Critters!

I have truly always feared the day our family would get lice. I kind of knew it was inevitable. Some people say their families have never had lice, but we all know they're lying. Well, our crack at it was the last two weeks. Pure hell, I tell you. It started last Monday when I got the phone call on my first day at my new job. It was the school nurse and Rebecca had lice. Crap. I wasn't about to take off, so I called Michael and he graciously picked her up and tried to de-louse her. Total brownie points earned. He stays home with her the next day, and while I'm observing preschool story time, I feel something on my head, squish it, and voila! It's a freaking louse. Michael delouses me and we feel much better knowing that we've got this experience out of our systems. These creatures are probably the most evolutionary advanced little buggers out there. They weren't gone. Oh, no. Next Monday I'm checking the kids before taking them to school and they are crawling. I do know that my family is done with this battle and it is time to outsource this shit. Who do I call? Lice Knowinghttp://www.liceknowingyou.com You of Seattle. Best choice ever. This may sound like a paid advertisement, but seriously it was a life saver. The three of us were treated in four hours, the kids played Wii and watched cartoons. I commisserated with other unfortunate moms, and we left completely de-loused. I've meticulously checked our heads and haven't found anything, but should we, we are guaranteed for thirty days. The cost: a measley 95 dollars an hour. Ouch!! Double ouch!!! But definitely the best money I've spent in awhile. And if anyone is looking for a lucrative business opportunity, look into it. Granted, you're nit-picking all day... Anyway, I just wanted to come out of the lice closet. And if you/your family catches these nasty nasty friends, don't be afraid to outsource this chore if you can afford it. It saved our sanity.

Washington

Okay, so I haven't blogged in years, and I'm pretty sure I have no readers, but I logged in here to follow my brother's and sister-in-law's pregnancy blog (woot!) and thought I'd update my own. We've been in Washington for a year and a half now. We bought a house in Lacey and both kids are in a great school full-time now. Rebecca loves school. She loves reading Magic Rainbow Fairy books now and this is her favorite game to play at recess. She read a book called "Rebecca the Rock n Roll Fairy" and this was her name at recess until someone called her "Rebecca the Butt Fairy." Tears were cried. She is one of the best readers in her class and is great at all subjects. Rebecca is also becoming my crafty child. This year she's learned to loom-knit and wants to learn to sew. Liam is in Kindergarten and definitely is enjoying being the class comedian. He tries his best to make people laugh all day, every day. He continues to be my snuggly child and truly brings a smile to our face most of the time. Michael has a great 9 to 5 schedule at his new job. He has had to adjust to working a desk job; his preference is definitely as flight commander or something like that, but he's doing great in his new position. He continues to brew great beer. I looked high and low for teaching jobs when we moved here, but none were to be had. I didn't try substituting because childcare would be a nightmare with that schedule, but I applied for all open positions. Turns out teachers are a dime a dozen here (especially English teachers). But I did decide I wanted to work at a library. The libraries here are all consolidated and I applied for every open position for three months, until I finally got a call for an interview for a part-time associate position in a nearby small town. It was the best job I've ever had. A small-town environment, laid-back, friendly co-workers, doing weekly storytimes, and talking with patrons daily. Loved it! The pay was about the same as a teacher's salary here, and with 1000 times less stress than my teaching job in Delaware (granted, things would have gotten better). Last week, I accepted a full-time position in a different library. I'm still getting acclimated to the new environment, but if libraries continue to stay in business, I definitely want to be working in one! This has turned into an annual Christmas-letter-like format, but since I never sent one out this year, there you have it. Maybe I'll keep at this, maybe I won't!

Denny's

The kids and I are back in Delaware from our month-long vacation in Colorado with stopovers in Washington and South Dakota. We had a great time. We found out that that much vacationing was pretty exhausting. My dad drove with me to Colorado and the kids and I made a road trip out of it on the way back by ourselves. It was long, loud, but pretty fun.

We spent the last night in Huntington, West Virginia. We were making pretty good time (for us) and were in Hagerstown, Maryland around 4:30 when it started downpouring. I decided to pull over after numerous times of hydroplaning. There was a Denny's off the highway so I decided to take the kids there for an early dinner. The kids had been well-behaved for most of the day, but watching DVD's in the back for five hours was losing its appeal. Liam's good behavior-meter was completely pegged out by this time. He was being a complete little s#$t when we sat down. I eventually told him I needed to take him to the bathroom. I had to drag him kicking and screaming from under the table. I know, I'm so proud. He scraped his knee on the way out. It was one of those cringe-worthy moments where everyone in the restaurant just stares at you and I just wished I could completely disappear.

After a quick exorcism in the bathroom, Liam calmed down and we went back and had a decent dinner with no more drama. I was still mortified at the earlier events. The poor couple who sat next to us left and after they did, the waitress told me that we were free to leave, our bill had been paid by another customer.

So thanks, Hagerstown couple! I'm more of a glass-is-half-empty type. But you really made me feel like not everyone out there is completely judgmental. Your kindness is greatly appreciated! And I definitely will think twice next time I start judging others' ill-behaved children at the playground or wherever and think of your kindness. Thanks again!

Oreo Day

Rebecca truly thought Memorial Day was Oreo Day. She was slightly disappointed that it wasn't a holiday dedicated solely to the enjoyment of Oreos, but she still enjoyed the day.

We rode to Arlington with Chris and Katrina. It was a decent drive. They might think twice about volunteering to do a 5+ hour trip (both ways) again. The kids were pretty good, just a little loud. I have never heard "Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me" so many times. The DVD players will definitely be packed next time. It really made me think long and hard about our trip to Washington coming up in September. Last time we moved, we planned on alternating between the Jeep and the car with the kids. But driving the Jeep at 75 or so really freaks me out. It starts shaking with the wind and it's so tall that I just drove with the kids most of the way. I think the kids will be fine though - when we drove to Colo they were good and pretty calm most of the way.

The picnic was nice. Really yummy salmon and good sides to go along. The kids ate croissants and more croissants for their main course. They love plain vegetables, but they're not too adventurous on other dishes yet. I brought the same trifle Michael brought last year and it was good.

We had Pat's Pizza back at Chris and Katrina. They're cheesy bacon fries are very, very evil. And Liam is still sleeping at 8:35. Amazing. Rebecca, however, was up before 6 am. Not her mother's child.

I'm cheating on Amazon

Tonight I purchased something from Barnes and Noble online for the first time in years. I looked on Amazon for something I really want on Tuesday for school. They had it, but their free shipping has become slower and slower lately. Also, I've pre-ordered several things. They used to ship immediately or even before the item was released, but lately they've been taking their sweet-ass time. Yes, I know I could order their premium service w/ "free" two-day delivery, but I don't think I use it enough to justify it, I'm scared of how much stuff I would buy if I did order it, and usually I'm not in a huge rush to get my stuff.

So I checked out Barnes and Noble. They have "fast and free" delivery now. It doesn't look like it covers as much stuff as Amazon's free shipping does, but it really is fast. I ordered it and twenty minutes later I got the email saying my order was to be shipped tomorrow. Hallelujah! Granted, their price was pricier than Amazon's, but I know that this shipping will happen tomorrow. We'll see. I am a devoted Amazon customer.

I really, really want this CD to come. It's the audio version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Read by some guy from Monty Python. I was looking forward to a class read-aloud, which we usually do mixed with some individual reading, but honestly, I am ready to hit play. And we hear my neighbor's CD coming through the wall and it sounds cool. The guy does some really good voices. It will be a nice fun way to wrap up the year. And my kids are loving the book. I thought they might be too old for it or already have read it, but they are eating it up.

I am taking a much-needed mental health day tomorrow. I am so excited. I have a lot I have to do, but it's stuff I haven't been able to do with work. I love that my job is so quick on approving time off. I put it in this morning and it was approved by this afternoon. I wasn't sure how many subs would be available with coming up on a holiday weekend.

Completely unrelated, I RSVP'd for the Memorial Day picnic and said I would bring a desert. My spelling has become worse than it ever has been since I have started teaching English.

Good night!

Yelm vs. Lacey

I'm on a roll here. Normally at this time I have been asleep for quite some time. I fell asleep on American Idol the last two nights in a row. Granted, the episodes were far from exciting, but I have a little crush on Adam. I am quite aware that I am far from his type though.

Anyway, Michael has asked me to look for houses in the towns of Lacey or Yelm. Allegedly, your dollar goes a lot further there in the housing department and it certainly looks to be true. But I cannot give Yelm a fair chance because of the way it sounds. Yelm. Yelm. Yelm. It sounds awful. I would never want to place an order for delivery and tell them I live in Yelm. I don't mind the word Elm so much, but Yelm disgusts my tongue when I say it. I don't know why. I like the name Lacey for a town though. But I truly don't think I can live in Yelm. Sorry, babe.

House-hunting online is a strange thing. I have my heart set to live in University Place for some reason and I don't know why. My heart has been broken one time in this process when the house I wanted was taken off the market. IT was in UP and now that is where I want to be.

Stage your house, People!

When we were selling out house in Illinois, our realtor was very forthright with us about our clutter/stuff. She begged us to take our pictures down and put our excess stuff in storage which we did. Our house sold almost immediately. Granted, the market was much different back in 2006. I couldn't imagine at the time that it would make a difference. But looking at houses online now, I can truly see the difference. I have a really hard time looking past people's multiple toothpaste tubes, hairspray bottles, CD's, DVD's, books, ugly curtains, etc. I cannot get past some of these people's stuff! And yes, I have plenty of it too. Plenty of it. But if my house were being photographed for its pictures and I wanted to sell it, I would stuff it or hide it. And also, people on the internet selling your houses, why do you insist on posting pictures of nonsensical parts of your house? A bookcase with books? That is not attached? Why do I care? This is one of 6 pictures, so obviously I want to see what your house looks like, not your book collection of random paperbacks.

That is all. I have been looking at way to many houses online lately.