Look, Ma…No Training Wheels!

Well, my baby did it. Mr. Hoagie took her training wheels off tonight, and Little Sis rode her two-wheeler for the first time tonight. I managed to get a couple of photos:

Little Sis and Big Sis

Little Sis is proud.

Mr. Hoagie is proud, too!

She had a great time showing off for the neighbors, too!

Big Sis was a little dejected that her little sister had managed to ride a two-wheeler two months younger than she had, but I took a moment to explain that it was because Big Sis had been such a great teacher. She perked up after hearing that.

I love these lazy summer evenings….

Going to the Drive In

Last summer, some friends turned us on to a drive-in movie theater that’s not too far away…and still functioning! What a blast. It’s the perfect family night out on a summer evening, and even better with another family or two! These pics are from May.

Waiting for it to get dark

Our ride has been pimped.

A few suggestions of items to bring for something to play with before it gets dark (we got there when it opened at 7:30 pm; movie started after 9:00 pm)

• cards
• frisbee
• ball to throw around
• bubbles

…and for comfort:

• air mattress for back of minivan
• pillows
• blankets
• comfy folding camp chairs (or chaise lounge!)
• sweatshirts/jackets
• pajamas (especially for little kids)

…and to eat!

• Your family’s favorite snacks
• Juice boxes
• Beverages for the adults (I’ll leave this up to you; remember a designated driver!)
• Puppy chow

But don’t forget to visit the snack bar…that’s how they stay open!

"Let's all go to the lobby..."

And with that, enjoy the show!

Enjoy the show!

For more great ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family and Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.

Should I get “a little more work done?”

Remember that stress-related acne scar I had fixed a while back?

I had a follow-up appointment today with the plastic surgeon about my nose. I was planning to discuss dermabrasion with him; when he entered the room and took a good look at my scar, he also mentioned fillers.

To make a long story short, dermabrasion will cost $400 and be permanent, but it may only improve the appearance of the scar by 20%. A filler will cost $300 per half-syringe and last 6 months to one year, and combined with the dermabrasion should improve the appearance of the scar 50-100%. Using my own fat as filler will cost $1500-2000 and will last anywhere from a few months to forever.

I dunno. I’m not really up for all this. We haven’t even discussed the risks yet (infection, unwanted lumpiness, etc.).

And it’s my own darn fault I’m scarred, anyway.

On the other hand, it’s my FACE!

What do you think, faithful readers?

(For reference, the first pic was taken with a camera; the rest with the webcam. The scar is actually on the right side of my nose; left as you’re looking at me.)

Before

"Nose job:" one day after

Look, ma...no stitches!

After: July 7, 2009

UPDATE: Lynn C suggested I help y’all along, so here are a couple of the pics with red pen:

Before (see red pen)

After (see red pen)

Life is Short.

Life is short.

I was on Twitter yesterday, and saw my local news stations tweet about a local fatal car crash. I clicked through; it’s a small enough town that that sort of thing is unusual. The first time I clicked, no names had been released. But I had this nagging feeling I might know them.

The second time I clicked, there were names, but I didn’t know them.

The third, they’d added that the vehicles involved were an SUV and a minivan. There were aerial photos.

I kept clicking every time they tweeted. Still couldn’t shake that feeling that I knew them. And it was THEM. Not just him or her. THEM.

This morning, before I got in the shower, the phone rang. It was my next door neighbor. Another neighbor had asked her to call and share the bad news. It turns out, the couple that died, that I was somehow irrationally CONVINCED I knew, were the grandparents of a neighbor family. They watched the little kids during the day while the parents were at work. I’d hung out at the bus stop for years with the grandfather…very nice guy!

If you’re the praying kind, say a few for the couple and their family. Our neighbors have four kids (ages 6 through high school) who will be missing their grandparents.

Life is What Happens…

I read this post by Shannon on Fab Fatties, and my reply was almost a post of its own!

I’m right there with you, Shannon! Except my 3rd kid is my mom.

It got WAY too crazy there for a while. It was the last few weeks of school right into the first few weeks of summer…Mom was ailing, then hospitalized, then needed extra help post-hospitalization. All too much for me!

I recently re-read a chapter from Martha Beck’s book The Four Day Win. The book is about psychologically preparing yourself to lose the weight and keep it off forever. The chapter I read was specifically about the results of a study where drug-addicted rats were placed into either “rat-trap” (undesirable) settings or “rat-park” (very desirable) settings. The rat-trap rats took the drug-laced sugar water offered them, whereas the rat-park rats avoided it, even suffering through withdrawal symptoms.

Here’s the takeaway: design your life so that it looks more like a park than a trap, and you won’t need the drugs/food to make the pain go away.

That’s what I’ve been working on and thinking about ever since.

Hang in there!

Thoughts?

Quiet Post-Sleepover Day

A quiet day today. We hosted an improptu sleepover last night and traded kids with the family two doors down. The 8-year-olds slept there and the 4-and 5-year-olds slept here. Played outside for a while, then came in to watch a short video before bed.

This morning I gave the girls breakfast and then everyone played the day away. The big kids came back, the little kids went out, then everyone got back here just in time for a downpour. I whipped up a little mac & cheese for lunch (slim pickings; we haven’t been grocery shopping in over a week) with some fruit, and the kids settled in with Disney Channel.

About 2:15 pm, their mom came over to collect them, prompting a HUGE tantrum from Little Sis. So now, both girls are upstairs napping resting. I might not have enforced it, but the girls have one last dance performance at Idlewild (a local amusement park) tomorrow evening. Not my choice to spend all day at an amusement park and then do hair, makeup and costumes for dance, but…oh well. I’m sure it’ll be fun, right?

Job opportunity?

A job opportunity has presented itself to me.

At first glance, it’s a good fit. It’s part-time (the same hours Little Sis will be in morning kindergarten), it’s a secretary position for a non-profit (which I’ve done before), it’s close by, and there’s a daycare center in the basement of the building.

What’s not to love?

It hasn’t been officially advertised yet, but I have the name of the person to call and talk to.

Haven’t done that yet.

I keep telling myself that I have to update my resume first. Except that I can’t FIND the most recent version. Which means I’ll need to re-create it. Ack!

I’m so scared.

Dance Fever

Today is a rest day after an incredibly crazy dance-recital week. We had stage rehearsal on Monday night, and dress rehearsal on Thursday night. The recital was on Friday and Saturday night.

The girls did great in their first-ever recital! I’d post pics, but I don’t have the professional ones that were taken, and the USB cord to my digital camera is MIA, so no candids, either.

My saving grace was my sister, @busybeebecca, who came in for the weekend. She danced in high school, so all this recital stuff was old hat for her. She handled the girls’ hair and make up, and did it much better and much more calmly than I could have. In return, I made a healthy dinner before the recital both nights.

I considered taking Mom to the recital, but I thought it’d be too late a night for her. She’ll have to wait for the DVD, I guess!

Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude…

I went to the Jimmy Buffett show on Tuesday with Mr. Hoagie and two other couples. It was a great time, as always (this was my 3rd show). I love tailgating there; the fans are always so friendly! We swapped food (brownies! coconut shrimp! and these AWESOME teeny little Cheeseburgers in Paradise cookies), drinks (margaritas shot out of a shark-shaped water gun) and conversation with our neighbors. Speaking of neighbors, we ended up with our actual backyard neighbors right across from us tailgating in the parking lot! Small world.

We had a good spead: fruit kabobs, a shrimp layered dip, chips, all kinds of alcohol (though I didn’t drink much this year; one Mike’s Hard Lime and a couple strawberry dacquiri Jell-O shots), but the main event, food-wise was our Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

Mr. Hoagie manned the grill. That guy makes the BEST burgers! How’s that song go?

I like mine with lettuce and tomat-uh

Heinz 57 and french-fried potat-uhs

A big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer

Well good God Almighty which way do I steer

for my…Cheeseburger in Paradise

Well, we had all the fixin’s. Add to that a pile of linguini salad, and I was blissed out!

As I was finishing my burger, my cell phone rang. It was Mom.

She called to report that she had taken a fall. Again. Apparently she was in the dining room for dinner. She was up at the salad bar when the person in front of her moved backwards. Mom stepped back to get out of the way, but lost her balance and fell. Three nurses from the assisted living unit came over and took Mom’s vitals and got her patched up. She had a small cut near her left eyebrow and had broken her glasses. She managed to finish dinner and got back up to her room.

Stress! But at least she had help and was okay. I offered to come home, but Mom knew I’d driven all six of us to the concert, and told me that I didn’t have to; she was fine.

The rest of the night went well; we packed up and went to the concert, where we had lawn seats. Jimmy put on a great show, as usual. My only regret was that I was SO tired and had been all day. I’ve been running at 100 mph for weeks, and it’s definitely caught up to me. I was quieter than usual, and I spent entirely too much time wishing I was at home at various points during the day.

Finally, at one point during the concert, I felt my shoulders loosen for what felt like the first time in weeks. Oh, sure, it was probably because I was so sleepy, but I didn’t care. Mr. Hoagie wrapped his arms around me, and we might’ve been on vacation on a tropical island. Dr.Buffett’s prescription worked like a charm!

Unsettled

I’ve been feeling a touch…unsettled, today.

I think it has to do with the dermatologist appointment from last week. The one I very nearly cancelled because I was so overscheduled that day.

The one I didn’t cancel. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Mom after all these years, it’s that playing the martyr and putting yourself last gets you on the fast track to heart disease and diabetes.

So I went. And without going into details, the dermatologist ordered blood tests to check for PCOS. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Got the blood drawn on Friday.

I didn’t think much of it, at the time. I had an idea of what it was after a friend was diagnosed with it a few years ago. No big deal, I figured. I supposed it’s better to know that not.

But I did a bit of research over here. And here.

And now I’m scared.

I have several symptoms. But here’s the scariest part, for me. It leads to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes.

CRAP.

Just what I’ve been trying to avoid for the last ten years.

I’ve worked so hard. And succeeded. And then failed. And failed. And succeeded. Then failed for a while.

I knew the extra 100 pounds I’m carrying would catch up with me. Eventually.

But I lost 60 pounds! On two separate occasions! (But put all but 25 back on.)

So part of me is saying. “What’s the point? Your mom’s entire family suffered from heart disease. It’s already killed her three YOUNGER siblings. What makes you think YOU’RE getting out of it?”

“Well,” I answer myself, “I’m younger. There’s a lot more research that’s been done. I have the benefit of so much more knowledge. I work out (sometimes). I eat better (except for when I don’t). My parents and grandparents never drank green tea or stirred protein powder into their oatmeal.”

“You can’t escape your genes!” part of me leers.

“Maybe not,” I concede to myself, “but they’re only part of the equation. I can certainly better my odds.”

“Oh, sure you can,” I taunt sarcastically. “And when do you have time for that? In between taking care of your mom and your kids? Your dog and your cats? Your house and your car? Your blog and your tweets?”

At what point, I wonder, do I stop and put myself first? Because that’s what needs to happen if I’m going to get serious about my health.

FUDGE (as Mr. Hoagie likes to say. He cleans it up for the kids.)!