Small Town?

Not in all the years I've lived here as this town ever been considered "small." While it isn't as big as OKC or Tulsa, having a major university here has always excluded us from becoming your typical Okie 'village,' or HAS it?

• Natalie is in her second year at CCOC kids camp. One of my friends knew the man who started the camp. Among the cast are two of my high school best friend's nieces. One looks so much like her that I knew immediately who she was the first time I saw her last year.
• The little girls just finished Sooner Theatre camp. I had known two of the moms with kids in their classes since elementary school. Another little girl is the granddaughter of the Branch President where I go to church. The theatre's Executive Director starred in the school musicals where I attended high school. And my in-laws know the parents of one of the two girls who played Belle.
• Tristan and Natalie shared classrooms with siblings whose mom has known my husband since grade school and whose grandma was good friends with Dave's mom.
• I was a camp counselor at the same day camp with both Tristan and Natalie's second grade teacher.
• My sister's boyfriend's mother was MY favorite day camp counselor.
• The horse ranch at the end of our road belongs to friends of Dave's dad.
• One of my favorite local bloggers and I had the same high school English teacher 9 years apart.
• And finally, the other day I watched a service vehicle cutting in and out of traffic and making a general nuisance. I thought to myself "that jerk drives like my ex-boyfriend." Then, I saw the company name on the driver's side door AND the driver himself. And lo and behold, it WAS my ex-boyfriend.

I swear we have a population of over 100,000 here, but sometimes it just doesn't feel like it.

Sometimes I Surprise Even Me

*This post is all about my kid going #2, so if you are put-off by that, go read someone else's blog tonight.*

So...I blog a lot about issues with my son. It helps me deal with them. But there is one that I quit discussing years ago because it made me feel like a failure as a mother. When Tristan was three, I potty-trained him. I waited until he was ready and it went well. And then...there were "issues" a year later. Once, he flooded our bathroom with too much poop and toilet paper. I was pregnant with Elisa at the time and very nauseous. To say that I lost it would be an understatement. I'm not sure if it was just that incident or a combination of that and some constipation issues that made Tristan decide to stop pooping on the toilet, but by the time he was five he had completely 'untrained' himself and was refusing to go anymore. His pediatrician gave us Miralax, a specialist spent his half-hour appointment with him just trying to convince him to use the toilet again (I'm glad we have insurance because THAT was money well-spent) and the boy has never had a swimming lesson in his life because I'm too afraid of being the cause of shutting the pool down. In fact, we've never gone to a public pool for that reason. I'm sure it has cost him friends and caused teasing at school. I remember how hurtful it was when one of the members of the Primary Presidency from our old ward told me in her snottiest Molly Mormon accent that "this...issue that he has is just...unacceptable!" My reply was along the lines of "Really? Unacceptable for you to deal with for 45 minutes a week?! Try every day and every night of my life, Hon." And then I asked if our Bishop shared that opinion about it and should I go discuss her attitude towards my son with him. She decided she would rather not have me do that and left me alone about it after that. (But boy did she make a nice big signature on our going away card when we moved to Blanchard.) Which isn't to say that I enjoy smelling him any more than the next person (especially while pregnant) AND I have the added bonus of having to separate and scrub his dirty drawers twice a week. So...it's not like I excuse him, but at the same time, I hate being taken to task as his mother for failing to teach him proper personal hygiene when I DID teach him the right thing to do and he started choosing otherwise no matter what we threatened him with or took away from him.

This has been one of the worst things about being Tristan's mom for the last five years. When you add it all in with his issues at school, the way he tries to treat me and his Dad, the way he melts down in public and at family gatherings, and the way strangers and well-meaning friends give me all kinds of lovely advice about how to deal with him...it's a lot on any given day and especially on a day like today. I have been pondering since summer started what would motivate him the most to sit on the toilet. For most kids, it's books-but Tristan doesn't read those. Who knew my best flash of inspiration would come in one of my worst parenting moments since school let out and I started staying home? Today, I snapped...but apparently in a good way.

This afternoon, I found myself at Wal-Mart grabbing a full-slip for Natalie that she "HAD" to have for rehearsal (but did not tell me about until today), buying yet more Tylenol for Elisa who has some kind of mild summer virus that she's playing to the hilt, and dealing with her whining and Tristan and Caroline's bickering and grabbing the cart while I was trying to push it. Have I mentioned that I'm 35 weeks pregnant and that it hurts to walk now? Because that's part of the equation too. Anyway, I finally had to separate them and had one walk on each side of the basket. When I got to the check-out counter, Tristan began one of his favorite tricks of wedging himself between the cart and the conveyer belt in a way that forces me to unload my items on at a time. I told him to move and he started to, then he threw himself right in that perfect in-between spot and said in his most sarcastic voice: "I can't move Mom, I HAVE to stay away from Caroline." I wanted to kill him. The look on my face said as much and I think the cute little college cashier wanted to call DHS on me just for the way I grabbed him and jerked him out of the way. (And to give props where they are due, the little old lady behind me saw the whole thing and was on MY side.) While she eyed me suspiciously and rang up my groceries, I told Tristan I would need his Nintendo DS for the rest of the day. Being Tristan, he threw a ginormous tantrum all the way to the car. And as we got to the car...I got an idea...an idea worthy of the Grinch himself...

I told Tristan that from now until he resolved his "issue," the only time he would be allowed to as much as touch his DS was when he was sitting on the toilet trying to go poop and that he would not get it back permanently until I no longer had two loads of stinky drawers to scrub out every week. Needless to say, he hated me for most of the day. But guess who has made two of the most sincere attempts to go potty in the last several years since dinner? He actually asked for Miralax about an hour ago. I'm not sure how long it will take before we see more successes and a permanent habit come from this, but I've got no problem holding onto his DS until I believe that the change is for real. And who knows, I may become so attached to it that I buy it from him for that last $50 he needs to upgrade to a DSi?...But don't tell him that. I want him to do this for himself as much as possible.

Trading DS privilages for pooping on the potty-who knew? Thank goodness we don't have any upcoming road trips, though...

Week In Review

Reading-

Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson-

It turns out I didn't give this book enough credit last week. It actually has been a very good source of information as I transition from at-work mom to at-home mom and try to re-establish some long-overdue cleaning and maintenance routines around here. I would buy it, but it is essentially the same information as Martha Stewart has in her Homekeeping book and I already have that one, even if Ms. Mendelson seems to speak my language a little but better.

Absolutely Organized by Debbie Lillard-

This is a little pocket-sized book about, what else, cleaning , decluttering, and establishing schedules. It was very handy to keep in my purse and pull it out for some light reading at all the little girls' rehearsals and shows this week. I doubt I will ever be quite as scheduled as Ms. Lillard, but it was some good food for thought.

Listening

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone-

We finished it on Friday and it really feels like summer now. It's silly, but having first experienced Harry Potter as an audiobook on summer vacation, having gone to a few summer release parties, and having seen a few of the movies released in the summer-Harry Potter has become part of summer vacation to me much like taking a road trip, seeing a drive-in movie, watching fireworks, eating watermelon, etc...We pick up the next one as soon as the library has my on-hold copy available.

Watching

Chess: In Concert

Actually this aired over a week ago, but I didn't see it right away and I thank the DVR for making sure that happened. Adam Pascal (who I recently saw performing in Rent), Idina Menzel, and Josh Groban...what wasn't to love about that? As many musicals as I have seen, Chess hasn't been one of them. I hope it eventually comes (or comes again) to the Civic Center or Lyric so I can change that.

At the Movies-

The Proposal-

To celebrate Deborah's last week in Oklahoma (sob, sob, sniff, sniff) some of us took her out to dinner and a movie. This was your typical formulaic romantic comedy fare, but it was good entertainment for a girls' night out-and I always love to see Mary Steenburgen in anything. Betty White and Craig T. Nelson were a nice touch too. It was all in all a cute movie. I probably didn't find Sandra Bullock's character as detestible as I was supposed to in the beginning though, because I totally understood why she had to fire that guy. (This happens in the first 5 minutes and is not really a spoiler.)

Out and About

Sooner Theatre's Beauty and the Beast-

After four performances for the little girls, I think it's safe to say I definitely saw this. My little ones were cute, the bigger kids did a GREAT job with some very tough material. I am continually impressed with the professionalism of both the performers and staff, and grateful my kids get to be a small part of the overall picture. Having said that, I have to admit some relief at being done with the practices and shows. I need my mornings this week to get the house ready for the big 4th of July doings...Also, poor Sooner Theatre really gets hot when the house is packed and it's hot outside. This pregnant mama was pretty uncomfortable for most of the shows. (But still managed to cry when her kids danced and sang and when the older kids took their final bows.)

A Lifetime's Not Too Long...

Recently, my buddy John (who is often mentioned here) lost his father. He was in declining health, so it wasn't entirely unexpected; but it was sad as such as loss would be. Because they moved here from Indiana, the actual funeral was there a few weeks ago. Today, John held a small memorial here in OKC where they spent the next big chapter in their lives before moving to Texas. As much as John and I used to run around in our younger days, you would think I would have known his dad better; but I really didn't. He was fairly quiet, left John to do his goofing off, and I think I only talked to him twice. But, I do have a couple of funny memories of him that I shared with John and will go ahead and share here too:

• This one really belongs more to Christina than me. John used to call our answering machines and leave L-O-N-G rambling messages in an attempt to fill up those tiny cassette tapes that machines in the late '80's used. He actually didn't do this too often at Chris' house because he was (wisely) afraid of her dad. He did it frequently to me and my roommate Shannon because we were in college. One night, Chris and I decided enough was enough, and we decided to do it to him. So, we called him while watching Star Trek: TNG. (Not sure why John wasn't with us, but I strongly suspect it involved either a TP'ing adventure OR some giggly 13 year-old girls. He never did anything bad or inappropriate, he just encouraged their obnoxious attention.) Anyway, Chris had the phone and as she was rambling on about the plot of TNG, the Robin Hood movie, and whatever else we could think up to fill that tape; John's dad picked up the phone and in his thick German accent said "Yak! Yak! Yak!" Needless to say, Chris hung up immediately.
• The other incident happened when I first came home from Italy. John had recently moved from Del City to Edmond. He wanted an authentic Italian dinner, so I cooked him one complete with homemade bread. (Yes, I'm laughing at myself for that one.) One of the many movie releases I completely missed while overseas was Star Trek: Generations, so after we ate, we went into John's room to watch it. I was such the recently returned missionary at the time, that I felt weird for the first hour or so even sitting on the bed with John who is probably the most platonic male friend I have ever had. (The fact that my age matched his AND my bra cup did not runneth over pretty much guaranteed that things would always stay that way. Well, that and the fact that I had once seriously dated his best friend.) After that, I got over it because the floor was uncomfortable and...well...it was John. (Sorry John, you know I love you.) About ten minutes after I moved, the oven timer went off. John looked puzzled and went into the kitchen to turn it off. Five minutes later, it happened again. This time, John looked annoyed. About 15 minutes later, John heard something, threw his door open, and yelled "Father!" just as Mr. H went running, giggling from the kitchen where he had set the timer yet again. I always knew John came by his sense of humor legitimately and we had another good laugh about that one today. (Hey! At least he didn't come running into John's room because he thought he heard a bear...)

Because the funeral had already passed, and John has had some time to adjust; today was very pleasant given the circumstances. As some of you may remember, there was a very cheesy Michael W. Smith song on the 80's that most of us were forced to sing and/or listen to at our high school graduation and mine was no exception. It's stuck with me for so long, that it's the label I use here any time I post a flashback about my teenaged misadventures-most of which happened with John, Kyle, Chris, or Wendy. That would be, of course, that classic "Friends are Friends Forever." And yet, as cheesy as that song is, it really has a lot of truth to it. Since you read about these people all the time, here we are-a little older and (I hope) wiser now:

John and I-yes, I'm getting huge. You can tell John's a dad himself now. When I was pregnant with Natalie, he wouldn't get anywhere near me.

Me, Wendy, Kyle (aka "Fergie"), John, Ralph, and Chris at the front and center (where else would she be?)

I could post similar group shots dating back as far as the late 80's, but that would involve a search and a scanner, so I'll stick with these tonight and just say that friends really can be friends forever. Amen.

A Classic "Me" Moment

Sorry, I know all my posts and Facebook updates have been about nothing but children's theatre, and this one will be no different. However, I do enjoy a good laugh at myself and then I enjoy sharing it with others, so I just had to post this.

Since the second week in June, I have had three daughters in three different theatre classes. The schedules themselves have been pretty straightforward, though. In the morning, it alternates daily between the two younger girls from 9-11 a.m. After lunch, Natalie has a daily rehearsal. A lot of driving is involved, but I do think who goes where at what time has been easy. This week has been a little more disruptive because the little girls have had performances in addition to their classes and Natalie has had to be 10-15 minutes early to her rehearsals for some extra practice time. However, I've successfully juggled it all thus far and have been celebrating ONE.MORE.SHOW for the littles since last night.

So, I woke up this morning and quickly got Elisa out of bed for her very last class. She got up cheerfully whic doesn't often happen and enjoyed keeping me company while I got ready. I was especially pleased that she and I were dressed, showered, and ready to leave the house five minutes before it was time to go. And that's when Caroline came to me in her pj's and messed-up hair and informed me that I had awakened, fed, and dressed the wrong kid. Elisa's last class was YESTERDAY and today was HER last class. Oops! So, Caroline dashed into her clothes, grabbed a granola bar for the car, and Elisa wailed in protest because "Mommy you SAID it was MY class today!" So I rushed Caroline to the car for her class and Elisa came so that she could see she wasn't missing anything. Fortunately, we still got there before class got started and everyone had a good laugh at my mistake-myself included.

Natalie's take on all of this: "Mom, I hope you aren't getting Alzheimer's or something."

Me too, kid. Me too.

In Which I Write about No Dead Celebrities

It was a weird day for a child of the 70's. When we woke up, our favorite "angel" had finally lost her battle with cancer, and by dinner-time we had also lost our "King of Pop." If I had anything more profound to say than that on the subject, I would. But I think there are more talented writers with more connections than I have who will write those tributes over the next several days. (Updated to add that this one is my favorite so far...) So instead, I'm going to do what Mommy-bloggers do best and show off my kids:

Opening Night

(I took pictures in front of the theatre too, but I liked this one taken after the show better.)

Tye-dyed T-Shirts

Everyone but Tristan made their own-I had fun making his!

And finally...the Kitties!

Sandy is the smaller one. He is a stray we found during my last month at work. I think Milo has adapted to him pretty well, don't you?

Please don't misunderstand, simply because I don't feel like blogging about all of today's headlines doesn't mean I'm not saddened by them. But here in my tiny corner of the blog-o-sphere, life goes on...and makes for some good photo ops as well. :>)

High/Low

One of my all-time favorite Rob Reiner films is The Story of Us. I'm not sure why the rest of the world didn't love it like I did, but I guess that's their choice. Anyway, during one of the scenes in the movie, the family all sits down to dinner and talks about their highs and lows for the day. Because today was one of those kind of days, I think I'll do the same:

Low: Elisa slept on a small mattress on the floor in my room that she peed on at some point during the night. I stepped right into the wet spot on my way to the dresser this morning. I remember thinking the day only had to get better from there...

High: I am as caught up on the laundry as I will ever be with a family as big as mine, so there was no problem tossing the mess into the wash.

Low: Dave called me to tell me he had booked a hotel room and tickets to Medieval Times in Dallas for this weekend since we aren't really going on any big vacations this year. I reminded him that our nephew's first birthday party was on Saturday. He replied with a flippant "I guess we'll be dropping off his present on the way out of town." WRONG ANSWER! He re-scheduled everything, but is still acting really pissy about it.

High: I got to enjoy a salad sampler at Cafe' Plaid today for lunch-I love those and it had been a really long time since I had one.

Low: If I hadn't been craving that so badly, I could have seen my friends who were eating lunch at Mazzio's. (This was totally my call, sometimes you just can't ignore the pregnancy cravings.)

High: I got to chat with one of my favorite CCOC parents in the parking lot while dropping Natalie off this afternoon.

Low: Natalie has to be there early for the rest of the week to work on her solo parts

High: My kids has solo parts to practice for her upcoming performance

Low: It is miserably hot and will be all week-long

High: A good friend from church loaned me some more maternity shirts, shorts, and 2 bathing suits!

Low: I completely lost it when the kids got into a huge fight over the computer for the umpteenth time today.

High: They all went upstairs and played quietly for at least two hours after getting into trouble-sure, it was to avoid angry mommy, but I don't care.

Low: We are completely out of lunch meat and bread, mac and cheese, and just about anything else the kids will eat for lunch. We had just enough to feed them today and not enough for me.

High: I refer you back to the Cafe' Plaid lunch from earlier in the list. (Kids were happy with Gatorade and a cookie while I had tabouli, fruit salad, and chicken pesto tortellini)

Low: The little girls have FOUR performances for their show starting tomorrow and I feel the need to be at each one.

High: Ditto the "low" on that one. They are going to be SO cute on stage.

Low-I am on my 4th dose of Tums today. And I made Baked French Toast for dinner-not usually something to give you heartburn, unless of course you are 35 weeks pregnant.

High-ALL the kids LOVED what I made for dinner tonight! That never happens here.

Week In Review

Reading

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House By Cheryl Mendelson

I've recently re-discovered my library card and I checked this one out on a recommendation fron an ebook that I have on my laptop. I liked it better than Martha Stewart's big housekeeping book, but having read through it I don't feel the need to buy it either. I really liked it, but the easy book on home care and repair I got from Consumer Reports seems to cover it in much fewer pages.

Listening

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone

My son really wants to see the newest Harry Potter movie coming out in July. I thought maybe we could start listening to the audiobooks to prepare him. Unfortunately, only Natalie and I are actually interested enough to attention to it and we've read all the books. Either way, it's been a nice way to fill all the time I spend driving the kids to their various summer activities.

Watching

Not much of anything really, it's been nice.

At the Movies

He's Just Not That into You-

I've been meaning to see this since it was in theatres, thanks to Redbox I finally managed it. It was cute and funny as expected and I wouldn't have minded paying movie prices to see it-had I actually found a good weekend to do that. As it is, seeing it for $1.00 was probably better.

Out and About

All I do lately is drive my kids to theatre classes and piano lessons mostly. And try to get my house clean and ready for the baby. BUT, I am headed out tomorrow for some girl time and a movie. I'm sure I'll report on that next week...

Shameless Plugging on a Saturday

Does anyone else remember this gem from Sesame Street?



This was one of my favorites while growing up, though I'm not sure why because chewing gum (and therefore, blowing bubbles) was not allowed in our house at all and my parents were about as far from neat freaks as they come. I find this funny because after an entire childhood of saying "When I have kids, THEY will be allowed to have it." As it turns out, I only spent a few years of pulling it out of my carpets with Goo Gone or worrying about it getting swallowed before I outlawed it too. (But we do have cats Dad, as I'm sure your allergies tell you each time you come in my house.)

So why am I waxing nostalgic about Sesame Street and my childhood? Because JenX67 is giving away a copy of Sesame Street Old School Vol. 1 tomorrow (6 p.m. CST) and I really want to win! If you want to win, just click on that link, check out her blog, and leave a comment telling her who your favorite Muppet is and why. Or you could just skip it so I have a better chance of winning. I wouldn't mind at all. (But you really should check out her blog anyway.) Mentioning this contest on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter will also place you (and me) in the running for a $10 Starbucks Gift Card. And if you should wonder what a good little LDS gal like me could possibly order from Starbucks, you haven't seen their drink menu. Yum!

Credit Where It's Due

No sooner did I post about my husband, the procrastinator, than he came home and started mowing the grass. In my defense, it had been at least 2 weeks since he last did it. In his defense, he came home today and finished it. Maybe my blog lurker is reading blog excerpts to him too. Probably not, he's the one who has all the psycho notes her family left on my grandma's door over Christmas vacation while grandma was in Seattle and who is saving them "just in case" anything suspicious ever happens there or at Aunt M's. And I guess you've got to love him for that too.

Getting My House in Order

One of the things I missed the most while I was in graduate school and especially once I started working was having a few hours at home each day to get really get things done. Knowing over the last two years that all the kids would have been out of the house so I could work uninterrupted really made me sad, but I loved my job and I usually had a day per week at home to stay on top of things (with varying degrees of success); so I just made due with that.

In the next six weeks or so, I am determined to do two things: Get the house acceptably ready for our annual 4th of July party without having to do marathon cleaning on the 2nd and 3rd (especially since that's when Natalie will be performing in The Gondolier's) AND to have the house really decluttered when the baby gets here. Between Girls' Camp and a few other duties, I've really only returned to SAHM status for about a week now and here's what I have learned so far:

• While one day per week never seemed like enough to get things done, six days isn't really cutting it either.
• Even though it's summer, this household is still very scheduled by necessity. Don't worry, it doesn't feel that way to the kids-I promise. But it does make things much easier on me.
• If you don't use your library card for a few years, you do get dropped from the system. (It's OK, I'm back in there now.)
• I tend to "overdo" Flylady each time I start the program and then crash and burn. I'm being VERY careful not to do that this time. Babysteps MEANS babysteps and 15 minutes is just 15 minutes. It's going much better this time.
• Natalie really can make lunch, watch the younger kids (within reason), do her own laundry, load and unload the dishwasher, take out the trash, and do a lot more than I was requiring of her previously.
• Tristan can do most of these things too (no babysitting, needs laundry supervision), he took out three small bags of trash today while Natalie was gone and was super-proud of how helpful he was.
• Tristan does a lot better with a big amount of adult supervision.
• Tristan is really HATING my version of supervision v. his teacher's or his dad's. Yep! I'm mean and I have HIGH standards.
• Caroline is still really short when it comes to dish duty (it's kind of entertaining to watch, except I'm afraid my favorite plates will get broken), but she's very quick and thorough at setting the table, getting drinks ready, and putting away her laundry.
• Caroline is REALLY RUDE to Natalie behind my back. (Initially I was amused, but today it wasn't funny. Fortunately, Caroline never knew I laughed at it-and that's good because it's not cute anymore.)
• Elisa learned basic table-setting and clearing skills while in pre-school (God bless them!) and will clean anything you tell her to as long as you give her a rag to clean with.
• Also, she is still very much my "baby." I hope she does OK with the new baby.
• Dave has to be told to do something about 100 times before it gets done. (I thought me not being at home to remind him was part of the problem, turns out it isn't.)
• Dave really HATES being reminded to do anything.
• Dave never seemed to be much like my Dad to me until I realized that he has the same tendency to procrastinate. Oh goody.
• There is no worse chore in a house with (hard) well water than cleaning toilets, showers, bathroom sinks, and any other surface constantly exposed to calcium deposits.
• There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a clean sink or toilet when you know how much work it takes to get it that way.

Someday, I will write a post that isn't about cleaning house, the kids, or that makes prolific use of bullet-points, but at least now everyone knows why my blogging has fallen way beneath my usual standards.

Mommy Bragging

One of the nice things about not being able to leave for camp the day it started this year was that I was able to attend all of the parent orientations for my kids' various theatre camps this summer. So, I already know that Caroline and Elisa will be performing very small ensemble numbers in Sooner Theatre's production of Beauty and the Beast on June 24, 25, and 26th. (Matinees on Wedesday and Friday, both the matinee and evening show on Thursday.)  But I didn't know for sure about what Natalie's role would be until Friday. Natalie is doing her second year at the kids' camp for the Cimarron Circuit Opera Company. Last year, she was in the chorus and really enjoyed it. This year she tried out for the camp again and was accepted. On Friday, they did auditions for parts in the summer's production and she was one of two girls to get the lead! (They have two casts and alternate performances) I am so excited for her! She will play Casilda in The Gondoliers. Performances are July 2nd and 3rd. She will do one matinee and one evening performance, but I'm not sure which ones on which days yet. So, if anyone is interested in seeing my little stars, let me know...(FYI: Sooner Theatre tickets WILL sell out quickly, they do every year.) And yes, Tristan is very sorry he declined all offers/suggestions that he try out for something this summer. At least he is (surprisingly) enjoying piano lessons.

And the Roller Coaster Ride Continues...

So, as I lay around on Monday and Tuesday trying to keep from getting sent to the hospital for IV fluids, I discovered that both my 98 year-old great aunt and my grandmother (who would kill me for posting her age) had both been admitted on Sunday for the same treatment. (Heat-related, I didn't share my virus with either of them.) They sent my Grandmother home Monday, Aunt M should be home today, but by Tuesday; GranD was hospital-bound again. Apparently, her heart pills and her Xanax look similar and she confused one for the other.

Tuesday began with me feeling much-improved, doing some dishes, and getting caught up on laundry before my anticipated departure for Girls' Camp on Wednesday morning. I was feeling so good, in fact, that I called Dave and we decided that we should try to switch our usual Friday night Civic Center tickets for Tuesday night instead of the originally planned Thursday night so that I would not have to leave Girls' Camp at all once I got there. GranD had been in the hospital, but insisted that we bring the kids to her that evening so that she and my Cousin J could watch them. Knowing that Cousin J would really be doing the babysitting, we ran it by him as well. He agreed and all was set-or so we thought...

We arrived at Gran D's house to find her once-a-week visiting nurse in the driveway on her cell phone and looking quite agitated. Apparently, Gran D had been very disoriented for the last 45 minutes, her vitals were crazy, and the nurse wanted to send her to the ER but was worried Gran would be charged for the ambulance ride if the hospital didn't admit her. The poor nurse (who LOVES my grandmother) was sure she had a stroke. After losing Dave's mom to one, I do worry about those, but Gran D had just had a CT scan on Sunday revealing no problems. I thought it was more likely she had messed up her medications (she takes 10 pills per day, it could easily happen). I also thought there was an off-chance that she was intoxicated, but Cousin J (who is equally aware of that particular possibility) said he had already checked and that her 'stash' was still intact. He also said she's pretty open about drinking in front on him when it's just the two of them. I believe it, so I ruled that out-Also, she thought the kids were coming later that night and she's been incredibly good about not drinking around them. (Which is more MY generation can say. She must love the great-grands more.)

Anyway, when I got in there to talk to her, all she wanted to do was to change her clothes, get some lipstick on, and bring the right audiobooks for her stay in the ER/hospital. (She had her Walkman in her purse not the CD player and therefore wanted books on TAPE as opposed to CD. Typical Gran D.) We got her ready as the nurse called the paramedics. Her pills were in complete disarray all over her bathroom counter, so I still thought my guess about the meds being off was probably what we were dealing with. Once the EMT's arrived, they gave the poor visiting nurse funny looks because the woman she described as "disoriented" was sitting in a chair telling Cousin J and I exactly what needed to go into her overnight bag down to "a pair of AA batteries for my Walkman in case I need extras!" However, she was shakier on her feet than I've ever seen her, likely dehydrated again, and, in my opinion, needed to be checked out more thoroughly. But because she was so much herself when the EMTs and firemen swarmed the house, I was relieved enough to notice that, male or female, there is NO such thing (at least here in town) as an unattractive emergency support person. Oh. My. Goodness.

Once they took her in the ambulance, my cousin and I stayed behind with the nurse to go over the mess of pills in the bathroom and see what had happened. Meanwhile, my mother had to leave the hospital in OKC where she was sitting with Aunt M and go a little further south in order to help Gran D in the ER here. We think from what we found at the house that she was confusing Xanax for heart pills, taking her diuretic pills more often than she needed (they are for fluid retention in her chest and around her ankles, though she will not hesitate to use them for weight loss as well) , and dehydrating herself in the process. Good times. We are thinking someone needs to supervise her medication consumption more closely. My mom really wants my sisters and I to do that. Her visiting nurse is also hoping to come by more often. When I think of everything I've been through with Gran D in my life...well...it doesn't seem like any big sacrifice to do this.

*And to the lurker who reports everything I write here back to my mother, I am HAPPY to help with this and so are my sisters. We don't want or need your contribution. You have enough to do overmedicating Aunt M so she stays out of it and confused rather than alert and critical of what goes on around her. Thereby freeing you up to surf the internet, tattle to my mom when I write things about her, watch TV, let your boys tear up my Aunt's backyard and say rude things about her and/or TO her (I especially loved it when your son called her a "drunk"), and be overpaid by my parents for your efforts. I can't control what happens at Aunt M's thanks to Mom's power of attorney, but I can and will protect my grandmother from your "help." And don't you still owe my grandmother money anyway? And who was "drunk" that night? It certainly wasn't grandma OR Aunt M.*

(I know the above sounds harsh, but having my mom quote blog entries back in my face has really sucked some of the life out of this blog in the past few months and taken some of the joy of writing from me. Besides, everything I just said here is true and if she wants to read MY private details and share them with my mom, I'll just post what my mom shares with me about her and see how she likes it. And her son called my beloved Aunt M a "drunk" to me and now calls me "racist" because I don't seem to like him much. I'm not racist, I dislike all rude, disrespectful kids equally. Besides, I speak better Spanish than he does.)

ANYWAY, Dave and I still made it to the theatre before the curtains went up for the show (since Mom and Cousin J were with Gran D and my kids were at my sister's), Elisa's "sickness" while we were at the show was a lot more temporary than mine (she dramatically complained of similar symptoms to mine for most of last night according to my sister), and everyone seems back to normal tonight. So...tomorrow, on the second-to-last day of camp; I will finally get there. I'm hoping the last two days of camp are really long, slow, and uneventful...but I'm not counting on it. My life just doesn't work that way. Then again, whose does?

Bad News/Good News

Bad News-I seem to have caught some kind of icky stomach bug. The worst of it was over this morning (why are these things ALWAYS at their worst in the middle of the night?), but I still feel achy and drained.

Good News-It is just some little virus and not some big problem like appendicitis or gall stones. (Which is always where your healthcare provider's thinking will go when you call to find out what you can safely take when you are 8 mos. pregnant)

Bad News-Because of this, I am sidelined from heading out to Camp Red Rock (Girls' Camp) until at least Wednesday.

Good News-See above (Sorta-I'm sure I will be sad I'm not there once I am feeling better.)

Bad News-They bumped up Elisa and Caroline's theatre camp dates by a week without telling me.

Good News-I was up early this morning feeling too icky to sleep and happened to catch the email letting me know camp started TODAY! (I usually would have missed that sleeping in on my first 'unemployed' weekday.)

Bad News-I'm now, officially, unemployed

Good News-As Tee said in my Comment section: "Now Melessa can be a columnist!"

Saturday Smiles

Since I tend to do more than my fair share of whining here, I've decided to start a new Saturday post that I hope to repeat every week. Because Saturday is a hard day for me to come up with anything cohesive, I'm going to start listing the little things that made my week a good one. Here goes Week #1:

• Dinner and a movie with a good friend last Sat. It may well have been my last dinner at La Baguette Bistro because she moves away in just over a month and Dave is not a fan of restaurants with real napkins and tablecloths. (But that place may be my favorite restaurant in Norman. Anyone else wanna go with me?)
• My two oldest kids being such big flirts at Day Camp. At one point, there were two little girls who HAD to sit on either side of Tristan any time we sat down for lunch, crafts, etc...Dave and I are fairly quiet people when it comes to strangers, so WHO KNOWS where this comes from? But it sure is fun to watch.
• How Natalie really stepped up and helped out with the younger kids all week. Once you are 11, you are more of a helper than a camper and she did not disappoint.
• Cool-ish weather for two of the five days of camp. It really makes a difference in everyone's moods-especially mine!
• My surprise baby shower/going away party at work that took place during the last hour of Wednesday's Day Camp. It just seemed appropriate to have it there in the Schoolhouse surrounded by kids I had been teaching all day as well as my own kids. The staff at work is SO small and everyone's to-do lists are so long that I really wasn't expecting ANY fuss at all-which made it all that much better.
• What a grown-up girl my 5 year-old "baby" turned out to be once the camp activities got started. I thought she would cling to me all week, but after the first 30 minutes she really didn't want much to do with me at all. I had NO idea she was such a pro at the Slip-n-Slide.
• Four kids in tie-dyed shirts that they pretty much made themselves. (Tristan lost interest and I did his for fun since I'd never made one before). Natalie's was by far the coolest shirt that anyone made, but I am completely biased.
• One of last year's campers trying to talk me out of calling Dave to come and pick Tristan up early when he started having a really bad day. Those two boys have been like oil and water both years of camp, but apparently they have each others' back when it counts. (And I was so touched/amused by it that I didn't call Dave after all.)
• Dave coming by after work and picking up the kids three of the five days so that I could spend another hour at my desk wrapping up loose ends before my last day without the kids to disrupt me.
• Frosty's on FRIDAY! (Thanks Sha'!)
• Shopping at Babies 'R Us with the gift card from my co-workers!
• Three loads of laundry done and put away before noon on Sat. (Yep, pregnancy insomnia strikes again!)

I'm sure there are more, but I think that's a pretty good list considering how hectic things were this week.

Last Day

When I first started working at my place of employment as an intern, the catch-phrase among the other employees was "you never know what's going to happen today." And they were very true words. For an ADD-addled brain like mine, it was the perfect job. Any given day could start with teaching 100 kids in the morning, organzing old photos or artifacts in the afternoon, and pulling weeds or cleaning bathrooms before leaving. And I loved all of it.

I loved the view of the capitol dome in the morning. I loved knowing the backstory of just about every artifact in the museum. I loved dressing up like a turn-of-the-century schoolmarm and teaching math on slates and reading from McGuffey readers. I almost always enjoyed historic house tours ("don't touch" MEANS "don't touch," people!). And most of all, I enjoyed my co-workers. Between the necessary cutbacks on what I can and can't do as my due date approaches, not to mention all the belt-tightening most museums are having to do by necessity across the U.S.; I know that the timing for me to leave was perfect on all fronts. Right now, my focus needs to be on my coming baby and on my older children as well. I do not doubt that I will eventually have another job outside the home. Given that I now have experience and good references, it may even pay more. But I doubt I will ever love any job as much as I loved this one. It was a great 3 years and I will miss it.

Kitchen Fresh

Dave swung by work this afternoon to pick up the kids so I could get some more work done kid-free. After three solid days of day camp, I really liked this. He went for extra brownie points by picking up some KFC on the drive home so that I wouldn't have to fix dinner. He even went against his own southern principles (his extended family lives in Tennessee in case you missed the travelogue from the summer of 2005 when we went to visit them) and got grilled chicken for me. Because she doesn't hinder my progress (and because my boss' 13 year-old brother was staying late too), Natalie had stayed behind at work with me. We were almost home when my phone rang. It was Dave and he was furious. Apparently, Caroline and Elisa had taken all the lovely grilled pieces he had put aside for Natalie and I and fed them to our dog while he wasn't looking. No worries, they tore it off the bone for him. Apparently, nothing is too good for our poor recovering mutt. Not even their pregnant mother's dinner. I was hungry when I got home, but I was also very amused. In part because I could picture them tearing those pieces off and tossing them into Pablo's happy mouth AND because Dave really seemed to get a dose of how kids have the innate ability to throw a monkey wrench into anything you think is already a "job well done." It's OK, there were plenty of biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. It was all good-and now Dave has gone off in search of free rootbeer floats from Sonic. Hopefully the dog doesn't like them.

Just Wrong

As most of you know, my opinion on abortion can be summed up like this: "I could never have one, but I think it should be safe and legal and available to all women." Admittedly, a lot of this came from reading John Irving's The Cider House Rules. (Which is WAY better than the movie, by the way.) But whatever my opinion may be, however they may differ from anyone who reads this blog; I hope we can all agree that the murder of Dr. Tiller yesterday was senseless. In addition to telling us that "thou shalt not kill," God also said to leave judgement and punishment up to Him and 'love our neighbors as ourselves.' Unfortunately, I think we all have a long way to go before we get there.