Ring-ring-ring? You ready to come back tonight?

We rarely have visitors to our house. We are definitely not the house that "everyone hangs out at."

But we've had one constant visitor in the last couple of weeks. Yup. You guessed it. The Tooth Fairy!

She came last week on Monday and Friday night. She came by again on Tuesday of this week. Three visits! And here it is Thursday. And the Tooth Fairy will again be by our house.

I am NOT kidding.

I'm totally serious.

The kidlings and I went out to eat a "special" early lunch today after dropping by the school and meeting up with the Princess' 4th grade teacher. And as we sat in my car eating (no I'm not naming the place we ate) lunch, the Princess was acting strange. She kept on touching the inside of her mouth.

Me: What's wrong?

Princess: My tooth feels weird.

Me: Well, have your Dad look at it tonight and he'll pull it.

Princess: NO! He'll get out the pliers to pull it.

Me: Princess? Your Daddy was just joking about that. [laughing as I replied]

We ate for a bit longer. Then she suddenly stops.

Princess: I've gotta look at it.

She gets up and moves forward to look at the rear-view mirror.

Princess: It's gone!

Me: Did you swallow it?

She looks down.

Princess: THERE it is!

Her darn tooth had popped out and was on the floor mat in front our her seat.

[sigh]

I seriously should to leave a glass of wine for the Tooth Fairy. Don't you think?

Relief is in sight

You see the time up there? 11:33 am

You see the temperature there? 109

Yes. It's been hot here in the desert. I know that other places on the West Coast have been unusually hot as of late. Cities like San Diego and Seattle have been dealing with smoking hot weather. Thankfully those places are close to the coast. Since these places are near the coast, there are a lot of homes that aren't equipped to handle hot weather. Yup. Lots of homes (mostly older ones) don't have air conditioning. So people have been having to spend there times trying to stay cool. Going to the pool. Going to the movies. Going to the mall. I totally feel for you all!

For me? This hot weather is typical. Normal. For about 6 months of the year. Yes. We have 90+ degree days for about half the year. Then we have about 2 1/2 to 3 months of 100+ degree days. But it's normal for us. We know how to get out in the mornings to do errands and then stay in during the afternoons.

Strangely enough? The point of this isn't that we'll be getting a break to cooler weather now. The relief I'm talking about? Is that I'll only have to deal with the hot weather on my own. My own? Yes. On my own because....the kids start school on Monday. MONDAY!

Yesterday, the Bear got to meet his new 1st grade teacher. He got to see his desk. He was able to select his cubby. Today, the Princess gets to hook up with her 4th grade teacher that he already knows. Yes. We're going back. We want to see who else will be in her class this year. She wants to see where she'll be sitting and where her cubby will be located. I find that getting the kids oriented to their classes helps alleviate the stress and chaos of the first days of school.

The kids are excited about starting the new school year. I'm excited to have them back in school. We'll be back on a regular schedule. I won't have to figure out how to keep these two kidlings busy and how to keep them entertained. YEAH!

And for those of you who were curious about what the Bear's mouth looks like now without 3 teeth? Here's what he looks like now.

Boom! Thwack! Ka-POW!

The Bear sleeps hard. Why? Because he plays HARD.

Around 10am when I came walking out of my bedroom to find the Bear running past me with his hands up in the air. Normally he stops and smiles and hugs me. This time? He kept running past me.

Me: What happened?

After he spits into the sink, he turns to me with his mouth open.

Bear: My TOOF fell out!

WTF? What tooth? Didn't two teeth already fall out within the last week?

I look into the kid's mouth. Yes indeed. Another tooth had fallen out. The top right tooth. The one he'd just started working on this weekend.

Turns out that he was playing with the Princess on the couch. He was pretending to slide down the couch. With the front part of his body facing the pillows. With his mouth open. And his tooth caught on the raised trim on the edge of the seat cushion. And POPPED out of his mouth.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

I'm sorry. I can't help but laugh. He's got a HUGE-mungeous gap in the front of his mouth.

A sad loss

As most of you know, I'm registered on the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry.

I joined the list because of one person. Michelle. I've posted about her a few times.

I am sad to announce that Michelle lost her battle early Saturday morning.

Here is the initial YouTube that got me motivated to register.


Here is a slide show one of her friends put together of Michelle's last vacation with her friends and loved ones.


Michelle was an inspiration. You could just see that she loved living. She loved her family. She loved her husband. There was a strength behind her laughing eyes. Such love behind her smile. The light that she was will not extinguish but continue on in those that she inspired. Those that she knew in person. And those (like me) who were moved by her courage.

Are you out of money yet?

Lordy-bee!

The tooth-fairy has been to our house twice this week. Yes. TWICE!

Earlier last week, the Bear and I were playing Wii. He suddenly stopped what he was doing. He looked down on the carpet and bent over. He felt the carpet with the hand that didn't have the Wii remote attached. Then he looked over at me with a perplexed look on his face.

Me: What's up?

Bear: I think I knocked my tooth out.

Me: What?

Bear: See? [opening his mouth]

Sure enough. The kid had a gap where a tooth used to be.

I felt on the carpet and found the tooth.

The tooth! The tooth! [Do you know what movie this line is from?]

What's funny is this was NOT the tooth the Bear has been working on. Granted, it was a loose tooth. But this was the SECOND loose tooth in his mouth. His first loose tooth was the top right front tooth. The tooth that he knocked out with the Wii remote was the second right lower tooth.

The tooth-fairy didn't care though. She left him some cash. The Bear was ecstatic to get some dinero and placed his money into his piggybank.

A few days went by. My kids still eat snacks. They definitely eat their meals but they have a little something between meals. On Friday, I was putting on some make-up while the Bear munched on rice cakes for his morning snack. He came into my bathroom with his hands in the air.

Bear: I los my toof!

Me: What? You did?

I looked into his mouth. Sure enough! The front top right tooth was gone.

Me: Where is it?

Bear: Ze tavle.

Me: The table?

I walked out to the breakfast nook. There it was. The tooth was sitting on the Bear's red mat. And again, the tooth-fairy came by and dropped off some cash under the Bear's pillow.

My son now has an ever so slight lisp to go along with he gappy smile. It's too cute. And guess what? That top left front tooth is loose too. His face looks so different all of a sudden.

The Bear is gonna look like something else for his 1st grade photos!

I got a thumbs-up

On Friday, I actually got acquainted with a little boy named Lo-lo. I met Lo-lo when he was born but with his parents (Dentist & Lawyer) being so busy we rarely got to see them. Lo-lo is now two years old. He's rough and tumble. He howls at the moon when he doesn't get something he wants. I knew he was a highly-spirited little guy, but I didn't realize the extent of the mischief he could get into.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had dinner at Tri-athlete/BizExec's house on Friday. Of course, Lo-lo and his parents were there since Lawyer is Tri-athlete's sister. Since there was so much family at this gathering, I figured that Lo-lo would be particular about who he interacted with. I mean, there were his aunts, his uncles, and all his cousins. You'd think that too, right?

I was wrong. I was sitting near a table on the patio and Lo-lo came up to me at least half a dozen times to "touch base" with me. He came and stood next to me. He came and wanted a hug. He came and held my hand. He even came over and sat on my lap. These encounters weren't long (maybe a few seconds each), but it surprised me. He'd just met me earlier in the day and he was doing that thing that my kids do with me when we're at parties. They'll just come over and check on me and then leave.

It was nice that Lo-lo felt comfortable enough with me to just hang out with me -- even for a little bit.

Unusually busy day

Remember yesterday when we had some neighborhood kids over? They actually did end up staying until a little after 4pm. They were here for FOUR hours! Do your kids playdates normally last that long? It would have lasted longer if I'd waited until one of their parents showed up.

Around 4pm the girls came downstairs and started rummaging for a snack. They each claimed a yogurt. The ones that the Princess had selected for the week. It made the Princess a little distressed tut she was a great hostess and let them have the yogurt.

Me: Okay girls. It's 4 o'clock. I think it's time to go home.

Sister#1: But I'm hungry!

Me: Princess, is it okay for them to take the yogurts?

Princess: Yes. They can. [sadness in her eyes]

Sister#2: Can't we eat it here?

Me: Naw. Let's have you bring it home. OK?

So the girls carried the yogurts with them for the walk home. The little sister? She actually opned up the yogurt a little and started to slurp the yogurt out as we walked. Yes. She consumed it like a drinking yogurt.

Anyway, as I mentioned before we were invited over today to Pump It Up. The kids were SO excited about going to the jump-castle place. I was too because it's a big indoor play area. The kids could burn some energy and get some exercise. It was actually a reunion for our neighbors.
* the yogurt girls, Tri-athlete (their dad), and BizExec (their mom)
* Grandma & Grandpa (Tri-athlete's parents)
* Lawyer (Tri-athlete's younger sister), Dentist (her husband), and Lo-lo (their son)
* Countrygirl (Tri-athlete's older sister), OregonFan(her husband), and their sons

Grandma and Grandpa had just flown in late last night. Lawyer/Dentist/Lo-lo actually live in our neighborhood. Countrygirl/OregonFan/2 sons just arrived this morning. A couple other kids that we'd never met were also in attendance. But no matter. ALL the kids played for about 1.5 hours and then we all went into the party room to eat pizza. Fun was had by all.

What's nice is that I was chatting with BizExec and she invited our family over for a BBQ tonight.

BizExec: We're going to have steaks for us adults and burgers for the kids, so come by around 6.

Me: That sounds good.

BizExec: We're going ot have the kids swim so make sure the Princess and the Bear bring their suits. It'll just be our girls and their cousins.

Me: Are you sure? Sounds like its family.

BizExec: We haven't had a chance to catch up with you and the Hubs, so we'd love to have you over.

Me: Okay. We'll be there.

Of course, I couldn't show up without bringing something. I ended up buying a bunch of fruit and brought over a container full of grapes, nectarine and strawberry slices. I must say that it was a good idea too. Because the container was almost empty when we went home.

BizExec let me know that their doorbell rang unexpected an hour before. NATS kids showed up on their doorstep with their bathing suits on with NATS close behind. Huh? NATS son had overheard BizExec talking to me about coming over so the kids could swim. The kid "ass-umed" that he and his sister were also invited. Ha! BizExec wasn't even talking to the kid!

Grandma: I only met NATS for a couple minutes and I wanted to show him out the door.

While all the kids swam, I had a blast catching up with BizExec and Tri-athlete. It was also fun getting to know the rest of the family. But I must say that spending time with this entire family group makes me yearn a bit for my own family. [sigh]

Late night findings

What do YOU do when you're up late at night and can't sleep.

Me?

I surf the internet. Looking. Searching for interesting articles. News. Tidbits of information.

I found this little gem of a video tonight.


Seriously...didn't you crack a smile when you watched it?

How about this little video?

The rules kids put on each other

Listening to kids is so interesting.

But staying out of their "politics" is oftentimes difficult.

Granted. When we're on the playground I will most definitely step in when there's a stronger bully bothering my child. This Mama-Bear does NOT let anyone get away with that. I am my children's advocate and I'll be darned if some nasty kid(s) is going to ruin my children's good time. You know?

But when it comes to neighborhood kids in my house? I try to let the kids work it out on their own.

Big Sister: Ash? We're going to play hide-n-seek!

Little Sister: But I don't want to. I want to color.

Big Sister: Okay. Well first you need to play hide-n-seek with us.

Little Sister: No.

Big Sister: Well, if you don't play with us then you're not allowed to use all of the Princess' art supplies.

Little Sister: Oh...okay...

Yup. This discussion happened just a couple minutes ago. The older sister was making rules for her little sister. And I totally stayed out of it. Because I'm not going to mess with sibling dynamics. No way. No how.

Impromptu Playdate

The kids and I decided to have fried-rice along with some fried Spam for lunch today.

But alas? I didn't have enough rice to make a good portion. So? The kids and I piled into the car to the grocery store.

Since I was frying up some Spam, I decided that it would be nice to invite our neighbors over. Ya see, the gal is Filipino and her husband cannot STAND the smell of Spam. Thus? She rarely makes it. Before we left the neighborhood, I stopped my car in front of their house and sent the Princess out to invite them over for lunch. This family is just in for this week so we've been making sure to hook up with them. They're the ones who are in Taiwan for a 2-year stint?

The kids came over at noon. Their Dad brought the kids over to our house. And guess what? He brought me some food -- chicken adobo. Yum!

Anyway, it's now been 2 hours since the kids arrived. What have they done?

• Ate lunch.
• Played dress up. Got changed about half a dozen times each
• Played hide-n-seek.
• Ate a snack.
• A couple are playing Wii right now.
• A couple are sitting down at our "art center" making creations with markers & crayons.
• I've given them all one tattoo each. I may give them another one in an hour -- if they've been good.
• Right now they're bidding their time and keeping busy until their Capri Suns chill out in the freezer and get "slushy".

I have NO IDEA when their parents are coming over to pick them up. If they're still here around 4pm, I think I'll have to walk them back home myself. You know?

What's nice is that when the Princess dropped by their house a while ago to invite them over, their Dad let me know that we're invited to Pump It Up tomorrow to play. A few of the neighborhood kids will be there as well. So? Lesson? Every good neighborly deed becomes one in return.

Anticipation...antici-pa-a-tion

Holy guacamole people! Guess what?

School starts in less than TWO weeks!!!

That's right folks. My kids are back to their regularly scheduled days in less than 14 days.

Can I hear a "halleluia"? A-m-e-n!

Seriously! The kids got out of school mid-May, so it's high time that they get back into the groove. But I still cannot believe that I'm almost at the end of a summer with both kids at home. I haven't had to do that in years. Remember that I had the Bear in daycare before he started school. Then I had the Princess at day camp for a couple years. This was the first summer in ages that I've had to tackle the kids alone for 5 days in a row. Making them breakfast. Making them lunch. Then getting dinner ready. Separating them as I hear their tempers escalate. Breaking up the inevitable fights that suddenly happen out of the blue. Kissing boo-boos. [sigh]

It's been a tough summer for this Mom. I don't know how you all do it with more than two. Bless your tender hearts. I can barely manage with two. But that's kind of why we stopped when we were blessed with two kids. The Hubs and I both knew that we couldn't handle more than that.

So we're in transition right now. Last week, I had to make sure the kids were both awake by 8am. EIGHT in the morning? Yes. I had to make sure they had rolled their sorry keesters out of their cozy beds at eight. This week it's been a 7am wake-up. Next week we'll move to the dreaded 6am rise and shine. Because as of August 3rd, we'll be getting them up and ready for school. The Mommy-train is scheduled to depart from the station daily at 7:30am.

Next Thursday we'll be dropping by the school. It's the official "Meet the Teacher" day. Now that she's in an upper grade, the Princess is technically supposed to "meet" her teacher on Friday. But I'm not going back two days in a row. She knows her teacher already anyway. All the Princess really wants to do is see which classroom the 4th grade will be in this year and find out where her cubby is located. It'll be interesting for the Bear. The first grade will be welcoming a new teacher this year. I think it's supposed to be a male teacher too, but I'm not too sure. But since there is going to be a new face, I want to be sure to give the Bear an opportunity to meet his teacher prior to the first day of school.

No way to hide it

Every Monday we have trash and recycle pick-up. We roll out the big green container for trash and we carry the 2 blue bins for recycle to the curb.

Inevitably, on Mondays I'm in the office reading through the weekend emails I've received from work. When you work for a virtual company, there are people who get a ton done over the weekend.

Anyway, I giggle to myself every Monday when the recycle truck goes by my neighbor across the street's (NATS) house. I can totally tell that the recycle truck is there. How? Because I hear a ton of bottles being poured into the recycle truck. Yes. Lots. Of. Glass. Bottles. And I know for a fact that those bottles are the adult beverage kind.

When my NATS moved in, we met NATS wife. We were here at home and the doorbell rang. We opened it up and she introduced herself. Fine and dandy, right? But she wasn't there to only introduce herself, she was there to see if she could borrow a wine bottle opener. Uh-huh. In the middle of her move she was going to open up a bottle of wine.

You all might think it's a special occasion thing, but it's not. When the kids would play in the cul-de-sac, NATS wife would carry a bottle covered in a "cozy". There have been times when she's actually just brought out a huge wine glass full of wine. Yeah. And when both our girls were going around the neighborhood getting their Girl Scout cookies orders? NATS wife had one of those big plastic mugs (the kind you get from Circle K?) filled with a beverage. I'm sure it was the adult kind as well.

So? Every Monday, I hear the result of what she's consumed for the week. Yes. Every Monday. [clink-clink-clink]

Managing your friends

There are a lot of people out there who sign up on social networks.

With all social networks, you end up linking up with old friends and colleagues.

Do you go ahead and link to anyone who asks? Or do you scrutinize each add?

I ask because since creating a Facebook account, I've had a couple strange incidences.

There was first the old junior high acquaintance who ended up giving me the creeps. I added him as a friend. Then he sent me emails rather than posting on the main page. Asking me for my actual location. Asking me when I'd like to get together. Kind of trying to get too close too soon.

I must tell you that I wasn't the only one who got the "creep" vibe from this guy. My sister also got a sense of icki-ness from him. He was doing the same thing to her. Sending her emails about getting details.

What did we end up doing? We both ended up "un-friending" him from our Facebook accounts. What was interesting afterwards was that he sent us both another friend request. Huh? You've gotta think to yourself, the sisters both aren't showing up as friends for a reason?

I won't rehash it but y'all can probably the drama between the Hubs and myself over the family issue.

And my response to this? A delayed response but a response nonetheless. I have deleted all of the Hubs' family from my Facebook account. Yup. ALL. OF. THEM. ARE. DELETED. I am wondering how long it'll take before they realize I've removed them all. Hmmm.... But it's not like I interacted with ANY of them on Facebook. Seriously. No one has really written on my Wall or made comments to my status. Nothing. Nada. So why should I keep them?

My Facebook is for me. I want to feel comfortable saying whatever I want to say without being judged. So I felt SO good once I finished cleaning up my list. [sigh of relief]

Now do you add all your family because they're family? Or do you choose to only have old friends on your listing?

Making Mommy Laugh

I picked the Princess up by myself from the slumber party at her friend's house. We got caught up.

Me: Princess, I set up an account for you and the Bear on Mommy's new computer

Princess: You did?

Me: Yup. This way when you do homework, you can save stuff to your own file. I even gave you guys your own logo.

Princess: What's the picture look like?

Me: I chose a kitten for you guys. Mommy is a starfish. Daddy has a chess picture.

Princess: That's not right. Daddy should be the starfish and you should have the chess picture.

Me: What? Why?

Princess: You should have the chess picture because you're smart. Daddy should be the starfish because they're slow and like to sleep just like Dad does.

That just about made me laugh hysterically.

A night with only one child

Later on this afternoon, I'll be dropping off the Princess at a friend's birthday slumber party.

She just finished packing her bag by herself. Normally I pack the kids' stuff but since this is an outing that she'll be going to alone then I figured she'd be okay at packing.

Since the Princess will be gone overnight, the Hubs and I will only have to deal with ONE child tonight. One? Amazing how easy one is compared to two. No fighting. No need to share. Just personal time with Mommy and Daddy. I'm sure the Bear won't be missing his sister.

But before we only have one child, I am going to attend an afternoon luau. Yes. The luau that was supposed to happen this morning is going to happen this afternoon. We ended up running out to Old Navy to grab a gift card for today's birthday girl. When girls reach 8-10 years old most like to select their own clothes, so I'm trying to give this little girl the opportunity to make her own choices.

I've already discussed the Princess' upcoming cooler weather wardrobe. She let me know that she'd like to just wear denim jeans on the bottom with mix-n-match tops in green / blue / pink. We already bought some shoes that'll totally match anything I end up buying her. Cute, no?


Anyway, I'm sure that tonight will be relaxed. Time for the Hubs and I to cuddle. Take a breather. And just be.

Cleaning & keeping busy (aka not fighting)

We didn't have a lot of drama today. For some reason the kids got along all day. No tattling. No running and crying to Mommy. It was heaven. I guess it's good to keep them busy and separated some days.

The Bear made a whole batch of tangerine orange Christmas-tree shaped Playdoh cookies. He spent at least an hour busily working on rolling out the Playdoh nice and thin. It was a great way for him to relish in the newly opened tangerine colored stuff. Y'all know how that once the stuff has been used a bit that it doesn't really keep the shape when rolled thin. But the Bear happily worked solo on his batch of cookies.

The Princess kept busy by getting things ready for a luau that she's organizing for tomorrow morning. Yes. She's organizing a party that will be held in her bedroom around 10am tomorrow. I found some old decorations and leis that we had leftover from one of her previous birthday parties. She also has got some games organized that her stuffed animals, the Bear, and I will play. Uh-huh. She's got it all together.

While the two were busy? I kept on target. My goal for today was to conquer the mass of clothing piled in the laundry room. I was able to wash/dry/put away six loads of laundry. Not tiny loads. FULL loads of laundry. YEAH! It's such an accomplishment to get it all done in one day. There are some weeks where the process drags on for days because I forget to move things along. You know how it gets. You get busy and things stay in the dryer. Whatever. But today I got it done.

Thankfully I remembered to buy laundry detergent when the kids and I dropped by CostCo last week. I was able to buy some Tide HE in a jumbo bottle, which was super nice. I grew up with Tide, so I like to buy it when I can. If I don't get the Tide, I usually buy All Free and Clear. Do you have a favorite detergent?

Harry Potter 6 -- Yes or No?

I'm thinking of bringing the Princess to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (6th movie).

For those of you who have already watched the movie, do you think this is a good move or not?

I'd heard that the movie is pretty dark/intense and may not be suitable for younger kids. The Princess is almost 9 years old and has read all 7 of the Potter books. Yes. She finished the 7th two weeks ago.

What say you blogosphere? Should I take her or not?

My blood was boiling

When I got back from buying school supplies with the kidlings at Target.

When I got home to sit down to work, I was greeted with the blue screen of death.

Oh yeah.

It's true.

I thought that it was a software issue. I rebooted. I did System Restore. I did a bunch of other things.

Trying to be patient. [see the smoke from my brain yet]

Then...the computer told me it was a hardware issue that I needed to contact the manufacturer about.

My darn Dell Inspiron 1525 has died.

And I am freaking ass pissed!

Yes. I am.

Thankfully the darn laptop did last long enough for me to download my last two months of photos and my last 3 weeks of work. [sigh of relief]

I ended up making a run up to Best Buy after dinner and buying a desktop. We had an extra monitor in the house. And I am NOT going to invest the over $500 for another laptop. I do all my work here in the office, so what's the point of having another laptop?

Of course, I would LOVE to have one of those snazzy little Netbooks that are out on the market now. But alas....I just had enough money to buy a desktop.

So tomorrow -- or should I actually say TODAY since it is already 12:32am -- I'll be busy trying to catch up on work. [head fuming again]

The sense of satisfaction

I invested a couple hours today to clean out the Princess' room.

A couple hours you may be asking yourselves.

Yes.

A couple hours.

I weeded through her bookshelf. Took out books that are well below her current reading level. Took out bits and pieces of junk that have made their way onto her shelves. Funny how things just find their way on those 3 shelves. Amazes me.

I also took some time to clear out stuff under her bed. Not a bunch of stuff. Just things have fallen out of her baskets and such. I vacuumed underneath as well.

I threw all of her stuffed animals into one pile in the middle of her room. I called her in and made her decide which ones she wants to keep and which ones she'd be parting with. We got rid of almost half of them. Thankfully, a few of those she chose to let go are the BIG ones. I vacuumed the ones she chose to keep and sprayed them with Lysol. I put all the "animals" into one corner pile and put her reading couch next to it. This way when she reads she's next to her buds. What was cool was going through the large pile of stuffed animals and finding old friends. I saw (and kept) two of her first stuffed animals named Rainbow and Pastel. I also found one of her favorite comfort items when she just started kindergarten. She actually had two little stuffed dogs that she would carry around with her -- Chocolate (brown dog) and Vanilla (white dog). I found Chocolate and he's now been cleansed.

I also took down a couple posters the Princess put on her door when we first moved into the house 4 years ago. A Disney Princess poster and a My Little Pony poster. I then took down the cloth Princesses that I starched up on her one wall. Bye Ariel! Bye Cinderella! Bye Snow White! Even though we still call her Princess, my girl has definitely grown past that stage in her life. [sniffle]

As I came downstairs with my cleaning supplies and trash, I made sure to let the Hubs know I was done.

Me: You'd better go upstairs and take a look at her room now. It's clean. Who knows how long it'll last.
Princess: Probably an hour or two. [said with a twinkle in her eye]
Me: Did you hear her?
Hubs: What did she say?
Me: She said it'll only stay clean an hour or two so you'd better hustle your bustle and check it out.

But her room smells fresh and clean now. Her room is now ready for this new stage in her life. The Tween years. I know she's ready. I wonder if I am?

Still not sold

A couple years ago, there was a house in our neighborhood that was for sale.

They had planned to move about 50 miles north and had put money down on a house that was being built. But after a few months they decided to take their home up the street off the market.

Last fall, the husband got a new job. In the midwest. He accepted the job. His wife and her son decided to stay in the house to finish out the school year. They put the house up for sale again in March this year. After the son finished the school year, they moved to the midwest to be reunited as a family. And the house? It sits empty with a "For Sale" sign in front.

Empty and for sale.

Oops, I did it again

Guess who was in a bathing suit again?

Yes. Me!

Two days in a row? Unheard of. But it happened anyway.

Yesterday, the kids and I went to watch Ice Age 3 in 3-D.



As we talked before the movie and munched on popcorn.

Hey! Look who's here kids!

I turned when I heard that phrase and saw....my neighbor-across-the-street (NATS) and his two kids.

We only were able to chat for a little bit before the movie started. We also ended up chatting for a little bit longer.

NATS: What are you guys up to now?
Me: We're just headed home. Clean up a little. Figure out dinner.
NATS: Why don't you guys come over and swim for a little bit. We're headed to the library, but I'll call you when we get home so you can come by.
Me: Okay....

So I again put on a bathing suit. No. Not so that I could swim. So I could monitor the kids just in case they needed me. I wasn't sure how deep NATS pool was. Turns out I didn't have to take off my shorts and tank top because their pool had a large 3-foot area. Whew!

I ended up just catching up with NATS and finding out what's been going on with his family and all our neighbors. Remember that NATS knows almost everything about what's going on in the neighborhood. This is kind of why I don't like to reveal anything about us to him. Because I know he'll blab to everyone else. He's just that way.

The kids had a great time swimming and that's all that matters.

Laughing at other people

Wednesday has turned into a family night of laughter.

Why?

We all settle down onto the couch together and watch Wipeout.

We end up laughing up a storm!

It's too funny.

The antics of the competitors.

The types of races they create for the competitors.

We laugh. And laugh. And laugh.

A nice family hour of tv.

Is there a particular show that your family gets together and watches?

Impromptu outing

Around 9am yesterday I decided to take the kids to a water park.

Yes. A. Water. Park.

Meaning I would have to adorn myself in a bathing suit out in public.

[gasp]

The Princess ventured out of her room around 9am. When she came down and was making her breakfast. I went into the master bedroom and got myself ready for the day. Washed up. Changed into my favorite bathing suit. A tankini from Lands End. Keeps me all pulled in and my tummy covered. As soon as I was ready for the day, I walked out into the family room with beach towels in one hand and their bathing suits in the other.

Me: Okay. Everyone ready to get ready for the day?
Princess: What? Where are we going? [she was in mid-bite]
Me: The water park.

Oh my good gracious. You should have seen how quickly the kids moved. Like lightening. No dragging of their feet whatsoever. Go figure, eh?

I'd never been to the water park, so I was flying blind. I didn't know where anything was situated. What I did know? That since I was the only parent...that I was going to have to lock up valuables in the lockers. I'd have to be in the water with them. I'd have to do the slides and stuff with them. And that I would NOT be able to take any photos. ARGH!

But needless to say. The kids had a great time. The place wasn't too crowded so I didn't lose my sanity. We stayed about 3 hours. Luckily I timed it so that we didn't have to buy any food there. We ate a late lunch once we got home. And when we left? It was about 104* outside. Eek! And we are all bushed when we got home. That's what sun, water, and heat will do.

What's crazy is that tonight after dinner a storm blew through. And we had a torrential downpour. Enough to knock out our power for about a half hour. Can you believe it? That's what happens during monsoon season!

Ready to get back into politics?

I found out that a historic race may take place in a few months.

Apparently, the current mayor of Boston is going to run for re-election. I guess the mayor has been in office for 16 years and wants to put another 4 years under his belt. Now I don't live in Boston, but don't you think that 16 years is enough time for one person to run a city?

Someone recently announced his candidacy into the race against the long-standing mayor. A young City Council member named Sam Yoon has decided to step up so that change can happen in Boston. He graduated from Princeton but rather than go for the big bucks he decided to take a teaching position in the public schools. He's also worked in non-profit and other community organizations over the last decade. He's a married man with two young kids who is active in his church and has a fire inside him to make positive changes within Boston.

Check out these articles to read more about Sam Yoon.

Look to see who has endorsed Sam:

Slowly back in the saddle again

Oh yeah...we've been back safe and sound since Sunday.

But me?

It's always hard for me to get back to writing after I've been away.

I can't believe how some of you all are able to get back online right when you come home.

I just have a hard time getting back into it.

I guess I primarily end up catching up on work and then get burned out on being online.

But we're back.

Hopefully I'll get something online today.

Another busy summer day [updated @ 10am]

Today is going to be a busy day for me.

Had to get the kids up early so that we can make it to their late 6-month dental check-up. They were supposed to be seen in April but (whoops!) it slipped my mind. Little did I know that the Bear would sleep into 7:30am and Princess would turn into a crawl out of bed at 9am this summer. I had to wake them bright and early at 7am, so we could leave at 8am and make the 8:30am and 9am appointments.

At 11am the kids have their last swim lesson of the session. Thankfully it looks cloudy outside so I'm hoping it won't be sweltering. The place has a bit of shade but dang it's still doggone hot outside.

Then I've still got to finish packing. We're going on an impromptu trip out to see my family (yet again!). We want to get out there since LilSis and Shorty had their little girl. The Hubs decided he'd leave work early today so that we could head out this afternoon. For those of you who've been reading a while, you know that the Hubs can drive at night. Me? Not so much. It's this business of wearing gas-permeable lenses -- my eyes get mighty tired at night. Scratchy. Dry. Just plain irritated when I wear them too long.

Like I said, I still have to pack. I've already gathered the kids clothes. I have to grab their toothbrushes and soap. I haven't packed even one bit for myself. Go figure? But I've got clothes in the drier right now that I want to wear. [sigh] I've also got to fit in a trip to the gas station to fill up.

But that's how it goes when it's the 4th of July weekend, eh?

What are YOU doing this holiday weekend?

------------ updated @ 10am ------------

We're back home!

Took both kids to the dentist for their cleaning.

They came back with sparkling clean teeth. No cavities! The Bear had a little plaque on 2 of his new teeth. We've gotta make sure to get behind those front teeth. The Bear got his first panoramic x-ray. It was too funny watching him take direction from the dental assistant. He was so distracted by the equipment!

Unfortunately, the Bear had another meltdown during his cleaning. He cried. He coughed. He ended up with two little lakes in his ears. Yes. He had SO many tears that the tears pooled up in his ears. I think the issue was that he was trying to breath out of his mouth while the gal was cleaning his teeth. BREATH. THROUGH. YOUR. NOSE. KID. Oy! I ended up holding his little hands while he tossled his feet nervously. Poor kid. I think the process makes him so nervous inside. But I must say that this cleaning was better than the last. I'm hoping that the January appointment will go even better. [crossing fingers]

I finished about 95% of the packing. I still have to throw in all our toiletries. Haven't done it yet since I'll probably end up showering again after swim lessons. You know? Sweaty? I'm planning on having the kids shower after swim lessons as well, so they'll still need to use their toothbrushes and hairbrushes. But I've got a bunch done. Still have many tasks to do though. ARGH!

Do you remember GS camp?

No. I know you guys out there don't remember Girl Scout camp, but how about Boy Scout camp?

Did you have a good time?

The Princess and the rest of the troop had a good time.

What cracks me up was the "cabin" that they all slept in. Rough description I'd say.

It's got a roof with wood walls. And that's chicken wire that's covering up the openings that they lovingly called windows. The curtains are on the inside so that they could block out light/noise when they slept. Definitely an "open air" cabin. They put their sleeping bags on top of metals beds with thin mattresses. But the sleeping wasn't what it was all about. It was about having a good time with the girls.

They did arts and crafts.


They went on a hike. A 3-mile hike. Yes! They walked 1.5 miles out. Had lunch. And then walked 1.5 miles back.


The last night they had a luau.


The Princess came home super-stinky. Since it was only a 2-night camp they did not take showers. You heard that right folks. No showers. Needless to say that I washed the Princess' clothes in HOT when we unloaded her backpack.

It's outings like this away from us that make me realize that the Princess is growing up. Soon enough she'll be going on one of those 5 day school trips. Y'all remember 6th Grade Camp? Or is that just a California thing? Or maybe you did a Washington D.C. trip in junior high/middle school? Yes. Trips away from home and family. Definitely a milestone.