mamajoan

Oh yeah! Here are a couple of other things I wanted to post about that didn't make it into my previous post.

Ruthie's birthday is two weeks away and I have been obsessing about her party, i.e.: where to have it. I never really thought about the difference between an early-spring birthday like Ruthie's and a late-spring/early-summer birthday like Isaac's. So far I've been able to have all of Isaac's parties in our back yard (*knock furiously on wood*) but I can't assume that Ruthie's birthday, in late March, will be good enough weather for that. So I did a lot of calling around to various places that host parties, and there were some interesting options, but when it comes right down to it, I just couldn't seem to justify spending $200 to rent a place for a 4th-birthday party. So my mom said we could have it at her house, and I guess we're going to do that although I'm highly skeptical about the wisdom of having six or more 4-year-olds running around. I mean my mom's place isn't that big! But OTOH I had all my birthday parties there when I was a kid, and we managed that somehow, so I guess somehow it will work out.

I can see that I'm going to be going through this same dilemma every year, though. Oy!

As for me, I'm tired and lazy and fat. :P I might have posted here about how I've been gaining weight as Ruthie's nursing frequency has been rapidly decreasing. I'm trying to be more careful about my eating, and getting in a bit of exercise (this should get easier as the weather improves) but I still feel sooooo tiiiired. I started taking an iron supplement, and then I forgot about it and stopped taking it, and I think it has made a difference. So I'm starting to take it again. I hope something works at some point.

I feel discouraged because all around me I see other parents doing creative stuff (not related to their work, I mean) and I do nothing. I don't even sing any more. (I dropped out of chorus for this cycle because I couldn't find a reliable babysitter.) I feel like I ought to have more energy and impetus for more non-parenting, non-work stuff than I do. I know it's self-defeating to cover myself in shoulds, but it's hard not to sometimes.

Last week Isaac had homework to write down three things that happened today, three that happened yesterday, three from last week, and then three things that will happen tomorrow and next week. He started off by saying, "well, I like to play Wii every day," so he wrote "play Wii" on all five spaces. Then for tomorrow he wrote "turn this in" (meaning the homework) and for next week he wrote "have homework." My kid is so meta! ;)

Ruthie can write her name and several other words. Recently we went to the zoo, and later that day she brought me the fridge magnet letters Z, O, and another O, and said, "I had fun at the this!" Also yesterday she told me that she's ready to start kindergarten. Alas, she has to wait another year and a half. Oh well.

So we're going up to Vermont this weekend. A couple of old family friends have a place up there and have been trying to get us to come up and ride on this train, the Green Mountain Railway, which is an old-fashioned railroad with the old iron engines and goes along what's supposed to be an incredibly scenic route. Isaac is still pretty well obsessed with trains so I think it'll be fun. I was hesitant about Ruthie, because it'll probably be a long-ish ride for her and she'll get bored; but I couldn't really see not bringing her (especially since it would mean ME missing it!) so we're bringing her, and I'll cross my fingers.

(Recent experiences taking the kids - separately - on the Boston subway has really highlighted how different they are in the area of train interest. Isaac sits completely still, almost, and looks out the window the entire time - whether the ride is one stop or ten. Ruthie gets bored and horrendously fidgety after about one stop.)

Anyway, so we'll leave on Saturday, stay the night at Sally's place, go Sunday morning to the Montshire Museum of Science which is supposed to be great, then ride the train, stay another night, and come back Monday. We're on pins and needles waiting for MLB to announce the time of Monday's Red Sox playoff game, because mom has tickets!! We need to know whether we should be rushing back from Vermont (if the game starts at 1 we'll have to leave fairly early)! As of right now they still list the game time as TBA. So frustrating!

Ahem, but I digress.

I think it'll be a fun trip. I hope the drive won't be too bad (about three hours - we plan to go at Ruthie's naptime) and the weather won't be too cold. ;) I think the kids will have a lot of fun. Staying at someone else's house is always fun, and Sally and her husband Bill love to spoil the kids. ;) Plus, you know, just plain something different is nice.

Also, right down the road from the science museum is the King Arthur Flour store, bakery, and baking school! I'm so excited and soooooo hoping that things will work out such that I'll get to spend at least a little time in there. ;) I bet it smells fucking fantastic in there. ;) It looks from their website like they have lots of free samples and stuff, which the kids should like. ;) BTW did I mention that I've been on hiatus from baking bread? My last few loaves came out really bad and I got frustrated. Combining that with the fact that it was too hot to turn on the oven (for a brief period in late August ;) ) and that I've been soooo busy and stressed with the new schools and new job, etc., ...so I decided to take a break and buy bread for a couple of weeks instead of making it. Except, of course, the bread you buy is so inferior. So I might be going back to it soonish.

(On a slightly related but very tangential note ;) I picked up a container of Earth's Best organic/natural/trans-fat-free "buttery spread" recently, and the kids (and I) have been LOVING it. I was really surprised by how good it tastes. The nutritional content, in terms of fat, calories, and so forth, is actually extremely similar to that of Land-O-Lakes margarine, which is what we usually use -- but that stuff has trans fats and this stuff doesn't. Of course, the Earth's Best also costs a lot more. But dang, it's good.)

Anyway, where was I?? OH YEAH, our trip to Vermont. So anyway, uh, we're doing that. Should be fun. w00t.

( Our latest adventures in dog-bite aftercare )

In other Ruthie news, yesterday she wore underwear to daycare instead of a diaper, AND she stayed dry in them all day!!! Not a single accident!! I'm so excited. I can almost see the light at the end of the diaper-changing tunnel! :) She still asks for a diaper whenever she needs to poop, but hey, it's progress. Yay!

In unrelated news, I have decided that today's excursion is going to be a test run of the commute for the job that I'm really hoping to get. I'm going to take the bus from Ruthie's soon-to-be-new preschool, to the subway station, and then the subway to my hopefully-soon-to-be-new office, and see how long it takes. Of course, it won't be rush hour, so it's not a perfect test, but at least it'll give me an idea of what the situation looks like. Also, then I'll be right near the mall, where I've been wanting to go this week anyway. I'm going to be optimistic and buy some new work clothes. Or at least try some on. ;)

So anyway, I'm off to do that now. :) More later.

Here I am on my first day of "scheduled" unemployment. I am determined to enjoy at least the first few days. ;) Oddly enough, though, what I plan to enjoy about it is cleaning! I've basically let the apartment go for the past couple of weeks since I knew I would have lots of time on my hands. Now I'm actually excited, to a bizarre and perhaps pathetic degree, about all the cleaning I want to do. ;) Possibly I may need to downgrade my expectations of what I can get done in any given day. ;)

Anyway, I got the kids to school, came home and had my caffeine, then set a timer to allow myself a short period of goofing off on the internet. ;) Look at me being all organized and shit! ;) Then I'm going to make a to-do list and try to prioritize it according to the actual order in which the things should be done, rather than from what I want to do most to least. ;) heh, we'll just see how that goes, shall we? ;)

Today is Isaac's preschool graduation day! I was planning to take Ruthie to daycare so that I could give Isaac my full attention during the party and ceremony. But, today Ruthie is a little sick -- very hoarse, very snotty, ever-so-slightly warm to the touch. So I think on the whole it's best to bring her along to graduation. Better that than getting a call in the middle of the festivities telling me to come and get her. Ah well.

On the plus side, this means I don't have to pack her lunch. ;) On the other hand, it also means I have to pack lots of spare clothes and diapers and towels -- there's a water-sprinkler play area at the park where graduation is held. I have no doubt that Ruthie will be soaked within moments. ;)

More later!

Yesterday I did the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge which I think I posted about here recently. It's a road race for charity where you sign up in teams from the same company. A bunch of my coworkers ran it; I walked. I was the only one walking from our company, because some people had to go on a business trip and missed it.

It was fairly fun in terms of a friendly atmosphere and all that, except that I was not adequately prepared to walk 3 miles. (The course is usually 3.5 but they shortened it due to construction.) In my head, 3 miles was like just a short little walk that you don't need to do anything for. In reality, at least some light stretching in advance would probably have been a good idea. Urgh. Also I had cramps all day yesterday and today. Stupid girly hormones. They say exercise is good for cramps, but that hasn't been my experience. :P The only things that seem to help are ibuprofen, chocolate, and TMI, not necessarily in that order.

So now I am extremely sore and wondering what the heck I was thinking. Oh well, it was fun and all for a good cause. But I'm sore. Did I mention sore? And soooooo tired. yow.

I had another tempest-in-a-teapot related to doctoring. I called to make an appointment for Isaac's 5-year checkup (yes, I didn't call until two weeks AFTER his birthday, because I am Slacker Mom) and the lady at our new doctor's office -- where Isaac has not actually been seen yet -- told me that they had not received his records from our old pediatrician. But they had received Ruthie's, which seemed odd. Anyway, I found this very annoying since the last thing I wanted to be doing was making a bunch of angry phone calls to doctors' offices. But before I got around to doing anything about it, the new doctor's office called back this morning and left me a message saying that in fact they DO have Isaac's records. I'm guessing that they had stuck his records in some drawer marked "Records for people who aren't actually our patients" and the woman I spoke to the other day didn't think to look there for them. I dunno. Anyway, so that's all good except that now I have to prepare Isaac for the possibility of getting shots at his checkup. alas.

Next week Isaac's preschool is closed and I am having to take time off work because I was Slacker Mom when it came to trying to arrange an alternative. However, another mom from the school did kindly offer (after I dropped some strong hints ;) ) to take Isaac for Tuesday, and my mom will take him on Wednesday as usual, so it turns out I'll just have to miss Mon and Thurs, so that's okay. I dunno what we'll do, but we'll think of something. I'm sure Isaac would be happy to just ride the subway with me all day long. ;)

I'm pulling out my hair about the upcoming weekend too. It's supposed to be thunderstormy all weekend long, which is disappointing. We've been having a LOT of thunderstorms lately and we are getting pretty sick of the inside of our house. Am I desperate enough to try taking a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old to a movie theater? Only time will tell! stay tuned! ;)

We are going to leave fairly shortly for our family's summer cottage and I'm slightly apprehensive, as I always am before I make the drive for the first time any year. The more so because it's supposed to be 95F today (as it was yesterday) and my car's air-conditioning does not seem to be working so well. Mind you, we can manage with the windows open, but I'm worried about the car overheating. yikes. Plus the drive home tonight could be interesting, between the intersection of bedtime and Sunday-evening traffic....

Anyway, Isaac's birthday isn't for a few more days yet, but the nostalgia (if you can call it that when the memories aren't all good) has already begun. Through a strange twist of fate calendar, this year the days line up the same way they did the year he was born, i.e., he was born on a Wednesday and his birthday is on a Wednesday again this year.

So -- five years ago today, Sunday, June 8th, 2003, I was in the hospital, anxious and scared, and jittery from the drugs they had given me to stop the contractions (terbutaline makes your heart race). It was still six weeks until my due date and the notion of having a preemie had never, never entered my mind until these past twelve hours; the pregnancy had been almost completely uneventful up until this point. By this time in the morning, 8:45am that Sunday, I had already been at the hospital for about 7-8 hours and it would be another 24+ before I was able to go home, on strict bedrest. I didn't know that at this time, of course. I thought I might be having a 6-weeks-early baby any minute now. It was fairly terrifying.

Of course, in the end it all worked out. We managed to convince Isaac to stay in and cook for another three days, and he, of course, came out pretty healthy for a 5.5-week-early preemie, and, of course, here we are five years later and all that is a distant memory. More distant for some than others, obviously. ;) But I doubt I'll ever forget the tension of that day. It's unbelievable how quickly things can turn around, in any direction.

Yesterday:


Eating our mac-n-cheese in the sun. With no jackets or sweaters on! ZOMG! It was like 70F and gorgeous. hooray. Oh April how I love you. Oh my backyard how I love you. woo.

Yesterday was a pretty good day, except for the part in the evening when I'm pretty sure I heard Isaac say the f-word. *facepalm*

As for today, a big Happy Birthday going out to my mom! *confetti* We baked the cake last night -- I should say "I baked" since the kids didn't help at all ;) -- and we'll be frosting it this morning before we head over. w00t. My first cake. aww.

LOL, Isaac's reading my post as I type, and he just decided that "ZOMG" spells "zooming." hee hee.

Man, do I suck at this party planning/preparing thing. It's a damn good thing Ruthie is only 2 and won't care. OTOH it's less than three months till Isaac turns 5 so maybe I should start planning his party now. *facepalm*

In adorable-r news, Ruthie has stopped randomly yelling "Happy birthday Mama Joan!" and now randomly yells "Happy birthday Oothie!" :D

Bed now. Big day tomorrow. urgh.

Lately every time I ride the subway with Isaac and we hear the loudspeaker say "No smoking please," Isaac asks me what smoking means. This is surprisingly difficult to explain without visual aids. I am sure he has seen people smoking in public, but it just doesn't register with him since it's such a nonevent in his life. I feel like I should be making more of an effort to edumacate him on those occasions when he asks, but you know, it just isn't an issue for us right now. Except that he asks me every time. Probably he will continue asking until he gets a satisfactory answer. I've been thinking that maybe the next time we're out in public and I see someone smoking, maybe I should point it out to him and then I can reference it the next time he asks on the subway. I dunno.

The most recent time was on Wednesday when we were en route to grandma's house so I told him he should ask grandma. In retrospect this was probably a stupid thing to say, but my internal reasoning was a) he's about to spend the entire day on the subway with grandma so it will probably come up again, and b) maybe grandma will have better luck thinking of a good way to explain it than I'm having. Although I fear that if anyone had overheard me saying "ask grandma" they must have thought I was one of those awful moms who don't want to sully themselves with any of the "difficult" conversations. ugh. ah well.

Things are interesting at work this week. Not in the sarcastic sense, really. I'm actually working on some stuff that's actually interesting. Is it sad that I need to specify so carefully when I'm not being sarcastic? ;)

In health news, I feel better today and am about 80% sure that the tiny bit of lingering nausea I feel is a combination of a) psychosomatic and b) hunger. "The guys" at work are going out for lunch today at the Border Cafe (Mexican restaurant next door to the office) and I'm trying to decide whether to go. On the one hand, I love social lunches w/coworkers. On the other hand I'm not crazy about the food. On the third hand I don't have any better ideas.... But at least I feel well enough that I'm not just saying "urgh, sick, must not eat mexican food."

I haven't posted about reading in a bit. That's because I've been working my way verrrrry slooooowly through The Omnivore's Dilemma. It's one of those books that you have to really concentrate on, which means that I can't get through more than a few pages in the time that I'm on the subway going to work, which means that it's taking me a long time to get through it. But it's definitely very interesting and thought-provoking. And I'm finally within sight of the end: only about 70 pages to go (that's about 3-4 workdays' worth, lol, but there's a three-day weekend coming up).

This morning I got email from Baskin-Robbins telling me that it's only a month until my birthday. I am aware of this, thanks. ;) I've been pondering what I want to do for it, but it will probably be low-key. I'm going to a concert with my mom the night before, and will probably not do too much on the actual day (a Sunday) and then will probably take a vacation day for the Monday and stay home and veg out. That's about as ambitious as I get these days. ;)

Meanwhile if my birthday is a month away, that must mean Ruthie's birthday is five weeks away, so I gotta figure out what to do about that too. At 2 she doesn't exactly need a whole huge party, but we gotta do at least something. Must ponder.