Monthly Archives: September 2007

well, those cars never seem to stop comin’…..

Posted on September 21, 2007 | 2 Comments

In an effort to get Kid to be happier about going to preschool three times a week, I tried a suggestion made to me. Don’t get me wrong. She has been having fun at school. But more times than not, when we arrive, she initially refuses to get out of the car. Or, on the way, she pipes up with “I have a cold today and shouldn’t go to school.” Last time, it was “come in with me.”

So, I told her en route to school that just like Daddy has a job, her job is to go to school and learn and have fun. Makes sense, right? Little did I know, she was already employed.

“But, Mommy, THAT’S not my job! My job is to help people.” Well, it would really help me if you went to preschool…..

“Oh. Well, that is a good job, honey, but you also have THIS JOB, the going-to-preschool one.”

“NO! (read: you dumbest of mothers) That’s not it. My other job is……..washing cars!”

keep those rags and machines coming….

Hm. She does love being in water. However, my car is filthy, so if this is her job, she’s not very good at it. Also, if she is working two jobs, just where is the money? Why is she still hitting Daddy up for presents?

you might not ever get rich, but let me tell you it’s better than diggin’ a ditch….

But, we can’t all be competent at every job. I have already realized that if I hired me to be a nanny, I’d have fired me months ago. Possibly years.

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Posted in kid, parenting

so add me to the list…..

Posted on September 19, 2007 | 9 Comments

of September birthday blogging women.

Today, I am no longer teetering on the sharp and pokey fence of 40. I am 41. That bully pushed me over directly into the 40′s. How’s it look from here? Hmm. Days are longer; nights are shorter; energy level is lower than my Kid’s, but may be the same as it ever was.

I’m not into the I’m-so-much-more-myself, or a more natural woman, or deserving r-e-s-p-e-c-t or any other Aretha Franklin song….. I am more mellow, tolerant, patient, and compassionate (nowhere to go but up!), but all that arose not from my age, but from the “Motherhood” chapter of life. I think.

But, really, what is a birthday now, at my age? Parties are not the thrill they once were (unless they are somewhere I don’t have to clean up!). Birthdays surface as markers, buoys, reminders of life, its beginning, its end. By now, I’ve seen the beginnings of people and the ends of people. That kid on the playground? I remember his swollen mom in childbirth class. That guy playing ping pong with us in the picture? He was your great-grandpa you didn’t get to meet, Kid.

September for me now is full of birthdays of people who have passed, the grandparent types in my life. I miss them. Guess I’m gettin’ old. Better than the alternative, huh (add slap on back)!

See, you get old, and you get corny, not horny. Corny.

Now, where’d I put my margarita?

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Posted in aging, me-me-me

chewing on memory lane

Posted on September 17, 2007 | 10 Comments

j0399697.jpgSeveral friends joining Weight Watchers here and in the blogosphere got me thinking of food and how I love it so (here’s another sign of age: these women are signing up AFTER SUMMER ENDS! In the old days, when I was young, you’d do this BEFORE SUMMER…..).

But, food isn’t just food, or calories, empty or full. It’s not something to hate, to avoid, to ration, to carefully measure and weigh. It’s the whole experience, the whole enchilada (!) — where you were, who you were with, who made it, who brought it, who fed it to you, and what chapter you were living as part of your life story. Maybe the food was experimental or new, or the event during which you ate regular food was an exciting first. Either way, here are some tasty tidbits that still make me say “ohhhh, yeah, that WAS good….” (I don’t think many are technically on the Weight Watchers’ list):

-cold peppermint patties chilled in patches of snow on top of a little mountain I hiked up in CApf_york_pp.jpg

-smoked salmon, fresh out of the smoker in Juneau, Alaska

-warm chocolate souffle in San Fran near Grace Cathedral

-mussels in Rome

-migas in Austin, anyday at Trudy’s

-swirl sangria margaritas in Austin, anywhere, during law school

781706132405_0_alb.jpg-mango in Kauai

-DH’s fresh fried Alaskan halibut here

-first dish of Jello after my C-section at Swedish Hospital, Seattle

-Marco’s pizza in Dallas during my teen years

-fried calamari with spicy dipping oil at Betelnut in San Fran

Ahhhhh, my tongue tingles just reading it, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some other greats. I think we need good relationships in our lives, nourishing, healthy ones, maybe sometimes, even beer-battered and fried ones.

Do you have any tasty memories?

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Posted in aging, food

NEED PARENTAL RELIEF? EXERCERA DELUXE 40” DIAMETER TRAMPOLINE!

Posted on September 15, 2007 | 7 Comments

Sure, you could take some parenting classes, read some how-to books to release years of emotional baggage and improve your personal skills at calm, relaxed instruction to your hyper monkey, maybe even seek counseling for yourself or your whole family to better relate to each other without the use of screaming at the top of your lungs and having either your spouse or your kid say, “You’re repeating yourself again….” as they ignore you.

OR, you could buy one of these:

070909_2n3_9a.JPG

Yes, readers, on sale this week at Big 5 Sporting Goods, the Exercera Trampoline may be intended for adult jumping, but who knows your kids better than you? Some nervous, legally advised, litigation-adverse manufacturer or you? And there IS a pad around the edge.

Weather permitting, I recommend placing it under a tree with a low branch and then request the “best leaf” that your monkey can reach. We all like to have a purpose, don’t we?

This gives you plenty of time to whip up a new batch of margaritas. I recommend the frozen limeade/triple sec/tequila recipe, but I’ve save that for another post.

(skinny, black-tights legs sold separately)

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Posted in brilliant ideas, health, kid, parenting

Do you other bloggers ever feel this?

Posted on September 13, 2007 | 13 Comments

stmqui070913.gif

The male blogger I know never would have a problem with being at a loss for words. Sometimes, I do, especially if I meet someone on the island who says they read this blog.

That kills my end of the conversation. They’ve read it all. I got no other material.

As I speak, I worry I’m repeating myself even though I’ve never met this person before.

Can blogging push you away from direct human interaction?

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Posted in me-me-me, questions, scratchings