Mom to the Screaming Masses

Brain dead, can't think of a title

At least not while my girls are standing here shining flashlights in my eyes, heh.  Last night we had a hellacious storm system come through, and almost our entire city lost power for a few hours.  I was SERIOUSLY sweating it, too - I mean, Grey's Anatomy last night?  If I had missed that, I don't think I'd be functional today.  That was AMAZING, and tonight - two hours????  Seriously?  The president better not be long winded tonight and go into my GA time slot, that's all I can say.

So, I did the 5K.  I got into my van and drove there, all the while thinking, "I can't do this!"  and then I got there.  I realized that I had made a tactical error as soon as I arrived - I had forgotten my pedometer/timer/distance calculator thingie that goes on my wrist.  I use it to psyche myself up, making myself go another .25 or whatever before I stop.  HOW was I going without that?  Crisis, crisis.  THEN, another crisis.  Apparently, I had somehow managed to erase my running playlist on my iPod.  So, no selections of fast, upbeat music back to back, just interspersed with slow stuff.  Ugh.

Despite the fact that there were multiple military/police/fire groups there, running at insane speeds, I was able to stay in the middle for a while.  I had to walk a bunch of it, and the group got further and further away from me, until I was in the back, with about 30 other people.  I ran and walked, and during the second mile, I tried to keep up with one woman who was ahead of me and diong the same.  I finally caught up to her, and we chatted for a while.  We ended up race walking the last bit, and then running the very last 1/4 mile.  We crossed the finish line together, not the very last people, with a time of 42 minutes.  Really, really slow, but better than I thought I'd do.  At home it takes 53 minutes, so I don't know how I did better.  And, about 40 people came in after me!

The really funny thing was, before the race, I was at the Autism table, looking at their info, and chatted with a guy there - I wanted to buy a hat and he didn't know how much it was.  Well, when I came across the finish line, he was standing there, and he started yelling, "Whooo!  Way to go, 501!", which was my number, and he slapped me a high 5. Oooookay, then, weirdo guy.  The Hubster SWEARS it was the Corona tshirt that I was wearing - I have got to get some running clothing, so I can at least look the part, lol.

But, I did it.  I'm still sore today - running on pavement is harder than the treadmill.  I didn't run or walk at all yesterday, and I ate like a horse.

I did, however, spend Mother's Day at the carnival with my kids.  My Mother's day request was no flowers, no candy or cookies, no cleaning, and dinner out.  Plus time to myself.  I got the carnival, flowers, candy, cookies and cooking dinner for the kids and cleaning it up in the dark with no power.  The Hubster did redeem himself by going for takeout for us, really yummy Italian, and cleaning it up while I watched Grey's. So, I can tolerate the carnival.  I guess.

I'm thinking about possibly starting an online site for tie dye.  Any pointers on how to do that?  Could I just do another typepad site, or a free blogger site?  Or should I buy a website?  How pricy would that be, anyway?  How much interest would you think I'd get? 

I'm off to Wal-mart, on a payday, with The Hubster, so's he can push a cart and care for a kid.  Should be a MIGHTY  interesting morning........

Fascinating Friday

Today was a good day.  It was, if you can call it, a winner of a day.

First of all, let's back track to yesterday.  Riley was officially discharged from therapy yesterday!  She met her 12 month goals at 8 months, met her adjusted, reset 12 month goals a month later, and passed every.single.test yesterday with flying colors.  She even laughed during the session, which amazed her therapist.  What a change from a year ago!  She was able to go in the gym without melting down, was able to separate and play independently - not EVEN possible two months ago - and did the most challenging activities with ease.  So, our therapy time is complete.  We will still do lots of it at home, though, and I'm going to contact speech next.

This morning, while driving the kids to school, the radio program I was listening to was doing their program at XYZ company, which is part of the bigger overall company that The Hubster works for. I went out to them, and was awarded FOUR tickets to a local water park, as well as EIGHT tickets to the local pro soccer games.  I didn't win the iPod, boo-hiss.  Allegra REALLY wanted it, since Nik used his birthday money to buy one and she feels left out.

When I went to pick up the kids at school, I found that I had won one of the Mother's Day baskets!  It was the smaller one, and I REALLY wanted the bigger one, which contained PF Chang's and Starbucks gift cards.  This one was pretty good, as it had two pounds of Starbucks coffee, a mug, some soaps, $25 gift certificates to three restaurants and a day spa, lunch for two and 2 dozen gourmet cookies.  Whoot!

I measured for new bras and found that I'm one band size and two cup sizes smaller - now I wear a 36F. At my weigh in yesterday, I found that I'm down almost 28 pounds.  Closing in on 30!  My girlfriend told me that I was "melting" away.  God, that felt soooo good to hear!

I ordered my kids a new computer, and I'm hoping that I don't regret buying a Dell. 

All of this good stuff makes up for the fact that last night, we had one of the soccer parties at Chuck E Cheese.  $58 later, I was never so glad to be out of a place in my life.  Especially since a girlfriend had just told me that her family was out for a few days and she was home alone, watching chick flicks.

Tomorrow is the 5K.  I'm waaaaaayyyy nervous, but I hope that I can at least get through it. 

in which I show that I can earn a (small) living

First off, thank you all so much for your kind words!  Seriously, I've been totally blown away by the compliments.  And, those of you who called me skinny?  SO my new best friends.  Wanna share some gum?

I'm pretty handy with the tie dye, thanks to my friend Hayes, and I set a goal a while back to be in a flea market that our school was holding.  I bought $177 worth of dyes and blanks - 44 inch silk scarves and white shirts and dresses to dye - and I spent lots of time designing and implementing various designs.  About two weeks ago, the flea market was cancelled, due to lack of participation.  Looking on the calendar, I noticed that today was our annual arts festival at school.  There are always lots of tables set up, with scrapbooking, sewing, soap carving, jewelry making, glass blowing, etc, as well as demonstrations of various types of dance, instrument playing and singing.  This year, there was also a poetry recitation and dramatic interpretation.  All in all, a good day.  I approached the art teacher, who welcomed me to a table. 

Last night, I decided to finish up the last 10 items that needed to be dyed. I had already done four separate batches. (It's a pretty time intensive production.  First you have to decide how you want to color it, and fold it and band it accordingly.  Then you mix the soda ash and soak the fabric.  While that is going on, you mix the dyes, which are either really messy or I'm a big slob.  The actual application of the dye takes about a minute.  Then the item is placed in a bag and left to sit for 24 hours.  Then you rinse it out, wash it with a fixative, and dry it.)  After I got the kids to bed, folded five loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen and went to the potty, it was 9:30 and I was ready to start.  The Hubster came in at 10:30, and I was *covered* in magenta dye, since my nifty purple glove had sprung a leak.  He helped me for a minute, handing me bags and tying them up, and then he wandered off to find some dinner.  I continued on.  Upending the turqouise bottle on the second to last shirt, I stared in disbelief as the cap proceeded to leak from the side and the dye went all over.  Grabbing paper towels, I began to cry.  I was soooooo tired, and sick of doing this.  I've done lots of tie dye, made shirts for the soccer team, made playsilks for a birthday party, but this project was maybe a bit too much.  The Hubster wiped my eyes, since I couldn't do it myself, and encouraged me to finish up.  "I don't know why I'm doing this."  I muttered to myself.  "I'll never make any money at this!"  I finally fell into bed at 12:15, and was comatose until the alarm went off at 6. 

Waking this morning, I was still nervous and uncertain.  I did my time on the treadmill and then packed up the van.  I dressed myself in one of the shirts I had made and both little girls in two dresses that I had dyed. All the way there, I stewed.  What if I sold nothing? I had about 20 playsilks and around 40 shirts, dresses and onesies.  There are lots of babies there, and I hoped to cash in on that crowd.  I set up in about two minutes, snapped a few pics with the camera phone   and I went to work.

The first picture is of the rack of shirts and dresses.  The second, kind of strange pic, is  of the table of playsilks, held down by two phone books, since it was pretty windy.  I sat down and waited.

Pretty soon, my kids brought their friends over.  I thought I might sell one or two things to their friends, since my kids had been talking up a storm of advertisement for me.  Maybe I'd make enough to get some coffee on the way home?  I had priced shirts for $5, playsilks for $10, or two for $17, dresses for $12 and onesies for $6. I just took the prices out of the air, since I was really too flustered to figure it out.

I am here to tell you , I flippin' SOLD OUT.  Of EVERYTHING except five baby onesies, which were so cute you would ovulate just looking at them.  I made $350 dollars!  I could have sold 20 more shirts and about 10 more playsilks!

The coolest thing is that some staff members wanted to do custom orders, and the principal agreed to let me do that for them, so I made up a form tonight for them.  AND, people grabbed me in the parking lot and asked me to make more shirts, so she's going to let me make up a flyer to go in the weekly communications.  Gabe's teacher even wants to do it for the entire class!!!!

The event was a fundraiser to make money to buy a kiln, so I donated 10% back to the art teacher.  I've filled my gas tank, which took a NASTY chunk out of that.  I'm going to give a gift to someone, and then buy some more blanks.  Probably fill my Starbucks card, and then be broke. 

But I made money, and sold out of everything!  And I'm eating two Reese's cups to celebrate!

Updated!! Give me a head with hair......

So, I kind of have this love, hate relationship with my hair.  It used to be long, like down to my butt, and it was *very* high maintenance.  The Hubster LOVES long blond hair, so I spent hours bleaching it.  It was really, really blond after about five years of this, and dry.  I set it on hot rollers every day, in that big hair of the late 80's/early 90's style.  When Gabe was about 5 months old, I was the high bid on an auction item - actually, I was the ONLY bid, twenty five DOLLARS!!!! - for a makeover.  Haircut, two level color, consultation, waxing, etc.  That's where I met Tracy.  She's great.  I love her technique with my hair.  She's the one who convinced me to cut my hair short, and she's been the one to do my color.  She told me that I didn't have the coloring to wear blond - she's right - and that my skin was more suited to red.  She also started me waxing my eyebrows and lip, an action that I will be forever grateful to her for.  She's on the cutting edge - ha, what a pun - of hair styles and always gives me exactly what I want. Usually before I know what I want, lol. She gives a wicked razor cut, one of the best I've ever seen.

Lately, there has been more and more gray in my hair.  It grows in a wide swath down the middle of my head.  I've been getting a 5 - medium brown - all over my head, and then some red lowlights on top.  Yesterday, I requested some highlights, so that I could have some caramel looking pieces. I freaked out, though, when she said she'd have to use bleach to achieve that.  I was petrified that I'd end up with orange spots.  She said that there was no way to control what color the bleach came up, which I wasn't too sure about, but I do trust her.  She suggested that we do a bit different lowlight, one a bit more red.  That way, I'd have a few different shades of red in my hair.  I agreed.

When she washed it out, she exclaimed that it was pretty.  When I went to her chair, I was uncertain.  After all, it looked almost purple to me.  When she was cutting it, the pieces that I saw on the cape were pretty - lots of different shades of red.  When she did the blow out, all the other stylists watched and exclaimed.  She had put a glaze on it, so it was soft and shiny.  As an aside, my hair is probably the healthiest it's ever been.

I was hesitant.  It was a great deal different than anything I've ever done, and I'm pretty conservative with my hair.  No one said anything last night at a meeting that I had to go to, and in fact, my kids just said it was different.  I was a little uncomfortable, kind of like I was wearing someone else's clothes that didn't fit correctly.

Today, right as he got out of the car, Nikolas said, "Mom, your hair looks purple.  At least my hair looks red, cuz it's natural and real, and yours isn't."  He slammed the door, and went around to the back of the Jeep to get his book bag.  Allegra got out of the Jeep and went back to him, saying, "That was just mean.  You shut up, Mom's hair looks good."  With a final, "shut up, fool", he was off to school.

So, now I'm self conscious.  I snipped a piece of my hair from the back, underneath, to post.  What say the internets? 

You may have to blow it up to get a good idea.  I like it, but it's definitely different. 

Happy birthday to you!

This day, fourteen years ago, at 8:31 p.m., while an episode of The Wonder Years played in the background and a teenage Fred Savage dealt with teenage angst, I became a mother for the first time.

I was trying to figure out how to sum up my attitude as a young mother, and I struggled for a while on how to best explain it.  And then I came across this post:  http://thepatriarchy.blogspot.com/2006/05/long-time-listener-first-time-father.html

Please, go read it before you continue.  I'll hold your place in line - no one will cut you, I swear.

Back?  Wasn't that funny?  And yet, I was that mom.  Organic foods, tofu, vegetarian, whole foods, free range meats, liberal child rearing, never ever ever any spanking.  Caring, hands on parenting, much to the detriment of my sanity and my marriage. I worried over any birth trauma that my son may have experienced, and sweated my discipline strategies.  I only hung out with like minded mothers, those who were in my mothering group or my LaLeche League group.  After all, those without the "correct" foundation in parenting, i.e. long term breastfeeding and co sleeping on demand, were not who I wanted my precious child hanging with.

Fast forward 14 years.  I'm a good deal less knowledgeable, yet more of a know it all than ever before.  But this kid has been good for me.  He's wacky, with a sometimes unwelcome sense of humor that is kind of out there.  He's good with kids, a good student, a conscientious worker who is thrilled to miss the senior class trip in order to work in the school yards with Brother.  He loves pizza and soda and ice cream, and also chinese food.  He's a smaller kid, in the 8%tile for height and in the 15th%tile for weight.  He's been a testament to the fact that I have NOTHING to do with his friends any more.  He makes it hard for me to remember that he'll be out on his own in four years.  He's goofy and sometimes annoying, like when he was throwing grass and sticks at me while I was talking to the soccer coach, and got it in my mouth.  He's developed a desire to work in the yard, so all of the great flowers that are outside our house are from him and not me. He loves to read and still enjoys watching Stargate and The Lord of the Rings, over and over and over......

Happy birthday, Nik.  May this be your best year ever!

If only I had.......

So, about a month ago, I was watching a Mad about You marathon.  DON'T ask me WHY, I couldn't even tell you.  I just was.  So there.

One of the episodes had a really interesting twist.  In it, Jamie and Paul had never met.  I'm not sure what happened, but one teeny thing in their prior lives was changed, and they never met.  There were multiple cases of the two of them being in the same place at the same time, and walking past each other.  Each time, one of them would look puzzled and look around, as if they KNEW something was up and couldn't quite pin it. 

If I hadn't been in a car wreck, I wouldn't have ever met the guy that I dated before I married The Hubster.  I would have stayed with the same guy that I had been dating when I got out of high school, and promptly got engaged to.  The unhappiness I experienced in THAT dating experience (car wreck guy) drove me to look elsewhere.  My life would have been different, that's for damned sure. 

Is there an instance in your life, where you can pinpoint one decision that you made which changed your life? 

Two days of wild scheduling

Why do I do this to myself?  You'd think I'd learn......

Wednesday looks like this:  May procession at school, 9:30.  First Communicants in their finery process, Eighth graders in their grad robes process, and a huge fine display, worthy of a box of tissues.  After, I need to help in second grade - the teacher cannot possibly help 27 kids change into their regular clothing - and then go to an eighth grade cake and punch reception.  Return a pair of shorts for The Hubster at Sears, and meet  most of the other eighth grade parents and kids for lunch.  Bring Nikolas home to await the delivery of the new vacuum - oh, I probably should post my vacuum cleaner saga tomorrow, huh? - since he's off from school after the procession.  Pick up kids at 3, Gabe's speech evaluation at 3:30, Mackenzie has ballet at 5:30, Allegra has soccer at 6, and I have a meeting at 7. 

Thursday goes like this:  Take kids to school at 7:30, Nikolas to the dentist at 9 to check and see if he needs to have the patched tooth pulled due to death, and then we were given a slot for his 14 year old check up at 9:30.  He has to have a physical before he goes to camp in June, and stupidly, I forgot to make the appt until this week.  Their first opening was July 22, but they magically had a cancellation for Thursday.  Of course, I grabbed it, and now the race is on to see if I can convince the dentist to come in early and hopefully get us out of there in 30 minutes.  Thank goodness both offices are about 10 minutes apart.  The kids get out at 11, since it's  a half day, and then we have scouts at 7. 

So, I'm busy, busy for the next two days.  But, I had a thought yesterday that kind of took me back.  Have you ever been talking to someone, and that person said something that made you aware of the fact that, at one point in time, they were obviously talking about you?  Would you want to know when people were talking about you, and what they had said?  Did it ever FREAK you out, to think that at any one point in time, people were talking about you?