Irony

I was waiting in a long line of cars to make a right turn this morning.  The driver in front of me began to get impatient as we waited for traffic to clear so she tried to nose out to the right of us and go around the cars in front of her.  There appears to be room to do that at this particular intersection but there really isn't because that space isn't actually a lane and it gets cut down to nothing at the corner.  The driver noticed this after she'd maneuvered her car half way into this space and then she just sat there, stuck.  I chuckled to myself because I love to see people with a sense of entitlement cut down to size.

Then I noticed her bumper sticker.  It read, Women Make Great Leaders ... You're Following One Now.  And then I laughed out loud.

Things That Are Annoying Me

• This little spot on my upper lip that is chapped. My lips aren't chapped -- just this one spot. And no amount of Burt's Bees or Chicken Poop is helping.
• The tire pressure gauge keeps lighting up on my new car. I've been in twice for them to fix it but they're only 'fixing' it.
• Sponge Bob.
• Bickering kids.
• I'm itchy for no apparent reason.
• The tile floors need sweeping and mopping and I don't want to do it.
• I can't find someone to work for me on October 5. Every last prn nurse we have is busy. And we have more of them than we've ever had since I started there.
• The boys can't seem to lie on the floor without putting their feet all over the furniture around them, no matter how many times I remind them, make them sit up, make them sit on their feet, etc.
  

I Knew This Day Was Coming

But I didn't know it would come so soon. My three children can shower alone. All of them. Even the 6-year-old. Even the 8-year-old with hair-down-to-there can wash, rinse, condition and rinse again. Alone. It's a beautiful thing.

Too Comforting?

Miriam came to me in the kitchen tonight, pouting. When I asked her what was wrong she said that she doesn't want to go to school tomorrow.

I thought she was worried about something at school or feeling worse or something. I finally got her to admit that there are no problems at school; she just wanted another day at home with me.

Evidently, we've had too much fun together. I have to admit that it has been kind of nice. We've watched cartoons together, shared hot chocolate and cuddled on the sofa quite a lot. I confessed that I'd really like to stay home with her again too, but that we both need to get back to school and work.

So to celebrate that we're better now, we decided to bake brownies together. Brownies make everything better.

My Kids Have Been Indoctrinated

And that's meant tongue-in-cheek, of course.

I got a message from the school district last week concerning the speech to be given by President Obama this week to students. It stated that teachers in the district had the option of showing the speech in class but that some may not be able to due to scheduling conflicts, etc. As you probably would guess, I had no problem with the kids listening to this speech, no matter what political pundits across the board might say.

As it turns out, neither of the boys' teachers showed the speech and Miriam was at home with me, coughing and sleeping. So we watched the speech at CNN.com tonight. I paused it occasionally to talk to the kids about the points being made. They were really impressed but I wondered how much they really absorbed.

It didn't take long to see what an impact the talk made on Solomon. He immediately went to my desk and wrote out the following statement for himself. He says he's going to keep it forever and read it on his first day of college.

I am promising my country ...
I will work harder in school.
I will make many goals and try to reach them.
I will behave more.
I will be a better leader.
I will focus more in school and I will keep this letter
and read this paper when I need help.

I am so proud. And that is not meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

H1N1: We Haz It

I had a bad, bad feeling on Saturday that I was coming down with the flu. It just felt like it. I tested myself at the office and it was negative. That, coupled with the fact that I didn't have a fever, led me to believe I didn't actually have a strain of flu.

But then Miriam started complaining of a headache and had a fever last night. Because I still felt flu-ish and because the kids are supposed to spend this weekend in Albuquerque and because I can't miss more work, I took Miriam in for a flu test this morning. It was positive, flu A, which is what H1N1 is.

We have prescriptions for Tamiflu now. Well, the kids do; I don't because it's been too long for Tamiflu to benefit me now. And I'm feeling much better anyway. I hope the prophylactic dose really helps the boys and we avoid any more of this mess.

I have to say I'm really glad to know that the hype over H1N1 is really more hype than anything else. I haven't felt nearly as ill as I did when we got whatever other strain of flu we had in January 2008. I really think that people like us who are relatively healthy over all, shouldn't worry too much about H1N1. Truly.

I feel really bad about exposing people this weekend, though. We spent quite a bit of time with Jenn, Caleb and the boys and also with My New Friend and his son. I know this just happens sometimes, but it doesn't stop me from feeling bad about it. My apologies to you all.

I Want a Real Mommy!

"I want a real mommy that gives me whatever I want! Not a fake mommy like you that won't give me anything!"

-- Samuel, at bedtime when he claimed to be hungry and I sent him to bed, knowing full well that he was only stalling