A Wandering Aramean

Farewell

So.  Perhaps you have noticed that posting here has become... er... nonexistent?  Well, the truth is that I really just haven't been feeling it ever since we got home from Japan. I kept hoping that somehow the blog would just reinvent itself at some point, but I've concluded that it's time for it to come to an end.  Thank you for reading, and for your kind comments over the years. If you'd like to stay in touch, you can find me on Facebook under Meika W*e*i*s*s* (without the asterisks, of course).

Not Fun - Hospitals

Just a brief post so I can finally collapse into bed!  Lichen has been battling the same cold we all have this week, but hers (like mine) has settled in her chest and (unlike mine) been giving her little lungs a run for their money.  She's been getting nebulizer (misty breathable medicine) treatments every four hours around the clock for the last two days and was doing absolutely great, but took a dive when we tried to wean her from them today.  We took a trip in to the emergency room tonight when she didn't improve after her breathing treatment, and came home a few hours later with no real change.  They stuck a tube down her throat and tried (fairly unsuccessfully) to get some theoretical mucous out of her lungs (got some supper, though) and gave her a breathing treatment like we'd do at home - except their machine is a lot faster, which was actually pretty nice.  The doc decided to discharge her because she's... okay.  Not great, but okay.  Not breathing really well, but not in crisis.  So we will continue to give her treatments around the clock and pray that she fights this off quickly.

We do ask for your prayers - that Lichen begins responding to the treatments again that her body fights this cold quickly; that we, who are exhausted beyond words and also fighting colds, get some rest - or at least miraculously feel like we did tomorrow.  Many thanks.

A Week of Mischief

Here's something I don't understand.  When a child does something really michievous, why is one of the more common responses I've gotten from onlooks, "Oooh, what a clever child!  She's a smart one."  Now, it's not that I don't think my child is clever.  It's more like - really?  She has the business end of a paintbrush in her mouth and art all over her cheeks.  I guess that's creative, but what exactly is it about that scenario that screams "genius child!"?  And, on that note, seven things that my children have done this week to drive me batty assist me on my road to perfection.

One

Ground banana into the carpet while I was emptying the dishwasher.

Two

Smushed mini-wheats into the sofa while I was emptying the washer of the millions of little absorbent beads that exploded from the diaper that inexplicably made its way into there.

Three

Fell into the sump pump while I was dealing with aforementioned washer load.

Four

Colored on the cupboards (thanks be to God for washable markers).

Five

Colored on the butcher block (not with washable markers - DOH!).

Six

Dumped the entire bucket of cranberries onto the carpet and (apparently) danced on them.

Seven

Emptied an entire bag of frozen corn "into" an eeeeety-beeeety bowl while yelling "I DO IT MYSELF MAMA NOOO I DO IT MYSELF!!!!"

And in the spirit of a pinch to grow an inch, a couple sweet things from this week, too.

Eight

One evening after a series of instances similar to those above, I was counting to tenwhile getting Asparagus to bed and she stopped whatever crazy misbehavior she was enjoying, turned around, and gave me a hug. She started patting my back and stroking my hair and saying, "It okay, Mama, it okay. Shhh, it okay, Mama. Shhh." Then gave me a big kiss on the nose. The little snake charmer could get away with anything if she tried that more often! It was very, very sweet.

Nine

Lichen has learned to talk on the phone.  She grabs M's phone (or a block, or whatever), holds it up to her ear, and even "talks" - she makes this little "EUH - EUH - EUH" sound the whole time she has it up to her ear! Thanks, as usual to Jen at Conversion Diary for hosting this week's Seven Quick Takes.

Seven Things that Happened Today

In no particular order:

One

M called a realtor and he came over and looked at our house.  We were hoping he'd give us some... anything, really.  Opinions on what we needed to do (or what we shouldn't bother doing), when a good time would be to put the house on the market, whatever.  He was a very nice man.  Not much information was forthcoming, however, which was a little disappointing.  He did say it was good that we had very little on the walls - better to be less personal.  So I guess that's good.  Maybe?

Two

We had two old(ish) friends over for dinner tonight.  Pork tenderloins were eaten, wine was consumed, children were pacified - a good time was had by all (or so I hope!). 

Three

M had a painter out to the house to see what he could do about getting the upstairs and outside trim painted.  No quote on that yet either, but it should be coming this week.

Four

Did I mention that M took the day off today?  He did.  It was nice - like getting an extra Saturday.

Five

I watched a friend's daughter for a few hours this morning.  "Rosalie" is just a few months older than Lichen, and it is a hoot to watch them "play" together - playing primarily consisting of grabbing each other's faces until the grabbee cries.  Rinse, repeat!  Baby games rock.

Six

We went to Crazy Horse Steakhouse for lunch.  Yummmmmm!  Soooo, as some of you know, I've been doing Weight Watchers for the last three months or so.  I've lost slowly, but I am down eight pounds.  At our meeting last week, we discussed "red light" foods - foods that you just absolutely cannot resist under any circumstances.  I decided today that all restaurant foods are "red light" foods for me.  I made my plan in the car, prepared myself to follow it... and ate amazing bread, and butter, and an amazing cheesy chicken sandwich (which I thought was going to be more wholesome than it was when I ordered it, but nonetheless finished it when it was yummy).  Then I brought the rolls home to finish, which I just did.  I'm not really sure what I'm going to eat for the REST  of the week, since that was probably my weekly allotment right there.

Seven

This wasn't today, it was yesterday, but I'm going to include it anyway.  I finally Skyped with my brother!  It was pretty awesome.  The functionality was kind of borderline - choppy/blurry picture, the call mysteriously dropped once - but we got to see Uncle B, and he got to see half-naked Asparagus (yes - still potty-training) and freaked-out-by-the-computer Lichen.  It was really very, very cool; if you've never done it, you should try it out.

Many thanks to our host at Conversion Diary...

Seven Quick Takes: Toddler with a Sucker Stick Edition

This edition of Seven Quick Takes, sponsored by Conversion Diary, is in honor of the child who is not sleeping.

One

I think my children have an Ambition Radar.  So the second I think an ambitious thought - such as "maybe I'll empty the dishwasher" or "maybe I should see if the laundry room floor is still down there;" my ambitions don't get too far these days - a siren and clanging bell sound in their minds.  DISTRACT!  DISTRACT!  DISTRACT!  and they a) wake up, b) refuse to sleep, c) begin pulling each other's hair, or d) yank on my legs and demand, "UP UP UP UP UP!"  Someone should do some research on that, because I don't think the phenomenon is restricted to me.

Two

I don't know exactly where this thought came from, but you know something that's making me mad?  People insulting the teeth of British people.  This is in the context of Facebook discussions on health care, some of which I think are wonderfully well-reasoned even if I don't agree, and some of which just make me want to sic a toddler with a sucker stick on someone.  The argument goes something like this:  "We don't want British medicine!  Look at their teeth!  I'd rather die!" except with lots of words spelled wrong.  (Is it ironic that that's an option in American health care if you get cancer without insurance?  Dying with good teeth.  At least it's a stated goal.)  Now I know from Austin Powers that the British are supposed to have bad teeth, but I've been picking my brain trying to remember the teeth of my British friends, and I really can't think of any that were noticeably awful.  I kind of take offense on their behalf, because they were all pretty awesome people and I really don't think it's very nice to make fun like that.

Three

Yesterday my daughter shoplifted for the first time, thankfully (?) in a pretty dramatic way.  We were in the Disney store (also for the first time in her life) (and maybe the last) after buying her little sister some shoes and Asparagus was playing and having a great time.  I was wearing Lichen on my back and had the lightweight folding stroller all weighed down with bags.  Asparagus found a Buzz Lightyear suitcase allllll the way on the back wall of the store and decided that it was the best thing EVER.  She started playing with it and said, "Bye, Mama!  I go work now!" and trotted (read: ran like holy blazes) toward the front of the store... to the front of the store... out the door... running... running...  Until a kindhearted mama slowed her down long enough for me to catch up.  The whole time I was running behind her (as well as I could with a baby on my back and an upended stroller in one hand) yelling at her to STOP!  Which she clearly didn't.  We went back into the store and replaced the suitcase and she had to tell the clerk that she was sorry for going out without paying, but I don't know what kind of impact it made.  It was the first time that I was truly embarrassed by my child's behavior.

Four

And so the mama smackdown has begun.  Or something.  We've been having trouble with Asparagus not listening for a while now, and that was my last straw.  I keep reading about a parenting philosophy called Love and Logic, and will be going out this afternoon to buy the book.  We will also be attending one of their seminars in Troy this January if we can arrange a few hours' of babysitting.  I've read a few summaries and whatnot on their website and already feel like things are a little more under control and like I have a few more tools at my disposal.

Five

I made an awesome dinner last night.  I baked halved acorn squash and filled it with a mixture of quinoa, Italian sausage, red peppers, and spices.  It was awesome.  The sausage gave it great flavor, but there was so much vegetable in the dish that it still tasted really wholesome.  Mmmm!

Six

Would you believe that Lichen is finally sleeping?  It's not been a good couple weeks for sleep in our household. Lichen is on some crazy sleep strike and has nearly cut out her morning nap (and almost her afternoon one, today) and Asparagus is getting her two-year-molars (note: this may have something to do with the out-of-control-craziness lately).  But it's quiet here now!  Ahhhh...

Seven

Maybe I should leave it at that... ahhhhh.  The sun is shining through the window and I feel a fresh breeze coming in the window.  Confused crickets are chirping in the garden and the only sounds in my house are the ticking of the clock and hum of the refrigerator.  And the neighbor's industrial lawnmower.  Whatever.  It's the version of peace we get here in suburbia. Have a safe and blessed Labor Day, everyone.

All the Ladies! Quick Takes in Photos

Please, Typepad, do not freeze up on me again!  It's time again for another Seven Quick Takes, hosted by Conversion Diary.  Beginning with my trip last weekend and ending with some scenes from home, here we go...

One

I left for Kentucky at around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, M being kind enough to come home early so I could get on the road.  I have these things to say to Indiana: 1) If you would be kind enough to chop about three hours out of the middle of yourself, I would really appreciate it, because YAWN. 2) Alternatively, you could consider some development. I mean, a strip mall would be an improvement. (Note - not a str*p CLUB. You seem to have those in abundance.) JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING TO LOOK AT, PLEASE!!! 3) Your semis are a menace to society. I am hereby donating all my worldly goods to promoting additional rail lines throughout your state and the entire upper Midwest. Upon my death, of course. Which you did your best to hasten, so it might be in your best interests to stop trying to run station wagons off the road. 4) Nice job on the wind turbines. Those kind of rock.

Two

I spent my first day tooling around Lexington by myself, a welcome break from full-time mommydom.  Among other things, I did a walking tour of historic Gratz Park.  It was beautiful, and an awesome location RIGHT downtown, but I don't think I'd actually want to live there - it seems a little awkward to have people staring at your house all the time!  This is an alley in the neighborhood.

Three

After staying up far too late on Friday and chatting with J a la slumber party, we headed to the Ashland, the Henry Clay estate, on Saturday.  It was pretty interesting to see a preserved plantation, but just as interesting to see their treatment of slavery on the plantation, which I thought was ... well, lacking.  There was a paragraph on a sign outside, but not much more.  His biography was something like, "He was a great man! And politican! And statesman! And influenced Lincoln! And he really liked this one slave and let him have the keys to the wine cellar and everything!"  I know, it's a little hard to judge a person of the past by the standards of today, but for some reason I'd expected a more in-depth look at that aspect of his character.  I wondered if it was a Southern thing, that slavery was just so prevalent that it was ignored.

They had a really nice little cafe in the ex-smokehouse, though, with strawberry soup that's to die for.  WOW, that good.

 
Four

The formal garden was beautiful...

...and here we are in front of it!

THANK YOU, h2o family, for your amazing hospitality and for sharing your beautiful home and beautiful baby with us!  And thanks N and J for an awesome, awesome ladies' weekend - let's set a date for next year right away!

Five

And on the home front...

I took this photo of Lichen earlier this week, just moments before she changed from sedate little baby to crazy climbing child.  (I apologize for the lack of color in the shot; it is unfortunately an accurate reflection of the lack of color in my house.  BEIGE IS NOT A COLOR SCHEME, BUILDER-MAN! Anyway.)  I took the photo thinking, "Oh, she looks so big, she'll be figuring out those steps before we know it!" Then I put Lichen back with her toys and grabbed the two bags of clothes I was going to take to Goodwill and ran them out to the car.  And guess who met me on the front porch roughly 47 seconds after I'd left her downstairs?  Yes, the pictured baby, with a flawlessly-executed stair-climb followed by a little scoot across the landing and right outside. The girl doesn't mess around.

Six

This one I call "Baby's First Mess."

I was on the other side of the kitchen when I saw her quick little hand on the powdered sugar bag.  You know those slow-motion scenes in the movies?   Yeah, I knew I wouldn't get there so I just watched it fall on the floor.  I shouldn't've been surprised when Quick-Hand-Lichen efficiently immersed those little fingers in that curious powder and conveyed it to her mouth.  Boy, was she mad when I cleaned up.

Seven

The sisters share an abiding love for pretzels, apparently.  Asparagus has done most of the new-food-introduction in our house this time around.

Sevensies

Another edition of Seven Quick Takes, as sponsored by Conversion Diary.

One

I've been all about the Fiber One granola bars lately - yummy, filling, portable, and only 2 points!  Unfortunately, they have peanut flour in them so they are totally off-limits for AllergyGirl Asparagus.  Several times this week we've had the conversation, "Mama, I want thaaaaat!" and response, "I'm sorry, sweetie, these have nuts in them! They'll make you sick."

So yesterday, Asparagus was walking around "eating" something imaginary.  She then made a point of walking over to me, holding one hand in front of her in true talk-to-the-hand style, and saying, "NO, Mama.  Has NUTS."  In other words, nuts = I'm not sharing!

Two

I got nice new internet this week.  We'd had AT&T for two years, but I never really got over the trauma of setting up our service.  They lost our first order for service, then found it, then duplicated it, then had some bad line at our house, but didn't think it was their fault, but it was... all in all, M spent over FIFTEEN HOURS on the phone just to get our phone and internet set up.  And we didn't even want the phone!  Oh, and then when we sent back the duplicate modem that they sent us in error we didn't get a refund for it (that we were promised over the phone), and they never sent us the rebate for the modem we kept.  So they owe us about $100, but kissed that money goodbye long ago. 

So when a couple guys from the local cable company came to our door with a better deal and told us we didn't need cable TV or phone service to get it, I jumped right on board.  And this is what happened:  The guy who was supposed to come out and set it up came out and set it up right when he was supposed to. He called twice to give us an accurate idea of when he would be there.  He laid a new wire outside, hooked up the modem, set it up on my computer, and set up a secure connection for us, as well, all for no extra charge.  The connection speed isn't noticeably different; if anything, it's faster than AT&T.  The big test will be when we get our first bill - will it be what's been promised, or will we see all the extra charges we did for MONTHS with AT&T?  If it's as promised... well, let's just say I thought that kind of customer service only existed in Japan.

Three

We've decided to sell our house.  REALLY decided.  That's all.

Four

I'm a regular reader of a couple of fantastic Catholic mommyblogs and have noticed the concept of "being perfected" mentioned there a couple times.  It's used in the context of daily struggles, big or small, being the means by which God "perfects" them.  So I'm not Catholic, and I don't exactly know what this means, but a couple things strike me about this.  First is the full meaning of the word "perfect."  We all know this to mean "without flaw," but it has a larger theological meaning of completion.  One of the reasons we say that God is perfect is because he is complete; he doesn't need to grow or learn or change.  So in this context, my struggles are being used to complete me, to perfect me.

I think the Reformed version of this is sanctification, the oft-forgotten second stage of the salvation equation. First we're justified and made right with God, but after that we spend the rest of our lives being sanctified - that is, being made more holy.  Perfected, I guess.  In the last week or so, I've discovered that it's much easier to deal with a situation I don't like by reminding myself that it's part of my path to sanctification rather than thinking about it as some crap that God' not changing for me EVEN THOUGH HE COULD.  Path to sanctification.  Path to sanctification.  Path to sanctification.

Five

M has had two unpaid weeks off this year thanks to the stellar economy.  As a result, he realized this week that he has quite a bit of vacation time left and will be taking next week off!  We'll be hanging out at home and working on the house.  So we can sell it.  Did I mention that we're selling it?

Six

In further M news, Gov. Granholm visited his workplace today as part of the official announcement of a $299.2 million federal grant that his Company is receiving to jumpstart domestic battery production. Five hundred fifty new jobs projected to arrive soon - this is a Very Good Thing for our area!

Seven

We used to be citizens.  Now we're consumers.  We're both, of course... but what difference does it make in our society to hear ourselves continuously referred to as "consumers" rather than "citizens?"  How much of an effect do semantic changes have our behavior?

For the record, here's a vote for "citizen."

Seven Quick Takes

I've seen a few blogs doing this lately - the seven quick takes on Friday - and decided to give it a shot this week.  Mindless navel-gazing or interesting tidbits? You tell me.

One

I'm thinking of switching up the blog a little bit.  Maybe moving over to WordPress (which is free) and maybe retiring the Wandering Aramean, since there's not so much wandering going on over here these days.  So one blog for mostly family stuff, and maybe resurrect the Aramean one day if I can ever remember a deep thought long enough to corral it again?  Just rolling it around.

Two

I'm not very good at going to bed these days.  I don't know why.  I was ridiculously anal about it for years, refusing to go to bed after ten p.m. for anything short of Cantina night, because I DO NOT FUNCTION WELL ON LITTLE SLEEP.  Are you laughing yet?  Have you ever slept in the same house as my children?  HA HA HA HA HA.  If you would like to join Asparagus for calisthenics at 5:17 tomorrow morning, please feel free to stop on over.

Three

We just went for our first family bike ride ever today!  I ordered a new bike seat for Asparagus - she rides behind M now - as well as new helmets for both her and Lichen, and they arrived earlier this week.  (Lichen could have worn Asparagus' old helmet, but it kind of got left underneath the motorcycle once.)  It was a short ride, but it was awesome.  I'm really looking forward to future rides!

Four

Our downstairs bathroom is SOOOOOO CLOSE to being done - finally!!!  I have two very short caulk lines to run and have to re-grout about nine square feet of the floor, then we have to hang the shower curtain, trim, hang the mirror and towel bar and DONE!  Gosh, now that I've written it out, that sounds like a lot.  **sigh...*

Five

M made an AWESOME dinner for us tonight - grilled steak salad and veggies.  I made a new Italian Vinaigrette to put on it, and it was just fantastic.  He can be on dinner duty every night, methinks! 

Six

Lichen is crawling.  She's not quick yet, but her technique is good and it will not be long before she will be able to outrun me.  I'm not looking forward to this day.

Seven

I've run out of steam on this whole seven takes thing and am now going to bed.  Good night!

Pirate!

This evening, we were driving past a house we're interested in.  We pulled forward... we pulled back... forward again... back again...  M had no more than finished saying, "This probably looks a little weird," when a neighbor came over to the car to ask if he could help us.  A neighbor wearing... a black eye patch.  (Have you ever met anyone with a black eye patch?  Nor I.)  A very PIRATEY black eye patch it was, too.  A few minutes of small talk - we're harmless! really! - and we drove away.  The backseat had been surprisingly quiet this whole time, but as soon as the car began to move:

Asparagus (voice full of wonder):  MAMA!  A PIRATE!!!  (covers one eye with her hand, miming an eye patch)  ARRRRRRRR!

Scientists

This morning, Asparagus is watching Sid the Science Kid - a kids' show on PBS.  The following conversation occurs:

Asparagus, pointing at TV:  Mommy, scientists!

Me:  Yes, they're scientists.  That means they learn about the things around them.

Asparagus:  (Curious) George scientist?

Me:  Yes, George is kind of a scientist.  The Man with a Yellow Hat is a scientist, too.  Are you a scientist?

Asparagus:  No.  I Asparagus.