Wiki-hypochondria

I won't have time tomorrow tonight to make my weekly post here because we will be attending Griffin's nursery school graduation. Griff told Brett tonight at bedtime, "It won't be as long as Uncle Scott's but it will be just as good." He was referring to Scott's Ph.D. ceremony at Northern Illinois University three weeks ago. Anyway, I'm very excited to see what Griffin's teachers have planned. The kids have been practicing all week. Griffin's graduation partner is Billy Koertgoede and Kali's partner is Maddy Brown. These names have been talked about all year. Ah, what a good year it has been. I'm sad to see it end, although in a certain sense it ended for me three months ago when I went back to work. I'll write more about it after tomorrow when I can post the link to the school.
A fantastic new idea occurred to me today: a daily email subscription service with reminders on how to not accidentally kill yourself. For example, did you know that when potassium benzoate and citric acid combine they become carcinogens? They do and these are two of the main ingredients in Mountain Dew. Red wine, however, contributes to a long life (er, actually the article says that it slows aging, which I may have remembered if I weren't drinking.). Anyway, I have found that wikipedia is awesome. I love it almost as much as google. Wiki is where I found the info today about potassium benzoate and citric acid, as well as the Japanese concept of karoshi, which refers to working oneself to death. Not a good idea.
I've also been reading again about the radiation risks associated with cell phone use and other electromagnetic fields (WiFi is an example). There was an outcry in 1999 and since then I have heard zilch until last week. Perhaps it is related to Senator Ted Kennedy's glioma diagnosis. Oddly, his experience has made me less frightened of having a brain tumor. My new concern is type 2 diabetes after reading an article from Men's Health. It made a fairly serious impression on me, ergo my new concern about ingredient lists. But, just as I learned to like Mountain Dew and Oreos, I can unlearn liking them.
Okay, there was something I wanted to write about the power of Om, but I can't think of it. Some good news today: we received our monthly electric bill and, even with the additional charge from the green energy program, we cut our bill by a third! Yes, it is more than $25 less than last month's bill, which itself was down significantly from last year. Woohoo! A big part of my strategy has been to power off the "vampires" before going to work and bed: the televisions and laptop are all plugged into sources that I can flip a switch to power down. Cell phone chargers are plugged in only while recharging the battery. I'm also drying some of my laundry on a rack. Next, other small appliances and better monitoring of lights. And, I'll have to give some serious attention to my water bill, which is up by $30 in four years. Maybe a leak? Yes, I've become obsessed with "green."
My other "obsession" has been the Democratic primary, which came to an end last night when my candidate became the presumptive nominee. Tonight, the NYTimes headline announces Clinton to End Bid and Endorse Obama. I won't belabor the point too much since two people I respect bunches were fervent supporters of HRC and are probably feeling sad. Although it cannot be as bad as we all felt on that first Wednesday in November 2004 when John Kerry lost one of the most important elections in my lifetime. I remember that day in vivid detail, and can now almost laugh about the stolen election enough to enjoy this clip from The Onion. My new boss sent the clip to me, how cool is that?

Weekend Trips

It is "Qbo Day" at our house. Qbo is the name of the educational children's programming that airs on Saturday mornings on NBC. We don't actually watch many of those shows, preferring the uneducational shows on the KidsWB. It starts at 7 a.m. with Will & Dewit, followed by Magi Nation, and then Skunk Fu. I'm hoping to get everyone out before the full hour of the violent classic Tom & Jerry Tales. :)

Today the plan is to ride bikes over to the Farmer's Market. We'll swing past the post office and mail Uncle Scott's graduation gift from my parents--U.Scott is now Dr. Pickett, he received his Ph.D. two weeks ago and will be moving back to Michigan from the big city at the end of the summer. Woohoo! We spent Sunday at the fabulous Lincoln Park Zoo. Check out one of Griffin's pictures of a lizard.

Anyway, I think U.Scott will really love the gift which, as it turns out, was the only bloody thing we forgot to pack when we went to Chicago. :( Our trip last weekend to Grandma & Grandpa Peplinski's was much, much lighter. So light, in fact, I didn't have any clothes for Bela after the first day. Oops! We had a great time up north. Brett got a chance to begin to repay our debt of gratitude to my dad by helping him put the roof on his new garage. We also spent a relaxing hour putting our feet in the sand at Fifth Avenue Beach.

It's been a busy month! The weekend of Mother's Day we went to suburban Detroit to see my very good friend Megan and her family. Her little peanut, Lucas, turned one this month! I miss my buddy Megan. She and I have been friends since our freshman year at MSU (15 years at the end of this summer!!!). I have so many good memories of our time together at school. Probably my favorite is the last night of our freshman year when we rode our bikes out to the east side of campus and laid in the grass of the traffic circle talking about life. Anyway, check out the bibs she turned me on to--BPA free!

Well, the sky is getting darker and darker; Tom & Jerry has been on for 15 minutes; I think my plans are screwed. :( Look for another post soon. There is a bunch of stuff I want to write about!

Where, o where, has my lipstick gone?

My kalahari clay-colored lipstick is missing. It's been gone since Monday. I keep it in a zippered bag inside my burlap sack/handbag. On Monday I gave the zippered bag to Bela to play with at the grocery store and knew that it was okay because the lipstick was ... where? Someplace else, but I can't remember where. The memory is just beyond my grasp.

I'm trying to relax. The missing lipstick has caused a great deal of consternation. It went missing once before, earlier this spring. It was the same week that Griffin's Ben 10 Omnitrix disappeared. The loss of my own little talisman made me much more sympathetic to his situation. My lipstick was stuck between the seat and the passenger side door of the car. It was a happy day , made better because we had found the Omnitrix a few days before inside the tire swing.

There's a bunch of stuff to do (some of it good: email my friend Amy, make another s'more; some of it boring: clean up the kitchen, pack lunches; some of it just plain icky: pick up the dead squirrel I found in the back yard). By Thursday, I tend to feel ruined, and more than a bit lazy.

The bad thing about the squirrel (like there's only one bad thing), is that I've finally gone through my entire stash of plastic shopping bags that double as garbage can liners. This year, as you may recall, is my year to live "green." It's working. I've bought a bunch of those reusable grocery bags. We joined a CSA with my friend Sara and her family, set to begin week after next. I signed up to get part of our electricity from wind, water, and biomass. Surely, there must be more than that but, as I said already, it is Thursday.

Tangentially, Brett and I are watching Last Comic Standing and I'm amazed how much Bill Bellamy, the host, looks like Bela's teacher. Griffin will be joining her school soon in the Zebra/Gecko room. He, too, will have a male teacher. My favorite comic tonight so far has been the Star Wars guy who chided the audience for having some dishonest girls. Here comes another one--the guy who can't say "prepare." Hahahaha! Oh, and here is Coldplay on itunes. Remember back when I couldn't remember their name, the night they were on Austin City Limits? Yep, I'm tired. What a lame post. :) Television play-by-play.

Well, it's good to be back on The Jolly Mama but I'm ready to go get that s'more.

Long Gone Mama

I'm baaaaaaccccckkkkkk! Barely. All week I have been suffering from allergies (because surely it cannot be another cold, right???). My new job is wonderful but makes for some seriously long days. Griffin and Bela have adjusted well to their new daytime routines. Life marches on.

What Would Shamu Do?

Need to get Amy Sutherland's new book. Will write more later. !!

Spidey Sense

My cousin Pam sent me this link last night: http://www.familywatchdog.us/ with the message "Meet Your Neighbor."

It is a link to the national sex offender registry - and there's a big, bad creepy dude down the street. Not technically my neighborhood but close enough to where we live that I had nightmares all night.

Earlier this year, I went running near there after the kids were down for the night. Being a pathetic runner, I prefer the cover of darkness to mask my embarrassment. But as I turned towards the field (and the apartment complex where this bad dude lives), I became extraordinarily uncomfortable. Call it my spidey sense but I turned around and went back home.

I urge all of you to check out the link, even if you've already looked before.

Sick Kids in Public

That was the title of a recent post I made to a local Internet chatboard for moms. Here's the rest of the message:

"Coughing in my face. WHY??!?!?!?! For the first time in a few weeks,
everybody in my house was feeling well. So on Monday we went to the new First
Impressions room at Impression 5. And a little boy who was obviously sick
coughed in my face. After his germy little hands had been all over the toys that
every other little kid was playing with. Grrrrrr. Then on Tuesday, Bela and I
went to the library to get some more books and return ours. And another
obviously sick kid is coughing on the toys. Well, lo and behold, Bela spiked a
fever of 101.6 Wednesday night and now has a gnarly cough; today my chest is
hurting. WTF?????!!!!??? Seriously. It cannot be fun for the kids to be there -
and we're talking about optional places, not the grocery store or some other
public location where it might be more understandable that a kid is dragged out
to do necessary errands. Yes, it sucks to be trapped at home with sick kids in
the winter BUT GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am mad, mad, mad. Am I alone? What
are these moms thinking???? Do you ever say anything when you see a child who
should obviously be home in bed, recuperating? What about people with
compromised immune systems - do these people think about them when they
cavalierly go about spreading their germiness?????????????"

Raaaaaarrrrrr! This message was, appropriately, posted under "Rants."

My head is still killing me. I think I might have a sinus infection but I refuse to see the doctor until my new insurance begins next month. Oh, and Bela ended up with her first ear infection - in both ears!!!

Anyway, there's a lot more to that post than a mom who's [ed. note: I had to correct this because I wrote it as "whose" the first time. Oi! Good thing I'm about to be a text editor.] mad about some little kid germs. I was pissed that I was going to miss brunch with my brother-in-law from Chicago and my parent-in-laws who had just gotten back from sunny Florida. I felt low for depriving my dear, sweet husband of time with those people who are so important to him. I felt like I hadn't adequately protected my little girl from illness. And I was sick. Also a little self-righteous as I have lately become acutely aware of how fragile some immune systems are.

But, I tell you what: the next time I see someone with an obviously sick kid blowing germs all over my family, I'm gonna let my inner bitch out to play all over their caretaker.