Merry Christmas

I know it's been a while since I've blogged. I don't like to blog when I have nothing positive to say. I went through a really difficult, really dark time.

I ruptured a disk in my spine. I didn't do anything specific to rupture it. I wish I had a great story about how I was climbing a mountain in the Alps and then when I tried to save one of my fellow climbers my back snapped and I had ruptured a disk. But that wasn't the case. I wasn't doing anything and all of a sudden I couldn't stand up. The pain in my leg was unbearable. I couldn't sit. I could do anything but scream in pain.

My husband took me to the ER where they gave some pain meds and did an MRI and said to go see a surgeon the next day. I got shoved around by the medical system for a few weeks. I was repeatedly told that my condition was nonsurgical and that it would get better with time. Finally one doctor said to go see another surgeon for a second opinion (really it would be about the 10th opinion!). This surgeon said that my symptoms were straightforward and that he would do surgery in 10 days. He said that surgery would take about 1.5 hours and that I would spend one night in the hospital.

My husband waited for 6 hours while I was in surgery and recovery. The surgery took 2.5 hours and I ended up spending 2 nights in the hospital.

Yesterday I went to my post-op check up. All the bandages and surgical tape was removed. I'm able to walk again. (I had to use a cane for 8 weeks). I'm still restricted in bending, twisting and lifting. But I feel so much better.

Here's my Christmas card to you:

May your Christmas be filled with brotherly love.

I Want to Wear High Heels and Dance!

Or at least be able to sit in a chair for more than 5 minutes.

I hurt my back... again. No accident, no fall or anything. My back just started hurting. To the point where I couldn't stand or sit. My husband had to take me to the ER. It's been over two weeks and I still can't sit upright for more than a few minutes at a time and that's on a good day. I've been to all kinds of specialists and tried all kinds of drugs. I'm anxious for this to be over so that I can wear high heels and dance. That's my goal.

I don't usually like to "complain" on my blog. I prefer to share the happy things. So hopefully you'll see a picture of me wearing high heels soon! Until then, I'll be on the couch.

A Busy Day

Today was a busy day with the usual chores and errands. I paid some bills, did laundry, did the dishes, mowed the lawn etc. Then after lunch I went to the craft store to look for some Halloween ideas. I stopped at the mailbox on the way home and picked my kids up at the bus stop. The busy day didn't end there. Then it was time to get homework done and then a neighborhood kid came over to play. Tonight my 6 year old had soccer practice. My friend has a son on the same team and we alternate weeks to take the boys to practice. Tonight was my turn to drive.

I pulled into their driveway and said "Hi" to my friend. Then I opened the car door to help her son hop into the backseat. I saw a small postcard on the ground. I picked it up. It was a reminder from my OBGYN that I need to schedule an appointment.

Classy, I know.

I'm very glad that it was my friend who was in the driveway with me and not her husband! I was so embarrassed. So I'm no longer going to be able to put the mail on the seat in the car again. Ever.

A New Boyfriend

Friday my 6 year old came home from school and told me, "Mom, Anne (name changed) has a new boyfriend!"

"Oh really? Who is it?" I asked.

"Tommy" he replied smiling (name changed again).

My 6 year couldn't stop giggling. So I asked, "Does Tommy know about this?"

He replied, "I don't think so."

Then I couldn't stop giggling.

What Bumper Stickers and Cell Phones Have in Common

This morning as I was leaving the gym I noticed a bumper sticker on the back of a car that said, "Where's the Birth Certificate." It was written in big black letters and that's all it said. It made me pause and read it again. I guess I was looking for a clue.

I drove away still wondering what it meant. Then I thought, that's funny. I should take a picture and post it on my blog.

So I drove back around and leaned out of my car window with my camera phone and took a picture.

Do you like the picture?

You can't see it, right? Well, not only do I not understand bumper stickers but I also don't understand camera phones. I can't find the picture anywhere on my phone.

Just last night my husband said, "We've had our phones for a year now. The contract is up and we should get new phones."

"No," I said. "I still haven't figured out how to work this phone, if I get a new one, I'll have to start all over again!"

So what do bumper stickers and cell phones have in common? They can both stump Cookie.

What's A Hippie Anyway?

Tonight I was doing a puzzle with my 8 year old son. We were joking around and he teasingly called me a "hippie." I laughed and asked, "do you even know what a hippie is?"

He said, "Isn't it the same as a hobo?"

"No," I replied. "A hippie is person from the 70's who is all about love and peace. Someone from my mom's generation."

He said, "Really?! I didn't think your mom was like that."

Good thing my mom doesn't read my blog.

Still Here!

I admit, I've been a very bad blogger lately. I'm sorry. I have thought about writing now and then. I think my last post was a short one about my nephew. He lives in Detroit. I went to visit him this summer when my sister had a baby. That's a very difficult thing for me to say, "My sister had a baby," because that's not the full truth. My sister had twins, a boy and a girl. The boy lived for 5 hours. She found out at 34 weeks into the pregnancy that the boy's lungs were not developing. Those last 6 weeks were horrible. I went to be her for the birth and the death. It was so sad to look into his eyes knowing that he wouldn't be there for long, knowing that he didn't have a chance.

The baby girl is healthy and home. The boy was buried with his great grandfather. The funeral was 2 weeks after the birth and I wasn't able to return for it. I still wish I had.

So it's taken me a long time to go back to "normal." I still feel like nothing will ever be the same. But slowly happiness has returned.

Yesterday I drove my 6 year old and one of his teammates to soccer practice. From the backseat I heard my son telling his friend, "Our car is really old. It's from the nineteen hundreds!"

He is right. The car is a 1999. But I never heard it put that way before!

And one more thing that my 8 year old said when we were at a restaurant. He ordered pasta with butter sauce and french fries. (You can only get away with that when you're 8!) My husband asked him how he liked his dinner.

My 8 year old said, "It's good, but I like mom's better."

I smiled.

Then he added, "the one she makes from the box."

My husband laughed.

The King of the Jungle

I was visiting my 3 year old nephew for a week. He picked up the book next to my bed and read me a story. He said, "I'm going to read a story called, 'The king of the Jungle'." He opened the book and read, "One day there was a king of the jungle."

Then he closed the book and said "The end."

He's destined to be a great author one day.

What I learned During Summer Vacation

I try to keep the summer filled with educational things for my kids. Tonight they learned that if you laugh and drink milk at the same time, the milk will come out of your nose. And onto your dinner plate.

This proud parent moment is brought to you by the Washington Dairy Farmers Association.

Webster's

Today I took my kids to see the movie, "Hotel For Dogs." They loved it. The theater was packed with kids. There was one line in the movie when a said, "I'm going to sue you!" My 6 year old turned to me and whispered, "What does sue mean?"

I hushed him.

Then I heard the little girl next to me say to her mom, "Mom, what does sue mean?"

Her mother replied, "It means getting money from a person."

So true.

How Can You Eat That??

Today was my kids' last day of chess camp. We out to IHOP afterwards to celebrate. My 8 year old read the list of flavors of syrup. Suddenly my 6 year old looked worried and said, "How can you eat that?"

I didn't understand what he was referring to. Then my 8 year old said, "It's Boysenberry, not poison berry."

My 6 year old replied, "Well, that's a scary name!"

So far no deaths have been reported by eating Boysenberry syrup at IHOP.

Whew.

I Take That Back

Yesterday my kids were inside playing video games. It was a nice afternoon and I was planning to do some yard work so I sent the kids outside to play.

My 8 year old asked me if he could cut some blackberry bushes that were invading his fort by the swing set. I told him, "Sure, go ahead."

About 40 minutes later I surrendered to my weeds and was putting the garden recycling can away when my 8 year old said, "Mom, come over here and look what we've done to our fort!"

OMG. They had cut all of the ivy on the hill. The ivy that needs to be on the hill so that the hill remains a hill. We do live in Seattle. The rain will be here soon enough and the hill will be gone.

So I take back what I said earlier. "Please go back inside and play video games."

My husband is going to be really mad when he sees the bare hill. So nobody tell him, okay. Hopefully it will grow back before the Autumn monsoon starts.

Uh Oh

Usually my blog is about my kids and the silly things they do or say. Today I'm writing about me and the silly thing I might have done.

On Saturday I went to a friend's house to meet up with some friends and play Bunco. I brought an hors d'oeuvre to share. It was crackers with cream cheese and jalapenos. Simple and yummy! My husband took the kids out to dinner so he used my car and I drove his car.

I came home and my bag was wet. The jar of jalapenos had leaked. Just a little. The jar remained filled with jalapeno juice. So I dropped the bag in the laundry room.

On Monday when my husband drove his car to work it stunk like a jar of jalapenos. Whoopsie. Never thought that it may have leaked through my bag and into his car.

When he came home I used some carpet cleaner and then some baking soda to try and get the smell out. When I was done he car still smelled but then it smelled like cleaner, not jalapenos.

He sent me an email today saying it still smelled.

So now I'm shopping for a new car.

Spelling Test

The other day while in the car my 6 year old said, "Mom, do you spell 'gum' 'G-U-M'?"

"Yes, that's right." I replied.

Then he said, "So do you spell 'come' 'C-U..."

I started to slam on the breaks and scream "NOOOOOO!" But luckily before I could, my 8 year old interrupted laughing, "no, it's C-O-M-E."

Whew. Good thing the 8 year old was there.

Why do they learn how to sound out words anyway?!?!

Funny Signs

I came across these signs on the Internet this morning and they made me laugh. Hope they make you smile too!



Do you think police are giving out a lot of tickets for not stopping here?




I'm glad my children don't play here!

A Little Bit of History

Here's a little bit of history you probably didn't know about...

The second civil war started when the small states in Europe were fighting the big one. Then it moved over to Asia and Japan bombed Pearl harbor, so the US entered the war and bombed Nagasaki. Then Japan surrendered on a boat. And Canada signed in the wrong place.

This account was given by 6 year old. I heard him saying this to his friend yesterday morning. I think it may have something to do with our visit to Pearl Harbor while we were in Hawaii last week.

Annoying

The other day my 8 year old was teasing my 6 year old. Finally my 6 year old had enough and said, "Stop it! I'm getting annoying!"

Like the good mom that I am, I chuckled. I'm pretty sure he meant to say that he was getting annoyed, but I didn't say anything.

In other news, I finally did it. I got my hair cut. 11.5 inches. I donated it to locks of love which is great because I found a swanky salon that gives a free hair cut when you donate your hair. I did the same thing 5 years ago. A $50 haircut for free! Well kinda for free. I have to wait another 5 years to get another free hair cut.

I Still Can't Figure It Out

My bluetooth. I know it's only one button. But I can't figure it out. I hung up on my sister today. Twice. And I ignored my husband's call. When I finally pressed the button I heard it ringing. I'm sure I hung up on someone else in my phone book. So sorry.

Now for my lame excuse for not being here. I just got back from Hawaii. I went with my husband and kids for 7 days. We met my husband's family there for 4 days. They traveled from Japan. I'll try to post some pics later. Not that anyone really wants to see me in a bathing suit, so I might just post some pics of the kids.

I know that's only 7 or 8 days accounted for. I also hurt my back. I was out of commission for almost a month. I was taking so much medicine and had two shots in my spine. You know someone is in a lot of pain when getting a needle inserted into her spine sounds like a good idea. And the second shot seemed to have done the trick. Oh, I also got a fashionable back brace. It's about 2 feet long and fits like a sharp corset. I heard you will be able to purchase one for yourself this fall at Nordstrom's.

Figuring Things Out

Today my 8 year old son asked me, "Mom, what month is 7 months before October?"

I replied, "I don't know."

Then he said, "March! That means you got pregnant with my little brother on March 17th 2003."

Gulp.

That caught me a little off guard.

Then he said, "I wonder what time."

Just then I choked on my gum.

No more math lessons for him!

Look Mom!

Yesterday morning my 8 year old son was holding his little brother's teddy bear. The bear was face down on the counter and my 8 year old had one hind leg in each hand. He gave a tug to the left leg and then to the right and continued doing so. He looked up at me and said, "Look mom, I'm milking the bear."

Being the good mom that I am, I laughed. Which only encouraged him.

I tried to stop. Then I heard my husband say, "Please stop milking the bear."

I laughed some more.

"Please stop milking the bear" definitely falls into the list of Things you never expected to utter say.

I'm afraid my 8 year old has a lot to learn.

Ducklings

Last week was spring break. My oldest turned 8 on Saturday. 8?! How did that happen?? I feel old.

My 8 year old needed new sneakers. He had already outgrown the ones I bought him 2 weeks ago. So I took my 2 kids to the mall to buy shoes. Well first, I begged him to pick a pair from payless. I found a cute pair of cheap sandals for myself at payless but my son found nothing.

I don't take my kids to the mall very often. In fact, I try to avoid it. I can't even remember the last time I took them there. It was weird.

My kids are now obviously too big for a stroller. They have been out of the stroller for several years. And they are no longer running away from me in the mall. I don't have to chase after them like a crazy mom of two toddlers running in two different directions. All of a sudden I was at the mall with my kids and they were following me. I was the mother duck and my ducklings were following me. I had to turn around every minute to make sure they were still there.

I had heard of this in fairy tales, but I never believed it was real.

Things have changed.

I now have ducklings.

Quack.

Do You Like Peas?

Last week I was reading with my 6 year old. The character in the book was eating spaghetti and meatballs. My son looked up at me and said, "That's my favorite!" I smiled and he continued reading. The next line said the character also had peas for dinner. My son looked up at me and said, "Eww. I don't like peas." He paused for a moment and then added, "Except for black eyed peas."

I think it's important to keep your kids well rounded and up to date with pop culture. Not that I would ever let my kids listen to black eyed peas. Ahem.

This proud parent moment is brought to you by the letter "P".

1 in 4 women

Have you seen the commercial for Clear Blue Easy Pregnancy Test? The one that says, "Did you know that 1 in 4 women can misread a traditional pregnancy test result?"

I searched for a video clip of the commercial, but couldn't find anything. But I did find it written their website here. In case you haven't seen the commercial and think I'm making this up.

That statistic surprised me. I think, "1 in 4 women can deny a pregnancy test" is more accurate.

You Just Know

You just know it's not going to be a good day when you start the day packing lunch for your child to take to school. He wants chicken nuggets with barbecue sauce. And when you take the barbecue sauce from the fridge you discover that the lid was not screwed on. How do you discover this? When you grab it by the lid. Your feet suddenly feel cool and moist. And not in a good way. You look down and see that your socks and the kitchen floor are now a deep reddish brown color. You just know this is not a good way to start the day.

I'm Still Here

I know some of you may have been wondering where I've been lately. And I'm guessing some of you may not have noticed that I was gone. And I'm sure still more are wondering who is Cookie anyway?

Would you believe I'm just being mysterious?

I didn't think so.

Today was my final exam in my Japanese class. I still have a presentation next week (that I haven't started preparing for) but soon I'll have more free time. I should have been studying yesterday, but my 6 year old had other plans. He vomited in his bed and slept in it all night. I walked into his room yesterday morning to a bed full of chunks. How can you vomit and not continue sleeping??? There was also a pile of bloody tissues next to his bed. He told me that the vomit was boogers. He had a bloody nose and thought that had caused the vomit. Poor kid. I had already taken him to the pediatrician last week and we already had a follow-up appointment scheduled for this morning. So he stayed home sick yesterday and the pediatrician gave him the OK to go back to school today. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the allergist. A 3 hour appointment.

The other thing that has been taking up my time is that I joined a gym. I've become a workout junkie. Or rather a workout junkie wannabe. My biggest complaint about the gym is that there is a McDonald's across the parking lot from the gym. So after burning 200 calories on the treadmill, I can reward myself with a thousand calorie milkshake. A vicious cycle.

Spring is in the Air

And so is the pollen.

The flowers on the trees are blooming, it's 60 degrees outside (just had to rub it in a little for my east coast Eskimos friends) and my 6 year old can't stop rubbing his eyes.

I mentioned last week that we had a trip to the urgent care. Yes, I took him to urgent care for his allergies. It's more of a clinic than urgent care. Anyway, I had to. The school nurse said he had pink eye.

I took my son at 7pm to the urgent care clinic. We waited for half an hour. Then a lady wearing shorts came in the room. Shorts, in February. And high heels. So high that she wobbled when she walked. And the high heeled shoes had ankle straps. She had grey hair pulled back in a pony tail. Oh, and she was wearing a white lab coat. Yes, the short-wearing, wobbling lady was the doctor.

I explained that my son has seasonal allergies and that the school nurse thought he had pink eye.

She looked at his eye and said she couldn't tell if it was allergies or pink eye, but the eye was definitely red and swollen.

Her solution? She told me to wait until the morning. If he can't open his eye because it's all crusted over, then he has pink eye. If not, he has allergies. $50 please.

Not so fast! "So what should I do if he has pink eye?"

"Oh, here's a prescription for eye drops."

"And what do I do if it's not pink eye?"

"Then he has allergies." I could here the duh tone in her voice.

"Well, the nurse won't let him back to school with red eyes."

"Ok, here's a note saying he can go back to school."

"Thanks, but is there anything else I can do for his red eyes. He's already taking Claritin and it doesn't seem to be working."

"Ok, here's another prescription for eye drops for allergies. Now $50 please."

So I left that clinic not knowing anymore than I did when I walked in. But I did have prescriptions and a note! That night I filled the prescription for the allergy eye drops, because that's what I thought was the problem.

The next morning, his eyes were still red, but not crusty. I gave him the drops and he went to school. That was almost a week ago.

This morning his eyes were hurting so bad that he woke up crying. So I thought maybe I should take him back to the doctor. Well, his normal pediatrician, not the short-wearing, high-heel-wearing, wobbly lady. But after talking with my husband we thought it might be worth just trying the other prescription that we already had.

I dropped the prescription off at the pharmacy this morning. When I picked it up the pharmacist explained how to use the ear drops. I interrupted her. "Isn't it for his eyes?" I asked. The pharmacist went in the back and I could hear some arguing. She came out and apologized for the error. Then told me that they didn't have the eye drops in stock. She called two other pharmacies for me. No place had the eye drops in stock. So she was going to order them and they would be there tomorrow.

2 hours later the pharmacy called. The lady told me that that medication doesn't actually come in eye drops. It's only available in ear drops. This only strengthens my confidence in the clinic "doctor." The pharmacist told me that she had already called the doctor's office and left a message. I thanked her. What a wonderful pharmacy I have.

I immediately called the clinic. The receptionist was very slow. She asked me four times what date my son was in the office. She took the information and said she would get back to me. She never did.

How many more weeks until winter??

What's That For?

The other day I was watching TV. I think I was watching the news. My 6 year old was on the floor sorting out his Pokemon cards for the 835th time.

A commercial came on and I didn't pay any attention to it until my 6 year old looked up and asked, "Mom, what's that for?"

I looked at the TV. It was a commercial for carefree pantyliners.

So I did what any responsible mom would do. I pretended like I didn't hear him.

Maybe when he's old enough to stop sucking thumb at bedtime I'll stop pretending that I can't hear his question.

Sisters

I saw this on a car in the grocery store parking lot yesterday:

I have 4 sisters.

This made me smile.

Holding On

I've been trying to encourage my kids to watch the Olympics. For some reason, they don't seem interested. My 6 year old started to watch some of the speed skating competition. He watched for a minute and looked confused.

I said, "It looks hard to skate that fast, doesn't it?"

He asked, "Are they allowed to hold onto the wall for help?"

"I guess so, but then they wouldn't go as fast."

"Mom, you should skate in the Olympics. You can skate without holding onto the wall!"

He made my day.

Are You Calling Me Old?

I was telling my husband that I recently read in a book that only old people wear watches these day. Young people use their cell phones to tell the time.

He laughed and pointed out that I'm the one who wears a watch. He never wears a watch.

My 6 year old said, "Mom, you should give your watch to dad!"

My husband wasn't as pleased with our son's comment as I was :)

The Missing Disc

As I've mentioned before, my husband likes to fix things. Mostly TV's these days. But he also fixes computers, computer monitors, game systems etc... Yes, I married a geek.

We've sold a few of these toys things on craigslist. Some that he bought just to fix and others he bought and used for a while and then decided it was time to upgrade. I am usually the one dealing with the interested buyers. I try to negotiate a fair price, schedule a pick up time etc...

Recently my husband sold an xbox. The original xbox. Yes, it was old, but it still worked great. We had been using it as a media center for a while. But then he decided to upgrade our media center. I have no idea what kind of media center we have now. I really can't tell the difference. (Please don't mention that to Mr. Cookie. He is very proud of his upgrades.)

The xbox was connected to one of the TV's until the day it was sold even though we hadn't used it a few months. Or at least we thought it wasn't being used.

I posted the xbox on craigslist. Someone wanted to buy it. My husband packed up the xbox and met the person. The next day I was going to the library. I couldn't find one of the discs that was due at the library. I asked my son where it was. He ran into the living room to retrieve it. He came back empty handed. "Mom, I put the disc in the xbox."

I asked my husband where the xbox was. He had sold it. It was gone and the disc was gone with it. The library disc.

My husband asked my son why would he put the disc in the xbox, when we were supposed to be using the newer, better, thing? The disc wasn't working in the newer better thing. So my son thought maybe it would work in the old trusty xbox. It didn't. The disc was scratched.

I went to the library with one disc of the 2-disc set. I explained what happened but I knew that I would have to pay for the disc. Of course I had to pay for the 2-disc set. $37 for 2 discs that don't even play. I was told that if I can find the disc within one year and return with the original receipt that I could get the money back.

I decided to ask the buyer if they have the disc and if they would be willing to return it. I called the number and a woman answered. She immediately knew that I must be calling about the disc. She wouldn't accept any money and said that she would mail it right away. Sure, I thought. I can't imagine it being high on her priority list.

Two days later the disc arrived in the mail.

What a nice person!

I spend so much time dealing with people on craigslist who say they are going to buy something and never show up. Or people who offer $100 for a $400 TV. Or people who are phishing for information and not really interested in buying anything. I can't tell you how much it made my day to find such a sincere, honest person. And of course being able to get back my $37 from the library is nice too.

My First Sale

I posted earlier about my husband's new hobby, fixing broken TV's and how it has transformed me into a used TV salesman.

I am happy to say that we sold our first TV last week. The craigslist buyer came to the house on Friday afternoon, picked up the TV and gave me the cash. I was thrilled. Thrilled to have the money and thrilled to see the TV gone!

Friday night at 9pm my cell phone rang. It was the TV buyer. He said the TV wasn't working right. It was shutting off by itself every 15 minutes or so. My heart sank. For a second, I lost faith in my husband's TV repair skills. My husband called the guy back 10 minutes later.

Mr. Cookie spoke with the TV buyer for about 5 minutes. He asked questions about the TV, about the signal etc... Then he said "It sounds like there could be a problem with the outlet you are using. If the outlet is loose it could cause the TV to shut off automatically." He suggested that they try a different outlet and call back if it doesn't help.

Six days have passed. The TV buyer hasn't called back.

I wonder if we can send a bill for technical assistance.

And I wonder if he was having the same problem with his old TV.

I Missed the Frat Party

My Japanese exam yesterday when better than I expected. I didn't ask anyone to sit under a chair like I may have on the previous quiz. But I probably wrote "Please help the phone." I was going for originality on that one.

Now I have a composition due tomorrow. A one page paper written completely in Japanese is due tomorrow. And the worst part is that I'm expected to write about my day.

We learned lots of great verbs in class. Verbs like, to go, to eat, to play, to watch TV or to watch a movie. We learned how to say "I'm working at my part time job today" or "I'm studying to be a dentist." Important things like that.

We did not learn how to say, "I did the laundry, washed the dishes, broke up an argument between my kids, listened to my friend about her divorce, spoke to my son's teacher about cuss words on the playground, paid bills online, negotiated TV prices with people from craigslist (another post to come about that), postponed making a dentist appointment or gave up on looking for curtains to go with the new paint in the bedroom." I don't understand why they don't put those activities first in the textbook designed for college students.

I guess I am not your typical college student. I do all of the work but miss out on the frat parties on the weekend. And I'm not sure that's a bad thing anymore.

Exam

In 2 hours, I will be taking an exam. An exam in my Japanese class that I am not prepared for.

I have been studying. I studied last week. I studied this weekend. I studied last night. I studied this morning. Still, I feel unprepared. I feel old. Studying didn't used to be so much work! Or maybe I blocked out that part of college.

I usually volunteer in my son's kindergarten classroom on Tuesday mornings. I cancelled this morning so that I could blog study some more.

Anyone want to let me copy off of their paper?

Before and After

As I mentioned earlier, I have been busy working on painting my bedroom.
Here is a "before" photo.


Notice the beautiful ladder in front of the windows. I love that way it filters the light. And the plastic floor covering is great for unexpected messes.

10 days later the room looked like this.
The furniture has been rearranged so that the ladder is off to the side of the windows and the light bulb stands alone to make a statement. The plastic carpet has been replaced with a worn out grayish color with a few stains to give it that "lived-in" look.

We're almost done moving everything back. We tried moving the bed to a different wall, but I think tomorrow we'll be moving it back to where it had been before this project got started.

I'm happy to see the cold lavender color gone. The new color is called "Navajo white." Turns out that it's more of a Navajo yellow. Still it's calm and peaceful, which is what I wanted for the bedroom.

Not Me

I know it's been a while since I last blogged. I'm sorry, but I don't have a good excuse reason. I've been busy painting the master bedroom. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow. So stay tuned!

I've written "Not Me" posts in the past. These are posts where I list all of things that I haven't done and would never do. For example:

1. I didn't leave my cell phone on while I was volunteering in my son's kindergarten class. And it didn't disrupt the class by ringing during reading time. Then I didn't fumble with the buttons so that I accidentally answered the call (instead of silencing) and then immediately hang up on my friend. Then my friend didn't call back and the ringing didn't disrupt the class again. And when she left a message, my phone didn't start chirping to let me know that I had a message waiting because I had "missed" a call.

2. I didn't return my friend's call and leave her message and then have my bluetooth accidentally dial her number 3 more times. And then I didn't immediately hang up so that my friend doesn't have 1 message and 3 missed calls all from me. (So sorry about that!)

3. I didn't write "Please sit under the chair" on my Japanese quiz this week.

4. I didn't buy 36 boxes of oatmeal at the store this week. (It was a good sale!)

5. I didn't stay up late watching a movie instead of studying for my Japanese quiz earlier this week and that doesn't explain #3.

6. After painting all day, I didn't consider even for a second my kids' attempt to get me to serve ice cream for dinner.

7. I didn't go a week without writing in my blog. Real bloggers never do that.

8. I didn't dip my hair into a can of white paint while painting the window trim.

9. I didn't drive 20 miles to Krispy Kreme for a box of donuts. Two weeks in a row.

10. I didn't wait until 12:30 to take a shower when I was scheduled to volunteer in my son's classroom at 1pm.

11. I didn't take my son to the wrong ice skating rink to go ice skating with his cub scout den.

These are all things that I would never do.

School Play

My kids don't have school tomorrow. Again. I don't know what the excuse reason is this time. I think we are celebrating the last Friday in January.

My kids came off the bus today very excited about being able to stay up a little later tonight and they asked if we could go to the school play tonight after dinner. Grades 3-6 are putting on "Peter Pan" or as my 6 year old calls it, "The Tinkerbell Movie."

I love going to the theater. I have even been to a Broadway show once. But a play starting kids in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades is really meant just for the parents to enjoy. I didn't want to go. I told the kids that I didn't think we would have enough time tonight. My 7 year old had basketball and that would rush dinner if we had to leave the house again by 6:45. But the kids were almost finished eating dinner at 6:20. They still wanted to go. Reluctantly, I agreed.

Then my 7 year old suddenly no longer wanted to go. Hallelujah When I asked him why not, he told me that he never called his friend to make sure that his friend was going too. My 6 year old said that one of his friends would be there. My 7 year old thought about it and wanted to go again. And he wanted to bring his Pokemon cards. My 6 year old wanted to bring a sleeping bag.

I explained that we would be going to see a play, not to play. We would not be bringing Pokemon cards, sleeping bags or anything else. We would sit in seats and watch the performance.

Silence.

Then my 7 year old said, "Then I don't want to go."

Whew! Neither did I.

A New State

Tonight at dinner my 7 year old asked me, "Mom, is onion a state?"

"Onion is a vegetable, not a state," I said. I thought he knew that already.

"Then why does the TV say it is?"

I looked at the TV. The president was giving his State of the union address, not state of the onion.

A New Word

Yesterday my 6 year old said to me, "Mom, I thought of a new word."

"What's that, honey?" I asked.

"Later" he said.

"Later?" I repeated. "I think that's already a word."

"Noooooo, not later. Later!" my 6 year old insisted.

"How do you spell that?" I asked.

"L-a-d-e-r" he said.

"Oh. What does that mean?"

"It's a boy who screams like a lady!" he told me.

It seems like my kids' are learning new words every day.

Not A Good Idea

Today we went to a gym at an old elementary school for my second grader's basketball practice. Outside of the gym was a group of teenage boys with skateboards. Two were on the steps and one was climbing a tree next to the steps. He had a video camera in the tree. It looked like the setting for an "America's Funniest Videos" clip.

As we get closer my 5 year old noticed what was going on. He pointed at the teenagers and said loudly, "Mom, that isn't a good idea, is it?"

I had to agree with him. I hurried my kids into the gym quickly.

Next lesson will have to be "minding your own business."

This proud parent moment is brought to you by your local YMCA boys basketball association.

A Used TV Salesman

Before I start today's post, I wanted to follow up on yesterday's post. I took my 6 year old to the pediatrician (he wasn't even the cute pediatrician!). My son has strep throat. After the pediatrician's office we stopped by the grocery store to fill his prescription. The way my 6 year old was running up and the aisles shooting his brother with an imaginary machine gun, you would never guess that he was sick. But that's what the pediatrician said. I should have asked to see the test results myself. After a day's worth of antibiotics my son was able to go to school this morning. Yay!

A Used TV Salesman... That's me. When I was a little girl and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, "an astronaut" or "a scientist" or "rich and famous." I never dreamed that I would be a TV salesman. Make that a used TV salesman. But somehow that is what I've become. Or rather, that is what my husband has turned me into. (Yes, it's always his fault.)

In the last few months Mr. Cookie has started a new hobby. He likes fixing broken TV's. First he just wanted a nice TV for the family room. Something to replace the dinosaur that we've had for the last 13 years or so. He found a cheap broken one and thought it was worth a try to fix it. So he got it and fixed it. We kept it in the family room for a while. Then he found another broken one that he wanted to try fixing. The second one was bigger and better. He fixed it and we used it for a while. Now we have 10 TV's in our house. 10 TV's?!

For the last month or so I've been asking if we could sell any of these TV's that are springing up like wild mushrooms out of the carpet. He always had an excuse some reason for keeping each one. But last night he finally agreed to sell one. The big one. The biggest one we own. But he left the selling part to me. I took the picture. I created the craigslist posting. I answer the emails of interested buyers. So I have become a used TV salesman.

If you're interested in getting a pre-owned television, step right up, because I have a deal for you! And if you call in the next 15 minutes I'll also throw in this lovely remote control too!

Starting the Day Off Right

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. My kids have no school today. We started the day off right by doing some homework that we were too lazy to do all weekend. My 7 year old is really into the "Captain Underpants" series. Part of his homework is to read any book he wants for 20 minutes. He read "Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman." (I'm so proud of him!) As he was reading he looked up and said, "This is so funny it says 'shut your pie hole.' What does that mean?"

Now I have to wonder, "why does he think it's funny if he doesn't know what it means?"

I told him that "pie hole is not-so-nice way to say mouth." He wasn't impressed and kept on reading. Another important vocabulary lesson completed.

My 5 year old started the day by vomiting in the toilet.

What a great way to start the day.

The Rain

It's January and I live in Seattle. That means it rains. Every day. Yesterday the sun came out and teased us for about thirty minutes. Then the deluge started. As I've mentioned before, I'm not from Seattle. I did not grow up with a rainy season. In Seattle only tourists carry umbrellas. I am still a tourist. I carry my umbrella even in a drizzle.

To appear busy, the weather reporters show when you can expect light rain, medium rain, supersized rain or even rain and wind. This morning was supersized rain. The kind where you get soaked in 2.9 seconds. The kind where your kids get wet from the top down and from the bottom up at the same time. Lovely.

My kids were born in New Jersey. We moved here 4 years ago when they were 2 and 3 years old. They don't remember New Jersey. They think they were born here. They act like they were born here. They don't mind the rain.

This morning at the bus stop in the supersized rain I had my umbrella. It's not a wimpy $5 Walmart umbrella. Mine is a giant Seattle-tourist-sized golf umbrella. I can fit an entire T-ball team under my umbrella. (Yes, I've done it. Twice.) But, my kids wanted no part of my umbrella. They would rather be in the rain. I watched them play. They acted like they didn't even notice the rain. True Seattleites.

I wonder how many more years before I stop noticing the rain?

The Focused Dermatologist

Yesterday I went to the dermatologist. I chose this dermatologist because his office is close to my house, he takes my insurance and he had appointments available before next year.

I needed to two moles removed close to my shoulder at the base of my neck. The nurse came in and set me up with a lovely bib. Then the doctor came in. He got all comfy on his stool and got to work. Then he started talking. But he wasn't talking to me. (Not that I was in the mood for conversation.) He asked the nurse to phone in a prescription to the pharmacy for his wife. He gave the details of the prescription and then talked a little about her cold sores. Nice to know that he was focusing on his work, which at that moment was me.

Today I have a band aid on my neck. I'm a little embarrassed to go in public. I wonder how many people will giggle when they see me. Heck, if I saw a lady my age who looked like she was trying to cover up hickeys, I would giggle too!

Times Are Tough

Yesterday my 6 year old lost a tooth at school. He was very excited to show me the tooth in his hand as he ran off the bus.

He went to bed last night and the tooth fairy came. She left $1 under his pillow.

This morning my son wasn't very excited about the money. He handed me the $1 bill and said, "Mom, is this fake?"

He hadn't seen such a crisp dollar bill before. Or maybe the economy is finally taking it's toll on the tooth fairy?

A Note

Last night when I tucked my 6 year old into bed, he stuck his tongue out at me.

I told him, "Be careful. Someone might come along and pour hot sauce on that tongue if it's sticking out like that."

He thought for a minute and then came up with a solution, "I'll just make a sticky note that says, 'Do not pour hot sauce here.'"

I couldn't help but giggle and never bother to ask exactly where he was going to stick that sticky note.

$15 Per Lesson

Around Thanksgiving my son's school had another a fundraiser. They were selling poinsettias. this time. The poinsettias were $15 each, cash only. I didn't have $15 exact cash to send in right away. But after a few days I sent the envelope back with enough money to buy one plant.

I waited for the first week of December to get my plant. The first week of December came and went. Then the second week came and week. And then the third. Winter break had started and I never got my plant.

I contacted the lady who was in charge of the fundraisers. She forwarded me to the lady who was handling this specific fundraiser. My envelope was never received. She suggested that I check with the teacher.

I checked with the teacher. She doesn't remember seeing the envelope and it's not in the classroom now. She suggested that I check with my son.

My son insists that he handed it in.

It's gone. No poinsettia this year. And no $15.

$15 Lesson Learned. Do not send cash in an envelope to school.



Just a note here, I do not believe there was any wrong doing by any of the teachers, staff or the fundraising committee. I know how things get lost and turn up 6 months later when they clean out for summer. I also wonder who else was watching that envelope since it was clearly marked on the outside how many plants were ordered and how much money was inside.

They're Gone

My kids went back to school today. I'm ready to start singing "Free Fallin" by Tom Petty.

Part of me feels like a bad mother when I say that I am happy to send my kids to school and have the days to myself.

Then I look around at my friends, other moms who were not counting the days until resumed. I wonder what makes them better mothers.

Most of them work outside of the home. I used to know a few other moms who were home during the day, but not anymore. They have returned to work. I have not. I did work for a little while after my kids were born. Working does have good and bad points. Earning money is good. Interacting with other adults is good. Being up all night with a teething baby after having been at work all day and knowing that you have to return at 7am is not so good. Missing out on your kids "firsts" isn't so good either.

Most of my friends also have family nearby. During the winter break, my friends were able to drop their kids at their relative's house for at least one night. They also had family gatherings during the winter break. The kids were given a chance to play with cousins and were spoiled by grandparents. My nearest relative is in Detroit. I am in Seattle. So there were no family gatherings or sleeping at a relative's house for my kids.

The other moms who were counting down the days had breaks from their kids. They did not endure the 18 days like I did. 18 days home, with no plans and miserable weather. 18 days of refereeing. 18 days of whining.

I am glad the kids are back in school not just for the break that it gives me. But also, the kids need a break too. The need a break from me. They need a break from boredom. They need to be with their friends and teachers again.

Now I have 18 days worth of chores and errands to catch up on.

One More Day

Today is Monday January 4th. Most people are returning to work today after the New Year's break. Most kids are returning to school today after a long winter break.

Not my kids. They are off from school again today. Not for snow. It was a scheduled day off. I can't answer "why?" I think it's a cruel joke by the school.

One more day and things will be back to "normal."