A riddle for you

What do you get when you combine a trip to London with a blown headlight that you can't seem to fix and you're inspection sticker expires in 4 days?

A 3 year year old sent home from school for throwing up.

Just had to share before I head out for a few days. See you at the end of the week.

Does the MSPCA take sisters?

OK, I'll admit it. He didn't exactly ask that question last night. But he is awfully concerned when he finds Sarafina racing through the house and Abby is following her with her mouth continuously moving and nonsensical words emerging from it.

Him (softly): "Mommy. Abby is too loud for Sarafina."

Me: "I know son. Abby is too loud for most animals and humans."

Speaking of noses

Quick book update. Finished Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos. Wasn't the pick-me-up book I was hoping. A lot of analogies in the book reference black and white movies of generations gone by, and while I have nothing against them, I'm not a movie person in general so a lot of the moments slipped past me since I couldn't make the point of reference. I'm going to try a pure indulgence book this time and picked up Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger who also wrote The Devil Wears Prada.
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So the Feline and the Canine came nose to nose today through the thin baby gate that separates them. This morning, Coach got his first official glimpse of the little lady in the house but they didn't get too close. He got a treat for not barking uncontrollably at the sight of her. Good boy.

Later in the day, she came up from her basement retreat (she owns the basement playroom now) and put her nose right up to the gate as he sniffed from the kitchen side. Then she slowly turned around and walked back downstairs to claim her spot on a chair and probably do some licking of her paws. Coach immediately went to the spot where we keep his treats and sat patiently waiting for one - knowing he had been a good boy for not licking his chops and ripping through the gate.

After all this introducing is over, he'll probably have gained 20 lbs from the numerous rewards he'll get for not making her his dinner...but if I can spare the kids a glimpse of Animal Kingdom in action, it's worth the effort.

While we're on the subject of noses...don't read any more if boogers make you sick...I sat with my daughter this evening as she watched her favorite UK based cartoon, Charlie and Lola, and I read the Sunday paper and out of the corner of my eye I watched the whole thing unfold, but was still amazed.

At 5 1/2 it's no surprise tissues are not on the forefront of her mind when she has a critter stuck up her nose, but while she thought I was engrossed in the paper, I was actually grossed out watching the finger go up, then the first lick, then the investigation, then the decision to stick the said critter under my coffee table!!!!!

While I tried not to gag, I also said in a low and firm voice,

"I keep tissues in the family room so you can use them when you need them, and I think you need one right now."

She quickly retrieved her deposit, laughed a scared laugh, and got a tissue from the end table. It made it's way to the trash bin.

Now, this is not a surprising story to many of you - but there is always that hope in the back of a parent's mind that their kids will adopt all proper social manners by the age of 6 months...we all know that only happens in the movies.

Motherwords - made for me

Something arrived in my mailbox yesterday, unsolicited, and I cracked up last night reading each and every word of it.

It's a publication called Motherwords...every mother has a story. What's yours?.

I don't know much about it, except I think some sisters I never knew I had wrote some of the articles. At times, I actually felt like I was a contributor because the stories mimicked my own life - and it's full of Mommy stories, not stories about how to be a Mom. They steer clear of "10 best ways to hide cauliflower in your kids food" or "Summer fun with string". You get my point. One list was the Top 10 reasons her son gets naked - based on the bum check that happens after each poop. Hysterical!

I think I will be subscribing because it will give me something besides celebrity gossip and recipes to enjoy on those "quiet" Sunday nights (OK, on Sunday nights because who am I trying to kid...not much is quiet in my house)

And Kitty makes 8

Ok, if you count 2 kids, 2 parents, 1 dog and 2 fish - then add our latest member, Sarafina - that makes 8.

Here she is:



We are adopting her from the local MSPCA and bring her home on Friday. The kids are thrilled! The dog - not so much.

Up, up and away

I booked my flight to London last Friday. I leave on Tuesday night at 21:30 p.m. I arrive at 8:45 a.m. Wed. I spend Wed south of London at meetings. Sleep. Wake up and spend Thursday at meetings. Go back to Heathrow at 19:35 p.m. Thursday and fly home.

36 hours in the United Kingdom. So, now I can't sleep. It's on my mind all the time. How will I sleep for 6 hours on a plane, wake up, look refreshed and not like the spawn of the devil? I need 8 hours of sleep, it's just a fact!

Is there some place to change so I don't have to sleep in the same thing I head to the office in? How can I possibly function as a human all day Wed? How will I manage to convince my body it's okay to wake up at 2 a.m. "its time" on Thursday to start to function again?

Most importantly, where will I find my morning "coffee" - the 32 oz big gulp of Diet Coke? They serve those skinny little cans over there - and they aren't COLD on ice!!

That's just the partial list of things that has me tossing and turning at night. I'm most afraid of flying over water because once you leave, there aren't any airports to land at if you have problems. At least cross-country you can call ahead to Oklahoma airport and say "We're coming in". Hard to do that flying over the Atlantic.

So please excuse me if you speak with me this week - I may be yawning a bit as the anxiety has me getting less than 8 hours of sleep at night in anticipation of this upcoming trip. It reminds me of being pregnant when you're body wakes you up every 2 hours towards the end - just to get you accustom to the nights to follow.

Baby oil and aluminum foil blankets

My whole childhood I was cursed with fair skin and freckles - at least cursed in the sense of summer fun. As teenagers, anytime my Greek or Italian friends would head to the beach with me, their skin would turn a beautiful shade of olive or brown and mine would turn a shade of red. Blistering red. The red that causes people to react with, "Whoa! She's going to hurt tonight." And they were right. I would hurt. After 8 hours in the sun, I'd return home covered in Tropicana Oil with SPF 3, peel my legs off the vinyl seat of my 1976 Ford Granada, and begin to slather on aloe vera gel. I'd create a paste of corn starch and cold water to soothe the tingling pain. And then sleep in front of a window fan blowing hot air on me in the attic bedroom and pretend I was a glowing goddess when in fact I was a ridiculous lobster. The next morning the shade would be pink and the bubbles would set in as the shedding process was soon to follow.

My children will not be cursed with this unfortunate circumstance because they are half Puerto Rican. So that means that while I slather on SPF 50 on them from warnings of sun damage that I never had as a kid, they still brown up nicely. My daughter's skin is such a golden brown this time of year that I don't know if I should be relieved or jealous. Her ankles are brown. She has tan lines criss-crossing her back from every bathing suit she owns. She has these adorable freckles forming around her nose and the tops of her hands are chocolate.

I'm glad that I'm able to protect their skin from the sun, but I'm also relieved that neither of them seem to run the risk of bubbled skin peeling off every inch of their exposed bodies each summer.

So, shall we talk about the neon green bikini's that were in style back in the 80's thanks to Body Glove? Boy, those were the days! And no, I didn't keep it - amazing what you can find on the 'net:

Ms. Sierra, please sit down here away from your cousin

OK. I will admit I was a pretty good student. I wasn't honor society but I never skipped school (I actually sort of liked learning!) and was usually well behaved. There were those random occasions when I'd get a little silly with some girlfriends which always turned into the uncontrollable giggles for me and then I'd hear the dreaded,

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

or

"Please come sit in this seat down here since you can't seem to concentrate sitting near Karen, Kathy, Julie (insert your friend's name here)."

Yesterday I had a "get out of Mothering free" card for the afternoon because we had my Aunt's bridal shower down at Marina Bay. It was a small group because we have a small family - and the Moms left their kids at home. I was seated next to my cousin who I don't see enough, and who shares a similar sense of humor as me (must run in our blood), and since I was relaxed knowing my Dad and hubby were with the kids, I enjoyed some wine and some laughs at "our end" of the table.

Then it happened. The words I hadn't heard in a while put into a new context. The bride-to-be shouts out "Well, we know you two won't be able to sit at the same table at the wedding." Uh oh. I felt like I had been busted back in 10th grade and had missed a whole segment on the Pythagorean Theorem and was now supposed to explain it to the class. Shit. Was I going to be removed from the table? Then I realized this was the same woman who earlier, while opening her gifts, had put a thong on her face and said, "Oh good, an eye patch" so I knew I was safe. More laughing ensued - and a little more drinking was had - and an insane thunder "shower" rolled over us as we sat under the outdoor canopy - and it was a great afternoon.

As I am teetering between 39 and 40 years, I've realized that weddings are few and far between these days so it was fun to be celebrating the upcoming "big day" and I'm looking forward to dancing to some 70's disco tunes and thoroughly embarrassing my 5.5 year old at the wedding. As the bride-to-be admitted, there are going to be a lot of fun tables at that wedding! I hope I get to spend time at all of them!!

Oh when the ants...come marching in...

I have a little boy. My first is a girl and my second is a boy. And I always thought I wanted 3 boys. That seemed manageable - no real dating trama, no major hormone swings, no fights over make-up and clothes. They could have two on defense and one on offense (or however that works!). Then I had my daughter and I was thrilled. I was never a fan of pink so she got covered in lots of purple - ok, with some pink in there, too. And when my son was born I overloaded on blue and trucks.

Now that he's 3.5 years, I'm overloaded with dirt. Lots of dirt. Mud, actually. While boys may not come with the drama that girls seem to bring, they do come with filth and grime and bugs. Ants - all sizes. Beetles. Worms (LOTS of worms). Centipedes. Caterpillars. Grubs. Spiders. You name it, he's dug it up and brought it my way.



So when I think about his love of bugs this summer I'm pretty glad I have one of each - because 3 times as many bugs heading in my direction would have just grossed me out! Not to mention what all that dirt in the tub would have done to our drains.

Donkey..no, Elephant...no, Donkey

Arrrgggh! I will admit that I have been one of those flip floppers this Presidential campaign season. I really, deep down in my heart, believe I'm a Democrat. However, lately I have been questioning some of the basics of that party, but after reading the speech given by Al Gore about the state of our energy crisis, I think I'm sticking with the asses in November.

In part, he said:

"I don’t remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously. Our economy is in terrible shape and getting worse, gasoline prices are increasing dramatically, and so are electricity rates. Jobs are being outsourced. Home mortgages are in trouble. Banks, automobile companies and other institutions we depend upon are under growing pressure. Distinguished senior business leaders are telling us that this is just the beginning unless we find the courage to make some major changes quickly."

If you missed it, the whole speech can be accessed here:

Al Gore Speech

Now if you excuse me, I have to go buy some solar panels for my roof...and stock pile my emergency supply of canned vegetables...and install my windmill...and ride my bike to the store...and replace ALL my lightbulbs with the squiggly kind...and then turn them all off...