House update

Our framing walk-through is scheduled for next Monday!

[Applause, applause, applause]

I can't believe it myself. The builder supervisor told my husband that they typically finish a house two months after the framing walk-through. That means we'll be closing on our new house by mid-March!

I am totally excited at the prospect of that time frame. That just means we'll be in the house by our 9th wedding anniversary. That would be LOVELY. Just lovely!

What we have to figure out is the timing on how to move into the house. We've got stuff in storage where we used to live (2 hours away). Then we've got the stuff that we're living with in the townhouse. Hmmm...

New Year

I've gone and done it. I colored my hair! Yes! It's now back to ONE color. It's not a soft black. No more streaks. No more highlights. No more tell-tale roots.

Shocked the heck out of my hubby when I walked out of the master bedroom an hour after I closed the door. He thought I was putting in more highlights. Like I'd have the magical ability to do that. By myself? In less than an hour? Yeah, right! His response was "It's all one color!"

Now that my hair is officially back to it's natural color...I'll be headed to the salon tomorrow. To a salon. Not a Cost Cutters. Not a SuperCuts. No Fantastic Sam's. Go ahead. I'm sure the thoughts of SNOB have raced through a couple of your minds. I don't have ANYTHING against those places. But I only get my hair cut every 3 to 4 months. So...I splurge and go to a salon.

If I lived in the community where I grew up in, I'd go to a local place that only charges $15. Why not do that here? Because where I grew up, there are hairdressers who understand my type of hair. The people out here who charge $15 just chop my hair straight and think that's it. I need for it to have texture for it to look nice AND grow out nicely. My sister? She only pays $15 for a cut. She only pays $40 for highlights. Yes! And it looks AWESOME. But alas...I live where I live and have to pay $$$ for a fantastic haircut.

But by lunchtime tomorrow I'll have my new look ALL done. Well, the new look from the shoulders up, that is. I'm still working on my new look from the shoulders down. Remember...I have all year to accomplish THAT one.

Late night calls

The phone rang early on Dec 29, 2001.

Me: Hello?

Mom: I think we're going to lose her.

Me: I'll be there as soon as I can.

Her voice was soft. Like a whisper. It seemed like she feared that if she spoke any louder that she might falter. I knew that since she called that I had to hurry.

Me: Honey, I'm going to have to go.

Hubby: I know. Do you want to start checking flights now?

I was able to get a 10am flight the next morning. Since my hubby had to work, I brought the Princess with me. She was 15 months old. Because I was in a rush, I picked the first flight that had a seat. Unfortunately, it was at prime morning naptime.

As we waited for the flight, I gave the Princess a snack. I sang to her. I chatted with her. I walked her around the terminal while she sat in the umbrella stroller. She was in good spirits. But that quickly changed once we boarded the plane. It was only an hour flying time but it felt like an eternity. She cried as we taxi'd down the runway. She wanted to be in her crib. She wanted to sleep. But no! I had her sitting confined on my lap. She couldn't roam. She couldn't get comfortable. Her crying only got more intense as we took off. I held her close. I made soothing noises to her. I rocked her back and forth.

"You're okay. You're okay. Sh-sh-sh. You're okay. Sh-sh-sh."

As she cried in my arms, I was crying inside.

"I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening."

30 minutes later she was asleep. The exhaustion took over. She lay peacefully in my arms. I can still remember the tear marks down her face as she lay there. Once she fell asleep, I didn't want to move. I didn't want to disturb her sleep. I couldn't brush those angry tears off her face. How she looked was how I felt inside.

My younger sister picked us up from the airport. She drove us straight there.

I couldn't believe it when I saw her. She looked so frail. So tiny. I couldn't believe how much she'd changed in a month. We'd just seen her at Thanksgiving. She was fine then. Now? She lay there unconscious on the bed. I felt so numb. This couldn't be her! But I knew it was. My family seemed to all be in the room and outside in the hallway.

I walked to her bedside. The Princess was still in my arms. She was busily checking out everyone in the room. I sat on the edge of the bed. I stroked her arm. I told her we were right there. I told her that she was a wonderful woman. That we loved her. No matter what. The Princess sensed my sadness and looked at me. I gave the Princess a weak smile. I took one of the Princess' hands and put it on her shoulder. I wanted her to feel the Princess' touch too. I told her that no matter what we'd have her in our hearts. If she was in pain, then she could let it go. We would understand. I didn't cry either. I don't know how long we sat there.

The next thing I recall was that my oldest sister arrived with her family. It was probably about 6pm. They had driven non-stop down from Wyoming. My oldest sister went to her favorite. Everyone knew that. Ever since my oldest sister was born. The day was my sister's birthday. My sister went to her bedside and talked to her. Held her hand.

We all took turns sitting next to her. If we weren't in the room, we were out in the hallway. My younger sister would take walks with me and the Princess around the place. What gave me some joy was how the Princess would smile and wave and say "HI" to everyone we saw. I think it gave those folks some joy to see this little 15-month-old waltzing happily through the halls. I don't think many of the residents had regular visitors. I think it surprised the staff at how many people were in her room (at all times of the day).

We (me, the Princess, & my younger sister) spent the night at my 2nd sister's house. My oldest sister and her family stayed at my parents' house. We all planned to converge the next morning. My younger sister and I decided to go to Dunkin Donuts drive-thru to grab some breakfast for everyone. We finally got to the place and circled the parking lot trying to find a spot. My sister got a call.

Sister: Hello?

[pausing for a moment]

Sister: What?

She had just passed away. It was December 31st about 9am.

She had hung on until we were all there. She had hung on until we were all able to hold her hand. She hung on until we were all able to tell her that we loved her. She hung on until AFTER my sister's birthday.

My Grandma. My Nana. She was a wonderful woman. So selfless. So strong. Such a peaceful woman. So content in the person that she was. So loving to everyone she met. She had this knowing look. This twinkle in her eye. A hug from her could make me cry because I felt so much joy. Love in her touch.

I still miss her.

Resolutions anyone?

I haven't done resolutions in YEARS! I've been contemplating a couple things in my mind. I think it's high time that I write a couple down and stick to them. If I keep the list small then there's a higher likelihood I'll stick to them. Right? Right! I'm enthusiastic about it now but we'll see as 2005 rolls along.

1. Lose 10 pounds by the end of the year

This sounds like an easy one. But it's difficult. I don't eat much per day. This resolution will encompass a commitment to eating more healthfully and working out. I need to drink more water each day. I need to limit my caffeine intake. I need to eat more veggies/fruit. I need to increase my calcium intake (yogurt/cheese/milk) per day. For me, this one is about getting my health in gear. Getting back to a body that FEELS good. It's funny how some of the Moms at preschool have commented on how thin I am. Okay. I might look fine with clothes on but when I'm oh-naturel it's a big ole mess. I want to be strong and more energetic for the kiddos. They deserve more.

2. Limit my internet time to 2 hours per day

I'm fighting this urge to get totally sucked into the internet. I feel so drawn to it. But it takes time away from my kids. Like I said previously, they deserve more. I need to prioritize. I need to put them up higher on my list of daily needs. What I can do to limit my internet time is type out my entries on the laptop while I'm in the family room with the kids. Then I can just copy/paste it in here. Then all the time on the internet would be reading my favorite blogs. I wouldn't be checking on folks multiple times a day in the hopes that they've updated.

3. Write/email one friend per week

This is going to be commitment that should be easy to keep once I get on a roll. As I was writing out the envelopes to my holiday cards, I realized that I didn't know what was going on in the lives of many people in my address book. I think that writing to at least one person per week will get me more involved with my long-distance friends. I'll feel more in touch. I'll be a better friend.

Short list, eh? What's YOUR list look like?

Couldn't you be more supportive?

I know I need to blog about something when I'm still thinking/fuming about it 4 hours later.

Wouldn't you know that after the kids watched "Atlantis - The Lost City" again this morning, the television was on FOX. It had a show I'd never seen before (I never watching regular tv in the morning). It was called Life & Style. Interesting, so I thought.

It's the beginning of the show and there's the usual co-host banter regarding the topics they'd be going over during the show. What was the one topic that got my attention? Breastfeeding in public.

The show was going to have a couple Illinois representatives on the show. Why? Because just several months ago, Illinois became the 25th state to adopt Breastfeeding legislation. Breastfeeding legistation you say? Yes! Apparently, only half the states in our good ole nation have established breastfeeding legislation. Legislation that states that breastfeeding is not indecent.

Anyway, Jules Asner is now on my "not so favorite" entertainment reporter list. Her general comment was that when she sees women breastfeeding it makes her squeemish. Squeemish? Well, this gal doesn't have any children. Yes, she's married. Yes, she's interviewed a TON of famous people. So you'd think she'd be open minded to most things. Come on! She's in the entertainment business! But why does she HAVE to say that about breastfeeding? I thought all women and men that were born in the 60's and later were on board with this "breast is best" business?

Now SHE might chose not to breastfeed when and if she has children. But shouldn't she support women who do? Shouldn't we women be supporting each other? Shouldn't we be giving each other positivity rather than negativity? Because of her shallow (yes! shallow!) opinion on a topic that is already divisive for women....I am no longer going to watch programs that she hosts (so no Life&Style for me!).

You know what's interesting? The spark for the law was when a Mom who was at a gymnasium started to breastfeed her baby in the children's area. A gym employee told her to stop. The Mom stormed out of the gym and began writing her state representatives. Link to details

The representative who spearheaded the drive for the legislation in Illinois? A man! The other representative that appeared on the show was a woman. And she voted NO on the legislation. Why did she vote no? Because she'd never heard any of HER constituents complain about being treated negatively while breastfeeding. She said that there was no need for legislation regarding breastfeeding. She said one complaint shouldn't foster a law being made. But apparently there was a loud outcry once it was found out she'd voted against the legislation.

I support whatever method a Mom decides to feed her baby. Breast or bottle. I don't care. Just as long as that baby gets the nourishment it needs. Why can't other people, especially other women think that way too? It's not like these breastfeeding mothers are harming anyone. I breastfed both my babies. When I had to breastfeed in public, I did so discretely. I made sure to cover myself up. I'm sure other breastfeeding Moms do just the same. It's not like we let our breasts hang out there for everyone to see. It's about nourishment. It's not sexual.

Can you just feel the steam rising from my head as I'm typing this? I do hope that you (dear reader) treat all breastfeeding women with respect. It's a big decision to breastfeed. Don't make women feel bad about giving their babies nourishment. See where YOUR state stands on this issue

Okay...off soap box...

What I'll remember this year

The kidlings had a BLAST this Christmas.

What was a great joy was watching the Bear open his first gift on Christmas Eve. It was from his 2nd cousins (SS & AS) - the two daughters of my hubby's first cousin. Let me tell you that the Bear adores these two girls. We don't see them that often, but he totally remembers them. When they walked in, he ran over to them. He immediately started positioning himself to go in for hugs. It was too funny.

Anyway, I digress. They were going to have to leave for the evening as it was already 8:30pm. We went into the livingroom of my MILs house. They gave the Bear a small wrapped item. He carefully tore it up. He took little 1x1 inch squares off the item and took each torn piece off his fingers. So meticulous. It reminded me of the Princess when she first learned about opening gifts. She still is very meticulous about getting every piece of wrap off the gift.

So there was the Bear slowly opening the gift. Then he sees that all the wrap is off the small box. What does he do? He says "WOW!" and then begins to jump up and down continuing to say "Wow!" He didn't even KNOW what it was! He was just so excited that he'd gotten the thing unwrapped! Everyone was smiling and laughing at the scene. It was a small ornament that said "Godchild" on it. The girls' father is my son's godfather.

The Princess opened her gift from her 2nd cousins a bit more quickly. It was a baby doll. She ended up getting it out of the box (can you believe how secure these toys are in their boxes nowadays?) and began taking care of her baby. She has christened the baby "Sunshine".

The Bear then opened up his actual gift. You should have seen him once they got it out of the box. He immediately put the helmet on his head. He wore it rest of the night. Then he tried to sit in the dump side of the truck. That's right folks! He backed his bottom into that little truck. It was so funny! The hat on his head. The shovel in one hand. The trowel in the other hand. Sitting there in the back of the truck.

It was THIS Tonka Truck.

It was such a joy to watch the two of them. It was not the overload scene of the next day that I'm going to cherish about this Christmas. It's going to be this Christmas Eve scene. My son in the dump truck and my daughter craddling a baby doll.

Heard at the dinner table...

Princess: Daddy!

Hubby: Yes, honey?

Prin: Put my stuff away.

Hub: Excuse me?

Prin: Put my stuff away. I'm too busy.

I guess her handwashing was a priority to her over putting her glass & her plate away.

Hub: Is that how you ask Daddy? I'll compromise. Why don't you put your glass away and I'll get your plate.

Prin: Alrighty! [Then she skips away to wash her hands. For 5 minutes.]

Snarky holiday moments

I had to put all these moments together. I didn't want them muddled with anything else. They tend to lose their impact when buried in other posts. Here are all the weird moments I had to witness and deal with over the weekend.

Did you have any odd family moments this weekend? Share them!

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On Friday when we drove up, I had my daughter dressed in a black turtleneck, black leggings, and a black long-sleeve holiday t-shirt with penguins on it. I had her hair all pulled up in a single ponytail so it wouldn't be all over the place. Later on that evening this is what I heard.

MIL: "She looks good in black."

Me: "Yes, she does. I think she looks good in a lot of different colors."

MIL: "I never thought children should be dressed in black.....but she looks good in it."

I think I dress her appropriately. Long sleeve and short sleeve t-shirts. Leggings (because she can't fit in regular pants because she's so slender). Sweatshirts. Turtlenecks. I don't put her in fancy things. Fancy things aren't appropriate for preschool. My girl is always in the sandbox and running around so dresses aren't practical there. I don't buy things with a bunch of bows and flowers on them. I like simple. I put her in a wide range of colors though. I've never dressed her in only pinks (which I know is exactly what my MIL did with my SIL). I've never and will never paint her room pink (which is another thing my MIL did with my SIL).

So keep the clothing comments to yourself lady! She's MY child. The stuff she's got in her closet and dresser can all mix and match easily because it's all simple stuff. My girl knows that no particular color is off limits. Right now? My girl is in a soft blue colored sweatshirt with pink & white snowflakes on it with a pair of burnt orange shorts. It might sound weird, but it matches. She picked it out. It's fine. She's discovering HER sense of style.

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Nope! The highchair was still in the backroom when we got there. An hour before my BIL was to arrive, I went & retrieved it & put it in the nook area.

MIL: "Oh, is the Bear going to have a snack?"

Me: "No...I'm putting it there so when we're ready to eat it's already in place."

You should have seen the confused look on her face. Stupid woman! The kid needs to sit in a highchair to eat. He needs to be contained. He can't be allowed to just take bites (like a dog) from people's plates and run around with food in his mouth. Umm...isn't that why you BOUGHT the darn highchair? So the child could eat?

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Now remember my previous post on how we had two towels between four individuals the last time we slept over my MILs house? Well, that was the case again. She had set out two towels on top the guest bath vanity on Friday night.

What's the craziest thing about this? Is that on Saturday night when we were about to get the kids ready for bed, she gave us back the two towels. She had taken the time to WASH those TWO towels. Yes, she washed the two towels and was giving them back to us so we could use them.

And...yes! I was so happy that I brought my own shampoo/conditioner/shower gel this time around. The same old barely any left containers of shampoo and conditioner were in the guest bath. Along with the same old hard as a rock piece of soap. Ugh! I went to town with my Dove shampoo/conditioner. "I'm gonna wash that @#%#% right out of my hair..." Then I scrubbed away with my Sweetpea shower gel on my sponge. Ahhh...the comforts of home!

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Friday night we were getting the kids ready for their bath.

Hubby: "Honey, are you going to put the Bear on the toilet for potty time?"

MIL: "Oh, do you need the little seat?"

Hubby: "Do you have one?"

MIL: "Yes, we got one when the Princess was first learning."

Hubby: "That would be great. Where is it?"

My MIL then proceeds to go through the door that leads to the garage. The garage! She was going to get the baby toilet seat from the garage. Umm...don't you have to clean it first before my child sits on it? My child is already naked and ready to be put into the bathtub.

Me: "Uh, that's okay MIL. No hurry. We can skip it tonight."

So I proceed to put the Bear into the tub and wash him. So I'm thinking that the seat will be available for the next day, right? She's got one. She knows we're trying to get the boy oriented to the toilet. Does she get it out of the garage and ready for the next night? Uh...NO!

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One of the things I can't stand about the holidays with my ILs is how they try to take "credit" for buying the kids gifts. When the kids were opening gifts, I was having my hubby do the holiday list. You know. What the gift was and who it was from?

I was supervising the Princess. When she'd open a gift, I'd hold it up for my hubby to see and then say what it was and then say the first few letters of person's name who it was from.

Now my SIL was supervising the Bear (her Godchild). She was saying "Oh, these are from BIL" or "Oh, I bought these." Umm... doesn't she realize that she'll ruin the Santa illusion with those kind of statements? I wanted to bitch slap her. She has one of those loud whiney voices (with a faint Chicago accent). I was shocked that the Princess' didn't hear her.

Come on people! Keep Santa alive! Don't try to take credit! If you want to be sure to get credit then write down what you bought the kids and hand it to us. This way you don't have to SHOUT across the room about who bought what.

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Most of the time, my son has really smelly poopy diapers. Hey, he's a good eater! What do you expect? When he has a toot-toot they can also be very stinky. On Saturday, as we're hanging around my MILs house my son has a toot-toot. He hasn't been changed in a couple hours.

Hubby: "Okay sister! Why don't you change him?"

SIL: "I'm not going to change him if he's got a poopy diaper."

Hubby: "Why not? You're his godmother. If you're ever going to babysit him, then you're going to have to be able to change a poopy diaper."

SIL: "He's almost TWO years old. Shouldn't he almost be potty trained?"

Can you say HOLD ME BACK? Yes. My son is almost two. And no. He's not potty trained. He's just getting started to get oriented to the toilet and what it's used for. Can you believe my SIL said this? She's not married. She's never even had a long-term relationship (meaning more than THREE months) in the 11 years that I've known her. She's never been pregnant (as far as I know). Therefore, she's never had a BABY! She has the nerve to say that about MY son? Her godchild? She's not willing to change a poopy diaper? SHEEE-IT! She's never going to babysit my child!