Good morning Pixies!!
Aaaaaaannnnndddd..........it's snowing this morning in Middle Earth Canada.
Again.
I promise there will come a time when I will not include a weather whine in our festivities, but it will not be today. Ugh.
What's new in your world??
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
79 comments:
Snowing in NoVA, too. School cancelled. This makes, I think, 14 snow days this school year.
Weather whines are classic, but this much late snow -- I mean, really? A friend in DC got 6 inches overnight, after temps up to 70F the previous few days. We're doing drought, so please just send the snow out my way.
We don't have snow today, but the forecast for tomorrow has just been updated to say "40% chance of flurries". I'm giving a stern look in the direction of Sue's home, warning the weather to stay away. (And warning it to leave Sue and Liz as well!)
W: Spilled tea on the corner of my wireless keyboard. Popped the batteries out and I'm drying it out right now, but I have to type on a cramped laptop keyboard now, and my hands are unhappy with me.
AW: At least it was just the external keyboard, and not the laptop, right?
W: the urge to procrastination is strong today! I just confirmed my bank account on my P@yP@l account, registered and paid for a church camp that's happening in a month, ordered a new laptop battery (since mine now is only holding a charge for 25 minutes), and updated all my address information on @m@z0n.
AW: a dear old professor of mine (former! not old!) has some leftover cheesecake from her birthday that she has offered to share with me. White chocolate parsnip cheesecake, from an amazing restaurant in town. She's also organizing a get-together of all her friends who have babies and toddlers, so that we can all meet each other.
That's really sweet, to get the baby friends together!
W: I failed to meet an internal deadline of today. Not close, and a progress report is due today. Bleah.
The corned beef, taters, cabbage was a wild hit last night, and there were only enough leftovers for one reuben sandwich. (burp.) So I'm doing the prudent thing and cooking another corned beef brisket. OK, this is probably a stupid thing, but we don't eat this often, and I think there is an urgent need for leftovers.
Early this morning, a bookshelf filled with binders fell down. Guess I was expecting too much of it, although if you overload a bookcase for 18 years or so, you just don't expect a sudden collapse.
Sorry about another snow day Liz.
QWP - thanks for delivering stern warnings to the Weather. How lovely about the baby get-together - a great way to keep friends connected. And the cheesecake with parsnips! Yum!
Eeeeek kathy about the bookshelf! I hope no one was hurt and there wasn't too much damage. I completely inderstand the need for leftovers.
Kathy, I think you need a new bookcase! However, I am not very handy so take any handy advice I give with a pound or two of salt.
Liz and Sue, I am over the winter. Liz, I think you actually had a worse winter than me and CNN said we had one of the worst winters in the whole country.
QWP, a baby meetup sounds great! I am cheering you in your quest for productivity!!! If I am not productive, I like knowing people around me are - it gives me hope.
Um...this week is a typical Miranda week. Trying to get three busy offspring everywhere they need to be while working a demanding job and only having one car available deserves a superhero cape and flan for life. Just sayin'.
AW: A colleague's parent passed away rather unexpectedly and it felt good to be one of many who rallied around colleague and colleague's family.
W/AW? I have to work from 7:30-5 tomorrow at the satellite office about 45 minutes from home. Family Member with Mental Illness That Is Not Current Controlled has therapy at 6. Boy Scout Son has a Scout Meeting at 7:15. Family Member With Legal Troubles needs to borrow my vehicle so he can make his court appearance. FMWLT wants to chauffeur tomorrow so my car can be used for transportation. Court is 45 minutes from either home or the satellite office.
Wednesday is a chunky dinner followed by a bible study session followed by a potentially contentious chunky meeting. I have already gotten calls about it. My younger two like to come with me to the Wednesday Lenten series but will be bringing things to amuse themselves during the meeting. They are not at all stupid.
Thursday I will have to explain. AGAIN. to Tween Son why he cannot do laser tag (See Friday).
Friday I have to meet with an outside person at the satellite office. I also need to drive Tween Son and at least one other scout to their weekend campsite over 90 minutes away. It is very nearly in Middle Earth Canada - that's how far it is. On my return, I will probably stop for some karaoke fun since it is on the way home.
Saturday, I plan on collapsing.
This is all a fairly normal week actually. You see why I want a superhero cape and unlimited flan, right?
You need a nap, Miranda.
W: ouchy. Moved and cleaned a bunch of the "new" furniture today. The disarray was getting to me.
AW: now sitting on couch with heating pad. It is the XL size, and I am the S size, so it's covering most all of my back.
I am tired just from reading Miranda's plans for the week. Then I read "flan," and realized it has been over a year since I last had flan, and flan is one of my favorite things in the world. Tomorrow I shall go to the Mexican place and eat the complimentary chips for lunch and have flan for dessert.
And speaking of dietary concerns, my new weight-gaining, muscle-building fitness plan? Lots of crunches and push ups and weightlifting? Super muscle-building protein powder to pump me up? I have lost 3 pounds since last week, and I seem to be running a constant calorie deficit because I am always extremely hungry. I realize that complaining that you have to eat all of the time and you still keep dropping weight even when you are doing everything you can to gain it is something akin to complaining that there are too many attractive women interested in you for you to manage, but for the love of Pete does this get frustrating.
We have no snow in Indiana today, just frigid temperatures and high winds.
A little bird told me we have a pixie birthday today. Happy birthday Liz!
Miranda - Superhero cape and unlimited flan is on the way!! I need a nap after reading about your week, never mind actually living it. Sending pixie power to energize and support.
Also, way to inspire other flan-fans!! Enjoy your treat Andy.
Andy, one of my sisters has always had trouble keeping her weight at a reasonable level. She tires of sneers and scorn from people who think it's okay to mock someone who is very thin. So I hear you about the frustration factor.
Wow, Miranda. Cape it is. xoxo
Ouch, Esperanza! But some order out of chaos is good.
Andy, best with your program! My daughter also is a skinny-mini, and she hates comments on that as much as I hate unsolicited comments and advice about my weight (which definitely leans in the other direction).
Happy birthday, Liz!!!
I love my bookcases so much; we asked for them to be included when we bought the house, they are so wonderful. There are 3 -- over 6 feet tall, each 3 feet wide -- almost covering a wall of my office. (My fantasy dream home would have most walls covered with bookshelves.) Anyway, my sweetie is going to fix it.
I have one of those total-body heating pads too, esperanza. It's great until you get overheated. Also, I usually have a very happy cat glued to my side when the heating pad is on. I'm glad your furniture is in place, but ow!
Don't tell my cats about heating pads. In the mornings, we often find them staking out various heating vents on the floor.
Thank you all! For my birthday, I am in the midst of DOCUDRAMA. Three more days and I'm outta here. I. Can. Not. Wait.
Happy birthday! And I can definitely help you format that. ;)
Thanks, Clippy! But actually, Word is INTRODUCING formatting errors into the document, so I think that you should probably stay away.
Kathy a. We have very similar dream houses!!! Wall to ceiling book shelves sound perfect!
--Neighbor Lady
Happy Birthday Liz!
I'm going to need to borrow Miranda's cape, because I just finished my workout for today and it went much more smoothly than usual. This makes me believe I am actually super-strong, and I have been strutting around obnoxiously accordingly.
AW: The 20 degree cloudy weather from yesterday has turned into the most beautiful 60 degree sunny day today. Indiana weather, you are such a mystery to me.
W: Our hospital superintendent is retiring this week, so we have this week-long group of special theme days to celebrate and send him off or whatever. It's sort of like Homecoming Week during high school. Today was Hat Day. I hate hats. I never wear them. In my estimation, hats are designed to help bald men look more attractive, and I am most far from bald. But, in the interest of hospital spirit and to entertain my people, I wore one. I had ridiculous looking hat hair now.
AW: Tomorrow is Ugly Necktie Day. Since bad fashion sense is completely up my alley, I will have it covered.
Liz, the countdown begins!
Clippy -- down.
Andy, OMG, theme days! I could have totally helped you with hat day -- we once had a birthday party for the boss that featured "make your own hat out of newspaper and office supplies," and that was pretty funny.
W: The Baboos got a St Patrick's Day present from a friend at school. Like her mom made them for all the kids (~30). Who does this? And, for the love of fuzzy ducklings (thanks again for that one, Liz), why? Overachiever crafty moms make me grumpy.
Breathe, Esperanza! Some people's talents run more to making 30 somethings. Although making a gift for a minor holiday seems overboard -- a snack is one thing; a class project involving kids is great -- but do not be sucked into some kind of competition on Best Show-Offs from a Mom.
It just brings out my competitive streak. Lucky for me, my practical and logical streak is much stronger. :)
(disclosure: I used to do artsy-crafty projects with classrooms. But it was about the kids making something.)
Today, I am on high flan alert. It is all very unbloggable but you would totally understand.
Flan! STAT!
Happy Birthday Liz!!!
-Neighbor Lady
Somehow I combined "Flan" with "unbloggable" and read "unfloggable" and thought, "Never! Flog the living daylights out of whatever it is!"
Also, you should totally show up that other overachieving mom, Esperanza. Do it! I dare you!
/badinfluence
W: I think I put conditioner on my hair this morning without shampooing it first. At least I hope that's why it's slimy and oily.
For esperanza: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2903040
Happy birthday, Liz!
Unbloggable and unfloggable flan for Miranda. I hope you get a break sometime soon!
Andy: that sounds like a really fun week at work. (And, thanks to my very short hair, I understand the hat whine. Hats make me look bald when I'm wearing them, and then does weird hat hair for the rest of the day.)
W: So. Tired. E woke up over and over last night. Ever since she cut that tooth last week, she's been going through a weird sleep thing.
AW: she was weirdly pleasant today, in spite of last night. And she was so cooperative at bedtime! Mr. Q discovered that it now works to tell her to close her eyes and go to sleep! We seem to have hit a milestone in being able to communicate with her, which is really cool.
W: seriously, does someone else want to write the last ten pages of this chapter? Clippy?
(Also W: suddenly supper time is a fight every night, and my kid resists anything but a small handful of food items, including no vegetables or meat, unless she's tricked or they're in a pasta sauce. This mealtime stubbornness is new for me, and it's really testing my patience.)
Oh my, busy pixies this evening!
Enjoy tie day Andy! I'm with you on the subject of hats. I have a large (pumpkin) head, so hats always look goofy on me.
Esperanza, I was not a crafty mom at all. Pretty much every major and minor holiday made me feel inadequate. Good times. And I've totally done that with the hair conditioner. It happens.
Passing the unfloggable flan Miranda!
QWP, sorry about the sleepless night and food battles, but yay for easier bedtime!!
QWP, thanks for that link. Yes, exactly. I caught myself trying to explain why they should wear green, then I said, "never mind. Wear what you want." Seriously.
Sorry you didn't get any sleep.
That is a good link, QWP. It also reminded me of creeping birthday party competitiveness, wherein the parties start with little picnics, but before long you're dealing with clowns and bouncy houses and Chuck E Cheese and out-of-control party favors. ~~ shudder ~~
Sorry about the food stubbornness.
SIL's appointment at Big Teaching Hospital is next week. Talked to everyone, and then emailed them all [the care facility is not very free with sharing email addresses] -- and yay, the neurologist wrote the most lovely note thanking the facility for their care, and telling them just what would be helpful to their evaluation! Know this doesn't sound like much, but it is more challenging than you'd think to get everybody on the same page.
I'm glad everything is so well arranged for SIL's appointment next week. Coordinating care is a big deal and it sounds like your neurologist is on it. Yay!
Kathy a, that is wonderful news that everyone is on the same page, and that the neurologist and the Teaching Hospital are doing so much for SIL. That is some excellent quality of care there, which always helps.
W: another night of bad sleeps, but not entirely E's doing, this time. Mr. Q coughed loudly at about 3:30, which woke E (our little bedrooms are SO close together), and even though and went back to sleep immediately, I didn't, especially because Mr. Q was sleeping weirdly (this morning, he said it bedroom was too hot, and that's why he was all over the place, keeping me awake). I was still awake when E woke herself up at 5:00, and I was beside myself, at that point.
AW: Mr. Q convinced E to go back to sleep, and she and I got more than an hour after that.
W: I'm running on under 6 hours of sleep today. Trying to figure out how to get work done.
*passing virtual vat-o-coffee to QWP*
oh for the love of fireplacing fuzzy duckings (thanks liz and esperanza) -- there is this totally unbloggable wormhole of doom about something that i have tried to fix twice already, and everything was done correctly to picky perfection, and IT GOT LOST IN THE MAIL, and there is even a scan to prove that it was done and done correctly and done a week ago. gah.
i was all set to brag about the excellent karma of no line at the post office [9:45 a.m. is the magic time], and how much i love the postal service. well, just grrr.
Kathy a: OH NO! Important things getting lost in the mail is so frustrating and scary. Is there any chance that it's just been delayed somewhere?
Small AW that makes me very excited: my cousin took Li'l E for a walk today, and the kid KEPT HER SUNGLASSES ON FOR THE WHOLE WALK! Has she finally learned that sunglasses will make her more comfortable outside? Will this make my life easier this summer?
W: right after her morning nap, she had her first real temper tantrum, and it was bad enough that I got worried that maybe she was having an anxiety attack (the hyperventilating! The shaking! The need to do deep breaths to calm down! I've been there!) that I phoned my friend who has four kids (including twin toddlers, and her oldest child deals with anxiety issues), to ask her whether this sounded like a normal temper tantrum to her. And she reassured me that this was the norm with her kids (and that her oldest had the fewest temper tantrums during her toddler years), and that I did the right thing by making E feel reassured and safe, and then distracted her as early as possible.
in other news -- i gave the tax guy this form, he said he couldn't find it, we had to request a new one [which as you probably guessed, had to be done by mail and cost money and will take forever]. and today the tax guy found it. overall a yay, because whatever works.
but sheesh, already. nitpicks and mail glitches and taxes and SIL and work albatrossi, oh my.
Yeppers, toddlers can go into full-body meltdown with tantrums. You did good! Good to start with hugs, which both restrain and calm the small person. Maybe you can begin introducing "a time out to cool down." It needn't be framed as punitive; just as time to cool down. I remember declaring time outs so mommy could cool down.
That's exactly what I did! I ended up putting her back in her crib (because she didn't want me to hold her), with her bunny and her Blankie, and she ended up wanting to stay there for a while. Good to know that her crib is a comforting space for her.
Oh kathy, that's a lot of fuzzy duckling-worthy material! Gah!
QWP - well done! Definitely good that E likes her crib.
Speaking of cribs - hubby is reading the original Sherlock Holmes by Sir AC Doyle. He refers to Sherlock's home as his crib! And we thought this was modern.....
Heh. AC Doyle was probably picking up on the slang of his time. Now we call it something like our happy place. Or a room of one's own, although that also goes back aways. (e.g., V. Woolf, 1929.) Or more colloquially through the ages, "mine."
If, hypothetically, one had a hyperactive, easily excitable Dachshund named Diesel who has a habit of blindly running around rooms and crashing into things and occasionally wrestling with the cranky but generally calm Shih-Tzu one also owned named Nash, and the exploits of this Dachshund has caused him to knock over drinks that have been set on the floor three previous times this week, would one consider possibly not setting drinks on the floor in the future?
And, if one did set another drink on the floor, and the Dachshund again knocked it over, would one respond in a manner that involved cussing out the dog but not moving a muscle to clean up the spill or move the cup?
And, if one had an exasperated soon-to-be-ex spouse witnessing all this and cleaning up after it every time, would that spouse be justified in ranting about how inexcusably silly and lazy it is to continue leaving full drinks where the dogs knock them over because one is too lazy to clean up a space on the end table to conveniently put the drink?
Asking for a friend, of course.
Andy, tell your friend it is perfectly justifiable to be exasperated beyond all reason.
Wait, there are 3 dogs? OK, you know the answer. Drinks go up above Diesel level. The untrainable kinda-ex should learn to clean up her own messes. I'm guessing she is only slightly past the junior toddler stage in this regard, so sending lots of strength. xoxo
Junior toddlers at least feel guilt when they make a mess, right?
Toddlers? Not so much.
It's very YMMV.
Toddlers do like to "clean" tho. They even insist on doing it all themselves. Alas, that stage doesn't last long.
Liz is right: even my one- year-old swept the kitchen (badly, of course) today! Andy, how much longer does your hypothetical friend have to cohabitate with his soon-to-be ex?
Mini adores sweeping. Sweet (age 6) does feel bad if she makes a mess accidentally. If it's on purpose, no guilt.
W: double baby shower Saturday. Groan.
AW: my child ate her supper tonight! And I only had to hide food in her mashed potatoes a little bit. (But yesterday she refused to eat mashed potatoes!)
ah, it's the keep mommy on her toes stage. Says the mommy of still-picky children.
My younger was very picky -- which was kind of a shock, because the elder would eat absolutely anything. The ped said to just keep offering a variety of healthy foods, but not to get into a power struggle over food. Today might not be totally balanced, or maybe this is the day she eats 3 molecules and tomorrow she will be the bottomless pit -- it evens out, and a healthy kid will not starve herself.
Oh.Em.Gee.Whiz This week has been upgraded to unlimited chocolate flan and a blinging tiara to go with the superhero cape. Again with the unbloggable thing that you all would totally relate as to its general pookiness.
Agreed Miranda - chocolate flan all around. Sorry about the ongoing unbloggable.
W: No interwebs for almost 24 hours!! Even at work!! ugh.
W: Used some data for a bit of time on the book of faces this afternoon. During a brief period when the wifi came back on I tried to post here, but alas, no luck.
(I am aware that this is a whine of privilege - but dang, what a day. I kept having ideas at work about things I needed to look up - yes - on the internet. Then I would think "I should email....oh")
AW: I did get some work done.
((Miranda))
Nothing throws me off-kilter more than no internet. Sad commentary, but true. Sorry, Sue.
W: spider egg thingies on the underside of the furniture we brought home. Vacuumed them, but eeek!
Sue, we decided to leave our phones in our coats last night. We kept joking about how we living like it was *gasp* the 90's */gasp* again. We had to pass notes during bible study or talk with people sitting with us.
It's the stuff of nonsense.
W: Daylight Saving Time can bite me. Baboos will NOT go to sleep on time because it's still light outside...then I have to wake them up...then they are tired and sleep at naptime at school...rinse and repeat. Grr.
Miranda gets points for passing notes. Very 90s! :)
I remember the DST adjustment time with our boys - not pleasant at all. I hope the Baboos settle into it soon.
Please think good thoughts for my MIL. Got messages yesterday from her sister and her best friend, advising she is dehydrated, not eating much, and not making sense. Her friend got her to take some food and water last night, but says it seems like she's "given up." Beloved is on his way to see what's going on.
She is 85 has felt under the weather for some time, but they can't seem to figure out what it is. Her sister suggested maybe a part-time caregiver would help -- her neighbor who has been looking in on her and bringing food actually has her own caregiver.
We've spent the past year dealing with all this stuff for my SIL. Not sure how we'll cope if major changes are needed for MIL, who is in a distant location. One step at a time....
((((kathy)))) sending good thoughts for your MIL and your family.
Miranda, tiaras it is!
Sue, I'm like Esperanza -- internet outage leaves me bereft.
Esperanza -- vacuuming works on spider eggs. Our house for some reason is a spider's idea of tahiti -- if we left it for very long, it would look like the haunted mansion or Miss Havisham's place, what with all the cobwebs.
"a spider's idea of tahiti" is a definite nominee for Mullet.
*shudder* spiders. eek.
((((((kathy)))))) thoughts with you and your family
--Neighbor Lady
You know your sweetie is crowdsourcing correctly when the regional med center is voted down as having "too many gunshots," and decent alternatives are suggested. (The town hospital was voted out in earlier rounds.) My beloved, who can actually do most anything singlehandedly, was persuaded that calling the ambulance is OK even though nobody is bleeding from gunshot wounds.
(((Kathy))). Your MIL may have a kidney infection. Every damned time my stepdad's mom had one, she started showing signs of dementia. As soon as it cleared up, she was fine.
Oh, good thought, Liz.
She. Refused. The. Ambulance.
Oh, kathy a. Sorry your beloved is having to deal with a recalcitrant and suffering relative again so soon. I hope the situation improves, pronto.
He's answering his cell phone today because of all the mom stuff, so of course he got calls about his sister's latest bruise. We're edging into the Bizarro World House of Competing Caregiving Horrors.
So I did the right thing, and left a message for my cousin -- who lives in MIL's dogforsaken town -- and asked her about local food delivery advice. Also, I think the entire Grandma Posse is activated at this point.
Check to see if there is meals on wheels in her town. We even have it here, so there is hope. In addition to the actual meals, the volunteers are a good check-in every day to make sure grandma hasn't fallen or is otherwise in immediate need of care.
Yeah, that's good, Esperanza. Thanks!
SIL -- old rib fracture [we knew, had the date], and new pneumonia. Seriously, does it all have to happen at one time?
Flan and all the thin mints in the entire universe, and tiaras, and curly fries. And kittens -- I swear, I will be totally defenseless if daughter brings one home. Or if one wanders into my eyesight.
Also, I think we will have a dog in mourning around here tonight, because Her Man has run off to take care of Another Woman.
In better news, a victory for equal rights in Michigan!
I'll share some wildflowers. They're popping out here. Sorry for the avalanche of catastrophe.
yay, flowers!
Oh kathy, that is truly an avalanche of hurt for you and your family. Sending pixie power and virtual chocolate your way.
Awards tomorrow - keep whining everyone.
So many hugs for Kathy. That's just too much for I've family.
W: That cold weather from SueLand has finally reached me, and so we're back into the cold and snow.
One! Not I've!
Post a Comment