Mouse and the All Nighter

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm getting too old for this, but apparently not old enough to not do it anymore.

What am I talking about? The all nighter - when you look at the clock and it's time to wake up, but you haven't gone to sleep yet.

Tomorrow (today) promises to be a beautiful day. I think I may sneak out from 10 to noon to nap. Seems only fair since I lost 6 hours of sleep to work.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse and Fantasy Football

Dear Friends and Family,

So, now, instead of spending P time at night putting together a strategy for my Fantasy Football team, I spent my morning time. Huh.

Unlike "normal" leagues, we're playing a Survivor style league. Each week we all play against each other. Then, the team with the lowest points gets eliminated and their players get re-drafted amongst the remaining teams with the second lowest team picking first. Therefore, it's in your best interest to be the second lowest team each week so you have first pick of the eliminated players, but then you run the risk of being eliminated. See why I'm hooked?

Mr. mouse says I'm like those Thai Scrabble players. I don't watch any of the games. I don't know any of the players. I'm not even sure I know what a running back does vs. a wide receiver. The names are deceptive - they both run after getting the ball from the quarterback so I have a 50-50 chance at getting that one right. I do know BYE weeks are bad since your players' teams aren't playing. Injuries bad. And, I need 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 K, and 1 DST to field an active team. See why this is hilarious?

Anyway. Off to get ready now. I'm #3 on the draft pick for the week so we'll see who I pick up. My goal was to make it through week 4 so one more week and I'll feel like I accomplished something.


Cheers!
mouse

09.27.10: Managing

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a hectic weekend, but I made it through in one piece.

Saturday, my sister called to say my mom was visiting. So, we jumped in the car and drove over for a visit. Fortunately, P slept most of the way down and almost all of the way up. My mom loved seeing her so it was worth the monkey wrench in the schedule.

Sunday, we spent the morning doing most of the errands that got punted from Saturday. Then, I dropped Mr. mouse off at the airport for a business trip. Fortunately, he should be back tonight.

Then, I spent the afternoon alone with P. We read. I let her run and play. We ate.

It was fun, but I was also a little (okay, a lot) preoccupied with the fact that my Fantasy Football team was in the toilet. Well, Sunday night I realized 10 years from now I won't give a hoot about my fantasy team, but I will remember the precious moments P provides - like she came up with a sound for fish while we were reading a Good Night book, or when we covered ourselves with the towel and she laughed when she saw my face, or when she wanted to walk around with the towel over her head but then she kept bumping into things.

I promised myself I won't let it happen again. I'm okay with her having independent play time. I just need to let go (mentally) of my fantasy team.

And, now it's Monday and time to get ready soon for the day.


Cheers!
mouse

Savings Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, after a very depressing August, September is shaping up to be a better month so far. Next week I get to reassess how our retirement fund is looking and how retirement is looking.

Our current worst case scenario has us retiring at 50 and 54 (my age and Mr. mouse's age) and our best case scenario has us retiring at 45 and 49. There's a ton of stuff this is all dependent upon (e.g. our ability to continue saving, inflation, how our investments do, etc.) but at least we're looking at it on a regular basis.

Hopefully nothing rocks the financial boat in the next seven days and I can see where we're at compared to our goals.


Cheers!
mouse

Reading with P

Dear Friends and Family,

We've been reading a ton with P. She'll bring a book over and say 'more book' and sit on my lap. She'll bring the book back to the bin when we're done if I ask her to. She has favorites like Ten in the Bed that she can't get enough of and others like Curious George where she shakes her head no and goes for another book.

She's gotten very good with animal sounds now. Is you ask, "what does a monkey say?" She'll respond with monkey noises. She'll do the same for cow, sheep, cat, horse and lion. She'll point to a duck and say 'duck' and she'll point to a fish and say 'fish.'

And, yesterday, she started picking the books we asked for. I asked for Ten in the Bed and she brought over Ten in the Bed. I asked for Babies and she brought over Global Babies. I asked for Ding Dong and she brought over the book with the play doorbell. We did this enough times to verify it wasn't likely dumb luck.

All that milk fat at work.


Cheers!
mouse

P Gets Pink Eye

Dear Friends and Family,

P was sent home yesterday with a puffy face, yellow goop in her eyes, and a bite mark on her neck. She looked like she had taken a beating in a street fight.

But, the doctor confirmed that it was nothing more serious than a case of pink eye. So, she spent the day at home today with Mr. mouse. And, she's off to school tomorrow.


Cheers!
mouse

09.20.10: Weekend, Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

P's been crying for ten minutes now and it's not the easiest listening to her.

The weekend. The weekend.

Saturday, P and I went out for breakfast while Mr. mouse stayed home with the house cleaners. We went to the library after breakfast. Then, we walked home and just beat the rain. P and the stroller and I had a little bit of an incident on the dash home. Fortunately, we escaped with a minor scratch on P's nose to show for it all.

After playing in the basement and taking a quick shower, we headed out for brunch with a friend in town for the DMB concert. It was weird. I never thought of her as a kid person so I was a little nonchalant about kids. Well, it turns out she and her partner and thinking about trying. I think she was a little nonplussed at my nonchalance.

Next on the agenda was a stop at the museum to play since we wanted to give P a change of scenery. Well, funny enough, we ran into my friend from Brunch #1 at the museum. Small world.

Did some shopping and then headed home for the evening.

Sunday, we originally had plans for the zoo. But, with some last minute cancellations, we ended up going to the park instead for some pictures.

And, that my friend was the weekend. And, Mr. mouse went upstairs to rescue P so it's nice and quiet in the house.


Cheers!
mouse

Home Again

Dear Friends and Family,

I must be getting old.

There's nothing like sleeping at home, in your bed, with your family in the house.

I was bone tired when I got home yesterday. I'm a little bit of an introvert so being around people non-stop for three straight days tends to wear me out. It's nice to be able to crawl into my shell and zone out.

I'm glad that it's Friday.


Cheers!
mouse

More?

Dear Friends and Family,

Tuesday night, we played cards and my partner and I lost both games.

Last night, we played again, and won both games.

I suggested a fifth game to settle the score. And, we lost.

Really, I should have stopped when we were ahead. By winning both games last night, we clearly had bragging rights - at least for awhile. There really wasn't much to be gained by playing the last game.

Sometimes you have to know when to take what you've got and run.


Cheers!
mouse

Work Trip

Dear Friends and Family,

In the hustle and bustle to get out yesterday morning, I didn't have a chance to write. And, after the three cocktails I had with my boss last night, this morning isn't going to yield any pearls of wisdom either.

On a happy note, Mr. mouse and I resolved a difference of opinion we have. Now that P is older, I asked him to not post any pictures of us with her in our neighborhood. I'm fine with a picture of us at Mount Rushmore, for example. But, I'm not as crazy about a picture of us at places we frequent regularly. He thought I was being over zealous. And, I agree, I may be. But, that's what I'm comfortable with.

It got a little ugly Sunday night, but we slept on it, and for now, I think it's behind us.

Hope your morning is a little less fuzzy than mine. Wish me luck for tonight. Fortunately, my desert cactus friends, it will not include any last minute renegade runs down a water slide.


Cheers!
mouse

09.13.10: Social Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

This weekend, instead of running from errand to errand, we filled the weekend with social engagements.

Saturday, after much dawdling about the potential weather, we ultimately decided to head to a friends house to watch Notre Dame take on the Wolverines. Seven kids, two pies of pizza, something like 24 single serve ice cream buckets, Shiner and Vernor's made for a fun afternoon.

Sunday, we had friends over. We went to see an art fair and then went on the roof for some toddler pool fun. Trying to have two toddlers play together is a naive attempt at trying to overcome natural inclination of two people not really interested in playing together. There was much toy grabbing, pushing, splashing, and temper tantrums. P doesn't seem to get much out of having a companion, at least not at her current age.

Monday, P's up since she didn't have much dinner last night. She was playing with Mr. mouse, but now the two of them are sitting down to eat. She's growing so much. Her babble is coalescing into words. There's a word that starts with 'b' for bib. There's 'book' for book. There's 'fish' for a yellow fish in her book. There's unprompted lion roars. There's 'down' which is the new up/down/help. There's 'rabbit' which she sometimes says when prompted. And, on a rare occasion I'll get 'more bottle' when she sees the bottle in the car. She's become a book worm. I'm convinced it's all gelling in her head.

And, P's reign with her two unicorns is officially over. This weekend at the fair, one or two people remarked, but most of the time P went unnoticed. It was fun while it lasted. Now, she's just our little sweetest.


Cheers!
mouse

09.10.10: Weekend!

Dear Friends and Family,

It's almost the weekend. And, there's so much I need to get done between now and the start of my weekend. I wish work was less complicated. I wish work was closer to home. I wish the economy was better. I wish I knew what was going to happen with Mr. mouse at his work place as the right size the workforce. I wish. I wish. I wish.

I think the right thing to prioritize, oddly enough, is getting the house back in order. I tend to do better when everything is in order at home. I think the physical clutter is adding to mental clutter. Maybe I'll spend some time this weekend tackling some corner of this.

I've had thoughts running through my head. Perhaps I should set up a 365 item challenge. Are there 365 "things" in the house that I can make leave the house? And, will I miss them when they're gone? Like the half eaten box of chocolates that are more than a year old. Really? Why are they still here? I'll brew on it a little longer and see if I make it a real thing I track or a mindset I adopt.


Cheers!
mouse

09.09.10: Weekend Revisited

Dear Friends and Family,

So what did we do over the weekend?

Saturday, we went out to brunch. Then, Mr. mouse and I got our brows done. Then, we let P sleep in the car while we went to get mail and pick up shoes. Housecleaning, followed by groceries, and before you knew it Saturday was gone. At least all of our errands were accounted for.

Sunday, we called my sister and convinced her to come visit for the weekend. Then, we spent the better part of the day playing with P in her swimming pool upstairs. I forgot to put her in a swim diaper. The regular diaper was a disaster when she came out of the water. It weighed a ton and looked like it was going to burst. We went out to dinner with my sister and her husband and bought a sack of burgers on the way home. Hamburgers for dessert. Fabulous.

Monday, we went out to the zoo. I'm not sure P made the connection between the animals in her books and the animals at the zoo. She got a good nap in, falling asleep holding her new book, and we enjoyed walking around so I'd call the day a success.

Three day weekends are so nice. You have a day to do errands and then you still have your whole weekend ahead of you. We need more of those.


Cheers!
mouse

Connecting the Dots

Dear Friends and Family,

P's been busy.

Saturday, she picked up a piece of chicken and ate it off of the bone. She started imitating animal sounds - moo, baa, ruff, meow, neigh.

Sunday, she began signalling - I've got a diaper by coming to you and patting her chest. She figured out duplo, almost. She figured out her pull toy.

Monday, she showed us she can walk backwards to come sit in your lap. She's mastered "up, down, and daddy."

Tuesday, pointed to a fish and unprompted said fish. She showed she has a routine. I was out late and she told Mr. mouse she wanted to go up and see meh when she comes home like she normally does.

Our little brilliant.


Cheers!
mouse

postponed

Dear Friends and Family,

Long weekend. Late morning. Will post tonight.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Catches a Cold

Dear Friends and Family,

Caught a cold earlier this week and it's gotten worse. Overslept yesterday morning (hence no blog post) and turned in early last night. Going to slog through one more day at work before turning in to recuperate over the weekend.

P caught the cold too. Mr. mouse made us both chicken soup last night. Here's to feeling better.


Cheers!
mouse

Why?

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, I had one of those days. The days when you wonder if it's all worth it. The days when you wonder why you come to work every day. The days you do the math to see what changing jobs would be worth.

And then you take a deep breath and you grow up and you sleep on it and you gird yourself for the next day. And you hope the next day will be better than the day before. Or you realize you have a job to do and if you're committed to a job you're committed to a job. Then you wonder some more.

Sushi ready when sushi ready. No rush sushi. Pestering will not make sushi ready faster. That's what a menu said at a restaurant we used to go to. So simple, but so profound.

When my choice is clear, my choice will be clear. Agonizing will not make my choice clearer sooner.


Cheers!
mouse