Draft Three Complete

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse handed off draft version 2 to me this morning at 4 AM and then went up to bed. I'm not entirely sure why it took him that long to work on the applications, but it's not boding well for schools two through six if it involves this much work to get an application out the door. But, it is what it is.

Hopefully, Mr. mouse can review version 3 this morning, make a few edits and can have a final version for me to review before sending it today.

Happy Halloween.


Cheers!
mouse

Deadlines

Dear Friends and Family,

P's first school application is due on Thursday which really means it's due tonight since tomorrow night we have trick or treating and I have a call with a friend. And, while I know Mr. mouse likes leaving things to the last minute, I'm not sure there's a ton to be gained by waiting until the very last day to submit.

So, while Mr. mouse is doing drop off, I think I'll tackle another draft of the essays in the application. That and we need to order new sneakers for P. Someone needs to just make the decision and hit the buy button and sometimes that's something I think I'm better at - buying.


Cheers!
mouse

10.29.12: Drained

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm exhausted. P went to bed last night around 11. I went to bed a little later. And, the alarm clock rang this morning at 4. There are no words.

Mr. mouse has been working since sometime last night. P's application, which is due this Wednesday, is not complete because Mr. mouse has been working since sometime last night.

We have a school tour tomorrow. We have trick or treating on Wednesday. We have blood work and flu shots on Saturday. We have an open house on Sunday. We have a birthday weekend with a friend that is still in the planning stages. We have an auto race that's still in the planning stages. We have Thanksgiving which isn't even in the planning stages. We have gifts which aren't even in the planning stages. We have more applications, more school tours, parent interviews, kid interviews, and who knows what else on the horizon.

We have a green box now which is a new holding pen for P's stuff. If she gets fixated on an object and doesn't listen, the consequence is that it goes in the box and she can't play with it. It was comical when she went to trade and put the gourd back in and took the crayon out. I let her do it once, but told her no more trading. The gourd had just come out of the box so I guess she realized she picked the wrong item to liberate. If the box gets full, it gets donated and leaves the house.

We went to vote early voting on Saturday. It took close to two hours. But, it's nice to have that crossed off our list.

P went on a bike ride with Mr. mouse. Yay.

It's Monday. Wish me luck with staying awake today without the caffeine.


Cheers!
mouse

New Dessert to Try This Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

There's nothing like feeling deprived to make a mouse sad. So, instead of wallowing in my sadness, I decided to do some research.

So, I can't have coffee (even decaf lattes are now off limits with the no soy milk addition to my list of banned food groups), tea, hot chocolate (or any kind of chocolate for that matter), milk, butter, yogurt, sushi, soy sauce or bread. Life goes on and it can go on surprisingly well.

Last night I had polenta with a spicy chicken tomato sauce and it was delicious. Fortunately, Mr. mouse skipped his share to dutifully eat out verboten foods lingering in the refrigerator so I've got seconds for the weekend.

I wonder how it'll taste cold since our microwave is broken. The other option is to bake it in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes. I might have to go that route.

See? I'm managing. And, I'm excited for the weekend. I looked up dessert recipes in a cookbook we have. Yes. We still have some cookbooks. I found a recipe for apple souffle that calls for five ingredients:

1. apples
2. sugar
3. almond extract
4. egg whites
5. confectioners' sugar

Fortunately for most home made desserts I'm on the look out for some key ingredients (coffee, chocolate, milk, and butter) because rarely do desserts include fish or soy sauce or tofu or prepackaged bread or anything like that. Now eliminating butter does eliminate a lot of recipes, but that's okay. I'll manage.

I know I can switch to margarine, but I'm just not willing to go there. If I'm going to make changes in my diet, I refuse to begin eating fake foods to supplement. I refuse. I can manage just fine, thank you.


Cheers!
mouse

Another Week Another School Tour

Dear Friends and Family,

After a couple of weeks off, we're hitting the school tour circuit again. Yesterday's tour was of a school we got to see during an information session last week. It would be THE perfect school for P if we were practicing Catholics. But, we're not. So, while I love the diversity and school approach to academics, the faith building component still weighs on me some.

I'm still looking for the perfect school. Fortunately, we have three more school tours coming up in the next three weeks.


Cheers!
mouse

Officially Hyperthyroid Again

Dear Friends and Family,

The lab called yesterday with the test results. I'm officially hyperthyroid again. And, apparently, when the pendulum swings, it swings. I'm not just a little hyperthyroid, I'm not A LOT hyperthyroid.

I've got follow up lab work on Saturday to see what my T3 and T4 levels are. My TSH is lower than can be measured. Normal range for the TSH test is 0.4 to 4.0. Mine is essentially zero. Yep. Mouse doesn't do things by half measures, apparently.

So, last night, I put together a bigger list of high iodine foods and a list of high inflammation foods. And, the next three victims to fall are all soy which includes soy sauce and makes me very sad, all bread which makes me sad, and all chocolate which is also sad but not as sad as the first two.

My list so far?

1. caffeine, no iodine, just a catalyst
2. all food from the sea (fish, shellfish, seaweed, fish sauce, fish paste)
3. all dairy (milk, yogurt, cream, butter)
4. all soy (milk, yogurt, tofu, edamame, soy sauce)
5. all bread
6. all chocolate

For breakfast this morning I'm having oatmeal with maple syrup. It's a little watery since I used water instead of milk, but it's palatable. I'll do this for the week and tackle another meal next week. In the mean time, I'll sort through sources of stress to see if I can alleviate so of that as well.


Cheers!
mouse

10.22.12: Weekend with Grandma

Dear Friends and Family,

My mom came over on Tuesday night and spent the week with us. P went to school on Wednesday and my mom worked on some stuff she needed to get done. P seemed to enjoy her day home with Grandma on Thursday. But, Friday was a mixed bag. I think P missed Mr. mouse and me from Thursday night and was on pins and needles as a result.

Saturday, we went to watch Harold and the Purple Crayon followed by lunch followed by pictures in the park followed by nap in the car. Sunday, we went to lunch followed by the Planetarium followed by nap in the car. Mr. mouse and I went out Sunday night for a concert and came home to P reading in her crib with my mom.

Overall, I think P enjoyed my mom's visit. I know my mom enjoyed her visit. And, after all the rain we had last weekend and last week, I enjoyed getting out and enjoying the fall. We'll have to make a concerted effort to have some home time this week. Hopefully the traffic works out.

Monday morning rush.


Cheers!
mouse

Raising Sensible Children

Dear Friends and Family,

Bobos in Paradise. I read about half of it before becoming distracted and reading Hunger Games and, now, Game of Thrones. There's only so much, why yes, that's me. Uh huh, that's me. Oh, I didn't realize, that's me that you can do before you tire of a book. I'm sure it reaches some logical conclusion. And, at some point when I run out of books to read, I may pick it up again.

But, it raises some important points. I think Bobos raise their children differently. I love providing for P, but I work to ensure I'm raising an independent child who at some point in her life can function as a contributing member to society. We talk about money. We talk about work. We talk about sharing with people who aren't as fortunate.

There's a school tour we went on looking at schools for P for next year. And, I'm liking it less and less because I feel like the student body is filled with kids of civic leaders, doctors, bankers, lawyers, and consultants. Not saying they're not sensible, but it just doesn't feel grounded to me.

What brought all of this to a head? A conversation with my sister last night. She's so grounded and her husband's great, but she's fighting a constant battle with her parents-in-law. Not grounded. Not sensible.

Not Bobos.

I understand they studied hard and work hard. I'm not saying they didn't earn their money nor am I saying they don't deserve the life they've chosen to live. But, their way of arming the grandkids for the future is by setting up trust funds.

Perhaps is easy for me to say. P's not a trust fund baby. We don't have the resources for her to be one even if we wanted to. But, I honestly feel, smarts and resilience and empathy and patience and ambition are better tools to arm P with for her future than money. Money can run out. The means to earn it hopefully is a more durable asset.

I'm glad my nephew has my sister for his mom. She's determined to make sure he's got more than a trust fund to count on when he turns 18.


Cheers!
mouse

Glad

Dear Friends and Family,

We picked up my mom at the airport last night. She's staying for the rest of the week, all of the weekend, and part of Monday.

P's super excited. She's been telling everyone at school since Friday that grandma was coming to visit. I'm glad she's happy about it.

Me? I'm glad to see my mom. I'm glad they're going to have a couple of days together to bond and play and laugh and do the things grandmas and grandkids do.

I'm also glad to have a little time to myself on the bus and train to read and sleep and zone out. I'm also glad to have a baby sitter for tomorrow night's open house at a school we're interested in (the impetus for having my mom visit). I'm also glad to be going to a concert with Mr. mouse on Saturday night.

And, last but not least, I'm glad that I get to work from home on Friday.


Cheers!
mouse

Collateral Weight Loss

Dear Friends and Family,

Ah. A couple of minutes to write before heading into the shower.

The weekend? It was a mess. It rained. It was cold. It was windy. We stayed inside and built a giant structure of balls and funnels and ramps to play with. We got in fall pictures, barely. We did a little shopping (food, clothes, and shoes). We called it a day.

I'm still waiting on test results from my doctor's appointment last Friday. I hope they come back normal. I've been seafood free, caffeine free, and mostly dairy free for the past three weeks now and I'm beginning to feel better. I can sleep through the night. I've found a solution for the sushi restaurant when we go out that doesn't result in fried tempura and rice. My hands don't tremble as much.

Confession: I still eat an occasional meal of pizza.

The interesting thing is that I've dropped about four pounds in the process. It's concerning since rapid weight loss is a symptom of hyperthyroidism, but it's not concerning yet because it's only four pounds, not twenty, and I don't have any of the other symptoms yet.

So, if you want to lose five pounds, subsist on a diet of cafe au lait, diet coke, Greek yogurt, sushi, and stress. When you can't sleep at night and you get a bad case of the shakes, abruptly remove all of the above from your life. Voila, you'll be five pounds lighter in no time.

I'm sure there are easier ways to lose five pounds. But, hey, who's going to complain about incidental collateral weight loss? Not this mouse.


Cheers!
mouse

Monday Meeting

Dear Friends and Family,

No time to write. Early morning meeting.


Cheers!
mouse

Six Month Check In

Dear Friends and Family,

Recommendation forms filled out. Envelopes addressed and stamped. Filed by manila folder. All set to go.

Today's our six month check-in with P's teacher. She's been in her current room since April so it's a good chance to see how she's doing and learn about what we can continue to do at home to help P grow.

Speaking of growing, she's leaned out. No, we didn't think that was possible, but it is. And, she sprouting. At this rate, she'll be 5'1" and 99 pounds by the time she's in college.

Our little P.


Cheers!
mouse

Obsessed with School To Dos

Dear Friends and Family,

I think I need a better organizational layout for P's school stuff. I tried organizing by month, but that didn't show much. Then, I tried organizing by school and that's still not what I want. I think I need to show by school by month in a table. That's what I need.

I think I'll go do that now. Happy Thursday everyone.


Cheers!
mouse

Family of Three

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Wednesday.

I just saw pictures from a vacation my sister's sister-in-law took with her husband. They still do a lot of things together, leaving the grandparents to watch the two boys.

On the one hand, I think it's a good thing. The boys have time with the grandparents, the grandparents have time with the boys. They get quiet time together as a couple.

But, on the other hand, I can't imagine traveling without P. I love the chance to show her new things and see new things with her. She's fine on the flights and she's an easy traveler and for that I'm grateful.

I guess the third option would be to all go, P, us, and the grandparents, but I can't imagine that. First, it'd be cost prohibitive. But, second, sadly, my parents are not easy travelers and I don't think I'm going to change that any time soon.

So, I guess the right answer for our family is to continue traveling, the three of us. And, the right answer for my sister's sister-in-law's family is to split up.


Cheers!
mouse

Facebooking Instead of Blogging

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry. Spent too long this morning writing a friend about P's school options. Now, I need to run to get ready for work. See you tomorrow!


Cheers!
mouse

10.08.12: Fireworks Going Off In the Sky

Dear Friends and Family,

We flew to New Mexico for the weekend for a quick dip into the balloonist culture at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Friday's flight was long. Saturday's wake up was excruciating. The line at the park and ride was Disneyesque. The cancellation of Saturday morning's activities due to wind was disappointing.

Instead, we spent Saturday morning in Santa Fe, touring Native American pueblos. P and I slept a lot, but Mr. mouse enjoyed himself. We returned to Albuquerque in the afternoon, ate lunch, and headed into the general parking queue for the afternoon activities.

We tagged P so that if we got separated, the police could track us down easily. We set up our seat cushions, and I enjoyed the afternoon sun while Mr. mouse and P went exploring. The evening balloon glow as fun, but not something we hadn't seen before. We had a chance to walk among the balloons and take pictures. The number of balloons was impressive, but the amount of time they stayed lit was shorter than I expected. We later learned they came down early because the wind speeds were getting too high.

We left despite P's declaration that she wanted to see the fireworks. Fortunately, we were able to view them from our car in a parking lot after we left.

Sunday morning we woke up and loaded the car and headed out with our fingers crossed. Mr. mouse sent me ahead to scout a spot for our picnic blanket while P slept in the car. It turns out I couldn't have asked for a better spot.

The Dawn Patrol, which goes out first to gauge wind conditions, inflated their balloons in a row, right in front of us. The first balloon that goes up the US flag with Mass Ascension inflated right next to us. And, we enjoyed a beautiful view of all of the balloons inflating and ascending. When the first balloon launched, I couldn't believe the beauty of it lifting into the sky, the balloon aglow from the burners. It really is a tremendous sight.

At first, they weren't sure how many pilots would choose to launch, but in the end, almost all of them did. There were balloons everywhere you looked. I couldn't take my eyes off them. They were like little jewels hanging in the sky. If you've never gone, it's worth a weekend to go and see the balloons. I highly recommend it.


Cheers!
mouse

New Approach

Dear Friends and Family,

Originally, in classic Mr. mouse fashion, Mr. mouse wanted to take some time to think and process and dawdle on school applications. For instance, he thought delaying getting a recommendation from P's teacher would give P more time to grow and improve before her teacher wrote her recommendation.

I think the better approach is to take each task and do it as quickly as possible. Time to get rocking and rolling on parent interviews and kid interviews and essays and everything. For instance, our first application is due Nov 1. That's less than a month away.

It might be good, once this week is behind us, to take a moment to create the giant calendar of to dos and just power through this. I'd rather that than to die by a thousand cuts over the next two to three months.


Cheers!
mouse

Is it Friday Yet?

Dear Friends and Family,

Early morning drop off today since we have another school tour. One day, I will look back on my life and wonder how I managed to keep my sanity through this year.

Hopefully, all of this turns out to be worth it and P gets into a good school and we can move on with our lives. Hopefully.

For now, it's 5 AM and I need to go shower since we need to be out of the house by 5:45 and there's still stuff to do like wake P and get her ready.

Oh, and two more people I work with decided to leave. It's getting to be a sad place at work.


Cheers!
mouse

Holiday Planning

Dear Friends and Family,

Looking at our calendar, I think we're going to blink and it'll be 2013. I need to begin planning out Christmas presents.

There's my mom and dad. There's Mr. mouse's dad and step mom. There's my nephew; we'll call him Big P. There's Mr. mouse's niece; we'll call her Little Z. There's my brother. There's Mr. mouse. And, there's P.

There's a couple of things that come to mind.

I've been thinking about trying to put together P's artwork into manageable things worth saving instead of piles of artwork dated and placed in our closet. So, that's one option, go through the artwork and put together albums for family member so we each have some to enjoy.

There's soap which I'd like to make and share.

There's the usual approach of go out and buy stuff. I guess I just need a plan (what to do) and a plan of attack (when to do it) because I think the holidays will be here before we know it.


Cheers!
mouse

Odd Ball Week

Dear Friends and Family,

It's one of those weeks, where every day there's something going on. Tonight is parent-teacher conferences at school. Tomorrow is a baseball game for work. Thursday is a school tour. Friday is my doctor's appointment.

And, somewhere in there I need to make one more batch of ice cream and deliver it to a friend.

Friday evening cannot come soon enough.


Cheers!
mouse

10.01.12: One. Two. Three. Jump.

Dear Friends and Family,

Early Monday morning meetings, I will not miss.

Saturday, we went out for breakfast at the diner and books at the library and bread at the bakery. I spent the rest of the day napping while Mr. mouse took P to go look at cars and to go shopping.

Sunday, we marshaled up the forces to go furniture shopping. P's toys had outgrown her bin. Now, we have three large shelves to store all of her stuff.

The funniest part of Sunday was P's new found interest in jumping. She set up her bowling pins (in the morning) and her blanket (in the evening) and jumped. She'd count (very loudly) and jump and we'd clap.

I couldn't stop laughing.


Cheers!
mouse