dress herself.
More climbing with Chloe and Emily.
Lauren and her friend Daniella, this time in their "home" whites, relaxing between games on the bench. Mostly they were eating as many gummy bears as they could and trying not to get wet, as it drizzled a little before the second game was underway.

Besides the cute pics, we were outplayed in the tourney, but we were the only "new" team, and the only team below flight 2 (we were flight 6 of 6 this season). The girls were excited to get their first set of patches (you collect a team patch from every team you play in a tournament), and a medal for participating.

Cutie Rockstar in her new boots

2011-05-31T14:49:00.001-04:00

Thanks, Karen, for the new kicks.

We shall not forget

2011-05-30T12:16:00.002-04:00

When I was little, the Friday before Memorial Day, my elementary school had an outdoor assembly on the hill that overlooked the blacktop where the flagpole stood. Each class would have a representative read a poem or story about the cost of freedom. The one that stands out most in my mind is this one:

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Today is a day of remembrance - that we shall not forget the lives of those lost at wars here and overseas.

As May winds down

2011-05-26T19:35:00.003-04:00

This has been on my dishwasher for a few weeks now. I have no idea what it means. Lindsay is not a duck? Lindsay does not have to duck? Lindsay doesn't like ducks? Very confusing. Hopefully she will learn to spell some more words soon so that this may be clarified.
Lindsay and the little sisters of Lauren's teammates at a game in Basking Ridge. It was too foggy that day to watch the game, and Lindsay and the girl wearing the matching shirt disappeared in a cloud for a while. Good times.

We went to Bergen County Zoo on Lindsay's birthday, which is a small zoo within a county park. It took maybe an hour and a half to see all the animals in the zoo. This was right before we left, the girls didn't want to pose.

Lindsay's favorite present - Barbie doll Trichelle. Still amazed that Grampie knew which Barbie she wanted.

Lindsay making her own pizza on her birthday. Pizzeria Uno offered her a job. Trufax.

Lindsay cheesing it up at the spring concert.
Lauren, ready to head to her concert.
Edison Xtreme sporting their home colors. They finished their first season 6-3-1.

Lindsay's school party

2011-05-20T11:25:00.002-04:00

On Fridays, her class rides trikes around the school. Lindsay got to be the line leader:Lindsay also got to tell her teacher all about her - how old she was going to be tomorrow, what she wants for her birthday, and what her favorite food is.
Lindsay and her class doing the birthday bop:

Springtime

2011-05-13T20:49:00.002-04:00

I wish I'd managed to capture how many deer crossed this field - it had to be close to 30, all does with their fawns. I've never seen that many deer in one place, and so unconcerned about the people around. Amazing.
I captured this on a walk through the park yesterday - I'd been waiting for the ducklings and goslings to make their debut - and here are some very fuzzy-looking babes. They had 8 babies. Oh my goodness!

Mother's Day in Boston

2011-05-13T20:45:00.003-04:00

We had a great day. We left early in the morning by car to join Alec in Boston - he had to be there for a conference. We enjoyed springtime in this fun city. Since we stayed at the Park Plaza, we spent the afternoon of our first day there in the Public Garden. We rode the swan boats, went on a carousel, and the girlies got soaked in a sprinkler. We walked back to the hotel via Tremont and Boyston Streets so that the girlies could see Emerson - the college that Alec and I met at, and Alec and Grampie graduated from - Lauren thought this was pretty cool, well...she was also freezing because of the sprinkler. We got changed, and headed out for a Mother's Day dinner at Legal Seafood. A pretty awesome day.

Yoda, contemplating bathtime

2011-05-03T07:41:00.000-04:00

A microblog: Tattoo

2011-04-26T08:06:00.002-04:00

Conversations I didn't predict I'd have before becoming a mother:

"Bye, honey. Have a good day at school."

"Bye. Mama."

"What do your tattoos say?"

"Well, I have a lot of them. This one," pointing, "says 'star', that one," pointing, "says 'love' and this one says 'peace'."

"Ahh, ok. See you at 2:30."

Yarn Stash

2011-04-10T23:42:00.002-04:00

Rockstar Lindsay

2011-04-07T11:21:00.003-04:00

Two of Three

2011-03-31T08:28:00.003-04:00

Damn. Now that Meatloaf song is going to be stuck in my head all day.

Chez Stoll, we decided it was time to hear the pitter patter of little paws once again, and went to adopt 2 kitties from a rescue. When we happened upon this cat family - a mama and 2 almost-grown kittens, we decided that 3 cats was purrfect. They had been surrendered by a family with kids whose apartment building has a no pets policy. We can't, however, seem to have all 3 cats out at the same time. So, here's 2:
This is Chica. Yes, she does look a lot like Shannon. Chica, however, is a frenetic little snuggler who follows everyone all over the house. Chica is the Mama, so she spends her time interacting with the teenagers by growling at them. I get this.
This is Chelsea. It was very hard to get Chels to stay still for a picture. She kept trying to nuzzle my face with the camera. She is a gray tabby. Chels spent her first day Chez Stoll playing basement cat. She's my new bestie since I rescued her from the basement.

This is the boykitty, Yoda. He is extremely shy and has been hiding in our closet amongst Alec's dress shirts since he arrived. He has a tiny kitten mew even though he is probably the size of the two other kitties combined.

Our very own tree sculpture

2011-03-25T08:33:00.002-04:00

One of the trees between the sidewalk and street died last year. It was a maple tree. The borough planted them, so they're obliged to take them down when they die. Since our borough is out of funds, this is what they've been doing when trees die. We call this treatment making a tree sculpture.

I'd told Lindsay on the way home that the men from the borough came and made the dead tree into a tree sculpture. I didn't know if this was going to be upsetting. When we got home, she walked up to it and said, "Well, it would be fine if it didn't have a cow's vagina."

Seriously. That's what she said. And I said, "Huh." Because I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Tiny vampires

2011-03-23T12:29:00.001-04:00

"My foot would be afraid [without a sock] because it is very dark inside my boots. And there are probably very tiny vampires just waiting in there for a little foot to find itself alone and scared."

A PSA from Lindsay.

Random Eerie Factoid of the Day

2011-03-21T17:22:00.001-04:00

Lauren was born in the same hospital in which John Lennon died.

Amazing photography

2011-03-17T12:41:00.004-04:00

Lindsay really takes some amazing pictures. This one she took on my camera phone last night, which I think captures the end of winter perfectly. You can even get the impression of buds on the trees, whispering that spring is coming.

Memories

2011-03-17T12:30:00.002-04:00

I don't know who drew these at Lindsay's school...
...or even if I've shared this story before. I don't even know that my parents are aware of this story since it didn't impact me directly.

At the high school I went to, there was the tradition of the senior prank. One year, the senior class checked out all the books from the library. Another year, they turned all the desks upside down. My class drew chalk outlines. The concept had started out as Simon from the Land of Chalk Drawings, which was being parodied at the time on SNL by Mike Myers, but ended up more like some sort of grisly crime had taken place at Conard High. The group of girls responsible were friends, though not people I hung out with by the time we got to senior year. All 8 of them were in the top of the class...all of them were suspended because of the "violent nature" of the prank...it was rumored anyway that they might not be able to walk at graduation.

Still, when I see chalk outlines, that's all I can think about - this zero-tolerance policy. And these girls who were smart, funny people who did a silly prank that became darker than they'd intended.

Auntie Jules visits

2011-03-16T08:35:00.005-04:00

So, of course, there was a dance party.
Auntie with the tunes...
Linds is tired.
I'm really rockin' out here.
Lauren raisin' the roof
Even Auntie started getting tired...
More singing and rockin' out.
Like a G6, like a G6...

Linds, self portrait.
So cute.
Linds finds a use for the frisbee.
A girl's gotta have her purse, even on the playground.
Auntie Jules pushes the swings.

Alec, Jules, and Lo, as Jules gets ready to leave.
Fishy kisses.
Ohh, someone's gonna miss her Auntie. Come back soon, Jules!

Eek!

2011-03-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

"Why are you afraid of sleeping in your room, Lindsay?"

"Because there are spiders."

"Ah."

"And they have chop saws."

"That is scary."

Awesome pictures from Dallas

2011-03-02T10:24:00.002-05:00

Cabled socks

2011-02-17T17:22:00.001-05:00

Yeah. I knitted them. I can't believe it either.

Porridge Party

2011-02-17T16:58:00.005-05:00

This picture amazes me. I felt like I was the original Mommy & Me failure. If it was out there, I tried it - at the library, at the local daycare center, even at the Y swimming pool. Lindsay NEVER listened, never sat still. My friends assured me, that whenever I wasn't around, Lindsay would go along with whatever was going on...and that once she got to school, she would be fine.

And so - tada! Lindsay, sitting nicely during Circle Time in her classroom. Who'd've thunk it?

In case you can't read it, it says:

Lindsay is a joy to teach and a pleasure to have in out classroom. She is socially well adjusted and easily follows classroom routines. Her readiness skills are strong as she easily identifies all lower and uppercase letters, numerals one to ten, and basic colors and shapes. Lindsay is learning the importance of "raising and waiting" as she can be quite "chatty"! I enjoy her subtle sense of humor. She makes us laugh and that's a good thing!

I'm really glad she has a teacher that enjoys her sense of humor.

Today, we were in the classroom enjoying our favorite Nursery Rhymes with a porridge party. Although our district allows for Valentine's Day parties, Lindsay's teacher opted for a low-key pass out cards and eat cookies day on Monday. Instead, parents and siblings joined the entire AM Pre-K for a performance of their favorite rhymes in the library, and then went back to the classroom for juice, porridge, egg salad sandwiches and muffins.

Lindsay's class, seated, played rhythm sticks. The other AM class played bells. They sang "The Muffin Man", "Peas Porridge Hot", and "Humpty Dumpty". Lindsay had trouble keeping track of her sticks, and her friend Jack, seated on her right, retrieved them each time she dropped them. Very cute.

New car

2011-01-29T11:14:00.002-05:00

It was time for Stolls to turn in their Mazda 5. We loved that car, and before the winter blast had talked about buying it. The 5 handled poorly in the snow. We decided we LOVED the Mazda, and the folks over at Open Road Mazda took great care of us, and so we've now a Mazda CX9. It has the 3rd row of seats like the 5, but is a bit more SUV than crossover with all wheel drive.

So we're excited! Yay, new car!

My stripy scarf is finished!!

2011-01-22T13:41:00.000-05:00

Argh!

2011-01-13T10:12:00.002-05:00

Lindsay is a wonderful, brilliant, funny little person.

Having said that, smart kids are freaking frustrating. They always think they're smarter than I am.

Lindsay cannot be convinced of ANYTHING. Reasoning? Cajoling? Meh. The only thing that works with any regularity is bribing, and that is of course, turning her into an entitled little monster.

Today, she refused to get out of the car at drop off. When that happens, the aide will say, "Sorry, you have to pull up." As soon as I did, Lindsay happily got out of the car without an argument. Why? I have no idea.

Ranty rant rant

2011-01-03T16:25:00.002-05:00

Ringing in 2011 with the rant! That's what we do here at Screw Perfection, right? Rant.

I had to return some things at Bed Bath and Beyond today. I was already not in a very good mood because my return was awkward and heavy. I'd had a slice of banana bread hours ago for breakfast, but I was suddenly lightheaded and hungry. I had Lindsay with me, who was asking for something within grabbing reach every 2.5 seconds.

There were two cashiers. A customer in front of each of them. I stood behind the woman at the Customer Service register. About 30 seconds later (or after Lindsay had asked me for a lollipop, Quacking Duck keychain, and a pack of gum about 10 times), the cashier at the other register asked if she could help someone. I bent down to pick up the heavy box, and after I'd lifted it, realized there was a customer there already. I sighed.

"I just want you to know I was in line already, when you walked over."

"Okay." I replied.

"Because I was standing there for several minutes before you even entered the store. I don't want you to think I jumped in line ahead of you."

"I don't have any problem with you." I said.

"I can see from the look on your face that you're upset, but I was next in line."

"I don't care. Whatever."

The thought that came into my head next was, why is this man talking to me? I really don't care if he wasn't in line and got helped ahead of me. I broke eye contact and stopped talking.

And the conversation ended.

Huh.

Snow Day

2010-12-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

Bundled up. Lindsay commented, "I look like the Home Depot."

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T12:06:00.000-05:00

No disrespect

2010-12-20T19:34:00.002-05:00

"What was your favorite part of your day," I asked.

"We made dream catchers. That was cool!" Lauren replied.

"Oh? You made dream catchers in Art?"

"No. We made them in Social Studies."

"In Social Studies?"

"Yeah, we're studying Native Americans."

"In Social Studies?" I repeated.

"Hey! Native Americans have beliefs too." She said fiercely.

"Wow. Yes, I know."

So cynical

2010-12-15T08:46:00.002-05:00

I don't know if it started when she turned 8, or when she began 3rd grade, or even if it was earlier then that and started when her baby teeth started falling away to be replaced by too-big-for-her-mouth yet adult teeth. But Lauren somehow became a big kid. Unfortunately the characteristics of big kid seem to be endless irritation at the stupidity of one's own parents, expressed mostly in long sighs and eye rolls. And letting your little sister know that everything she likes is deeply uncool. Dora? Uncool. High School Musical? Very uncool.

She let me know that yesterday they had a "real lockdown". For my dad out there who remembers nuclear war drills (I think he called them "hide under your desk and kiss your ass goodbye drills"), lockdown drills are pretty similar. According to Lauren, the teacher turns off the lights and everyone has to hide silently out of sight from the door in case a gunman is running around the building. If you make noise, you could get shot. They do these drills somewhere between once a month and once every two weeks. (It's district wide. Lindsay's school also does lockdown drills, but mercifully, Lindsay doesn't see this as "someone is trying to kill me" in the way Lauren does). During yesterday's drill - I have to assume it was a drill because the Honeywell system didn't call/text/email anything about an incident - apparently a couple of the boys in Lauren's class thought that groping other people would be a good way to spend the time. Lauren was neither a groper or a gropee (it sounded like the boys were mostly grabbing each other), but she was pretty upset by the incident. She said that her teacher sent the boys to the principal, and that their parents were going to be notified, and that they were put as a class back on a daily status system. Basically, they get 5 points at the beginning of the school day, and can lose points for bad behavior. If, for example, a kid is out of points by lunch, he's not going out to recess. Lauren said, "We haven't been treated like that since first grade" and was clearly irritated. She's always chafed at group discipline.

I'm not really surprised by any of this. I know this stuff probably goes on at the private school nearby that's $25k/year. It's still really frustrating.

Conversations with Lindsay

2010-12-14T14:53:00.002-05:00

"Mommy, did you go to Pre-K?"

"No. They didn't have Pre-K when Mommy went to school. Mommy started school in Kindergarten."

"Ohh."

"Did Daddy go to Pre-K?"

"I don't think so, honey. There wasn't Pre-K then."

"Who were Daddy's parents."

"Oh, you know the answer to that."

"Oh yes. Poppy and Tutu." She began to sing:

Poppy and Tutu
Up in a tree
K-r-s-n-i-n-g
First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes daddy in the baby carriage
Sucking his thumb, peein' in a diaper
Then he drinks the al-co-hol.

Seriously. I have no idea.

Christmas Pageant

2010-12-12T18:57:00.002-05:00

By any other name

2010-12-10T17:24:00.002-05:00

Lindsay has been insisting this week that we call her Samantha. We've obliged, mostly because we figure at some point, she will get tired of it.

Unfortunately, part of this obsession included disposing of all the Christmas ornaments that we've collected over the years that had "Lindsay" printed on them. This probably wouldn't have been a big deal had she not done it on a Thursday evening, before we'd bundled all our trash, curbed it, and had it carted away by the sanitation department.

Shortly after this picture was taken, our daughter formerly known as Lindsay began crying because she realized she would never have her ornaments again. She was instantly cheered by the ice cream that came after this.

I'm still bummed. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find ornaments that aren't "Lynn" or "Lindsey". Grr.

Now, with pictures!

2010-12-03T12:37:00.002-05:00

This is the trivet I knitted. Isn't it pretty? I based this on a pattern for a dish towel.And this is something Lauren left in the downstairs bathroom. What does it say?

Dear Dad,
I love you. Put
the nobe on
the broar!!

What the heck?

ETA: I just realized that the note says "Put the knob on the drawer." 6/8/11

The sort of yoga that makes me want to punch the tv in the throat is not the right yoga for me

2010-12-02T15:23:00.002-05:00

Seriously.

I've been trying to get back into yoga. Realizing that I want someone talking who has a mostly pleasant voice and doesn't talk too much. I've been trying this one streaming video called "Yoga for Common Conditions", assuming it meant yoga for the not very flexible round person. The man who narrates the poses has quite possibly the most annoying voice ever. So annoying, in fact, that I didn't make it to the last part, the conscious relaxation part because I was too pissed off to lie there with my eyes closed. Maybe it's just that I'm beyond needing a narrated conscious relaxation, and just want 5 minutes of soothing music followed by a cue to get up.

Yoga should not make one more aggravated.

Happy Hanukkah!

2010-12-01T12:33:00.003-05:00

Hey, I'm here, and I don't have to be. Nomoblopomo...

It's actually NOT even Hanukkah yet. I went out this morning and bought gelt for the girlies. Okay, I bought more than that. I did manage to put back the Star-of-David-and-Dreidel lights though. No lie. There is such a thing, and they were briefly in my cart. They just weren't really $15 of awesome.

Lindsay and I will be making latkes tonight. When Alec gets home, we will light our menorah, which we've had since we lived in Boston. It's a beautiful one, but it had very skinny candles that one can't buy anywhere, so we have to melt the bottoms of the store bought ones to make them fit. Also, and I write this because I didn't realize that you have to let all the candles die out on their own, so it will be something of a fire hazard Chez Stoll for the next eight nights.

You've been warned.

I did it!

2010-11-30T14:06:00.003-05:00

Hey, I did it! Thirty posts in 30 days. Some of it was dialed in, but screw perfection. I used to dedicate this post to navel gazing about the things I've learned this month, so here goes:

Soccer season ended.
Lauren made a travel soccer team!
I learned how to knit.
Lindsay declared that trips to the library when you're not allowed to check out books is pointless, that HER husband would mop, and that David better watch out.
Lauren lost 3 teeth - two of them on Thanksgiving.
I voted.

I think those were the highlights. No big revelations this month. Besides posting 30 times, I volunteered at the thrift shop, helped with the Thanksgiving food drives at the girls' schools, picked up shoes 64 times, and did 25 loads of laundry. Go me.

According to Lindsay

2010-11-29T13:14:00.001-05:00

"Can I help you mop?"

"No, honey, I only have one mop."

"When I grow up, I am going to have two mops. One for me, and one for the daddy."

"Or, so you're going to make your husband mop?"

"Yeah. He is gonna help me with that."

Christmas Tree

2010-11-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

I will post a picture of my tree when my girls stop rearranging all of the ornaments. Odd. I don't remember my brother and I being quite so particular about the placement of the decorations. But then, we put tinsel on the tree in those days. It was plenty of work just to get the tinsel off your footed bunny pajamas.

Last night, we made turkey pot pie turnovers. Oh my, they were good. We finished up the pumpkin pie and watched "The Wizard of Oz". It took a lot of explaining about why there were "grey people". I'd guessed my grandparents were about Lauren's age when the movie was originally released. It's amazing with all the digital enhancement now that movie still stands up really well - the costumes are really incredible.

Enjoy your last day of Thanksgiving weekend!

Happiness is...

2010-11-27T14:08:00.002-05:00

...when girlies are up early playing Barbies together instead of watching television.

...my home group on Saturday mornings.

...leftover turkey for lunch.

...putting up the Christmas tree.

Hopefully NOT a Thanksgiving Tradition

2010-11-26T10:39:00.002-05:00

We had a great turkey dinner last night complete with sausage stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams, mashed potatoes, Brussel sprouts and pancetta, and finished with a pumpkin pie. We played a little RockBand before our friends turned to pumpkins (they had to be on the ice at some ungodly hour). After they left, I sat at my desk with my knitting, and Alec played some BioShock - to regroup later to watch Battlestar Galactica.

About 10 minutes in, Lauren came down stairs. "Mom, my tooth is too loose and it hurts. Will you take it out, please?"

My dad may remember that we had as many of these conversations as I had teeth. I absolutely HATED having wiggly teeth in my mouth. He often obliged - as I recall, he'd say something funny, and then pull the tooth, hard and quick. I've since mastered the technique myself.

I said, "Let me give it a little wiggle." I gave the tooth a hard push with my thumb, and out it came.

"Yay!" Lauren shouted, running over to Alec, her mouth full of blood, "I lost my tooth!"

I gave Lauren a glass of water for rinsing, and a damp paper towel for blotting. Tooth in hand, she headed upstairs.

About 20 minutes later, she came bounding down the stairs. At this point, I was reloading our dishwasher (dinner parties are fun, but they usually require at least 2 rounds from our slow machine). She came into the kitchen, her mouth full of blood, and announced, "I lost another tooth!"

"What? Open your mouth."

Sure enough, the tooth I'd pulled out had neatly clotted, and it was, in fact, the tooth above it that was now missing. I handed her another glass of water for rinsing, and a new damp paper towel for blotting.

"Um, are we done with the teeth tonight?" I asked nervously, mentally reviewing that there were only $7 in my wallet.

"Don't worry, Mom," Lauren said. "I don't have any more wiggly teeth."

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T10:59:00.001-05:00

I am learning that being thankful is an attitude I have the great privilege of practicing daily. There are some great women I have in my life that share with me the things they are grateful for everyday. It is a practice that frames my thoughts for that day, and changes me, I believe, a little bit at a time.

I am so grateful for the life I have - my husband and my beautiful girls. My family, far and near. My friends who let me vent and make me laugh.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Out of touch

2010-11-24T08:45:00.001-05:00

"So, basically, Rachel said if I didn't like the Eagles, I couldn't be her friend."

"The Eagles? You mean, the band?"

Lauren's eyes rolled. "Duh, mom." She snorted. "The football team?"

Silly mommy. You'd better have written down all the lyrics to Hotel California, or we're through! "Oh. The Philadelphia Eagles." I replied. "So what'd you say?"

"I told her I thought the Eagles were great. They have some great pitchers." Mischief sparkled in her eyes.

"But you just said you were talking about a football team..."

"Duh..."

Everybody loves clam chowder

2010-11-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

Things accomplished

2010-11-22T17:47:00.001-05:00

Food drive haul, sorted and packed in boxes for families in our school.

Turkey, in fridge.

No grocery shopping for me! Yay.

The end of the soccer season

2010-11-21T10:54:00.002-05:00

Lauren with her trophy

Tired

2010-11-20T12:21:00.002-05:00

Who knew that 15 4-year olds could tire me out so much? And I was only there for an hour and a half. With a teacher and 4 paras. Geez.

Crushing on Lindsay

2010-11-19T13:13:00.001-05:00

Lindsay has a playdate today with a little boy in the other Pre-K class. His mom said to me this morning, "His father finally got to the bottom of why David wants to have a playdate."

"Oh?"

"He said that Lindsay is the most beautiful girl in Pre-K, so he wanted to have her over our house. David doesn't get an chance to play with Lindsay because she plays with her friends on the playground."

I had to laugh. Poor boy. Crushing on Lindsay.

Fire protection

2010-11-18T12:27:00.001-05:00

"Mom, I know about fire protection!" Lindsay exclaimed in the pizza place.

"Oh?" I thought maybe she was talking about checking the smoke alarms, because weren't we supposed to replace the batteries at the end of daylight savings? No?

Lindsay dropped to her knees. "Go! Stay low," she said crawling, "and go slow..."

Hmm, sure beats Stop Drop and Roll.

Extreme

2010-11-17T20:02:00.001-05:00

So, if you didn't already hear, Lauren made the travel soccer team and is now on the roster for the Edison Extreme. We're very proud.

Pointless field trips

2010-11-16T15:52:00.002-05:00

Lauren has been terribly jealous of her sister, as she's been on 2 field trips ALREADY this year. Lauren's class typically goes on one a year.

Today, Lindsay's class walked from the primary school to the public library, which is about 8 blocks away. Fran the librarian gave them a tour (if you can imagine, our town has about 14,000 residents, so our library is just a big room with a smaller room for the children's books, a gallery, and a conference room) and read them a story.

"Was it a good field trip, Lindsay?"

"Well," Lindsay replied, "The library is nice. Fran the librarian readed us a book about bear hugs. But something bugged me."

"What was that?"

"We went to the library, and we weren't allowed to take out a book."

"Oh. Well, you're going to go to your school library tomorrow...you can take out a book then."

"But it doesn't even make sense to go to a library and NOT take out a book."

Can't argue with that.

I hate Mondays

2010-11-15T08:48:00.003-05:00

I had thought when I started staying at home with kids, that the sheer ire I felt about Mondays would fade. That it had purely to do with having to drag myself out of bed, to an office, deal with people who were sometimes Very Annoying [because I am only Mildly Annoying]. But as it turns out even though I am where I love people with some cool small people who aren't usually Too Annoying, I still hate Mondays and still have far more on my to do list than I can reasonably get done in a day.

Harumph.

1001

2010-11-14T10:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked my 1000th blog post. You may have noticed I updated my template, as I have every time I've reached a 100-milestone.

I started this blog in March 2006. I'd just returned from visiting my sister in Arizona. I was about 6 months pregnant with my youngest child, and it had occurred to me in the desert that I wanted to write more. I also wanted to go back to school. I achieved those goals.

I went on a journey of self beginning in January 2009, and realized that I had a lot of things to work on. I'd been so focused on other people's growth and recovery, that I totally missed I was sick myself. Working on that has at times required me to drop everything else. Almost 2 years later, I'm just starting to find those pieces that used to be familiar - the committees I used to sit on, the blog I used to write. So, I'm trying it on. And Nablopomo seemed like a good place to do that.

So here I am. It's November 2010. It's hard to believe sometimes that I've got a third grader, and that in less than a year, I will have 2 kids in school all day. What I've learned on my journey for the past couple of years is that I can't anticipate...I just try to hit what's pitched.

End of soccer season

2010-11-13T16:54:00.001-05:00

We lost our game this morning, but the travel tryout went well. Fingers crossed!

Happy Friday

2010-11-12T10:34:00.001-05:00

I'm glad it's Friday! It's been a very long week.

Today, we're going to have pizza for lunch.

Tonight, it's movie night, and we're watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!

Tomorrow is Lauren's last soccer game of the season, and travel soccer tryouts!

Jesus is mad!

2010-11-11T13:39:00.002-05:00

Letters

2010-11-10T08:53:00.003-05:00

Yesterday included an email from the concerned parents at Lo's school that parent volunteers should be coordinated to help out with recess so that we may facilitate social relationships among our children. The word bullying was thrown in there twice, and the note concluded with the idea that left with the air quote aide air quote whose job it is to watch the kids at recess, underscore real underscore violence may ensue on the playground.

I had to read it a couple of times.

I had Alec read it, because I know I'm a spazz. "Why do you have to respond at all?"

Good point! I don't have to respond. But I knew I'd be asked about it at pick up.

First off, I am definitely not qualified to facilitate anyone's social relationships. Have you met me? I'm at least 3 of the Most Awkward people you've met. I think the best thing I can do, actually, is NOT try to facilitate anyone's social relationships. Especially my kids'.

Second, it's just not my parenting style. That's not to say I think it's bad or wrong. It's just not what I do. I'm trying to let my kids have their own relationships. Funny that Lauren having her own cell phone has helped that - she can call people when she wants to do that. She regularly calls her grandparents purely on her own volition. I think that's kind of awesome.

I don't think I'd think it was cool as a 3rd grader if my mom was coming to watch recess. I mean, ew. It was bad enough we had to have recess with boys. Big time ew.

I can knit!

2010-11-09T13:06:00.002-05:00

I taught myself how to knit this month! Last night, I finished my first project - a scarf for Alec. It was super frustrating, and I did break a bamboo needle. But once I got it, I was hooked.

Fringe benefit - unlimited loveys! Lindsay is thrilled.

Nor'easter'

2010-11-08T08:48:00.002-05:00

We're having a Nor'easter' here today. I can't really complain. We're due for some wind, but not much else. Our neighbors to the north and west will be enjoying these winds with snow and sleet. The sky this morning was pretty amazing - sunny with puffy white clouds on the southwestern sky, and wet, gray and gloomy on the northeastern.

Meanwhile, it's not windy in my house. It's toasty warm and I am enjoying a nice cup of Tazo Focus (black spiced tea) with my lovely Internets. Life is good.

Bye bye daylight savings!

2010-11-07T13:49:00.002-05:00

We turned out clocks back last night. I'm happy for that, since I've had it with waking up in the dark...I just wish it had happened 2 weeks ago, before I got used to waking up in the dark. It will be great now, waking up in light...but in another 2 weeks, we'll be waking up in the dark once again. It sort of sucks to have to go through this twice.

S is for Saturday Soccer

2010-11-06T11:35:00.002-04:00

We were on the pitch today at the ungodly hour of 9 AM, which I know for my hockey friends is the luxury of a late morning. It was 35 degrees this morning, and the fields were wet, so it was damn cold to be standing out there. The above photo is from earlier in the season. Lauren wore long-sleeves under her jersey, leggings and a headband to cover her ears.

This was one of the games that Lauren's team played versus a boys' team. They've played very few of those this season, mostly the girls' teams play each other, but since there are only 3 girls' teams in an 8 team league, today was one of those days. They also only had 7 girls today of their 14-girl roster since we had a 3-day week, many families went on vacation. Lauren played in goal for first quarter - had 7 saves and allowed 2 goals. The boys dominated today, and won 6-0.

We have our last game next week, which will wrap up our 10 week season. Thankfully, it's a later game, and hopefully it will be a bit warmer because it sure is getting chilly to be playing an outdoor sport!

New Traditions

2010-11-05T12:15:00.002-04:00

I like the idea of family traditions. I'll admit that I've always been envious of my friends who practice the Sunday dinner tradition. I imagine in practice it is probably a hassle. Our Sunday mornings Chez Stoll are hectic. We're usually busy until noon.

About 6 weeks ago, the girlies and I started a new tradition. We watch a movie on Netflix together after dinner and have buttered popcorn. It usually means they get to stay up a little bit later, and condenses the bedtime routine a bit. So far, we've seen: The Princess and The Frog, Ponyo, Annie, and Monsters vs Aliens. Tonight, we're watching Flushed Away.

I have vague memories of watching The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday evenings with my parents. I don't remember any of the movies though. I remember we used to watch The Wizard of Oz together every Thanksgiving, though my clearest memory of it is watching it with Gramma Jean. She moved a television into her parlor, which I thought was Very Fancy. I must've been about 8 or 9 at the time. I doubt we ate buttered popcorn sitting on her velvet sofas...hee hee!

What are some of the traditions you remember from your childhood? And do you continue them with your kids?

Sleepover with the bestie

2010-11-04T09:56:00.005-04:00

My girlies are tired this morning. No school today meant that Lauren had her best friend sleep over last night. I know it won't surprise you that there wasn't much sleeping. They were upstairs around 10, but they whispered in the dark until sometime around 11:30 pm. I slept in this morning, but I heard them head downstairs just after 5 am.

We ate dinner together last night. I made steak fajitas from the leftover London broil I'd made on Monday night, along with rice and beans. Lauren's bestie said, "This is the best dinner ever. It's like eating at a restaurant."

Yeah. Awww.

While the girls settled into their movie, I went to text her mom and let her know because I like hearing when my kids are good. Unfortunately, my thumb slipped and I hit page instead of text. As I tried to quickly type the text, she called, worried that there was something wrong. Oops.

I'd told the girls that I'd get them ice cream for dessert, so once I was done texting, I headed out to get 3 kiddie cups of mint chocolate chip ice cream (with the flat square chips, not real chocolate chips because that's yucky, according to bestie). There was some construction going on right in front of the shop, so I parked my car down the block and walked. Who was there? Bestie's parents and little brother.

So, the girls had fun...and hopefully between the page and abandoning them for ice cream, Bestie will be able to sleep over again, because my girlies sure had a good time.

Visit from the tooth fairy

2010-11-03T10:09:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Lauren had a playdate at her friend Rachel's house. I got a call about an hour into the playdate from Lauren.

"Mom, I lost that tooth that was loose on the playground today."

"Cool!"

"Well, yeah. I found it, and then went to the nurse and she gave me a tooth holder."

"Great!"

"Well, it was great until I lost it again walking home."

"Oh..."

"But I still have the container from the nurse as proof. So do you think that the tooth fairy will still come?"

"Sure. You can leave the tooth fairy a note."

Our tooth fairy left Lauren a note when she lost her first tooth. At that point, we found out that our tooth fairy is named Bruce. The missing tooth note read:

Dear Bruce,

I am sorry I lost my tooth outside playing. If you want proof, look in my mouth.

Love,
Lauren

PS Write ~~bake~~ back.
PPS Leave money.

Bruce left $5 under Lauren's pillow and penned on the back of the envelope. "No problem, Lauren! Love, Bruce".

This morning, when I asked Lauren about the tooth fairy, she said, "He wrote back 'No big', and left money. But, Mom, I think Lindsay might be Bruce."

Stiffling a laugh, I said, "Why do you think that?"

"Bruce has TERRIBLE handwriting."

Election Day

2010-11-02T07:36:00.002-04:00

Don't forget to vote today!

I'm planning to in between school drop offs this morning. My polling place is a synagog on Main Street. Before I lived here, I thought they only used schools as polling places. I can't really complain about voting here, we have older machines, but there's no wait (when I voted in Boston, I waited 2 hours to vote in a presidential election once).

Halloween Redux

2010-11-01T09:07:00.003-04:00

My two little witches had a great weekend. Lauren played hard at her soccer game (nearly 3 1/2 quarters!) although they were defeated by the Angels on Saturday. We spent an evening with our favorite hockey family and enjoyed grilled chicken, roasted veggies from the farm and apricot cream cheese bars that were even good without the eggs. Yesterday, Lauren sang in church, while hubs cleaned the house (!), and then we hung out until it was time for the trick or treating. Girlies went out with hubs, I passed out Laffy Taffy, and when the witches returned we had dinner, and then watched The Goonies together.

Best. Halloween. Ever.

Being human

2010-03-15T10:31:00.003-04:00

I wonder what it is about the human experience that we must see destruction for ourselves. The rain left the corners of our basement damp for the first time since we've moved into our house. It also blew in the nearly rotted off side door to our garage. Amazingly, all 16 of the trees on our property stayed standing (our lot is 60 by 100, and yes, that is a crazy amount of trees). Our neighbors with pine trees didn't fare as well. This morning, I noticed that the house up the street we made an offer on before we saw this one lost the giant pine tree in its front yard - it broke in two and fell over into their driveway onto their car. We tried to imagine the sound a tree falling on one's roof must make, and the structural damage it might cause.

We had to reroute several times yesterday because the roads along the Raritan River were flooded. We saw several houses with trees fallen onto them. The mom of one of Lauren's friends posted this picture to Facebook:And went down to Donaldson Park to see how high the Raritan was. It was pretty damn high:
You can see that the new baseball fields are under about 3 feet of water. The edge of the river about a half mile from where it usually is.
The playground we were just playing on last week. The picnic table we were sitting at is submerged. It is still raining today, but it looked like the Raritan had receded a bit and the downed trees are fewer as they get cleaned up.

Snow Day

2010-02-26T14:57:00.002-05:00

Working on it

2010-02-25T09:01:00.004-05:00

I'm working on far too much stuff right now to enumerate, and blogging has been far from my mind. I thought I'd share a couple of blurry pictures of my progress.

My friend Kimberly bought a house in November, and has been working on it furiously. Literally, every time I am at her house, something is completely redone or a different color. She said, "I'm trying to take advantage of my momentum, because I know once you've been in your house a certain amount of time, you stop working on it."

We had such plans when we moved into our house, and bought so many cans of paint. Once we'd painted the dining room and Lauren's room, we lost our steam. We were both working full-time in jobs where we had to travel, had a very long commute, and a munchkin. Just making dinner those days was exhausting. I don't recall having plans to work on the house when I left my job, I was pregnant with Lindsay pretty shortly after that, and the little time I had was spent doing freelance work. And now that was almost 4 years ago.

But, I thought, I can grab hold of that momentum and be inspired to pick up a paint brush, even though I am not very good at it. As Kimberly pointed out, "It can't look WORSE than it does." But also, I get frustrated with Lauren when she gives up on learning something new because the feeling of not knowing how to do something is scary. I so often hear myself say, "You'll never learn if you don't try..." So, I gave myself permission to make a big mess of painting the vestibule from the back door.

I should have taken a before picture so you could see the terrible blue paint they'd used for the door frames and the coat hooks. I've hated it since we moved in. But before we'd redone the kitchen, it didn't look so bad. Once the kitchen was finished, it became clear that it should be painted to look like an extension of the kitchen, so it has the same green wall paint and white trim. We are hoping that we have enough VCT left to tile the floor the same as the pantry, and plan to buy the same curtain as the kitchen for the door.
Planning the next house-venture, repainting the dining room. It's going to be blue-gray. Whee!

First tooth

2010-02-16T13:31:00.003-05:00

Just before dinner last night, Lauren wiggled out her first tooth. She is the last person in her class to have lost a tooth, and we joked often that her teeth really like it in there. No more, though. The adult tooth is already on its way in...

Brought to you by the letter S

2010-02-04T09:01:00.002-05:00

"What makes the sound ka?" Lindsay asked from the back seat of the car.

"The letter K?" I offered.

"No," she said, "The letter C."

"Ohhh! The letter C."

"What makes the sound sssss?"

"The letter C?"

"No," she said, a touch of impatience creeping into her voice. "The letter S."

"Oh! The letter S."

"What makes the sound sssss?"

"The letter S?"

"No!" she said loudly. "A snake."

"Ohh, right. A snake." I chuckled.

"What makes the sound ROOOOAR?"

"A lion?"

"No!!" she shouted. "A tiger."

Little sister logic

2009-12-11T14:52:00.001-05:00

"I guess you're not going to learn Spanish then, if you won't repeat what I said..."

"I guess it's just too hard for me. Oh, well."

And I thought the cheese stood alone

2009-12-03T08:49:00.002-05:00

"What letter does your name start with?" I asked Lindsay at dinner last night.

"S," she replied, chomping dramatically into her grilled (girl) cheese sandwich.

"Well," I said, "Our last name starts with S. But what does Lindsay start with?"

"Cheese!" she replied.

Serving up tragedy

2009-12-02T17:05:00.002-05:00

Several years ago, Mudda bought Lauren an aromatherapy bear for Christmas. Lauren was probably about 3 at the time, and loved that her snuggly bear smelled nice and was warm. Years passed, and it ended up in a trunk in our sun porch. The same sun porch we're currently reorganizing as a playroom where the family Wii will live.

Bear-y surfaced. Lindsay fell instantly in love.

I thought, oh! I bet she'll love him if I make him all warm and scented. I plucked him up, and put him in the microwave for a minute.

Lindsay sobbed, "You are turning my bear into DINNER!"

"Oh no!" I interjected.

"First he is a lovey and now he is going to be food." Giant tears splashed down her face.

I looked from her crying face, to the turnstile of the microwave, spinning round and round with Bear-y on it. I opened the door, grabbed Bear-y out, and handed him to Lindsay.

"See, he is ok!" I said.

She sniffed.

"He's warm now, right?"

She felt him, looking a little confused, she nodded.

"And he smells nice?"

"Yes." She said. "Don't do that again."

What I want for Christmas (and it's not teeth)

2009-11-28T08:27:00.000-05:00

It is practically a car payment for this attachment. Our Kitchen Aid itself was probably about the same price when we bought it 10 years ago. It makes our sandwich bread weekly - even despite the hiatus while our kitchen was being worked on, more of our baked goods were homemade than not this year. I'm pretty proud of that. The baking station has already seen several batches of biscuits and a couple of pie crusts prepared on it in the couple of weeks we've been back to business.

This attachment, exclusive from Williams Sonoma, makes macaroni noodles, fusilli, and spaghetti. I'll admit it - pasta is a standby meal in our house. A box of macaroni noodles makes two meals worth of mac 'n' cheese and stowed in my freezer is quicker than delivery. I can't even imagine how much better it would be with Fresh Homemade Pasta.

Tantrum Season

2009-11-25T14:34:00.002-05:00

When you hang out with a 3 1/2 year old person, things are volatile. Especially if you're doing stuff that doesn't directly benefit that 3 1/2 year old person, like say, going to older sister's Thanksgiving play and feast at school.

Lindsay was great for the short, 4-act play. She even managed to sit patiently while every other table in the classroom was dismissed to get the snack - the yellow table was last. She navigated the line, retrieved her snack, and sat proudly next to big sister eating.

It should've occurred to me when snack was finished, and the teacher began playing a number game with the second graders that this was a fast track ticket to boredom for our heroine. She began playing on the map of the United States carpet behind where Lauren sits, running from East coast to West, and back again. When I asked her to sit, she refused. The second time she refused, I said we would have to leave if she couldn't sit. She began to protest loudly, so I slung my bag on my shoulder, whispered to Lauren, "See you outside after dismissal," and ran out the nearest door with the little person secured like a sack of flour at my hip. A caterwauling, kicking sack of flour. Of course, I was 3 doors away from the dismissal door, so I set Lindsay down and said, as calmly as I could muster, "Are you ready to listen?"

"No." she shouted.

"Ok, then I will have to carry you again." I made my way over with a kicking and screaming Lindsay. When we arrived, I sat her down between my ankles, holding her firmly so that she couldn't run off, as she screamed.

"Wow." Kimberly said. "Good party?"

"It was good." I replied thoughtfully, "but a little too long."

"I can see that."

"You just never know when it will be too long."

Kimberly nodded. "You just never know," she repeated.

Girl Power

2009-11-24T09:42:00.002-05:00

When I got into my bed last night, all freshly made up with clean, white flannel sheets, I was asking for trouble. I don't own white pants any more for this same reason. No matter what time of the month it SHOULD be when I wore white pants, it was always my time. You know. I had girl power. Yippee. Or, well, you know. Not.

It's a couple of days until Thanksgiving, so I had it in the back of my mind that I still have a couple of things to pick up at the grocery store because Wegmans didn't have bags of cranberries (?) and had run out of pecans on Sunday. I also had to make one other more pressing purchase. You know, for the girl power.

Lindsay and I headed in to our local Stop and Shop. I hate the local Stop and Shop. But driving the half hour to Wegmans for 3 items seemed like sort of a waste. And, it was entirely possible that the only cranberries were still the local quarts they'd priced at $3 per.

Lindsay is fascinated by the new Chiquita banana stickers that have funny faces on them. When we see them, we have to examine all of the funny stickers and discuss which ones we like best.

I braved the store with just a basket (the local S&S quarter-locks their carts I'm sure just to irritate me). It was cumbersome. I'd remembered mid-shop the conversation I'd had with the room mother for Lauren's class about bringing apple cider to tomorrow's Thanksgiving play, so I picked up a gallon and a half. Three packages of cranberries. A package of pecans. A half dozen pumpkin donuts. I tucked the final item in the top of my basket and stood in line. There were only 2 cashiers and about 4 people in each line.

"Hi Lauren," said a man's voice behind me.

One of the dads from Lauren's soccer team. Of course.

"Doing a little shopping," he asked.

Seriously? "Yep."

At that moment, Lindsay tried to pick up the basket, and I discouraged her.

"She's really strong."

"Yeah, there's a bunch of cider in my basket..." I said, my voice trailing off. Wait, did I just encourage this man whose name I can't remember to look into my basket? Ohemgee, now he totally knows I have girl power. Sigh.

He said, "I'm going to stand in this other line now."

I replied, "That's a good strategy. I always seem to pick the slowest line."

I placed my items, with my reusable bags in front of them, on the conveyor belt.
And then I remembered the biggest reason why I don't shop at Stop and Shop. Although they sell reusable bags, they won't bag your groceries if you use them. At that critical moment of checking out, the cashier started scanning the next person while I simultaneously try to put away my change, receipt, keep track of small person (who was mercifully distracted by the Red Box machine) and put my items into 2 grocery bags. As I struggled to put the last item in, the cashier said, "Thanks for bagging. It's so busy today. It's been busy since 6 AM..." I tried to force a smile, but I couldn't. At that moment, my girl power had gotten the best of me. I slung the bags on my shoulder, collected Lindsay and headed for the car.

A little less wise, but otherwise OK

2009-11-07T07:11:00.003-05:00

This post is for Rose. It's probably way more than anyone else wants to read about teeth.

The Good

I was worried that I would be aware of what was going on during the surgery since I knew IV sedation wasn't going to make me unconscious. I can say I only remember sitting in the chair and then getting out of it some time later with the help of a nurse.

My family and friends are awesome. My kids have been well cared for and entertained even with my hubs having to go in for a meeting on Thursday morning. I've been brought syringes for rinsing and ice cream. My hubs has been an all-around awesome nurse/stay-at-home dad/working parent.

I got some awesome advice via Facebook. Icing a lot. Eating regularly and especially (dairy, who knew?) before meds, has staved away the nausea and swelling and made things pretty tolerable.

The swelling is not too bad, and the only bruise I have is from the IV.

I went out and bought my fave comfort food. Campbells Chicken and Rice Soup. Ginger Ale. Saltines. It was a good idea.

The Bad

Once I got in the chair, I was given nitrous. Which probably would've been a "good" thing if I'd know that was what was going on. Instead, I had a panic attack, and then realized I was still sitting in the chair. I asked, "Am I ok?" and my voice sounded strangely far away. The doctor replied, "Um, I don't know. Are you ok?" and I heard my far away voice say, "The room is spinning." "Oh," he chuckled. "That's the nitrous. We can turn that down a little."

Having a milkshake post-op was a very good idea. However, I should've taken my first pain meds along with it. when I got home, I got to bed and took my meds, and then was in the Worst Pain Ever. For some reason, I decided a shower would help. I think it made things worse. Alec called the doctor to ask if I could take more. The doctor said no, but I could alternate it with Advil every 2 hours. That was a very long 2 hours. That first day, pretty much all I did besides sleep was count down 2 hour intervals.

I'm slightly terrified of drugs, so I probably didn't take as much of it as I needed. I also decided to stop taking it yesterday, which meant I slept the entire day.

The Ugly

My mom had said, put a towel on your pillow because you will probably have bleeding. I have no idea why I didn't heed that advice. Ew.

I knew I was losing 4 teeth. I didn't realize I'd lose quite so much from the insides of my cheeks. Also? Had no idea I'd have stitches. When the pain med wore off, all I could feel was those damn stitches pulling. It kind of makes me woozy to think about it.

I'm up and about today, which is about 72 hours after having had the teeth out. Someone had said to me yesterday, "You'll feel much more like yourself by Tuesday", which I think is probably right. I'm only planning to go to a meeting and to sit for a family portrait (great timing on that), which I imagine is going to completely exhaust me.

Conversations

2009-09-23T09:25:00.003-04:00

Me: Will you say hi to my grandmother on the phone?
Lindsay: Mom (putting her hand up), I can't. Rockstars don't talk on the phone.
Me (talking into the phone): Sorry, Mimi. Lindsay won't say hi.

Lauren: There's this thing that bugs do.
Me: What's that?
Lauren: Well, with people we call it marrying. But with bugs it's called mating. You know what else?
Me (cringing inwardly): What else?
Lauren: Bugs can't mate with their mama bugs, just like I can't marry my mama.

Rockstar

2009-09-16T13:20:00.003-04:00

My girls sure are getting big...

2009-09-09T09:15:00.001-04:00

May 2007

September 2009

First day of school

2009-09-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

I guess it's better than 'I saw it on TV'

2009-08-19T10:03:00.002-04:00

"Mom, come meet our new ladybug!"

"Oh, you found a ladybug? How old is it?"

"It is 12 years old," Lauren replied, as she counted its spots. "And it is yellow."

"Cool. A yellow ladybug."

"I am just glad it is not white."

"Oh?"

"Because white ladybugs are cursed."

"They are?"

"Yes. I read it in a book."

Master Negotiator

2009-08-18T08:58:00.002-04:00

"So, we wanted to know if we swept off the steps and the front porch, will we earn a quarter?" Lauren asked.

I closed my eyes, thinking about this. "You each want a quarter?"

Lauren nodded.

"Well...ok. I suppose it is worth 50 cents..."

Lindsay piped up, "Actually, I want four dollars."

I laughed.

Lauren added. "Wow. I didn't think to ask for four dollars..."

Lindsay said nothing and continued to stare at me earnestly.

"I'm going with 50 cents..."

"Ok," Lauren said happily.

Lindsay scowled and picked up her broom. Glancing over her shoulder, she muttered, "I'm going with four dollars."