A Mom Thing

HB 229

Do you ever feel like you're on candid camera?  Like you are secretly starring in the own secret docudrama of your life?  I often get this feeling.

When I lived in DC for a few years after college, I walked to and from work through the city. I wore a Walkman (yes, I realize I'm dating myself here).  I listened to movie soundtrack music -- great big classical soundtracks.  So I'd walk along, past all these famous amazing buildings and places all the while listening to this booming big soundtrack.  I found it oddly peaceful and mesmerizing.

I haven't actually  had that feeling again for a long time.  But then recently I started to notice that I see the SAME car every day on the way to the kids school at roughly the same spot (depending of course on our timing). I think I noticed it because the woman who drives the car is striking -- she wears a police hat, big sunglasses, some type of uniform and has very good posture.  Her license plate is HB229.  Her face and posture and everything is just about always the same.  I noticed the car and then noticed that I see her every day somewhere along a 2 block section.  I subconsciously started to clock how early or late I was based on when I saw her car.   The kids watch for it now, too and try to shout out "HB229!!!!" when they see it.

Then, one day I was on a different routine. I had helped out on the Nature Walk "field trip" for the kindergardeners and I was on this same stretch of road at a COMPLETELY different time of the morning. THERE SHE WAS.  At first, I knew I knew her but not quite sure from where?  Then it hit me -- the crossing guard was HB229.  It was her!?  How weird is that?

Since I've becomed attuned to HB229, I see her in a lot of places.  In her car elsewhere, at the store, walking...I see her noon and sometimes night (sounds like Seuss, right?). Isn't it funny to think about how much we JUST don't notice in life...until we do...and then we really do?

Happy Halloween HB229! 

PS -- Halloween Pics posted later...we have Orange and Black day first!

Random thoughts.

Do you ever have one of those times where you wonder about everything?  And you wonder if anyone else wonders?

• Hair nests -- do the people with hair nests or bed head in the back of their heads know it?  Do they always have it?  Do they care?

• Creative Process -- is that a contradiction? (And we ALL know I LOVE process)

• People who stage whisper throughout meetings to the person next to them -- do they realize how annoying it is? 

• Meeting in a dark room -- why don't people turn on the lights?

• 2 people in a cab -- does one person sit on the "hump" and other other next to them or do you spread out, each take a window and leave the hump free? ( I actually saw a couple sitting on the one side...I followed the taxi an extra block out of my way, waiting for them to move. No, they were not making out. So weird?).

• Do socially awkward (dysfunctional) people know that they are that way?

• Have you ever met/known someone and just would give anything to meet their spouse?

• Have you ever MET someone's spouse and actually liked them MORE than the person you knew first?

• When my "inner head" is screaming, can anyone else hear it?
  

• Why does the cookie packaging say you'll get three dozen and I only get one(ish)?

These are some questions on my mind lately.  Really, just a few random questions...

T-sheets

Ahhhh.  Not sure if there is a brand name of jersey sheets called "T-sheets" but there should be!  You know...the soft cotton t-shirt-y sheets.  We have bought these for the kids for years ... and they are BY FAR their faves ... but never ever considered them for grown-up-selves. Until now.

H and I were looking for new sheets and a new soft blanket at Target.  It was time. Our sheets were threadbare and worn -- you could especially tell the spots where Lucy (Dog) jumped up on the edges.  And somehow we had lost the fitted sheets (real bummer).

Anyway - we saw the jersey sheets on the end aisle and thought -- let's try it!  They were WAY cheaper ($19.99 for king size??).  They seemed rather thin and we really had little faith they would work but thought "why not?!" They seemed white, fresh and inviting. We bought a REALLY fluffy white blanket and off we went.

Usually I climb into bed first.  The first night of the new T-sheets, I waited for Ed.  I sat on the couch until he was ready so we could climb into our new cozy cotton ball together. We slipped in at the same time...ahhhh. H-E-A-V-E-N.  The T-sheets were perfect.  They snuggled the blanket like peanut butter and jelly.  It was a big cozy, warm bed of good.

I highly recommend them.  Sure makes getting up in the morning harder, though!

Furreal?

This term is said a lot in our house - but only by boys?  It's the instictive reaction either boy (Middle or Little) has to ... well ... just about everything.

Maybe it's because H and I both are jokesters (especially H - he trained me)...but the look is PRICELESS.

It's always accompanied by a cuirous look -- over the glasses for MG; sideways head with smirk from LG.  And the true beauty is ... they never really know when we're yanking their chain or not.

---

A couple Saturdays ago we hosted my Cousin and his wife and their nephew for pizza night.  They were in town and it was great to catch up with them.  Geography has always been a little bit of an obstacle in familial relationships for us.  H's extended family is out East; mine is in Michigan/Indiana area. But somehow we all don't connect as much as we should.  This blog has helped me reconnect with many of them - on both sides.  I love that.

So we all got together and had a REALLY nice time. After dinner and wine and hanging out, H drove them to their hotel downtown and I put down the kids.  He came rushing in at about 10pm when I had finished the dishes and "night readiness chores" -- he was all excited. "GO GET THE KIDS.  GET THEM IN THE CAR." At first I was a tiny bit freaked...is there a fire??  He was happy-excited not freaky-excited though (after 10+ years, you learn these things...). 

H:  "The moon is amazing. Get the kids. Let's go to the beach."

Me: OK!  (I didn't even question it -- it must be pretty frickin amazing??)

We wake up the kids (MG was the only one REALLY asleep).  The boys both reacted the same, "Furreal??"  I can go in my jammies? I don't need shoes?  Furreal????

Me: Yes. Furreal.

We went moon chasing.  We drove up and down Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and moonwatched. We tried to find the best spot. The perfect spot to see the beautiful freakish harvest moon that looked more like a sunset than a moon?

It's these moments you remember forever isn't it?  Furreal.

Can silence scream?

 

Is the grass ALWAYS greener?

Do socks always separate in the laundry?

Does the light always turn yellow(ish) when you're in the biggest hurry?

A big fat rhetorical, resounding YES to all of these!

So what inspired this most recent insight?  Alone-time.  I had about 6 hours with just Daughter today ("saint" H took the boys on the boyscout camping trip); about 4 hours ALONE; topped off with a sleepover/PG-13 girl movie time with Daughter.  Amazing grace.

The girl time with Daughter today was great.  We exercised together (cardio kickboxing DVD - it's great to see someone LESS coordinated than I am).  We showered, got gussied then went to make a deposit in her savings account (big deal).  We went and registered (at Daughter's insistance) for a Trick or Treat 5K Trot that takes place tomorrow morning (I told her she might need to slow down for me). Then went to lunch at the place of her choice -- Subway!  She loves the ham wrap with bacon, fixins and mayo).  Now she's at her BFF's birthday party.  She should be home soon. I actually told her she couldn't sleep over at BFF's house if they asked because I wanted more time with her.  She looked at me a little funnily but was fine with it.  I tipped the scales by saying maybe she could even sleep in our bed tonite ... we NEVER do that.

With my free time, I finished a book, drank some wine, folded some laundry, made dinner for tomorrow and missed my kids and H just a wee bit. (I seriously thought about reorganizing my underwear drawer but resisted the urge because it just seemed way too lame and pathetic.)  It's ironic isn't it? We CRAVE alone/me-time...but when we get it unplanned we're often reduced to thinking about THEM (the ones we wanted time away from?) after only a few hours?  

It reminded me a little bit of LBK (life before kids).  Some Friday nights I would schedule "me" time and just stay home, paint my nails, drink wine, light a candle, read a book (I know, I know, H thinks this is queer, too).   It gave me a little glimpse of what life would be like if (but for the grace of God) "THEY" had never happened.  I gotta' say, it's kinda' lonely.  And it's screamingly quiet. I think I will pick the "chaos" door anytime...remind me of that tomorrow when all are back and I'm begging for peace again, will ya'?

The "Wheel of Want"

Middle Guy has inspired a new theory for me -- the WHEEL OF WANT.

MG has this uncanny ability to cycle through a mental list of wants.  He literally rotates and clicks one by one through them like a wheel game -- sometimes toggling between two even.  Back and forth, wiggle-wiggle ... like a creepily loose tooth, he toggles between two WANTS. His mental list must truly be impressive.

Here's an example...

MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM (repeated until answered).  What are we going to do today?  Are we going to do my halloween costume? When is the party? I need to be ready for the party.  I'm not trying to bug.  Really. Oh. Never mind.

(2 seconds later).

MOM.  MOM. What's for lunch? Can I have bacon on my sandwich. I love bacon. LOVE LOVE LOVE BACON. I need bacon. Can I have it. OK mom, I'll stop bugging.

(4 seconds later).

MOM, I was thinking about the boyscout campout and I really really really want to go. Am I going? You pinky-promised you'd decide today.

(5 minutes later).

Do I smell bacon?

(3 seconds later).

Can today be pajama day? Hey, when is dad going to fix my guitar strings?  I need my guitar. Oh. Am I bugging? 

(2 minutes later).

Mom? Mom?  Oh, never mind. I'm bugging now.  But I AM hungry. 

------ (rinse, repeat.)------

As you can see, his retroactive filter is not bad.  Maybe it's the searing look he gets -- but he KNOWS when he's bugging.  

Charming, for sure.  And as for the results...well, his costume is almost done (H made a caveman costume complete with hairy muscle chest); he had bacon and eggs for breakfast; he is most likely going on the campout; and his guitar is still broken.

Some days...

just REQUIRE the caffeine IV drip.  Nothing else will do. And it'd better be GOOD coffee.

That's all I'm sayin...

Tuna Nicoise-y

 

This is the dish I've been obsessed with lately. It's modeled after one of the Antipasto/side dishes offered at Sopraffina.  It's become my go-to healthy hunger YUM dish.

I take one can of albacore white tuna (in water).  I add in about 5 or 6 pitted kalamata olives, chop up some fresh tomato and cucumbers.  Mix it all together with a splash of Paul Newman's Lite Balsamic Vinegar dressing. YUM YUM YUM.

Daughter, the Angel

 

(Please pardon the REALLY bad photo.  What, you can't pick her out??)

Daughter had her first non-mandatory role in a play recently.  Well, second, really. She was the witch in Narnia in a Park District play a year or two back. But somehow that seemed different because it was an acting class we signed up for ... and there weren't any extra practices...and it was only family in the little audience.  And it was at like 3pm on a Friday.  Close but no cigar?

THIS was a community production through our Parish.  A lot of folks in the neighborhood and school were in it.  And...drumroll...it was a MUSICAL!  Daughter LOVES to sing.

Oddly, we found out about it only a week before the big day.  We had to get our own angel costume and make all the practices in order to participate.  I honestly can say I thought the whole thing was hooey but she wanted it like I've never seen her want anything before.  We're not doing a sport this session and I had no viable excuse to say "no" to her pleads.  So I said "OK!  Then you're going to be an Angel for Halloween, too!"  She (angelically) said, "Of course, mama, that's GREAT. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU."

She did her HOURS of practice and rehearsals. She memorized her songs.  She tried on her costume. She was amazing. So dedicated. So ... angelic.  Sunday night, she put on her heels (first communion shoes) and her costume and headed out at 4pm for the final practice with a brown-bag lunch. The play wasn't until 7pm and I didn't want my little angel to be hungry!  H's parents came over for a Soup Supper (recipe to be posted soon) and then we headed over with the boys. The gym was packed.  There was even an orchestra! And fancy lights and sound boards?  This was real!  I was getting excited.

It was so much fun. The actors (kids AND grownups) had so much fun. You can just tell they were having FUN. It was funny and entertaining and great music.  Even Little Guy loved it. And our Angel was perfect.  Six and a half hours in her heels and flushed cheeks later, she looked like a star as she signed our programs.  I actually teared up as I thought about how she's becoming "her own person" -- which is all I ever ask of any of our kids. (That, and "be your best.") I was truly touched.

Ear Muffs, Everyone!

 

At least the Bears won today...this is the Kids doing "Ear Muffs" when H is going NUTS during the Bears game.   Well, at least they will be well-trained in the school of swear.