Havoc and Mayhem

Leaves

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Sunday was beautiful! It was in the mid 70’s. DH went off for a few hours on his new ride with some of the guys and the boys and I raked leaves. With only one rake and one broom it took quite some time.

There were a lot of leaves. We made a huge pile. It’s about a 5 foot circle and 3 feet deep.

The boys took a long running start and leapt in

And threw leaves

Then the tree branch was noticed and I suggested jumping from it

Even these guys joined in the fun and we played Hunt the Dino in the leaves.

The stegosaurus thought it would be fun to stay hidden so Mayhem had to burrow through the whole pile looking for him

By the time the stegosaurus came out of hiding the sun was starting to set, so we piled the much flatter & more crushed leaves back up and used them to mulch the nearby trees.

I’m glad we managed to get one day of playing with the leaves in this fall. It has been so wet & unpleasant on the weekends lately.

Things to do

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +0000

We’re heading on on vacation in 2 weeks and I have some goals I need to complete before then.

1. Confirm house sitter will be home from college when we leave & not 3 days later (the cats will starve & turn to catibalism if not fed for 3 days)

2. Get oil change etc for the car

3. Get annual exam etc for me

4. Transfer my blog to a new host & switch to Wordpress, which means getting my domain away from blogger when there is no means I can find to contact them. Or can a new host do that? Anyone?

5. Decide what I need and find a new host. Do I need 25 FTP accounts? or 50 external domains? 500 email addresses? I just want this blog to have threaded replies. Not run a store or go all Pioneer Woman. I’m happy with blogger otherwise but I’m willing to pay to respond to my commenters better. Host suggestions welcome.

6. Sort out clothing for trip

7. Find ‘surprise’ movie or DS game for boys. I always get them something for the trip down and then just when it’s all been going on too long for everyone I spring it on them.

8. Find audiobooks for the trip.

9. Work out meal plan for the next 2 weeks. The college student eats take out mostly so I need to clean the fridge & use up the leftovers.

10. Make list of all electronics being taken and all their various chargers & see about finding an all in one with exchangable tips.

so what do you have to do this week? And do you like your blog host, assuming it isn’t blogger?

Weekly Winners - week 45

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:34:00 +0000

A some of my daily photos this week.

DH got a new bike. It’s shiny

Cats spent time in the cedars

Havoc and Athena go for a walk

And these guys joined us for dinner at Chili’s. We couldn’t keep them out of the fries.

For more Weekly Winners please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom. Thanks for stopping by!

The timing is all wrong

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:29:00 +0000

These are bacon garlic cheese biscuits that turned out like bacon scented rocks.

I made them last week. Ordinarily when I am trying to work out a recipe variation like this I make them every couple days until I get it exactly as I want it.

But right now I am participating in a Skinny Jeans weight loss competition and biscuits 4 times a week are not on my meal plan. I’ve lost about 7lbs in 2 weeks & the only real change I’ve made to my life is to eat lower fat foods and less foods in general. I already exercise 4-5 times a week. Eating less is obviously the missing element in my diet plan. see evil dip

So bacon biscuits have to be perfected on Saturdays, which is my ‘free play’ day, as Mayhem puts it.

I have to get this done before Thanksgiving. We’ll be at my parents’ place for it and mom allows no one to help with the meal. It’s the traditional meal. Mom knows how to make it. No one can muck about putting oysters or sausage in the stuffing or making savory sweet potatoes. Supper is as it always has been at her house. If I want to get creative with the food I can do it when supper is at my house (I get creative with the phone when it is my turn. Side dishes are fun to play with, making the whole meal is not.) My SIL is allowed to contribute an appetizer for her side of the family (she’s part Lebanese), if they are with us for dinner. The only area I’m allowed any scope at all is bread. Last time we were together for the holiday I made sweet corn bread, nice but bland. This time I thought I’d go with more flavor & texture.

I have a page of thoughts of things I want to try with the biscuits. At least 3 batches of testing depending on how it goes. Problem is a half batch is still a dozen biscuits.

I suppose I could try quartering it.

Ah boys

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:53:00 +0000

My sons have reached that stage in their male development when most of their conversation and anything they deem funny involves the words fart, butt, poop, and underwear. (not trying to be sexist but I know no little girls who do this. This is just reality as I know it.)

It is so prevalent that the other day at the trunk or treat I actually uttered the immortal mom phrase:

“If I hear you mention your hind end one more time I am going to smack it.”

(for full effect imagine slight southern part hillbilly accent saying it. I don’t know why by I often go all hick when telling my kids off in public, especially in Wal Mart, though I sound standard American the rest of the time)

Mayhem’s favorite thing right now is to ask “What color is my underwear?” in a silly voice and then crack up laughing at himself. He rarely wears any so I guess that is the joke.

He also does not seem to understand the difference between knock knock joke and jokes of the ‘why did the chicken cross the road” type. This is a typical Mayhem joke:

Knock Knock.

Who’s there?

Underwear.

Underwear who?

Why did the underwear cross the road?

I don’t know, why?

To get away from the butt.

followed by hysterical laughter.

He used to understand the difference but about 18 months ago decided they were both funnier combined and we cannot get him to stop.

Havoc’s entire conversation revolves around farting and butts, “who farted?”, “ew you farted”, “was that a fart?”, “this smells like farts.” “let’s kick the butt” “sit it on the butt” and variations, constantly.

Constantly. Really. To the point where I now send him to his room for saying it because I am so sick and tired of hearing it. It’s not the words themselves, though honestly, as a subject it does leave something to be desired, it’s the repetition. Substitute roses and fairies for fart & butt and I would still be totally over this self imposed conversational limitation of theirs.

The thing is…judging by the preteen, teen and adult males that I know…it isn’t going to end. Oh the topics will broaden to include sports, boobs and beer at some point, and no doubt they will be able to discourse on politics, paleontology and philosophy at will, but you name me a male that doesn’t appreciate a good fart or underwear joke.

If you are visiting from Shimelle’s class, I tend to post before I see her daily prompt. This is actually inspired yesterday’s prompt

The holiday album dilemma

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:48:00 +0000

There is just too much choice out there and I need to decide now, if not very very soon just what sort of holiday album I am going to do this year.

I’ve done shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas for the past 2 years and even though I didn’t complete last year’s album I did get plenty of pages done. But the not completing it bugged me. I think I need to scale back my expectations this year. And possibly my design style. I’m thinking very clean, almost graphic only style with either white or black backgrounds. I’d like to do just graphic only but I know I’ll end up wanting to use a bunch of embellishments on some layouts and that would be jarring in appearance I think sitting amid a bunch of smooth, unshadowed graphic designs.

But I really want more of a photo book look than a scrapbook look I think.

Then there is the thought that occurred to me that ‘the holidays’ actually started last Friday with the Halloween party at school. Possibly they could start on Thanksgiving, which would give me a bit more time to get my plans sorted. Though since I take a photo a day anyway doing a ‘2009 Holiday Season’ photo book can pretty much start whenever I feel like it. I never take just one photo so I can even make sure there is no photo overlap between it and my 365 project.

I could even get Havoc & Mayhem to take the photos for it. Now there is an idea! Start the day we leave to visit my parents in a couple weeks and run through the end of their xmas break & use their photos! Havoc loves to use my D40, Mayhem prefers seeing things on the screen on the old Olympus, so there would be no fighting over the camera. This could work!

But still, if I want to do scrapbook pages (which I just know I will end up making in December) I need to get my act together pretty much this weekend or so and pick my templates, design style & a start date

I’m thinking of getting these templates

and adapting them as I go, but they want more photos than I usually manage.

I like these as well

and I have some by Janet Phillips, that are no longer available that I’m sorting through. Then I have to work out what kits to use. My favorite designers haven’t put any out yet.

You know, I never do a holiday newsletter. They are too complicated & time consuming.

New toys!

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:03:00 +0000

On November 4, 2008 I wrote this post about how I came back from voting to find my new long awaited Nikon D40 waiting on the porch.

Well, 364 days later, I came home from voting to find my new lens waiting for me on the porch.

and we get to vote again next year! So I should start considering what lens I want for then.

I also got the Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook! Yaay!

I’ve been considering lenses since I got the camera. I want an 18-200mm zoom but it’s like $600 and the camera itself with kit lens was $400 and I can’t quite make that mental leap yet. I know a lot of scrapbookers who just love their 50mm lenses. But the 50mm that auto focuses with the D40 is about $500 and there is that leap again.

Then I read Ken Rockwell’s review of the 35mm-f1.8 and it said things like

“A fast, light, inexpensive normal lens for Nikon's DX cameras, especially for use in low-light without flash”

and

“It is especially wonderful for shooting anything hand-held in available light.”

and

“For $199.95, this lens is a must-have for anyone shooting a DX camera in available light and who doesn't already have a fast 50mm lens. It's a no-brainer for low-light.”

Seeing a theme?

Low light. I haz it.

My house is underground and faces exactly the wrong way (north west) to take advantage of natural light (south east, but NW is the right way for wonderful views). While I do have sliding glass or French doors in every room, the sun is going down by the time it reaches them directly. Not too much of a problem in summer but starting about now and continuing until May, low light is an everyday thing. Especially when you have to close the curtains against the chill from all that glass.

I took a practice shot

Never, in the history of ever, have I managed to take a flash free naturally lit shot IN FOCUS of the stack of books on my nightstand. Usually I have to turn on every light in the room plus bring in the clamp on reading lamp to get a decent flash free shot .

And then it turns out all yellow toned. This turned out actual room color toned. You can see the reflection of the lights in the kitchen on some of the spines but I’m pleased with the outcome.

Then I did a close up

I’d like more of a bokeh background but again, no flash, natural light in the kitchen. Normally the whole thing would just be a blur. So a definite and large improvement in this situation. I’m going to keep it on my camera the rest of the week and see how it goes in ‘real life’ shooting.

I got it new from Amazon for $199. Though I have seen it for as much as $230 online. I almost bought one used on ebay. My highest bid was $175 and the winner got it for $195 plus shipping, so I feel good that if I really don’t like it, I’m probably only out $5-10.

Dental drama – that wasn’t

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:12:00 +0000

I cracked a filling out of one of my bottom front teeth a couple weeks ago.

I was eating a ball of frozen cookie dough (homemade!) and I suppose one of the chocolate chips hit it at just the right angle to knock it out. Last time I broke a filling it was on a frozen Twix bar so you’d think I’d know better but some of us it seems are just doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

This particular filling was a long skinny one on the side of my tooth. Not very deep at all. It didn’t hurt & was just mildly annoying because it was something for my tongue to worry at. But since I had some of my teeth filed a bit for the InvisaLine braces I had a couple years ago, my tongue had been worrying at those teeth anyway.

So the 2 week wait to see the dentist was no big deal. Even my usual dental terror didn’t bother to go into it’s usual overdrive 3 days before the event. I was feeling fairly certain there would be a minimum of drilling or just roughing up the area & then a new filling and done. Maybe 20 minutes. Probably $125.

I get there early, they take me fairly quickly, which is good because the waiting room is where the dental terror kicks in every time. They took a quick xray and left me to sit in the chair. And sit. And imagine all the ways they are going to hurt me. And remember all the ways dentists have hurt me in the past. I have sensitive teeth, just cleaning them with that whirling rubbery thing can send shocks up my nerves. And I can feel that pain right now just typing about it, so you can imagine what being in the chair does. I’m usually borderline hysterical and in tears when I need a root canal and often unable to open my mouth of involuntary fear response when I need a filling.

Waiting is not good.

But I was able to talk myself down this time because really…I didn’t think it would be that bad. The shot would hurt but it’s the endless drilling that gets me and I just couldn’t see how there could be much necessary in this case.

Then at last the dentist came in. She looked at it and said.”Oh, all we need to do is dry out the space, rough it up and bit and refill it. No numbing needed”

and I said “AMEN!”

And then she said “That apparently was a more or less cosmetic filling and given your teeth line now really isn’t that noticeable. It’s not going to trap food and if it doesn’t bother you, you don’t actually need it done.”

and I said “HALLELUJAH!”

And the she said “Here is the sheet with the prices if you want it done.”

and I said “SWEET JESUS!”

$193 to get the tooth filled now. $78 for what had been done so far – a xray and talking to the doctor. $115 for the filling. If I came back in the next 6 months they would only charge me the $115 total.

We have no dental insurance. Do any of the proposed universal coverage plans even mention dental? I have about $2500 of non critical but needed dental work hanging out there hoping someday I might have dental insurance that will cover at least some of it

and then I said “Well, I’ll be going now.”

Because it doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t bother me and it’s only noticeable if you look closely and if the tooth is not going to fall apart from decay without it,then, I’m good for now.

It’s NaBloPoMo!

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:35:00 +0000

And I'm not doing this year. I did it last year and the year before and the year before that (on a different blog). I just don’t know that I am up for 31 days of posts right now.

They have to be real posts too, not just random memes to fill in the spots. At least, that is my personal rule when I do it. Honest to god content posts only, with Weekly Winners the only allowable meme…and one Wordless Wednesday in the month… and one post about how doing all these posts is a such challenge. But the rest must be original content!

I don’t know that I have that much original content in me right now.

And I’m going of town for about 12 days in the middle of it, with 4 of those days on the road and probably no time to post on at least 3 of them.

Unless I post from my phone.

But posting from my phone, even with the QWERTY keyboard is a PITA

Although…I am starting a class today called Blogging for Scrapbookers. There is a button for it over there on the sidebar somewhere. It’s run by shimelle, who also runs Learn Something New Everyday and Journal Your Christmas every year, which I also take. This class will be giving me 15 blogging prompts plus a book with a year’s worth of topics for scrapbookers.

So it’s not as if I won’t have ideas for content.

Am I dithering? I’m dithering aren’t I? I suppose I should start looking for omens and signs from the heavens to direct me in the way I should go.

Maybe I should do a tarot spread? I wonder what card would indicate “I see much posting in your future.” Pentacles I think. Maybe the six or the eight. Though pentacles are about money and I’ve made just enough from the ads on this blog to pay for the domain name for another year. Wands might be more appropriate

And now some more ideas for content have occurred to me. I could do a lot with the suit of Wands.

I suppose that is a sign

But only tomorrow will tell for sure.

Weekly Winners - week 44

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:31:00 +0000

A random collection from around the house this time

Fall colors

Mushrooms in the yard

Pumpkins on the porch (eventually)

Trick or Treaters

Clone troopers working

For more Weekly Winner please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom to see the other participants. Thanks for stopping by!

Costume question

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Tomorrow is trick or treating. Today is the school Halloween party & the kids get to go to school in costume. Well, Havoc gets to dress in costume, as long as his face isn’t covered, he isn’t wearing a hat ,or carrying any weapons real or fake. Mayhem has to wear pajamas. “So everyone can participate in the fun.”

I don’t get that sentence. Havoc had to do the same thing last year. But not this year. And last year Mayhem, in pre-k, got to wear a costume. So obviously it’s just kindergarteners who might not be able to go to a party if people were to dress up in costume. If it were issues with someone in Havoc’s class then I would think the restriction would still be enforced. I understand some people don’t do Halloween for religious reasons. What I am not understanding is why this ban is specific to kindergarten? The Devil is only after 5 year olds? I assume there is a kindergarten teacher who doesn’t celebrate Halloween, because I can’t think of anything else.

Havoc’s costume restrictions meant we had to find something for him to wear because his trick or treat costume is a Clone Trooper, which has a mask & a blaster & without those he’s just wearing a white pantsuit with beige trim.

So, falling back on a lifetime of experience creating costumes out of what I could find in the house, Havoc went as a ninja. Black pants, black shirt, black scarf on his head (which may or may not be considered a hat) and a black bandana around his neck that he *could* pull over his face but absolutely he promises won’t, because it’s against the rules.

Last year they went as bandits, wearing DH’s thermal tee shirts, my canvas belts, water pistols and a bandana around their face. The year before that they were pirates which is the exact same costume only the bandana is on the head.

Because I’m all creative like that.

I remember one year wearing a princess costume with plastic unbreathable mask. The costume itself was a plastic bag with a dress printed on it & you wore the bag over your clothes. It was 1971 in West Virginia. Every other costume I remember was put together with random stuff around the house. My mom couldn’t sew so one year I ended up with an apron and a wooden spoon and went as Julia Child.

What were your favorite costumes as a kid? Not necessarily for Halloween, but if you played dress up or went to theme parties during the year.

BTW, Mayhem? He’s wearing his spider man pajamas.

shopping for a fantasy

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:15:00 +0000

So I was in Wal Mart a month or so ago

Which is exactly where you would expect a fantasy to begin right? The fantasy of being the sort of person who does not shop in Wal Mart. But I am that sort of person, just sometimes I get these ideas in my head and I forget just whose life I am leading. I call them my Martha Stewart moments.

I needed table linens. Actually I needed table plastics. The dog had somehow snagged a claw in the last decent looking wipe off table cloth (ok, vinyl) we owned and ripped it. My table’s surface is…unattractive.. It’s the table from DH’ family kitchen & was low end balsa, later covered with fake wood look stick on plastic. It needs covering.

Off I went to Wal Mart, the source of my previous table vinyls, to purchase some new ones and some plastic placemats & to see if my one time buy of 8 white cotton napkins could be repeated. (I saw them once on sale for $5 and have never seen them again)

Table vinyls were only available in bright aqua. My kitchen is very earth toned, grey slate, medium wood, green trim. I looked at the table cloths (made of actual cloth) and got this wild idea that “I could do that. Just throw it in the wash from time to time. Get cloth placemats too. How dirty can they get?”

Because I’d forgotten I had 2 messy eater children and the cat problem wasn’t even in my head to be forgotten.

I ended up going to Target, JC Pennys and Kohls before I found placemats, napkins and table cloths that I like the look of and at a price point I could live with. I brought my booty home and set the table.

Ah, see I can be the person with cloth!

But then we had dinner.

And most of those things had to be washed because there were mashed potatoes and ketchup ground in on half the table. Then it happened again a couple nights later. I have 2 sets of table linen that I alternate between but I just wasn’t too happy with the constant laundry of all this.

Then I noticed this

Thank you for the comfy bed

And this

They never laid on the table vinyl.

I can’t be in the kitchen constantly shooing them off the table & the table is the first thing you see when you come to the door, so it has to stay covered. And I am already washing the things more than I thought possible.

So I suppose I am not the sort of person who can do actual table linens

Maybe I can get some table vinyl and put it over the table cloth for mealtimes?

All About Me topic suggestions

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:46:00 +0000

This is the list I came up with after all my searching this weekend. I tried to limit the overlap but there still is some there. I’m not doing pages on all of them but I think it is a good start point of ideas. I may end up using it more as a list of things for my 365 Project rather than do them all as scrapbook pages, then put together a photo book that is a mix of both.

Opening Pages

Title

Vital Statistics

Your Name

Your Birth Sign

Family Members

Mom

Dad

Siblings (could be several pages)

Grandparents (could be several pages)

Extended family (could be several pages)

Family Tree

Ancestors (could be several pages)

Childhood Memories

Birth

Infancy

Childhood (could be several pages)

Birthdays (could be several pages)

Vacations/Holidays (could be several pages)

Teen Years (could be several pages)

Education (could be several pages)

Childhood Friends (could be several pages)

Childhood Home

Hometown

First Car

First Job

Fashions

Hairstyles

Favorite Music

Pets (could be several pages)

Major News Events (could be several pages)

Crushes You Had (could be several pages)

Current Life

Your Significant Other

Your current or recent Jobs

Home Now

Hometown Now

Places You Have Lived (could be several pages)

Your Family Now (could be several pages)

Thoughts on Motherhood

Faith & Spirituality

Hopes & Dreams

Fears & Worries

Health

Your Body & How You Feel About it

Hair & Clothing

Pets Now

Pieces of Me

Current Car or other Cars (could be several pages)

Daily Routine

What You Do to Relax

Travel

Describe Yourself Today - Right Now

Current Friends (could be several pages)

Hobbies (could be several pages)

Interests (could be several pages)

Obsessions (could be several pages)

Things You Collect (could be several pages)

Habits Good & Bad (could be several pages)

A Letter to Your Past Self

Groups & Organizations

Politics

What is in the News (could be several pages)

Sports You Play

Gadgets You Love

Thoughts on Housework

What Has Changed about You in 10 Years

What is in My Purse

What is on My Dresser

What is on My Bookshelf

Your Week in a Glance

Letter to the Future You

Lists of Things (choose a number of items to list)

# of Random Thoughts (your age is good for this)

# of Your Top Achievements or Triumphs

# of Confessions

# of Things You Love about You

# of Things You would Change about You

# of Favorite Things

books

movies

tv shows

foods

games

places

# of Things You Always have with You

# of Things You are Grateful For

# of Things You Still Want to Do

# of Things You Have Done

# of Ask & Answer Questions (get someone to make you a list of questions)

All About Me – the book!

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:52:00 +0000

Because having a blog isn’t narcissistic enough.

I am a digital scrapbooker. I’ve been doing it for 4 years now and have over those years been active on a number of boards and done a great many challenges. Mostly I scrap my kids but sometimes the challenges are to scrap something about you. Recently we had a discussion on one of the forms about Scrapbook Fantasies Book of Me blog. She gives you prompts all year & you end up with I think around 35-40 prompts and 60 pages.

I’ve been thinking about doing some sort of album of me for a month or so now. Maybe a collection of scrapbook pages about me or maybe an All About Me Project 365 next year.

Me me me me me me ME!!!!

Sorry, just had to get that out. Now back to…um..me.

I am self-centered enough to want an entire book about me but I am realistic enough to know that if I went with a photo project probably by mid February I will have run out off interesting ideas and be taking pictures of my toothbrush and sock drawer. Which I could assemble in a photo book with little post ironic snarky zeitgeist comments, or not because I am not entirely certain what I just said actually means. I can certainly see the humor in myself & am not above self mockery but I don’t think I can manage 365 photos of it.

I spent a few days going through old challenge notes and visiting forums and blogs and have assembled about 75 prompts for a Book About Me. Not that I will use all of them but it’s nice to have a list to work from.

Then I went though all my layouts (643 to be exact) and found about 60 that were about me. There is a lot of overlap on topics. For instance I have 4 layouts about my home and 5 about my childhood and 3 about crochet and an embarrassing number about my electronics. About half of the layouts are bad from a design standpoint. The scale of the elements is off, the shadows are either huge or non-existent, bad recolorization, bad photo adjustment, hideous color choices etc. But I saved the layered .psd (or .psp) files so I can fix them or at least have a base to rework them. I’ll weed through them & remove the duplications (I have 3 that feature my mp3 player) and then sort out what prompts I still want to do and that will be my project for next year.

I’m also going to do another 365 Photo project in 2010 but I need a topic. I did the boys play in 2008 and that came together nicely. This year has been topic free, more random & I find it harder to do. It’s not looking as cohesive. I think I work better with guidelines. I’m looking for ideas now. Any theme suggestions?

I’m leaning toward monthly photos of the same things, with some other general topic mixed in. I’m thinking of every month having an individual photo of everyone, a photo of some outdoor feature to be determined (like the maple), a photo of some indoor feature (like the sink full of dishes or a pile of laundry) and a photo of my book stack. That is 7 out of approx 30 photos a month. What other things can you think of that change yet stay the same over a period of time? I’d like about 10 things that regularly appear and the other 20 or so will be on a general topic.

Weekly Winners - week 43

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:01:00 +0000

The feline edition

This is the kitten Ashes, who is about 4 months old

He is fierce with his older siblings.

Smoke does not always appreciate the playfulness

Thor studiously ignores Ashes waiting to pounce

Because he really doesn’t mind

For more Weekly Winners please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom. Thanks for stopping by!

The vaxing part 2

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:40:00 +0000

The boys have had their first dose of the H1N1 vax.

Mayhem was the very last kindergartner to get the vax, so I got to sit in the cafeteria for almost an hour waiting for him (I played Mini Ninjas on Havoc’s DS. I think I may get one for myself for Xmas instead of a Kindle) because they didn’t tell us what order the classrooms were in, they just said 8:30-9:15 kindergarten vaxing. First grade was 9:15 to 10:00. The universe smiled on me and Havoc’s class was the first one of the first grade group, so I was able to take both boys at once & get it over with.

Mayhem was a trooper. Had he not been watching her I don’t think he would have flinched but he did have a moment’s panic when he saw the needle coming. It was over too quickly though for him to work himself up. Havoc on the other hand freaked out. Mayhem tried to help, telling Havoc that it hadn’t hurt, it was ok and things but Havoc was having none of it. I held him so the nurse could get to his arm while he cried & carried on. She asked me if I wanted to wait & I told her to just go ahead, waiting will not help and as soon as he saw the needle go it (Because I could not get him to look away) there was dead silence. Like ‘oh, that’s it? oh.” He does this every time, which is why I don’t let them put it off, it only gives him more time to freak out. Havoc knows there was a nasal spray option & is not too happy he wasn’t given it, which I think added to his freak out. We will be leaving on a 36 hour car trip to spend a week with my 70 year old parents the day he gets the second dose and we didn’t want to take the risk of the live virus with my parents (or honestly, with us, cooped up in a car for 2 days) or I would have chosen the nasal spray for him.

Given the number of kids I saw, I’d say about half the school population was getting the vaxes. Some of the other half have already had either the vax or the flu & some just aren’t getting it. Apparently there are 2 teachers and about 30 kids out with it, in the past 6 weeks. Out of about 450 students, so I guess it’s not too bad here yet. Though 4 of my friends’ families have had it in the next county over.

I stopped by the market & bought the boys a bag of gummie worms and some Halloween colored sno caps for a treat when they get home. Now I am going to go try & defeat the next level on Mini Ninjas

The vaxing

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:24:00 +0000

I’m not pro vax or anti vax. I’m sort of in the middle. Some things make sense to vax & some things seem more like hype from pharm companies. Purely a personal thing. My boys are on a delayed vax schedule that has dragged out so long I still have an active waiver at the school for a vax Mayhem hasn’t had yet that he ‘should have had’ 2.5 years ago & will actually get at his yearly physical in January. Havoc finally had a chicken pox vax last month after I kept dithering about it for 4 years & finally accepted that he just won’t be catching it.

Flu vaxes are not high on the priority list. We do all the preventative stuff and I think my healthy kids don’t need the vax & since the availability of the stuff varies wildly every year we don’t get it so others who need it more can.

Then the H1N1 came.

I haven’t been inclined toward it either, not because it hasn’t been tested enough or the other arguments against it but for the same reason as the regular flu one. We are healthy people & long term I wonder about the consequences of all this vaxing.

Not to mention had I wanted to get the boys vaxed I’d have a hard time doing it. Unless you already have an appointment for something or think you have the swine flu you can’t get an appointment at my docs in a reasonable time frame. The boys would need 2 doses within 4 weeks apart, but you can’t schedule appointments for it because there aren’t any (one of the docs went out on maternity leave 2 weeks ago so they are short handed on top of being busy with flu people). I could take them out of school and go spend a couple hours or so waiting when they have it at the health clinic, twice, hoping that the second dose is available, that there is another clinic at the right time and that they don’t catch anything while we wait. I can randomly call the local pharmacies to see if they have any, go stand in line there, pay for it, fill reimbursement with my insurance, and then repeat 4 weeks later, again hoping the second dose is there when we need it, etc. But you can’t make appointments, like the health clinic it’s show up & wait, with times to be announced at the last possible moment. Or we can do what we do every year & hope for the best.

But, my kids are already missing 4.5 days of school due to bad holiday planning by me and the school. They are only allowed 10 days off. Yes, we’ve avoided flu all this time but sooner or later it will catch us and it will use those remaining days I am sure. So a part of me thinks maybe we should get the vax and a part of me thinks the hype is scaring me. I don’t like to be frightened into decisions. It makes me dig my heels in the opposite way & neither is a good basis for choosing.

I do this superstitious thing when I dither – everything is a sign to me when I can’t make up my mind. There are omens and portents everywhere as I consider all my possibilities. The difficulty of getting the vax is a clear sign we should not be getting it. It’s the universe pointing me in the direction I should go. No vaxing for the flu. The universe has spoken.

Then comes a letter from school – Free H1N1 vaxes! At school! Both doses guaranteed and scheduled! Just sign this form!

Apparently the universe has changed it’s mind. And in a clear and unequivocal manner. It’s basically handed me the vaxes on a plate.

Since I am in full on dither mode I ask DH what he wants to do.He wants them to have it much more strongly than I don’t want them to have it. He had some excellent points and I had nothing so …

They get their first injection Friday. I’m hoping to get a note today telling me what time because they said parents could be there when the kids are given the vaxes. I assume it will be first thing. Can you imagine trying to teach a bunch of 5-7 year olds who have been told at breakfast they are going to get a shot sometime during the day?

I’m totally useless for 48 hours when I know I am getting one and I’m 42

Teacher conferences

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Mayhem can read and Havoc is a wiggler.

That is the short summary of our parent teacher conferences.

I suspected Mayhem could read as a result of his report card but I had no frame of reference for those numbers. His teacher showed me the actual test he was given. He got 25 of the basic letter sounds right, he got all the blends but CH, read all the words on the semester 1 part & correctly spelled 6 of 7 short vowel sound words, missing only SIT, spelling it SET. He did so well she gave him the second semester set of words and he read half of them.

And he has had us convinced that he can only read STOP, ON, OFF and THE (apart from words like Chili’s, Kraft & Pepsi). So we will be doing far more encouraging him to sound out words than we have been when we read together & have higher expectations than we have had of the results. We haven’t really had any expectations actually but now we have a baseline so we can go from here.

Havoc is doing well academically. Apparently he respects the class rules enough that his clowning around is kept to a minimum though he has trouble sitting still. If there is a chance for him to stand next his seat rather than sit in (like when they are working on a craft project) he will be standing. He also often takes longer than the other kids to complete assignments both because he can be over elaborate in their execution & he takes awhile getting around to starting them. He doesn’t just color in someone's shirt red. It’s red with a complex blue & green triangle pattern. His 3 sentence summary of a book can be 40 words long because he wants it to fully summarize the story. He’s also a dawdler. He takes forever to get the assignment started & still wants to be elaborate in the answer. We’ve been dealing with this trait since he was 2. I used to time him putting on his shoes because he could find reasons to put it off or finish doing it and take a full 7 minutes to complete the task. We also need to work on him sounding out unfamiliar words. He makes a guess and moves on. Such as the word ‘combos’ he says “Columbus” we say no sound it out and he says “Christopher” because he won’t actually look at the word again but sticks with the theme of the first guess.

We will be working on Mayhem’s reading and encouraging Havoc to order his priorities better over the next six weeks.

They both have friends and seem to get along with well with others though apparently some kids are starting to tease Havoc about his glasses. He doesn’t get why people think it is funny but doesn’t seem very perturbed by it yet. I said if he is bothered he should tell them they lack imagination. Glasses are too easy. (because that’s what I did & it seemed to work). Mayhem is something of a sexist with very clear ideas of what is girl stuff, though a bit nebulous on what is boy stuff. Girls can do boys stuff according to him but boys do not do girls stuff, like play Barbie princesses. I said“well what about taking care of babies?’ and he said “babies aren’t girl stuff, they are everyone stuff” So I think I am going to leave that one be for now.

Overall everything looks good for both of them. I hope it stays that way.

Weekly Winners - week 42

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:09:00 +0000

I have a few this week.

We went to the apple harvest festival.

I made some apple butter

Then we made gingerbread cookies

These guys are bit ticked they haven’t been featured lately

But it is their own fault because they have been busy hibernating

For more Weekly Winners please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom. Thanks for stopping by!

Distraction

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:25:00 +0000

I spent the day, off and on, tearing my house apart looking for a glass jar of exactly the right size and shape. I wanted something small, sort of an elongated votive candle holder, only a bit bigger & maybe square. Like a rocks glass only a bit smaller & taller.

I almost went to Wal Mart looking for one but as DH pointed out “A lifetime of collecting candle burning impedimenta and you don’t have a small glass jar?”

Which, yeah.

Where are all my small decorative jars? I can remember seeing them on shelves and tables. Of course after awhile you get to that point where you can picture whatever it is you are looking for sitting on whatever it is you are looking at even if you are 100% certain you never put any votive candle holders in the freezer. Yet in my mind I can see one, sitting there on the door shelf, next to the waffles. I can remember moving them out of the way of small hands. I can recall thinking numerous times, I should move that before it gets bumped and breaks. I don’t remember any of them actually breaking so I must have put them some place. Some place ‘safe, where I will remember them’ no doubt. I have plenty of round potpourri bowls but they are all too big and a large number of small square glass dishes (for setting candles on) that are too shallow but nothing appropriate. It has to be the right size. Appearance matters.

The glass jar is for Havoc’s allowance, in nickels. We’re trying something new as a disciplinary technique. Figuring out what works with Havoc has always been a bit tricky because nothing seems to last. He stops caring about the punishment or the reward soon after in most cases. We’ve had some success with sticker charts though so this is a spin on that.

One of Havoc’s birthday presents is that he now gets an allowance - $2 a week. It’s a reward for good behavior, no specific chores are involved, he just has to listen and do the right thing. Probably he would prefer having to wash dishes or something else tangible and over & done with in a short time span. But I admit I am the kind of parent who, while buying her son his long awaited DS for his birthday, thought to herself “Maybe taking this away as a privilege will be a motivator”.

Yes, I was buying him a gift I would take away later.

Back to the glass jar.

It has to be the right size to make 40 nickels look impressive, yet also make it obviously noticeable when some are taken away. He loses a nickel when he goofs off at more serious times, such as homework, tae know do practice, dinner, etc. He wants to be the class clown & there are plenty of times to be the funny guy during the day, but there are also times when you need to be serious & pay attention. We’re hoping watching his allowance dwindle over the course of a week will be motivating. He can also earn nickels with good behavior (such as not having to be reminded to do his homework or remain seated through dinner) & thus gain back the lost ones and even earn more than $2 a week.

They do this in school with tickets and a weekly treasure box they can buy things from. Havoc is always bragging on how many tickets he has and showing off what he bought with them on Friday so it’s obviously working.

Anyway, back to the glass jar again.

It has to be the right size. 40 nickels just isn’t that impressive a pile of coins. Pennies are not worth enough to be useable. So the jar has to compensate. I admit I did briefly consider raising the kid’s allowance just so the pile of coins would look more impressive when I took some away (see DS shopping reference). Then I began wondering if glass was the way to go. Maybe plastic would be better. But a cheap run of the mill small storage container seems…inadequate, insignificant, Insert adjectives here… I think it should be a special container. The sticker charts were all decorated and on colored paper. When we did buttons as a reward (which failed due to consistency on my part & subsequent loss of interest on the boys’ part) they each got to decorate their own plastic tub. So I feel like it should be a special bowl. The RIGHT bowl.

Why do I care so much about the bowl? I can control the bowl. I’m in charge of the bowl.

Havoc though? Different story.

Canadians don’t ride the bible bus

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:35:00 +0000

I’ve mentioned before one of the peculiarities of our local public school system is the bible bus. Once a month for an hour or so, students get out of school and go to this bus/rv/trailer that parks in the soccer field and have Bible Study – with parental permission. Havoc & Mayhem don’t have permission. While I do take them to vacation bible school every summer for a couple of weeks, I think going monthly is a bit much for a couple heathen kids.

*** I have no idea if this is normal, common or legal. They have been doing it for 70 years. I assume they would have to allow kids out for my ‘comparative religion van’, with parental permission, if I offered it. I went to a Catholic school in a mostly urban environment in a different state in the 70’s. Rural public school in the 21st century is the great unknown to me.***

I was talking about it at dinner the other night because Mayhem brought a second permission slip for it home. It isn’t a ‘choose yes or no’ slip. It’s a ‘sign if you approve’ slip, so I just never sent the first one back. Apparently they wanted to be sure I received it. I asked Havoc how many kids in his new class did not go to the bus. Last year it was him and the little girl from his reading group so they had extra reading time during bible bus. This year it is either him and 3 others or maybe just him. He seems a bit confused about when it is. Either way he was given extra recess time, which is fine with him. Then he asked me

“Why don’t we go to the bible bus?”

“Because we are not Christians honey”

“Oh that’s right. We’re Canadians!”

snickers

He then asked “Well then what are we?”

“Deists” DH said

“Heathens” I said

“Deepest evens” Mayhem repeated

“Canadian deepest evens” Havoc clarified. “I’ll tell my classmates.”

Another teaching moment gone awry

I have no idea why he thinks we’re Canadians

The other man

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:15:00 +0000

I am at heart a monogamist. I choose a man and I stick with him. It is not for me to have several crushes going at once or date a couple guys at the same time. While I support the idea of the poly lifestyle in general (assuming everyone involved is adult and agreeable to it), it is not for me personally. I feel guilty when I am attracted to another man. I feel like I am cheating in my heart if not with my body. So I am apologizing in public for my infidelity.

Harrison, I am so sorry.

I have loved you since I first saw Star Wars in 1977. Han Solo made my 10 year old girlish heart giggle with joy. Indiana Jones made my teenage heart think more explicit things. Sabrina made my adult heart hurt with longing.

However,for the first time you have a true rival for my affection. Oh sure John Bon Jovi attracted me briefly and John Taylor from Duran Duran. But those were passing teen crushes. My brief flirtation with Adrian Paul during the Highlander the Series years? Simply an infatuation. They meant nothing Harrison, you know that. Today I have no idea where they are or what they are doing while you are on my Google ping list.

But this time it is more than a crush or infatuation. I’m sorry. I never thought it would end like this. I thought after 30 years it would last forever. It’s not you Harrison (though really? Calista Flockart? really?) It’s me. I need more than you can give. More than one movie every couple of years. I need someone I can see regularly. Someone who will be there for me every Monday night, either in new episodes or reruns. I’m leaving you for a younger man.

A few years ago I laid eyes on this man

Nathan Fillion, or as I knew him, Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly, now Richard Castle on Castle.

*swoon*

OMG Harrison! I am so sorry but he seems to have slowly but surely displaced you. I didn’t even realize it until recently when I was more upset than is rational to miss an episode of Castle. Or maybe it was when I started getting pissy at missing my private lunchtime viewings of my Firefly DVD’s. He has become my new full time love. My celebrity husband. He’s so rugged and charming and witty and handsome. And mature and muscle-y and, and…he sort of reminds me of you actually… only without the whip…mmmmm Nathan with a whip and fedora… man I wish I hadn’t thought about that.

You were my first real love Harrison. You’ll always have a special place in my heart, but the time has come for me to move on. I wish you well with your skeleton, um, Calista.

Weekly Winners - week 41

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:58:00 +0000

This week l took only a couple photos & spent most of my time editing them in various ways in Lightroom

For more Weekly Winners please check out Lotus at Sarcastic Mom. Thanks for stopping by!

Report card time

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:38:00 +0000

The boys brought theirs home yesterday. Both of them are doing well with a few surprises here & there.

The first was Mayhem. Mayhem claims he doesn’t like reading (my God! someone switched my baby in the hospital!) and appears to be incapable of realizing that the T H E on one page that he knows is “the” is the same as the T H E on the next page. But then he’ll start reading signs on the road while in the car for products we don’t see on TV “live nude girls”, “school bus crossing” etc. Mayhem is sneaky. He always has been. As an infant I would put him on his back on the floor, leave to get a drink and find him on his belly, and vice versa. But it was a month before any of us caught him in the act. I think he doesn’t like showing people while he is learning & some day I am going to look up and see him reading Anna Karenina instead of Cat in the Hat. His report card bears this out.

They test them for emergent reading skills. Base line is 20 at the beginning of the year, with a goal of 165 at the end. Havoc scored 141 at the beginning of kindergarten, which I expected. Havoc loves to read. I assumed Mayhem would be somewhere in the 30-50 range given his randomness. He scored a 101. The little beggar can read & is hiding it. He recognizes all letters but lower case d, which, dude, is in his name! His fine motor skills have improved greatly and he has apparently settled into the school routine nicely. Except for when he makes a fuss about the teach watching him practice writing letters.

Havoc is doing very well, mastering his math and most of the reading skills. (they do mastered, making progress and needs improvement as grades) He is reluctant to guess at words he doesn’t know & take the time to sound them out. He wants to get on with the story & figures that one word doesn’t matter. So what if it is seizes, situation or sayings? Whichever one he guesses first is good enough, lets get one with it. The issues with Havoc seem to be more social. Havoc wants to be the class clown. Because the class work tends to come relatively easily to him he often gets done first and has time to get distracted and goof around. As his teacher puts it ‘he’s a social boy who enjoys talking & sharing his knowledge of many things. But can easily be redirected to his work’ Apparently he is also a ‘unique and most interesting’ boy.

Yeah. I’m not sure what to make of that. It all reads very complimentary but I do wonder about the word choice of unique. Possibly given that our last name is practically the end of the alphabet she felt she was running out of personalizing adjectives by the time she got to Havoc. Don’t get me wrong. I like that my kid is unique. But that word can go so many ways.

I guess I’ll find out at the conferences next week. What do you think about unique?

Just had to share

havocandmayhem@gmail.com (ComfyMom~Stacey) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:32:00 +0000

Wal mart?

Stopped carrying evil dip this week.

I’m both grieved and relieved.

I saw it there Monday when I went to buy Havoc’s Nintendo DS & Mini Ninja’s as his birthday present. I had to get string cheese & the dip is visible from the string cheese display.

I didn’t feel pulled toward it though. I just thought to myself “oh yes, evil dip.” and walked away unscathed.

Today I was back in Wal Mart, returning some DS accessories and had to get yogurt. Out of habit I looked at the dip display and noticed there was no evil dip! Not only that, there were no other types of dip by that maker! Nothing from that company was on the shelves and the shelves were stocked with some other cheaper brand. And their artichoke parmesan dip had peppers in it.

I hate peppers in my dip.

So, I am at last free of the malevolent deliciousness that is evil dip.

*sniff*

Wish I had known though. I’d have bought some on Monday. The evil dip was right when it insisted I buy it before it disappeared from the shelves.

Damn you evil dip! and damn you Wal Mart as well.