Midterms

I hate midterms. I know, I know, I am not a student but I hate Pat's midterms more than I ever hated my own. First of all I was never as good of a student as he is (naturally gifted), and I didn't have these two kids screaming at me while I was studying. The other day I decided that the only thing worse than mopping (once a day people!) is having your son chase you screaming and army crawling through the wet floor while you mop. This is the kind of pressure I am under.

Tonight we had dinner at Costco. Don't judge me, it is midterms. And as though our house were not enough of a pressure cooker our air conditioner went out today, more closely approximating the steamy aspects of a pressure cooker. I was not about to turn on an oven and make it 1 degree warmer in here. The real bummer is I have been killing myself getting deals on groceries just so I can kill the budget with a berry sundae. Did you know you can get them with chocolate soft serve? I digress.

At Costco I am getting Ella some water and Pat starts yelling my name. Ella is about to blow. She had been saying her head hurt, but frankly so did mine so I didn't think anything of it. Until she starts to spew into my diet coke cup. Yum.

Thankfully she curled up and went to sleep in the stroller because MOTY (mother of the year) still had to get diapers. I know that making your sick child sleep through a shopping trip is about the worst thing a mom could do, but it ranks just under having to leave your baby in the same diaper all day so I did my best. As my friend Connie would say, "We all make choices"

And the worst part of all of this is that it was not even really that bad of a day. 100 degree heat, screaming baby, puking child not really that bad when you consider its midterms. Just imagine what it will be like during finals. When he takes his boards we are leaving town.

(Two) Milestone

Tonight I went two miles. Though this is not a big deal for most (my husband refuses to run anything less than two miles) I think it is the first time in my life ever to have gone two miles. As a matter of fact my only memory of running before is the President's Physical Fitness testing in the 8th grade, and that was a mile that I whined through.

With each marker as I have been running these last two months I think of those words of Christopher Robin to Pooh "You're braver than you believe and you are stronger than you seem." Running, like parenting, pushes you to your limits and then when you are brave you go a little further. Children don't wait for you to be brave to push you beyond your limits. They don't even wait until you are awake.

Jack is getting his "maxillary central incisors" which look positively ugly bulging through. I am not sure which I dread more, not sleeping for the next few nights or him inevitably biting me. I suppose now is the time to be brave.

Pat is ruining my life

When you stay home all day with a person who doesn't speak you have a lot of time to think about how you would like to redecorate your house and how you might like to change your hairdo. And since as Pat and I often discuss, to decorate your house you need a lot of money or a lot of time, and we have neither I have started obsessing about getting bangs.

Pat is opposed. He thinks they are too fussy. I can sort of understand his point as he remembers 80's bangs sprayed with Aquanet hairspray. And he just keeps saying over and over, "They hang in your FACE!" as if this is not the most obvious feature of bangs. My two greatest argument for bangs are that some of my cutest friends have them and at least its something different for God's sake.

Okay fine, maybe we need a dog. On a walk we met someone with a Puggle. Very cute dog, and upon further inquiring found out she got the dog for 1/2 price, $600. Holy smokes, the rent on our first apartment was less than that!(insert old joke here) Pat reminded me that he is far too busy saving the world one tooth at a time to pick up dog poop and that would fall to me. Like all of the other poop duty around here. Our lease also does not allow for dogs. Minor detail.

After a full weekend of IHOP for family night(kids eat free M-F, 3-10, and they have a Dr. Seuss menu!), Newport Beach(let's move here Pat), Kyle's 6th birthday, and church we went to Ohana for yogurt. Sitting outside Coffee Bean, watching Ella dance and Jack marvel at the misters and fountain, I reached frozen yogurt Nirvana.

Just then a striking red head walked up with one of those really cute, really angular haircuts prompting me to suggest to Pat that maybe I should cut my hair short. His response:

"You should get bangs."

Yummy

I made the yummiest dinner the other night that was super easy. From Martha of course. I used fresh chicken and parmesan ravioli. It felt so rich even though a few Tbsp of butter split between 3 people is no big deal. We put that much on our popcorn.

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=de3e1a55b890f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=ravioli%20sage%20butter&rsc=header_6

I served it with veggies to assuage my guilt. Put a lid on the pan to help wilt the spinach.

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=1be0e7da540f7110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=corn%20green%20beans%20spinach&rsc=header_1

It was one of those meals that I forgot I cooked it it was so good. Having a not very expressive husband is so annoying at moments like that. I wanted him to say, "Man, this is good. MMMmmm, what is this?" Instead, "thanks for making dinner." The flip side of him not being very expressive is that on the all to often nights that I don't make dinner he doesn't complain. On the outside anyway, if he's complaining on the inside that's his problem.

On the not so yummy tip, ChaCha Tacos a new favorite for their Garbage Burrito, was discovered to have a "B" rating tonight at dinner. Aacchh! Apparently there is actual garbage in the burrito.

Family Night

It all started with the JDA mini-golf night. Fun except for my MOTY(mother of the year) moment.


If you've ever golfed with a kindergartener you know it takes a while. Well after the 10th stroke I suggested to Ella that she just throw it in. Wrong word choice. Roll it in. Roll.


She of course throws it in...into the deep blue waters of Lake Fiesta Village. After a reasonable emotional outburst(growth on her part) Pat was able to get her a new ball. This still does not explain why Michael was golfing with a pink ball.












Family night concluded with a Veggie Tales video(when we got home from eating JDA Veggie sandwiches) and a discussion of who is our neighbor.

Jack enjoyed the golf and the talking vegetables. Upon review of the photos I should have been paying better attention to how Pat was carrying my baby.
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Feats of Strength

Sunday we had a great time at California Adventure with my in-laws, the high points being: 1. watching Ella and Mary skip over the cracks in the concrete, 2. listening to Pat and Joe scream like girls on Tower of Terror, 3. impressing my father-in-law with my Disney strategy.



After going from earlier than opening(did you know they let you in 1/2 hour early?) to parade we were pretty pooped. Somehow Monday at 2 we were discussing how it was Pat's last day of vacation and we decided to go back to Disney. Not the feat of strength.



We arrived at the parking structure and had to park in Donald, second level from the top. Pat had Jack and I had my bag, the coats, and Ella's hand. Somehow she let go, but I didn't notice. That is until 5 steps down Ella says "Mommy!?!" still at the top of the escalator. I have two choices watch my terrified child disappear as I cascade down the world's tallest escalator, or run back up. At this point 10 steps down, I decide I have to go for it. Like the world's worst Stairmaster I run up the escalator of course thinking " I can't do this" then remembering I have to.

Unbelievably I reach the top and grab Ella's hand!

After she gets on the people who were standing at the top watching the whole thing said "I can't believe you did that, I couldn't have done it." I asked if she had kids, she said yes, and I told her "yes, you could have."


I felt like the lady who lifts a car off of her child! I knew if I waited to go all the way down and all the way up we would lose visual contact and she would be in hysterics. And not for nothing, I didn't know who was at the top of that escalator!



At the bottom I made Pat take a picture of me in my moment of triumph and he said, "Aren't you glad you've been running?" I guess I'm not just dragging myself to the gym for a smaller butt.

Maiden Voyage

When prompted to blog by my friend Ashley I told her I didn't really have anything to say. "What, you have more to say than most people I know," was her reply. I corrected myself. I don't have anything to say that I won't regret saying within a month.

So here is to putting my foot in my mouth not just in social situations but in cyberspace also.