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Monday, August 24, 2015

It's Back-to-School TIme!

It's a Back-to-School Haiku!

The house is quiet
A disaster area
Baboos back at three

I have very little whining, because it is absolutely glorious to have time to my introvert self. What about you, pixies?

34 comments:

Liz Miller said...

Wonderful haiku!

MM doesn't go back until Monday.

He woke up grumpy today, and we had a yelling match. His consequence is an 8:30 bedtime. By which I mean pjs, teeth done, in bed, lights out at 8:30

esperanza said...

Go, Mama, Go!

Baboos dropped off. Nobody cried. It was the anticipation that was so hard for Mini. Argued about what to wear (in her defense, I've let her wear whatever she pleases all summer and now all the sudden I wanted her to match. Just for one day). Argued about eating breakfast. Argued about using toothpaste to brush her teeth (what?!?). Sigh. She was nervous but ok. Same for Sweet. All in all, a good first day dropoff.

kathy a. said...

Great haiku! Congrats on a good drop-off; don't waste all your quiet time on cleanup; and may the stories be happy tonight!

Oy, Liz. Hated those kinds of mornings....

My husband visited his sister yesterday at the facility. He didn't know what to expect, but apparently the med changes are helping -- she didn't cry, wasn't agitated, and was able to talk about a few things besides obsessing about the first ex.

Anonymous said...

Good news, kathy a!
And esperanza, I am happy you get some time to yourself.
I have to say I am not looking forward to being back at school in a week. I go to set up my classroom tomorrow, and I think it will feel too real then. But after that, I am back in denial til next week!

AW: Passed a test I needed for fulfilling some state teaching requirements--spent the first half of the summer studying so this is good news!

W: both my kids are grumpy (more yesterday than today)_ because dearly beloved cousins who had been visiting went back home. Although, one is almost college age, and we are hoping (fingers triple crossed!) that he will be able to go to school near us!


AW: Have started running and this morning Neighbor Guy went with me. He says I am getting faster! :)
W: Soon, I will have to stop running in the morning because school starts too early to do that

off to pretend I have another month of summer!

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Neighbor Lady -- congrats on passing the test! Hope you enjoy this last week. Sorry about the grumpies, but guess that shows how fabulous it was to have the visiting cousins. :)

W of peculiarity: My SIL talked about me for the first time in about ever. She told my husband that I told her she had no job skills! It is just her scrambled brain, which also led her to talk about the Bentley that her first ex will drive when he comes to pick her up. (The Rolls is so last month.)

esperanza said...

Good news that SiL is somewhat better.

NL, congratulations on passing the test, and enjoy your week of summer! We had cousin withdrawal here as well. It took the form of tears.

Baboos' first days went well. I'm worn out from puttering around the house, going to someone's house for brunch (it's a first day of school tradition, apparently), and meeting a friend for lunch. Not to mention the heat. We are back to 100s after a nice respite last week while we were on our trip.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm very glad to hear that SIL's new meds are working, Kathy.

Hooray for NL! I hope that the classroom setup goes well.

Hooray for Sweet and Mini, for their first day of school!

Liz: that sounds like the right consequence for the grumpies today.

W: Mr. Q had his first full day back at school today (the teachers aren't back officially until Thursday, but he's spending today and tomorrow getting set up, and then taking Wednesday off) and E really struggled with that. A lot of tears today. So many feelings. And she took FOREVER to go to sleep tonight.

AW: my sister came over right before lunch, and stayed until bedtime. (She was only going to stay until supper, but she mildly injured herself while helping E on the potty, and had to skip pilates. Apparently toddler-induced injuries run in the family.)

Good and bad idea of the day: let's bake a cake to have when daddy gets home, and make it as soon as he leaves in the morning, to distract her from her sadness! Except that, when it gets really involved and there is way too much to do, you have a chocolate-covered toddler having a meltdown, and more kitchen mess than you can handle yourself.

Chocolate zucchini cake, anyone?

kathy a. said...

Mmmmm, cake! Hope the transition with back to school is less bumpy.

AW: Late breakfast with 2 friends! Lots of stories and laughs.

esperanza said...

AW: one small snafu with Albatross #2 averted. People, think things through. That's all it takes.

Anonymous said...

mmmmm cake!

--NL

Sue said...

Mmmm....cake.

I'm with NL re: Denial of the Impending End of Vacation.

AW: It's been a lovely vacay. Busy 1st week with my sister visiting, but sheer relax since then. Reading, napping, walking (not running - Wow NL!! Awesome), and did I mention, reading???? Yup, it's been great. Hubby and I also spent some time watching our fave British mysteries. :)

AW: Our son and his new partner arrive on Monday! Yay!

Liz Miller said...

Frequent hot flashes
Waken me from deep slumber
Lo, I am cranky

kathy a. said...

Sue, sounds lovely! And yay for the upcoming visit!

Oh, Liz. So true... Passing the fan and a discreet block of blue ice.

W: I am so tired of trying to think of what to cook for dinner. Maybe it'll be stir fry. Yawn. Or burrito night.

Anonymous said...

Kathy a.:

Had the yummiest lamb dish this past week.
If you like lamb:
these are meatballs. They include bulgar wheat with the meat and bulgar in a 60:40 % ratio.
also:
currants (half pint)
pine nuts (half pint-ish)
2 tablespoons Zatar seasoning (if you don't have this middle eastern seasoning, it is a mix of sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds)
2 tsp cumin (I think we used smoked cumin)
1-2 tsp cinnamon
scant 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper
coarse bulgar wheat
also one or two eggs for binding

Boil water for bulgar in a 1:2 ratio of bulgar to water. While the water is heating, mix the dry bulgar with the dried herbs. Mix water and bulgar, cover with saran wrap, and let sit for at least 2 hours.
Then, mix in the other stuff. It's ok if there is water still, the currants will absorb. Taste and season (before adding eggs). Mix in meat with hands. Shape. Grill.

Served with a minted sour cream (or yogurt). Also with a tomato sauce with 1/2 cup onion, 2-3 medium grated carrots; sauté; add about 3 cups cubed tomato. Add seasonings (similar to in lamb)

My sister-in-law made us these this past weekend and they were amazing.

Just a thought!


actually, just thought about this-- with you husband's heritage you might already have this, or something better!

Now I'm hungry!
:)

Hugs,
Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

NL -- my husband would love this! I think it is an Armenian dish (although there's a lot of overlap in dishes from nearby countries); his mom was Armenian, and we have enough bulgar wheat from her to feed a cast of thousands. He would say, definitely yogurt and not sour cream! We have this big tub of sumac, which I've never used before.

MIL used to do these meatball things with finely ground bulgar mixed with the lamb + onion + spices, and then an outer layer of coursely ground bulgar (no idea how that worked), and the whole thing was boiled -- but unless the cook is very experienced, the outer crust cracks open.

Anyway, thanks for the idea!

kathy a. said...

For Neighbor Lady and the other teachers -- One More Day: http://wgntv.com/2015/08/25/iowa-teachers-sing-one-day-more-before-students-return-to-school-and-its-awesome/

esperanza said...

Enjoy your visit, Sue!

kathy a, I really don't mind cooking. But I absolutely despise thinking of what to cook. We had improvised meat ball things cooked on the grill tonight, because I had thawed meat to cook hamburgers but then realized I didn't have any potatoes to make "french fries," so had to punt. Poor grocery shopping this week!

Liz, passing the fans. Your haiku was lovely, though.

W/AW: kindergarten is indeed tiring Mini out. She even admitted it today. This has not translated into an earlier bedtime, nor an easier one. Sigh.

kathy a. said...

Yay, for K tiring the Energizer Baboo! She will no doubt settle in enough to sleep, one of these days. xoxo

So, I made NL's meatballs, the minted yogurt, the tomato sauce thing, and some pilaf for the side (tiny pasta browned in butter, unc1e b3n's rice MUST be used, broth, smidge of saffron). And it turns out my beloved won't be home for at least an hour and a half. Effort counts, right?

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Cheering for the teachers, as the return to work! (The kids go back on Monday here - - they've made this year the exception to the Always Back After Labour Day law - - but the teachers are officially back tomorrow.) And I hope that Mini starts sorting out sleep and bedtime, because it's great that Kindergarten keeps her busy enough.

Friends, my heart is aching. I'm supporting friends through the breakdown of a relationship, as the result of the damaging effects of mental illness. It's all so messy and sad. It's hard for me not to get preoccupied by my feelings of stress and frustration about the situation.

esperanza said...

((QWP)) I'm watching the implosion of a marriage from way far away, people I barely know, and it's amazing how much it is affecting me. I know it must be so hard for you, even when you try to set it aside for your own health.

AW: The reading specialist stopped me to tell me a cute story about Mini (mainly about how she has no need of a reading specialist), and the PE Coach stopped me to tell me a cute story about Sweet (PE is her favorite class, despite her significant motor challenges). They're in a good place.

Liz Miller said...

Whining works, everybody!!!

I had a HUGE HUGE whine yesterday, which I expressed to my c@mp@ign m@n@ger. He talked me down, encouraged me to be SWEETNESS AND LIGHT to the people who were causing me some angst, because -- truth be told -- the angst is worse for them than for me. And Lo, I was SWEETNESS AND LIGHT and the conversation went well.

And I went off to do call time and the Emily's Listers of the world rewarded my SWEETNESS AND LIGHT by ANSWERING THEIR PHONES and raining donations down upon me (after several days of only talking to answering machines)

It's enough to make me start really believing in Karma, y'all.

esperanza said...

Hooray for Liz! And the power of SWEETNESS AND LIGHT!

kathy a. said...

Yay, Liz!

((( QWP )))

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hooray hooray for Liz! And hooray for Sweet and Mini!

kathy a. said...

Esperanza, great news about the Baboos!! Definitely a good start to the year!

Things all going bad because of mental illness -- that is very tough. My SIL's last marriage ended in a Big Bang, because of her brain impairment (we know now; then, just looked flat crazy). A number of people in the support group for her kind of dementia are really struggling now with the destruction of their own marriages due to a spouse's illness, and some with the impact on their kids as well. The situations are such that there may be no good solution at all. xoxo

W: Someone I've known close to 25 years is dying of the fireplacing cancer. My suspicion is, he's at the end now. Hope this part is peaceful and gentle, and free of the pain.

esperanza said...

((kathy a)) ((and your friend))

W of the gross variety: Sweet's swimmer's ear from last week? The swimmer's ear she went swimming with anyway? We went back, as requested (because I *always* do what the doctor says, clearly) for him to check them. Still lots of "debris." So the nurse flushed them with water. Ew. Disgusting. I cannot even describe to you the amount and nastiness of the "debris" that came out of her ears. And she wanted to see it. And Mini wanted to see it too. "It looks like boogers!" Gross.

Liz Miller said...

For once, I am grateful to night sweats. Woke me up from a horrible dream.

esperanza said...

A fb friend who is from another country has been asking for prayers for his wife, who had a fever and infection. He posted pictures of her in her hospital bed. Today's post is a thank-you for all who prayed, saying that her health has been restored. His picture is of her standing at the refrigerator, taking food out to prepare it.

...just in case you needed a good feminist growl coming on.


Oh good grief. He just translated his own caption and says something even worse in English: "K is coming back to her kitchen and she feel very well. Thank you so much for your prayers and for you love to her"

kathy a. said...

Ick, Liz!

Um, yeah, Esperanza. If I was so unfortunate as to land in the hospital, I would figure the universe owes me at least a few weeks of not worrying about dinner.

kathy a. said...

I forgot to appreciate the intensely interesting grossness of Mini's ear effluvia. Some kids ADORE that kind of thing! Some kids.

My friend died peacefully this morning. There is much unbloggable about the whole situation, but he is no longer suffering, and there are those who cared and will remember him.

esperanza said...

Oh, I'm sorry kathy. I hope those who loved him will find comfort.

It was Sweet's ear effluvia (what a great word), but they both found it fascinating.

esperanza said...

All this Katrina 10 year remembrance stuff is a bit weird for me. When Katrina hit, we were sitting at the bedside of Mr. E's mother, and she died on the night of the 28th. We woke up the next morning to the news of the destruction.

kathy a. said...

((( esperanza and Mr. E )))

Queen of West Procrastination said...

((Esperanza and Mr. E)) It's hard when grief piles on top of grief like that. It really would be a strange anniversary.

W/AW: we are blanketed under a this layer of smoke from Washington state, so thick that it's dangerous for people with lung conditions. So thick that church s cancelled! (It's the last weekend before kids go back to school, and a lot of people are on vacation, leaving Dad as the only one who conducts the service. Too dangerous for Dad = no one to do the church service this week.) I am a bit sad about not having church today (especially because E was really looking forward to it), but also relieved, because we foolishly left windows open last night, and E woke up at 5:30am with a burning throat and nose. It's best to keep her inside this morning, and put her down for an early nap.