refinancing

Boy, do I loathe refinancing the house. BUT - the rates are reasonable now, and we currently have a crazy month to month adjustable deal... we'd like to lock into something more stable since we plan to stay in this house until the kids are out of high school.

But, now I have to display my ignorance for all to behold. I have to talk rates and points, lender fees, 3rd party fees, title fees, government fees, blah blah blah blah blah.... I have to make informed decisions about whether to roll our equity line into the mortgage, how many points is it worth paying to get a lower rate? How long will it take us to earn back that money? I have to stress about getting approved for it all, although a huge burden was lifted when I learned that my credit rating is excellent. I knew we were good, but I didn't know we were THAT good.

Refinancing always causes stress between me and DH. I obsess too much about the minutae of the whole process, and he just figures everything will work out. Meanwhile, I am trying to talk out all of my obsessiveness, and he gets impatient with me, and bam! instant tension. I am trying to be good this time. It's hard.

saving kisses

Every night at bedtime, I give The Babe a kiss on each of her cheeks and her forehead as I am saying goodnight. I have noticed that she seems to wipe her face off afterwards, LOL. I never took it personally or anything, just something that she does, maybe I am a messy kisser, who knows?

So last night as I am leaving her room, she asks me if I can give her more kisses. I kind of looked at her funny, and said "of course, but how come?". Her answer just melted my heart. "Because I forgot to rub them in, mommy. I always rub your kisses in so I won't lose them while I'm sleeping".

I almost cried right there on the spot. I just love her so much.

ballet

My mother recently informed me that my children are the most unscheduled children she's come across. I don't think she meant it as a compliment. She's right, of course. Until The Babe started preschool this past fall, she hadn't been enrolled in any classes (unless you count the silly 'mommy and me' sing-a-long class we were in when she was 7 months old), and The Boy has never been in a scheduled anything (he's young yet).

The Babe has always been shy, and as a former shy kid grown into shy adult, I didn't want to press the issue by making her do something before she is ready. I believe she is ready now. She has been thriving in preschool, and has made lots of friends.

Due to our recent Angelina Ballerina kick (thanks to MIL), I decided to enroll The Babe in ballet lessons through our park district. I don't expect that she'll come out of this 6-week session as a prima ballerina, but I do hope that she has fun, makes friends, and perhaps learns a little bit about how to keep quiet and listen to directions. Oh, and if she learns a little ballet, that's good, too!

Classes start next Wednesday, 05 April.

I took The Babe shopping yesterday for a little pink leotard, little pink tights, and the sweetest little pink ballet slippers (the park district provides the tutus... how sweet!). The leotard and tights were from Target, but we had to go to a real dance store for the slippers. The Babe loves her slippers so much that she insisted on carrying the bag out of the store and holding it in her lap for the drive home. Then she came into the house and hid the slippers from daddy. Why? I don't know. Maybe she's afraid he'll like them too much and wear them himself, LOL. The mind of a 4-year old is hard to comprehend at times.

At any rate, we are looking forward to ballet. I will let you know how it goes.

old friends

DH recently got in touch with an old friend, sadly, because another old friend passed away. This got me thinking about my old friends, one in particular. She moved far away.... We haven't talked in years. We just sent cards for the longest time, but my Christmas card was returned this year; no forwarding address. So, I just Googled her. Does that make me a stalker? I found her! She has a new baby boy, she seems to be doing well. I read her blog. It feels strange to know so much about her from the blog, when we haven't even spoken in ages. I emailed her at the last email address I had for her. It is apparently still good (hooray), but silly me, it was her work email, and she's still on leave. The reply I got says she'll be back from leave on 03 April. Gosh, I hope she responds to me. I'll be on pins and needles until then. I feel like I'm back in high school. I just want her to like me. I'd love to get back in touch with her, even though she lives FAR, email is a wonderful thing, ya know? fingers crossed for an email back

shopping

Why is it that every time we go to the mall, DH gets to skip out and do whatever shopping he likes - - without me, without the kids. He just goes from store to store, spending as long as he likes looking at whatever is interesting to him, no screaming, stomping, impatient kids to stop him. Why? Why does he get to do this EVERY TIME we go to the mall?

I would love to shop around at my own pace, looking at everything and anything... *sigh* Is it easier being the daddy?

sick

The Babe is sick. I'm always on edge when they're sick. Not just a sniffle and a cough, that I can live with. But she's been vomiting, she has a fever. She slept a big chunk of the day away.

She was so disappointed to miss school today. It was her turn to be the snack person, and that means you get to bring a show and tell. She had it all planned out, and she was so sad that she couldn't go to school and show off her Eeyore. Poor thing.

It's currently 11:50 pm, and she hasn't thrown up since 1:30. I am really hoping she is done with that part. But, she has a fever. Earlier today it was 101, not too bad, but not great. She has been up a few times tonight. I tried to take her temp because she is flaming hot when I touch her, but her forehead is too damp, and the stupid scan won't work. Must re-think how cool I thought that thermometer was when I bought it. But, I am sure it is higher than 101. I gave her some tylenol. I hope it helps.

Poor thing. I hate it when my babe is sick.

bananas!

We are a banana eating family. I love them, the kids love them. The Babe and I often make banana bread, and we love that, too.

So, I was not too concerned when DH told me he had accidentally bought too many bananas. I was confused, of course. I mean, how do you "accidentally" buy too many bananas. This has never happened to me. Has it happened to you? Probably not.

He tells me he bought two bunches at the grocery store, one green, and one ready. But then when he was at Costco, he couldn't get over how cheap they were. So he bought more.

My husband came home from the store with 22 bananas! I don't even think banana bread can save me this time.

my first entry

This is my first post. Just to give you an idea about my life, as I am typing, my 2-year old son (AKA The Boy) is clamoring for my attention. You see, he needs me to put his kitchen toy back together. It's quite important. To him.

OK. Kitchen fixed.

I have a few moments before the children's bath time. This is a good time of night. They've eaten, full tummies make happy children. They play nicely together. Mommy gets a little personal computer time, while Daddy is vacuuming (tonight, at least).

I think I will like blogging. We shall see how it goes.