Milestones

I wish I had accompanying pictures for this. You all missed a whole heap of cute.

Yesterday Kid went on her very first real honest to goodness sleepover. She's had this same friend over to our house for two sleepovers, but Kid has never slept ANYWHERE without one of us. Ever.

Her friend had invited her, and Kid was excited about it, but also pretty nervous. I assured her that lots of kids get nervous and it is okay to come home whenever she wanted to, but that she should go and give it a try.

Her friend's mother also invited Baby. Now, Baby wasn't one bit nervous. She was quite excited about the prospect. She talked about it for days. There was no real way that that was going to actually happen... seeing as she's only 2 and wakes up at least 2 times in the night... but we let her go along. I knew that it was making it easier for Kid. And if you had seen Baby's little cherub face all lit up about her sleepover you would have given her anything she wanted too.

Mr F and I made a reservation for dinner (thank you Cougar) and then we planned to pick up Baby and bring her home for bed. I figured it also would be a good opportunity for Kid to bail out if she needed to without having to ask to call us (did you ever have to do that?... I did... and it was torture).

When we got there they were all in their PJs. They had just roasted marshmallows in their fireplace (how cool!). Baby had not missed us but she was ready to come home to bed... she was so worn out she actually fell asleep in the car. Kid was doing great and barely acknowledged us as we packed Baby up and hit the road.

But the cute part was watching them pack for the sleepover. Kid had a big rolling suitcase. She dressed in her BEST dress and even put on tights... yes... this is the same child who *cannot* put socks on by herself in the morning. Baby also dressed up... she wore tights (yep Kid managed to put tights on her too... hmm... I think I'll be a little less accommodating on Monday morning), slippers, a PJ top, and Kid put 8 bows and barrettes in Baby's hair. She looked special. She packed her belongings (several pairs of crocs, 2 of Kid's turtlenecks, a baby blanket, a baby doll pillow, stuffed animals, her halloween pants, junk mail, two necklaces, and a book) in a little wicker bin we use for books.

So as they came out of the house and down the front steps (I SO wanted my camera) they looked very funny. Kid was dressed up like it was Christmas eve... and... Baby looked like she had just escaped from a mental hospital.

They were both so proud of themselves and each other. They were grinning from ear to ear. I mean they thought they looked GREAT.

Later last night when we carried Baby in from the car and lay her in bed Mr F and I watched some TV. There wasn't really anything different than any other Friday night. At that time they'd both be in bed anyway... but... it felt so weird. We really felt Kid's absence. It was so strange. Mr F said "It's kind of exciting that they are getting older and kind of devastating. At least [Baby] is still a baby." "Yeah at least she's still small. If they were both seven I'd go in the kitchen and kill myself." I replied. We both laughed. But we also both had trouble sleeping. I got up at 3 and couldn't get back to sleep... it was uncomfortable not knowing that both my kids were sleeping soundly. It really is one of these big leaps toward independence. It is fun, and it is a new chapter that will bring new exciting experiences, but it also feels like we're leaving things behind. It's a total mixed bag of emotions.

SOS... I Need Your Input ASAP

Is this shirt weird with this skirt?
The skirt is a cable knit sweater skirt and it is grey.
I love both of these but are the textures clashing?!
I'm leaving in 20 minutes!

Okay this is my other option...
Let me say that this skirt is lycra and tight... not obscenely but it is FORM FITTING... and I can eat as much as I want in the grey skirt. So keep that in mind.

Alright after putting these up I see that I should probably wear the black skirt. So I'm going to err on that side unless some sympathetic big eaters want to weigh in and support the comfy warm cozy grey skirt!

(pay no attention to the streaks on the fridge... I just told Mr F I never want stainless again... really think about that people when you get a fridge with the water dispenser)

Bitch Fest Friday

Let it all out.

It's good for you.

Third Time's The Charm... I Hope

Kid was sent home for lice nits AGAIN today. This is the third time in 11 days. I am being as careful as I can possibly be. (I swear!) I spend up to 2 hours a day combing her hair. I wash and vacuum EVERYTHING.

This is maddening.
MADDENING.

Her school has a no nit policy. Which is actually not recommended by lice experts since it results in unnecessary absences and treatments. So even if she's been treated and it is a dead nit that I may have missed from earlier in the week... and there is only the one... which they pick off and bag... she still has to come home. She's missed four days of school out of eight.
So I got her home and I treated her hair again. I spent another hour and a half going through her hair.

And then I drove her right back to school.

If she is lice & nit free why can't she go back? Why should she have to miss another entire day of school when it only takes a couple of hours? She can't possibly spread lice today. Their policy only states that if you have lice or nits you must go home and be treated. Which I did.

Everyday she's sent home is 40 dollars of tuition in the toilet. And thinking about that started to piss me off. So I decided that there was no reason she couldn't go back. She was technically lice and nit free.

I guess I have been the first parent to attempt this. They had to print out their policy and read it line for line... and... guess what?.. I was right... it doesn't say anywhere that they have to stay home for 24 hours. I could tell the office manager was not into it. She actually said..."Well, if you are to take this at its word then I guess she can come back. But, that is assuming you did what you say you did and that you aren't lying." Why the fuck would I bring my daughter home for two hours, wash her hair (as it was visibly wet), and then bring her back just to ... what?... mess with them? What the hell? I don't particularly like to accused of lying. It's not like we started this lice infestation. She got them AT school. So I said "You can smell her head.. it smells like the treatment."

She declined.

I really hope that this is the end of it. I'm also pretty frustrated because I'm actually treating Kid's hair with the medicinal treatment and I know of several parents in her class that are using "alternative" methods. I get that... I do... but when the situation is this bad I do fear it's only prolonging the infestation and causing Kid to go through more treatments than she might otherwise need.

She Does Have A Point

"I have to take my underwear and pants off... my underwear is giving me lines." Kid explains as she drops trou in my office.

Then she strips off her socks and shirt.

"Your underwear is giving you lines... so.... you have to get completely nude?" I ask.

"It shows off my necklace better." Kid states and runs out of the room.

True enough.

A Brief Glimmer Of Hope

Yesterday when I was chatting with my hair stylist, as one does while getting their hair cut, the paycut came up and she asked about "Project Change" (yes I know I can't pinpoint a set name).

And then a moment of awesomeness happened.

I said "well, we should know if we're moving or not by my next haircut." And a happiness washed over me. That's not that far off! This has been a long drawn out process.... and it is not over yet... but having the frame of reference makes it seem much faster than it did before. By the next time I go there we should know. There is still some hope for us.

And how exciting would it be to be headed back there in 6 weeks with a mouthful of exciting news?!

Yes. That would be exciting.

And there is still a chance for that.

Have You Been Waiting For This?

This Week The Plan

Last week was kind of crazy what with all the lice interruptions. I was really wanting to get all the summer clothes put away and all the fall clothes washed and put in drawers. That is a LOT of processing. You've got clothes that are grown out of to store or get rid of, clothes that *might* fit next year to store, fall clothes that fit to put away and those that don't to store or get rid of. It is a MAJOR job. Well, the constant laundry & vacuuming & head checks (up to 2 hours a day!!!), kind of put a damper on my progress. As of today I still have fall clothes spread out on the couch. I did manage to process all the summer clothes and they are binned up and ready for the basement. Now all the fall stuff is clean and I just need to force myself to put it away and not continue to dress the kids off the couch. I even changed my own clothes over... but... they are clean and piled on the floor in front of my dresser. (I know how fascinating this is)

I've reworked our budget... and.... YIKES... we're pretty much negative unless I get my babysitting hours. Unfortunately my situation is all over the place. Ideally I'd like 3 full days... but some weeks (last week for one) I only pull in 10 hours and that's the minimum we need to meet our monthly financial output. Any little thing would put us over. We'll just try and toe the line and hope we don't have any medical expenses in the near future. As soon as we know what's going down in the near-ish future (still don't) I'll be able to recruit another kid or two (hopefully). If I had one steady full time kid we'd be doing alright... for the immediate term anyway.

I've also decided that I'm going to go for my body fat goal. Which means... since I can't control anything else... maybe it would be therapeutic to put in some solid effort and reap some solid results every week. You know? I kind of need that right now. In that effort I'm taking a 20 day challenge. I'm changing up my routine and giving a new one 20 days to sink in. I'm also going to go back to food journaling. I really don't want to calorie count unless I have to. I mostly just want to stay focused and accountable.

Okay yada yada...

Menu:

Sunday - black bean & turkey quesadillas

Monday - baked ziti & peas

Tuesday - cheap takeout/eatout for kids (read Mc D's or Cici's ... that's what we're down to) as I'm getting my haircut during dinner

Wednesday - molasses & sweet potato beef stew (batch cooking)

Thursday - potato & leek soup (this got bumped) (batch cooking)

Friday - pizza night

Saturday - crockpot chicken w/ roasted root vegetables

I'm feeling good about my freezer stock ups. I've got 4 beef stroganoff, egg mcmuffins, gingerbread waffles, chicken soup, italian sausage meat sauce for 2 dinners, sauce for 2 pizzas, rolls for 3 dinners. This week I'm doing the potato & leek soup and beef stew. It is a huge relief to know that I've been able to get so much put up. It is absolutely a pain in the ass to do.... but it really does make a difference... do it!

Today Is The Day

We're pumpkinizing our house today.

Stay tuned.








Damn labels are still down. I've been reusing when applicable but today I got nada.

Next Stop

Colorado City


Kid didn't get why Mr F and I thought this particular hairstyle and outfit choice was so funny.

I'm betting some of you will.