I am biting my nails...

...wondering if my daughter has been bit today. It's about the time I'd normally get a phone call... Give or take a minute. So any time my phone rings I jump at it. A local call will immediately sink my stomach at any time of day... but so far... so good.

Yesterday was bite number 4. This time Jocelyn was trying to take a piece of fruit (she eats fruit??? when did that happen???) from another child (yes we feed her - and she eats well... so not sure what SHE was thinking doing that either)...and the child bit her. Again... do I know if it's the same child or 4 different ones? No clue.

This time the bite was on that little flab on skin in between the thumb and pointer finger...And of course the daycare really won't tell me much besides what happened, how it happened and what they did to resolve it (ie: wash it, apply ice... whatever.)

It drives me nuts that I can't know more. I'd like to know if there is a chronic biter in the class. And if so, what steps are being taken to resolve the biting issue. I'd almost feel better if it were multiple biters rather than just one child. I'm not sure why that is... but I said it so I guess there has to be a reason.

I know we have been more than patient in these instances. And I'm not mad at the biter anymore or the parents. I also don't expect any sort of punishment like suspension or expelling the child... I'd just like to know what the daycare is doing to prevent it from happening anymore. Maybe extra teething rings? Have the teachers sit in between the kids at "key" biting times? More teachers? Special attention for the biters? Motrin?

In the meantime...we'll keep telling Jocelyn that it's not nice to take food from other people's mouths... oh and of course we're still practicing our Tae Bo. :-)

Just like heaven...

Last Wednesday I spent a day in heaven.

Okay... well I'm exaggerating... it was just like heaven...a day at the spa. Ahhhh. It started out with a facial. Mmmm. Then a manicure (french of course) Ahhhh... followed by a 90 minute full body massage (even the outside of my ass cheeks... is that normal?)...pedicure to match the nails...and then they even styled my hair and did my makeup. I must say I was looking pretty dazzling and feeling quite relaxed.

My husband took care of my daughter while I was gone (kudos for a job well done) and it was a day I hope to experience again REAL soon. It was also left a rather large hole in the checking account, but hell... I'm worth it!

So, if you ever have the chance to pamper yourself -even if just for an hour... do it! It'll especially make you appreciate the people who are picking up the slack while you're drowning in chamomile and lavender. Ahhhh...


Cheers, S.

Anyone hungry?

As a special "bonus" for reading my blog today, here's a sneak preview of our holiday photo :-)

All I can say is what a holiday this is! EAT EAT EAT. And for us it didn't stop yesterday. Everyone is coming back today (at my invitation) to finish off what we didn't eat yesterday. It's either that or 90% of it will be thrown out because Dave is the only one who eats most of it...so here we go again!

The battle of the big girl bed goes on. Last night was interesting with everyone here. J chit-chatted and played by herself for about 2 hours. Then I went upstairs to check on her and found her covered in poop. It was pretty gross yet funny at the same time... since it was the first time we ever really caught her at that.

I'm glad you think it's funny. It is really. Sorta.

Cheers, S.

To crib or not to crib...

Jocelyn's crib is history. She's officially in a "big girl bed."

Last night was pretty comical at best. We thought we had wonder-baby when Jocelyn jumped into her new big girl bed and said "night night" - pulled the covers up and smiled for the camera (yes we have the event on video).

So Dave went to do his usual Monday on-line racing... and I went to work off a few of the leftover Halloween candies I had been eating all weekend (ie: exercise).

Midway through tae-bo there was a crash from J's room. She had dropped her sippy cup on the floor and got up to pick it up. As soon as she saw me, she immediately bolted back into bed and giggled.

I went back to exercising...

About 1 1/2 hours later (Dave gave up on racing) and about 10 more visits back into the room (oh and a few surprise "hi moms" from the top of the stairs) she finally fell asleep. Yay! We did it!

At about 6:30 this morning we heard singing from her room...and when I opened my eyes she was standing at the gate outside her door, staring at us. Hmmm...

So say - 10:00pm to 6:30am -- not bad for her first night in a big girl bed!! Way to go Jocelyn!

She didn't want to nap today -- instead she spent 3 hours in her room with the door closed, playing. Okay... but it sure knocked her out come bedtime. So this evening (knock on wood) she fell asleep without issue.

Tomorrow I get to head out to a day at the spa -- so Dave is on his own....fingers crossed darling.

Want my advice on this stage in your toddler's life? Get a lot of sleep the week before....then smile, cuz you can't help but laugh. And now... mommy (& daddy) must go night night!

Cheers, S.

We did it!

I say "we" like I had anything to do with Tony's win yesterday --- but still, I feel like it's an accomplishment for me as well that *my* driver won the 2005 Nextel Cup championship. WTG Tony! We had a great time watching the race too.... Jocelyn wore her favorite Stewart sweatshirt and I taught her how to chant and cheer like a true fan. In fact she hasn't stopped -- "Yay Tony" -- "woo hoo!" That's my girl!

Meanwhile, I am glad the season is over and I will finally have my maid, I mean husband, to myself on Sunday afternoons. Better get rakin' darling.

The race for the chase...

Everyone keeps asking me... SOOOOOO... is Tony going to win it (I'm talking about the NASCAR race for the championship for all you non-rednecks)? Like *I'm* some sort of psychic. People at work... strangers in the parking lot who notice my #20 sticker... and random friends are all emailing me asking for my prediction on this weekend's race. I'm a pessimistic fan. I'm also an extremely hopeful fan... I just feel like something is going to "happen" to him mid-race or even sooner and he's going to muck it all up. The stink of it all is that under the old points
system - we'd already be drunk celebrating. Oh wait. Maybe I am already drunk. But I'm not ready to celebrate yet. Still... my fingers and all other extremities are crossed. Too bad there will be no victory cruise this year. We came home with a helluva souvenir (see her in the photo - tee hee). Anyhow stay tuned on Sunday to see if I'll be sulking with my Sox & Yankees friends... or I'll be celebrating with my... uhhh... god all our teams suck this year. Well, it could be worse. At least I'm not a Kurt Busch fan.

Here's hoping!

Cheers, S.

Spit milk out of your nose funny!

A special thanks to my friend Channy for providing some lunchtime humor.
This poor girl... that's all I have to say...oh and thank god it wasn't me!

--==--

All hair removal methods have tricked us with their promises of easy,
painless removal - the Epi-lady, scissors, razors, Nair and now THE WAX!
My night began as any other normal weekday night. Come home, fix
dinner, and play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring
painfully in my mind for the next few hours. Maybe I should pull the
wax out of the medicine cabinet. So I headed to the site of my demise:
the bathroom. It was one of those cold wax kits, no melting a clump of
hot wax, just rub the strips together in your hand to get the wax warm
and then pull them apart, press it to your leg (or wherever else) and
hair comes right off. No muss; no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean
I'm no girly girl, but I am mechanically inclined enough that I can
figure it out - ya think?! So I pull one of the thin strips out. It's
two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them
together, I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. Cold
wax, my rear-end! (Oh, how this phrase haunts me!) I lay the strip
across my thigh, hold the skin around it tight and pull. Okay, so it
wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I am She-ra, fighter of
all wayward body hair and smooth skin extra ordinaire! With my next
strip, I move north. After checking on the kids I sneak back into the
bathroom for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties
and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure I apply the
wax strip across the right side of bikini line, covering the right half
of my v-gina and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek. (Yes,
it was a long strip!) I inhale deeply and brace myself. RRRIIIPPP!!!
I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!! Vision returning,
I notice that I've only managed to pull off half of the strip! CRAP!
Another deep breath and RRIIPP. Everything is swirling and spotted. Do
I hear crashing drums? Ok, back to normal. I want to see my trophy - a
wax covered strip with my hairy pelt, that has caused me so much pain,
sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over
body hair. I hold up the strip! There's no hair on it! Where is the
hair? WHERE IS THE WAX?? Slowly I ease my head down, foot still
perched on the toilet. I see the hair, the hair that should be on the
strip. I touch, I am touching wax. Crap! I run my fingers over the
most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and
matted hair. Then, I make the next BIG mistake, remember, my foot is
still propped up on the toilet. I know I need to do something. So I
put my foot down. NOOOOOOO! I hear the slamming of the cell door ---
v-gina sealed shut! Butt? Sealed shut! I penguin-walk around the
bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself, Please
don't let me get the urge to poop! My head may pop off! Hot water!!
Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the
bathtub, get in, immerse the wax covered bits and the wax should melt
and I can gently wipe it off, right??? ***WRONG***!!! I get in the tub -
the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war
or sterilize surgical equipment - and I sit. Now, the only thing worse
than having your nether businesses glued together is having them glued
together and then glued to the bottom of the tub in scalding water!
(which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax!) So, now I'm stuck to the
bottom of the tub. God bless the man who convinced me that I should have
a phone in the bathroom! I call my friend thinking surely she's waxed
before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good
conversation starter, so, my butt and who-ha are stuck to the bottom of
the tub! There is a slight pause. She doesn't have a secret trick but
does try to hide the laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where
the wax is located on bottom, i.e., Are we talking cheeks or hole or
what? She's laughing out loud by now. I give her the rundown and she
suggests I call the number on the side of the box. YEAH!!! RIGHT!!! I
should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various
solutions, I resort to scraping the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels
better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut,
stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry having the sticky wax
off! By now, the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike
and I slip into glazed donut land. My friend is still talking with me
and my hand reaches toward the saving grace the lotion they give you to
remove the excess wax. What do I have to lose at this point? I rub some
on and OH MY GOD!!! The scream probably woke the kids, scared the
dickens out of my friend, but I really don't care. IT WORKS! IT WORKS!!!
I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I
successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief
and despair the hair is STILL THERE, ALL OF IT!!!!! So I shaved it off.
Heck, I'm numb at this point.

Bite me!

Well we're now on bite #3 at Jocelyn's new daycare. Lovely. I heard first hand from a mom who is on the biter side of the spectrum and my heart does go out to her. I guess there's really not much we as parents can do besides enforcing that biting is wrong. It's up to the daycare try to "make sure" the biting doesn't happen. But aside from sedating or secluding the biter... what really can be done? I don't know... but I'm open to ideas. And the bite happened minutes before I got there (thanks so much to my husband for pointing out... 'ohhh if you had just been there a second sooner') butJocelyn didn't seem any worse for the wear... she still ran up to me (with teary eyes) and screamed the words every mother loves to hear.... "Hiiiiii mommy!" It's music.

A beer for the road?

It's not the sh1ts and giggles (the after effects of a night of heavy drinking- you know, when you can't leave the pooper the next day...) It's a different kind of beer gas... the kind that will help make my commute (today 43 minutes) a bit more interesting. What are the chances?

Check out the story -- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175343,00.html

I can see it now... Hmmm... "Officer... that's not beer you smell on my breath. It's my gas!"

Cheers, S.

Me on Halloween

I decided to share this since we didn't make it to any Halloween parties this year... Dave was sick as was Jocelyn... so much for the great costumes. Oh well.

Cheers, S.

A/K/A Zorro
Me at Halloween

Too much Busch will make you crazy!

Raise your hand if you know who Kurt Busch is!

Now keep your hand up if you heard his name before today.

Just about every radio station I tuned into this morning (on my 38 minute commute -- getting better) was talking about Kurt Busch...(for those of you who still don't know) the Nascar Nextel cup contender who got kicked out of the last 2 races for reckless driving.

Okay... riddle me this batman... Doesn't getting in a car on a half-quarter-whatever mile track and driving over a buck and a half on Sundays constitute reckless driving? Isn't that what he's paid up the ying yang for?

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy about the spanking - but it'd be like Curt Schilling being outed for throwing a ball through a neighbor's window or something. Par for the course.

Anyhow, my real gripe is that most of the DJs on the radio probably never heard of Kurt Busch before, yet they were all pretty opinionated about the topic.
I say... Who cares, so what - I'd rather be singing bellydancer bananza on my way to work than listening to you guys ramble on about Busch ;-)

Cheers, S.

When did I grow up?

Last night I had some of my college friends over for a game of Poker. Where we normally would go to a bar and hang out till we heard the two words every beer drinker dreads (Last Call) - I realized - we're grown up now. We're hanging out at my house playing cards because my husband and I didn't have a babysitter. Sure we could have suckered grandma or grandpa into coming over, but we would have had to drag our half-drunk tails home at a decent hour. What fun is that? So instead now we have people over for a card night - hang out until all hours of the morning and wake up at the crack of dawn, not to the shrill of an alarm clock .. but to our daughter's sweet voice...calling MOMMY....DADDY...

Still wondering if you're grown up yet? Here are the 25 SIGNS YOU HAVE GROWN UP...

Okay college buddies... and you know who you are... I know you can relate too!

*Yawn*
> 1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.

> 2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.

> 3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
>
> 4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
>
> 5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.

> 6. You watch the Weather Channel.
>
> 7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."

> 8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.

> 9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
> 10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next
> door won't turn down the stereo.
> 11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
> 13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

> 14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
> 15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
> 16. You take naps.

> 17 Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of
> one.
> 18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset,
> rather than settle, your stomach.

> 19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms
> and pregnancy tests.
> 20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good stuff."

> 21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
>
> 22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going
> to drink that much again."
> 23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

> 24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
> 25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them
> instead of asking "Oh S*$# what the hell happened?"

Cheers, S.
(who is going to bed at 8:30 tonight)

Me, myself and I...

My husband complained (go figure) about my blog being all blah. Negative stuff... so here's something on a positive note... I kind of sort of stole the idea from my friend Liz - cuz she's so smaaaaaht! Feel free to comment, poke fun... whatever... I can edit it - LOL. Until the next time I have a free moment...

Cheers, S.


1. First name? Your highness will do
2. Were you named after anyone? Yes
3. What nationality are you? I'm a mut
4. Do you wish on stars? Yes
5. When did you last cry? Last week
6. Do you like your handwriting? Yes
7. What is your favorite meat? Lobster meat
8. Birth date? May 10, 1974
9. What is your most embarrassing CD? I'm proud of all my crappy music.
10. Do you have a journal? Yes
11. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Yes
12. What are your nicknames? Wifey, MM, Spazz, MILF, Stace
13. Would you bungee jump? Yes
14. Do you think that you are strong? Willed yes, strength, no
15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookie dough
16. Shoe Size? 6
17. Red or pink? Pink
18. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? Everything from the waist down
19. Who do you miss most? Swee-t the cat
20. Do you want everyone you send this to, to send it back? N/A
21. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Black pants, pink slippers
22. What are you listening to right now? The clock ticketing
23. What was the last thing you ate? Jello with cool whip
24. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple
26. Last person you talked to on the phone? My father
27. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Eyes
28. Do you like the person who sent this to you? N/A
29. Favorite Drinks? Wine/Diet soda
30. Favorite sport? Hate 'em all
31. Hair Color? Red, brown and blonde
32. Eye Color? Brown
33. Do you wear contacts? Yes
35. Last Movie You Watched? I forget the name... it was good tho
36. Favorite Day of the Year? Jocelyn's bday party day - or 8/26
37. Scary movies or Happy Endings? Happy
38. Summer or winter? Summer
39. Hugs or Kisses? Kisses
40. What Is Your Favorite Dessert Tiramisu
41. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? I don't know
42. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? I don't know
43. What Book Are You Reading? Nora Roberts
44. What's On Your Mouse Pad? My mouse
45. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? House
46. What's in your CD player? Mixed CD
47. Favorite Smells? My daughter's hair
48. Favorite Sounds? My daughter's voice
49. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles
50. What's the farthest you've been from home? Portugal

Once bitten twice ticked off...

I'm really not an angry person (shut up, Dave). But today... I got a voicemail that really ticked me off. It was my daughter's "teacher" telling me that my daughter got bit for the second time at her new daycare.

To the parents of the little boy that bit her I say - WTF. To the child that bit her, despite the fact that you're only 2, GFY. That's my first reaction.

Okay, yea, I know it's "normal". My daughter bites me too. But the fact that my super duper expensive daycare won't tell me WHO it was that bit her - that's crazy. I'd like to know that the child isn't ill - have some sort of disease - or if it's the SAME kid that bit her on her very first day of daycare. But no... they need to "protect" the biter - like he's some sort of star witness in a murder case or something. So, the biter remains anonymous, while my daughter's right arm is bruised with his or her teeth marks. How fair is that! Someone is picking on my baby and I can't even know who! Where is the fairness in that system?

What do they think I'm going to do, run over to the two year old and bite him/her back? No, instead we're going to learn some Billy Blanks Tae Bo - baby! Next time you come near my kid with your teeth she's gonna kick 'em out! Left hook - right jab - Go Jocey GO!

I'll be proud to be in the principal's office. After all, my parents were there just about every other week, and look at how great I turned out (again, shut up Dave!)

Cheers,

S.

Getting to work is work itself!

Okay - for once I have something to blog about - and any of you who live on my side of the Connecticut River - know what I'm talkin' about! What are they doing with the blankety blank blank blank South End Bridge? It's pure agony trying to get to work. My 15 minute commute is now a 45 minute drive filled with nothing but RAGE! Not at the other drivers (though they're morons too) but the city/town/state - WHOEVER is to blame!

I had to leave 45 minutes early to pick up my daughter from daycare this afternoon - whereas it would usually take me about 10 if that to go get her. With the prices of gas these days - it's insane for me to have to 1) travel over one of the other bridges - also laden with traffic and moronic drivers... 2) travel deep into CT - probably about 5 miles off course and further south than I need to be!

I dread waking up tomorrow and doing it again! Is there any hope in our future for a rageless commute? Or how about a nice tax break at the end of the year for the excess mileage I have to put on my car! Or the hundreds I'll spend on therapy just to rid myself of this excess road rage!

Build a new bridge! Something! Anything! UUUUUGH!

Cheers, S.

Much to say about nothing...

Well it's now 8:17 and I find myself with a few spare minutes to my day. Very rare that it happens. Still, there are a million other things I should be doing right now... getting my daughter's lunch ready... laying out my clothes for tomorrow so I don't have to scramble in the dark and g-d forbid miss-match my socks (the fashion police will know)... but I'm feeling kind of lazy - and in fact I feel a cold or something debilitating coming on. Just what every mother with no spare time as it is needs. Right.

Right now I'm just agitated. As a redneck would say... I liken it to PMS... or MS or just the fact that I'm overworked, overstressed and overtired. That's a lot of overs. But I'll go to bed... wake up fresh tomorrow... and start all over again. Can't wait.

And now back to cookies and milk...

Cheers, S.