Pixie vocabulary help request! I need a word for the spring-time version of what a pixie once named "Checktember." Every parent of a school-age child knows what I mean: the raft of requests for a check for this and a check for that. They accumulate at the opposite ends of the school year. (Does anyone want to take credit for Checktember? I can't remember who it was . . .)
For the next few weeks I plan to have mostly schedule-related whines. It's a busy time of year. But the whines might just include matching anti-whines, to whit:
AW: SnugglyGirl did really well at her school track meet yesterday! Woohoo! She qualified for the regional meet in three or four events. (N.B. her school is really small. She never qualified at her previous, larger school. But still! So proud!)
W: The regional meet is on Tuesday, when we were supposed to be Elsewhere. But she is sooooo excited, so we are probably tweaking our travel plans.
AW: Luckily the travel plans involve the car and not the airport.
W: But what if she does well in the regional meet? When is the city meet? Will we be away still? Note to self: call school board and see if anyone knows, since the internet is proving useless for this task.
It will only get better from here, as we burn through a college reunion, work trips, weekend at Camp, end of year festivities, and oh, right, need to plan a birthday party for more kids than I can afford to have at the first choice location. So, you know, it's spring.
How are your whines in this fine month of May?
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I'll kick it off with two pook-related whines (I will spare you the thought process it took to figure out which word I wanted there):
Whine 1: Will the birds that like to hang out on my mailbox kindly exit the premises? Just move to a tree or something. I am tired of the pook accumulating on top of said mailbox, and especially on the handle! Yuck.
Whine 2: Sweet Baboo and I started with the potty training yesterday. Little progress, though she has discovered the wonder of youtube. ("Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!"). How did you people potty train your kids before laptops?
Antiwhine (not pook related): Mini Baboo has been sleeping TEN hours at night. Straight. She is not even four months old. My kids? Rock.
yay for snuggly girl's athletic prowess, mini-baboo's super-sleeping, and sweet's journey on the potty!
checktember is great! no idea of its provenance.
i have a related whine, that everyone i've ever sent money to apparently believes i will just keep ponying up if they ask often enough. this includes not only your good-deed folks, but also a company from which i bought underwear, which sends near-daily emails. just how much underwear do they think i need?
Huge antiwhine: Neighbor Boy had a big medical specialist appointment yesterday in which they found that his heart is fine and healthy!!!! Yay!!!!!
(Doesn't resolve the stomach issues such as they are, and we are still looking at adenoid removal surgery this summer and another issue, BUT the heart news is good news!!!)
yay for athletes and for kids' confidence, and for babies who sleep well and kids who are potty training!
Crazy busy here as both kids play soccer and both kids play baseball, plus all our normal activities. But they love it, so we do it!
And they ARE fun to watch.
And can I just say--wow--some 8 yr old boys have HARD pitches (but not always accurate!). Neighbor Girl is the only girl on the team, and her throw is not nearly as hard. I am clearly preparing her well for a future in baseball, as my only advice about batting was, "I don't really care if you hit the ball, just make sure the ball doesn't hit you!"
And Neighbor Boy's T-ball games are just plain cute!
Hugs to all pixies in this busy time of year!
--Neighbor Lady
Yay Madeleine's SG!!! Isn't it fun to cheer from the stands? I miss that.
Esperanza - before the interwebs we messed our kids up so badly with our poor potty training methods that psychologists will be in business for many, many years. And by "we" of course, I mean "me". ~sigh~
NL - yay on the heart report!!
Kathy a - I think we get the same underwear catalogue/emails. Srsly, who needs all that???
Anti-whine: A super good visit with Dr. WhatHeadache. I know!!!! I couldn't believe it either. He said I did really well on my physical. The second call back on the mammogram showed even less of the "inconclusive" than the first one and is therefore even less of a concern. Aside a little anemia, I had great blood work results and my heart stuff (ecg, enzymes...) were "really great". As for the headaches, he said he hasn't forgotten about them and checks the latest journals regularly for any new developments. Go figure.
Whine: Super Crappity Crap Crap Crap day at work today. So bad that I came home after lunch and stayed here. Office Admin uber cranky long before I arrived this morning, and that was the best part of the day. Bleh.
I'm going out for a walk, just to clear out the muck in my head.
It's Deposit Days around here; everyone is looking for a deposit for some chronologically distant activity. I'm sure the balance will be due in Checktember.
Hooray for good health news! And potty training! And successful sporting endeavours!
Having unwisely recounted my triumphant car story last week, most pixies will be unsurprised that karma has responded. The car is in the shop now, awaiting parts and TLC from the gruff mechanic.
I am painfully tired and perhaps a touch depressed but plodding onwards.
Summer plans still very much up in the air.
Sue - oh no on the craptastic day. But interesting that you are in the doctor's plans.
NL - so happy his heart is fine. That's a relief. Now just to knock out the stomach pains.
KathyA - I know! Why do marketers think more is more?
Days - oh no. Not the car. Maybe you've repented enough? knocked on wood? Hope it is minor.
Yay for SG's prowess. Good luck tracking down the dates for the next meet. And Checktember, tell me about it.
Whine/Anti-whine: The TMJ doctor for my daughter thinks she has an adult stress grind/wear pattern, so if we can "fix" the anxiety, maybe the headaches will go away as well. The consulting doc today at the CT scan thinks it is a migraine-variant and should see an pediatric neurologist. I am less hopeful, but maybe we'll yield some results.
Whine: I am trying to walk more. Not a real exercise regemin as I should, but more. And my Achilles hurts on my right foot. Fireplace!
Forgot to say Hooray! on the sleeping mini-Baboo. How nice. And potty training, tis the season. (May worked for 2 of 2 potty trained children and I have high hopes that the baby will be done within a year. Please?
Sarah - sorry to hear about the achilles injury. Those are downright nasty. I overtrained during seminary (should have known better) and limped around for weeks.
Speaking of training, The Race is on Monday morning. Eek!! I want another month to train. I'm totally going to embarrass myself with a completely sucky time. The legs are in good shape, but I start gasping for air after about half a mile.
Being 50 = sometimes Fabulous, other times not so much. Word. Sometimes 50 can bite me.
Sarah--keeping fingers crossed for your daughter's headaches
Sue--sorry about the bad day! Going home seems to me a perfectly good response! Good luck in the race!
Days--sorry about the car! Ugh!
I am seriously considering taking video on my camera of my car and its noises. May yours be repaired quickly (and with a nice mechanic!)
--Neighbor Lady
yay for neighbor boy's good news! and neighbor girl's athletic bravery! and sue's good visit with dr. whatheadache! go sue go!
oh, sarah. "see a pediatric neurologist" isn't the news we wanted, but perhaps that will help. hugs to daughter. i can't remember if you have tried a child therapist about anxiety issues? my son had some anxiety problems in elementary school, and a few weekly visits with a good therapist gave him some really great tools. they tend to use play therapy, so the appointments were not stressful themselves.
boo on sarah's achilles. ouch!
and days and NL -- oy, about the car troubles!
AW: so, i've been trying to rent a studio apt. for my daughter for the fall, since she won't be back until august, at which time she might find someone's garage or a closet in the animal house. knock wood, think i finally snagged a decent place yesterday!!
AW: she got registered for fall classes!
W: the joy of FAFSA lies ahead. boy, do i hate filling those out.
My car also failed to make a sound at the car place yesterday, but it was just a squeak in the heating fan so I'm not too upset. I hope all other car trouble takes care of itself pronto!
The endless round of specialists is no fun. Hugs to both NL and Sarah.
Sue, that is one speedily craptastic day, if the grouchy assistant is the least of it and you have to leave by lunch time.
My current whine is that I am holed up in my bedroom with an overheating laptop in my lap, because they are sawing cement on my street again and the noise is at least muted back here with all the doors shut.
Oops - I meant to send good non-headachy energy for Sarah's daughter. I hope the ped neuro can help out.
Found a therapist, and had an appointment. She was great, but I am nervous the she wants our second session to involve my husband. It seems fast to me, but she is convinced that I won't really deal with everything unless I talk it through with him. (TY to Sarah for the magic phone number to the clinic - thanks also for the visit and help last week).
W/AW - Many other friends have realized that Something Is Wrong and have descended with offers of help and offers to get together. It is nice, but I feel overwhelmed with it all.
Stoopid whine of little substance: The ENTIRE church smells of onions. The book club had their wind-up pot luck lunch today and someone brought a dish with LOTS of onions, clearly.
I can't eat onions, so I'm very unaccustomed to the smell, but even our office admin said it was pretty powerful. Bleh.
I'm going out for lunch and hoping the place doesn't smell so awful when I get back.
((((JenR)))) hang in there honey - your pixie posse has your back. Glad you found a therapist too.
Additional pook whine: stomach virus + breastfeeding = unhappy and wiped out mama. Ugh. Only by sheer force of will does this whine not also include bark. Attempting to push fluids for teh milk factory, but can't even talk myself into any food. Mr E coming to the rescue this afternoon, both Baboos asleep now. And, may it please the gods, could this virus skip the rest of the family? Gracias.
There are at least two kids in my daughter's class who have lice. So far, my daughter is not one of them, but *shudder*.
And verily did amy pray to all applicable deities,
"Let not the life cycle of the louse descend upon this domicile,
Let the heads of its occupants remain both bug- and egg-free,
Let those afflicted with these pesky parasites find quick, easy, and successful treatments,
Please let it be so."
*shudder*
P.S.! Pixies are Awesome!
Many thanks to Redzils and Kathy A., whose suggestions have turned into a Bake Sale by Mail, which I launched on Facebook last night. I've already gotten two donations out of it. YAY! Of course, Redzils might not know this yet, but she's inadvertently volunteered to be my test case for cookies that ship well. LOL. Redzils, I hope you like cookies, because I'm going to keep sending them until they make it there safely.
oh, amy, I think I'll take my stomach bug over the lice. ick.
Hugs (from a safe distance) to esperanza and amy--stomach virus or lice--it's a toss-up I think. Both make me shudder!
Many hugs to JenR. Glad you have some offers of help now and someone to talk to.
Yay for the apartment, Kathy a.
And boo for madeleine's car being silent at the critical time--what is this-a car conspiracy????
W: Forgot to whine that my mouth is absolutely full of canker s0res. I get them every month, pretty much on a schedule. Any advice on what will make them stop coming would be welcome! (Note: they are the kind you get when you bite the inside of your lip, which I did, but I have them all over, and get them even when I haven't bitten anything).Wah!!!
AW: thank goodness for lactose free ice cream!
--Neighbor Lady
Neighbor Lady: I find that they come if I've been eating too much acidic food.
Liz,
I wonder if seltzer counts as acidic....I know it is mildly acidic but I wonder if it's enough to tip the balance at certain times of the month...I drink a TON of seltzer. Hmmm... Thanks for the idea!
-Neighbor Lady
((( JenR ))) doesn't sound unreasonable to ask for another private session before confronting the demon problem so directly. you need to feel a little more grounded before that, no? one session is barely enough to get the basics out and begin a relationship of trust, much less talk much about how a joint session will go and how you will be protected. in my opinion. xoxo
amy -- omg, liiiice! ewwww.
NL, maybe the family doc can help? i don't think you can blame selzer water. ;(
amy, I love cookies! I promise to report faithfully on the condition they arrive in, with no cookie grubbing behavior.
((JenR))
NL, I hope your mouth feels better!
Yay for cute kid sports. Boo for lice.
Lice!
I am, unfortunately, quite experienced in that area. We had a huge, unnoticed (until we had epic proportions) infestation at our preschool,and *I* got them (in addition to my kid). This was *years* ago, yet it's still clear in my mind--we ended up having to get our hair cut really short before we got things under control.
Here are some vaguely scientific things that I do to prevent lice (when we get the dreaded "lice have been discovered in your child's class")
First--don't panic.
Lice like clean hair, so I always make sure that I put some sort of leave in type conditioner in my kids hair.
Heat kills lice, so I use the blow dryer on them. (Also the straightening iron, if they are in the mood)
If they have long hair, I make sure it is contained in a braid or bun.
If they do get lice--don't panic!
Lice take 7-10 days to hatch and 7-10 days to mature to the point where they can lay eggs (which is when things really get fun...NOT). So, IME, you need to treat immediately--pick all the nits that you can possibly get, wait about 10 days and then treat again (because it's pretty much impossible to get all the nits if you have a serious infestation). We've used commercial products as well as the baby oil cure (which I've also done as a preventative measure--it leave my hair really soft and it's only a little messy so it's not a bad deal).
We did wash bedding but didn't go overboard with vacuuming (after the first go 'round) because, based on my reading (sorry, no references as that computer died a while back), the vacuuming is overrated.
I hope this helps someone!
Now I itch!
(I know way too much about lice!)
Style for Amy!
NL-oh I hate canker sores. No cure that's I've found, although my dad had a doctor give him one of the oral cold sore anti-viral medications and it broke his cycle. Even if it makes no sense medically, but I am not a doctor.
Hugs to JenR. You're in a tricky spot, with the support. It is OK to say you need some time (even to me :).
Sue - oranges? Tea? incense? Drive the onions out.
KathyA - yay on the apartment for your daughter. And boo on the robbery. I hope he isn't too shaken up.
Antiwhine - my daughter was happy and tear free all day. When she has days like this, I have to remind myself the point of trying to fix the headaches and anxiety and stomachaches (yes, she is seeing a therapist) is to have her this happy more often. I'd say all of the time, but that would be fake.
Anti-whine: I can't wait to watch the Daria DVDs I bought my husband for his birthday.
MAJOR antiwhine: We finally made a breakthrough with my son and why he won't do anything. And he cried and everything. Now hopefully we can start moving forward.
Antiwhine: All prom accountrements are accounted for. Shoes, dress, flowers ordered. Phew, prom is complicated.
Whine: A ferel cat has moved onto our front porch. Our cats have accepted foreign cat somewhat, and now foreign cat thinks he lives here too, which means yowling at various hours to hang out. He won't come in and we're not feeding him, but he's been here for over a week.
Whine: Apartment hunting. Isn't it astounding what private landlords think are acceptable premises for a family. Maybe a family of gorillas, but not MY family.
Forehead pimples are back again. Can Aunt Dpi be far behind? Or, has it really been a month?
Emily! I'm so sorry you have such knowledge! Ugh! I am, for the most part, not panicking. The school nurse checked every kid in class and sent my daughter home with a "clean" bill of health. We'll see if it lasts, but I'm hopeful because we are, um, really bad about washing her hair very often because she hates it. This is (finally) a bonus because I've read lice don't like dirty hair. Added bonus: we use leave-in conditioner too.
I'm also trying to remember that every single crummy parenting thing freaks me out until I've lived through it once. Baby's first cold/ ear infection/ ER visit/ etc. I find that once I deal with it and survive it, I can see the next incidence less like the apocalypse and more like a storm to be weathered. I suspect lice will follow that pattern, though I'd really rather not find out. KTHX.
Best! Anti-whine! Ever!
We have, like, forty No Solicitation signs, and it seems like the only people it keeps away are the scouts. This means I never ever ever get Girl Scout cookies unless I manage to catch a group selling them at a table at the grocery store. Well, last Saturday I had a Scout and her Mom come to porch, trying to sell off extra boxes they had bought. AND THEY WERE ALL GOOD FLAVORS! Guess what? Girl Scout cookies are delicious in May! I've never eaten them in May before!
I couldn't not share that with my fellow GS Cookie-loving pixies. :)
P.S. Sue, I love onions, and it sounds like the smell there would bug even me. Best of luck! Fresh air might be the only certain cure, though lemons or oranges sound promising.
pook, bark, lice - oh noes!!! Poor pixies! All that and car troubles too. That is just so wrong.
I'm with kathy re: the therapist. I think she's moving pretty quickly to want to see both of you so soon.
Whine: my cat is even more cranky tonight than I am. Time for bed - for both of us.
Much better morning after some sleep.
Church STILL smells of onion ick. Candles lit EVERYWHERE right now. Note to self: blow out candles before leaving today............or, not. :) (did I type that out loud?)
Heh.
Kidding. Though pretty much every minister I know has said that at one time or another. Srsly. Buildings are a pain in teh bee-hind and usually get in the way of doing, you know, all that ministry and stuff.
A not so serious whine for the morning: Car seat covers take a long time to dry after you wash pee out of them. What are you supposed to do while you wait? Walk? (No - walking to day care in the morning would require leaving the house at approximately 5 am because of the toddler method of walk.stop.whine.walk.stop.turnaround.stop.etc, and the need to cross a very very busy road) Buy another car seat? (Except you would have to drive to the store, since the closest car seat selling store is 12 miles away, so that won't work.) Answer: call grandma and beg to her bring you her car seat at 9pm so you can install that instead. AW: grandma.
Q: Do we have a word in the pixie lexicon for lakes of pee in unwanted places?
Sue - got a crock pot in the church kitchen? Throw in some water and whatever good-smelling spices you have lying around. Let it cook all day. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and the church will smell like apple pie in a few hours. Bonus if you can use apple juice or apple-cinnamon tea bags.
JenR - sorry about your Sea of Pee - ick.
The crock pot sounds good. I'm not sure what I'll find in the kitchen. I try to stay out of there whenever possible.
Yikes!!! I just heard a sound and thought it was someone doing the weed-whacking along the side of the building.
It wasn't.
It's a wasp the size of a small Buick bumping along my window. If I hit it with a shoe, I'll break the window, but a rolled up paper might only make it angry.
I'm askeerd. :)
Sue's got some old skool contenders there. ;)
JenR brings the bodily fluids. We used to put towels over the damp carseats in a post-flood pinch. But grandma's car seat is a less damp solution. Yay, grandma!
Esperanza, hope you are feeling better today. xoxo
Amy, what a great surprise, getting unexpected GS cookies!
W/AW: a committee that i forgot i was on [because it didn't do anything for the last year and a half] just kicked into action under new leadership. we had a 1/2 hour conference call -- which sets a land speed record for this sort of thing -- and all of a sudden i'm on a sub-committee, and agreed to do some things to advance a Good Idea. eek? yay?
In my haste to brain dump my lice data, I forgot to whine!
<antiwhine>The prom-a-drama is mostly done, for the moment, at least (touch wood). DD has made peace with the dress and decided that parental chauffeuring is not "social suicide". Plus--I think we can divide driving with another set of parents which will be so much more manageable.
<whine>--I'm not working or taking classes at the moment and I feel like my brain is leaking out of my ears--I miss adult conversation!
<antiwhine>Since I'm not working, I was able to climb back into bed for a little nap this morning after the kids left for school.
<whine> High school teaching is no longer a recession proof job according to an article in the paper this morning. Since I'm overly educated, I'll cost more than a newly minted teacher--will I even be able to get a job? That's assuming that my institution can even find me a student teaching position next year, they've already failed once.
While the lounging in bed is occasionally nice, it's not a long term financial plan. The options for being paid to lounge in bed are (a) limited and (b) inappropriate for a mother of teenagers/not appealing to me:-).
<whine> Have to schedule a mammogram--already a bit overdue. I know it's irrational, but just scheduling makes me sure something there's something dire. I called and the voice mail system helpfully directed me to a web site. I filled out the form, assuming it would come back with some possible appointments but it just said "thank you, your appointment time will be emailed to you". WTF? It did allow you to put in preferred time, but just because I prefer Tuesday am, doesn't mean that any Tuesday (or any hour) is going to work. In the meantime, I haven't gotten anything. I'll give it another hour and then I'll trudge through voicemail purgatory to try to get an actual person.
This does not help my irrational anxiety! (is there such a thing as rational anxiety? steps away from computer to ponder....)
emily -- yay on the prom! boo on the job situation.
i work at home and feel your pain about brain leak when there aren't enough adults to talk with -- which i guess is the AW part of this committee thing. does this desperate need for some meaningful contact make my butt look big?
mams are stressful, they just are. the hoops one goes through to set an appointment = worse still.
If you had a Grandma Ann, would you take her to play Bananagrams at your mammogram?
~snort~ think liz just weighed in with a style entry.
Well, hello Aunt Flo! How nice of you to drop by! I'm so glad you called first!
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