Happiness is...no commute on a snowy day

Yesterday morning I made it just in time for my bus downtown.. but the driver started to leave without me. So, I picked up the pace a bit and started running.. only to slip on the ice (oh, yeah, forgot about all that ice!) and then did a fantastic face first slide to a stop on the icy ground. (Ouch.)
This sent everything I was carrying scattering in three different directions - but at least it made the bus stop and wait for me. Probably out of pity. Or, maybe just because Metro Transit frowns on running over passengers and I was laying in the street right in the bus' path.

So, when I heard we'd have snow today (and I figured out that I'd twisted an ankle thanks to my icy belly flop) - I decided to work from home today.

I slept in a bit. Just threw on jeans and got to work around 7:30 like usual. Only, my commute this morning was just down a set of stairs and only involved turning on some lights and starting up the fireplace. Propping a pillow up under my sore ankle and powering up the laptop and the XM receiver unit.

Lucy and her friend (yet another sleep over at our house last night) woke up after I'd been working about 2 hours.. and then had another friend come over to join them to play. As I answer emails I faintly overhear all three girls playing teacher and tutoring 4 year old Michael on his letters and how to write his name. Then they ran around giggling and playing. Miraculously all 4 kids have left me alone down here to work and haven't interrupted any of my phone meetings.

So, I'm sitting in the lower level office/cave with the fireplace running, with scented candles, my iced tea and the XM playing indie music in the background...and whenever I look up from my work I see soft fluffy snow falling outside the double glass doors. It's gorgeous - especially because I have don't have to drive anywhere today.




The music is perfect (lots of Vampire Weekend, Kings Of Leon, Department of Eagles, Ra Ra Riot) the fireplace is cozy, the dogs are curled at my feet and I'm getting work done... and now Jeff is plowing out the driveway with Michael.

Today was darn near as perfect as a Tuesday at work can get. And not just 'cause I didn't fall on the ice (yet) today.

I've been too stressed out for too long - I've lost my sense of humor.
So, yesterday and today I took some long overdue time off...and wouldn't you know it soon as I was better rested today I saw something on my work laptop that just cracked me up. I was working on some stuff yesterday from a colleague in India...and never even noticed the file name till just now.



The best part? I even have an email request that says something like: "Can you please help me with my BO issues?"

Lucy's Christmas Wishes

In case you have a hard time reading 2nd Grader it says this:

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My Christmas wishes..
First is a Webkinz because it's fun to play with them.
Second is for everyone to be rich because then no one would lose their house!
Third I wish for the war to end because people die and we have to give our money to them and that is how people lose their houses. Then I would wish for an American Girl doll because I love playing with them.
Last I would wish for a cool new room so I can have more fun in my room.

----

I happened to help in Lucy's classroom yesterday so I saw a couple of the other kids' Santa essays. The ones I saw read like you'd expect: I want an XBOX and a skateboard, etc.etc.

I wonder what Lucy's teacher must think of us right about now.



On a related note - last night Michael went to see Santa while Lucy and I were at Girl Scouts. When he sat on Santa's lap and was asked what he wanted for Christmas apparently his answer was: "A Nutcracker. So I can give it to my daddy."

I have NO idea where that one came from - we haven't been to a performance of the Nutcracker this year, and Jeff isn't a big walnut fan.. but, I'm sure Michael's answer was genuinely thought out because he's repeated it a few more times. ("..And, and I'm gonna open nuts up for Daddy!")

So, while I can't guess at where Michael's wish came from, I think I can explain Lucy's Christmas wish list...
This past summer we made a roadtrip to Chicago - just Lucy and mommy, to go to a baby shower for my oldest friend. (Oldest, as in - we've been friends for the longest time - not as in, she's old. 'Cause we're YOUNG, okay? Young and hip and ...ah hell, never mind.)

Lucy got bored with the games she'd packed and she's afraid to read in the car because she used to get car sick. So, she wanted my iPod. I had a bunch of saved up episodes of "This American Life" from NPR and she LOVED them. I think she listened to them all. At least one of them explained some of the foreign policy shortcomings of our country entering into the war in Iraq it's subsequent impact to our nation's fortunes. Tough stuff for a 2nd grader to comprehend - but she was digging it and asking me questions. I tried to explain in terms that were simple and not scary - but also realistic. We ARE a nation at war.

Flash forward to this winter. Whenever Lucy has asked for an expensive item we've explained that the economy is bad, and our jobs and standard of living are very precarious. Again - economic slowdown, inflation/deflation -- all tough concepts for a 7 year old to comprehend - so we tried to explain it gently in a way she'd understand.

She has Kit Kittredge® the American girl doll - and Kit is one of their historical dolls who lived during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Lucy has read the Kit historical fiction books and went to the Kit movie earlier this year, too. She understands a bit about that time - that people were losing their homes to bank foreclosures, many people lived with uncertainty about their jobs and money - and that there was also a farming calamity: the Dust Bowl.

We have tried to explain that the time we're living in is not quite as bad as during when Kit lived - certainly there's no dust bowl... but that no one knows how bad things are going to get just yet, or how many people will lose their jobs and it's time to be careful with the money that we earn from working as much as we can.

In the movie - one sign that a family was having hardship is that the mothers would start keeping chickens for the eggs and use the feedsacks to make dresses for the girls. I've explained to Lucy: "Look, we aren't keeping chickens yet, right? But, it's time to be careful so that we can continue to pay for our house."
Again, she seemed to understand, didn't seem overly anxious - and stopped whining for expensive new shirts from Justice for Girls or the latest DS game she's seen on TV, etc.

Apparently, when given a writing assignment at school, our soft-hearted daughter has put the "This American Life" episodes about the costs of the war in Iraq (and high costs of rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure) together with her concerns about people losing their houses now.

And herein lies the difficult tight-rope-walk: We're not trying to make her anxious, just thoughtful and aware of the larger world around her.

While I think, on the one hand, it's good that she has things other than her own personal wants (XBOX, Guitar Hero..blah blah blah) on her mind.. we're going to have to be careful to not talk about news on the economic downturn or any of our money concerns in front of Luce..because she's a natural born worrier like her mother.

Perhaps when Santa still shows up with presents for her and her Christmas looks much like Christmases past her anxiety will ease up a bit.

In the meantime maybe it'll help if I say: "Don't worry honey. Look, we're not keeping chickens to sell the eggs yet."

iSpoiled

When the iPhone first came out a year or two ago I was immediately enamored..but the sort of enamored which would be about like having a crush on Brad Pitt. Sure, he's nice to look at, but c'mon, he's not meant for mere mortals.
That's what the iPhone was like for me. For one thing, the price was way too high. The handset itself, the data plan to go with it - completely priced beyond our means.

For another, it was only available w/ AT&T and I have been with T-Mobile for at least a decade (actually, since before it was T-Mobile -- I was with VoiceStream before T-Mobile acquired them in mid-2000) and I figured I am or was locked into another 2 year contract or something.

And then a series of events took place with just the right timing..that worked out in the most unexpectedly positive ways for me: the new 3G phone came out with a lower price, there was a bit of a change in my role at work, a corporate policy change and then a corporate cell phone provider contract change...and next thing you know - I'm on AT&T with an iPhone. It just fell in my lap.
Well, that and a little expenditure on our part.



This is more technology than I ever needed or even knew I wanted.
It's even better than I thought. It feels extravagant. I just explained it to a colleague like this: it's like going in to a car dealership expecting to buy a used Toyota sedan with high miles. It'll be reliable transportation and get you to work.
And by some strange fortunate twist in fate you end up driving off the lot in a brand new Saab convertible. Turbo. Loaded. Beautiful. For the same price.

On the one hand, I really love it. On the other I feel somewhat guilty..a bit like: "I could have bought two goats for an impoverished family in the Durame area in Ethiopia for what I've spent on a gadget that lets me check Facebook on a whim or watch YouTube while riding the bus home from work."
Was it really necessary?
Heck no.
Does it feel like a treat every time I look at it, touch it or hear it ring?
Heck yeah.

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In other news...we're about to go Road Tripping. Jeff and the kids are coming with me on a business trip. THIS should be interesting.
Normally I go to far flung places on an airplane and work myself around the clock..8 to 10 hours at the client site and then another 6+ hours in the hotel room. Work until I drop.

This time..it'll be long days at the client site, but then I'll come back to the hotel and my kids and hubby will be there. That ought to keep me from overworking a bit. It will definitely be less lonely. :)

We're going to rural Missouri. Hopefully we find good weather and interesting sites along the way.

Rock Mabama! Rock Mabama!

Mr. Man (age 4) had a kid's election at school. They voted for "red" or "blue" (after all they have really little kids at the school; infants all the way up to school agers) - but if they knew the name of the candidate they wanted they could also vote that way, too.
Michael was so excited - he had a sticker that said: "I Voted Today" and ran up to me and said: "Mama Mama! I voted!"
I said: "Really? Who'd you vote for?" and he started chanting and waving his arms:

"Rock Mabama! Rock Mabama! Rock Mabama!!"

Because we live in the north metro (and you can break down the voting statistics for our town and see that it went heavily in favor of McCain here) I asked him: "Who else voted for the same guy you did?" And he said: "Only two of us voted for Mabama."
There are like 25 kids in his class - and 2 voted for Mabama. ;)
I'm glad he had the courage to stick up for who he wanted. And if I had any doubts (based on the name pronunciation) that he actually knew who Obama is.. that was cleared up when my People magazine arrived.

As I carried in the magazine with Obama's picture on the front I said: "Michael, look who it is!"
And Michael came running and chanting again: "Rock Mabama! Rock Mabama! Rock Mabama!!"
and then he gave the front of the magazine a hug and a kiss. (No prompting at all from us - this was just his own natural response.)

Lucy's Christmas List

Lucy's Christmas List

Mia (the big American Girl Doll) + her accessories/clothes
Many Gift Cards for Borders, Kohls, Game Stop, Target & Old Navy.
New Designing Nintendo DS game
Magic Tree House books
Stretchy Pants
Jeans (that have a way to tighten them at the waist, preferably)
Cute new shirts
New Puppy in my Pockets

Making a Fool of Myself, Once Again

I have a special knack for saying just the wrong thing, sticking my foot in my mouth or just inadvertently making myself look like an idiot. Seriously, if I were a super hero I'd be "Awkward Woman" - my super power is making other people laugh at my own expense.

So today is the big first day at the client site. It's week two away from home, I was having a bad hair day, a rough time figuring out to wear..and I was running late to meet up with the consultants (all men) when I figured out I needed a product only women need, oh, just about every 28 days or so.
So, I ran down a back staircase to the little shop in the lobby and bought every box of Croatian OB they had. Whew, right? Not yet.

So, I pack up my back pack with my laptop and notebook and everything I'd need for the day. Part way through the morning session when we're working on our slides for the client presentation one of my colleagues had a coughing fit and I offered him some gum from my backpack. He admired my Japanese gum so I offered it around the table to all the consultants. They're all familiar with Europe (one is Czech, one is Portuguese and one was German), I'm only familiar with Japan so we were comparing notes on sweets and snacks. At which point I said: "Well, I also have some Japanese snacks in my backpack, too" - thinking to offer them as a mid-morning snack.
I grabbed the strawberry Pockey box and said: "And I have more!" and then grabbed...(drum roll please) the box of OB which I held up for all the men (it's all men - I'm the only woman in the group) to eat.

Before I could cringe in horror and throw it back in my back pack the Czech across the table said to me: "Uh. This is not edible."
....and then he tried (and failed) to keep from laughing at me. I don't remember what I mumbled as a come back - but I blushed furiously for a good 5 minutes or so...absolutely horrified I'd just shown off my tampons to the group. Of men. All men. Have I mentioned I'm the only woman in the group? Yeah.

So, yep. That's me. The hip world traveling professional making another graceful first impression with my European colleagues. Smoooooooth. (Not!)



Which one of these is not like the others? (Not edible!)

Day One in Zagreb

My mission for today was this: Find warm shoes and a coat, get a bit acclimated to the time zone and the city. Mission accomplished!

Zagreb is lovely, the weather today was sunny, beautiful and a relatively warm 65 degrees. Perfect walking weather. So, I walked along Jurišićeva to Ban Josip Jelaĉić Square and found shopping all along the way.



I wandered through the the Dolac, the city's main market (aka "the Belly of Zagreb") - where there is a giant indoor market with every cheese,meat, pastry and ingredient you could ever want, and then upstairs is a giant outdoor market.



I wandered up more stairs past the Dolac to "upper town" and found more little markets and lots of quaint cafes. There are LOTS of outdoor cafes here - the Croatians seem to have even the Dutch beat with their cafe : person ratio I'd guess.



I managed to find a warm sweater (it's green of course - I'm so stuck on that color lately) in a little upper town shop for only 100 Kuna (that's like $20). I also managed to find a stylish jacket for over my suits this week..but that was, sadly, not such a good bargain. Oh well.

After finishing up my shopping a quick lunch I've headed back to work a bit this afternoon because now it's America's waking up time.
This will probably be the only day I have to wander around and take pictures - so I'm glad it was sunny and I'm pleased the schedule worked out this way.

やっぱり慣れた

三年ぶり日本に戻って来た前、大変心配しました。

日本語忘れしまった、ゼミを日本語でやるの計画もあったし、本当に困った。でも、やはり大丈夫でした。だいたい覚えてきました。

考えなくと、日本語が口からやすやすと出った。しかし、考え過ぎだと神経が高ぶってしゃべられないです。と言う事で、多分頭の中には、日本語がまだまだ分かる。考えなくと自然に話せる。考え過ぎとダメだね。もちろん、前と比べるだと単語が絶対忘れた。それと言葉の間違い時もうありますね。でも、話が出来たでうれしかったね。

一週間だけが立った、夢にも日本語で見えます。昨夜の夢が半々日本語と英語になった。今朝起きたと電話があった。家の子供たちと話中で日本語で喋りたかった。びっくりしました！「ママが起きたばかりなのに」がちょうど口から出るところで「あら！英語しか分からないのに、ちゃんと英語で話さなくちゃだね」と思い出した。変な感じだった。

とりあえず、安心だね。日本語をまったく忘れた事ではないって、良かったね。

これから、アメリカに帰るとちゃんと日本語の練習をしなければ成りません。長い間使わないだと、もっともっと忘れるはずさ。勉強しないと今度日本へ来ると今頃の日本語で出来ないかもね。だから、ちゃんと練習した方がいいよね。

Now I am a HAPPY geek.

I'm such a simple creature, really. It's all about the little things.
The certain smell of my favorite soap. My one and only favorite necklace.
When feeling stressed about the change in travel plans from Tokyo to Zagreb, all it takes to make me feel a bit better is a hot fudge sundae at Royal Host. (Well, that and a few pep talks from my hubby.) I've had two (sundaes) in the last two days and am feeling pretty even keel now.

I knew Akihabara would have plug adaptors and transformers I'd need (it's 220V in Croatia) and 電圧 is something I can speak about easily (thanks to a previous lifetime translating robotic and printing machinery schematics), so I figured I'd get it here where I could explain what I needed without any language barrier. I knew I'd be all set if I could make my way to my favorite electronics shop in Akihabara.

What I didn't know is that I'd find my favorite EVER game (ぷよぷよ） celebrated their 15th Anniversary by putting out a Nintendo DS version. I nearly shouted in joy right there in ソフマップ.

So, this (all my geeky goodies, only available in Japan or by import):



THIS is what happiness looks like to my inner geek. I had a smile I couldn't wipe off my face this entire afternoon. People in the subways noticed and either smiled back or looked at me like: ニコニコするな！

And as I floated on a cloud of happiness back to my hotel room to pack up all my goodies and charge up my DS for the long flight to Amsterdam, I saw something that would make my hubby's inner geek smile parked right in front of the hotel.

What I've learned this week

Executive Version:

- There is oroshi: 下ろし　おろし (which is to lower)
and THEN there is oroshi: 卸し　おろし (which is a wholesaler).
Considering I was presenting on wholesale functionality all week, I'm embarassed to admit I didn't figure it out contextually right away. I eventually had to ask.
- ZAG is the Airport code for Zagreb, Croatia
- Temperature today in Tokyo = 86 degrees and 70% humidity (dew point = 70 degrees).
- Temperature today in Zagreb, Croatia = high temp of 50 degrees.
- Eddie Bauer has stores in Japan and although they only sell petite sizes, their clothes will fit big ol' gaijin like me.
- The electrical outlets in Croatia are like the kind used in Germany. Some REALLY helpful sites are: here and here.


The long rambling usual version:

All in all my week in Tokyo went very well. I think I did a good job, I know I managed to be helpful. I know I left the team here with more info. than they had before - I think that's mission accomplished.

The minor grumbles I have center around the fact that when we worked on the holiday (Tuesday the 23rd was a bank holiday here in Japan - the "Autumnal Equinox") no one clued me in that the building would be un-manned, un-air conditioned and that dress would be "casual".

The teams' preparation was a bit poor but they were respectful, thoughtful and bent over backwards to make sure I never served a drink or cleared up glasses. (As the presenter, it would have sent the wrong message for me to play any part that looked like an "OL".)
Click on link if you don't know what an "OL" is: OL Link

I had a working Japanese cell phone (that I grudgingly accepted - and it turned out handy in the end I guess), Suica (subway) pass and my employee ID worked on the badge readers here in the new office. It was as if I'd lived and worked here always - really it was that comfortable and easy.

Speaking of the office - that was quite a surprise. No one told me that they'd only just moved! They moved to a totally brand new purpose built skyscraper exactly one week before I arrived. The building still has some new paint smell - it's THAT new. And it's REALLY beautiful..



as beautiful as any office building I've ever seen. Gleaming, covered in the traditional "ran" (orchids - that are gifted when a new building or new business opens) - waterfall features and shining white floors. Amazing, really. I actually took pictures because it was so lovely.



The biggest surprise this week though was on my Wednesday morning first thing. I got a message from my boss asking me to call her right away. I reached her at home to find out they wanted me to go directly to Croatia from Tokyo.

Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, do not unpack suitcases.
I spent Thursday wrangling with the Travel people - first talking them into holding me one of the last two seats left on the flight, then succeeding in getting them to NOT route me via a different flight than originally planned with four stops and three different air carriers (checking and re-checking luggage between air carriers I've never heard of in cities where I don't speak the language sounds like a travel nightmare to me..)..and then finally talking them down from $9,000 to $6,000 as a grand total and managing to book the ticket in a way that it wouldn't get held up in the approval chain and could be e-ticketed immediately. (And yes, that's cattle class, NOT business. One way flight legs are spendy.)

I was so shocked after the initial news that I was going to Zagreb (and it was morning - time for me to head to the office) that I quickly packed up my work bag for the day, ran to the office to get there to present...only to discover while on "auto-pilot" mode (due to the shock, I really think) I'd completely forgotten to pack my laptop.

Oops.

I ran back to the hotel and back again to the office (and when I say ran, I mean trains, taxis and sprinting through buildings in high heels and panty hose trying not to sweat off all my makeup) - and made it JUST in time to present. In fact, I walked into the conference room at 9:30am just as we were intended to begin and launched into presenting with great enthusiasm and while still catching my breath from my sprint. Go figure - I guess adrenaline works for me.

The end of this week has been lovely. I worked one day at the office and attended meetings - again, just as if I was always based here, and then Friday I worked from the hotel room.

I find working in a hotel room to be reallly efficient. No one bugs me, I can listen to music, I get SO much more work done. And, unlike working from home I don't feel like I have to do any cleaning up. No dishwasher to load, no guilt about not running the vacuum.
I work until I need a break or feel like I've gotten enough checked off my to-do list that I deserve a small reward, run an errand - then go back and work until I fall asleep.

Last night was a trip to Shibuya for MOS burger dinner and then to Omotesando to see the new Ometesando Hills building and toy shopping for the kids at Kiddyland.



I leave for Croatia in just under 24 hours now. I'm SO glad I have my camera with me as this is someplace I never imagined I'd get to visit.

Surreal Sunday

Today has been a filled with brief surreal events in between some lovely familiar treats in Tokyo.

Surreal Event #1: 7:18 am
In my sleep clouded mind I heard a noise that sounded like doors clattering and then thought: "Someone is shaking my bed!" I connected the noise and the shaking and thought someone must be in my room shaking the bed.
I sat bolt upright and then realized the noise and the shaking bed were because there was an earthquake. (Side note: Earthquakes are super common here. The buildings are engineered for them - I'm on the 32nd floor and the hotel swayed and shook and life went on.)

I had intended to sleep in later than 7am, but couldn't get back to sleep after the (small) earthquake. (Side note 2: I am not scared of tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes or any other natural disaster - I've been through lots of bad typhoons, been in the house when a tornado went right overhead and took down part of our fence and some of our roof shingles...but Earthquakes.. and I've been through over a dozen, they TERRIFY me. I'm working hard on not being panicked every time one makes the building sway - because they're so common - but they are my number one phobia in life.)

I had a nice call home where hubby was being a super over-acheiver and feeding 7 (yes, SEVEN) kids dinner and then enjoyed the hotel breakfast and headed out to make the most of my one free day despite the rainy weather.
I headed to Shibuya to hit my favorites: Tower Records, HMV, Sony Plaza, The Loft (LOVE IT - my all time favorite Tokyo store!), and MOS Burger for lunch. I checked into getting my quad-band phone operating here - but Docomo wouldn't swap SIM cards with me without a contract. No matter - it's kind of nice being unreachable. :)

Then I stumbled onto Surreal Event #2: 4:10　pm
突然な祭り - a festival. Shibuya is a BIG shopping/entertainment place. Oodles of people wandering around and when it's raining it's a sea of umbrellas as far as the eye can see. Suddenly there are drunk people running around in what look like white speedos and blue Happi coats on top. You can smell the beer, hear the shouts and see lots of golden shrines. It's a Festival! In the midst of the busiest part of Tokyo on a Sunday afternoon. Just a little added crazy to the day.



I got myself a Suica card (a card that has a chip imbedded in it that knows how much money you've placed on it - lets you just tap & go on any subway or JR train, plus you can buy stuff with it at convenience stores, etc.) and brought my shopping goodies back to my hotel room. I turned the TV on thinking I should get started with my translation of the presentation I'm giving tomorrow and ran smack dab into:

Surreal Event #3 4:45　pm:
A Japanese TV documentary all about St. Paul Minnesota and the Republican Convention. It was amazing to me to see completely different coverage (from a Japanese media perspective) of this event that I saw on TV a few weeks back in a very different way.
For one, the program asserts that only "Afro Americans" (and they got a Republican party head honcho on TV camera calling them "Afro Americans" !!!! to my GREAT surprise) are interested in Obama. The Japanese presenter also called Obama "very leftist, too liberal" in general conversation and repeatedly asserted that McCain would be the next President. So much for impartial reporting!

Probably the funniest part of the program was the 4th "section" of the documentary, which they seemed to devote the longest amount of time (they spent barely any time on the brief interview John McCain granted them): an interview with Dan Qualye that they filmed on Sept. 9th at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

They went on and on about how this was an extensive interview with an "important" figure Dan Quayle! This cracked me up because Dan Quayle is a laughing stock - a former Vice President who was a joke. He was known for not being able to spell and has otherwise been forgotten ever since - he couldn't even get funds to start a campaign in 1996 and has not been heard from in any public capacity, with the exception of the rumor he would appear on Dancing With the Stars, in about a decade! (Again, what a joke!)

I turned it off when Dan ceased making sense after about 20 minutes. The Japanese subtitles sure make him look a lot more articulate than he actually is in English.

Now I will head out for another 懐かしい meal at Royal Host and then try and crack down and get prepared for work tomorrow morning by translating my presentation.

It's Beautiful Where Jeff Is

何も知らないくせに大きな口を聞くな

I'm trying to cram Japanese back into my brain. I'm leaving to be a presenter (in Japanese) for a week later this month (after Jeff gets back from Denmark) and I'm reallly worried about how rusty my Japanese has gotten.

So, I started studying from old notebooks of mine and ran across this phrase I'd jotted down back in 1993. Yep, 15 years ago. And it gave me all the warning I need for this trip where I'm meant to be an "expert": 何も知らないくせに大きな口を聞くな = Don't talk big when you know nothing.

What an amazing warning message that is for me. 'Cause I'm meant to go off and be a functional expert on about 10 different products and I'm overwhelmed trying to keep up.

As much as I'm looking forward to the chance to go back to Tokyo, the personal price (and the prep-work) is pretty steep. It looks like I'm on the hook to prepare an agenda and training materials for 5 days worth of training 10 people. It's hard to find the time to prepare the slides on top of my regular two jobs (at work) that I can barely keep up with.

The Week that Was

Things are so hectic I can't think straight. My to-do list at work (and home) has grown so long I'm flailing. So, I think it's best that I take a break for a moment to try and reflect on the week that just flew by.

First Day of School

Luce loves her new teacher, and I have high hopes she'll have a good year at school. She's turning into a bookworm and this makes me very happy for her.



Em is settling into Middle School with the sort of self-assured confidence of someone who knows who she is and what she wants and is READY.TO.GO.
It's amazing to me - because I don't have any memories of Middle School that don't make me cringe a bit remembering being painfully shy and unsure and desperately uncool..and Emma is brilliant, whip-smart and comfortable in her own skin.
She's the most unique combination I've ever seen - she's got her own funky style going on and is naturally gifted at making gobs of friends ..and yet she's been promoted ahead a grade level to advanced math and language arts and is trying out for the competitive math league team.
She's got the brains of a math geek in coupled with the look & social skills of a popular girl. I am so impressed by her and can't tell her enough how amazing she is.




Mr. Man went back to his pre-school for pre-K and loves his new teachers. I do, too. His lead teacher is a fresh import from Columbus, Ohio - which gives her a big ol' gold star in my book.
In typical third-child fashion, we have no pictures of his first day of school because mommy accidentally left the camera at the Elementary school. Oh well. He's happy and was surrounded immediately by all his old buddies who had been looking forward to his coming back to school after the summer break - his only complaint is that school is cutting into his TV watching time.

The RNC Invasion of the Twin Cities

It took me over 2.5 hours to get home after work on Wednesday thanks to John McCain staying at the Hilton attached to the building I work in. I confess that even though I didn't get home till 7pm that night I wanted to see Palin's speech in a weird sort of way that I can only compare to the feeling of wanting to scratch a mosquito bite or pick a scab. Gross.

I worked from home most other days this week - which was a treat and didn't involve having to face the fact that my city was overtaken by right wing political figures in Cadillac Escalades with black tinted windows and lots of G-men to protect them (the protesters mainly stayed in St. Paul - so Minneapolis took on a decidedly "fat cat" vibe). My friend Sharon and I seemed to be the only ones interested in playing "spot the G-man"...but then, it wasn't much of a challenge and it was less interesting than, say, the National Guard and the snipers on the parking garage roof that I could look at all day from my office window.

I'm pretty sure that Tom DeLay almost walked right into me (how dare I walk on the sidewalk when he was?) as I was walking back to my office on the sidewalk in from of the W hotel on Wednesday afternoon. He was in a big cowboy hat & these fancy jeans - and he reeked of too much cologne. Gross.

Here's a story to pretty much sum up the week with the RNC taking over the Twin Cities:

I'm riding in the car with Jeff at noon on Wednesday on our way to lunch, listening to MPR like usual... but we soon figure out it's been overtaken by RNC politcal pundits because all we can hear is stuff like:
"blah blah Evil Liberal Media blah blah blah the Conservative Majority will SAVE AMERICA blah blah Evil Liberal blah blah"

So, after I get fatigued hearing again how the majority of the nation is actually conservative (huh? really?) and that only evil baby-hating liberal freaks would question VP nom Sarah Palin's choice to go back to work 3 days after giving birth to her infant son..I ask Jeff to please change the channel to a music station.
We switch to the adult easy-listening-alternative music channel and land on a Norm Coleman (Republican Senator) commercial bashing Al Franken.
I threw up in my mouth a little bit and then I switched the radio off.

Lesson du jour

Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From the evil which never arrived

-Ralph Waldo Emerson


I'm so type A. I'm a natural-born, world-class champion worry-wart.
I project so far ahead that, no joke, Jeff can recount times where I've taken some of our children's (probably normal) childhood misbehaviors and extrapolated that into how they'd never get through college and be degenerates, un-wed junkie parents, [insert your own worst fears about failing as a parent here], etc..

I'm mellowing a bit with age and experience, thankfully.

Some of these skills that I pick up as a mom translate back to work..and vice versa. Today I got reminded once again not to trip myself up looking so far ahead.

I've been struggling for weeks to complete a strategy project. I NEVER do strategy - it's not my job. I'm garden variety geek, thankyouverymuch. Ask me to debug a mis-encoded character stream. Tell me to find the failed cursor in a referenced library or package - I'm never happier than when I can figure out what the problem is.

But this. This was "suggest an approach the entire organization should follow" strategic mumbo-jumbo. I felt confused. Wondered if I had early Alzheimer's or maybe needed to go get a cup of coffee or three. I read and re-read ..and then re-read emails and thought I couldn't figure out what I was being asked to do.

Finally, I buckled down and typed that mutha OUT today.

My hand shook as I hit the "send" button to the team. I self-doubted, I whined a bit (just inside my head) and finally just closed my eyes and hit send.

Within an hour I got back a GLOWING email - complete with a thank you. Here's a comment from it that made me snort outloud: "You are a natural at process!"

I should kick my own behind for spending over a month dreading this and torturing myself. I shouldn't have worried so much. It's almost always not as bad as I think it will be.

A note from my sister ..

(Click on Photo Above to see a larger version)
Message from my sister, K follows:

"Well, you would think someone who does fundraising for living would have no concern about sending out a message like this - but it feels a bit different when you are making a personal request. So, here it goes...

My roommate and one of my very best friends from college, had a beautiful baby boy last October, named Alex. However, on his second day of life he experienced his first seizure, and things only got worse. On a good day, Alex would have seizures every 15 minutes. On a bad day, he would seize for 8-10 hours.

After many months, many doctors, needles pricks, medications and tests, Alex was diagnosed with a very rare brain tumor called a Hypothalamus Hematoma. Fortunately, there is one doctor in all the country that could perform the life-saving surgery he needed, and at the beginning of July, Jenny, her husband Greg and baby Alex jumped a plane for Arizona, and there Alex had two brain surgeries.

This surgery was truly a miracle (and I thank all of you who prayed for him!), and I'm so happy to say that as of today, Alex has not yet had a seizure! However, this story is not over. Baby Alex is still on a great deal of medications, and will need extensive therapy. Alex had a stroke during the first brain surgery and unlike most 10 month old babies, Alex does not sit-up on his own or even roll-over. Though, with a lot of hard work, Alex has a very promising future.

It doesn't take a lot to figure out emotionally what this does to a family, but what a lot us don't know is what it does FINANCIALLY. Jenny and Greg were a two-income family, which over the past year has been primarily one. Not to mention the FLOOD of bills from his nearly continuous hospital stays since birth, brain surgeries, medications, therapy, etc..

My roommates from college & me, are organizing a benefit (in Cincinnati, Ohio) for Baby Alex in hopes to help lessen pain of this experience, at least financially.

If you can, please attend. If you would like to make a donation checks should be made out to "The Alex Keener Fund", you can send it to the address listed on the flyer, or contact me and I'll send you an address. If you're in Ohio - you can donate directly to the Alex Keener Fund at any FifthThird bank location."

Thank You

The Boys of Summer

I keep trying to remind myself (despite the stress of being down to a single income) that this is the summer that our kids are likely to remember as one of the best.

They're getting to sleep in almost every day. Daddy is home with them most days and on days when they don't stay home they get to go ride in a canoe, go to the beach or hang out in a hammock at Tiina's house. On Fridays Daddy always tries to do something fun.. like a boat ride and picnic at the beach. It's probably the best summer these kids, as children of a two-income earning family, will ever have.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

During the long drive home from Chicago we couldn't get the DVD player to work, so Miss Lucy was without her preferred form of entertainment. She decided she wanted my iPod and wanted to "hear a story". I put on "This American Life" for her and ...she loved it. This was a pleasant surprise and another reminder of why it is so cool that the kids are getting older.
She was also eager to talk to me and make me laugh - which made her a great traveling companion.

She'd also been trying to convince me I should pay her for her good behavior (she's trying to save up money for yet another American Girl Doll and has only $13 at the moment) and kept attempting to talk me into giving her a dollar. I carefully explained that she'd be paid only for extra chores around the house or something extra-ordinary. She listened carefully when I laid out my logic that good behavior is expected and therefore not something to be monetarily rewarded.

Shortly after that we reached our town and as we drove past the lake near our house I said something about how pretty it was with the sun shining on the lake and then Lucy began to sort of sing.. just sort of wordless pretty sounds like:
"ooooh.....aaaaaahhhh ....ooooooooh...."

And then she paused to take a breath and said:

"You know Mom, it costs extra for this background music."

I laughed so hard we're lucky we stayed on the road and didn't end up in the Lake.

It's in their blood

Having my Dad and step-mom here for a visit has been a re-affirmation that a lot of my personality is hard wired...and those genetics must be strong because we see my Dad so clearly in Mr. Man and Lucy-lou. Sure, some of the things (bossy, loud, strong-willed) can be chalked up to normal childhood behaviors. But other bits..are just stunning reminders of everything I try and fight in my own personality with lots of therapy.

My stepmom said it probably the best..(hence the title) ..she observed Michael demanding silence from the others in the TV room so he could watch Star Wars and I shook my head and said: "He is so like my Dad"..and Donna said: "It's in his blood". I like saying "genetics" better than blood.. but I get what she means.

I've been reminded, as we watch the Olympics (and Lucy is REALLY into them) that there are some other personality glitches I have that are all mine.
I can't watch someone win a sporting event (like Michael Phelps winning his first gold medal) without crying. I have the same problem at any school event where our kids have to go in front of a crowd of people. Emma's 5th grade graduation, Lucy singing in a pre-school Christmas program.. even at church when they pass out the Bibles to the kids or a baby is Baptized. Jeff has become so used to it he nudges me in the ribs with his elbow and grins at me. (I think he likes that I'm so predictable. I'm somewhat mortified that I can't not cry.)

I wonder if this will happen to Lucy as she gets older. This inability to not feel so much for the person doing their best in front of the crowd that the tears well up.
If so, it's in her blood I suppose.

Making the Best of It

It is now, according to the local time, my birthday. And I'm alone some 4000+ miles from home. But rather than whine about it (because really, it's not that big a deal to me) I think instead I'll recount some lessons learned / high points from today:

1. I allowed myself to skip the touristy crap and stuck to what makes me happy.

The end result was brilliant. Today I slept in as late as I wanted, went to my favorite French bakery for Leek quiche and breakfast tea, then wandered about Camden Town - which was fantastic. I went back the hotel late afternoon for HobNobs and tea and then hopped back on the Tube to see an independent film in Piccadilly.
The film 'A Complete History of My Sexual Failures' was really funny - and something I'd never get to see at home. Then I had a late dinner at a burger place I'd been wanting to try.
(Chili burger + onion rings = Yum)



2. I'm a resourceful girl.

When the hotel lost my laundry I vowed I'd find another way to wash up the bits I have left. I found a wonderful lavender-scented washing up powder and did a load in the bath tub. I also found a way to brew my iced tea with a glass jug I scrounged up (once I dumped out the hideous prune juice that came with it!). I found a used books store and replenished my supply of reading materials, and found bath salts to replace my dwindling supply of Japanese bath salts. I'm all about the creature comforts, aren't I?

3. I'm not afraid to look stupid.

While I'm not doing touristy things - I'm not afraid to whip out my camera and take photos of gorgeous sites to send back to my kids. This is a beautiful, beautiful city. I'd like it here even more if I weren't missing my kids and husband so very very much.



4. Sometimes, I really am better off by myself.

I was meant to hook up with two co-workers to sight-see today. They went to Wimbledon & to see a Play: "Jersey Boys". No offense to them - but I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed those as much as what I did on my own.
Tomorrow they want to get up early to tour Windsor Castle. I'd rather sleep in and then get the 11am train to Oxford and see Christchurch. That is, if I feel like splurging on nearly 40 GBP for train tickets round trip..which at the moment I'm thinking: Um, not so much.
Probably I'll sleep in, have tea and quiche at the French bakery and then go admire Libertys of London and wander around Oxford Circus.

Do as I say, not as I do...

I was in a waiting room somewhere and picked up a parenting magazine (we only subscribe to junk like People and Esquire at our house - that and hubby gets every Car magazine known to man). The article on how to help siblings get along really had some good tips, so I jotted them down. Here's the advice from the article - followed by how I probably handled it in real life.

What to Say When Siblings Fight:

1. The Advice:
Tell the kids: "I can't wait to hear how you solve this. Go into this room and don't come out until you agree on a solution."

The reality: Girls scream in the downstairs toy room for more than 5 minutes and the little one comes up crying and tattling with the big one on her heels yelling angrily.

2. The Advice:
Tell the kids: "Since you're not having fun, here - come help me fold this laundry."

The reality: Big one rolls her eyes and skulks away. Little one asks: "How much will you PAY me?"

3. The Advice:
Tell the kids: "You can either stop fighting of pay me to listen. $.25 a scream."

The reality: Big one says: "You still owe me six bucks!" and storms off in a huff. The little one sticks around to tearfully attempt to tattle on her older sister.

4. The Advice:
Tell the kids: "Looks like that toy needs a timeout - it made you fight. We'll get it out again later."

The reality: Typically, they aren't fighting over toys anymore these days. I can take away the computer - that works. When it's clothes they're fighting over I usually err on the side of whoever fits it best. So, when the big sister complains that little sister is wearing her shirt I usually say: "Well, look it fits her - so it can't fit you properly." Soon it'll be me fighting with the oldest that she's wearing MY shirts. Sigh.

5. The Advice:
Tell the kids: "You guys should be proud. You played together 20 whole minutes before you started arguing. Let's celebrate with a snack."

The reality: Low blood sugar is often a culprit around our house. This one actually works - I send them in to pick out a snack and then pray they don't both want the last one of the same thing.

I could get used to this

The breakfasts at the hotel are amazing. Anything you could ever want from any place in the world. Pastries, Rolls, sweets and fruits abound. Quiche? Why yes, three kinds. Salad like in Japan? Why yes - and next to that is the European style cheeses & meats and would you like some muesli or homemade granola?
Indian or Malaysian traditional breakfast - even breakfast steaks for the Texans here, right next to the German sausages.

Breakfast is included with our room, and lunch is provided with the conference. It's wonderful, too. In fact, every meal I've had since arriving has been lovely. I kind of expected we'd eat well..and because I am a very simple creature and love nothing more than eating and sleeping... I have not been disappointed a bit. (The hotel beds are also wonderful and I only wish I could sleep even more...)

Working in my room with the iTunes playing on the laptop or NHK on the TV for some background noise is also lovely. I'm getting a lot done today because I don't present until the next two days. And then, it's over and I leave. Back to being cramped for 30 hours of travel in cattle economy class and no more lovely meals.

But, I think that's probably a good thing because by Thursday I'm sure I'll have gone up a pant size.

Day One in KL

I'm glad Barbara forced me to get out and site see a bit.

We went to the National Mosque. They provided us with robes to make sure our heads and ankles were covered.



Then we went to China Town and the Central Market.



I thought the kids would like seeing this stray kitty that found a chicken leg to snack on in China Town.



And I really liked this graffiti.

Latest Pictures

The dog rescue named him Jordan. Since he answers to it we decided not to confuse him by changing it. So, here's Jordan Anderson, our newest family pet.



He's a big friendly lug - a Boxador. (Labrador Retriever/Boxer Mix)
Callie is starting to really like him. The rest of us would like him even better if he didn't pee in the lower level.

Also, today we got Emma's spring school pictures. Can't believe how grown up she looks!

They're just so gosh-darn cute!!

I'm sure every mother feels this way - but aren't they so cute?

My new diet plan: Life

Last night when Miley died unexpectedly, Jeff and I didn't feel much like eating dinner. This morning when I sat at my computer with my bagel and coffee drink I read an email from a friend from church who's infant daughter (who I know from caring for in the nursery, she's a cutie!) fell from a 2nd floor of an apartment onto concrete 14 feet below and was airflighted to the hospital for a skull fracture.
I couldn't eat my bagel. (Baby S will be okay. She's been released from the hospital now and just has to recover completely.)

The older I get, the more connections to others I make over time, the more I experience heartache. I know, I know - this is the human condition. That's just life.
But my heart breaks. My heart breaks for my dear friend who's adult children are rejecting her. I shake my head sadly when a congregant of my friend/co-worker's was part of a police stand-off in New Mexico and shot himself. (Even if he was crazy, he was someone's father.) It may be PMS, but I can't look at pictures of Chengdu or the schools that collapsed in Dujiangyan without crying.
I know how passionately Chinese parents love their child. Notice I say: child. To lose that child, that one hope for your future, that one little person you love and adore and have doted on and sent off to school in hopes of a bright future - devastating.
We had friends from Beijing over for dinner about a year ago. My coworker Leo was just weeks away from marrying Fiona. Fiona was a lovely girl and she loved playing with our kids, especially our youngest who was about 2, nearly 3 at the time.
He snuggled in her lap and talked to her - she was one of those naturally nurturing and loving people that you could just imagine would be a wonderful mother some day. Fiona wept. She seemed happy, but tears ran down her face.
When I asked Leo why Fiona was upset he tried to explain that she was simply emotional at the site of my lovely family. He explained that having a child like my young son was their greatest hope. To have a beautiful family - that one child they could have, their very greatest dream in life. They couldn't hope for two, just one child.
So imagine the grief of these parents. Losing that one very loved child. Losing their lifelong dream. Losing their family.
I can understand their anger at the school collapse site. How could a school, a building filled with the greatest treasures in China, be built so shoddy that it couldn't withstand an earthquake? Some hotels and stores are standing - how can it be that the school isnt'? I can just imagine their frustration. I can't imagine their grief.

Hopefully some glimmer of good news will come my way before lunchtime. Not that it would hurt me to miss a few calories..but for now, I'm not feeling able to eat.

Good bye Miley Dog

We didn't even have her for a full year. As spazzy and sometimes annoying as she was (she was ALL bird dog ALL the time) at times and as many times as I cursed her for eating tissues out of the bathroom garbage and leaving them all over the house... I find myself surprised at how sad I am and how very much I miss her.

Tonight I had a Girl Scout meeting so I picked up McDonalds for a fast family dinner while Jeff picked up kids. I beat him home by just a few minutes.
Usually the dogs are waiting by the door eager to go outside. Tonight they weren't there. Hmm. That's odd. So, I yelled: "Where are my dogs at?"

Callie came from upstairs and slunk out the door without enthusiasm.
Hmmm. That's odd.

I saw Miley laying in one of her favorite spots just on the edge of the four season porch. Man, she must be really deeply asleep not to come running when I call...
And then it hit me. My voice hit that frantic note it does if I can't find one of the kids in a busy store right away or they aren't where I expect them to be in the yard.

Miley! I called. No response. This can't be. I reached out and touched her face. Shook her a little. Something was definitely very wrong. And then I heard the sounds of Jeff's car in the garage. I ran outside and told Jeff: "Don't let the kids come inside! Please leave them in the car for a minute! You need to come in here!" Jeff expected to find a doggy mess..not a dead dog.

When we got Miley at the pound they told us she was a 4 year old stray. Healthy, but underweight. We've fed her up and loved on her - learned her annoying habits and what she's good at. I was planning to jog with her this summer. I expected she'd outlive Callie and annoy me for many more years to come.

Emma cried and wanted her dog tags. Lucy cried after a bit, too. Michael said: "I wish Miley could be alive still." as we placed the decorated homemade slate headstone over the spot where we buried her in the yard.

Still, they're all already making out a wish list for our next dog. Emma's already searched on the web for dogs. Even though they say they want a new dog, there is a dark cloud over our house tonight. This is not how Tuesday nights are supposed to go - we're all shocked and sad.

To my great surprise, we've lost a dog. And even more surprising to me is how very much I'll miss her despite all her quirks.

Rest in Peace Miley Dog. May you find a doggie heaven filled with pheasants for chasing, angels to scratch behind your floppy ears and unlimited doggie treats.

Scenes from a very good weekend

They crack me up. Everyday.

Em's skills at sarcasm are starting to rival her father's. She's learning how to cope with frenemies at school and is into email, talking on the phone and picking out special outfits (esp. from certain stores - she's suddenly VERY brand conscious).

Luce just had her first sleepover birthday party. The girls went for "Princess Manicures and Pedicures". As we arrived at the nail salon some girls were there getting ready for prom (our high school's prom was the same night as Lucy's b-day party). The little princesses in our party asked: "What's prom?" Then they all ooh-ed and aahed over the teenagers' pretty hair up-dos and fancy nails. One high school girl showed the girls her hairstyle (like a princess! Those curls!) and explained it takes all day to get ready for prom. The girls all turned to me and said: "When do we get to go to prom?" I told them: "Just about 10 years from today, ok?"

Michael is learning that if he gives a really smooth explanation that he can get his way sometimes.
He talked me into his eating a chocolate Easter candy one morning this past week because he explained it had "all medicine in it" that would make his sore throat all better.
It was so earnestly delivered and cute (and I figured no harm could come from a tiny piece of chocolate first thing in the morning, esp. for him because he's lost so much weight lately) I let him have the candy.

I've taken to jotting down the really funny things they say - because the kids crack me up so often. The other night Jeff and I were tucking Emma into bed and he was going to (playfully) hit her with a pillow. I made a good show of trying to wrestle it from his hands - and ended up with a 2 inch cut on my finger that I somehow managed to cause with my own thumbnail. When I showed Emma she said: "Sheesh Carolyn - you aren't to be trusted with soft objects!"

Last Friday morning Jeff called me and Mr. Man had this to say to him:
"Daddy. I very disappointed in you and I be angry with you because you don't stay home with me and I sick." When Jeff called me and we laughed about this, Michael, in the back seat of the car began to get REALLY mad and corrected Jeff:
"Daddy! I already angry at you."

The other night Michael came up to me dragging a quilt and said: "Mommy, how 'bout we play I patching." I said: "Patching?" ...instantly my mind went to thinking about quilting..but I could tell that wasn't what he wanted. I finally figured it out: he wanted to play he was a HATCHING baby bird. So, I wrapped him up in the quilt and he "hatched" and peep-peeped like a baby bird. He thinks its so funny when I say: "OK, the mommy bird will feed you chewed up worms now!" and make fake barfing noises - that cracks him up and he giggles for a long time.

The best was last week when I was giving the kids a bath and had the TV on in our bedroom. I was flopped on the bed watching the Miss USA pageant while rotating kids in and out of our tub. Lucy walked in to take her bath, took one look at the Miss USA swimsuit portion of the pageant on TV and said: "Ewwww. Gross!"

Yellow Curry = Trip Down Memory Lane

Today at lunch I had a flash of realization - a reminder of how truly fortunate I am that my life has taken the path that it has.

Years ago on a business trip in Singapore I walked with coworkers to a little indoor market area where they went for lunch each day. It was a lot like the Dayton's ground floor level food area (aka Marshall Fields, aka Macy's) - lots of competing vendor stalls selling a variety of lunch items to be purchased a la carte.
I remember thinking, with not just a little bit of jealousy, that they got to have a delicious lunch for relatively cheap right near their office each day. Oh to have that variety...Oh to have those yummy Asian dishes right there. Like every trip I take anywhere, I envisioned what life would be like if I could move to Singapore.

Flash forward nearly a decade to today. I walked down the hall attached to my office tower (in the lovely temperature controlled skyway) and decided between Thai noodles, a freshly made yellow curry with veggies and chicken, Falafel or a fresh tossed green salad. I'd already decided not to walk to the Japanese bento place I've been frequenting lately.

And then it hit me as I ate my wonderful curry... it tasted like that lunch in Singapore. It was the lunch special, so it was relatively (relative to downtown prices) cheap. And I realized again how very, very fortunate I am and how, in many senses, every wish I've ever had - even the fleeting ones for a yummy workday lunch - feels as if it's come true.

I miss the days, not so long ago, that she didn't care what she wore...

I'm an evil stepmonster because I wouldn't let our resident 5th grade Fashionista wear shorts to school today for picture day. My arguments:
a) it is only 30 degrees outside
b) there are 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground
and
c) that no one can actually see the shorts in the school picture (shoulders & up is all you get)
...were ignored because clearly I'm just trying to ruin her life.

What really rankles is that she took the shorts over to her mom's house and I have no control over whether her mother lets her wear them despite my telling her she can't.

Whee ...the teenage years are going to be interesting.

Is it March already?

It's been eventful lately. This is why my Dad's birthday cards are still sitting on the kitchen counter and his birthday was Feb. 23rd. (Sorry Dad).

The road trip to Ohio was good - but it got a bit scary on the way back through Wisconsin.



Emma has been in another two plays. She's been accepted at an Arts Magnet Middle School and has been asked to go to a Gifted and Talented kid summer school program. It's like a whole new world (Gifted and Talented summer camp world) has been opened up for us.




Recent things that cracked me up:

1. Emma's comment that: "All the boys sound like girls" when talking about her 5th grade's presentation of Broadway show tunes. Too true. I leaned over to Jeff when 4 boys were singing a mobster song and said: "It's the Sopranos!"




2. Michael was sitting on my lap and during the "Sorprano's" song he covered his ears with both hands and said: "Mommy, they hurtin' my ears!!"

3. At work we all went in on a PowerBall ticket. The organizer sent a scanned PDF copy of our tickets and an Excel spreadsheet with percentage calculations of each of our share of the $173 Million.

I emailed Jeff and said: "This (the Excel sheet) is what happens when geeks play the PowerBall." Jeff is seeking a support group for geeks.


Lastly, if I -DO- win the PowerBall..this is my current wish list:

1. Kindle

2. M3 Adapter for my NDS
3. New front steps for our house...because suddenly ours are crumbling. Bummer.
Maybe something like these: http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/walkways/design-ideas/wood.html

I can't believe it's March...but I also can't believe we're running out of time to get signed up for Summer camps and other summer plans. March isn't coming in like a Lion, it's more like a Cheetah.

Another reason to hate the dog

The trip back from Ohio, well, at least from Rockford, IL onwards, I was pretty sure I had strep throat. As soon as we rolled into town, dropped the oldest at her play practice and got to our house I made plans to go to Urgent Care. After a nearly 2 hour wait at Urgent Care the quick-strep test came back positive, just like I expected.

Since I didn't get my first horse pill in me until 10pm Monday night I figured I'd be contagious (not to mention still in pain with every swallow) and had better plan on taking a sick day on Tuesday. I was sort of looking forward to a day of napping, wallowing in my bed and watching some brain-rotting daytime TV.

Shortly after a bath and a change into my sick-day duds (an old pair of sweatpants) I noticed my least favorite pet (Miley the dog) had decided to take a gigantic dump on our front walkway. Lovely.
So, I grabbed a plastic bag and went out the front door with a pair of my loafers slipped on my bare feet (and of course, no coat) ...only to see Miley nudge the front door shut in her excitement. And I'd only unlocked the deadbolt..so the bottom lock was still locked...and I was now locked out at 10:30am in below zero weather with no cell phone, no keys, no socks, no coat and a plastic baggy of dog poo.

Luckily my neighbor to the East of our property was home. So I trotted over to her house (a 3 minute brisk run in my loafers) and from her house I eventually tracked Jeff down at work. He knew the combination to the hidden key outside our house - so after one more cold walk and fumbling with the lockbox a bit, I was back inside safe and warm...and back to enjoying my sick day.

Kids say the darndest things

3 is a pretty fun age. Mr. Man says some pretty funny things.
Don't get me wrong, the other two are funny, too..but they are funny in a sassy, more sophisticated way now that they're school aged and hence, masters of sarcasm, comedic timing and the knock-knock joke.
Mr. Man just surprises me with how much he understands at such a young age.

Last night as I was tucking him into bed we had the following conversation:

Me: Good night sweetie. Sleep good.
Mr. Man: I don't wanna go to school tomorrow.
Me: I know. It's hard to go back after being with mommy and daddy all weekend - but you'll have fun. Maybe you can play in the snow with your friends! It's going to snow!
Mr. Man: No. I gonna have hiccups* and be puking so I can stay home tomorrow.

It seems awfully advanced to me that at 3 years old he already knows that if he could feign sickness he could avoid going to school and spend the day home with mommy or daddy. I'm sure I didn't figure that out until like..5th grade?!

(*the last time he had a stomach bug he thought hiccups caused him to throw up. Now he seems to associate hiccups with being pukey.)

This morning he was protesting having to go to school and kept telling me: "But, mommy, I have a cough!" (we've all had a mild case of the sniffles, but he didn't cough once this morning and he is in fact quite well).

Once we got to school and I was trying to get him settled in his classroom he wanted more cuddles. His wonderful teachers were helping to distract him (best to re-focus him on playing so that he wouldn't notice me slipping off to work). His teacher offered to cuddle him and he said: "no". She offered him some breakfast and he said: "No, I not hungry." So, they said he could go choose a center (aka: find some toys to play with). He seemed to consider that for a moment. So, she said: "Ok, go wash your hands and you can decide what center..." to which he protested right away:
"But I don't got any germs on them!"

He's got an answer for everything.