school notes

We get notes form our boys school on almost a daily basis. Either to notify us of upcoming trips, shows, opportunities to donate, or senior performances. Less frequently, but still regularly we receive a notice of "infection". These come in the form of,

"Dear 3's Families:

A case of conjunctivitis was reported in the 3's program ( so and so's class) today, Tuesday, June 1. The student was in school today and will be absent tomorrow.

- School Office"

These rarely give me pause for thought. Early in the year one of the kids in the Big Boys class had swine flu and everyone was in an uproar to bring in vaccinations - except me - again work in pharmaceutical industry for a while and you will start to challenge a lot of assumptions. Then there was the dreaded, but expected, someone in the Little Man's class had lice. The notes never say who, but the sitter always tells us who has been out of school; which makes me smile, because we all are going to get these things once in a while.

But today we got a goody! Notice of pinworm. I'd never heard of it. Totally new to me. I do what any mom with a lap top does, I google. This is what I found;

"

Pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis) infections are extremely common. Occurring world wide, it is estimated that there are more than 40 million cases in the United States each year, making it the most common worm infection in America. Although any individual may develop a case of pinworms, the infection occurs most frequently in school children between 5 to 10 years of age. Pinworm infections occur in all socioeconomic groups; however, human-to-human spread is favored by close, crowded living conditions. Spread among family members is common. Animals do not harbor pinworms - humans are the only natural host for this parasite.

The most common symptom of pinworms is an itchy rectal area. Symptoms are worse at night when the female worms are most active and crawl out of the anus to deposit their eggs. Although pinworm infections can be annoying, they rarely cause serious health problems and are usually not dangerous. Therapy with routine prescription medications provides an effective cure in almost all cases."

Ok, I just about died laughing and will watch to see if the boys start scratching. but at bath time, there was nothing suspicious going on, other than the question, "Mommy, why are you looking at my butt?"

Things that make me proud, make me laugh

This weekend the Big Boy was invited to a 5th birthday, birthday party on the Intrepid for one of his buddies. The Intrepid is a magnificent retired aircraft carrier war ship. It is loaded to the gills with great impressive helicopters and jets. It was an all boy party and they received a private tour of select jets/helicopters. As the tour guide, dressed as a pilot, was explaining that this was where the rockets were launched from, and this is where the machine gun bullets come out, my Big Boy raised his hand and stumped the guide with his question. All the mommies looked at me, I just smiled. The question..."What were they shooting at?" My thoughts, if we don't want to tell them the truth, then we shouldn't do the act.

The second thing that made me smile was the late Spring return of the ants to our master bathroom. No where else in the house, just the bathroom, and every year. Seeing the Little Man sit there with one square of tissue trying to pinch the ants, with all his might, is really fabulous. He's rather determined and the ants are very small.

Little Man = Big Boy

I know I've been using "Big Boy" as the moniker for my older son but that might have to change after today.

Today we went to a birthday part for a friend of the Big Boy (5yo) and they were all bigger boys than my Little Man (3&1/2yo). They were playing together and the group of big boys told the Little Man that he was a "baby" and couldn't join in.

What they didn't know is in the last 10 days the Little Man had moved into underpants from pull ups.

The Little Man stunned us all by pulling down his pants, pointing to his underwear and saying "I'm not baby. I'm big boy in underpants!"

Gotta love that!

Bartender?

So the Big Boy, Little Man were in the bedroom playing while I was prepping dinner when I heard the Big Boy say, "Let's play soccer!"
Daddy, "OK"
Big Boy, "I get to be the Bartender!"
Daddy, "Bartender?"
Big Boy, "Yeah, the bartender that keeps the ball out of the goal!"
Daddy, " You mean Goal Tender."

Maybe I drink to much?

Recessionarly Toes

When the economy hit my personal check book, there were a variety of items that disappeared from my life. Most with no great concern or notice. I stopped buying clothes and started enjoying digging to the bottom of the t-shirt drawer or the back of the closet to see what I might find. I gave up the fancy coffee drinks and fancy coffee places and rebuilt my relationship with the deli guy.

As summer rolled in, it became time for my bi-annual pedicure. Clearly, I'm not a 'girly-girl' or this would occur much more often than once (ok, maybe twice) through the summer and then again in the winter for the holiday party season. But, I thought, why not? I used to paint my toenails when I was a 12 years old, so what is stopping me from doing it now?

Well, paining your toe nails is not like riding your bike...it is a skill you lose over time! Confounding the matter, my preferences have also evolved. I like have the cuticles pushed back and the dead skin removed. I love the hot water soak followed by the foot message. I like sitting back and knowing the job will look great. My self-painted nails are a work out and they look good a couple showers post painting.

When I choose to do my own nails, I didn't realize:

• I'm not as flexible as I was when I was 10 years old. And I'm heavier, not fat, just slightly rounder. Combine those two new elements and critical self-examination of my toes became an activity to inspire sweat.
• Messaging your own feet is good, but not nearly as satisfying as when someone else does it.
• All fingernail polish is not alike. Some are thick and chunky (not a good sign) and others go on smooth. But as a novice in the beauty isle, it is hard to discern the difference from packaging alone.
• If you manage to pain more than the nail, like the supportive toe supplying the nail, the extra paint (or wasted paint) will wash off in about three showers, allowing your work to improve in appearance over time.
• If you are just sitting around waiting for your toes to dry, someone will knock on the door, the kids will have boo-boos that need kissing and the cat will become oddly affectionate.
• The kids that have never seen this process will find you more interesting then Sponge Bob and you'll have to let them in on the action (see above comment about stray paint).
• The children will run around the neighborhood sharing their version of the "I painted mommy's toe nail story".
• You will wonder if it is necessary to wear toe revealing sandals and investigate the alternatives.

But all is not lost. After trying a very thick yellow color that I managed to track through the house in a mysterious way for one who sat on the couch for the requisite 30 minutes, I discovered that I like having "peach" toes. I've discovered some old thin summer tennis shoes in my closet, and I've come to peace with just keeping the nails trim. But as the holiday season approaches, I don't think peach is going to work.

Quick follow up

If your children ever help you with a mass mailing and choose to stick the non-stamp sticky portion of the self-adhesive paper to themselves, don't let them sleep with it on. The adhesive becomes rather solid over night. My big boy is going to school this morning with little rectangular marks that look like a geometric form of measles or chicken pocks on his legs! Good thing I'm going to preschool later to explain!

The things I "over hear"

DH is home early tonight to give the boys a bath as this is his last evening with him before his trip. He doesn't often do the bath routine. So I filled the tub, left them in there and went to get pajamas. This is when I over heard DS1 say, "Daddy don't let him drink the water, I already peed in it." And DH responded, "Oh, well."

Last week a light in the kitchen blew out and DH wanted to fix it without calling an electrician. I was in the living room and the boys were in the kitchen "helping" my lovely handyman of a husband when I shouted out, "Don't forget to turn the main power off." Within 30 seconds I hear DH shout a few choice words and DS1 runs in saying, "Mommy I want to stay with you; there were FLAMES in the kitchen."

The other general item I over hear when the boys are all playing together (sons and husband) is all the talk of killing the bad guy, chopping heads body parts, and shooting. The violent language drives me crazy, but I know its the age. They aren't getting it from TV as there is only 30 minutes of video daily. They aren't likely getting it from preschool or therapy, as I trust all the adults in our life a bit more than that. But they are at the age of playing super heroes and bad guys. I did finally call the electrician and he visited yesterday. DS1 informed him, "you have to fix the light or my mom will kick your butt."

I love them, but yeah, they all scare me just a little bit.