Monday, May 25, 2015
I have "The Internet is Boring When Americans Have a Holiday" Blues
Anyone else out there? I'm half awake (5:35am wake up! Uff dah), but I'm here for some whining. So bring out your serious whines, your Old Skool whines, your anti-whines, and everything in between! It'll help keep me awake until bedtime.
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58 comments:
I'll start off: did anyone else's kid get scared of teh poopies when they were in the midst of potty training? My kid keeps making herself constipated, because she has such anxiety about the whole thing. I'm filling her with fiber, getting her to move around a lot, and am trying to get her feeling more secure, but I'm wiped out.
AW: it's improving, but again: exhausted.
Thanks for hosting, QWP!
I don't remember fear exactly with my kids. But every kid experiences stuff differently, and E is still young! There's a book for kids called Everyone Poops, and maybe something like that will help?
KLee, hope mom is feeling OK. It might vary day to day after the therapy, and week to week also -- so an off day is often just an off day. xoxo
Glad you liked the headwrap page. My sister was not into wigs, which can be uncomfortable and hot. She really liked the pre-tied ones -- just pop one on, good to go. :)
Esperanza, hope the flooding is calming down and the cleanup is proceeding.
QWP, I've not dealt with that, but I've seen people suggest a nice warm bath to relax, then a strategic move to the potty. You'd need to be watching things--er--closely.
Internet is NOT boring here. We can see the river flooding from Sweet's bedroom window. They keep assuring us the crest is well below the flood of '98, when our house came thisclose to flooding. Trying to trust that.
Camp cleanup is going well, though I wasn't able to go today--was afraid I couldn't get back home. They are getting more rain today, which is unhelpful, to say the least.
What?? More rain? We could use some, but instead we just have another straight day of coldish and overcast, and I guess the weather goddess is a stupid meanie.
QWP, the warm bath sounds like a good idea. (And I'm guessing the "watch closely" is because of stories on these very pages about bathtub incidents.)
AW: all that fiber and walking has worked on E! Now I have to keep working with her so that she isn't so anxious about pooping.
Esperanza, that is scary!
W: I just found out that a girl from my high school was murdered yesterday. I didn't really know her (big school, grade below me), but I was in choir with her sister. I've been messaging with my brother about it all day (some of his friends knew her, and he was the one who told me about it), and I can't stop reading news articles about it and feeling freaked out.
OMG, QWP. I am so sorry. That really hits close to home. xoxo
Oh, goodness, QWP. That would freak me out too.
This flooding business is getting ridiculous. Our river might rise a tiny bit more but seems pretty stable. Huge storm with lightning and thunder and creepy-colored sky passed through. Tornadoes relatively close by, but nothing here. Power went out, and the city crew was out in the middle of it to replace our transformer. It was out for less than an hour, which I found quite impressive. I have a tiny suspicion that we might have jumped ahead in line because our next door neighbor's power was also out, and he works for the city electric department. Baboos were a bit freaked out, Mini especially. Worse than that, the Internet has been wonky all day. :)
We are better off than lots and lots and lots of people, so we are thankful tonight.
Oh wow, esperanza! You're having quite the adventure down there. Stay safe, okay?
You guys, we just had a massive, province-wide internet outage, and it was ridiculous. For the first hour or so, the outage involved both DSL and cell data. My whole family was phoning around, trying to find ANYONE who was with a different ISP, to figure out what was happening.
AW: everything's back up and running now. Sweet, beautiful Wi-Fi. (Now everyone's joking that the city was plunged into mass productivity this afternoon.)
QWP - so sorry about your high school friend. How awful. Glad the interwebs are up and running. Same for E - glad things are on the move. :)
esperanza, that's just so scary. I hope the river stays put and leaves your house alone. Poor Mini - I would be freaked out too.
W: You know that thing where you try to suggest something to a Great Big Organizational Body for YEARS and they shoot you down every time? Then suddenly it happens and it's all their idea - and they're all What a Great Idea We Have!!??? Ya, that.
The annual meeting of our wider church body holds a yearly big chunky meeting that costs a fortune. Me and a colleague have been suggesting for years that we could meet every other year and save money.
Every time we suggested this, we were publicly criticized for not being "team players" and not wanting to be in "fellowship." Gah.
W: Also, migraine monster was back last night with a vengence. Better this morning, but the next-day migraine hangover is less than delightful.
AW: At some point last night I thought "It's been so long since it's been this bad, I've almost forgotten what it feels like."
Esperanza, yikes about all that water.
Bleah on the outages North and South. Would Mini enjoy a little battery-operated lantern thing for play (and also outages)? My kids actually liked outages because of the flashlights and etc. -- it was like camping out, only indoors.
Gah, Sue. You'd think chunky folks would be more about listening respectfully, and less about stealing ideas. Sorry about the migraine monster. xoxo
Oh no Sue. Sorry about the headache monster.
The organizational bit--mmm hmmm.
Baboos have flashlights, which are a hit. Mini fell asleep with hers on, cuddling it in her arms like a beloved stuffed animal.
Flashlights for the win!
I have this hilarious memory of my son, who was a toddler when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. And boy oh boy, was that exciting -- glassware flew out of the cabinets, furniture fell over, and my sister and I were "Oh... It's just an earthquake. A pretty big one. It will be over soon." Later that night, after the gas was shut off, we were doing candlelight due to a shortage of flashlights. Son kept singing the happy birthday song, on accounta the candles. ;)
Yeah, this is one of the sibs just de-friended on the book of visages. Sigh.
ah kathy. Hold on to the good memories and ditch the current bad behavior. Easier said than done, I know.
Thanks, Esperanza. And everyone else, you know who you are. I'm apparently very pathetic at breakups. xoxo
QWP -- I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. It is bad enough when people you know go before their time, but murdered?! I'm so sorry for her family and loved ones.
Esperanza, I hope you guys stay dry, and no flooding. I saw your camp's page, and will contact my local Girl Scout camp and see if there's anything we can do to help.
Sue -- Oy with the stoopid big chunky meeting people. I love it how they always manipulate everything so they come out smelling like a rose. Hope your head eased off, and it did not get worse.
Haven't seen Mom since Saturday, but she got Monday off of chemo and radiation, so I'm hoping this week won't be quite so hard on her.
There are still two days a work left. Pray I can get through them without murdering anyone or hurting myself.
Oh, KLee, that's really wonderful. Thank you so much. The denomination's Disaster Response people are arriving Thursday morning. It is one thing our denomination does really, really well, so we are all happy they are coming.
Two more days. you can make it!
Completely ridiculous, self-centered whine: school is canceled tomorrow because the river is expected to go over the highway, which would mean kids couldn't get home. Wah. Now I get to entertain 2 Baboos all day instead of one. Wait, maybe this isn't a bad thing. Except what I really want to be doing is going to camp to help cleanup, but no Baboos are allowed at this point. Babysitter lives across the river. Mr E has to work. I think I'm stuck.
Thinking of you and Mom KLee. I hope this week is a bit easier for her. Also, best wishes for these two days.
Not self-centered at all esperanza. It's a super stressful time for you. Maybe the three of you could make cookies for the workers who are at the camp cleaning up. When you are able to get out there, you can take treats!
W: A small chunky meeting last night at another church. The person who called the meeting never showed up, but someone else had a key to the building so we went ahead with some work. The meeting is about a shared venture between five churches. Two words - Train. Wreck. Ack!
W: Insomnia is a &itch.
Isn't it an unlucky sign when the organizer of the meeting doesn't show?
It is hard enough to get one group of people on the same page, never mind representatives of 5 groups! Can you tell what the sticky points are?
KLee! Almost time to sing the "school's out for summer" song! Glad your mom is feeling better this week; those breaks in the action are good. xoxo
Esperanza, best with the full house today. Hope the disaster relief is working out. What storms!
AW: My favorite candidate who is also a Pixie called me yesterday! To thank me for support!!! Go Liz Go!
((((QWP)))) so sorry
((((esperanza))) hope you stay safe and dry!
(((Sue))) with the migraines....my daughter is apparently going to be having them too--- she got another one while we were on vacation this weekend..... and now my son is home from school for the second day with a headache and dizziness when he stands up....don't think it's a migraine, but he is really really hard to read. He is currently watching the S1mps0ns so I don't think it's too horrible. But Sue, I can't imagine what your headache pain must be like ..... wishing you hugs and pain relief.
((Klee)) hang in there!!! Almost done!!!
We go til June 24 here, so I have about a month left. sigh. am. ready. to. be. done. now.
((kathy a.))
also, cluesticks for the folks at the chunky meetings who might need them
Have to go check washing machine, which somehow spewed water all over the floor during its last run. Wish me luck, we need it.
--Neighbor Lady
W: just had to prove I'm not a robot by identifying "soup" in a bunch of photos of food, and it made me hungry!
--Neighbor Lady
Thanks NL. Sorry to hear about your daughter's migraines and your son feeling awful too.
I don't fill in the robot thing and it still posts every time.
Yay Liz!!! Yay kathy a for a delightful pixie call!!
AW: Sincere mea culpa phone call from the MIA meeting chair. He forgot about the meeting entirely. We had a good talk about the train wreck and agreed on most points. The one gigantic sticky point is low energy. It all sounds good, but no one has the time or energy to make it work. Our summers here are so very short and we're having a late spring yet again. Folks want to enjoy the 8-10 weeks of good weather we have. Church stuff can wait until September.
W: That didn't stop him from calling another meeting.
AW: I may be busy that night.
((( NL ))) Hope the boy is better, your daughter's headaches are a passing thing, and the washer does not attempt another imitation of TX flooding!
I always skip the robot, too. It doesn't seem to mind.
I always always skip the robot. No issues.
AW: SUPPORTIVE PIXIES!!!
W: ... Nope. I got nothin.
W: Wait! Yes I do! A certain person younger than me who lives in my house is definitely a teen-ager.
(((Esperanza))) I hope the flooding ends and you get to take part in the healing powers of restoring the camp.
(((KLee))) I hope your mom's treatments work.
(((QWP))) MM was a holder. Horrible. No advice except that Mir@1@x works really well. Ask your ped.
(((Kathy))) Break-ups sucketh mightily. Hold on to the good memories, and let go of the person they are now.
(((NL))) I hope your kids both feel better soon.
(((Sue))) Oy. Headaches and chunky politics. SUCK.
W/AW: it's looking like the predicted crest today was lower than expected. So we didn't need to cancel school after all. State education muckety muck (can't remember his title) is going to waive "instructional time" requirement so we don't have to make the day up. The last day of school here is Friday. "Instructional" time made me snort, because there has been very little instruction happening for the last couple of weeks.
NL, best wishes to the washing machine, and the headachey kids. My head does that dizzy thing if I have a sinus infection or head cold.
Sue, I get you on the chunky meetings, especially ones with low energy. So annoying to have meetings when no one has the desire to actually see anything through.
Esperanza -- say what? I guess they are saying no makeup day next week?
My daughter's work has this Big Event going on in Houston, conveniently arranged for flooding and all. Her boss is there; she is here. The organization is so relentlessly "Everything's Fine!" that I ended up (daughter begged and owes me) searching flood areas before daughter sent the "Everything's Good!!!!! Get on that flight!!!" email on behalf of the boss, who in turn is marching to the tune of the overseas mothership. So in case anyone is wondering, daughter is indeed looking for another opportunity. And she's motivated!
There are parts of Houston that are indeed fine, but there are parts that are very not fine.
That's what they're saying. Monday was the last weather makeup day scheduled. I talked to a teacher this afternoon, and apparently they aren't even making the high schoolers make up finals that were scheduled for today. I'm not sure how that is going to work.
Oh, you made me snort about nobody needing to make anything up, even HS finals. I guess that sucks for the HS seniors who planned to pull out their grades on the final... (Let's face it, the diplomas are already printed, and nobody's paying much attention this late anyway...)
oooh, never mind. That finals rumor was false. They still have to take them.
i am on hold to the fireplacing brokerage where i have a sep ira. because i just got a 2014 tax notice for a contribution i made (and claimed) for 2013.
And the report is -- I'm good to go! They are all fireplaced up! It's time for a tad of wine, no? Because these fireplacing fireplacers just gave me a heart attack for no reason.
Not to mention it's a little late even for a 2014 tax notice!
I'm informed by Mr. Cheerful (who consulted with somebody who knew something) that they "never" send these forms about what they report to the IRS until **after** tax season. Which still doesn't explain it, but I guess I have a better defense if the IRS comes after me.
Also, he confirmed it was a contribution for 2013, not 2014. So there you have it. Complete insanity in one small mis-informed form.
Passing some sauce with pancetta, mushrooms, spinach, spices, and real cream. Goes well with egg noodles.
Mmmmmm....noodles make me hungry every time!
--Neighbor Lady
Neighbour Lady, I know that my sister has been dealing with similar dizziness right now as a result of all the pollen (I think it's called labrynthitis?). The pollen is so exceptionally bad this year that even people (like Mr. Q) who normally don't have problems are having problems this year.
W: never never never say out loud "My toddler hasn't had a bad tantrum in a while now! Maybe that bad phase is over for now." She's discovered a new way of high-pitched screeching like she's being murdered. That made our time in the family change room at the swimming pool memorable today. She was loud enough that everyone in the pool could hear her. (She didn't want to take off her bathing suit and go home.)
AW: first time at a swimming pool since she was four months old! Crossing my fingers that she doesn't have an eczema flare up like she did after that visit. (Chlorine seems to be a trigger for her.) I THINK I got her skin clean enough after swimming. I guess we'll see?
A good friend is visiting tomorrow, and staying until Sunday! (I haven't seen her in three years!) I'll be popping in here and there for the rest of the week, but I'm not sure if awards will happen.
Yay for friend visits!
QWP, I've found (the hard way), that one should not even think such thoughts, much less say them out loud, lest one be proven wrong within the next 24 hours, if not sooner.
Mini's doctor says to shower (not bathe, but I can't remember exactly why. We usually shower anyway) immediately after chlorine water exposure, then immediately after that, slather with heavy lotion. We also have to be really picky about sunscreens, though I'm guessing your pool is indoor.
QWP, have a great visit with your friend!
I am here to tell you that that the tantrum phase is never over. It may go into remission for a while, but boy howdy does it ever come back. See my whine re: teenagers, above.
Sorry, Liz.
In an Albatross meeting the other day, there was a process that looked very much like "we're going to sit over here and pout until we get our way about Issue X." So, um, maybe the tantrum phase just looks different at different ages.
Liz speaks the truth about toddlerhood training one for teenagers. They catch you when they're tiny and cute.... ;)
Well, chunky albatrossi are at a disadvantage, since you did not know them when they were tiny and cute....
True. And they were right, in the thing they wanted to happen. But it really was a "we're not going to do what you asked us to do until you do what we want" kind of moment. Not cute.
Mercy, y'all. I noticed all day yesterday that there was a lot more air traffic than usual (which is to say, any air traffic at all would be unusual). Helicopters, small planes, etc. It only JUST NOW got through my head that, as the river recedes here, they are probably searching for the bodies of the people still missing.
I'm headed up to camp to work tomorrow, which will make me feel somewhat useful in the face of all that. Mr E is being a peach and staying with Baboos all day tomorrow (well, Sweet gets out at noon), and Saturday morning so I can go to pottery class, aka therapy.
If only this sermon would write itself in the next few hours...
(And if only blogger would let me edit my comment, so I don't have to leave multiple comments in a row).
The Albatross Goddess has smiled on us. Progress report can go a week later than usual. (Which maybe doesn't sound like a victory, but the little things count.)
Oh, Esperanza. xoxo
Hooray for helpful delays.
Well, I *may* be going to camp tomorrow. Check out tonight's radar, and you'll see the potential problem. There's a low water crossing on the way, which does not play well with my Prius, to say the least. Any rain at all will cause flooding, because everything is soaked. Guess I'm waiting till morning to decide.
Wildlife report: Voracious cat will even go after roasted cashews spilled on the floor. And also everybody else's food, at feeding time. The dog (quelle surprise) broke into the bag of kibble left out by an unnamed dog-lover in the garage. Senior cat #2 needs to be herded into the bedroom and the door shut before she can eat the glorious wet food, becaue senior cat #1 wants to Eat It All. Junior cat continues to delight by pooping outside the box. That is all, except they get by with this stuff by being very cute.
Lots of whine-inducing behavior being excused by Teh Cute this week.
AW: I don't know if any of y'all get emails from DFA? There's a long one that went out recently re: Scott Walker. Read all the way through it. I'm mentioned!!
Go, Liz!
Esperanza, hope things got dry enough to go.
I went. Low water crossing was about 6" over the road and flowing fast, so they came to ferry people with the tractor. I had a good day. I may not be able to move tomorrow. The scale of the water, and the scale of the destruction, is simply incomprehensible, even when you see the evidence. Canoes wrapped around trees. Doors 40 feet high in a tree. Trees that are still standing have all the bark stripped off of them, so they probably aren't going to make it. Unbelievable. Good work with good people today.
Whoa
Oh, what a mess, Esperanza. Glad you were able to go, but a road under 6 feet of water sure sounds like an adventure.... xoxo
AW/W: One of my book of faces friends posted an interesting article about middle-aged siblings seeking mediation to thrash out caregiving for family members. Which is a great idea -- my parents are gone already, but there were a lot of tensions around each situation. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/your-money/strengthening-troubled-sibling-bonds-to-deal-with-an-aging-parent.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
But knowing I'm being stalked so certain people can jump down my throat about perceived misconduct, it seems impolitic to even give it a public thumbs up. The toxic sibs are no longer "friends", but we have enough mutual friends that someone could mention something. SIGH.
6 INCHES!! Not feet. I would not have crossed if it were 6 feet.
OK, that sounds better! (Whoopsie about misreading.)
People in big pickup trucks were driving through it with no problem. The Prius only clears about 4 inches and weighs as much as...say...a linebacker. So that was a no-go. No problem for the tractor, and I haven't ridden on a tractor in a long time.
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