Thinks By Me

The cost of a white sweat suit: $10 The cost of paint supplies $5 Hours it takes to paint a tiger suit: 4 Satisfaction of wearing your very own creation for Halloween: Priceless Little Chic was determined since summertime to be a snow tiger (she corrects me saying it's a Siberian tiger). I casually looked for a redi-made costume and decided on a white sweat suit instead. I had a bit of a time finding white in the north after Labor Day, but my shopping prowess made it possible. I offered to help paint the stripes but she would have none of it. She did it totally on her own. We found ears, nose and tail and she was thrilled with the outcome. Hero Guy and Little Chic went on a trick-or-treat bender while Brainy Boy pretended to be too mature for such frivolity and stayed home with me. He did take full advantage of the treats Little Chic brought home for him. One bummer--a few people called her a zebra. How annoying. She just growled at them.

As Little Chic has been busy at work on all her projects, Brainy Boy has also been busy. This year he has blossomed into quite the accomplished writer as his teacher has been assigning one essay after another. He regularly reminds us that he is indeed pretty much the smartest kid in his class, proven because all the other kids tell him so. He also takes great pleasure in using vocabulary that no one else is familiar with. I take the responsibility to remind him periodically that there is no monopoly on genius and there is enough intelligence to go around for all of us. In any case, he continues to confound Hero Guy and I as to where his brains could have possibly come from. He's 10 and in 5th grade. Here's his most recent essay describing how to do something. How to Build a Secret Underground Fort: If you are reading this essay you are about to build the best underground fort ever. You might ask "Why do I want to build a secret underground fort? Well, if you a...

You know what I love about "falling" back an hour in the fall? I love that when I go to bed at 2am, it's now only 1am! You know what drives me nuts about the time change? Spending all day Sunday hearing people say, "It's 8:00 new time, but it's really 7:00 old time. No, wait, it's 9:00 old time."

There are 280 people in the US with my name, but aren't you glad there's just one ME?! HowManyOfMe.com There are: 280 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name? Thanks for this tidbit that I really needed to know, Thad!

Okay, so I didn't want to bring just plain carrots and dip to Little Chic's Halloween party. I was feeling a little out-done with all the super-cool moms in Brainy Boy's class who bring all these awesome creepy treats to his party. So I spotted this idea and decided to try it. The fingers actually grab you when you try to spoon out the dip. Heehee.

Little Chic is who I want to be when I grow up. She is the craftiest, project-iest, most creative dame to ever hit this part of the family. I'm such a wannabe that I'll choose all these projects and crafts to do, run around and get the supplies, lay them out to get started and promptly lose interest. Not so with my dearest little gal. She is 100% all-American artsy fartsy. She actually wanders around looking for projects to do and this time of the year is perfect for that craving of hers. I have to say that although I can't take credit for passing her the create-a-gene, I do supply lots of opportunities for her to hone her skills in that particular area. This particular run of creating started with her Cat-O-Lantern a couple of weeks back. I'm sorry to report that that project has now been relegated to the dumpster due to collapsing with rot. Little Chic progressed to her Siberian tiger costume she is making for Halloween (that will be featured when it's c...

The Good News: I'm not pregnant. That's according to the Flu Vaccine Research study that I joined today. Not that I thought I was pregnant, but they kindly informed me that I'm not anyway. I've noticed that whenever it is imperative that you not be pregnant for some reason (like beginning a new medication, or getting certain types of x-rays, etc.) women of child-bearing age will be asked if they are pregnant. If you reply to the negative, they will promptly do a pregnancy test. I suppose they figure your word is more reliable if you are in the family way. The Bad News: Looks like I'll be going to get that root canal after all. Dr. Miracle Worker's miracle filling isn't working out so well. The 75% better tooth has stayed that way and although it's not excruciating, 25% annoying is bound to get on my nerves since I've been putting up with this tooth for way too long. And believe me, whatever gets in the way of me eating my fall obsession (ca...

I just am totally loving my dentist today. I was a bit like a pig going to the...uh...pig heaven when I went to my 9am appointment expecting the worst. He had already warned me that a root canal would be in order. Now this dentist is actually one of the best I've ever been to. In addition to doing good work, he's also the fastest you've ever visited. There is no wait to get in and his procedures are always done before you've even settled into the chair. Even the shivers you get from the squealing drill barely get to your bone before he's ushering you out the door. Today was no different. I arrived at 8:50. I was in the chair by 8:55. I was out the door at 9:10. In that amount of time, numbed me up, drilled out my filling (which caused me to come only slightly unglued), determined that everything still looked healthy and did a trial run with some sort of desensitizing filling material. I call him on Thursday to let him know if it's working. I have to ...

Tomorrow I'm having my very first ever root canal. As a kid, I had several cavities around the 10-11 year age, but other than that, I've had pretty good teeth. I've been religious about going to the dentist even as an adult, and I've required little maintenance. I'm not sure if it's age or just the luck of the draw but for about a year, I've had a molar that is giving me trouble. It began when I had my dentist change out a silver filling for one of those pretty white ones. I quickly began to regret the vanity that prompted the switch because I noticed that cold and hot things really bothered that tooth. They said that white fillings tend to be more sensitive than gray ones, so I became loyal to Sensodyne. It didn't help. At all. Pretty soon it was any pressure (like chewing) that caused pain and eventually it even became sensitive enough that I can't brush it. After putting up with the aggravation for about a year, I went to see the dentis...

My kids happen to go to the school that is the arch rival of the high school Hero Guy attended as a teenager. Little Chic has always taken great pleasure in heckling Hero Guy about "her" school beating "his" school in football. As luck would have it, tonight they were playing against one another and we decided to attend our very first high school football game since our kids have been school-aged. Brainy Boy really cared nothing about going, but he went along with the idea after I bribed him by letting him bring a friend along. Little Chic was totally invested, as she really wanted to see her dad's team beat and besides, she is really into any kind of competition, no matter what the game. We met a couple of other families and sat in the bleachers until Little Chic realized that it was permissible to stand at the fence surrounding the football field. Once she became aware that she could be within touching distance of not only the life-sized tiger mascot but ...

I'm an English buff. In school, it was always my BEST, most favorite subject. I was one of the weirdos that loved diagraming sentences and I could always spell words that I didn't even know the definition for. As I've gotten older I've mellowed a bit, so rather than be a stickler for all things proper, I've joined the crowd in the casual grammar department. However I try not to sound like a total imbecile so I make a modest attempt to keep things the way they should be in regard to my language. When my dad sent me the following email, I thought it was a hoot. The sad part is, I have to work overtime to make sure my kids graduate knowing how to interpret this type of thing... You Think English is Easy??? Can you read these correctly the first time? 1) The bandage was wound around the wound. 2) The farm was used to produce produce. 3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4) We must polish the Polish furniture. 5) He could lead if he would get...

I've always liked doing research, finding things out, digging around for information - stuff like that. I remember about 15 years ago while working at a medical insurance company, I was intrigued to learn that the medical director had been part of a medical research study for Johns Hopkins for 10 or 15 years. I didn't know people actually signed up to be experimented on. Fast forward to yesterday when I got an email from PTA mom-friend stating that local doctor's office is doing research on a new supplier for the flu shot and you could actually make money if you volunteered and were selected to participate. I called. I qualified. I get it next week. It involves three office visits with a physical and blood work each time, some temperature logging and side-effect reporting along with a phone call or two. The final appointment will be at the end of flu season. You get paid each time you have an office visit. Cool. This is actually not the first study I've been in...

If only it could make us rich. Hero Guy was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning on the prowl for Bambi's dad. Bow hunting season opened in NY and Hero Guy gets testosterone overload just with the thought of stalking something and then being able to drag it out of the woods. It makes it all the better if it's really, really mammoth, like this one was. As a little background, the bigger the antlers, the older, wiser and more seasoned the deer, thus the tougher the chase. In addition, bow hunting requires you to be closer to the deer, so no noise and no human scent are of critical importance. That explains the grass-scented shower gel and the gross female deer pee that gets squirted on the boots before Hero Guy goes traipsing out in the woods. Anyway, 5:30 am came, Hero Guy went and didn't peep until 7:00 pm when I got an excited call from the woods stating that he had bagged a big one. I'm always leery about claims made from the woods because adrenaline caus...

Little Chic has definitely come into her school of dreams this year. For a little background, our school campus houses Preschool through 6th grade in two different buildings. The "primary" school is PreK to 3rd with one set of teachers and a principal and 4,5,6 go to the 'intermediate" school with another set of teachers and its own principal. There is definitely a more "grown-up" atmosphere in the older school and since Little Chic is now in 4th grade, she is fully enjoying all the perks. Her first proclamation was that in the cafeteria you can sit anywhere you want AND they have a vending machine full of drinks (all quasi healthy). The second thriller was the opportunity to take instrument lessons which we covered here . Her latest and greatest pursuit is running for Secretary of Student Council. She's decided she is running for secretary, and she successfully made it through the primaries (apparently there were so many kids wanting to run, the...

Oh, it's me that's been gone? Well, I've been here actually, passing longing glances toward my blog as I dash to and 'fro taking care of all sorts of business. First, the picture is of a VERY BAD HyperDog who got sprayed Sunday night for the second time in as many weeks. I'll just say it is a very good thing that the ingredients to the skunk shampoo are readily on hand, AND that I don't really like the chair she is sulking in (after her bath) all that much--because it has a permanent smell and will probably be going to the curb soon. Also, I'm patting myself on the back because Hero Guy and I actually spent Columbus Day making home improvements (instead of just talking about it) by giving the garage doors, front door and two side doors a new coat of spiffy forrest green paint. And last, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I again sat my butt in the wrong van this morning after going to the parking lot, actually hearing the locks pop up as I cl...

I've said before that Little Chic is everything I aspire to be when I grow up.....crafty, always more than enough energy to join in any activity or club, a real go-getter. Procrastinator would not be in her personality description. With Friday and Monday off school, I had the foresight to suggest that we carve a pumpkin this weekend, but not enough insight to realize that we generally pack our long weekends way too full and I would end up not having the gumption to follow through. After one-too-many activities between yesterday and today, I tried to beg off the pumpkin carving saying that tomorrow afternoon or even Monday would be such a better time. Little Chic would have none of it. I gathered my strength with the thoughts of yet another carmel apple (I believe I've had four since the fall officially started) and we ran over the hill to the local pumpkin farm to choose just the right shape and size for our creation. I bought a magazine yesterday that had some great ideas...

Dear brand-new Medical Resident who is just learning how to do dictation: I proclaim myself to be a stay-at-home mom, but truth be told, I am a work-at-home mom. That is a much more difficult job than being a true full-time stay at home mom or even being a full time working-outside-the-house-at-paid-employment mom. This is for two reasons. First you feel like a full-time stay-at-home mom so you try to do everything around the house on your own "since you are here anyway." Second, since my workplace is located at home, I have to get enough uninterrupted hours to accomplish my transcription, but keep enough hours free to do all the "housey" stuff like laundry, cooking, running errands and all the stuff that I'm "available" to do. To make my job easier and your life happier, I have a few tips to help us get along a little bit better so that your chart notes get transcribed efficiently and I keep myself from pulling your hair out. 1) It is really no...

Little Chic is not the traditional dolly-loving, toy-toting kind of girly-girl. She is more likely to be found designing some type of wardrobe out of scarves and plastic Walmart bags or singing in her room to her karoke machine with her plug-in disco ball rolling. She does, however have a soft spot for cats. Real ones. Stuffed ones. Plastic ones. Large ones. Small ones. What's more, she has always had a lifelong ambition (okay, well for the last 6 of her 9 years anyway) to be a veterinarian. She has a deal with Best Friend Forever that BFF will open a pet rescue center and Little Chic will treat all the animals. So when Hasbro came out with the Littlest Pet Shop series, Little Chic gravitated right toward all those thumb-sized kittens they carry. This particular toy hit upon two interests of Little Chic's - cats and collecting. She collects anything....everything from pretty rocks to store receipts. The fact that Littlest Pet Shop has some animals that they call ...

I had a 6:30 pm PTA meeting last night during which Hero Guy generously offered to "babysit" even though he was on call for the ambulance. The meeting was at a house just a couple of streets down, so we agreed that I would run home should he get an emergency call. Once I got to the meeting, I realized I didn't have cell phone reception, so I called him to give him the house number where I was. Approximately 90 seconds later, the phone rung, and it was Hero Guy....already. HG: Did you run over the dog when you left for your meeting? ME: Um, no. HG: Well, you must have. ME: Why? HG: The dog just came running in the house and her ear is half ripped off. ME: O, NO! What happened? HG: You must've caught her head under the tire. ME: What other injuries does she have? HG: Just the ear. ME: Is she whining? HG: No, I don't think she even realizes anything is wrong. ME: What is she doing? HG: Jumping up and down, wagging her tail. ME: Put some peroxide on...

I have a husband. I'm proud of him for many reasons. He's a great provider, he's the kind of dad every kid wants, and he's just a really nice guy in general. I can tell you though, sometimes all those qualities wrapped up together can make a person weird. It started out with a sense of boredom. To supplement the excitement one gets being an avionics engineer, Hero Guy decided to try his hand at flying lessons. A few times in the air and he was ready to try sky diving and building a kit plane. A short stint in the Air Force distracted him from those diversions, but he quickly rallied and began to yearn to go to medical school. It was something about the fact that he had always wanted to be a doctor anyway, but his dad thought engineering school would be the smarter option. In any event, by the time we had two wee ones, Hero Guy was a member of the volunteer fire department. Living in the rural area that we do, fires don't regularly break out in numbers the w...