Maraka

Don't know how long this will be around - if you've got a Dora addict in your house, you will cry.

Random bullets of Pollen

- When I was a kid, I got sick every spring. So did my dad. We finally figured out it was a pretty good case of hay fever brought on by an allergy to tree pollen. I've had shots, pills, you name it. My worst allergies were when I lived in Athens and when I lived in Dallas (the wind blows in tree pollen from the Rockies - no lie!).

- Until now. My life is coated in a thick (as in measurable to the naked eye) coat of pollen. It's amazing, and I'm VERY ill from it. Right now, I'm unable to even take any meds for it except for Benedryl. Sigh. I'm either Sleepy or Sneezy. I'm also Grumpy, so I guess I'm well on my way to needing Snow White around here.

- Little Miss S seems to have the same issues. She's now fighting a pretty good case of the sneezes and snorts herself, and I feel pretty badly for her.

- Our back patio is a bricked patio. It's normally a lovely bricky color. It's all pollen-colored now. Except the big circles (think crop circle-like in it) that appear at random. Mr. Mac has been very confused about what are now known as the Pollen Circles. He was out there looking one evening trying to find where the winds were swirling. I finally looked at him and said "Honey - see that big yellow cat over there? Remember the places you typically see him sprawling for soaking up the sun. Yeah, same place as the pollen circles!" Mystery solved!

- Little Miss S loves the outdoors, especially when it's warm. She also hates the "Lallow Duss" as she calls it. She goes out on the patio with a rag, and proceeds to clean off her table and chairs. Then she goes to her swingset and cleans that. Then she plays. Remember, folks, she's two.

- Miss M (asthmatic) comes in town for spring break. How much anyone care to wager her mom actually sends her meds with her? Heh!

Perfect Afternoon

This afternoon, I was slated to meet a dear friend for ice cream. We planned to hit a neat gelatto place and sit and gab for a while. I've had it rough of late, as has she, and we both desperately needed it. Well, Mr. Mac got wind of Ice Cream to be had, and he felt, emphatically so, that he and Little Miss S should be included as well. I couldn't really object, especially given the lovely park and playground down the block and the temps forecast in the 80s.

So off we went to meet Future Mrs. USA (that's US Attorney) at 3 pm. Such a smart, funny woman. I adore her. And we got our gelatto - mine was pear, peach, zabaione and dulce de leche. LMS had banana. Mr. Mac had sour cherry and chocolate. Oh this stuff is yummy.

As we walked down the tree-lined streets, it seemed that every branch contained a bloom and budding leaves. The soft greens, the beautiful pastels of spring. It was glorious. Little Miss S insisted I stop every so often and pick her a "pwetty fower!", from which she then promptly pulled all the petals. There were birds singing, and loads of small, white butterflies.

This neighborhood is a very easily walked locale, so parents and children were converging on the playground after naps to run off the afternoon energy. Many carried small containers of gelatto from the same place we went, while others had Ben & Jerry's from a block the other way. Children were running and playing, grown-ups sitting and chatting.

The best thing about this playground is that it naturally divides between big-kid areas and little-kid areas. The big kids are content to play on this giant set with spinning stools and swinging things. Really made for their size. The little kids, however, are thrilled with another set that had slides, ladders, bridges and tunnels. Off to the side is a firetruck set that had wheels to turn and knobs to mash.

For the next two and a half hours, I sat and gabbed with my friend, while Mr. Mac and Little Miss S went to "Go swide down now" and "Da bridge!" and "Inna tunnel! Weeee!" She was so tired when we left that she just rested her head on the side of her car seat and zoned out. After arriving home, I fixed her some of her favorite, Kraft Mac 'n Cheeze, and she ate it all. A short bath, some time on Mommy's bed with a few books and an episode of Dora, and she was ready to go nigh-nigh at 7:30. She's just starting to stir now at 8 am.

I love it when Mr. Mac has the time to take to play with me. I love it when Little Miss S has so much fun she can't hold her head up at night. I love it when, for just a few hours, I'm able to forget the pressures of the world, and just relax outside on a beautiful soft spring day.

Sign the Petition

A mastectomy is surgical procedure in which woman's breast tissue is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

Here's the petition:

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached. Signing the petition shows that you support Congress taking action to force insurance companies to cover the costs of allowing a woman adequate time to recover, in a hospital, from this very difficult procedure.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number, even though other information is requested.

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE COPY THIS MESSAGE AND PASS IT ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

Polly the Pink iPod

I heart Polly. She has many of my favorite songs. She's pink. She's teeny. What's not to love? :)

Shoe Shoppin'

Oh the joys of shopping for shoes with a tired toddler. We went out to the Evil Perimeter Mall yesterday. My mom needed to pop into Nordies (they've discontinued their night shirts! Evil bitches!). And I noted that the Stride-Rite store was having a buy one, get one 50% off sale. So, despite the noon hour, I dragged Little Miss S into the store, into the throng of mommies trying to buy for their babies, to get her some new shoes.

Oh, the joy and fun of it. First. LMS is afraid of crowds. Also, she doesn't like loud noises. And all of her issues are exacerbated by her being hungry AND tired. So basically, I took her into a crowded store, with TWO sets of crying (screaming!) twins, at lunch time, and after a BIG morning of running around the Home Expo store among other places. Yeah, this was fun.

At least she generally sat quietly in her stroller. She tried on her shoes fairly well (she had grown a size and a half since last fall). And now, she is the proud owner of these cute green tennis shoes . And the summer's ubiquitous white stride-rite sandals. :)

Home Cleaning Product Review II

Okay, admittedly, I'm a tad obsessed with Murphy's Oil Soap (much like Quinn, I learned in the comments). I wish it came in 5-gallon buckets, honestly. It is, in my mind's eye, the world's most perfect cleaner. Gentle and thorough, it smells wonderfully, and it keeps all of your wood in excellent condition. Simply put, in my home of antiques and wooden floors, it is an essential. It wipes away toddler leavings* with ease, while still allowing me to spray the bottle of it near my daughter without fear for her future development.

Imagine my delight when I saw for sale at the local hardware store a jug of "Murphy's Oil Soap: Squirt 'n Mop Hardwood Floor Cleaner". I was enthused. I procured said bottle of stuff knowing full well that my hardwoods are dusty, dirty, have milk splatters, and just need a good all-around cleaning.

Upon my return home, I grabbed the trusty rag mop, and I squirted, and I mopped, and so forth, over all the hardwood surfaces in my home.

Now, my floors, they gleam. They shine. And my house? Oh it smells so wonderful.

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* Toddlers leave the most odd trail of goo and goop. Little Miss S most commonly leaves biyana goo, yo-gut goo, mukaroni and cheese goo, and bebiss bar goo. Occasionally, we get mushy chee-o goo and/or go-fish (sadly no more bobish in this house) goo. Blech!

New purchase that makes me happy

I have a new broom - one that actually sweeps the dirt in my floor into piles that I can gather up into the dust pan. It rocks. I'm very happy with my new broom, simply because it accomplishes the aforementioned task, and without leaving bits of straw all over the kitchen floor. My old broom was ideally suited for our tile floor in Tampa. Now, we have a fancy-schmancy Travertine Marble floor (don't recommend it, but it was here when we got here), and that comes with different issues. So I have finally found a broom that works.

Maybe tomorrow, I will blog about my excitement over the Murphy's Oils Soap "Squirt 'n Mop" Hardwood Floor cleaner I have purchased. I adore the smell of Murphy's Oil Soap. It will surely rock the floors in my home, right?

Gah, my life has become ever so sad....

Barf!

The whole family has had it. Nothing more fun that dealing with your sick-as-a-dog husband all weekend, only to find yourself Worshiping at the Porcelain Altar at 3 am. Even worse is when you seek sympathy from your dear husband only to realize he's off seeing about his 9 year old who's following the same religious practice in the other bathroom. Back to bed....

Hmph. That sucked.

At least it wasn't as bad as the 1997 game vs. State when I was at a Mock Trial competition in Houston, trying to catch the game, arguing with a drunk in the hotel bar (yes, it WAS 11 am, and he WAS doing shots) as to why I got to commandeer the TV for the Duke game (only on that TV) while he could go watch whatever random SW Conference refugee team he wanted in his room.

But still, man, this sucks. Gah. Not only did we lose, but we lost a freaking Les Robinson game.

Sucks, sucks!

Back to School

Unfortunately, not of the "Rodney Dangerfield" kind. Ahhh, love that movie. Ever so quotable.

Today started my long trudge up the hill known as "Bar Review". I went back to school, sat in uncomfortable chairs, and listened to the folks around me talk about what they were gonna do tonight. (Midtown? Buckhead? I dunno - if we Midtown, then we can preparty at Cassie's place, and then we can just walk, 'cuz you know about her preparties!). Ahhh the memories.

Okay, so back at it, right? Nose to the stone. Etc. In my first session, I was floored at how fast this class moved. It was the MPRE review course, and it's over a very easy portion of the whole bar exam process, but it flew to me. Uh oh... what have I signed up for?

Turns out, everyone else in the room thought the class was flying way too fast. Whew.

In all, while I don't have a swank suite for myself, and I don't know how to do a Triple Lindy, I do feel a little like ole Thornton Mellon. First, I've got a family member in the school where I'm now interloping. Second, I'm ages older than a lot of the folks there.

At the same time, the material covered today was stuff that I largely 'got' (well, except they changed all the ethics rules in 2003, and I last studied for, took, and passed this stupid test in 1998 - I get confused easily!). It still makes sense. Law is easy, just very significantly voluminous, and that's what kills me.

Okay, so I'm going back to school. I have a headache, and I'm tired. Maybe they give nap time?