Double Date

A friend came to play today and coerced the boy into dressing up and having pictures taken.

By the way, my oldest younger sister wore the green dress to prom when she was a sophomore in high school.

Mouse in the House

You know those flat, cardboard sticky traps for mice? They smell a bit like peanut butter? They don't make a snapping noise when a catch has been made, so one wouldn't know not to try pushing the end of it back under the stove with one's toe after a less-than satisfying bicycle adventure.

They are, however, extrememly sticky - even sticking to one's toe while one screams, dances wildly on one leg, screams, and attempts to fling the mouse-laden trap off one's foot, while screaming. Even children, ages 8 and 10 are unable to un-stick the trap from their mother's toe by screaming and screaming. Now, that's sticky.

The poor little mouse, not yet , but horribly emaciated and now terrified, still attempts escape, yet finds it's eternal rest in the large green trash can outside.

I guess the title should read, "Mouse WAS in the House."

When will Mr. Rellim be home?

RAGBRAI- Not!

Friends of ours participate in RAGBRAI which is the Registered (something, something) Bike Ride Across Iowa.

The kids and I attempted to bike ride across town today and only got 2 blocks away before the boy started complaining that his bike wasn't peddling well, the daughter's foot slipped and scraped on the pavement, and my bike started making crazy won't-change-gears noises.

So, we mosied our sorry-selves home just in time to witness the daughter's toe bleeding (She's certain it will have to be amputated.), her bicycle crashing to a halt - right onto her brother's foot, wild screaming from the boy (He's certain his foot is broken.) and my loud grumbling.

Instead of a leisurely bike ride, we have settled for ice packs, cold drinks and The Price Is Right on Channel 3. Maybe we will attempt an excursion later today.

But, do you know what? Our home is air conditioned, the computer is working and the refrigerator is full. Life is good.

County Fair

Today was the first day for the daughter to show her rabbit, Bambi. It was about 102 degrees sitting in the stands, enjoying the barely-clothed locals, breathing the dust, cigarette smoke from the various carnies and manure from the nearby beef exhibits. I can only imagine how hot the poor rabbit felt in her pet taxi (formerly used by my grandmother for her cat, "Blinky.")

I do know that her face shown with enthusiasm and pride as her junior doe was chosen as second place in its class and received an "A Class" rating.

Now, let's start talking to some 4H people and create an air-conditioned show ring - then I'll try to stick around for showmanship.

Allergy/Immunology

We just got home from a 9:00 am appointment with the specialist. The boy is allergic to almost every environmental allergen one can imagine (He actually had a reaction to the testing and we had to return to the hospital for observation!)

Peanuts, of course, we knew about, but we now are to be hyper-vigilant about all legumes (peas, beans, string beans, etc) and talk to our pediatrician about further food allergy testing.

We also learned that he is old enough for an epipen, though we hope never to need it.

The boy asked, "Why does everything always happen to me?!"

I reminded him that females in the species still carry and bear the infants, so he could lighten up!

CONCERT

The kids and I met the parents and nephew for a FREE concert with Phil Wickam. Check out this link for the official picture taken by the radio staff.

http://wbgl.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=4502

Nan's premiere blog post

How often does a great-grandma get a post? Here she is with my two kids. Maybe I should ask her to come to VBS with me and hold the boy in his seat during the lesson time.

THE talk - sorta

The kids and I are driving home from VBS. One thing leads to another. See if you can follow this stream of consciousness of conversation topics:
Willy Wonka . . .
Gene Wilder . . .
Gilda Radner . . .
Ovarian Cancer . . .
Ovaries ("What's that Mom?") . . .
Eggs ("Like a turtle lays them?") . . .
Testicles . . .
Semen ("It's just something husbands need to help make a baby."). . .
Babies ("But does the wife have to drink something?") . . .
("No is EVER going to be next to my balls!")

Lucky Grape

Second night of VBS. My son is still in my group, despite his grumblings. Tonight, one of the boys smuggled food from the snack time and brought it with him to HOT BIBLE ADVENTURE time. It rolled from his hand just as Lazarus was being raised from the .

I said, "What's that?!"

He replied, "My lucky grape."

"Well, eat it."

"I can't. It's lucky."

"Then put it in your pocket and when you get home you can enjoy some lucky grape juice. Just be quiet so Jesus won't get you."

Do you think that was a bit harsh?

First night at VBS

In my group there is one runner, two hitters, one cuddler and one disrespectful son (mine). On the bright side, the runner has thus far always returned and the hitters have only hit each other. My son was put to bed promptly by his daddy and I am enjoying a cold beverage.

The music is awesome! Fiesta up for Faith!

400,000 miles

And I would walk 500 miles
And you should walk 500 hundred more
Just to see the car that we've been driving
'Round and 'round and 'round some more.
(do-do-doot-do, do-do-doot-do)

In February 1992, Mr. Rellim and I welcomed a four-wheeled masterpiece into our family - an brand new almond/beige/pearl colored Camry DX. The interior has seen better days and part of the undercarriage shows the marks of a tangle with a little dog. It tends to leak a bit of oil and there's no CD player, but it gets us where we need to go and gets 30 miles/gallon!

Today, it officially turned over 400,000 miles. We all sat in the car together and drove around the block until it turned. The kids were screaming out the windows like maniacs.

Do you think we should get hobbies?

Perhaps we should send some pictures and our story to Toyota and try to get in an advertisement. Maybe they will buy us a new one!!

For what it's worth

“In the world it is called Tolerance . . . [it] believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, despises nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.” -- Dorothy Sayers

Do you know where to find your worth?

Blueberry Muffins

I made homemade blueberry muffins this morning - FROM SCRATCH. What did my kids do? Complain, whine and ask how I could do something as horrible as put REAL blueberries into the muffins. (One even said that I have ruined his life due to this incident.)

Q: What do they want instead?

A: The $.79 Betty Crocker pouch of blueberry muffin mix that requires I add only 1/2 cup of water and - PRESTO - muffins! Someday they will appreciate all I do for them.

38 Days of Coughing

So I take the boy to see his PA-C (that's a Physician's Assistant - Certified) today because he continues to wake (me!) in the night with coughing and inhalatory stridor. I've determined this is not due to asthma or GERD and hypothesize it may be laryngospasm (Remember the "Ingo" part of the word, Mrs. Bickerson?) or paradoxical vocal cord movement or just some weird learned behavior that gets his mother's attention immediately. Our PA-C agrees it may be a behavior (albeit involuntary) and suggests we use some cough medicine with codeine in it to keep him in a deeper sleep to attempt extinguishing the coughing behavior. After a long day of sassiness from the children, I'm thinking, "Hey, why not give the medicine to BOTH of them?! And me too!" But I didn't. Any comments?

Netwhack!

I'm no longer neckwick or nitwit. Now I'm a netwhack. It keeps getting better and better.

Nitwit!

I'm not sure if that's a particularly bad word or not, but I think that's what my son has been calling me under his breath this morning, although it tends to sound more like, "neckwick," which is also a possibility, given his history of hearing and sound discrimination issues. Does anyone know the country of origin for this word? Should I correct him or await the day of utter humiliation on the playground?

One of those days?

This is not me or anyone that I know, but today I feel like this person. You know - all hip and ready for some fun, but making a big fashion statement of the "no-no" variety. In fact, I've yet to shower or change out of my pajamas. Are you having one of those days?

NASCAR, here he comes!

My brother-in-law (aka Daren-Bobby) won a big race last week. Will Ferrell (aka Ricky-Bobby in Talladega Nights) has some advice for up-and-coming race car drivers and fans. Just check out this link at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13829031/

Beige?

The paint on the garage floor is dry and we are moving back into our "poor man's patio." But don't you think the color is more of a Flesh than a Beige?

Gracias

Today my daughter told me about someone who is wild about Chinese food. Reportedly, upon receiving her food order from the waitress at the local Chinese restaurant, this friend politely offered, "Gracias!" When in Rome . . .

Garage Floor Paint

I've been pretty busy today. I need to put the final touches on the presentation for the Springfield speech-language pathologists, catch up on the laundry, ready an evaluation, mop and dust and vacuum and entertain my children. BUT . . . I noticed that my neighbor just put a fresh coat of paint on his garage floor and it looks great. Home Depot does provide when I'm looking for a nice diversion for procrastinating. Picture to be posted soon.

Triplets

This is where I was going to post a picture of my sister-in-law who is 27 weeks pregnant with triplets (their 1st . . .2nd . . .and 3rd babies). However, my ever-wise husband suggested that I endeavor to maintain healthy relationships with all family members. I guess that means I will get to post it in a few months after the babies are born. But she looks SO GOOD!

Wild, Wild West

That's us. The guns are real. The whiskey bottles are empty. And I now question my choice of props - A WHIP?! What was I thinking?! It's time for some mid-year resolutions.

Home at last

We're home. Did we mention the awesome visit with Uncle T. and Aunt G. at the cottage on the lake? The splendid visit with the Bickersons in Minneapolis? What about the buffalo that almost charged Mike? The paddle boating at Sylvan Lake? The number of times that the boy threw up in the car? (3 times) So . . . the big question is, "Would you do it again?" The answer - YES! Happy Fourth of July!!! (By the way, the boy said this morning, "Whadyamean today's the 4th of July? Today's only July 4th. I thought the fourth of July was on July 6th.") That must be a lesson he missed sometime in 2nd grade!

Badlands Drop - Off

Yes, there is a thousand-foot drop-off just behind us. I don't think that we will need to see the Grand Canyon with views like this! Will we?