Oh For Friday...

Apparently I need to get my computer in because my password, which has been my password for the better part of a year, is incorrect. So that's awesome news on Friday of a long weekend. Yay blog writing on the phone! I could use the PC I suppose... Kinda nineties... Flashback Friday?? Not sure why I'm suddenly all energetic- no caffeine since I stopped drinking my second cup of coffee at 11...

So yeah, I'm not giving up coffee.  I could switch to decaf.  I've done it before and it tastes just fine after a while.  Note to self, I will do that.  I had neither salt nor pepper, no garlic and no butter.  And I made ribs and potatoes.  I made two dishes of ribs, one with good, normal seasoning, and one without for me. I'm not a real cook. I was like, so... What should I put on these for me? I opted for onion salt (which may be the same thing, I'm no professional), paprika and nutmeg. That was different.  Not sure if I recommend that exactly.  

For the potatoes, I actually do a Grandma Brenda thing; boiled and then fried. I used olive oil, onion salt again and threw in some onions. They were pretty tasty. To me. Hunter spit them out.  He has this great face where you know he's not impressed with the taste and then blah, he spits them out on his plate. So appetizing. 

We also had a salad. Which I put cheese on.  Because I love cheese.  I feel just fine and I haven't eaten anything since dinner, no that's wrong. Geoff seems utterly challenged to NOT help me with this. He brought home caramilk bars. WHO DOES THAT???  So I ate one. Because that's what you do when your husband brings home a tasty treat for himself... Well, I do anyway.

The Dr. said it would take about four weeks before I see any real change anyway so that's something to look forward to. Is it beef? Salt? Jalapeños? Who knows? In four weeks if I haven't eaten any if it, I guess if there's no change then it wasn't them to begin with! Exciting times. Like really, I could have just eliminated stuff from my diet all by myself. Of course, I hadn't done that. Still.

I haven't had pop either. At all.  I'm drinking more water though which is probably a good thing.  So there's that.  I need to go buy some more vegetables though.  Yes, we now have salad makings, but no broccoli. I can even eat it without cheese sauce because to me it's like comfort food.  So if I switch to decaf (which is apparently only half the caffeine) that should be good enough for now.  While still remaining civil and social that is.  And that's important because it's a long weekend and I kind of like Geoff. Happy long weekend y'all! (The rodeo is in town so I have to practice up! Y'all)

Family Visits

We got to have dinner and some catch-up time with Geoff's brother and sister-in-law and the kids tonight.  We really have to do this more often.  Somehow.  I had to wonder tonight if we were beginning to show our age.  They're camping a few towns away and I asked how late they'd been staying up.  I haven't been camping at all since Hunter was born.  I remember it being this amazingly lazy time when you'd sit around the fire and enjoy the quiet.  How late had they been staying up?  "Until about 10."  Not quite like I remembered.

They're also not just camping either.  Their son is taking part in a baseball camp so they've been up early each morning for that.  Geoff's also working during the week, so it's not like we could have made a night of it either.  I love seeing family, I just wish it could be for longer, more relaxed periods of time.  My sister-in-law and I were talking about medical procedures as well.  My fault of course, because I brought it up yesterday, but it sure felt like we were getting old.

I told her that I think we're supposed to get our second wind when the youngest turns 16.  That's my plan anyway.  I have a few years to wait on her because her youngest is five years older than Hunter.  I imagine we'll get together before then - I hope.  We're all busy with the kids.  But it will give us something to talk about when we get that second wind. 

And we're not so old really - compared to what I used to think "old" was.  I love how the perspective changes through the years.  I felt much older at 23 than I do now.  Maybe it's because at 23, I stopped playing and now I play all the time because that's what the kids do.  So maybe it's less of a second wind and more like a second shot at your twenties.  As parents we have already gone through our own childhood and teen years and that was tough enough.  Then we get to do it again;  maybe again and again... and again.  So by the time that's done, we get to have our own place again and it's like the first time, only better. 

This time will be better because we'll own, or almost own that place.  We won't be broke ass kids, we'll be responsible, mature adults who saved money all those years ago and now spend it with reckless abandon. LOL.  Sort of.  It's a pretty nice thought though.  That's how I'm going to think of it - my second twenties.  Maybe we become a little more free after the kids are all grown up.  Maybe this getting older thing is going to be really cool. 

I know I'm looking forward to the day when I can have my own house.  No offense kids - I love you, I do, and I enjoy every day with you but sometimes I kind of look forward to the day when I will be mature enough to have my own place again.  And you will have yours.  And you'll invite us over for dinner and do the dishes.  Yep, it's going to be pretty darned cool.

It Started Out Well Enough...

When Hunter bounced out of his room all naked and sword fighting, I really did think it would be a good day.  For the most part it was actually.  Today I tackled Hunter's room and after some initial decluttering I came back in to see that he had ripped some stuffies out of their cubby holes and they were on the floor again.  Then it dawned on me - this is his room and his stuff. So I asked "Hunter, do you want those stuffies in your room?" He looked at them. "No, I really don't."  Lightbulb. "Okay, can you put what you don't want in your room into this bag?" "Sure" he said.  And he did.  His room has that much less stuff in it just because I thought to ask what he wanted. 

Organizational maven I am not, but I'm seriously working on it and I have to say that Aaron and Hunter have both been pretty darned helpful.  Even though I still have to remind them to clean their bowls and bring them from the table, I don't mind reminding them so long as they do it. 

I had a doctor's appointment today and even though I started Hunter's room with every intention of finishing it before I had to go, and I did, I was almost late.  No, I was late, but only by about four minutes.  I went and saw an otolaryngologist.  I am so not kidding about that ... specialization.  I asked the receptionist how to pronounce it and she said "Oh, you know I've only been here for five days but I need to learn that".  Great help.  Anyhow, the O-word can also be summed up with ear, nose and throat doctor.  This doctor gives the opposite of what a gastroenterologist (colonoscopy giver) does (at least you can sort of decipher that one - gastro- enter- ologist).  Bet you can't wait.

photo: emedicine.medscape.com
 

So there I am, in the chair and I've told him all about my issue and he has this thing in his hand that has a rubbery looking tail on it.  The part he's holding looks similar to a Wii remote only it's fatter and there are two buttons but no cross - much bigger than the image I found over there, but the hose thing looks right ish.  Anyhow, the tail is about the length of your arm from the elbow to the tip of your finger.  Nice huh?  So then he tells me that he's going to insert the tail through my nose and down into my throat.  As you can imagine, I'm super excited.

He tells me it doesn't hurt and that the worst case is that my eyes will water and he handed me some tissues.  They were almost completely melded together by the time we finished due to the pressure I exerted while they were in my hand..  So anyhow, there's no anesthetic or anything "We do this to four year olds" he says, like it's supposed to make me feel better thinking of a distraught parent holding down their four year old while the doctor inserts the tail through a little kid's nose.  But I'm a big girl and he'd closed the door so I gripped the arm of the chair and let him stick this thing into my nose.

He was right, it didn't hurt, but I've had more comfortable doctor's visits and I won't tell you what they did then.  So he looks through, takes pictures (because at the bottom of the tail is a camera) and then asks me to say "eeee" and I do that a few times and I notice I am no longer facing forward with my chin in, but have my head against the back of the chair and I'm looking down my right shoulder... it feels SO weird!  And then he says he's done.  He pulls it out and again there's no pain, it's just weird.

Afterwards, he shows me the video.  Nothing better than that, I think, though I can definitely imagine worse internal videos to see.  There's nothing wrong.  That's fabulous.  Hopefully I never have to get that done again.  However, he thinks I may have some acid reflux.  Fine.  "You should avoid coffee, greasy food and spicy food" he tells me.  Well that is like telling me I might not be able to breathe.  Oh, and alcohol as well as "tobacco".  And I thought, well, it's not like I eat tobacco...

So I got home and googled acid reflux to see what foods I should be avoiding. Ready?  Alcohol, fast foods, tomatoes, oranges, coffee, chocolate, pop, beef, cheese, spicy foods, garlic, salt and pepper, butter and two things that do not affect me in any way, mint and candy.

Needless to say I was pretty grumpy after I read that because it's SO MUCH BIGGER than that little list. No Chinese food, no tortillas or burritos, no pasta - because what the hell am I supposed to put on it??  I love spicy and I only recently started using salt because I was apparently deficient last time I got my blood work done.  Butter.  Seriously?? And no chocolate? I don't eat a lot of it but it's such a nice treat!  And of course the coffee - I love my coffee.  So very, very, very, very much.  I'm getting depressed again.

On the possible plus side, once the pills are done, maybe I can go back to drinking coffee.  And eating pasta with Alfredo sauce, which has both cheese and butter in it, because that is like my most favourite meal.   And almost every night, I sit down to watch something on TV with a glass of pop and a bag of chips.  Right before bed.  Okay, so I totally get how I could have developed this.

I've always said that if I ever needed to make lifestyle changes I would be totally hooped and here it is.  For the next month I'm supposed to avoid these foods.  I can make no promises that I will be able to deliver anything inspirational until I can have coffee.  This is only a marginally heartfelt apology right now because I'm mad again; Geoff has pop. 

Some Days

My sister took Aaron to a movie today, a belated birthday gift. She took him to lunch, he chose the movie, he changed his mind, she acquiesced, everything should have gone well.  Scratch that - everything did go well.  But my sister had told him that if the movie finished early enough that they would go back to her place and play some video games.  If you've been reading these regularly or happen to know us personally, you probably know what's coming; Aaron would rather have played video games at my sister's than anything else.

Not that he didn't enjoy himself, because he did.  What he took no concern in is the possibility that there might not be time to do both.  And he was miffed.  Not that you would have noticed until later.  We met up at Mom's place because my Aunt and Uncle were back for a night and we all had dinner there.  He was alright, seemed a bit tired, but otherwise fine.  After dinner my sister and her husband (just had to add emphasis because it's the first time I really could) left.  That's when it all went downhill.

Aaron didn't come to me with it of course because I have never been good at sympathizing with the loss of video game time.  He went to Geoff.  Now I'm not sure what started it or kept it going, but Aaron was in a super bad mood by the time we were ready to leave.  We packed up Hunter, and I do mean Hunter, not his things, and headed for the car.  Aaron dawdled and hid and was just being difficult. 

Geoff took Aaron in his car and I had no real idea until we got home (to our still tidy house!) what the problem was.  But I began to remember my conversation with my sister. Geoff drove up, he came in, I already had Hunter in the house - no Aaron.  Geoff brought the lawn chairs into the garage and asked if Aaron had come in.  No, he hadn't.  So we watched covertly while Aaron dawdled on the driveway... slowly nearing the front door.  Geoff went out.  Aaron ran away.   Geoff came back in.  "Man, he's stubborn! He's just like me!" "Uh-huh" I said as I walked by.  He is.

Then Aaron came up to the door, slowly turned the knob and peeked in.  He saw me first and I saw his smile but he held his head down and went into the garage.  I turned to Geoff and said "The light isn't on in there" and we waited.  Not quite a minute later the door opened and a hand came out against the wall, found the switch and flicked it on.  He stood with the door open so I was quiet.  Then it shut.  "He turned it on" I told Geoff.   And we waited.

Eventually he came in and made his way upstairs.  Geoff and I were both in the living room and Aaron flopped down on the ottoman and sighed.  I went to the kitchen.  Geoff was quiet.  Then Aaron asked what Geoff was doing.  And things were okay for a little bit.  I came out to write.  I thought I heard Geoff saying something in a frustrated tone and when he joined me I asked if they were scrapping. "Oh yeah" he grumbled.  "About what?" I asked, just to be sure; "Frickin' video games".

Now, once again, I'm faced with this: if he wanted to play the piano all the time would I be holding out?  Of course not - but maybe, depends on what that sounded like I guess.   It's not like he doesn't have any games.  He doesn't have the one that my sister has though.  Should she have spent the afternoon playing video games with him instead?  I have to wonder if that was like our idea of a "treat" being Chucky Cheese and the kids having way more fun at the park. 

At first he was all excited about the movie but once she mentioned the video game that he doesn't get to play all that often... well maybe they should have changed their plans.  He probably would have had a completely enjoyable afternoon.  Not that either of us thought of that.  I guess I will have to bring him out there one rainy day (because that's the only time he's allowed to play them during the summer) and let them play.  So we can both make up for it.  Yeesh.  And I'm going to go have a talk with my son and make sure he knows that Auntie Errin would have played games with him if she had known that's what he wanted to do.  Because that will make him feel better.

"Mom, can you teach me how to pick a lock?"

So obviously, when Aaron, who is seven, asked me this question, my first response was "Why do you want to know that?" and the answer... well, he said he wanted to know how to pick the lock in case he was ever locked out of the house.  So that's not so bad.  But he really wanted to know.  "Can you use a knife?" "No." "How about a pencil?" "No." Then again, I'm not MacGyver - maybe you can pick locks with both of those things.

I told him there are special tools for that.  He wanted to know where to get them.  "You can't just go out and buy them, they're for locksmiths, people who actually pick locks for a living." Well this admission got him interested.  "That's a job?" "Yes." "And they get to have the special tools?" "Yes." "Well what do they look like?" Holy crap. 

So I let him try it with a knife just so he could see that it wouldn't work.  Now I'm not especially worried that I'm assisting a future thief here, but at the same time, I encourage them to try to see how things work, with my supervision, and I wanted him to see why a knife wouldn't work (and save my locks from irreparable damage).  Again, at least I don't think it would work.  Geoff would have said I was giving him too much information.

Geoff gets me with that all the time.  Like when I told Ocean and Ethan how meth was made.  Not that I know this from personal experience, just memories from the news.  Geoff just sort of sat there with this look on his face that said "Really? You're telling the kids what meth is made out of?"  I saw no issue with that.  Who wants to take/smoke/inject ... sorry, I have no idea how people do meth, but who wants to take ammonia?  My kids don't want to take ammonia, so that's all good.

When I told Geoff later about Aaron's interest in the lock picking and why he told me wanted to know, Geoff says "Or he wants to pick the lock of the cupboard where the PS3 games are hidden." Ah.  Well that sounds pretty likely.  I didn't tell Geoff that I let Aaron try to pick a lock with a knife.  I'm not really sure if I've numbed the curiosity or if he will ask me to help him try to pick a lock with something else.  I like to think I'm the first person he'll ask when he wants to try again.  If he does ask, I won't tell him that his Dad has a theory about why he wants to know.  And I'll let him use a pencil.

No Mom, I Want to Stay at Grandma's!

Geoff and I attended another wedding celebration this weekend and Grandma, Geoff's mom, had the kids (my parents are the Nanas).  If you have a small child/children then you know how it is.  When you want to go have some adult time, your first call is to the people who love your children as much as you do - the grandparents.  Not only can you be fully assured that your children will be completely taken care of, safe and happy, but their rates cannot be beat.  It is an all-around win.

This morning, when I made my way upstairs to enjoy a wonderful pancake breakfast (another top notch benefit of being at Grandma's) I met Hunter first and offered him a smile and a "good morning".  The reply was enthusiastic, but not especially welcoming; "No Mom, I want to stay at Grandma's!" Seems the mere sight of me (but not Geoff, who was sitting right there) brought the realization that we would have to leave Grandma's house today.  Well happy to see you too little man!

I sat down at the table and dished my plate.  Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes and, oh so thankfully, coffee.  Aaron poked his head around the corner and then pulled back again.  "Good morning Aaron" I tried with the next one.  "I'm waiting for Grandma" came his reply.  Oh for two I thought as I dug into my now comfort food/stress reduction breakfast. I did get my hug afterwards, but it was the initial reaction that got me. It must be said here that this delay in the morning hug only comes from these two - Ocean and Ethan greet me with a morning hug no matter where we are, first thing in the morning.  I have taken the following to heart, thanks to my sister, Errin.

I was talking with Errin one day about the difference between the first two, who only really had me for the first two to three years of their lives, and the second two who, due to geographic differences, had access to extended family from birth. Errin was telling me that the best way to bond with animals (that's her only experience yet) is to get only one at a time so they have only one "master".  Yes, I'm about to relate this to kids.

Not having been the only person in the lives of the last two, I have had difficulty adjusting to the fact that they have other people to go to.  Yeah, it basically sucks.  Even tonight, when Hunter was having his bath, he called me but Geoff followed and poked his head in the door as well. "Are you ready to get out?" I asked Hunter.  He sat there with his head down. Geoff walked away and Hunter looked up again "I just want Dad" he says.  Fine.  I turned around and told Geoff to come back and went back to my book. To me, this isn't normal - because my first two always want me!

Sure I think it's great that Aaron and Hunter have an absolute connection to Grandma and their Dad. I love how they're super excited when Dad gets home.  I love how their faces light up when we say we're heading to Grandma's house.  I love the fact that Geoff and I can have a night out and the kids could not care less that we're gone (read: no tantrums, no crying = no guilt). But I'd love it if they were more thrilled when we got back. 

And yes, I understand that there are marked differences with being at Grandma's house and being home.  They absolutely get their way a whole more with Grandma, and Grandma always has the most fantastic treats on hand.  That's what Grandmas are supposed to do.  Being a little Nana's girl myself, I remember it well.  I just had it so good with Ocean and Ethan minus the fact that I didn't take my first adult only vacation away from them until they were 8 and 7... and the fact that they all love to see Grandma is a great thing.  I just want my morning hugs.  Without complaint. But Aaron just came in and said "Mom, I want to learn how to pick a lock" so I've got other things to attend to now.

Parent Birthdays

Today is my mom's birthday and yesterday was my dad's for that matter.  What on earth do you get parents for their birthdays?  And mom has a dentist appointment this morning anyway so how can you top that?   I usually find it difficult to come up with something unless mom has specifically said that there is something she's interested in.  She's generally difficult too because if there's something she wants, chances are she already purchased/did it.  She's just like that.

So each year when her birthday comes around, I'm often left wondering what on earth to do.  One year I happened to be sans kids because I had a work engagement and I took her and Nana out for dinner.  It was an extremely special evening because we were able to sit and enjoy an entire meal at our own pace.  Actually I think that was Nana's birthday but don't even get me started on the grandparent birthdays.

My sister is taking care of birthday dinner this year because we have a wedding to go to so we won't be here anyway.  We have plans to get together Sunday night at my sister's for a big family dinner. Not that I don't think she enjoys this as well, but I'm still unsure of what to bring.  She's not past the point of presents by any means, but she also doesn't have space for anything.

Mom loves antiques.  One year I bought her a spinning wheel, which she loved.  Another year I had picked up something nice, handmade sweater I think, and then I saw a great big wall hanging of "The Timeless Art of Seduction" I absolutely had to pick up.  I made a big production out of the presentation of this one too.  Mom had thought it was going to be a beautiful painting.  They almost peed themselves after the unveiling.  It was perfect.  That gift hung in her main bathroom for years until Nana finally "got sick of seeing it" and made her take it down. 

She (Mom, not always Nana) has a pretty good sense of humour so you can get away with that.  My sister recently presented her with two beautifully framed photos she had taken in Iceland.  One was of my sister and her fiancé and the other was of my sister, bare arsed, pointing to something in the Icelandic distance.  I wish I'd seen the presentation of that one.  Like I said, you can get away with stuff like that for my mom.

So this year, not unlike any other, I'm still trying to think of what to get for her.  Bare arses are out since she already got one of those.  Not that I would have thought of it honestly - that's been my sister's thing since she was much younger.  Mooning our mom that is.  I just made her crazy.  On the plus side I've kind of stopped doing that so that's a present in itself.  Yes, I'll probably write her something nice detailing how I no longer make her crazy.  And I'll add a gift certificate for new jeans; to make up for reminding her of how I used to make her crazy :)