Today, LM bought hot lunch for the first time. He remembered his PIN number without any trouble. He had a hot dog (no cheese), baked beans, broccoli (which he claims he ate a “little” of) a “homestyle” cookie and chocolate milk. When asked how it was, he said, “It was GREAT!! 999.999 out of 1000! It was a “small” serving of baked beans, but still good. And I ate the WHOLE THING!” He said, “I kept saying to myself, ‘I bought. Did I just buy?! I just BOUGHT LUNCH!!”

Today, it was a GREAT day to be nine!

The New Job rocks! It really does. And I love the paycheck (even if I only get paid once a month). It’s just really slow at the moment. There was previously one person who did this job before and they hired me to help her because she was too busy. Apparently right at the moment, she isn’t busy at all, which means I’ve made a new profession out of twiddling my thumbs. Literally.

I’m trying to be patient, I know it takes time, and I’ve only been here a month. But in those four weeks, I’ve done all the things I can think of to do-at-work-when-you’re-supposed-to-be-working-but-have-no-actual-work-to-do. Thus far, I’ve:

1. Researched all new doctors since ours were closer to my old office which is now an hour away.
2. Made eye doc appointments for both of us.
3. Made dentist appointments for both of us
a. Jacob’s dentist being closer to his school and home
b. My dentist being right next door to the new office
4. Made annual doc visit appointment for me
5. Made a dermatologist appointment for LM
6. Made an ortho appointment (initial consult) for LM after much struggle to try to understand why orthodontists will only schedule consultations between the hours of 9am and 3pm. Aren’t most of their patients school-aged children?!
7. Wrote and sent letters to our former physicians to get our files transferred to the new ones.
8. Researched on the internet causes for my foot numbness when I work out.
9. Researched sneakers.
10. Balanced my checkbook each week.
11. Created a draft of a new budget, subject to change upon receipt of actual paycheck.
12. Researched tax prep options and decided to do it myself this year with the help of TurboTax.
13. Wrote letters to my grandmother
14. Caught up with old friends via email.
15. Checked my free annual credit report (www.annualcreditreport.com) and sent out letters to all the companies who should have closed my account but thus far haven’t.
16. Updated my blog from time to time.
17. Read a million other blogs during the course of each day.
18. Read MSN news, CNN, and ESPN websites each day.
19. I have utilized my industrial strength office shredder to destroy all my outdated and useless information that I had in my files at home.
20. Played over 100 hours of Las Vegas style Solitaire on the computer.
21. Researched hotels in Orlando, FL for our vacation.

I’m beginning to think I could surely be pursing a second degree or something online while I sit here. They frown upon me actually reading a book (even though she’s aware that I have NOTHING to do). Surely there are books online that I could sit and read. I’ll have to look for some. Anyone have suggestions for what I should do in February?

LM and I don’t go out to dinner often. Maybe once every three or four months. He goes out to dinner with his dad for nearly every meal when he is with him, so it’s really my own sacrifice, not something he’s missing out on. $30 on dinner out is a chunk of our grocery money, so it’s rare for us to splurge in that manner.

That said, when I got my new job and the raise that came with it, LM asked if this meant we would eat out more often. I agreed that we might eat out once a month or once every couple of months now that we had more “padding” in the budget.

Last night was our night out.

We drove to the BIG mall, which is about 40 miles away. We really went for two very specific stores that are unfortunately not located much much closer to home. One: The New Balance store to find the sneakers my physician recommended for me (which, as a side, I haven’t tried out yet on the elliptical but they are absolutely 100% the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn in my life!) and Two: LM’s favorite comic book store. We agreed that while we were there we would stop at Crate and Barrel to get a few more of our drinking glasses (I cannot explain what happens to them, but glasses vanish in our house) and we would enjoy a nice dinner out.

After our successful and quick shopping, we headed off to the Steakhouse in the mall only to find the menu posted outside declaring appetizers cost $20. We saw a Houlihan’s and while I’m not big on chain restaurants, LM remarked at what great goat-cheese bruschetta they have and so off we went. (He has eaten at a more local Houlihan’s many times with his dad, it would seem.)

Let me say this about eating out as a way of preface: Not going out to eat very often and being the person in charge of shopping, cooking and putting away breakfast, lunch and dinner EVERY DAY, eating out is an event worth savoring in my opinion. We usually prefer to try places we’ve never been to. I encourage LM to order something we cannot fix at home. We usually enjoy an appetizer with our meal and sometimes even dessert. Eating out, in short, is not to be taken lightly with us.

The problem is, most times, the server doesn’t get this memo and we are but a thorn in his/her side as s/he eagerly awaits to be dismissed for the night. Certainly the caliber of restaurants we normally dine at all offer about the same menu and about the same quality of food. Three steps up from a Pizza Hut but not quite $20 appetizers, either. It’s the atmosphere, the service, the quality of the experience that makes or breaks the night for me.

Last night, our server was Andre. He was SPECTACULAR!! Do you remember that scene in Ocean’s 11, when they are giving advice to Matt Damon’s character when he has to fill in? “Be funny without being memorable. Be personable but forgettable.” These are the keys to a great server in my book. Be attentive but don’t hover. Be cordial but don’t act like you’ll be joining us for the evening. Cater without indulging. Simply put, serve me and make me feel great about my night without me ever having to pinpoint exactly what it was that made the night so great. “It was just so many things…the food, the restaurant atmosphere, the laughter with LM….”

Andre seemed to just inherently know this. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Packed up half of LM’s to bring home for tonight and left with a feeling of success instead of the usual frustration and me proclaiming to never dine out again.

This morning the first thing I did when I arrived at work was to pull out my receipt from last night and write a letter of praise and gratitude to the manager of Houlihan’s in King of Prussia, complimenting Andre all the while.

So often we find ourselves upset by the bad things that happen around us that we forget to give recognition to all the good. It’s easy to leave a bad tip when service is miserable, and even though I left a generous tip last night, I wanted to really spell it out to Andre AND his boss why we enjoyed ourselves so much.

In LM’s words, “I have two High’s for today. One: That we got to watch ‘Shiloh’ in class today. And Two: this evening out together!”

Thanks, Andre.

I could tell you about my weekend – how I’m on my third set of sneakers trying in vain to find a solution for my numbness. How the sales clerk told me that if the Nike Shox don’t work I should SEE.A.DOCTOR. (They don’t work.)

I could tell you about George, who sat down after lunch on Sunday with a fork ready for “cake and ice cream, Mom!” only to have it explained to him that cake and ice cream was being served after lunch at the nursing home they had visited earlier that morning, NOT at George’s house.

I could write about our search for a back-up alternative to our usual do-it-yourself dog wash ($2) that has been closed for a month, that led us to PetSmart and a quote of $32 for a mastiff and another place that was so creepy-bizarre I wouldn’t go in there even WITH my 200-pound dog.

I could write about our cable escapades, how in an effort to fix our “On Demand” issues, the tech totally wiped out our DVR (44% full of movies at the time). Very Comcastic, Indeed.

I could write about so many themes today, but admittedly, my mind is elsewhere.

On Friday, LM took a phone message for me from a college friend of mine who had lost my email address. I was supposed to see her and her family last fall, but by strange set of circumstances, didn’t end up able to. I hadn’t heard from her since, and was thrilled that she had called and quickly sent off an email asking her how everything was.

This morning I received the reply.

Her email told me of how thankful she was that her husband had seen the writing on the wall and changed jobs a year ago, to a different news station in the city, and had recently received a promotion and a 3-year contract. Just a couple weeks ago, his former station gave all employees two-weeks notice and shut their doors.

She told me about how they had changed their will after the twins were born, to name different guardians when they became a family with four kids instead of just two. The family they named agreed to be guardians but only if they had regular contact with the kids even now, so should anything happen, they would all know each other well. She told me how great this relationship has been and how much her kids love going over to their guardians’ house.

And then she told me about Josh, one of her twin boys that might be 3 or 4. How he had developed spots of petechiae last fall, and seemed to have more bruises than her other, rough-housing twin. She took him to the doctor; who immediately called in a second doctor; they sent her to the children’s hospital where they ran blood tests. Right then and there Josh was admitted for the next 10 days with a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He’s been undergoing Chemo every week, in and out of the hospital every time he runs a fever, and sometimes having to stay inside for a week at a time to caution against getting an infection when his counts are low.

But she goes on to say that if you’re going to get Leukemia, this is the one to get. She gives the positive prognosis, tells how incredibly well little Josh is handling it all (including spinal taps), how his siblings are being so courageous and helpful. She tells of her gratefulness for their guardians who were able to sweep in and take the kids home when they unexpectedly admitted Josh that very first day and the two times he’s been hospitalized since. How it helped her other three kids to not be anxious about what was going on because they were so familiar with this family. How they haven’t had to worry about her husband’s job, or to be in the middle of a frantic job search right now because of the solid change they made a year ago.

She was full of praises for a loving God, and for the blessings they have in their life that have made all of this so much easier. She was, truth be told, jovial. She was not telling me of how horrible their year has been. She was not catching me up on all the “bad news” of her family. She was telling me of how blessed they are. How GREAT things are going, how WELL Josh is now. She even enclosed a picture and commented on how God has placed a bubble around little Josh as he hasn’t had many of the nasty side-effects of Chemo to date, the picture showing a happy little boy with a head full of hair.

I have heard it said, and have believed within my own life that you shouldn’t “sweat the small stuff”. It seems so easy to do when it’s just the starter on the car, or just the cable going out. But in the face of her young son diagnosed with leukemia, my dear friend Julie has reminded me that it is ALL small stuff in the hands of God.

May God continue to bless you and your family, Julie.

It went something like this:

Sorting through my “important papers” on Wednesday in order to get my tax paperwork in order I was looking over my escrow analysis report that came about a month ago. My escrow had been figured wrong when I bought my home and the second year I had to pay significantly more to compensate, so this year we are finally “caught up” and back to where I should be. I was looking over the various numbers and saw at the bottom of the form, in the exact colors of the form and not at all looking like it was important, was a check. Or what appeared to be a check. It took me about 15 minutes of trying to read the fine print on the back of the form to realize this is reimbursement for overpayment last year (can’t these people get the figures right?!). The check is for $400. I probably would never have noticed it if I hadn’t just decided to look more carefully at the numbers on the report.

Jump to last night. I leave work at 5, have to deposit this “found money” in the bank in our vacation fund, and stop at the athletic store for inserts for my sneakers. (I’m having a horrible time during my workouts on the elliptical with my toes going painfully numb! – I thought those gel inserts might help, since I have tried replacing my shoes and that didn’t seem to matter.)

Grab what I need, head out to my car. It won’t start. Now, I have a nice, good car. A 2003. I have headlights and radio and the like, but it won’t start. It won’t click. It won’t even TRY to turn over. Nothing. I make sure it’s in Park. I make sure the steering wheel isn’t locked. I try and I try and I try. Nothing.

Reach for my cell. No cell. Now, I am NEVER without my cell phone, especially since LM gets home before I do, and it’s his way of reaching me if he needs something. No cell phone.

So, I go into Staples and call my ex husband, he gives me the number for the local Ford dealer down the road, and he’ll call LM and let him know I’ve run into troubles.

Ford Dealer can’t look at my car now. Maybe tomorrow.

I go across the street to AutoZone. VERY NICE man comes out and looks at my car for me and says it’s either a wire to the starter or the starter. He can’t seem to get under the car enough to just whack it and get it to start for me (a comforting thought and all) so I’ll have to have it towed. He suggests I tow it to Pep Boys. We go back to Auto Zone (dodging traffic across the highway like Frogger) and they call Pep Boys. They MIGHT be able to look at it around 8:30.

Trying to get a tow took forever, but finally a very nice kid named Bruce came and towed me the ½ mile to Pep Boys. $64.

Pep Boys will run a diagnostic on it, but if it’s the starter they probably won’t be able to fix it until the morning. Dreadful issue, since I just started a new job and all. Means I’ll have to find someone to rent me a car at this hour and deal with that headache.

Meanwhile, I call my ex, he went to my house, took my dog out and is on his way to meet me at Pep Boys with LM with my cell phone. What a guy! They show up, he is going to take LM to get some dinner, do I want anything (no, I’m too stressed to eat, but thanks) and to call him if I get some information.

Pep Boys establishes it IS the starter and one of the guys says he can put it in right then for me. HALLELUJAH! My ex swings back by and drops off LM after they eat and makes sure that we are good to go before he leaves.

The cost of the new starter: $316. Grand total for the evening: $380.

I got home after 9pm and finally got on the elliptical for my workout at 9:30 (I had some stress to work out). Halfway through the workout, with my new gel inserts and all, my feet hurt worse than ever and now I don’t even have room enough in my shoes to wiggle my toes to TRY to get feeling back in them.) I finish my workout feeling like I’m at a complete loss for how to remedy this issue. Redheads are notorious for bad circulation, but this is ridiculous!!

All things considered, I went to bed feeling so blessed. Blessed for finding that check just when I needed it. Blessed for having a good enough relationship with my ex to have him be so generous with his time, and to help with LM. Blessed for having the car problem resolved last night instead of spilling into today and costing me more money and aggravation. Truly, I am blessed.

In the conversation I had with LM the other night about issues at lunch, he mentioned kids eating mozzarella cheese sticks at lunch. I exclaimed, “they serve cheese sticks at hot lunch and you’ve never ordered them!?!?” knowing how much LM LOVES cheese sticks. In all his years of elementary school, he has never, not ONCE ordered a school lunch. As we talked about it, he explained that he was the ONLY child who always packs his lunch, and only one other girl is sometimes a ‘packer’.

That night, the February school lunch calendar came home from school, so I handed it to LM and suggest he look it over. I explained that I’d be more than happy to buy him hot lunch if he preferred. So, he looked over the calendar, and asked for a pencil so he could mark the days he wanted school lunch. When he gave the calendar back to me, EIGHT out of EIGHTEEN school days were circled. So we went from none to nearly half!!

LM then had the concern that he doesn’t have a PIN number, which is how you access your account to buy lunch. I assured him we could find out from the school office just how the whole operation worked and he’d be up to speed in no time. I reminded him that his best friend, Will, gets hot lunch everyday (apparently) so he might be a good one to ask. This idea relieved LM tremendously! He made me promise, however, that I would email the school secretary and ask her how to go about it.

I just received a reply from the school secretary. Apparently LM stopped by the office this morning and asked her himself, which is what I had wanted him to do in the first place. She explained the very simple, straightforward process to both of us so we are all set for hot lunch.

I have to say, that as I think about my morning routine of picking our LM’s lunch, it feels like a milestone of sorts that he’s moving on into the more independent school lunch. He keeps reminding me that he’ll be a WHOLE DECADE OLD this May and I think I’m starting to realize all that it means.

Gone are the days where lunch meant yogurt, carrots, string cheese and trail mix. Welcome in Domino’s pizza, cheeseburgers and a taco bar! Do you think I could order school lunch, too?

It was another rough day to be a nine year old yesterday. Over dinner, LM told me his “lows” which included Daniel and Andrew trying to steal the “good stuff” from his lunch. They wanted his Swedish fish and his Sun Chips (can you tell Dad packed his lunch?) They got one fish and gave it to Courtney who promptly and without remorse, ate it. He was devastated. We talked about his options. It turns out they have assigned seats for lunch, so he can’t just move. We talked about quietly and privately approaching his teacher and explaining that these two kids do this everyday and ask to be moved to a different seat in the lunchroom. He thought that might be a good idea. We also talked about how as long as he gets angry and worked up over it, it gives the kids exactly the reaction they are looking for and that will only egg them on further. He seemed to understand that and agreed that just trying to bear it quietly might be a good option, if he couldn’t get moved.

This morning, as I was making his sandwich, I asked what else he wanted in his lunch. We put in a hardboiled egg, a Clementine, applesauce, string cheese and he suggested two mini-3-Muskateer bars. Then he said, “No, Mom, don’t. The boys will just try to take them” and ended the sentence with such a long, forlorn sigh it broke my heart.

I said, “Oh no they won’t! Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to put them in the outside pocket of your lunchbox, so that only when you are ready for them will anyone know you have them. At that point, take one out, open it and LICK IT! I guarantee the boys won’t want it anymore.”

“GREAT IDEA, Mom!!”

See, parenting isn’t so hard after all! Maybe, being nine isn’t so bad, either.

If you haven’t seen the article, it’s worth a read, just to remind yourself of how unbelievably dumb some people are. A man faked his own death to avoid paying child support. He had two children and owed $4,120. He escaped from work detail after serving a year in jail for not paying the $4K. He had a family member call authorities and report him DEAD after a bar fight in Alabama.

Here’s where it gets good – for the next 20 years, he lived 150 miles from home, in Myrtle Beach, using his OWN name. He’s been married twice since his disappearance (twice before that) and now has a third child.

One of his ex’s reported him alive and well and he was caught and fingerprinted to prove his identity. He now owes more than $30,000 in child support and will face escape charges to boot.

So, by stupid, I certainly could refer to this man. I mean, that’s just not the brightest plan, but he did get away with it for 20 years.

But seriously, the definition of stupid seems to me to be the local authorities. Did you see a body? Did you have evidence of him actually being dead, or did you just take this anonymous phone call as certain proof? He was technically an escapee! And he moved just 150 miles away and was using his own name. I see how that might be tricky for investigators to catch up with him. Yes indeed, that might warrant an FBI profiler to come in and assist.

Lessons learned: apparently you CAN call in dead. And it DOES work – or will for a number of years. And you don’t even have to change your name or get plastic surgery to avoid capture. Just move a couple hours away is all. But look out for all your ex’s. When you have four of them, one of them might just see you and report you.

Funny thing. When things are going as smoothly as they have been, I seem to have so very little to write about. To share the details of how wonderful my new job is would perhaps seem snotty, which I don’t ever mean to be. Suffice it to say, it’s night and day better than my last job, and there were a lot of things I loved about my last job (just not my boss). To say LM and I are having a grand time would be an understatement (except for the writing homework we had to conquer this evening). Gabe loves the warmer weather but could do without the rain. I’ll take rain over snow any day of the week. It’s mid-January and I don’t have the winter blahs yet. I’m thinking about teaching myself how to knit. I even ordered a book on the subject – we’ll see if I have the patience for it. LOST returned to tvland tonight. It’s about time, and it was good enough to get me hooked right back in. Sucker that I am. I guess I’m just content as content can be!!

I will try to write something useful, or constructive, or meaningful, or perhaps none of the above soon. Not as if you’re waiting with baited breath, but I’m just saying.

I do hope everyone out there is doing well. UC, I hope you and Mark are finally feeling better. Boogie, I hope you’re back to being the Best Mom Ever instead of the Evil One. Poka, I miss you, as always. Jerk, hope you’re having a great time wherever you are. Figster, well, what can I say? Is it going to be a Bears v. Patriots SuperBowl? Newlywife and I will be cheering for the Pats! Amanda, keep writing. You have so much yet to say that I can’t wait to read! Leah and Simon, enjoy the bikes! Danielle, hope the move went (is going?) well, don’t strain that left hand with all the weight it’s carrying around now! Todd, I hope you’ve adjusted to the new stamps. Katrina, Scott, Trish, Wendy, you guys are awesome! Thanks for entertaining me in such different ways all the time. Gretch, I love the freckles. Of course, having well over a gagillion of them myself, I’d better! Oh my lord, I’m forgetting so many people, I’m trying to remember, but if I left you off, I’m so sorry, I’ll thank you when I win my next Oscar. Oh! Blondie! Nakedness to talk about your mom. Wow. Hope you solved that quandary! Wombat, that’s just one cold proposition! Bearca, welcome! Have some milk and cookies. Gav, good to hear from you – leave some cookies for Bearca (she’s new. We like to impress the newbies!)

Goodnight all!