Successful Bargain Hunting

We are having a string of gorgeous, 80+ degree days here in NJ.  This morning, I decided to hit the garage sale circuit.  We found a bassinet and a double stroller (plus more toys that T really doesn't need).  The stroller is in pristine condition and is one of those sit and stand type, which will be perfect for when we're wheeling T and the new baby around.  When we were playing outside this afternoon I noticed that were it not for garage sales and craigslist T would have practically no outdoor toys.  I wonder how many times kid's toys get recycled.

9 Things

1. Nothing motivates you to clean your toilet like throwing up every morning.

2. Items I had to remove from the bathroom before I could clean today: train, tamborine, pillow.

3. Spring makes me want to shop.  Maybe it's bringing out all the summer clothes or maybe it's just that the weather is nice, but I want to go and buy stuff.

4. There is nothing better than listening to your baby sing along with songs in the car.

5. All my clothes are too big, except for around my waist.  This makes me look sloppy. I'm really looking forward to dress weather.

6. I'm having a hard time getting excited about the end of the semester since I have three more classes on tap for the summer.

7. I'm ashamed to admit how excited I am for Sesame Place to open for the season.

8. I heart my new screen door. Thanks Papa and Lala for the Christmas money. Thanks for installing it honey. You are one handy man.

9. I slept for 12 hours last night. Thank you migraine headache!

Two Things

Two things made me smile today.

1. We ordered pizza online via dominos.com .  You pick out your pizzas and submit your order.  Then, you can watch  the steps of pizza preparation and delivery.  I learned that it look about 3 minutes for them to prepare our pizza and less than 10 for the pizza to cook.  I then learned that our Pizza Delivery Expert, Rolando, was on his way with our pizza.  It was like reality TV pizza ordering.  It was really fun.

2. I bought Kool-Aid today.  Soda and I aren't getting along too well, but I wanted something other than water and milk.  Ry and I remembered making Kool-Aid as kids, complete with collecting the Kool-Aid points to get cool stuff.  He suggested I get out a big wooden spoon to mix it up. Oooh, Yeah!  When we were kids, there were dozens of flavors. Today I only found about 6.   It was quite tasty.  We let T have a drink, and he's hooked.  At one point during dinner, he had his snack cup, milk cup, and Ry's Kool-Aid cup on his tray.  He pointed to each in turn and said "Juice in it. Milk in it. Purple in it."  Then he turned to us and said "More purple please!"

Technology and nostalgia; two things that made me smile.

T nin it

Somehow we've gotten into the habit of tracing hands, feet, and whatever else is handy with T.  This is how he colors now.  No random scribbles for my kid ... only tracing.  Then he wants us to put a "T nin it."  This started because we chalked our feet outside and put a T for him, an M for Mommy and a D for Daddy.  Now everything needs a "T nin it."  This is what I woke up to this morning.  Made my morning.

That was unpleasant

As if the morning sickness wasn't bad enough, Monday night I got a nasty, nasty GI bug.  I threw up every 30 minutes from 8 pm to 6 am.  The topper?  Ry was out of town and I had an exam Tuesday.  I'm feeling mostly human again, but far from 100%.  I'll be back blogging when my life returns to something like normal.

We don't hit people with penguins!

... and other things I never expected to come out of my mouth.

Wow!

It was a big week for Grandma's.  We also got T's tricyle from his Mummu.  He hasn't quite gotten the pedal rhythmn, but is enjoying scooting around the house.  We're hoping for a sunny day tomorrow to take it outside. Thanks Mummu!

A Big Boy's Room

T's Neena made him a beautiful quilt for his new big boy room. I can't believe how much it makes the room look like a kid's room.  I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to be a big boy. Sniffle.  There are also curtains, but we haven't had a chance to get them up yet.  More pictures to come. Thanks Neena, it's beautiful and I can only imagine how much time this must've taken. We love you!

Breakfast Fail

So there I was, after my morning class, when I started to get the familiar stomach churn.  Great, I thought, my first appointment with the college commode.  I went into the bathroom, only to discover the first 4 stalls were something approaching biohazard.  The final stall looked mostly clear of bodily fluids, so in I ventured.  I gingerly lifted the lid and crouched down.  Sure enough, one look at the bowl was all it took.  I awkwardly crouched, trying not to touch anything, while holding my hair out of my face.  Then, the autoflush went off.  And went off, and went off and went off.  I groped blindly in my bag until I found a piece of paper to put in front of the sensor, which mercifully stopped the flushing.  Empty at last, I went out to wash my hands and brush my teeth only to receive a condescending stare from a staff member who was obviously in the room for my performance.  Thank you for your obvious concern staff lady.  If this wasn't round two, my dignity would've taken an enormous hit today.

Luuuuv Sarah Haskins

Her latest take on the Carl's Jr. ads.  How do companies still get away with this crap?

Grrr, new prereqs

As of the second week of March, my program added two new prerequisites that had to be completed before petitioning for the nursing curriculum.  I had my final courses all planned out, one per semester, until I (hopefully) start in Fall 2010.  Since Fall and Spring of the coming year are pretty well shot, due to the impending arrival of Baby 2.0, I had no idea how I was going to get these finished.  This would mean waiting an entire extra year (until 2011) to start the nursing curriculum.  This was not my A plan.

I went to visit the program director about enrolling for the summer.  She told me that the spots were being reserved for those students beginning this Fall 2009. (Nice surprise for them, eh?).  She told me to come back a few days later and she would see what could be done.  So, two days later, T and I trouped to her office to beg for a precious spot.  Lucky for me, I got spots in both classes for the summer B session.  It means that my entire summer is shot (I get about 1 week off), but my plan is overall uncompromised.

Misheard

T was on the floor playing with a Winnie the Pooh phone.  He likes to talk back to it. "Bird! Pooh!"  I swear I just heard him say "Maggot!"

I tire of eating

Here's one of those things I never thought I'd say: I'm tired of eating.  When I was pregnant with T, I was so nauseous that the mere thought of food had me running for the bathroom. This time, it's not nearly as extreme, and for that I'm truly grateful.  However, once I get through the morning commode genuflecting, I find that I have to eat ... all ... day ... long.  Indeed, if I forget to eat at least every two hours (or sit down for too long) I start to get that familiar stomach churn. A month ago, I would've thought this would be great.  

Here's the thing.  I'm not hungry. I rarely crave anything.  Nothing really sounds appetizing. But eat I must.  I'm trying to choose food that's relatively healthy, so I don't weigh 200 pounds by November.  Being pregnant is funny.  The two things I intuitively want to do, curl up on the couch and abstain from smelly food are the two things I have to avoid.  The consequences of ignoring food are dire.  Would someone like to come make something inventive and tempting to my palate?

One kitty

Kitty; one, obese, orange. Current weight: 22 pounds. Sweet natured.  Sheds more hair than should really be possible.  Does not lick butt.  Leaves skid marks all over furniture, carpet and bed sheets.  Diagnosed with food allergy.  Must consume kitty food that costs more than gold. 

Ok, ok

I know I've been derelict in my blogging duties lately, but like I told Tantie yesterday, if I'm puking, I'm not required to blog.  I'm not doing a big post today, since I spending my time poring over dead kitty arteries and veins, but here's a preview of upcoming posts:

1. My program added 2 new prerequisites to get into the nursing program. I had no idea how I was going to get them done, since I'm not taking classes this fall and hoped to only finish my last requirement as an evening class in the spring.  It's working out, but my summer is officially shot.

2. A week of blessings: Tantie and (new!) Uncle E had a beautiful wedding and we had a beautiful week with our friends and family.

3. We're taking kitty to the vet.  His bum problem has soared to new heights.  More on that after Monday's check up.

Posting will be light

We are in Illinois this week for Tantie's wedding. Posting will probably be light, but I'll try to get the highlights.

Birthday Festivities

This picture was taken on T's actual birthday.  We asked him what he wanted for dinner that night. Chicken? Yes. Pizza? No. Hamburgers? No. French Fries? YES! Quesadillas? No.  Ok then, so you want chicken and french fries?  "And french fries," he added.  The servers brought out this sundae and sang to him. He thought it was great.  He also thought the icecream was great and ate the entire thing.
Our birthday celebration here in the Land of Oz.  He dug the cupcake.
Playing with the cool new Winnie the Pooh phone.
It actually held more amusement for me.

Perfect, again

My little boy turns 2 today.  Two years ago, my little man entered this world, weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces and stretching to a giant 19.5 inches. He was perfect, even with sqaushed nose and cone head.  Today, he's still perfect.  He weighs 30 pounds, 6 ounces and stands 36.25 inches tall.  He is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and is right on track for all his developmental milestones. Perfect, perfect, boy.

And now a case of phenomenally bad timing ...

This afternoon, T kept tugging on the front of his diaper and saying "ow."  I asked him if something was hurting him, and he said "penis" (well, actually he said eenis, but that's beside the point).  So I took off the diaper and took a look.  I told him everything looked ok to me.  He insisted that something was not definitely not.  Concerned, I took another look.  T hopped up and tugged me into the bathroom, pointed at the potty and told me he had to go.  He sat down, and wonder of wonders, went to the bathroom on the potty for the first time.  What a great time to start potty training! He's telling us he needs to go!  Except that we're leaving for Illinois in a day and a half where he's going to be the ringbearer in my sister-in-law's wedding.  Hold that thought, little man.

Q & A

A: 97, 96 & 94

Q: What were the scores on my Chemistry, Anatomy and Math midterms?

Please don't turn me in to Cake Wrecks

T has his big 2 year old birthday party tomorrow at school.  I decided to make something a little more fun than plain old cupcakes for the party.  This caterpillar seemed a pretty easy starter-decoration.  It is too awful?  I think he's pretty cute.
Then I had the bright idea that I'd make ladybug cupcakes to complement the caterpillar.  The frosting ended up looking more like intestines than anything.  (Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I had a hard time focusing from that close.)  Needless to say, the caterpillar is going to school sans ladybug escort.  The upside is that now we have some tasty intestine cakes that didn't make the cut. Mmmm, intestine cake.

Bring it on

I have registered for my (only) summer class.  It's a 6-week Microbiology course. I will be in class Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 am - 2 pm.  Count em up folks, that's 6 hours per day for 18 hours per week.  When you consider that science profs around here ask you to spend 2 - 3 hours outside class for each in-class hour, I'll be doing somewhere between 54 and 72 hours a week of microbiology. I figure it's like ripping off a bandaid; it'll hurt like crazy, but be over before I know it. The summer session also means I don't have to take 2 lab sciences in any semester.

Note: do not call, do not write, do not expect blogging during the month of June.

Profoundly Seth

Please note the new button on my sidebar.  One of Ry's friends from high school has a young son with profound hearing loss.  They are trying to raise money for cochlear implants.  I won't tell her story here, she tells it much better.  Suffice it to say that this young family has had their share of heartbreak over the past few years.  If you have a moment, please go visit their website: profoundlyseth.com.  If you have a few extra dollars, please consider donating.

You don't have the right to waste my time

I've started dreading going to one of my classes during review sessions.  Most of the students don't complete the homework because it's not required.  They don't complete the review packets, and they don't take the time to think.  Instead, they come to the review session and ask asinine questions that our instructor has covered at least half a dozen times.  I wouldn't mind if they were genuinely confused.  Instead, they lack any intellectual curiosity or motivation.  They would rather sleep through class, text their brain dead friends and chitchat and then waste my time.

I am consistently amazed by how different the students are in my classes.  The classes I'm taking that are nursing-specific are mostly filled with bright, energetic, and articulate young people.  The other classes are filled with the lowest common denominator.  I'll be really glad to leave the gen-eds behind.

Playing is serious work

T takes his playing very seriously. This is his default playground face.  I always worry that he's not actually having a good time.  He gets excited when we arrive at the playground, so he must at least be having serious fun.  He's been more serious than other kids since he was an infant. Nature or nuture?

Why be responsible?

President Obama announced his plan for mortgage relief today. I'm highly conflicted. On one level, I don't want people to lose their homes, nor do I want the housing market to go even further in the crapper.  On another level, a lot of the people the plan will help maybe didn't make the smartest decisions in the first place.  

The plan allows those whose mortages are owned by Freddie and Fannie (and other who get bailout money) to refinance at or below current interest rates (about 5.25%), with no cost to the homeowner.  In addition, those who are underwater also can also get their principal reduced.  The overall goal is to reduce mortage payments to less than 31% of gross income.  The treasury said that interest rates could be reduced to as low at 2% to get to the 31% target.

Great, sign me up! Ohhhh, waiiiitttt.  We took out a mortage on a home we could afford, at a fixed interest rate, and our mortgage payment is less than 31% of our gross income.  Silly us.  Nope, if we want to refi, we have to go about it the old fashioned way and pay our closing costs.  Even then, the best we could do are the market-value interest rates (don't get me wrong, I'd love to have the extra $100 a month).  Where are the sweet refi deals for those of us who make our payments each month, on time, and bought a little less house so we could afford it if/when we lived on a single income?  Oh, right, we're not the ones foreclosing.  

Clothes, it turns out

I've been wanting to learn how to decorate cakes.  I don't want to make wedding cakes or anything, but I thought it would be a useful talent.  Do you know how expensive decorated kids cakes are?  Since we have lots of birthdays and events coming up, I thought to myself, "self, you should be able to do some basic decorating."  I thought I would use my tax rebate money to enroll in a cake decorating class.  Alas, there are none to be found.  I looked at community colleges, grocery stores, and even bakeries, but no dice.  The only thing I came up with were semester-long cake decorating classes.  Now I'd like to learn as much as the next gal, but I'm not spending a couple hundred dollars and an entire semester doing it.  In the end, I bought a few pieces of clothing to supplement my sad, sad little wardrobe.  Yes, Cathy, I bought a rocking pair of jeans too.

Snow Day!

The whole family has a snow day today.   It is the first real snowfall we've had this year ... in March.  T had a blast and we all got frosty and frozen.  Good times.

Speak tenderly

A friend of mine recently returned from Japan.  She gave T a goodie bag with snacks and toys she gathered while there.  Most of the bags are written in Japanese, but this English-translation cookie made me smile. We haven't eaten it yet because I'm not sure if I want a cookie whispering sweet nothings to my heart.

Insert Pea

Today Ry gave me a couple of T-free hours to do some shopping.  As I was coming out of a dressing room, I got a phone call from him. 

Ry: Uh, T has a pea up his nose.

Me: What?

Ry: A pea. Up his nose.

Me: How did it get up there?

Ry: I'm not sure.  I think he may have sneezed it there when he had food in his mouth.

Me: Can you get it out?

Ry: I'm trying to get him to blow, but he doesn't have enough force to get it out.

Me: Have you tried sticking something up there to pull it out?

Ry: I don't want to do that without you here.

Me: Ok, I'll go check out and head home. Let me know if you're able to get it out.

Then as I'm standing in line at the checkout I get this text: "Got it! I just sort of massaged it out."  Whew.  I thought we were going to have a Sunday afternoon urgent care visit.

Burning a hole

Ry and I decided to take $50 apiece from our tax return and spend it on whatever we want.  I'm pretty sure his is going toward videogames.  I'm at a loss.  It's been so long since I've been able to spend money frivilously, I have no idea what to get.  I don't have time to read or play videogames, so those are out.  Maybe I'll just tuck it away for a rainy day. What would you buy?

Ahhh, a warm bath of words

Very little of my homework these days has anything to do with writing.  I do a lot of problem sets, memorization, and reading. My A&P prof offered us extra credit if we attended a lecture on biotechnology and reviewed the presentation.  The paper was only 2 pages, but it felt really good to write it.  I felt like I was putting on my fuzziest, warmest jammies and crawling into a toasty bed.  Ahhhh, words, I miss you.

Snippets

Snippets of conversation overheard this week on campus:

• "Dude, I could totally buy it with the money from my taxes!"
  
• "Did that make sense? I was asleep while I was texting you."
• "I told her I was failing to get her to study with me."
• "Ha ha."
• "Are you complaining that the projects are too easy?"
• "I mean, if you're going to be a ho, be a smart ho!"

One little monkey jumping on the bed

The Politics and Cost of Fertility

The woman who recently had octoplets has raised a number of interesting ethical questions about the infertility processes in this country.  Leaving aside the (ir)responsibility of mom and doctor in this particular case, I find infertility medicine extremely interesting.

Many people don't know that high-order multiples are more likely to come from fertility drugs than IVF (in-vitro fertilization).  This is because fertility drugs are harder to control and monitor than the implantation of embryos.  Most insurance companies will cover only fertility drugs (if they cover infertility treatments at all), not IVF.  IVF clocks in at around $12,000 a pop. This means that the folks who are least able to afford multiples are the ones more likely to have them. Multiples come with added costs in prematurity, birth defects, and long-term health care needs that taxpayers often pick up the tab for.  

I wonder if having a child should be a right.  If so, should insurance companies be required to cover IVF and other fertility treatments?  As a woman who has had a child, I understand how desperately people want to have children.  If I struggled with infertility, I don't know what procedures I would have been willing to undergo to have a child.

IVF itself raises a whole litany of prickly questions.  How many embryos should be created? Because of the expense associated with IVF, many parents chose to create quite a few and freeze them. 

How many embryos should be implanted? Current voluntary US guidelines recommend 1 and not more than 2 for women under the age of 30. Many European countries mandate the number of embryos implanted at any given time.  Of course, those counties usually cover the cost of the procedure as well. We don't mandate how many kids a family can have the old fashioned way, why should IVF be different?

What do you do with embryos that are "left over"?  There are many embryos currently on ice, in embryo limbo.  Some people choose to donate them to other couples, some thaw and destroy them, some keep them indefinitely or choose to try another implantation.

What do you think?

An artistic genius is born

We get a piece of art from T's school almost every day.  Here are a select few.  I love getting these, they make me happy.  I can't help but be put in mind of this every time I get one though.

This was the first day of school.  I love the use of shades.
This is "T's Snowy Day."  It leaves glitter everywhere it lives.
My first homemade valentine.
Today's artwork was a pizza.  Seriously, who comes up with this stuff?  I can't imagine thinking, "Hmm, today I think I'll help T make a pizza out of felt."

Baby Things

• Today when I was wiping his hands off, I said "Let me wipe your hands." T said "No." "Yes please," I said. "No Please," he responded.
  
• He picks the lima beans out of mixed vegetables ... because he loves them.
• We bought T a twin sized mattress today.  The mattress shopping experience wasn't quite as soul-sucking as I feared.  It's not unlike buying a used car, however.
• I hate Caillou with the white hot passion of a thousand buring suns.
• Everywhere we go, people comment on how big T is for his age.  This, combined with the fact that he's getting a bit aggresive lately as led me to refer to him as a bruiser on more than one occassion.
• Because of a couple of post-meal skype sessions with the grandparents, T now thinks that we get to talk to Mummu after every meal.
• When he doesn't want to take a nap, he covers his eyes, then uncovers them, looks up at me with a big grin, and says "Peek-boo!"
• As a parent, I like that I get to make up rules.  You have to take off your shoes before you can go see daddy downstairs.

Notes from our capital city

T and I accompanied Ry on his trip to DC this week. We're only here for a couple of days, but it was nice to get out of the house. Yesterday, T and I took in the Natural History Museum. His reaction to the elephant and other big animals was impressive. It's the first time he really noticed the exhibits. We had a great time, although the metro was all kind of screwed up. Apparently, one of the trains derailed early in the morning so two lines were using the same track. Luckily for us, we were able to take alternate lines to get back to the hotel by T's naptime.

I think I could get very used to living in a big city and going everywhere via underground. It's really quite convenient, cheap, and would mean more walking for me. It's a bit of a pain to take the stroller, but I'm guessing I'd end up with a smaller, lighter stroller I could carry onboard (and down escalators) rather than having to find the elevators at every stop. Too bad it's outrageously expensive to live anywhere with a metro (that, and we don't have jobs in those places either .... details).

Preview of the cuteness to come

We got his tux for Tantie's wedding yesterday.

Bye Bye Dude

The other day, I left Ry and T at home to make a run for some medicine or another.  As I was leaving, I said "Bye Bye Dudes!"  Tucker said "Bye Bye Mommy!"  I asked him if he could say "Bye Bye Dude."  Indeed, he could.

Yesterday, Ry was home with T, since he didn't have school and I did.  We got a package from Fed Ex.  As the Fed Ex guy was leaving, T chirped "Bye Bye Dude!" 

The Week in Numbers

3 - Number of work days missed (2 full and 2 half)

2 - Number of classes missed (of 7)

1 - Number of preschool days missed

8 - Number of hours in which I puked at least twice

8 - Number of times crib sheets and blankets changed

0.5 - Number of hours spent cleaning my house

4 - Number of bottles of medicine purchased

Happy Over-Commercialized Day

Ew

Allowable "natural contaminents".

TMI?

During my delirious waking moments during the GI Epidemic of 2009, I found I kept having the strangest dreams (daydreams, fantasies, delusions?).  Somewhat ironically, we are studying the digestive system in my A&P class right now.  During the 20 minutes between episodes, I would dream that I was traveling through my GI tract.  I watched the smooth muscle cells get all irritated from the stupid virus and start going into hyper-spastic mode.  I watched my cardiac sphincter open up to allow, well, to allow my dinner to reverse its course.  I also kept thinking about the 3-6 hours food spends in the stomach and the 3-10 hours it spends in the small intestines and wondering when it was going to be over.  Because seriously, I couldn't have gotten more empty, folks.  I wonder if these kinds of crazy delusions are going to get worse as I learn more about the human body and pathologies of the human body.  It was a bizarre night.

Another one bites the dust

Today, Ry was hard down.  T was too, for that matter.  He spent 99% of the morning in my arms until he fell asleep at 10:30.  His usual naptime is around 1:30 pm.  He slept for 3 and a half hours and woke up in a dramatically different mood.  He even ate some dinner!   My poor hubby, however, is passed out on the couch after a day of being passed out on  the couch.  I'm just glad that we weren't all sick at the same time.

Really, Arby's?

Stuff and Thank Yous and Apologies

1. Paying "a lot of money" to take a class does not mean that the professor should spoon feed you.  Don't understand something? Look it up.

2. My apologies to all of you who had to put up with me during my first undergraduate degree.  I had no idea what stress or a crazy life was.

3. It's really satisfying to go to a class you had to miss because your baby was sick to discover that the professor was sick with the same crap and missed class too.  Bonus: no missed quiz!

4. Just because it's the perfect storm doesn't mean it doesn't screw things up.

5. My apologies to anyone I ever called "kid" during my brief tenure as a university lecturer.  I had no idea how condescending it sounded coming from someone barely older than me.

6. Thank you parents. You sacrificed time at work and play to make sure I grew up to be an individual who could think for myself.

7. Bravo to all you working parents who also attend school. I don't know how you do it.

8. While Ry keeps it from imploding, my house starts to look like a disaster area when I've been sick.

9. Thanks Ry, for taking care of me and our son while I was sick.  And for the whole non-implosion thing.

10. I sincerely hope I don't have another week like this one soon.

x 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ....

T has passed the baton of sickness to me.  Around 7 last night I started feeling all oogy.  Sure enough, by 8:30 or so, I was in the bathroom every 30 minutes until 5 am this morning.  I'm really glad T didn't have this as bad as I did, I can only imagine how confused and sad he would've been.  I'm also really glad that Ry got T ready for school this morning and that T was well enough to go, because I'm in no shape to run around after him all day.  I'm heading back to sleep and hoping to feel well enough for my 1:30 class.

Hurling x3

Little man had a awful, horrible, no-good, very-bad day today.  He woke up coughing and spent a good portion of the morning sniffling around.  We put him down for his nap and he woke up, coughing again 30 minutes later.  I went up to rub his back and he vomited (3 big splashes).  Ry came up and cleaned up chunks while T and I got changed and went to my bed where we rested until the crib was cleansed.  He got settled back to sleep for about 45 minutes when he puked again.  Then we just got up.  We came downstairs, had a little water and a few soda crackers.  He stood up, and once again decorated the area.  Poor little guy.  It's been 5 hours since he last tossed his cookies and 2 since he went to bed.  Here's hoping he gets a good night's sleep and feels better on the morrow.

My Best Friend's Girl Review

Very crude. Extremely funny.

Unmitigated disaster

You would think that by now I would have learned my lesson.  But, no, when T woke up at 6:30 this morning and proceeded to whine, cry and generally be in a foul mood, I didn't learn.  When I didn't feel so hot myself, I didn't learn.  Instead, I thought, we'll just go for a little while.  All of T's friends soon learned what a bad mood he was in when he took their toys, pushed them, and cried when I took him away.  He almost feel asleep on the way home and then cried at Ry for 10 minutes before we decided it was time for an early nap.  T doesn't think so.  Guess who will win the nap war?

The Stupid, It Burns

T's school was delayed again this morning.  Ry had a meeting he really didn't want to miss.  Lucky for me, I have a good friend I can call at 6:45 in the morning and beg to watch my child for a couple hours.  I didn't want to miss my Chemistry class since my prof has an attendance policy and I thought there was a quiz today.

I got to class, and waited for Dr. Science to come.  When he arrived, the students whined enough that he put the quiz off until Monday.  Then he asked if we had any questions on the homework.  Several hands shot up.  Keep in mind that Dr. Science has given at least one lecture on the following topics: scientific notation, significant figures, and the metric system.  To drive home the point that the prefixes on the metric system mean the same thing, regardless of the unit he asked "What is the relationship between a snark and a millisnark?"  Ok, back to the questions.

Big Dumb Guy: Can you review using significant figures with addition?

Dr. Science: Sure. Let's do this problem.  What is 21 - 3.5 - 4?

Big Dumb Guy: Can you do the problem in the book?

Dr. Science: Sure, but the principle is the same.

Big Dumb Guy: But I had a question about the problem in the book.

Dr. Science: Ok, let's do the problem in the book.

And so it went.  We mercifully got through this example when another hand went up.

Little Dumb Girl: Can you do any of the problems from 1 - 11? I didn't understand them.

Dr. Science:  Ok, so these are about converting between units.  Do you remember when we converted between millimeters and meters?

Little Dumb Girl: Yeah, but what is a g and an ng?

Dr. Science: Sigh. Did you read the chapter?

Little Dumb Girl: Blank Stare

Dr. Science:  A g is a gram.  An ng is a nanogram.  A nanogram is equal to 10(-9) grams.

Little Dumb Girl:  That wasn't one of the ones you talked about in class.

Dr. Science: I know, but it was in the chapter.  See, here's where it's your responsibility to look up the things you don't understand.  He works through the problem. Any other questions?

Same Dumb Girl: What's a ms?

Dr. Science: What does the m abbreviation stand for?

Same Dumb Girl: Blank Stare

Dr. Science: Sigh.

And it went on like this for an hour.  We didn't get to new material until there were 15 minutes left in class.  I feel like I'm stupider for having sat through that class. I don't mind when people don't understand things, really I don't.  What I mind is when people are willfully stupid.  And I could have been at home with my little boy.

Be careful what you wish for

The first few weeks T was in school, he would kiss me goodbye, and hop off to play with whatever shiny object caught his attention first.  It would seem he didn't notice if I was there or not.  I remember thinking "it would be nice if he missed me just a little bit."  The past 3 times I've dropped him off, he started crying and clung to me.  Today I spent 20 minutes in the classroom to try and get him comfy, and then he only allowed me to leave because his teacher came and picked him up.  This is so much worse.

Meanwhile, in math class

Ms. Quadratic: Ok group, please take out the in-class exercise packet I handed out the first day of class. A hand goes up at the back of the room. Yes?

Doe Eyes: I don't have the handout.

Ms. Quadratic: Really?  I've been giving them out each of the last 3 classes.

Doe Eyes: I haven't been here.

Ms. Quadratic: What's your name?

Doe Eyes: Doe

Ms. Quadratic: Looking at her roster. Oh, I almost dropped you from the course yesterday.  You've missed quite a lot, please see me after class so we can work on getting you caught up.

Doe Eyes: I was in the hospital, I have a note from my doctor.

Ms. Quadratic: Ok, well it wouldv'e been good for you to contact me .... but Ok. See me after class.

Doe Eyes: Dramatic eye roll. Yeah, OK.

Class proceeds.  As class is ending ....

Ms. Quadratic: Ok, that's it for today. Don't forget your online homework is due next week. Glances down at her papers as students begin shuffling out the door.  Ok, Ms. Eyes?  Looks around the room. Doe?  Looks again. I'll be a son of a ....  And alas, Doe is gone.

Irony, thy name is Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps caught using a water bong.

... The Olympic swimmer is one of 12 Olympic athletes that have pledged to "My Victory," an initiative launched last year by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to keep competitive sports clean of cheating and drug use.

Discovering the joys of cookie dough

I don't know how it took so long, but yesterday, T helped me make cookies.  He was very enthusiastic about the beater-licking part.

Long Face, Scrunchy Face

A story in pictures.

Revolutionary Road

A Review, by JD from Scrubs:

J.D.: Hey I'm glad I found you. I need your approval to cut down some lollipop trees outside the sea monkey hut.
Denise: What are you talking about?
J.D.: These decisions have to go through you because you're the mayor of crazy town.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Happy 5th Anniversary my love!  I love you more today than yesterday, than last week, than last month, than when we got married.

Dear Obnoxious Young People

1. Swearing does not make you sound cooler.  It makes you sound ignorant and crude.   F*** is not the only word in the English language.  Buy a thesaurus.

2. Even if you think you'll *never* use this stuff again, you do not have the right to sit in the back and talk about your silly little dramas.

3. As hard as it may be to believe, you are not the smartest, best-looking, or funniest person on the planet.  This does not make you a bad person, it just doesn't make you as special as your parents and teachers have deluded you into believing you are.

4. You are making the rest of your generation look ignorant, crude and self-deluded.  For their sake (and mine), grow a clue.

Ice Scream

This guy made me laugh so hard I cried.  You can stop watching after the ice cream part.

Class Craziness

So here I was, harboring this delusion that I'd only have to have T in preschool the 2.5 days a week I am actually in class.  Heh.  Heh. Heheheheheheheh.  It's been a really long time since I took math and science courses and the homework load is heavy.  So far, it's not difficult, but there is a crapload of it.  

Since T was out of school yesterday, I didn't get the approx 2 hours of study/homework time that his schedule usually allows me.  Therefore, I am doing Algebra during his nighttime ritual.  My chemistry prof (who I think I'm going to like) not only gives a lot of homework, but also wants us to re-write the question, answer the question, and then justify the answer.  Example:  How many significant digits in the number 0.0020? Answer: 2 Justification:  All non-zero digits are significant, and zero digits following a non-zero digit on the right of the decimal point are significant.  Yeesh.

The students in my class are mostly really young and mostly really clueless.  I'll devote a whole different post to that one.  My professors range from old and delightfully quirky to old and humorless.  Kitty dissection is going better now that we know how to find the muscle definitions and how hard we have to push to create holes.  Poor Fluffy is starting to look a little like roadkill though.  

Long Face, Scrunchy Face

My new favorite game that Ry and T play lately is called Long Face, Scrunchy Face.  It's pretty self-explanatory really, they make long faces and scrunchy faces at each other.

Evarbodee PANIC!

There are two inches of snow on the ground.  Must close all schools! (Except for mine, of course).

Well that was different

I had my first lab for the second half of A&P today.  While I knew that we were going to be dissecting this semester, I have to admit to being a bit unprepared when our Prof started handing out skinned cats 15 minutes into class.  Our cat, Fluffy, is pretty average, for a dead, skinned cat.  His fur (what's left of it) is gingery.  In more proof that I'm just a 12 year old at heart, I giggled while our instructor showed us the "Cat Parts" bucket at the front of the class.  Its use is as you might imagine.  Also at the front was another bucket with funnel labeled "Cat Juice."   

Like last semester, I'm afraid I'll have to do a lot of self teaching, since our prof ran through the muscles we learned today and said "go."  She was somewhat less than helpful with actually identifying the muscles we were looking for.  I guess she figured we should know what we're doing, since we all have so much experience with, you know, dismembering dead cats.  I thought the whole 'working on fluffy' thing would bother me more than it did.  Really, once we got going, it was more about identifying the muscles than anything.  It's going to be an interesting semester.

Grrr, preschool

Today I got T up and breakfasted. Ry and I bundled him into the car, with promises of Miss NewTeacher and New Friends.  We arrived at his preschool only to find it closed for MLK day.  Really?  What happens to people with real (read, not government) jobs?  Are they just screwed?  And why didn't I get notification that they were going to be closed?  Should I have expected them to be closed on MLK day?  Most of the schools we visited said they were only closed on the major holidays (Christmas, July 4, New Years, etc.). I just assumed this one would be the same.  Lucky for us, school doesn't start for me until tomorrow and Ry was off work today.  Guaranteed I'm getting a list of all closings for the rest of the year tomorrow.

Mom: The Coming

My mom is here for a visit for 10 days, so posting will probably be light for the duration.  So far we've had a nice time and T has been reacquainting himself with her.  Yesterday, whenever she left the room, he'd follow her and sadly call "Neena ..." until she reappeared.  It's interesting to me that everyone plays with him in a different way.  Here I am, thinking I've exhausted every type of play imaginable, and she comes along with new, exciting (!) things to do.  Also, she's volunteered to alter my bridesmaid dress and save me mucho moola.  

Coming up this week:

~ T begins his second week of school.

~ I start school on Tuesday.

~ Still looking for a job.  Starting to get a bit desperate and widening my circle of possibilities.

~ Grandpa G arrives Thursday.  He and Ry will brainstorm how to build a pantry in the basement.

Heh

http://www.iheartguts.com/recall/

Best Scrubs Ever

Today while I was working out, I realized our DVR recorded my all time favorite Scrubs episode; the musical.  This my favorite scene.  A little musical love, from me to you ....

Ruthless Purging

We are in the process of converting the office into T's "big boy" room.  The process is not without pain.   The office became our "I don't know what to do with it, so throw it in the office" room.  As such, we had an entire season of shoes, random toys, books and baby paraphernalia, a desktop full of long-neglected filing and a closet full of who-knows-what.  As we move out our junk to make room for the dresser and twin-sized bed, I've been doing some ruthless purging.  Books I haven't read in +2 years?  Into the donation pile.  Shoes I haven't worn in over a year?  Good-will box.  Random paper, cards, bags, broken toys?  Into the trash with you!  It is very freeing to get rid of the unneeded detritous of our lives.  Having a family is keeping us honest.  This is a small house and I refuse to turn into one of those poor people on Dr. Phil who have houses stacked to the ceiling with crap they couldn't possibly use.  Ahh, I feel better.

Tell It T!

The Indy Children's Museum was a blast, although pretty crowded.  I'm always a little disappointed in children's museums because I remember them being more sciencey when I was a kid.  They had the giant brain and heart you could walk through, the machine that made your hair stand on end, the big sound tube where you could talk to each other across the room.  You know, science concepts in a fun kid way.  The Indy Museum certainly had some science content, but there was some stuff that was just building stuff or playing with hula hoops.

Anyhow, the above picture was taken at a "real life" exhibit.  This, obviously, is a mini pulpit.  He looks good up there, don't you think?  Maybe he'll be a pastor.

The verdict is in

I think Miss Newteacher is going to be just fine.  I stopped back in around naptime only to find T sound asleep.  He had a good morning.  Apparently, Miss Newteacher has a "clean up" song that T dug. He was pretty cranky when we got home from school, but I think he was wiped out from the day.  Tomorrow we begin anew.

In which my expectations are violated

This morning I took T in for his first day of school.  I was really looking forward to said first day, since he had been to the school several times, really liked his teacher and would give me a chance to work on some things around the house (namely, converting the office into his "big boy" room).  Anyhow, the morning went smoothly, and we got loaded into the car with lunch, diapers, wipes, sheet, blanket, flat giraffe and an extra set of clothes.  We walked in, said a cheery hello to the director, and headed in to the classroom.  The director guided us into ... a class I'd never been in.  "Oh," she said, "The owners decided to split the classroom into 2 rooms since the kids are such widely varying ages" (18 months - 3 years). "T is going to be with Miss Newteacher instead of Miss Weloveyouteacher."  And away she went.

'Scuse me?  A phone call would've been nice.  Miss Newteacher might be wonderful, but I don't know Miss Newteacher.  I've never met Miss Newteacher. I don't know anything about Miss Newteacher.  OK, I thought, let's see how this plays out.  We walk in and meet Miss Newteacher.  She apologizes for the lack of communication and proceeds to tell me about her background.  OK, she used to run an in-home childcare center and she has a background in early childhood education. Check.  Cheerful and good with T. Check.  Kids of her own who now attend at T's new school. Check.  Will be working with Miss Weloveyouteacher and combining the classes a couple times a day. Check.  So I decide to make lemonade.  I spent about 45 minutes with her, getting used to her and getting to know her.  I told her about T and anything acidic (poor, poor baby bum).  I told her about Flat Giraffe and naptime.  And then I told my baby bye bye.  As per usual, I got "bye bye", a kiss, and then a dismissal signaled by his attention to the toy nearest his gaze.  

Then I found the director.  "I'm so sorry," she said.  "This was a complete oversight on my part. I really thought I had notified all the parents of the change."  I told her in no uncertain terms that I was unhappy to not be notified of the change before I walked in this morning.  However, I would see how it went.  I did choose this school, after all, because I liked the teachers (most of whom I had met before) and the policies, screening procedures and safety of the place.  After a little more discussion, I felt pretty mollified.  I'm going to pop in around naptime to see how it goes (and because I forgot to tell the teacher that he likes to have the blanket on his, but not over his feet).  The director also told me to consider this week a gift from them as an apology and a chance to make it up to me. "I won't take your money until I'm sure that you're satisfied," she said.

The jury is out.

A: Saints, Martyrs or Liars

Q: What are women who never put their toddlers in front of the teevee?

Burn After Reading - 2 Reviews

From Hubby:

I kept waiting for the point, and then they rolled the credits.

From Me:

Dumb people getting dumber.

Caffeine Free, Me

Sometimes when Ry makes coffee I have a strange reaction to it.  My ears start itching, I get jittery and my face feels tingly. I switched his coffee and it got better, so I thought, problem solved.  Then the reaction came back.  It seemed to be better when I didn't use the liquid creamer stuff, so I thought I was just having a reaction to that.  Then I got a Starbucks coffee the other day when I was out with a friend.  I only put milk and sweetener in it, but still, 30 minutes later I started feeling all strange.  I've also started noticing that if I have caffeine soda with dinner I have a hard time falling asleep at night. The only conclusion I can draw is that my body is handling caffeine less and less well as I get older.  There are enough caffeine free options out there that I think I'm just going to cut caffeine from my diet (well, except from chocolate, of course).

Better day

We definitely had a better, no time out day yesterday.  We went out a met a friend to play and have lunch.  I think it makes a huge difference with him to have an activity outside the house.  He gets stir crazy and I lose patience when we're in the house all day.  I've been trying to work on the distraction tactic and it's mostly working well.  T can be awfully single-minded when he wants to.

A cry for help

My dad tells me that not even I was as stubborn as my son.  Most days we flit through activities with a few stern "no"s and a handful of mommy looks.  Then there are the time out days. And then, there are days like today.  Today I discovered that timeout is really code for "lay on the couch and giggle every time mom looks my way."  This infuriates me.  After the 5th time telling T to stop getting into my bag, I decided to try something my sister hated, putting him in a corner.  While this seemed to work somewhat better, I think it's just a matter of time until this tactic, too, is an opportunity for glee.

I know he's not yet two, but believe me, he knows what he's doing (as evidenced by the fact that the most egregious infractions occur when something else is taking my attention from him).  I also know that things are going to be worse for a few days because he's had constant attention for the past 2 weeks.  Seriously though, I need some help.  Any creative ideas for bending, but not breaking, a stubborn toddler's will?

Yummy

I did nothing but eat for the past 2 weeks and now our family is back to eating reality.  I stole a yummy recipe from my stepmom.  It's heathy too!

Yummy Apple, Cranberry and Walnut Salad

2-3 medium apples, diced

1.5 ounces dried cranberries

1 ounce walnuts

1 container of light vanilla yogurt

1 small squeeze of honey

Put all ingredients in a bowl, stir together.  Enjoy.

Cleaning tips from my dad

My dad is dirt-averse.  It yielded a few cleaning tips on my latest trip home.

1.  Use 409 on dirty (leather) sneakers.  Spray liberally and wait about 45 seconds.  The dirt comes right off with some paper towels.  

2. Put a few drops of dishwasher liquid in a crusty pot with water and let it sit.  We made queso dip Sunday and the pot was covered in crusty cheesy goodness.  I followed dad's advice and the next morning, the cheese slid out of the pot like it had never been baked on.

The holidays in review

Our little family opened our Christmas gifts for each other before we left for the Land of Oz.  T loved his stocking stuffer best, of course.  The lesson here is that toddlers destroy the metal slinkies in less than an hour.  The plastic ones hold up a lot better.
Meanwhile, in Emerald City, T was into everything. He got really into throwing things away.  We kept him busy for 30 minutes with throwing away any little scrap of paper.  He also tried every cabinet and drawer in the house.  I'm told most kids won't do this, but not my guy.  He learned how to unlock all the windows and unlock and open the patio door.  The good news is that we had lots of help. T got to spend lots of time with both sets of grandparents, and Ry and I actually got out for a movie and several miscellaneous outings with friends.
I mean, how freaking cute is he?  I searched high and low for these jammies and my aunt had to make the hat (thanks!), but it was totally worth it.  We had a nice Christmas.  T loved to hand out the presents, even to the point of trying to hand out gifts for people who weren't there.
T trying the cabinets, again.
One of the local churches has a huge indoor playground.  T spent a lot mornings there.  What a great idea!  
Rock Band is so fun.  He's T banging on the drums before bedtime.  His Uncle L brought the game over after the Illinois game and we played like Rock Stars.  T never stirred.  Seriously, it was super fun.
Back at the church.  They have murals on all the surrounding walls leading into the Sunday school classes.

We also had a New Years Eve party with the best White Elephant gift exchange I have attended.  Best items of the evening: stuffed meerkat, massager and an edwardian mustard pot.

Coming soon: our trip to the Indy Children's Museum.

I'm a slacker

Yup, I know I haven't written in a long time.  I was in the Land of Oz for 2 weeks over the Christmas/New Year holidays and there's so much to update that I'm feeling sunk.  I'll get around to it soon. Cross my heart.

Awwwwww

And 7 milliseconds later he was crying his little eyes out.  I have mixed feelings about the whole Santa/lap thing.  On one hand, the pictures are really really cute. On the other, the nearly inevitable result is a crying child.  Plus, my family was never really big on the Santa thing.  I don't ever remember feeling a need to ask Santa for presents.  

Last year, our local Chik-Fil-A had Santa for an evening and Tucker could kind of get used to him.  The pictures turned out super cute.  Since it went well last year, I thought I'd give it a try.  The picture did turn out cute, but T cried within 5 seconds of lap landing.  Why subject your kids to such a tramatic experience?  I don't think we'll be participating next year.

Can You Help Me Out?

We got a darling ornament in the mail today.  It's a little reindeer family with our names and "Thomas Family" at the bottom.  I have no idea who sent it.  Do you know? I'd love to say thanks.

Also, I've been looking (to no avail) for a toddler-sized Santa hat.  I found tons of infant and adult hats, but no smallish type person hats.  This is a dire photo opportunity matter.  If you know where I can find one, please let me know! I'd be happy to reimburse anyone who picks one up for me too.

Reveling in my done-ness

I'm now officially finished with my A&P class.  I rented a stupid movie for tonight and am planning on reading nothing but novels and magazines until January 20.  It felt good to escape this class with a good grade and a feeling like maybe I can do the math and science this degree requires. Rejoice!

Shweaty, shweaty balls

Since the majority of my random internet hits continue to come from this SNL Shweaty Balls skit, I thought I ought to at least have the video here.  Season's Greetings everyone!

Cue The Banjo

Last night Ry and I attended a Christmas party one of his co-workers was hosting.  He lives close to work, so it should be about a 45 minute drive from our house to his.  We left the house at 10 minutes to 7 pm.  The first 20 minutes of our drive were without incident.  Then we got detoured.  No problem. We took the detour and a few miles down the road were able to get back to our original route.  Except the road was still blocked.  Because every power line for miles was down.  

Between our house and our host's house are a handful of country roads and the area that NJ residents lovingingly call "The Pineys".  Lucky for us, Ry had a map application on his cell phone, so we fired it up and found the only option that would get us to our party without backtracking all the way to our house.  Reed Road was the thinnest of gray lines on the map, but we foraged onward.  The asphalt quickly turned to gravel, which gave way to dirt.  

We were in Ry's car, not the truck.  He turned to me and said "What do you think?"  "Just go slow," I responded.  And slow we went.  We went about 10 mph through the most uninhabited part of NJ I have ever seen.  I briefly thought we were toast when half the "road" was washed out from our recent rains.  We finally reemerged on a paved road and made it to our destination in an hour and 20 minutes.

For anyone who thinks NJ is just a big suburb, I dare you to accompany us to Reed Road.  Garden it may not be, but it's surely not the Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State either.

Gotta Watch Them

Penguins are sneaky.  T pretty much gave him this look for the next 3 minutes as he slowly backed away from the penguin.  Six-foot-tall gingerbread man, snowman, and reindeer = OK. Six-foot-tall penguin = em ... no.

Update: I just realized if you click on the picture you can see creepy penguin dude's eye looking out the mask. 

The course evaluation that wasn't

Last night was the last official day of my A&P class.  I have a final next Monday and then I'm done until January.  As is customary, we had course evaluations to complete.  My experience with course evals (both as a student and instructor) is that there are questions standard to the entire college and a few that the course director throws  in.  

This was a horse of a different color.  The eval was obviously course-specific, which in and of itself isn't a bad thing (although it makes it difficult to compare instructors across disciplines, but I digress).  Nope, this evaluation asked questions like "Did you read the textbook?", "What advice do you have for incoming students?", and "What was your favorite lab?".  These were the hard-hitting questions.  There was not a single question about the instructor. Not one.  This is the survey equivalent of putting your hands over your ears and singing "LA LA  LA."  The last question was something about any "other" comments you might have about the course.  I had a few.

Tantrum T

Another milestone reached

For the first time today, they weighed T on the big kid scale instead of the baby table-top version. Sniffle.

This is the buckethead game

T loves to walk around the house with this duplo bucket on his head. Until recently, that was the extent of the game.  Then he decided that having his head inside the bucket was not good enough.  Oh no.  Daddy and Mommy have to share the bucket.  I don't know what makes it so fun, but I enjoy asking for a kiss during shared bucket head time.  He turns around and grabs your face, and pushes it against the side of the bucket to get the right kiss angle.  Ry tells me it is a near physical impossibility when he's in the bucket.

This is what happens

This is what happens when you leave your husband unattended at the Home Depot. He comes home with 6 tiny LED flashlights.  Why?  They were only $10! And they came with backup batteries!  Of course, we later discovered that they are disposable flashlights.  The batteries are installed in such a way that when they're dead you can't replace them.  I guess you get what you pay for.

EDIT: Apparently, you can indeed change the batteries.  And, they came with 18 FREE BATTERIES! And they are the most awesomest cheap flashlights ever. And T loves them. (Ok, honey?)

The Thanksgiving Injury

On Thanksgiving morning, I was busy making a few dishes for the Thanksgiving dinner we attended.  Ry got in the shower and T joined him in the bathroom because, well, mostly because T wants to be wherever Ry is.  Anyhow, I heard a crash and a cry.  I went into the bathroom to discover that T had fallen off of the little stool he uses to wash his hands and bit his tongue on the way down.  Sucker bled for a good 15 - 20 minutes.  Since he was up for his bath next, we did the logical thing and popped him in the tub with a popsicle.  The water was orange by the end, but he tasted good.

A Dangerous Discovery

I've been a bad blogger lately.  I know it.  I've been busy with the end of the school year, Christmas shopping/card creating. I've also been uninspired to write lately.  I have lots of stored up posts, and I'll try to catch up this weekend.

Anyhow, I recently made a rather dangerous discovery.  My dear husband asked me to make chocolate chip cookie bars for a party we attended recently.  They were super easy.   You basically make the cookie batter and pour it into a cake pan.  This cuts total prep time from over an hour to about 15 minutes.  Why is this dangerous you ask?  I rarely have an hour to invest in making chocolate chip cookies.  15 minutes?  15 minutes I have like crazy.  

Another (completely unrelated) thing I learned this week is that the great majority of the random web hits on my blog come from this post about SNL's shweaty balls skit.  What does this say about me? About society?