Ewww Gross

This has been a very eventful week. Monday was supposed to be my really busy running all over the place day. The kids have therapy at school and after that Matthew had a doctor appointment at 1. Swimming lessons were at 4 and Carolyn gets home at 3:15 so the plan was for Matthew to come home at 11:05, take all kids to school for therapy, leave Carolyn there for preschool, stop by McDonald's for something for Matthew to eat, drive to SF for the appointment, come home around 2, attempt to do a nap (Andrew not me), wait for Carolyn to get off the van and head out for swimming lessons. As you would guess, that didn't quite happen. A snowstorm was in the forecast for that day and was supposed to hit between 1 and 3. When I left for the school the sky was grey and there were a few snow flurries. I got there and as soon as we started, there was an announcement over the PA for teachers to check e-mail. Yes, they decided to do a 1pm dismissal which meant no preschool. OK, I'll just take all 3 kids to the appointment and hope the doctor isn't too miffed. But by the time I was leaving the school at 12:15 the wind was blowing like crazy and snow was coming down. YUCK! I was having some doubts as to my master plan so I decided to do McDonald's and see how bad things were. In town was yucky and I then decided that there was no way I was going to drive in this weather with small children. I went home and rescheduled the appointment. Unfortunately, the next available was in March. I called about the swimming lessons and was told that the Wellness Center only closes when the Mall closes. The mall does not close very often. I still decided that there was no way I was going out in the weather so I called hubby to let him know what was going on and to remind him of the blizzard warning up in Brookings so class up there might not be that good of an idea. He did not go. Of course by the time he did get home from work the sky was clear, the moon was out and the roads were pretty decent. We (he) decided that we should do our cardio kickbox class and let Matthew do his fitness class so we loaded everyone up and off we went. Tuesday morning was not much better and school had a two hour late start. No school for Matthew so he got to sleep in. The bus driver didn't realize that there was no Kindergarten and showed up at 10 to get Matthew. Carolyn did have school and Matthew did have his speech and OT so Andrew and I ran over to the post office and I finally mailed my Christmas letters. One word of caution...we did not get the bad letter finished so those of you who usually enjoy our "so wrong" sense of humor will have to wait until next year. The weather was still pretty crappy but we have Tae Kwan Do testing at the end of the month so off we went. I'm glad Jim was driving because if it was up to me, we would have stayed home. Wednesday was finally sunny but just because the sun is shining doesn't mean that it is warm out. I did not have anywhere to go so I had plans to catch up on housework and get the laundry under control. When I went down to the laundry room I noticed a funny smell. I also looked over to where the cat's area is and noticed that it looked messier than usual.. Thinking the kids had been trying to feed the cat again or Andrew had been playing in the cat's water dish I got a paper towel and prepared to do a quick clean up. I quickly realized that this mess was not something the kids did. It smelled terrible like a cross between cat poop and cat vomit and the spots where I thought were water spills were actually slimy and smelly. We have a dark floor so I have no idea what it actually looked like. What I thought was spilled cat food was actually places where the cat had thrown up her food. The cat had been acting a little funny the past few days and on Wednesday she was pretty content to stay in her room and sleep so I knew something wasn't quite right. New plan...vet appointment. Matthew and Andrew came with me and we took Trina to her favorite place in the whole world (not) to see what was wrong. The verdict, tapeworms. In fact, she had several attached to her fur in the back and the vet had to pick them off. She was also explaining to me that a large or several large tapeworms would cause intestinal distress and the cat would be trying to pass it or them out either by vomiting or the other route. This is Ewww Gross of my title. Worms gross me out and anything in the internal parasite category does double gross out duty. I really like this vet, she has a wonderful sense of humor and spends time explaining things to you. She did tell me that she was pretty sure it was worms and not something Trina swallowed like a string that was causing the problem. Trina got a very delicious pill to swallow. The vet was the one who did the worming--yeah!!! and I was sent home with Pepto Bismol to give her a few hours later. Ever try to give Pepto Bismol to a cat? I wore half of it and the floor looked like something pink died. The other thing I really like about this vet is that she charges reasonable prices for her services. I paid $31 for the exam and treatment. Of course hubby mentioned that he had a 10 cent cure for the worms. I managed to make it home in time for Andrew to nap while I finished up the cleaning downstairs. I had used all of my litter on Sunday when I did the litter box but fortunately I still had some cheap stuff laying around so I was able to bleach out the litter box and put enough in for the night. We did swimming lessons and then met up with Jim at Hy-Vee for supper. Hubby wanted to work out and Matthew had fitness class. Because Andrew had used up an hour of nursery time out of the two hours they allow I decided to take him and run to Wal-Mart for a few things like kitty litter. It is so much easier to do that store with one kid instead of three. We got to the check out line and Andrew was doing his best cute, smiling and flirting with the cashier. All was going great until she asked me if Andrew was my grandson. GRANDSON???? WTF!!!!!!!! I answered "nope, he's mine" and let that stand. She was a little bit off her rocker anyway but do I really look old enough to be a grandma? I guess I should schedule the botox and color treatment. Hubby got a great laugh out of that one. Today I managed to go grocery shopping and did not get mistaken for a grandmother so I was very happy. I'm only hoping that this cold weather goes away. This morning was a balmy -25 with a forecast high of -3. I shouldn't complain too much. If I was still living by Aberdeen then I would have woken up to -45. Adding insult to injury is the fact that over on the other side of the state my parents are enjoying 50 degree weather. Oh well I guess that's winter in South Dakota.

New Year

Wow, a new year!! I still can't believe that the first decade of the new century is almost over with. Unfortunately, the illness that started Christmas didn't go away. Carolyn actually got sicker as the weekend progressed and we were worried that there was something really wrong with her. I took her in that Monday and she tested negative for influenza and appeared to be getting slightly better. We were supposed to go to Chamberlain, SD on Tuesday to meet with my parents. I called Mom and warned her that there was a definite possibility that only myself and the two boys would be coming out due to Carolyn being so sick. Shortly before I was supposed to take off Jim and I decided that Carolyn was well enough to do the trip if we doped her up with Motrin and kept things simple. She did really well. The kids had a blast swimming in the hotel pool and eating supper at Al's Oasis with Grandma and Grandpa. Since there is not a lot to do we spent the evening in our room watching TV and visiting. I do have to laugh because our hotel was across the street from the "Sugar Shack" and Matthew wanted to know what the sign said and of course after learning the name he wanted to visit it. Try telling a 5 year old that a place with a name that sounds like a candy store is only for adults. Actually it wasn't as degenerate a place as I first thought. It was a store that sold adult "toys" and other products and not a topless bar or movie place. We got back on New Year's Eve Day and decided to eat the lasagna that we were supposed to eat the week before. The kids were pretty tired and slept the way home so bedtime was a little more challenging. Andrew passed out minutes before the ball dropped so I wandered back to the computer room and gave hubby the first kiss of the year. I had thought about getting a babysitter and doing something later in the week but by Saturday Andrew and Matthew both were running fevers and not feeling too well. I had taken Andrew in the day before because I thought he had another ear infection but he did not. The strep test cam back negative but when I went to Urgent Care the next day they told me that the strep they were seeing was the kind where the quick test comes back negative so they gave me the antibiotics. Matthew had the ear infection. I also managed to break the passenger side mirror that morning. I was trying to back out of the garage without hitting hubby's car parked in the driveway. He had pulled a little too far forward and to the right so I had to back out at a light angle from the garage to avoid the collision with the car. Unfortunately, I was a little too far over to the right and the mirror smacked the edge of the garage door and broke the plastic on the mirror---oops. Hubby wasn't too happy with me. Monday morning I sent Matthew off to school only to have the school nurse call me at 8:30 because Matt's eye was red and icky looking. I told the nurse that he had been on antibiotics for two days but she still wanted me to call the doctor and have their office speak to her. I made the call to the doctor's office but on a Monday morning it is hard to get a return call within a reasonable amount of time so after about a half hour of waiting I called the school back and the nurse agreed to let Matthew go back to class since it was probably his ear infection that was causing the eye problem. I did get my call back from the nurse at the doctor's office and she agreed that it probably was the ear infection but it could be a viral eye infection too so she called in some drops and I decided to make the school happy and took Matthew home. Unfortunately we did not get to do swimming lessons that night. Hubby went up to Brookings for his class and I stayed home with the kids. I was actually glad I took Matt out of school as he still wasn't feeling very good and spent quite a bit of time sleeping. He finally felt better yesterday as did Andrew. I'm hoping that everything has run it's course and we will be back to full strength. I plan on doing swimming lessons this afternoon. I also got a call from Matthew's speech teacher today. She was concerned with his hearing. He was having problems repeating sentences the day before. I called the South Dakota School for the Deaf and surprisingly got an appointment this afternoon for a hearing test. Today will be busy. I also found out last night that our next belt test for Tae Kwan Do will be at the end of this month. I've had to miss a few classes due to the kids being sick so I need a little extra catch up practice time. I did manage to break my boards though. Just before Christmas I got the hand break to work. One of the black belts gave me some great pointers on how to best hold the board and how to move my hands and body so that I was able to hit the board effectively. Actually, once I figured out how to do it, the break was not that hard. Last night I finally got the two boards to break when I kicked it. That one was a matter of speed and having my kick land at just the right place on the board. I had been trying to push my foot through the boards when I was kicking and that was not working. It took one good quick snap kick and those boards went crack and that was all she wrote. I should mention that my two board holders were making sure that the boards were nice and tight and that if I were to crack them with my kick then they would break apart. No, they didn't deliberately bend them to the point of breaking but it does help when the holder or holders know what they are doing. One final update on the Christmas letters...I have them written and some are printed off. The bad letter is still in need of work so I'm sending the good letters out. I hoping that by this weekend all letters will be out.

Merry Sickness

I had fun plans for the holidays, I really did. But of course something always seems to derail the best made ones so the past few days have been a little out of sync. I'm glad I did a post on Tuesday morning because that was back when everything was on track and I only had a few last minute things to do. Later that day I had to get photos from Walgreens (done) and something to put them in as a gift from the kids to Grandma (not done) so it was decided that hubby would take the two older kids with him and drop them off and help with the kids Tae Kwan Do class while I ran over to Target for the last minute gift. On the way there he called and asked if I could get something for his grandma too--OK, no problem. Thankfully there is a very nice Christian bookstore right behind Target so I was able to swing by there and pick up a nice book. Target of course was crammed with people and the parking lot full so I had to park out in the far regions and of course it was cold as you know what. I bundled poor Andrew up and off we headed. As I was cruising along attempting to find the perfect photo album Andrew started fussing. So close, just a few more minutes and I could give him the crackers I had in the cart and off we would go away from the loud noisy crowded place. All of the sudden the poor kid threw up all over himself in the middle of the store. YUCK! I apologised to the nice employee who just happened to be right there and said that she needed to call a clean-up crew out for the mess and got over to the bathrooms ASAP to attempt to clean up the mess--no luck. A very nice good Samaritan (AKA Angel of Mercy) volunteered to watch Andrew for a few minutes so I could bring the van up front and load him there instead of carrying his smelly soaking self out into the frigid night air. No, I didn't have the diaper bag with me, I wasn't planning on having a major clothing emergency and Andrew was too disgusting and fussy to go and buy a new outfit to put on and the lines were long enough that I would be standing there for quite awhile anyway. After a brief stop over (5 min detour) to let hubby know what was going on I headed back home and got Andrew cleaned up. It was a long night. I think we managed to get to bed around two but Andrew threw up again an hour later so after cleaning that up hubby took chair duty for a few hours until I got the fun around 6 or so when I was awakened by Carolyn throwing up in the bathroom. Yes, another Christmas Eve spent with a sick child. I do have to say I would rather spend it with walking pneumonia than stomach flu but I didn't get much of a choice. Instead of spending a nice fun day preparing for Christmas and having lasagna for supper followed by a Christmas light tour of the greater Sioux Falls area it was naps and soup for supper followed by You Tube videos of Christmas houses. Thankfully everyone woke up happy and refreshed the next morning. The kids at least. Hubby and I were up until the wee hours of the morning trying to get excited kids to go to bed and fall asleep and then I still had to wrap their gifts. Christmas Day was wonderful. The weather was great and we headed down to Yankton for the Schwarz Family celebration. My mother in law moved this past year and her new house has so much more room. It was great to be able to have a nice dinner without having to eat in two different rooms and open gifts without practically sitting on each other's laps. I must have the weirdest kids in the world because they were so excited to get clothes as gifts. They did get a few toys from Santa but there were quite a few books and clothes too. They really don't need more toys. I got an awesome pair of shoes from the kids..my new Tae Kwan Do uniform wasn't in yet so I got shoes. The coat I bought for the loving husband didn't quite fit so I need to send it back but he did enjoy the other gifts he got from the kids. OK, I confess, Jim wanted specific shooting stuff so all I had to do was go to the check out part of the website he brought up and buy the items he had picked out so that was pretty easy. By the time we got home that night I was not feeling all that well. I really hoped it was too much Christmas food but by early the next morning it was very obvious that Andrew and Carolyn had given me their Christmas bug. So much for those great after holiday sales. After spending much of the day on the couch or in the bathroom I was feeling better just in time to go to bed for the evening. I did notice that Carolyn was again not feeling very good and had a fever so I gave her Motrin and sent her off to bed. I also figured out that the cat probably had a bladder infection based on the smelly wet blankets I found downstairs so I made a mental note to call the vet first thing in the morning. My morning then started with me taking the cat over to the vet's office to drop her off. The vet had several other emergencies that morning so they told me to bring the cat in and the vet would look at her when she had time. Carolyn woke up still not feeling well and still had a fever so Jim took Matthew and Andrew and went and worked out and I stayed home and tried to get some laundry and cleaning done. I also had to pick the cat up. She wouldn't give a sample so they just gave me antibiotics and told me to give to the cat for the next week. By afternoon Carolyn still had a fever over 101 and was pretty much a lump so I took her over to Urgent Care to make sure she didn't have Strep or any other illness. Now that she is older she is more help when it comes to asking medical questions. She can answer yes or no and point to places that hurt. The strep test came back negative so they did a blood and urine. The tech was a pro and they only needed to do a finger prick so it wasn't too traumatic. For the potty sample they put a container in the toilet under the seat so all she had to do was pee. Much simpler than trying to get a 4 year old to go in that itty bitty cup they use . The verdict was a possible bladder infection (Gee sounds familiar doesn't it?) and I got antibiotics. The funny thing is that both Carolyn and Trina are on the same antibiotic. I have both containers in the fridge. There is enough of a difference between the two that I shouldn't get things mixed up--I hope. I'm supposed to call the doctor's office on Monday morning to get final results on the culture tests they did to make sure that Carolyn needs to be on antibiotics and if the one she is on is the right one for her. I'm hoping that by Monday we are all healthy. I'm getting sick of illness.

Busy Busy Busy

Wow, only a few more days till Christmas. I've wanted to post but it is just so hard to get a few minutes away from it all to write. I'm soooo glad I did 99% of my shopping last month as I am not feeling the "oh my gosh I've got to get to the mall ASAP and what happened to my list of gifts to buy??" What have I been doing these past two weeks? Baking and more baking. A few weeks ago my MOPS group had a goodie exchange so I spent some time making people puppy chow and oatmeal scotchie bars. I got some great stuff in exchange and that did not last too long in our household. With two children in school it becomes common to give out gifts to those who are such a big part of their education like the teachers and bus drivers. Last year I gave coffee and Casey's gift cards. This year I had a few more people on that list so I needed something more budget friendly so back to the oven I went. I do like to give out puppy chow as a nice gift and have done so to teachers in past years but with peanut allergies so common, especially in Matthew's class I decided to forgo the puppy chow in favor of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The really nice thing about baking in the winter is that Mother Nature provides you with the perfect blast cooler to chill the cookies when they first come out of the oven. One Saturday it was very below zero with really really cold wind chill so all I did was take my pan out of the oven, put it on the chair I had sitting outside my patio door and wait five minutes or so. Presto--perfectly cooled cookies and a cold pan to make more. I got everything bagged and ready for the next week, happy that I was done with that set of gifts. The funny thing about gift giving is that all of the sudden people pop up on the list that you have totally forgotten about or did not expect to add. After a few days of handing our bags of cookies it became quite apparent that I would not have enough for everyone on the list. Last year I tried to give our mailman a gift card and we got it back with a very nice note saying he was not allowed to accept monetary gifts so I had planned to save him a bag but quickly realized that another cookie baking session was needed. I also had to make something for hubby to take to work for all his coworkers and boss. Between bouts of baking there was the snow shoveling. Luckily we did not get the massive amounts that other places got so I only had to shovel eight or nine inches total. Why was I doing the shoveling? Because the snow kept falling during times when the loving husband was not at home. Last Friday he borrowed my van and did not move his car into the garage the night before so when it did snow everything was covered and I had to go out and shovel the driveway and clean the car off due to Andrew having an appointment for his ear check. I wasn't too happy with him until later that night when he came home and the van had been equipped with a brand new stereo system that was MP3 compatible. I love my Christmas gift. Driving around looking at lights just got a whole lot better. We were supposed to drive halfway across the state this past weekend to meet my parents for an early Christmas but there was a blizzard warning out for almost all of the state plus it was going to be really really cold out with the double digit below zero wind chills so it has been rescheduled to next week. I hope the weather cooperates. Yesterday I finished up my stocking stuffer trip to the grocery store. It is amazing how easy it is to buy items for the stockings without the kids even realizing it. They helped pick out the apples and oranges and selected the candy too. I had this totally paranoid thought that I would forget to buy the last minute stuff and all the stores would be closed on Wednesday and the kids would only have a small toy in the socks. I also got our of lasagna (thank you Stouffer's) for Christmas Eve dinner. I need to make cookies for Santa so the oven will be warm. Santa doesn't like the store bought kind or the stuff that comes out of a refrigerated package so this year he'll get peanut butter. I'm hoping that they will look better than last year's chocolate chip disaster. I still need to wrap all the gifts and my Christmas letter is written but the loving husband still needs to finish revising and reformatting it. I'm hoping to get those out tomorrow--so much for Christmas cards on time. I will try to write once more before the big holiday but if I don't get to it--Merry Christmas everyone.

Superworms

OK, I gotta give this one to the loving husband... Tonight we were watching the 10 pm news and there was a story about Sioux Falls running out of cemetery space in the next 20 years. Hubby comments that there is a solution to the problem. I jokingly ask "what, bury bodies on top of each other?" 'No", he replies and then starts to tell me that over in China and India they have developed a type of super worm that they dump in with the body. After a few years there is basically nothing left but a hole in the ground. My brain at this point is going Wait, that's not very nice, what would the family members think? I'm also getting that tingling BS sensation because this does sound a little odd. I mean how would you place a grave marker if in a few years another person would be occupying that spot? Of course China and India do have very large populations so maybe this is true, and there are bugs that eat decaying flesh. A few minutes later hubby finished his tale by telling me that the worm has a specific marker..a Big S on its chest. Yes, he got me.

Six Things That Make Me Happy

I've been tagged by my friend Jackie to list six things that make me happy so here goes....

1. Chocolate Just writing the word makes me want to go upstairs and get some. This is the most perfect food ever created. It comes in a variety of flavors from milk to dark and you can smell it, eat it, drink, it, wear it, bathe in it, use it as a decoration, the list goes on and on. I of course use it as a cheap alternative to Prozac. I also use it as a bribe and reward for good behavior. Oh, yeah I also let the kids eat some too.

2. Hugs There is just something so warm and wonderful when I pick Andrew up from the crib in the morning or after a nap and he wraps his little arms around my neck and hugs away. This of course is the child who thinks that people were created just to give him a warm lap to sit in and an excuse to snuggle up with a sippy cup of milk. Carolyn is more reserved in her hugs but loves to sit on your lap and let you read her a book. Matthew lives for the hug. Forget the food rewards, just tell him he gets a big hug and he is willing and able to complete any task. Tell him he was good and give him the hug and his day is complete. Then there is the morning husband hug. Every morning before leaving for work hubby gives me a combination back rub hug and kiss. What a great way to start the day.

3. Completing a task There is something so satisfying about actually finishing a job. My days as a stay at home mom mean that I'm in an endless loop of cooking and cleaning from morning to night. Feed the kids only to have to do it again, sweep the floor only to have someone dump a box of cereal out, do loads of laundry over and over...you get the picture. It is very hard to start a task and finish it. Usually I'm in the middle of one task like loading the dishwasher and Andrew needs a diaper change, Matthew and Carolyn are fighting over a toy, and the phone rings all at the same time. Other times I start a task like folding laundry or sweeping the floor and one, two, or three "helpers" appear out of nowhere. Ever see a 2 year old sweep the floor with a full sized broom? It's quite funny but very messy. Sometimes the highlight of my day is writing my blog and actually posting it. I actually enjoy running errands and going grocery shopping because I get to start something and finish it without 23 interruptions.

4. A Good Book I love to read. I have always loved reading and consider it one of the things that relaxes me. Usually it's a challenge to get the daily paper read but I do take time out now and then to read something that does not have rhyming sequences in it or how to cook it instructions. I like a variety of topics depending on my mood. Sometimes it is "Chicken Soup for the Soul" that I want and other times I need a good smut book (Historical Romance) I also love spy thrillers and crime novels. Sorry to say most Science Fiction is beyond my capabilities. I just can't do alternate worlds and fantasy creatures.

5. Learning Something New It's aways fun to learn a new something. Whether it is an obscure fact such as the reason for the start of WWI (assassination of the archduke of Austria) or how to put a diaper on a squirming child without getting peed on (lots of trial and error) there is a feeling of "wow I did it" Hubby and I take Tae Kwan Do classes and we are constantly learning new moves and techniques. It is fun to challenge yourself to do something that you did not think was possible or impress someone with your knowledge of a subject.

6. Coca Cola How could I do a list and not put Coke down?? I am a true Coke drinker. I do not do Pepsi, RC Cola, or any other cola on the market. If I am at a restaurant and they do not have Coke on the menu then it is water or Mt.Dew. Please notice that I do not use the word "diet" when I describe Coke. There is no such word in my vocabulary. Some people drink coffee, others like tea and yet another group is passionate about their wines and beers but for me nothing is better than a cold Coca Cola.

OK, that is my list of 6. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a comment or message. I like to read those too.

Busy Week

Wow, where has the week gone? I had intentions of actually posting three different times this past week but never made it to the computer to do so. This past week was pretty eventful and hopefully life-changing too. Thursday was ear tube day for Andrew. The loving husband had to be there by 6:40 that morning so we were up and moving around pretty early that day. Andrew was not too happy about being awakened from his nice warm bed and plopped in a cold car with only a blanket to comfort him (no food or drink allowed 6 hours before the procedure). I had dressed him in a comfy outfit the night before so we did not have to a clothes change right away. They also wanted him dressed in a 2-piece outfit to make things easier for them when prepping him for the surgery. After those two left I had about 40 minutes before Matthew needed to be up for school so I decided to bake brownies. Our MOPS table was supposed to provide the food for Friday's meeting so I had decided to do chocolate chip cookie brownies and coffee cake as my offering. I figured that it wasn't worth it to go back to bed and it's a lot easier to bake without "helpers" underfoot. Matthew actually got up on his own a few minutes before 7 so my job was a lot easier. After getting him dressed and off I started on the coffee cake. I've never made one before so it took a little longer than usual to get everything put together and in the oven. By the time the guys arrived back home around 9:30 the house smelled great. I did feel a little bad telling hubby that no, the still warm just taken out of the oven really tasty looking coffee cake was for my MOPS group not him. I did offer to make another one if he really really wanted to eat this one but thankfully he used willpower and walked away(he got one Sunday morning). Surgery-wise, Andrew did great. He calmed down on the ride over and did pretty good in the waiting area. Everything went well and both tubes were replaced. The was some issues with the left side and he did have excess fluid that needed to be drained but the right side was OK. He was a little groggy and crabby first thing out of anesthesia but unlike many of the little ones who have this done, he did not spend an hour crying uncontrollably. Shortly after arriving home he was bouncing around like nothing happened at all. Later that afternoon I left to take my baked items over to the church and drop them off. Trying to arrive early to the meeting and taking two small children along with two pans of baked goods is a little out of my comfort zone so I usually drop my stuff off the day before with a note attached. I also wasn't sure if Andrew was going to be feeling OK Friday morning and I did not want to make early morning phone calls to find someone to stop by the house and take my stuff with them to the meeting. After I finished that errand I had to go to the school for Carolyn's IEP meeting. For those who don't know an IEP is short for Individual Educational Plan. All special education students are required to have one and they must be updated yearly. The original meeting date was Friday but since Jim was taking Thursday off for Andrew's surgery I changed the meeting date so the poor guy wasn't trying to take time off two days in a row. Funny Matthew story--Matt comes home from his Speech time all excited telling me he played a new game called "test" on the computer. You hit the keys and then it tells you "good job". No, I didn't bust his bubble. I told him that sounded like a fun game. Anyway, back to Carolyn's meeting. She is doing pretty good overall but there are still some weird behaviors and a few other problems that she needs to work on. Right now she likes to imitate a cat and do the things cats do like lick herself and meow and hiss and scratch. When she is upset or angry she most often reverts to the meowing and hissing. She does this at home too so it isn't a big surprise she does it at school. The teacher taped her one day during class time so they could analyze the behaviors and come up with a behavior plan to hopefully get her to express her thoughts and emotions in words instead of sounds and actions. At this point everyone is recommending that Carolyn do Jr. Kindergarten next year instead of Kindergarten so she has another year to work on her ongoing social issues. She turns 5 in June so she would be one of the younger ones in her Kindergarten class so I would have been tempted to do the JR. K thing even if she didn't have the other problems going on. I was hoping that once Andrew got his ears fixed he would give me a complete night's sleep--no such luck. We were up for a while that night but he woke up in a good mood Friday morning so we went to MOPS. I'm glad I dropped my stuff off the day before because I did not even come close to making it early for set up. Hubby took my set of car keys with him to work and I had to search like crazy to find the extra set. Of importance here is the fact the key he took with him that morning was the one I had the day before and used to start the car that night when we went to Tae Kwan Do class so he was the one who misplaced the spare not me. Later that day the kids and I met Daddy for lunch at HuHot Mongolian Grill. Friday was the last day for employees to donate to the charity the company had selected and he forgot to take the checkbook so I used that as an excuse to meet him instead of just dropping it off at the front desk. Every year the company selects an organization and then they match whatever amount the employees donate. After lunch it was back home to get naps done and supper planned because it was going to be a big night for the kids. The first Friday of the month is $5 Friday at the Science Center. Hubby decided to take Matthew and Carolyn and do the movie and exhibits. The movie was about Mummies and the there was a physics theme to the exhibits this month. I had made arrangements with my friends Tobi and Shawna to meet for drinks and dessert at 7:30 so I took Andrew as my "date" and off we went. This was supposed to be a girls only thing but I didn't have the heart to tell hubby he had to take all three kids with him. Andrew is a bit too young to sit though a movie and do the interactive stations so it would have been a bit difficult for everyone to have fun with him tagging along. As it was he enjoyed himself with me. We shared a nice chocolate cake and he got his own balloon. Afterward we stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home and picked up a few necessary supplies. By the way I drank Mountain Dew. Saturday morning found hubby and I working off future food sins in our cardio kickboxing class. It was also open gym and special kids activities in the nursery so the kids had fun. Later that evening Jim and I attended the company Christmas party. It was held at the Minnehaha Country Club. They've had it there before but we still got lost trying to find the place. I guess that is what happens when you only go to the place once a year. It was pretty fun. There are a lot of employees so I don't know too many people. This year we sat at a table with people I knew. One of the ladies at my MOPS table is also the spouse of an employee in a different department so we ended up at the same table. One of hubby's counterparts in his department was at our table too and I know his wife so I was able to have some fun conversations. This is a semi-formal/formal event so I got to dress up and wear make-up. The food was pretty good. Last year they had this baked potato thing that was totally terrible but this year they must have learned form that mistake because we had garlic mashed potatoes instead. The highlight of the meal was definitely dessert. I got what I can only call a chocolate orgasm--yes it was that good. It was a small dense cake made of rich bittersweet chocolate with a molten chocolate center. There was some whipped cream on the side. It was one of those things that can only be savored slowly. Hubby got some cappachino cheesecake creation so I was able to alternate bites of mine with bites of his. There is no ordering of dessert, they just bring it out and set it in front of you so I totally lucked out. After stuffing ourselves and enjoying two very nice glasses of White Zinfandel wine we headed back home. Today hubby tried to re-create our dessert. He didn't do that bad of a job. He found a recipe on the TLC website and modified that. He still has some more tweaking to do but I don't mind eating the mistakes.