I won't bore you with all the details of my holiday. I've been MIA. Suffice it to say, it was awesome! The kids had a blast. There were gifts galore, food galore and a nasty ass bout of kick-your-mother-fucking-ass food poisoning. Your's truly got that last gift from Santa. But it turned out to be a wonderful Christmas.
Moving on...Happy New Year! I'm getting ready to have a house full of people. It's gonna be food, drinks, music, games, kids, grownups acting like kids, and so on. Can't wait!
I did want to throw this out however. It's a pseudo resolution. (I hate New Year's resolutions, but what the hell.)
The other day a good friend of mine was over with her kids. We had a multi family playdate over here, and while the kids were basically trashing our house, us moms were enjoying conversation in the kitchen.
She informed me of something I had never thought of....NEVER IN MY LIFE! The three of us are stay at home moms. You know...we stay.at.home. with our kids. Well....our kids are getting older and whatnot, but that's another story.
She told me she doesn't feel like she NEEDS to keep her house clean everyday. If something doesn't get put away, it's no biggie. I said to her....."Seriously!?! You don't pick up the house and do all your household cleaning daily?" She said no.
Now this was a whole WTF moment for me. She clearly saw that I was stunned and said this to me. And trust me SAHM's when you read this, you'll be all...Shit! That's fucking brilliant!
She said, "I'm a STAY AT HOME MOM! Not a stay at home housekeeper. My job is to be a mom. Raise my kids. And if I have time, the other stuff can get done. But being a mom all day is my job. And when my husband comes home from HIS JOB, we clean stuff together."
Gone is the pressure to make sure my house is pretty clean and picked up when Ryan gets home. Not that he EVER put those rules on me (laughable really if he did) but I really just thought it was "part of the job". But no more friends. It's my "Good God Almighty Oprah AH HA" moment.
So......the house may be a mess in 2011, but my kids will be damn happy.
Happy New Year friends and family! I love you guys!
I had to toss this one in...the other day was Claire's arrival date. December 12th 2006. We picked her up at the MSP airport with family and friends. Thanks Punky Brewster for being part of my life....I love you huge!
Today I spent the bulk of the day with my youngest sister, my parents, and my completely disgusted daughter. My sister and I had decided to tackle the unimaginable. My parents pool table.
You must understand that my entire life I grew up with a pool table. And for that entire time of my life, I played pool on it, MAYBE 3 times. EVER.
But recently, my youngest sister, Cindi and I have been fearful of the impending doom that is my parents lean towards hoarding. Not hoarding in the A&E Hoarders. But getting closer than I would prefer.
We mostly spent the day laughing at all the ridiculous sear sucker my mom owned. That, and the multitude of sweatshirts and tee shirts that have holiday and seasonal appliques. I could so win the ugliest Holiday sweater contest if I snagged one of those bad boys. They were, in a word....Hideous. But my mother insists, she "had to do it because she was a teacher and the kids liked it." Bullshit. My mom is THAT old lady. Plain and simple. She still buys them and she hasn't taught in years.
My mom spent the day in a major panic. One thing is for sure. My mother is a shopaholic in the clinical sense. And seeing all her "stuff" get shoved into bags for Savers or Goodwill almost killed her. Most of the clothing was hers. And most of it was too small for her. I am assuming that's why it was all on the pool table. But holy shit woman!
Claire was just visibly stunned into submission from the large quantity of clothing towering over her. She said and I quote, "I'm so out of here. This.Place.Is.NUTS!" Yep. And she's four.
When Cindi and I started the, what I like to now deem as, THE EVENT, my dad who is over 6 feet tall was standing on one side of the pool table and I was on the other. I couldn't see him. Not shitting you.
The following photo is a re-enactment of what was. And I seriously, Shit.You.Not.
(Like I said THIS IS NOT my parents pool table, but it's damn near close.) I actually found a sweatshirt I shared with my other sister Sara, back in High School. How long ago was that SJT? Let's just say the SWEATSHIRT had shoulderpads. *shiver*
When I posted something about doing this on Facebook, a couple of my friends and Cindi's friends said... "Oh my WORD!! You have been cleaning that thing off for decades! Were any of my clothes there? Haha!" AND "oh my god- I know that table. I know why it took all day" AND "That's hilarious. I remember coming to your house and thinking "Wow, that is a shit-ton of clothes on that pool table". hahaha".
I told Ryan I was afraid of mice crawling out. Ryan said he would be afraid of midgets crawling out. But for now it's clean as a whistle. Too bad you can't play pool. There's too much other shit AROUND the table.
I should probably write about the Winter Storm that blew through Minnesota this past weekend. But to be honest I haven't had time. I've been digging us out for the past several days.
And this is nothing compared to the total it was the next day. All in all we got 22 inches of beautiful white snow.
I have stories, and whatnot to share, just no time. Snow makes everything move at a very alarming pace. One second it's as slow as Miles' digestive system, (more on that another time) and we have all the time in the world, and the next thing you know it's the end of the week. What the hell?
So I'll leave you with this for now. The snow plow went through again. And the snow BANKS that are on the sides of my driveway are at least 4 if not 5 feet tall. Happy Winter!!!
Well...we are in full swing for the holiday season. However, sadly, we are not in the full swing holiday mood. For numerous reasons, this season seems...flat.
I mean..we decorated the tree
And we are going to the Holidazzle Parade on Saturday. Before the parade, the kids and I will be baking holiday cookies with a dear friend. Christmas music is piping throughout the house like we're some kind of department store on Christmas steroids. Playdates have been made for the week off of school, and New Year's Eve plans are being set in motion.
But for some reason, there is very little Christmas cheer coursing through our veins. Please don't get me wrong. The kids are bat shit bonkers for the holidays, and we are putting on a good show for them. They know nothing is awry. Well I suppose I can only speak for myself really. I'M not very cheery. Things just aren't the same as they were. I'm bummed I won't see my sister for the 3rd year in a row. (She's in California and it's are-you-fucking-kidding-me-you-want-how-much-AND-my-first-born-for 2-tickets? Expensive)
And our plans, once again this year for Christmas have been.......altered. But we have no control over that. We just keep on going like we always do.
*SIGH* (yeah that was a big sigh)
But I'm going to "soldier on". I'm happy that my health is almost a moot point. I'm relieved the kids are no longer sick with the stomach bug. Ryan is here and not traipsing around the country. And I have some of the most wonderful friends ever. So I guess I should shut the hell up and be thankful. And I am. I'm just having a pity party for now and it will stop.......now..no wait...NOW....no......yeah...ok.
I'll leave you with this. This time of year calls for this type of snuggling. Trust me.
Well...I have to admit it....this is HIGHLY suspect. I am warning those of you who are friends of mine from the preschool....you may not particularly appreciate this. But I, my dear friends, laughed my damn ass off when I saw it. And so did a girlfriend of mine, who Claire was showing this book too.
The kids bring home something called a Blessing Book. It's a book that tells about each kid in the class. They color a picture and tell things about themselves. It's based on the "theme" that the year is following. This year's theme has something to do with cowboys and Jesus. (It's a Lutheran preschool.) What the two have in common? I have no fucking idea, but I love this preschool. LOVE IT!
Anyway....the book has this photo of a farm that the kids color. This is what I found. Also this photo was NOT Claire's. It was the page next to hers. HER silo was purple. It looked...painful.
It's all very questionable. I figured they didn't know what they were doing when they put this photo on the sheet for kids to color. That or I have the dirtiest mind ever. I'm going with both.
However this IS the school that had a basket with pot leaves in the playhouse.
There are three things I do the day after Thanksgiving. 1: Shop like a mother fucker. 2: Get Christmas Ornaments (more on that) 3: Set the house for Christmas. Tree and all the stuff.
Let's begin with number 1. It was a cold son of a bitch today. I woke at 2:15AM, showered, and left to get my mom and sister to stand in front of Target 1 hour before it opened. We were there at 3 am. I wanted to get Claire a keyboard. It was half price and it was the EXACT one she wanted. I didn't HAVE to go, but I love her and I wanted to.
It was cold. So cold that when you sniff in, your nostrils freeze together. I think it was 9 degrees with a wind chill below zero. And yes, we stood outside of Target for 50 minutes. Dumb. But I do it every year. I've done it since I was 17. Today was my 20 year anniversary of stupidity and saving money. Meh.
So there is this long line of folks. And some howdy-do woman comes sauntering up and cuts off at least 150 people. There was quite a kerfuffle, and then when security came up to ask her to go to the END of the line, she said, "I didn't know you had to stand in line." Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha........wait for it.........ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. That woman was on some kind of crazy shit. The guy behind us said, "lady...seriously? There are 300 people standing here. IN LINE!"
I was able to make very nice purchases. Ryan and I make a list. Then I go for it. It's almost a full contact sport.
Then on to number 2. Get Christmas Ornaments. When Ryan and I first met, we decided we wanted to have our own little tradition of sorts. He used to join in the shopping torture with me and my mom, but after the second year, he knew he was in with the family and had no need to impress. So we decided when I was done with all my shopping, we would go to Target (those corporate-monopolizing-giants-who-get-all-my-money-weekly) and we would pick out an ornament. It's been years now, and we have a really cool collection of ornaments.
When we got the kids, we allowed them to choose one too. They love this tradition and we hope to keep it going.
Guess who's is who's.
And third, we always put up our Christmas decorations and tree the day after. It's something my parents did when we were kids, and I love it.
This year was especially different and pretty damn amazing. The kids decorated the ENTIRE tree by themselves. It looks fabulous! And I got to drink wine. Best Christmas Tree puttin' up EVER!
I'm a sheep once again. BAAAAHHHHHH...Twitter has sucked me in. Granted I only did it cause I was bored as hell the other night, whilst the children and Ryan played Lord of the Rings Monopoly.
Or was it the time Ryan and the Skog brothers were sitting around partaking in Ryan's new homebrew. UGH. Either way, suffice it to say I was bored. And just decided, "I'm going for it!"
Social networking monopoly be damned. (You do know I've only been a Facebook user for a bit.) It's like stay at home mom crack. And with the iPhone. Oh my damn. It's ridiculous.
I have about 8 posts. Oh I'm sorry....tweets. 2 of which are replys to my BFF and to Steve Martin, who incidentally is hilarious and clever all at the same time!
I have big shoes to fill. However, I feel that twitter is a good way to say things that go into my head and usually head out my mouth, but only to Ryan and some of my closest friends. This way, I won't offend 60% of my Facebook friends. Cause...I can be offensive. Just saying.
I'm excited to begin this NEW format of sass. Although it's nice to see it's well established. Screw being the guinea pig. I want to be a follower and see how it goes. And now after HOW many years? I feel that Twitter is safe. And....look out.
I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, my family has had the stomach flu. It started with Miles last week. Then at the end of the week, Ryan and Claire got sick. Then this past Monday......your's truly got it. And I still "got" it. Boo.
This is what we are doing tonight.
Eating frozen pizza. Watching, in this particular order, Billy The Exterminator, iCarly , and Star Wars The Clone Wars. Because we are all feeling crappy still, we are having a sit-on-the-sofa-and-veg night. It's perfect.
Things I did/am doing on and around my 37th birthday. In chronological order.
~ Meet up with 12 amazing women. Drink. Eat. Play inappropriate board games. Win inappropriate gift for being 5th in the door. Laugh. Hug. Laugh. Drive home in a blizzard at 2am.
~ Wake up to a 4 year old yelling at 7am...."IT SNOWED MOM!!!! GET UP!!! Oh yeah..Happy Birthday. GET UP!!!! SNOW!!!!"
~ Take photos of kids and husband in the snow at 7:45 AM.
~ Go back inside to watch tv and drink more coffee.
~ Fix hot cocoa and popcorn for a mid morning snack
~ Un-tangle the It-should-never-get-tangled-but-we-lied-cause-we're-apple-and-we-can-do-whatever-the-fuck-we-want iPod cord.
~ Clean out entry way...cause oh my GOD there's a lot of wet snow clothes.
~ Sweater shave the bathroom rug. Seriously. I can't stand little nubbies on my feet. It's just gross.
~ Try to talk to the kids...but they are so mesmerized by the snow it's like this..."Hey kids...blah blah blah"...their answer..." blah blah bla...ooh snow..."
~ That's about it. I may throw some laundry in for good measure, but I still have Sunday to be snowed in too. Wouldn't want to overdo it.
I'm going to start making a HUGE deal out of my birthday. More than ever!! Friends...Family....get ready. I spend about 99.9% of my time putting my family and friends first. I do. All the time. And this is going to be the ONE day of the year that is ALL ABOUT ME. Selfish? Sure. But it's gonna be great. Now if I could just get my family and friends on board with this...I'm all good.
When I go to a movie, I have to see the previews. If I miss one, I will do the following.
Leave, exchange my ticket for the next show, wait, see the next show with ALL the previews. I have only had to do this once, and no matter who I go to the movies with, they know I will do it. And we're always early. ALWAYS.
When I'm in the bathroom taking a shower, and there's a magazine on the counter, I will turn it over so the faces aren't looking at me when I get out. It just freaks me out. And NO...I'm not kidding.
When a green arrow light STAYS green for me to get through it, especially if there's a long line of cars, I will say, OUT LOUD, "Thank you green light thank you green light thank you!" Can't hurt right?
I have to check on my kids every night before I go to bed. No matter what time I go to bed or how tired I am. I have to see if they are sleeping and breathing.
If I have a dream that Ryan's been cheating on me (it doesn't happen all that often) I'm mad at him for the rest of the day. Even though I know it was a dream. Poor guy.
I still cross my fingers like it will REALLY work. Not the "hope you don't know I'm lying" cross my fingers, but the "please please PLEASE!!!??!!" crossing of the fingers.
When I've seen a scary movie, and when I say scary movie, I mean scare the shit out of me scary, I will look around my house and make comparisons from the movie to my real life. If there are similarities, I will do what I can to change it so it won't happen to me too. Example: I had a creepy hand made clown that my grandma got me. It was so much like the Poltergeist clown, I gave it to my sister. Cause, there was no way in HELL that thing was gonna get me. And so what if it got her? She was annoying to me on a pretty regular basis. Sadly, I still make the comparisons.
Now..this one I know is weird. But...when I'm at someone else's house or in a public bathroom, I will put a piece of tp in the the toilet before I go. Just in case there's a camera in the bowl. No kidding. I saw a movie that it happened in and now I think, "It could happen, so I might as well prevent embarrassing things from popping up on Youtube.
I DO realize that professing these things, makes me sound exceedingly paranoid, and at the very least certifiable. But...I'm not crazy. I at least know that. I like to think of myself as "quirky." It's a much more endearing term that looney.
And...I also get that I have major bathroom hang ups. Oh well. You don't have to live with me. (Oh wait, Ryan, you do, but you love me for my quirkiness.)
Yeah..and I'm bossy. But everyone I know is bossy. That's nothing out of the ordinary.
I'm going to start off by saying...BOTH of these types of communication get me into trouble at some time or another. Be it me and my big dumb mouth, or me typing something and not putting a "smiley :) face" next to it. And the recipient getting offended.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE all kinds of communication! If I knew how to send carrier pigeons, you can bet your sweet ass you'd get a message from me that way, REAL PEOPLE IN MY LIFE.
But lately, I've noticed people don't know how to communicate IN PERSON anymore. Why the hell not? I've heard on some lady talk show yesterday (not really sure which one either) that people just put it out there, and it's out there. No explanation, no real conversation. Scary. Are we raising a generation of kids who can't hold a conversation? Who can't have a debate? Who can't take criticism and process it, rather than shut the laptop or the cell?
I know teens who don't even talk on the phone anymore. They just text. Like their fingers are completely independent from their bodies. I've never seen anyone move their fingers as fast as a teen "texting" to a friend. (Holy shit do I sound old right now.)
I'll say this. I'm a talker. There's no doubt about that. I would rather talk to you on the phone than email. The reason? I have a lot to say. And I can't type that fast. It takes me FOREVER to text anything. I have an iPhone and I am constantly sending the wrong words. Stupid fat fingers. Plus...I'm a very opinionated person. Oh NO not you SJT! I know you're thinking that. RIGHT. NOW.
But I talk a lot. And....to be fair....I will listen to you a lot too. However, know this. If you don't preface your conversation with, "I just want you to listen. No advice please. " You're gonna get it.
I will say this. Most of my girlfriends talk a lot too. When you get some of us together it gets sooo loud. So not only do we talk incessantly, we are about 10 decibles above what the "norm" is. Ryan always says he knows when I'm talking to my BFF on the phone because I'm yelling. Not yelling AT her. Just yelling cause we're most likely excited about something absolutely stupid.
The times I almost always hold my tongue is when I'm with my husband's family. Seriously. If those people knew how much I REALLY talk and how opinionated I really am, they'd ALL disown me. Ryan's family is very subdue most of the time. Unless there is a discussion about politics. Then all bets are off. But that's when I really shut up. Our politics are WAAAAYYYY different.
Anyway. I think I'll always be that person who would rather TALK to you in person or on the phone rather than just email or text. That's just me.
Don't even get me started on REAL mail vs Email. Oh man. I would kill to get a handwritten letter from a friend. I love it!
*My sister was bitching about me not blogging lately. So the photo is for her. Totally unrelated and it's awesome. Oh and....
So...I'm my sister's guardian. She's 35 and has special needs. And FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS FUCKING GOOD IN THIS WORLD, her group home staff are a bunch of fuck nuts.
I get calls all the time for stupid shit. I mean the dumbest things. "How much money can A take out for lunches this week?" And my standard answer is "how much does she USUALLY take out, every single week that you never call me?"
GAH!
Last night, it was boyfriend things, birthday party things, and the like. After 2 hours of being on the phone with her program director, her work place, and my sister, I was ready to just tell everyone, "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER PEOPLE!"
But in the real world, that's not allowable.
My sister is pretty high functioning. And in real people talk, she doesn't seem to have any disabilities. But she does. And after a bit of talking with her, you too will realize she's functioning at about a 12 year old. Yep. I am guardian of a perpetual pre teen. Hormones and all. And she LOVES her some boys.
But with this, she also has a lot of things working against her in the dating world. She IS a 35 year old WOMAN. And so once in a while her staff seem to forget that she is in the group home for a reason. And things happen that shouldn't. Like for instance, her dating a man she dated when she was 19 and it was ALL KINDS OF MESSED UP. It was bad. Really bad. Let's just say my sister didn't walk away unscathed. But recently it's been brought to my attention that she is currently working with said young man. And is once again scheming to see him outside of the house.
My sister is a danger to herself. You can pretty much talk her into anything. And so she is never to be left alone. She has what the county states, "24 hour staffed supervision". This means...she is NEVER out of anyone's sight. And now her staff is telling me she's been dating this dude.
It's bad. And I can't "really" keep her from dating him. But seriously. She's a sneaky one. And I know there's trouble brewing. Something somewhere is going to happen. And the worst part is...her group home and her workplace are going to suffer the brunt of it. But I've warned as many people of what is happening as I can.
I'm being pretty vague. And you can completely understand why. But UGH! I don't like where things are headed. I don't like it at all.
This year is the first year in......15 years that I have decided to voluntarily watch football. One tends to avoid such a sport that involves being beat senseless by your asshole of an ex husband if a specific team lost. And let me tell you...at the time, the losing team in question, was the Green Bay Packers. They were not great. And I had many a black eye from the losses. Yuck. Basketball season was even worse. But that's another story, and I will NEVER be interested in that sport.
But I am and have always been a Vikings fan. Secretly of course. But when Ryan and I met, he, out of complete courtesy, avoided watching football at all around me. Seriously...Best.Man.Ever.
A few years ago, I said to him, "you CAN watch football. I really don't care." And so it was.
Ryan began watching the Vikings with ferver. He really does love football. And I can't believe he held off watching for so many years. I never asked him to either. He just did it.
So this year I said, nay....announced, "I'm so going to watch the Vikings this year!"
I watched a bit last year. Just because, watching Brett Favre play for the Vikings was so in-your-face-stupid-abusive-ass-wipe-who-worshiped-Brett-Favre-so-much-when-he-lost-you-had-to-beat-your-wife. BEST GAME EVER when they killed Green Bay. Twice. Heh heh heh. But I digress.
Ryan and I watched the "big game" last night. The Vikings vs the Jets. So many things were built up about this game. New players that "should" help them win big. The dirt that is surrounding Brett and his old team the Jets. (Just to clarify, I don't agree with the article posted, I just think it explains what happened pretty well.) And so on.
But seriously. It was horrible. Like watching a train wreck. Ryan and I stayed up to the bitter end. Then I decided this:
MN football is like having sex for the first time. It's built up to be awesome, you have great expectations, everyone talks about it like it's gonna be the best thing of all time. And then....wah wah wahhhhhh...it's SO disappointing. But you always go back and try it again.
I'll still watch. Just for fun. But the cheerleader in me is not necessarily emerging.
8:00 am: Target run (Of course. What doctor appointment DOESN'T include one of these?)
8:30 am: Home
And....Dishes, 2 loads of surprise laundry, un pack an impacted bowel *shudder*, bake 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies to entertain Claire, vacuum, clean the bathroom, put laundry away, PTO emails, facebook fun with HS friends to keep my sanity, make lunch, clean up after lunch, wait hand and foot on 6 year old who has "bowel" issues today, and then pretty soon...get started on dinner.
It's only 2:30 and I need a nap. Stupid bowels screwing up my whole day. Poop.
Not feeling very bloggy lately. Ryan's been gone for what's going on 5 weeks now. Home on the weekends. But...I'm overwhelmed, and tired. And for some reason, Claire has decided to skip 4 years old and land right into her teen years.
Example:
Claire was mad at me for after telling her to go wash her hands before lunch. She stomped into the bathroom, and proceeded to open and SLAM it shut. 6 times in succession. When I stopped in the hallway to see what she was doing, I said, "Claire...what are you doing?" She told me this, "I'm slamming the door cause I'm MAD AT YOU!!!!" Then she kicked the door shut in my face.
She's fucking four.
That is how it's been. Miles has kept to himself with the occasional, "tear up" because things are just that shitty here once in a while.
Oh my. I am trying not to be "that mom". You know the one who freaks out at the drop of a hat. But seriously. A person can only take so much..and on average 4 hours of sleep a night.
I give credit where serious credit is due. Single parents. Kudos. I don't know how you do it. I don't like. I don't want it. I actually LOATHE it.
On the upside, we had a perfect fall day on Sunday with friends. Apple Orchard and major comfort food for dinner. And then it started all over again. Ryan left at 4:20am Monday morning.
I will be in the half way house sooner than later if this continues.
Today was Claire's big preschool Bike A Thon. It's the big huge fundraiser for LADC.
It was lots of fun! It's 2 of the preschool's locations gathering together for a bike parade, and family fall festival. Super fun for kids.
Ryan knew he would have to spend most of the time with the kids ALONE. Thankfully he planned ahead. I was pretty much not to be seen for 95% if the day. Oh well. It was fine. The kids have a lot of fun.
Claire started off very stoic with the bike parade. Miles decided to jog along side of her the whole time. But Claire was NOT messing around with the "earning her pledges". The kid rode a circle at least 10+ times. She was S-E-R-I-O-U-S!! And Miles totally gave up after lap 3.
They did "Crazy hair". Which is basically, back combing your kid's hair until you KNOW it's not coming out without the weed whip and then spray painting it the most hideous colors known NOT in nature. In the past Claire has been adamant about not having it. She thought it was "dumb". But her friends did it and so she had to do it too. If you click on the photo and see her face in the mirror...she's totally having buyers remorse.
Among the rest of the things to do were, carnival games, a jumper, mini golf, arts and crafts, and major playground time. Then lunch. They also had a DJ putting out great hits such as, Black Eyed Peas "I Got A Feeling" (Loathe), all the KIDZ BOP crap, which BTW..is kinda creepy. And of course the all popular wedding circuit run. All the Disco and 50's music you can stomach...and then they keep on going after you clearly have had enough.
However, I found it odd, the most popular song to date, the one that gets the kids and the parents up, shaking their booties, and thinking they are too cool for a Lutheran pre school? The Y.M.C.A. Yes yes....it's a party song. Major. But it's my understanding it was written as an homage to all the gay "encounters" you can have at the Y.M.C.A on the DL. And all these folks at Claire's preschool are bustin' a move to it. And let me tell you, the white man overbite was in full effect!!!! Ah well. Who doesn't love a good gay anthem? I can't think of anyone...and if you are one...time to move on from THIS blog. We don't want any of your crazy hating here. Off the soap box now.
Basically, the Bike A Thon was a huge success! I'll totally miss this next year when Claire is rockin' Kindergarten. This preschool is kind of amazing!
Today Ryan and I took the kids to our local "kids hair cutting place". And it's in our neighborhood. A very diverse neighborhood for suburbia, thank you very much.
But today. It was like we were in some kind of fucking-racist-alternate-suburban-universe.
Here's what went down.
When the stylist called us up, Claire and I walked to the desk. Then this wack job of a lady had her little boy with her and asked the stylist, "Do you have specific stylists for each kid?" Our lady said, "No, who ever can get to them in the order they arrive is how it works. Did you want some one specific?" The woman said, "No, I just don't want my son sitting in the seat after THAT girl."
All the while she was looking at Claire like she had flesh eating virus, or like Claire was covered in shit and smelled like it too. Our stylist didn't quite get it, and in the split second that she did, you could see it spread across her face, like...WHAT THE FUCK LADY?
Then they got her kid another stylist.
Now......I've dealt with racist idiots many times in my 36 almost 37 years. HOWEVER. Let me be CRYSTAL clear. I have NEVER had anyone give my kids the stink eye like that, and flat out refuse to have her kid near mine. I was so shocked, I couldn't do anything. But I sadly admit I cried in the car on the way home.
Not because Claire had any idea about what happened.....and I kept my voice down when telling Ryan. But because, really bitch? It's 2010! I was so frustrated and saddened by the whole thing. Ugh. I just wanted to rant and rave and tell her how her racist attitude is going to get her "hurt" in the parking lot. But I'm an adult, according to Claire. And I have to be able to set the GOOD example for my kids. Because they will have to deal with it on their own eventually.
And damnit if Ryan didn't take the high road by saying, "She's the one who has to live with herself." Fuck that. I wanted to cut the bitch.
We eat pretty much all our meals together at the table when Ryan's home. Usually breakfast. And we have the most interesting, hilarious conversations EVER. I wish there was a video camera on us at all meal times. The shit my kids come up with...wow.
Ryan: What bus is that?
Me: It's 6:30am. It's one of the private schools.
Claire: Private schools are for naked people.
At dessert tonight.
Miles: You're adopted too Claire!
Claire: I know how you get adopted.
Me: Oh really? How?
Claire: A mommy in Korea has you and then the mommy here says, "That baby is cute. I want it!" And then the Korean mommy has to give her to you.
Miles started First grade on Tuesday. Drop off was NOTHING like last year. He was a happy Star Wars clad fool! Seriously. I don't think he could have been happier, or more excited for all day school, lunch, and recess. Not to mention seeing a friend of his who told him last year, "I'm moving to Florida. I'll miss you best friend." We found out last week at Meet the Teacher night that his friend would sit just 2 rows over from him in class. Hilarious.
So this is my happy Star Wars kiddo. I'm not joking about the Star Wars. He was wearing his Star Wars shirt, Star Wars backpack, Star Wars lunch box, and I'm pretty sure he was wearing his Star Wars underwear. Claire's first full day without her brother was tough. I think she had a hard time. The kids play together all the time, and she just kinda watched her movie, sighing now and again, and then looked over at me with a face that said, I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-myself-I'm-all-alone-in-the-world. She was almost as pathetic as this scene from The Jerk minus all the collecting of shit.
She just watched her little Barbie movie and hung out with me and my mom. It was pathetic.
Once Miles got home, he was bouncing off the ceiling. This boy LOVES school! He loves every single thing about it. WHEW! I wasn't sure. The all day school thing was a bit nerve wracking for me, but...he's still alive and still loving it.
Claire also started a new class at her preschool. It's called Kinderstart. She loves it too, but after the end of last year, I wasn't sure how she'd do. She cried every day last year from March until just about the last week of school. It was very odd, since she was fine for the first part of her year. Oh well...
Claire feels like she is a "big" kid now that she can: write her own name, my name and Miles' name just from memory, recite her phone number and address, and tie her own shoes. I am not kidding. I have no idea where she learned all this stuff. Miles can't tie HIS own shoes even if there was a Star Wars blaster to his head.
Claire on her first day! Claire in mid shoe tie. She's serious about this shoe tying business. I know you're all dying to know, "how did mom fair during this transition?" Let me tell you. I faired shitty. S-H-I-T-T-Y!
I got no sleep. None. Ryan was out of town for the week in South Carolina, and the kids slept in my room. Claire didn't go to sleep until after 10 every night. I have NO idea why. And I had to be up by 5:45 or 6 every morning. And let me tell you. It was usually 5:40 because I was sweating the whole getting the kids to school on time thing.
Miles has to be in the car ready to go at 7:50. It doesn't seem that early, but when you have a kid who eats breakfast like it's their last meal, and savors every bite they take, even when every bite takes 10 minutes each to put in his damn pie hole....*sigh* breathe......it takes a while. And I have to wake crabby, tired, no going to sleep at a decent time, little miss morning tantrum, Whoooo hoooo! It's a great time in the Teepants house at around 6:15 am. Thank god most people's windows are shut. How embarrassing. For them.
Eh..set aside all the sleep issues, I had meetings up the wahzoo. Who knew being the VP of the preschool's PTO would involve so much "meeting". I mean, don't get me wrong. Most, if not all, the meetings were necessary. We have the big fall fundraiser coming up, so we're all kinds of kicking it into high gear...but...I'm tired. So I'm salty about it.
And then I met with an attorney to get some estate planning done. Don't even get on me about NOT having that done yet. It's not the most pleasant thing to be discussing when my husband is out of town. But we decided it was time. Well...it involved yet another meeting. And I had to bring Claire with me. Mistake.
She's usually a good kid. But for some reason, sitting in a sterile office with a lady who spoke major monotone, juuuuussstttt about killed my kid. Because I was gonna kill her. She was crazy interrupting us. Ugh! And then find out a few thousand dollars later...yes THOUSAND dollars, I told her I'd get back to her. Because holy shit balls! She changed her rates from the last time I spoke with her. What the hell lady!?! Another thing Ryan and I need to talk about.
So....here it is...the kids survived the firsts of school. I survived. And we do it all over again tomorrow. Ryan leaves today for South Carolina AGAIN. But...I have no meetings this week. And I get to go power walking with my friends when Claire is in class.
Should be an easier week for all. Let's fucking hope so.
So..... here is the truth. I have no time to tell you about the start of school. I will get to it this weekend. But as I said before...Ryan's been out of town, and I have been "meeting-ed" out!
It will happen. I promise. But not until I get more than 4 hours of sleep a night, and someone takes these tired crabby kids off my hands for an hour or so.
After re-reading this last post, I noticed a million typos. Mostly annoying to me. Most likely not even warranting a second glance by most. I also noticed I used the word "off" WAYYYYY too many times.
I re-do my posts. A lot. I tweak them because I can't stand stupid grammar. Unless I did it intentionally. Which, I will admit, I do once in a while. Also...using a word more than I need too....can we say Pet Peeve?
So that's it for today. Annoyed. Oh and I am cleaning Claire's room for the umpteenth time. It's so messy. She's much worse than her brother. And one more thing. I have to go backpack shopping. I know I know.."it's kinda late in the game SJT". Whatever.
At least I'm doing it. Take pity on me. Ryan's going to be in South Carolina for the next 2 weeks. Including the first week of school. Wonder how he was able to swing THAT gig? Waking the kids up at 6:30AM every morning, after 3 months of sleeping-in-summer-break , and keeping them from being Crabby McCrabbertons will be SUPER fun for me.
Well....not so much an extravaganza, but, fun nonetheless.
Ahhh.....The MN State Fair. Deep-fried-people-watching-crowd-managing-animal-poop-smelling-fun-on-a-stick.
I love the fair. My kids love the fair. At breakfast today, we were discussing all the things we wanted to do, see and eat. Miles HAD to do the Little Farm Hands. And Claire insisted from morning and pretty much for most of the fair that she would "please like some cotton candy, dad PLEASE???" Cause she knows it's not my favorite and that it's something Ryan WILL eat.
And there we went.
First off. It's 96 degrees with a dew point of 70 today. So, yeah...it's a hot one. But there's a delightful breeze.
Second, we were able to make our annual pilgrimage with our friends, the Paulsrud's, yet AGAIN this year. We always have fun with them. And Ryan was able to tag along today too. Super bonus.
We started at about 9:30am. I know I know...that's not very early. But it's early enough for me. And this year was the FIRST year I attempted the fair without a stroller. For those of you who have been here. You know. It can be a daunting task to manage the fair with two kids under a certain age. Especially without a stroller. But I figured..the stroller gets in the way, my kids are 4 and 6, and they can walk. (Lazy bums).
It was awesome. The kids were able to do the Little Farm Hands without a huge crowd. We headed to the Eco building, and the kids insisted we recycle more than we already do. (How that's going to happen I have no idea.) And then off to the Kidway for some "Carnie-tastic" rides.
Miles is NOT adventurous at all. He did the fun house, and some ropes course for kids. Claire on the other hand wanted to try this ride called the Lady bugs. It goes around and around super fast and then backwards super fast. I certainly wasn't going to take one for the team, with my dizzy crap, and made Ryan go with her. I know..mean...but he loves rides. I do not.
Claire was hilarious. She started yelling her fool head off, cause they say, "If you want to go really fast, scream!!!" And of course she did. Man did that girl laugh her ass off. It was hysterical. Then they slowed down to go backwards. New face. Not laughing her ass off.....more....trying to be cool and not puke kinda face.
Then food. French fries, Cheese Curds, and Root Beer. Thaaaat's about it. Deep fried goodness that Ryan KNOWS isn't fried in Partially Hydrogenated Oils. How do we know that? Don't ask. And yes, those are the only places we go. But hey...it's all good.
We saw the Agriculture Building, The Arts and Crafts Building, and the Healtheast building. The kids found some Webkinz booth that allowed them to purchase one for 5 dollars. 5 DOLLARS! That's like major jackpot if your kids like Webkinz...and mine do.
The heat just about killed us. But the shade was nice. We also tried to duck into the Dairy Building in hopes of cooling off. Clearly not going to happen. The kids did want to sit in the egg chair. Miles remembered seeing a friend of mine's photo from last year of her in the egg chair. I can't believe his memory sometimes. Look at my poor sweaty babies. Ah well...the Miracle of Birth building was GOD AWFUL HOT AS HELL. I said to Ryan..."It's 2:30. Let's get the hell out of here." Besides...the calf wasn't ACTUALLY being born. They were doing a "vaginal exam" *shudder* Claire just laughed that they said vagina. She turned to me, scrunched up her nose, and said..."Vaginal means vagina right mom?" And again with the turning around to say, "Why is there poop in that cow's vagina."
Oh Jesus help me. I wanted to make her stop, but I couldn't. And you know if there's a birth on the horizon in that place, there's a fucking crowd.
We left.
Final shot of the day. The kids sharing an ICEE. That thing was delish in the heat. The red teeth proved it when they were done.
And that's it. School can start now. We have had our day at the Fair.
Today Miles went to his first grade assessment. This is what I heard:
Teacher: Can you spell the word AND?
Miles: No. I can't remember that. Sometimes I forget things, I have a bad memory.
And on and on like that. I was sitting outside of the classroom thank God! If he had seen my face...the face that said, "WHAT THE FUCK?!?" he would have "remembered" how to spell AND. You can put good money on that too.
Here's what I know about Miles. He's lazy. Lazy when it comes to reading and writing. He can do math like some kind of crazy savant. He also has a photographic memory with about 99% of things....things HE'S interested in. The other 1% is stuff that requires thinking and learning about things non-Star Wars related and so on, if you get my drift.
How frustrating is THAT?!? I mean....we just were reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone together. He was reading it with me. Ugh! That kid.
I can tell you what. When we got to the parking lot I said, "Miles. How do you spell AND?" He said, "A-N-D." That's an easy one mom.
There are currently clumps of my hair in the elementary school parking lot.
Claire has become the SASSIEST 4 year old on the planet. I know it. There isn't a 4 year old girl sassier.Anywhere.Ever. Her eye rolls, foot stomping, and door slamming have shown us that things are going to be OUT OF THIS WORLD tough as hell when she's a tween/teen. (PS...what the hell is a tween? And why didn't they have that when I was supposedly one?)
Ryan has all but reserved himself to leave with Miles for those extra special days of the month when Claire and I have our "lady time". And you know, because Ryan is just that lucky...it's gonna sync up. I feel for him. I really do. He'll come home to the two of us practically killing each other, hear it from the front walk, and just tell Miles to, "run for your life son!"
Anyway. I digress.
So.....yesterday Claire was in BIG trouble. She came to me and asked for a piece of candy. I said, "sure!" Then I heard Ryan ask, "Claire! Did you just ask your mom for the candy I just told you, you COULDN'T have?!" Claire said, "Yes, but I didn't eat it, so it's ok!"
Nice. She got a big fat time out for that one. Then when her time out was over, Ryan told her she could be done. To which she did this.
Yelled NO! Then kicked her feet all over the chair, and put a humongous gift bag over her entire body. She then proceeded to sit there for at least 15-20 minutes pouting. Note the foot at the bottom.
When Ryan would say, "Sweetie, you can get out of time out." She would punch the sides of the bag and whine. It was hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing. It was mean of me for sure. But I couldn't help it. You know like when your kid swears and looks at you all nervous. When it's not in public, I'm kinda hard pressed not to burst out, and have to really work hard to stifle the giggles. Especially when it's someone else's kid. But my Claire would NEVER do that. *eyeroll*
Although this is not as funny as when she said, "OH FUCK!" in front of company, for losing a Mario guy on her DS. But that's another story, which frankly I'm none too proud to tell. I have NO idea where she would have heard that type of language. La la la la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Eventually she emerged from the gift bag to torture her brother by doing God knows what. I just ignore it. Because they need to resolve that shit on their own.
In other fun news, Miles told me this morning at breakfast, that his invisible, 12 year old, Korean brother, thinks I'm mean. I guess I now know what Miles thinks of me WAY deep down. I knew I didn't like pre-teens.
I met with my Hepatology doctor today at the Mayo Clinic. He's the liver specialist. I also met with surgeon A and surgeon B.
Surgeon A was a liver surgeon. Just your general run of the mill surgeon, who did stuff with the liver and worked under surgeon B. Surgeon B. He's a whole other story.
I will start by telling you, he should have had trumpets and a red carpet rolled out for him when he entered the room. He's THAT surgeon. "Superstar surgeon extraordinaire". I can't tell you how many times the OTHER doctors told me how surgeon B was "world renowned". That's some serious shit right there.
WORLD RENOWNED! And no joke. Apparently he's THE best in THE world when it comes to liver carcinomas. Whew! I'm glad I didn't get just the run of the mill US renowned surgeon. They're not messing around with me. And wait...back up...what the hell? Liver C-A-R-C-I-N-O-M-A? Who the fuck said anything about cancer now?
Ok....back to the story. So surgeon A comes in. Young. Spry. Serious as shit. And checks over my stuff, looks at the letter about how things are "connected" or "communicating" and says with a grim face, "With the size of the cyst in your liver we'll have to remove the entire right lobe of your liver. It's developed around a major artery." Then on and on about bleeding, bile leakage, drains in for a long time, painful long recovery time....blah blah blah...who the hell heard anything past "entire right lobe of your liver"? I certainly didn't.
Then he left the room to show surgeon B. Fancy-pants-I-love-you-cause-you're-THAT-awesome, surgeon B. Annnnd I proceed to lose my shit completely. I cry. I try to joke about stuff so that I don't LOOK like I'd been crying when the surgeons come back. I say things like..."I'm not worried about the dying part. I'm worried about how much it's gonna hurt when I wake up! And you know that's gonna hurt. But I'm not going to say I feel like I got hit by a truck. Everyone says that, and I'm pretty sure they hadn't been hit by any fucking truck. I'm just gonna say....you know...I feel like SHIT!" Cause for some reason that was funny to me. And Ryan too, cause he laughed his holy-shit-I'm-gonna-lose-it-too laugh.. Poor sweetie.
Then in the door walks surgeon A, surgeon B *toot toot*, transplantation surgeon C (WHAT THE FUCK?!?) and random blonde who writes down EVERYTHING surgeon B says.
Talk about entourage. I said, "Oh! Don't be embarrassed if I start crying. Cause it's gonna happen."
Surgeon B sits down and says to me, "Why would you cry? I'm only going to be here for a second." Weird.
So surgeon B starts in on all this technical jargon. How it's not communicating with the right part of my whatnot to my whozit, and that they aren't going to do surgery and that my chance of getting bile duct cancer is almost nil. Literally 5 minutes after surgeon A told me I was gonna get bile duct cancer bad and fast unless they remove the right side of my liver.
Color me confused. But I stopped listening temporarily after I heard No surgery. No cancer. WOO fucking HOO!!!!! I almost jumped the man. Although I'm pretty sure the blonde was packing the heat.
There was some more mumbo jumbo between doctors. Some discrepancies. Most likely some arguing. But in the end the "world renowned" surgeon B said NOPE, not going to cut this one open anytime soon. To which I said I was very happy to oblige him and not darken his door step in the near.
So off I go. And after 12 years of not knowing what would happen. I have answers. I'm not going to die by the time I'm 40. I'm probably not going to get bile duct cancer. I won't need a huge painful inconvenient surgery. And now I can breath free. All I have to do is go in yearly and have and MRCP and a Heita Scan....which is being injected with some kind of radioactive liquid and then photographing it for hours. Both of them painless. Just takes a lot of time.
I'm sooooo not complaining. So now. I can move on. And not be worried about the "what ifs". I know there aren't any.
I have been dreading today for weeks. I went to the Mayo Clinic again. I was scheduled to have an ERCP today. It sucks. I had one done many years ago and developed Pancreatitis from it. No fun. Talk about being sick as a mother fucker. Gahhhh.....I've not been that sick since EVER.
Anyway. Ryan and I left at the crack of dawn to get there in time. I did my blood draw, and then had 2 hours to kill before the "Biggie". But because I was fasting for the procedure, we couldn't even stop to get a coffee or anything. We just walked around. Then headed up at 11 for check in.
Here is the worst part about the whole thing. 1: I had to fast. And my procedure wasn't until after 11. Can we say hungry? 2: The waiting room was at least 60 degrees, if not cooler. No eating and cold? Yuck. 3: Then found out at 11:30 they were behind and I would most likely have to wait until after 2PM. Holy-fucking-shit! I was so hungry, I think I told a friend in an email that if she was next to me, I may just gnaw off her arm.
So they get me in. And of course can't find a good vein for the IV. Apparently this Korean has teeny tiny veins. So 4 sticks later, they got the stupid thing in. (I have a major aversion to my veins breaking because of the IV. Who doesn't?)
Then the doctor came in. Got my history, said, "Excuse me, I'll be right back" , and left. I thought he either A: was disturbed with my history, B: had the schmotz, or C: my history disturbed him so much he got the schmotz. Either way, he was gone. And I was left to watch my IV bleed all over the blanket.
When he came back he told me all the major risks of the ERCP. And apparently they're not good. And because I had the Pancreatitis before, I was at major risk of getting it again. NO THANKS on that special treat. So after much discussion with my physician, and re-looking at scans and tests and whatnot, it was decided I didn't need to go through with the procedure.
THANK THE LORD! I swear if I hadn't been connected to an IV I would have jumped on the man and laid a big wet lickery kiss on him.
Ryan was shocked that I was out and walking and talking to him when I went to the waiting room. The last time I had tests done I was a drooling, blathering, fool. I think I asked the doctor who performed the surgery if I "had gas" during the surgery. Ugh...gun, bullets? Yes please. And of course Ryan told me later about it. My humility had been set at an all time low. Ugh.
I told him what happened today and he was all indignant about it. How if I had travelled from far and wide, what a shit deal it would have been. I don't care. I wasn't poked and prodded and then sent out to barf all over the Mayo Clinic. I was a happy lady. I called my mom to tell her and the kids we'd be back soon and that I was "AWE-SSSSOMMMMEEEE!!!" And yes it was sing song. Then we got a Jimmy John's sub and I think I scarfed that fucker down in about 2 seconds. Note to self...when fasting for almost 24 hours....do not, I repeat DO NOT eat a whole sub and chips in 2.43 seconds. It.Is.Not.Good.
Tomorrow I meet with my doctor and surgeon. Surgeon to discuss a liver resection. IE: removing 3/4 of my liver just for shit's and giggles. Apparently we will discuss the risks. We're not even going to talk about do it, not do it. Just....here's what you should worry about. Yep. Fun.
At least I got to spend a wonderful evening with my family and neighbors. The kids and the neighbor girl always play at night and we shoot the shit with her parents. It was nice indeed. We discussed the new and upcoming 3D porn that will be in IMAX. Should be really......big.
As I contemplate going to bed, I am disturbed beyond belief, that at 10:48pm, there is a crow cah cawing his damn ass off in my front yard.
Top that off with the fucking barking dog that some dipshit leaves out all night, and you know it's a little tiny fucker too. Aaaaand I'm up. Annoyed and frustrated and well...annoyed.
These noises that I hear are not the pleasant sounds of the 'burbs. I should hear crickets along with the highway. Not a bird trying to "get some" in the middle of the night, along with a dog that apparently doesn't have an off switch to it's high pitched incessant bark.
UGH!!!!!
And I thought Ryan's snoring was my biggest sleeping pet peeve of all time. Not so much.
I need to sleep. I have way tons of stuff weighing on my mind tonight. My body needs rest. I feel all kinds of broke down and bad. I'm stressed out. I'm having a pity party and NO one showed up. Stupid feeling sorry for myself. I hate it. But it happens.
Eh...tomorrow is another day. Just wish my friend Kelly lived close to here. He'd take care of some shit. (PS don't link to this if you don't like seeing dead animals.)
I'm upset. I was a follower of a very entertaining blog for almost 2 years. And I have been wondering why oh why my dear friend has not been posting. Well not really a friend. I don't even know her at all. She lives in a whole other country. But you know....
Anyway.....I use Google Reader. So it is rare that I actually GO to a blog anymore, unless I make a comment. (Cause I can't help my damn self once in a while.) But today I was cleaning up my "following page" and clicked on said blog.
Gone.
"Invitation only" please. What the hell? Rude Tuna!
Ok, so I get it. She had like 400 zillion followers. And I'm one of those zillion. But seriously. It's not like I was offended by her business. And let me tell you.....she put that shit ALL the way out there. So why all the covert operations now? Ugh.
I suppose I could send her an email and request an invitation. That would be a lot of work for me though. Heh heh heh...can we say lazy? All together now.....
Oh well. I tried to go all private-only-ask-me-you-nosey-fucks ..but it was such a hassle, and really what is a blog for? My friends in the real world know all this stuff anyway. And isn't it just a tiny bit fun to read about someone you dont' know at all? I just reverted back to what I have. Open to whoever. And hopefully not every whoever has found it.
Now I'll never know if she named ALL of the pigeons that lived by her window. Sad really. It was a damn good laugh.
The Korean Camp that Miles attended always has a big saturday program.
The kids perform their dances, songs and Tae Kwon Do. It's cute. VERY long. And if you don't have a kid or grandkid in the program, it's just downright mean for someone to ask you to go. After the program there is a Korean lunch. It's delicious. All our favorites. Korean BBQ. mmmmm........
Well. Like I said, the program itself lasts 2 hours. Two you're-lucky-my-kid-is-in-this-program-or-I'd-snap hours. This is why..... Yeah. That's almost 300 Korean kids. Not shitting you. And their "teen helpers".
Every grade level does songs and dances. The B&W is of Miles singing. It was so hard to get close up, and we don't have a zoom lens yet. So go with it. It's the best you're gonna get today. Then they have the BIG finale...the Tae Kwon Do demo. Oh my GAWD!!!! How annoying was that you ask? Super.Annoying.Beyond.Belief. Sincerely. Oh for crap's sake.
It started off with these "too cool for school" korean young adults blasting that song, that according to Ryan, "Every marital arts demo starts with." It's like chest thumping techno music. I loathed it. But it got them all hyper and sweaty. And eventually woke the kids up after sitting for almost 2 hours on high school bleachers. I personally would have preferred this song...but beggars can't be choosers.
Miles broke his first board. With a kick no less. He was very proud of it too. I don't have a photo of that because one of the "helpers" stood in front of him. Oh well....next year...note to self.....get zoom lens.
All in all.....a great week at camp. Miles was very sad after the program. Most of his friends had left and he laid in my lap eating his Korean popsicle. Laid. Poor baby. He looked like someone took his favorite Star Wars character and murdered him right in front of his face. The boy was crushed. He loved camp. Thankfully it's a summer camp and he can go again next year.
Claire? Not so interested.
In other news...I did learn some very interesting things about my friend Deb. Like digging on Korean men interesting. You naughty girl.
We let the kids open their birthday gifts together early. They got lots of fun things. It's hard having 2 kids with birthdays 2 days apart. We just let them both go crazy. And with camp this week...it's been a busy busy week.
Claire has been fascinated with this cartoon called Ni-Hao-Kai-Lan. It's basically the Chinese equivalent to Dora The Explorer. She now has their playsets. All of them. She also still loves all things Disney Princess. Ugh. I can't wait for this phase to be done and over with. I can only handle so much "Tra-la-la-la-LAAAAAA-ing" before I go bonkers postal. Or as my friend likes to say, "bat shit crazy".
Miles on the other hand...still got Star Wars. This kid will never, I repeat NEVER grow out of Star Wars. And I have to admit, I'm coming around to it. Kind of. Well not really, I'm just giving into the obsession. He has however decided he likes these things called Bakugan. I don't know. I'm not a fan, but he and his friends love them. So I guess he's kinda on that bandwagon. They too, will eventually fall by the wayside. And when that happens, all his Star Wars collectables will be there with open arms. And his 5 gagillion light sabers and Star Wars tee shirts. Although, my good friend Anne suggested I make a quilt out of the tee shirts when they get to small. It's a great idea. Now if only I knew how to sew. Hmmmmmm.....Oh wait..my good friend Anne does. Nice suggestion friend. Get to work! That quilt won't make itself. Hee hee. And throw in a few video games for both kids, and a Happy Birthday to my sweet little babies.
Miles has been going to Korean Culture Camp this whole week. It's a week long day camp, that teaches all things Korean.
I went to this camp when it first began over 30 years ago, and my mom was the director for many years. I loved it. It was so a part of me.
This year was Miles' first year. I was worried. Mr. I-don't-eat-shit-ever-because-I-just-don't, would have to eat Korean food everyday for lunch. And it is ALL day camp. So not eating at lunch time when you have a minimum of 3 recesses...would make for a very hungry tired Miles.
But to my surprise, he eats everything. Every.Fucking.Thing. Unbelievable! He told me he will try everything because it's Korean. Well hell! If I knew all I had to do was tell him what he was eating was Korean food...my last 4 years of feeding him would have been WAYYYY easier. My BFF said I should tell him, from now on, it's all Korean food. And I won't be lying. I mean...I'm Korean. And I'm "making" all his food. So technically...it's Korean food. Right? Of course right.
The other thing he said he loves about camp, is being around all the Korean kids. Miles LOVES being Korean. Absolutely loves it. He has even gone so far as to wish out loud that Ryan would be Korean. Cause he is, "For sure missing out on it."
Miles is a whole other person at camp. He is thriving. He is active and funny and excited about it everyday. I mean....there are 300+ Korean kids at this camp. He is in heaven.
Claire on the other hand said to me, "Do I have to go to Korean camp? You know, I just look Korean. I'm not though." We're still working on this with her.
Miles on his first birthday. He is wearing his traditional Hanbok for his Toljabee. Yes indeed. Miles is happy to be Korean.
*A quick side note....Miles is one of the shortest kids in the whole of the Kindergarten group. That's saying something. He's the shortest in a group of short Koreans. Zoinks!
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