BC said her throat hurt. she had no temp, so i took her by amtrak up to NJ on tuesday. once there, she spiked a fever and threw up on me twice.

on wednesday, we went to uncle howie's office (my brother is a doctor, and a really good one, to boot), after much trepidation and gnashing of teeth. we got BC there only by telling her we would have a surprise for her afterwards if she would cooperate. she was terrified of getting swabbed, and i think that is why she woke up tuesday night and cried and cried and cried all over me. of course, she had no recollection of throwing up all over me. “mommy,” she asked, “what happened to your pajama top? how come you're not wearing it?” calgon, take me away.

anyhow, we got her to howie's. she adores him and got all flirty. i thought, terrific, miracle cure in progress. anyway, her ears looked fine (he said he couldn't tell whether the tube was still in the wax). he asked to look in her throat. i told him in advance about how she hates getting swabbed. how she reenacts scenes from The Exorcist when they try to swab her throat at the pediatrician's. she let him look in his throat. he said it was VERY red. he needed to swab it. could he tickle her throat with a Q-tip? No, she replied, and she was pretty adamant. so he told her to put out her hand, and he showed her how it would feel when he “tickled” her throat. she opened her mouth, he did it. no tears. no whining. no nothing. it was a moment in history. linda blair was not in the building.

anyway, he came back a few minutes later and told her that the results were sooo positive, so she was either going to have a baby or had strep 😉 she is on amoxicillin now 3x day.

so basically, we hung out for three days. and as for BC, she now has a stuffed tigger. howie said to her, “you came all the way up from VA to come to the doctors!” BC thought that was the funniest. she is such a giggle girl.

for awhile, she couldn't keep tylenol down, so i had to give it to her via suppositories.

the glamourous life of a mom. suppositories and vomit.

i am sure glad she is doing a LOT better now.

between trent lott and a president who is starting a war that is not necessary. i feel this way this week:

technical difficulties.

it snowed pretty heavily here on thursday. of course, BC's 4th Birthday checkup at the pediatrician's was scheduled for thursday, so it was cancelled. those pups require that i schedule about like 3 months in advance, so i am hoping she gets her checkup (and shots) before she hits 5.

on friday, the world resumed some normalcy. most of it, of course. BC's birthday party, complete with 10 kids, assorted parents, my parents, my brother, my aunt, and my 11-year-old niece thrown in for good measure, was to have taken place at a local community center where we attend a playgroup. the room is stocked with all sorts of great things for kids to play with, and i knew exactly what i was going to do there. on friday, though, i learned from the community center's director that they would be closed on saturday due to the snow. thus, we had to contact all party-goers to change the venue to our house. i had to clean, and fast. i also had to wonder how on earth we would fit everyone in here. then, once that was pretty much done, around noon, someone from the Parks and Rec Dept called me to tell me that the center WOULD be open on Saturday.

i contemplated killing myself at that point.

too late to move everyone back again, i reconciled myself to the fact that my house was going to be under seige. and it was. we ended up with 7 kids due to cancellations. the kids trashed my house, the parents hung out, no one wanted to play Simon Says, Hot Potato, or Freeze Dance with me, and we all ate pizza and pepto-bismol-colored Barbie cake.

in short, it seemed to be a success 🙂

if i weren't pregnant, i would be wishing that i could have one of those little drinks with a dinky umbrella in it now.

this was going to be my day to get things done, but of course, we are now snowed in and nothing is happening while everyone is home. i hope streets start getting cleared tomorrow or else BC's birthday party is going to be a problem…

happy birthday, scally!

now i have my own weather pixie. wonder if she knows its going to snow?

why is it that when i even BRING A PICTURE to a hair cut place, i still get the same fucking haircut? and they always want to flip my hair out like mary tyler moore – which looks nice on other people. on me, it looks absurd.

well.

BS is telling me i should simplify since i am pregnant. this means don't try to cook up a thanksgiving meal. don't bake up birthday cakes. give myself (and thus, himself) a break.

so i ordered this very pink Barbie sheet cake for BC's birthday party on saturday. normally, i love to bake, but maybe he is right. maybe i should let others do this year since my energy level is crap. it just pains me how expensive the damn cake is when i know i could do a yummier one much cheaper myself.

meanwhile, back at the ranch…

in two minutes, at 4:06, my darling Beloved Child will truly turn 4.

i tried to buy cupcakes today in her honor for dinner tonite. guess what? i think the entire fucking county has sold out of cupcakes. i even went to swank bakeries near us – desperation does amazing things to a mom. no dice. i ended up buying 3 slices of an amazing looking chocolate raspberry cake roll. but you know, the whole point of birthday cake to a 4-year-old is a) frosting and b) blowing out candles. you cannot very well prop up candles on cake slices…

what to do, what to do…

well, here is what i, bad mommy of the year, am doing. i am taking the leftover chocolate snickerdoodle cake i made, propping up Barbie cake decorations on it, and then taking whipped cream and putting it up the non-frostinged side. i hope she likes it.

i feel like such a bad mom.

BC loves the Wiggles' version of it.
i love the original, split enz version.
either way, i love this part. and yes, i am odd for quoting it.

Ah c'mon all you lads
Let's forget and forgive
There's a world to explore
Tales to tell back on shore
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Six months in a leaky boat.

lord, i love the brothers finn. so much so that i don't even care when a kiddy group sings them 🙂

When I was a young boy
I wanted to sail around the world
That's the life for me, living on the sea
Spirit of a sailor, circumnavigates the globe
The lust of a pioneer, will acknowledge
No frontier
I remember you by, thunderclap in the sky
Lightning flash, tempers flare,
'round the horn if you dare
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Lucky just to keep afloat

Aotearoa, rugged individual
Glisten like a pearl
At the bottom of the world
The tyranny of distance
Didn't stop the cavalier
So why should it stop me
I'll conquer and stay free
Ah c'mon all you lads
Let's forget and forgive
There's a world to explore
Tales to tell back on shore
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Six months in a leaky boat

Ship-wrecked love can be cruel
Don't be fooled by her kind
There's a wind in my sails
Will protect and prevail
I just spent six months in a leaky boat
Nothing to it leaky boat.

1) i burnt the homemade rolls i made. the only one remotely acceptable was the giant dough sculpture BC made. because it was so doughy, it took longer to cook, so it actually cooked up properly.

2) i currently hate all food. thus, everything tasted weird to me.

3) i think i am coming down with something. not directly thanksgiving-related, but it made the day less fun for me.

4) BS cooked the turkey on the grill. it took 4 hours for an 11 pound turkey. i offered to cook it, but he decided to put it on the grill instead, which was nice from the perspective that poultry makes me want to puke these days. but checking on a turkey is no fun, especially when it is outside. (he did a good job, i would like to point out. i didn't eat any, but BC actually complimented the chef.)

next year at Chicken Out. i am not cooking.