Went to PetSmart the other day with Jenna.
Walked around.
Looked at pets.
Was very glad we don't have a small, rodent-type animal in our house.
Saw the fish.
Lots of fish.
Panicked slightly when Jenna asked why some of the fish were at the bottom of the tank.
"They're resting," I said.
"Oh," said Jenna.
"Good one," said the PetSmart associate nearby.
Saw the big goldfish, little neon fish and fish that were clear and you could see their bones.
Watched the sucker fish... you know, the ones that attach open-mouthed to the side of the tank and their little bodies filter water in and out, in and out, in and out with minimal movement as they clean the algae off the glass.
And all I could think of was nursing Jenna for the last three years, one month, and six days.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Father's Day gift
Happy Father's Day to my hubby Dan, who does a wonderful job of providing a great home and security to us; gives lots of love and kindness to us; is unendingly loyal; loves to be with his girls; and only occasionally gets irrational. He is right now golfing on a beautiful sunny day with some friends and will enjoy a steak dinner upon his return. For his gift, he is going in a few weeks to Fenway Park for an overnight road trip with three other friends which has been predicted to be legend- wait for it, wait for it-ary.
I brought the girls to church this morning where (if I may brag just a wee bit) both girls got certificates of attendance for missing only two Sundays the whole year. They were happy and I was proud of them. We wrapped up our year with a nice breakfast and then went to church. (Cross another thing off the Activities list!) Towards the end of the service, Michaela started breaking down, whining, whimpering, leaning on me and just general carrying on. For the next hour she cried about the following devastating events:
1. The new shoes she got last night which she tried on at two different times and places hurt her middle toe on her left foot.
2. She was hungry but refused to go to the nursery to get a snack or eat a piece of cake offered to her after the service.
3. The pavement was hot on her foot because she refused to wear the left shoe. (See #1.)
4. The cat wouldn't play with the new cat toy and Michaela wanted to see her "go crazy".
5. The card she signed for her dad wouldn't fit inside the envelope provided.
6. The shoes she wanted to wear for the rest of the day (new faux crocs) are at my parents' house and while we are heading over there in a few minutes, that is just too long to wait. I suggested she fly over there, pick up the shoes and come back but she failed to see the humor in that and only cried harder.
She finally has pulled herself together and had a little lunch.
Jenna also pitched in and was miserable as we were leaving, yelling out, "My mosquito bite! It hurts! It hurts!" as we headed towards the car. There was great uproar as well at the temperature of the inside of the car when we first climbed in, because, really, Mommy, can't you make it cooler in the car when the sun is shining and it's 83 degrees outside???
Jenna has also enjoyed some lunch and has calmed down.
As for me, there were MANY points during the morning that I felt like crying and carrying on. But, I, too, had a little lunch and have now posted and am feeling better.
I am realizing that the REAL gift of Father's Day was that Dan didn't have to live through this with me.
I brought the girls to church this morning where (if I may brag just a wee bit) both girls got certificates of attendance for missing only two Sundays the whole year. They were happy and I was proud of them. We wrapped up our year with a nice breakfast and then went to church. (Cross another thing off the Activities list!) Towards the end of the service, Michaela started breaking down, whining, whimpering, leaning on me and just general carrying on. For the next hour she cried about the following devastating events:
1. The new shoes she got last night which she tried on at two different times and places hurt her middle toe on her left foot.
2. She was hungry but refused to go to the nursery to get a snack or eat a piece of cake offered to her after the service.
3. The pavement was hot on her foot because she refused to wear the left shoe. (See #1.)
4. The cat wouldn't play with the new cat toy and Michaela wanted to see her "go crazy".
5. The card she signed for her dad wouldn't fit inside the envelope provided.
6. The shoes she wanted to wear for the rest of the day (new faux crocs) are at my parents' house and while we are heading over there in a few minutes, that is just too long to wait. I suggested she fly over there, pick up the shoes and come back but she failed to see the humor in that and only cried harder.
She finally has pulled herself together and had a little lunch.
Jenna also pitched in and was miserable as we were leaving, yelling out, "My mosquito bite! It hurts! It hurts!" as we headed towards the car. There was great uproar as well at the temperature of the inside of the car when we first climbed in, because, really, Mommy, can't you make it cooler in the car when the sun is shining and it's 83 degrees outside???
Jenna has also enjoyed some lunch and has calmed down.
As for me, there were MANY points during the morning that I felt like crying and carrying on. But, I, too, had a little lunch and have now posted and am feeling better.
I am realizing that the REAL gift of Father's Day was that Dan didn't have to live through this with me.
Friday, June 13, 2008
I'm sorry, so sorry...
... to all my loyal readers who have been dying, just DYING to know what's going on at our house recently. Well, all I can tell you is my wekly planner looks like a war zone: we have just had Stuff- all fun, all wonderful, but Stuff nonetheless- going on every morning and every evening for the last week. Thankfully, things are wrapping up and soon the carefree, schedule-free summer will be upon us. Ahhhh.....
One of the really nice things we attended this week was Michaela's closing ceremony for Brownies. She got a special pin and a green membership pin for her second year of being in Girl Scouts. Her leader (and my friend) Dana just does such a wonderful job at planning great things that the girls really like and learn from. Here are some pictures:
Jenna liked the ice cream afterwards!
So now Michaela's Brownies are done, her swim lessons are done, we have one more swim lesson for Jenna left, two more weeks of soccer for Michaela, one more playgroup for Jenna, a couple more softball games for Dan, and I think about eight more days of school for Michaela and then .... summer!
This afternoon I am going to Michaela's school to see the different grades do a short presentation for Flag Day. Each classs is doing something different; Michaela's class is singing "She's a grand old flag, She's a high flying flag..." WITH coordinating hand motions, thank you very much. Dan and I and Jenna saw a preview last night and we almost cried it was so cute and Jenna immediately got up and wanted to learn the motions, too. She's soooo second born.
Have a great weekend!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Out and about with Cheryl
I am happy to report that all is back to rights with the Libuttis... we have all stopped puking and pooping and zoning out and sleeping endlessly or not at all... and most thankfully, we have all stopped wrapping chewed gum around our legs (see previous post).
That said, we have ventured back out into the world and encountered some funny people lately: one was the sample lady at Walmart and the waitress at a restaurant.
Jenna and I were grocery shopping last week and at the end of our trip we came across a lady, moderately advanced in years, somewhat rough looking, but very pleasant, and clearly not into Health and Wellness as a personal life strategy. She kind of reflected the general population of your basic Walmart worker/shopper. This is a reconstruction of our conversation:
Lady: Do you want to try some yogurt?
Me, thinking Jenna might like to have some: Sure. I'll take the vanilla.
Lady: It helps your digestion and it REALLY WORKS. I mean it WORKS. It's MIRACLE WORKER.
Me: Wow. (Digesting both the yogurt and the copious amounts of information about her digestive tract she just laid on me.) It's good.
Lady: Looks like you have nice grapes there.
Me: Yeah, they look good. And they're cheap.
(Then ensues a whole convo about the prices at Walmart vs. other stores, etc., etc.)
Lady (now my Best Friend): Listen... they're having a sale up at the registers... (lowers her voice in a conspiratory way. I start to get a little nervous about what she's about to tell me or offer me or what exactly she's whispering to me about.) The Hershey's Special Dark candy bars are only 20 cents! Each!
Me: Wow.
Lady: So I bought ten. (Shows me her stack of candy bars.) And they're GOOD FOR YOU!!!!
Me: Wow.
I honestly didn't know what to say. Do I try to do a little nutritional education about the Special Dark? This is clearly someone who has heard in an offhand news report about the antioxidants in dark chocolate and has extrapolated that to mean that Hershey's Special Dark is a nutritional powerhouse. I mean, they're GOOD FOR YOU!
But she was so sweet and offered me more yogurt- and then proceeded to completely overflow the little plastic cup so it was spilling all over everything and it became clear she wasn't super educated about portion sizes, either. I just said, "Wow! Thanks!" and walked away, happy that I had made a new friend. In Walmart.
My next Out and About Encounter was when Dan and I went out to dinner last night. We generally are very pleasant to service staff and have good experiences. We had a waitress Nicole who was a little, well, off. It was clear she was trying to schmooze us up a little which is fine... we can play along and be friendly... but she was the type of person who says stuff and there's nowhere to go with the conversation. And she was a touch assertive for my personal taste.
So here's our conversation:
Nicole: Are you out for any special occasion?
Me: Yes, it's actually my birthday today.
Nicole: Wow! Happy birthday! (At this point it truly looked like she was about to ask me how old I was. I could feel it coming and then felt her stop herself. She turns to Dan and with more than a casual interest asks...) What did you get her?
Dan (laughing): Actually, that's a bit of a sore subject...
Me: He gave me money. But he made a nice certificate with it. I'm going to do a little shopping for myself.
Nicole (totally jumping in where I can't follow her): You know where you should go? New York City! The South ...Street Sea... PORT is having, like, a huge street fair this week.
Me: Wow. (Do you see how I tend to say that when I'm thinking of what to say?? Do I tell her I have two small children under six and I can't just jet off three hours south for a carefree day? Just thinking about the logistics alone make me cringe. I was more thinking about picking up some new lip gloss and a couple of shirts- maybe a new pair of flip flops- and I don't even know if they have that at the South Street Seaport Street Fair. Which I've never heard of. Or gone to. Or thought of going to. But instead I recover and say...) I think I'll just stick to Crossgates Mall.
Nicole: Colonie Center is actually much nicer.
Me (again, nowhere to go): Mmmm...
Nicole: Have you been to the new movie theater there yet?
Me: No, but I'm going this weekend.
Nicole (now really ramping up): Are you going to see Sex and the City???????
Me: Actually, yes, with a few friends.
Nicole (now sitting on my lap): Can I come? Can I be your friend? You should get popcorn, but not extra butter because that's gross. Do you want to share a soda??????????
Okay, I made up that last line of Nicole's... but I could feel myself physically backing away from her at this point. Just bring me my dinner and replenish our Diet Cokes, honey. That's all we need. Really. Thanks. We're good.
Wow.
Wow.
Double Wow.
That said, we have ventured back out into the world and encountered some funny people lately: one was the sample lady at Walmart and the waitress at a restaurant.
Jenna and I were grocery shopping last week and at the end of our trip we came across a lady, moderately advanced in years, somewhat rough looking, but very pleasant, and clearly not into Health and Wellness as a personal life strategy. She kind of reflected the general population of your basic Walmart worker/shopper. This is a reconstruction of our conversation:
Lady: Do you want to try some yogurt?
Me, thinking Jenna might like to have some: Sure. I'll take the vanilla.
Lady: It helps your digestion and it REALLY WORKS. I mean it WORKS. It's MIRACLE WORKER.
Me: Wow. (Digesting both the yogurt and the copious amounts of information about her digestive tract she just laid on me.) It's good.
Lady: Looks like you have nice grapes there.
Me: Yeah, they look good. And they're cheap.
(Then ensues a whole convo about the prices at Walmart vs. other stores, etc., etc.)
Lady (now my Best Friend): Listen... they're having a sale up at the registers... (lowers her voice in a conspiratory way. I start to get a little nervous about what she's about to tell me or offer me or what exactly she's whispering to me about.) The Hershey's Special Dark candy bars are only 20 cents! Each!
Me: Wow.
Lady: So I bought ten. (Shows me her stack of candy bars.) And they're GOOD FOR YOU!!!!
Me: Wow.
I honestly didn't know what to say. Do I try to do a little nutritional education about the Special Dark? This is clearly someone who has heard in an offhand news report about the antioxidants in dark chocolate and has extrapolated that to mean that Hershey's Special Dark is a nutritional powerhouse. I mean, they're GOOD FOR YOU!
But she was so sweet and offered me more yogurt- and then proceeded to completely overflow the little plastic cup so it was spilling all over everything and it became clear she wasn't super educated about portion sizes, either. I just said, "Wow! Thanks!" and walked away, happy that I had made a new friend. In Walmart.
My next Out and About Encounter was when Dan and I went out to dinner last night. We generally are very pleasant to service staff and have good experiences. We had a waitress Nicole who was a little, well, off. It was clear she was trying to schmooze us up a little which is fine... we can play along and be friendly... but she was the type of person who says stuff and there's nowhere to go with the conversation. And she was a touch assertive for my personal taste.
So here's our conversation:
Nicole: Are you out for any special occasion?
Me: Yes, it's actually my birthday today.
Nicole: Wow! Happy birthday! (At this point it truly looked like she was about to ask me how old I was. I could feel it coming and then felt her stop herself. She turns to Dan and with more than a casual interest asks...) What did you get her?
Dan (laughing): Actually, that's a bit of a sore subject...
Me: He gave me money. But he made a nice certificate with it. I'm going to do a little shopping for myself.
Nicole (totally jumping in where I can't follow her): You know where you should go? New York City! The South ...Street Sea... PORT is having, like, a huge street fair this week.
Me: Wow. (Do you see how I tend to say that when I'm thinking of what to say?? Do I tell her I have two small children under six and I can't just jet off three hours south for a carefree day? Just thinking about the logistics alone make me cringe. I was more thinking about picking up some new lip gloss and a couple of shirts- maybe a new pair of flip flops- and I don't even know if they have that at the South Street Seaport Street Fair. Which I've never heard of. Or gone to. Or thought of going to. But instead I recover and say...) I think I'll just stick to Crossgates Mall.
Nicole: Colonie Center is actually much nicer.
Me (again, nowhere to go): Mmmm...
Nicole: Have you been to the new movie theater there yet?
Me: No, but I'm going this weekend.
Nicole (now really ramping up): Are you going to see Sex and the City???????
Me: Actually, yes, with a few friends.
Nicole (now sitting on my lap): Can I come? Can I be your friend? You should get popcorn, but not extra butter because that's gross. Do you want to share a soda??????????
Okay, I made up that last line of Nicole's... but I could feel myself physically backing away from her at this point. Just bring me my dinner and replenish our Diet Cokes, honey. That's all we need. Really. Thanks. We're good.
Wow.
Wow.
Double Wow.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Reprieve... almost
We had a wicked fun night on Friday... the girls ended up puking every hour or so on a half-hour schedule (Jenna on the hour and Michaela at half past) until everything settled down at about 3am. Michaela, Jenna and I ended up sleeping in the living room and watched countless hours of Playhouse Disney and Nick Jr. Jenna bounced right back on Saturday after a few hours of sleep but Mimi was down for the count the whole day. She is generally so energetic it was hard to see her listless and just zoned out and exhausted for the day. She took a good shower that night and rebounded nicely this morning. Last night I started to feel kinda yucky- not sick, really, more like not hungry/ not myself. We all went to church and I took a good nap with Jenna in bed this afternoon. Michaela was given strict instructions not to disturb us by Daddy, who was mowing the lawn and washing the car. This plan worked fine until....
Michaela tiptoes into our room and whispers: Mom, I don't want to disturb you but if you hear the shower running it's because I wrapped a piece of chewed gum around my leg by my knee and now I can't get it off so I'm going to try to wash it off.
And so the never-ending job of motherhood continues.
Michaela tiptoes into our room and whispers: Mom, I don't want to disturb you but if you hear the shower running it's because I wrapped a piece of chewed gum around my leg by my knee and now I can't get it off so I'm going to try to wash it off.
We all got up, smeared peanut butter all over her leg and the gum came off.
And so the never-ending job of motherhood continues.
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