Dinner with the Mels

They say family dinners are important time to bond with your kids and spouse. I wouldn't argue the point, because when family dinner is summarily taken away, one begins to realize what one has missed. Last Wednesday I had minor surgery that became a much more major ordeal. Because of various factors, I've not been healing as fast as the doctor expected, or I would have liked, and pain management has been a real problem. In other words, I hurt. I hurt bad. And to combat that pain, I've been on gooood stuff. The kind of stuff that melts my brain, makes peach fuzz of my memory, and mince meat of my hand-eye coordination. Maybe someone else wouldn't blink to be put on a pain pill, but I'm a lightweight. It doesn't take much to turn me into a marshmallow.

I've not left my perch on the couch for much more than transitioning from the bedroom in the morning to the living room, back to the bedroom at night. As a result, the house has been in a state of continuous chaos as Jeremy worked sixty hours or more over the last few weeks and at the same time attempted to take over all the chores I normally do. Meanwhile I laid on the couch in a drug induced state, covered in ice bags, or heating pads, and basically whined my little heart out. The children are resentful that they now have more chores (gasp) to help pick up the slack. And they have realized (smart children that they are) I'm in too bad of shape to really be of any threat. It's not as if I'm suddenly going to get up and chase them around the house with a wooden spoon, right? One easy dodge, the child goes right, I swerve left, and there I am, sprawled indecorously on the floor. I know this, and they know this, so I've been dealing with 'tude, and emotional meltdowns, and well, pretty much everything children do when Mom is out of commission. (And this is a joke to illustrate a point in an outrageous manner. One can never be too sure these days...always better to have a disclaimer).

Today was the first day in a week and a half, I was up,  sort-of about, and off the  heavy-duty pain pills. So I decided to go one step further and have a much needed family dinner to help instill a much needed sense of normalcy. Jeremy had prepared baked chicken the night before, so it was a simple matter of reheating, and cooking up some side dishes. Thank you birds-eye for your steam-in-bag veggies and potatoes. We might all die from cancer some day from microwaving our food in plastic bags, but it sure saved us some much needed time tonight.

We barely sat down to our food on our plates when the conversation started up.

"I'm eating chicken. You know what? I need my chicken suit to eat chicken," Hannah said.

"You'd be a cannibal," Jeremy replied.

"OH! Then, I really really need my suit!" She started to get out of her chair when her spoilsport father told her to sit back down.

In his usual non-sequitur manner, Joshua decided to add to the budding conversation, "Man my lips are chapped, and I have this crack in the corner of my..."

"Then you shouldn't be kissing your girlfriend," I interrupted without skipping a beat.

"WHAT?!? I...Not...I'M NOT...WHAT?!" He stuttered, indignantly.

"AW aw aw aw!! He's guiiiilty. He's been kissing his girlfriend," Ruth and Hannah sung.

"I have NOT," Joshua said, while crossing his arms over his chest and slumping down in his chair.

"Don't worry, Josh," Jeremy said. "When they get bigger you can embarrass them in front of their boyfriends."

"Yeah, I can tell him how Hannah..."

"I'd stop right there, Sir," I said. "Because you were worse than she was..." I left the sentence dangling and looked over at the girls whose expressions could only be described as containing gleeful sibling malice.

"Yeah Josh..." Ruth added, rubbing her hands together. "Go ahead and tell stories. See what we come up with for you. Muhahahahahaha."

Joshua turned his lips in towards his teeth as he always does when thwarted but considering other strategies. "Hmm," He said as he poked a green bean with his fork, "You're right. I don't think that would be so smart."

"You know," Jeremy said changing the subject. "We need to pop a huge batch of popcorn, and take videos of us while we see who can stick the most pieces of popcorn on our tongues." He laughed when he saw my expression.

"YEAH!" Joshua said enthusiastically. "Then we can run it on repeat on the dvd player and Mom will have to watch it over and over and over because SHE'S STUCK ON THE COUCH!!!"

If that isn't motivation to get better...I'm not sure what is.

Where have I been?

Well, no where really. It's just a busy year for me, I suppose. I've been a bit of a slug since graduating. I took on "real" work (not that domestic goddess isn't a real job, mind you. I found it is more difficult than working in an office!) and that is consuming my time. And I took up reading for a hobby. Nothing worthwhile to report about...mostly fluffy books that help me escape. I don't know when or why I've become so obsessed, but I'm literally reading about a book a day. Sometimes, I have to stretch a book over two days, but not usually. So, that's about all I'm going to post about under this subject heading...I think I'll philosophize in another post, just to keep things clean and simple.

Those were the days my friend...

My folks are moving. We helped clean out their house a bit. Still a long way to go. I didn't realize I had packed away my childhood and left it in their attic. Seriously. I'd almost venture to say that a little less than half of the boxes were my childhood crap...books, letters, toys, even.

So, today I started going through this box of letters. First, I discovered all of my former relationships were documented through letters...both in friendships and romance. Eeks! Why oh why did I save them?

I haven't even really read any of the letters, but the most exciting find of the day was the very first letter the Jeremy ever wrote to me from Basic training. Yeah, I still can't read his handwriting. But what I could read, I laughed all the more. Ah, the memories. I'm smiling just thinking about it. He was in love with me, and I was not interested. But I remember being thrilled to receive that first letter.

Then I found a letter from Grandma while I was away at camp. It nearly broke me. I didn't realize I still had something with her handwriting on it. I know it's been almost fourteen years since she passed, but still some days I miss her so much. I couldn't read it. It was almost too much just to look at it.

Some other fun finds through my crap: my etcha-sketch animators. Oh man, did I love these. The kids put batteries into them and have been having fun playing with them. I figured out how to work the one animator. I'd have to re-read the manual for the more advanced model. Anyway, I showed Ruth how to use the more basic one, and she picked it up relatively well. But boy did it stretch my memory trying to figure out how to make it work. Yay for good memories!

Then there was the sound studio toy that I had wanted. I was probably too old for such a toy, but I still wanted it and I still had fun with it. I handed that to the kids too. Actually, I gave it to Hannah since Ruth already has a Karaoke machine. Joshua found some D batteries (he is the "battery king" after all) and they've been having a blast with it. I forgot how annoying the dumb sound effects are.

The other stuff I had packed away were my dolls and barbies and books. Lots and lots of books. The kids have been enjoying reading the books I read as a kid. I didn't keep them all, just the ones I thought they'd be interested in. We also divided up the board games. I look forward to playing some of them with my kids. However, my mom insisted I take the National Geographic Global Pursuit game with us because the Jeremy "Would really enjoy it" I protested, "NOOOOOOOOooo! He'll make me play it with hiiiiimmmmmmmmmm! Ahhhhhhhhhh!" And for that matter, we took the 80's edition of Trivial Pursuit.

Also, I found the quilt that belongs to the rope bed I inherited from the afore mentioned Grandma along with some of her knitting yarns. And we haven't even gotten through my parent's basement. Ah to be a packrat...

Lazy summer

I took the summer off to recover, and I think I'm getting a little overboard. It is 11:26 in the morning. I still havent showered, nor put in my contact (I'm typing this blind) nor combed my hair, and I'm still in my Pajamas. Yeah, this is living.

The kids normally do swim team. I put my foot down on that. It was a hard decision, but it has been good to sleep in. Actually, it's been great to have kids that can get up, feed themselves, and behave while I catch a few extra million Z's that I seemed to have been missing since the birth of my first born ten years ago. No one ever tells you that your sleep habits will never ever ever be the same. Any little noise, I'm awake. I always was a light sleeper, but after having kids, it's almost rediculous how alert I am, even in my sleep. That being said, going back to college was just a double whammy. So, I started out this month, when the kids got out of school, just sleeping it away. Now I'm finally up and about more, but I'm still just laying low, going to the pool, that sort of stuff...keeping the house clean. Which reminds me...I have some major dishes to do.

It's Microlicious!

I have to admit, I've often wanted to microwave things just to see what would happen. Now I dont have to. My favorite? The christmas lights.

They're coming to take me away ha ha!

Day 13 of quarentine.

It's been a long time since I've seen daylight or had a good night of sound sleeping. Child number two returned to school today. It was the first day in many that I didnt have all of them home with me coughing, sneezing, crying because the fever made their heads hurt. I've decided to change my name. I will no longer be "Mama" but I am unsure of what would suit as a replacement. "Fred" came to mind, but being monosyllabic, I realize that this too can be repeated over and over rather easily to the point of annoyance. Something more like "flocci­nauci­nihili­pili­fication" might be harder to say, and therefore difficult to repeat over and over and over and over again. Child number one remained at home with a low grade fever, which was just enough to make him feel restless and antsy. At the moment I continue to plot my getaway, however between nodding off and fits of delirium and hallucination produced by sleeplessness, I'm unsure if I'm coming or going. This makes escape much more difficult. Until tomorrow.

MMMmmmm Chocolate

Dark Chocolate M & M's are going to be the death of me. It's like eating a handful of chocolate chips, only the candy coating gives that satisfying crunch. They had them in a local convenience store. I thought they were a promotional item and I figured they probably wouldn't be around long. I was mostly right. Apparently they're here to stay (yay!) but it can be difficult to find a bag of dark chocolate M & M's sometimes. That is, until I discovered Staples, of all places, sells them...in large...purple...bags. *drool*

First the family needed some lined notebook paper. Then we were out of pencils. Printer cartridge ink? I can go get that!

Needless to say, I've been finding reasons I must go into Staples.

"Hmm...says here on my sheet I need fifteen copies of a hand-out for my research presentation. Shucks. I guess I'll have to go do that at Staples."

"You could print them off our computer," retorted the Mr.

"Nah, I dont want to use up that expensive printer ink."

"Uh-huh. Sure," he replied unconvinced.

"Mama, are you going to go get some more dark chocolate M & M's?" asked Ruthie.

"Um, why...no...what on earth would make you think that?"

Um, no. I'm not addicted, or anything. I can...stop...whenever...I...I...I...

Does anybody need anything from Staples?