To Blog or Not to Blog?

I started the blog with good intent. I wanted to share with my friends and family in an efficient manner; I am acutely aware of how disconnected I am from everyone due to my inability to get on the phone or write email whenever I want. But there's just one catch -- the greater majoriy of my friends and family are not the blog reading type of people. They don't get the chance to go online much, and when they do, it's not part of their routine to come check out the blog.

So after being semi-successful in keeping this updated, I'm starting to rethink blogging again. What's the point? I can just keep a private diary in google docs, and be just as effective.

Potty Training

Alana's been potty training. The story is long, but the most recent attempt to potty train started a few weeks ago, maybe a month and a half ago. This week, something finally clicked and she started insisting on wearing "big girl underwear". We were really worried at first since we didn't want any random accidents at school. But it's been 3 days now that she's come home in the same clothes she went to school in. YAY!!!

An Anonmyous Hit and Run

Chris found a dent on the acura yesterday. Not just a dent, though -- it looks like someone drove into and along the side of the car for a good foot or so before taking off. The indent isn't huge -- no structural damage -- but it's plain as day. The car is not new, but it's been well taken care of, and it's the first car we purchased together. Plus, there's something deeply disturbing about someone destroying what's yours with so little regard.

It brings to mind our most recent car purchase earlier this year (we had to upsize to fit everything that goes with having 2 kids). As we sat in the Carmax parking lot to sell the second vehicle we purchased together, one of Those People just had to pull up into the spot next to ours and bang open their car door without a fraction of a moment's thought. Not 1 hour after we drove off the lot, we had a nice fat knick on the driver side door -- not just paint chipped off, but plastic gouged out. The guilty party was anything but guilty. He and his older companion saw nothing wrong with what had happened -- there was no structural damage, so why are we so upset? He genuinely seemed infuriatingly uncaring that he just damaged someone else's property. He didn't even care that he was caught doing it -- just kept asking why we were so upset.

GRRRRRR. I can only pray for karma.

Scatterbrained

I am having the hardest time concentrating today. My mind rebounds away from anything work related like the wrong ends of two magnets. I keep worrying about school, which is a little absurd as Kindergarten is a whole year away. But I keep worrying about how to get Caden into the right school district. I think we may have to move. And that opens a whole other huge can of worms. Yikes.

Pebbles Tossed into My Pond

Today was the first day of school at the montessory. There were TONS of new parents, all waiting around the front desk, their cars clogging up the parking lot, waiting to sign in, pay, or enroll. Walking into Alana's classroom, I saw that their old bookcase had been replaced, and her cubby had been moved. The sign in sheet was prepopulated with names (no more writing in the wrong name in my hurry!). No one was there yet, or rather, no teacher was in yet (the kids were in another classroom, I presume). No matter - we usually started her in Caden's classroom anyways. In Caden's classroom, the sign in sheet was the same prepopulated one. The cubby was still where it used to be. There were 2 new kids, 2 pre-existing kids, and then our 2. The teacher was the same, but not the primary one that we love so much. I hope she eventually returns from her supposed extra month in Sri Lanka. She still has not returned my email, and I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone about updates on her status. *sigh* We'll see.

These little changes make me think about the big changes we'll have, as soon as next year, when Caden's next 1st Day of School will be his First Day of Kindergarten! Yikes! How time flies.

An Unexpected Surprise

1) Mmmmm:
Chris is home with the kids today as their school is closed today for some admin something in preparation for the new school year. He took them around town on various errands. One stop was Georgetown Cupcakes, one of which opened in Bethesda within the past year. He has their cupcakes every town hall his company holds (though as pricey as those are, and as badly as his company is doing, I seriously wonder about that particular use of money!). He has raved about them for a while now and decided to buy a dozen (!?!?). The 4 of us shared 4 of them before I came back to the office. They are dainty, pretty, petite. I tried the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, the Fudge something something evil, the Cherry Cheesecake, and the Chocolate Ganache. Oh. My. Mmmmmmmm. My favorite was the Cherry Cheesecake. Just the heft of it in my hand alone promised pure paradise. Like a bar of gold, the size of it belied the weight. I'm sure 5 whole sticks of butter plus 3 tubs of cream cheese, not to mention a liberal scoop of sugar, was all somehow condensed into the little treat. Heavy though it was in my hand, it somehow managed to melt and crumble like clouds in my mouth. Can you tell I enjoyed it? There is one more in the box....

2) Oooooo:
My company is strict about what sites you can and cannot visit (no personal email, no message boards, no video, no youtube, no facebook, etc). So imagine my happy surprise when I found myself able to get to this site! Who knows how long this access will last, but I will enjoy it while I can.

I almost feel guilty using this site. (They clearly say in the guidelines that we need to use our judgement regarding which sites are appropriate and which aren't.) And the fact that I actually enjoy using this site makes it feel like it's probably on the list of no-no's.

Every Little Thing's Gonna Be All Right

It's been a rough month, and a particularly rough week. I've been playing pandora to help things just a bit. Randomly, or by whatever logarithm pandora uses, Bob Marley songs, particularly "Three Little Birds" and sometimes "One Love". I've never been a big Bob Marley fan, but somehow, I do feel just a little bit better each time those songs play.

Sick to my stomach

I've been sick to my stomach all morning. First, though I've known about my boss's child dying, somehow, being in the office makes it more real and worse. I feel like we should all get some time off for grieving - it's been weighing on me all morning. Then, on a very different subject, I finally got around to running the tax withholding calculator and found that we will owe the IRS $11k+ in April if we continued on our current path. After lots of digging around, it seems we are being dinged for having a second income. WTF!? We can't afford to not have a second income, but we can't afford to have one either! What's the point of trying?

Kicked Back and Overtime

We had a more or less lazy day today. For much of the day, we were over at our friends' house celebrating their boy's birthday (which was actually a week ago tomorrow). The kids had plenty to keep them happy, so were mostly low maintenance for the duration. Still, we were so exhausted by the time we got home (maybe from over indulgence?) that we basically vegged out on the couch from the time we got back (a little after 3) until bed time. We watched the 4th and 5th episodes of Star Wars (which was actually the 1st and 2nd movies, right?, that came out). Yeah, with commercials, and with little kids. Caden does not like Darth Vader. Alana didn't care much one way or the other.

But now, at some past 1am, I am working on a project plan. And not getting paid. Boy, what fun. I need sleep.

Bated Breath

My boss's daughter, who turned 4 a few weeks ago, is dying. She has Tay-Sachs; they found out when she was about 6 months old. They had adopted her from Guatamala, after having had a difficult pregnancy with their first child. This is probably her last week on earth. He was in Monday and briefly yesterday. He will be out until 10/11. They update their blog regularly, as they have quite a following of concerned family and friends. I keep checking, and I hold my breath as the page loads....

The Morning After

it's always disappointing to wake up one morning and find that your pregnant fish is no longer pregnant and no one in the tank is hungry.

Rumbly Tumbly

One moment I was dreaming, the next I was wide awake and listening to the rumbling approach of an earthquake. Another moment later, the quake shook the house much as an El would have, had we had one traveling overhead, and disappeared in as many moments as it would have taken the El to move past. I hopped out of bed to check on the kids, found Chris sleeping with Alana (when did he relocate? I didn't recall hearing her wake). He was still sleeping, so I shook him awake to tell him we had an earthquake.

I went back to bed but lay there wide awake listening for more rumbles and thinking, I didn't get Lasik done in time.

Sushi for Dinner

Once upon a time, many, many years ago, I tried my hand at making sushi. California rolls, to be exact. Being a novice, I didn't think to wrap the bamboo roller in plastic, or prime it (or anything else!) with the vinegar water. I don't remember how the rolls ended up, but I do remember finally tossing the roller into the trash after maybe an hour of trying to scrub the rice out from between the sticks. Needless to say, I did not rush back into a second effort.

Tonight, in an attempt to consume sushi more cost effectively, I bought all the right things and all the makings for Cali rolls, Alaskan rolls, and salmon sashimi. (Well, that last one was easy! :D) I spent an hour in the supermarket hunting for the goods, and then another 2 hours in the kitchen putting everything together. That vinegar water sure is a miracle worker. I think if I could have bathed in it to make the process easier, I would have.

When I finally had a chance to taste the fruits of my labor, I was super pleasantly surprised at how yummy it was!! Whoo hoo! Too bad, though, it took so long and so much effort to pull together. Between that and the rampant mess my 2-y.o. daughter made of the kani and rice, I think sushi at home will have to wait another few years to become a truly cost effective option.