Punishment...

I was chatting w/my cousin tonight (while Munchkin wailed over the kid monitor upstairs, in a time out). D says she remembers she and her sister had to sit in a chair in a kind of time out once in a while. I do not remember being punished as a child. Am I blocking it out? I must've been naughty at times, right?

I remember getting yelled at once by my dad when I was playing in the kitchen w/our dog while Mom was cooking...Dad kept telling me to stop it or leave the room because I would get hurt. Sure enough, the oven door was open (we had an eye-level oven so the door was higher up than some)...I wasn't paying attention and backed into the oven door, burning my scapula. Dad yelled at me (must've been an "I told you that was gonna happen" type thing). And even though the burn blistered and hurt like heck I remember crying because he had yelled at me (he never yelled--I mean really *never* yelled).

The only other time I remember one of them mad at me was when I took a pack of Dad's Lucky Strikes and started tearing them up and throwing them into the trash. My mom was mad because she said that was the only enjoyment he had left in life and I shouldn't take them away from him. Of course, since he was lying in a rented hospital bed in our living room dying of lung cancer at the time, I guess it really didn't matter did it. Lucky Strikes a/k/a "Luckies." Funny name for tiny cigarettes that kill, isn't it?

And the verdict on my jury duty exemption request is...

(and I quote directly from the Jury Supervisor's email to me:)

"You’ve been excused. Best wishes."

What a relief. This time.

My perfect house...

Besides containing Munchkin and BikeBoy it would also:

• have a soundproofed music room (including recording studio)
• have a 4 car garage (mostly for all our stuff!)
• have a lap pool, weight room, cardio fitness area, racquetball court, tap floor
• have space for my own office (where I could also actually see clients at home!) and one for BikeBoy, too
• have a library room
• have a master BR/bath (with sunken tub)
• have 2 fairly large bedrooms (one for each kiddo) and a shared bath between them
• have an extra spare bedroom just for guests (with its own bath and sitting area)
• have a craft/playroom
• have a central courtyard that would be circular and grassy
• have an ocean view
• have a mountain view
• have a city skyscraper view
• be on at least 5 acres of gently rolling hills and come with a landscaper/gardener who would teach me things so I could get out there and learn what to do!
• be within 1 mile of (so we could walk to...): a pizza place, a coffee shop, a Mexican restaurant, a grocery store with a huge organic/natural foods section, the library, all schools that Munchkin would attend K-12, a post office, my job, a tap dance studio, a movie theatre, a symphony, a blues club, an ice skating rink
• be green (as in eco-friendly not as in painted green!)

I'll think of more, I'm sure. How impossible does that all sound???

Random notes...

Lots of things tonight:

First of all, thank goodness my friend B, got the all clear after her breast biopsy this week. Yippee! Now...I'm still sending lots of be-well thoughts to my dear cousin, D, for next week...fingers are crossed for her biopsy, too.

Secondly, I have found my birthday present for this year:

Is that a cool shoe or what??!! It is one of the only tap shoes which can be custom made to accomodate an orthotic! Woohoo! My tootsies will be in tap-heaven. I love the fact that the sole is so thick already--no need to have it built-up--and I think the sound will be clearer due to the weight of the shoe itself. So...BikeBoy, if you're reading this, start saving for September! ;)

Which brings me to thirdly...I'm back at tap again. I haven't been since November. Munchkin got sick, then I got sick, then the holidays were here, then I got sick again, then I had to go to Maine to help Mom, then BikeBoy was out of town...I've been back to the Tap 1/2 class with my previous instructor and it is so fun! It's easier but she pushes me to pick up the tempo a bit when we do the across-the-floor stuff so it's all good. We also spent a fair amount of time doing improv the other night. Scares the hell out of me every time! You'd think 2 or 4 measures of a song wouldn't be a big deal but just try filling it up with some cool moves/sounds. Yikes. I did okay, though, but I need to work at it more at home, I think. I might attempt Intermediate Tap again this summer after I've been back at it a while again.

And now, fourthly: How do professional singers manage to run all over the stage while belting out a tune? My respect for entertainers like Mick Jagger just went up a notch. I have been walking/jogging on the treadmill for the past few weeks...it's in an enclosed sunroom in our house. I wear my iPod and have it all lined up with an array of great rock tunes. This is the first time I've ever walked/run somewhere where I can sing aloud. Well, this was an eye opener! I can't seem to keep my breathing even enough to sing properly. It's very difficult. I'm reaching back to the days of voice lessons w/a vocal coach (sidenote: bet anyone who knows me doesn't even know I ever HAD a vocal coach and took voice lessons now did you??!! It certainly wouldn't be apparent if you hear me sing!) and I can't think of enough tips to make the sound come out steadily. It kind of ebbs and flows depending on how fast I am walking/jogging. I honestly don't know how they do it (and now I really understand why some of them lamely lip-sync instead).

And finally fifthly. We got the word on Kindergarten today. Our school district holds a lottery for all families who request full-day K. When I picked Munchkin up from Preschool today other moms had gotten their phone calls and were practically high-fiving each other in the parking lot they were so excited about getting all-day. Well, we, too had entered the lottery for all-day Kindy this Fall. I got home today, expecting to have a phone message to let us know if we got in or not. No message. I called the school district and left a message for them and about 5 minutes later they called me back. There were 59 families requesting all-day K, 42 slots were randomly filled, and 17 families went onto a waitlist. Guess what number we are? Yeah...#17. So, I now have to figure out how to arrange to work while Munchkin attends school for only 2.5 hours/day (as compared with 6 hours/day that she has been attending preschool for the past 3 yrs). I think there's a before/after-school program we can check out. I hope so, then I could still work a couple of days a week because--I know 2 hours a day won't cut it at my job. But...on a good note, I will have more time to spend w/Munchkin which, in this day and age, seems to be a rare thing. This is good! She's growing up too fast as it is.

Five years ago this morning...

was the best phone call of my life! Our agency called me at work at 8:30 a.m. to let me know that Munchkin had all her paperwork in order and was coming home to us in TWO days! I shrieked out loud I was so excited! I was nervous and happy and busy...BikeBoy and I had hardly prepared for Munchkin's arrival. I was very superstitious that something would happen (after years of infertility and delays in becoming parents) so we had a few things but hadn't set up the nursery at all yet. In fact, BikeBoy went out the day before Munchkin's arrival to buy a crib/changing table then--on the morning of her arrival when he attempted to set it up--he found a major piece of the crib was missing! Yikes! The store wasn't even open yet and our baby was coming in 6 hours and we didn't have a crib! BikeBoy called the store anyway and, thankfully, some kind soul answered the phone and told him to bring the crib back and he would meet BikeBoy at the front door with a replacement even though they weren't open yet! Mission was accomplished, thank goodness. :)

More to follow on March 6th (if I have time!!!)...we usually celebrate Family Day (or Airplane Day) so we may be too busy to post here but I'll try! I just can't believe it has been 5 yrs already.

Damned democracy!

I got a summons for jury duty Saturday...it's for a specific case beginning 3/21 and estimated to last 7 (yes, SEVEN!) weeks. F*&$! I was so pissed off I threw the summons on the floor and stomped on it, threatening to tear it up and throw it away...then I realized Munchkin was still in the room and saw me freaking out (WTG, Mama... ).

In all honesty, I have always wanted to serve on a jury...especially when I was younger and had no kids. I was summonsed in 1987 by a court in my homestate just after I had moved to a big city in another state. Then I was summonsed in 1999 in a major city when I had taken time off because Mom was coming to visit--that got me a postponement then they summonsed me again when I was moving from there to another state.

Well--right now--I don't have 7 weeks to give. I don't have childcare on Tuesdays/Thursdays and BikeBoy cannot work from home twice a week for 7 weeks, KWIM? We are supposed to take a few days away in April (no confirmed plans yet but we have the time off). I already have patients scheduled through the end of this month (they book about 4-6 weeks in advance so three weeks notice of jury duty is not much time to prepare). One of the other two PTs I work with begins her 3 months of maternity leave 10 days after I'm supposed to start jury duty which will cause problems at work. And--they said I will be paid $10/day--I have no idea if my company will pay me the difference as I am technically a "per diem" employee (although I have almost always worked between 10-15 hrs per week for the past 2.5 yrs). So, does this all constitute a request for an exemption or whatever it's called? Which excuse do I use or do I just list them all in order of importance!?

I have now calmed down but I did read online that if you don't show up (assuming they will excuse me this time but not forever) you can get a hefty fine ($750) and/or up to 6 months in jail. Which would suck even more. What do people without childcare do??? Munchkin may not be in school full-time for another 1.5 yrs so I can't even plan on rescheduling within the next 12 months.

Crap. Stay tuned as I make my request to be excused...either that or I'm taking Munchkin and heading to Canada!! ;)