A Good Way to Find Out If My Mom is Reading My Blog

Who is that person on that snappy little scooter? Is it Racer X???

No! It's Meeeeee! Wheee!!!

It was a surprise for me when I got home from work today. Since I pretty much just travel in a 2-mile circle (home, work, church, gym, store) most of the time, why not just get a little scooter instead of a new sedan?

(See my helmet and gloves Mom? Safety first!)

Parenting

This parenting thing, it's tiring. Tonight was the Open House at K's school. This is probably pretty standard for most schools, so just skip over this if you've been through it 100 times already, but we basically went through our kids' whole school day in 2 hours.

K is an intelligent kid, but the thing that has kept him from doing as well as he could have since junior high is his not being willing to just do the assignments and rack up the points if he's not interested in the subject matter. Well...tough noogies. That's the way to get through to the next level. If you can't do that or aren't willing to do that, you're really no better than the kid who doesn't have the intellectual ability to do the work.

Anyway...I think he's annoyed with us that we sat him down after I got home and asked him about different homework assignments, extra credit projects and the exam he has tomorrow that he neglected to tell us about. But you know what? I don't care. It's my job to make sure he does his best. It's my job to teach him how to be the person he was sent to earth to be.

Domesticity

Rowdy commented today on how my natural womanly instincts for domesticity, mothering and making home more spiritual have kicked in lately.

I'm cooking a full-on dinner almost every night, because it's easier to cook for three than for two, I want K to have a healthy diet, and both K and R appreciate my cooking.

For example, K suggested we have pulled pork sliders one night. So, K and I made homemade rolls (using the awesome recipe from The I Do Cookbook for the Bride and Groom) when he got home from school today, and I cooked a pork roast in the crock pot all day.

Delicious, easy and I taught my teenage son how to make rolls in the process.

In Praise of Men

One of the things I really like about men and what makes them fun to work with is that they are so not into drama. It's forgive and forget and move on. Yay.

Inner Peace, Likely Through Chemicals

Maybe it's just the Prednisone talking, but I had the most wonderful feeling of calm today. For once, no free-floating anxiety, no matter what was happening. I hope I can hold onto it for awhile.

Or maybe I just had to turn 45.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes. You make my life so sweet.

When Irish/English/Swedish/Danish/German/French Eyes are Swelling

Ugh! For about a month now, I have had periorbital swelling, or swollen, itchy, red and UGLY eyelids. It is usually worst in the morning, just after I awaken, so I assumed that I was allergic to something on my pillow.

At first, I thought it was the Moroccan Oil that I was using. I reasoned that it would rub on my pillowcase at night, and I'd rub my face into it while I slept. So I stopped using the oil, washed my pillowcase and pillow cover well, used Preparation H to diminish the swelling, and basically just dealt with the annoyance.

That seemed to work initially, but the swelling would inevitably return. My allergist suggested Claritin in the morning, eyedrops twice a day, Cortisone ointment on my lids and Zyrtec at night. Again, it seemed to work at first, but then I'd wake up one morning and look like I'd bawled all night. I certainly felt like crying, because I looked so horrible.

Finally, on Friday, I had had enough. I went to the Urgent Care Clinic to actually see a doctor who was not me (for the physician who treats herself has a fool for a patient). This MD recommended that I also take Flonase, oral steroids, get a new pillow and get anti-dust-mite pillow and mattress covers.

They say that everyone takes Prednisone at least once in their life, and I was able to go almost 45 years before I did. But, so far, things are working. It will be a couple of weeks at least before I look normal again, but at least the itching isn't as bad, and my eyes are now just wrinkly (grrrr!!!) and slightly red, instead of puffy, wrinkly and very red.

Lovely Day

For my birthday this year, Rowdy arranged for me to have a spa day at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.

I started with an 80 minute massage, followed by a much-needed eyebrow wax and facial. Then I had two hours until a mani/pedi. The lodge is at the edge of Torrey Pines State Park, so I went for a short run into the park. The weather was perfect--a little overcast, not too hot, not too breezy. And then I played in the pool at the lodge and ate lunch.

It was almost completely perfect to sit by the pool, eating a delicious salade nicoise and drinking a Diet Coke. The only thing missing was my sweetie.

After the mani/pedi, I came home and changed, for we were off to SKYSHOW!!! Every year, SDSU has a big fireworks show after their first home game. I love fireworks, and this was the best show I've ever experienced--better even than watching the SeaWorld fireworks from Fiesta Island.

(See Rowdy's blog for photos.)

Brand New Day

It is early, earlier that I have been up for several months. The plan is for me to take the boy to early-morning, run for 45 minutes while he's in class, then drive him to school. A win-win situation, I hope.

Good luck, Son, on your first day in a new school. At our house, we all feel so strongly that this is the place for you to be right now, and we are praying, hoping and working for your success in achieving your goals.

Thinking On Two Wheels

I've noticed, as I read other blogs, that people name their bikes. My bike's name, if it has one at all, is The Pink Bicycle of Death.

R has been working as a bike mechanic at a Trek store. The employees had a big demo day on Thursday where they were able to see the 2010 models and get some technical training. As we were talking about the day, he said that they had a presentation by a female about how to sell bikes to women. R said, "It made me think that maybe I'm not being very nice to you when it comes to riding."

Today was a demo day for the public out at Mission Trails. I took a rode bike out for a little spin. It was actually my first time out on a rode bike, so it felt a little weird at first. But it was fun. Then I took a high-end mountain bike out on the trails. That was actually a lot of fun. I just went out by myself, on fire roads, so nothing technical. It was black and pink, just like my Pink Bicycle of Death.

I had the chance to talk to the girl who gave the "female specific" presentation. She said that what she tells people is that they need to be sensitive to the fact that some women are getting a bike because their husband or their boyfriend want them to ride. The woman may not really be into it, or may have some serious reservations about it. She may have had an experience before where said husband or boyfriend or and ex- variety has pushed them to ride somewhere beyond her capacity, ending up in scrapes, bruises or worse.

That led to R and I giving her an example of how R will tell me that a ride "isn't too technical" and I'll be fine, but it ends up (for whatever reason) that I think that a part the ride is beyond my capacity and walk it. R said, "And then I just get pissed at her". Trek Girl will forever be in my hall of fame, because she said, "Well, what needs to happen is that you need to stop being pissed at her." And then to me, she said,"I'm sure that you have a lot going on in your life, and it doesn't make a difference if you're an awesome mountain bike rider or not. So just walk things that you don't want to do and don't worry about it."

R is mad really because he feels like I'm shortchanging myself. I'm mad at myself because I want to be braver or more capable, but sometimes I'm just nervous about things. TG's suggestion is that I go ride by myself or in a group without R more often for practice. I need to figure out a way to do that.

I was mentioning to Rowdy the other day that I was sad that I didn't have a new calling. He said, "But you're a new mom! That's your most important job right now."

Well...it's not like I have a neonate that's keeping me up at night and needing me every minute. But there are still some things that we're adjusting to. Take last night, for instance. We dropped K off at the church for the YM/YW fifteen minutes early, and as we drove away, R said, "Are we bad parents for dropping him off so early?" It was like the first time parents feeling bad about getting a babysitter.

As part of his "To Do" list today, I had K read the first three chapters of his Biology textbook, with the thought that we could discuss it when I got home from work. You know, mitosis, meiosis, cell membrane, active transport. I'm all over that. Well, the textbook's layout is just a bunch of activities. No facts, no information, just "Break into small groups and discuss how humans are different from other creatures", and "Try to use a key without using your thumb. How do humans' thumbs differ from other primates'?" I am paraphrasing, but beyond that, not making it up.

Parents with high-school-age children: is this typical for textbooks these days?