Liam

"I'm not a fibber, I'm a character". -Liam

This child has been on this earth for 3 years and I can already tell that he's going to be the cause of the rest of my gray hair. He is the most exuberant, energetic, and entertaining little boy.

He will, I'm sure, keep his mommy and daddy on their toes. We will either be old before our time or young at heart. I have to say I'm really hoping for the latter.

He can occasionally more than occasionally try the patience of a saint but he is so much fun to watch and so entertaining to listen to. I can't imagine our lives without Liam "Call me Bubba".

He's an amazing gift. We're so blessed to get to be a part of his bouncy life.

TWWK

The Wonderful World of Kaiser.

I would like to preface this with: We are so very thankful for our insurance. It is a complete blessing.

That said, the advice nurses at Kaiser (generally) are less than stellar. Jon woke up this morning with both of inner and outer ears painin' him. Unsure as to whether it was worth the $25 co-pay he called the advice nurse.

The realm of the advice nurse has changed a wee bit since we were last on Kaiser. There is no waiting on hold to talk to a real live nurse. There is only giving them a number to call you back when they are good and ready. Heaven help you if you don't have a cell phone (we are currently cell phoneless - if you've been trying to get in touch - this is why it's not working out so well. it's not you, it's us. really) and can't be chained to your phone for the morning. Jon gave them my sisters home number, but had to leave to get to work. On his way out the door he asked me to see if they would talk to me. I said sure, but in my head I was totally saying "yeah right! Like they'll talk to me"!

Lo and behold they called about an hour later. A pretty good response time. The following is a pretty accurate recounting of what was said.

Kaiser Nurse Mumbling Mabel*: May I please speak to Jon Blahblahblah? This is the Kaiser nurse.
Me: He had to go to work. I'm his wife. Is it possible for you to speak to me?
KNMM: Uh. Just a minute.
Me:
Me:
Me:
Me:
Me:
KNMM: I can give him an appointment with Dr. NameICannotPronounce on Friday evening.
Me: Um. I think my husband just called for advice?
KNMM: What's wrong with him?
Me: Um... (Repeat the ear stuff)
KNMM: Well, he can apply heat and take over the counter meds. We have 5 openings with Dr. NameICannotPronounce on Friday.
Me: Well... we're kind of hoping he won't still be having this problem by Friday. I'll have him call if he changes his mind...
KNMM: Ok
Me: Thank you very much.

End that insightful call. 5 minutes later the phone rings again.

Me: Hello?
KNMM: This is the Kaiser nurse again.
Me: Okay?
KNMM: I also forgot to tell you that if he develops a fever, is dizzy or loses his hearing to bring him in.
Me: (gee, ya think?)
Me: We sure will. Uh. Thank you?

End that 2nd very insightful call.

So yeah. This is what I learned today: Inner and outer ear pain can wait 'til Friday. Fever!, dizziness!, and loss of hearing!, after a few moments of thought, might be important reasons to hit urgent care.

* Kaiser Nurse Mumbling Mabel is not her real name. (She never even gave me her name.)

What a feeling

My Saturday didn't really start out so well.

For reasons I still can't quite figure out, I had an issue with getting out of bed (other than the usual reasons). I mean just standing up. Yes, I was crawling out of the best bed air bed thingy that you can find, but that wasn't the reason. At least I don't think so. I was so overwhelmingly dizzy I sprawled back into bed before taking a step. I thought maybe I was just tired. I haven't really been sleeping well lately so I thought maybe my body was just telling me to go back to bed.

Not so. Two hours later I was queasy and my head felt funny and my eyeballs were rolling around. I was outta commission for most of the day.

I still didn't feel 100%, but I managed to get the kids into the backyard for a little while that afternoon.

The backyard is my Mom's domain. She is where my love of gardening comes from. (I still remember going out in the front yard of the house I grew up in, digging in the dirt with her and planting beautiful flowers.) Her flowers are blooming and I have been admiring the beautiful colors through the window. She has a number of things growing in her beds but my favorite is the Sweet Peas. Sweet Peas are, in my opinion, the best flower in the whole wide world. They are beautiful and fragrant and I love them.

I'm trying to get back into the swing of taking pictures again. So here ya go...

I'm also still trying to figure out how to take pictures and wear my glasses at the same time...

The one with the T.V. and Movies

So I couldn't sleep last night. I didn't even bother with going through the motions of turning the T.V. off and doing the tossing and turning thing. I just watched late night T.V. Some of the commercials killed me. There is a new Pepsi Max commercial... alas, I'm not writing about commercials (this time). I watched Without A Trace. Yes, I know it isn't late night, but I'm coming from Central Time Zone baby! Everything is an hour later here. I watched Scrubs. I probably watched some other stuff too. What stood out for me though, was Friends.

I don't think I really watched that last season, but I had the pleasure of catching an episode that originally aired in February of '04. Aptly titled The One Where The Stripper Cries. (I'm going to go ahead and tell those of you who are offended by the title of this episode to just go ahead and click on that little arrow that will take you back to where you came from. Please do come back and visit another day.) I laughed until I had tears in my eyes - it was exactly what I needed. I mean, how can you go wrong with Danny DeVito playing a stripper? That's dressed up like a cop? That ends up crying? Joey being a celebrity contestant on Pyramid? Chandler and Ross freaking out over who kissed Rachel first? Flashbacks of a "fat" Monica, Flock of Seagulls hair wearing Chandler, pre-nose job Rachel, and a frankly scary looking Ross?

That's right! YOU CAN'T!

It was awesome! So I will share with you my favoritest, most bestest quotes:

Joey: Hey, guys...
Monica: Wait! Let me tell them!
Joey: Sure.
Monica: Joey's going to be a celebrity guest on a game show!
Ross: Really? Which one?
Monica: Uh... fish. Seaweed. A sunken ship.
Ross: Things you find in the ocean. Oh! You're going to be on Pyramid!
Chandler: What did I marry into?

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Ross: It matters to me!
Chandler: Why?
Ross: Because the night you kissed Rachel was the night I kissed Rachel for the very first time!
Chandler: You kissed her that night, too?
Monica: Two guys in one night? Wow, I thought she became a slut after she got her nose fixed.
Chandler: Seriously, where did this happen?
Ross: Okay, after you told me she was passed out in our room, I went in there to make sure she was all right. She was lying on my bed, all buried in people's coats. Well, I went to kiss her on the forehead, but it was so dark I accidentally got her lips. I started to pull away, but then I felt her start to kiss me back. It was only for a second, but it was amazing. And now... now I find out that you kissed her first!
Chandler: Uh, wait, what bed did you say she was on?
Ross: Mine.
Chandler: I'm pretty sure I put her on my bed.
Ross: No, she was definitely on my bed.
Chandler: Why would I kiss a girl and then put her on your bed?
Ross: Well, then who was on my bed?
Monica (horrified): Oh! Oh! Oh!
Ross (realizing): No! No! No!
Monica: Yes!
Ross: You were under the pile of coats?
Monica: I was the pile of coats! You were my midnight mystery kisser?
Ross: You were my first kiss with Rachel?
Monica: You were my first kiss ever?
Chandler: What did I marry into?

I also have a wee question to put to you, dear internets. Is it so wrong that I have had absolutely no desire to see Street Kings. That is until I saw that House Hugh Laurie was in it? I don't think I have shared my love of that show with you as of yet. It is deep. It burns with the fire of a thousand suns. (House is mean and sarcastic and I love him. Not that kind of love, but you know what I mean. I mean you should know what I mean. It's a mean love. I mean... stop confusing me!) I would go see this movie just because he's in it. It could be a bit part for all I know (it better not! or those directors are quite possibly stupid heads unintelligent.).

My husband is totally going to hold me to that.

I've Made a Huge Mistake

I was about to start a post on regrets. I have been thinking about things I wish I could change. To be able to go back in time and undo decisions we made, choices I made - well, you get the picture. When I think that way I can feel the depression closing in.

As I started to title my draft my son came up, shoved a book under my nose and asked me to read it to him. Three books later and here I am starting this post. Regrets? Who has regrets? Okay, yeah, I still do. Whatever they are they pale in comparison to what I have right here.

So in honor of my 3 year old child smacking (metaphorically) some sense into me I will give you...

Arrested Development Quotes

Carl Weathers: [about Burger King] I'm going to go get a drink refill. You know you can get unlimited refills on any drink you want... and it's free?
Tobias: It's a wonderful restaurant.
Ron Howard (Narrator): It sure is.

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GOB: I’m in charge now. I speak for this family. I mean... I could if you wanted me to. I’d rather not, obviously. Don’t know what I’d say. Why do I have to be the one? I don’t need this. Why does this have to become my problem? No, I’m out. Forget it. Find somebody else. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of doing everything for this family.

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Michael: "Your Uncle Gob seems to think that he saw you down at the docks today. Was that you?"

George Michael: "No. No. Maybe it was the other George Michael. You know, the singer-songwriter."

Michael: "Yeah, that makes sense."

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[the Bluths have hired Andy Griffith to sit in on George Sr's hearing]
Lindsay Funke: Bad news. Andy Griffith turned us down. He didn't like his trailer.
[the camera pans over to reveal the log cabin truck]
Lindsay Funke: He thought we were making fun of him.
Ron Howard (Narrator): They were not making fun of Andy Griffith. This cannot be stressed enough.

If you haven't discovered the wonder that is Arrested Development you need to check it out.