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Sunday, October 19, 2014

Here's the KEY!

Lots of loose ends this weekend.  And probably I'm going shopping for a bunch of window coverings Monday, because the window covering guy was busy when I went back.  So I went food shopping instead, and a nice curry was enjoyed by all.

But my poor cousin returned from a long manly trip to the wilderness, and somehow he and his wife got locked out of their house, in the back yard.  With no house keys or car keys, and no key to the big-ass lock on their tall gate.  And the cell phone battery was running out.  And the locksmith kept calling and saying "20 minutes!"  I was just about to go toss a cell phone and a big hammer over the fence, possibly also a bottle of wine, but help finally arrived.  They now think maybe they should leave a spare key at my house, 2 miles away; which sounds like a fine idea.

There is still some domestic strife in the feline sector of the household, because That New Girl keeps [a] eating all the food, and [b] chasing her elders down the hall.  She's having a fine time!  Spot has gotten really loud; this morning the kibble dishes were empty-ish, and you would have thought he was in imminent danger of a hideous death. Spot is a drama queen.

My daughter just had a piece of molar chip off while she was brushing her teeth.  She has never so much as had a cavity before.  Tomorrow is her day off, so I guess she is getting up early and calling the dentist -- who happens to have presided over the loss of daughter's first baby tooth at a birthday party, since the dentist's kid and mine were classmates.  Weird, no?  But in the good way.

What's new with you?

57 comments:

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Chipping a tooth while brushing! Your poor daughter.

The story of the gross cleanup last night, told in glass-is-half-full antiwhines:
AW: well, if Li'l E was going to remove her diaper pook in her crib, at least it was only a little bit of pook. And she only on the most washable blanket (although she also peed all over her sheets). So: evidence of potty training progress? At least we have an excellent washer and dryer, right outside our suite door?

W: you guys. That was ridiculous. And we had to stay up late to wait for the washer to finish. (I used what Mr. Q calls the "scorched earth setting.")

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I meant "remove her diaper AND pook". The diaper was completely clean and dry.

esperanza said...

YES! Time to get that cute little bottom on the potty. Sorry you had a late night washing machine party.

For late night "accidents" (ahem~Lil E), I did the following: waterproof sheet, regular sheet, waterproof sheet, regular sheet, etc, as many as you have. Then when there is an "accident," just strip off the disgusting layers and presto, the bed is already made. Little one can go back to sleep, and (depending on your tolerance for first-thing-in-the-morning dirty laundry), you can start the washer or go straight to bed yourself.

kathy a. said...

Those all-in-one jammies might help cut down on nighttime diaper exploration. Although they do make the potty thing harder.

kathy a. said...

Report from the far side of the emergency dental appt: they had put something over what looked like a weak spot in the molar last year, and that's what chipped off, and they fixed it for free! And she set up the appt herself, and got there on time.

kathy a. said...

Do you ever have a day that you think will be nice and quiet, and then a bunch of stuff happens requiring your introvert self to hop right to it in an outgoing manner? Yeah.

Liz said...

Can someone please tell my husband not to have existential conversations with my son before either of them have had anything to eat? Thank you.

esperanza said...

I'm on it, Liz. Would you tell mine to stop telling me sad/bad news right before bedtime? Thanks, you're a pal.

Liz said...

I'm on it, esperanza. Dear LORD, what the fireplace is up with our menfolks?

Sue said...

Indeed, what is up with existential conversations and sad news shared at exactly the wrong time????

QWP - sending good potty training energy your way.

esperanza, the multiple sheet/waterproof layer thing is kind of brilliant. You should write a book about parenting hacks. Really.

kathy, I SO get that "Put The Introvert Into Action" shake up. Especially on a day when you plan to nurture your need for alone time. Ugh.

Good for your daughter and the dentist!

W: I need to make an appt to get my winter tires put on the car. Don't want to.

That is all.

Liz said...

My sister taught me that hack, calling it "lasagne bed".

I don't know why pediatricians don't suggest it at the first well-baby check-up.

kathy a. said...

I would never have thought to ask a pediatrician about something like that. My bible for all practical {and medical, and developmental) baby things was Your Baby and Child, by Penelope Leach -- full of common sense and understandable suggestions. And if I recall, she made a suggestion along those lines about crib linens.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Molars. Why does it always have to be molars? And why did the first set and second set need to come in only months apart?

kathy a. said...

Once those molars come in, things really will calm down!

Sue said...

Aw crap. Migraine. I thought I felt the nausea end of it a bit last night and this morning but I thought "Not possible, it's only been six weeks since my treatment."

I usually get 7-9 weeks. I have to (really, can't get out of it) attend the funeral of a colleague who passed away on Friday.

After that, home.

Bleh.

It just occurred to me that it might have something to do with receiving my flu shot yesterday. Huh.

kathy a. said...

((( Sue ))) I'm so sorry about the loss of your colleague.

And about the stupid migraine. But I bet the flu shot did have something to do with that, so perhaps tomorrow will be a better day.

esperanza said...

Thumbs down on the migraine.

Yeah, I stole the sheet idea from somewhere else, but I guess I'll take credit for being able to recognize an idea worth stealing.

kathy a. said...

It's not stealing. It's sharing wisdom. ;)

Liz Miller said...

Ecactly

Queen of West Procrastination said...

And I get to reap the wisdom of all this stolen, ahem SHARED wisdom!

Hugs for Sue, both because of the migraine and because of your colleague. (And we definitely all got headaches after our shots this year. They say any side effects pass within four days.)

W: I'm sitting here, willing myself to wake a sleeping toddler. I let her sleep a little long yesterday afternoon, and while it improved her mood, she was awake before 6am today, and chattered a bit at 4. So, now I'm tired, and am dreading her inevitable crankiness (she HATES being awaken).

kathy a. said...

I asked if my old office would donate space for a thing -- and they have done it before, everybody loves this thing, they wouldn't have to do any work, and they'd look good -- and it got put on the management committee meeting agenda immediately (for today!), with 3 separate assurances of we'll decide right away!

My theory is that anytime you put "management" and "committee" together, nobody'd better be holding their breath. Fortunately, I knew that already. ;)

kathy a. said...

8:30 p.m. email, kind of a go, but we (of course) need a conference call. Progress, baby.

Sue said...

Yay progress!

The service was lovely with good stories and lots of music. She was a wonderful person and clearly well-loved by many - the church was full. Her last dew years have been so difficult, so I'm glad her suffering is over,

Migraine is slightly better after ice, a nap, and more ice.

kathy a. said...

((( Sue )))

kathy a. said...

Oh, Canada. Sending much love to our Canadian pixies and their country on this terrifying day. xoxxo

Liz said...

What Kathy said.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Such a scary day. I let E watch a lot of TV, so that I could obsessively follow the news. Someone high up in government has kids at Mr. Q's school, and a friend teaches one of the kids. Managing this kind of stuff with little kids is so hard: we're all relieved to hear that their dad is safe, but freaked out at how close the gunman was before he was shot.

There is not enough caffeine in the world to help manage days like this.

AW: Raffi is on Twitter, and he's as wonderful as ever. I took to getting all my news as filtered through him, today.

kathy a. said...

Raffi news! That is brilliant.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

After retweeting the main news stories (always from CBC) all day, he reminded everyone to watch how scary news affects their kids.

kathy a. said...

Excellent advice. For adults, also.

I'm pleased that the conference call about holding the thing was perfect -- no bizarro questions, just getting on the same page about some practical things. One never knows, but this particular committee is really supporting the thing. yay.

Sue said...

I heart Raffi.

The PM just finished his speech and ended with a reference to the true North strong and free. Sometimes he says the right thing.

kathy a. said...

Glad the PM rose to the occasion. Hope that this was just a lone nut, and it is over now. xoxo

My son -- you know I love him, he's a responsible adult, and he works with power tools all the time. But for the past hour plus, he has been grinding metal and doing something with what might be a flamethrower, and this we do not like. His mission: retrofitting a tool box to hold a tube amp. I'd say I have no idea how he turned out this way, except I know who built the tube amp and owns the power tools in question.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

AW: best distraction of my day: I made jam from coronation grapes. I just had some on today, and wow! Jam for everybody!

kathy a. said...

Jam!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

(Toast, not "today.")

Sue said...

Hooray for jam!!!

kathy a. said...

Quiet in here!

Son finally turned off the power tools last night. It appears he let one of the cats out, but the cat came back! And the funny part is, Spot followed the dog back in after her middle-of-the-night tinkle. (Spot does not much approve of the dog, but any port in a storm.)

Sue said...

I'm heading off to conduct the funeral this morning and can't quite believe it's Friday already. Running through my head is a list of things I didn't get done this week and that's never a good thing.

Trying to remember that I did get a whole boat load of work done.

W: Again with the late sermon. It will happen tomorrow. After the events in Ottawa this week, it will be interesting to preach on the topic of peace (this week happens to be a Sunday that is designated as Peace Sunday). Oy.

kathy a. said...

Peace sounds good, Sue.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

It sounds like the best sermon for Sunday, after all this, Sue. Fortuitous timing.

W: dizzy. Ever since yesterday afternoon. I took an antihistamine with decongestant, suspecting that it was an allergic reaction (I also have had headache, sinus pressure, a foggy feeling in my ears, and the telltale single hive that I get when I'm reacting to something). It has helped a little (the vertigo WAS making me nauseated before, and that has lifted) but I still feel lightheaded. Blergh.

Liz said...

QWP, Ugh! I'm so sorry. I hated when I had vertigo earlier this year. Go get checked, okay?

Sue, I'm so sorry.

Anonymous said...

QWP-- if you have B0n!ne where you are, that is what I take for vertigo. I get it frequently.
It is a motion sickness med sold over the counter here. But don't know if the antihistamine/decongestant can go with it, so check with a pharmacist....
hope you feel better soon!
--Neighbor Lady

Queen of West Procrastination said...

NL: I went through a very interesting G00gle wormhole after that! Apparently that specific drug (all variants of it) is longer being sold in Canada. There's a bunch of confusion about whether it's been discontinued (even the generics?!) or if it's no longer legal for sale here. But it's a first generation antihistamine, which gives me some leads on how to deal with this. (Current status: no longer dizzy, but weak and feeling like I'm coming down with something awful.)

Related anecdote: fourteen years ago, I had some awful problems with vertigo (to the point that I was off work for a while). While it turned out to be a really bad inner ear infection, for a while I was on an anti-vertigo drug that had the warning, "If you experience the inability to move your eyes, consult a physician." If my eyes stopped moving, I'd do more than just consult!

Sue said...

Oh ick QWP. I get vertigo a few times a year. Someone suggested that medication to me awhile back and I found the same problem - not available in Canada. Odd, yes?

AW: In the midst of a hugely overwhelming week, I had a nice dinner with friends last evening. We don't get together as much as we would like, but when we do we sure have fun.

kathy a. said...

Hope you are better, QWP.

Sue, how lovely to meet your friends for dinner!

Something very distracting popped up with my SIL -- it appears her facility is for realz trying to dump her, like soon. Not sure that I'll get to awards today. Keep whining!

Sue said...

(((kathy))) No worries about awards.

Anonymous said...

((((kathy))))
((((qwp))))

btw--that medicine is actually mec1izine. Wonder if you have it under another name....?

-NL

esperanza said...

Catching up just now after our retreat (sans grumpy couple). It was a great week.

Chunky meeting yesterday. Bigwigs presenting a HUGE structural change proposal. They ask for questions. Me, at the microphone (unusual, but no one else was asking anything): "what is the process for receiving feedback on this proposal?" Bigwigs: *crickets* I do believe they don't really want feedback, but since I asked, they had to say they'd hear whatever anyone wanted to send them. Sigh. I may be growing up to be the gadfly (I think that's the word I'm looking for).

kathy a. said...

Esperanza. No, you are growing up to be the person who asks questions, and wants anybody's questions to be answered. Bigwigs, for dog's sake, ought to be able to at least say where comments should go, by when, and the process for dealing with them. Sheesh.

esperanza said...

No kidding. This particular group of bigwigs is not known for (a) being very transparent in decision making; (b) thinking through implications; (c) considering people's reactions to said implications. I knew very well that they wouldn't be able to answer my question, but I thought it needed to be clear to everyone (bigwigs included) that we should be able to give feedback. (What I didn't say: many aspects of this proposal are stupid. That will have to wait for my email).

kathy a. said...

I mean, your question wasn't even hard.

OK, getting my mojo in order. Had a date with my sweetie and the window shade order went in at his Temple of Home Improvement. We also have a dinner date.

And I have drafted a polite, professional, kick-ass letter for him to send to the fireplacing care facility.

Awards probably tomorrow.

KLee said...

For what it's worth, I get extremely motion-sick, and had a problem with my inner ear a couple of years ago -- it was strange...apparently, you have crystals deep in your inner ear, and sometimes, these can migrate to other parts of the ear, causing imbalance and dizziness and disorentation. The doc that fixed it said the crystals are like small rocks, and my rocks were loose. It explained so, so much in my life. There is a very simple fix that you can do (without a doctor visit or copay, hooray!) that you can do to see if it alleviates your symptoms.

Lie down on a flat surface that is off of the floor, like a kitchen table or coffee table. Hang your head off of the end so that it reclines. Turn your head to the right, looking as far right as you can without lifting your shoulders off of the table. Hold this pose for 1 minute. Once the minute is up, turn your head all the way to the left, once again without moving your upper body. Hold pose for 1 minute. Then turn onto your left side so your shoulder is touching the table, and your body is straight as if you are on a board. If you are on your stomach, you rolled over too far. Turn your head straight down toward the floor. Hold for one minute. After you are done, sit up carefully, and assess your balance. This can be repeated if necessary. I hope it helps, but I also hope you're not that dizzy to begin with. I was given meclizine when I was that dizzy and it made me very groggy. I couldn't take it and work.

sorry I didn't gheck in last week, but it was a busy week -- Offspring was home for the first time since leaving for school. It was her fall break, and she came home for that and to help celebrate my birthday. It was very nice to have her home. She arrived home with a lip ring and a nose ring. I was shocked, mainly because she is totally petrified of needles. I expect that this was her "first taste of freedom" and she went a little experimental on us. I think the nose ring is kind of cute, but I'm not so crazy about the lip. Eh...whaddya gonna do? She's an adult.

She was very quiet, though. She already had a head cold before she came down, and those few days were packed with seeing friends and family, so we didn't have much chance to talk. In consulting with a friend who has triplets who've all left the nest, she says that the first year the kids were gone, she didn't hear a lot from them, but she does now that they are a little older. I'm hoping it's the same in this case. I just miss her, and I realize that once she left our house, she will never be fully "a kid" again. She is an adult, with her own life, and will most likely never fully come home again. It makes me sort of sad.

kathy a. said...

((( KLee ))) Hm, already with the piercing? Whatevs. I agree that they do come back and are more comfortable after they have gotten more comfortable with themselves. And, that's all really OK. xoxo

Liz said...

Klee, that's the kind of vertigo I had early this year!

Anonymous said...

unmotivated to do any of the mounds of work I need to do for school....

so very whiny about this!

--NL

esperanza said...

NL, you've come to the right place! Whine away! (When do you get a teensy break, anyway?)

Anonymous said...

well, we had columbus day, but my parents were here, so that did not feel like a break....
will have veterans day soon, but the weakend before we will be traveling to my niece's bat mitzvah. Two weeks later is my daughter's. So....busy busy here!
Maybe thanksgiving?
:)NL