Random Tuesday Thoughts

Okay, just to be clear I did NOT put Whalesharkfish down the disposal. I disposed of him elsewhere THEN used the garbage disposal for something else. Yesterday Bug saw his babysitter on the way home from preschool and he told her that his fish died and she offered to buy him another one. Nooooooooo...

It was a rainy day yesterday (and looks like another one today) so Bug and I made a booger cake. I found it at Making Memories...One Fun Thing After Another. Easy and perfect for an inside afternoon.

I lost my first library book EVER. What's worse...it's a book I checked out and not Bug. Somehow I can keep track of his 4,397 books that he gets every two weeks but the ONE book that I have had is now MIA. Worst part of all...I was more than halfway through it AND enjoying it. Off to check amazon to purchase a replacement copy.

Check out The Un Mom for more randomness.

RIP Whalesharkfish

We said our good-byes to Whalesharkfish on Saturday. Luckily, (maybe that's not the best word) a fish died at Bug's school earlier in the week so there wasn't a lot of explanation involved when Whalesharkfish bought the farm.

However...when your fish, who has been in your home a little more than one week, dies and yet sets a new "fish record" for longevity and you tell your three-year-old that he can watch TV and you will take care of Whalesharkfish...DO NOT dispose of the fish and quickly move onto another task that involves the garbage disposal. Just sayin'...

F-Bomb Friday--the dog edition

So it's 97 degrees on September 24...where is that lovely crisp fall weather?? Anyway, our air conditioner finally stopped working altogether so we were in the process of getting bids for a new one when this heat kicked in. (Read: the house is REALLY hot.)

We open windows when we're home but I refuse to keep ground floor windows open if we're away for the day because there's a new round of neighborhood break-ins and most are through open windows. (Read: the house is REALLY hot.)


Bug and I got home from school today and entered our hot house and immediately knew something was wrong. VeraClaraCora (the little girl)

pooped in the kitchen. (Read: the house is REALLY hot and REALLY stinky.)

Visit MiMi at Family of Shorts for more.

Dear Someone

Dear Mother Nature,


I hope you get through this phase soon. These hot flashes of 95 degrees in late September aren't fun for us as we wait for a new air conditioner to be installed.


Signed,
another hot mama (and I don't mean that in a good way)


Dear Birth Mother,


It's time to put together our photo album for you of Bug's year. It's hard to know which photos or how many to send but I hope you like the ones we selected and that they give you a sense of what a great little guy he is.


In addition to writing on the back of each photo, I think I'll include a letter. So much has changed in Bug's world over the past 12 months...he's in preschool, potty-trained (woo hoo!) and just this morning he got the DVD player to work when I had given up (it's a guy thing, right?).


I wonder if the things he says--like the time he bumped his head and announced "I'm not happy anymore" or when he put on shorts for this first time this year knowing they were for warm weather and declared them his "hot pants" with a twist of his hips--and other sweet, funny, charming, or observational comments--will come through on paper without hearing his voice or seeing his facial and (often) full-body expressions. If you do want to hear his voice or see him, just let us know.


Signed,
the eternally grateful woman who--because of you--became a mommy


Dear Bruce,


Happy Birthday! Can you believe it was just 18 years ago that I was one of many who sang happy birthday to you after the Unplugged concert? Oh wait...I'm sure it stands out in my memory more than yours but I remember what each of us was wearing!.

Love,
The one who's waiting for the next concert and a slice of birthday cake

Go to Amanda at Family of Shorts for more Dear Someone letters.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Bug's babysitter gave him a fish over the weekend. I have a bad history with fish. Even though I haven't had a fish since high school, the poor little things didn't last longer than a week or so. I'm thankful Bug's fish is still swimming on day four. Bug named him: Whalesharkfish. Catchy, no? When Whalesharkfish swims and Bug is near the fishbowl, Bug's convinced WSF is waving to him.

I swear I've purchased more ketchup since Bug came into the world that all my other years on earth combined. I get the gigantic 3-pack at Costco (12,000 ounces or something like that) and we finish the bottles before I make it back to Costco. Until Bug came along it never would have occurred to me to put ketchup on broccoli or rice or anything else that isn't considered dessert however, I there was a time when I loved ketchup sandwiches.

Ah, Costco. I just found out a new Costco is being built by the mall with a Target, Macy's and most important Mrs. Field's Cookies that's fairly close to me. The sign said Coming Soon and I really hope it's sooner than later.

Go to The Un Mom for more.

Irish Eyes Aren't Always Smiling

Last night I had a dream about a guy I dated several years ago (obviously). He not only broke my heart but he ripped it out, stomped on it and made it hard for awhile. He was a widower with two children, two jobs and--I later found out--two other girlfriends. That news really threw me considering we saw each other about four times a week and he worked at least two other nights. How he juggled the three of us is still something I can't figure out.

He's an Irish guy who I met while in an Irish bar. My friends loved him and I did, too. In hindsight there were things I should have questioned. Once I was home with his daughter while he and his son were at a baseball game. His ex-girlfriend who I found out wasn't really a former girlfriend at all called. When I asked Boyfriend why she would call, he said that she got close to the kids while they dated and sometimes she watched the children (mind you, she never watched them when we went out). One night another woman unexpectedly stopped by and seemed very shocked to see Boyfriend, two children and me eating dinner together and nervously mumbled something about his son's school. Later I asked Boyfriend why she stopped by and he said that their children attended school together and that she's a little over-protective. Okay, so maybe I was just blind or stupid but it didn't occur to me that he was having relationships with these twowomen.

He broke up with me while we were away on a short trip together. It's fun to fly home with someone you're no longer seeing (where's that sarcasm font?). When I arrived home, I called a friend and she asked if we got engaged while we were away and I had to tell her a few times that we broke up. She didn't believe me so I finally said, "Listen, I was in the room, I know what happened--he dumped me." I was devastated. For a time I was upset about all things Irish: my last name, U2, Van Morrison, good beer, Notre Dame, etc.

So...in my dream I'm in an Irish bar and Boyfriend came up the steps behind me. Someone bought two rounds for the bar so I had two glasses of wine in front of me (but I guess because it's an Irish bar I had two pint glasses filled with wine! Yowza...). We chatted. I asked about his kids. Oddly enough, even in dreamland I did the math correctly and realized his son is now 22 and daughter is 20. He told me his son has four daughters and the whole gang is now living in the states (he had moved back to Ireland). It was a rather long conversation (for dreamtime) and I think I met a new girlfriend/wife but he never introduced us (even in my sleep he doesn't mention women in his life!) and shushed her when she tried to join in the conversation. While we were talking I was thinking he hasn't inquired at all about my life and it's been more than 13 years since we've seen each other...but then it occurred to me he never really was interested in me, was he?

As I reached for my pint o'wine, I noticed there was a snake in the glass and woke up as the snake was hissing at me. My first thought this morning was "yes, Boyfriend was a snake" and was very happy to see Donnie at my side.

Timing is everything

Yesterday I picked Bug up at school and because rain was in the forecast and there were a few sprinkles (or raindroppings as Bug says) we decided it was a good day to bake cookies.


When we got home, Bug ran to get his rocket apron. I love that he must wear this apron (to be read using a robotic voice) while cooking or baking. So we set off to mix up our egg-free/peanut-free cookies.


A short time later while Bug was planted in his Elmo chair, eating a cookie and watching TV, there was a knock at the door with a just dropped off UPS package waiting for us. A girlfriend of mine sent this:The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious. I don't think we'll wait for a rainy day to bake again...

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I'm taking the bus home from work these days and that means reading time also a little bit of wobbly tummy from motion reading but I'm working on that!

Bug has a love/hate relationship with his bathtime. He's overly dramatic not too eager to get in the tub but then refuses to get out (I imagine this is the way with many kids--as a child I wanted to take a bath IF I could wear my swimsuit--I specifically remember being allowed to wear it once). The only way I can get him out of the tub is to tell him he's used up all the hot water and then sneakily shut off the tap. When he feels the cold water, he's ready to get out.

Yesterday for the first time I heard "Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light." It was sung to me with Bug playing the accordian and J (best buddy) playing a guitar. Then, in true Springsteen form, Bug thanked me for "coming out tonight."

I rarely travel for work but next month I've got two trips...Boston and Puerto Rico. And when I'm in Puerto Rico I'm also supposed to be at jury duty.

Still patiently waiting for fall to arrive. I can't wait to feel the crisp air!

Blogger and I seem to be having some bumps in our relationship. Like so many couples, it's a communication issue. Here's an example: I keep hitting "enter" and the spacing is a surpise. Blogger doesn't listen or respond. Who knows how this will actually end up looking...either one big paragraph or 8 blank lines between sentences (but for the record I have spaces between paragraphs RIGHT NOW) and spell check is apparently on strike so apologies for any glaring mistakes that I'm too lazy to actually look for and correct.

Head over to The Un Mom for more randomness.

F-Bomb Friday: the Stayfree, Carefree Edition

The other day I had to go to the grocery store and decided to take Bug after school. He LOVES grocery shopping and is surprisingly helpful in the store. He likes to eat so I think he takes the shopping role seriously when food is involved. As usual, I had my cart and he had his mini-cart and all was going well until...

Bug crashed his cart into a free-standing display. Stayfree mini-pads, maxi-pads and Carefree panty shields went flying into the aisle.

We moved pretty fast to clean up the area. I really didn't want to hear "Clean Up Aisle 6" over the loudspeaker. And then we moved even faster to get outta the store.

Amanda is hosting F-Bomb today so check it out.

cooking oil = oil spill

Bug was helping me cook this weekend. I had a measuring cup with oil and asked him to pour the oil in the bowl. He made sure all the oil got in the bowl and said:

"Oil...just like the oil spill in the water."

So that explained why he was so careful while pouring.

He heard about the oil spill at preschool. Hmmmm, guess we should start talking about current events at home instead of watching Curious George.

Dear Someone

Dear Bug,

I can't be sure but I'm fairly certain that you didn't see Oprah at Target this weekend.

Love,
Mommy

Dear World,

Any chance we could get a few more hours in a day every once in awhile? I wouldn't mind using the extra time to be productive (there's always something on my to do list that isn't done) and I REALLY wouldn't mind using it to get more sleep.

Signed,
Tired

Dear Bug,

I'm glad you're excited for your busy day: school, dentist appointment and a visit to Mommy's office. My fingers are crossed for the dentist appointment and just a gentle reminder that he's my dentist, too, and I have an appointment coming up.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Fall,

Are you coming soon?

Signed,
Autumn lover

Visit Amanda at Family of Shorts for more letters.

WW...word of the day

Ahhhhh...