Random Tuesday Thoughts

Highlight of my day (it's 8:13am): I bought a hot chocolate and it was 20% off! I love unexpected little bits of joy.

Yesterday I had a call from Bug's preschool. He ate part of a cookie with egg in it. The teacher immediately gave him Benadryl and there was no need for an EpiPen. So after one week of school he came home with an Unlucky Duck report.

I seem to be struggling with some up and down, side to side and allovertheplace emotions these days. I'm calling it my new year funk and hoping it doesn't last much longer. It's really NO fun and neither am I these days.

New cookware equals more interest in cooking. I've been having fun trying new recipes with my new stuff. It makes my old kitchen a bit more interesting. I think Donnie was surprised that I wanted cookware for Christmas but explained that if I ask for it, it's okay. If it's his idea it might not be the perfect gift.

Go to The Unmom for more randomness.

faux pas after the foie gras?

Last night we attended a surprise birthday party at a swanky restaurant for a very dear friend. It was one of those birthdays that “ends in zero” so a very fun reason to celebrate…and surprised she was! Her husband said he nearly told her earlier in the week because she seemed depressed that her birthday was going to be low-key and she wanted a party. He was on the fence between spilling the beans to lift her spirits and congratulating himself on pulling it off. Ultimately, he kept mum and her reaction is what every surprise-party-thrower wants. The night was lovely, the guest of honor was happy and she had tears of joy from time to time throughout the night.

It was understood that each couple was paying their own dinner. We were to tell the waiter what orders belonged on each check. So after the cake was finished, we figured we should get the bill and get home to relieve the babysitter so Donnie asked the waiter for our check.

We followed up a couple of times but it was fifty minutes (yes, ten minutes shy of an hour!) from the initial request until we received our check. There was no “I’m sorry for the delay—we’re working on it” or anything just a disappearing trick by our waiter. When the checks were finally delivered put on a nearby table for the attendees to sort through on their own--some were duplicates, others were incorrect and at least one (ours) was nowhere to be found.


When we were finally able to get a check by repeating our order to the waiter, he said, "you don't know what it's like to be in my position." But I do. I've been a waitress before at a few different restaurants and I know it's a hard job, which is why I generally tip well (although this wasn't an issue last night--18% was automatically added on because we were part of a large group). I know that separate checks can be time consuming and annoying (but it wasn't a surprise and each couple pointed out what should be on their individual check when ordering). I know that technology can be a help and a hindrance in these situations (the waiter seemed to be having a hard time entering separate orders into the computer).

It was a fun night with a very happy birthday girl and good food...yet I feel like I left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Dear Someone

Dear Bug,

Thanks for being such a thoughtful little guy for taking care of my boo-boo. Very sweet that you not only found the band-aids but opened one and put it on my face to cover my won't go away anytime in the near future zit. The blue Curious George band-aid would be a nice distraction from the pimple.

With love,
Mommy

Dear Art Schools,

Here is Bug's self-portrait. What's that? Oh, okay, he won't quit his day job school.


Sincerely,
A girl can dream, right?

Dear Boots,

I'm so happy I found you sitting alone on the "what will become of me" sale shelf last month . You're called "chain gang" but you're really not SO bad...but bad enough. You make me smile each time I even look at you and make me feel tougher and a tad more confident when I wear you. Look out, world mama's got a new pair of shoes boots...
Love,

Happy Feet

Dear Reading Time,

Where are you? I miss you and hope to have a reunion soon. Amazon and I recently spent some quality time together and I've now got a stack of books craving attention.

I've got our date planned out: a terrific hardcover (minus the jacket, of course) or wonderful paperback and me on the couch, my jammies, a pillow, a blanket, a bottle glass of wine or mug of hot chocolate and a sleeping Bug. Ah, perfect...now I just need you!

Signed,

Eagerly waiting for your return

Dear Sinus Headache,

Go Away! Three (or four?) days is long enough.

Signed,

*#$&(@

Visit Amanda at Family of Shorts for more Dear Someone letters.

object in mirror is just as tired as she appears

It's one of those days.

If only I were a vampire, I could be sleeping all day and wouldn't even see my reflection. Although I would miss garlic.

don't hate me because I'm organized (bwhahahaha)

Oh, how I struggle trying to be organized. I should have reserved a copy of One Year to an Organized Life for me but I would rather live vicariously. However, today I'm feeling pretty good because: I folded the multiple loads of clean clothes that had become a fixture on our couch and made tonight's dinner yesterday. That should count for something, right? Please? Pretty please?


Here's the winner of the book: B at The Nabors Baby. Lemme know where I should send it and I'll get right on it, I swear!


Bug is at preschool! Highlights for Bug: seeing two trash trucks, six (really, six) school buses, two police cars and saying hello to one police officer and two city workers on the walk to school. Quite a bit of action in those few blocks this morning. Highlight for me: I mentioned to Bug's teacher that I had his EpiPen and Benadryl and without missing a beat she recited Bug's allergies to me and went through the procedures if he has a reaction. Whew, that almost made me cry.


Now I'm patiently waiting for the mail to arrive. My order from amazon should be here today and I would love to start my new book True Confections now that the clothes are folded and dinner is made.

School Daze

Tomorrow is Bug's first day of preschool. He could have started in September (2 1/2 is the minimum age) but we decided he would start in January. He started the school year at the little school and we intended he would be there until the end of the calendar year. (It's a free neighborhood school through the Dept of Parks & Rec where the parents/babysitters stay with the kids and the teacher--a former kindergarten teacher--makes everyone feel special.)


Bug loved the little school...he came home each day with an art project, sang songs to us and taught us to play Alphabet Soup. We loved the school, too, and were considering keeping Bug there until the end of the school year but it closed on October 30. We found out on October 31 when the teacher called to tell us she had just been notified that the school was closed. Just another round of budget cuts in the city.

Now it's two months later and Bug's big day is just a few hours away. I don't know what I expected...I guess I thought it would feel like a bigger day (or maybe I just wanted it to feel that way), a new beginning of sorts but it's a typical Sunday night (oh, but the tantrum tonight was extra special because Donnie put Bug in the wrong jammies and the world fell apart...sigh).

Maybe I want this to feel like a big thing for Bug because this is solo time with other kids in a structured/somewhat structured environment. Maybe I want to have this really feel like a new step in his development. Maybe I want Bug to be as excited about school tonight as he was last week. Maybe I'm feeling abnormal/bad because I don't think I'll cry when I drop him off at school tomorrow morning. (Aren't moms supposed to cry on first days anywhere?) Maybe I'm thinking I should have dropped off his forms earlier instead of carrying them with me on day 1. Maybe I'm nervous because Bug isn't potty trained (we were told it's okay, but um, y'know). Maybe I should just have a glass of wine and go to bed--tomorrow's a big day...

Who's Alec Baldwin?

Here's my year so far:


Bug slept past 8am
Donnie and I hired a babysitter, met up with friends, had lunch and saw It's Complicated (two movies for us in two weeks--this is as close to a social life as I'm going to get!)


As we were leaving the theater a man behind us said, "Who's Alec Baldwin?" I realize I may live under a rock but I know 30 Rock--and other stuff he's been in. (Tammie, if you're reading this, are you horrified that someone didn't know who Alec Baldwin is? I thought of you about 1,478 times during the movie.)