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December 30, 2005

Mysteries

Post-dinner conversation just now:

Karianna: Thank you for fixing the toilet paper dispenser in our bathroom.

Me: Um...I didn't fix it. I thought you fixed it.

Karianna: No, I didn't fix it.

[pause]

Me: Did The Cat do it?

Karianna: Cat, did you fix it?

The Cat: No.

Me: It's okay if you did. You wouldn't be in trouble. This would be a good thing.

The Cat: No. (Exits the room quickly.)

Cue spooky music.

Posted by Husband at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)

Cheers for a Happy New Year!

Thanks to Husband for guest-posting yesterday. I have been caught up in mounds of client work as I had anticipated. Several clients have prefaced their requests for updates as, “Since it is a slow time…” or “Our inventory shifts rapidly in the New Year…” Indeed, it is a “slow time” for one client vacationing who has been brainstorming new ideas and emailing them to me from the beach. But I agree that the New Year is filled with updates, new looks, resolutions, fresh starts, and other such things which lend themselves towards updated or brand-new websites.

The good news is that Husband is home to play with the kids and the additional work means some extra pocket change to cover what was already spent for the holidays. Truthfully, although there have been moments of freak-out-stress, the majority of the work has been fairly evenly paced. It has been annoying to think, “Oh, I was so productive yesterday that today maybe I’ll play with the kids and their new toys,” and then I will get an email with a list of updates. But I have gotten to sleep-in several days this week thanks to Husband, and I think I am starting the New Year off with several happy clients.

(Frankly, I probably shouldn’t mention that I do website updates. For what will be expected of this site? Ack!)

I am not a super programmer; I am self-taught in college since it was at the time novel to have one’s own site. And I have slowly added skills to my list, particularly when a client will ask for something seemingly impossible. At that point, I run to my brother or one of the actual programmers and beg for assistance. But then the next time, I know the solution to the problem.

(There are exceptions, however. One of my latest requests from an expert programmer resulted a response of “Good lord, that's some complex code- It's going to take me a while to go through their code and get familiar with it again. I wouldn't be able to say for sure whether I can even do that or not until I do that.”)

The last few days haven’t been all programming. I’ve also started knitting a small project. Maybe if it starts to look nice, I’ll Flickr it. My other hobbies these days involve reading Holiday letters, checking the “sent us a card” box on my Holiday Card Spreadsheet, vacuuming tinsel, chasing sugar-high boys, going through magazines that I hadn’t previously had time to read (alas, many contests have expired. I once won a lacy black MiracleBra and matching panties from Glamour!), trying out my new candle warmer (it doesn’t work on super large candles because the heated stuff on the bottom doesn’t create the smell on the top,) eating marshmallows for lunch, drinking Chambord margaritas for dinner, and being super-tempted by some sweet looking sales.

Meanwhile, the Cat has been rather rambunctious. We know he snagged a bit of artificial frosting on Christmas Eve (we think fairly innocently, since it was a cookie decorating project and he probably figured the frosting was okay to eat.) But also, he’s been eating sugar more frequently than usual (yes, I know that “experts “ say there is no such thing as a sugar-high, but I feel more energized and irritable after tons of sweets!) Plus, the excitement of Christmas, the letdown that it is over, along with the overwhelming desire for more presents, especially with his birthday just a few weeks away has made the Cat rather crazy. He has been overly energetic and more likely to cry. He has also been exceptionally affectionate and happy. It has been interesting to watch him try desperately to contain his enthusiasm and impulses. Sometimes he succeeds; other times, he does not.

The Cat has taken a keen interest in Spliggle’s new toys. One toy is a duplicate from his grandparents’ house. My parents had bought the Little People garage for the Cat when he was around 2 years old. He paid no attention, favoring trains. Husband and I noticed that Splig would entertain himself quietly at my parents’ playing with the garage. So, we bought him one. Suddenly, the Cat has to play with the garage! Brightly colored foam blocks for Splig? Best thing on the planet for the Cat! Little peek-a-blocks for babies? “Wow, so cool,” says Cat!

Thankfully, the Cat has also had enthusiasm for his own stash, but typically when Splig is taking a nap. (How is that for timing?)

One adorable moment came a couple days ago when the Cat asked to see Santa again. He wanted to thank Santa for all the cool presents. Nice.

In sum, this “holiday” week has been busy but productive and enjoyable. It is a good way to end out 2005. In case I don’t write before then, may all of you have a safe and enjoyable New Years, and best wishes for 2006!

Posted by karianna at 05:58 PM | Comments (1)

December 29, 2005

Loopholes

After the following happened, Karianna asked me to make this guest post to her blog.

The Cat the other night was asking for cookies and candy for most of the day. Since he clearly had eaten enough sweets, and as it was closing in on his bedtime, we started saying "no" to the increasingly persistent Cat.

Eventually The Cat came up to me again. Looking at him, I believed he was going to ask again for cookies or candy.

So before he started I declared:

"If you are about to ask a question, the words 'cookie' or 'chocolate' better not be a part of it. Understand?"

This instruction did give The Cat pause for a few seconds.

He looked at me. He looked down. I could tell his mind was working.

After a few seconds The Cat smiled. He turned back to me and asked:

"Daddy? Can I please have some white candy?"

No response could have been more perfect from The Cat's point of view.

Knowing I had been outsmarted at my own game, The Cat did indeed get a piece of the white chocolate he likes.

And many shakes of the head from his his daddy.

Posted by Husband at 08:17 AM | Comments (4)

December 25, 2005

Over Already?

Well, Christmas morning was a success! Sure, there was a bit of indifference from Splig (the leftover fries from yesterday’s lunch were more of a hit,) but even he became interested in some of his presents once we showed him how to rip. Later in the day and into the evening Splig got the hang of playing with toys.

The Cat was in full-swing for the opening and consuming of presents. This was the first year that he opened all his presents at once instead of losing interest mid-way. Thankfully, Santa brought the proper “big bridge,” along with other toys that met his approval.

The afternoon and Christmas Dinner were also exciting and wild times. From cardboard block forts, to glowy ducks, to trains and books, the evening was lots of fun. Spliggle decided to become a gymnast, spending a great chunk of time readying his body for a somersault. My dad helped him over most times, but he went on tippy-toe and pushed himself over a few times on his own.

Tomorrow will be a one-foot-in-the-water day: I know I have some things to do for clients, but I want to relax a bit as well. We’ll see how it goes. I may work hard during Splig’s nap and after-hours in favor of savoring the Christmas vacation a little bit longer while the kids are awake. I think the laundry absolutely needs to be folded, though!

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday.

Posted by karianna at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2005

Over the Top Christmas Eve!

We went to my aunt and uncle’s for Christmas Eve. My aunt had vowed to do a traditional Scandinavian feast this year (but without lutefisk, thankfully!) Still, the menu was absolutely fish-heavy, but in a delicious and satisfying way (gravlaks tasted tremendous with caviar and lefse; pickled herring on lefse was divine!) Plus there was pork for the fish-phobic. Ginger sauce (and salmon sauce) were amazing paired with the pork. Gingerbread was a great side-dish. One might think “dessert,” but in the context of the other savory foods, it made sense to include it as part of the entrée. We had difficulty identifying what the celery root was, so had to ask my aunt. Dessert was rice pudding with raspberry sauce, topped with a rosette. We had many other cookies as well.

The real event of the night was the alcohol pairings. The gravlaks course was meant to be served with champagne (we had Dom Perignon; might as well go all out!) Pork with Zinfindel. Then who-knows-what with dessert, and then the cap-off to the evening was the traditional shot-of-aquavit paired with a Christmas-weight beer. We joked that the Norwegians probably just got in their sleighs at the end of the night and the dogs just brought them home; no “drinking and driving” danger there!

We had loaded up the van with gifts for all the cousins, and ended up coming home with a van just as filled. Tomorrow morning’s opening spree is going to be crazy!

Here are some photos of the events today.

Posted by karianna at 11:46 PM | Comments (0)

Kids 4 (and Counting) - Mom 0 (but Improving)

I wrote the following Thursday night. I’ll give a brief recap at the bottom:

I am on a train heading to San Francisco for a holiday party. At home, there are messes to clean, laundry to fold, and client work to do.

It is indeed a hectic holiday season, but I have paced myself pretty well.

This evening's entertainment will be a nice time to relax, but I can’t help thinking that it would have been a bit nicer on a weekend night. I know there is work to be done still for a client before tomorrow. The excuse that it is the day before the holiday weekend and my kids aren’t in preschool wouldn’t fly, even though I have a suspicion that this client is at a holiday destination rather than in the office!

The kids have been a bit rowdy, which isn’t surprising since it has been raining and they haven’t had preschool. I had bought the Cat some art projects to do, but errands and other messes got in the way of setting up the kitchen table with glue and other potentially messy products.

Yesterday, I put Splig in his crib so that I could take a shower. Although I usually wait until his naptime, I wanted to buy some double stick tape for our Christmas cards. I wanted the assembly addressing and stamping to occur ASAP and during the valuable naptime. However, I didn't want to go to staples with grimy hair!

After my shower, I heard the cat giggling. He ran into the bathroom, replaced his grin with a serious look and solemnly announced, “He made a big, big mess. I didn’t give anything to him!"

Splig was covered in diaper cream. The crib bars were covered in cream. The cream was from the bottom shelf of the changing table, out of Splig’s reach.

The Cat then admitted he had given the cream to his brother. “That was not a good idea?” he asked, explaining that he wanted to make Splig happy.

I removed Splig from the crib after cleaning him as best as possible. As I cleaned the crib bars and changed the sheets, I heard more giggling.

This time, Splig was covered in shaving cream. I put him back in his crib to clean up the fluffy white mess in the bathroom.

I forgot that the paper towels from my diaper-cream cleaning were on the changing table. Splig unrolled them waist-high.

I wanted to just freeze the scene, take a nap, and then return to erase the chaos. But the juggling continued.

Downstairs, Splig poured out a bowl of pasta. The cat smooshed a cereal bar under a plastic ball, mashing the jelly innards on the kitchen floor. Splig squeezed his bottle over his head, pasting his hair down with chocolate milk mousse. The Cat decided to play with PlayDoh (“I will clean it up, mommy!”)

Let’s just say there is still pasta on the floor (after several rounds of cleaning, then feeding and throwing) the cereal bar has been cleaned, but PlayDoh keeps popping up in unexpected places. And before I left for my various errands, Splig had poured out a bag of corn chips onto the carpet

The good news is that 100 holiday cards have been created, signed, addressed, and mailed (even the ones to Switzerland and Tokyo!) I have more to create, but the majority are done. (And the stack of unwrapped presents is now an impressive tower on the stairs and a pile under the tree.)

And the client for whom I am busily updating has been happy with what I have produced thus far. I want to give him "one last update" before the holidays, so will do some work this evening, but then I think I can safely enjoy the weekend before continuing the revision process

Today husband was home, albeit sick. I got my hair highlighted, ran to the office to pick up mail and distribute paychecks, and delivered a CD player to my grandmother so she can listen to some holiday music. it made more sense to stay out where I was running errands than to come home before heading out to the city, so I hung out at my parents house for a bit before getting on the train

I am heading off to a holiday party for the "young" alumni of my high school alma mater. It will be the first time I have been able to go, so I am looking forward to it.

I am typing on my Treo using a portable keyboard that husband just got. I believe Santa is bringing me one too, given the excitement with which I greeted husband’s: "I could type on the train! Or in those awkward 20 minutes before picking the boys up from preschool!" Indeed, typing this way is much easier than with the tiny phone keyboard.

It has been a nice productive way to spend the train ride. I will now be off to hopefully enjoy the party.

--

Recap written 12/24/2005:

The party was indeed fun. The walk there was a bit perplexing, as the map I was given took me a circular route to get there. Thankfully, I got someone to drive me back to the train station so I wouldn’t have to navigate the rather empty streets alone.

I saw some classmates who I hadn’t seen in years, sometimes up to about ten years. The alumni relations director bought me a beer, but I promptly spilled it on my nice new Nikon D50: not the way to start out the evening! Food and conversation were great and the time flew.

When I returned home, the atmosphere was not so merry. The house was still a mess and I saw that several clients had emailed me with updates. My brother had informed me that one employee would be leaving the next day, so I would have to do the final check and other termination procedures. Our accountant wrote that he was going on vacation, so could I please send him our backup by Friday morning? Meanwhile, I had a list of things that were supposed to be entered before creating the backup for the accountant.

Long night short, at 3:15am I finally made my way upstairs. 90% of my work had been done and the house was clean. (I should note that Husband helped me clean once the Cat had gone to bed. Also, Husband would like me to mention that the cake he baked for my mom’s 60th was made from scratch, as was the frosting: no box for that man!)

I did 5% of my work the next day, but the other 5% simply didn’t get done. In the case of one client, I will email him with the update Monday. In the case of another client, she didn’t call me back after I had some questions, so I cannot proceed.

Although I definitely have some items on my to-do list, I will push them aside until Monday so that I can enjoy the holiday weekend. I did the final five Christmas cards yesterday that will be mailed today. The Cat and I made some peppermint bark last night that turned out fabulously, so we may buy more chocolate to make more this afternoon. Then it will be off to spend Christmas Eve with eleven children and at least sixteen adults.

Merry Night Before Christmas!

Posted by karianna at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)

December 18, 2005

Mission Accomplished!

My mom turned 60 last week. Just now, we hosted a party to celebrate. It was much better than I expected. Husband steam cleaned away the evidence of our highly trafficked route through the living room from the front door to the kitchen, the errant boy-puddles of various substances, and the seasonal bits of garland and pine-needle-mush. I half made half bought appetizers. Half of the batch of spinach-artichoke dip that I made and froze two weeks ago was perfect warmed up. I made potato-dill-salmon.

Husband made a delicious cake. He made icing that part-way through he realized was going to be vanilla instead of lemon, but it turned out fabulously nonetheless. I cleaned the kitchen several times. Husband cleaned the kitchen several times. We both picked up clutter and vacuumed. Several Times.

Spliggle accompanied me on grocery shopping because it was easier to shop with a seventeen month old than it would be to leave him to mess up the house.

Garland strung, ornaments re-hung and positioned straight, presents re-stacked, toys organized. Food organized, bought, and prepared. Drink menu compiled and printed.

The operation was a success! My mom enjoyed herself, as did the guests. The Cat had been looking forward to the party for days, cheerfully announcing, “Happy Birthday Grandma!” when she arrived. He had already recommended calling her several times to “remind” her to come to her own party. His eagerness was adorable. Splig napped at an opportune time as the last minute details were accomplished, but surprisingly crashed shortly after the party started, only a half hour after he awakened from his rest. It was for the best I think, given his chaos-potential. He was adorable, and then fell asleep: perfect for a baby.

Now I have to realign my mindset: the next few days will be all about an important client who wants some things done before the New Year. It is time to impress on that front, and then enjoy myself next weekend for Christmas. Thankfully, I am not responsible for anything over the weekend (aside from the obvious, the shopping and wrapping for which has been completed), so it should be enjoyable.

Poor Santa had purchased some nice presents a couple months ago thinking that he was being efficient, but the Cat then has made it perfectly clear that a “big black bridge” is the ultimate gift. Santa misheard, thinking it was a “big green bridge,” given the Cat’s love of the color green, but the Cat has since corrected him. Alas, Santa has only found a dark blue bridge and is hoping this is that which the Cat wants. Meanwhile, the Cat has covered his face in icing to create a mustache and beard to look like Santa, and has requested a shiny red nose to approximate Rudolph. The season is in full swing for the Cat for the first year ever.

Posted by karianna at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2005

Organic Versus Oreos

Melissa over at Suburban Bliss posted about parents overly concerned with food their children might be exposed to in school. She states (first quoted in Parents magazine) "I'm always amazed when I hear parents obsessing over what kids had for a snack. I worry about bigger issues, like what he's learning - not whether he ate a [stupid fucking] cookie." And (in her post today) “If you're eating healthy at home, will it really matter all that much if your child has a banana muffin with GASP chocolate chips while he's at school?”

For the most part I agree. There are definitely things more important than what types of snacks parents bring to school. But on the other hand, I have some concerns.

In our local school district, they misinterpreted a law and ended up stating that parents could not bring homemade treats to school. (The actual law involves food that will be sold. That in itself I find issue with given that a bake sale is more fun with homemade goods than with stuff you can just buy at the corner market!) The official school snack policy states that food must be prepackaged. By definition, this means the higher fat, high preservative stuff.

One of my friends wanted to bring fruit and other healthy things to her son’s classroom, but since it wasn’t a prepackaged HandiSnack, she wasn’t allowed to do it. In this case, the children automatically end up eating crap every day. Their at-home eating habits may be different. However, I don’t like that the element of choice is taken away. The kids are given a snack every day by a parent. And this parent must only bring individually pre-packaged food.

Since the Cat follows the Feingold Diet, I have concerns about the policy of parents bringing the daily snack. I cannot “monitor” what other parents bring (and wouldn’t want to!), and the prepackaged snacks that are deemed acceptable for school policy are not allowed on the Feingold Diet because of the preservatives.

In response to Melissa’s post, Taamar wrote the following:

My son goes to school with a kid who is using the Feingold diet to control his ADHD. When it was my turn to go in with a snack and a book to read I made cookies, and the kids mother piously said "None for Michael, he can't eat normal foods". I about flipped at her for her attitude, but I smiled and said (within her childs hearing), "Everything in these cookies is Feingold safe, I'll be happy to give you the list of ingredients and brands I used if you'd like."

The bitch looked disappointed! I'd taken away the 'specialness' of her child and provided him with a treat that didn't come directly from her, and she was upset about it! Meanwhile, the little boy was thrilled to be able to have the same treat as his friends. Poor kid will have years of therapy over this.

What she explains is exactly what I don’t want to be perceived as being. When the rest of the kids have a treat, I don’t like having to whisper to the Cat, “Sorry, I’ll get you something later. Don’t eat this. It will make you feel funny.” I do not expect other parents to be concerned with using all Feingold safe ingredients when they make treats. I don’t want to isolate my child by making a big deal about it, but I also don’t want to have him eat something that will cause us great difficulty later. I try to be subtle, but there is no winning scenario.

Usually, I am not the one telling the Cat he can’t eat the treat. The teachers have a box of Feingold-safe cookies and candies that they give him if an “unexpected” treat pops up. Ideally, I know in advance that a particular day is so-and-so’s birthday, so I’ll bring a treat for the Cat. Sometimes, I can make something that closely approximates what the other children will be receiving. But calling the parent ahead of time to find out what will be served is an awkward thing to do since I don’t want to be preachy in any way. Last year, I sent out an email to the class asking for advanced notice if people were bringing something in. That made me uncomfortable, so this year I didn’t bother.

Sometimes, well meaning parents will ask “Oh, what is he allergic to? That way I can make something he can eat!” Taamar’s parent in question is lucky that she seems to know the ingredients and brands allowed on the Feingold Diet, but the majority of people out there do not. I am uncomfortable rattling off all the things not allowed, and I would never give people a list of specific brands. Instead, I respond, “Oh, thank you for asking. Unfortunately, the list is rather extensive, so I will be happy to bring a treat for him. Do you know whether the cupcakes will be chocolate or vanilla? (etc.)”

I know this can be perceived as being self-righteous. I am not trusting that another parent can provide a “safe” treat for the Cat. I am possibly insulting the parent if he or she intends to make homemade treats: “No preservatives! No artificial flavors!” they may proclaim. But what about the artificial colored icing on top (homemade icing perhaps, but colored with food coloring)? Or that the cupcake happens to have chocolate that was preserved prior to being bought (cut up Hershey’s, for example)? My mom went into a bakery to ask them about their ingredients. They were insulted because they kept asserting that their product was made from scratch. But my mom wanted to make sure they weren’t using something like almond extract or orange zest that would have wreaked havoc for the Cat.

By refusing treats made by another parent, I am not expecting that they were not homemade or that their treats are somehow “less” than those that I bring for the Cat. Rather, I simply don’t know what ingredients went into them.

Birthday parties are uncomfortable. I hate bringing the Cat a “special lunch” and a separate piece of cake or cupcake. I do not mean to offend the hosts in any way, but what choice do I have?

I don’t revel in my child’s “specialness,” nor do I think it is fantastic that everything he eats has been prepared by me, my husband, or another family member with the Feingold list. I would love for the Cat to be able to blend into his classmates, eat what they are eating, and for me not to spend time and energy the night before making treats from scratch. Just yesterday, I brought the holiday cookies for the whole class so that the Cat could eat what the other kids were eating (with the exception of the store bought ones I picked up after I ran out of steam making homemade!)

I realize Taamar’s comment was considering a particular “bitch” who very well may be haughty about her child’s situation. My thoughts here are not meant to be a direct defense to her comment as a general statement of parents whose children have allergies. Rather, her comment brought up worries that I have as I don’t want to be perceived that way. I don’t want other parents to see the Cat as being different. I don’t want to be different than the other parents. But we are different. Not better. Different.

In the parent-brought snack scenario I described earlier, the Cat would be isolated from his classmates on all days except those in which I brought snacks (and even so, I can’t think of many prepackaged foods he can eat off the top of my head, so I might have to bring the rest of the kids something different anyway.)

To be clear, the Cat is not yet in our local school district. He begins Kindergarten next year. As I have posted before, we are considering a private school, so it may be that I won’t be dealing with the school district. Or, it may be that their snack policy will be revised by the time the Cat attends (if he does.) On the other hand, the private school we are considering has a strong focus on healthy eating, and as such feeds the kids breakfast, snack, and lunch. Although they have an organic garden and are concerned with “treat portions” versus “nourishment portions,” the great majority of foods that the Cat has difficulty with are not unhealthy per se; they contain salicylates. So a blueberry, for example, is plenty “healthy,” but just not for the Cat. The upshot is that I will have to pack a separate lunch for the Cat regardless of whether he is in private or public school.

When I attended elementary school, parent supplied treats were reserved for birthdays. The parents and/or the school weren’t responsible for feeding the children on a daily basis. It seems going back to the “you pack your own lunch” policy would eliminate a bunch of hassles since those people worried about sugar, preservatives, or allergies can be in control of what their children are eating. Of course, that doesn’t eliminate the “I’ll trade you my organic tofu sandwich for your Lunchable” conversations, but I think more parents could breathe a bit easier knowing that they are at least responsible for what is in the lunchbox as it exits the house each morning.

Posted by karianna at 02:18 PM | Comments (8)

Dishtowel

I was on hands and knees yesterday scrubbing parts of the kitchen floor. Not the entire floor was clean, but several stains were banished, particularly in front of the fridge.

Considering Murphy's Law, it is no surprise that today Spliggle poured out an entire carton of milk onto the floor. I've mopped it up, but the sticky remnants will no doubt lead to further muck to be cleaned.

But what was amusing was that once he spilled, Splig reached into the dishtowel drawer and started throwing towels on the floor. Not bad for a seventeen month old; there is hope for his cleaning skills yet!

Posted by karianna at 11:43 AM | Comments (1)

December 14, 2005

Happy Holidays Fred!

The seasonal shuffle continues! The tree has been trimmed (and re-trimmed whenever eager boys pull down sparkly ornaments,) more presents have been wrapped (still a couple to buy and a few to wrap,) snacks and serving dishes have been procured and delivered for the Board of Trustees sponsored “Faculty Treat Week” at my high school. I have baked Christmas cookies for the preschool holiday pageant, and then quickly bought a few more cookies when it was clear that I was too tired to bake any more. The Board meeting and pageant are now over, with just a big birthday bash for my Mom’s 60th left to plan and execute for Sunday. Overall, things are under control considering that holidays are meant to be hectic.

My day for “Faculty Treat Week” was yesterday. It was also a day for a Board meeting. Therefore, I ended up making the trek to my high school alma mater twice yesterday. It is over an hour away.

The morning commute to set up the snacks was an opportunity for the Cat to ride the commuter train. He had been excited about the trip for days, so it didn’t take any convincing to get out of the house yesterday morning. Carrying several serving dishes, a large bamboo bowl, two 3 pound bags of tortilla chips, eight bags of cut-up (the night before) pita bread, a jumbo jar of salsa, three containers of hummus, one jug of garlic-bacon dip, and four packets of guacamole while also pushing Spliggle’s stroller was a bit of a heavy challenge, but the Cat actually helped with the stroller pushing part.

Thankfully, the train wasn’t very crowded, so our bounty wasn’t a problem. Spliggle was quite squiggly, and ate all the food that I had packed for the entire trip just on the way to the school. Technically, food and drink isn’t allowed on the train, but I figured that I could monitor small pieces of food better than I could convince Splig not to cry, shriek, or run around the train.

Managing the elevator was a bit of a hassle because the platform level and street level are different than the ticket processing concourse. So I had to go from P to C, exit to process my ticket, and then return to the elevator to go from C to S. The elevator resets itself to the platform level. So even though I was gone less than ten seconds to process the ticket on C, the elevator had already reset itself. Entering and exiting the elevator quickly with my stash was tricky.

I pressed the elevator call button immediately after processing my ticket. A lady came up, pressed the call button again, then aggravated because the elevator wasn’t coming rapidly, pushed the agent-call button. Just then, the elevator arrived, she pushed her way past me and the boys, and she pressed the platform level! I entered and pressed the street level. Again, aggravated because the elevator wasn’t immediately moving, she pressed “P” again, and then “C” for concourse!

As a result, we rode from C to P to C, finally back up to S. I was pretty happy to finally emerge at street level!

Set up of the snacks in the faculty lounge was a breeze, though the Cat kept proclaiming, “I want to go home now!” to any faculty member who would listen. He was glad when I announced we would be going back to the train station for our return trip. I still feel funny when entering the faculty lounge since it was of course off limits to me as a student.

The return trip was fairly uneventful, although with no food left Splig was pretty spliggly and unhappy. The Cat was happy to be on a train, but Splig wasn’t in the mood to continue sitting in his stroller. He made one little shriek and a man yelled, “SHUT UP!” The train was rather empty, so I had hoped we wouldn’t have any difficulty with other passengers. However, this man yelled something else at us a few moments later, though I couldn’t understand his words over Splig’s bursts of alternating happy and sad sounds. Truthfully, his noises weren’t all that loud or frequent given the whole of the trip, but one five minute period was a bit troublesome. I was shocked that when we exited the train, the unhappy man walked out with a three year old. I guess either his son never made any noise, or he wasn’t around his son when he was a baby. Who knows? Maybe I misidentified the man.

A few hours later, I returned via the same train route to the Board of Trustees meeting. It was a nice dinner gathering, although the meeting ran late so I was doing quite a bit of yawning. On the return trip, a fellow trustee joined me on the commuter train. We made a bit of small talk waiting for the train, sat across from each other on the train, but then got out our respective reading material for the ride itself. When his stop arrived, I looked up from my magazine and called out, “Have a happy holiday, Fred!” but he didn’t turn around as he exited the train. The man sitting next to me looked at me funny and a couple people standing around the exit looked at me and back at the door to see to whom I was speaking.

My guess is that Fred was so tired that he forgot that I was there. Or he simply didn’t hear me. I don’t think it was an intentional snub; but what was amusing was the reaction of my fellow passengers. The man sitting next to me had been twisting a piece of wire over and over again, and frequently reaching into his bag to poke around without actually bringing anything out. I was a bit worried and thought he was shifty, but when I made my announcement to Fred, he looked at me like I was the odd one.

Today was no less hectic. I brought the baked cookies I had made, plus serving trays to preschool. After dropping off the Cat, Splig and I made a mad dash to the store in the half hour before the pageant was to begin. I bought some additional holiday cookies to add to those I had made myself. As always happens when one is in a rush, the traffic signals were against me, the “express” lane included people paying by an assortment of slow means, and the cashier wasn’t attentive to where one person’s purchases ended and another began (despite the plastic barriers that to me were pretty clear.) We made it back to preschool in time to snag a front row seat (as requested by the teacher since she anticipated the Cat would want to sit on my lap instead of up with his classmates) and to set up the cookies.

As expected, the Cat entered the room separately accompanied by his teacher. He sat next to me. Three minutes later, he said he wanted to enter with his class. I brought him back to his classroom. The class entered and lined up, but there was no Cat. He was apparently hanging outside.

He then walked in back of the audience to sit next to me. Once his classmates started to sing, he wanted to stand up front with them. He sang the majority of songs with his friends with the occasional dash back to the seat next to me. Surprisingly, he even gave his little solo line!

All in all, I was proud of the Cat’s performance. He was nervous, but overcame his concerns long enough to participate.

At the end of the pageant, Santa burst in! The Cat was initially nervous, but then begged to sit on his lap, when he asked for a “big green bridge” and lots of trains. He had asked for the same bridge when we saw mall Santa. He will be pretty disappointed if he doesn’t get a big green bridge now that Santa has been told twice of his wishes!

One little guy spouted rapid-fire a list of items he wanted. The first was “a big laser to cut everyone’s heads off.” Charming.

Treat Week and Pageant down, Mom’s 60th to go! (Oh yeah, and then Christmas Eve and Christmas. Heh!)

(Also, I finally uploaded the pictures from two weeks ago when the boys and I went to an "inflatable party zone" to run around while it was pouring outside.)

Posted by karianna at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)

Games 8 and 9 Recap

Game 8 was Friday, 9 was Sunday, and so it was a double-hockey-weekend!

Not much in terms of super exciting details though. We lost both games. The first 1-0, the second 3-1. I played D for both, and actually did a fairly good job (I was on the ice for one of the four goals scored against, though not on for either of our goals.)

I got many shots because our forwards were being good about passing it back to us when the opposing team would crowd them in front of the net. I played with a new D partner who meshed well with my style, so that was good. I had more energy than I would have anticipated having two games just a couple days apart.

Two glaring errors: the one goal-against was absolutely my fault. I had the shooter shoulder-to-shoulder and was pushing her further away from the net, but she somehow got the shot off at precisely the proper angle to score. Technically, I was doing what I was supposed to do, but she scored anyway. Then at one point, I was going for the puck and a much faster skater on my team yelled “I got it!” but I heard her a second too late. I got the puck and tripped her. She sailed several feet since she had so much momentum. Ugh. Never trip someone from your own team.

Stats:
This game -1, Season -2. Penalty minutes 2:00.
And still no goals or assists, although I have had lots of shots recently.

I will be missing next week’s game because of the party I am throwing for my Mom’s 60th. Then we have a bit of a break for the holidays.

Posted by karianna at 06:05 PM | Comments (0)

December 09, 2005

Not Too Impressive

While running errands, I was driving on a four lane busy street through a residential area. I passed a house where an elderly gentleman was stringing Christmas lights on his home. The ladder looked a bit old. I saw that one arm was up high, reaching for the lights. As I passed, I thought the other arm was clutching his chest.

I got over to the far left lane, waited in the left turn lane for traffic to subside, made a U-turn, and traveled back to this gentleman’s house. I was concerned for his safety.

It was a mannequin.

So kudos for the occupants of the house for coming up with a realistic looking scenario. But shame on them for being too Halloweeny for the Christmas holiday. If it was meant to be a joke, I don’t think it was funny.

I was confused a second time today, just a few minutes later:

I received a voicemail from someone claiming to be the Cat’s caseworker from that government-sponsored center, saying that she is about to go on holiday and would like to make an appointment for January. Huh. I thought we had made an appointment for next week!

I compared the number she left today with the one left last week. They were different. But the voice sounded familiar.

I called the number she left today, leaving a message that I was confused that she was calling me for an initial discussion when I was under the impression that our meeting was already scheduled.

Then I called the “original” number and heard a voicemail saying that person was on medical leave. (Amazing, since according to our assignment letter, this person was brand new, but perhaps it was an unexpected medical leave.)

Perhaps I had made an appointment with someone who is now on medical leave. Or, I made an appointment with the new person while the new person was at the desk of the old person (this would make sense if she was going through the assignments of the person on medical leave.)

If the former, I would think the new person would say “your old caseworker is now on medical leave, so I would like to reschedule the appointment.”

If the latter, I am concerned that the new person is not well organized. Calling me again “for the first time” is not impressive. It makes me wonder if the appointment we made was ever written in her calendar.

Either way, there is confusion. Someone dropped the ball. I hope that I receive a call back shortly.

Furthermore, while I was looking at my “assignment letter” that tells us the name and phone of our caseworker, I noticed that it was “signed” by someone typing in a handwriting font. This is not objectionable, particularly if the person has a disability that prevents her from signing her name (or there are so many letters to be signed that it isn’t practical.) But what was a bit off-putting was that she had misspelled her own name. The “signed” name and the typed name with title don’t match. There are four extra characters at the end of her name, “/ gl.” If this letter is being reproduced multiple times (and it is, based on the observation that my son’s name was simply stuck on with a sticker,) it should have been proofread much closer.

This is not the first time we have received a letter from this center that has included typos. Perhaps they are just very overworked, but I don’t think that is an excuse for sloppiness.

It reminds me of a letter I received from Yale after I asked them for application materials. The letter was poorly written and included several typos. I didn’t bother to apply!

I am such a snob.

Incidentally, I do not claim to write free of typos or grammatical errors. In fact, I made an embarrassing error awhile back when I wrote “shit” instead of “shirt” when discussing Mrs. Kennedy’s lovely Fussy shirt. But I have repeatedly seen evidence of sloppy work from this center, so that doesn’t give me great confidence in its ability to help the Cat. Still, I know that the administrative staff is different than the professionals who ultimately would be coaching the Cat, or at least I would hope that would be true!

UPDATE: The answer to my caseworker confusion is that the woman with whom I scheduled an appointment did go on medical leave. The center did not inform me of this. The new caseworker apologized for the confusion and we have set up an appointment for next month. The result is more delays in a world where everyone keeps saying, "GET HELP EARLY!!!!" and then are stunned when I explain I've been attempting to get the help since 2003.

UPDATE #2: Just received an assignment letter in the mail re-assigning us to this new gal. Irony of timing! Then, I must hang my head in shame, for apparently the "/ gl" at the end of the signature is intentional. It was on this assignment letter, and then I saw a second “gl” at the bottom of the letter. So I guess it is a code of some sort. (Just watch, someone will tell me in the comments that it is a commonly used code like “cc!”) I was mistaken and admit my error.

Posted by karianna at 01:28 PM | Comments (1)

December 08, 2005

The Annual Attempt to Bond with Santa

Last year, Spliggle got his photo taken with Santa alone because the Cat was running around shrieking in fear. This year, we nearly had a replay of the situation, except the Cat was quite motivated to get a “special treat” Also, we told him that how would Santa know what to get him if he didn’t tell him?

The Cat was reluctant, but was quiet with his protests. He actually got on the big man’s lap, but then wouldn’t smile. He finally cracked a bit of a smile because the photographer and I were making goony faces and he couldn’t help himself. Still, he had his hands clasped together as if praying, and the resulting photograph makes him look a little, um, impaired. But at least he doesn’t have a mean face on. It is kinda funny to be able to see all his teeth, even if that expression could be a scream instead of a laugh.

Meanwhile, Spliggle was having nothing to do with the situation. He wasn’t going to protest loudly, he was just going to sit and mope. The selected photo shows his boredom. One photo I considered using (because the Cat had a fairly cute tiny-smile) included Splig with his hand halfway up his nose and partially in his mouth. It was a cross between picking his nose and a really rude gesture. I was tempted, but decided in the end to go with the following:

(click to bigify)

While I was selecting the photo, the Cat actually talked to Santa about his love of trains. I was pretty amazed. I guess maybe he’ll get some trains on Christmas morning this year!

UPDATE: My mother says we should retake the photo since the Cat looks dorky and Spliggle looks uninterested. Sigh. I thought it was kind of amusing, but I guess she doesn't think that silly Santa photos are all that funny, at least not when I had intended to distribute the picture with my holiday cards. (The wallets have already been printed and cut out.)

Posted by karianna at 12:29 PM | Comments (4)

Daddy Adoration

Yesterday morning, the Cat wondered why Daddy had to go to work. He desperately wanted him to stay home and play. Daddy explained that he had to work to pay for all his toys. A few moments later, the Cat approached his daddy to say, “I don’t need any more toys, Daddy.”

Then as Daddy was getting ready to leave, Spliggle grabbed his leg saying, “Daddy!” and then grabbed his hand, leading him to the door. At the door, Splig started blowing kisses. After Daddy left, Spliggle screamed “DADDDDDAADADY” for about five minutes.

The boys love their Pop!

Posted by karianna at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2005

When You are Needed

Those poor NFLers who have Thanksgiving and Christmas games! I used to think about this from time to time when we’d be relaxing at home with friends and family watching television. My uncle was involved in professional football, so it was tradition for my cousins to go to the games, then deal with holiday dinner and festivities later. They made their own traditions. I am not so worried about those people, though.

But for rescue workers and other “public service” figures, sometimes a holiday really isn’t a holiday. And most times disaster isn’t an opportunity to sit slack-jawed in front of a television set watching replaying footage and flashy graphics. TV reporters, cameramen, and those graphics people are all at work. Instead of evacuating or fleeing, they must arrive and stay on-scene.

I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the role of providers, regardless of what they “provide:” entertainment, news, support, parenting, or life-saving measures.

In the case of this past weekend, I felt helpless as a provider. I was lucky that my stomach flu hit on the weekend when Husband could be there to take care of the boys. And he was able to take Splig to and from preschool yesterday so that I could focus my energy on continuing to recuperate and tending to the Cat. Today’s efforts with a grumpy (but very active) Splig, still weak me, and increasingly frustrated Cat were definitely exhausting. But on Saturday, I couldn’t think of anyone but myself. I remember when I was pregnant with Splig and I just rewound a video over and over again for the Cat when I was at my sickest. I felt like such a horrible mom, but I couldn’t get off the couch without vomiting. So, I entertained the Cat from the couch!

Then just about fifteen minutes ago, I received an email from a client. The unfortunate thing about working from home is that I see my “work” related email anytime of the day. Flexibility also means being “on call” virtually always. I realize I don’t need to respond until “typical business hours,” but knowing what needs to be done can wear on one’s mind. Or, it can mean that if I am up to it, I can do the project right away and have the email sent out first thing in the morning! I learned my lesson about sending an email as soon as I finish the project, since that indicates that I am up that late (or on a weekend / holiday,) and some clients then naturally assume I’ll get to their project immediately, regardless of time of day or week. (I once received an email from a client sent at 5:30am on a Sunday morning marked "urgent" and with a "reply-by" timestamp of 9:30am that same day. I didn't even see the email until I awakened, which was after 9:30am!)

In this case, the email outlines a series of major changes the client wants done to the look of the website. My first thought was, “Oh, man! They did this to me last year! They wanted a whole new look for their site and it happened right during the holidays!” But then I thought about it more. Of course they want a brand new look for the New Year! It just so happens that to accomplish that, I need to work over the holidays, which is not something that would even register in a client's mind. Last year, I had several projects and was extremely stressed the whole time that others would typically be on “vacation.” I worked on Christmas Eve and Christmas with just a bit of time to go do the typical family dinner. But the work I still had to do was still on my mind, even while I took a break to be with my family. As others get ready to go on their vacations, they delegate their work to others. And it isn’t fun to be the “others.” (Although on Lost, the Others have some exceptional skills!)

Hopefully, this particular case will not take so much time as to drastically impact my ability to enjoy the holiday season, but I imagine that for some providers, this is definitely a time of stress. Dentists and doctors probably have a flood of kids in while they are out of school. Restaurants, retail, and other such establishments increase the workforce for the holiday rush. Medical institutions and highway patrol put more people on call as greater crowds are on the roads and more likely to be drinking. For me, the end of the year and start of another means a bunch of bookkeeping details for my brother’s companies.

The upside of increased responsibility during this time is a fatter paycheck to cover those presents. But I do wish for a relaxing time for all, whether it is spent on a particular holiday or on an “alternate day.” May those of you who work have a true “vacation” from said work!

As for parenting, there is no real time off and no overtime pay. I essentially had two days off from parenting last weekend while I was sick, but I much prefer having my health. Spewing bile is not the way to earn a hiatus! I recently spoke with a friend about her new holiday traditions and how she is trying to create “magic” for her daughter. She was frustrated because it didn’t seem like a “holiday” to her anymore. I agreed that it is sometimes hard to change traditions as people die, move, or get married. I would love for my boys to experience my family’s traditions from when I was growing up, but of course that isn’t possible. The work behind the scenes that parents have in creating the holiday “magic” creates the traditions for our kids that they will hopefully cherish.

Then the whole concept of going somewhere for vacation has its own set of problems, as people who have traveled with children know. Thankfully, my family is local, so I don’t have to worry about that. But our trip back east a few weeks ago and the anecdotes I have heard from other parents indicate that parents are still not “on vacation” even if they are in a vacation locale.

Yes, there is no Santa, Chanukah Harry, Kwanzaa Kim, or Agnostic Amy to leave presents for parents. And there is someone manning that movie theater on Christmas Eve and on patrol on New Years Eve. There is someone reporting the news or playing football on your television while you are relaxing. There is someone on the computer support line when you can’t figure out how your new fangled present works. The snow plow guy is out there clearing the roads so people can travel. The caterer is serving the holiday treats. The housecleaner is picking up the pieces of the party.

Hopefully, amongst the holidays that people do and don’t celebrate, the simple “on call” shifts can be delegated such that each person does have a vacation time to call their own to be home with friends and family, even if that isn’t on a particular date that some consider a holiday. But I know that in cases like disasters and illnesses, sometimes people don’t have a choice.

These thoughts have been all over the place, but the common theme remains that we can’t all be on vacation at once. Some have more flexibility than others, and some have less. There are some things from which we cannot be on vacation from, but hopefully we can find a moment of peace (without throwing up.)

But whoever you are a provider for, and whoever provides for you, I wish all a happy rest of 2005 and safe start to 2006. (Now does that mean I don’t have to do my holiday cards now? No!? Okay then. I’ll put it on my list of responsibilities.)

Posted by karianna at 06:11 PM | Comments (1)

Nasty Napkins

The Cat has decided that napkins make him sick. I’ve got to agree reluctantly that this might not be so ridiculous, at least not in our family. It is a survival mechanism to fixate on things that last made you sick so that you don’t eat said food again. Of course, in the case of stomach flu, the actual food wasn’t the culprit, but even knowing that intellectually doesn’t help with the nausea. I remember one Christmas when I became sick after having some chocolate-mint candy. It took me a very long time to try a piece of chocolate-mint again!

With both boys I had terrible “morning” sickness and the oddest cravings. No, I didn’t have “pica” where pregnant women eat dirt and laundry detergent, but I did crave things like buttery croissants and chipotle burritos to “calm” my stomach. (Usually the latter involved a serious session with our carpet cleaner later, but for the instant gratification it was a great meal.)

So it makes sense that the Cat has developed his own “safe” and “not safe” things during his recovery. Water is safe. Lime yogurt is safe. Vanilla rice milk was safe for about an hour yesterday until it came back up. Chocolate chips are not safe. Napkins are seriously not safe, at least not for now.

I guess he imagines there are various “not safe” food particles on the napkin. Or perhaps he sees me cleaning and knows that for me to be wiping the counter there must have been something on there to begin with. Whatever the cause, he has requested that I remove a napkin off his table and cease cleaning the kitchen.

He has agreed to try a tad of chocolate pudding in a little bit, but has informed me that he will have to take a big, big breath. Earlier today, he was breathing in and out very loudly while eating his lime yogurt. I was perplexed. He did it an hour later while having another lime yogurt. Husband commented that he must have learned it from me. I was shocked, but apparently I breathe in and out loudly when attempting to eat food. I knew I measured my breath when trying not to vomit while having morning sickness, but I certainly didn’t realize it was so loud and annoying!

Nonetheless, knowing how sensitive my stomach can be (ironic since I love spicy food!) I am attentive to the Cat’s requests, even if they seem a bit odd. This morning, a lime yogurt had sat out just a bit on the counter, but he requested a new one because the open one was “old.” I understand that one completely. I always told my mom that my milk was old. To this day, I buy milk for myself in small containers so that it doesn’t have a chance to go bad. Instead of the usual “seven days is safe,” I am more of a 3 day gal. I couldn’t drink milk at all at our college’s dining hall because the dispenser just looked gross. Yet I imagine that the milk was “fresh” because there was a high turnaround. I put the milk on my cereal, though, because that is different. I will drink chocolate milk and egg nog with reckless abandon. Actually, I read that chocolate helps in the digestion of milk, so it may not be so wacky that I seem to tolerate it.

My odd food feelings aren’t just about milk. And as a child, I remember the tinny taste of pineapple juice as tasting like “noodles” in a nausea-inducing way. Grapefruit juice has an interesting place in my stomach, too. I enjoy it, but it reminds me of something not-so-pleasant: when I visited her house, my grandmother always insisted that I eat my grapefruit prior to having my cereal. Worse, she always poured the milk on my cereal before we had a daily devotional. At home, I never had a daily devotional, so that in itself was a bit bothersome to a hungry child, but to have soggy cereal that tasted sour after eating an acidic fruit? Yuck! I tried to reason with her that could I please pour the milk on my cereal right before I was to eat it so the cereal would remain crunchy, and perhaps may I eat the cereal before the grapefruit? But the cereal was considered a “treat” for finishing the grapefruit. Some treat, indeed! I love my grandmother very much, but this particular memory isn’t so terrific.

I have mixed citrus and dairy before with glee. Filling up a glass with chocolate frozen yogurt, pouring orange juice over it and mixing it together creates quite a yummy milkshake! Vanilla frozen yogurt creates a nice creamcicle flavor.

The Cat reprimanded me today for making toast. The smell wafted upstairs and disturbed him. I know exactly what he was feeling; I had the same sensation over the weekend when various food was being prepared below.

He is asleep now, surrounded by blankets and water. No napkins, toast, or other food particles are in the way.

Posted by karianna at 05:14 PM | Comments (1)

December 05, 2005

Sick Again!

On Thursday, I was going to post a tale about some spinach-artichoke dip from hell (only in its preparation, not in its taste) along with some pics of my boys bouncing their way to happiness at a local inflatable playground zone (Sunny California wasn't so sunny that day!) Plus I have all kinds of “random” things that I would have blogged had I had the time.

But then the “to-do” list became longer and I put off the post "until Saturday." Unfortunately, Friday night began an exciting and violent bout with the stomach flu. Fortunately, I am feeling eighty-percent better now (enough to clean the kitchen and do some computer work) but I definitely feel wiped.

But I felt I needed to say a quick "hello" to the bloggy-folk I love.

After all, I was supposed to give interviews for my high school on Saturday and when I didn't show up, the Director of Admissions and assorted faculty thought I had been kidnapped (so says the Director of Development.) So I didn't want y'all to think I had disappeared off the face of the earth.

Similarly, I was supposed to go to that same high school alma mater this morning to assist with a development project. But, the Cat succumbed to the flu last night. He stayed home in bed while Splig went off to preschool.

Splig had been vomiting earlier last week but seemed so cheery that I thought I was giving him too much whole milk. What a trooper!

Cross your fingers that Husband doesn’t get this bug. Already he says he feels weak and grumpy. ACK!

So, HELLO everyone! I promise I’ll post more Flickr photos shortly. Recently I uploaded Splig searching in the fridge for a snack, some stormy rainbow pictures, and a photo of my cat posing with some elephant dung paper that my aunt and uncle gave me (and one pic without the cat.) Yes. Elephant DUNG.

OH! And the Cat’s caseworker from the government sponsored center called me for the first time, nearly a month after she had been assigned to the case. She seemed friendly enough, though not familiar with the Cat’s file. Either that or she assumed based on the diagnosis that he is more serious than his presentation. She was talking about diaper services and things which we don’t need. I will be meeting with her in our home in a week.

The meeting in-home is the one really cool thing about this center. It is a true hassle to go elsewhere for meetings, and the Cat is much more comfortable in his own home.

She also talked quite a lot about “low income” things. Now I realize that since this is a government sponsored center, the clientele may include a large percentage of folks who qualify for “low income” services, but it is a bit perplexing to receive letters addressed to “person who is legally responsible for [the Cat]” instead of “[the Cat’s] parents” and multiple queries about welfare and such. Our HMO caseworker had touted this center’s benefits as being “free,” but it turns out that they are only free if the applicant is “low income.”

We aren’t rich, but we are not “low-income” so we won’t qualify for free services. I will know more after I meet with this woman

Posted by karianna at 05:03 PM | Comments (7)