Spending Money We Don't Have

So, if you read Chris' blog, you know that we are not going to Las Vegas and I probably won't be seeing The Police afterall. We really are flat broke and in debt.

Which is why I joined a gym today.

Seriously, I am completely in knots about this. Truth be told, by the end of the year, with the family membership I purchased, we will have spent as much on the gym as we would have for the two of us to go to LV and see The Police. This is still money we don't have. Why do I do this?

Well, it comes down to several things. First, Chris and I need to exercise. Period. We are generally lazy and prefer hobbies that are fairly sedentary. This is not working well for our kids, nor do we feel it sets a good example. We don't want to ruin them before they even go to school.

And honestly, we both don't mind exercising, as long as it is fun. For years, we have said that we want to join a swim and raquet club, because I love to swim, and Chris loves to play raquetball. And we both like to do the other thing as well. But those places are expensive... and they generally don't have much for the younger set.

Now a new gym is opening in Cary, and it has pools (indoor and outdoor), courts (raquetball, squash, and basketball) and all the normal gym accoutrements. It also has a large child care area. It's expensive (a bit pricier than the Y), but it's luxurious, and that alone will (hopefully) motivate me to go back again and again.

It doesn't open until May, and we have 30 days to try it and see if we can really squeeze our money's worth out of it. Our hope is that it will give us opportunities for more family time, despite the fact that in some cases (anything not pool-related), we will be plopping them in child care... again... like we do five days a week. I wonder if I even want to be a parent sometimes. Here I am, trying to do something that will set a good example AND make me healthier, and yet all it seems to be doing is pushing the kids into someone else's care... again.

But then again, Athena will run around like a monkey in the playground... and does she really need me there to enjoy that? I don't know.

If you are wondering how we will pay for this... well, so are we. We will probably pre-sell half of our hockey season next year. The only reason I'm not talking about selling off the whole thing is because we already paid about 50% in three years ago during the lock-out. This is the final year of our commitment (our money from that season has been earning interest for us) and if this gym thing works out, we may give up our treasured third-row seats forever.

Daycare costs are going down for us, since Athena is moving up into the "potty-trained room" this year, so that will help as well. And we are going to give up eating out as much and also cut back on our power use, if possible. We are so horrible about leaving lights on and random shit we never use plugged in all the time.

Hopefully that will equal more than what we are throwing at this fitness center and we can actually afford to keep the kids in clothes and shoes.

And what's in this for you, dear reader? Why, perhaps I will be able to compete with Amy's naked locker room stories... one can only hope not.

The Hat and Other Cuteness

Our hat arrived from Jessey's sweatshop! And isn't it cute?! He received many compliments on it today.

And look at our other cutie. I'm really glad I got this picture, because this is my favorite sweater. Or at least it WAS my favorite until they had spaghetti today. Let's hope the Oxi-Clean can knock out that stuff again...

The First to Hit the Big 03

Aiden turned three a couple of weeks ago and we were fortunate enough to be his exclusive guests at the Festival of Threehood.

First, Athena and I made a cake. She sported her new apron and hat. It actually made her a better chef. Honestly. Truly. Okay, so really, it just made her cuter.



Wow, my kitchen looks junky. Please ignore the clutter...

Then we iced the cake. She was really impressively careful about it. Not that we're ready to audition for Martha Stewart or anything, but she did well...



Then we wrote on the cake. Well, Mommy wrote. Athena just got to eat "icing worms" that I squeezed out onto her finger. And yes, I cheated and used store-bought frosting and icing. The cake was good. When they get older, I'll be better about not cheating...



And this is the birthday boy with his giftie. He and Athena "shared" the toy, which translates roughly into, "Athena bullied him into letting her use the Aquadoodle Pen while he was relegated to the bowl of water, until she saw how you could make handprints using the bowl of water, at which point, she shoved the pen back in his hand and took over the bowl."

The Police - Plan of Attack

I am going to join the fan club to get access to pre-ticket sales. I'm going to buy tickets for the June 15th show in Las Vegas. I haven't even told Chris this yet. But we're going to Vegas, baby!

I can get four tickets. Who is in?

A Pox on Your House!

Okay, two housekeeping items to get out of the way.

1) I will totally post pics of Aiden's third birthday. I don't have many... and none from Bullwinkles where we went for dinner. (I forgot the camera). But really, they just ooooooed and ahhhhhhhhed at the dancing fountains while the grownups choked down bad food. I just haven't had a chance to download the pics of Athena and me making the cake, and that's the bulk of the pics I have.

2) I will totally post pics of Marcus' brand new, hand crocheted hat that is on it's way here from Arizona as soon as I get it. Hurricane's colors and all. Cannot WAIT.

Now, on to the meat of the post.

There are three infants in Marcus' daycare class. All of them are about the same age and will be moving up to the Wobbler room next month (Wobblers are 12-18 month-olds). I'm hoping that they will all get along and be great friends, forming a rival gang to Athena's posse (split up temporarily as Aiden and Kaeley have already moved on the the threes, but Natalie and Athena don't go until May).

Of course, I wished for that lovely scenario until I realized today that good friends share. And one of the babies in Marcus' class has chicken pox. And Marcus gets his chicken pox immunization in ONE MONTH. And chicken pox is VERY contagious. And it is contagious 1-2 days BEFORE the bumps appear. And this kid just got his bumps today or yesterday (I didn't read the whole information sheet). So the only saving grace is 1-2 days ago was Saturday or Sunday, unless the bumps actually appeared over the weekend sometime, in which case, we're screwed. Here's the best news from the article I linked you to:

Children under one year of age whose mothers have had chickenpox are not very likely to catch it. If they do, they often have mild cases because they retain partial immunity from their mothers' blood.

I had a mad case when I was five. Which was great because I got out of kindergarten for a week. So I've had it and clearly remember the misery of the itching followed by the sheer boredom of those last days when you are waiting for the damn dots to disappear.

But the bad news is, he most certainly will have it. It's so contagious, and these three kids spend LOTS of time together... all up in each others' stuff. If he dodges this bullet, then I'm going to have to start calling him Callel.

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle...

At the beginning of the year, I started using a new (to me) time management system. I was beyond fed up with myself... forgetting appointments, commitments, and tasks all the time, feeling disorganized and discombobulated always, and not having any sort of grasp on how much work I needed to get done.

I chose Julie Morgenstern's Time Management From the Inside Out, in which she compares time management to organizing a closet... everything has its place, and if you respect that place, you will find you have more time in your day.

I've been using her system (or a variation of it at least) for over a month now. Just the fact that I've stuck with it is a testament to how well it's going. But I have to just shout out from the mountaintop how much happier I am since I started using this. I've stopped worrying about what I might have forgotten... I get WAY more done each day than I ever have, and I am even finding more time to read and to cross stitch.

The worst part about implementing this system is discovering how much I procrastinate. I knew that I often put off tasks that I was scared of... or didn't want to do. But I didn't realize just how LONG I procrastinated and I had no idea that if I would just DO those things, then it really wasn't so bad.

Anyway, I didn't set out to write an especially exciting post tonight, but I did want to celebrate my success. Hooray!

Paaaaaar Tay!

Well, it's just like I'm 21 all over again. This weekend, I had THREE, count 'em, THREE parties to attend. On Friday, I went to the retirement soiree of a library employee. Tonight, I dragged the whole family to Jen's going away party with the old library crew (although she's not going far... just to be a reference librarian at a local women's college), and tomorrow we are going to a Superbowl party. PLUS I am working this weekend. Whew! I am way too old for this.

I seriously cannot remember the last time I had three engagements in one weekend. I'm all a-twitter. Granted, two were sort of work-related, but they have been fun. If this keeps up, I'll have to get an agent to schedule my bookings!

Hmmmm... that made it sound like I'm jumping out of the cake at these functions, didn't it?

I Love You So Much I Have to Poison You; or, Amoxycillan Is the Devil

Okay... I have to come clean here... I knew that the medicine was making Marcus even more miserable. I could tell. He was grouchy ALL the time, and he had been taking medicine for five days. He should have been getting better. But... it's medicine, and I have to get rid of the ear infection, right? So I kept giving it to him.

I was actually glad when daycare called yesterday and told us he had broken out in a rash that covered his whole body. This is the same reaction I get when I take any "-cillin" drug. Allergies. Gotta love 'em.

So Chris called and got him Zithromax instead. He put Marcus in his crib at 5pm last night with no dinner because the little guy was clearly tired. Chris also knew we'd be getting new medicine, so we'd have to wake him for that anyway, and we could feed him then.

When I got home from work, I read the bottle. "Can be taken with or without food," it said. (HOORAY! No tummy aches!) "1 tsp every day for three days," it said. (HOORAY! The evil stuff was 1 tsp. twice a day for ten days!) And finally it said, "Use enclosed dropper." (HOORAY! No more forcing Marcus to drink from a shot glass!) Makes me wonder why we can't just start with this stuff.

So... since he only needs it once a day, I decided not to wake him. Let him sleep. The poor guy needed it.

Did he ever!

14.5 hours later at 7:30 am, he woke up. He was whimpering a bit in his crib, and I'm glad he was, because I was about to go put a mirror under his nose. When I opened his door to say good morning, he popped one of those killer smiles. He had not smiled since Wednesday, I think. It was a glorious vision. Angels sang. And I don't even really believe in angels. It was that good.

Daycare reported that he slept for a total of five hours today. Then, when we got him home, he couldn't keep his eyes open past 5:30. We gave him a bottle, but he only took half. My biggest concern at the moment is hydration. His diapers have been pretty dry, and I'm having trouble getting fluids in him. But overall, he is quite a bit better than yesterday. I'm so glad to finally be seeing improvement.

Da Do Do Do, Da Da Da Da

Best. News. Ever.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070130/en_nm/grammys_police_dc;_ylt=AqO1qv7TxhcK7jzvMLP4pZFb.nQA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

And did you see that mention of a possible REUNION TOUR?! I am so there.

Okay, and here is where you will either think I'm a goob or a dork.

The Grammys are February 11. That is the day in 1984 that I met Andy Summers in person. He was doing a book signing. My friend and I couldn't afford his book, but we got to sort of sneak through with someone who bought a few copies. I was thirteen. Ever since then, February 11 has been a very good/lucky day for me. It actually was the day of my first kiss in 1985. It's also right around the time Chris started courting me.

Man. How cool is that? (And if you don't think that I am a dork yet, then let me share that I, too, collect state quarters...)

Waiting to Zonk

Ah, illness. Such a fantastic blog topic. But when it happens, it's really all you can talk about, isn't it?

Athena gave Marcus and me her cold. Marcus has decided that a cold isn't good enough for him, so he has the nasty infection of the ear. Athena waited until after she turned one to get her first (and only... knock wood) ear infection. Marcus is such an over-achiever!

But considering his constitution, I wasn't surprised at how well he handled his doctor visit today. And actually all the subsequent activities. The little guy is gasping for breath because he is in such pain. But he barely cried the whole time we were out. He only whimpered here and there... most particularly when I would wake him from the sleep he had managed to achieve... first on my shoulder in the exam room (had to wake him when the doctor came in), in the car seat during the 30 second ride to the drug store (had to wake him to go in), when they called our name that his medicine was ready (it wasn't... they just wanted me to pay before they mixed it), when they called our name because his medicine was REALLY ready, and then finally when we got home... twice. Once to get him out of the car, and once to give him his medicine. In the two minutes it took me to pour out the medicine (he now gets the same dose a two year old child would get!!!!), he had taken off his socks and zonked belly down on the carpet in the den right in front of the TV, which was blasting Dora at the time.

I put him down at 5:30 and there has been narry a snuffle from him. I have the Motrin upstairs at the ready in case he awakes in the middle of the night. But I have taken a Sudafed (the REAL kind that they have to keep behind the counter now in case I wanted to buy a case and make Crystal Meth in my kitchen) so I may not hear him if he does. I was trying to avoid medicating myself for precisely this reason, but when I tried to lie down about an hour ago, the pressure in my head was too much.

So here I sit... waiting for it to hit me. Waiting... waiting... *sigh*

Look Familiar?

Athena found daddy's skull cap for his hockey gear Monday night when we were hanging out. I had to take pictures because she reminded me of someone. Anyone come to mind?

I'll give you a hint:

Been to a mall or convenience store lately?

Smoochie Boochie!

Creepy, isn't it?

Farewell, Old Friend

I had minor oral surgery today. I had some sort of cyst or tumor (they are giving it the old biopsy to be sure -- but they are 99% sure it's benign) that has been under my gum tissue, on top of the bone for at least 15 years now. I've been living with it since college. It didn't hurt. Never really bothered me. I just knew it as "the lump in my gum."

It was below "number 19" for those of you who minored in dentistry. For the rest of us, that's on the lower left set of teeth, around the middle. I went to the dentist last week, and they noticed it had changed a bit (which it has not done in the past 15 years, really) so they sent me to the oral surgeon. He extracted it, leaving me with a hole in my gum, some gauze, and a little bottle of Hydrocodone. I came home, took four Advil, took a nap, and woke up with a bit of pain, but nothing serious. I decided to wait until Chris's mom got here for dinner before I took the good stuff. I prefer not to take the really powerful stuff as I am kind of anti-drugs in general (although trust me... I do take them when I need to).

So I've taken the good stuff, I've put the kids to bed. And now I'm hanging out waiting for the drowsy to kick in. I don't think it's going to. But I'm waiting anyway. At least the pain is gone.

I'm supposed to keep gauze on it for 24 hours. But I've discovered that the gauze just makes it hurt. So Chris called a friend who is an EMT. Here was our conversation:

Mommy Librarian: So I took the gauze out so I could eat.

EMT: Uh huh

ML: And it felt fine

EMT: Yeah

ML: So then I put the gauze back in and it started to hurt. Bad.

EMT: Then take it out.

ML: What?

EMT: If it hurts, stop doing it!

ML: Oh

The man is brilliant, I'm telling you.

He went on to explain that if the gauze was irritating it, then there was no point in using it. It would just stay inflamed and angry. So, I'm gauzeless and loving it.

It's going to be weird not to have that lump in my gum anymore. They told me what the thing looked like. I almost asked to see it, but then I thought it might just gross me out. Still, it all felt a bit weird... I've lived with it for so long.

What a way to spend my holiday, eh? Back to the grind tomorrow... all puns intended.

How to Lose Friends and Piss People Off

So we went over to Aiden's house tonight. It's been a long time since we've given the little munchkins a playdate, and Kathryn and I have long weekends this week (YAY government jobs!) so we figured we would have the energy. Upon planning this fiesta, we determined that we should do it at her place, since I had just had her over for a Pampered Chef party Friday night (at which she bought stuff... so it's not like I didn't get anything in return). But... since her place is so much cleaner than ours, I like to go there. It's like going on vacation.

Too bad we can never go back.

It all started innocently enough. Marcus was cute. Aiden and Athena played outside. The boys cooked on the grill (well, John cooked... Chris hung out) while they watched the football game. Kathryn and I lounged about (she's pregnant, and I get to lounge by default) while we watched Marcus eat Goldfish crackers and play with a Barrel of Monkeys (Best. Toy. Ever.). We ate dinner, we enjoyed each others' company, and the kids were generally very good. Even ours.

After dinner, Kathryn and I headed to Fresh Market to forage for dessert. Came back to find Athena shedding her pants. "Do you need to go potty?" I asked, expecting the normal, "NO!" Instead, she went and got a book, and trotted off to the bathroom. SWEET! Doesn't sound bad yet? Just wait.

She actually went to the potty... signaling that this evening was going WAY too well to last. We changed Marcus' stinky diaper and got him into pajamas (which is very similar to catching a greased pig, incidentally). Chris made him a bottle, and I sat down in one of those really deep chairs (with ottoman) to feed him while Chris moved back to the alter (HUGE flat-screen tv on which a football game was transpiring) in the den. John and Kathryn set about cutting the cake and distributing it. That's when Athena seized her moment.

The next bit was all slow motion to me. I'll try to portray it as I saw it.

Marcus is happily guzzling his bottle. I watch his cute little cheeks puffing at the effort.
I glance up.
I see Athena on a stool in front of the fish tank.
I see her arm go up.
I start to try to get up from the chair.
I see her lift the lid.
I start to sternly admonish, "nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
Her other arm goes up.
Oh my God, it's the fish food!
"oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
Dump - oh yes... the whole thing
Fish go apeshit.
John and Kathryn turn to see what she has done. I can't even lie about it now, as there she stands, one hand on the fishtank lid, the other clutching the empty canister of fish food.

Athena... completely unaware that she has probably just killed about eight fish, goes to play with Aiden's cool helmet with the microphone in it. I realize that there is absolutely nothing in my skill set that I can do to make this better. I eat cake instead.

Meanwhile, John and Kathryn are rushing about trying to get the fish into some clean water so they (read: John) can clean the tank. Meanwhile, Marcus fills ANOTHER diaper and I have no more with me (who knew the boy would need two diapers in thirty minutes? I suppose most mothers would prepare... but not me). Fortunately, Kathryn has an extra in his size. So not only do we kill their fish (the fish are not actually dead... yet... please keep them in your thoughts and prayers) but we deplete their diaper supply. I believe I owe them a box of diapers by now, as this happens about every third time we come over. And soon, I may owe them a tank of fish.

And I wondered why it had been so long since we last got together. I expect they'll be calling us again, say, when Athena is in college.

Let Me Get This Straight

The Wall Street Journal published a piece about libraries the other day. I would like to take this opportunity to respond. I wish I could reproduce the whole article here for you, but that would violate copyright, and we all know how I feel about that. So I shall quote a lot of it. My citation is incomplete (read "nonexistent" at the moment, but I will edit it later). It appeared in the 1/3 paper I believe, and was written by Mr. John J. Miller. His words are in italics...

Full Citation: In the Fray: Should Libraries' Target Audience Be Cheapskates With Mass-Market Tastes? John J. Miller. Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jan 3, 2007. p. D.9

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" may be one of Ernest Hemingway's best- known books, but it isn't exactly flying off the shelves in northern Virginia these days. Precisely nobody has checked out a copy from the Fairfax County Public Library system in the past two years.

I say, does this surprise you? Who reads Hemingway anymore?

And now the bell may toll for Hemingway. ... If titles remain untouched for two years, they may be discarded -- permanently.

Well, yes. No one has read it, so why exactly should one keep it?

Library officials explain, not unreasonably, that their shelf space is limited and that they want to satisfy the demands of the public. Every unpopular book that's removed from circulation, after all, creates room for a new page-turner by John Grisham, David Baldacci, or James Patterson -- the authors of the three most checked-out books in Fairfax County last month.

But this raises a fundamental question: What are libraries for? Are they cultural storehouses that contain the best that has been thought and said? Or are they more like actual stores, responding to whatever fickle taste or Mitch Albom tearjerker is all the rage at this very moment?

If the answer is the latter, then why must we have government-run libraries at all? There's a fine line between an institution that aims to edify the public and one that merely uses tax dollars to subsidize the recreational habits of bookworms.

Okay, wait just a second. So... if people are reading books from the library, but they aren't Hemingway (or Proust, or Hardy) and they LIKE those books, then why do it? Are you saying that government entities should not exist for recreation? Hmmmm... I imagine there is a whole Parks service that may see that a bit differently.

Perhaps [Fairfax County is] inadvertently highlighting the fact that libraries themselves are becoming outmoded.

Uh, what?

There was a time when virtually every library was a cultural repository holding priceless volumes. Imagine how much richer our historical and literary record would be if a single library full of unique volumes -- the fabled Royal Library of Alexandria, in Egypt -- had survived to the present day.

Okay, first... there is this place called the Library of Congress. It has a lot of stuff in it. You should check it out (if I may use the phrase).

And second, this is REALLY hypothetical, dude. Are you trying to put forth that if the Library in Alexandria had survived, we would be better off? That if we had held on to a whole lot of papers that no one was reading anymore until they disintegrated... we would be living in some sort of Utopia now? And that all those papers were worth reading? Okay... I think that's a stretch, but I'll bite, as I'm just curious where this is going.

Carnegie always credited his success in business to the fact that he could borrow books from private libraries while he was growing up. His philanthropy meant to provide similar opportunities to later generations. ...

It has never been easier or cheaper to read a book, and the costs of reading probably will do nothing but drop further...

YAY! Books are cheap! This is good, right?!

If public libraries attempt to compete in this environment, they will increasingly be seen for what Fairfax County apparently envisions them to be: welfare programs for middle-class readers who would rather borrow Nelson DeMille's newest potboiler than spend a few dollars for it at their local Wal-Mart.

My head... it's hurting... Please... don't go where I think you are going, man.

Instead of embracing this doomed model, libraries might seek to differentiate themselves among the many options readers now have, using a good dictionary as the model. Such a dictionary doesn't merely describe the words of a language -- it provides proper spelling, pronunciation and usage. New words come in and old ones go out, but a reliable lexicon becomes a foundation of linguistic stability and coherence. Likewise, libraries should seek to shore up the culture against the eroding force of trends.

AAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH! You totally went there! You WENT there. May I remind you that Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Poe... they were all writing serial novels? They were POPULAR READING! Some were even, dare I say, considered substandard for a while. There was little that marked them as much more than... well... TRENDS!

The particulars of this task will fall upon the shoulders of individual librarians, who should welcome the opportunity to discriminate between the good and the bad, the timeless and the ephemeral, as librarians traditionally have done...

You mean, "censor?" And exactly what tradition is this? Librarians have been pushing the right to read and Freedom of Information for decades now. How old are you, man?

They ought to regard themselves as not just experts in the arcane ways of the Dewey Decimal System, but as teachers, advisers and guardians of an intellectual inheritance.

Well, at least you support my desire to be an expert in the Dewey Decimal System. After all, that's why I went to library school, right?

The alternative is for them to morph into clerks who fill their shelves with whatever their "customers" want, much as stock boys at grocery stores do. Both libraries and the public, however, would be ill-served by such a Faustian bargain.

So, by "Faustian bargain," do you mean "spending your tax dollars on things you want to read rather than on things that I think you should read?" Because personally, I'm usually looking for my government, whether it be local, state, or federal, to actually do something that I WANT them to do with my tax money, and give me something that I will actually use. But maybe that's just me.

That's a reference, by the way, to one of literature's great antiheroes. Good luck finding Christopher Marlowe's play about him in a Fairfax County library: "Doctor Faustus" has survived for more than four centuries, but it apparently hasn't been checked out in the past 24 months.

Dare I suggest that you consider going to Fairfax Library and CHECKING THE FREAKING BOOKS OUT IF YOU CARE SO MUCH?! Or would that be too arcane for you? Or wait... it's not your job, right? It's mine! Might I remind you that you are the patron and if you wish for the library to keep a book for the betterment of your community, you can let them know that by READING THE DAMN THING!

Sheesh.

Christmas Album

I'm experimenting with Picasa's Web Album feature. Hope this works...

Christmas 2006

The Haul

Jessey requested a run-down, so here are the highlights:

• Two necklaces (I am shamefully short on jewelry and have only recently discoverd I enjoy wearing necklaces).
• A purse that is made of a zipper (my mom bought it from a street vendor in South America... Brazil, I think. It's really cool... like one of those puzzle rings)
• Clothes from my sister
• A suit from my mother-in-law (actually, she went in on it with me a few months ago)
• An Animal (muppets) keychain and notecards
• A noteholder and letter opener (something I REALLY needed, actually)
• An iTunes gift certificate (to date, I have purchased some Fergie, some Timberlake, some Eminem, some Weird Al, some Belafonte, some You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and that "I Like to Move It" song from Madagascar (the movie, not the place). How is THAT for eclectic?

My mom bought us a joint gift... a framed picture from the Stanley Cup Finals Celebration. The coolest part is you can actually see us in the picture. We're still talking about the best place to hang it.

Chris got Guitar Hero II (from me), and actually it is our "funnest" gift. We have been playing it every night. We just got Guitar Hero (the first one) in the mail tonight, and I was just playing Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) when Athena crept out of her room. I just put her back in bed and I'm waiting until she is definitely asleep to resume playing.

Our house looks like Toys R Us exploded in it. Athena got a Princess Castle tent from her grandma, which she LOOOOOOOOOVES and Disney Princess (sorry, Staci!) dress up shoes, rings, and bracelets from Santa. She clops around in her shoes everywhere. Four pairs of little low-heeled shoes, and she walks like a model in them. It's kind of scary. She also got a Dora rolling backpack/suitcase from her Aunt Linda, who really wants us to come to San Fran for a visit. Marcus got several toys he can bang and chew on, and a couple he can push around the room.

Overall, we were spoiled. It was a good Christmas. And to top it off, I prepared the best food of my life. For breakfast, we had a Dream Dinner... Custard French Toast with caramel and pecans and peaches. It was lovely. Then I made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. And finally, I made a simple, but REALLY delicious (if I do say so myself) Christmas dinner... Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a Shallot-Merlot Sauce, Potato Gratin with Goat Cheese and Garlic, Fast Buttery Peas (with shallots and thyme), Crescent Rolls (a la Pillsbury) and an Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie, made completely from scratch (crust and everything).

I never brag on my cooking, but this time, I have to brag. It was a really tasty meal.

So that's the scoop. I promise to try to post more often. Things were a little hectic through the holidays, but I'm starting to come back down to Earth. I've been reading everyone else's posts, just haven't gotten around to mine! Hope you are still all out there!

The Holidays are Nigh

Well, this has been the strangest holiday... and I mean that in a good way. I feel completely in the Christmas spirit! And even if all my gifts that I'm mailing will be late (I will be mailing them tomorrow with any luck), I don't care. I'm really enjoying the holiday.

And my coworkers are too! In the last 48 hours, I've had two people tell me what a great supervisor I am, one tell me how productive I am, and one tell me how great the collection has been looking since I got to this new location. Four big kudos in two days! That has to be some sort of record.

We kicked off the gift-giving tonight with Aiden and family. Athena gave Aiden a puzzle that he has been admiring for some time, and of course she gave him his colors for joining her posse. Lavendar head wrap with unicorns. He looked totally def in it. We didn't have cameras, but we'll try to get pictures soon.

Aiden gave Marcus a toy that has a hammer which he can use to bang on these little lighty-uppy things. And he gave Athena a princess stamp set and a doctor kit (the latter for caring for his boo boos whenever she bites him).

Much fun was had by all. Athena really wants to live with Aiden though. She wanted to ride home with them ("No ride in the ESS YOU VEEEEEEEEEE! Ride in 'DIS car!"), and then when I finally got her into the Vue, she whined for Aiden the whole way to Target. Fortunately, there was enough at Target to distract her, and she finally seemed to forget about him.

We ran into Ms. Stanley at Target, and Athena claimed she didn't remember her. Ms. Stanley was in the infant room with Athena, and was there briefly for Marcus. Her last day was, coincidentally, the last day for the former director as well. She is doing well and said she really misses the kids. She clearly loved seeing Athena, although Athena wasn't quite as charming and polite as I would have hoping... scowling at her and whimpering. Sometimes having a two-year-old is very similar to having a full-grown pitt bull.

Librarian Secret #2 - Not All Things You Get on the Internet are "Internet Sources"

I worked a couple of hours on the Reference Desk today, and several high school students came to me with their questions for their homework projects. Bless their little hearts, some of them are really confused about "sources." I remember being one of them. And yet, I didn't have nearly as many choices as these kids have.

They ask me for a "Newspaper Source" for their paper on Global Warming. I start typing into the computer. They say "NO! I need a NEWSPAPER!" I explain that old newspapers fall apart, take up space, and present a HUGE fire hazard. So thanks to the "Digital Age," we have gotten rid of all of them and we have it all on the computer now.

"But NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" they cry. "My teacher said "NO INTERNET SOURCES!" Don't you have newspapers?

*sigh*

Just because you access something over the Internet, doesn't mean that it is actually an "Internet Source." There is a phenomenon called "The Deep Web." Or perhaps there is a new catchphrase for it. The information in this Deep Web costs money. And our taxpayers pay for those resources to be available.

So... if you teach children and assign them papers, or if you are a parent who will help your children with homework one day, please explain the difference between an Internet source and a database. PLEASE! These poor kids are freaking out.

Oh, and teach them not to use so many "quotation marks." It's really "irritating" to read.

Wherefore Art Thou, Mommy Librarian?

Friday, December 1: Took day off work to prepare for two holiday parties. I like to refer to this day as "The Day I Pretended to be Rich." Got my nails done, shopped at Nordstrom for something to wear to Chris' work holiday party, went to said party and enjoyed an open bar and good food (three courses plus an appetizer buffet), and Chris got his company gift... a Zune. Score.

Saturday, December 2: Spent the day preparing food for annual Caran Holiday Party, and then proceeded to have said party. Very enjoyable evening. Less attendance than normal, but good friends were there and the night was a success. I also only drank beer and found I was not exhausted at the end of the evening. I won't be drinking wine at these parties again. It clearly wears me out.

Sunday, December 3: Recouperation.

Monday, December 4: Nuthin' special.

Tuesday, December 5: Thought it was a "nuthin' special" day, until 7:30 pm when I got a call at work from home telling me that Athena split her head open and needed stitches. Spent most of the night in the ER waiting room taking turns chasing a wild, up-way-past-bedtime toddler around.

Wednesday, December 6: Work. Then met Aiden and family at Firehouse Subs (after a fun-filled trip to Target for essentials) for "Kids Eat Free (And Entertain Each Other So We Don't Have To) Night."

Thursday, December 7: work, then hockey game.

Friday, December 8: Work, then Grandma's apartment complex to meet Santa. Athena simply eyed him from across the room all evening, but that's cool. She liked the cheese. She especially liked impaling the cheese on the little toothpicks.

Saturday, December 9: Chris rearranged some furniture and assembled a bookcase so now each child has a bookcase in his or her respective room... giving me a chance to actually get a bunch of crap off the floor in both rooms and split up their belongings so they can know whose is whose (something that becomes more important by the day). Earlier in the week, I purchased some bins for downstairs as well. The toys are taking over the house. It's scary. Then we went to a holiday party... something we are becoming really good at. Someone at the party suggested we do a "Calendar Girls" type calendar featuring the librarians of our county system. She was a librarian in our system. Needless to say, there was alcohol at this party. Fortunately, we all remained dressed.

Sunday, December 10: Attended... wait for it... a holiday party for my old library in Garner. Athena and I attended to participate in the white elephant exchange. I had been an honorary recipient of a handmade ornament we affectionately call "The Space Station" and it was time to pass it along. Athena brought a gift too, so they wouldn't know which container had the ornament. In exchange, Athena got a Billy the Big Mouth Bass, which she loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooves. Loves it. Loves. *sigh* I got a red christmas tree that resembles a boot scraper. I think I preferred "The Space Station" actually. The singing fish is in Athena's room where she can see it, but not touch/activate it.

Monday, December 11: My car died. The alternator. I'm really lucky I was able to drive it to the dealership. Fortunately, Athena was getting her stitches out, which meant Chris was still on this side of town and we were able to do some fancy footwork to get me to work and the kids to daycare. Fortunately, for a price, the good folks at Saturn were able to bring it back to life. Not only did this set us back almost a grand, but I had to get a rental car, since they didn't HAVE an alternator and had to keep the car overnight until one could arrive via Fed-Ex. The plus? I got a Jeep Cherokee for 24 hours. Love those cars. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Tuesday, December 12: Lunch with my former boss. Then a meeting for the committee which I have a strong love/hate relationship with. Then a night shift, that concluded with me learning that my friend who was expecting twins (I haven't mentioned it on this blog, so you didn't know about it) just lost them. She was about 15 weeks along. I haven't been able to talk to her... her husband talked to Chris, and now they aren't answering the phone. If I talk to her, I will be of no help, because I will just cry. If there is a service, I am going to try to attend. It's not local... but I'll do what I can.

So now you are up to date. Perhaps you see why I have not posted. I am going to bed now.

The Vampire Athena

We've been having a little problem with Athena biting her friends at daycare. Okay, honestly... it's just one friend lately. The following is a series of emails between that friend's mom and myself.

Email one:

Subject: Christmas list for Athena
From: Friend's mom

1. A sports mouthgard
2. One of those cones they put on animals after surgery
3. Lots of peanut butter
4. Picture book version of "How To Win Friends and Influence People"
5. Some fava beans and a nice Chianti (why stop at one course, when you can have the full meal?)

Don't worry Aiden still loves his Athena. We are considering picture books on how to deal masochism for him. ;-)

My reply:

Like I told your husband this morning... she only bites the ones she loves. So Aiden should feel honored. :-)

Besides, perhaps this is her way of teaching him to stand up for himself. Tough love and all.

Or, it's just her initiation ritual so he can officially be a part of her posse.

On the flip side, she totally wanted to do whatever Aiden did yesterday morning, adding another ten minutes to my tardiness to work while she poked at Chocolate Chip the Bunny.

I'm completely okay with you telling Aiden to bite her back. Or her hand, or whatever happens to be handy.

Of course, one of those cones would be REALLY funny...

By the way, I'm totally posting this email on my blog.

Her reply to me:

My coworker says her cat Belle will be done with her cone (she got fixed last week) in a few days. She also said it was adjustable and that we could have it. So just say the word ...

In the meantime I told Aiden to tell Athena that biting isn't nice. I can't bring myself to ask him to bite someone. That kind of thing could completely backfire. I can hear the judge now, "and your son tells me that you told him to bite the plaintiff."

So when does he get the colored handkerchief as a member of her posse? I'm assuming it is pink or purple with little unicorns in a check pattern. I really don't think John will let him wear it (something about it not being manly) but it would be a nice memento. Or double as a tourniquet to stop the blood flow from the latest bite. :-)

Post away, I'm sure they'll look back and remember it fondly. I know I'll look back and laugh my head off.

*********************end emails**************************

So let me just say that I just ordered the little duo a little something something for Christmas that she will love and John will hate. Stay tuned...