I want my son's retirement plan.

Sam had last Friday off from school so I took him to the bank to get an elective signed off for Tiger Cubs. He had to talk to someone at the bank about what they do and what happens to money.

I asked if they offered minor accounts with no fees or minimum balances. Indeed they do, with a really low interest rate. Anyway, Sam was rexcited about opening his own account so we decided to deposit all the money from his piggy bank.

That evening Yagopuchae decided to explain 401k retirement accounts. He promised to match Sam's deposits 100%. Sam got his piggy bank and we started counting. Yago thought he'd be out about $40, turns out there was about $150 in that piggy bank.

Finally!

I got a cable for my camera so I have pictures again. Here's a shot of Sammy at the Pinewood Derby when he won most creative design. The car isn't in the picture because the kids weren't allowed near their cars until it was over and by that time my camera was out of batteries.

Down the Drain

Sam lost another tooth last night, his fourth. I was cooking dinner when he told me his dad pulled it out. While I was cooking he took his tooth and said he was going to wash the blood off it for the Tooth Fairy. The next thing I heard was an awful gutteral noise. I asked what was wrong and I knew as soon as I saw him, he dropped his precious tooth down the drain. He fell apart, heartbroken. I calmed him down and promised the Tooth Fairy would come anyway. I told him to leave a note under his pillow and she would know to come.

He finished his homework trying his best to stifle sobs. I really felt bad for him. When it was time to leave a note for the Tooth Fairy he wrote it and let me read it afterward. It was so cute and he signed it "love, Sam." (With the quotes.) He's still learning about quotation marks and letter writing. It was adorable though. The Fairy left him $1.25, the most she's given to date.

Congrats

Yagopuchae won Company Grade Officer of the Year at the wing level so I need to give him a shout out for that. It's more impressive when you consider his wing hq is in San Antonio and it's an intel wing that let a comm weenie win.

I had a dr appt today and everything is progressing normally. We were going to take a little trip over President's Day weekend to Venice but that was pretty much nixed. The dr said I'd be right on the borderline of when they advise against air travel. Turns out the airlines won't let me fly anyway and the trains are outrageously priced. We'll have to come up with a plan b.

During yoga today the instructor was showing us a new pose. She demonstrated first, I actually laughed (scoffed) out loud, a "yeah right" kind of noise. I didn't mean to use my outside voice but it happened. I felt pretty self-conscious afterward. I think yoga is like mass, you're not supposed to make any noise. I did feel a slight improvement today for the first time since I started going, back in November.

Well, I'm pooped today. I think I'm going to try to take a nap before the boy gets home.

The Derby

Sam didn't win the Pinewood Derby but he did come in second for a couple of heats which was exciting. He's really happy that he won most creative design though. They gave him a certificate and medal for it. Keep in mind though that they had 22 award categories... I'm pretty sure that equals something for everyone. It did make Sam very happy so I don't have a beef with someone sitting around thinking up 22 different award categories.

Fer Me?!

A little unusual, two posts in one day. I don't really think I've done that since I quit working in the NOSC over a year ago.

Anyway, I forgot to mention that Yagopuchae came home with flowers yesterday and didn't even do anything wrong! It's the first time he's ever bought me flowers. I was initially suspicious but he reassured me. It was very cute, he sent Sam in with them. He's been busy with his classes trying to finish up his Master's. Hopefully he'll be done the end of February.

Ralphie's still hanging in there. I get to see him in less than two months, that's exciting. A little over seven weeks left and in three weeks I get to start drinking the raspberry leaf tea. Rememeber, Mistress?

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

The thought of showering exhausts me for some reason. It's been this way all week. I spend the day not doing anything, waiting until I shower but dreading the shower. I hope it passes soon. In the meantime I'm sitting here avoiding the bathroom.

On Your Mark, Get Set...

I have been quite uninspired to write lately, not sure why. I think of clever little things to write about when I'm away from the computer but when I'm home I can't think of a darn thing.

Last night Sam and I went to register his Pinewood Derby car. This thing was cool. He painted it yellow and put orange and red flames on it. I put some flames on the hood and he did the rest. Then he decided he wanted to stick a little Lego guy in there, all the other Tigers were jealous. Unfortunate for Sam, his mother has no idea how this race thingy works. At all. We got there and had someone attach the wheels for us and then it was time to weigh the car, it has to be 5 oz or less. Ours was a little over 2 oz which translates to piss poor performance, if I understand correctly. I attached a strip of weights to the bottom and weighed again. Viola, 4.95 oz. Perfect. Then off to measure. The weights made the car's clearance too low, I'd have to put them on top. This destroyed the entire design of the car. I broke the weights apart and stacked half of them in the groove next to the driver. When we turned the car in the guys kind of laughed that it looked like the little dude was a pizza delivery driver. I know this makes no sense if you can't see it but perhaps my little illustration will help.

Schmitty has a new bedtime routine that I must share. When we got back from the states he had jetlag so we told him to go read in bed. Now, every night he grabs a Jack and Annie book and goes upstairs to bed. He's also really in to Beethoven and plays a Beethoven at Bedtime CD while he reads in bed. Yago and I sit downstairs watching tv while Beethoven plays in the background. We think it's really funny.

My Name is Waldo and I'm a...

PB&J-holic. Sad but true, I'm back on the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I first realized I had a problem in 2002 when I started eating at least two a day. I lost my 6-pack (again) around the same time. Coincidence? Probably not.

I rediscovered these tasty little treats again a couple weeks ago and I'm back to having at least one every day. This is not good and I need to kick it now but I'm not ready to swear them off completely. In fact, I'm a little nervous thinking about it. Maybe next week I'll be ready to give them up again. Maybe I'll wait until Lent and give them up.

I left the house today and went to Yoga again, have mercy. The normal instructor is back and so is the normal class size. Did I tell you about the class I went to while she was on vacation? It was just me and the substitute Yoga instructor. Oh Lordy. One of the worst hours of my life. Really, I couldn't have been more self-conscious. Anyway, today's class was good and difficult. My favorite part was getting in to a pose I'd never been in before and feeling very awkward trying to hold it. I was trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to be doing and after a good amount of time realized I was looking at EVERYONE in the class. That meant I was doing it ass-backward and the whole class was watching me hold it ass-backward. That was cute. (Made cuter by my 7-month pregnant belly, I'm sure.)

This weekend the family will be working on the Pinewood Derby car for Schmitty. I hope it goes well and no one cries. (yagopuchae)

I just found some peanut butter in my cuticle, that's funny. Mmm-mm.

Why would I expect anything else?

I got a phone call and email yesterday about my Reserve status. I am finally in the system (kind of) and can work. What they failed to mention was that the put me in an unpaid slot so I can work a month a year and not get paid at all for it. "Points only," means it counts toward retirement but I don't get any pay. What the heck? I never approved that, I wasn't even consulted. Oh, and by the way, I can't work past 35 weeks gestation. I'm over 31 right now. I'm a little ticked off and I can't find anyone who knows what the heck is going on. Ole girl that's been working on this since September is just now getting the paperwork together. She also said since it's points only, I can do just 17 days a year. (There are about 20 workdays in month if you work Mon-Fri.) Unfortunately, the website says for it to count toward retirement I have to do 35 days. If it weren't a two hour drive I'd like to march in to her office and smack her. Just fantasizing a little there.

I will start calling Sam's Tiger Scout Den Meetings --drumroll-- Sam Appreciation Night because I hate all the other kids and their parents. Every time I come home from one of the meetings Yago gets an earful of how much I hate all the little monsters and their parents. None of the parents discipline or correct bad behavior and none of the kids (except Sam) sit still or keep their mouths shut. You'd think I'd enjoy an opportunity to talk to another adult besides Yagopuchae but I don't.

If you can't tell, I'm a little cranky. I'm going to take a shower and see if that improves my mood. I wish I had a more productive way to spend my day but I'm just waiting for Ralphie to get here.

New Skills

Sam learned how to ride his bike yesterday. It took him quite a while but yesterday Yagopuchae took him to a park in town and when they returned Sam could ride his bike. Yago didn't give me many details, sufficed it to say that there were some spills and tough talk. There wouldn't have been success if I'd been with them, I'm sure. I lose my patience with Sam's lack of self-motivation but feel sorry for my little buckaroo when he falls down. I would have thought Yago was being too hard on him and Yago would have been frustrated with my "mothering". Regardless, we finally have success.

Today's my first day in a month back in my normal routine. I went to the gym and the commissary in peace but missed Sam a little bit. He'll be home shortly and I haven't done any housework yet or showered, I need to get a move on. Have I mentioned only a couple more months of walking around with a basketball-size growth in my belly? Then I get to have a cute little baby!

Happy New Y... Blah.

This will go down in the books as my second worst New Year's Eve, we won't even talk about the worst. I spent midnight in the bathroom throwing up, and not from having too good of time either.

Saturday night we went out to dinner with the Mormon couple to celebrate New Year's (since New Year's Eve was actually on a Sunday). Shortly after being seated Yago had to excuse himself and go to the bathroom, not an entirely unusual event. He admits to having a bladder the size of a pea. When the other couple called home to check on everyone the eldest daughter reported Sam had thrown up. Yago excused himself again and announced he wasn't feeling well. We left the restaurant and Yago had to pull over and throw up. We picked up Sam and came home. I spent the entire night awake on the couch as they took turns throwing up. My turn came Sunday night, although I didn't have it quite as bad as they did.

Today we don't have hot water and I'm waiting for the landlord to call me so I can take a shower. This kind of sucks also. Why does it always happen in the winter? At least the house has heat. In Leonberg we would lose heat AND hot water which made me super-cranky.

I've been waking up between 2:00 and 3:00 in morning and unable to go back to sleep. It happens several times a week and it's really ticking me off because it ruins my entire day. I feel like crap and I can't figure out why it's happening. I've got a little over two months left to enjoy sleep and it's eluding me far too often. I'm not stressed or worried about anything and I don't have a problem falling asleep, I just can't stay asleep.

Well, Sam is thoroughly bored watching me blog and I should find something else to do with myself today. I had grand plans of sterilizing everything in or near a bathroom today but I don't want to play in cold water. (excuse)

Hope everyone else had a happy new year.