Merry Merry

We celebrated several days of Christmas this year. Ben sister came down from Seattle, and waited with us until Scooter flew into town. We all went to pick her up at the airport, and had a jolly afternoon opening presents, eating, and skyping with Ben's parents. Scooter got several crafty crafts (which she was very excited about), as well as a solar-powered garden light. Bubba received several pieces of track and Skarlowey for train fun. From us, they each got 3 gifts: a sleeping bag (mountain hardware bag that's actually rated better than mine), a pillow pet (dolphin for Scooter, frog for Bubba), and a child-specific gift. Scooter received a ski helmet that she can decorate to make her own. Right now, it's a plain black, but I'm sure she'll put some fun stickers on it. Bubba got a leapfrog alphabet game. It turns out, he's smarter at his letters than we had originally thought. I also opened several gifts including a new camera (HD video and clearer photos will surely follow), a sweater and scarf, and slippers to keep my tootsies warm. The slippers I got a couple of years ago had huge holes in the bottoms. My feet had been freezing this winter. Poor Ben had nothing to open. The kids and I got him a new camera body (and kit lens) for Christmas, but we let him open and use it early. So he's been enjoying his Christmas present for nearly a month, now. I think he's ok with that, but it sure made for an uneven gift pile on Christmas.

Yesterday, after we yanked the kids away from the gifts that Santa brought (MORE trains and track! Skis and boots!), we drove down to Ben's aunt and uncle's house for a wonderful day of family and fun. As always, they were wonderful hosts, and the kids (quite literally) tore their house apart. I always cringe a little when I mentally compare what their house looked like when we arrived vs what it looks like when we leave. Even after helping them pick up, it seems we manage to leave a tornado trail in our wake. Hopefully, my sister's kids will do the same for us someday. :)

Today, Ben and the kids took a trip over to the Columbia store. Based on the looks of the tree swaying outside my window at work, they went just in the nick of time. Bubba and Scooter each got some warm mittens (or gloves) which they will wear when we go skiing/sledding/hiking in the cold. Bubba also got a new hat that hopefully won't leave marks on his noggin. And because I have the most thoughtful husband around, they also picked me up some waterproof boots and a softshell jacket with a hood. I will now be the best dressed member of my family (up from worst-dressed just yesterday). For my next trick, I'll talk Ben into buying a new house! ha ha ha.

But really, I walk outside 2 miles (at least) per day 5 days per week. Luckily, it's been a really dry winter so far, but if it had been a normal December, my feet (and body) would have been soaking wet too often. I would have been sad. The forecast for this week (and the forseeable future) is wet. I'm happy to have dry feet and a warm torso. The fleece/jacket combo I currently wear is a combined 27 years old. It'll be nice to step out of the house into the 21st century, jacket-wise, tomorrow. I'll have to take pictures of my new gear with my new camera tonight. I still need to learn how to get the photos off the camera onto the computer. I'll have to learn that skill before we head to Canada this weekend. Can't wait!

Still Harping on the Working Mom thing...

I often wonder about our national, state and local policies surrounding children and families. I understand that the economy is important. The bottom line is important. Making money and controlling costs is important. I get all of that. But I don't think that taking care of families and children has to be exclusive of sound financial decisions. For one thing, let's think about what is good for the future of our country and our world.

 

1. A healthy population.

2. An educated population.

 

In my mind, those are the 2 really important things to think about. One might argue that national defense is up there, but I tend to disagree. There are a few countries out there that are fairly prosperous w/o huge defense budgets. Also, in an environment such as the one we find ourselves in today, a huge standing army with lots of tanks and planes is not necessarily going to protect us from the hijackers that crash planes into buildings. As it stands, Defense is a full 20% of our national budget. Medicare is 21%. Social security is 20%. 

 

 

 

Blah blah blah, bottom line is, does it bother anyone else that less is spent on education than is spent on benefits to current and former federal employees? It bothers me. A lot. Because every school district I know of is wrestling with how to do more on a smaller budget.

 

I'm not so naive as to think that we as a nation can magically come up with an answer where we all pay fewer taxes and get more from our government. Clearly, reform needs to be made. But why aren't we cutting the heavy hitters: defense, social security, medicare just as much as we are the things that will help our country maintain its standing in the world? I work at a place in which budgets for medicare can mean the difference between laying off employees or growing the organization, but I feel that the status quo is not working. After all of that spending, America is not healthier today than we were 20 years ago. So we need to focus our spending on ways to improve health - parks and recreation areas inside urban development sites, regulation on pollutants, infrastructure - with more mass transit opportunities, there is less of a need to rely on cars, etc.

 

And, last but not least, let's focus on families. Let's support families when they are making choices about their children and their lives. Let's not ding moms who choose to stay at home with their kids, and let's REALLY not ding moms who take an hour off here and there to spend time with their kids. Jobs are important - they give us the funds we need to live in today's society - but they aren't our kids. So in conclusion, go families!

This makes me wonder why we don't get paid maternity in America

 

 

always a dull moment

I've been busy as all get out, and yet I really have nothing to show for it. Scooter's been gone since Saturday. She gets back on Sunday. We're way over half way there. I'm excited to see her again. I think we're planning on heading down to Ben's aunt and uncle's house for the Monday after Christmas. Hopefully, they'll let us do the cooking. I'm pretty sure I can do most of it ahead of time (we're having fiesta!), but I'm a little worried about the rice and chili. Fiesta is a meal that my mom used to make occasionally, when we would have a group of people over. It's a pretty easy meal, and if you actually eat it with all the ingredients included, it's surprisingly delicious. You pile it all on your plate in the following order. Be warned: if you make your base too big, you'll never be able to finish what ends up on your plate.

1. Fritos
2. Rice
3. Chili
4. Cheese
5. Lettuce
6. Tomatoes
7. Onions
8. Green Olives
9. Coconut
10. Walnuts
11. Hot Sauce

I always thought there were 12 ingredients (or maybe even 13), but the list I have has 11, and I can't remember what might be missing, so I guess it's 11. I'm thinking we'll make the chili ahead of time, but bring a crock pot to re-heat it in. Also, we'll be bringing the big rice cooker and the "good" rice. I hope it's not a disaster.

So anyway, I thought that with Ben having most of the week off, we'd get more done. I was wrong. Well...not really, I guess. It's just that other things are getting done, and Ben's been spending his days away from the house. So my routine is, sadly, the same as normal: up, ready, boy ready, breakfast, work, home, dishes, dinner, dishes, boy bed, veg out, me bed. At least I haven't had to worry about swim lessons and homework in there as well. Some day it'll all get easier. And more exciting. In the meantime, I'll continue to stress about appeals, potential shake up on the employment front, and the everyday nonsense of being me.

Dance-dance revolution

Not much going on these days. Ben and I are beginning to realize why Scooter sometimes gets sick of her little brother. Those two play together so well most days, but sometimes, she complains that he's demanding. After four days of him saying, "mommy/daddy! Play with me!!" I get it. Because you'll sit down to play with him, and he dictates the play down to what car you get, and what, exactly, you do with said car. Tonight, we had a dance party. We danced for about 15 minutes before I replaced the batteries in my camera to film. The only reason why we stopped was because Ben came home with some dinner for us.

Of all the things to get mad about

So, I probably did a bad thing today. I re-read the appellant brief that the ex's lawyer sent to the appeals court. I know it's ridiculous for me to do so, but I'm kind of obsessing over this. Today, I got notice of a hearing for Jan 9th. Not for the appeal, but for a stupid little thing that is basically a clerical error in the "original" modification order. The word, "plaintiff" was missing from the paragraph where the ex is supposed to mail me a copy when he submits to the clerk of court. Also, even though it's in the original order, we're placing more emphasis on his requirement to provide supporting documentation for his claims in his affidavit. Generally, one wouldn't think that it would be necessary, but considering he claimed over $1200 for October's travel when less than $750 is actually authorized, well, you get the idea. And yes, affidavits are sworn statements. So anyway, apparently their side is not approving the clerical correction, so we're actually going to have a hearing on the matter. And this time, we're asking for attorney's fees.

Ok. But what really is getting my panties in a bunch today is one sentence in the appellant brief. It goes like this: "Lori did testify that her employment in Omaha had a high rate of turnover, however, she had been at the company for six years; and had continued to receive yearly raises, even after taking 12 weeks off to have a baby (not at issue herein)." Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?! I shouldn't be allowed to look for new employment (or move out of state) because I should have been happy in a place that fired people every quarter? Let me break down the craptastickness of that sentence.

1. I took off 8 weeks, 4 of which were unpaid. During my 8 weeks "off," I was in semi-regular contact with the office.

2. 2 years of my "yearly raises" were not merit raises, but cost of living.

3. 1 acronym: FMLA. It's this little federal law, which kind of guarantees me the right to take up to 12 weeks off w/o fear of job loss.

And in case you missed it earlier, I DID NOT TAKE 12 weeks off. I fought tooth and nail for 8, and didn't really even get that. And since when am I to be penalized for being a good employee and a mom? Only when it's a custody dispute.

So, yeah, my dander's up. Sorry about that. I just think that it's totall BS that a man would point out that I took time off work to push a baby out of my uterus and then bond with it. On the one hand, I'm a terrible person for yanking her child away from her dad. On the other, I'm a terrible person for actually bonding with my children. Did YOU take a SINGLE DAY off when YOUR daughter was born? Maybe one. Does all of that working make you a better dad with a stronger bond with his kid? Probably not.

Yet another Evening Activity

So it just became harder for me to keep up my blog everyday. You see, I work in an IT shop. Therefore, the tools I use to do my job are on the verge of obsolescence. For example, my web browser. We JUST upgraded to IE 7. For those of you "in the know," there are currently 2 more recent versions out there, with IE 10 on the way. Long story short, my blog no longer supports the browser that I have at work. Also, I work in a majorly regulated environment. There are state and federal regulations surrounding pretty much everything I do. So, it's not like I can just download Chrome to my work computer and call it good. For now, I'm getting around this by emailing myself my blog text, in the hopes that I'll copy it over every night. Otherwise, I have a little journal right here in email. You see, I've pretty much quit journaling since I started blogging. Maybe this will be the wake up call I need to start hand-writing a journal, again.

Anyway, let me tell you about my weekend. It was interesting. Kind of.

Saturday, Scooter was scheduled to fly back to Omaha to spend a week with her dad. Since we're terrible procrastinators, we needed to run to the Adidas store to get her cousin's Christmas present before her flight. So...we got up, ate waffles and sausage, and headed out to the store while Ben went to jiujitsu. Although Bubba is perfectly capable of walking for hours on end, we opted to use a stroller - more for child restraint and mother sanity than anything else. We went into the store, picked out a present for Gunnar, a couple of pairs of shorts, a couple of shirts, and then headed over to the shoe department in order to shod my children's feet. On the way there, I ran into someone I know from work. We chatted a minute, then continued onto the shoes.

1st stop: Bubba's size. Think of a capital H. The front entry-way is the lower leg on the right. The men's is up that way, the women's is the whole top of the H, the kids' and some men's is the horizontal line, and the shoes is the lower left leg of the H. The children's shoes are the inside wall of the lower leg on the left. Bubba (of course) wanted the exact same shoes that he already has (just a little bigger). Mom was pushing for some shoes with velcro. It's about time he start learning to put on and take off his own shoes. I won out. The velcro shoes had yellow on them. Bubba will opt for yellow every time. I let him get out of his stroller to measure his foot and try on his shoes.

Last stop: Scooter's sized shoes. The very bottom of the left leg of the H. Between Bubba's size and Scooter's size along the wall is a door. It leads out to the entry-way on the bottom right leg of the H. It has one of those long door knobs that toddlers love. You know...the ones that turn a door-knob, but they actually have a handle. So if you're too short/have small hands, you can still kind of hang off of it to open it? Yeah. That one. The other thing that door had was a sign that read, "Warning: This door is alarmed. Only open door in case of emergency." Bubba is learning his letters, but he doesn't know how to read. Refusing to get back into his stroller, I was struggling with measuring Scooter's foot and picking out shoes, but so far, we were managing. Scooter was just trying on her first shoe, when I saw Bubba out of the corner of my eye heading for the door. I stopped him. I looked him in the eye and said, "No, Bubba. That is not our door. It will make a loud sound, and you will be in trouble if you touch that door. Do you understand?" I've been adding the "do you understand?" part to the end of a lot of what I tell Bubba lately. It worked like a charm when Scooter was that age. If she acknowledged that she understood what I was saying, she wouldn't do it. Bubba is still learning.

Scooter's shoe was slightly too small. I turned to look for the next size, when I heard the alarm. Panic and horror filled my body. I looked at the door, which was open. I wondered if Bubba had run through the door and whether I'd have to retrieve him. My eyes scanned around, and I found him inside the door, looking at me. When he caught my eye, he knew he was in trouble. He sat on the floor, and put his head down on his legs. I pulled the door shut, and the alarm stopped a second later. I was mortified!!! Bubba was pretty embarrassed as well. I told him that he'd have to get into his stroller for check out. He agreed. Nobody in the store even batted an eye. No sales person came over to make sure we weren't running out of the building with all of our merchandise, no parent gave us dirty looks for disrupting their otherwise peaceful shopping experience (actually, that place is always a madhouse...people might not have noticed).  Whew! We ran up to the check out line, caught the next open register, and got the heck out of there. I'd like to say never to return, but who am I kidding? With deals like those, I'll be back soon. Maybe even before this current pass expires.

weekend post

I don't know if you've noticed, but I never (and by "never," I mean rarely) blog on the weekends. Not because they're particularly busy (although they are), but mostly because I don't have my computer on much during the weekend. I'm on a computer all week for my job. It's nice to "unplug" for a moment on the weekends. This weekend, I've already been "on" to skype with my mom, and I promised a much delayed post with videos from Scooter's Christmas program. Scooter is, at this moment, flying high over the Rockies on her way to Omaha, I assume. Actually, she might be in Denver right now. But she's got quite a layover in Denver - she doesn't leave to continue onto Omaha until 7:55 mountain time. She was excited about this trip. I hope she has a good time.

Anyway, below is a video of Scooter's school program. She stayed in for a month's worth of recesses to rehearse for the Hanukkah song dance. Midway through, she wanted to quit, but I wouldn't let her. All's well. She was glad she stuck it out and got to perform. She might be painfully shy and quiet, but she does love giving a good performance when she thinks she's anonymous out there.

 The only other video I took that night was of my favorite Christmas song ever, Carol of the Bells. I hope that one loads a little quicker.

Also, Mom made the kids some pillow cases for Christmas. They are AWESOME!! Big enough to actually fit a pillow, and soft while still feeling sturdier than a normal pillow case that comes with kids sheets. Plus, as an added bonus, the kids loved them.

Frazzle Rock

I know, I know. It's Fraggle Rock. But these past few weeks, I've been totally frazzled. I'm going to blame the heightened activity level of the holiday season. Everytime I think we're getting a leg up on our daily lives, I realize that something else has fallen through the cracks. This week, it was math homework. I often wonder how other families do it. I don't really believe that Ben and I are total slouches (well...I don't believe Ben's a total slouch), and yet, we cannot keep a handle on everything that needs to be done each week.

Monday started out well (it always seems like our week starts off to a fair start). Scooter had her speech that day, so she spent most of her before school time practicing that. Tuesday was swim lessons. Scooter worked on her reading as well as practicing geography (passport club was Thursday!). Wednesday, Scooter forgot her homework folder at school, plus Bubba had his Christmas recital (see video on yesterday's blog). We still managed to cram in all the countries and capitals that Scooter needed. Thursday, I volunteered for passport club, which gave me reason to drive to work. The 1:30 (that's one HOUR, thirty MINUTE) drive home gave me reason to never drive to work again. Plus, yesterday was the last swim lesson of the block. In lessons past, that meant a coupon for a free ice cream cone from the Beaverton Dairy Queen. Last night, it did not.

So we rushed home to change and get ready for bed. And then we went to bed. And then this morning, I got an email from Ben that Scooter's math homework was a complete mess, and he wasn't sure she'd have time to fix it before school. ARGH!!! I forgot math!!! But seriously? That girl has mountains of homework each week. Sure, there's more on some days than others. And sure, we make her do extra (like writing every day, and actually studying for passport club, and reading specific books for battle of the books), but I'd say she averages an hour per night. In THIRD GRADE!!!??? I can't remember ever having that much homework. Even in highschool, I managed to weazle out of an hour per night. We have to eat. And go to swim lessons. And bathe. And clean our rooms. How do other families do this? How is America holding it all together? I already get up 45 minutes before everyone else in the house. Scooter even gets up an hour and a half before she has to walk out the door in the morning. Do we just move in slow motion? Of course, I act all incredulous when everyone knows I'm sitting on the couch, eating popcorn, drinking a beer and watching TV everynight for an hour. Apparently, it'd be an hour better spent reviewing Scooter's homework.

Cascabelles, cascabelles...

Last night was Bubba's christmas program at his preschool. Which reminds me - I still need to post photos/video from Scooter's program last Thursday. Forgive me for my tardiness. I'll try to work on that this weekend. I have a lot of "to dos" this weekend, after Scooter flies out with her dad. Finish up Christmas shopping, head to adidas (employee store access!!), shop at the columbia store (employee store access!!), work on blog, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure with only one kid in the house, I'll have a TON of time on my hands. ha ha ha... *sigh*

Anyway, last night. Bubba was tired. He was grumpy. He had at least 1 accident. He refused to really eat dinner. Program started at 6. We got there at 5:57. He had spent 3 of the 4 minute drive in a tantrum about an umbrella. Ben wondered aloud if Bubba would even make it up on stage, or if he'd spend the whole time sitting in our laps. Ben needn't have worried. We were too late to have seats, anyway.

By the time we fought our way through the crowd into daycare, all the kids were already consolidated into one room. We walked Bubba over, and I noticed the kid with gelled hair sobbing into one of Bubba's teacher's shoulders. Oh dear... We found a place to stand along the wall, and the Pre-K, Pre-School II, and Pre-School I (Bubba's class) filed out. Bubba was front and center. The teachers busied themselves lining the kids up, then one of them announced the beginning of the show - they were going to do 5 songs, another one rang a bell, and they all started singing. The Pre-K and Pre-School II kids sang the loudest. Bubba stood in the center of the front row, and looked around like he was in trouble. The kid who we've banned from singing at the table because he was too loud and disruptive was as quiet as a mouse. Ben and I began to worry that he'd have a potty training accident in front of the 50+ parents and other spectators. We wondered if he couldn't find us (even though we smiled and waved as he filed by). We wondered if he was going to start crying.

After the first two songs, the Pre-School I kids got to sit down. I think they only rehearsed 2 songs: We Wish you a Merry Christmas and Jingle Bells. The daycare practiced in front of other daycare kids throughout the week. I would take him into school, and other kids would come up and tell him what a good job he did during practice the day before. Hm...based on this video, I'd say he's much more interested in performing in front of peers.

After that panic-stricken performance, we were treated to these two on the way home.

That last one is a dark one, but it's just so sweet the way he says, "New Yeeoooh...."

Hope you saved the receipts for Christmas...

I received a depressing "happy holidays" email from the CEO earlier this week. Like...really depressing. Foreboding, even. That was followed up yesterday by "the talk" by my director to the rest of my portion of the department. There will be some severe lay offs made by March. Like...16% of non-care providers. Normally, I'd be freaking out. As it is, I'm pretty comfortable. First off, I have 2 certifications which make me very marketable in the industry right now. Secondly, I look around and can see a number of people who should be laid off before me. Lastly, my manager pretty much loves me. I think worst case is, I'll be re-purposed w/in the department. Best case, I jump ship for a higher paying job. :) It's sad, though. This is a really great company to work for, and a place I'm proud of. So...if you're a healthcare provider with Epic and are in need of a clarity certified report writer and are willing to pay more than $70k per year, leave me a comment. Otherwise, say a prayer for me.

I've had a number of people comment on how much this sucks in light of the sacrifices my family has made in order for us to come out here. I agree. I wonder if managers and department heads take sob stories into account when making these decisions. If they did, they'd be hard pressed to find a sobbier story than me.

Tewsday

Today is "Tewsday"! Bubba is learning the days of the week in preschool. I'm pretty sure Tuesday is his favorite one to say, and Saturday is his favorite day to live. Pretty much every morning, I'm greeted with, "It's Tewsday!" When I say, "No, it's XXXXday." He responds with, "It's Saturday". *sigh* I wish, kid...

Mornings have been going better ever since I resigned myself to being late to work everyday. People here haven't said anything to me, although I know they notice when I get in, and the fact that I leave when they do (or slightly before, a lot of times). But hey, I work hard, and so far, I haven't had any complaints. It's just a little counter to my normal way of work. One of these days, though, I'll probably have to stay until 5.

Today, though? I'm heading over to the dept holiday pot luck and then I'm going home.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

First of all, it's been under 37 degrees every morning for over a week. That is FREEZING. Well...on the lower end it's freezing. Today was 30. It has been so cold in the mornings because it hasn't rained in weeks. December is usually a dreary, cloudy, rainy month. Not this year. It's been clear and beautiful, but the trade off, of course, is the cold weather in the morning. And even though this causes me some discomfort during my walk into work every morning, I'm still walking into work every morning. Because it's actually pretty nice (sunny, the birds are singing, etc), which is way better than fighting traffic everyday.

We've been slowly getting ourselves into the Christmas state. Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional time when Christmas decorations and trees get put up around America came and went. Scooter was with her dad that weekend, so we waited until Monday evening to put our tiny tree up. The following weekend, we actually put decorations on it and put our stockings up. The next weekend was just this past one. To celebrate, we made sugar cookies. I've never made Christmas cookies before. I've done almond bark pretzels in past years, but never sugar cookies. I thought it'd be a nice way for the kids and I to build a Christmas memory in Oregon. Last year was a pretty crappy year (keep in mind that the first day of trial - which we had thought would be a one day trial - was on December 13th). So this year was our chance to start some Oregonian traditions with both kids. So that meant cutting out sugar cookies and decorating them together. I used my sister's recipe, but substituted whole wheat flour rather than all purpose flour, which made our sugar cookies look more like gingerbread cookies than regular sugar cookies. They're also a little...I don't know....grittier than a normal sugar cookie? Chewier? I can't quite put my finger on it. Other than that, though, they are pretty awesome. And I joked w/ Ben that the ones that didn't get frosting on them (we ran out about 80% of the way through) were "low carb." So...yay to us for making the world's healthiest sugar cookie. Don't you worry...there was still a pound of butter in them and almost as much sugar as "healthy" flour.

We're planning on continuing our "quick trip" tradition from last year. Last year, we went with just Bubba to the coast for a couple of days (we stayed in room 111 on 1/1/11!). This year, we're *hopefully* going to Vancouver, BC for a couple of days. We have the passports, no problem. I'm just a tad concerned about the notarized document allowing me to travel out of the country w/ Scooter. We'll see. Maybe we'll all be in the Christmas spirit this year (ha ha ha). Hmmm...

Stress

Today's the anniversary of the historic bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. You know...the incident that lead to America joining World War II. According to some, my last name would require that I apologize today. But I'm not going to.

We got Scooter's report card yesterday. In grown-up terms, she's failing writing. As in, she does not meet the standard. Luckily, I knew that was coming, and we've been working on that (REALLY HARD) for a couple of weeks, now. And we're actually seeing improvment. Goal is to be awesome by the spring. That was a little stressful, but I've had worse.

Today, in fact, was worse. I got the ex's appellant brief in my email inbox this morning. Super awesome. It came while I was in a meeting in which 3 of my 4 proposals got denied pending further testing by me. The other one, I had withdrawn from the meeting at the last minute, anyway. Whoopsie! So yeah. Anything lawyerly related gets my stomach in knots and my heart in a panicked state. So today has kind of been horrific. But my head knows, after reading (and re-reading, and re-reading) the brief that we've got this thing in the bag. Unless we don't (hence, the panic attacks).

Do you know what I do to make my day better when I have days like this? I read the judge's opinion and ruling. It's very thoughtful, well-written, and (this is the best part) it goes in my favor. The amount of case law he pulled in to back up his decision is comforting to read, especially when everything else seems to be attacking me personally.

Brrr!

I started this yesterday, but never finished. So I'll revise to make it sound like I wrote it today. It was COLD yesterday. When I took Bubba to daycare, the car said the outside temp was 26 degrees. He had a hat and mittens on. I had gloves on. There was frost everywhere (except for some reason, my car, which is parked in an open air - but covered parking space was frost-free). The sky was completely clear. Lovely to look at. Horrible to walk in. It was noticeably warmer in Portland, where there was dense fog.

Today, there was fog in Beaverton and clouds in Portland. I think the car said it was 6 or 7 degrees warmer. There was still frost on the ground, but it wasn't too bad, really. I especially don't mind the cold weather because the dirt trail shortcut that I like to take to and home from the train is now frozen enough to walk on. It's generally only a summer trail, as the rains of fall, winter and spring generally deter me from walking on a dirt (mud) path with work pants on.

But I digress. As I was walking yesterday, I was convinced that Oregon had usurped Nebraska's cold temperatures. I've been trolling msn.com for weather updates from the midwest. Imagine my surprise to see that our high temperatures have been very similar so far this year. Granted, the lows in NE are much lower than the lows in OR, but the high temps have been pretty nice back east. So after my 25 degree walk into work, I logged on to check out Omaha's weather. I was delighted to see that their "current temp" (which would have been 2 hours after my walk into work time) was 16 degrees. Their low was 3, their high was 24. Whew. This move really was a good idea, and I'm happy to report that today's current temp is 20 degrees warmer.

Even so, we're cold at our house. We've finally gotten the space heater out (before bed only), and we have turned the heat on in the kids' room (overnight only), but it's still probably in the low 60s in our house at any given time. The kids are learning the power of blankets and sweaters, I hope.

We went to the zoo on Sunday for a playdate with Bubba and a friend from preschool. We've been asking Bubba about this friend, since his parents contacted us about a playdate. Bubba seemed disinterested in this particular boy, but he did say that he liked the boy's mom. She comes everyday after lunch to pick up her son. They seemed like a really nice family. Hopefully we left an OK impression with them. The zoo was cold, so there were very few people there. We spent a good deal of time looking at the lions and the polar bears. There is a "conservation" exhibit near the polar bears that shows carbon footprints from the average American, the average person in an industrialized nation, the average person worlwide and the goal average world wide. It was striking. And disappointing. The average American is nearly twice the average for an industrialized nation. Yipes. It also had 10 ways to conserve. Turning down the heat is one of them (as is taking mass transit), so Scooter really thinks we're doing our part. She's probably right. But that means that there are some people with even bigger carbon footprints than our family. It's scary.

Anyway, Bubba had a very good time w/ his friend, and now he wants to hang out with that boy again. I think that would be fun. Maybe we'll choose an indoor venue next time.

What a day dad had.

Have you ever read Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss? It's a pretty great book. It uses simple words that rhyme in funny scenarios that a kid can understand. Both my kids love that book (well...maybe Scooter not as much anymore), and I remember it as being one that I used when I was learning to read. So anyway, there's a part that goes something like this, "Dad is Sad. His day was bad. What a bad day dad had." I might be wrong, but you get the gist. Anyway, the picture that goes along with those sentences is kind of like what I felt like this morning.

It started last night as I was falling asleep. I probably woke Ben up with my exclamation of distress. I had forgotten our CSA shipment yesterday. Veggies get delivered to my workplace at 3pm, and I have until 7pm to pick them up before they get donated to a homeless shelter. Needless to say, if I remembered as I was falling asleep last night, we didn't get the veggies. But I'm happy to say that I donated a weeks' worth of veggies (for a family of 3.5) to some homeless this holiday season, even if I didn't do it on purpose.

So this morning, I missed my new #1 train, and had to take #2. It wasn't too busy (yay!), but it was late (boo!). Also, the electronic sign that tells me when the train will come also told me that I'll have to take a shuttle tonight for 1/2 of my trip. In my experience, that greatly slows my commute. Bummer. I trekked into work and positioned myself in front of the coffee caraffe for some warmth and happiness. It was empty. So was the tub from which we scoop our coffee. I went about finding, refilling and then making the coffee. When I got back to my desk, I realized I had forgotten my work shoes. I have to wear my hiking shoes all day today. Normally, I'd keep my head down and bear it, but today we're having our make-up all hands meeting with the CIO (chief information officer...my boss' boss' boss). I usually try to have the appearance of professionalism during those things. Oh well.

I'm about to call the clerk of court about the ex's child support abatement for his travel in October. Even though it's in the court order, this will be the 2nd month in a row that he has not sent me a copy of his affidavit OR his reciepts from his expenses. So I'll have to call the ol' lawyer, too, I'm sure. I haven't gotten a bill from my man for November. I usually get them around the 20th of the month, but I'm guessing with Thanksgiving in there, it's late? Maybe they'll grant me a reprieve. Doubtful. So, yeah. Thanks, mom, for the "anything" money for Thanksgiving. It's exactly one month's lawyer payment! We're living it up in Portland...

Oops. Bad mom

I missed a day yesterday. Scooter didn't, though. Whew. I'm just not that good with solidarity, I guess. I did take off of work at 1pm to take her to a dr. appointment. 50th percentile for height, 58th for weight. She had a 5 pound weight gain in the past 6 months without much height gain, so I think she's due to sprout up. I'm happy about that, since she didn't grow at all for a year at her dad's. Yippie! But...based on her current height and the short amount of growth in the current pediatrician's system, the doctor estimates that Scooter will be 5'4" fully grown. I'm thinking that she'll probably be taller, but it was nice to declare that she'll never be taller than her mother. Of course, I'm not taller than my mother, either.

Last night was swim lessons night, which means we were busy. Scooter and I were at the doctor's office from 1:40-3:20. We came home, and I logged back in to work. I had left at 1 to pick Scooter up, so I kind of needed to make up a couple of hours. Ben came home shortly after that with Bubba, and made plans to go to the park. By 4, we were "ready" to go. Scooter and I walked, Bubba rode his bike, Ben met us up there later. We rode around the park once before attacking the play area. We didn't stay long, and for the 3rd time in a row with Bubba, he was cool with leaving when I said it was time. He just slid down the slide, put on his helmet, and off he rode.

By 5, I was coaxing the little man into his seat for dinner. We have to leave around 5:45 in order to drive to swim lessons, change, and get in the pool by 6. SOOO nice. In Omaha, we'd have to leave at 5:30 and already be in our suits before we left the house. Bubba and I had our mommy and me lesson, and Ben brought Scooter closer to her time so she could get another 20 minutes of reading done at home. Ben took Bubba home, and I stayed behind to watch Scooter swim. She did so well. In the past 6-8 months, she as really developed her swimming skills. It's amazing what happens when she's "ready" to do something. She just does it! With a child like Scooter, it's sometimes hard to remember how much effort goes into it behind the scenes, though. She's been struggling through lessons for 5 years, now, with me constantly worried that I'm moving her up too fast or not fast enough, etc. Well...I know now that she's doing just fine.

I'm hoping the same holds for her writing. We got home from lessons around 7:20 or so, and Scooter had to take a shower (and all the post-shower work that goes into it, like vanicream, etc), and still do 30 minutes (remember our ultimatum?) of writing. Her dad called as she was getting ready for her shower. Fine. Her shower waited until she was done. When she got out of the shower, she asked me to sit with her while she got ready. That's pretty standard procedure. We talked about her math homework and the writing she had to do that night, and she started crying. She said she was just so tired, and her dad told her she had to call him back and she REALLY didn't want to. I asked what she wanted me to do. She said nothing - they had already said good night on the last call.

After she calmed down, she got to work on her writing. Unbeknownst to her, I set the timer for 15 minutes instead of 30. By that time, it was already 8, and she needed sleep. I did tell her that she could write until the timer went off, and if I could tell that she was trying really hard and she had close to 100 words, I wouldn't make her keep going. Well...by the time the buzzer sounded, she had 102 words, and none of the sentences started with "After that" or "Then." I consider that a success. After that, *wink* Scooter went to bed feeling happy and relieved. I consider that a success, too.