Tidbits: Expiration

• I cleaned out the fridge. "There are starving children in Africa/China..." ran through my head as a wrinkled bell pepper, fuzzy grapes, and a bottle of French Salad Dressing (Best By AUG0811) were revealed hiding out in the nether regions of the fridge. At least there were several items discovered approaching the toss date that have been moved up on the mental priority list for use.
• A letter from the Department of Public Safety states that my driver's license must be presented at the local DPS for renewal. Oh.but.no. Pleasant Suburb's DPS is legendary for the inefficiency of its staff and the length of the line to conduct any sort of business. Avoiding that office is one of the reasons my big kids do not drive. I'm not sure that I intend to continue driving if it means going to the DPS.
• Perfect has not yet asked Middle Child to the Winter Formal. Despite the back-up dress in the closet, there is still time to order the pretty, pretty princess dress online (Now Sale-priced!) if an invitation is issued by Friday. After that, we'll just be waiting to take back the shredded mullet dress within the 30-day window for returns if the dance is not added to Middle Child's calendar.

Tidbits: Round and Round

• One of the shredded mullet dresses is hanging in the coat closet (with the tags and the receipt good for return within 30 days attached) just in case an invitation to the Winter Formal comes too late for delivery of a poufy dress (plus time for potential alterations) found online. I refuse to order a special occasion dress only to find myself standing in line at the post office to return it if not needed.
• Perfect will have an opportunity to ask Middle Child to the Winter Formal today. They will be skating in circles around the rink occasionally holding hands. (He has a tendency to drop her hand like a hot potato under parental scrutiny.)
• Skater Girl will be spinning and working on increasing her jump rotation in the middle of the rink with one coach at 4:15 and practicing foot work with another at 5:00. Finally, at 6:15 she participates in a group class.
• Two and a half hours is a long time to huddle on metal benches alongside a hunk of ice. The time is well spent by serving double duty as chaperone to one daughter and cheering section for the other.To the embarrassment of the offspring, I've taken to carrying a fleece blanket to wrap around myself in an effort to avoid hypothermia.

Tidbits: Exams

• That fall off of the front step last week? Yeah. Ow. The good news: The exam just confirmed bruising, but no damage to the implants or fractures. A little bad news: After the exam, the ortho doc removed a granuloma (scar tissue that formed around an internal stitch) that required a secondary incision on one of those still healing knees. Ow some more.
• I flunked another batch of biopsies at the dermatologist as well. Last Friday resulted in four new incision sites between the biopsies and the scar tissue. It was not a day that should be repeated. Ever.
• Speaking of doctors, December is always a little crazy trying to fit in the Specialists. By seeing them in December, each new year can start off without a legion of doctors and appointments. That's a desirable thing. It's also a time-consuming, sometimes worrisome thing. A thing that creates increasing gratitude for insurance coverage and the mister's employment as so many struggle without such provision.
• The Boy may graduate. He's thinking he will complete high school with up to 15 credit hours of college courses. In the self-paced program, that's largely up to him, but there are other factors. I wonder if, perhaps, the Boy is again counting his chickens before they are hatched. Sometimes he just lays an egg. So, rather than, "Yay!", his pronouncements are frequently met with questions, a measure of caution, and, still, hope that it will all work out for him.
• The local high school kids are attending for four hours per day with their exam schedules this week. Yesterday, the kitchen table was populated with teenagers. They are generally funny, bright kids who aren't put off by parents, and who welcome Moms to sit with them and chat the afternoon away. They do eat. A lot. One leaves behind an added link on the paper chain that reads, "The [Our Last Name]s because they feed me!" They feed us, too... with their laughter, their energy, and some questionable Spanish language over which they will be tested today.

Tidbits: Preparation

• Skater Girl's home rink is surrounded by excellent shopping. That makes the 6:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. skating sessions look really attractive for the next five or six weeks. That time of day falls before even the extended hours many retailers have scheduled. I just don't think I have the patience to navigate through the masses likely converging on the shopping center who are operating on too little sleep, time, and money while attempting to meet increased demands on all three.
• Tomorrow, the mister and I will trek into the downtown area for a sonogram of my neck. There's a radiologist there who is supposed to have a great eye for recognizing Thyroid malignancies via ultrasound. The clear scan from last August was negated by some blood work, so we are back to watching the bump found in June for a possible recurrence of the cancer treated successfully two decades ago.
• The assignments for Thanksgiving Dinner have been given. Our hostess only requested that we bring a corn casserole, chocolate bread, and the wine. It's hard to get much easier than a make-ahead treat, a single baked dish that's prepped in advance, and a couple of bottles of Reisling. Thanksgiving Day will be a relaxed one with great friends who have genuinely made us part of the family.
• The girls and I are thinking we will skip Black Friday. We are unsure just what traditions to try to resurrect this year. Some of our humbug hangs on as we face the third holiday season without the Boy. The mister is ready to return to the enjoyment of more cheer, but his girls are still unsure how to get the spirit of Christmas Past into the present.

Tidbits: Birthday Girl

• Today is Skater Girl's actual birthday. Her daddy made the prediction that she would arrive by November 15th despite a December due date. Erin was obligingly born at a quarter to midnight.
• She is already tall, but her pediatrician projected that she will potentially reach somewhere between 5'9" and 6'1" before she attains her full adult height.
• She's witty, wry, funny, a talented writer with an eye toward social commentary and an artist specializing in cats, "...because she cannot draw people."
• As a toddler she could not run three steps without falling on her face, but she could stand on one foot for five minutes--- only quitting because she grew bored. As a tween, she's discovered that figure skating is her thing. Skater Girl loves jumps, and only bothers to learn spins because they are required to compete at levels with more complex jumps.
• Erin finds four-letter-words offensive. (This is not a given in her grade where many of her peers have mistaken Potty Mouth for Maturity.) She utilizes, "Cabbages!" in lieu of curse words and certain less socially acceptable exclamations.
• People are sometimes confused as to what her name is due to an array of nicknames. The most common of these include: Skater Girl, Libs, Libby, Livvie, Liv, Elizabeth, Lizabeth, Lizzy, Lizzer, Lou, Lulu, Little Bit, and (courtesy of her elder siblings) Lizard Beth and Lizard Breath. She generally answers to all but the last two.

Tidbits: Play Like a Girl

• Middle Child pulled off a tenth place Junior Varsity finish for her freshman year. Better than the place and the shiny medal is the new personal record. Her previous best time for two miles has been stuck at a smidge past 14 minutes. Her goal for the year was to finally come in under 14 minutes. The 13:50 finish that closed out the Cross Country season dropped Katie's personal best a full thirteen seconds.
• Middle Child has discovered that eating a whole roll of refrigerated cookie dough and washing it down with a slushy is a bad idea. It's a really bad idea after running two miles. Just FYI.
• Skater Girl landed her flip jump this week. It's best to gloss over the topic of how many falls were required in order to claim that first landing. Don't let the twinkie dress and glitter fool you. That kid is tough.
• We are putting together gift packages for our sponsored girls in Honduras. We wandered through Christmas-ready aisles looking at dolls and girly toys this morning. It occurred to me that I have rarely seen girls playing with dolls during our visits to Puerto Lempira. (Probably because there are real little ones to help tend...) Instead of a baby or Barbie, each of the girls will receive a new soccer ball. We have definitely seen those getting plenty of play time.

Tidbits: Mom

 Tidbits are all there's been time for lately. Between the normal schedule, friends and family from out of town, Easter, and Middle Child's Birthday, sitting down at the computer to type or edit photos has been far down the To Do List.

• Little Bit's twinkie skating dress came in last week. She tried it on, and. I. squealed. like. a. little. girl. It was sparkly and floaty, and she obviously felt pretty in the thing. She endured a couple of quick snapshots before heading upstairs to roll her eyes at Mom's delight in seeing either of my typically jeans-and-t-shirt clad daughters dressed in something foo-foo. Middle Child informed her younger sister, "You know you just made Mom's whole life, right?" Which is precisely the reason why the kid tolerated the squee moment and the camera.
• Both sets of grandparents were here and gone over the weekend. I think there are some pictures of the grands that are worth a little extra time spent editing. They have interesting faces. Or maybe I find them interesting because of those hints of genetics that trickled down to form the Offspring?
• Middle Child turned fourteen on Easter Sunday. Wow. That was fast. How can it be that the weight of her at a year old perched on my hip can feel so familiar when she is growing ever further from being the Mama's Girl who cried any time I put her down in that long first twelve months? She was completely spoiled. And if I had it to do again--- I might not put her down at all.
• Tomorrow will mark six months since Little Bit stepped on the ice for an introductory figure skating class. Sounds like a picture post waiting to happen.
• Apparently our property values and the professional credibility of our teachers are directly linked to the test scores earned by herds of public school students. The e-mail bombing by far perkier mothers regarding the necessity of grapes, cheese cubes, goldfish/pretzels, and bottled water to ensure the success of the 4th graders on their TAKS tests have been clear that we have an opportunity to help. In order to not cause a new bottom in suburban real estate, I'd best get off the computer and get back in the kitchen to bag up the snacks that will surely prevent the dreaded Brain Drain from sucking our students' future success (not to mention our property values...*rolls eyes*) into an educational Vortex of Doom.

Tidbits: Excuses

I have been an absentee blogger. The reason include, but are not limited to:

• Little Bit bumped up three full levels in her ice skating. That's the result of a whole, whole lot of time on the ice for her, in the bleachers for Mama, and in the car for us both. The twinkie skating dress has been ordered, and it is seriously girly. There will definitely be a picture post when she hits the ice in that sparkly, floaty, blue dress.
• Middle Child's knee injury turned out to be a hip problem. We now attempt to fit multiple physical therapy appointments into days with no wiggle room.
• I spend more time arguing with Middle Child than it will take to write this post. This morning there were 5 separate arguments before 7:30 a.m. The next 7 came in the half hour it took to drop her sister off for school, get her to physical therapy, and then on to school. I have threatened to charge her a quarter for every argument. Maybe a triple charge should apply prior to my first cup of coffee, too.
• Artist and I have been reading and discussing The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns in preparation for our upcoming trip to Puerto Lempira. Stearns refers to the need to understand that over 26,000 children die every single day from the realities of not having sufficient food, clean water, or basic medical care. I think of every single child living with less than enough whose name is known to me and pray that not one of those will become part of that hideous statistic. I cannot wait to wrap those kids in hugs. Hurry up, May 31st...
• The Boy's room is being transformed into a guest room with a beachy, homey feel. Soothing neutrals, chambray blue, and palest green fabric make up the quilt on the queen bed that was given to us to begin the process. When Evan called this morning, I described the changes, and he said it sounded like a room worth coming home to one day. How I hope...

Tidbits: Date

* The mister and I marked our 17th wedding anniversary over the weekend. He offered up a dress-up dinner out followed by the chance to see "The King's Speech". We ended up with a much more casual evening of La Madeleine for dinner and a treat. Bowling a couple of games at Splitsville and wandering around a local shopping center people watching gave way to our closing out the night at a coffee shop.

*The daughters were waiting up for us. There might have been some Mother-Daughter texting during Date Night while the mister was away from the table. There was definitely a post-date wrap up discussion with the girls as soon as the mister and I returned home. I like to think that their Daddy is setting the bar high for our future sons-in-law and those fellows who will likely proceed them in dating the daughters. I also like to think that when they are of an age to date, we will continue the precedent of filling each other in on the moments that make one's heart go pitter-pat.

Tidbits: Progress

• Our church is going into a capital campaign. The purpose of said campaign is to have freedom to bring word of Jesus to more people. The first week of the Bible study intended as preparation for the campaign closed out with our visit to see The Boy at school. He said that the text of the messages from the last series in Romans (copies were provided for him by our service planning staff) have become the source of a study group formed with other guys from his dorm. I think that is exactly what "organic church" looks like as someone who loves Jesus simply shares that with others. The Movement to Multiply Our Heart is happening already.
• Having fully recovered from the dizziness and nausea that went with her ear infection, Little Bit was back on the ice in full force last week. She worked hard, and the results were exceptional. Her coach is recommending Erin advance two levels in the next session that runs from April to June. She's moving right along.
• Last night I found it necessary to referee an argument about (of all things) conversions. Middle Child was disgusted because no one would tell her how many cups were in a quart. Little Bit and I both informed her that she needed to do her own homework. She defended the lack of knowledge saying, "This is SO stupid. I don't need to know this stuff. It's not like it's on the [standardized test]!" *cough* Her sister, without missing a beat, informed her that she would so need conversions. She paused, and then crowed that conversions are used for baking. (We have clear priorities around here.) And in case she ever wanted to work in a soda factory. (Alrighty then.)

Tidbits: Results

• In acknowledging God's power to heal in response to prayer, there must also be acknowledgement that He will decide when and if... and He will be right, or faith is fickle. With Mr. T's next EEG to test for seizures less than a week away, Green Girl says it well. It is not solely the results of prayer that express the power of prayer or of God.
• My chest CT was clear. My blood work was not. That could mean that thyroid levels are loopy because of decreasing estrogen levels. (Current hormone levels are kind of like highly-caffeinated kindergartners on a trampoline sans adult supervision. Whee!) My lymph nodes remain clear of any sign of cancer related to that thought to be previously cured, or the specter of those that go hand-in-hand with immune deficiency.
• An arthritis flare is in full swing. Fortunately, outside is a solid sheet of ice that has resulted in widespread cancellations across North Texas. Tomorrow's forecast high of 29 degrees (Fahrenheit... ) and tonight's low of 6 degrees (still Fahrenheit...) are unlikely to allow melting. That means I can wait out the flare without missing anything since almost everything in this portion of the Lone Star State cancels at the mere hint of wintry weather. 
• The Super Bowl is second only to the weather in today's local news programming. Fortunately, both the teams arriving in anticipation of playing in this week's big game are from places more accustomed to cold. Not that I'll be paying much attention to the game (despite more than a few friends who are die-hard fans of the teams playing) because, unlike most Texans, football.makes.me.bored.

Tidbits: Unexpected

• Friday afternoon, Walker and I sat in traffic on the interstate. We'd been to two hospitals to visit a friend. (She was actually in the second one.) Hurrying to make it back from Dallas in time to pick up kids from school, we found the drive slower than expected. We were stuck at 3:40 on a weekday afternoon behind two street sweepers and the a third truck flashing lights to announce that work vehicles. Walker scooted as far to the right as possible since the street sweepers were working away on the inside emergency lane. Only to find traffic grinding to a halt mere minutes from Pleasant Suburb. We sat there watching with absolute incredulity (and maybe a little laughter) as the street sweepers passed us, and then cut over to cruise a car length or two ahead while the traffic lanes on the left began to zip past at speeds effectively trapping Walker's Mom Mobile in the slow lane. That was definitely a first.
• Saturday, the mister and I headed back south on the same highway. We drove for hours, and were rewarded with hugs from The Boy. He is finished with his orientation period, and has settled into his new dorm. Sometime in the weeks since we saw him last, he has grown again. The Boy is taller than I am. And I did not know. (Of all the things to be struck sad over, this is probably an odd one, but emotions are sometimes funny things.) He has also learned that the timing of his transfer to the new school was really, really bad. He missed his midterms, and he has now lost all credit for the first half of his sophomore year in high school. He will make it up, but it will slow his plans to complete his high school diploma ahead of his original 2013 graduation date. He is hopeful, and it is hope that will see him whatever curve balls are thrown at him.
• Temperatures were in the 70's over the weekend. It was glorious, but there really was little time to spend outdoors enjoying the warmth and sunshine. Later today, temperatures will begin a descent into the teens that is forecast through Thursday. It will be colder in Pleasant Suburb, Texas than it will be in Poland this week.

Tidbits: Brrr.

• Warning: Knit gloves can become entangled in orthodontia. Should one's gloves become caught in one's brackets, seek a mother out immediately. She can probably fix it, and if you plead the photos won't be posted to Facebook or her blog.
• Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes eaten while still in one's pajamas snug in a nice, warm kitchen looking out the window at the night's snow accumulation may be a perfect breakfast.
• The weather may be affecting Middle Child's hunt for a Science Fair Project on the net. (Her original project "...had too many variables,", and she messed around too long to be able to complete it.) Most of her ideas center around snow and ice. I wonder if the Home School population is skewing the online results by searching for science projects with ice/snow today?
• If the back door is left wide open, the heater cannot keep up. I do not care if, "Bella [the cat] wanted to go outside."

Tidbits: Yay

• Hello, 2011! This year is off to a lovely start. The offspring are all back in school, but my mister had one more day off today. This was brilliant, and we should try to schedule this sort of thing on purpose in the future. It's a welcome change to hug the man without Middle Child informing us that we should, "Get a room! Ew." Really. We have a room. In fact, she lives in the string of rooms we call our house. So there.
• Green Girl's January Giveaway has resulted in the likelihood that I will be getting to know the mail lady better. GG's posts last week offered a combination of homemade goodies for her giveaway. The trifecta of mitts, raspberry jam, good-for-you granola will be headed this way, and the anticipation is entirely enjoyable. Last week's comments on her posts were, ah, well, mostly about the giveaway goodies. See, I can focus when it's really important.
• The list of Stuff to Take to Honduras is starting to form. The pile of stuff on my dining room table is also forming in response. Hopefully, we will be carrying audio Bibles in Miskito, dehydrated vegetables to supplement our friends' diets, a DS charger and styluses for a friend of Middle Child's, and the fourth season of the t.v. show Seventh Heaven. One can only imagine what else will be added on to the packing list in the weeks to come.
• Firefly is on Ovation tonight. Who would've thought a Western Space epic would be a good idea? Only Joss Whedon.

Tidbits: Should

• Walker and I met before dawn for Girly Coffee while our guys had their weekly Man Meeting. We really ought to be walking, but it was both too early and too cold for either of us to feel remotely motivated.
• Ow.  I had a crown seated. Woo. Or, perhaps Boo. My theory that this should be a quick and done appointment flew out the window with the administration of antibiotics because, "...this might be a little complicated." Eh? No. Just pop out the temporary crown, and cement the new one in place. Mmm. No. There were bad things happenin', and now I am sore despite having been numbed so that I cannot feel my nostrils two hours later even though the medication should have been a fast-acting one that wore off quickly.
• The mister had a cleaning while I was being poked and prodded. He? Still has his wisdom teeth. At least, he does for the moment. Those should have already been taken out. Lovely.
• I should knock out a couple of loads of laundry, e-mail the Familia Alastero sponsors to invite them to send letters, cards, photos, and/or gifts to their sponsor children, finish bagging some donations, and take down the Christmas decorations.
• Words like "should" and "ought" tend to force some small rebellious seed buried within me to sprout into a writhing, live thing from time to time. This is usually a strong internal hint that a Day Off is due. Sooo... since it's cold, I am going to crawl back under the covers and catch a movie or read instead of working on the things that could perhaps otherwise (not better, just otherwise) occupy the afternoon.

Tidbits: Sticky

• I totally forgot about that roll of "self-adhesive" gift wrap that was lurking in the midst of the pretty papers. That stuff is no less likely to cause a hissy fit this year than last. Waste not, want not... but...
• I am officially in the know on how a week in Honduras during the school year could draw the unwanted attention of truancy court. Fortunately, we have lots of wiggle room thanks to no absences for Little Bit at all and only one for Middle Child of the allowable ten before things get messy. The week I hoped to go to Honduras has a 4th Grade Writing TAKS Test scheduled, and it would be mean to keep our kid out the day of the test all her writing teachers for the past four years have been working toward... We'll have to go a week sooner or later. I wish we could just go now.
• Travel is not a good idea today. My Bronchitis may also be Strep after all. After two days of an antibiotic not ideally suited to treat Strep, the giant q-tip is failing to show positive despite what the doc's little flashlight and my nerve endings are proclaiming. If the sore throat is still blazing away in the morning, we'll have to piggyback a second antibiotic. Yuck.
• Despite the Illness du jour, my great uncle passed away today. I'm wondering if the antibiotics will kick in in time to make the trip for his funeral service. His widow is a great lady who hosted our wedding shower. He was a giant of a man (as is true of all my Mammy's brothers), and he will be missed by many. Oh, and no one in our family aside from the grands and the immediate aunties and uncles knew The Boy was gone last year. Or that he is gone again. That might get sticky.

Tidbits: Posted

• The Boy left at 5:30 a.m. yesterday to go to an interim location where he will be evaluated for the next 30-45 days. Last night, it was 10:00 and I couldn't really picture where my kid was even though I have been given an address. This is not okay.
• Little Bit finished up her Intro to Skating class last night. Her teacher recommended skipping the Beginner level, so Alpha classes (pretty foot work and spins on one foot) begin January 4th. Walker commented yesterday that the skates were definitely not a waste.
• The mister's passport has arrived. Funds to cover the mister's and my airfare have been allotted. We're going to have to decide whether or not the girls will be going. They would be unenthusiastic about being left behind. I would like for the mister to not only be introduced to the Honduras that draws me, but also to see how our girls are similarly drawn.
• On the way home from ice skating, I suggested a stop at the Urgent Care Center. Good thing. My "sore throat" and "drainage" have settled into my lower left lung. Bronchitis treated right away is less likely to turn into a case of Christmas Pneumonia. While my plans were to have my arms full of babies at the children's emergency shelter today, I am instead cradling a cup of hot tea and lounging in my jammies until the nurse can get here later today to administer some I.V. meds. Boo. Well, the tea is lovely. It's just less snuggly than rocking and praying blessings over babies.

Tidbits: Lenses

• Sometimes I wonder if I am missing out on life because I observe so much of it through the camera's lens.
• Adults may cringe away from the camera, but it draws chidren.
• Images are not subject to language barriers.
• The camera can show you that for which I have no words.

Meet my friend Froggy. We do homework together once a week. It's something we're both pretty excited about. Ironically, he was working on word problems this week. Perhaps there are words to fit being greeted at the door of the afterschool program by Froggy who says, "You came back." Or maybe not.

Working through word problems

Erin went to her first skating lesson. (Her skates have shipped, but they have yet to arrive. She wore the rentals.) She was moving very well. A beginner ice skating class is potentially comical in real life. That does not translate well to the digital still image.

First Skating Lesson

Tomorrow, the Boy will run in the District Cross Country Meet. His mama will be there, watching and trying to capture the moment. And we will later look at the images together.

Preparing for the race

Finally, in three more weeks, we'll leave for a return visit to another world. A place populated by people who have imprinted themselves on my heart.

Rodrigo

Laura and Cinco

Tidbits

• Birthday Party is planned, the guests have all replied with their acceptances, and the girls' books are on their way from an online retailer. Headed over to order the ice cream cake (White cake and vanilla ice cream because her friend does not like chocolate. Love that she's more interested in her guests than herself.) and see if movie tickets can be purchased a week in advance.
• Word from Laura is that all was well with them this morning. She was wishing for friends to assist in the post-storm clean up efforts, and I was wishing we were there to help. I keep repeating, "Soon." Not soon enough, though.
• One of Erin's party guests is actually the daughter of a Honduran Daddy and a half-Honduran Mommy.
• We picked up runners from the Middle School Church Retreat, but ended up taking the girls out for breakfast when lightning caused their meet to be cancelled. We dropped the girls back off in time for them to join in worship and what promised to be a fierce dodge ball tournament.
• The Boy's meet was not cancelled since he was running in another suburb at a later time where there was no lightning. He ran his best time in a race so far this year: 22:13 for 3.1 miles. Run, Bronco, Run!
• We can carry 50 pounds of "stuff" per person to Puerto Lempira in November. We have 10 pounds of baby formula, 35 pounds of school supplies and backpacks, and seven and half pounds of bed sheets. These sorts of numbers are causing the girls to question what we will wear during our stay. Toga anyone?