Why I love my kids Part II

I put out the sprinkler for the kids to play in.  Agent L immediately strips off her clothes and is into her swimming suit at Superman speed.  Agent J is missing.  He’s upset because I won’t let him wear his new tennies in the water and can’t find his Spiderman Lolos (that’s J speak for sandals).  So I’m starting to wonder where the little one is when he suddenly bursts out the front door wearing nothing but a diaper and knee high rubber boots.  I don’t know what we’re going to do when it’s time for swimming lessons.

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The Tooth Fairy’s First Visit

My baby lost her first tooth!  I guess that makes her not a baby any more.  And, of course, she swallowed it.  Or dropped it in the sink.  I’m not sure we’ll ever know.  She was concerned though and had me write a note so the Tooth Fairy would know that she had lost it.

So what’s the going rate for teeth these days?  Our Tooth Fairy is still living in 1982 and left 50 cents.  Luckily L thinks that’s a heap of money.   Those were the days.

Why I love my kids Part I

Once upon a time, before many many many pictures of sleeping Agent J, there were very funny L-isms.  I had forgotten how funny she is.  Today, she came to show me a piece of paper on which she had been practicing her writing.  (That says “kettle” by the way, in case you don’t read preschooler.)

Knowing my penchant for throwing away excess paper, she wrote this on the back.

I especially like the recycling arrows with the x drawn through it.

 

Reality TV and the Cancer Patient

I abhor reality TV.  That said, I sure watch a lot of it.  I blame the writers strike.  When I was on the early weeks of chemo, there was very little to watch on TV.  I tried to read, but found I had difficulty concentrating and read the same paragraphs over and over with little comprehension.  I tried to listen to books on my mp3 player while knitting.  Can’t hear the kids when I do that.  And that’s bad.  I’m pretty sure one of those attempts ended in the kids eating two entire boxes of granola bars.  Or feeding them to the dog.  I’m not sure. 

Enter America’s Next Top Model.  At first I sort of watched it with a skeptical eye during the many marathons of the show that ran during the strike.  Soon you find yourself invested in girls.  “She’s just trying to make a better life for herself and her family.”  “She’s helping the world to see another kind of pretty…”  etc.  So now I’m addicted.  I tend to see them in reruns on MTV or VH1, but I know if a marathon is on that day, I’m not getting anything done.  I will say I also like the photography.  It’s amazing what lighting, makeup, and digital retouching can do.  Here’s the girls with Paulina, almost as harsh a judge as Janice Dickenson.

Which brings me to my new favorite.  America’s Best Dance Crew.  I’m sure I’m way too old to be enjoying this show as much as I do, but man, those kids can DANCE.  I refuse to watch Idol and some of the other shows because of how negative they are.  Seriously, I don’t find mean people all that entertaining.  At least on last season, and so far this season, the judges are kind and constructive.  Well all except Lil Mama.  Week to week I have no idea what that girl is saying.  Something about bringing it hard.  She seems like a nice person, but yeah, no idea what she’s talking about most of the time.  Shane Sparks is an amazing dancer and choreographer and along with former NSYNCer JC Chasez gives great critiques that the crews take to heart and come back even better the next week.  I’m truly amazed at these dancers.  Some of what they do really defies gravity.  The other thing that I love about the show is the camaraderie and mutual support of all the crews for each other.  They really seem to respect and care about each other.  I loved that in the first season, when a crew was cut and their flag dramatically fell, it was picked up by the remaining crews who then held it high for one last time round the dance floor in tribute.  To me that is a show of real decency and sportsmanship that is lacking in many competitions.  So yes.  I’m 34 years old and completely addicted to ABDC.  I probably watch more MTV now than I ever did as a teen.  (Well, we didn’t have cable back then so that might have had something to do with it.) This is Fanny Pack.  I think they’re cool.

Lastly, a rant.  The Real World.  Once upon a time, this was a show about how people from different backgrounds get along.  Now it is a show about how people from different backgrounds drink lots of alcohol and have inappropriate relations with too many different people.  Sometimes it’s akin to soft pRon (don’t want the spam).  Now I don’t know if this means I’m a little jaded, but what happened on last night’s episode disturbed me.  This season takes place in LA where the various cast members are trying to get jobs in the entertainment business.  MTV set them up with a guy from movies.com to teach them about how to be correspondents.  Fine.  The guy mentions that he’s been battling cancer over the summer, but is doing pretty well.  OK.  The guy calls from the hospital to say they’re running some tests.  Hmm.  The guy passes away.  Now this is truly horrible.  What I wonder is even more truly horrible.  Did MTV pick the guy BECAUSE he had cancer to add drama to the show?  I hate that this even occurred to me.  I mean, this all happens in a one hour episode.  In no way do I wish to diminish the tragedy of this man’s death, but I can’t help wondering if he was exploited for ratings.  Shame on them, if they did.

Organic lifestyle

So one of the other many side effects of cancer is that it makes you really start to look at what you put into your body.   If I had heaps of money, we’d eat organic everything, but I don’t, so we don’t.  I do the best I can and read labels and try to eliminate as much as I can within our budget.  I found this video over at Healthy Living at Yahoo.  Cracked me up.  I’ve actually met people like this.  Sometimes though, a girl just needs her pudding pack.

I think my favorite line is the one about the goat hugging.

Weekend Randomness

I’ve been feeling relatively good, so rather than work around the house like we probably should be doing, we’ve been playing hooky and finding fun stuff to do on the weekend.

Last weekend, we bummed around Old Town and then went up to the Wool Festival in Estes Park.  Lots of driving.  Heh.  Not very eco-minded of us.  When the kids would ask where we were going, I’d say, “Crazy!  Blubuhluhbuhluhbuh!”  Luckily they are small and think this is very funny.  As you can see in the fountain picture, Agent J is in superhero mode.  Always wants to get in the water.  Never actually does.

Agent L loves to weave.  In fact this weekend, when we went to the Gold Strike Festival in Old Town, I got her one of those potholder loopy looms.  I had one of those as a kid.  Can’t tell you how many potholders I made.  I think I even went through a mini potholder phase.  Christmas ornaments, you know?

At the Gold Strike Festival, there was a colonial demonstration (yeah, wrong century, but still fun).  Agent L had a blast playing with the toys and Agent J had fun chasing her.

 

Meme by 4’s

Stolen from the Yarn Thing.  (Miss you darling.  Must hang out soon!)

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Elementary Music Teacher

2. Proctor for Math Modules at CU

3. Worked at a small nut and bolt factory for a summer.  Answering phones, filling out paper work and yes, counting screws.  Woo.

4. Stay at Home Mama

Four films I have watched more than once

1. The Fifth Element

2. The Abyss

3. Any of the Pirates of the Caribbeans (or frankly most movies with Johnny Depp)

4. Chicken Little  (had to throw a kids one in there, no?)

Four places I have lived:

1. Arvada, CO

2. Boulder,CO

3. Thornton, CO

4. Prairie Village, KS

Four places I have been:

1. Florida

2. Paris, both TX and France

3. Idaho

4. Georgia (and most southern states between CO and FL)

Four favorite foods:

1. Anything and everything Italian

2. Popcorn

3. Ice Cream

4.  Tuna Macaroni Casserole

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1. at Knit Knack

2. on a patio, sipping mojitos with my friends

3. visiting my family

4. not doing chemo

Four T.V. Shows that I watch:

1. Dr. Who

2. Pushing Daisies

3. Lost

4. America’s Best Dance Crew (yes, there will be a post on this later)

FFU!

It’s time for the Friday Feel Up!  So get to it.  Or have your significant other do it for you.  🙂  This may the one time that counts, you never know.  If you’re under 40, many insurance companies won’t pay for a mammogram until you find a lump.  So better to find it sooner than later.  Oh yes.  I have another statistic for you.  1 in 6.  That’s the statistic for prostate cancer, the sort of brother cancer to breast cancer.  So men, you get checked too.  It’s not pleasant, but neither is a mammogram.  Or cancer for that matter.

Hooray Foob!

I finally did it.  Got me a foob.  I’m actually surprised how “normal” it feels.  When you’re leftyless for almost 6 months, you forget about what it’s like to have tissue there.  I forgot that my left arm used to rest up next to it.  I think it’s actually going to help with my posture too.  I have a tendency to let my shoulder slump forward on that side and now there’s something in the way.  Probably a good thing since I have no desire to look like Quasimodo next year.  It definitely doesn’t feel like my old lefty, but I find it’s surprisingly comfortable.  It’s also nice to have a bra that stays in place instead of my old nursing sleep bra riding up into my armpit all day.  And yes, I find it somewhat ironic that the only bra I could tolerate these last few months was a nursing bra.  Anyway, back to the foob.  I do notice it likes to drift to the right.  Probably just needs a little adjusting.  It’s definitely the most expensive piece of lingerie I own.  And probably the most high maintenance.  The foob has it’s own special little box and special cleaner.  It’s supposed to get a bath every night.  Since I only wore it less than half a day, I figure it can skip until tomorrow.  It’s kind of like having another pet.  Too funny.

Mothers with Cancer

Guess who’s writing for Mothers with Cancer?  Go on.  Check it out.  I feel like I’m in the “cool cancer mommy group”.   If there were anything cool about cancer, that is. 

I did figure out one “a ha” thing.  All that conditioner I’m not using on my head?  It makes a great shaving lotion.  Yes.  The hair on my head is not growing, but the hair on my legs?  Is.  So not fair.