A Quiet Afternoon . . .

[WARNING: please do not read if you have a senstive stomach; graphic descriptions and unsettling details recorded below]

I thought I was in for a nice quiet afternoon and could get caught up on some much needed reading. Lolli was upstairs quiet and taking her afternoon nap. I brought a book to read by the front door as I waited for 'Shroom's bus to drop him off at home.

I waited. And waited. The bus was already 15 minutes late. Then I heard Lolli crying upstairs in her room. "Eh, I'll just let her cry. That's not so unusual," I thought to myself as I glanced at my watch. 'Shroom was officially 18 minutes late. Lolli's cries esclated to a pitch that was now a bit unusual. Still - I had to wait by the door since 'Shroom's bus could be showing up anytime now. Shrieks from upstairs. Uh oh.

I abandoned my post by the front door and went upstairs to see what was up with Lolli. She was a mess. No, let me rephrase that. She was a MESS! Vomit was everywhere - every flat surface, horizontal, vertical, sloped, crooked, you name it. The brown chunkage was all over her face and hair and to be honest, even now I don't know if she vomitted orally or through her nose (or both). She started heaving again and I grabbed a little flimsy (previously used, mind you) tissue that was discarded on the floor. Yup, I felt the warmth flow through my fingers.

All the while, as I was stripping her down and hosing her off in the shower, I thought, "If only this could be the day when the bus comes REALLY REALLY late." Lolli was still crying as she saw the mess and was violently shivering. The chunkage from her clothes and body was clogging up the tub drain and the murky water was lapping up against her body. I quickly transferred the clothes to the sink only to find to my dismay that the curdled cheese chunks (mozeralla string cheese will do it) got wedged between the drain stopper and the sink hole. Uggh.

As if that wasn't enough, mid-shower, the doorbell rang. I couldn't wrap Lolli up in a towel - she still had traces of vomit aftermath. I closed the shower curtain and hoped the heat would stay in the tub. I dashed down the stairs and make my way out. I see (and smell) that I have been smeared with the slimy ooze (extra greasy from the peanut butter sandwich).

"I can't come in the van to get him," I inform the bus driver. "I'm covered in vomit."

The driver's assistant, the one who rang the doorbell, was more than happy to keep me out of the van. She retrieved 'Shroom.

"We were waiting outside for you for 15 minutes," the driver accused.

"You couldn't have," I countered. I looked at my watch. Six minutes had elapsed since I left my post at the door. "I was waiting for you at the front door until 3:25."

Regardless, I apologized for making them wait and when they saw that I was truly covered in the gook, front and back (don't ask how it got on the back of my shirt), they didn't make a bigger deal. 15 minutes my butt.

Now, 45 minutes later, I have both kids in bed - one with still-wet hair and the other with still-wet eyes ('Shroom had seen his beloved wooden train with which Lolli had chosen to take a nap, covered in the foul-smelling peanut butter and cheese gook).

So much for my quiet afternoon.

New Addition to the Family!

Yup - we've added a new member to our family. No, we didn't wait nine months for its arrival and no it's not fury with four legs. 'Shroom's and Lolli's Christmas present from their parents is their very first pet - a betta fish.

After a few days of talking up the fish, the kids had decided they wanted a red one (although we had to convince Lolli that pink bettas were not that common). We had purchased a neon blue (kids' choice) tank and some multi-colored marbles (again, kids' choice). I managed to dig up an old aquarium rock from our old broken 15-gallon tank.

[SIDE NOTE: Air Boss and I, B.C. (Before Children) had a hexagonal tank with about 18 fish - all of which died the same day. Long story short, I woke up one morning, smelled something fishy in the living room and screamed for Air Boss to "get over here!" as I saw all our fish floating belly-up on the surface of the water. They were all cooked to a greyish-white color. The heater's thermostat was broken and the fish were literally cooked to death. Tragic. Very tragic.]

By the time we got to the pet store, the kids were more fascinated by a cage full of albino white mice. Ick. Double ick. Ick. Ick. They didn't seem at all interested in fish.

Well, we got 'Shroom and Lolli to focus on the task at hand and in the end, they picked a beautiful blue fish with faint red streaks at the base of its fins.

"What shall we name him?" I asked just as Air Boss was about to pour Mr. Blue Betta into the new (very colorful) tank.

"Omigee!" was Lolli's quick response.

"Yeah, Omigee!" was 'Shroom's agreeing vote.

Omigee (pronounced "oh-ME-gee") it is. He's happily swimming about in his new home - very glad the over zealous and very curious preschoolers are in bed and no longer tapping his tank and smashing their noses on it.

Welcome to your new home, Omigee!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, "where did 'Omigee' come from?" it all originated from a little stuffed car Lolli received as a gift. Although she never saw Disney's "Cars" movie, she became quite attached to the little Italian car named Luigi (voiced by Tony Shalhoub). Somehow 'Luigi' morphed into 'Omigee' in her little toddler voice.

Big Lights, Big City

Yesterday was our first trip as a family of four to NYC. Our goals for this trip:

* see about a gagillion Christmas lights
* stand beneath the BIG tree at Rock Center
* step into kiddie-heaven (i.e. FAO, as in FAO Schwarz) and last, but not least,
* don't get run over by those darn taxis

Dear husband, Air Boss, was quite the man as he maneuvered the car in and out of crazy city traffic--like a helo on a rescue mission--where every hour is rush hour. We forgot how little airspace there is in the city and how easy it was for the GPS to lose satellite. Yup - we were driving blind (at least for seconds here and there). Air Boss made it to work this morning with about five hours of sleep.

Four yr old 'Shroom and his two yr old sister Lolli were great on the trip as well. Can't complain as we had just dragged them through 22 hours of driving to and from Toronto just a mere four days ago (more on that trip at a later date).

Overall the trip was fun but very short--for every hour we were in the city, we spent about two hours driving. All in all, I thought it was fun (a bit stressful at times and I wasn't even driving!) and I believe we accomplished all our goals.

Here's my best guess as to what each of us took away from that trip:

me: although my blood pressure rises immediately upon entering Manhattan, I can see how so many people are attracted to this city that never sleeps (or is that Vegas?)

Air Boss: there's so much more to see than what four hours allowed us

'Shroom: "I see one , two, three taxis! Mommy, there are three taxis here!" (when in actuality there were about eight to ten within yelling distance)

Lolli: no real thoughts here as she was too busy kissing the noses of all the FAO teddy bears within her reach

Merry Christmas all you folks in the Big Apple!