Babble On

Puzzling

2012-01-27T22:10:00.003-06:00

Working on a puzzle that will look like the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

Oh S%$#!

2012-01-26T22:40:00.002-06:00

So.....anyone know how to get ballpoint pen ink out of the inside of a dryer?

I Coulda Used a Lasso Today

2012-01-25T21:40:00.002-06:00

I have been so productive this week, but tonight I hit the wall.

Tonight, I watch TV and drink milk out of a Wonder Woman glass.

Tomorrow, I pick up where I left off.

I Sense a Theme Here

2012-01-24T22:08:00.003-06:00

Three guesses about what we are doing this week at Chez Babble.

As always the first two don't count.

Hott!

2012-01-23T19:46:00.004-06:00

My man has a vacuum and he knows how to use it.

Notice the furniture polish on the dresser next to him.

He used that too.

Whew! Is it hott in here?

Grooming Time

2012-01-22T20:08:00.002-06:00

BH asked if I was becoming the lady who only takes pictures of her cats.

NO!

Just today.

Sad that I managed to cut off most of one cat's face, but I liked the grooming action captured here.

I had a title for this shot that was funny, but sadly would likely send all sorts of the wrong kind of hits to my blog.

Cookie Cookie Cookie Starts with C

2012-01-21T21:37:00.002-06:00

I had not done any food photography yet, so naturally I thought, "My first food photo should be of the prepackaged break and bake cookies we made tonight."

Not as good as my Kick Ass Chocolate Chip Cookies, but will do in a pinch.

Now I am off to eat!

Tats and Chucks

2012-01-20T21:19:00.003-06:00

It took me about 400,000 shots before I got one that I kind of sort of liked.

I don't like that the colors of the Tats and Chucks are not obvious here, but other shots were too shadowy.

Anyway I guess now my secret is out. I am a Chucks wearing tattooed lady.

Glimpse

2012-01-19T20:20:00.004-06:00

Most of you know I am a therapist

I work primarily with children and families.

When I am working with a young child I draw faces as seen in this picture to help the child identify and express emotion. The child circles the face(s) that best represent how they are feeling that day.

This picture shows how I am feeling today.

Not the Recommended Dosage

2012-01-18T20:04:00.002-06:00

This pile of pills represents the amount of Ibuprofen I felt like taking to combat my headache.

In reality I only took 3.

Unfortunately the headache continues, worse than before the medication.

Thus concludes my whining session.

Feel free to carry on with your regularly scheduled business.

Fuzzy on Fuzzy

2012-01-17T21:29:00.004-06:00

So winter decided to appear today.

I chose to respond by putting fuzzy socks on over my regular socks, then encasing those socks in my super fancy fuzzy Christmas slippers.

Then I chose to take a suggestion by Anonymous and shoot in A mode.

Wonder what tomorrow's photo will bring....

Crafty

2012-01-16T19:23:00.003-06:00

#1 and I decided that we needed a craft night.

Here is what I worked on

Here is #1's project

#1 isn't too fond of having her picture taken, so we'll just include her sweet, now nearly adult sized hand.

Indecision

2012-01-15T22:29:00.002-06:00

Since it apparently is never going to actually be winter here in the Sunflower State, we decided to take advantage of the 60+ degree weather today and do a little hiking.

I remembered to bring my camera and took a crapload of photos.

I had some trouble deciding which one to post today.

So I asked BH to choose.

He had trouble and suggested I put it to FB for a vote.

None of the photos have gotten more than one vote so far, so I decided to post more than one shot today.

So here are the vote getters:

Now I put it to my 3 blog readers to give their two cents!

39!

2012-01-14T23:33:00.003-06:00

BH turned 39 today.

This is his impression of #1 when people sing, "Happy Birthday."

We try not to let very many teasing opportunities go by without recognition here at Chez Babble.

HBD BH!

The Road is Long

2012-01-13T22:22:00.003-06:00

That "Mood" I referred to earlier this week?

I hold it responsible for the long road of laundry that I must fold.

Sadly this doesn't show what is in the dryer or what is ready for the washing machine.

This is what my weekend looks like.

Hope yours doesn't include a long road of unfolded laundry.

EXCITED!!

2012-01-12T20:41:00.003-06:00

Someone, we'll call her #2 is super excited because she was cast in a local community theatre production!

Losta theatre goins on at Chez Babble these days.

This was the photo I wanted to take yesterday, but got sidelined by "THE MOOD."

Phoning it in

2012-01-11T22:04:00.003-06:00

I have been in a bit of a mood this evening, and forgot to take the photo I planned.

So I decided to phone it in.

Also, obviously I tried out black and white.

For no particular reason.

I blame it on the Mood.

Northland

2012-01-10T21:15:00.005-06:00

northland/n. the northern part of a country (Definition courtesy of the Microsoft College Dictonary)

Today I was fresh out of ideas for photos. Coming up with ideas every day for the next year is going to be hard, if I may state the obvious.

I turned to my ever helpful Facebook community, and my friend from the FilthEDesign blog, suggested that I turn to a page in the dictionary, choose a word and then take a picture that shows my interpretation of the word. I thought that sounded like a fine idea.

I often think of North as being up. If fact that is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear or see the word North.

The land (or country if you prefer to go with the true definition of the word) I was in at the time was my bedroom.

Thus my photographic interpretation of Northland. What I saw when I looked up in my bedroom.

I took this shot very quickly on auto-mode tonight. I only enhanced a bit and did some cropping.

I rather enjoy what I see as a very slightly moody ceiling fan. Not at all displeased with my slightly quirky photo.

Enjoy.

Cute Cat, Crap Picture

2012-01-09T18:15:00.003-06:00

Since it has only been a week, I thought it high time I come out about my photography frustration.

I think I just try too hard sometimes.

I wanted to capture our cat in her preferred napping spot, which is behind our fake radiator space heater.

Couldn't get it all in like I wanted so I gave up and got this truly amateurish photo as a result.

Cat is cute tho.

Patient too.

My Other Goal

2012-01-08T20:38:00.004-06:00

I figure that if I can do at least one status update a day on Facebook actually writing one line about my day in a paper journal should be pretty do-able.

Getting Happy in 2012

2012-01-08T14:44:00.012-06:00

So BlogHer has asked me to answer a question on my little ol' blog here about what I plan to do to get Happy in 2012.

(Does anyone else have the the theme song to the Partridge Family in their head now? No? Just me? Well I will HAPPILY enjoy this little ear worm all on my own.)

As a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor I spend a fair amount of time discussing the idea of being happy. I spend a lot of time working to help other people feel happier than they did when they first walked in to my office (hopefully).

As a wife and mother I spend a fair amount of my non-working time trying to assure that the people in my home are happy.

What I don't spend much time on is my personal happiness.

Like anyone else I think about what makes or would make me feel happy. However, I am much more likely to put my own get happy pursuits aside so that I can attend to the happiness pursuits of others.

The above mentioned practice can bite one in the butt from time to time.

In 2011 I was not particularly inclined to make up yet another set of resolutions or goals that I wasn't likely to keep. Of course I need to eat better , exercise more, be more patient, blah blah blah. I just was not feeling the self-improvement thing AT ALL.

I had decided to forgo resolutions in 2011.

Then I ha a manicure on January 1, 2011. It made me very happy.

So right then and there I decided my new years resolution was to have my nails done twice a month. Only resolution I have ever kept.

A couple of days after the start of 2012, I got the e-mail asking me to write a post on what I was going to do to get happy in 2012.

My first thought, "I have no idea, so can I have a different question please?"

Then, I let the question percolate for a bit. Spent some quality time thinking about when I am the most happy. That led to me thinking about the resolutions I had made for myself this year, and the one successful resolution I kept the previous year.

I based this year's resolution loosely on the success of keeping the one from the previous year. I kept the 2011 resolution because it because it was fun, relaxing, just for me, and made me feel happy.

I started thinking more about what makes me happy in general. This led to the realization that I am most happy when I am learning something. I love to learn. It makes me happy and fulfilled to gain new skills. Since finishing graduate school and working on building my career as a therapist I have spent a lot of time focusing my learning on how to continue to be a better and more effective therapist. I have a crazy long alphabet soup list of initials after my name showing off all the additional credentials I have earned since finishing my MA. After I finished the requirements for the most recent addition to my credential collection, I looked at that crazy long list, and decided that perhaps it was time to cool my jets on the credentials front for a while.

That idea sent me into a bit of a tailspin. I was like an academic Scarlett O'Hara after Rhett told her he was out of there. "Whatever will I do? What shall I learn? How am I supposed to be functioning without some big career/academic related goal looming in the distance?"

So being a good therapist I processed my thoughts and feelings for awhile, and finally hit on the idea that perhaps I could now focus on learning some things that were just for my own pleasure, and had no ties whatsoever to credentials, academics, or career.
All those things I have said for years that I would like to learn how to do.

Huh.

I really liked this line of thinking.

So I picked one. I wanted to learn how to be a better photographer and make use of the fancy camera I purchased for myself almost two years ago, and still use as though it was a disposable point and shoot.

I decided that was going to be my goal for the new year.

That initially was as far as I got. Y'know the holidays are busy, I kinda had a crappy month of December, blah blah blah.

Then a few days before the New Year, a friend posted on Facebook that he was going to do Project 365, which involves taking a picture every day for a year. He was challenging others to join him.

I thought about it for about 10 seconds and agreed right there in front of everyone on Facebook that I would take a picture every day in the year 2012 AND to sweeten the deal I would post those daily pictures on my blog!

After a moment of thinking, "Oh crap, I will NEVER keep up with this!" I shrugged off the negative and got really excited about the prospect. I felt...wait for it.....

HAPPY!

This was a fun resolution! I was going to love it! Hooray!

One week in and I am keeping up nicely. My goal for the first was to focus on just getting the picture taken every day. Soon I will move in to learning and trying out new photography skills and I am really enthused about the prospect!

So in a nutshell, to get happy in 2012 I am learning for just me, myself, and I.

I encourage all of you to process the thought, "What makes me truly feel happy?" Then take that newfound or just dusted off information and put it to good use.

I further encourage all of you to share your thoughts and plans in the comments section. See what other people are doing to get happy at the Life Well Lived Blog.

Oh and hey, if getting cool free stuff makes you happy, then I encourage you to hop on over to this link for the Blogher Life Well Lived Sweepstakes and register to win a Kindle Fire.

So this year strive to live up to the Partridge Family theme song and, "C'mon get haaaappppyyyy!"

For the ear worm? You're welcome.

What 17 Years of Marriage Looks Like

2012-01-07T20:43:00.004-06:00

Today marks 17 years of marriage for BH and I.

I used the timer on the camera for the first time tonight.

10 seconds is longer than you would think.

I look forward to many more years of snuggling with my favorite husband.

Let Me Tell You About Our $10 Date!

2012-01-06T22:14:00.004-06:00

Date Night with the BH. I love gift cards.

Movie, Popcorn, Soda, Dinner, and we only spent $10 out of our own pockets.

Not too shabby.

As for the photo, I think I would like to work on taking better focused close-up shots. For this photo I used some pre-programmed settings for close up objects. Not a terrible picture, but a tad blurry and slightly out of focus. Guess it is time to start reading up on my Digital Photography School stuff.

So far so good with getting at least a photo a day.

Since I tend to be a mostly full disclosure kind of gal, I will admit that I nearly forgot today, what with working and then being out with my best husband.

So I might have been scrambling at 10:00 PM trying to think of and set up a shot.

Maybe.

Pizza with a Zumba Chaser

2012-01-05T21:09:00.002-06:00

These are my workout shoes. Tonight they joined me for Zumba.

Pizza doesn't count if you sweat and shake your booty for an hour at a Zumba class afterwards.

Right?

RIGHT?!

C'mon and help a sister stay in denial!

Day 4: Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

2012-01-04T18:29:00.003-06:00

This is the stack of books I SHOULD be reading.

Day 3: I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me

2012-01-03T19:51:00.004-06:00

The alternate title for this picture was, "Patience."

#2 has been very patient awaiting the chance to use the new telescope she got for Christmas. Between the whole family falling ill in the three days that followed Christmas and cloudy night skies, this has been the first opportunity.

Also, focusing a telescope takes time.

I was excited to use Night Mode on the camera, and get a picture that didn't blur since I was too lazy to set up the tripod.

Day 2: How I Spent My Evening

2012-01-02T21:53:00.003-06:00

The kids are at Grammy's for the night, so this is how BH and I rocked the night.

Tomorrow I promise to be more creative.

Project 365, or 366, Whichever YOU Prefer!

2012-01-01T10:50:00.006-06:00

I decided this year, I will move forward with my goal to learn more about photography. I bought myself a lovely DSLR about a year and a half ago, and I don't know much more about the thing now than I did when I first got it. That is a shame and a waste.

So! A friend mentioned that he was going to partake in project 365 this year and I decided that would be an excellent way for me to get more out of this fancy camera I thought I needed so badly.

I decided to jump right in and took my first photo for the project last night a few minutes after midnight. This picture would be a pretty good example of typical photography for me.

I look forward to (hopefully) more interesting and better quality photos by this time next year!

Do-over Please

2011-12-28T14:01:00.002-06:00

Ayup.

I have decided I would like a winter break do-over.

Since December 26 each person in this family has come down with a vile stomach virus.

The last victim fell today.

Y'know, for other reasons that I have not shared here, I think in general I would like a "Majority of the month of December" do-over.

Or better yet, how 'bout we just kick this month to the curb and tell the suckitude parts of it to kiss my ass?

I can live with that.

Onto a better January!

That's One Way to do it!

2011-12-27T09:16:00.002-06:00

Hey! You want to know a good way to un-do all the damage your holiday overindulgence caused?

Get the stomach flu the day after Christmas! You'll be back down to that pre-holiday weight in no time.

Of course you will spend a day begging someone to kill you and put you out of your misery, but hey that number on the scale makes it all worth it right?

Nothing like spending your day off hanging over the toilet! Those after Christmas sales are overrated anyway!

Now that I have imparted this special piece of advice, I have to get back to my Gatorade. Yum! Electrolytes!

How YOU doin' sexy frosted sugar cookie

2011-12-23T16:44:00.002-06:00

I am afraid to go in to the kitchen.

There are frosted sugar cookies in there and I can hear them trying to lure me downstairs with their pretty little siren songs.

They want me to come on down there and get all in to their sexy frosted goodness.

Bitches.

Not Fair

2011-12-21T21:51:00.002-06:00

Who had the dumbass idea to start a diet that has it's second week during the Christmas season?

The forces against me this week are many.

On top of all the delicious foods that will be available to me this week, I have other challenges of nature that are telling me that I NEED things like chocolate and all foods that are junky.

Those challenges of nature also tell me that I feel to crappy to exercise today.

Tonight I had to make a favorite yummy chocolatey and peanut buttery treat to take to #2's school party tomorrow.

I have not stopped thinking about it all evening.

I wish I were not being completely serious.

So even though my point total was met for the day.

Even though I knew I wasn't going to exercise today.

Even though I wanted to save all my bonus points for Saturday party food.

I caved.

And it was fucking delicious.

2006!

2011-12-18T20:15:00.002-06:00

That would be the oldest expiration date I found on something as I cleaned out the pantry this evening.

I am banning the purchase of crackers in this family.

Apparently we don't like them if the 3999 boxes of unopened/expired/and or stale ones I threw away are any indication.

Also, I am pledging here on this blog that I will never again purchase powdered sugar without first checking at home to be ABSOLUTELY UNDENIABLY POSITIVE that I have NONE in the house already. I am pretty sure I pitched at least 4 partially used bags of powdered sugar. Sadly this is not exaggeration. I have no explanation at all for how this powdered sugar situation came about. Clearly I have a problem.

Now I have a very clean and organized pantry.

I also have a rather empty looking pantry.

Which is sad after just completing a very expensive trip to the grocery store.

At least I know all the food in there is current.

It's the small things you know.

JBTBH Version...oh who gives a *&%$?

2011-12-17T18:20:00.002-06:00

Alrighty.

So I have completed the last day of the first week of my re-started UH-gain journey.

It has been a successful week. WW went well. I had a couple days where I went slightly over points for the day, a couple days I was slightly under. A few right on target. Had a splurge today on a date with my honey, but am ending the week with still over half my weekly points unused, and no cashing in at all of the activity points I earned. I exercised for at least 45 minutes a pop for 6 days this week. My official weigh in is tomorrow, but as of this morning I was down 3 pounds. Let's hope that is what shows up on the scale tomorrow.

I didn't feel deprived, didn't feel too hungry, definitely increased my fruit and veggie intake, and best of all did not ever feel like throwing my computer as I entered my food, nor did I want to stab anyone eating good stuff with my fork.

Next week, I definitely need to have more, and a greater variety of fruits and veggies around the house. Next week is going to be tough with the holiday. There is going to be much more opportunity for eating too much of the wrong stuff. I am just gonna do my best and in all honesty if I can manage to maintain this coming week I will view it as a victory.

So there you have it. One week down and no one got hurt!

The Gospel According to Babble Part Deux

2011-12-15T20:33:00.002-06:00

If people followed my rules the world would be spectacular.

In my Utopian Society when one is counting and monitoring every bite of food they eat, EVERYONE in the house must restrict delicious desserts.

Like children who live in the same house and get taken out to dinner by their grandparents and bring home big ass chocolate brownies with hot fudge and cinnamon vanilla ice cream that they didn't have time to eat before they had to leave the restaurant.

FURTHERMORE if one of the above mentioned children takes one bite of delicious big ass chocolatey fudgy brownie and declares that she does't like it because it is "too chocolatey" and wishes to throw said brownie away, the parent of the lunatic child should not be held responsible for her actions.

In my vocabulary there is no such phrase as "Too Chocolatey." That is at the least crazy talk and at the worst blasphemy.

Remember you read the idea here first!

2011-12-14T22:27:00.003-06:00

My husband is a brilliant man.

As I was bitching the other day about having to track food AGAIN he came up with an idea so brilliant you could see the gleam for miles.

An iphone/ipad/android app where you snap a picture of what you are eating and it automatically calculates the calories for you.

BRILLIANT.

I then suggested that after the calculation there should be some sort of reinforcement statement that you get, you know like, "Great job! What a healthy choice!" Or alternatively, "Whoa whoa whoa there cowgirl! Put down the feedbag!"

Now how does one develop an app?

The Gospel According to Babble

2011-12-13T21:41:00.002-06:00

If one stays within the daily WW points value, and exercises at least 45 minutes each day, then when one steps on the scale there should be a net loss of at least 5 pounds.

Even if you have only done the above activities for 2 days.

Doesn't matter.

This is my Gospel and I'll be irrational if I want to.

Back on the journey blah blah blah

2011-12-12T22:13:00.002-06:00

Oh the motherfucking journey back to better health.

The derailments have been many.

So I am back on the rails.

Exercise she has been regular.

Eating has been not so regular. Unless you count regularly eating too much crap that I shouldn't consume. That has been downright set your damn clock by it regular.

So I decided to try Weight Watchers.

Again.

Because I know I have to track my food to lose weight. THAT has been made crystal fucking clear.

I gave up on my old standby Fitday for the time being because every time I log on to that site I want to put my fist through the screen.

And my new Mac is too precious to be treated that way.

So far WW does not bring out the violence in me.

Give it time.

Because the holidays are a SUPER time to decide to eat less. It is totally easy!

I NEVER get grumpy or increase my use of foul language when I am controlling what I eat.

#1's Birth Story

2011-12-04T20:23:00.003-06:00

#1 has turned fourteen this past week.

I think I can say she is fourteen without stuttering in disbelief now.

As I was doing my typical try to make a funny status update on Facebook the day before her birthday, a mini thread about her birth story happened and someone asked if I had written it down anywhere. I honestly could not remember if I had ever blogged the full story here or not. A check of the archives would suggest that I have hinted at aspects of the story, but have never blogged it or written it anywhere else.

At the first thought of writing the story I pooh-poohed the idea because I am fairly certain that unless I develop some sort of brain injury/condition there is no way I will ever forget this story.

Then as I am often wont to do I gave it some more thought. One of my comments in my FB discussion was that I didn't know if I could ever tell #1 the full story because I have trouble getting through it without being very emotional. Not that emotional is a bad thing. I should be emotional during the telling of this story. It was a very emotional event. I am talking more along the lines of due to my excessive bawling I may not be able to be understood and it could take 3 days to get the story out.

Writing the story down would solve this issue. #1 knows the basic outline and details of her birth, but I have never sat her down and told her the whole story. She knows the funny stuff that happened right as labor started, and the fact that had to stay in the NICU for a week and why that had to happen.

This blog has also been sort of a journal of our lives for the past 6 years. I have desires to have it made into a book for the family to keep someday. I think it would be nice to have both kids birth stories as part of that book. I have not been the best at documenting their lives, so this would in my mind make up for some of that.

So I have made the decision to blog each girl's birth story. I will start with #1 because...well she was my first.

So here we go. Deep Breath.

Oh yeah, Disclaimer time!

If you have never given birth, or about to give birth to your first child I will caution against reading this story. If you choose not to heed my warning then remember that my circumstances were very unusual, and try not to let it scare the hell out of you.

#1 was due December 16. We had been living in California up until my 7th month of pregnancy, and moved back to Topeka in mid September of her birth year. We lived with BH's parents until jobs and housing could be secured.

It took us longer to do those things than we expected, and we wound up moving over Thanksgiving weekend in 1997. Thanksgiving was very late that year. My BP had been climbing at my most recent pre-natal appointments and I was supposed to sit and watch everyone move my stuff in the house. That was fun and didn't raise my BP at all!

#1 had been in the Breech position for several weeks. We had done everything under the sun to try and get her to turn around, external version (the doctor pushed on me for an hour and that kid would not budge!), lying on an ironing board upside down, and my favorite Moxybustion treatment. In an nutshell moxybustion involved incense and a special point on the outside of my small toe. I know it sounds crazy but there was a lot of research on it's success. #1 would get really active during the treatments, but no flippy flippy. At 38 weeks it was obvious she was in that position until birth. I had been getting my prenatal care at our local Birth and Women's center. The breech position issue put me in a high risk delivery category, and they had to refer me to another doctor and I was no longer going to have the cozy home like birth center birth, but a hospital experience. My disappointment was HUGE.

I had a pre-natal appointment the Monday after Thanksgiving, and again my BP was high. My doctor ordered me to stay home and rest, and skip my evening shift at work. So I spent the rest of the day doing a load or two of baby laundry, sitting, fretting, trying to will a miracle flip from #1 in to a head down position, and forcing myself to keep from unpacking boxes.

BH came home from work, and we ate our first meal cooked in our new home. Frozen pizza. (Don't judge! We was poor back then!) BH then went off to the nursery to put together furniture and get a nest ready for our little bird.

Once he finished he called me in to view the final product. I was so excited! It is really difficult to be hardcore nesting with no nest to feather. I walked around the room oohing and ahhing appropriately. Once I had completed my inspection I patted my HUGE belly and informed #1 that she could come out any time now, because we had her nest all ready for her.

I went back to lie down some more, and after about a half hour of rest I felt a funny little pop, and then a little trickle. I hollered to BH, "Hey are you ready to head to the hospital and have this baby?" He replied with a laugh and told me in no uncertain terms that my joke was not funny. I responded by informing that either my water had broken or I was seriously peeing myself. I stood up at this point and there was no doubting what was going on then. He still didn't believe me, even as I was shouting at him to bring me dry pants.

Eventually I convinced him and then the fun began. What with the move and all there had been no packing of the "Let's go have a baby bag." We had a list and good intent, but no follow through. BH laughed and giggled as he ran around the house searching for the list and the stuff we needed. I stayed in the bathroom, as I only had so many pairs of pants that I could use.

Luckily I was not having any contractions, so that helped. We finally got ourselves together and headed to the Birth and Women's center. My care had not been transferred yet, as I was supposed to have my first appointment with the new doctor the next day. The midwife at the B&W center confirmed that yes my water had broken. Given my circumstances it was decided to go straight to the hospital despite the fact that I was not having contractions yet. So off we went!

We got there, registered, and found out that luck was on our side as the doctor I was planning to see the next day was the OB on call that night. He met with me and did an ultrasound to confirm that the baby was still in the breech position. (I guess sometimes babies will do a last minute flip, no such luck for me.) So the doctor discussed options. Given the type of breech position (she was Frank Breech meaning that she was butt first) natural child birth was an option. The doctor went over the pros and cons with us, and the pros and cons of a c-section. He laid out the risks for both as well. After consideration we decided to move forward with natural childbirth.

I know many who are reading this story for the first time will likely struggle with that decision. I have had many discussions regarding my decision. The fact is at the time it was the right decision for us. Birth comes with risk regardless of the circumstances, and I think being comfortable with how you will give birth is important. Natural childbirth was what made me most comfortable.

So decision made, it was time to wait. Because of the breech presentation there was to be no getting up and walking around, using a birth ball, or any of that good stuff to help labor progress and help me manage pain, because breech presentation comes with a significant increase of cord prolapse. So with the exception of a couple of "jailbreaks" to use the toilet I was in bed the entire time. So we waited..and waited.

My water broke around 8:00 PM, but it was well after midnight before I started having noticeable contractions. Once things got started, I would have a contraction, wake up and holler, then fall back to sleep. According to my husband it was kind of humorous to watch, because I seriously would immediately fall asleep as soon as the contraction was over. I guess that was a good thing, because I was going to need a lot of strength come pushing time.

By early morning, around 6-7 AM I was in serious labor. Now if you will recall I mentioned earlier that our original plan had been to give birth at the Birth and Women's Center. It is a fabulous birth center in a huge old Victorian era home. The rooms are lovely, and look more like what you might find at a bed and breakfast. Things like epidurals are not an option for pain management there. There are many other options like birth stools, birthing balls, and a lovely large jacuzzi tub available for helping manage pain. Sometimes they will use Stadol, but that is pretty much it. So during the majority of my pregnancy I did not even think about medication for pain management. BH and I were all good with it, and comfortable knowing that we had many other options to help me through labor.

Well, I had NONE of those lovely options open to me at my hospital birth given my special circumstance. For me, breathing was not cutting it. Screaming my head off during contractions helped a bit. After a few hours of this every couple of minutes, BH gently asked if perhaps it was time to reconsider the epidural.

When I am REALLY sick, or in SERIOUS pain I become irrational. I am not kidding. I will be in the throes of the flu, sky high temp, barely able to get out of bed and insist that I will go to work. When I broke my hand in a car accident as a teenager, I was adamant that I was fine, people were crazy, even though my hand was swollen and hurt if you breathed on it. Got into an argument with my parents about going to the hospital. All that is to say that in the throes of serious labor, I was not fully rational. I flat out refused to have an epidural, and was completely convinced that it would significantly slow down and with all probability stop my labor all together. After 12 hours already gone there was NO WAY. Let's not even talk about the whole NEEDLE IN MY SPINE thing. Never gonna happen my friend.

I realize now that was irrational and in all likelihood an epidural probably would have been quite helpful. If I could go back, I would totally take that epidural.

Finally at about 9 AM it was time to bring this party to an end. They wheeled me down to an OR room just in case things got hincky and they had to do an emergency C-section we would be ready to roll in seconds. In the last hour or before they took me down to push, (Officially push that is, I am pretty sure the involuntary pushing had been going on for a couple hours already.) The doctor kept asking me if this intern, or this student could come and observe the labor. It is not often that they have a natural breech delivery so I was quite the attraction. I believe my answer every time he asked was, "If it will get this baby out soon I don't give a rat's ass who is in there." Because by this time I was not too proud to beg, barter, or steal to get that baby out.

So we are in the OR and that joint is PACKED. I had a huge cheering section. This was a far cry from our birth plan that we wrote out for the birth center. I believe the people to be present in our original plan were me, BH, and the midwife. I think there had to have been about 15 people in that room. No lie.

So they wheeled me in a parked me. Parked me right in front of a HUGE ASS clock. So I could see just how long it was taking me to get this baby out. I did not find it helpful, but it never occurred to me to have them block it out either. I was busy with other things.

Can I tell you something? Pushing a baby out ass first is HARD. I am sure head first is no picnic either, but I will hold up ass first as being worse. I pushed for two hours, and finally got everything but the head out, after being given a very generous episiotomy that I was happy to have. You think I was willing to bargain before pushing, let me tell you that after two hours of serious pushing I would have done ANYTHING to get that baby out. I believe at the end I was repeating over and over, "I just want her out so I can hold her."

So everything is out but the head. This was good, except the head is the hardest part, and I was exhausted. It was also important for the baby's health for me to finish up delivering as soon as possible.

This is where things got ugly. The head was not delivering fast enough. The doctor finally made the decision to use forceps, and got her out.

She was grey and a just a tiny blur as they handed her off to the pediatrician on duty. She had a heart rate, but was not breathing. The pediatrician could not get her intubated properly. The hospital where we delivered did not have a NICU, so an emergency call was made to the hospital across the street and a neonatologist rushed over and got her intubated, breathing, and stabilized.

Those moments were hands down the worst I have ever experienced. I could hear that things were not going well, and I begged them to tell me what was going on. The only answer they gave, "We are doing everything we can." I am not a religious person, and I am not much of one to pray silently let alone out loud. I begged God out loud in front of a room full of people I did not know to save my baby. I cried, and berated myself out loud for choosing not to have a c-section. I remember thinking very clearly that if my baby died, I would also die right there on that hospital bed. I have never felt such raw fear, and oh my GOD the sense of helplessness. I will never forget those feelings as long as I live.

Once she was stable enough to move, they brought her over to me in her isolette. I was not allowed to hold her, but they did allow me to touch her hand before they transported her across the street to the NICU. They took a couple of pictures of her to give me before they left. Jeff followed her over to the NICU since I obviously could not go. That was hard. I really wanted no one else with me but him, but I could not bear the thought of my baby going over there alone.

My whole family was waiting for me when I came back to the room. I remember little of this, other than crying. Lots and lots of crying. They tried to get me to eat, but food just made me nauseous. They kept trying to get me to rest, but despite my long night and morning I could not sleep.

The doctor released me that evening so that I could go over and see the baby. It was a relief, but also heartbreaking to see her. She was intubated and hooked up to what seemed like a million monitors. Her entire bottom area front to back was so bruised and swollen from the birth it looked like she had been beaten. We were not allowed to hold her, and they didn't really want us to touch her much as she needed to recover from the birth trauma. This about killed me. All I could do was stand there, cry, and look at her. I touched her gently anyway. They did have good news that she was barely using the ventilator and the nurses were confident she would have it removed the next day. There was a big concern regarding brain damage. She was oxygen deprived for nearly 10 minutes post birth, and she was curling her toes which can be a sign of brain damage. We were told that she would have a CAT scan the following day to determine what if any damage was there. They said initially that she would be there a few days. A few days was actually 8 days. 8 LONG days. We weren't even allowed to hold her until the third day. That was so hard. What made it worse, was when I finally got to hold her, I was scared to pick her up because of all the tubes and wires she was hooked up to, but I did. I have no idea how parents who have children in the NICU for months stand it. I had fantasies of taking her and running out the door I was so anxious to be out of there. I cried on the way to the hospital and I cried all the way home every day. I cried at home. I barely ate. It was hands down the hardest week I have yet to live.

The next 8 days were long, we were at the NICU most of every day. Every day the news got better. There were no signs of brain damage. All of her organs seemed to be functioning properly. She was eating well, and gaining weight, the jaundice was subsiding. Finally after 8 long days we got to take our baby home.

Once we got her home, the visitors were constant. Only grandparents and our siblings were allowed to visit her in the NICU. My mother came down with the flu the day after she was born, and was not allowed to see her until she came home. We were happy to have visitors, and thrilled to finally get to show her off. We admitted to each other later that we HATED having other people hold her. After waiting so long to hold her the first time ourselves, and with all the rigid NICU rules about it we just wanted her to ourselves.

She was followed by the NICU for a year, as she was at high risk for developmental delays. I was so on top of infant development it was borderline obsessive. She had no delays at all. She has been a happy, healthy, SUPER smart, and well adjusted kid.

We are so lucky that this story ended so well, and it is something I try never to take for granted.

So there you have it. The story of #1's birth.

It was a doozy.

On Cleaning House

2011-11-29T21:28:00.002-06:00

We try to give our house a thorough top to bottom cleaning at least once a month.

On a good month there is spot/maintenance cleaning work done throughout the rest of the month.

On a bad month....

I have never kept track but if I had to guess there are probably more bad cleaning months than there are good ones.

We do pretty well keeping the house straightened up, because clutter stresses me out.

Because of our good straightening up habits, I would guess that the average visitor would say I keep a really clean house.

I however would say the person making such a statement is a big ol' liar liar with flaming pants on fire. Or perhaps I would accuse them of being delusional depending on the day and my maturity level at the time.

I really dislike cleaning house as I would guess most people do.

We have a two story house that is over 100 years old. There is a finished attic, and a shit ton of woodwork. It is beautiful woodwork. Big trim, built in bookcases and china cabinet. Beamed ceiling in the dining room.

So cleaning the house even with two adults, one teenager, and one 10 year old takes us pretty much a full day to complete if we are doing things right.

That is a day I am pretty much guaranteed to be grouchy.

I have some very negative associations with house cleaning.

When I was growing up it was always a HUGE source of contention among family members. My mother was/is very particular about cleaning. She was not always very nice about sharing her opinions on the work we did, and the rest of the family was not always nice back. There was almost always arguments, resistance, and hurt feelings. As a coping mechanism I eventually learned to just power through and get the shit done so I could leave and not have to deal with everyone's dysfunction.

My children as children are wont to do, complain mightily about having to clean. Particularly #2. Man she hates to clean. I would guess that she hates it more than I do. Clean and orderly just are NOT on her priority list.

My husband patient saint that he is, has worked to do things to make cleaning fun and bearable for the children. This involves things like making a game out of it, lots of breaks, etc.

I am in full awe of his ability to do what I just described above. Because I. Can't. Do. That.

In fact it makes me crazy. I know that what he is doing is right. I know that it is better for the kids. No matter how I try, I just can't bring myself to join in on the fun. It makes me sad. However, I have learned that trying to do it their way just makes me want to tear my hair out one strand at a time.

So I deal with my sadness, do my power through, and let him deal with the kids on cleaning tasks.

It ain't one of my prouder mother moments, but it works, and in the end the house is clean, and I haven't yelled or hurt any feelings.

So all in all... win. I guess.

But if I had my druthers....

We would hire cleaning fairies to do the work and go see a movie instead.

I am almost NEVER grumpy at the movies.

Vinyl

2011-11-28T21:50:00.002-06:00

Last week we traveled to Ohio to visit BH's grandparents.

Since BH's grandmother has not been well we have been making it a point to go out there at least once if not twice a year for a visit.

Every time we have been there the past few years I have wanted to walk around the downtown area, which appeared to house some interesting stores.

FINALLY this year we took that walk downtown. I was right, there were a lot of great little stores.

One in particular that we visited twice was a good old school record store called Endangered Species.

Music stores are really a thing of the past around here anymore. The best we do is Vintage Stock. But it is huge and corporate and all that crap, and music is only a small part of their offerings.

As soon as I walked in I was greeted with the smell of incense, and loud classic rock music. Yes I believe it was. Vintage posters on the wall and racks of albums.

Ahhhh.....

Back when we lived in Okland, CA we used to frequent a store called Amoeba. It was HUGE, and had everything you could imagine and had the coolest atmosphere ever.

This place was no Amoeba by a long shot, but man did I feel happy in there.

I used to buy vinyl all the time, but eventually gave it up because it was hard to find and not convenient to play.

About a year or so ago, BH and I made the decision to sell our CDs. We had uploaded everything and never used them any longer. It was a bit sad to do.

I love the convenience of digital music, and it really appeals to my preference to hear a mix of all my favorite artists as opposed to listening to one artists entire album all at once.

But while perusing through the record store I was reminded of how much I love cracking open that new album, looking at the cover art, and reading through the liner notes. (Yes I am that geeky.)

I was keeping myself content to look and purchase a couple of Beatles memorabilia items for #1, as her birthday is around the corner.

That was the first time we went in.

The second time, BH who knows me so well, came up and placed an album in my hands and hinted that I should treat myself.

I hemmed and hawed a bit, but soon the siren's call of new vinyl was too loud to ignore.

So I am now the owner of the latest offering by the Decemberists on vinyl.

#2 also requested to buy an album too.

Now both are converts to the joys of vinyl.

Good to know I am raising my kids right!

Random Thoughts

2011-11-08T21:26:00.002-06:00

Have I ever shared that BH and I lived in California for two years? Oakland, California to be exact.

We did, so that I could go to graduate school. It was an interesting experience. I got a graduate degree, we did some really cool things, had lots of visitors, and decided that while we enjoyed many things about California, ultimately it was not the place we wanted to raise our family, and so one internship away from finishing my degree, and hugely pregnant with #1 we moved back to Kansas. (Luckily the internship could be done anywhere, and I decided to do one in the state where I planned to work. The baby only delayed my graduation by about 6 months. Not too shabby!)

One thing I did not experience while in California was an earthquake. BH did experience a small one that hit San Francisco as that is where he worked. This was kind of a disappointment to me. After all, I was the one who had worked in schools/daycares there and gone through the earthquake drills! I was prepared!

We have been back in Kansas for 14 years now, and I got to experience my first earthquake this past Saturday, and then another one last night. These quakes a felt were just minor shaking, because apparently the real deal has been going on down in Oklahoma.

Now I just need to experience a hurricane I guess, oh and a tsunami... a typhoon? Have I left out any other natural disasters? I think I can feel I lived a full life without experiencing any of the above mentioned disasters.

I am getting old.

I will be 40 in a few months and my joints are not happy. Arthritis runs rampant among women in my family and it seems to begin around 40 for many of them.

So I have started taking a dietary supplement for joint health. I am exercising regularly again, and am looking in to doing yoga or something similar for flexibility. I would like to look in to weekly massage too, but I fear that might be pushing it. I hope these things help. I am not ready to seek help from the doctor yet. Mainly because I need to drop about 9 more pounds before I go back. I hate to disappoint people, and I have creeped back above the weight recommended by my doctor. Hopefully I will lose the 9 lbs soon. My pants don't fit so great right now and I vow that I will not by bigger clothes. I can't afford to replace a wardrobe again. I am so pissed off to be in this position, but I have to say that wearing uncomfortable pants has been a great motivator.

So I hope all this crap works.

As always I will keep you posted.

Computer Genius

2011-11-02T21:15:00.003-05:00

I like to think that I am somewhat computer savvy.

Then I do something like get a new computer, and the Reality Tour Bus comes slamming in to me at full speed.

I FINALLY got my Mac.

It was a bit of a chore as it turns out.

You might recall from my last post that I found a floor model Mac for a bit of a discount.

Alright...full disclosure...I got it at Best Buy. I know there are many out there who pooh-pooh Best Buy, but I have always had good luck there, and the nearest Apple Store is over an hour away. Yes, I realize I could have ordered online, but have I mentioned my issues with patience once I have made a decision about a big purchase? If I haven't or if you missed that part, the story goes like this:

I have no patience once I have made a decision about a big purchase.

So as you can see, ordering and waiting for shipping were out of the question.

So I made the purchase at Best Buy on Saturday evening. They had to give the computer to the Geek Squad so they could get all the floor model demo stuff taken off the computer. No big deal right? It would be ready for me Sunday. I was a bit disappointed, but..I figured getting it Sunday would still allow me time to get things migrated and play around before work Monday.

Sunday comes and I wait and wait for a call. Finally get one about 4:30, only to be told that they had to have someone bring in the disc they needed to get the demo stuff off. The disc would be there the next day, and they would call me when it is ready.

Monday comes. I wait all day for a phone call. Finally it hits 5:00 and I have heard NADA. So I call. I'm told they were still working on it, they would call when it was done. I have a busy evening and no time to go down there in person and "encourage" them.

TUESDAY comes. Wait all day. No call. Go down in person. After waiting several minutes I am told, "They are having trouble getting the demo stuff off the computer, they will call you when they are done." At this point I have decided that I am done. I inform them that I am no longer interested in the floor model, and they can just go get me one that comes in a box that no one has used before and requires no geeks to remove any demo software. I left feeling very grouchy.

So I finally get it home. I know that getting everything moved was going to be a chore. However, I did not expect it to be a chore that has lasted more than a week. I think I am done now. I hope. All the easy ways I researched did not work at all. AT. ALL. Finally BH helped out and got things done in a few minutes that I had been trying to do for DAYS. I am not kidding. D-A-Y-S.

Typically I would have been grumpy about his easy success after all my failure, but I am just so glad to have the shit done!

Because lugging two computers to work got old after the very first time.

So...whew!

Finally Going Mac

2011-10-22T22:40:00.002-05:00

I have been coveting some kind of MacBook since my husband brought his home from school about a year ago.

They are so pretty. So light.

I have been pondering, fretting, wishing, and hoping for a way to get one ever since.

This week BH and I came up with a way to justify my finally making the purchase.

#1 has developed an interest in writing, and has been dabbling in writing fan fiction recently. (My reaction to the ever growing influence of my husband and his geekly interests on our children is another post entirely.) She has been doing so on the ipod Touch that has been glued to her since she purchased it for her birthday last year.

BH and I want to encourage her interest in writing and so decided that a way we could do so would be to allow her to have her own computer. That day was approaching quickly anyway as she will be in...hold on a minute...I have to work up to type this.......

highschoolnextyear.

Whew. It has to be said/typed fast or I can't get it out.

Back to my fabulous MacBook justification.

So we came up with the brilliant idea that she could have my computer and I could finally buy that Mac I want so badly.

If you think I didn't jump on that in about 2 seconds, then you don't know me at all.

My grand plans were almost usurped when I discovered that the software I use for my business is not Mac compatable. I found a way around that issue. Won't bore you with the details.

So I made my purchase today! They had an open box model that had been a demo, and they knocked $125 bucks off the price. Looked pretty pristine and it made room to buy Mac friendly Office software! They are clearing all the demo stuff off tonight and I get to pick her up tomorrow!

Yay!

Then I get to start the "fun" process of transferring all my crap over to the new computer.

That could take awhile.

Boo.

Crock Pot Tales of Woe

2011-10-19T20:21:00.004-05:00

In the fall and winter we often use the crock pot to cook our evening meals.

I am typically the one who assembles and starts the crock pot in the morning before I leave since BH has to leave for work at the ass crack of dawn.

Every time I make a crock pot meal, I am always afraid I will forget to turn it on, and come home to find a cold crock pot and no dinner when I get home. Because of this fear, I feel as though I have developed sudden onset OCD and find myself checking the damn thing 80 times before I leave the house.

Today was a crock pot meal day. Today was also a day that I did not get up and around in a timely manner and therefore was what you might call "rushed."

Being in a hurry apparently is a good antidote to my "OCD-sudden onset, induced by crock pot cooking" disorder.

I did turn on the crock pot.

I did not however, plug in the crock pot.

So tonight's meal was brought to the House of Babble by Burger King.

On a somewhat related side note, do you spell crock pot as two words or one? As I was looking it up I saw both ways. I decided to go for two words, cause I am wordy like that.

Done

2011-10-18T15:43:00.002-05:00

Show(s) are over as of last night.
Test completed over a month ago. (No results yet)
Ridiculously behind on things at work.
Sleepy. Very Very Very Sleepy.

That is me.

What about you?

Does anyone read this thing anymore?

Pending Show and Test = Even fewer blog posts than usual

2011-08-28T10:46:00.002-05:00

Y'all!

I am in another show! It has been over a year and half since my dainty lil' feet graced the boards.

I am pretty excited about it. Except for the rehearsing part. I would like rehearsal a lot better if it didn't cut so far into my free time. I do enjoy having some extra time around adults, even if it means taking out my ever rusting social skills. I also am enjoying getting to put on an accent. I do love it when I get to do a character that requires an accent.

I don't have a huge part, but it is the one I wanted and the character is a lot of fun.

Because memorizing lines, blocking, along with all my other regular activities: parenting, being a wife, working wasn't quite enough to fill absolutely every second of my day, I thought I might throw in a test to complete the Infant/Toddler Mental Health endorsement process I have been involved with for the past two years into the mix.

If you remember about two years ago, I bet I posted something about taking my clinical licesnse exam. If I didn't I know for damn sure that I have posted many times about my being prone to anxiety. Well let me tell you if you didn't already know....tests of any kind send my anxiety THROUGH THE FUCKING ROOF. Test anxiety might be at the top of my most anxiety provoking events list. Medical issues and having to testify in court rounding out the top three. Really it just depends on which of those three things is most imminent, then that event soars to the number one spot on the countdown.

The night before I took my clinical exam I had an awful dream that I was hanging from the bottom rung of a ladder that was suspended from the ceiling and hanging about 100 feet from the ground. The only good thing about the dream? Patrick Swayze was hanging there with me. He didn't seem to provide much comfort seeing as how I woke up panting, sweating, and with a very strong desire to puke.

Wonder what dream this latest test will provide?

Stay tuned.

I'll try to pick up on the posting.

But both of you know how that usually goes....

Hey! Ya know what's fun?

2011-07-21T20:45:00.002-05:00

Storm damage!

It is H-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s!!!!

So this one day back in May. You know that day that the world was supposed to end? I forget the exact date now and I am really far far too lazy to look it up. If you are not lazy like I am or have a better memory for such things feel free to put it to me in a comment.

Anyhoo...End of the World Day. The Babble Children whom I affectionately refer to as #1 and #2 were watching the clock somewhat carefully while we finished dinner and made fun of people who really thought the rapture was upon us. A few minutes after 6:00 PM #2 shouts, "Hooray! We survived! The world didn't end!" The words were barely out of her mouth when....

The tornado sirens went off.

The children in the House of Babble DO NOT take well to storms. Which really sucks for them seeing as how we live in Kansas, and y'know we tend to get some weather 'round these parts.

As usual we headed for the nearest TV to see what was going on. I was not worried as the sirens go off all over the county even if the tornado is in the farthest corner heading away from town.

Welll......turns out we actually had ourselves some funnel clouds in town.

None of them were particularly close to our house, so we were counting ourselves pretty lucky.

Then.....

Hail.

Big. Ass. Motherfucking. Hail.

Most were at least the size of golfballs or eggs. Some were the size of baseballs.

This storm kind of came from nowhere, and we had planned to go do some errands after dinner, so we left my car out of the garage, because dammit it is a lot of work to get out of the car, fold up the side mirrors, open the garage door manually and all that crap. So I don't put the car away until I am sure that I am done for the day. Unless it snows. Then all of the above seems like a lot less work than cleaning snow off the car. BH can't put his car in the garage because there is too much crap on his side. My car gets preference because it is only a year old.

Only a year old.

People I am not ashamed to say that I was fighting back tears as I watched that Big.Ass.Motherfucking.Hail. pound my pretty one year old car.

So eventually the storm ended after what seemed like 100 years. We went out to assess the damage and marvel over the vast size and amount of hail that had fallen. The girls were able to fill a wagon with hailstones and it didn't even look like they had made a dent.

The cars were pummeled. BH's even had a crack in the windshield.

So come Monday the great race to contact the insurance company began. Took me until almost noon to reach them. We didn't get appointments for the adjustors to come out until the middle of June.

Turns out this was one hell of an expensive hail storm.

As a result the Babble Family will soon have:

1 New Roof (previous was only 9 years old)
1 New set of gutters (just had new gutters installed 2 years ago)
1 New Garage Roof
1 Freshly painted garage
Freshly painted house trim

Sadly BH's car was old enough and damaged enough that they totalled his car out. He has decided to keep it as it runs great and he don't care 'bout no stinkin' hail dents.

My car is going to be practically new again once they are done. I am getting a brand new hood. new roof, and a new trunk, to go along with a new paint job.

To keep this from getting any longer, arranging repair estimates and getting things scheduled has been a nightmare and a full time job for BH. The only repair that has been completed to date is replacing the winddhield on BH's car.

Roof repair has to happen first. That should be soon, since they said they were scheduling 4 weeks out and it has been just about that long since they gave that estimate. They also placed a sign in our yard today so that makes us hopeful. None of the rest of the house/garage repair can be done until the roof happens. So nothing has even been scheduled for the house past the roof.

My car won't be repaired until the middle of October.

Yup. October.

Not too happy about that, but nothing to be done I suppose.

In a few moments of desperation I considered trading it in, because it was going to be such a hassle to have it out of commission for so long.

Then I pulled my head out of my ass.

So I guess the moral of the story is don't make fun of the fake Rapture, or God/Mother Nature may get out can of whoop-ass and open it up all over your house and cars.

BH and I are HOTT I tell you. H-O-T-T.

2011-07-19T22:10:00.003-05:00

BH's parents left the state with our children yesterday.

Calm down. They had our permission.

BH and I would have gone, but you know we had BIG! SEXY! PLANS!

Like, working.

And thesis writing.

It don't get much sexier than that people.

You want to know what is even hotter?

Tonight after a romantic dinner of frozen pizza and salad from a bag, we went out for fro-yo, then hit the Club.

You know the one. The BIG club.

Sam's Club.

Sam's just wasn't happening enough for us, so we blew that sorry joint and headed to Target.

Then we needed a little down time so we rolled on over to his parent's house, so that I could scoop their cats' litter boxes. Let me tell you.....I am dead sexy when wielding a poop scoop. BH just couldn't keep his hands off me.

After that smokin' little interlude we were off again. To the GROCERY STORE.

I would tell you what happened there but you know what they say...

What happens at the GROCERY STORE stays at the GROCERY STORE.

Etiquette lesson for those who attend concerts.

2011-07-11T10:18:00.004-05:00

WARNING: Grumpy content to follow.

Dear People Who Attend Concerts,

I know that you have likely imbibed a fair amount of alcohol, and or other substances prior to the main performer taking the stage. I have no issue with that. Everyone goes to a concert to SEE the performer and have a good time.

Let's talk a bit about that, "seeing the performer thing."

Chances are when you go to a concert, someone is standing behind you. Yes. Really. Even though you can't see them they are there let me assure you.

I am going to let you in on something. They are not amused by your dumb ass attempts at becoming the next Martin Scorcese with your cell phone, or point and shoot camera. Guess what that video you are working so hard to get? Is going to be SHITTY. Poor picture quality AND awful sound. Just be content with the memories in your mind like we did in the old days. If you want to take a few crappy quality pictures...go right ahead. I am compelled to do the same. But after a couple of shots, put away the damn camera and watch the concert you paid good money to see.

All of the above goes triple for people standing behind me. I do not enjoy you getting in my bubble and holding your shitty camera phone over my head to GET THE SHITTY VIDEO YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE OR HEAR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!

Now let's talk about dancing. I expect and have been known to engage in dancing at concerts. Perfectly acceptable. However.....

When the show is standing room only and sold out, please keep your dancing down to moves that do not take you out of your little square of space. It's a concert not SYTYCD or a Tae Bo class. Bust those moves at home while listening to your ipod. This goes triple if it is an outdoor concert in the middle of July in Kansas when the heat index reaches a record 118 degrees.

Singing. Listen...I get that you are a big fan, have all the albums on your ipod, and know the lyrics better than the performer. I did not pay $50 or more to hear you sing off key in my ear. I have been to a lot of concerts. Eventually the performer will invite you to sing along. Please keep your singing limited to that time. Save the rest for your shower or the car ride home.

General Admission rules: I got my ass to the venue early, and stood around in the 118 degree heat prior to the opening act hitting the stage so that I could have a good spot as close to the stage as possible. If you come in drunk halfway through the set and try to get in front of me you can bet your intoxicated ass that I am going to protect my territory and I am NOT going to be nice about it. Put down the bottle, bong, or all of the above, get YOUR ass to the show early and get your own damn sweet spot near the stage. I have a big purse, a loud bitchy mouth, and I am not afraid to use both in such a situation.

That is all.

Thank you and let me enjoy the show.

The obligatory catching up post

2011-07-09T22:10:00.002-05:00

Last week I made over.

This week I write.

Where to begin?

This summer has been very laid back for the most part at the House of Babble.

BH has been working diligently on completing his masters degree. He has one class down. Only the capstone left to go. It is due July 29. He defends it August 8 and then he is done done done! I am thinking long and hard about throwing a major celebratory bash. I can't decide whether or not to do it now, or wait until graduation. Assuming he plans to participate in the ceremony.

I should probably ask about that.

I did not attend the graduation ceremony when I finished my masters degree. It was held in California, and I was in Kansas. We had a 9 month old baby, I was working part-time, BH had just gone back to school to get his second BA so that he could teach one day. There was no money for a trip to Cali for my ceremony. I was very sad, but we did have a great party at home. My only regret now is totally silly I know. Since I didn't go to the ceremony, I did not order the graduation attire. That means I do not have my masters hood. I still harbour some sadness about that. I have the diploma, which is the most important thing. I had a lot of fantasies about wearing that hood to get me through the long months at the end of my degree. So it hurt a bit not to get it.

Suffice it to say, I will be working hard not to project my sadness over missing my own graduation ceremony on to BH and bully him into attending his own should he decide that he doesn't wish to do so.

I will bully him into a party though.

Mostly because I like parties.

Also, he has worked long and hard and should celebrate his success. Especially since he is graduating with a 4.0.

What else has gone on this summer?

#1 now has a full mouthful of braces. They actually look pretty cute, and give her just a slight lisp.

I should get a picture of her, I have failed to do that as of this post.

#1's parents now have a healthcare flex account that is getting drained at an alarming rate.

Glad to have it.

I have seen 2 of the 3 concerts I wanted to attend this summer so far.

Remember that Ben Folds concert I hoped to talk BH into attending with me?

WELLL...I decided that I really couldn't justify the cost of a third concert this summer so I decided to let it go. THEN! An out of town radio station was holding an online contest to win tickets to several different shows, one being Ben Folds. I entered with my usual low expectations. A few weeks after, I get mail from that radio station. I was a bit perplexed by the envelope as I didn't recall right away that I had entered that contest. I opened the envelope to find two tickets to see Ben Folds! Yayy! I will be attending that show tomorrow!

The Mumford and Sons/Cake show needs a do-over. Guess what guys! I am old! Standing for 4.5 hours in 96 degree heat at an outdoor venue crammed in with 10,000 people does not amuse me. Especially when you are not far from the stage, and can not see a fucking thing because you are short, and people feel the need to shoot shitty video with their cell phone that they are holding over your head. Both bands sounded great. I experienced claustrophobia for the first time ever, and for the first time ever left a show before it ended. So you can clearly see where the do-over comes in.

Elvis Costello. Oh Elvis. He is a fucking fantastic performer. We were again out in the heat in standing room only. It was 101 degrees this time. However this outdoor venue only held 2000 people and did so comfortably. Did I mention that we were in the front row? Front row as in there was no one between us and the stage except for one very friendly security guy? E.C. played for 2 hours and despite the heat and my tired feet, I could have happily listend to him play for two more hours. This goes down as one of the top 5 concerts I have seen. It made up for the crappy experience I had last month.

I have high hopes for Ben Folds tomorrow. It is at the same venue where we saw Elvis Costello. The fact that we are going for free will make it all the better!

The girls have spent the last 5 weeks at theater camp, and have loved it despite the copious bitching we heard at the very beginning of summer. We usually only do one 3 week session of camp per summer. This year we did 2, because BH needed the time to do school work, and the girls believed this to be a grave injustice to them and their summer plans of sitting around the house reading, complaining about only having an hour of screen time every day, and being bored. This week will be their last for camp. Then they are off to Missouri with grandparents for a week. Not sure how I will fill my child free time. Never been at home for such a long time without the children. No big exciting plans for us, since BH will be one week from his capstone project due date, and will have to focus on that. I should probably start planning what I would like to do during my child free evenings at home.

I have enjoyed the slower pace of this summer. I am actually not looking forward to returning to school time schedule. It is always so crazy. I have not missed having a big vacation planned this summer so far. There have been a few twinges here and there, but overall I am OK with it. Travel kind of stresses me out as my two readers well know, so it is nice not to have to deal with it this time.

I have babbled on enough. I think you all get the jist of what I have or haven't been up to so far.

Now I have to start thinking about upcoming posts about my garden, storm damage repair, crazy ass state politics, and my sad sad JBTBH.

Make Over!

2011-07-03T22:55:00.002-05:00

I told BH I was working on my blog, and he was all kinds of supportive and enthusiastic.

Then he saw that I was primarily working on the layout and he laughed at me! Apperances are important. It's all the blog has going for it. Poor neglected thing.

Now this blog was long overdue for make over in my opinion. At the very least some new pictures were in order.

So now my blog has a fresh new look.

Here's hoping for some fresh new content.

Duuuude

2011-06-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

I gotta do something with this blog.
For realsies.

Thoughts

2011-04-22T22:47:00.002-05:00

When I work out of my comfort zone, it makes me very anxious.
When I am very anxious I don't do so well taking care of business.
I have worked out of my comfort zone a fair amount recently.
It made me really anxious.
I did not do well taking care of business.

BUT...
I lived to tell about it.
The world did not fall apart.
I learned a thing or two about stuff and I do and do not want to do.

Now I am nearly done catching up from all the business that did not get taken care of because I was too busy being VERY ANXIOUS.

No vacations for the Babble Family this summer.
I am really quite OK with it.
Maybe I will have a garden instead.
Maybe I will get some long put off projects around the house taken care of.
Maybe I will get some long put off projects at the office taken care of.
Definitely BH will finish his Masters Degree this summer.
Definitely I will be seeing at least TWO fantastic concerts this summer.
Definitely we will swim a lot.

Did I mention that I am going to see at least two concerts this summer. (I am pushing for a third, but it may not happen)
Who will I be seeing?
First Mumford and Sons and Cake. Interesting combo, I am SO! EXCITED!
Next up is Elvis Costello and the Imposters. SO! SO! EXCITED!
Pushing for: Ben Folds. Missed him the last three times he has been around these parts. REALLY! WANT! TO! GO!

I may or may not be dropping hints with this post.

JBTBH-

O.y.

JBTBH-Days 10-16- Don't.Ask.

2011-03-30T21:26:00.002-05:00

Oy. Can we talk about something else? My work has been very stressful and consuming since my mini vay-cay last week, and I just have not paid very close attention to eating and exercise. Eating has gotten more attention than exercise, which I have flat out ignored since last Wednesday. My poor neglected Journey. If you were a child I would have multiple CPS reports by now.

JBTBH Days 8&9-Ice cream for dinner! Crazy!

2011-03-24T20:48:00.002-05:00

OOOOhhhhKay.

So Day 8.

Pretty good. Only not so good foods were some fries at dinner, and about a half piece of fudge after dinner.

LOTS of exercise though. At home in the morning before we left, and then swimming and walking in a pool for about an hour. (Oh my calves. Owie. Ow.)

Today-

Breakfast-Curse you $11 Breakfast Buffet with your vats of Bacon,Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy, Homefries, and French Toast. (For $11 I damn near sat there til the thing was OVER.)

Lunch-Nice healthy salad

Snacks-It was nice knowing you delicious fudge!

Dinner-I think a blizzard from DQ makes an excellent meal don't you?

There was a lot of sitting today A LOT.

But I had an enjoyable day and it was my vacation day so SUCK it JBTBH.

Tomorrow I will embrace you once again!

JBTBH Day 7-Two in a Row oh-OH!

2011-03-22T20:17:00.002-05:00

Aack!

Second successful day.

I am in shock that I made calories today after indulging in a decent sized coke, and two good sized cookies.

So my choices weren't all healthy, but not a calorie busting event.

Exercise-full disclosure I haven't exercised yet, but have plans to once I am done blogging.

Tomorrow, will be a challenge. We are headed to the Great Wolf Lodge with friends for a mini-vacation since it is spring break and all.

That means eating out. I don't do well eating out unless we are going to Chipotle.

I doubt that everyone will want to eat at Chipotle for every meal.

So I guess my strategy is to do my best, but if I blow it....well...it is vacation.

I will just try to keep it under control as best I can.

JBTBH Day 6- Now that's what I'm talkin' bout.

2011-03-21T22:31:00.002-05:00

Finally, a day I can call successful!

Eating-Healthy and within calorie range!

I had a veggie burger and didn't throw up!

I exercised even though I was tired and didn't wanna!

And I know this will shock you.... I took my vitamins!

If I knew how to do it I would make it so that horns, confetti, and fireworks went off while you read this post.

So use your imaginations.

Here's hoping that tomorrow is another step forward!

JBTBH Days 4 and 5- For the love of!

2011-03-20T20:03:00.002-05:00

OK, this journey is not going well AT ALL.

I can not seem to get on track.

If I get on track then I get W-A-Y the F off track at some point during the day.

This weekend the only follow through was with exercise on one day.

Eating habits have been for shit again.

I can't seem to get myself organized to do this.

Blah!

Maybe it is time to think about some kind of reward system.

When I first lost the weight I just...decided I guess. I was so freaked out by the news from my doctor that I didn't feel I had any choice in the matter. I remember resisting temptation with the thought that I just CAN.NOT. eat those foods. I CAN. NOT. fail to follow my weight loss calorie intake. I CAN. NOT. fail to exercise daily. This is not a choice. That is what my mantra was. It kept me going.

I need to find that drive again. I hate to go the route of the doctor scaring me again, but I have wondered if that it what it will take.

Why can't just doing what is best for my health without being scared into it be enough?

JBTBH Day 3-When will the journey really begin

2011-03-18T16:33:00.002-05:00

Holy crap.

I almost titled this one Bad to Worse.

Let's see:

Decent Breakfast
Managed to skip lunch
Ate a bowl of ice cream to tide me over until dinner
Which will be at Sonic
I can assure you I won't be getting a salad
After Sonic is a movie night for BH's students
My resisting candy and popcorn does not look good
No time to exercise tonight

Crap.

At least I took my vitamins!

JBTBH Day 2-Emotional Eating Anyone?

2011-03-17T22:28:00.002-05:00

I decided to use initials for the Journey Back to Better Health because it takes too long to write that out every time, and I am at heart a lazy girl.

Today was a long day of very intense work.

Breakfast and lunch went well. Healthy.

Snacks.....not so much. I was tired, cranky, and over this day. BH offered ice cream and I took him up on it.

I also might have finished off those damn donuts too.

Dinner. So-S0.

Exercise did not happen. I didn't even have a chance to exercise until 9:00 tonight, and I just did not have it in me to do it at that point.

I am disappointed in how the day has gone. It was great until dinner time and evening. Then fatigue and crappy mood won out, even though I know exercise and healthy choices will battle that fatigue and crappy mood.

This is where my conflict lies friends.

At least I took my vitamins.

Journey Back to Better Health Day 1- Meh

2011-03-16T21:05:00.002-05:00

Today gets a meh.

I went over my calories today to the tune of 250 over.

It is tough in the house for me right now. There is leftover birthday cake, leftover birthday ice cream. As if that weren't enough right there my mom found my favorite doughnuts that I can never find anymore and brought over a bag of them.

Jeez.

Oh yeah, and I had a take out box full of leftover steak, noodles, and fried rice from my birthday Japanese Hibachi dinner last night.

Oy.

To make things even better, we had a huge failed attempt at homemade mac and cheese tonight. It was terrible so I didn't eat much, but I was hungry and that damn bag of donuts was there and so easy.

So not only did I consume too many calories today, I did not really make healthy food choices either.

This has been a problem for me even when I lost weight before. I could keep the calories where they needed to be for weight loss, but it did not always equal healthy eating.

Healthy eating must become part of this process, because I have blood pressure and high cholesterol issues.

I really can't have things like cake, ice cream, and donuts in the house. I have no will power when it comes to those things. None. Zip. Zero. The best remedy is total removal. I cannot however bring myself to throw the stuff away. I thought about declaring a hold on the eating part of this journey for a few days until the stuff is gone, but that doesn't do much for my all or nothing way of responding to diet and exercise.

That is a problem that still needs a solution.

On to the positive.

I exercised! Hooray!

I didn't want to, but I made myself do it anyway, and of course I was glad. I am shooting for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week, and one hour a day 2 days a week. I will be ok if it winds up being 30 minutes 7 days a week.

I took my vitamins!

There you have it. Day 1.

Onward ho!

I turned 39 today. At least I can type it without choking...

2011-03-15T21:23:00.002-05:00

This is it.

The final year of my 30's starts today.

Oy.

I can not quite wrap my head around the idea.

40 seems so...adult.

I don't always feel so adult in my mind for some reason. I still have so many things of which I am unsure. I always feel like I should be more certain about things than I am. More confident. More assertive. Like those fabulous and 40 women you see in magazines.

Magazines present false realities. That much I do know.

I just wish I didn't want them to be true sometimes.

So what to do with this final year of my 30's?

I don't have a fucking clue.

Well I have one clue.

I absolutely positively must find again the healthy habits I committed to two years ago after my come to Jesus physical.

Those habits have been on a downward slide for a year now and I have officially smacked the bottom.

It hurts.

Of the 32 pounds I lost, I have gained back 12. I gained back 12 because I have not been careful with my food intake, and I have not been exercising consistently.

My mood and anxiety management are near the toilet. I believe this is large part due to the lack of exercise mentioned above and in some part due to the regression in healthy eating habits.

I am fully aware and have been all along that I was backsliding. For me it becomes a viscious circle. I fail to exercise and eat healthy. I beat myself up about it. Which sours my mood. Which weakens my desire. Lather, rinse, repeat ad nauseum.

I know what I need to do to drop those 12 pounds. I am not sure why it has been so hard to make myself do those things. Other than I just don't wanna. I don't want to admit that I have to do this for the rest of my life.

It just seems so.......long.

So.....daunting.

Then again feeling anxious, grouchy, and disappointed in myself does not feel so great either.

It is daunting to think that I may be shortening my life because I don't wanna.

Just seeing it in writing is sad and pathetic.

So I have to suck it up.

Exercise must happen at least 30 minutes every day.

I must track what I eat, and make healthy choices most days.

I have to let go of my all or nothing way of thinking.

I have to stop beating myself up about failures big, small, or otherwise.

I must be healthier at 40 than I am at 39.

Starting....now.

I have been giving a lot of thought about this blog and what I want to do with it.

So for now it is going to become about my renewed Journey to Better Health.

I may throw some of the usual stuff in from time to time, but for now I need a place to keep myself honest, and really a place to put all this crap and this seems to be the best place right now.

So for the two of you who still read this thing, consider this to be your notice!

Maybe some vitamin D?

2011-02-08T20:15:00.002-06:00

Yeah I have been absent once again. Because all my blog ideas involve me griping about something.

I had once again avoided blogging because who wants to read me doing nothing but bitching?

After having mulled this over I decided that perhaps getting the bitching out there out of my head may help it go away.

So here we go.

I have missed 5 days of work this past month due to snow. When all the schools close so do I because if people aren't going to school then they ain't coming to therapy.

This has resulted in me working several long Fridays to make up at least a portion of the missed appointments. I know I know. Poor poor Missy has to work ALL day on a Friday. I realize how this is middle class white girl privilege whining , but dammit I have worked hard for a long time to get my schedule so that I only see a couple of clients on Fridays. I do this so that I have time to get other shit done (y'know like notes and phone calls and the other assorted requests that are made of me by my clients) AND so that on the off chance me or one of the kids gets sick, or some other issue comes up that requires me missing a day of work I can make up some if not all of that time. I don't like having to do this EVERY Friday of the month because Mother Nature decided it would be fun to give us a winter's worth of snowfall in one month's time. It is throwing off my routine and schedule and those who know me well know that makes for some very cranky Missy Babble. Please know that as I am typing this it is snowing AGAIN. Supposedly we are going to only have a couple of inches this time along with some ridICulous cold weather. Hopefully this will only result in a cancelation or two at most.

While we are on the topic of winter weather, my inner cavewoman can not be shut up. She seems to think that I need to eat lots of high calorie food to bulk up for this tundra like winter we have been experiencing. So my efforts for the one bazillionth time to lose this stupid 10 pounds I gained back are not going well. I am cranky because I am hungry for crappy food, so I eat the crappy food I know I shouldn't because I am tired of feeling cranky about it, and then I berate myself because I am not doing what I know I need to do to lose the weight. I don't want to exercise because it is fucking freezing in the damn basement where all the exercise equipment is housed, AND the basement is a mess because we are trying to make it a finished space, and it is going to be a long slow process. My YMCA membership is going unused because the weather has been too crappy to go, people have been sick, and I am stuck working during the time I would usually go. So yeah.. there is that.

We have a new super conservative governor now and a bunch of ultra conservative legislators now running our fine state. I am not by any stretch of the imagination conservative. I am having serious anger responses to the decisions made by this administration. I feel very helpless and not represented in my home state and it is very upsetting. I am fairly sure this is going to be the case for the next 8 years and it makes me sick. Seriously sick, and so very very sad. The decisions being made make no sense to me and the reasoning behind the decisions seems very very flawed to me. I get that we are in a serious budget crisis. I understand that programs have to be cut. What I don't understand is cutting people's wages, and a total refusal to look at raising taxes to help keep necessary services in place. There have been tax proposals that would really not be noticeable to most people in the state, and raise a LOT of revenue. Instead our fine legislators are likely going to cut state employee salaries by 7.5%. I am pretty sure those people will feel that a lot more than paying a few cents extra for a soda, or a pack of cigarettes. Not to mention the fact that a cut like that will have more people requiring money sucking aid like medicaid and welfare. How does that help the budget situation? When money has been tight for me in the past I cut costs AND found an second job to provide extra revenue. I don't understand why our state can't do the same. If everyone else around here whose opinion differs from mine can make similar comparasins for their argument then so can I dammit.

I think those are my main grievances for right now.

In more positive news. I have been keeping my resolution so far, and my nails look fabulous.

Shellacking. But not in a Democratic party way.

2011-01-17T21:09:00.007-06:00

Since the new year began I have been trying to be a little less...lazy...shall we say at home and work.

Obviously since it is January 17, and this is the first time I have logged in to this blog, my efforts have not extended that far.

I didn't really come up with any other specific resolutions.

Except that I am going to get my nails done by a professional every two weeks.

I just had my nails shellacked.

Shellacked in a good way, not a democratic party shellacking, which I won't talk about because it makes me want to stare with my yellow eyes and gnash my terrible teeth. Especially as our new dictator, oops I mean governor makes his tear on our poor state.

But I digress!

Back to my shellacked nails! It is a super strong polish process that is supposed to last two weeks and stay super shiny the whole time! They also improve the strength of my nails.

So I am on manicure two of the year, and I must say this is the best New Year's resolution EVER.

I think this one may last past February.

I will try and see if I can get a picture that does my shiny nails justice.

Sometime this year anyway.

I think you all know about me and promises for this blog.

Back to slackalackin

2010-12-26T21:25:00.001-06:00

One big post in December so far.
So much for increasing the frequency of my posts.
Dang life.
Dang holiday season.

Oh well... there's always next year.

Right?

Making Christmas Simple

2010-12-09T12:58:00.002-06:00

We decided to do the majority of our Christmas shopping online here at Chez Babble this year.

Things have just started to slow down for us after several months of crazy, and we did not have it in us to spend our expanded and highly coveted unscheduled time fighting crowds at stores.

That means that I have a ton of boxes showing up on my front porch. They are all piled under the tree now.

#2 commented that it really looked like christmas with all those boxes stacked under the tree, even if they aren't wrapped.

Well if the 9 year old thinks it is festive, who am I to contradict? Screw present wrapping I say! Save some trees!

SO, I thought maybe I could just leave the boxes as they are, we can divvy them up Christmas morning, everyone opens a few boxes and then figure out which gift goes to which person.

Fun! Right?

Not at all lazy and slackerish!

I was on such a roll

2010-11-28T17:56:00.002-06:00

Whew.

The past three weeks have been doozies.

We have succesfully opened and closed the Wizard of Oz at the school where BH teaches and directs.

#2 got to be a munchkin and flying monkey in the show.

For those of you not in the theatre know, Wizard of Oz is a huge undertaking as far as shows go.
I believe there were 90 cast, crew, and orchestra members when it was all said and done.

Nearly every performance sold out so that was a good thing.

Getting that bad boy done took up two of the last 3 weeks. Last week was taken up by holiday travel.

I am still trying to figure out why preparing an entire meal for 11 people in a kitchen that I am unfamiliar with was so much more relaxing than hosting the dinner at my own home, where I usually only make a couple of dishes at most.

Could have something to do with having 25+ people converging on my home, all of whom have 10,000 questions about where things are and where should things go.

Just a guess.

In fact Thanksgiving was SO low key this year that I almost, ALMOST want to suggest that going to BH's grandparents become our new Thanksgiving tradition. If it wasn't for the 13 hour drive....

I made a new dessert this year that I think will be part of my contribution from here on out. Chocolate Pecan Pie. Oh my heavens. I think it may have reached the ranks as my #1 favorite pie. I had to leave almost a whole pie at BH's grandparents house and I might have almost shed a tear about that.

So November is ending. I didn't have quite as many blog posts as I had hoped, but a girl only has so much time.

I hope to have many posts in the next month about having a 13 year old in da house. (Oy. Oy.)
I also hope to do much sharing about yummy Christmas food I will be preparing. It has finally gotten cold and jump started my desire to be in the kitchen.

602!

2010-11-09T21:15:00.002-06:00

Hey I just noticed that this post will be #602.

That is a big number.

Only 398 more to go until 1000.

Yes I used a calculator to do that math. Because I am lazy, and I don't trust my horrid math skillz. Rather...... lack of math skillz to be perfectly honest.

I believe in full disclosure of my deficits here at Babble On.

Maybe that topic will be for post # 603.

Hell that could probably be posts 603-703.

I got lots of deficits.

Yes I do.

I got lots of deficits.

How 'bout YOU!!?!

(insert flippy high kicks, hoots, and hollers here.)

Oh Come ON.

2010-11-05T19:46:00.003-05:00

The family and I went to see Megamind 3D today.

The kids have been excited about the movie for a long time, and we really were overdue for a fun family outing.

Also BH thought it would be fun to see a movie on it's opening day.

My issue is with the extra $3.50 you must pay every time you see a 3-D movie. This is presumably to pay for the special glasses required for the movie. Glasses that we don't keep, but instead put in a giant bin to be recycled.

What we at Chez Babble propose is that if you choose to keep the glasses and bring them with you the next time you see a 3-D movie, and not have to pay the $3.50 again. Of course if you have no glasses then of course you pay the $3.50 extra.

This is what seems fair in our world.

So get with it movie theatre people! I know you are raking it in, so give a family a break willya!?

Trippin'

2010-11-04T21:06:00.002-05:00

As a general rule I avoid travel at the holidays like it is the most heinous disease in existence.

I just like to be home at that time.

The last time BH and I traveled over a holiday was about 13+ years ago when we lived in California where we had no family and only a few friends. We came home for one of the major holidays each of the two years we lived there.

Since we came back to Kansas and subsequently had children we have not left the state on any holiday.

This year though, the times they are a changin'.

We are hitting the road to visit BH's grandparents.

Now that someone else in my family has a home large enough to accomodate our masses, we no longer have to host all holiday family gatherings. This is allowing us to take a trip this year.

Sadly BH's grandma has not been doing well, so an extra visit this year seemed like a good idea.

So I am sucking it up and coping with my disdain for looong ass road trips and holiday travel.

Cuz that is how this wifey rolls.

What are your feelings about holiday travel?

One Year

2010-11-02T20:22:00.002-05:00

Today marks one year since I started my private therapy practice.

All in all I would say that it has been a pretty good year.

All of my worst fears did not come true.

I am still in business.

I have not put us in the poor house.

All good things.

So what have I learned over the past year?

I think one of the biggest surprises has been how difficult it has been for me to lose what I call the "Mental Health Center Mentality." Meaning that my schedule must be completely filled with appointments all available working hours of the day.

Ummm...a big reason I left the MHC was due to my not wanting to have clients 8+ hours a day five days a week. I have had a difficult time letting go of that feeling of pressure to make sure all my working hours are filled with client appointments.

It is getting a little better, but I still have a ways to go.

I also have decided to be a bit more focused in the types of clients I agree to see. I am also considering some marketing as well.

I don't always wake up raring to go to work, but I don't start dreading Monday on Friday as I am leaving work like I used to.

I have said it before, I think my issue is that in reality I just don't want to work.

But if I have to, this seems to be a good fit for me for the time being.

That, as Martha Stewart would say is, "A good thing."

Crazy Excited

2010-11-01T21:40:00.003-05:00

Have I ever mentioned my family's strong and abiding love for Rockband?

Well...we here at Chez Babble have a strong and abiding love for Rockband.

We have recruited many many followers through our totally rockin' Rockband parties.

To date, after each party we have thrown (and there have been several) someone who attended has gone out and bought the game.

Harmonix should absolutely sign us up as spokespeople.

So Rockband 3 is out.

It has a KEYBOARD and cooler drums, and a supposedly cooler guitar that has not received great reviews.

Tonight we looked at the playlist.

So SO many lovely songs.

BUT we are making ourselves wait until Christmas.

Things are very busy between now and then, and once a new Rockband game gets in da house, that tends to be how we spend all of our time.

And we gots lots of other things we gots to do.

So we will covet and dream until December.

Then we will. ROCK. the. F. out!

I gotta start warming up the vocal chords.

Because my best instrument believe it or not...

My SINGING VOICE.

No one was more surprised by this than me.

But I apparently can rock the f out with my voice.

Can't WAIT!!!

I was in no way compensated by Harmonix or any other company associated with Rockband for this post. However, if they want a rabid fan and recruiter to write some testimonial or something I will jump on it.

When did it go from Halloween Day to Halloween Week?

2010-10-31T21:40:00.002-05:00

Y'all I would love to have a nice long bloggy chat, but I am TAH-erd.

Yes ma'am.

This week I have been responsible organizing and executing a 4th grade classroom Halloween party, and a home Halloween party.

I am officially Halloween'd out.

So much so that I gladly gave up carving the pumpkins we bought.

This is an activity I typically absolutely insist on.

But I could not do one. More. Halloween. Activity.

Nada. Zip.

So now I think I will have one more cup of warm apple cider with a shot of Cinnamon Schnapps thrown in for good measure, scarf a little more chocolate and call it good.

Good night that is.

'Cuz I am TAH-ERD!

Double Digits Baby!!

2010-10-29T18:16:00.002-05:00

I just noticed that my number of blog posts this month has reached the double digits.

Wow!

Anyone wanna guess how long it has been since I last had double digit posting numbers?

Maybe I could turn this into a contest and give away a prize.

Only....it would be really easy to figure out the answer.

Hmmm....so much for my first blog contest idea.

But hey! Double digits! More frequent posts!

All three of you must be so happy!

WEEENNNIIEEEESS!!! WEEEENNIEESS!!!

2010-10-26T19:46:00.002-05:00

This is what #2 has been yelling at random times all evening.

It started when she found out I was planning to wrap cocktai weenies in cresent roll strips so they will look like mummies for her school Halloween party tomorrow.

The best part is she has no idea why her yelling weenies repeatedly might be funny.

It is kind of fun.

I challenge all of you to give it a try soon.

Defeated

2010-10-25T21:40:00.002-05:00

I am throwing up my hands.

Waving the white flag.

At this point I can not fathom getting my family to consistently consume a healthy diet.

I am out of ideas.

Isn't one of the first steps in recovery admitting you are powerless over the problem?

(Hey I am a child and family therapist not a D and A counselor, so forgive my lack of certainty.)

If so then here it goes.

I am totally powerless over my family's shitty eating habits.

Now. Let the recovery process begin.

It's ALL in the eyes

2010-10-20T21:00:00.002-05:00

It would seem that #2 is quite popular with the young boys in her class.

At least according to her.

She rattled off a long list of boys who would like to be her boyfriend this evening in the car.

"So how do you know all of these boys want to be your boyfriend?" Inquires Mommy.

"It's alllll in the eyes mom." Replies #2.

OK then.

Who am I to dispute the eyes?

Too bad for the boys. #2 ain't interested.

Wonder what kind of eyes you use to communicate disinterest?

Pressure! (insert synthesizer riff a la Billy Joel here)

2010-10-19T21:16:00.004-05:00

For the earworm...you are welcome.

Some of the five of you who read this may know that BH is a very funny and very clever man.

I love the fact that he is funny and clever, it makes my life at home very entertaining. I like that.

However sometimes being in the presence of such amazing humor and cleverosity (sometimes I like to add osity to words a la Georgia. Makes things so much more fun. Read that series of books I just linked too. You won't be sorry and don't let the YA aspect turn you away.) causes me to feel less than clever and humorous in comparasin. I like to be entertaining too.

Shallow of me? Yes indeedy. But what can ya do. Sometimes shallow happens.

My husband created a note on his FB page that talks about a discussion on a website he frequents. He posed the question on FB to open it up to responses.

I can not come up with an answer to the stupid question because I am allowing myself to be paralyzed and pressured by the idea that my response must be funny and entertaining. This is making me crazy.

Stupid? Probably.

Shallow? For sure.

But there it is.

Hope you all enjoyed my little confessional today. Feel free to share your own confessions.

Really.

Crazy doesn't like to be lonely.

Epiphany

2010-10-18T20:57:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while I will have an epiphany about something. Which can be a good thing, or more along the lines of good for you.

I am not going to write today of any specific realizations, although I did have a great one the other day. It was one of those good for you types, that at first you are kind of sorry had the epiphany, but with further thought and examination you discover that it is not so bad and may actually help. I think I like those kind the best.

ANYway...I thought I would discuss where I tend to have my stunning revelations.

They almost always happen while I am drying my hair.

Seriously.

Not kidding.

I find this a bit odd.

This also makes me curious about where/when other people do their best thinking.

So if the 5 of you who still read this thing want to share about your thinking spot I would just love that.

Now.............discuss!

I might have eaten lunch here two days in a row

2010-10-14T20:58:00.003-05:00

I may very well be a Chipotle addict. I honestly believe that I could eat here every day and be perfectly content. I usually order salad, but when I am feeling really naughty I go for the crispy chicken tacos. Ooh crispy chicken tacos. How can I every fully express my love for you? No words can do justice to the happiness I feel when I put you in mah belleh!

*Chipotle is not compensating me or encouraging me in any way to share my love. This is purely my idea. However if they ever need a spokesperson to spread the gospel I am more than willing to preach.

Maybe this could become the new theme for my blog

2010-10-13T21:34:00.003-05:00

Cute kitties! Cute kitties are happy and non-whiny!

Everybody loves cute kitties!

I am on a roll here people. This is now what could be considered several complaint free posts in a row.

Wonder how long I can keep this happy happy shit up?

Holy Crap!

2010-10-12T17:11:00.002-05:00

As of last week I have been blogging for 5 years!

FIVE YEARS!

This is amazing to me. I didn't think this blog would last 5 months. Heck 5 weeks!

So uhhhh...go me!! Woo hoo!

To my five readers....thanks for hanging in there with me. Maybe someday my blogging will become more interesting and consistent like it was in the beginning.

A girl has gotta dream!

I Love NYC

2010-10-11T14:15:00.004-05:00

Brooklyn Bridge! Brooklyn Bridge! Brooklyn Bridge!

Spontaneous solo mini-vacations to New York where you get to spend the day with one of your favorite people are a good thing. Happy! Non-Grumpy! Good memories! Good times! I wanna go back again tomorrow!

I only wish my friend was in the picture with me!

Some Days You Just Need Unicorns and Rainbows

2010-10-10T22:12:00.002-05:00

So much better than more whining doncha think?

A post that likely is not worth reading

2010-10-08T22:42:00.002-05:00

Our schedule continues to be ridiculous and is not likely to change anytime in the forseeable future.

So every time I try to post it winds up being a big long whine-fest about the panic attacks I have when I see our calendar with tinges of my fantasies about chucking that motherfrakker out the window. Who wants to read that?

Hell I don't even want to write it.

So I won't.

Here is me in a nutshell:
Grumble whine complain eat junk food ignore the treadmill feel guilty grump at someone out loud or in my head.

Rinse and Repeat.

I think maybe I will just post pictures of things I like until after Thanksgiving.

Think I can find one of a unicorn farting rainbows?

THAT would be happy and interesting at least.

Don't ask me 'bout the train

2010-09-16T11:45:00.003-05:00

Let's just say the train is in the shop for maintenance this week shall we?

MMMkay.

I don't even know where to begin.

Have I mentioned yet that I don't always care for the beginning of the school year?

I bet that if you look back on the nearly 5(!) years I have been writing this blog at some point in mid-September to early October there is a post where I whine about how hectic the schedule is, and how I miss my house husband.

Well I ain't about to stop now.

I hate this time of the year.
I hate feeling like the wicked witch who does nothing but crack the "oh my God we have to hurry and get everything done and we have no time" whip.
I hate feeling like my only interactions with my children involve me reviewing the checklist to make sure everything is done.

I could list several more things I hate, but I am beginning to hate writing about things I hate.

Let's just say the past two weeks have been hectic, and adjusting to school and activities in full force life blows.

Hopefully my next post will have less grouch and more hooray.

Until then......

Pbbbbbffffffttttttt!

First week back on the train

2010-08-30T19:08:00.003-05:00

Ok. So....first week back on the train. I exercised 6 out of 7 days. 5 out of those 6 I got in a whole hour of exercise. Win!

I started doing a 20 minute Pilates workout this weekend. Ow. Owie. Ow. But again...Win for toning!

Healthy eating...healthy eating you evil evil beeyotch.

I did GREAT all week. Then came Friday. Ohhh Friday. Then it was Saturday. Friday was going well until we made an unplanned trip to On the Border. I have no willpower when it comes to Mexican. N.O.N.E. Chips and Salsa are like crack on crack to me. I will continue to eat that shit even if I am stuffed so full of it chips and salsa are coming out of every orifice. Then I had a huge soda too. I can not and will not drink diet soda. Icky Poo. I did not order a soda. I started off with a large glass of water with lemon. However my fair city is currently having a water quality problem. In a nutshell our tapwater smells and tastes like dirt. Yes a lovely musty dirt. It is not palatable and apparently is not going away any time soon. At any rate after one swallow of the dirt water, it was soda for me.

So yeah. Saturday. Hmm..where shall I begin. Smoothies....while tasty, the pack fairly high wallop calorically speaking. Even the ones that are all fruit like I had. Big soft pretzel.....Jesus H. Christ on a popiscle stick. I may as well have eaten a cheeseburger. Those things are off the fraking chart! Then there was a party with pizza rolls, cheesy potatoes, tiny cheesecake, cheese, peanut m&ms. Oh all hell just broke lose. Not to mention the Cosmo, AND another coke consumed as an effort to avoid dirt water. Oy. Yeah....Saturday was a big ol' fail.

Weight. My scale can suck it. Seriously. Saturday morning, Hooray! I lost two pounds. Which apparently all came back today. Whatever. Geez I wasn't THAT bad and I exercised! For an hour Saturday and Sunday!

So this week's grade fo the Journey. Slightly above a Meh. Some definite positive strides made.

Now...I must torture my core.

Derailed

2010-08-22T20:33:00.002-05:00

Friends, I have not discussed my "Journey to Better Health" for several months now.

There is a reason for that.

Not a terribly happy one either.

The reason is because my Journey has been derailed.

Big time.

Well....I guess it could be worse.

Exercise. This has not been too bad actually. I am usually putting in at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Some weeks I have even managed an hour a day. I really need to shake up my exercise and get in toning. But at least I am exercising.

Eating. Ugh. Not taking much care at all with what I eat. I usually do great at breakfast and lunch. Snacks..ehh somewhat hit and miss. Dinner...bad. After dinner....still bad.

Once I lost my mojo at the beginning of the year, I have never gotten it back.

So the couple of pounds I gained back are now up to 7.

Yikes.

Somewhere somehow I have to get my mojo back. I worked too damn hard to let things go back to where they were.

So what am I to do.

To start off with I am going to review all those scary lab results that got me started on this in the first place. I have not had my labs re-done since I lost the weight. I wanted a full year to pass, and get back down to my goal weight before I had them re-done. Well...I am not getting there so I guess it is time to give myself an ultimatum. I am giving myself until Oct 1 to get back down to my goal weight. Whether I am there or not come Oct 1 I am calling the doctor and scheduling the lab work. If I have met the goal then we will see if all this paid off. If not...well either the news will be good, or bad and if it ain't good then maybe that will put me over the edge and get me back on track. Or it may mean I have to start taking medication for high cholesterol. I am not thrilled at all by that prospect, but am bracing myself. Genetics is not in my favor here.

The next thing that has to happen is a change in mindset. I seem to think that I must eat what my family eats and that sadly is all to often not good choices. I am going to have to let go of this idea and start eating what I know is good for me regardless of what they are doing. This got me through before. It was not without some serious grumpiness on my part at times,( I might have had visions of stabbing people with forks as I watched them shovel in cheese fries as I nibbled my salad.) but it did encourage BH at least to start being more healthy too. So hopefully the same will happen again.

I have to religiously track what I am eating. This was a huge help before. It gets on my nerves at times, but it worked great for me before.

Lastly I have to stop beating myself up and letting everything go to hell just because I made one bad choice. That thinking causes me a great deal of defeat.

7 pounds is a drop in the bucket compared to where I was almost a year and a half ago. So I know this is do-able.

I just have to start....

Now.

Time for a Change

2010-08-19T19:47:00.002-05:00

I decided it was time for a new template. I think after a hundred or so years it is good to spruce things up a little don't you?

Not sure if this will be the final product, but it is a start.

Now on to other things.

Whew! It has been a VERY busy summer, filled with travel, trips to the pool, theatre camps, work, 20 year high school reunions and other assorted activities. Suffice it to say there was no slowing down at Chez Babble for the summer.

Despite the 95 degree temperatures, for all intents and purposes summer is o-v-e-r for us. School started this week.

#1 has started Middle School. If I could figure out a way for there to be dramatic music there I would add it in.

I am fairly certain that I am more anxious about this transition than she is. (ME?? Anxious!! Surely not!) I view that as a good thing.

#2 is now in the 4th grade. I am waiting to see how things will go for her. This year there are very few kids that she knows in her class. Her best friend is not in her class for the first time ever, AND big sis is not there this year . #s 1 and 2 are pretty tight with each other for the most part. I am sure it will all be fine, but in a couple of weeks once this has all soaked in for her, I won't be at all surprised to see some extra emotional stuff from good ol' #2. It takes a while for the full impact of a transition to hit her sometimes.

Me? I am as boring as ever. Still private practicing, still wishing to win the lottery so I can be a woman of leisure at home, but failing to buy a ticket nearly every week. I am currently coveting a Macbook. I don't see one in my near future however.

So what's up with you?

Vacations and HS Reunions and Enrolling Children in Middle School Oh My!

2010-08-02T09:56:00.002-05:00

That title pretty much sums up all that has gone on since I last posted.

Details to follow.

Soonish.

Themeparkalooza Days one and two

2010-07-13T20:29:00.002-05:00

I didn't quite make that goal of blogging every day of my vacation. But guess what? I am on vacation dammit so I will not blog if I want to!

I think I have decided that pictures will be waiting too. They take forever to upload and I haven't the patience after 8+ hours of sun, heat, humidity, crowds, waiting in line, and doing thrill rides. I'll upload pictures later.

So Day One. Last day at Cocoa Beach. #2 and I got up and had an early morning swim in the ocean. No porpoise today, but we had the beach virtually to ourselves AND we got to see the beach vacuum cleaner and a guy who had a way with the sea birds.

BH drug the two of us back to the hotel so that we could leave for Orlando and theme park one of THEMEPARKALOOZA 2010!

First up: Animal Kingdom!!

Not my favorite of the Disney Parks. It is kind of like a zoo on steroids and I am not that fond of zoos in general. I did get a lot of lovely animal photos. My girls however are hugemongous animal lovers, and this place was right up their alley. Did I mention that it was hot? And humid? Now being from Kansas I am no stranger to humidity, but Lord Baby Jeebus. I don't typically spend all day traipsing around in it. Sucks the life right out of you. Thank goodness for many air-conditioned attractions to help break up the heat. Thankfully most of the day was overcast too. Some favorites for me were the Finding Nemo show. It is done with puppets, but you see the puppeteers, as they fly the puppets on large sticks. It was quite the spectacle. I also enjoyed the 3-D movie, "It's Tough to be a Bug." Short but fun, and complete with smell, movement, and live action sorts of stuff. If you have the chance I would suggest you hit both of these attractions. Last time we were there about 6 years ago we saw the Lion King show. We opted out of it this time to do other things, but it was really good and worth a see too.

THEMEPARKALOOZA 2010 DAY 2! UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!!

This was the first time any of us had visited Universal Studios. I would definitely go back. Our main objective was to of course see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As everyone in our party with the exception of yours truly are HUGE Harry Potter fans. I have to say that it was pretty stinking cool. AND RIDICULOUSLY BUSY. There are only about 3 rides, and the rest is pretty much stores and the like. But you had to wait in crazy-ass lines to GET INTO STORES! Stores! People! That is 10-different kinds of ridunculousness. But the stores were cool and full of every imaginable Harry Potter item. I have never been part of crowds like that before it was crazy. I highly recommend it, but I also highly recommend that you either wait a couple of years, or go in the way off season. The rest of the park was about what you would expect crowd-wise in the summer. I thought the Dr. Seuss area was fun. It was geared towards smaller kids, but the design was amazing. Of course we spent a fair amount of time in the Marvel Comic area, and rode a 3-D Spiderman ride. I couldn't tell you much about it. Between the 3-D and the movement I had to close my eyes or hurl from dizziness. I chose to close my eyes. Those were the highlights of today. Weather was similar to yesterday only with SUN. I am pretty sure I have never sweat so much in my life. I may never get the smell of sweat, sunscreen, and BO out of my nostrils. If the sun is out tomorrow, I swear that I will be reporting about the best $20 I ever spent on a battery operated fan-spray bottle combination that is filled with and kept in ice water, it will have Disney characters on it!

Now I must rest. This theme-parking is tiring. Fun. But tiring. Oh yeah...

Sweaty.

After Animal Kingdom

Day 2. With Ibis! I think.And porpoise! But no proof of porpoise.

2010-07-11T21:19:00.008-05:00

So! Day 2. Started off with Ibis after breakfast. I think they are Ibis. Anyone out there able to identify birds? We don't see these kinda birdies in the Midwest so it was exciting.

After the mystery to us birds it was off to Kennedy Space Center! We saw many cool spacey things. I think my favorites were the Hubble 3-D IMAX movie. Even if Leonardo DiCaprio's mellow voice and many dark shots at the end nearly lulled my slightly sleep deprived self to dreamland. I also found the Rocket Garden to be pretty cool.

After the space center it was to the Beach. Alas my precious beach time was cut short due to a thunderstorm. But if there hadn't been a thunderstorm, we wouldn't have gone exploring and found this little gem!

Eventually the rain moved off and it was back to the beach! Much frolicking in the waves. There were even two porpoise swimming nearby. Unfortunately I was not able to capture them on film. But it was very exciting!

Tomorrow we depart Cocoa Beach and head for Orlando, and Themeparkalooza 2010.

But not until after I get my toes in that ocean one more time. Think we have decided to come back to visit Cocoa Beach one more time before we depart Saturday. LOVE IT HERE.

I had to sit on my hands to keep myself from making ridiculous calls on real estate I saw available near the beach. But man would I love a beach house. Lottery where are you when I need you?

Vacation Day One does not need to suck it.

2010-07-10T22:46:00.002-05:00

So fellow follower of Babble. I am on VACATION.
Logically one might think that meant an absence of blog posts.
I am not always one for the logical.
In fact my plan is to blog every day I am on vacation.
I am sure you ask why.
There are several reasons, however I will only bore you with the primary. As much as I would like to think that I am going to print photos and make some lovely scrapbook pages, the truth is that I likely won't do it. Unless I win the lottery and can quit my day job. What is real is that my free time is not going to be used in such pursuits no matter how cool I think it would be. I don't find it cool enough apparently to do anything about it.
This blog has really been my scrapbook. Neglected too often, but kept up better than anything else I have tried.

So! Vacation Day One!

This year the Babble Family is visiting Sunny Florida! Today was spent seeing a movie at my favorite theater in Olathe where they bring you food while you watch a movie. We saw Despicable Me. It was better than I expected. It was not our first choice, but as we had a plane to catch later in the afternoon it had the best show times for us.

After the movie it was time to head for the airport. We had a smooth and event free flight. My favorite kind.

Our first night is in Cocoa Beach. After a very LATE dinner at a fine dining establishment (Yes it was McDonald's. 9:30 dinner time calls for quick and desperate measures.) We then made our way to the beach and splashed a bit in the Atlantic by the (very pale) moonlight. It was heavenly. The water was perfect. I wish there had not been a band playing nearby to interfere with the ocean sounds, but other than that....Heavenly. I wish that I had been able to record my children. They were blissfully happy. It was beautiful to see.

I swear if I thought I could get away with it I would sleep on the beach tonight. I already feel like I can't soak enough of it in.

Tomorrow we will tour Kennedy Space Center and then spend the rest of the day at the beach. I plan to wear my swimsuit to the Space Center, and shall request to be dropped of at the beach on the way back. Don't want to waste a minute of precious precious ocean time.

Oh yeah, that band playing. As we walked up they were playing "Pretty Woman" which then segued into "Blister in the Sun." On the way back they were playing some Pink Floyd. Interesting I thought.

Pictures tomorrow. It is very late and I must not sleep the day away.

Summer Colds Can Suck it too

2010-06-27T20:57:00.003-05:00

I have stinking miserable summer cold, and I am more than a little grouchy about it.

So yes add this to the things that can suck it.

Better and less grumpy post coming as soon as I can stop sneezing, and blowing my nose.

Dementia can suck it

2010-06-01T20:49:00.004-05:00

Hello all you Babble Faithful.

I was doing so well there for a while keeping up with regular posting.

Then the end of May hit and all hell broke loose.

A lot of stuff goes on in May.

So anyhoo... get ready for a ramble.

#1 has successfully completed 6th grade. An offsite after school hours party was held for the entire 6th grade at her school. Everyone had fun, and problems were virtually non-existent. Apparently that was not the case for another school in the district's party. Whoo-eee. Let's just say apparently the hormones among the children at my kid's school are lagging behind. I do believe all the parents are ok with that. The promotion ceremony was held the last day of school. I managed to make it through without bawling and wailing in front of everyone. I think it helped that the ceremony lasted all of about 20 minutes. Not much time to get teary. I do believe this parent was ok with that.

School has ended, but I don't think Chez Babble will be experiencing much of a laid back summer. BH has been cast in a show at the local university where he is chipping away at a Masters Degree. He is also taking a more lengthy summer class. The past few summers his classes have been about a month long. This one is two months. There are vacations, vbs, camps, violin lessons, piano lessons, and possibly another show thrown in there too. So busy business as usual for us this summer. I have just enjoyed my first day with the return of the house husband. Given the HH's busy schedule this summer my expectations were low, but of course BH the HH surpassed my expectations by a long shot. He's pretty good for that.

We just returned from a long weekend in Ohio to visit BH's grandparents and other family. It was a tough trip. His grandmother is suffering from some very sudden and serious dementia. Still trying to figure out what is going on. She was very paranoid, and at times verbally aggressive over the weekend, and obviously not herself at all. It was very heartbreaking to experience. Hopefully some resolution will come soon. Getting old sucks donkey balls sometimes. This would definitely be one of those.

In Shocking! And! Exciting! News!

I am headed to NYC in a week. Alllll by myself. To visit my good friend Ali. and maybe Dan if he feels he can squeeze me in. Hopefully some other friends too. Other than that I have no idea what I will be doing there, other than praying daily to the GPS God/Goddesses that I do not get lost 40 different times a day. Have I mentioned that I have absolutely NO SENSE OF DIRECTION WHATSOEVER??? BH who has been with me for a damn long time is still STILL astounded by my ability to always choose the wrong direction when given the opportunity. I am hoping to find some kind of GPS application for my Blackberry that will help guide me while I am there. This was a very spontaneous trip and that is worthy of a whole post itself.

There is some other stuff happening, but I think I will turn those in to their own posts. I got my Blogher gentle reminder today, so this should appease them. I just received my first check from them after about 3 years of running ads, so I guess I better keep em happy.

Later Gators.

For BH

2010-05-17T21:18:00.002-05:00

I had a GREAT Mother's Day.

Let me tell you all the awesome things that happened!

I got to sleep in!
I got a gift certificate from by wonderfully fabulous Beloved Husband to a local spa for a ONE HOUR MASSAGE AND A PEDICURE!!!!!!!(Both! I could even do them on the same day if I wish!)
I got a lovely cookbook from #2
I got lovely pictures and helpful coupons from #1
I got to lie around the house
I got taken out for breakfast
I got to eat whatever the hell I wanted. And I ate a LOT people. Hello lovely french toast, sausage, and hashbrowns. You were worth every delicious excessive calorie.
I got to be with my most favorite people in the whole world.

What was your Mother's Day like?

Cranky Gift Horse

2010-05-03T21:42:00.002-05:00

Mother's Day is near.

I typically enjoy giving gifts. But I wonder if lately my enjoyment is beginning to wane.

The last few gift giving occasions have caused me to say, "Oh Crap!" instead of "Oh Good!"

Particularly those occasions that involve gifts for the parents.

I seem to be completely void of creative gift ideas. BH is no better.

We have avoided discussing Mother's Day because no one has a single decent idea.

Father's Day looms. Oy Father's Day. It makes Mother's Day look like something, well you can just make up your own metaphor here. Our father's are so difficult to buy for.

"But Missy," I know you are saying, "Just ask them what they would like."

Oh nonononononononono NO.

Not only is this a fruitless endeavor, it is one guaranteed to make my head explode loudly enough to be heard in Canada.

I won't bore you with the details, but I swear I am going to punch my dad the next time I ask him if there is anything he would like or need, and I hear, "OOhh it's just another day. It doesn't matter to me." Every. Single. Mother. ##$*&^.Time.

I had a gem of an idea yesterday while lying around and putting off getting myself around for the day.

Our girls love to pretend that they are wait staff at a fancy restaurant. So, thinks I, howz about we turn our house into a fancy restaurant and serve our moms a fancy dinner served by their very cute grandaughters?

It will work like this, on Sunday we will deliver fancy invitations and a bouquet of flowers to our mothers for a fancy dinner at Chez Babble in two weeks.

That gives us two weeks to plan, shop, and execute our fancy dinner.

Brilliant!

Now, what to put on the menu.......

Snack vs. Treat

2010-04-26T22:03:00.002-05:00

Included in a recent post I talked about how my children, or more accurately their grandparents seem to be confused by what is a snack vs. a meal.

We often have umm.."discussions" with the children about what they should have as a snack.

When they are out from under the influence of junk food wielding grandparents, err..umm... I mean when they are home with us we don't often have the snack portion argument. I think they get it now that we are not offering after school meals.

However....

we have a lot of ummm..."discussions" about what is an appropriate snack.

Our first question to the children when they ask for a snack and then follow up with, "Can I have this bit of junk, or not so healthy option?" our response is, "How many servings of fruits and vegetables have you had today?" The answer to this question on a good day will usually be, "One." Unfortunately the answer most days is, "None." We are then forced to insist that the snack be of the fruit or vegetable variety, which is met with much grumbling, huffing, vulture posturing, and various other ways they like to make their unhappy feelings known. (My personal favorite is a note with a mad face sticking it's tongue out. That is a favorite #2 way of expressing anger. It always makes me laugh, and well if you have children I don't need to finish this story for you.)

The children will grudgingly get their fruit/veggie and then invariably ask if they can have the earlier requested junk/not so healthy option after consuming the fruit/veggie.

By now we are typically a bit worn down and just so damn happy that they are actually eating a fruit/veggie that we say ok.

So I guess the grandparents aren't the only ones to blame for all this. Damnit. I really wanted it to be all their fault.

BH was reading the US Today insert in the paper yesterday. He found a little article that discussed snacks vs. treats.

In a nutshell the article said that most people now don't know the difference between a snack and a treat. They pointed out that a snack is for warding off ravenous hunger bewtween meals. A treat is something like cake, ice cream, chips, candy bars, etc. that you eat every once in a while. The problem is that many people eat treats for snacks every day.

Hmmm...this sounds familiar.

So we had a bit of a discussion about that article last night.

Went over pretty well.

We decided that our treat this week would be shakes at the Fork and Dine movie experience we are planning for Saturday.

Tonight #1 asked if she could have the last of her chocolate Easter Bunny today. At first I said ok, because I honestly want the temptation gone. THEN #1 stopped and said, "Oh, but will that be my treat then?"

After I picked myself up off the floor, I said it would, and suggested that she save it for another time. She agreed without fuss.

Victory may be within grasp.

Cryiyiyiyiin...

2010-04-22T21:45:00.002-05:00

#1 will be making the transition from elementary school to middle school next year.

I don't need to expound any more about fears and anxities.

Let's talk instead about my immense distaste for crying in public.

With the abovementioned transition comes the obligatory ceremonies and celebrations.

All to remind me that my baby is not a baby anymore and soon she will be a grownup and move away and and and and....

Waaahhhhhh!

Tonight I successfully made it through her final elementary school orchestra concert. This was really not difficult at all beause first, she will continue to play next year so it is not her last concert ever. Two: they made no mention of this being the last show for the 6th graders, so there was no trigger there either.

In a few weeks however will be the dreaded promotion ceremony.

Oy. I get teary just thinking about it.

This disturbs me greatly. I HATE crying in public.

I know I know, I am a therapist I should be comfortable with expression of emotion, blah, blah, blah.

At any rate it doesn't change the fact that I prefer my most profound emotional expressions to be in a private arena.

I am on the committee for the promotion celebrations, and so will have some work to do to keep me distracted, but all of that work is pre and post ceremony. There is nothing to keep me distracted during the ceremony when the power point with baby pictures comes up and all that other goodbye stuff.

Those baby pictures come on and somebody better pass the puffs.

Maybe I will use the ol' Twitter account and tweet my way through it.

(I would never be that rude, by the way!)

Maybe I better just get used to the idea that I am prolly gonna cry and I likely won't be the only parent to do so and it is ok.

I still hate it.