Relay 2012

It has been a hectic few weeks lately with the end of school.  I am now the proud mother of a first and seventh grader.  On top of all of the end of school activities, we had our local Relay For Life over the weekend. 

I have been involved in this cause for the past two years on the committee, and this year I scaled it back and was a co-captain with Ryan's teacher.  She is hitting her 10 year anniversary of being a breast cancer survivor.  As a cautionary tale, she was 34 when she noticed something on a self exam.  She had no history of breast cancer in her family and had been to the doctor two months earlier.  This is a true case of if it could happen to her, it can happen to anyone.  We need to be our own first line of defense against this disease. 

This year our team was mostly made up of people from our elementary school.  These kids managed to raise $3600 by bringing in spare change and having bake sales.  I was teasing Jeanette saying that we should have named our team "Nickel and Diming our Way to a Cure."  We did not have any corporate sponsors this year, so these families did it all.  I am so proud of what we did, and I was so encouraged to hear how many of these kids gave their own money to the cause.  Now is the time to be instilling the idea of service to our kids.  It has been one of my parenting goals to lead by example. 

Weather in Northeastern Ohio in June is unpredictable.  In March we had weeks of 80 degree temps, but on Saturday it was windy, oh so windy, with a high of 60.  To say it was cold would be a monumental understatement.  As a fundraiser we were selling hot dogs, chips and soda.  The problem was in cooking the hot dogs.  We had to construct a tent of sorts to keep the heat from blowing away.  It became unbearable when it started to rain.  Just when I was ready to give up, this happened:



This was the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen.  In fact, this picture does not do it justice at all.  It was as if all the people we were honoring and fighting for were giving us a collective pat on the back.  There weren't many dry eyes at the event. 

Colin was having a great time.  It was his job to make sure everyone walking around the track knew that we were selling food.  He told every person, every time, they went around the track.  He also got to participate in the Luminaria ceremony and once again moved me to tears.  I just love him so much, and he is literally growing before my eyes.  He was overjoyed when he won a basket raffle full on Cleveland Indians stuff.  I think he had about 85% of the tickets in the drawing, and he told me he would have been devastated if he would have lost.  I think the people at that tent took pity on him and he would have been the winner even if his name was not chosen, but I do believe he won fair and square. 

All in all, it was a successful weekend.  Our Relay, which is only in its 4th year, raised over $75,000 to fund cancer research.  While I think this is my last Relay for a while, I can not say enough good things about my experience with the American Cancer Society.  They have 700 volunteers to every one staff member, and around 95 cents of every dollar raised is used to fund research and programs for all types of cancer.  It has been my privilege and pleasure to participate the last three years, and I think my Uncle Joe who is my reason to Relay, would be very proud of me. 

So. Tired. Of. Coughing.

Once again it is 1:30 in the morning and I am up coughing.  I have had what started out as an ear infection and bronchitis and moved to an epic sinus infection for the entire month of May.  If you wonder where I have been, it has been here coughing my head off. 

I am blaming this on Ryan.  He likes to snuggle with me and then cough in my face.  His body is a petri dish of kindergarten germs.  His immune system can handle it after being immersed in it day after day after day.  I, on the other hand, am a fragile flower that works from home and hardly ever engages in activity outside of this cocoon I call home.  Those kids, while being cute and loving and oh so affectionate, are also really gross.  They openly pick their noses and other body parts.  They like to see, touch, smell and taste everything.  They do not believe in personal space, and have never heard of the rule against close talking.  In fact, they can never really get close enough to you. 

Coughing is a wholly unsatisfying task.  I feel like I want to stick a pipe cleaner into my right lung and scratch the living daylights out of it.  It is like the itch on the middle of your back that no matter what body contortion you try, you just can't reach, but you know if someone could scratch it for you, it would be like the best fireworks display ever. (I would have used a different analogy, but my 12 year old reads this blog.)  It is exhausting to me, and irritating to those around me.  I know that if Dave was sick this long I would have lost all sympathy weeks ago.  Oh who am I trying to kid.  I am sympathetic for the first 3 days.  For the second three days I am tolerant.  After that I am a passive aggressive caretaker rolling my eyes at his pain and suffering while huffing and puffing at the extra work it is causing me. 

I am so tired from coughing that tonight I let Dave go and purchase my new stove, wait for it, without me.  I had picked it out a few weeks ago.  No, I was not crazy enough to let him pick it.  I would have either gotten a one burner apartment special, or I would have ended up with the top of the line gourmet one if I had let him pick it.  You can never tell which way he will go with something like this.    I did give him carte blanche to pick a range to go over the stove, but they are being held up due to a new design.  Can't wait to see what that will be, since I thought if you saw one range cover you had seen them all. 

If anyone would like to share a coughing remedy that is not Robitussin or Mucinex, I am all ears.  My old stand-bys have let me down.  I have a lot of fun things coming up and this has gone on long enough.

My Head is Literally Spinning

It is the end of the school year, and things are crazy.  Colin went to camp for three days, and Ryan has the end of the year Kindergarten stuff that is so cute I think I now have a cavity. 

Add to that, I have had this weird cold/ear infection/bronchitis thing that just won't go away.  I am on my third round of antibiotics, the second one made me sicker than I was already so I only took one, so really that one doesn't count.  It, along with the Claritin-D I took to try to get it under control both made me so dizzy I could not function.  Yesterday I drove about 30 minutes away to take Ryan to my nephew's birthday party.  I had to have Ann and Bob come pick us up because I couldn't drive if my life depended on it.  I felt more drunk than I have ever been from drinking. 

Next weekend I will be participating in my final Relay For Life.  I hope I am feeling better since I will have to be there for 24 hours.  (I hate being outside at night.  It is just creepy when I have a perfectly good bed at my house.)  This year I am helping Ryan's teacher with a team from their elementary school.  We are running a campaign called "Coins for the Cure" that is a contest to see which grade level can bring in the most spare change.  The prize is an extra 30 minute recess.  That is it.  No pizza party, no candy, just the opportunity to play outside for an extra 30 minutes.  We have raised about $2000 doing this.  I told Mrs. L that we should have named our team "Nickel and Diming our way to the Cure."  The American Cancer Society is really such a great cause as it does research for all kinds of cancer, and they spend 93 cents of every dollar on research or services.  I really encourage anyone to go to a local Relay and see what it is all about.  I am moving on to helping the local library on the foundation, so this will be my last relay for a few years.  I need a break. 

Next week is the last week of school, so I am hoping that I start feeling better since I will have two kids with me for the next three months,  Should prove to be interesting. 

You Know You Are Having A Bad Hair Day When...

I have been growing my hair out for about seven months in the hope that I will be able to pull it back into a pony tail.  When we go to the pool it turns into a fly away mess when it is short.  I took a shower today and just dried it quickly so I could go get Ryan at the bus stop.  My neighbor was there so I chatted with him for a minute or two.  This is the end of the conversation:

Me:  Thanks Manny, I will talk to you later.   I have to run because I have a conference call soon. 
Him:  Voice or Video
Me:  Voice.
Him:  Thats good, because if it was video I am not sure you can get it together in time for 4:00.  Your hair is kind of crazy.

It has been several years since I have worked in an office environment, so my appearance is not as professional as it used to be.  Perhaps I should put a little bit more effort into it. 

How Rumors Get Started

I was at the grocery store with Dave and Ryan when my nephew called me to see what kind of Goldfish Crackers my kids eat.  The following is what happened when I hung up:

Dave:  What did Will want?
Me:  To know what kind of goldfish the kids eat.
Dave:  Why?
Me: She is at the store and saw them on sale.
Ryan:  Grandma is getting us Goldfish?
Me:  Yes.
Ryan:  What happens when they die?
Me:  Goldfish Crackers, not a real goldfish.
Ryan:  Oh good, we have enough pets. 

It is impossible for me to say anything to Dave when the kids are around without them getting into it with us.  It drives me CRAZY!

Is Vision Really That Important?

I have a confession to make....are you ready?  I hate to go to the eye doctor.   It is the only doctor that has ever caused me to cry.  Dentist?  No problem.  Who thought it would be a good idea to make someone stick their head into a machine and then literally shoot air at your eye with the sound effects to match?  I am scarred for life.  (If you cry and hyperventilate they mark your chart stating that you will freak the hell out and it would be better to use the drops.)  I have wanted to do corrective surgery for years but they keep telling me I am not a candidate since I am so freaked out I can hardly open my eyes when in the presence of an eye professional. 

I have had issues for years with going to the eye doctor.  I would avoid the whole thing except for my 20/650 vision and need to wear contacts.  It seems that they like you to get your prescription renewed every year to purchase new contacts.  I didn't think I would have an anxiety attack taking Colin.  Alas, I was wrong. 

Colin has been having headaches that cause stomach aches and we are trying to figure out what is causing it.  I took him to the eye doctor to make sure his vision was not the issue.  We went to the same eye doctor that I went to when I first got glasses, and when I walked into the room that has the puff machine I had to sit down.  I tried not to react because I didn't want Colin to have this phobia, but holy shit, that thing is evil!  As he stuck his head in the machine that has the hot air balloon in it I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach.  Thank God they didn't do the air test or I would have required prescription intervention.  The sound haunts my dreams.   We went into the actual exam room and I was doing the nervous talking.  You know the one where you are talking and all you want to do is stop, but the harder you try the more you talk until you have talked yourself into a corner and then the doctor was looking at me like I was crazy. By an act of God I managed to shut the heck up and we moved along. 

Dr. Andy did his tests and said that Colin had perfect vision, but that since we were there he might as well dilate his pupils and make 100% sure that it wasn't a focus issue.  We did the drops and had to wait for 30 minutes for them to work their magic.  If Colin can't read he is fidgety and he was walking around the waiting room.  This is a problem when your eyes are dilating and he kept bumping into things.  I made him sit down when he apologized to the chair after he ran into it. 

By the time we got back into the exam room I was in a full blown anxiety attack.  I wanted to crawl out of my skin, or at least wait in the car until it was over.  Since neither one of those were an option I sucked it up and sat with my eyes covered.  Dr. Andy actually asked me if I was okay.  I mentioned that I have anxiety with eye doctors and he looked at me like I was crazy.  He quickly finished the exam and got the heck out of the room. 

The conclusion I have come to is that Dave is now in charge of all eye care appointments.  There are not enough relaxation techniques in the world to make me go through that again.  It is bad enough that I have to go myself, but I am drawing the line in the sand.  As God is my witness, I will never take my children to a vision appointment again!  My blood pressure will thank me. 

Random Thoughts for April

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.  For example, just because you can eat an entire bag of Snickers Mini's you bought for your kids Easter Baskets doesn't mean that you should as you will get a stomach ache and your kids will get skimpy treats. 

It is better to get treats that you don't like for the Easter Baskets.  See reasons above. 

Again, I would like to remind all ladies that tights are not meant to be worn as pants.  An exception can be made if you are running, but then must be changed before going anywhere else. 

Today I was looking for a pair of underwear in the unfolded laundry.  Ryan was so generous when he told me that I could borrow a pair of his.  He said they were soft and very stretchy.  There is no cotton in the world that can make a pair of underwear made for a 6 year old fit me.  I think this is a good thing. 

I am so happy that I was born into my family.  That is all I am saying on this subject. 

Even if you live a charmed life, sometimes you just need to give yourself a day to feel sorry for yourself.  Is it wrong that I want a bigger house or a nicer wardrobe?  Is it bad that I want to have a day to myself?  I love and appreciate what I have, but I would really like more.  I had that day earlier this week and it has past, but I feel better for having felt it. 

As a follow-up to my post titled "Better Things", the one where the lady was snotty as she reprimanded me for Max pooping on her lawn without me seeing, she walked past my house with her dog the other day, and I have never wanted a dog to poop on my lawn more than that day.  Of course, she is perfect with her perfect dog and he didn't even look at me.  Damn dog.

As a follow up to Jury Duty, it was reported today in the Akron Beacon Journal that the defendant was found guilty.  I feel good about this and can now let this rest.  Again, thank the good Lord above that I didn't have to sit on this trial as I would have been scarred for life.  One of the jurors fell asleep during closing arguments and had to be dismissed.  How does that happen after listening to testimony for 5 days? 

Finally, I have two new public followers.  Welcome Anne and Jeff.  Glad to have you aboard, and thanks for letting me know you are here! It is a boost to my ego to know that someone besides my family reads this.  Anne, I have visited your site as well and love what I see.