mom failure, sort of

So Maggie had her annual checkup yesterday...three months late, but we were kind of doctored out earlier this winter. She's the size of a 10-11 year old (if you know her, you know how tall she is -- it's hard to remember that she's only six). She may need glasses. And an orthopedist. Those cute little pigeon toes -- or duck legs as Maggie calls them -- aren't quite as cute as they were at four. She had four big shots, a very unsuccessful attempt at blood drawing (yay, we get to go to another specialist), and she even got to pee in a cup. It was a banner day, and I'm pretty sure her rosy opinion of doctors underwent a sea change.


The mom failure part? When the doctor asked her about what she eats:
Dr.: What do you usually eat for lunch?
Maggie: A sandwich.
Dr.: And for dinner?
Maggie: A sandwich.
Dr.: Okay. What kind of sandwiches to you eat?
Maggie: Um...cheese!

Here's what Maggie left out: she did have a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. It was on multigrain bread and paired with apples and a small glass of low fat milk. Breakfast? A banana-orange juice-yogurt smoothie. Morning snack? Prunes. Lunch? Half an apple, strawberries, a small banana, grapes, and half of a peanut butter sandwich on multigrain bread.

How the hell does that translate into cheese sandwiches for every meal?! The doctor was talking to Maggie so I didn't feel like I could cut in without looking really defensive. As it was, I may as well have been feeding her marshmallow fluff sandwiches on white bread with a side of velveeta.

Awesome. And yes, I know there are no vegetables in that sample diet. She doesn't like them anymore since her classmates made fun of her repeatedly for bringing sugar snap peas, red peppers and broccoli in her lunch. As it is, both kids complain that they never get "good" stuff (chips, cookies) in their lunches, just dumb healthy stuff. Because I am the meanest mom. Ever.

- I wrote this on my iPad

We live in a golden age.

The cat doesn't actually have anything to do with this post, but she's been staring me down, so...


On Friday, we visited the Apple store in Annapolis and came away with two shiny new iPads (1st generation...did you see the lines of people waiting for the new ones?!) I have to admit that, even as we were leaving the store, I wasn't totally sure why we needed yet more equipment. But I am oh so glad we did. I love love love my iPhone (and it seems to be attached to me at all times), but the iPad is really all about engaging with information visually in a way that the small-screened iPhone just can't. Don't get me wrong: I'll definitely use my iPhone for all sorts of things (especially the camera -- I can't imagine effectively using a camera on the iPad) -- but I feel like a new way of seeing the world has been unlocked. I've definitely drunk the kool-aid.

I can't wait lot see what they come up with next.

- from my iPad

In the very merry month of March, aka Pathetic, aka I may or may not need an intervention

So. This has been an awesome week. Really. Truly. No, not really. It started out fine -- finished Thing-A-Day, started working on a new project... But Tuesday morning, I had to get out of the car at dropoff so I could embarrass Paul with big hugs and kisses in front of the 7th/8th grade security patrol kids. I had to. It's a thing I do. Unfortunately, once Paul and Maggie had escaped me, my left leg lost communication with my left foot and, well, I sprained my knee. Glamorous, eh? I. Know.

I've been on the couch for three days, thanks to a very helpful husband and several helpful friends. Well, three days of watching old movies and tv and I've become weird. And smelly, but that's neither here nor there. I realized tonight, as I told Charles the high points of my day, that I'm in trouble.

And what were those high points? I watched Antiques Roadshow and a long Masterpiece Theater series. Also, I shared a can of tuna with our cat.

That second one was got a reaction from Charles. He tried to play it cool, but I could tell by the look on his face that I'd forged ahead into uncharted territory.

** Also, I saw "Ghoulies" yesterday. I let the twitterverse know how disappointed I was that no one had let me know about this film earlier. I am lashing out.

- the iPhone of awesome

Out of the frying pan...

...and into the fire. Did you know that March is National Craft Month? Well, it is!

Coming off of Thing-A-Day, I'll admit that I'm a little worn out on the craft front. But there are things I didn't get to in February that I really do want to do...especially screenprinting. And metalwork. I'm going to make a point of learning a few new tricks in March.

So...how about you? Will you be doing anything for National Craft Month?

My Thing-A-Day 2011 Map.

Now...what to do next? Hmmm....

I made it all the way through Thing A Day 5!

There were times when I really didn't think I would make it this year. For some reason, this February has been a creative void and I've really had to push myself to do anything. Except knit socks. Four completed pair and two well on the way...maybe February should be known as Sock-A-Day.

I'd planned to finally learn to silkscreen, do some embroidery and some metal work, and some sewing, but it was pretty much socks and photography and cooking this time. Maybe March can be New-Thing-A-Day.

I'll put together a map of everything I made this month, but in the meantime, click on any of the links to the right to see what I made this month.

Cupid at ten.

Do you remember when you just started to discover the opposite sex? Did you get giggly? Kick people? Run from the room screaming? Practice your dance moves? Try out new (lower) voices? In our house, it's all of that. And more. And I assume it's going to get worse -- a lot worse -- before it gets better.

It seems that every boy in Paul's class has discovered girls at the same time. And every girl in Paul's class is completely uninterested. Trust me, I think this is a very good thing. But it is funny to watch the boys trying to play cool and acting so goofy. I was at the school at lunchtime a few weeks ago and asked one of the girls why they sit at a separate table from the boys. The answer: "Well, look at them." And you know what? The girls were totally right. The boys were doing every goofy thing in the 10-year old boy's arsenal of goofy things.

I guess what I'm trying to say is be yourself and enjoy a Happy Valentine's Day with the people who truly love you for being you. And don't hurry to be more mature. Especially you, Paul. Stay a young boy for as long as possible.

(Also, yay for Arcade Fire!)