more of a tidying

I watched Oprah last week when she had Kathy Preston (sp?) on as a guest. They were talking about the "21 day cleanse" and I was interested but skeptical. She talks about giving up certain foods for 21 days to improve your spirituality and rid your body of toxins. I was interested in it for the novelty, challenge and health benefits. You're supposed to give up animals (meat and fish) and animal products (to include yogurt, butter, eggs, etc), caffeine, alcohol, sugar, and glutein.

First, I can't do it for 21 days. That's too long. Second, give up gluten? I don't think so. I can't give up bread and all things wheaty. Caffeine? I don't think I can do that either, I love coffee and we just bought the loveliest coffeemaker last year. It sits in the kitchen and looks at me all day long, beckoning me over for another steamy cup of heaven.

I am thinking about it and maybe soon I'll commit to a 14 day tidying instead of a 21 day cleanse. Maybe only 7 days to start...

wee wee wee all the way home

I think we got a house! Can you believe that? We bought a freakin' house from an ad on realtor.com. That's insane to me but I'm so excited! We're working out the details but it looks like it'll be a done deal by Friday! It's got the open floor plan I wanted so I could watch the kiddos and cook dinner, a big back yard, some (not all) hardwood floors, AND there's a park in the neighborhood! I'm so excited I could do a cartwheel. Oh, and it's got a lot of built in shelving which I really wanted for all our books.

I'll try to post a link but I don't know if it'll work.

The only teeny little problem or hesitation I have is my housekeeping and taste aren't as good as whoever presently lives there. I don't want to picture the house with my clutter or messiness. Maybe it'll make me a better housekeeper. If only housekeeping were fun. (sigh)

We got a house!! And I'd be remiss if I didn't thank my family for making it possible.

zum kotzen

Poor little Schmitty is sick. He started throwing up around 1:00 this morning and he's still sick. He's wretching in the bathroom and writhing on the couch. I know in I couple of days I'll have whatever he has and somewhere in there the baby will get it too.

He keeps apologizing to me and I keep telling him to stop. He said, "Well, I know I'm being a handful because I keep making all that noise on the couch." Poor guy. He's holding his belly and crying, he's not being a handful.

swiss miss

Switzerland was fabulous but EXPENSIVE. I ate fondue and raclette. We went to a Chinese restaurant and I ordered Kung Pao Shrimp that cost about $28 and if you wanted a bowl of rice it was an additional $10.

We stayed at a beautiful, old hotel. The breakfasts included fresh squeezed orange juice from the juicer and champagne, mimosas! They brought us little snacks each evening, muffins or a bowl of fresh fruit. They had laid out a ducky robe and matching slippers for Ralphie, it was adorable.

We hiked down a mountain on Saturday and then spent the rest of the weekend recovering. We commonly called Ralphie "Tubby." We carried him on our back, he weighs a ton now and has nearly outgrown his backpack thingy. We were struggling carrying him around and he would be yawning or snoring on our backs! He had quite a relaxing trip. It was so beautiful though...

It was a five hour drive and I swear Ralphie cried, screamed and carried on until we were ten minutes from home!! Ten minutes before we got home he fell asleep, he's something else.

thingy-ma-bob

The other morning I was at the bus stop with Schmitty and a bunch of kids were telling me different stories. One of the boys, about 8 yrs old, was telling me a story and was talking about his brother falling out of a window few years ago. He said, "We were leaning on... those window bug catching things..." I thought it was funny because there aren't screens here in Europe so the boy had forgotten the word.

done deal

Last night we had the contract negotiations and Schmitty's allowance is going up from $1 to $3.50 but he has to clean the bathrooms, not just the sinks. We'll see how it goes. I thought it was going to by Yago and me against Schmitty but in an unexpected turn in events Yago decided to represent his "client." With 20 bonus points Schmitty can choose a family activity we do together. He gets 5 reminders a week, after that he loses his allowance. Again, we'll see how it goes.

I found a house online yesterday that I liked and was excited to show Yago. When I told him how much I liked it he said, "Let's buy it," without even looking at the pictures. That's how much he hates uncertainty. He's dreading moving and not knowing where we're going to live. He doesn't like change. At all. It's funny.

I'm going to take Ralphie out for a walk to the park or something. I'm going a little stir crazy.

Tonight is my last German class, that'll be one less thing on the dreaded Wednesday schedule. Day after tomorrow we go to Interlaken. I want lots of fondue and swiss cheese.

oopsie

I'm thinking it's not non-alcoholic. I'll let you know for sure after another, but I'm pretty sure there's something in there. I can't wait til Yago comes home and verifies...

scheisse

I think I accidentally bought alcohol-free German beer. Why would they even make that? I lugged a whole case to the car with the midget only to get home and see a flyer stuck to it that says alcohol-free. Actually, alkoholfrei. scheisse.

contract negotiations

Tonight we're entering in to contract negotiations with Schmitty over his allowance. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. I know Yago will counter everything and it'll be amusing to watch.

I'm really tired again today, I got up to pee last night and couldn't get back to sleep.

I should be making lists of things to do but I haven't, that means I won't get what I want done. I'll be running around without direction or focus but I've been goofing around on the Internet and now I don't have time. I need to get to the gym before all the ladies show up and hog the treadmills. I'm the only treadmill hog I like.

I'm looking forward to househunting. I have a whole list of wants but I'm most excited at the prospect of having a place to put my treadmill and weight bench so I don't have to go to the gym anymore. I want a big open kitchen so I can cook dinner while interacting with Schmitty and keeping an eye on Ralphie. Schmitty wants to share a room with Ralphie and even though I don't expect it to last it makes me happy that he wants to now. I envision a bedroom from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog that isn't realistic but I enjoy thinking about it anyway. I can't wait to have closets and a garage for storage, maybe even a mudroom. I'd like to have a clothesline too. Maybe we'll live near a bicycle trail, that'd be great. So many possibilities.

I'll miss Alpine winter getaways, for sure, and I'll miss all the flowers EVERYWHERE.

The grumpy baby is up so I'd better get ready to head to the gym.

Fancy Boots

I forgot about this story yesterday, it's a good one!

Sam came home from school and showed me his papers, as he always does. He proudly pulled out a cowboy boot he'd drawn, colored and cut out in art class. He'd drawn flames coming off of it and everything. He handed it to me and went through every detail he worked so hard on. He pointed and told me he even made a sperm. "Sperm?" I asked. Then I realized he was pointing at the spur! I had a mighty good laugh.

I asked if he knew what sperm was and he said no but he'd heard of it.

I ran errands all darned day but don't feel like I got anything accomplished for efforts. I went to get recycling bags but now you have to get them at City Hall and it closes at 1200 on Fridays. It was 1237.

I went to a art and craft store to get a neighborhood friend of Schmitty's a birthday present, her party is tomorrow. The craft store is closed on Fridays, and so on.

winding down

So it seems the busy spring is winding down. Scouts meetings are over, the last CCD class is Sunday and only two more weeks of German class. Of course June begins the swim lessons everyday at 5:30 for two weeks and we'll still have piano and baseball.

Ralphie woke up last night hollering, I brought him downstairs and discovered some awful diaper rash that was very painful. I felt really bad for the guy, he had a toxic poo.

I'm trying to book a trip to Interlaken, Switzerland, over Memorial Day weekend but the agency is having trouble booking the hotel for some reason. I should know today if the booking went through.

I've been trying to read about how to entertain Ralphie. I know he's learning and his mind is a sponge but I don't really know how I should be stimulating him. Frankly, I think we're both often bored with my lack of creativity. I'm trying to read and get ideas. Doesn't seem like it's something a person should have to research...

I'm trying to get a Reserve slot at Offutt but they're losing a lot of theirs and the ones they have are full with a line of people waiting. It doesn't look promising though, we'll see.

realization

I used to think it was a fluke but I think I've finally come to the realization it's true. It's the way it is, not just an accident or luck. Yagopuchae is a better housewife than I am.

When I go to class and come home a few hours later the house is tidy (kitchen clean, floors swept and mopped), the kids are clean in bed and he's outside reading a book while sipping iced tea he made. I haven't even mentioned he took the boys to a field to practice baseball with Schmitty while I was out. I get 10 hours a day to try to accomplish such things and it never happens.

It's a little disappointing, yet comforting. Maybe I can work in some more BonBon time after all... He can certainly pick up the slack.

Happiest Mother's Day

Sunday was a perfect Mother's Day. I got up in the morning and made sausage, eggs and toast for breakfast then dashed upstairs to get ready for CCD and church. When I came home Yagopuchae had done all the dishes, gone shopping, cleaned the house and packed a picnic lunch for us. Schmitty and I changed our clothes, then headed through the woods to a big city park for our picnic. Yago even remembered to bring a bottle of wine. He stopped at a bakery on the way and bought fresh brotchen. We dined at the park and Schmitty rode his bike and played. It was perfect picnic weather and relaxing. We sat and watched other families play soccer and badminton while Ralphie wandered around in his diaper. I don't think it could have been any better.

Ralphie's in the foreground and Schmitty is in the background.

keep some things to yourself

Last night we grilled and ate outside because it was sunny and beautiful. I was preparing dinner and the grill while Yago and Schmitty practiced his baseball swing. We grilled green beans, eggplant, zucchini, and ribeyes. I also made potato salad and a tossed salad, lots of veggies. Mmmm. Then we had some family reading time before bed.

Yesterday I also got a card from one of the women at church. Her son and Schmitty are in the same CCD class. She sent me a Mother's Day card about what a great friend I am and how I'm always there for her. The thing is, we're not really great friends. She's the one I've mentioned before about how I feel like she's always sizing me up. It's weird. We're both moving in about a month and a half, and we won't keep in touch. I can't really explain the oddness of getting this card from her without sounding like an insensitive jerk and maybe I am.

And Cher? Put some clothes on, you're 61 for god's sake.

that girl

I was that girl yesterday at the gym. I got on the treadmill and suddenly the place started filling up. People were waiting for one of the two treadmills and a lady asked me how much longer I had. I fibbed a little and said 20 mins but really I had about 28 mins left with the cool down. I know she was mad waiting on me and I should have cut it short but I didn't. I rationalized thinking about what an ill-behaved brat her kid was. He was climbing and jumping all over the place and she never chastised him. I was ready to get off the treadmill and walk over there and yell at him myself.

Today Schmitty got suspended from school for fighting. A first grader was picking at him and Schmitty chased him down and hit him. Not the best way to handle it but these days I guess you can't get away with a fight on the playground.

Maybe my parenting skills aren't the best either.

his favorite san francisco treat

Have I mentioned how much Ralphie likes rice?

The End

Yesterday Schmitty's class had a little presentation of Three Billy Goats Gruff, it was really cute. Sam played a cowbell and then had a narrating part at the end. And? If you can believe it, Ralphie behaved. Maybe the first time ever, he behaved when I wanted him to.

Yago and I are trying to figure out what we want to do for Schmitty's going away. We want to have a get together for his friends but we don't want a zoo. We want them to have fun but we want to do something at the house. I was thinking back to the park picnics we used to have and trying to come up with some ideas. Those were always a blast but our yard is quite small. There are kids from school, scouts and the neighborhood but we'd prefer it to be intimate. Add to that we'll be preparing to MOVE and it gets a little complicated. We'll get it figured out and organized eventually...