They Didn't Cover This in Our Adoption Homestudy

On our way to daycare and out of the deep blue sky, this morning Emma announced, "I just pooted (passed gas) with my vagina."

I always assumed that I would be able to talk about any such topic with straight forward facts. No problem, right? If I hadn't been driving, I might have tried to run away. I'm not sure why this embarrassed me.

I didn't want to leave her statement unanswered. It felt like the big pink elephant in the car to me. I now know how my Dad must have felt when I asked him (as part of writing my paper against Tipper Gore and her "assualt" on music) what he thought the lyrics, "Good golly Miss Molly / You sure like to ball." The color drained from his face and he said, "Uh... oral sex?"

So, I took a quick breath and this is the best I came up with: "Uh... That happens to me sometimes, too."

If a four-year-old can make me roll up into a giant ball of embarrassment, what do the years ahead hold?

Tea Party Interrupted

In an attempt to stop the bickering over the baby from Emma's Barbie nursery set or the Tinkerbell cell phone, we took the kids downstairs for a change of scenary this afternoon. Thankfully, it worked. They played on the beanbag and played on the slide. They took turns and had a much better time.

At one point, Allison dumped out the pieces of one of Emma's puzzles. After a few minutes, she went and got out the tea set. I said, "Ally, you have to pick up the puzzle before you can have a tea party." Without skipping a beat, she went over to the puzzle to start cleaning it up. The only indication of how she felt about my request was the exclamation of "Shoot!" on her way across the room. Isn't it nice when the hardest thing about parenting at the moment is to not laugh yourself silly?

As soon as the puzzle was cleaned up and she made sure that I acknowledged her effort, Ally set off to having a tea party. Emma didn't want to attend. She perferred to sit on her Sit 'n Spin and pretend not to eat/put in her mouth the green playdoh in her hands. Allison didn't let that bother her at all. She methodically passed out dishes, cups and spoons to Danny and me. She takes her tea parties very seriously. Our cups and bowls were kept full to overflowing at all times. I would eat and drink as quickly as I could. I just love the way she comes over with the tea pot and pours it haphazardly with such earnest. The best part is the sound effects. Every time she pours, she makes a "shhh" sound. She's a great little hostess.

Southern hospitality begins at home.

So I Missed It...

Yesterday was My Shady Tree's first anniversary. As per usual, I'm late in celebrating... So be it.

I can't say that it's been a great year, but who cares? I made it through. If this month is any indication, life it changing with the time. This has probably been one of the best months of my life.

I wish that I had the time and energy to fully explain why, but I've witnessed first hand how blessed that I am. I guess that might truly be the reason why things that happen are allowed to happen. When life is good (pre-October 2002), you tend to take things for granted. If that's not exactly true, you forget that you alone are not responsible for all that good. Sometimes you need a little reminder. Perhaps I needed quite a long, drawn out reminder - lest I ever forget.

So I raise my glass to Our Shady Tree. May its life be long and happy.

How Crazy Am I Now?

Y'all might think I'm crazy for the way that I reacted to the man with Buffalo Bill's voice, but it's time for you to think again. The danger is real!

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/10007206/detail.html

Off to a Great Start

As much as I don’t like the idea of turning 35, it has been good to me so far:

My lovely sister, Donielle, sent me Weight Watchers’ new Walking Kit. I love it! It has a DVD for walking inside, a CD for walking outside and a book that includes a program. It is truly wonderful.

My other equally lovely and talented sister, Meridith, sent me my presents from both herself and my parents. She put a “Do Not Open Until 10/8” tag on it. I’m really excited to see what they sent.

My good friend, Jeanne – who is my stamping buddy, got me the wheel runner that I wanted and took me out to lunch at the new Red Robin. I am still sleepy from the food. It was so good. The best thing is something she hasn’t finished yet. She bought a book entitled “Subversive Cross Stitch.” She had me look through it – and it is hilarious! I loved it so much that I asked Danny to get it for me. Anyway, the design that made me laugh just about the hardest is a design with a criss-cross border. Inside it says, “Boo F@cking Hoo.” [the @ is really a u, but I don’t want to type that word here…] I about rolled on the floor laughing. Cross-stitch is such a dainty craft. Seeing that kind of language in cross-stitch cracks me up. She told me that she made that pattern for me and is decorating the frame this weekend. I can’t wait to see it!

The biggest surprise came this morning at work. Trista, my bestest, dearest friend sent me the most beautiful bouquet of lilies. I couldn’t believe it. I have no idea how she found out the address at my building because it is different than our headquarters. This picture does not capture even half of their beauty. The coral ones are probably the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen. It was drizzling when they arrived, so the flowers were lightly covered with rain. GORGEOUS!



Tomorrow I am spending the day with my friend, Peggy, at a craft fair. I can’t wait! It’s also part of my birthday present from Danny. He’s taking the kids tomorrow so I can go and enjoy myself. What a wonderful husband! On my actual birthday, Charlie’s parents are watching the girls while we go to see “Little Miss Sunshine” and then to dinner. It’s going to be so nice.

I can say all I want that I am leaving my youth far behind. The truth is that the best is yet to come.

Banner Day

Today I got my first listen to The Killers new CD. Although reviews are mixed, I'm loving it! That being said, the first single is entitled, "When You Were Young." I think that someone is really trying to tell me something. ;)

I've discovered that Adobe FrameMaker has saved my life (figuratively, of course). I can't tell you how much I love it. I'm beginning to feel a little bit like a nerd about it. I have set a reminder up on Outlook to remind me to get ready to pick the kids up. I'm sure that the luster will fade over time, but it's such a wonderful application that creates such professional looking documentation. I doubt I'd ever be interested in working at another company unless they used FrameMaker.

Last but definitely not least, the kids are really getting to be so darn cute together. One of my favorite things is to watch them dance aroud the living room to the Wiggles. We have to get that on tape. Can I tell you how darn cute Emma looks when she's shaking her hips like Wags the Dog?

Speaking of Emma, she is growing up right under my nose. SHE CAN SPELL HER NAME. Where did my baby go? I was watching her from across the room the other day and for a flash I didn't recognize her as the maturing preschooler that she is. She getting so lanky and expressive. I know that I'm going to keep having those types of flashes for the rest of my life. It's incredible. She is really starting to get knowledge from her music and gymnastics class. She mentioned the cello one day and I told her that was one of my favorite instruments. She then went on to describe the type of sound it made (I can't remember the word - I'm illiterate when it comes to formal music), but I was shocked because it sounded right to me. ;) She also knows the names of various gymnastics positions and can show you how to do them. She's one smart cookie.

Allison is really growing socially. She talks a lot about Joshua and Regan from her class. She also knows the names of all the teachers in her building along with their rooms. She's a firecracker, and the teachers seem to enjoy her antics. She's getting ready to move to the next room and her current teachers are sad that she's leaving. They say that she prevents them from having to go after the kids. She's right there telling the other kids exactly what they should be doing. Apparently, the kids listen to her, too. She's processing what goes around her. When something happens, she's sure to ask "What happened?" I will overlook that she takes delight in that question when Emma's being punished. She won't go to bed at night without giving each and every one of us a "kisshug." It's so adorable.

The Acne of Defeat ~ or ~ Adding Acne to Injury

One thing that I’ve always prided is my clear skin. In high school, if I had more than one pimple at a time, it was a major crisis for me. I remember faking a stomach ache one day during my Junior year because I had three zits. I just couldn’t face the public.

Jump to the present… Not long after I went on my medication for anxiety in June, I noticed that the skin on the sides of my face started to feel bumpy, not smooth like usual. Not long after that, those bumps got a little bigger and some got enflamed. They also spread from my cheeks to underneath my jaw and on my neck. I bought several brands of acne fighting skin cleansers. Over the next 10 weeks, not a single product changed anything. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve even stopped wearing makeup to try to alleviate the situation. My condition has only gotten worse.

I researched acne on the web and discovered contraceptives and anti-depressants can cause acne and that adults typically develop acne on the sides of their face. After reading that, I was pretty certain that my medications were causing this. At my follow up appointment yesterday afternoon with Dr. M (the doctor who listened to me and got me headed on the right path). I told her what had happened to my skin and that it had happened shortly after starting my anti-anxiety medication. I was anticipating her agreeing with me and giving me something to help take care of it.

Never anticipate anything.

“Hormone changes in your thirties can often cause acne in women, even if you've never had it before. I don’t think this has anything to do with your medication.”

Then, as if what she said had no negative impact whatsoever, she went on to remind me that I needed to get my baseline mammogram next April. It won't be long before they're a yearly experience. All of this, just 6 days shy of my 35th birthday. If medication had caused it, I wouldn’t give it another thought. It would just be a small price to pay for feeling better. This age thing is a whole different ball game. In some things, I guess, age is the great equalizer. At the rate I’m going, things are just going to get more and more equal faster and faster. Ha!

My assignment for my next therapy appointment is to write a list of things that I like about my body or things that my body has done that has been helpful to me (my body type made me the perfect softball catcher, etc.). Should I cross clear skin off the list now? Nah… 34 ½ years of clear skin is better than nothing at all. Besides, the cream she prescribed seemed to help with only the first application. Clear skin may just be another one of those things I’ll have to put some work into from now on.

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Feminine topic described below. Do not read if you are faint of heart. You have been warned!

For those of you who care, I also found out that the random leaking from my right nipple that I've been experiencing when I don't wear a bra ever since I've stopped nursing Allison may be a special treat that might last "forever." I didn't ask, but I'm hoping that when she said "forever" she only meant until menopause. Could you imagine me as a wet nurse in my 80s?