Tidbits: Burn

It's running been running well over 100 degree temperatures all week. 105, 106, hundred-and-no-way-the-thermometer-is-right... These are the sorts of days when the whole family wants to go watch Skater Girl practice because the rink is last cool place in town. There is no ice time on Sunday afternoons, so everyone had to make other plans today.

• Skater Girl and several other kiddoes from the rink gathered for a pool party this afternoon. The high points of the day included the hostess's two big, friendly Labradors joining the girls in the water and giant cupcakes. The skaters were every bit as happy in the water as they are on the ice.
• Middle Child headed off to the lake with Perfect for a day out in the boat after church. They cruised the lake, went tubing, and hung out with Perfect's family. The sun's going down, and they're only just now heading home.
• Only one daughter took sunscreen with her. *sigh*

Deja Vu

The final week of March, 2000 was memorable. My feisty Mammy passed away on that last Sunday on the mister's and my sixth wedding anniversary. The very next day, we discovered a termite infestation in Old House. On the heels of the termite news, we loaded up our littlies and hit the road headed to West Texas for Mammy's memorial ahead of strong storms causing tornadoes to touch down around the metro area. That particularly disastrous week ended with an allergic reaction that landed me in the E.R. Seriously.
Then again, that E.R. visit resulted in a batch of labs based on symptoms that seemed unrelated to the allergic reaction, but might have been a result of the stress of the preceding days. The results led to our family doctor opting to make a phone call on Saturday, April 1st that was no joke rather than waiting for Moday to let his nurse report the findings. All of the tumult ended with the (Surprise!) news that we were expecting Skater Girl.
This week we have Middle Child's BFF#1 staying with us after a death in her family over the weekend had her parents leaving the state for the service. Yesterday, I noticed a weird thing on the wall next to the fridge. Today, I whacked at the thing with the mister looking on in case I needed to run screaming. Sure enough, the whacking revealed (Crud. Crud. Crud.) termites hiding in the wall of New House. I scheduled the termite guy to come visit Thursday since I'll be stuck home for my infusion anyway. (The same infusion that I have an allergic reaction to every time. Awesome.) We're currently monitoring tornadoes touching down in the metro area.
Who knows... the way things are going, I'm developing a certain level of concern that I could make medical history winning myself and my doctor a place in the medical journals by turning up pregnant despite a hysterectomy.

Occupy

Next week, there is no evening Skate School while the public schools are on hiatus for Spring Break. The rink has an alternative for the skaters, though. Each skate school student is slated for four complimentary tickets to the hockey game. Our family has never attended a game, but it might be fun to go next week. The family can go at no charge, and we can invite Perfect along for a greatly discounted rate, too. $12 for a night's entertainment for five people is a pretty good bargain. If the kids enjoy the game, Pleasant Suburban Elementary PTA has discounted seats reserved for another game in a couple of weeks, so there's the possibility of a follow-up, too.
The forecast threatens rain for a portion of Spring Break. That would be less disappointing if not for a string of days in the 70's and 80's that raised hopes for continued lovely (if not quite seasonal) weather while school is on a break. (Then again, we still need the rain.) At least there's daytime skate camp for one of the lovies, and that won't be affected by wet weather. There's likely to be more of a challenge to Middle Child's plans since she's largely one to be out walking, running, or skateboarding through the neighborhood with friends or Perfect. Ah, well, maybe the big kids will be up for movies, baking, or other indoor plans in addition to their planned outings to the skating rink and mall.

Truth or Dare

I used to wonder why swimsuits were in stores in February. Today it's 76 degrees outside. I dare say this not only explains the swimsuits, but also the seemingly early clearance on outerwear that was displayed right next to the teeny-weenie bikinis. Middle Child picked out a swimsuit, but I opted for perusing the coat clearance instead. My decision was in part based on it being (Let's just say it again to be completely clear.) February- which is clearly a Winter month in North America. At least, it's supposed to be winter.

That preference for coats this time of year was not solely related to what sort of weather ought to be gracing Pleasant Suburb though. One ought to be honest, after all.  That said, just because honesty is a virtue does not make it a desirable trait in clothing. The swimsuits won't lie to me. Worse, they don't lie to anyone else about precisely what shape my body is in at the moment, either. The coats? They're far more likely to hide the truth. And right now, the truth could stand to be hidden for at least a few more weeks.

Listing 2011, Part IV

The post-Thanksgiving listing of the good stuff goes on...

40. The "extra" teenagers who joined us to decorate the Christmas Tree this year.
39. Staying up late watching spy movies with Middle Child.
38. The possibility of our first freeze tonight.
37. Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for dinner.
36. Prayer.
35. That Skater Girl did not refer to "butt dialing" as a "booty call" in public before we discovered her mistaken assumption that they were the same thing.
34. That first whiff of pine as we walked past the Christmas Trees for sale at the market.
33. Belly laughs.
32. The start of Track Season for the Runner Girls on Monday.
31. The beginning of the Christmas message series at church this weekend.
30. Jane Austen.
29. Contentment.
28. My daughter wrapped in a quilt my mother made.
27. The trust of my children.
26. Memories.

Cool

Today it's eighty degrees outside. Overnight the local temperatures are projected to take a twenty-eight degree nosedive. (That sounds lovely compared to day after day of sweltering triple digit temperatures that dogged us throughout summer.) The timing on the coming chill could be better. It's especially poor timing for one group. Area high school cross country teams are set for their district meets tomorrow. Herds of teenagers with an absence of body fat wearing teensy little nylon tanks and shorts are all going to be outside for hours fully experiencing temps in the fifties. Oh, and as a bonus... it's supposed to rain overnight--- with a chance of more rain tomorrow. The runner girls at least ordered long-sleeve team t-shirts for districts. They are really going to need them if the weather forecast proves remotely accurate...
Of course, there is one person around here who will celebrate the cold. Skater Girl is not only excited today about the weather change, but she is also celebrating the anniversary of her Intro to Skating class that fell on October 26th last year. We'll mark the occasion by getting her skate blades sharpened in preparation for the next competition. And that is cool by any measure.

Picture Post: Still

Day Four: It is still cold. The roads are still icy. The ice is now covered in 5" or so of snow. Little Bit is perfectly happy to stay home from school another day even if the rest of North Texas is getting a little stir crazy and wondering what sort of meals one can make out of whatever is left in the pantry. Please, oh, please let the coffee hold out longer than the winter weather.

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.

Yoga

It was 18 degrees outside this morning. Walker suggested that we try a yoga dvd inside. With the heater on. There was instant agreement. Having slept in sweats last night, it was a simple enough thing to roll out of bed workout ready. Walker had a pair of bright yoga mats unrolled across the living room rug and the coffee table out of the way. She was failing to make the dvd work with the "intuitive" remote, and I was trying to stuff down the trepidation over trying to embrace a workout that involved something more complex than walking.
Artist wandered out of her bedroom and studied us momentarily before issuing the warning that her friend was coming over. (Goody. An audience, or maybe people to call 911...) Artist explained to Walker how to work the t.v. patiently (Seriously, Middle Child just takes the remote away from me and pushes the appropriate buttons to make Evil Electronics work in similar circumstances.), and we eventually had three women (in better shape than us) confronting us from the screen. I started to laugh while Walker and Jillian Michaels both pointed out the lady who would be doing the less painful beginner movements and poses. Of course, the poses have sometimes silly names which failed to diminish the urge to laugh.

Jillian, Walker, Beginner Lady, and More Advanced Lady all assumed the opening pose and inhaled. I tried. The attempted seriousness just led to laughter. The poses led to even more laughter. There was potential for hysteria when the poses were coupled with their names. Artist's friend arrived while Walker and I had our middle-aged behinds pointed skyward and Jillian blathered on about camels or dogs and encouraged us to keep breathing. Artist quietly informed her friend that I'd been laughing the whole time as they passed through. That, of course, struck me as funny.

Walker continued to follow Jillian and the Wonder Twins through the workout. Sometimes I figured out what they were doing before they were all done with it. I eventually quit laughing after a sharp pain radiated from my lower back in response to one of the suddenly less funny poses. Ow. I looked over at Walker and remarked that it was going to be kind of pathetic to have thrown my back out doing the Level 1 Yoga workout. (What the heck do they do at Level 2 anyway?!) She nodded in sympathy and managed to simultaneously keep thrusting her leg into the air in time to her breathing.
After our experimental workout, Walker mentioned that Half Price Books might have a copy of the yoga dvd. Then I could do yoga at my house, too. Mmmph. I thought about the assorted movements and poses. Then I reconsidered them from the male perspective since my mister works from home. Mmm. No. The only way I could see yoga at home being helpful would be if we were trying to get pregnant.

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."

Fuel

Whirlwind day... that started at 3:00 a.m. There were good reasons for the wee hours wake-up call. In Texas, a forecast that so much as hints of snow or rain causes a run on the grocery for milk and bread. Those two items were at the top of my grocery list, so I rolled out of bed to shower and dress at dark o'clock. Running to the 24 hour market while the mister showered knowing that I prefer not to slide around on the roads drive in potentially icy conditions meant a cart full of the odds and ends that would make meals out of the sundry items in the pantry. Stops on the way home saw the car filled up with gas and donuts for the girls' breakfast in our absence. Finally, the car pulled up at home to unload the groceries and hit the road while the sky was still dark.
While saner people were snoozing snug in their beds, the two of us followed one highway until it met another taking us south. I pulled up our son's new address on my phone and watched as the blue dot that was our vehicle move in slow blips toward the red dot in it's unfamiliar location. Just after 9:00, we were sharing hugs with our Boy for the first time since December. The two hour visit passed quickly, and we departed too soon freeing up space for other visitors shuffling into the sterility of the communal space. We were fortunate to see him because he expects to move from his orientation on to a new location anytime after Tuesday. Again the reality of the unknown with the bonus of a roadside stop involving a sodium-soaked chicken sandwich with a side of greasy tater tots. And an ice cream cone.
Freed up from the tyranny of the grocery list (and a little sorry about the lunch choices and the leftover donut eaten on returning home before topping it off with a taste of ), a nap was in order once we made it back home. The mister nudged me back into consciousness just after 5:00 in the evening. Which was great, except that I had a meal to deliver between 5:30 and 6:00 for our recently bereaved friends, and the manicotti needed to bake for 45 minutes. Rushing down the stairs to pop the stuffed pasta shells into the oven, it was a race to get the salad fixings washed and prepped. Tossing everything into a bowl, the sudden knowledge of an item left off the grocery list carried the mister out the door while the crazed veggie slicing continued. He came through the door in time for the bread to go in the oven while the mozzarella slices were layered with the tomatoes sprinkled liberally with basil. The (teasing) text came across at 5 after 6:00, "Where's our food?"
I called Lisa to inform her that her food was coming on Holly Time. Explaining about how the family's dinner fell behind because I was napping in the Land That Time Forgot, I promised we would be there soon. Only to realize there was no dessert. "Um. How important is dessert?" She informed me that someone making a condolence call had just dropped off the mother of all goody trays from a local bakery. Perfect. The dinner could be there in about ten minutes since there was no stopping to pick up a ready-made treat to top off the meal. Don and I drove over together since he had yet to make his condolence call.
We'd covered hundreds of miles to love on those dear to us over the course of the day. On our way home, the low fuel light lit up. We covered over 300 miles in the space of 13 hours seeing the sun rise from inside the car and remarking on the clouds coming in as it set with the pair of us again going down the road away from home. The car was running on fumes, but we were far from running on empty considering the blessing of so many loved ones with which we share our lives.

Picture Post: Merry

The tree never did get so much as a single ornament on the branches.

Christmas Eve worship rocked. The bass player is hot.

Christmas Eve lunch with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law was yummy.

Bored with waiting for teenagers to wake up on Christmas morning, I started taking pictures with full flash. Middle Child's first waking words were, "Oh, this can not be good..."

Little Bit was very, very Nice this year.

The blanket and the coffee were both entirely necessary to ward off the chill despite last week's 80+ degree heat. It was feeling a lot like Christmas around here today.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

Festive

Because this is Texas, the temps were in the 80's yesterday. This made our Christmas tradition of walking through neighborhoods to look at the light displays entirely reasonable since it was still 68 well after dark. We wandered up and down the streets of new neighborhood pointing out the spectacular and the strange alike. This year had a couple of memorable moments including a Christmas Tree made of lights with a bizarre strobing effect that looks like the star is shooting lasers at the grass a la Star Trek, a creepy light-up reindeer that looked more like a llama with a head that turned to follow us in our progress, and an inflatable Santa and reindeer who (thanks to under inflation) appeared to be wrestling in one of the yards.
As we attempted to uneventfully move on by a house where Middle Child wished to remain unobserved by the Mean-Girl-Who-Lives-There (who probably wasn't watching or listening, but...), Erin proceeded to ask in her best outside voice, "Who lives there?! Who did you say?!" Repeatedly. A few houses further along the same street, I noticed an intriguing ornament above a garage door. I stated, "Oh, look... a cat in a... bucket? How... festive." This blond moment perplexed the mister and the girls initially. On further inspection of the decoration in question, they laughingly informed me that the cat-in-a-bucket was actually a pair of bells with a bow. Which made more sense, but kind of lacked originality.

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?

Projections

Erin's 10th birthday falls the week of our departure for Honduras adding to the usual messiness of scheduling time to celebrate with her friends. (We have learned to always celebrate the weekend before her birthday because the weekend after is almost always the weekend before Thanksgiving.) The idea of trying to work out those party details while preparing to leave the country seemed daunting until Little Bit saw a movie trailer for Legend of the Guardians.
The movie adaptation of Kathryn Lasky's children's series featuring valiant owls having epic adventures comes out today. We talked about the movie as a source of Birthday Entertainment, but Erin was sure all her friends would see the movie way before the arrival of her November birthday. Except that I have spoken with the other mommies in advance, and Erin has asked her friends to wait one week to see the film. We will address both our travel plans and the movie's release by having the Friend Party October 1st.
Next Friday, the girls will be retrieved from the carpool lines and delivered to our doorstep. We will load them all into the Mom Mobile and head to the theater to see the story unfold in three dimensional detail. After the movie, we will feed the assorted precious girls dinner and cake before dropping them off at their own homes. Each guest will receive her own copy of the first book in the series (There are fifteen books in paperback as of this writing.) in hopes of spurring them on to discover, "What happens next..." to the characters they will have seen on the big screen.
While squaring away the details of Erin's "Friend Party", without playing host to a herd of giggling tweens the week of our next mission trip, I have other reasons to be thinking of the planned trip to Central America today. Far from treats like parties and pleasure reading, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Matthew is headed for the region. From Puerto Lempira, Laura says, "Our weatherman friend... has let us know that if current projections are correct, we will be south of where it hits land. We should just receive lots of rain and heavy winds.

Children at home in Puerto Lempira, Honduras

Right now, we are concerned about the people who live where this will hit. We know the types of houses they live in – made of wood, built on stilts. There is no way these homes could survive a hurricane. We are praying for these people today. Please join us in lifting them up.

We ask you to join us in prayer for this entire region."

Hermine

Ah, hurricane season. Tropical storms and hurricanes blow in off the gulf and spend themselves dumping water and wind along the journey inland to nothingness. Hermine is the big story around here today. She showed up yesterday to leave the mister and I slightly damp after our two mile lap around the neighborhood. This caused a slight error in judgment that resulted in Walker and I being a couple of miles away when light rain became something more. There was a certain amount of laughter, clinging to the belief that the situation would one day be a funny story, and eventually the need to take off our squelching, squishy shoes and socks to cover the final quarter mile barefoot. Not that Hermine was satisfied at that point.
The mister and I spent the day yawning as the rain continued. There was enough of a lull for the high school boys to get a few blocks away from the traffic snarl that goes with carpools, teen drivers, and staff fleeing the workday before I picked them up. That break was quickly replaced by pounding rain just as the elementary dismissed. Little Bit has a fear terror of storms, so the goal was to get to her as quickly as possible. Sitting with the left turn signal blinking monotonously, we stared at the line of cars already lined up to make a right turn that stretched on past the end of my vision. Finally, another mommy took pity on us and allowed us into the line slowly snaking up the drive toward the back of the school where upper grades can be retrieved. Erin hopped into the car, and we headed home to pull into the drive just as the rain abated again. And the tornado sirens went off.
We were not swept away in a funnel cloud. The only first-person reports of the wall of clouds that triggered the alarms came from friends on Facebook who were further north than our home. Middle Child did get stuck at school because the district held those students still in classes until after the tornado warning was officially lifted fifteen minutes after the usual end of the school day. The students and the staff were equally thrilled. No doubt the parents already sitting in the carpool lines were even more tickled to hear that they could come inside the school to wait until the schools were able to release students. Eesh. Thankfully, we had no real disaster, but simply an enhanced drill. Now, we just have to try not to float away.

Stone Soup

This morning, a text message from a friend at a quarter past 6:00 a.m. had that oh.but.no flavor regarding the possibility of salvaging the grocery budget after her fridge and freezer melted down overnight. Since the calendar was surprisingly clear today after an early coffee date, I offered to pick up whatever needed to be cooked. Driving away from her office, the front passenger seat held two packages of ground turkey and a package of hamburger patties that were not going to waste if I could figure out what to do with them. The patties were predestined for meatloaf, but the ground turkey was more of a question mark. Driving through the unseasonal cool and damp, the thought of turkey chili struck. Making a turn into the grocery store, another package of the ground turkey, some peppers, and seasonings suggested by another friend via phone were loaded into a shopping cart. Having never made chili, this is all new to me, but it's perfect weather for the dish along with a side of cornbread.
Armed with ingredients and a plan, the meat was precooked and the peppers chopped. Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes combined with seasonings, the peppers, and the meat in the crock pot. We shall see how the whole thing turns out. It's a bit like the children's story of Stone Soup. Taking what one has (one friend's defrosted turkey + another friend's spicy seasoning expertise + my time and peppers) and throwing it all in one pot hoping that together we can create something especially yummy.

Time Change

It probably should be less of a surprise to see June 1st on the calendar. There were 31 days in May to serve as a hint. Still, despite the daily reminders that May was marching along, it seems June has somehow arrived too quickly. It can be said with absolute certainty that the weeks between Spring Break and Summer Vacation were far longer when spent parked at a desk in Mr. Ryder's fourth grade class than those slipping by parked at a grown-up desk with no one grading penmanship. The offspring report that their days are still dragging slowly through the same weeks that have somehow escaped Mom. Mom is very ready to decelerate to the creeping pace described by those watching a school calendar for the start of Summer Vacation.

That change should hit in the next week or so. Time will flow quick as molasses once the Summer schedule truly arrives with late meals and later bedtimes as the sunsets extend our days past evening. The heat will make us slow, and the children will sleep in out of the conviction that they have nothing to do. Iced tea will be more appealing than coffee most days, and our skin will carry the chemical scents of mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Toes emerge from winter's socks to gain a splash of pretty polish before celebrating the freedom of a pair of flip flops. Even the household decor reflects this transition as hoodies and backpacks give way to beach towels and goggles on the hooks in the entry way. Curling up with a good book shifts to a poolside morning immersed in a favorite beach read. The pantry stocked with breakfast cereal and individually portioned foods suitable for lunch boxes is less appealing than the increasingly available seasonal produce. (Berry Season. Oh, I heart you, Berry Season.) This is the loveliest sort of transition--- the slide into Summer.

Picture Post: Blanket

Having heard and read of blizzards and massive snow storms elsewhere in the country, there was still surprise to be found in the quantity that has descended on North Texas. Falling unabated throughout the day, the snow could continue all night until our gray, wet, winter landscape is entirely blanketed in white.