Friday bits

My weekend plans were thrown for a loop this morning when I found out it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow. WHHYYYYYY?

I am going to try to get the kids involved in the wonderful world of fondue tonight. We have a great fondue pot and we never take it out (I think it’s been more than five years). Here’s the problems with fondue:

-          Henry’s not a huge cheese fan

-          Henry’s not a fan of dips

-          Henry’s not a fan of things that are hotter than room temperature.

Sensing a theme? But we will persevere! We shall overcome! We … oh, well, we’ll try.

Saturday I planned for yard work and gardening. This might be thwarted by rain and we might stay in pjs all day and read/watch tv/play video games. I’m not all together against this idea, but I was hoping that I might actually get something done while not going to Disney this weekend, the first weekend in forever. I invited my dad and his girlfriend over for dinner, so if they come I might need to figure out what to make them (looks like grilling will be out). Sunday, C is involved in a fantasy baseball league draft that I volunteered him for, so the boys and I will be going to a carnival and eating junk food all day. I’m thinking ice cream for dinner. Score!

**

I bought a new orthopedic pillow, and the first night was heavenly. The rest of the nights so far have been adequate. Not as good as that first night – I was singing the songs of the angels after my night of sleep. But still much better than I was previously sleeping. I’m still trying to get the hang of sleeping on my back, and C has been watching basketball which I hate and that makes it hard to fall asleep. I’ll get there – I have a promising start.

**

Monday is opening day of baseball! This is thrilling, I’m so excited (cue Jessie Spano). Game time is 4:10pm, but I’m taking the whole day off so I can go to the new Trader Joe’s (!!!!) while it’s not crazy. I feel like opening on a Monday is a good time to get there. What’s your favorite TJs item? Previously the closest TJs was 1.5 hours away, and we went a few times to load up and come home. This is much more preferable.

**

Also, BASEBALL!

**

Last night I invited my neighbors to come to dinner last minute. She was tired from the sheer exhaustion associated with being pregnant with two rambunctious children in the house all day and didn’t want to cook, and I had a pork roast in the slow cooker, so pulled pork sandwiches for all! The kids watched Frozen and played outside and we got to see our friends. I love that we have friends living close enough to do that with.

Caught

Last night I was washing dishes up while cooking spinach lasagna rolls, thinking about what I had done since getting off work. I had picked up the kids, gone grocery shopping, put all the groceries away, started dinner, cleaned up the kitchen and changed out the laundry, all in about 1.5 hours since I left work. I was thinking of these things, and all of a sudden the though struck me, “hey, I’m a pretty good catch!”

To his credit, my husband has always acted like I am, but it’s a novel idea for me. I don’t question my worth as a friend. I think I’m a pretty damn good friend, although I get stepped on a lot in friendships. I don’t really question my worth as an employee either; I’m a good employee and I know my stuff. But in a relationship, I always feel like the other person settled when they got me.

C and I have been together for more than 11 years, and in a few weeks it’ll be our 7 year wedding anniversary. We have both obviously changed since we met. Stylewise, I was a geeky girl who wore baggy Keroppi pants and Adidas sneakers with Care Bear laces. He had just gotten through his clubbing phase and was still into muscle tees with a little shine to them.  I hated all sports, he spent all his tv time watching National Geophraphic or Sportscenter. I didn’t even know what Sportscenter was. I wouldn’t say either of us has changed drastically by way of hobbies – I still spend most of my me-time reading, and he spends his on the computer. But we’re definitely not those 22-year old kids anymore. I now own MAKE-UP AND MOISTURIZER AND BRAND NAME CLOTHES AND HEELS. I WATCH BASEBALL VOLUNTARILY. 

We sometimes allude to what would happen if we weren’t together anymore. I tell him that I would be lost financially if he died, because he handles all the bills and I detest thinking about money. I do the packing when we go anywhere, and when he does it we end up missing a lot (this weekend he forgot pjs for the kids and himself, and his bathing suit) – he said that would be something that he would be lost doing if it were left to him. Is it morbid to talk about what would happen if one of you died or if you divorced, even when things are good? I don’t know. It works for us.

We’ve grown and changed, but we’ve done it together instead of apart. I appreciate him 90% of the time, and he does the same for me (I have to allot for those times we want to deck each other; I know they happen). We’re good for each other. But now, at 33, I really feel like we have equal footing. I’m a damn good partner. And I have a damn good partner.

152 insights into my soul

Here is my purse. I don’t know how there aren’t any toy cars or other random child accoutrements, but I must have more recently than I thought cleaned out my purse. It’s not huge, but I can fit a good amount of nonsense in it.

Ipad

Wallet

Note book to keep lists in (my form of bullet journal)

Makeup bag

Sunglasses

Meds to keep me sane

Meds to keep headaches at bay

Two dozen loyalty cards, of which I probably use two.

Change purse I hold all those in.

A picture of Spencer with Santa when he was 10months

Ear buds

Spencer’s amazon gift card that I haven’t put on our account yet

Car key

Hand sanitizer

Pez

Perfume

Pen

Eye drops

Foot ointment for my eczema

Change purse (red flower actually holds change)

Earrings I got sick of wearing and left in my purse

In the makeup bag:

Several lipsticks and lip balms (there was a burt’s bees hibiscus balm that rolled out of frame)

Fresh naps purloined from a hot wing establishment

Sinus meds

Pressed powder

Lotion

Assorted punch cards that I never remember to get punched.

Responsible pill taking and other topics

 See this? This is keeping me sane.

I always felt day-of-the-week pill holders were only something that senile 80 year olds who can’t remember to take their medicine use, but then a couple weeks ago I had an epiphany: I AM one of these senile people. I’m not 80, but I have always, always been terrible about taking meds. Would something that separated them by day really help? It turns out the answer is yes.

We are in the throes of planning not one but three getaways this summer. It started out as one long trip to Colorado, but now we’re also thinking about taking a train trip with the kids somewhere (which is proving difficult, we might not do that. But then I have to talk my husband back out of it), and hopefully a long weekend with just my husband. So yay for non-work related traveling!

The weekend happened exactly as planned and it was marvelous. Such a very great weekend. For date night my husband and I used a gift certificate for a downtown steakhouse, and then faced with no interesting movies in the theaters we decided to go to a local winery and restaurant and have a drink and talk. It was really lovely. The wine was terrible, but the bar was nice and I talked the bartender through making me a French 75 (a little heavy on the gin, but that’s a-o-k) and we talked for so long and didn’t even start talking about the kids until it was time to head home.

(In looking at the information online, it’s not “local” and nowhere on the entire site does it say where the grapes are from, although I think from Illinois. This is suspect and the wine was not good. But the bartender was nice!)

It’s rainy and gross, and I’m going to somehow make it out of my car to pick up a head of cabbage to go with corned beef, but otherwise I foresee pajamas and television in my evening plans. Happy Monday, folks.

My ecstatic bits

Provocative title, eh?

- So I really do like to travel for my job, but there was something about this upcoming trip to Miami that I was dreading. It wasn't the actual work, but I felt overrun trying to get things done ahead of time so I wasn't behind when I got back to the office, and I had to cut the trip short for another obligation so it felt like a worthless trip. Anyhow, today at 5:05pm the Universe obliged me, and my trip was able to be canceled. It's so exciting, really truly - so exciting. Pairing that with a really good outcome on a colleague's out of town trip this week, and today is just happy news day. I really wish it would have come earlier so I could have not had to stress all day about getting things done, but later's better than never.

- I have a packed weekend. It was a good thing because I was going to not see my family for three days, but now it's just good because I'm terrible at downtime. No downtime for me! Tonight is my version of relaxing. I picked up Thai food (Pad Thai to split w/ my husband and 15 dumplings, those heavenly things) and once I set the kids up with their friday night movie, I have a date with Amazon and my bed to watch the Veronica Mars movie. SOOOOOO Excited. I only watched the series last month so they are recently seared into my mind. The Slate headline said "Veronica Mars movie: More of the Same" ... like that's a bad thing?

- Tomorrow is Disney. All hail the Mouse House.

- Sunday I'm taking Spencer to the Annual Antiquarian Book Fair. I don't know if he'll care, but I love it and I've missed the past few years. Now I have another reader in the family! Better believe I'm taking advantage of that. There are always a few kid booths, so I'll buy him a book and he'll be happy.

- And then! Then! Date night. This weekend is going to rock.

- It is 75 degrees outside. This weather is amazing.

- I have nothing bad to say. I don't have to travel next week! Life is good.

What does your weekend look like?

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

I’ve done this twice, but I only get through yesterday before being sidetracked and have to scrap it for another day. Today! Today’s the day!

Yesterday:

- I had a meeting two hours away, so I got on the road early to get there. I downloaded Labor Day to listen to in the car, and when I got there I looked at my phone for the time, and it was completely wonky. Somehow it lost DST! I was freaking out a little, because I had no idea what time it was (poor people in padded rooms that are deprived of time). But I was on time (not an hour early) and half the other people for the meeting were 45 minutes late.

 - Most of the way through, I missed a call from daycare. Spencer had a fever, and my husband had to go pick him up. S has been battling what I thought was an earache and a sinus infection, but with this second fever (he had one a couple days ago that hadn’t reoccurred), it was definitely time to get to a doctor. I rushed home after my meeting to get him to a doctor’s appointment. We were ridiculously late, but they took him.

Ear infection and Strep.

So I took him to Publix for new toothbrushes and Amoxicillin, and then we went home so he could watch Star Wars in bed and I made soup for dinner. C picked up Henry from daycare and we had dinner (Henry had the soup minus the soup part – strained to just sausage and beans, and he ate that happily. The things I do for picky children).

- As we were cleaning up, Henry was laying on the couch watching cartoons and starts complaining that it hurts to swallow. So I dragged him into the bathroom with a flashlight, and his throat looks like his brother’s. By this time it’s 7:15pm, so off to urgent care we go to get another strep diagnosis and more antibiotics.

They were amazing. I’m pretty sure they are better every time we go. The doctor actually made Henry like her (and considering he was doing that screaming ridged board thing when I took him in, that was a miracle), they gave him a popsicle and even got him to do TWO throat cultures without crying (the nurse accidentally dropped the first one). 

 

So yep, strep. We hightailed it to the pharmacy across the street to get the script filled before closing, and got home at 9pm. For all those playing at home, I was running and driving from 7am to 9pm solid. Exhausting.

- I’m now petrified that I’m going to get it, and I have some out of town things for work so I really don’t have time for strep. I have large tonsils and I’m very susceptible. Bah.

Today:

- I had C's car key in my purse this morning when I left for work (I took his car for the second doctor appointment because I had the work car and thus no carseat for the three year old.) So I had to turn around and drop it by the house, which made me late. However, my boss forgot to set her alarm so she was significantly later than my 5 minutes.

- Both kids are staying home with daddy while he attempts to work. I made sure all technology was charged and advised to placate with much television. Somehow work has to get done sometimes, right? With my upcoming work trips, I cannot afford to be out of the office right now, and thankfully while C planned on being in the office, he can work from home. This is one of those times that our situation feels lucky, even if it’s inconvenient.

- Work! This is the plan. Much work. The plan is to finish all of this week’s work today, and tomorrow I can start on next week’s work since I won’t be in the office. And shrimp for dinner, I think. The kids like shrimp.

- I will remember to take a photo of something that makes me happy today. I have forgotten for the last three days (out of seven. That’s a Lent fail, right? Pick up and start again.)

Tomorrow:

- I have jury duty. It’s been a few weeks, so I hope that it doesn’t take all day but I don’t know. It's so interesting and so mentally exhausting as well. 

- work, more work! I need to get on that. I don’t want to be terribly behind when I miss four days in the office next week. The kids will be back at daycare, God willing, and I think it will be bounce house day. She tries to fill Spring Break with fun stuff.

- I’m thinking maybe ice cream will be in order.

Little bits

1. It was a rough morning, and I don’t even know why. I got up early (for me), made myself breakfast to go and eggs for the boys, and lunch for Spencer but Henry was just so whiny/crying. I just felt run down and rushed by the time I left for work, only to have slight upheaval there too and I was just done.

This was my happiness. The day is getting better.

2. My mom hit an oil slick on her scooter last night and slid down the street. She’s fine, but I just. I hate that scooter. I understand that she loves it and that she has reasons for using it as her sole mode of transportation but it just ups my stress level. She called me in the middle of the night to tell me (okay it was 10:30) so I wouldn't see it on Facebook and freak out. Well played.

3. Spencer is barreling through his reading lately. He’s on the third Captain Underpants book, and we also have Dinosaurs Before Dark and My Father’s Dragon from the library. I picked up two Junie B Jones books for him, but he refused to read them. After some pointed questions, it is specifically because they center on a girl and therefore he thinks they’re girlie. He confirmed if they were called Jack B Jones, he’d read them.

Sigh.

He’s also now at a level 16 in reading, which is the passing level for first grade. He asks to play games on his kindle and I tell him no, you can read for a little while and HE DOESN’T ARGUE. He just picks up his book and reads. I’m really trying to cultivate this in him. I love to read (obviously).

4. There was a little reorganization of my department, and as a part of that I got to move to the good desk. It’s near the window and its situation lends more of an “office” feel - private. It’s also further from the printer and the bathroom so I feel like I get a few more steps in (although it doesn’t appear so, based on my fitbit calculations). I love it. My only grievance is that I’m not good with socialization and this cuts me off from my peers a bit; I have to make an effort to see and talk to people.

5. I’ve got nothing else. I’ve been exhausted lately – I think a holdover from that sickness, and I’ve been going to bed early which helps me getting out of bed in the morning but I am just shot by 5pm. How do you remedy that without loads of caffeine that will impede bedtime?

On giving up (things)

I’m not religious.

I guess I feel obligated to put that out there, even though my relationship and thoughts on religion and God are far more complicated than that.

I do, however, participate in Lent every year. I don’t do it for the traditional Lent-observing reasons. I do it for me. I do it to think about my life a bit more, to acknowledge the good and the bad, the vices and the things I should do more of. To be more intentional with my life.

This year I’ve noticed I’m not a positive ball of energy. I don’t acknowledge as often as I should how great my life really is. I have two really great kids, and wonderful, supportive husband, a good and interesting job, and time to spend with those I love.

There’s a running complaint that one puts their best face forward on social media – it’s not all rainbows and roses, but to see the facebook posts and the tweets and the blogs, it may as well be. I don’t feel like that is the picture I paint about my life. I feel like sometimes all I do is complain. Henry won’t stop crying every morning and Spencer ruins things at school for no reason, C retreats to the office to play zombie Sims too often … but these things are such a small part of my life and I feel like I get wrapped up in the nitpicky minutia and stop looking at the big picture.

There are other, non-Instagram photo parts to this decision. I want to start reading to the kids at night (I hate this, but they love it) and just join C in the office more often when he’s playing his games (there’s a couch in there for a reason). Go on family walks/bike rides (sorry for the rest of the country, but the weather is pretty amazing here right now). Have my parents over for dinner that isn’t a holiday. I might also be toying with giving up alcohol too, but I’ve got 12 hours more to make that decision.

We are happy. We are healthy. And I would like to give myself the opportunity to be intentionally positive about the life I lead.

#40daysofhappiness

Books I read: February

This is going to be a very shoddy reading post, but I don't usually review re-reads, and that's almost all of what I read this month. But for posterity, here's the month of February:

re-read:

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

8. Graceling - Kristin Cashore

9. Fire - Kristin Cashore

10. Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore

11. Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

12. Frost Bite - Richelle Mead

13. Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead

14. Blood Promise - Richelle Mead

15. Spirit Bound - Richelle Mead

16. Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead

new:

11. The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh This was really good. I can’t seem to remember my specific thoughts on it, but I really liked it.

12. The Sense of an Ending - Julien Barnes Nothing felt like it came together in this book, and I was left very unsatisfied.

Catching up

A couple weekends ago we were felled by a stomach bug. It started simple enough. Henry (who has an iron disposition) woke up on a Saturday feeling off. Then the runs started, followed immediately by vomit. Until the vomit started, we thought he had just drunk too much green smoothie the night before. The boys and I were supposed to be going to a kid’s birthday party and a baseball event later, as C was working from home. Instead, I took Spencer to those things while Henry stayed home with daddy, watching tv and running to the bathroom. He was so pitiful.

Sunday everyone was better so we hit the road, stopping for breakfast and then heading out to Disney. C started feeling a little off after breakfast, but he thought he would be okay for the day. Somewhere around 10 I started feeling off too, but I didn’t even connect the dots. Sometimes I get a little motion sick from the jerking rides or the buses between parks, and I just assumed that’s what it was. I wasn’t having any physical symptoms. Spencer was still excellent. We ultimately came home early – C started getting to be in rough shape, and I never felt terrible but nothing good.

When we got home, C went to lay down – he was now feeling really terrible. I got the kids dinner and showers and laid down watching a movie with them (we’re working our way through the Harry Potters). My “motion sickness” was getting worse but I still had no physical symptoms. Spencer was still good, Henry was still good.

By the time the kids went to bed, I officially had the stomach bug. It was B.A.D. C and I were both up all night sick, and in the morning C got the kids off to school and daycare and I slept all day. I haven’t slept all day in years, but this was seriously bad. I felt better by about 3pm, and able to have part of a meal by dinnertime.

The damage was done though. Somehow a couple days of sickness (and then Tuesday I was feeling poorly and was certain it had come back, spending the evening in quarantine while C disinfected the rest of the house) put me so far behind in everything. Most quantifiable was my blog feed, which was up past 100, and it took me approximately seven hours to read and comment, and I'm sure I still didn't comment on everything I wanted. Everything else was slow going too – I don’t remember if I cooked a single dinner that week. House was super clean because of the disinfecting though! (Spencer never got sick)

All this really is to say I meant to blog. I wanted to – there were a few things that came up, but there was just no catching up in the month of February. That second half – where did it go?