Not Calm (dot com)

hey, look!

Nurse With wound
Originally uploaded by SusanaM.

Momblogger plays rockstar! This isn't the full lineup; Diana was to the left of Andrew (who is the guy on the end of the table there). There are more photos from the show, taken by SusanaM that you can get to if you click on this one here.

I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was to get up on a stage and just do something. I was really nervous backstage, so I had a glass or two of sparkling wine (Spanish champagne -- cava, I think it's called) and then a beer. By the time we had to go on, I was feeling a little relaxed but I still worried that I'd get out there and pee my pants. I didn't, thankfully. I was also really grateful that what I did for the show required me to look down at my hands and not out at the people. That made it easier to pretend they weren't there. After we got started, I wasn't scared anymore, so I just decided that I was going to have fun. Lord knows that I'm going to spend many more months on end here at home doing the same old same old that keeps my family in clean socks and whatnot -- I wanted to enjoy my time there as much as possible.

So, what, exactly, did I do up there? Well, I brought my grandfather's old camera and my friend Matt (to my left in the photo) connected a contact mike to it. The click of the shutter and the sound of the advance lever came through really clearly. I also had a metal tray with a contact mike on the underside of the edge. I had my great-grandmother's strand of pearls, a marble, my grandmother's toy bull from the early 1930's that "walks," and my grandfather's grandmother's wedding band. I used all those things to make little clicks and sounds to be in the background of what all the pros were doing.

I haven't heard a recording of the show yet, but I'm interested to hear how it came out. I'm secretly terrified that I screwed things up, but no one gave me any dirty looks, so I guess it was all okay.

It's funny, one of the most amazing things about my trip was that I was only responsible for myself. I woke up in the morning and just had to wash, dress and feed ME. Then, I got to decide what I wanted to do. It's been a long time since I've been able to be so self-absorbed! I love taking care of my family, but it felt so nice to check in with myself and rediscover my own likes and interests. I think I fall under the spell of believing, perhaps a little subconsciously, that a "good" mother puts everyone else first all the time. I somehow worry that if I put myself first it means that I'm not dedicated enough, don't love my kids enough, that I'm not doing it right. That's really stupid, though. I want my children, especially my girls, to see me do things for myself. I want them to recognize that I'm a person, that I have a life outside of caring for them. I want to inspire them to go do fun things and fit as much adventure into their lives as possible.

And now, I must go make some lunches and pick up some children, do some laundry and wash some dishes. And I'm totally okay with that.

window shadow

  window shadow 
  Originally uploaded by jenijen.

I'll be home in less than 24 hours.  It's after 1am and my cab will be here to take me to the airport at 6.  I need to pack and sleep a little.  Really, I'd rather just go wander around more, but my time is up.

Happy Birthday, Willow.  See you soon.

La Catedral courtyard

La Catedral courtyard
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

Did I mention it is beautiful here?

sangria

sangria
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

Today I learned that if I have a little sangria I can brave both the metro and the shark tunnel even though I'm terribly claustrophobic. True, it was with breakfast, but it was nearly noon and this is vacation.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on the last couple of posts. I'm having the best time here -- it's an amazing place. I got to go to the aquarium today, and to see lots of Gaudi.

I've walked and walked and walked. Back to the hotel at the end of the day for a nap, and now I'm getting ready to go out for supper around 10 pm. JUST like Grace said!

Tomorrow is the show. I'm going to perform and I'm feeling really nervous. yikes!

apartments on La Rambla

apartments on La Rambla
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

I am so tired. This jet lag business bites. It's amazing here -- beautiful and interesting and friendly. I put up nearly 200 photos on my flickr page, which you'll get to if you click on this picture. That's just from the first day!

Going to sleep now. Hope I can wake up before it's time to go home!

England!

England!
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

Ugh.

Traveling far like that is hard and I'm a big baby about it. I'm in Barcelona, but haven't had a chance to get out and see anything much yet. So far, so amazing, though. It is beautiful here.

The day before I left, Willow had a stomach flu which Sophie has now and I had all the way across Europe. Now I can not only say that I've been to London (well, sort of) but that I barfed there, too. Many times!

I feel mostly better now, so I'm going to get up and out and see things.

floral lining

Willow and I took Soph to school, and then we came back home.  Ugh.  I grabbed my cell phone, some lip balm (why do I hate that word?) and the camera, and we walked over to the park.  It's gorgeous here.

By the time we came back, it smelled not quite so bad.  I'm sure we wouldn't have gone to the park otherwise, because I have so much to do.  I'm not saying I'm glad about the lizard barf -- I'm just recognizing the goodness that came from it.  Or, as a result of its total horribleness.

The grossest thing EVER. I am not kidding.

I should have known the morning was going to be a wash when I opened the last container of soy milk for my coffee and it was all chunky.  Ewww (but not nearly as ewww as what happened next).  This was a new-to-me brand of soy milk because Trader Joe's was out of my usual (organic, sugar free, plain soy milk), so maybe it's always like that.  Whatever; I can drink my coffee black.   Know what I can't take, though?

happy valentine's day

sophie's valentine
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

winter sun

winter sun
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

Everyone but me is sleeping. I'm sitting near one of the heat registers and I can hear and almost feel the hot air streaming into the bedroom.

My morning started off sticky. Stickily? Someone knocked over the big (also, expensive) jug of grade A maple syrup a couple of shelves up from the bottom of the fridge. I discovered the aftermath as I was getting breakfast put together for the sleepy small fry. Half of the shelf the jug was on was covered, as was one inside wall of the fridge and various parts of the two glass-topped drawers below. The puddle on the bottom of it all was impressive. At least eighteen waffles' worth.

I took out the sticky packages of celery, bell peppers, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, carrots and baby spinach. Dismantled the bottom half of the fridge, washed the drawers, the glass tops (chipped one in two places) and the drawer holder thingies. I rinsed off the veggies and put them in clean bags. I was left with the eighteen waffles' worth of syrup at the bottom, and the ooze along the inside wall. It required a little tupperware tub of warm, mandarin orange dish soapy water and a scrubby sponge. Many paper towels, as well. Now, though, a good half of the fridge is very clean, and I was meaning to toss that old cilantro anyhow.

I know it's just plain twisted, but I really get into jobs like that. Maybe they appeal to me because I seldom have the time (or make the time) to be thorough. I feel like I'm on constant triage duty when it comes to lots of the things that I am responsible for.

I've been trying to make time every day to test out the new camera. I would have a fit that would impress even my own Sophie if I got to Spain only to discover it was buggy. I haven't been far from home, and the weather has been inclement, but I am feeling like it's working fine.

Today we booked a place for Willow's birthday party (an expensive, swank sort of place to ease my guilt over NOT BEING HERE FOR THE ACTUAL DAY -- though the party will be after I'm back) and I went to a local travel agency and bought some Euros and Pounds. I thought the US was some sort of SuperPower? What gives with the 37 pounds for 80 bux? I would be cranky about it if I wasn't so geeked out to actually be going. I still can't think about the dollar to Euro thing, though.

OH, the plane, it is two stories tall. That is good news for me, since it makes my claustrophobia a little less red-alertish. Just knowing that I'm in a not-totally-tiny thing way the fuck up in the air is somehow better than being in a relatively tiny thing way the fuck up there. Once my former brother-in-law said that planes shouldn't really be able to fly and that the only reason they did was that everyone on board believed they would. That if someone didn't believe, the plane would just fall out of the sky. He was in the air force so I think he must be right. I'll be like the lion in the Wizard of Oz the whole time we are in the air, clutching my shirtsleeves and saying, "I do believe in planes, I Do, I DO, I DO!"

Must sleep. Though I hate wasting the alone time.

raindrop

raindrop
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

I took my Grandfather's old Yashica to a local camera shop to see if they'd service it for me. It needs some help -- the foam needs to be replaced, and the shutter speed stays constant no matter what the setting is. While I was there, I discovered that they had a floor-model canon digital rebel xt for sale. It was sort of an impulse buy, but if you look at my browsing history, you'd see that I've been drooling over them for a loooooong time. I haven't been able to play with it much, but so far so good. I got it for less than any of the prices I've seen online, even the used prices, so that was great.

I can't wait to get out and play with it. When I go to Spain, I just might break Flickr.

sky

  linked 
  Originally uploaded by jenijen.

this is my photo friday entry for this week's challenge: sky

work in progress

  work in progress 
  Originally uploaded by jenijen.

I love all this rain.  I'm sort of taking it easy today, just working a bit and knitting, doing laundry.  Jumping in puddles with Willow at the school.

So, last night I made beef stew.  I've spent a pretty big chunk of the past twenty years as a vegetarian, but lately I'm definitely not one.  I felt kind of bad when I was making the stew, actually, until the damn cow took revenge on me. 

You think I'm kidding.

When I do buy meat, I go all hippie and get the organic, free-range, humanely treated kind.  You know, those hot dogs that are a dollar a piece and the one pound of stew beef for seven bucks.  Partly it's because I am trying to be responsible about my meat consumption, and partly it's because meat squicks me out, and I somehow think of the pricey stuff as cleaner.  Or less likely to be icky.  I'm weird, I know.   

I heated up some canola oil in a heavy stock pot, and added the meat.  I was browning it, stirring it all around the pan, when a splat of HOT oil shot right into my eye. 

It was a total fuck you from the cow.

It didn't really hurt, since eye balls aren't so nervy.  It just cooked a little part of the white on my eye.  Gross, huh?  My eye didn't turn a nice golden brown or anything, but the place where the oil hit is kind of red and funky looking.  I hope parts of my eye don't shrivel up and fall off or something.   

I ate an extra bowl.  It was really good.

One time in college I had this broken blood vessel in my eye.  It looked pretty awful; this obvious spot of bright red blood under the surface of my eyeball.  I had a goofball guy who was in the same program I was (technical writing -- which, obviously, I never finished) come up to me, drop to his knees and in this dramatic, anguished way, point at me and say, "Stigmata!  Stigmata!"

Isn't it funny, how some people from your past -- people you never knew very well or for very long -- sort of stay with you because of one funny thing they said or did?  When that oil hit my eye, first I thought, "Holy shit!  I hope that doesn't make me blind!" then I thought, "Stigmata!  Stigmata!"  And wasn't there a movie with Patricia Arquette?  I bet he saw that on opening day.

good morning

good morning
Originally uploaded by jenijen.

Just another tricky day for you

Some of my favorite women have recently put up detailed recaps of their days.  I've wanted to do the same because I want to be able to look back at it later and because sometimes people say they read my site to see what life with lots (though, that's relative) of kids is like.  SO, here's a recap of my day.  It's very long and boring, but I'm glad I did it.

1::00 (ish) Willow finds me in my bed gets in.  (Starting in the am, here)
2:00 (ish) Nathan needs ice water and for me to sleep next to him in his bed.
3:15 (ish)I hear Soph crying and looking for me
3:16 Hear her say the words, "I'm wet."
3:17 To the bathroom.  Wet pj's off and into the sink.  Start warm strawberrry shortcake bubble bath.  Get Soph settled and go strip bedsheets.
3:19 Carry bedclothes to washer, get pee on my pj bottoms.  curse. put everything into washer while in my underwear. 
3:20 find new pj pants, check on soph.  clean sink.  remember that i set the coffee pot to auto and feel happy.  remember that i have to get up at 5:20 and that is WHY the coffee pot is set to auto.  feel sad.
3:40 Back to Soph's room, get her in fresh pj's, willow comes in
3:42 all three of us in willow's bed, me in the middle with an arm around each girl
3:45 start falling back to sleep
3:46 realize willow is figety
3:47 take willow to pee, but she needs milk first
3:54 back to bed
5:05 wake up from waitressing nightmare (which included dozens of baby raccoons!)  to willow snoring
5:18 fall back to sleep
5:20 John finds me to tell me it's 5:20, goes back to bed
5:22 I stumble to couch, get laptop and start list
5:23 hear coffee pot start *hooray* discover huge zit on chin
5:29 get coffee, start morning job
5:30 no wireless
5:31 power cycle router, take medicine.  Cold, find socks
5:35 start work
5:45 start work (got sidetracked by email)
6:10 take break to get more coffee and sign up for 2000 bloggers
6:20 back to work
6:48 Nathan up to snuggle with me on couch while I work
7:05 take a break to wake up girls and get everyone ready for school.  Glad I packed lunches last night.
7:30 Willow VERY cranky   
and will sit with on only me. Says her ear hurts when I brush her hair
7:31 look in her ear using flashlight and broken otoscope.  Very red. Nix preschool for today.
7:32 Dose W with motrin, call pediatrician for appointment
7:37 Talk to nurse Get appointment for 3:50.  Must try to get playdate for other kids after school. 
7:40 John gets breakfast for Soph (oatmeal) and Nate (cereal)
7:42 Lex forced to eat apple for breakfast.  tragic!
7:45 Brush Soph's hair and teeth.  She wants up-high pigtails
7:50 John takes Soph to before-school daycare
7:51 Brush and floss Nate and Lex's teeth.
8:00 Nate puts on video for Willow
8:07 John leaves for work, takes boys to school.  Back to sit on couch and work, W plays with wooden blocks and watches movie
8:14 lose wireless, reset router
8:15 Willow feels better, wants to go to school, I say no, put on another movie
8:16 back to work
8:20 finish work -- will have to send some work related emails this afternoon, tho
8:21 new movie for Willow charge ipods for boys in case they have to come with us to doctor this afternoon, play with willow couple a minutes
8:27 shower!  leave Willow with some string cheese and crackers, hope she'll eat a little of it
8:50 pack up crayons, paper, and carebears and head out for my doctor appt.
8:56 in van with Willow.  She's singing Bella Notte to her Tramp dog
9:00 MAJOR freeway traffic!  Must take surface streets, going to be late!
9:03 Willow wants to go home.  Put on Cat Stevens to cheer her up.
9:07 File broken fingernail while driving.  Willow requests Take the Skinheads Bowling.
9:08 Singalong!
9:14 Park in lot, one minute to spare.
9:18 Check in at doctor.
9:19 I'm in wrong place. Go down hall, check in again  Very warm in here. Willow drawing.
9:23 Blood pressure and weight.
9:30 Called to see doctor.
9:42 Done with doctor appt.  Fastest office visit EVER
9:43 Take Willow to potty
9:48 To waiting room.Willow and I draw.  she requests reindeer  i fail miserably
10:08 Get prescription for new allergy medicine.
10:11 Start van, head to hospital pharmacy.
10:33 Done with pharmacy, headed home. (remember to ask John to be home from work by 9:30 so I can get back to pharmacy before they close at 10 tonight)
10:55 Breakfast -- sprouted whole grain cereal and soy milk (both sugar free) for me, oatmeal for Willow, who wants me to feed her.
11:15 Lady and the Tramp for Willow, check email, balance checkbook while she plays with stuffed animals and watches tv at my feet
11:27 lose wireless, go reset router
11:34 add photo to website for 2000 bloggers
11:36 figure out that 2000 Bloggers is off, take down post
11:38 finish up work emails from morning
12:07 done with work stuff, update this list!
12:14 Start Blogging Baby post
12:16 remember I forgot to find someone for Soph to go home with after school, make call while researching topic for BB post. SLEEPY
12:37 partway through post. Phone busy.  Headache -- BAD one, take tylenol, get big glass of water with cranberry juice.  Put on Winnie the Pooh for Willow, who isn't feeling too great.
12:50 Recheck Willow's ear.  She says it doesn't hurt.  Looks red to me.
12:51 Leave message with Soph's friend's mom for playdate. 
1:08 Finish BB post, check work email accts
1:13 Done with email, now going to clean kitchen!
1:18 Remember laundry in washer! Switch to dryer.
1:19 Phone rings; friend M is around corner, going to stop by. Wish I had time to clean up more.
1:28 M here!
1:48 Finished kitchen, time to visit with M,
1:55 Give Willow her snack for preschool that I packed last night (apple, cheese, juice box )Take my medicine.
2:31 M leaves, get ready to pick up kids and go to Willow's doctor.  Eat handful of almonds.  Remember Lex's ipod but can't find his headphones.  Get mine.  Hope to score Soph a playdate at after-school pick up.
2:40 Go get kids from school (my other three plus C -- the one who hangs out with us after school every day)
2:46 Lex calls while I'm driving to school wanting to know if they have to go to Willow's appt.  Soda from the office vending machine is promised
2:50 At school.  Strike out on playdate for Soph.  The one offer we get, she refuses.  Nate will not come to car because he does not want to go to doctor's office.
3:10 Finally get everyone to car, head to appt.  Lex plugs shuffle into car stereo.  We listen to White and Nerdy, by Weird Al, Sweet Home Alabama, and Takin' Care of Business.
3:20 At doctor.  Fast visit -- her ear is way infected.  Medicines prescribed.  We are out the door with meds and back in the van by
4:03 Head for home.  Listen to White and Nerdy, Stairway to Heaven, What I Got (Sublime) and some All American Rejects song. realize, yet again, that my musical tastes differ from my kids. 
4:17 Home.  Say hello to neighbor who is taking photographs in front yard
4:21 Inside.  Grab handful of almonds, start Cars dvd for girls.
4:29 Give Willow her medicine.  She HATES it.
4:31 Soph hungry.  Get her an apple and heat up leftover mac and cheese.  (she ate two bowls !!)Willow wants some, too.  Still have headache.  More water and cranberry juice and advil.  Eat leftover cold chili -- very good, wish I could have beer with it.
4:38 update list, check email, email john about getting home by 9:30
4:52 Nate wants cereal now, now, now
4:53 get cereal, glue felt heart back on mobile, so I can photograph and post photo for Lorelei
4:56 john calls to check in, says he will get home tonight asap so i can go.  Realize this means I can't have a beer until after ten.  try not to cry.
5:03 off phone, answer blog comments
5:19 Doorbell -- C's dad here to get him
5:20 back to email/comments
5:21 Nate and Soph fighting call each other bitch
5:22 Open beer -- don't have to drive for four more hours.  Lex needs help with math homework
5:26 He figures it out at the same exact time I do.  Guess this is about the last time I'll be able to help him!
5:30 start this blog entry
5:51 start supper
6:03 Soph cleans kitchen table while I eat brown rice with tamari and sesame oil and make supper for the kids (cheese pizza, chicken, corn, bread -- all from TJ's.  No cooking, just heating stuff up)
6:15 kids eating while I hang out with them
6:20 check email, fold laundry
6:25 laundry away, make sophie's bed, kids done eating, spazzing right out
6:43 clean up kitchen, ask Lex to shower.
6:59 finish dishes, take last swig of beer
7:00 sweep, take out garbage and recycling,check snail mail
7:05 Lex in shower
7:06 Lex's shower very short due to spider on ceiling
7:10 relocate spider, start bath for girls
7:15 add bath salts to girls' bath, remember when boys were little and they took lavender and chamomile baths and loved doing it. Lex starts watching Harry Potter (2, I think) with bathtowel wrapped around his head
7:16 need to clean table and kitchen countertops, Sophie used all the spray, make more from concentrate (meyer's clean day, lemon verbena)
7:17 wipe down table and countertops
7:20 find pencil for nate
7:24 load washer and set timer for nine hours
7:29 girls out of bath
7:30 squeeze water out of several dozen rubber ducks
7:32 help nate with homework
8:01 Get pj's for nekkid girls, drink of water for soph, kids all watching harry potter 3
8:03 return phone call, leave message
8:04 check email accounts-- no wireless, reset router
8:05 wireless back, check work emails
8:10 email done, time to delete spam
8:16 should put kids to bed, going to read a couple of blogs instead
8:19 laugh at this post
8:24 going to get girls ready for bed (brush and floss teeth, potty visit, all that)
8:32 get tiny phillips screwdriver for nate so he can take apart pencil sharpener
8:33 wonder about my judgment, go help lex with teeth
8:35 help Nate with teeth, see that he's put sharpener back together with blade in place.
8:45 lights out girls fighting *sigh* get between them, soph turns on Flower Fairies cd, boys listen to newest Boomerang. 
8:46 I knock on wall and yell at boys to be quiet
Willow is snoring by the C song (Columbine) and Soph falls asleep during the G one (Gorse) i start to nod off during H (Half-penny) and get out of bed during I (Iris)
9:04 time to pack Soph's lunch for tomorrow and clean out Nate's stinky lunchbox
9:07 nate up for water wants me to lay down in the boys' room
9:08 pack soph's lunch: apple, almonds, corn chips, pb & j, slice of leftover cheese pizza, and two juice boxes (i used to be SO GOOD about water, and whenever they are with me at trader joe's i buy juice
9:18 get coffee ready for tomorrow-- set for 6:30 (luxury of sleeping in. . . ), put on boots hoping john will get back so I can go to pharmacy.  Cold.  thinking of changing into flannel pj's before i go. 
9:31 still no john, will start bb post
9:35 john here, save post and go to hospital
10:25 home again!  beer, pj's, warm socks, write bb post except for photo (which will have to wait for tomorrow) and make a last check of email accounts. cranky because medi-cal won't cover other allergy meds, and am given generic claritin (which i already take) and must go back in a week or so to get other med that cannot be filled until paperwork is completed. 
11:23 ack!  I suck at writing directions (the post was about how to make a heart mobile)
11:24 update blog
11:32 finishing beer, doing mental inventory of all the stuff I didn't get to today: wash van, triage bathrooms, clean up in bedroom, (more) laundry, clean out fridge, finish up living room rearranging, and on and on and on
11:34 was terribly afraid as a kid at this time of night because the digital clock said "hell" if it was upside down.
11:35 wander around internet, finish beer, go brush teeth, floss
12:08 go.to.sleep.

fresh start

  fresh start 
  Originally uploaded by jenijen.

I need one,  And, yes, a couple of those crayons were a little bit used; they were in my purse so that Willow could draw while we waited to see my doctor.  I just waited too long to take the photo.

Today was hard.  I can't really get into all the details since the boy involved wouldn't be very pleased, but I can say that one of my kids was upset after school and took off, running away from me.  I let him go, partly because I know him so very well that I knew he'd run it off and come back when he was ready, and partly because my arms were full of lunchboxes, valentines, coats and my empty tea mug.  The other boy decided, totally against my made-very-clear-to-him wishes, to follow him and try to talk him into coming back.  It came from a place of wanting to help, but what ended up happening was that while I was talking so Sophie, who was also upset, Willow got lost because she followed him.  We know lots of people at the school, and Willow knows the maintenance man and the secretary, so I figured she was okay.  But, still, it really scared me that she'd go looking for the van which was across the road.  I walked all around the school, crying because I couldn't find her and because my son not only wouldn't speak to me, he wouldn't even let me get near him.  It didn't have anything to do with me, but he was mad at me all the same. 

By the time a sobbing, snot-nosed Willow was brought to me by two boys we know, I was feeling so crushed and awful.  I got everyone home, with more drama, and ended up dumping my armload of everyone's stuff on the front porch, telling the kids to go inside and be with John for awhile and then heading back out the front gate.  I sat on the cement driveway, crying because I feel like I'm doing this all wrong.  I didn't want to be anyone's mother in that moment. 

Finally, I came inside and starting doing things I needed to.  I paid a bunch of bills, then left to walk over to the store for stamps.  As I walked out the front door, this



caught my eye.  I planted those bulbs a few years ago, maybe in the winter of 2001-2002 when we first moved in here.  Every year some of them come up, but they rarely survive the stomping feet and bike tires and hardly ever get to bloom.  Still, it was good to see them there.  I know it's sappy and lame, but seriously, sprouting plants are hope in cellular form.  I got outside the gate and remembered that I had the box of crayons in my bag still, so I took them out and took a few pictures of them.  When I opened them for Willow this morning that smell and the sight of them all so perfectly lined up took me right back.  I need fresh starts now and then, and they are difficult to come by when you've got so many people depending on you.  This weekend we are going to rearrange the living room, and that will have to tide me over until I can make other changes. 

After I got stamps and paid the bills, I realized that I needed to make a trip to Hole Foods.  So I went alone, listening to loud music and feeling a little better.  In the store I suddenly remembered Rescue Remedy.  I found it and bought some and dosed myself before driving home. 



Also, since I was taking pictures inside the van. . .



Altoids make me feel better, too. 

I came back from the store and had a tearful making up session with the kids.  They probably think I'm a little unbalanced these days and they are right.  I'm stressed and tired and feeling so inept at raising them.  Right now the big kids are with their dad and step mom, Willow is watching Simpsons.**  John is out at a concert.  I'm going to take a bath with Willow, put her to bed and go hang out with these goodies that somehow ended up in my grocery cart.



I just remembered there is a ripe mango in the kitchen waiting for me too. 

Have a lovely weekend, take a hot bath and read a good book.

**I know.  There are references to prositutes and sex and Willow has learned to say "What the hell. . . " but deep down under its offensive exterior, the Simpsons is all about doing what's right and making us laugh.

I was just thinking as I popped in the dvd for her that maybe part of my parenting failure comes from my inability to be consistent.  For example: the kids are allowed to watch the Simpsons, but not Family Guy.  Talk about mixed messages!

 

button, button, who's got the button?

What is that from, anyway?  I can *almost* recall it, but I'm only hearing the voice.

Chris from Serendipity Mine made a button for the novel writing thing next month.  It's on the top right on her page, and if you scroll down you'll see the code at the bottom.  I'm really happy she offered, because I'm not really sure how to make one even though I'm coming up on five years of blogging.  Something to put on the list of stuff to learn, right after how to make a banner.

I'd post it here now, but I just came back from a morning at the doctor, and now must quickly feed Willow and then rush over to the school for Nate's penguin play which starts in less than a half hour. 

Thanks, Chris! 

wired

Hrumphf.
ppppfffft.

Spent the day and then some doing a dance with my new (not-so-cheap) wireless router.  It was like this:

WR:  Hey.  I'm a little shy. 
Computer:  That's okay!  I love shy!  What can I do to make you comfortable?
WR:  Well, hmmm. . . you could put on this little installation cd.
C:  Sure! No problem!
C:  How's that?
WR: *sigh*
C:  I see you are all lit up, but, somehow I can't find you.
WR:  *ahem*  You should start over, and be nicer this time.
C:  Okay.  (uninstall, reinstall, refind router, rename wireless network)  Is that better?
WR:  Yes, perfect.  Let's dance!
C:  I'd be honored.  Say, my friend MacBook is here, can she, like, you know, join us?
WR:  I don't know who in the hell you are!  Go away!
C to MB:  Just be patient, WR will come around.
MB (thinking) yeah. right. whatever. later.

Eh, this is lame, and not even close to how complicated it all was.  Is, I suppose.  Anyway, the router kept working on the PC (we still have an HP desktop that also has to be connected to the router), and then I'd sign on with the mac, and that whole thing would last for less than two minutes before no pages could be found and when I went into the router help thing it was giving me this "Cannot Detect Router" message, which, really -- NOTHING had changed, so I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

I finally just uninstalled it and unplugged it and nearly threw it out the window.  While I was trying to get this whole thing working, John took the kids to fly Soph's new kite.  At least someone got things off the ground today.