Weekend Update

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday this weekend. It was quite a milestone, considering all of the medical things he and my stepmom have faced recently. (And there are more things to come this week). They haven't had much of a chance to get out and enjoy life, but this weekend I think they did.

Friday night started with a celebration at a really good Mexican food place. We all lined up at a huge table and visited. We had to wait a long time for the food, but the kids were good. The girl fell asleep with her head resting on the table, so I took her into my lap for a nowadays rare cuddle. We had cake, and the waiters sang and made Dad wear a big sombrero. He hates that sort of thing, I am sure because he was obsessing over how many other people had that same hat on their heads... but he was a good sport about it.

The only thing missing was my brother, who was on the road from Dallas. We kept him up to date and entertained in traffic with text messages and photos.

He arrived at my house shortly after we got home from the restaurant. Brian decided he needed a snack, and pulled out all of the stuff he'd brought. He is apparently prepared for any snack emergency... he had Sun Chips, mini chocolate chip cookies in handy 100 calorie pouches, and chocolate praying hands.

Something about the idea of chocolate praying hands struck me as funny, because I laughed... Kind of like the time my dad got tickled at this movie called Used Cars and ended up giggling and under the coffee table with tears rolling out of his eyes.

Yesterday Dad brought his pot and propane bottle, and boiled 5 pounds of shrimp for us. I made salad, baked potatoes, and his favorite pineapple cake. After we'd eaten, the boys all went to Academy to look and guns, knives, and other man-stuff.

Brian went to see a friend last night. After he got home we watched Rock n Roll High School. For those of you who aren't familiar with The Ramones, it's a circa 1980 moving tale of teenage groupies who turn their high school upside down in the quest for fun and concert tickets.

This morning Brian got doughnuts and then hit the trail to home. My kids were sorry to see him go. And so was I. We welcome adult company and conversation anytime.

Wasting Time

You Are 40% Impulsive

You're a pretty stable and serious person. You don't take things lightly. This doesn't mean you can't have fun - you just have fun responsibly. You definitely have a spontaneous side, but you only let loose when it's appropriate.

Are You Impulsive?

Have I Mentioned Lately that Winter Sucks?

The weather is gray and rainy. My head pounds on alternating days for no reason. Well, maybe there is a reason. I blame cold fronts.

The triops is growing and is about an inch long. It amazes me that a little three-eyed, supposedly preshistoric creature is already conditioned to become excited when we get near him with food pellets.

I'm getting more of the working mother experience this week. I now know without a doubt, that being a working mom is more difficult than an at-home mom.

I've never been one of those rabid, "Why do people have kids if they just send them to daycare anyway" kind of at-home moms. I made the decision to leave my job when I was about 7 months pregnant with the boy. This was fueled largely by some issues from my childhood. I never enjoyed daycare as a a kid, and did not want to put my own child in one. And once the boy was born prematurely, the doctor did not want him in daycare around germs. Besides, I was too busy addressing his developmental problems and juggling therapy appointments to even think of working.

The entire time I was grateful to "just" have to focus on my family and children. But I have always felt that mothers who work have it harder, to have to divide themselves between office and home. The amount of work it takes to run a home and care for the family is impressive. I never could grasp having the energy to manage home and a job.

Now I am getting a small taste of it. Tuesday morning I got kids and myself ready and took the boy to school. The plan was to take the girl and her backpack of clothes and stuff for the day, straight to Eddie's mom. But since I am not a morning person, her backpack was forgotten. So that was an extra trip around town. I finally made it to the office with 15 minutes to spare, only to find my key-bearing coworker had not arrived yet.

It was a full, busy day at work. I came home at lunch to let the dog out and inhale some food. Around 4p.m. I got a chance to catch my breath, and then finished up the day around 5:15. Next it was straight to my inlaw's to get the kids. I had to wait for them a little bit because they were gone for a walk or something. After a little chat with them we got home around 6:15. I had leftover spaghetti but was too tired to fight the kids to get them to eat it. So they got to eat Kid Cuisine TV dinners, which they think is great. I hate feeding them those things.

After dinner I had to manage homework and bathe the girl. Son got to skip his bath because he and daddy were playing checkers and I did not want to prolong the bedtime process. I did not even clean up the kitchen, and the dishwasher remained full of clean dishes that needed unloading.

I think this is so tiring because I have to do everything for the kids in the morning since Eddie is already at work. And, he is not especially helpful with them in the evening. But he'd been up since 4:15 a.m. so I know he was tired too.

Today the office was closed. I sent the girl for an extended day at school and caught up on housework. Tomorrow I have to work again. I am happy to have the chance to use some of my rusty skills again, and to make some money. But I will also be glad when they go awhile without needing me.

The real highlight of the day was when I woke Tuesday morning. I stumbled to the bathroom, turned on the light, and confronted my bright sunburnish red face in the mirror. It seems the skin care products I'd used the night before did not agree with me. It looked like I'd had a chemical peel, and felt hot. I laughed because it was so comically bad. I couldn't wait to face patients looking like that. The boss and coworker were kind enough to say I just looked like I'd been in the Carribbean.

Surrounded By Geeks

What type of person do you attract? Your Result: You attract geeks! Your stunning intellect and love of sci-fi and video games allures the geeks like nothing else. Maybe it is the sparkle in your eye that makes them want to text you, who knows. Geeks make good partners, but tend to be argumentative. If you are a TRUE geek magnet, you will know if that was spelled correctly, and actually care. If it is a bad-boy/bad-girl you are seeking, you are barking up the wrong tree, unless they are just 'bad' behind a PS2 console.
You attract Yuppies!
You attract models!
You attract unstable people!
You attract rednecks!
You attract artsy people!
What type of person do you attract? Quizzes for MySpace

This is the truest internet quiz I have ever taken.

I am surrounded by geeks and geek accoutrements We are currently growing a Chia Pet in the laundry room. A couple of weeks ago, Eddie and the boy were very involved in a rock tumbling project. The idea is you pop some ordinary rocks into this painfully noisy machine that, uh, tumbles them around and... presto! After several days of grating racket they are changed into beautiful gemstones. That project was put on hold due to BB's visit and has yet to resume.

The newest thing going is the hatching of ancient sea creatures in a corner of my living room. It's a kit the boy got for Christmas, something called Triops. The illustration on the box makes them look like one-eyed horseshoe crabs. Eddie set up their little pond, feeds them, and has a lamp for warmth. He even fashioned a foil cover I guess to simulate sleep/wake cycles. Yesterday he reminded me to cover them up at night. Out of probably hundreds of eggs poured in there, a few have hatched. They are tiny, but visible to the naked eye. The box says they can reach up to two inches in length, but I kind of hope they die before then.

In Eddie's spare time, he has repaired his Dad's old reel to reel tape player and is making copies of the folk music on the computer. He ordered a player off of ebay and robbed it of some parts, so now his Dad's is good as new.

I love my geeks.

Adventure Friday

I ended up working yesterday, because the regular nurse did not have a babysitter for her kids on the last day of school Christmas holidays. Eddie was home in the morning with our kids, and my MIL was kind enough to take them for the afternoon.


It was the first time I've worked alone since being re-hired. It was steadily busy, but nothing too outrageous. Of course, it wouldn't be a Friday afternoon without discovering that a new patient has arrived to begin their allergy shots, only to discover that the doctor never gave the "recipe" to us to mix. That meant I had to stop giving shots to the roomful of people waiting and take 20 minutes or so to mix it. If I'd had someone working with me, one nurse could do the shots, and one could handle the mixing. Oh well. The folks waiting were nice though.

I got out of there right at 5:30 and considered the dinner possibilities for the kids and me. After picking them up from the inlaws' house, it would be minimum 7 p.m before we were eating. Plenty of time for cranky hungry kids to demand junk food. Thought about heading to the nearest cheap Mexican food place, but hated to spend part of the money I'd just earned. I can squeeze a penny till it bleeds when I am in that frame of mind.....

But, my MIL was feeding the kids ham, mac n cheese, and vegetables. They probably liked that better anyway.

About an hour after we got home, the dog was outside and jumped very hard on our back glass sliding door. It now has a huge crack from top to bottom. The edges of the crack were not even; I worried that it would all fall out and shatter if I touched it. Eddie was at work, so I called our buddy Todd over to check it out. He bravely wrestled with the uneven glass and then taped it up.

I guess instead of buying Eddie an ipod Nano with my paycheck, I get to help purchase some new french doors. We've been wanting to do it for years, but it is expensive. I guess now is the time.

Happy New Year

We'd made no plans for any adult celebration. It's not like I absolutely HAVE to celebrate New Year's in a big way ever single year. But I do miss having the option to.

Eddie ran into his brother-in-law in the store yesterday, and he invited us over to their house. He told Eddie to ask me to make a side dish. Knowing this guy usually grills fajitas, I opted for an easy but good Spanish rice.

We arrived, and my sister-in-law opened up a bottle of wine. The grilling began. Turns out we were having Bratwurst sausages. Oh well, all the food groups were covered.... Brats, alcohol, spanish rice, and chocolate cake.

Eddie brought the fire pit over and we roasted marshmallows for the kids. As midnight came closer we got out the sparklers. Once we'd burned through those we went back inside to watch Saturday Night Live reruns, and the kids watched Nemo in the other room. My kids get along well with their sweet 2-year-old cousin, so we heard very little from them.

After midnight we left and threw a couple of tired kids into their beds.

Today my kids are bored, and bickering with each other. I am ready for the school routine to start up again.