Papers are signed

After much fuss, and not from our girls, the papers to buy our new house and sell our current house are signed. Woohoo! Let's just say that the Escrow company we used has "Professional" in their title, and were nothing close to pros. But, the papers are signed. Now we just wait to get the keys. Jeremy and I are very excited. I can't wait to get in there and figure out where things are going to go. It's amazing how little time we have spent in the house. Although we have been driving past it on a regular basis.

School Quilt

Well, it is done. It took just under a week to finish the quilt. Since we had to scrap my Irish Chain squares, we started from scratch last Saturday. It was a lot of work, but I think it looks pretty good. I'm sure the girls are going to miss meals coming from a papernbag and TV all day long!

The Lizard of Oz

Cassidy's school quilt is supposed to be finsihed tomorrow. So how is it I have a spare second to blog? The other mom who is helping out had to leave b/c her daughter became ill. Which isn't too surprising. The class is falling like flies thanks to the "chicken pops". Or as I would say, the chicken-pox. So I have had to park the girls in front of the TV more than I like to admit. Cassidy's favorite right now is "The Lizard of Oz". The Muppets rendition which we have on Tivo. At least I know what she will want for Xmas this year.

Happy Ear Day!

Today one of the other Mom's from Cassidy's preschool was over to help with the quilt. We are making good progress....I think. Sort of hard to tell as we have to get it done by Friday night so it can go on the auction block on Saturday. Yikes! So we locked ourselves in the office and slaved away while Jeremy took care of the girls. We took a break for lunch and Cassidy was very excited to have company. She eagerly said, "Daddy I have something to say to you" When our guest asked, "What is it, Cassidy?" Cassidy said, "No, not you, to Daddy. Daddy, Happy Ear Day." She then let me know she had something to say to me, another "Happy Ear Day". Finally our guest was graced with Cassidy's well wishes for a "Happy Ear Day". So to all of you, Happy Ear Day from ours!

Back On-line

Jeremy took my li'l iBook to his new job with the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft and fixed it. Hooray! Only one problem. Jeremy has done this with every reinstall he's ever done, he forgets to transfer my email. So I have no address book, no previous emails, nothing but a few new messages. So I apologize for my diapperance from the electronic world. I still have quite a few on my yahoo account, but it will take me awhile to get back into the swing of things. Sorry all. But at least I'm blogging again! Woohoo!

What does Oprah know?

I remember watching Oprah B.K. (before kids) and so many epsiodes were about women and mothers and at the end of the show, Oprah would sum up so nicely, "Take time for yourself". This week has been pure torture for me. I have had terrible PMS, that set off a bout of depression, Jeremy started his new job so he has been gone more than I'm used too, and I have this quilt for Cassidy's preschool to finish. You know, by June 4th and I had NONE of it done as of Saturday morning. Which started awful as Jeremy was tired and felt he deserved to sleep in, even though I was the one ready for the loony bin on Friday while he was at the Star Wars movie with his team until 6:30. It's moments like these I think of Oprah's advice. When I can't even take the trash out uninterrupted and have an urgent project to finish I'm supposed to 'take time' for myself. What does Oprah know? She's not even married, let alone kids. I mean, she probably follows her own advice, but it's a whole lot easier without kids!

And the runner up is....

We just had a rocking vacation last week, and we are still recovering and trying to get rested. Seeing my friends always does something to me though. Makes me long for the old days before kids. When I could stay out late, sleep in late or do whatever I wanted on a vacation. Someone always says, "You're such a good Mom" which I take as a consolation prize. It's not that anyone thinks I'm less of a person b/c I'm doing the SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) thing, it's that I take it that way. I know it stems from my dissatisfaction. If someone were to say, "You're such a good chemist" while I was still working, I would have taken pride. The problem is I didn't choose to be a SAHM for my career. My problem is I keep finding reasons why I should wait until I get back into the work force, and find myself miserable in the mean time. Ok, I'm not miserable, I'm just not living every moment with my girls as if it was a special gift. Maybe it's me, but I don't find sopping up pee from the carpet b/c my 3yo decided not to go to the toilet a special gift that I should treasure always. In fact, I hope to forget that moment soon, so I don't bring it up at dinner when she's 17.

1 week(s) 12 hours and 7 minutes

Otherwise known as how long our vacation was according to the parking machine at SeaTac. Jeremy and I had to agree that it was our best vacation ever with the girls. Not that we didn't have some challenges, which mostly started before we left. In other words, don't put an offer on a house, put your house on the market and have your husbands last day at his current work the day before you leave!! We were ready to enjoy the vacation, and would have if the fax machine would have been working and the girls slept for the first 2 days. But amazingly, they finally slept and we finally sold our house. Woohoo! Let the real vacation begin. We took it easy in Tahoe, as it snowed on us and then turned sunny and warm. Had photos done of the family at the beach. Then went out on the boat with Grandpa. Cassidy drove it, and we had a great bumpy cold time. Jeremy had his attmept at the World Series of Poker Circuit Event (a $200 entry) and was taken out by a pro. We watched a lot of the pros play (almost got run over by Doyle Bronson in his Rascal Scooter)and the 2 of us went to watch the final table play. Then we headed down to Sacramento for some friend time. Hung with Jim and Jill, Robyn and Jen, Ashley and Kevin, as well as my Grandpa (girls great Grandpa). Every night we went to bed exhausted and woke up a little before we were ready. We packed as much fun as possible in. We were so happy to be home last night, so imagine our horror when we find ourselves locked out of our house. No problem, just call our baby sitter from down the street, who is on a ferry boat!! ACK!! Call real estate agent, leave message. No, I'm fine. Jeremy's trying to pick the lock, I'm crossing my legs cause I have to pee, and girls are fussing because they are still in car. Yeah! It was a GREAT trip! Amazing how complete exhaustion and having to pee can taint your view of a trip. Meet sitter at McD's and get girls to bed an hour later than we planned, but thankful we got in at all. After a good night's sleep in our own house, it really was a great trip and we had a blast.

Mothers and .... More (on being Julia Roberts)

Julia Roberts graced the cover of People magazine's 50 most beautiful cover for a 3rd time. According to the mag, since becoming a mother Julia has become more beautiful. So nice to see having twins is helping out someone's career. It made me think about how society views motherhood though. For example, Julia is seen as an actress, an Oscar winner, a beautiful woman AND a mother. It is just another title to add to her long list. Yet for many women, when they achieve the title of 'mother' they lose all their previous titles. Somehow now that you are a mother means that it has more priority than any of your other titles. See my post on Mothers&More site about loving your husband more than your kids. Why does "Mother" take precedent over "wife", "employee", "woman", "research scientist", "sex goddess" or any other title? Why do we do it to ourselves and to others? I know I need to focus on the 'More' when I meet fellow Moms and hopefully we all will.

Blech, Garage Sales

I hate garage sales. Not going to snoop through other people's stuff and see what I can find, mind you, but putting one on. Today my Mothers&More group is hosting a garage sale, and I have done everything I possibly can to avoid helping out during the sale. Except I can't stop myself and throw out that last life line as I'm dropping stuff off last night. I hear myself saying, "You don't need anyone else for tomorrow do you?" WHAT!! How did that escape my lips? Oh well, it's tomorrow they must have enough people. "Yes, please show up at 11." Nooooo.

I don't know where my garage-sale-aphobia began. We never had one as a child, so maybe it's my lack of experience. Maybe it's that I'm not very social with strangers, so I don't like to haggle over a price. Even when my best garage sale experience when we left NC, I did everything under the sun to avoid being out there. And let me tell you, the southerners know how to garage sale. It starts at 8 and ends at 11. None of this, hanging around all day until 2 in the afternoon. And people will start driving by as you set up. You get the early shoppers, who try to get you while you're setting up, "How much for this clock radio?" You have to fend them off until you are ready for business. Then there is a rush. As all the 'good' stuff will be gone in the first hour. Then you wait as people come in from their 1st choice garage sales and see if you have anything left that is good to them. We had a wonderful experience with a group of women who came in when it was almost closing time. We still had a couch that we didn't want to bring with us, but she was setting up a new apartment. Then her aunt found the rest of a set of china she had bought the previous week that one of our neighbors had brought over. Suddenly there was singing of "Thank you, Jesus!" I guess that was what ruined me for all other garage sales. If you don't have an impromptu gospel choir, I'm not sure I want to garage sale.

Apple a Day

Our house has 3 computers. 1 desktop PC, 1 laptop PC, and my Apple laptop. It is set up with wireless internet, so I get to bring it with me all through the house. It allows me to watch the girls play, but still do my own thing, like blog! So imagine my dismay when after installing the last 'security update' my beloved Apple would not reboot. I feel sorry for Jeremy as I have taken over his laptop to check emails and to put out a few blogs. We have been trying to figure out what went wrong, but Apple has yet to own up to having a problem in their update even though plenty of people have lost ability to boot. Maybe they don't know b/c no one can get on-line to yell at them! Sorry for they delay, but things will be slower until we get it sorted out.

Exquisite Taste

As previously mentioned, my cousin is in town for a visit. We have been having a good time, doing some touristy stuff. Like check out the Microsoft museum, the space needle and, of course, Pike's Place market. While we were wandering around the market famous for it's fish tossing yesterday, lunch time came upon us. We popped over to a quiet corner of the market, and Jeremy asked Cassidy, "What would you like to eat for lunch?" Cassidy stood and seriously thought for a moment, "Um..Lobster!"

Long Day, scratch, Week

I started this post on Monday, when Jeremy had to fly down to Sacramento for business. He was not even be gone for 18 hours, but it still seems like an eternity to me. He left shortly after Keira got up, but before Cassidy was up. After spring break last week, I knew getting her ready and out the door for school was going to be a challenge. Amazingly, Cassidy was in good spirits, ate her breakfast, put her dishes in the sink, and managed to get dressed without shedding a single tear. After dropping her off, I had my next challenge. Keeping Keira awake and happy until we pick up Cassidy from school. We made it through the afternoon without any drama, and had dinner and baths. Keira went down easy, but Cassidy was still up when Jeremy landed at airport. About 10 minutes from home is when she finally passed out. Tuesday was rough, because we were all tired out from Monday. Also, we were trying to get the house ready for photos since we are going to put it on market in a couple of weeks. Cassidy pulled another late nighter, which meant Jeremy and I were up late rearranging furniture and sorting through 'junk' late. Yesterday, was the mad dash to get everything clean and REALLY ready for pictures, plus go view another house. We put Cassidy in the car at 6:15 to drive around so she could fall asleep at a decent hour and get back into her schedule. At 8, quiet was in the house. Now my cousin is arriving today for the weekend. I guess an hour of peace and quiet will have to do this week!

One of those Mornings!

So we are still in the process of recovering from a visit by my brother-in-law. The 3 adults spent way too much time playing cards and staying up late talking politics. So last night I should have gone to bed early to help the recovery process, but I headed out to a Mothers & More meeting. It was a good one and I had a fantastic time, but.... it has turned into 'one of those mornings'. I guess it actually started last night when Cassidy woke up crying and asking for milk, and Jeremy said no, which caused screaming fits. Then he did the 'swap' which usually involves one haggard parent barking at the other haggard parent, "It's YOUR turn" in their nastiest voice. She eventually made it in to bed with us, where we slept as well as can be expected. Until the 5 am wakeup call from Keira, who was hungry b/c she didn't get the snack I suggested before heading off to my meeting. The night wasn't restful, and the sun only brought the harshness of the day. Just the highlights (although I guess they are lowlights): Keira screaming b/c she dropped her snacks on the floor and the dog ate them, Banging my head on countertop while picking up dropped snack bowl, The dog bringing me a half full yogurt in the living room, The girls screaming while I'm on the toilet (thankfully when I did get to check they were just playing in drawer with crayons and books), Coming downstairs to find out what Keira was doing with the crayons from the drawer! And it's only 10am!!!

Visit from Uncle Chris

I love it when people come to visit. . .and I hate it. I love to see people, but I really hate getting routines interrupted. But it's not all bad. This weekend Jeremy's brother came to town, and we did a LOT. Mostly, I did a lot that I normally wouldn't be able to do. Today, all before 2 pm, I had been to Target, done 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, tidied my bedroom and bathroom and fixed Keira's closet doors. Amazing stuff I know. How is it possible that my house isn't always spotless and that we have no 'to-do' list? Well, Uncle Chris and Jeremy were busy playing with the girls, keeping them busy and taking care of all the fussing so that I could get things done.

Censorship

I have been feeling a bit blue for the last 24 hours. Not a bad day blue. Not even a 'kids are driving me nuts' blue. A blue because I was censored. The Mothers & More group that has helped me so tremendously with realizing I'm not alone in the game of Mothering censored me. It was a shocker. The worst part, was what they censored. On their blog (which there is a link to on right) a woman posted a comment that was taken as a slam to all of the bloggers. In our discussion group it was causing a flurry of emails and I thought I would put in my two cents in the blog. Maybe I was a bit harsh or maybe I took on as if to represent the organization, but they took down my blog and never informed me as to why. I realize now that I love my chapter of Mothers & More because it is full of intelligent women who would not censor me even if they whole-heartedly disagreed. Following is the blog that I posted. You be the judge. I can take criticsim and harsh words, but I will not tolerate being 'hushed'.

One of the Mothers & More Moms had this to say to one of the postings on this site.
"I am almost ashamed to be part of Mothers & More after reading the “blog” comments sent in the Mothers Day Campaign email. Why are we mothers? To have the blessing and joy of raising our children. So what if you have to do dishes, take care of them when they’re sick or you get frustrated with your children. Twenty years from now when there are no more noses to wipe, tears to wipe away, or little hands to clean up after, you’ll all be ashamed of yourselves for whining now and not enjoying the little (sometimes unpleasant) things. Let’s stop whining about being “taken for granted” by our husbands and children and start ENJOYING them!!
Comment by Jennifer — 4/5/2005 @ 10:58 am "

I am almost ashamed to have Jennifer in this organization. I don't know what Jennifer signed up for with this group, but I read the Mission Statement before I joined. A refresher: Mothers & More is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of mothers through support, education and advocacy. We address mothers’ needs as individuals and members of society, and promote the value of all the work mothers do.

The real story of Motherhood is not all sunny afternoons making crafts or playing at the park. That is a small part of what we do. If we want to vent our frustration about the tedious, gruesome daily grind that is Motherhood who better than to other Moms who can empathsize and offer us support. Jennifer, I will never be "ashamed" of writing about the hardships of Motherhood. I do it for myself, for others and for my children. 20 years from now I will NOT miss wiping noses and bums and toddlers temper tantrums. Do you know why? Because I can relive it all by rereading my blogs. The good, the bad and the little memories that would fade away into nothing are going to be forever with me.

Spring Time

Spring is in the air, and that means Spring Cleaning. As I have already mentioned nursing is now in the past tense at my house, and today I threw away all the bottles, pumping supplies and hid the Boppy. I would have kept the Boppy out, but Keira knows what it means and will point to it and scream, and in the interest of keeping my sanity I decided to squirrel it away. I have been SOO looking forward to being done with nursing that I didn't think about what it means. I'm DONE with nursing. A little bit of sadness creeped in to my celebration. It hit me as I was tossing the breast shield into the trash can (those things look like another item out of the Amish S&M catalog).

Bribery Works

I gladly admit to bribery as a parenting technique. Worries of giving my kids too many sweets seem to never appear. Maybe it's because we dangle the 'candy carrot' and rarely have to cough it up. For example, last night we ate dinner at a local restaurant and Cassidy started dancing on her seat and generally being a pain. She didn't have a nap, and since she is still getting over the flu, it was about time she should be going to bed. So Jeremy promptly informs her that if she settles down she can have a candy when we get home. She settles. Jeremy looks across table and I say, "If she's still awake". Jeremy puts on his commercial voice, "Offer good for a limited time only. Offer expires at midnight, no subsititutions or rain checks."

Burning Bras!

Well, nursing bras. It has been over 24 hours since I last nursed Keira. I know, TMI (too much information, for those of you way behind the times) for some of you. The point being that it has been 4 years since I have had my body to myself. I have been host to 2 babies, internally and externally, for 4 years! This is a milestone. I was just looking forward to having a normal bra 2 years ago when we found out about Keira. I have not purchased a bra in over 4 years. Nursing bras don't count because they look like something out of a fetish catalog for the Amish. There isn't anything sexy about them except for easy access. I look forward to finding out what cup size I am now.

Mystery Illness

Ok, so the last entry was too soon. Sure, the fever broke, but it was far from over. Cassidy went to school on Wed. and I really hope she wasn't contagious still. She sure seemed like her old self. But after she was home and was a terrible fuss until passing out on couch for a nap, I thought maybe she shouldn't have gone. She stayed home yesterday, and took a nice 3 hour nap in the afternoon and then to bed at normal time last night. She's home today, and I think she might have one last nap in her before she's back to bounding everywhere. After much thinking and worrying, I think it was the flu. Which would explain why no one else in the family has it. Keira got a flu shot, but Cassidy didn't thanks to the shortage. Jeremy and I are fine, so I don't know if we've had it before or what. All I know is that it has not been fun for any of us.