Up and Down .. and Back Up Again

After yesterday and today, I decided to go ahead and get the last refill of my double-dose ADs. I really thought that the shit wouldn't hit the fan until much closer to Christmas, at which point I had planned to be much more used to the single dose schedule. Best laid plans, eh? Well, shit. I hope this is a whole lot better by the end of December. I really don't want to have to admit to Jimmy that I've done this and worse, that I might need another month or so of higher dose crap. I keep thinking, though, that not only do I need to make sure that I am sane and apparently normal for my own children, but also for Charlotte and Owen ... everyone else (almost) can take a flying leap. All four kids have been through the wringer these last several months (O and C more than anyone) , and they need as normal a Christmas as we can give them. So if it takes pharmaceutical help for me to achieve that this year, so fucking be it.
Had a TMI conversation with my dear FIL today ... took the giant box pieces that Joanne and I will hopefully transform into a fun playhouse for the kids over to his house, and he helped me tuck them into the garage. I asked if he was going south this afternoon, and he got a shy, sheepish look on his face and said, "well, I was thinking about it..." I told him to have a nice trip, and he said, "that's better than BettyAnn telling me to be careful!" and I said, "I don't want to think about whatever Betty's telling you to be careful about!" His response was "Well, the Lexapro pretty much takes care of that so nobody needs to worry." Then we talked a little about the meds -- how I was going to go back to the double dose for a month and then go back down after the holidays, and he said he had tried going off it last week and he decided that was a bad idea, side effects and all. I just hope that this works out for him. Leaving him today I was so very sad, but it was weird -- it wasn't an I'm sad for him kind of thing, it was more an "I'm sad that things are going to be different and I don't know what all this means". Part of me wants to tell him this, but I don't want to burden him, and I don't want him to think I disapprove -- because I definitely don't. That man put in a lifetime's worth of effort and emotion into the last ten or fifteen years, and he deserves every break and wonderful thing there is in life at this point.
Damn, but I need to get my hair done. I haven't been to the salon since July, and my hair looks like absolute shit on a shingle. There's my selfish moment for the week.

The First Thanksgiving

I have officially survived the first Thanksgiving. It's been a first on several levels -- most importantly, it's the first major holiday since my mother-in-law died in late August. I had this bizarre fear of having to sit in her chair at the end of the table. It was also the first Thanksgiving with Mike there alone. Joanne took the kids to Boston to be with her family, and they will be there a couple days. And finally, it was the first holiday since Mal told us last week that he was seeing a woman whom he had met in Atlantic City. She didn't come up (he had said that that would be too much, and he was right). He had gone down to NJ the night before, and didn't make it back until early afternoon. I called Steve to ask him to bring a few more things over and he actually asked me if his father came back alone -- he was worried about that. I had made the rolls the day before and set them to rise in the fridge overnight, along with cinnamon rolls. Mike and I took care of getting things ready and doing the cooking at the house, while Steve took care of the turkey at our house (fried, of course). Sadie came with me and took a nap there, and Jake came with Steve later. Linda and Steve came with Linda's friend, and U.J. showed up looking like he was headed for the cheap side of Vegas. We had plenty of food, and the kids behaved themselves, so that was good.
Mal is going to St. Maarten to visit Karen, his new lady friend, for 6 days starting on the 3rd or 4th. I told him he wasn't allowed to leave the country until I had the phone number where he would be! He called her to get the number for me, so that was good. He doesn't understand why I was so insistent, and I couldn't talk to him about that yesterday. It's the whole thing with Mom and Dad when he had his heart attack on their trip through Texas, and she didn't call anyone for two days and no one knew where they were until they got transferred to the hospital in Dallas. They scared the crap out of me. I can't deal with people I love traveling and not being able to reach them, or know where they are.
Mike and Mal and I are going Christmas shopping for the kids this next Wed. after work. Maybe if we can get Wayne to come stay with the kids, Steve will come too... he would probably like that. Mike and I talked about Christmas, and we both agreed that whatever happens with the grownups, we need to focus on just making it as normal as possible for the kids ... first Christmas without Mimi, and that was HER holiday. It's going to be rough, especially if we have everyone there, but if they can just behave for 24 hours we'll be fine -- Christmas Eve through Christmas Night. I was hoping Kathy could come up, especially since Jerome will still be away, but she doesn't have any more time off for this year, so that's not going to happen.
Joanne and I talked about making the dressup closet the present for the kids this year. I am going to go check out the Salvation army store in Port Chester and see what kinds of fun dressup clothes they have. I brought home a giant heavy-duty cardboard box from work (we got a big cart for the new laptops) and we are going to paint a playhouse for the kids too. This way we can do some fun things together (for not a lot of cash) and do two big presents to all of the kids.

murphy's lawyer

The Murphy of the title would be my sister-in-law, who is working on getting a lawyer and ridding herself of my husband's brother. She's been to one, and will be seeing another one hopefully this week. He's moved out, and moved in with my father-in-law. The plan (for what it is at the moment) is for them to both have lawyers and have the lawyers help them find an acceptable mediator, so they don't have to litigate everything. They tried one mediator, who wasn't acceptable to either of them, and they are going to try another one as soon as she finds a lawyer she can work with. The problem is that all their funds are tied up in the house -- which they will have to sell in all likelihood. He seems relaxed about all this, while she is upset and tied up in knots most of the time, and the kids are sometimes a mess. She and I took the three older kids to see Flushed Away on Thurs, and when we left the theater Jake and Owen were walking ahead of us. When I got Jake into the car he said "When are you and Daddy going to get separated?" Trying to explain separation and divorce to a five year old is NOT fun. How do you explain that it happens to some people and not others? How do I assure him that we're not going to do that -- that we are staying together? Eeeuuuwww.
Started a little Christmas shopping this weekend and dropped a bag of games for the kids over at Mal's. It was my excuse to come in and get the Christmas stuff organized and put in the spare room closet. I also took the last couple things that I wanted to put on ebay and get rid of (they're listed, hope they sell so I can be done with it). The one thing I thought I would sell and had second thoughts about was the little Coach bag. I put that away in the closet ... it's not really my style, but maybe Sadie will like it someday.
Looks like Mike will be with us for Thanksgiving. Christmas could possibly include everyone, but we'll see how messy things get between now and then. I'm having more trouble with feeling depressed again ... could be because I cut my dose of AD. I'm waiting to see if this evens out.
I took Thursday off as my first comp day (since they couldn't pay me for the time I put in over the summer working on the library). It was a good day in that I got a lot of things done, like take care of several things at the bank, got my glasses fixed (the solder joint in front is going to self-destruct in a couple months, so I went ahead and ordered another pair), went to get my blood drawn to finish off my bloodwork for my physical, and went to Avrick's in Norwalk where they are having a going out of business sale. I got Sadie a beautiful twin bed, two file cabinets for Jake (so he can have the desktop Pop made me), two end tables for the living room, and two hutch pieces, one for Jake's desk and one for on top of Grandma's buffet so I can display some of our china. All that's getting delivered Tuesday. Hopefully Mal will agree to take care of Sadie's bed and maybe Jake's desk pieces for Christmas. If not, that's okay -- I like what I got.
Talked to my favorite dr this weekend. Apparently my bloodwork came back all reasonably normal except for my cholesterol, which is pretty much through the roof at 235. He wants me to work on my diet for a couple months and come back to see how the numbers are, so I'm in for February. I called Mom because I remembered her cholesterol got out of hand at one point, and it turns out hers was over 400, but that was after her hysterectomy. She didn't know if it was high before, but she suspects it was. Her mother's was always very high also. Great. Dad's is also not good (it's better now that he's on meds for it), and Grandmona's was apparently always high also. On first glance it would seem that genetics are against me, but considering that both my grandmothers lived past 90 (Grandmona almost made it to 100), maybe there are other things at play here also. Can't depend on that though, so if the numbers are still bad in February I'm going to tell Jimmy to just go ahead and give me the lipitor or whatever he recommends.

An All-Day Media Affair

Today was the annual CECA conference up in Cromwell. I was generally disappointed -- nothing phenomenal in terms of workshops or presentations, although I did like the keynote speaker (David Warnick?) very much. I mostly went to get the iPod they were giving to attendees. Of course, as usual, it's the newly discontinued model, the 1 gig nano, but I was happy to get it as I didn't have one up until this morning. The last workshop I went to was one on blogging, and I found that very interesting.. So, the beginning and the end of the day were good, and then there was the middle, with starving attendees, not enough food from the hotel staff, and quite possibly the worst coffee I've had since my very first attempt to make coffee by myself without any directions. I've since gotten reasonably decent at it -- these people have a LONG ASS way to go. Unfortunately, there was literally nothing else available until we turned in out lunch ticket stubs for a white paper sack lunch and a bottle of water. Jen and I escaped right after lunch and ran away to Dunkin Donuts for a breather.
Mal and Steve managed the kids just fine today, so there is hope that I will be able to do other things like this every now and again.
Tonight I went to Arcadia Coffee Co/Just Books and met Anita Silvey, who has just published a book called 500 Great Books for Teens. She's got another one that's for younger kids, but this one's right up my alley. She was absolutely delightful, and it was such a treat to be able to discuss the books I really enjoy with a new grownup who sees them in the same light. After we discussed the process she went through for her decisions and criteria for which to include, we talked about her next project, which sounds amazing. She is working on a nonfiction book for the middle grades all about the women who dressed as men and fought in the Civil War. She was telling us about her research, and how she has discovered fascinating stories about so many families. Her initial question upon learning that many hundreds of women fought in the war was "Why did they fight?" and she told us that the question quickly became "Why did they stay?" because so many of them stayed with their units for long periods of time, when they could have easily gone home or at least to somewhat safer territory. She also said that she took trips to battle fields and mapped out where the known women soldiers would have been. Wow...
I can't wait to see what she does with this.
I bought copies of her current book for all 3 middle schools and she autographed them for me, so I'll pass those out on Wed.

Mama Ball Says

Busy as usual. Ran over to CMS today to pick up extra copies of a couple books for our 6th graders to use in research, and hit the jackpot in galleys from Jenny at Just Books. I brought home about 6 or 8 to read, and will send them back over when I'm done.
Looks like some fun stuff in there. I read Knights of the Hill Country by Tim Tharp last night, and I think it will be a hit with our fellas who need good sports books. The voice is pretty authentic -- not what my guys are used to as there is a definite Oklahoma twang to the characters, but I think they will all relate to the issues of friendship, and how far do you go to protect a friend and keep a friend. I know, it's set in OK, so I have a soft spot for that, and the guy who wrote it still lives there (more power to you, honey). But I liked the imagery, and there were several places where the figurative language stopped me and made me re-read just for the pleasure of a well-crafted phrase. I think that's a little unusual in a sports book. Mike Lupica does it well, and I thought John Coy's Crackback was good with that also, but I haven't really seen anything else in that category.
I have lots of reading ahead of me ... I'm actually considering going to see Our Fearless Leader and telling him I want a full day comped to me just so I can sit and read. He owes me a grand total of 48 hours from the summer that he said he could pay me for, and then he couldn't, so he said I could comp out time like that. If he lets me I may do that a couple times this year just to go read and catch up. I definitely have to do that on the Thursdays after Elizabeth has cleaned my house, though -- I can concentrate more and relax if the house is clean. She is an absolute godsend. It makes such a difference in my stress to know that I'm coming home to a house with clean floors and clean bathrooms.
Set up the staff development day today, and hopefully it will go well and everyone will find enough to do. I've got Eeyore and me doing a workshop on new online resources, so that will be good. For once, that's the only one we are doing.
The March Hare has started occasionally finding herself in the Hundred Acre Wood, mostly with Eeyore, and occasionally with Owl (who morphs into Tigger and then back into Owl), and Kanga. Every kid in the school qualifies as her Roo! Christopher Robin shows up also every now and again, but the March Hare has yet to spot a Pooh or a Heffalump (unless Our Fearless Leader counts as the Heffalump ... maybe if Heffalumps have Groucho Marx combovers).

Mama Ball Says

The trip Jake and I took to Washington DC last weekend for the National Book Festival was fantastic! He was wonderful -- walked everywhere with me, did a LOT more than I thought we'd be able to do, and was generally a great traveling companion. He was excited to be able to stay overnight in a hotel (we stayed at the Capitol Hyatt, which has a great rate for Sat night and was only 3 blocks from the mall). He was so happy to have me all to himself, and also to be able to do whatever we wanted - whenever we wanted! We haven't been anywhere without an agenda or anyone else to worry about in ages, and theat was really good for him.
The National Book Festival was amazing. There were plenty of authors for every age group and genre, and lots of free activities and presentations as well. We came home with a boatload of free posters -- the artwork was wonderful. I definitely want to do that again next year. I told Jake we would definitely go down again, hopefully soon so we can take advantage of the great fall weather, and next time we'll work it out so we can stay with Paul and Kelly and go in with Kelly and Cate.
Yesterday we interred L's ashes at the cemetery. The kids were reasonably well-behaved through most of the ceremony with Father Fred, but they lost it at the end and started running around. Mal didn't take that too well. He was trying so hard to hold it together. We went back to the house and had everyone for lunch ... I guess about 25-30 people. J and I went through the costume jewelry and decided just to move it all into the corner of the closet we are making the "dressup" closet for the kids. I guess at some point we will go through the good jewelry with Mal. I don't know that I want to have any of it for myself, but I would like to pick out some pieces for Charlotte and Sadie to have as graduation/wedding gifts, and maybe some for the boys for when they get married (for our future daughter-in-laws). Still have to finish all the thank you notes. I think I have about 10 or 12 left to do.
Work is going well. It's amazing to me how I'm working harder than I ever did last year, but I'm happier. I think it's because I don't have to worry about getting hit from behind with manic behavior or wonder what's going on that I don't know about (and will have to drop everything and jump in to fix at the last minute). There are issues at work, but they are manageable. Eeyore is still not doing much, but she did get a few things done this week to prepare for the eztraxx nonsense we have coming up early next week. She sent the book order -- didn't really look at it, but she sent it. I started weeding the fiction, and told her to look over what I'd pulled -- and told Kanga to give her four days to look it over and then delete anything left on the cart on Friday. That got done, but I'm not sure she actually looked at anything. I've been doing all the website updates too. That doesn't take much time, but it's something we have to discuss as doing double duty on this isn't going to work out easily. The Boss is supposed to come in from downtown sometime soon to divvy responsibilities. That should be interesting.
Haven't had much time to read lately, but I'm working on Meg Rosoff's new one, Just in Case.

Mama Ball Says

So far, so good. At least I think. Went to see our beloved doc, Jimmy B, today for the annual physical. Apparently there is something weird with my EKG, so he wants me to go see a heart doc and get it checked out. The guy he recommended is actually moving offices in the next two weeks, so he said an appointment in the next month or so would be good. Obviously I am not going to drop dead or anything, but I didn't really understand 100% of what he was telling me ... something about my heart is not in the right place and has moved toward the left side of my chest and I have some kind of block? Anyway, Jimmy wants me to have a stress EKG (guess that means I have to get on the treadmill and sweat with all those damn wires attached -- should be more fun than a goddamn barrel of monkeys). On the good side, he gave me prescrips for my seasonal allergy meds and asthma meds, so that will get me through the fall. The plan is to get me onto the lower dose of ADs by Nov, and then off them sometime Jan or Feb, depending on how the holidays and other nonsense go. I told him I really don't have time tto screw around -- I have all my fellas to take care of, and my two kids. He just smiles at me. Jimmy's nurse fussed at me because I forgot to fast and therefore couldn't do the blood work for cholesterol because I had treated myself to breakfast at the deli (egg, cheese and bacon sandwich and coffee). Well, shit a brick, Nancy, I never get to have a decent breakfast anymore, and a half hour in the morning with no kids and off work seemed like the perfect time to do just that. So now I have to go back for the flaming bloodwork -- she's there Friday at 8:30, so I'm aiming for that. We'll see -- it'll probably be like the goddamn mammogram which I keep missing for one reason or another. I think Leslie D.'s going to string me up if I miss another year doing that.
iWeb seems like it will be a piece of cake to teach to the 8th grade, so we'll have to fill up the time with other shit. Of course, that's if we can figure out how to upload to the .mac accounts and m,ove all the kids' folders from hither to yon and back. We'll see. Training today with Gary Webster was awesome as usual -- he gives the best, clearest instruction in using software and hardware, and he has handouts that are equally idiot-proof. Very, very nice. My biggest worry for tomorrow is what the hell do I do with the bloody budget for next year!!! Haven't done that before, and the form I got from Ro yesterday doesn't help much. I really, really don't want to fuck this up. Have to go talk to Ro and Ralph tomorrow about all this hoohah, and I have to talk to Gina about which computers are going to bite the dust next year. I don't know how much help C is going to be. We also have to send in the next book order soon as it has several things we really need on it, and if she doesn't look at the damn thing soon I am just going to send it anyway and to hell with the bitch and moan session that will follow. The next big issue will be weeding the fiction section, as I can tell that's not going to happen unless I get after it... and that will be next week's project. Have to talk to Fran about division of responsibilities .. and what happens if things don't get done. I don't want to do everything myself, and I shouldn't have to.
The other irritating thing I have to do is figure out how to write my annual improvement/staff development plan, or whatever weird acronym they've given it this year. Have to do it online this year, and has to be done relatively soon I think. Another "next week" project. I did get my confirmation that I'm off to CECA on the 23rd, which will be lots of fun. We get ipods for going this year, so that's nice.
Decided to take Jake and trot off to DC this weekend. The National book festival is this weekend, and there are going to be lots of fun things going on down at the mall. Kelly and co. are busy with family reunion, so I'm just going to get a room at the capitol hyatt and not worry about it. It's 3 blocks from the mall, so we'll be good. Hopefully Jake will think it's really fun!

Mama Ball Says

Things are definitely getting better. We are almost done with the web training (only a few stragglers left), everything went well with Eeyore's husband's surgery, and other than having to revise the handouts at least five times, it wasn't horrible... just exhausting. Our next battle is figuring out the curriculum, as we now have WHAT we're supposed to do, but nothing firm on how we're supposed to teach it. Then we have the budget (eeeeuuuuwwww) for next year which has to get done next week. We had our first media staff meeting, and it went pretty well. D is a little out of control sometimes ... haven't figured out how to rein her in yet. Everyone else is doing fine so far.
On the good side, I went over to Kristine's to see the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy with a group of girls from EMS, and we had such fun! I was glad to see they included Joanna, our new ss teacher, who is such fun.
Home is pretty good at the moment. Mal is hanging in there. Steve was in Florida last weekend, and the kids and I ended up staying over at Mal's on Saturday night. He was lonely and didnn't want us to leave and go home ... so we stayed, and he and I stayed up until midnight talking. The nights must be difficult -- nothing to keep you busy. The next family disaster is coming in the next few weeks, I think. Who knows what this will bring.

Mama Ball Says

Things are getting better, albeit slowly. Jake's first few days at kindergarten were hard for him, mostly because he didn't know anyone, and then his teacher had to be out for two days to get her daughter off to college. This week was much better, though, as he started saying he was finally having fun and managed to figure out how to get his lunch eaten quickly enough! He also started going to the YWCA two afternons a week, and he loves it there. They have a wonderful staff, and he loves the activities (chess and gymnastics right now). Two of his favorite buddies from preschool are also there, along with a lovely little girl from his kindergarten class, and that helps a lot.
Work is overwhelming at the moment. We started off with a completely changed curriculum (and no idea exactly what it was as we didn't get the documentation for a week), a crash course in website management using the new system (happened yesterday), and we have to get the entire faculty trained to use it and post homework by the 25th. And we have to actually start updating the website also. Add to this C's husband is having some kind of surgery which will keep him in the hospital for basically all of next week, so she will be out at least 2 days, possibly more, plus I am sure more once he arrives home to recuperate. It looks to me like training the faculty will be 90% on my shoulders, if not completely. I am going to be exhausted. I feel like I should be scheduling my nervous breakdown. It'll be a doozy.

Mama Ball Says

It's been six days since my mother-in-law passed away. This has been one of the most difficult weeks of my life, and there's more to be done. I took today off work, and tomorrow also, just so I can get my sanity restored a little. I haven't been sleeping well at night for the last few weeks anyway, and this morning I went to see my favorite doc for three or four nights' assistance. I think I just need to get myself in the habit of sleeping through the night, or at least give myself a break of a few nights where I really sleep so I can make it through going back to work on Wednesday and Jake's first day of kindergarten.
I realized last Thursday night that, at 37, I have become the de facto matriarch of this family. I've seen the job. I don't think I want it, but I don't think I have much choice in the matter.

Mama Ball Says

Woo-hoo! Freya has returned from overseas, and has brought back a load of wonderful books, most of which we can't get yet here, like the new Artemis Fowl. I had three bags full to read,and I am really excited! I have to get busy on those. :) Book reviews will be forthcoming on those.
This week I read Caroline Cooney's latest, Hit the Road, which was fantastic. Great multi-generational read, with the teen protagonist managing her grandmother and her grandmother's friends on the way to a college reunion .. with a kidnapping, some theft and a lot of suspense -- who's the real bad guy and how do you know? Good, realistic twists. I loved it!
More excellent reads: Crackback, The Sixth Grade Nickname Game, and Ball Don't Lie. Very different levels and audiences, but all well written and good books, especially for boys. Can't wait to booktalk these!
I've been working on Jeanne DuPrau's Prophet of Yonwood, and it's looking good so far. Once that's done it's off and running into the Brit books ... and I have a LOT to read!

Mama Ball Says

Well, it's midnight and I can't sleep! I think the last time I was this awake at this hour was when Sadie was tiny and had her days and nights screwed up for a bit. Got back about 45 minutes ago from NYC. Nic and Justin drove me home from New Rochelle which was where Nic had her truck parked.
I had the BEST time at Harry Carrie and Garp! Whoopi Goldberg introduced the program, and she was hilarious. Whoever wrote the script didn't run it by her much -- she kept making faces at the teleprompter and going off on her own tangents ... and finally she just looked at the audience and said "You know, sometimes you just have to skip over things!" Kathy Bates introduced Stephen King, and she was really funny too. Stephen King is a wonderful reader. He read the pie-eating contest scene from "The Body" (aka Stand By Me), and we were absolutely rolling! He was so much fun to listen to, especially with his asides and quick comments during the reading. Later, during the question session, he was aked "What scares you?" and his response was "Everything!" He also explained in a different answer that when he gets an idea for a story, it's "a red thread leading into a mousehole, and you have to carefully pull the thread out of the mousehole..." and the thread is your story, and you can't quite see where it's coming from or where it's going, but you just know you have to get to the end of it. He also said emphatically that "the story is the reward -- not the money!" John Irving addded onto that, saying he would have to check out the mousehole first and the thread and everything about the whole situation -- he has to plan everything before he writes, and then he rewrites everything.
I forget the actor's name who introduced John Irving, but I did recognize his face -- I'm just terrible with names. John Irving read the Christmas pageant scene from A Prayer for Owen Meany, and we were all rolling again! His rendition of Owen's voice was exactly the way I heard it in my head when I read the book: squeaky and high-pitched, but with a tinge of sarcastic attitude. One of the questions he got later was about the inspiration for his book The Fourth Hand, and he said it came from a comment that his wife made when they were watching the news and saw a story about a hand transplant. She said to him that if his hand went to someone else after he died, she's want to be able to visit it -- and then she went to bed and he stayed up thinking about it all night!
Jon Stwewart from the Daily Show introduced J.K. Rowling, and she read the scene from book 6 where Harry and Dumbledore use the pensieve to observe Dumbledore's going to the orphanage to get the young Voldemort to come to Hogwarts. One of the best questions for her afterward was "If Hermione were to look into the mirror of Erised, what would she see?" J.K. Rowling replied after a moment that she thought Hermione would see herself, Harry and Ron victorious over Voldemort, and also that she would be "entwined with another character whom I'm sure you can name."
It was wonderful -- there was a full house at Radio City, amounting to some 6,000 people on the absolute hottest day of the year so far. The stage sets were fun too -- each author had a rolling mini stage upon the stage that was set up with a large chair and some props appropriate to the author. Stephen King's chair was a heavy wooden thing that looked something like an electric chair with an afghan on it, and he had farm kinds of props -- wheelbarrow, etc. John Irving's set looked like a living room, with fake fireplace, giant leather chair, side table and antique-looking globe. J.K. Rowling's set of course had a throne-style chair on it, and the other pieces looked like they came out of a castle somewhere. The end q & a session was moderated by Soledad O'Brien.
It was wonderful to sit with 6000 other people who enjoy books and want to hear from their favorite authors! There were people from all over, including a woman from Shanghai who stood up to ask a question.
This was one of the most fun evenings I've had in the last year (other than the trip to Vegas!).

Mama Ball Says

Big night tonight -- going into the city with Nicole and friends to see An Evening with Harry, Carrie and Garp" at Radio City. It's JK Rowling, Stephen King and John Irving reading from their works and answering questions. They are raising funds for Doctors Without Borders and the Haven Foundation, and it should be really, really fun!

Mama Ball Says

Vegas was terrific! We had a wonderful time. I think a lot of that was due to the fact that Steve finally at some point came to grips with the fact that I really don't like gambling much. So I went to the pool to swim and read, went to the spa every day, and went shopping once. Steve went down to his favorite bar and played video poker mostly. He did play some roulette, too. I played a few rounds of video poker, but I never did well.
We went to the Bellagio for brunch when we arrived on Sunday, and I highly recommend that. Tip -- sit at the bar. You get seated faster, and the bartenders fill up your drinks a lot faster and more often than the waitresses do. We walked past 50 or 60 people who were waiting for tables! While we were at the Bellagio we went to the art gallery and saw the Ansel Adams photography exhibit, which I loved. It was really interesting to see all the photos in person, and read about what he was doing when he took them. They had letters and items from his personal life, which gave you a sense of who he was beyond his photography. There was also an old camera setup of his. It was HUGE! I was amazed that he got all that out into the wilderness and made it work. He must have had quite a crew of people to haul his stuff around. There were a couple that Steve and I both liked, so I went into the gift shop to see if they had prints, but they only had postcard size of the ones we liked. I'm going to try framing those. I spent the rest of Sunday afternoon in the salon, getting my hair colored and cut. I was much happier with my hair afterward! By dinnertime, we were hungry again, so Al recommended the Italian trattoria in the MGM and off we went. Halfway through dinner, we were both trying not to fall asleep in our plates! We finally gave up and went up to the room (Steve got us a bungalow suite which is basically a room big enough for a double size bathroom, bedroom area and a sitting area) to crash for the night .. and it was only about 7 or 7:30. Yes, we felt incredibly lame, but in our defense, neither one of us slept much the night before.
Monday morning I got a manicure and pedicure at the spa. I've never had a spa experience like this one. Every spa I've been to (and yes, it's a very limited number) has been borderline uncomfortable, because I always got the feeling that the girls running the spa didn't think I ought to be there, like I wasn't the kind of person who deserved their attention. That was definitely NOT the case at the MGM spa. Everyone there was incredibly welcoming and nice, and the girls at the front desk who gave me a tour on my first day explained everything in detail. Monday I got my first-ever set of acrylic tips (very fancy looking nails I have now!), and first ever full pedicure. I discovered later that two Bailey's prior to foot treatments makes them much nicer, as I usually can't stand to have anyone touch my feet. However, I was thrilled to have nice-looking nails!
Monday afternoon Steve and I both went to the pool to go float in the lazy river (1/4 mile of "river" pool where all the jets point in the same direction to create a gentle current). It was phenomenaly hot, and there were a lot of people and kids out. It was fun, but not really relaxing as you had to pay attention in order not to run into people! We decided that mornings were probably going to be better for the pool. Monday night Steve surprised me with a limousine, and we had a lovely ride over to old Vegas where we went to the Four Queens. We had reservations at Hugo's Cellar for dinner, but we were quite early, so we played 50-cent roulette ... and I won over $100! I didn't even know the odds until the dealer handed me my first $25 chip, and Steve told me the odds were 35 to 1 to win. There was an old gentleman across the table who had a retired Marine cap on, and I bought him $25 worth of chips when he started running low. Steve thought I was odd for doing that, but the guy reminded me of Pop, and I just wanted to do something nice for him. He was really surprised, so that was fun! We ended up cashing in $150 worth of chips, which put a dent in our dinner bill. Hugo's Cellar was by far the best dinner we had in Vegas. The hostess handed me a rose when we walked in, and they seated us in a very comfortable booth. We had a wonderful bottle of wine, and they had a guy who came to make your salad tableside, with your choice of about 12 different ingredients. Steve had steak, and I had chicken with mushrooms (heartier than regular chicken marsala), and we enjoyed every bite. The service was impeccable -- the next time we get to Vegas I want to go there again! The limo ride back to the MGM was a lot of fun, as we got to see all the lights -- old Vegas as well as the strip.
Tuesday we went to the pool in the morning, after we had a nice breakfast at the cafe. The pool was much better first thing in the morning -- fewer people, not as hot, and we enjoyed it more. After that I went back to the spa for a basic massage, and I decided to go a little early and check out their shower facilities (mostly because housekeeping was cleaning our room at the time). VERY NICE! I had a nice relaxing post-pool cleanup before my massage, and then a nice hot shower again after the massage (incredible massage, by the way). Apparently you are supposed to go sit in the sauna for a little while after a massage, but I didn't feel like doing that. The spa facilities are great as they have everything you need in quantity, and it's all placed right where you need it. With any spa treatment, you are allowed to come back at any point during the day and use the spa facilities, like the jacuzzi pool, sauna, whatever ... but I never made it back down to do that. The jacuzzi pool made me a bit uncomfortable on Tues as there was a particularly heavy older woman getting out as I came down the hallway, and she was absolutely stark naked. There are three other sides to the pool, all of which do not face the hallway entrance -- so she COULD have avoided showing her altogether (which was going every which way) but apparently that wasn't what she wanted to do. I had once of those shuddery "eeeuuuuuwww" moments as I tried not to go blind. We went for a short walk down the strip after I finished at the spa and had Fatburgers for lunch -- old time greasy burger joint. The milkshake was really good! Later, we got dressed and took the monorail over to Caesar's Palace to pick up our Elton John tickets and have dinner at Nero's. Caesar's is enormous, and they have a giant shopping mall also. Nero's was by far the worst dinner we had. I'll never go there again. We sat down for dinner at 5:15. I think our wine that we ordered right away finally showed up at 5:45. Dinner didn't arrive until about 6:40 -- when we had basically finished the wine. The food was good, but the service was so awful (the waiter just disappeared and I think visited our table twice in the hour we waited between wine and dinner). We told the waiter when we arrived that we were seeing Elton John for our anniversary that night, and you would have thought that would have made some difference. Obviously not. Aside from the Nero's disappointment, Elton John was fantastic! The band was incredible, Elton John was amazing, and they had all kind of fun props on stage for the various songs. THey also had a giant movie screen behind them, and they showed videos for each song, most of which were "arty" and somewhat strange (several of them had the same gay dancer who needed some serious lessons -- probably somebody's boyfriend). One of the better videos had Pam Anderson doing a poledance to "The Bitch is Back" and that was great! That was definitely Steve's favorite, even though most of the other videos had an assortment of hooters in them. Lots of fun! The two women seated on my other side recommended the spa at the Paris hotel: said it wasn't as expensive as other places and it was still really nice.
Wednesday I went back to the pool in the morning to read and swim a little, and that was nice. I met Steve at the bar and had tweo Bailey's, and then I went to the spa for their "rainforest" spa treatment. That was REALLY cool. I did the arrive early and use the facilities strategy again, and tht was nice. When it was time for my appointment, Laurie came to get me and she took me back up the main stairs, and down a separate set of stairs to a private suite that was bigger than the downstairs of my house. I walked in the main room, which had a huge jacuzzi tub on the right, and sofas and comfy furniture scattered around. The bathroom area had a sitting area, a separate room with a toilet and bidet, a separate room that was the shower (must have been at least 8x8), and off that was a steam room. I never did figure out how big that was because it was so steamy I couldn't see, but I think it was at least the size of the shower room. Laurie told me to go sit in the steam for 10 minutes, and then come out when I was ready. When I did (all wrapped up in the cushy robe they give you), she took me into the treatment room, which was about 3 times the size of all the other rooms I'd been in, there were 2 massage tables. The rainforest treatment consisted of a messy but delightfully aromatic body scrub with crushed cocoa beans, sugar, vanilla and flower oils. It was like getting a massage before a massage. When that was done, Laurie went to start the shower for me, then came back and wrapped me all up in the sheets and towels and walked me into the bathroom area. She told me to take a really good shower and come out when I was done. The shower was amazing -- it was one of those showers with multiple sprays coming from all different directions, and there were several on/off handles. The shower amenities besides the sprays were wonderful: fancy shampoos and conditioners and a couple different body washes. Once I finished that, I went back out (again wrapped in that cozy robe) and Laurie finished with a fantastic massage. The oils she used smelled much like the body scrub, just without the scrubby bits. I smelled like dessert when I got done there! It was such a treat to do that, and it made such a difference for me in terms of how relaxed I was ... all of those spa treats really helped me to unwind and recharge my batteries. I didn't realize just how run down I was until about half way through our trip.
I went shopping at the Fashion Place mall that afternoon and picked up some gifts -- especially for Kathy. Macy's was having a sale with multiple discounts, so I got her a really pretty necklace as a thank you for taking care of the kids for us. When I got back, Steve was asleep in the room, and I went down to see Al at the bar for a little while. I went up to get Steve, and we spent another hour or so talking to Al, and then AL met us for drinks over at New York New York in the 9 Fine Irishmen bar. Great place -- loved the ambience. It was fun: we had a few hors d'oeuvres, and by the time we got back to the room we were too tired to go to dinner! We packed a little, crashed, got up the next morning and finished packing. Steve went down and got breakfast at the Stage deli for us, and then we went out to wait for the airport shuttle. We got tired of waiting in the hot sun, so we ended up taking a cab (tip: it was less to take the cab to the airport than to take the shuttle). We decided that next time we would only get the shuttle from the airport to the MGM as you can check in to the hotel right in the airport by baggage, and they take care of your luggage for you. I highly recommend the JetBlue nonstop from Kennedy to Vegas. IT was a great flight both ways. You do have to eat something substantial before you fly though as they only have light snacks on board.
Kathy and the kids did fine all week, other than Jake refusing to eat anything healthy. He ended up getting sick, and he'd been more of a pain in the butt than she expected (due to his eating crap all week). I had a long talk with him about that and I think he will be better next time. I decided I'll do the Jewish mother thing and remind him of this experience at least once a week until Kathy comes back for another visit (hopefully Christmas, if Jerome is still in Iraq). We'll see. Things on the home front are deteriorating rapidly in terms of M.I.L.'s stage 4 progression and other in-law difficulties that have been brewing for the last couple years. I think this family is headed for at least one nuclear meltdown, if not several.

Mama Ball Says

Happy Independence Day! Freedom means a lot more to me this year -- and like Forrest says, "That's all I have to say about that."
We took the kids to the annual Salute to Veterans, which was moved from the high school to Havemeyer Field behind town hall this year (due to the new artificial turf on the football field). Steve went and parked his truck behind town hall very early in the morning to get us a good spot, and then we drove over with the kids right before it got started. We were in a spot where we could see virtually all of the lower field, where the military demonstration, but we couldn't see the speeches or singing or giant flag on the upper field. Two F-18s did a couple fly-overs. This year's demo was a "take out the terrorists" one: four guys on patrol get targeted by two shooters in a beat-up van, so they start firing back, then the Humvee shows up with the big gun on top and the huge chopper shows up to strafe the field. All fake bullets but very loud explosions and flybys with the chopper. Sadie was freaked out by the noise, but Jake hung in there until the end, when they set off four REALLY loud charges on the field -- that's when he got a little scared. They both took long naps after that experience! We avoided the town fireworks that night -- maybe next year we will do that.
The neighbors south of Chris's place set off a lot of fireworks last night, which also freaked out Sadie, so she spent the entire night in the middle of our bed. Jake liked them, though, because he could see them out his window. We're going to watch the D.C. fireworks on TV tonight, and maybe some of the Macy's ones also.
My glasses bit the dust yesterday morning, so after we dropped Sadie off at daycare Jake and I went up to Opticare in Norwalk to get new ones. Unfortunately they can't guarantee that I will have have the new ones before we leave for Vegas! I should have asked for a pair of contacts then and there, but I didn't even think about it since I haven't worn them for the last few years. I'm calling tomorrow to see if they will give me a pair and a spare for my trip, just to be sure. I still have my prescription sunglasses, so driving isn't a problem -- just wearing them inside is annoying. I can still perch what's left of my regular glasses on my nose, as long as I don't move around too much (otherwise they start sliding and it screws up my vision). Works for reading and this, but not much else.
Kathy called last night and miraculously she is still looking forward to coming and playing with the kids. We have visitors set up: Mal on Sunday, U.J. after work on Monday, Wayne bringing pizza onTuesday, and she thought all that was pretty good.
Shopping tomorrow, cleaning service here on Thursday, packing Friday -- and taking the kids to see "Cars" again Friday afternoon with Joanne, Owen and Charlotte.
I can't wait to get to Vegas. I have a couple hours booked at the salon on Sunday afternoon to get the works -- color, cut, style etc. I have an appointment to get a really good manicure (tips!), some kind of "rainforest" package that takes a couple hours including a massage, and Steve wanted a couples massage, so that's another day. He wants a pedicure, but I think we will try to schedule that once we get there -- maybe he can get that done when I'm getting the manicure. We have tickets to see Elton John, and a couple really nice dinners planned. Other than that, Steve wants to gamble, and I will either shop or go out to the pool to swim and or read. I think what I am looking forward to the most is just having a short reprieve from the constant demands of the kids. I love them, but that part is extremely wearing sometimes, especially when I feel like I just can't get ANYTHING done for all the interruptions. I think I have less patience for that after this last year of work. I really hate the fact that my job stress affected my family life so much -- and still does. I'm hoping this vacation will restore some of my reserves of patience.

Mama Ball Says

Good grief. You'd think I fell down a hole or something. The last several weeks have been quite the rollercoaster ride around here. Made it through both CMS and EMS retirement parties, hung in till the end of the year (barely) and collected my shit and got the hell out of Dodge. I don't remember ever having been so worn down at the end of a year. I really felt like I'd been put through the meat grinder, and it was damned easy for me to walk out of there. The only difficult part was saying goodbye to Nic and Freya, but even that wasn't so bad because I know those friendships will last. I felt like a fifty pound wet blanket was lifted off my shoulders when I drove away. I know there is a lot to do over at EMS, but I feel like it is going to be a good challenge, and I am making plans for changes with Carm.
First off is the July book orders, which I've been adding to online. It's really nice to be able to manage that from home, and be able to hop online and add a book I've just read about to the order. Next up will be furniture rearranging and book weeding, but that's not happening until after the asbestos abatemant is finished over there (and Sherry finally abandons the space). I'm actually looking forward to that very much. Steve agreed to look at the plans for the library space and recommend changes, and tell me more about the kinds of changes I have been thinking about -- like how expensive those would likely be, how much time they would take etc.
Sadie goes back to daycare this week, and I am looking forward to having some good one-on-one time with Jake to do things with him. Steve actually agreed to have a cleaning service come and tackle the archaeological dig that is our house this coming week. Hopefully they will find our living room and kitchen somewhere in here. Kathy arrives this coming Saturday, and we leave a week from today for four days in Vegas. I still have to go do a little shopping for me, too, before we leave! Jake starts camp down at the beach the Monday after we get back, so that should be fun for him.

Mama Ball Says

Well, it's been one hell of a week. On the good side, we got through Dr. B's retirement party last night without incident or technological disaster, and we had a very good time. His gifts from the media staff were an early copy of Steinbeck's Travels with Charley (which he brought up when he announced his retirement earlier this year) and a particularly well-decorated copy of an Aztec/Inca/Maya reference book in which the 7th graders had done an exceptional job of adding interesting *ahem* items to the illustrations and photos of artifacts on virtually every page. We added a nice brown paper wrapper cover to conceal the semi-pornographic artistic nature of the contents, and entitled it "Central Middle School Media Center: Cure for Retirement Misgivings." One look through that and you'll never want to go back dealing with the hormonally challenged!
Saw Eoin Colfer this week at Arcadia/Just Books Too. He's hilarious! I really enjoyed meeting him and hearing him talk to the kids. Jenny gave me the advance copy of Stephenie Meyer's New Moon, sequel to Twilight. Blazed through that one in two nights, mostly because I knew the 8th grade girls were going to storm the media center desk if I didn't get it to them before the weekend. Once again, I loved the story, her poetic writing, the romantic aspects of the story and how on target she is with the experience of first love, true love, and rejection/abandonment. Her characters are well drawn and, although we are dealing with vampires and now also werewolves, she has taken the cliches of those two archetypes out of the mix entirely. This is a refreshing take on the fantasy/horror business, and I appreciate how Romeo and Juliet references get worked in throughout. Talk about a reason for kids to go back to the play and see what they forgot, missed, or haven't seen yet! Wonderful stuff. I'm working on a draft of a review to post online...maybe get it done tomorrow or Monday. Have to call Jenny and see if she can lay hands on another advance copy ... maybe, maybe not. If not, they'll just have to hound each other to read faster!
Kindergarten orientation went well, I think. I got the feeling afterward that Jake was more nervous than he let on. I knew he was worried that he didn't know anyone in the room when we went to the parent meeting, but he held it together very well. The Barbie doll factor wasn't in such evidence at our parent meeting (only half of the parents -- they did this in two shifts), possibly because they put most of the normal parents in this group, or possibly because of the weather. Should go well in the fall, I think. Looks like the early morning drop off program will work nicely once he has adjusted to going, and I am sure he can find his way to his room without me. Went through most of the reference collection over at EMS, and it is screaming for an overhaul. I think almost the entire science and technology section will have to be pitched, as most of the sets are from either the 60's or the 80's. Either way, they are eons beyond the recommended age for books for that particular section of the collection. I met with one of the newer (read: since I left) science teachers, who basically said there was no point in bringing her kids into the media center for books as the science ones were "so awful." Changing those sorts of attitudes is going to require a lot of work, a lot of creativity, and a lot of money from Ralph. Fortunately, I think I can work all that out -- we'll just see how receptive the staff is to change.
:)

Mama Ball Says

Last day of vacation. Mom and Dad were here all week -- arrived a bit late, but without incident. The weather was great all week, and I kept the kids home for the week so they could play with Granny and Papa. Easter was fine -- got some great shots of the kids and the flowers. Mom had refurbished her antique wicker doll carriage and had it shipped from Tulsa to arrive in the middle of their visit. It's adorable -- Sadie loves it! Mom's great grandmother (Grandma Anna) bought it secondhand for her when she was very little, so who knows how old it actually is. Dad bought some clear plastic tubing, split it, and wrapped the wheels in it to protect the original rubber tires (which are now hard, cracked and dropping off in chunks here and there). The new tubing is a vast improvement! Mom made a new liner and made it look wonderful, but it still has that antique look to it -- very cool.
Read a couple books over break. Garth Nix's latest, Sir Thursday, was excellent. You definitely have to have read the previous three to understand what's happening to Arthur Penhaligon and Leaf, but it was a fast-paced exciting read. Great for the boys, as Sir Thursday commands the House army, and there's lots of military training, strategizing and battle scenes ... and Arthur's been drafted. He has to survive, find and free the Fourth part of the Will, and somehow keep from becoming a denizen of the House as he wants to return to his normal mortal life when this is all over.
Gordon Korman's new one, Born to Rock, was a lot of fun too. Leo is living with his mother and father and loses his scholarship to Harvard over a misunderstanding with a hard-nosed principal. He spends the summer on tour with the man he believes is his biological father -- Marion X. McMurphy, aka "King Maggot" of worldwide punk rock fame, in hopes that he will write a $40,000 check so Leo can go to Harvard in the fall The tour is an assault on Leo's Young Republican senses and sensibility, and he learns more than he ever imagined from this bizarre group of people.

Mama Ball Says

Last day of vacation. Mom and Dad were here all week -- arrived a bit late, but without incident. The weather was great all week, and I kept the kids home for the week so they could play with Granny and Papa. Easter was fine -- got some great shots of the kids and the flowers. Mom had refurbished her antique wicker doll carriage and had it shipped from Tulsa to arrive in the middle of their visit. It's adorable -- Sadie loves it! Mom's great grandmother (Grandma Anna) bought it secondhand for her when she was very little, so who knows how old it actually is. Dad bought some clear plastic tubing, split it, and wrapped the wheels in it to protect the original rubber tires (which are now hard, cracked and dropping off in chunks here and there). The new tubing is a vast improvement! Mom made a new liner and made it look wonderful, but it still has that antique look to it -- very cool.
Read a couple books over break. Garth Nix's latest, Sir Thursday, was excellent. You definitely have to have read the previous three to understand what's happening to Arthur Penhaligon and Leaf, but it was a fast-paced exciting read. Great for the boys, as Sir Thursday commands the House army, and there's lots of military training, strategizing and battle scenes ... and Arthur's been drafted. He has to survive, find and free the Fourth part of the Will, and somehow keep from becoming a denizen of the House as he wants to return to his normal mortal life when this is all over.
Gordon Korman's new one, Born to Rock, was a lot of fun too. Leo is living with his mother and father and loses his scholarship to Harvard over a misunderstanding with a hard-nosed principal. He spends the summer on tour with the man he believes is his biological father -- Marion X. McMurphy, aka "King Maggot" of worldwide punk rock fame, in hopes that he will write a $40,000 check so Leo can go to Harvard in the fall The tour is an assault on Leo's Young Republican senses and sensibility, and he learns more than he ever imagined from this bizarre group of people.

Mama Ball Says

Today was one of those sandy britches days -- the ones where everyone and everything gets on your last nerve. Damn, and I didn't even have a hangover from dinner and seeing David Sedaris last night with Pat, Beth, Rie, Kristen and Rob. Last day of teaching my 8th grade classes was today, so now all I have to do is get grades in (and corner the last few kids who still have yet to turn in their final project). We'll see how exit project and all the other nonsense turns out last marking period.

Sadie is now all set for the Riverside branch of CDS in the fall, and I have an appointment for next Wed to go enroll Jake in Riverside Elem. so I am relieved to say the least. I felt like a fifty pound wet blanket was suddenly lifted off my shoulders when I got the email this morning that they had room for him. Things are coming together pretty well at the moment.

Mom and Daddy are coming late afternoon Easter, so that will be nice. They are staying the week and I am hoping for nice weather. I made an appointment to get pictures taken that Tuesday, so maybe we will get some of the kids and the grands together if everyone behaves. The kids officially have daycare that week, but we may just take the entire week off and play. And a good time will be had by all ...