The Crab Chronicles

Happy 74th, Granny

We have had another lazy day, which is great. Bruce didn’t leave until almost 4 this afternoon, which was a nice surprise. I thought he would leave this morning. He really seemed to enjoy just being here and hanging out.

He has to lose some weight and get back in shape quickly, and so he went for a long walk this morning. We have a great neighborhood for walking, despite the lack of sidewalks. There are a lot of interesting older houses to look at here.

I made French toast for Mother for breakfast, which is something we all love.

Bruce turned over my garden and cleaned it out for me, which was a huge help. I was tickled to see so many earthworms wriggling around when he turned up the soil. It’s good soil. I am going to start adding coffee grounds and eggshells, and other organic matter. I can’t manage full-on composting, but I will do what I can.

We went to a celebratory lunch at La Frontera, after Mother opened her gifts. Her main gift was a new purse and several new tops, including a fleece shirt.

Bruce had a chance to see how funny the kids are, when he took them with him shopping for Mother’s birthday gifts. Good thing I reminded him it’s today?! They had a blast in Sports Authority and Target.

My kids LOVE to go to Target, but I make them spend their own money for non-essential things. I am trying to instill in them a thriftiness and regard for money which I totally lack, despite being the child of a banker..

The kids walked up to the tennis courts and played around for a long time this afternoon. I firmly believe on nice days that kids NEED to get outside and run around, and play hard, and get sweaty. I think we have a generation of fat kids because the parents don’t make them get outside. So many of the new houses being built now are so swanky but they have NO yards. Bruce and I were saying how puzzling this is to us, that people will spend 300-500k on a house with no yard??!!

The kids played soccer in the backyard for a while, then came in when it was dark. It wasn’t really cold – somewhere in the 50’s, I think. Typical December day for Atlanta.

Lesleigh came over and spent some time with us, but we decided to skip eating dinner out. We had a big meal at lunch. We just ordered pizza for dinner, and the kids ate well.

After dinner, we watched Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. I needed to re-establish the routine. Dinner, movie, bed. Works for us.

Mother and I were talking before we went to bed, and we both agreed that Bruce seemed more happy and relaxed than we have seen him in a long time. I think perhaps going back in will help him turn a corner in his life. It will certainly change him. I’ve turned several corners in my life in the last few years – so hey, I am DONE with corners. Hopefully Bruce will find his direction again.

Gone to Soldiering

We all slept late this morning [9] and were very lazy. I didn’t try to go to church, since Bruce’s visit time is so limited.

We had a lazy morning, and then we went out to lunch at a terrific restaurant called Fire of Brazil. They do authentic Brazilian grilled meats, and there’s a fabulous salad bar. Bruce enjoyed trying everything, I could tell.

This afternoon, we all went to the movies. I let Bruce take the kids to see Alien vs. Predator – a movie I would never take them to, as I disapprove of horror films. I saw Walk Hard, which is a parody of bio films like Walk the Line. I thought it would be really funny, but it was only mildly amusing.

Right before lunch, Bruce shared a piece of news which I found upsetting at first, but now I am OK with it. He was in the army for about 15 years, before leaving in the early 1990’s. He never really got out, though, he was in the IRR [individual ready reserves]. Now he has gotten “a letter from your buddy George Bush” as he told Mother. He has to report to Ft. Benning on January 20. They are giving him more rank – he will be a Colonel. At the moment he’s a major.

He thinks because of his age [48] and the fact he’s been off of active duty for so long, that he will just be posted somewhere, doing something administrative. I hope he is right.

Bruce said that he will be paid well, and he thinks it will be about a year’s duty. He is thinking when he gets out again he may go back to school, maybe be a physical therapist. I think that he would be terrific at that.

It poured rain all day, so the outside projects I had planned will have to wait. He is leaving in the morning. He will be back in a few weeks for another visit, on his way to Ft. Benning.

Michael just adores him, as does Alesia. They will miss him terribly. Not me. Not so anybody will notice. Military families have to be strong. We are strong.

Uncle Bruce is Here!

We have had a nice day, albeit one divided up into highly differing sections.

Section 1 – Waiting for Bruce

We got up and ate breakfast, and the kids and I went to Target to get Mother’s birthday presents from the kids. I can’t say what we got because she reads the blog!

We came home and hung out for a while. Bruce called at 11 and said he was just leaving Columbia. It’s a 3-4 hour drive, so we went out to lunch at a favorite local barbeque place. We came home and hung out some more. Mother napped. I read. The kids played quietly.

Section 2 – Bruce is Here!

Bruce arrived around 3:45. He said he had been held up by bad rainstorms in Augusta.

We opened presents. Bruce gave the kids a soccer goal for the backyard, which I know they will enjoy. I told him they would, so go buy it! [hahahaha] He gave me two calendars, which I need every year. I keep one at work and one here. I like calendars with nice photos of faraway places like Scotland.

We gave Bruce his presents, modest though they were. To my delight, he had not read the book I gave him, nor had he read the one Mother gave him. What a shock. He reads voraciously.

The kids worked outside on the soccer goal, and Bruce cut down some bamboo from the backyard. We have a huge stand of bamboo. Bruce cut down several and stripped off the leaves with a machete. When I asked him why he said he was making fishing poles for the kids. I had told him I wanted them to go fishing. I don’t know when he will take them, though.

Section 3 – Party and aftermath

Our neighbors Brian and Darryl transformed their already gorgeous house into an amazing space, and had a very elegant party. There were enough hors d’ouvres to make a lovely dinner – roast beef, smoked salmon, mashed potato bar, cheeses, asparagus, a tree made of veggies, an incredible dessert table. It was lavish and decadent. We loved it. The kids especially loved the chocolate fountain – you stuck a hunk of pound cake on a skewer and ran it under the fountain. Yum!

They had the TV on in their family room. Michael and Alesia watched A Christmas Story, without the sound, and were angels.

I know Bruce enjoyed the party. He appreciates elegant food – he himself is an excellent cook. This food was simple, but delicious.

The house is also a showplace. It’s like something you see on HGTV, the “after” photos!

When we got home, Michael said he really enjoyed the party. Hallelujah! He’s only been to one other party, my Sunday school party, and he wasn’t comfortable. He walks Brian and Darryl’s doggie, so he felt at home in their home, which is so nice.

Bruce has had a chance to get to know Michael, which is such a blessing. Michael was a little shy at first, but warmed up to Bruce and was able to show his real, funny personality.

At one point, Bruce grabbed Alesia and was tickling her and making her squeal. Mike grabbed the little handheld tape recorder and recorded her squealing. He said “Listen Uncle Bruce!” and played it back, laughing. Bruce just hollered.

I pray tomorrow goes as well.

Foggy Atlanta Friday

OK, I know it's been 24 hours since I blogged. Not much to tell, eh?

We watched It's a Wonderful Life last night, and I cried at the end. I practically know all the lines and I still cry. The kids loved it.

It was a rainy, foggy, nasty day here in Atlanta. I couldn't go more than 50 mph on the way in to work today, and I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see the Chattahoochee River, which runs right under the interstate, so it was REALLY foggy! Felt like I was back in England. We've had thunderstorms, too, which feels really weird in December. I am glad for the rain, though.

I left work at 1 and came home, and the kids and I went to Kroger. I had to give Michael a big lecture about not rolling his eyes at his grandmother, and learning his times tables. He couldn't remember the threes this morning! Sometimes he just spaces out and his brain is not engaged. I told him next week he better get that fine brain working and learn ALL his multiplication tables, memorized, or there would be NO electronic fun - no computer, no TV, no Gameboy, etc. Boy, he pouted big time. Right up until we got to the ice cream isle at Kroger. : ) He HAS to learn them, though.

I told him in the car about his mother [me] being a very smart, very lazy student. I could make A's and B's with very little effort, and I mostly did as I pleased in school. Then I got to college. My freshman year I went to a small private college that was academically challenging and man, was I in trouble. I had to LEARN to study.

I think Michael is  having to face up to the reality that school in America is really tough. I told him Alesia has had to work REALLY hard the last three years, and she  said YES I DID! poor kid.

We saw the best movie late this afternoon - The Water Horse. Wonderful film. My only concern was the children understanding the thick Scottish brogues all the characters used, but they seemed to get the story just fine. It was films in Scotland and the scenery was breathtaking. I want to back to Scotland one day. I'd love to rent a house there one summer. I only spent a few days there years ago, the summer I studied in England, but it's a magical place and I loved it.

Tomorrow my brother is supposed to show up. I hope he comes with a cheerful attitude and we have a happy visit.

Punching and Hitting Allowed

When I got home yesterday, my children were acting like wild animals in the garage. I was happy to see it. I had impulsively bought Michael a Punching Pillar - here's a link to see what one looks like: http://www.revolutionhealthstore.com/qxp89257_333181_sespider/everlast/power_tower_inflatable_punching_bag.htm

That was the best $20 I ever spent. Mike and Alesia were punching and hitting the bag as hard as they could. I might have to buy another one soon. I encouraged Mike to try out his karate kicks on it. I am hoping to get him going back to it in January - we missed a lot of classes due to my being sick.

If you have aggressive little boys [or girls] who like to punch and hit, I urge you to buy one of these nifty things.

I also can report success at the tennis experiment. I bought both kids good used raquets on e-bay, and yesterday they walked down to the courts to play. The courts were locked - need to figure out how to avoid that in the future - but they hit against a wall, and to each other a bit. Good exercise. Part of our pool membership includes tennis court privileges, but I have to figure out the tennis procedures.

Mike reported the first ball Alesia fired in his direction, he threw down his raquet and jumped out of the way. She has the ability to throw like a major league baseball pitcher. Mike has a strong left arm, too, so they might be formidable opponents one of these days, despite the height difference.

We watched The Kennedy Center Honors on TV last night. [See http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/] It's the only TV show [besides the Academy Awards] that I try to watch every year. The kids were NOT enthusiastic about watching, but sat there when I told them to, and behaved pretty well. Mike was more restless than Alesia.

Mother gave me for Christmas a pair of tiny handheld tape recorders that you clip onto a keychain to record notes to yourself. Mike took one and I put the other on my keychain. He was absolutely fascinated with it. He kept recording snippets of things, playing them back and giggling hysterically.

While we watched TV, Alesia did something she's never done before. She sat next to me on the loveseat and snuggled in, watching a lot of the program snuggled against me. Her cold is a lot better. She has had to be taught affection, because she got so little of it in Russia. I told Mother I was very gratified that she did that, because I have had to gradually show her that in families like ours, we hug and kiss a lot, and say "I love you" every day, and that's a good thing. I think she thought at first that we were really peculiar.

Michael has been a cuddly guy from the beginning. He loves to cuddle up to me, and spent most of his first few weeks home huddled up against me every chance he could get. Now, he has gotten affectionate with Granny and Alesia, too, when she allows it.

I generally make Michael brush his teeth in my bathroom every night. Last night I stupidly let him brush with Alesia in her bathroom. She thought it would be very funny to drop his toothbrush in the toilet. He came in my room pouting, and told me what happened. I told Alesia I will be taking her toothbrush away until she buys Mike a new electric toothbrush. I asked her why she did it, and she just giggled and said "I don't KNOW! Mom!" Then she added, "He can still use it. I cleaned it!"

Now, I am not a total germaphobe, but I couldn't deal with him using a toothbrush which has been in the toilet. So they will both be using manual toothbrushes for a while, and they will be brushing separately.

It never would've occurred to me as a kid to drop my brother's toothbrush in the toilet. The thought never crossed my mind. I did other dastardly things - like pulling apart his GI Joe limb from limb and dropping him down the toilet ["Let's see you get out of THIS one, tough guy!" I recall gleefully chortling.] or gluing his desk drawers shut. He kicked a hole in my door once. He once hung my dollbabies off the balcony, after passing sentence of death on them. At age 8, I locked all the stall doors in the ladies room of the Augusta Country Club, then crawled out beneath the doors and fled. Bruce and I used to sneak into the kitchen at night on our birthdays and eat the rest of the cakes, splitting them between us. We both skipped Sunday School routinely. We were high maintenance kids.

I had to take Mother in to the DMV this morning to take an eye test so she could renew her driver's license. She is 73, so she had to re-take the test. The woman behind the counter asked her if she was still 5'5. I nearly burst out laughing - she was never quite 5'5. My mother takes calcium religiously and has no trace of the shortening a lot of elderly women deal with. Mother said she was tempted to say "I've GROWN 7 inches recently" but she held it in. She then repeated Mother's weight and I again had to stifle a chuckle. Of course, I ain't telling anybody MY correct weight either...

I am trying to train Michael to keep his money in his wallet and put his wallet in his pants, every morning. He hasn't caught on, yet. This morning, we were headed to the drugstore, and he asked me if everything was on sale. I said "Yes, probably. Do you have your wallet?" Long pause. "No." I had to remind him about our talks about taking the wallet EVERY day. He argued with me. "But most of my money is in the box and I am SAVING it, like you told me!" he wailed.

Mother looked at me. "Well, yes, you did tell them to save their money."

Yikes! Foiled again! Hoisted with my own petard. "OK, so if you find anything less than $5 you can have it. When we were getting ready to checkou and leave, Mike brought me a toy and I said "How much is it?" He looked crestfallen. "6.99," was the reluctant reply. "Sorry, then put it back," I told him. I have to be tough sometimes.

Mother's birthday is next Monday, December 31st. She was born on New Year's Eve, and I was born on the 4th of July. Yeah, we like to party. LOL

Who is Stronger?

I forgot to report an interesting conversation I had the other day with Michael. We were headed to Kroger. Alesia was at home, feeling yucky with her bad cold.

Michael said something about Alesia poking him or hitting him or something. "Son, one of these deays, you will be bigger and stronger than her. You just wait, in a few years it will be a fair fight."

Michael, looking amused, responded calmly, "I'm stronger than Alesia NOW, Mom."

I looked at him, a sold 72 pounder now, but still only coming up to my shoulder in height. "Really?" was my brilliant response.

"Yes, but I would never hurt her," he said.

"Thank you buddy. You're a good man. Alesia has had a hard life, you know."

"I know, Mom," he replied quietly. His early life was tougher than hers, but he absolutely adores her.

This morning, I got Michael up early [7:30, early for a holiday] because I had to run him to the dentist for an appointment. Coco, who had slept in Alesia's room, was standing outside Alesia's room, nervously darting in and out of the room. I closed the door and started down the steps. Michael was in the bathroom. When I got to the landing, I turned, because Coco wasn't following me down the stairs, as usual. She was standing at the top, trembling, and looking upset. We think arthritis is making it hard for her to do the steps.

I was carrying several items and couldn't scoop her up. Michael came out of the bathroom. "Michael, honey, see if you can pick up Coco and carry her downstairs, OK? She's afraid."

"OK, Mom." He scooped up Coco, who weighs about 6 lbs., but is wriggly. Carrying a dog with only one hand is tough. Michael held her carefully, and walked slowly down the stairs. "It's OK, baby, it's OK," he said soothingly. "See, here you go. I put you down."

He set her carefully down on the tile and patted her tenderly. Coco licked him with appreciation. I wanted to cry.

Sometimes the sweetness of my son just overwhelms me.

This is the boy who nobody wanted to adopt because he was 10 years old and has only one hand.

*                                *                              *

I just learned the other day that a little girl in Michael's family group is getting adopted. [I will call her "A" here.]  I remember staring at her photos on the Antares website, thinking, there is something compelling about this child. I wish I could adopt her, too. What a cutie pie. She is just as adorable in person.

I can't go into the details, but a way has been found for her and her little sister to be adopted, by a lady I've gotten to know. She already has several adopted kids, but she met A when she was in Petro over a year ago, and wanted so badly to adopt her. She started sponsoring A through the Antares Foundation. Now that adoption is becoming a reality. I have prayed about the situation a lot. A happy ending. Prayer works.

My brother hasn't let us know exactly when he will come home, or for how long. It's sad for me and Mother, and Michael, who really misses him, even though he barely knows him. Please say a prayer my brother will come home soon, and spend some quality time with my son.

Quiet Holly Jolly Christmas

[written after midnight on Christmas day!]

Michael didn’t wake up this morning until 7:30 – when Alesia and I woke him! He immediately rushed downstairs to see what Santa brought. He hardly saw anything except the Gameboy.

We opened presents while mother and I drank coffee and tea. Alesia was great about getting everyone’s presents to them. Michael sat on the sofa, smiling. He didn’t get the same number of presents as Alesia, but he got a more expensive thing than her [Gameboy] and I explained that to him. I also tried to explain that I don’t have a charger yet and it will run out of juice if he plays it continuously, but he didn’t pay much attention.

One of Alesia’s gifts to me was a Whitman’s Sampler box of candy. SHE loves that candy, which is why I got it. She has already eaten a lot of it.

Alesia gave each of us small presents and cards. Alesia gave Mother a musical Christmas card that plays Holly Jolly Christmas. Michael’s card was normal, nothing terribly mushy, and she signed it “Hugs” – she can’t quite say “I love you” to him, but it will come. Mine made me cry. Here’s what it said:

Merry Christmas, Mother. May the peace, love, and joy of Christmas be yours throughout the year! Thatnk you for being [the] wonderful mother you are! With Big Love, Alesia

We had cinnamon rolls [from Pillsbury] and poached eggs for breakfast.

The kids played quietly most of the day, between the Gameboy, computer games, and looking over their loot. We had hamburgers for lunch.

It was cold and rainy outside, so I didn’t think it wise to venture out. Mother agreed – no need for me and Alesia to get sicker.

My cousin Lesleigh came over around 4 and hung out with us the rest of the day, which was nice. She helped us fix the turkey and dressing, and stayed to eat and visit. After dinner we watched the movie Transformers, which was one of Mike’s gifts.

Our pre-dinner hors d’ouvre was sliced brie with a dab of cranberry compote. We sampled some of the cranberry stuff at Kroger the other day – clever marketing, those Kroger folks – and I had to buy some. I don’t like cranberries, but this is mixed with pineapple and walnuts and it’s delicious.

We have had a wonderful Christmas, very low key and relaxed. For the first time in many years I wasn’t anxious about my brother coming or going. Everything was easy and relaxed, and there was almost no drama with the kids, hallelujah.

I took some photos, which I will try and post tomorrow. Right now, I’m beat.

Tomorrow, back to the real world..

Another View, for You, Merry Christmas

With his permission, I am quoting here from a post on one of my boards by a man named Gary, who just adopted a 15 year old boy from Kazakhstan. I wanted people to read this and see the love and caring in the post. You CAN adopt a teenager and have a happy ending - this is Gary and his wife's second teen adoption.

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I’ve been trying to catch up on a lot of neglected stuff around here after being gone for a month. It’s a wonder the whole place hasn’t fallen apart. You should see the stack of mail on my desk. Whewww…. Where to start?

Linda and I are in our early 50’s. This is our second adoption. We adopted a 14 year old girl named Kristina from Russia a couple of years ago. She is now 16 going on 35. It’s nice to have teen aged kids because you always have someone around that knows everything there is to know. We also have three other grown children with families of their own. We actually have grandchildren that are Timur’s age. I like grandkids a whole lot better than regular kids. LOL…….

Timur is 15 years old. He was given up at birth and has been institutionalized his entire life. He has never experienced the things that each of us takes for granted. He’s never been to a restaurant, the movies, skating, had pizza, popcorn, clothes he can call his own etc. I had to grab him by the scruff of the neck a couple of times to keep him from running out in traffic when we finally got him out to go shopping for some clothes. He was so excited to actually go to a store and buy things. More importantly, he has never experienced the love of a family. He’s never been tucked into bed and kissed good night. He’s never been told I love you by a mother and father. He soaks our loving attention up like a sponge. He has so desperately wanted a family his entire life. You should have seen the look of shock on his face when we met him for the first time. He had no idea we even existed prior to that. He thought his chances of ever having a family had diminished. Actually we’ve been trying to get him adopted for over three years. Time was running out for him so we grabbed the bull by the horns and finally adopted him ourselves. It was God’s plan for us all along I guess.

Anyway, of course we love this boy. He’s our son. But, we also like this kid. He is very likable. He has a wonderful personality and a genuine smile that lights up the room. He’s thick skinned and can take a joke as well as dish it out. Those characteristics are imperative if he’s to survive in our family. Grin. He insisted on taking his new clothes back to the boarding school so he could show them off. His mother and I debated strongly over that and yielded to his lesser judgment. Anyway, when I inquired about the clothes a couple of days later, he looked me square in the eye and without missing a beat he said, “I sold them”. He was giving me a taste of my own medicine because I tease him all the time. Everyone was rolling around laughing at my expense. I told him he’s going to look mighty funny getting on the plan naked when we left for home. I said it’s going to be a bit cold too. In any event, he one up’ed me.

To answer some of your questions, the Kazakhstan experience was considerably different than the Russian experience. The best Russian orphanages don’t hold a candle to the care that the kids get in Kazakhstan at least from what we experienced. We were quite impressed with what we saw. On the other hand, Kazakhstan is far more depressed than Russia of course. It’s really not a place I’d go out of my way to include on my vacation itinerary. Linda can’t wait to come home. She and Timur should arrive home on 09-Jan-08. We made the best of it though which is the best advice we can give to any PA’s headed in that direction. Presently, considering the state of international adoption status throughout the world, Kazakhstan in our opinion is the most lucrative place to adopt from.

It took approximately 5 weeks to receive our L.O.I. from Kazakhstan once we submitted our dossier to their consulate here in the U.S. Keep in mind that that is an expedited process time. Be prepared to grease a few palms if you expect your paperwork to be processed in an expedient manner. Otherwise it takes 3 to 4 months for the Kazakhstan consulate to process your dossier and send it off to the M.O.E. in Kazakhstan. Then after that, there is no telling how long it takes. Resolve yourself to the fact that they do things in Kaz time there and it can be quite frustrating. They certainly don’t have a sense of urgency that’s for sure.

As far a unexpected experiences are concerned I’m sure there were a few. None that I can think of off the top of my head though. I’m sure Linda can expound on that. We were quite prepared because we did a tremendous amount of research and relied on others for information. Our friends on this forum were extremely valuable in that regard.

Timur was at the regional boarding school but he did not originate from there. He was at another orphanage about 450 kilometers away and they transferred him to the regional facility in preparation for his adoption. He was transferred because they did not have the administration or infrastructure to accommodate an international adoption from where he was at. He was at regional less than a month when we arrived. I think it’s important to note that although he was there for such a short time he was very popular with all the other kids there. That says a lot about his personality.

The “Regional Boarding School” is an impressive place to say the least. There are nine groups of children from 1st thru 11th grade called family units. Each unit consists of approximately 25 children divided equally among boys and girls. They are well organized and the kids are very well taken care of. I fell in love with all the children in Timur’s unit and cried like a baby when I left there after my last day. They clung on me like I was some sort of celebrity. There are so many beautiful children but only about 10% are actually eligible for adoption.

In my entire life, this is the most rewarding thing I have ever done hands down. No other experience compares to the blessings that God has bestowed on our family since we adopted Kristina over two years ago. Originally I thought I needed another kid like I needed another hole in the head. Some folks think we have rocks for brains adopting children at our age. Our complicated lives got so much easier when we submitted to God’s plan and stopped trying to direct the events in our own lives. His plan seems to work out a whole lot better. Real life is truly stranger and more exciting than fiction.

Christmas Eve Means Big Fish

I have no delusions that anyone will read this for a few days – after all it’s Christmas Eve, but who knows. Maybe y’all are like me, and need some alone time every day, even from a billion relatives and Christmas cheer…

We are having a quiet Christmas at home, just the four of us. My brother is coming in this weekend. We’ve never had Christmas with any extended family, except my mother’s parents, when I was small and they were still alive. I have 4 uncles, and they always spend Christmas with their wives’ families. So be it.

We went to the aquarium today, courtesy of my friend Shalida’s generosity. She won two free tickets to the aquarium and gave them to me, thereby saving me over $60. I only had to buy Michael’s ticket.

The Georgia Aquarium, for those who might not know it, is the world’s largest aquarium. It opened about 3 years ago but I detest crowds and couldn’t bring myself to go and pay the money for the tickets until Shalida offered them to me for free. Here’s a link if you want to learn more: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/

I chose to go today for two reasons. One, I took the day off work. Two, I wanted to distract Michael from obsessing over the countdown to Christmas. He has been fretting, hardly able to contain himself.

Everyone always complains about the wall-to-wall crowds at the aquarium. Not today. There were plenty of folks, but it wasn’t horribly crowded. We were able to see everything easily.

The aquarium is an amazing place, I have to admit. There’s no way to really describe it. There are separate exhibits for ocean fish and freshwater fish. There are exotic jellyfish – loved those, they looked like living modern art paintings. There are beluga whales – I loved them. We watched otters play. We walked through a tunnel that was like walking right through the world’s biggest tank, because there were all glass sides and the fish were all around, including enormous sharks. There were several places where fish could be touched. I had to sit down while Alesia supervised Michael touching a stingray. I couldn’t handle it – plus my feet hurt. It’s a lot of walking.

I went to the Charleston aquarium a couple of years ago and loved it, but this one was much bigger, and really quite impressive. If I hadn’t felt so rotten, it would’ve been better.

I have pre-stuffed the stockings, and Mother and the kids have enough, but not too much. Everything is wrapped. I pan broiled some shrimp for dinner – fresh ones caught by my cousin’s boyfriend, not yucko imported shrimp. We also had pasta.

At breakfast this morning, Alesia stated dramatically, “Can I just SLEEP ALL DAY?! I want to sleep ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT and then wake up tomorrow and it’s Christmas!!”

Last night, I went downstairs after dinner and found Alesia cleaning up alone, which ticked me off. Michael was supposed to be helping. Alesia saw me and quickly said “Mom, I happened to look in Michael’s ears and they were REALLY DIRTY – so I sent him upstairs to clean them.”

I was amused and horrified. “You WHAT?!” I asked her.

She looked confused. “I sent Michael upstairs to clean his ears, Mom?”

I know I am getting old now. What I heard was this:

“Mom, I happened to look in my brassiere and they were REALLY DIRTY [mumble mumble] clean them.”

I asked Alesia to distract Michael tonight and I went ahead and put his Santa loot downstairs, in a chair in the living room. I have given him dire warnings not to even attempt to wake me until at least 7 a.m. We’ll see if it works. He went to sleep about 11, so I can dream.

Snickerdoodle Day

Our wooden Santa face with numbered tags has a tag that says “2” – two days until Christmas! Almost ready to change to ONE DAY! Michael is beyond excited.

It was cold and rainy when we got up this morning. I have a bad head cold and Alesia has the same cold, or worse. We are both living on Mucinex. Kleenex is everywhere. Mother doesn’t need to get out in the cold and damp with her arthritis. So we skipped Sunday School and church. I went to a breakfast that one of the ladies in my Sunday School class hosted, in her beautiful town home right across from the church. Stunning place – lots of Asian and Native American art, decorated like something from House Beautiful. Wow.

I went home and got my kids off the sofas, where they had been vegging out, watching cartoons, and honey, we CLEANED. My house may not look like a magazine showplace, but it is now CLEAN. [Well, the downstairs is pretty clean. I still need to clean my bathroom…]

Last night, after dinner, I made the Chex party mix that’s on the Pioneer Woman Cooks website. [See http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/ and scroll waaaaay down.] I used fresh garlic and a good bit of Tabasco sauce. I threw caution to the winds. I mixed and threw in spices with abandon. I stuck that party mix, in the biggest pan we have, a lasagna pan, right into that 250 degree oven, and sat down to watch Elf with the kids. A little while later, I noticed my eyes were watering. A GARLIC FOG had invaded my house. The children both started in with the EEEEUWW! What’s that SMELL??!!

“That’s what we’re giving the neighbors for Christmas. I figured they might be sick of cookies.”

The kids like garlic. They looked at me like I had just lost my mind.

"I think I'm CHOKING! I don't feel good!" Alesia whined.

"At least your sinuses are open! And there will be NO VAMPIRES in our house tonight!" I retorted. "Watch the movie."

As I went to bed last night, I was thinking, if that stuff is as stinky in the morning as it is now, the neighbors may firebomb my house…

I got up this morning and tasted it. It was definitely not bad. Hallelujah. A few weeks ago I had bought some lovely smallish gift boxes at Target, and I lined them with saran wrap and filled them with Chex Mix. It’s all been delivered now except for one box. Those little boxes held far more than I thought they would. Thanks be to god I wasn’t trying to fill them with cookies.

For lunch, we sat around discussing various local restaurants. We couldn’t agree on anything. Mother had to concede I’ve eaten a lot of Mexican food lately [not my favorite cuisine] and she owed me a Chinese meal. I took the family to Mama Fu’s, a combination Chinese/Thai place, with delicious food, not too expensive. Mother got some General Tsao’s shrimp with broccoli and pronounced it good, and said she would come back. Michael pronounced his kids’ meal too sweet. Then he dipped it into hot chili sauce and said his mouth was ON FIRE!! I said “Son, I told you to try an eeny-weeny bit, not a forkful.” Didn’t appease him. He was making awful faces and practically sloshing his face in his drink. Then we tried to figure out what else to feed him. He played it to the hilt. Finally, mother said “All we’re doing is focusing on Michael. I’d like to discuss other things at lunch. We’re ignoring Michael for the rest of the meal.” She wasn’t trying to be mean, but he pouted anyway.

After lunch, we went to Bruster’s for Alesia’s celebratory ice cream treat, rewarding her for good grades. Michael got his favorite sundae, Dirt and Worms.

Late this afternoon, Michael and I made snickerdoodles [sugar/cinnamon cookies] and a pan of brownies. Michael loves to help me cook. Why? I wish you could see the chocolate all over his face.

Alesia LOVED the snickerdoodles. I was amazed. She usually won’t eat cookies, not more than 1 or 2 anyway, which is probably a good thing.

For dinner, I made the Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich, from the Pioneer Woman Cooks website. It’s awesome! The onions are giving me heartburn, however. Whenever I eat too many onions or peppers, I get massive heartburn.

I am really, really tired, and my head cold is worse. I hope I am over this soon, and it’s not another sinus infection…

FYI, here’s an article I put on the rainbowkids.com website: http://www.rainbowkids.com/ExpertArticleDetails.aspx?id=281&title=Understanding%20My%20Daughter