To My Friendly Starbucks Barista

While I was in my hometown this week to be with my family while my mother was in the hospital, there was a bright spot. A bright, shiny spot which made each day of my visit a little more pleasant.

Starbucks. There is a relatively new Starbucks not far my parent's home, and I was a frequent visitor during the 3 days of my stay. On my way out to return home, I went through the drive-thru to get myself juiced up for the 4-hour drive. As I pulled up to order, a very friendly voice greeted me.

"Hi, and welcome to Starbucks on this beautiful evening! My name is Josh. How can I help you?"

Josh sounded like nothing would make him happier than to take my coffee order. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smiling.

"Hi Josh! I think I'll try one of those raspberry brownies that the lady ahead of me ordered, and I'll also have a Grande Raspberry Mocha Frappucino."

"That sounds DELICIOUS! A themed dinner?"

"That's right, Josh!"

"It'll be $6.23."

"Thanks!"

I pulled up to the window where I met Josh in person. He was delightful! I could really tell he was having a nice time at his job. Most drive-thru people barely look at me, they just want to grab my money, throw my food at me, and send me on my way. Not Josh! He took some time to make pleasant small-talk.

What Josh didn't know was that I really needed something like that. I was on my way to the hospital one last time to see Mom before I drove home. I was very worried about her, as I'm sure you remember from the updates I posted. I was afraid I was going to be too late and they wouldn't let me in, and I was afraid that if I didn't get my coffee, I would fall asleep on the drive with Lance since we only left at 9 pm, ensuring a peaceful, quiet drive.

But Josh's friendliness and his smile, his thoughtfulness, really helped to brighten that evening.

I told him that he was the friendliest drive-thru person I had ever met. He seemed surprised and pleased by this. Then I told him I would write about him on my blog. I told him the URL, and I hope he manages to look me up!

So if you're here Josh, please know that your kindness made a huge difference to this mommy during a difficult time in her life. You didn't just give me coffee and a brownie, you gave me a reason to smile when there was none.

Thank you.

I type this from a laptop while lounging in bed. My mouth is filled with gauze, I'm snuggled up to a bag of frozen peas, and the remains of a few jello cups are littering my bedside table.

I think I'm gonna enjoy a few days of being an invalid! My husband is taking such good care of me, too! He went out and bought yogurt, jello cups, and pudding to feed an army. He also bought me some Starbucks Frappucinos, since I'm not supposed to have anything hot for a few days.

He's taken Lance out for the evening, so I'm enjoying some nice quiet time. He won't be out for long, but it'll be good for Lance to run around and play at the park while Daddy has his softball game. (Our city has several softball 'leagues' of which our church members make up 3 of the 4 teams! lol! They play every Friday night.) Fortunately some of the other players on Hubby's team have teenage daughters who just adore Lance, so they're going to help out with him. The best part? I didn't even have to arrange it!! Hubby called the parents of the teenagers to ask if they would please bring them along tonight.

I was knocked out for the surgery. I remember a few times I would wake up a little bit and could hear what was going on, but not often enough to remember the details. Although at one point I heard the doctor say "oops." That wasn't good! I was under for an hour, but I only have a few minutes' worth of memories of the procedure! The IV stick was the worst part. I'm such a baby when it comes to needles!

Whoa...the phone just rang. Apparantly talking is something I'll have to refrain from as well! I seem to be fine when I keep my head as still as possible!

Cheers re-runs, here I come!

In Which I Say Goodbye to Wisdom

My wisdom teeth will be coming out in a little less than two hours.

Goodbye, Wisdom. How I shall miss you.

In the meantime, I'm finding it rather difficult to refrain from eating and drinking, especially when Lance doesn't finish his breakfast.

Plain toast never looked so good, until you're not allowed it.

I expect I'll be spending a lot of time this weekend on my computer! I'm gonna milk it, baby.

Today's Updates

Hello, Blogfriends.

Here are the updates on mom. I hope you don't mind that I just copied the e-mail I sent out to our friends and family.



Hi everyone.

I saw my mom yesterday evening. It was good to see her. They have figured out that her stomach is not emptying AT ALL-- it is full of fluid, although she hasn't eaten anything for several DAYS. I had previously misunderstood and thought they were witholding food from her, but the truth is she can't keep anything down. One of the days she *did* have to fast because of a procedure they needed to do. They had her on clear liquids the other night, and she only took a few sips of juice, and it made her throw up a lot.

They are going to do more tests today to figure out the cause of this. Something similar had happened before, and they discovered a bacterial overgrowth in her small intestine. Hopefully the tests today will reveal what it is THIS time. There is talk of transporting her up to Mayo clinic.

My dad will be going to the hospital this morning so he can talk with the doctors and find out more information. At this point, we're all wondering why they haven't given her any nutrition intravenously, since they know she hasn't eaten anything in the three days she's been there. They have her on a saline solution and electrolytes so she won't dehydrate, but she isn't getting anything else.

While I'm relieved that they have figured out SOMETHING, it's scary to think that my mom has not been getting any nutrition for several days and is basically slowly starving. I don't like that thought AT ALL. Hopefully Dad will be able to get them to give her something in the IV. They won't release her from the hospital if she can't eat. Mom would prefer to have Dad drive her up to Mayo rather than have the hospital transport her, because that would just be a ridiculously huge (and unncessary) expense.

Please continue praying- now, that the doctors will be able to fix the problem they have found, and that my mother will have some measure of comfort. I will be returning home to Coral Springs tonight. I wish I could stay longer, but I'm having my wisdom teeth removed Friday morning.

Thanks and God bless



Hi again,

Mom has now received an IV with nutrition. They are also draining the fluid from her stomach. Already she looks a little better- not so pale, and she looks like she got some rest. They have decided to transport her via ambulance to the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, but we're not sure yet when they will do this.

Thank you all for your prayers- we are beginning to see them answered! In addition to praying for mom's healing and wisdom for the doctors, please pray also that this will not become a financial burden for my family. My parents have a fairly good insurance plan, but it doeesn't cover everything. An ambulance trip to Jacksonville is going to be a significant cost, as will several days of hospital stay.

I will be going to visit Mom once more, on my way home tonight. I hope to have more information then. I know the are going to do more x-rays later this afternoon to see if her small intestine is working properly.

I can't begin to tell you how much your support means. You are all family to us. Without your prayers and moral support, I'm sure things would be much different right now.

God bless

In Which I Depart From My Most Recent Subject

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with my mom in the hospital. It's time for something fun and lighthearted.

I give you...


Lance! In the kiddie pool! Completely dressed! With a popsicle stain on his face!

This afternoon I was filling the kiddie pool that my parents have at their house just for Lance's visit. He was standing there eating a popsicle while I filled it. My grand plan was to take him inside and change him into his swim trunks when he was done with the popsicle.

Toddlers don't worry too much about their parent's plans. He just clambered right over the side of the pool, went down on his hands and knees, dripping with popsicle juice.

And I stood there and laughed like I haven't laughed for several days.

It was good.

Update

Hey everyone. I'm up in my hometown to be with my family. I packed up Lance and we left our house at 9 pm. He slept ALL THE WAY HERE, a 4-hour drive. When we arrived around 1 am, he of course woke up when he saw and heard his Aunt and Grampa, so I let him stay up and play for awhile. Hopefully he'll sleep a little longer in the morning for me!

The gastroenterologist came to see my mom this evening, but we don't have any answers yet. Tomorrow, Mom is having a stress test and a bunch of other tests including an endoscopy.

I'll be sticking around the house, holding the fort down here and taking care of some stuff that my parents haven't been able to take care of, like following up with the TV repairman, doing some housework, preparing meals, etc. I'll go to the hospital when I can, but that might be tough with Lance. Not even sure yet if he will be allowed in the cardiac unit; will check on that tomorrow.

And again, thank you for all your prayers. Keep 'em coming.

Update

edited to add:

The cardiologist came, and there is no indication of any heart problems, praise God! They are waiting on results from a thyroid test, and are waiting for the gastroenterologist to come. Whatever happens, she will be in the hospital at least one more night.



Hey guys.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts as my family goes through this scary time.

Mom was kept in the hospital overnight and is waiting to be seen by a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist. The worst of her pain has subsided, but they still don't know what caused it. They ran tons of tests on her, but everything came back normal. I suppose that's a good thing, it rules out all the "biggies" but doesn't help us to figure out what to do to make her better.

I'll keep you all updated as I get more information.

*Edited to add: As of 10:45pm, my mom is still in the hospital. She is on morphine to relieve the agonizing pain, but all her tests came back normal, so they still don't know what has caused the pain. They are going to keep her overnight for observation. My parents don't have much of a support system, so please keep my dad and sister in your prayers, as well, as I cannot go to be with them and help them through this difficult time.*


I just received a phone call from my dad. My mom is in the ER for severe chest and abdominal pain.

Please pray NOW.

In Which I Reveal How Pitiful I Am

I told you yesterday about my crazy injury when I got involved in a fist fight with a tough latina chick.

This Friday, I am having my wisdom teeth out.

You know it's time to have your wisdom teeth out when chewing a soft chocolate chip cookie causes agony.

And since the wrist is still sore, typing is causing another kind of agony. Going to the doc tomorrow for the wrist.

Crazy week, huh?

In Which I Explain My Injury

I could tell you that Lance hit me with a hammer.

I could tell you that I slipped and fell on a wet pool deck.

I could tell you that I dropped a bowling ball mid swing.

I could tell you that I was performing some complicated gymnastics excercise.

But all of those would be dirty, nasty lies.

I was practicing piano. I was trying to play octaves, and my hand just isn't quite large enough. So I strained my wrist. It's been hurting for a week. Some of you may remember when I tweeted about it last week.

That wrist brace makes lots of things difficult like typing, and even lifting Lance.

So like a fool, I took the brace off so I could write this post.

Already I am regretting that decision.

Bye!

In Which I Contemplate the Imagination of Children

Overheard on the playground:

"If you BOYS want to play with us, you have to be my minions 'cuz I'm Evil Girl."

"Last one there is a rotten picklehead!"

"What's a rotten picklehead??!!"

"He's gonna DIE!"


Playground antics sure have changed since I was a kid.

Or HAVE they?

Fun With Language Acquisition

Lance is 19 months old. Every day, he learns or attempts to learn new words. Lately, he has been fascinated with the magnetic letters we have on the fridge for him. His favorite letter is "E." He calls all of them "E."

While I am lying on the couch watching TV, I can hear the sounds of the magnetic letters clicking agianst the side of the refrigerator. Then the sound changes to the padding of his bare feet across the tile floor, through the kitchen, to me in the living room.

He looks at me with a very serious face.

"Eee..babble babble...Mama...babble babble...Eee....elp...oom...mama...babble..Eeee!"

He looked so concerned, and he was plainly trying to tell me something which needed my immediate attention.

"Show me, sweetheart!"

He took my hand, and led me to my bedroom, where the letter "E" was hidden in the darkness. He was trying to tell me that the letter E was in Mama's room, and he needed help getting it because it was dark.

How about that!

In Which I Expand My Blogging Universe

Hi everyone!

I have begun blogging over at MomsMiami.com. (Oh, and I don't attempt to hide my true identity. My user name over there is "JenKSwan" if you want to find me!) It's a great new site for moms in the south Florida area to connect with each other. There are blogs, forums, galleries, and local resource information galore. If you're a south Florida mom, please come join us! Blogger Holly of Tropic of Mom also blogs over there, and last night she and I had the pleasure of attending a meet-up of some of the MomsMiami bloggers.

We met up at the Mr. Foods No-Fuss Meals. It was a TON of fun! If you're not familiar with it, it is a place where you go and assemble meals which you then bring home to cook the next day, or freeze and keep it for later. I had been wondering what all the fuss was with Mr. Food. I thought, surely it couldn't be much different from just going to the grocery store and making your stuff at home! Boy, was I wrong!!



Here I am with my completed Brocolli Ham and Cheese Quiche while I will be cooking tonight. My dear friend snapped this photo, and in her caption, she called me a "Rachael Ray Wanna Be." LOL! I just need some EVOO and to throw some salt over my shoulder!

You could select from an entire menu of what meal(s) you'd like to prepare. For this event, we were all allowed to make one meal for free, other bloggers chose to spend a little more money and do more. The ingredients are all laid out for you, and instructions are posted. I chose to make the "crustless brocolli ham and cheese quiche." It couldn't have been simpler! The instructions went something like this:

1. Put gallon-size ziploc bag inside tub
2. Add 1 level scoop of cheddar cheese
3. Add 1 level scoop of swiss cheese
4. Add 1 cup of pre-beaten eggs (which were stored in something like a salad dressing bottle, I simply poured into the measuring cup provided!)
5. Add 1 tsp onion powder (the onion powder already had the measuring spoon inside it)

and so on and so forth.

Once I assembled all my ingredients, I placed my sealed ziploc bag with my quiche innards into a refrigerator, and then I got to enjoy free wine and snacks.


Here I am with blogger Sherry North, who is the author of Because You Are My Baby.

I would highly recommend Mr. Food's No-Fuss Meals for people who like to cook but don't enjoy the planning and preparation. For me, the hardest part of preparing dinners for my family is NOT the actual cooking part, but trying to decide what meals to cook, and on which days to cook them so I don't waste ingredients. For example, there is a chicken dish I like to prepare that calls for chopped green onion. If I'm going to prepare that meal, I need to make sure that a couple other meals during the week also called for chopped green onion, because at my grocery store I can't buy them individually. Only in a large bag full, and most of the time I end up throwing them out because green onions aren't something I use a whole lot.

That problem is eliminated with Mr. Food.

It's also a fun thing for a girl's night out, or as an alternative for a baby shower. A couple weeks to a month before a woman's due date, get all her friends to chip in for a few week's worth of meals. All of you head on down to Mr. Food, enjoy each other's company while you prepare meals for the mom-to-be to take home and freeze. Then she'll have plenty of food available to her.

Anyhoo. It was a lot of fun, and I'm sure I'll be going back!

I'm Teething! And, Friendship is Awesome! And, Blogger Meetup Tonight!

Hello, Blogfriends! What a nutty week it's been. I trust things have been going well with all of you?

I'M TEETHING!!!

A week from Friday, I am having my wisdom teeth taken out. And none too soon, either! For the past twenty-something years, these teeth have just been hanging out inside my gums, minding their own business, not bothering anyone. Every dental check-up, the doc would take a look and would say, "It's not time yet! Let's just leave them alone and see what happens." Well, at my most recent visit, he said, "It's time. You better get this taken care of as soon as possible."

Boy, he wasn't kidding. My wisdom teeth are starting to poke through, and golly gee whiz does it hurt!! All four are coming in simultaneously. My jaws will just throb in a pain and pressure which radiates through my entire head, behind my eyes, down my neck and into my spine, leaving my whole body feeling like there's someone scratching a chalkboard all day long. Know what I mean?

Our poor kiddos, they go through this for the greater part of their first few years of existence. What a rotten welcome to the world.

FRIENDSHIP IS AWESOME!!

Last night we had some friends over to spend the evening with us. Two of the four friends moved away about two months ago, but came into town because Mr. Friend had a business trip in the area, so he brought Mrs. Friend along with him. The six of us Friends used to hang out together a lot, and we were beginning to miss it! So although it's only been 6 weeks or so since we all hung out last (we all went out for a good-bye dinner when Friends #5 and 6 moved,) it felt like we had been reunited after years and years of separation. What's funny though, is that we Mrs. Friends might often go a couple months without all getting together because we were all so busy. One of the Mrs. Friends said that it took one of us moving away in order for all three of us to drop everything to spend some time together! To my surprise, it was true! So we enjoyed each other's company and had a great time. The three of us Mrs. Friends had also gotten together a couple days before to have lunch at the other Mrs. Friend's house, which was also a very sweet time for us to celebrate our friendship.

BLOGGER MEETUP TONIGHT!!

I am very excited to be attending a blogger meetup this evening. Our local newspaper is sponsoring an event for mommy bloggers in our area, and I have been invited by another blogger to attend! We will be meeting up at Mr. Food's No-Fuss Meals. There will be free wine and snacks, plus we get to put together a meal for our family at no cost. It's gonna be fun!! I'll let you guys know how it goes.

What a Day!

We're back from our trip to grandma's! We had a very nice time, we did a lot of fun things, but I have to say it's nice to be home again, too.

At least, it was. Until this morning, when I tried to leave the house to go to the home of my tutoring students. My car didn't want to start. After a few tries, it started up just fine. Then I started driving and realized that my brakes are in pretty bad condition. I hadn't realized it before, but after a week of driving around a rental car, a 2009 Hyundai Sonata, I can now tell that my brakes are pretty much non-responsive. Not wanting to drive across town in a car that might not start up again and in which the brakes might decide to fail, I called the mother of the child I tutor.

"Can you bring your kids over here today for their tutoring session?"

"OK, but I can't do it now. I'll call you later. Will you be free this afternoon?"

"Sure."

"Great. I'll call you when I get back from my errands and we'll schedule a time."

Shortly after this conversation, Lance decides to go down for a nap. I decide to take a snooze, too, since I'm exhausted after all the travel. My phone rings while I'm sleeping. I don't answer it because I know Lance won't sleep very much longer and I will call the person back then. I close my eyes and drift back to sleep.

15 minutes later, a knock at my door. Bleary-eyed and fuzzy-tongued, I answer the door. It's my students and their mother.

"I called you and left you a message to tell you we were coming!"

"I was sleeping. I haven't checked my messages yet."

"I'm so sorry! Should we skip it?"

"No, come on in."


Her 4-year old bounds into the house screaming and yelling, and wakes up Lance. Grr.

While I am busy with her 8-year old, I have Lance eating his lunch in his high chair. Because he's all confused and doesn't know what's going on and I am in the other room, he starts fussing and squirming in his seat. The mother of my students thinks he must not be hungry, so she takes Lance out of his high chair, and...

She lets her 4-year old eat Lance's lunch!!!!!!

Can you believe it?

She could have asked me if her son could have a snack; after all, she saw me get out the huge container of goldfish crackers. We would have been happy to share. But no, she just gives her child Lance's lunch. Additionally, when we go to their house for the tutoring session, she doesn't so much as offer me or Lance a drink of water, so why should it be acceptable for her child to eat my son's lunch when she's at my house??!!

I managed to get through the tutoring session without anyone getting hurt. The 8-year old wouldn't keep her focus and only got through two worksheets when I had planned for her to do 3 math pages and 2 handwriting pages, in addition to going through her multiplication tables, which we are usually able to do in our hour-long session. So she got homework. Chuckle Chuckle Snicker.

Lance is sleeping again. I still have to unpack, make a grocery shopping list for this evening, make arrangements to get my car fixed, apply for a student loan for next semester, and find an oral surgeon to remove my wisdom teeth.

That's a lot to do in a short naptime.

Have a great day!

Hey everyone.

Those of you who are of the praying sort- please send up a prayer for me! The last couple days I have been suffering from heat exhaustion, which is very unusual for me. It happened yesterday when my mom and I took Lance to see the aquarium and he was running around in the outdoor water playground. I became very faint and weak and we had to leave early. It happened again today when my sister and I were in the pool with Lance. Fortunately I recognized the symptoms, so I got myself inside into the air conditioning and drank some water immediately.

This is weird. No, I'm not pregnant-- just finished my cycle yesterday. Will schedule a checkup with my doctor when I get back home. In the meantime, I'm going to drink lots of water and try to stay out of the sun for prolonged periods.

Thanks!

When Hubby's Away, the Wife Will Play

Hubby has gone off with my dad and a bunch of other friends to the 145th anniversary of the Battle at Gettysburg. We're civil war reenactors, you see. I would have gone along, but it's a long trip for Lance, and Gettysburg is *such* a big event. 40,000 reenactors plus their families, in many cases, all in identical white canvas tents. If Lance were to get lost out there, we wouldn't find him for days.

So I elected to come spend the week with my mom and my sister. So far, we have:

1. Made homemade play-dough and spent hours squishing it and rolling it into balls and snakes
2. Played with bubbles
3. Ran through the sprinkler in the front yard
4. Visited the swans and geese at the lake in the center of town
5. Had a "Sister's Night Out" in which grandma stayed here and put Lance to bed for me

Later this afternoon, Lance and I will accompany my sister to a 4th of July party held at the home of the pastor of her church. This particular gathering is the "young adult" group, so there will be people of my age there and a few who have children of their own. There will be pool volleyball, possibly jet skiing, and fireworks!

To come later in the week- a trip to the box office of our performing arts center to buy tickets for Craig Ferguson and Pink Floyd, a shopping excursion to the Downtown Disney Marketplace, and hopefully a visit with an old friend I haven't seen for nearly a year.

Oh and of course, lots of trips to Starbucks. Normally, Starbucks is a once-in-awhile treat. I figure, though, if Hubby can spend hundreds of dollars on train tickets to go do something fun without me, I can blow some cash on expensive coffee every day for a week.

So there.

Visiting my parents for the week while Hubby goes to shoot Yankees.

Not the baseball players.

He's a civil war reenactor and it is the 145th anniversary of the battle at Gettysburg.

Lance and I are staying with my mom and sister, and we have big plans.

Aquarium, museum, parks, old friends...

It's going to be fun.

I may be absent from Blogland for awhile. Then again, maybe I won't.

See ya!

In Which I Prove AGAIN That I Am A Dork; Or, What's In A Name?

I am such a dork. A big, huge, ridiculous, dork.

I believe I have mentioned once or twice that I'm in a rock band. *grin* Well, we rock band members often communicate via e-mail. Just a few moments ago, I received a message from one of the band members. The email was sent to the entire group although the content was directed at one member in particular. This member's name is Jon. My name is Jen. (I just like to pretend to be Guinevere Meadow. It sounds so much more mysterious and foreboding.)

Anyhoo. This email said "Hey Jon, please send us all the pictures you took at such-and-such an event last week."

Because I'm a dork and I didn't read carefully, I thought the message said, "Hey Jen, please send us all the pictures you took at such-and-such an event last week."

Trouble was, I wasn't at this particular event. I certainly didn't take any photos.

So I hit "reply all" and proved to the whole band that I can't read. I said something to the effect of, "Hey guys, I wasn't at this particular event, and I certainly didn't take any photos."

I am sure I will be mocked mercilessly for years to come. They're still mocking me for the time spell-check changed "Jen" to "Ken" and I didn't catch it.

To try and desperately recover some shred of dignity, I sent the following three emails to the group once I caught my blunder:

****
Oh for heaven's sake. I'm such a dork.

Ignore me, please.

Jon, Jen, Ken....

****
And would it trouble you all to know that just prior to reading Ivy's message and mistaking "Jon" for "Jen," I was writing a lesson plan to teach a kindergarten student about phonics and letter recognition??!!! Yes, I really was...

The letters are just swimming around on the screen. Perhaps I'm slightly dyslexic.

Ken, I mean Jen, I mean Jon, I mean Ron, I mean Rob, I mean.... who the heck am I??!!!!!

*****
and finally,

I hereby insist that we change the spelling of Jon's name to "John" so that I won't get confused again. Or maybe we could just rename him to something else entirely that won't be confused with anyone else in the band. "Eugene" perhaps, or "Geraldo."

-Jim Ken Jon Jo-Bob Billy Sue Luanne Suzy Q.


LOLOLOLOLOL

I'm glad I have a sense of humor and can laugh at myself.

In Which I Explain The Economics of Guinevere

I am helping to improve the economy.

How? you ask.

Excellent question.

I am diversifying!

I used to shop for clothing at one store. Just one store. It was my favorite store. (Pay particular attention to the past-tense "was.") The sizing was always accurate, the clothes were of high quality and lasted, and were just trendy enough to stay in style for several seasons. I got lots of wear out of everything I purchased there.

I don't like them anymore. The last 5 times I have been in there I have been appalled at the rudeness and inconsideration of the store employees. Their promotional materials lie to me about what is and is not on sale. They advertise 2 skirts for $25, yet if you just want 1 skirt, it costs $29.50. HUH??!!

So I have been spreading my dollars to other sectors of the clothing market. I am helping to provide jobs for whomever it is that makes the clothing which ends up in my closet.

The great thing about it? At these other stores, I am one size smaller.

Makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?

In Which I Contemplate My Dorkiness

I am such a big dork. Allow me to tell you why.

I've never been one of these I've-got-it-all-put-together-and-I-always-dress-well-and-I-remember-everything moms. I am rather disorganized, in fact, which kind of surprises me because when I was a full-time college student, I was *very* organized. Then I had a kid and it all went out the window. I leave the house without checking to see that I have diapers in my diaper bag. I tell someone I'll be somewhere, then I forget about it completely. I freak out because I've lost my keys when they're actually in my bag the whole time. I meet someone out in public who obviously knows who I am,but I am completely clueless.

Well all this is going to change because as of today, I have something that those other moms have.

A calendar in which to organize myself.

Do I hear giggling?

Giggle away. I belong to a mom's group that meets weekly. (Well, we've taken a break for the summer but that's neither here nor there.) At least half of the moms who belong to this group are the moms who appear to have it all together, arrive with every hair in place, lost keys are never an issue, their diaper bags are well stocked AND they have a spare in the car just in case they have an extraordinarily rare lapse of thought, they always remember my name, and...they all have the same exact calendar. (Amy Knapp's Family Organizer.) I know this because our group is very active and we often do things outside of our regular weekly meeting. When it comes time to plan events, all these moms whip out their identical calendars, check their schedules which have been handwritten with perfect penmanship, color-coded for each family member, and I sit there and watch and hope I'll remember whatever it is we're planning. If I'm lucky, I've got the back of a receipt from the depths of my purse that I can scrawl down a date and time if I'm also lucky enough to borrow a pen from one of these super-moms sitting near me.

Today was my lucky day. I decided to take an outing with Lance to the bookstore because I received a 25% off any item coupon in my email inbox this morning. I decided to take the plunge and use that coupon not on the latest novel I'm dying to read or the new CD by my very favorite artist, but on something boring, practical, and very grown-up: a calendar.

Ha. Try buying a 2008 calendar in the middle of June.

I was about to be disappointed when I found it. At the very end of the shelf, trying to hide from me: The Amy Knapp Family Organizer. It was not a 2009 calendar like all the other ones around it; well, not completely. This calendar begins in July 2008 and goes through December 2009! SCORE!!! I'll be able to start using this calendar in about a week and a half. I'll definitely need it come August when I begin my internship.

So now I'm one of the cool moms. I'm a member of the club of moms-who-have-the-potential-to-have-it-all-together.

See? I'm such a dork!

In Which I Write a Week's Worth of Posts in a Single Day

Well, I haven't been at my computer much this week, but I've been writing blog posts in my head.

Here is the reader's digest version. If it's possible for me to be succinct, that is.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Magnetic Monday"

I've been having so much fun with this magnetic poetry! Even though I have yet to actually make it on a Monday. LOL!


"If some were to demand that religion shimmer in electric glory, then they would never learn to whisper in patient belief."

And once again I am surprised at what my subconscious brings up when I write these. I had nothing in particular in mind when I stood at my fridge arranging words!

* * * * * * * * * *

"The TiVO Generation"

It becomes evident that your child belongs to a far more technologically advanced generation when at 18 months old, your son brings you the TiVO remote control because Elmo isn't in this particular scene of Sesame Street. No joking, this happened to me this morning. He knows that the remote control can fast forward the TV. All the other monsters were on the screen except for Elmo. Lance looks at me, points to the remote control, says "Elmo!" emphatically, and is only happy when I forward to the "Elmo's World" segment of the show.

* * * * * * * * * *

"In Which I Break Out of My Comfort Zone"

This week, my church is participating in a week-long event called Festival of Caring. Every small group (bible study groups, committees, musical groups, etc) in our church is performing a deliberate act of kindness for the community during the week, and on Friday we are hosting a gigantic block party for the whole city. (Amber, I bet you would ROCK at organizing something like this!!) Anyway, during the week they are asking church members to go door-to-door inviting people to our event. We are Methodists. Door-to-door stuff freaks us out. We just don't like it. Fortunately, they have brought in a team of people from all over the state who are trained to do just this sort of thing, so they pair us up with them. I did this Sunday evening. My husband and I, along with a trained team member, canvassed a street in our neighborhood. We passed out party invitations, asked if there were any prayer requests, and were on our way. I was surprised that I was actually able to do this! No one was rude to us. People were often cautious at first, but when they realized we weren't selling anything and were just inviting them to a party, most of them were very gracious. It was kinda fun to do something so out of character for me!

Tonight, my bible study group is preparing dinner for the trained team members who are camping out in our Sunday school rooms for the week! I've got a veggie casserole baking in the oven as we speak. Yum! I hope they like it.

* * * * * * * * * *

"In Which I Prove Once And For All That I Am, In Fact, A Rock Star."

The band that my husband and I are in will be playing music at this Festival of Caring block party, as described above. One of our other band members designed a poster to promote the event with a picture of us on it. It is a very professional-looking poster. (Nice job, Ivy!!) The posters have been hung in various places of business where people will see it and come hear us play. Only rock stars have their pictures on posters that people will see to advertise concerts. The fact that I am in this picture proves that I am a rock star. My face is all over town. Behold.



(If you can't make it out, the band's name, emblazoned across the top of the poster, is "Renanah." It's a Hebrew word that means "joyful singing and praises." Appropriate, no?)

* * * * * * * * * *

And there you have it. In which I write a week's worth of blog posts in a single day.

Bwa-ha-ha.

Am I Awful?

It's 1:30 pm.

Lance is napping.

The housework is acceptably caught up.

There is a thunderstorm outside; no chance of me driving anywhere for the next couple of hours.

Can I have a glass of wine?

Magnetic Poetic

OK, OK, so I know it isn't Monday. You can pretend it is just for the sake of this post. Yesterday, I just didn't feel like sitting down at the computer. It was a rainy, dreary afternoon meant for napping, so when Lance took his nap, I decided to have one, too, rather than blog. (Yes, I'm afraid napping is a priority over blogging. At least it is on rainy, dreary, afternoons.)

Here is the gem of the week:

She creates symbols of fiery grace with original rhythms and canvases of radiant color.

Once again I got a horribly lousy photo, so I decided to make it black and white and all contrasty, just for fun.

I got to thinking about what goes on in my head when I write these. Usually, I don't have any particular meaning in mind when I start playing with the words. I just pick out a word, find another word that sounds good with it, and then build it from there. I'm often surprised, however, at what I end up with. The subconscious mind is a very powerful thing. I think this Magnetic Poetic is my favorite so far. I think it sort of describes me. I sing in a Christian contemporary band, and our songs are often about the grace of God. I think anyone who knows God would agree that He is both graceful, and fiery at the same time. While I can't claim to be an artist creating original paintings, I do enjoy photography, so I often find myself capturing images of things in nature that make me think of the things of God.

Hmm. Very interesting.

Trouble With Checkups

Today was Lance's 18-month old checkup. Up until now, he was a model patient. All the staff at the office just loved it when he came in because he didn't fuss or squirm or scream.

All that has changed.

I had to bring him in last week to have a burn checked out. The Dr. wanted me to bring him back this week so she could check to make sure it was healing well, and also to do his well-child exam at the same time. I think he was traumatized from last week's visit, and as soon as we walked through the door from the waiting room to the exam area, my easy-going, well-mannered child became a screaming, clingy monster. He screamed his little head off the entire time-- while he was being measured and having his temperature taken; when he was being weighed; when the doctor checked his eyes and ears.

Then they wanted to administer vaccines.

I said no, not today, thank you very much. My child is obviously very frightened.

One thing I like about my doctor is she values my opinion as a mother and doesn't fight me on things like delaying vaccines for awhile. ( I have been vaccinating him, but a little bit behind schedule. I don't want him to have too much too soon.) However, today they had to do a finger prick to check his blood for lead. We were supposed to do this at his 12-month visit, but things got crazy and I never made it to the lab, so she had the nurse do a prick today.

I don't know why this particular nurse is in pediatrics. She's apparently afraid of children and has little patience with mothers who want to hold their children on their laps instead of just dumping them on the table. Argh.

I didn't schedule his next checkup. I'm going to find another pediatrician. I like the doctor all right, but her staff is awful and her office is not well-supplied. It's dingy, smells bad, and since we've moved it's a half-hour away.

Sigh. We came home and I let Lance have a popsicle and watch Sesame Street. Now he's taking a nap.

Poor little guy.

My New Hobby!

Now that I have a yard in which to plant things, I have decided that I want to try my hand at gardening. The previous owners left a very neat and tidy yard, with a nice privacy hedge about 7 feet tall on one side of the yard. The other sides are hedged on the neighbor's side of the fence, but there's still some privacy there.

In this hedge can be found a variety of butterfly and dragonfly species. Blogger Holly from Tropic of Mom, who also happens to be my very best friend in the whole world came over yesterday and gave me some ideas. She has a lovely wildflower garden in her backyard, and as far as I am concerned is the foremost expert in native Florida plants.

She suggested I plant a butterfly garden! She told me that to have a successful butterfly garden you need to have a variety of plants: the larvae/host plant for the caterpillar to eat and in which to build a cocoon, and the nectar plant for the adult butterfly. Fortunately for me, the nectar plants are gorgeous flowering varieties that grow very nearly year-round in our tropical climate. Woot! (Is that the correct usage of the exclamation "Woot!" I've seen it used around the blogosphere, but I can't say I know the exact definition.)

To begin my butterfly garden, I have planted two blue porterweed shrubs. Right now they are very low to the ground, but they should get taller and they will bloom with purple flowers that butterflies like to sip on.

It doesn't look like much yet, but I've seen these fully-grown and they are very nice! In case you're wondering why I put rocks all the way around it, it was because our landlord pays for a lawn service (thanks, landlord!) and I didn't want them to mow down my brand-new plants. I didn't dig a bed for these because there were already a couple of "dips" in the ground that we had filled with rocks to prevent ankle-twisting, so I just got a shovel and deepened the existing holes a bit. Once they get a little height, I'll take the rocks away, and maybe lay down some mulch.

Just to the left of this shrub, which is not shown in the photo, is the perfect location for me to dig a flower bed for a full butterfly garden. I have a great view of this area from my patio and from the window of my breakfast nook. It's a rather large area and will be a big project to prepare the soil, so I'll probably wait awhile. I also need to check to make sure it's OK to dig so close to the pool and find out if there are sprinkler lines down there.

Anyhoo. Holly loaned me a big stack of gardening books and I have been devouring them. I've learned which plants attract which butterflies and have figured out from there which of those plants would flourish in my yard. I'm so excited! Hoping to make a trip to a local nursery to see these plants in person, get an idea of price, etc. I'm thinking of growing the butterfly plants from seed in order to save a little money; we'll have to see!

Magnetic Monday

I *love* Magnetic Monday!!

This week's gem of brilliance:

I want to believe in a silhouette of peace

Profound, isn't it?



And now.....the WINNER of the Magnetic Poetry Kit is...


Brento!!!

He had the coolest idea to use the magnetic poetry as "eco-friendly spray paint" and use it to write graffiti on bathroom stalls. He promises to photograph his "Magnetic Graffiti." He also left me the best wacky sentence:

Guerrilla poets wage war on dark, dank spaces.

So Brento, guerilla poet that you are, if you'll be so kind to email me your address, I will mail you your very own set of magnetic poetry. I'll be interested to see what sort of graffiti you can create with words from a Christian-themed set...lol!

To Nap or Not To Nap...

...This is the question.

Lance can't seem to make up his mind if he wants to take one nap a day, or two. He's in that pesky sleep-transition stage that I just simply detest. I don't care either way, I just want him to make up his mind already!!!

Yesterday he only took one nap. For 3o minutes.

Today he took an hour nap. We didn't think he would go down for a second nap, but sure enough he did, and he's been asleep for another hour now.

I know I just need to be patient, that he will settle into a routine, just as he did when he went from napping on and off all day as a newborn to taking 3 naps a day: morning, afternoon, and a little evening snooze. Then, there was another awful transition time when he gave up his evening snooze and went to just a morning and afternoon nap. Now we're in another icky transition.

I'm a creature of habit. I know I should have learned by now that with a young kiddo, routine and habits are irrelevant. But I can't help myself.

Sigh. I'm sure in another week or so he'll get himself settled into a new routine. For now I'll just grit my teeth and get through one day at a time.

Another Fun Morning

Yesterday, I had a fun morning.

Today, I had a fun morning! This is a good trend.

I met up with blogger Holly from Tropic of Mom for an impromptu mall outing. A few days ago, I saw a skirt I absolutely loved, but decided to wait a few days to see if I still wanted it. (Trying to stop my impulse buying!) Well, two days later, I still wanted it. I also had a gift card for Bath and Body Works that I was saving for their annual summer sale which is going on now. So I called her up this morning, found out she was planning on going to the mall anyway so we decided to meet up and do our shopping together.

I haven't had so much fun at the mall in a long time! Lance is at that stage where he no longer wants to ride in the stroller, but doesn't have the self-control for me to let him walk next to me. He'll run off, or yank things off the shelves. Today however, I kept him contained with goldfish crackers, a sippy cup, and a blue rubber ducky from Bath and Body Works. (It was $2. I think $2 is a VERY good price to keep a toddler happy in a stroller!)

It seems everyone is having their summer sales right now. The skirt I wanted was on sale, so I bought two of them. (I kind of had to, because they only gave you the sale price if you bought two. Grr.) I found flip-flops for Lance that were 2/$5. I got a pair of swimming trunks for Hubby that were also on sale, and then I made out like a bandit at Bath and Body Works. My gift card went a loooong way with all the great deals that were in there! I only had to pay $1.06 out of pocket for 11 items! It was great!

Lance is sleeping now; time for me to do a little housework and get some exercise. Have a lovely day!

A Fun Morning

I hosted my very first playdate today!

A few times, I've had one of my girlfriends over with her child. That's different.

Today, I had three girlfriends over with their four children, ranging in age from 16 months to 2 1/2 years old. It was a blast! We all splashed around in the pool for awhile, then when the kids got hungry, everyone got out and we all sat down to lunch together. The kids all played in the house while the mommies got to chat about grown-up things. (It's nice to not have to refer to yourself in the third-person!)

I think we'll be doing this often! Lance and I get in the pool pretty much every day anyway. My friends all brought their own lunches over, so the only work I really had to do was, um, open the door and let them in.

They all had a great time, too! It's nice to have a break from your routine, especially when you are a stay-at-home mom to a very young child. It is work to keep up with a toddler all day *and* care for your house, so when the kids have friends over, they keep each other entertained so your mommy brain can get a little rest!

I have come to realize that caring for a toddler is much more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting. I realized this when I was washing dishes. Previously, washing dishes was a fairly mindless activity. I could sort of just "shut down" and put myself on autopilot, allowing my mind a short respite. Now with a toddler underfoot, your brain is always on the alert. Always paying attention. You don't realize how important those few minutes here and there of brain-rest can be until you don't have them anymore!

Anyhoo. It was a fun morning. Our kids had a good time, we got to laugh and chat with each other.

A very pleasant morning indeed.

Bob

When I can't think of a good post title, I'll just call it "Bob."

I really want to write something fun, lighthearted, and witty, but I can't think of much to say, so I'll just ramble on and maybe something going on in my head will be of interest to you.

I can't stop thinking about chocolate cake. I'm craving a gigantic hunk of gooey, moist, chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the side. There's only one time of the month that I crave chocolate like this. Unfortunately, there is no chocolate cake in the house. There *is* a brownie mix, though. Is it crazy to make brownies at 10:00 pm?

Lance is figuring out how to pit one parent against the other. Oh, dear. Tonight I put him to bed. He quite willingly went into his crib, but he took offense to being left alone. (Most of the time he puts himself to sleep just fine. He might fuss for a few minutes.) Tonight though it was an all-out war. "DA-DDY!" "DA-DDY! Come rescue me from the evil Mom-lady!"

The man is weak.

But Lance is sleeping.

Did you know they have an American Idol game for the Nintendo Wii?? It has a microphone and it can analyze your pitch accuracy-- and you get feedback from the judges!!! SO COOL! Husband made fun of me, but if he's allowed to play Guitar Hero, why can't I play American Idol?????? I'll be dropping hints for this year's Christmas gift. lol!

There is an ant crawling around on my computer screen.

Speaking of ants, I occasionally find them in the bathtub. Why there? I would expect to see ants in the kitchen, but the bathtub? I don't get it. Maybe they're just particularly clean ants.

That's all I've got for now. Good night, world!

Update on Lance

Yesterday, I posted about how Lance got hurt in our church nursery. (Since then, our senior pastor, our "education director" and one of the nursery workers have all called me personally to apologize and to assure me that nothing like that will ever happen again. It's very nice of them to apologize, but really? Too little, too late. I'm not the sort of person to hold a grudge, but it seems to me they're just trying to cover their bums.)

I took Lance to his doctor this morning and she confirmed that it was a 2nd-degree burn. She encouraged me not to keep it covered with a band-aid but to let it "breathe." However, in the car on the way home, Lance bit the blister open so I decided not to do as my doctor ordered. I brought him home, put more neosporin on it, and promptly covered it with band-aids. I left it loose right over the blister though, so some air will still get in.

He doesn't seem to be in too much discomfort, thank heavens! He doesn't like having his bandage changed, but once it's on, he seems OK.

I'm still fuming about this whole thing. I know nobody was trying to hurt my son, but that doesn't change the fact that someone hurt my son because they weren't thinking. The nursery worker who called me today admitted that she was the one who brought the glue gun in and left it unattended for a few seconds while all the kids were playing in the back corner. It seems she was trying to blame Lance for being a curious toddler and running up to examine the mystery object while her back was turned. She then proceeded to tell me how bad the other nursery workers are, how they don't pay attention to Lance, how they don't give him his food, how they don't see when he gets hurt, etc etc., trying to make herself look good. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the rest of the nursery workers!!

This is the same woman who is supposed to watch Lance for me 3 days a week while I do my student teaching.

I'm starting to rethink that decision.

Some Good News and Some Bad News

The good news?

I found out where I'll be doing my student-teaching internship this coming fall!! I also got the grade I requested! (5th.)

The bad news? It is neither the school I requested, nor is it in the city I requested. We are allowed to make requests, and they say they will honor them if possible, but it's not guaranteed. I knew this going in, but...

I requested a particular school that is very close to my house. Additionally, I said that if I was not able to obtain a placement at that school to please place me at a school in my own city because I would be having to take my son to a babysitter every morning.

They put me in a school in the next city over. Grr. Now, it's not really that far because down here, the cities sort of bump right into each other, but it happens to be in the opposite direction of the babysitter's house.

Good news? Hubby said he would take care of dropping off Lance in the mornings so I wouldn't be in a mad rush at 6:30 am. (So Holly? You'll get a little longer to sleep each morning!)

I'm happy to know where I will be, just a little frustrated that they didn't honor either one of my requests. Did they even read my "special considerations" portion of my application? I think not. College faculty just aren't friendly towards students who have children.

Ah, well. It will be over before I know it and I will be a college graduate.

Yay!

Argh!

Argh, grumble, rant, grumble, argh, bad words. Lots of bad words.

Is it too much to expect basic competence out of the people who care for my child while we're at church? We have a lovely nursery, staffed with lovely ladies who truly care for the children, but...

It seems there have just been too many "mistakes" as of late. I can forgive a mistake or two. I know that accidents are bound to happen whenever at least one child is in any given room. But when bad things continue to happen to my kid because someone didn't take the time to think something through, well, then I run out of patience.

This morning during my Tuesday Morning Moms group bible study, one of the nursery ladies came in to get me. Lance had gotten hurt. "Don't panic," she said. (Anytime anyone begins a conversation with the words "don't panic," PANIC!) "He's OK, he just stuck his fingers in the hot glue we were using for our craft today."

Ummm, excuse me? Did I hear you right? You're using a hot glue gun for a craft project for toddlers!!?? Yep, sure enough, they were. According to the official accident report, the ladies were working one on one with the children gluing macaroni onto something or other. Lance went up out of curiosity to the hot glue gun that was placed within the reach of infants and toddlers, stuck his finger in the glue that was dripping out of the end of it, and the end of his finger is now blistered and swollen.

I took him home right away, of course, and did my best to settle him down. A bottle of chocolate milk and lots of cuddling finally did the trick, but he was in some serious discomfort for a long time before he finally succumbed to sleep.

In what universe is it okay to keep hot glue guns in the reach of small children? They might as well have left matches and knives lying around.

Maybe I'm overreacting. This is the 3rd "incident" in recent weeks that has resulted in my child being hurt due to someone not thinking. A couple of weeks ago, he was scratched by another child. I realize that the ladies couldn't have prevented it, but they could have come to get me. They didn't think it was worth it. We didn't see him until he had been in the nursery for two hours and his face was scratched and red.

Not too long ago, I posted about the incident in which a nursery worker was found with a gun on his person.

I don't think I can trust the church nursery anymore. Isn't that a shame?

Magnetic Monday: Experiment With a Psychedelic Masterpiece

It's that time of the week again! Magnetic Monday!!! Below is a photo of this week's magnetic poetry creations by me, Guinevere Meadow. (It is not one long poem, just several random phrases that I came up with during the week.)



Since they're kind of small in the photo, I'll translate for you. ;)

experiment with a psychedelic masterpiece
throughout my absurd waste of glory are metaphors of graceful passion
would my brother ask for every humble strength
the dark inner song

I am having a devil of a time getting a good photograph of my refrigerator. Trying to photograph white magnets on a white background in a dimly lit room is a challenge. I tried using the camera's flash, but it just reflected off of the fridge. Surprisingly, my pitiful camera phone was able to get a better photograph than my big, expensive, almost-professional level Nikon D70s.

Have you entered my contest to win your very own set of magnetic poetry? Hurry on up! To double your chances of winning, go visit my good friend Damselfly who is my partner in crime, er, in poetry...she's also giving away a set!

Do you already have a set? If so, please use it and photograph your work for us that we may all share in the fun that is wordcrafting. If enough people join in, I'll start a Mr. Linky. :)

He's All Boy

Have you entered my contest yet?? Go check it out!

He's all boy, my little man. While he may occasionally pick up a doll to play with or want to wave a pom-pom in the air, it's things like this make me secure in the knowledge that my little guy is all man.

This evening, we were hosting our weekly bible study. There are 5 couples in the group who gather to have dinner together and discuss things of God. We're currently reading a book called "God Is Closer Than You Think" by John Ortberg. I highly recommend it. Anyhoo. As everyone was arriving, Lance comes into the family room and announces "I gotta BUG!" (Well, maybe not in those particular words, in fact it was more like "gibberish-gibberish BUG!" even though everyone in the room knew exactly what he was saying.) In his hands, he held a small dead lizard that he found in a windowsill. The men in the group think it will be funny if they encourage him to bring it to me. I hear a chorus of "take it to Mommy!"

Since Lance is such a compliant, willing-to-please child, he did so. He walked right up to me holding this dead lizard waving it around in the air, and...

drum roll, please....

He put it in his mouth.

I uttered profane, blasphemous things and somehow I managed to leap over the ten people who were milling around in my kitchen and land in the opposite corner, far far away from such disgustingness without hurting anyone.

All the women shrieked along with me. All the men starting guffawing and chuckling.

Thankfully, someone nearby to Lance was able to extricate the ex-reptile from his mouth.

That's my boy!

A Prize! A Prize!

Hi everyone! Many of you seemed to enjoy the new blog feature that my friend Damselfly and I have begun: Magnetic Monday. I was very pleased with the reactions I got from everyone!

Except for one: too many of you bemoan your lack of a set of magnetic poetry.

So I plan to fix that.

One lucky blogger is going to win a set of magnetic poetry from me!! I purchased a Christian-themed set, the same one that Damselfly gave me as a housewarming gift, and I want to give it to one of YOU!

Here are the qualifications:

You may not already own a set of magnetic poetry. If you have one that you haven't used for awhile, dust it off and join us on Mondays!

You must leave a comment on this post or the next Magnetic Monday post letting me know you want a shot at the prize, and,

In your comment, you must prove that you have the wordcrafting skills necessary to fully appreciate such a prize by leaving me a creative sentence or phrase. See my very first magnetic poetry post for some ideas.

You may still enter even if your fridge is not magnetic. I'm sure you have some magnetic surface in your home- a mirror, your dishwasher, a filing cabinet?

The winner need not necessarily reside in the US. I know a handful of you live in other countries. You are absolutely eligible for this prize!

May the best writer win!

Letter to Lance

My precious, precious boy,

A couple days ago, you turned 18 months old.

It's taken you months and months, but you have finally learned to call me "Mama." I wondered if you would ever figure out that "Daddy" was not my name, too.

You love to look for bugs when we go outside.

If we would let you, you would climb on all the furniture. You're such a little monkey!

Your favorite way to spend the evening is in Daddy's lap, drinking chocolate milk that he made specially for you. Then you climb out of his lap, climp up into mine, and we read stories together.

You love to fall asleep to the sounds of Norah Jones, Petra, Kenny Loggins, and Sting.

You have a whole roomful of stuffed animals, but your favorite is a small teddy bear that belonged to me when I was a little girl.

Your vocabulary has expanded to include the following words:

dog
duck
horse
bug
two
go
eat
up
sky
ball
book
drum
baby

You used to like going to Miss Beckie's for a haircut, but for some reason, you're afraid of it now.

You're also afraid of the vacuum cleaner, when it runs. If it's not running, you think it's great fun to pull all the attachments off of it and hide them around the house.

During a thunderstorm, I take you to the back patio and we sit under the screened-in porch and watch the rain come down. If it starts lightning, only then do we go back inside. Then we stand at the window and watch the storm pass by. Sometimes you get scared and you want me to hold you close, yet you can't take your eyes off the sky because it fascinates you.

The ladies who work in the church nursery just love you to pieces.

I can't say that I blame them!

You make my world a sweet place to be. Nap well, little one, and when you wake I shall scoop you up in my arms and kiss you, and you will smile at me-- the kind of smile that fills a mommy's heart with warm sunshiny love.

I've Had It.

Enough is enough. I've had it.

People can be so inconsiderate it just makes me sick. It seems that I have had a personal, face-to-face encounter with every single person who never learned how to behave in public.

The last few days have been fraught with rudeness. The last straw today was when I was ordering my lunch at Chick-Fil-A, my favorite fast food place. I was standing there, placing my order, the cashier was pushing the buttons for "#1 combo with fries and large Coke" when someone walked right up and demanded a soup spoon.

Hello? Am I invisible? Am I mute? I'm in the middle of a word here, people, and this very impolite individual just barged right up without any consideration whatsoever. While I'm not saying she should have waited in line again, could she not have waited the 15 seconds for me to finish speaking? All I could do was stare at this person. Where are all the good comebacks when you really need them?

I wouldn't be surprised if when that person was a young child, their school report card said "Does not play well with others."

Guinevere's Thoughts On Shoes

I am not like most women in the United States. (I am not familiar with the shoe-purchasing habits of women in other countries, but I imagine it is similar in other civilized Western nations. Please forgive me if I have offended a nationality by my comments on shoe purchases.)

I do not enjoy buying new shoes. Shoe shopping, to me, is a chore. It is something to put off until your other shoes have fallen apart. I do not have fifteen bazillion pair of shoes. A pair of sneakers, a couple pairs of sandals, one pair each of black and brown "dressy" shoes, and a pair of spiky-heeled boots for when the tigress in me demands to come out. ;)

Yesterday, my third pair of sandals fell apart so it was time for some shoe shopping.

If I didn't enjoy shoe shopping before toddlerhood, it is even much less enjoyable now. At least before I had time to stand still, my eyes savoring the sight before me, analyzing the pros and cons of each possible pair of shoes. Would they be comfortable? Would I be able to wear them with the clothes I had, or would the purchase of a particular pair of shoes necessitate the purchase of additional clothing?

Now, however, I have a squirming toddler in the shopping cart who doesn't like the cart to remain still. (You should see us in the grocery store. It's like those game shows where the people run up and down the aisles, throwing their items in the cart at lightning speed, not caring if they smush the bread with the three dozen eggs they just tossed in.) Yes, I buy shoes in stores that have shopping carts. Most specifically, Target. I hate shoe shopping, so I hate spending a lot of money on them.

But I digress. I am pleased to announce that yesterday, in record time, I found three pairs of shoes that are comfortable, will go with the clothes I have, look cute, and are comfortable. You see, the last couple of times I purchased shoes they looked fantastic but they blistered my feet beyond recognition. Why do we do this to ourselves? I don't get it.

I found a pair of simple black ballet flats,

sorry- this picture just did *not* come out well

some sandals with a low heel (some may call it a "wedge"- I'm not up on current shoe terminology),



and a fantastic leopard-print pair of flip-flops.


I live in South Florida, so flip-flops are a necessity. Additionally, my house is mostly tile floor, and tile can be really rough on your back. My chiropractor encourages me to wear shoes even when I'm in the house, and I've found that it really does make a big difference. So you see I love my cushy flip-flops. I'm wearing them right now, in fact.

So there are my thoughts on shoes.

Thanks for listening.

Fun With Daddy!

Yesterday evening, Hubby wanted to go swimming. Since we have moved into our new house, we have spent many evenings together splashing around while the light of the day faded into a glorious sunset.

Last night, however, the water was just a little too chilly for my comfort. I decided that it would be a good opportunity to take some photos of my boys!

Daddy, throw me up, up, up, in the skyyyyy!!!!













What an impish little grin my boy gives me! I took care not to let any splashes ruin my digital camera!

We found this little fish toy at the local grocery store (weird) and Lance thinks it's great fun to chase it around the pool. He can't quite pronounce "fish," it comes out more like "bush" and is rather funny, as it goes.!

I love the expressions on their faces here! Lance is obviously Daddy's boy. (To my husband's extraordinary relief!)

Magnetic Monday: Never Create Sacred Moments Badly

Remember when I talked about the magnetic poetry kit my good pal Damselfly gave me as a housewarming gift? Well, she had the fantastic idea that we should start a new weekly blog feature called "Magnetic Monday" in which we share our creations.

I know it's not Monday, but I had a party yesterday (which turned out to be lots of fun after all!) and didn't get around to it. Please forgive the poor picture quality; Hubby has still not hooked up our card reader to the computer (it is still residing in an as-yet-unpacked-box somewhere in this quagmire he calls an office,) so I have been relegated to taking a photo with my phone's camera which is pretty pathetic.


If you've got a set of these, feel free to join us every Monday (or whatever day you feel like it) in sharing our magnetic poetry creations!

It's My Party (and I'll cry if I want to!)

Feeling bummed out. Hubby and I are supposed to be hosting a Memorial Day BBQ/pool party tomorrow for a large amount of our friends.

Two days ago, we found out that the vast majority of the people who were planning on coming over here decided to ditch us and go to someone else's party instead.

Are we in middle school, people??!!!! This party was primarily for the people in our bible study group. They were going to come over at 4, we would BBQ, play in the pool and enjoy each other's company, and then break off to do our bible study. We also invited some of our other friends from the church that are not in this particular study to join us for the BBQ. This was going to be the first party we threw at our new home. We were really excited about it; D and J do a Christmas party every year, we all celebrate New Year's at B and R's place, H and J have a 4th of July shindig, so we thought our house would become the place to be for Memorial Day.

So imagine my disappointment when I am informed by someone in the bible study group that "the group decided to go to C's BBQ instead and then we'll come to your house for the Bible study."

What!!!! I'm sorry, how can someone else cancel my event without asking me first or giving me a reason?

As I make phone calls to get to the bottom of this, I find out that C's BBQ has been planned for months and was also a surprise birthday party for one of our group members. C was supposed to call everyone in our group to remind us of this, but apparently she didn't because last week when we planned this whole thing, no one said , "Hey, don't forget about C's BBQ next week that we're all invited to." She certainly didn't call me, which is highly inconsiderate since I'm the one hosting the Memorial Day BBQ!

So I've been a little grumpy. Trying to take things in stride, but ya know what? It hurts my feelings just the same.

We're still having our party. Three people are coming.

We're going to have the best party ever, darnit!

That'll show them.

Mom SOS

*warning: this post is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.*

I need help from all you more experienced moms.

Lance seems to have a little stomach bug-- he woke up two nights ago vomiting, and he's had diarrhea for two days now. I can't get him to eat very much solid food AT ALL. I managed to get him to eat a few grapes earlier, but that's all he's had all day. I've been trying the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, tea and toast,) but he'll have none of it. So in lieu of food, I've been giving him lots of liquids- mostly milk and gatorade, for the electrolytes. Should I worry about him not eating, or is this normal? Aside from the messy diapers, he doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. He's just as energetic as always!

This is the first time he's been sick like this- even as a newborn, he was never a pukey baby. Hardly ever spat up. So I'm at a loss for what to do!

Thanks in advance!

Random Blah-ness

If you've been following me on Twitter, then you know that I'm sick. Nasty sick. Bronchitis, sinus infection, sore throat, etc etc etc. I like to call it "The Crud."

Anyhoo. I have been prescribed four medications to get me out of this crud: an antibiotic, an inhaler, a decongestant, and a nighttime cough syrup. I didn't have them all filled, just the antibiotic and and the inhaler because, hello? My medicine cabinet is stuffed full of decongestants and cough syrups and I am morally opposed to spending money on unnecessary medication.

I think I might audition for American Idol this next season if they hold auditions in Miami again. Just for fun. And heck, maybe I could land a record contract.

If I actually do this and make it to the finals, I would want to go on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson because he's just stinkin' hilarious. "It's been a great day for America, everyone!" "Has there been a MURDER??!!" "Have we got a picture of Paul McCartney?" So Craig, if you're reading this and I audition for American Idol next season and make it to the finals, please let me come on your show! Oh, and I'd also have to go on Rachael Ray because she is just awesome. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't know how to cook. At all.

The AC repairman is coming later. Our AC is working fine, but the unit is leaking water all over our garage. In the heat and humidity of Florida, I am assured that this is a common and easily fixable problem. (SO glad we're renting!! Landlord can foot the bill on this one!)

I guess that's enough Random Blah-ness for one afternoon. Lance is sleeping, time for another dose of meds.

Have a great night and tip your waitresses!

The reason I am not in bed right now...

...is because this evening, the minister of music at my church asked, no BEGGED, me if I could please, please, help him with the conducting for tomorrow's choir and orchestra production. They did a performance tonight, and I thought it was remarkably good compared to previous performances by the same group, but he has to conduct both the choir and orchestra, which is quite a laborious task. (I apologize for that horrific run-on sentence. My brain is fried.) It's always best to have two conductors. I have filled in for him in the past when he has been gone for a weekend and I can read music. However, the Reverend must think much more highly of my musical ability if he thinks I can learn an hour-long choral production in one night.

So here I am, sitting at my computer with the CD in the CD-ROM drive (because the only other operational CD player in the house is in Lance's room) with my head buried in this music, circling the dynamic markings, checking for the repeat signs and codas, looking for time signature changes and praying to high heaven that I will be able to make sense out of this and be useful tomorrow.

(Here comes the part where I get all childish and whiny.) Tomorrow was supposed to be my day to sleep in. (My husband and I generally attend our church's Saturday evening service.) I've been battling an icky cough and I was really looking forward to relaxing tomorrow, but it was clear from the performance tonight that the choir really does need the extra help, so I agreed.

Maybe if I start saying "no" once in awhile, people will stop asking me to do outlandish things at the last minute like this... don't get me wrong, I like helping out, but this is a very big job and I have a small child to care for and a sore throat to nurse. Grumble grumble groan bad words.

Hopefully my bad attitude will be gone by tomorrow. Thank goodness for blogs, I can get all this rubbish out of my system and arrive at the church with a much better spirit.

A Peek Back in Time

Lance will be 18 months old at the end of May.

I spent part of today going through my photo files. I was just uploading some new pictures, and decided to go back into last year's May folder to see how much Lance has changed. It's quite a shock. He went from this:

To this:



My smiling, joyful, full of bursts-of-sunshine boy.

Don't grow too fast, sweetheart. I don't want to miss anything.

Persecute Majestic Fish with a Loud Trumpet of Death

Some very dear friends of ours gave us a set of "magnetic poetry" as a housewarming gift. (For those who don't know, it is a set of magnets. Each magnet has a word on it, and you can make up all sorts of sentences and phrases on your refrigerator. It provides hours of amusement.)

This was a particularly appropriate gift. You see, these friends have the same thing at their house. Whenever I go over there, I like to leave them a surprise. Sometimes it takes them a long time to notice that there is a new phrase on their refrigerator door.

I would like to share with you now some of the truly inspired words I have come up with. This set was themed to be "Christian" so it has words like majestic, eternal, heavenly, sin, God, etc. I intend to keep a running list, as I need some of these words to make more sentences and phrases, but I don't want to lose my work. Some of them are profound, some of them are just downright silly, and some may even be sacreligious.

not too patient she is
gentle and almost righteous
forgive everything
persecute majestic fish with a loud trumpet of death
they who teach weeping daughters will inspire eternal beauty through lessons of everlasting kindness

My sister left me the following gems on her recent weekend visit:
preach in a whisper
jesus save this bad man from hell
I command you to embrace only red singing angels and believe in radiant bread


tee hee hee. I can't wait until Lance is older and has writing assignments to do for school. Or when he has to write sentences using his vocabulary words. It'll be loads of fun.

As soon as Hubby gets my camera equipment hooked up to the computer, I'll take a photo of the side of my refrigerator and show you these works in progress. :)

To My Friend

There was a misunderstanding this week.

We didn't realize how important it was.

Things you said were misunderstood. Things we said were misinterpreted.

It was awkward that evening, no one knew what to say.

I miss you.

Maybe I'm a little too ambitious.

Maybe I just want yet again to show off the genius of my son.

Maybe I'm just sick and tired of changing diapers, but...

We're beginning to potty-train Lance. Not serious, hard-core potty training, but we're starting to introduce him to the idea. We bought him a little potty chair which we keep in the bathroom next to the "big potty," and we're starting to teach him the words associated with it. (He now points at the bathroom door and exclaims. "Pot-TY!" ) I change his diapers now in the bathroom, and have him sit on his potty for a minute. He seems to enjoy sitting on his potty, he just hasn't figured out yet what he's supposed to do in it!

I very nearly purchased pull-up training pants in the grocery store today, but I thought that might be taking it too far.

In a couple of months, I will be returning to school for my internship. It will be the equivalent of working a full-time job. Lance will be in the care of two very loving people during the day, and I would really like him to at least be on the way to potty-trained by that time. Many people tell me that boys don't usually train until they're 3 or 4, but I've also heard of many people whose little boys trained at 18-22 months.

Lance will be 18 months at the end of May.

So maybe it's not too ambitious.

I'm just not going to get stressed out about it. We'll see how it goes.