Is it me.............
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Zoo
Just come home from taking Bee, Paddy & Rory to the local zoo. I don't love going to the zoo at all - I take the kids to see the animals (obviously) and spend a lot of time feeling sorry for the animals - especially the ones who are pacing up and down and really are in need of seeing a shrink. But we went....
I didn't think it would be too busy as the forecast said rain. So we set off with raincoats etc. Bee and Paddy were armed with disposable cameras - enthusiastically (?) taking snaps of mundane animals, litter bins.... but it kept them on track with seeing lots of animals. We were lucky to arrive at some of the question and answer parts of certain keeper/public interaction. So for a few minutes at least Bee gave the endless questions to someone else.
I find it fascinating seeing other people at the zoo. Why, when you are 9 months pregnant do you think the zoo is a cool calm place to be? Don't think I had ever seen so many pregnant ladies as today - maybe they were also hoping to cool down - but alas the weatherman was wrong and it was 95.
Then there are those middle aged couples with no kids who are there, taking pictures of the animals. Now when you are 8 and 5 taking snaps of a zebra is fun - but when you're a wee bit older - now what are you going to do with those snaps? Put them in an album and show them to people?
There was one woman with 5 kids there and one of the kids saw the cameras mine had and started whining. "No, you CANNOT have a camera!" the mother yelled whilst giving me a menacing look.
Another woman had newborn twins, then 3 others maybe 6, 3 and 2. The twins were being pushed by the dad (?) and she was screaming at the other 3 to climb on top of each other in the wagon (did I say it was 95?). I wonder how she kept it together. Well she looked like she was about to lose it. The kids were whining, the babies crying. Will she go home and tell someone she had a great day at the zoo with the kids or how it really looked - hot and miserable?
The funniest (I am laughing as I type) was the fact that we kept bumping into a woman who was yelling for her kid. Her kid was called 'Braxton.' Whenever I saw her and she was looking for her "Braxton?" I was so tempted to shout 'Hicks" and run away. Is it just becasue I had a baby this year that that seems the logical 2 word combination and a bit of a weird choice for a name?
If it doesn't make sense I shall blame it on the heat.
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2.8.06 00:41
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kiss n tell
Why do lovers kiss and tell? Not anyone I know you understand - those ones who have usually had an affair with someone famous. Why do they feel compelled to spill the beans? Can it only be the money? What about their self worth. Do they really think we will read about their experiences and think 'wow, that Lucy sounds like a really nice girl....' It amazes me. There is currently a big thing here with an older 'super model' who has split with her husband. So far 2 women have been telling their stories of their affairs with this woman's husband? They both seem to want to be singers (?) but are they thinking that revealing details of their affair will make that more likely? They don't seem bitter. I just don;t see what they are getting from it all. Robbie Williams seems to have quite a few girls selling their tales- non in a negative way it seems. Are we to admire them for having been his evening's entertainment on the road? I am far from being straight laced but I just don't see the thrill of telling all and sundry about famous shags. Am I missing something?
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7.8.06 12:40
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The Sting
Last week Bee was in the garden and something bit her. Not sure what but she reacted in a really panicked way which is really most unlike her. We bathed the foot and you could see the puncture wound. She calmed down. I called the pediatricians and spoke to the nurse. Benadryl (allergy meds) calmed her down and then they flicked a switch so it seemed. She turned into a MONSTER. It was as if someone gave her bitchiness in tablet form. Seriously.
After 2 days the foot and the bite area was still red and sore so it warranted a trip to Drs and she was put on antibiotics. They said to keep dosing her up with Benedryl if necessary. Mmm. I did, a few times when the itching was too much for her. She spent a LOT of last week in trouble. Time outs, go to your room. But she became this sulky, mouthy child. Full of rolling eyes, pouts, and the answering back. Wow!
"What makes you think I would possibly do that?"
"Nobody in this family understands me."
It was like getting a teenager over night. (She is 8)
So what insect has such powers? With venom so nasty you turn into a dragon? Any ideas?
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7.8.06 12:47
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Sad news
When we first moved over to America we lived in a small apartment with neighbours upstairs - an elderly couple who were very sweet and often cooked for us 'newlyweds.' They watched the place when we were away and collected our mail. He was ex-military and she had had a lot of sadness in her life. She had lived in Hollywood in quite luxurious surroundings with her husband and 2 children. The husband committed suicide and left her a young widow. Her daughter had a troubled marriage and moved away and then the son too committed suicide. She married again, more for companionship I think. Her 2nd husband (they lived upstairs) had low paid jobs but they were always about to make money- he was always working on a deal - time consuming but it kept him going.
We moved away and they too moved to a series of rented accommodation - waiting for the deal to come through. She never lost her faith in him despite being mid 70s and having lost so much in life. Her daughter moved closer to home but it was bitter sweet as she loved her daughter but this was someone who had seen how the old lady had lost all her savings and really come down in the world and was very unsure about this 'deal.' She said once 'Mom, when Al married you you were a wealthy widow and now you're living in a rented 2 bed apartment with a never never dream'. It was harsh but probably true.
I just received a letter from the lady - we have kept in touch over 10 years. Her husband has been seen by the VA (veterans' hospital) and they have helped with his hip problems but the back surgery he was promised is now nixed - they decided that there is too much scar tissue on one side of his spine and arthritis on the other side - unlikely to be successful. So he is now in a wheel chair and it sounds as though he is never to walk again. I feel for him, I really do - he was always such a proud proud man and she depended on him for so much. It is very very sad.
Don't know what to do - send a card, flowers? She has taken so long to write this - I know she has probably been very depressed. It's an awkward situation. I want to say 'sorry for your troubles' without sounding patronising. Any ideas?
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7.8.06 23:46
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The Mini
So last night the kids were in bed at a reasonable hour and hubby was home so I popped to the shops to pick up a few things. Nowhere extravagent you understand. The bookshop (I do not need anymore books - I have a whole book case of new books just waiting to be read, just waiting for the time to do it) and Target. Target is a sort of 'sell it all under one roof type place'. You go to pick up some freezer bags and you come out with a trolley full of stuff you didn't know you needed.
Well I haven't been shopping without kids in quite a while. I was mainly buying things for our road trip this week - snacks etc. With 4 kids (only 3 eating proper food) it was a good idea to buy in bulk. And then there were some nappies/diapers on sale. And a few things that seemed a good deal.
Got to the cash register and gulped at the price. Then pushed out the trolley and suddenly realised I had brough husband's mini and not my usual drive - people carrier/minivan. Big difference. It was 9pm, starting to rain and I felt like I was on the Krypton Factor. Not only that but there was another car opposite, with its headlights on and I really felt as if they were just waiting there, to see if I would actually get all the stuff in! I did in the end, but it was tight and I was lucky I didn't have to do any sudden stops on the way home!!!
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8.8.06 06:52
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Yeah right....
So last week I needed to go to the Drs. Well maybe that is a bit strong - I probably wouldn't have gone but we are going off on holiday tomorrow and it was one of those things where I thought "If I don't go now it will get worse when we're away...." We have private health insurance over here - as you have to (no choice) but even so it is often quite difficult to get appointments with you PCP (Primary Care Physician) so as hubby travels a lot and I am busy with the kids we have opted out of the system for our PCP so the ones we now have are readily available (you get people on the phone, not machines). The downside is that you get billed per appointment on top of a huge annual fee. Hubby went in for a minor complaint, sat chatting and got the bill and was cross/surprised/determined not to get ill again!
So last week I called to book an appointment. Luckily eldest 2 kids were going to play at someone's house so I only had Rory the baby and Mac the terrible 2 year old. I took some juice for him as a bribe but as we were driving there he FELL ASLEEP. Well what is the problem with that you may think. When he is woken up by anyone, he turns into the Incredible hulk. We are also potty training. He is quite good but can sense when stress levels are peaking and then announces he needs a wee! Anyhow, it also starts raining (it hardly ever rains here) - so I had to put Paddy in his carrying car seat, drag a screaming Mac out of the car, into the toilets to see if he wanted a wee (of course he didn't). Anyone passing would have thought I was seriously hurting him with the amount of noise he was making.....
So we go up in the lift - of COURSE he didn't want to push the buttons (I was trying with bribes that sometimes work). My stress levels were maybe 5/10 not that bad. Got in Drs. It is really posh - The New Yorker books all piled neatly on glass coffee tables, zen like peaceful fountains in the corner (I think the noise is supposed to relax you before you see the DR?), jeweled cushions on the designer chairs. All in all it is NOT a place for 2 yr olds - certainly not like this.
So kept him away from the fountain. Glared at him when he threw the cushions and basically sat him on my knee and ignored his protests. They brought out a neat plastic box of toys which they don't normally keep in the waiting room (doesn't fit the decor) and there were pristine toys in there - all the pieces, no old baby food mashed in....still he wouldn't look at them.
The Dr comes out. She has kids but 11 and 13. Maybe when mine are that age I too will have forgotten this tantrum stage... Anyhow I am sooo conscious of the billing rate, want to get in and out but no she is bending down and talking to Mac - taking her life in her hands. She coaxed him to look up with a clapping monkey. So he reluctantly took a puzzle into her room. Mac was good as gold in the car seat, Bless. So by this stage I am maybe 4/10 for this. And she says to me looking at Mac "Yes, you have to remember, when you feel you are losing it, that whilst you can walk away from this, he can't poor thing.. it's IN him."
Whhhhaaaat? First of all, this was NOTHING like losing it for me - no where close. And secondly, how can I walk away - and leave him just anywhere? His tantrums always seem worse when we are out - obviously as we have observers and you are aware that however you handle it there are people passing judgement... and it's like he plays to an audience.
And the bill wasn't too bad - seventy five dollars (about 35 quid) - although not sure the UK GPs would be as busy if the patients had to pay that?
Off tomorrow. A 2 day drive with 4 kids..... MMmmm. Not sure 'holiday' is the right word!!!
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9.8.06 15:00
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Back
Hello
Did you miss me?
I know I'm hard to resist.
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21.8.06 15:43
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