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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Still No Words, but the Whines Remain

um...well...I am immensely thankful for my own Baboos, but that doesn't mean they aren't driving me nuts. Am I the only one?

I will whine about snotty noses (AGAIN), overwhelmed elves (that would be me), and pajama day at preschool (which is somehow supposed to celebrate Jesus' birthday. Don't ask me).

Y'all have some whines? Bring 'em. And here's to a better week.

47 comments:

debangel said...

Oh good. My munchkins are driving me up a tree, and I've been feeling guilty all weekend that I've not been more patient about it ;-)

Antiwhine: At the moment, no whines about ShowerSac, because I don't have any contact with him Thursday afternoon through to Monday afternoon. (And no, he has never contacted me during Ari's time with me to see how she's doing, etc.)

Whine: I made a big-ass batch (pun intended) of peppermint mocha Christmas truffles, just in time for my sense of smell to return. AND LIZ PIXIE-PEER PRESSURED ME INTO IT. As punishment, I believe I will attempt to descend upon her house next holiday season, and stuff her petite frame with lasagna, tiramisu and other Italian delicacies. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

(Just kidding, Liz. Uhh, sort of. I could do with *some* less inspiration in the kitchen, at least until I'm getting some more perspiration in the gym!)

Antiwhine: They came out GORGEOUS, rolled in pulverized candy canes and sparkling sugar. And I found vintage glass teacups at the thrift store for 25 cents each to pack them in for Sephie's teachers, AND the florist at the grocery store gave me free patterned cellophane to wrap them in :) So much fun, and so pretty!

(MAJOR ANTIWHINE: For an ordinary-looking SAHM, I seem to have a ridiculous amount of good fortune whenever it comes to a great bargain or a big favor. I can't figure out if I inherited my dad's charm, or I just smell enough like baking all the time to lull people into being extra nice to me. I do try to return the favor!)

Small, unavoidable whiney-whine: James is gone all week, driving the work rig (he works on water wells) to San Antonio and flying home on Friday. We're sort of really big snuggle bunnies, and though I'm ever so grateful for his good job (as evidenced by me packaging up truffles for him to take to work tomorrow), I always miss him terribly when he's not home. Plus, my coffee sucks without him, even when he prepares the filter baskets for me. Harrumph.

Hey! I has an idea! In honor of the mini-Baboo's PJ day at preschool...who wants to 'fess up about their jammies? Seph has PJ day on Friday, too, and I am surprising her with the matching pair to mine..lavender flannel "Nick and Nora" owl jammies, where the owls are wearing cute little winter hats.
#imageek #yourturn

kathy a. said...

ooh, cute jammies! and what a lovely idea for the teachers, debangel.

w: the thing last week.

aw: good family christmas party over the weekend.

w: the behindness of work thing is bad. feeling very stressy. [yeah, shoulda been doing that instead of the stockings, too.]

Liz Miller said...

Thirty-eight dozen chocolates at final tally. I think I'm ready to not make anymore until next November.

kathy a. said...

liz: a champion!

Liz Miller said...

Friday has me wanting to send them to everyone in the world. I don't know how else to deal with it.

But there really isn't enough chocolate in the world to fix this.

kathy a. said...

Liz -- love is the best we've got. That, and chocolate, and the fury to see some fireplacing changes made already -- which winds back around to love. (Love, non-violence, and fury can too all co-exist.)

esperanza said...

Liz, I think it's catching. I didn't make truffles, but today alone, I made: a batch of toffee, two batches of peanut brittle, a batch of fudge, two pecan pies, and supper (Ok, it was tacos with leftover chicken, but it was supper). Whew. My feet are tired. And I still need to get a few packaged up for deliveries tomorrow.

AW: went for family photos Friday morning, saw them this afternoon. So cute. The photographer couple are so nice and patient. Good for our Baboos.

W: Mini continues to refuse a nap at school. She needs it. Bad. The more tired she is, the worse she behaves. Sigh. Fed, bathed, and in bed sleeping before 6 pm.

debangel said...

Liz, so far you've made me more politically aware and active, and suckered me into making a new pants' size worth of truffles. So..can you post about vacuuming, or filing, or something? 'Cause I could use the motivation in that department now ;-)

(All hail Liz's scrumptious truffles! ::delicateburp::)

Esperanza, don't you just hate it when they fight their naps like that? Makes you wonder, with all the genetic manipulation they do to our food, why someone can't just stick a few chicken genes into our kiddos. No no, hear me out: that way, you could stick their little heads under their arms and they would sleep..

Home alone tonight! I miss my munchkins and my Moose (Monday and Wednesday nights are my times without them), but day-um, it's sort of nice to have the house quiet. I always get a ton of work done when my hunky husband isn't here to distract me, too. #silverlining

Wish me luck, Pixies! Tomorrow morning it's me vs 19 2nd graders! I've never volunteered in my daughter's classroom before, but tomorrow and Wednesday I am going in to make salt dough snowflake ornaments with them. We're going to decorate them with their thumbprints and use my fingerprint animal book to sketch around the prints to personalize them. My idea, so if it doesn't work, I'm going to feel pretty silly!

kathy a. said...

yay, second-graders! i really miss those younger years.

Sue said...

Hooray for little ones everywhere! Hooray for chocolate!

kathy a - work stress - can it wait until next week? I prescribe chocolate instead.

Hail Liz, Queen of all this is Chocolate!!

W: what happened.

AW: We had a musical worship on Sunday, but we paused halfway through and I asked for a moment of silent prayer and reflection for everyone affected by the events of last week (which, let's face it, is everyone).

I let the silence go on long enough to be uncomfortable, which in my experience is anything over 40 seconds (try it - it's looooooong when you're in a room of 150 people).

There wasn't a sound. No candy wrapper noise, no grunts or coughs. Just quiet.

And then we heard laughter bubbling up from the basement of our little church. Children's laughter.

It was a beautiful, holy moment. The laughter honoured the children lost in the tragedy and somehow echoed the hope in the grown-up prayers happening in the sanctuary.

Then we kept on singing, because, really - what else can you do?

Sue said...

That should read "Queen of all THAT is chocolate".

esperanza said...

Awesome, Sue.

kathy a. said...

oh, sue. how lovely that loooong moment of reflection was. xoxo

the work stress thing is fairly urgent, because this week i need to officially ask for a bunch more time -- and i also need to confidentially explain why. this is once again an unspeakably big thing. and blah blah unbloggable.

let's sing!

esperanza said...

singing is a great idea. Music has been my refuge from the news these past few days. Odd, because I'm not a big music person.

Sorry for the unbloggable complicated extensions.

kathy a. said...

look at the mystery mommy blog -- someone's been posting music!

well, i'm lurching forward. made a plan, drafted something, and am waiting for feedback from trusted colleagues/friends (both of whom seem to have their own significant stuff, but this review/feedback is part of their jobs). and with the encouragement of my primary doctor, i've made an appointment early january to sound out confidential talk therapy.

dysfunction junction: gotta embrace the lifelines. maybe sing a little.

Anonymous said...

Sue--I have goose bumps.
Kathy a. good luck on the big project.
esperanza--sorry about the naps
debangel--good luck with the snowflakes, and kudos on the truffles!

w--this weekend was tough, and going back in to the school where i work on Monday morning was tough. Got blindsided by emotion leaving the house monday morning and in our staff meeting as our school staff prepared for the day.

aw--our school kids are resilient (and/or don't know so many details?) which is a blessing for 6th graders. In advisory we talked about how we felt about things, and somehow football games and ice skating and other weekend activities came up too. Which could have felt disrespectful, but instead felt somehow hopeful, like maybe there is still some hope for maintaining the innocence of kids....maybe...I don't know.

aw: am thankful for colleagues' hugs, and small holy moments like the one Sue described, and middle schoolers. Middle schoolers just rock, and their energy is healing.

Sorry , I'm babbling.
And also, procrastinating from cleaning the house for a visit from my parents who arrive tomorrow for 8 days.

aw: have fleece waiting to make stocking for them.....when, I don't know!?

--Neighbor Lady

ps hugs all around, because I am sure a hug can always help!

kathy a. said...

((( NL ))) and hugs to everyone being there for students.

Sue said...

kathy - sorry about the urgent work stuff.

((NL)) Yay for middle-schoolers and children everywhere.

Yay Liz and esperanza for rockin' the music! Ya know, it doesn't matter how many times I tell myself that "Jingle Bell Rock" is silly - I still dance every time it plays.

W: I look totally goofy when I dance. (Think Elaine on Seinfeld)

AW: I'm alone in my office, so who cares???

AW: I brought raw almonds for a snack today so I could avoid the multiple boxes of candy lurking in the main office. So far the almonds are winning. I love me some chocolate, but this week I've already had more than I should.

kathy a. said...

this week is exhausting...

Miranda said...

The one thing keeping me going is the sure knowledge that. Next week will be worse.

Sue said...

I join the collective exhaustion.

That sounds like a good name for a band. The Collective Exhaustion.

esperanza said...

Miranda is a bright ray of sunshine this morning.

kathy a. said...

indeed, she is. la la la la, i can't hear you! next week will be fine.

my excuses for needing more time are sent. they'll be good enough, or they won't, but check that off the list.

i felt yucky last night -- code in der node -- and skipped the dysfunctional book club. less than an hour in, my friend texted to say "he's here" (the loudmouth guy who never reads the books, and who said he wasn't coming), and "he's an expert on algorithms, and he won't shut up. your head would have exploded already." sigh. i was, however, safely in jammies by then.

today, i am going to attempt the major food shopping before the weekend rush, and perform sorting of the stocking stuffers. i keep picking things up and stashing them, so at this point i'm not totally clear on what-all santa has.

yikes, i forgot that one family of cousins is visiting the nearby cousins this weekend, too. so, we'll get together sometime. whee!

hugs and cookies to all. xoxo

Sue said...

Dysfunctional Book Club

The opening act for the Collective Exhaustion.

Just sayin...

kathy - I'm glad you avoided the brain-explosion at book club. It's good you were home in the jammies.

kathy a. said...

we should call it the "exhaustion collective." :)

in the new year, i need to figure out a semi-graceful way to quit this book club; or at least go on "don't expect me" status. i always wanted to be in a book club, but this one is weird. and inconvenient -- about an hour each way. i joined at my old friend's invitation, and like having an extra connection with her; and i mostly like the people. but it's mostly non-fiction; everybody else has been in for over 10 years; and then there are the peculiarities, like loudmouth who never reads the books. and bad food, + always the same menu. (i got admonished for bringing dip, once.) also, one couple moved to another state -- i really like them, and they join by skype -- but that's weird, too.

esperanza said...

Ok, obnoxious people are one thing. Inconvenient is one thing. But bad food is the deal breaker, as far as I can see.

debangel said...

Skype Pixie Book Club?? And we have to wear jammies to all the meetings. Who's with me?

kathy a. said...

a pixie jammie book club with good virtual food would be like the greatest thing ever invented.

Liz Miller said...

I'm in!

esperanza said...

me too! Fiction. Good food. PJ's. Pixies. Sounds perfect.

debangel said...

I really am up for this, guys! Only thing I like to do better that eat is read..or vice-versa..it's sort of a tie ;-) We could have one person pick a book a month, and contribute a recipe or idea for their favorite munchie. What do you think?

Liz Miller said...

I love it. Can I suggest that it be a book we know and love and want to share rather than a book that is new and cool?

kathy a. said...

know and love. available in paperback.

debangel said...

That's actually a really cool idea, Liz! And good point, Kathy- that way nobody goes nuts (or more nuts that usual, LOL) searching for a book that's only available in hardcover. Heavy and expensive!

Sue said...

I'm totally in!!!!

I have always wanted to be in a book club. There is a group of women from our church who read all the same books that I read and we often chat about them Someone always ends up saying "We talked about that at book club..." without ever catching on that - gee - I've been hinting for years that I would like to take part.

Maybe they worry that I'll turn what they talk about into a sermon or something (I wouldn't - EVER).

Anyway - that was totally whiny.

I'm in!

kathy a. said...

How could this work? I'm thinking that maybe we could do it on a related web-page? Because setting up one online time for everybody (nevermind skype logistics) would be hard.

But if we had kind of a schedule of books -- everybody gets to choose and/or weigh in on choices, and we'll need lead time on choices -- then a conversation could be scheduled for a time, but also be ongoing? I'm thinking, it would be good to have back and forth as people are able.

Just a thought.

kathy a. said...

Today is another day when reading the news was -- upsetting.

So far, I've done another grocery run, made a pot of chili, baked 2 pans of bar cookies, done some sorting of the vastly over-extensive domestic stocking stuffer supply, and advised son's girlfriend that we probably won't need more desserts.

So, what do you think -- can lemon bar cookies work, baked in paper cupcake thingies so they are about the right size?

Miranda said...

I love the idea of a pixie book club. Count me in although I've never done book club.

Oh, how I am whiny today. Turns out that throwing oneself a pity party does not help. Imagine that.

kathy a. said...

Miranda -- have some 7 layer cookies! It doesn't really go with the virtual wine, but have a glass anyway. xoxo

kathy a. said...

We could just set up book club threads here. (But we couldn't invite anyone we might ever have whined about. So, that's an argument for a separate place...)

esperanza said...

Putting up awards but leaving the comments open for book club planning purposes. That sound ok?

esperanza said...

So can we make another little heading thingie up there where it says "home" and "lexicon"? Though, kathy's point about whine-ees is well taken.

Sue said...

Wait.... 7 layer cookies????

Liz Miller said...

Sue, check the recipes thread.

Liz Miller said...

I'll set up a blogspot page some time today for book club.

kathy a. said...

yay, liz!

Sue said...

Off to check the recipes!!!