tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72596699506496603442012-01-29T17:27:45.753-06:00A blog about self-identity, relationships, motherhood, Illinois living, random travel and other wacky stuff.Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.comBlogger10551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-42498269932281113792012-01-28T10:23:00.000-06:002012-01-28T10:23:46.066-06:00

Thursday was my weekly Rotary meeting. Representative Chad Hays from Danville came to speak to us. My friend Sara came along as my guest. Then last night, MacTroll and I dropped off X-man at Little Gym and went to BW3 where we had a few beers and did trivia with a couple other Rotary members. Unfortunately, one of our members couldn't find us in the restaurant because it was so busy. Tonight

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-87381132680702840272012-01-24T20:28:00.001-06:002012-01-24T21:32:00.923-06:00

Since I had some time to myself in a sitting position lately, I decided to personally review the tax returns of Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich (and their spouses). I know the point of the article was to show the discrepancy in how the uber rich pay taxes, but I was more interested in where they sent their charitable donations and how much went where. It was interesting to me that

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-499498906762809872012-01-24T11:08:00.000-06:002012-01-24T11:08:20.447-06:00

I ended up still having stomach problems last night and this morning. I was fine, until I made the error to eat something and then around bedtime my body was not happy. So, I'm stuck at home again today. Sigh. I at least used the time to work on three of my student's observation books, which made me feel a little better. But the best part of my morning was watching X-man run up the ramp access

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-40019081649854488872012-01-23T13:16:00.001-06:002012-01-23T13:18:01.751-06:00

At 12:30 a.m., my insides on my lower left side twisted in pain. I got up and rushed to the bathroom, and there I stayed until 4 a.m. So, I ended up staying home today, which meant I missed out on seeing my Clownfish, getting my son to school and volunteering at Carrie Busey's library. Since Pepto failed to help, MacTroll ran out today and got me some Immodium. For whatever reason, that seems to

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-83990613983039047392012-01-22T21:59:00.001-06:002012-01-22T22:01:53.020-06:00

While we were in California, MacTroll and I were able to have some heart to hearts. Well, to be fair, I was doing the talking and he was doing the listening. And I think he did a good job of not trying to stare at me slack jawed as I confessed that I've been feeling like I've been failing pretty hard as a wife and mother. Other people seem to enjoy this whole parenthood thing more than I do. And

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-61605128531261246112012-01-22T10:45:00.002-06:002012-01-22T11:01:39.754-06:00

Whew. We're back. And I have to tell you, it was a very productive trip. MacTroll and I got to California around noonish on Tuesday and we began our "explore the places people like to live in California" tour. We started at the home of Stanford -- Palo Alto. We ate at the Prolific Oven, which if you ever go -- there's no need to get a baked item, unless the free, small and unexpected slice of

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-10057235224661801082012-01-16T11:24:00.000-06:002012-01-16T11:24:29.344-06:00

I've been reading a lot about children with social anxiety lately. On X-man's report card the only area he appears to still be having real troubles with in the classroom is making transitions from one thing to another.  In the summer, I used a tool that I learned about at the Autism Resource Room at U of I and laminated some cards that I taped to the door with our activities for the day. We went

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-27719779655191014582012-01-15T12:53:00.000-06:002012-01-15T12:53:45.201-06:00

Yesterday, I drove X-man up to Schaumburg. We stopped so he could eat lunch at a McDonald's with a play place at 11 a.m. Then we ended up at Legoland until 1:50. I was not a fan of Legoland when I used to have to watch my child like a hawk to make sure he wasn't destroying other people's Lego cars or trying to bud in line to race. These days, he's a lot more considerate of other friends and

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-74681905291597096392012-01-12T14:09:00.002-06:002012-01-12T14:14:28.459-06:00

Once upon a time, I had the ability to totally hide what I was thinking in my face. As I get older, my ability to withhold expression has dwindled. Luckily for me, it's usually a face of wonderment, joy and excitement (that's if the wrinkles around my eyes and mouth are any indication). However, the other prominent wrinkles are from looks of wonder and disbelief and -- "Oh my god, really? Are you

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-87640442853209419032012-01-08T18:22:00.000-06:002012-01-08T18:22:16.622-06:00

This morning I got up and went for a 4-mile run. It wasn't crazy cold outside, but it was 27, which is the coldest it's been this winter. I'm guessing since we got the screws put to us last year, this year we're having a mild, mild winter to make up for it. Anyway, after my run, I peeled off my sweaty clothes, washed my face, brushed my teeth, put on more deodorant and clothes and ran out the

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-1598541271591027482012-01-07T21:12:00.002-06:002012-01-07T21:30:28.604-06:00

There was a time, not so long ago, when I could walk into a store, pull a pair of pants off a rack and fit into them in any store of my choice. That's not true any more. It is true that I'm not banished again (yet) to Lane Bryant or to Plus-Sized departments that (outside of Kohl's) are buried in back corners of large department stores or next to Maternity sections (Target). Perhaps it's just

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-24034164310207455972012-01-06T19:05:00.002-06:002012-01-06T19:07:05.492-06:00

I have been getting sleep in very short amounts lately. About five days ago, my back and hips started to go sore but only at night when I'm lying down. It felt like when I was 7 months pregnant and had to use my upper body to pull myself into a seated position to get out of bed. Once I'm up I'm fine... So I called the chiropractor yesterday and he got me in at 3:15 p.m. today. And holy hell, was

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-61752827552652469672012-01-05T20:18:00.000-06:002012-01-05T20:18:42.863-06:00

Lowercase enthusiasm is all I've got in me tonight. We're studying Dinosaurs at school for the next few weeks. I introduced the T-Rex and Brachiosaurus today to the children and we talked about herbivores and carnivores. They liked acting like a dinosaur and following me around the room and doing the dino-pokey. Ms. Rachel had an art activity for them to and we had a generally good first day

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-67791704153347919792012-01-05T00:05:00.000-06:002012-01-05T00:05:50.220-06:00

Sometimes you just have to get out of your house. So tonight, I did. I had totally forgotten that I had agreed to go to the neighborhood's Moms' Night until the last minute. So X-man and MacTroll headed over to LibbyGirl's by themselves. And I sat at a Mexican restaurant for almost 3 hours chatting with four women that I only kind of know. But it was a giant stress reliever. I laughed. I cried.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-5423416430330498032012-01-03T20:43:00.001-06:002012-01-03T20:59:34.483-06:00

When I first decided to delete my account on Facebook, I had some withdrawal. But now that it's been over two months, I don't miss it at all. However, the folks that were my Facebook friends have run into me from time to time and actually told me things they missed about my posts. Apparently, I was was humorous. (That was very sweet of them to say). I also apparently inspired them in the kitchen

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-71082333210372190902012-01-02T21:37:00.000-06:002012-01-02T21:37:05.490-06:00

Sure, they both forgot to throw away their ice cream sandwich wrappers tonight after dessert. But they did cook themselves dinner and they ran the dishwasher. On top of it MacTroll has been really awesome lately. Every time I get in my car, I swear at myself for forgetting (or being to lazy) to get gas. And, like magic, he's filled the tank at some point. X-man is reliving some monster fears at

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-44833062944202778222012-01-01T20:36:00.000-06:002012-01-01T20:36:09.316-06:00

Today was an experiment day. X-man has been complaining lately that we don't listen and that we just boss him around. It's hard for him to understand that that's the only perk of parenthood... :-) Anyway, so we made an agreement. On New Year's Day, from midnight until 7 p.m. (bath time), MacTroll and I wouldn't tell him he couldn't do something UNLESS it was a safety issue. Know what he spent

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-19223632808979860112012-01-01T10:29:00.000-06:002012-01-01T10:29:30.223-06:00

Historically, I have not been a fan of New Year's. But in the last few years, I've been coming around on New Year's... and celebrating my birthday.  Last night we got the best of both worlds when we got to visit the Freak house and hang out with our buds for a couple hours before coming home and heading down to our GwenTen's house. Both parties were lovely, and it was good to see everyone.  I

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-10928768454198902472011-12-26T19:56:00.000-06:002011-12-26T19:56:04.194-06:00

Our three day excursion to Loves Park, Rockford and Peoria is over. We laughed. My Mom cried. And Lily was an absolute dreamboat in the car and at her first overnights in two different houses and a stop by another one for an afternoon. X-man opening up his gifts from Santa at Nana's house. MacTroll checking out snow in a can. MacTroll and Lily Nana reacting to the fact that we gave her an

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-85271523018456574522011-12-22T19:55:00.001-06:002011-12-22T20:14:57.615-06:00

So, I've been easing myself back into running. I've been mixing it up with long walks (60-75 minutes) with Lily or by myself. I've got one session left with Kari before she gives me my work out plan. But I started to sign up for things. For example, I renewed my membership to the trail running group in Danville, so I can do the Fat Ass the day before my 36th birthday. Then I registered to do the

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-38796844596204949522011-12-22T06:05:00.002-06:002011-12-22T06:18:46.608-06:00

X-man received a karaoke machine from his aunt and uncle in California. I have never seen him quite as serious as when I got out the camera and started filming. So I promised him I'd keep that footage to myself. What he learned is that song selection is key... and that he gets a little nervous when he is watched or filmed. Not a surprise. I sung the best when I turned around and faced the

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-43520673696233297062011-12-21T14:55:00.001-06:002011-12-21T18:53:38.520-06:00

So this morning when I dropped of X-man for Little Gym, I expected us to just chill out and play with his new castle. But we didn't. Instead, we stopped by Old Orchard and he had a pepperoni pizza and we bowled two games. The first game he scored a respectable 71 (His highest ever is 78). I bowled a turkey and a spare the first game, so he was starting to wonder when he'd ever have a "special

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-45809675320391722172011-12-21T10:48:00.001-06:002011-12-21T10:52:33.155-06:00

There are things I forget about now that I'm a teacher -- like teacher gifts. I purchased them for X-man's teachers, but didn't think I'd be getting any for some reason. But I did. Right now I'm sitting on a small fortune in Panera gift cards, which is awesome. X-man, MacTroll and I used some for dinner the other night. And helping me open my gifts has kind of kept X-man from jumping out of his

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-60977709098505478902011-12-19T20:55:00.001-06:002011-12-19T21:43:25.951-06:00

On Friday, I got a holiday gift and a note from a parent. The gift was lovely. But the note nearly put me in tears. Then today, I got another gift from a parent... with a giant hug to go along with it and a teary thank you. I can't tell you the specifics, but what I can tell you is that those two moments gave my mood a giant boost. I have extraordinary worries about my son. Because I want him to

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-10337844438070351362011-12-18T10:24:00.001-06:002011-12-18T16:52:17.596-06:00

1. You'll all be delighted to know that I managed to get my earphones to work with my new iPhone. I'm not sure why it works now and didn't work at the Rec Center (maybe I pushed the cord in harder with my Kari-inspired stronger biceps?), but it works. So hooray. 2. I don't want to jinx myself (which means I am) but X-man's Molluscum Contagiosum is totally currently controlled by the bug juice.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-38645842328076917662011-12-16T14:57:00.000-06:002011-12-16T14:57:27.476-06:00

I'm going to be honest. I've only had three boyfriends in my life, and I married the third, so, um, my scope of things is limited. But do you want to know what all three men had in common that I loved so much about them. When they said, "Maybe" they really meant, "Yes." When 17-year-old me asked carless MacTroll if there was any way that he could visit me at the University of Iowa Yearbook camp

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-60059511357299515372011-12-15T16:08:00.000-06:002011-12-15T16:08:13.713-06:00

Here's the part about blogging where I always find myself challenged. I share a lot on my blog, but I don't share everything, but when I get worked up over something, it might take me weeks to post something even remotely related to how I feel about an event or a comment. This is one of those posts. X-man has had a rough couple of weeks at school. So, I've had a rough couple of weeks. It's that

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-39777858387659740402011-12-12T23:36:00.001-06:002011-12-12T23:36:53.613-06:00

Every cellphone I have ever had since 2003 has been a hand-me down from MacTroll. It wasn't until about a year ago that I got his iPhone 3GS. And I've dutifully carried it, quite happily until suddenly when we were in Florida I noticed a lot of vibrating going on when I'd put the phone on mute... except there weren't any e-mails, calls or texts coming through. The thing was just vibrating,

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-32198579036455584522011-12-11T17:43:00.000-06:002011-12-11T17:43:50.881-06:00

X-man played with the Wonder Twins today at the Urbana Aquatic Center. He had a really good time swimming with them, and for the first time, I didn't have to get into the water, so I got to sit on the sides with Special K and chat. It's always so nice to see her. The last time we were at the pool last winter, we were there with the twins, and X-man went down the water slide. His swimming skills

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-76445317331966354052011-12-08T18:59:00.002-06:002011-12-08T18:59:26.141-06:00

I brought X-man home from our afternoon of painting pottery at 3:30 p.m. and I promptly crawled into bed and fell asleep. This is never a good sign. I woke up at 5 p.m. when the boys were making dinner plans. I was freezing. MacTroll put extra blankets on me wearing two shirts and two pairs of pants and double socks. Now I'm up. I've had a warm meal and some hot chocolate, but I still feel under

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-67160777336110902102011-12-07T21:24:00.000-06:002011-12-07T21:24:01.956-06:00

Yes, I love my friends and neighbors in Savoy, and I am always very excited about them. But today, I was excited to see all the signs on Rt. 45 indicating that the Goodwill drop off site is now open and accepting all the crap I've been carrying around in the back of my car that I've been meaning to leave at North Prospect, but either forget about, or run out of time to do. So today, since my

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-67294883141508136042011-12-06T20:31:00.000-06:002011-12-06T20:31:40.477-06:00

There comes a time when you realize that you are not enough. That some people think fondly of you and some people don't, and that sometimes, you've been human and fucked up enough to change their opinion of you from one way to another. Sometimes, if you give it enough time and effort, they'll change their minds back. Sometimes they won't. I've never been good in these situations. When you're a

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-72699880639041661102011-12-05T20:23:00.000-06:002011-12-05T20:23:59.429-06:00

Not because of the pile of boxes in the dining room. Not because we've hung our stockings by the chimney with care. Not because the tree is up, or the sad outdoor lights. But because when I get head butted by Maya, our large, fuzzy torti cat -- Her head sticks to me -- just for a few seconds. She's covered in sap from drinking the water out of the tree. X-man also hung all the bells low on the

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-38394557477363895742011-12-03T07:08:00.003-06:002011-12-03T07:15:20.119-06:00

So last week while we were in Florida, I get an e-mail from my neighbors on the East Side of Preston that hunters have been pulling up and shooting at the retention pond behind our house, and that he's been waking up to gun shots every morning. He contacted the guy who owns Signature Homes, who admitted that he gave permission to hunters to be out there after 8 a.m., but that 5:30 a.m. is

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-24807859850147241002011-12-02T21:27:00.000-06:002011-12-02T21:27:28.342-06:00

Tonight we went to the Fighting Illini Hockey Game. We left at the end of the second period, as we always have to do because X-man just can't last past 9 p.m. and be human. But at the beginning of the second period, X-man was polishing off the last of his hot pretzel (which wasn't hot any more) and boom -- out came his first loose tooth. He was so excited that he immediately had to go pee. I

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-21589772393208779672011-12-02T06:59:00.000-06:002011-12-02T06:59:41.461-06:00

This is the first week where I have managed to exercise every day this week since I got injured last May. It helps that Wednesday and this afternoon will be spent in the basement of Kari Gardner in session 2 of 6 of our personal training time together (and if you're reading her website, I am one of her "aging adult with a debilitating orthopedic condition" clients so don't think I'm going to have

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-10871678959084052762011-12-01T15:39:00.002-06:002011-12-01T15:41:00.080-06:00

X-man opened day one of his Lego City Advent Calendar this morning at 6:30 a.m., so he'd have enough time to play with whatever thing came out of the first window before heading to school. Then when he rushed home, he picked up his mail (the Mickey Ears we had to have mailed home because they have a 48-hour wait on stitching them and we weren't there that long.) Then he belly flopped in front of

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-56442169553763103582011-11-29T14:53:00.000-06:002011-11-29T14:53:50.798-06:00

Last night X-man decided that he'd sleep with his door open for the very first time since he was out of crib. He said he likes the idea of the cats and dog coming to sleep with him. So last night, as I tucked him in, Lily came into X-man's room, snuggled up to him on top of his feather down comforter and went to sleep with the sound of rain pelting against the windows at 8 p.m. At 11:30 p.m., I

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-77064544487273194912011-11-27T11:47:00.001-06:002011-11-27T11:56:26.202-06:00

We landed at Orlando Airport around 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Thursday. We decided that Thanksgiving isn't going to be about food for us, so we picked up our rental car and ran over to the Swan Hotel. The Swan backs up to The Dolphin, The Boardwalk and the Yacht Club resorts, so there were a lot of choices for meals.  We dumped our stuff and then headed to the Magic Kingdom and let X-man lead the

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-83818139547520892302011-11-23T18:44:00.000-06:002011-11-23T18:44:42.725-06:00

Tomorrow morning, the family and I are headed to Orlando to see Mickey Mouse. It's X-man's first trip to Disney World. When he was 3, we spent 4 hours at the California Adventure Park in California. It's a long weekend, but I have a feeling it will feel like a short vacation. When we return there's only four more weeks before Winter break. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and will put some

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-65830465397796487262011-11-18T12:45:00.000-06:002011-11-18T12:45:40.594-06:00

MacTroll and I got a family membership to the Carrie Busey PTA so that we'd know what was going on. He was hoping that he'd somehow be able to keep that day open in his schedule in order to attend meetings, but he's 1/3 right now. They don't have a meeting in December and January is when we're headed out to San José for the week. So, um, it's not going so good. However, getting the minutes of the

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-64082928214678357402011-11-17T06:10:00.000-06:002011-11-17T06:10:23.894-06:00

We had sand in our sand table yesterday. So I wasn't really surprised that my eyes felt a bit scratchy at the end of the day. I cleaned up my room and went down for our weekly staff meeting, a very nice potluck lunch where there were veggie trays and fruit salad for me with my HMR meal. However, had I not been on the medically supervised diet, I totally would have dug into the cheesy lasagna.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-75579018326021101092011-11-14T18:02:00.002-06:002011-11-14T18:04:13.023-06:00

Who knew that volunteering at the library at my child's elementary school once a week would come with such entertainment. It's never boring, and I love it. Today, in the middle of the second Scaredy Squirrel book that Ms. Cahill was reading the children, Mr. Scott, the principal, got on the horn and announced that we needed to move into the hall for a tornado warning. We hung out for around 15

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-51744273056198323212011-11-13T08:33:00.000-06:002011-11-13T08:33:37.807-06:00

Yesterday, I drove to Kankakee for an all-day early education training seminar. It was the first one I had gone to that wasn't held at my school. The first session was on Behavior Management in the classroom. There were a wealth of early educators there from a variety of programs (in-home care, which I guess is now called family care, private all day day cares, faith-based care centers and a

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-81095889064884183122011-11-12T08:04:00.000-06:002011-11-12T08:04:46.322-06:00

X-man was off school yesterday. In the morning we went to FCC, so that I could finish up parent/teacher conferences. The kids all played while we met. It was great. We also ran into Lavender Lemonade's spouse and three children who were letting Mom get some sleep after her night shift. I cannot believe how much her Mealyworm looks like her mother did when she was 5. I was there, after all, I

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-62805774082316853612011-11-09T19:47:00.000-06:002011-11-09T19:47:36.859-06:00

So, you look at my child and it's very clear that he looks like MacTroll's Mini-me. But if you watch my child long enough, you'll actually see Loosey-like traits. For example, he is very clumsy. He cares very much about his people, and he likes to know who is people really are and why they're his people. He's very hot and cold. And he is melodramatic. He also can't be still. :-) But today, he

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-40053548097849184332011-11-07T19:51:00.001-06:002011-11-07T20:19:28.991-06:00

I'm not sure what was going on today, but it seemed to me that there was an influx of folks on the street. X-man and I left for school at 7:31 today. That's 1 minute later than normal. And maybe there was a long train, because the traffic at Neil and Church was backed up all the way to Tickseed, so we turned right and went up to Curtis, which was backed up to the retirement home. So we ended up

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-65576293101128456652011-11-06T07:19:00.001-06:002011-11-06T07:19:48.817-06:00

Whenever I dream at night of "home," I always dream of the house I grew up from 1979ish until my high school graduation. I have never dreamed of college or any apartment or house I've lived in past the age of 18. It's always of home or high school. How bizarre is that? Anyway, last night I had a dream where my maternal grandmother, a very tiny woman who passed away from complications from

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-38436361274502567792011-11-03T20:03:00.000-05:002011-11-03T20:03:18.551-05:00

X-man has Molluscum Contagiosum. He picked it up last November during swim lessons at the Urbana Aquatic Center. At least we're pretty sure it was there because it was the last time he was shirtless in the last 12 months. It started to spread a little by his 5 year appointment in March, so we asked our pediatrician about it. She recommended leaving it be because it should go away in 2 years or so

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-44325600390506790442011-11-02T06:13:00.003-05:002011-11-02T06:15:30.849-05:00

I went out and ran my first run since, um, May. It's hard after an injury to realize exactly  how hard it is to start entirely over as a runner after being off your feet for so long. And all the cross training in the world might keep your cardiovascular system going, but it all goes to hell when your body isn't used to running carrying a weight bearing load. Particularly one that is registering

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-39292138915107133242011-11-01T10:59:00.001-05:002011-11-01T10:59:56.973-05:00

I know I only had 20 readers out there, and I'm sure that taking a 3-week break that was both sudden and unexpected seemed rude, but it couldn't really be avoided. I needed something, and in a lot of ways, I found it. In a giant axe on social media I stopped blogging. I also fell off of the Facebook wagon. I'd been doing daily updates there, sometimes multiple updates, since 2007, when I taught

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-4820453680670687792011-10-13T18:58:00.002-05:002011-10-13T18:58:56.542-05:00

I'm taking a break from the blog.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-67826885528657405602011-10-09T17:44:00.001-05:002011-10-09T22:33:23.976-05:00

I hate Columbus Day. I think it's pointless -- except that it's a day off of school. I'd like to say the holiday is for something more exciting, but I guess I'll take what I can get. Yesterday, we dropped X-man off at his friend I-nstein's house. He got to have a sleep over there, which included a trip to the Savoy Recreation Center (so I-nstein's parents could get some time together) and then

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-16367557778176404802011-10-07T15:20:00.002-05:002011-10-07T15:22:09.645-05:00

Since Monday, I have been trying not to panic that I didn't have our tickets to see Carrie Fisher in hand yet. I got an e-mail last April when I ordered them that they would ship on or before Oct. 1. So I figured... I wasn't able to start freaking out until Wednesday. But on Monday night, I was pre-emptively freaking out and so I sent an e-mail to the contact e-mail just to be sure... I got no

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-5470629736418195242011-10-06T17:43:00.000-05:002011-10-06T17:43:16.023-05:00

Apparently yesterday was my 1,000th post and I missed it. Oops. I never have been one for traditional anniversaries. Today I had lunch with my child's principal when he came to speak at the Savoy Rotary Club. It was a lovely presentation, and it made me happy that he's the man with the plan in charge of my kiddo. It was also nice when he said he wasn't worried bout X-man. He'll be fine. I guess

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-21683342390684809572011-10-05T19:56:00.001-05:002011-10-05T20:01:36.944-05:00

No, I didn't participate in Walk to School Day. Why? Because when we went to the garage my right front tire was flat because of some random nail. Thankfully, MacTroll swapped cars with me and ran it up to Tire Barn to be swapped. Yes, I'll get to see my college bestie Womanthatrolls this weekend. But it won't be at Carrie Fisher after all. It'll be at her mother's funeral on Saturday afternoon

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-62607666030258385592011-10-04T15:48:00.001-05:002011-10-04T15:50:58.185-05:00

On Oct. 1, I was supposed to run the Wine and Dine half marathon with a couple of my girlfriends. Since my foot is still broken, that obviously didn't happen. But I'd paid for my flight and my room and I was due for a little break from my life, so I went to Florida. I've been to Florida several times before, and I've never been a big fan. But this was Disney, so I decided if I could put up with

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-82342996404879803262011-09-29T22:41:00.000-05:002011-09-29T22:41:05.434-05:00

Well, we caught a day or two of "ups" around here. No one had to go to the hospital. All of our pets are still alive. And X-man hasn't gotten a letter home from school since Tuesday. Yes, I know this is tempting fate, but I'm going to call good days -- good days -- and acknowledge that they exist. I'm not, repeat, not saying it's the end of the ugliness. It's just -- nice to have a break from it.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-10312830382260236052011-09-28T21:31:00.000-05:002011-09-28T21:31:23.986-05:00

Wednesday and Thursday are my crazy busy days. On Wednesday, I'm up at 5:45 a.m. I drop X off at school. Then I drop Lily off at doggie daycare. Then I get to work and set up my room. We have staff meetings on Wednesdays until 1:30 p.m. Then I usually run an errand or I run home to do the dishes or the laundry. I pick up X-man at school at 2:15 p.m. and he and I go somewhere for a special snack

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-51389155926193335502011-09-27T23:14:00.002-05:002011-09-27T23:14:37.417-05:00

MacTroll and I have been talking about the future. Namely that he needs to get off the road. In that plan, we have to live somewhere where if his dynamic doesn't change at The Fruit that he can be employable at a competitive income level. For the last year or so we've been talking about moving closer to The Fruit's main campus. And it looks like, we're in agreement that unless there's some major

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-79982493183020230332011-09-27T23:01:00.000-05:002011-09-27T23:01:27.676-05:00

MacTroll and I have been talking about the future. Namely that he needs to get off the road. In that plan, we have to live somewhere where if his dynamic doesn't change at The Fruit that he can be employable at a competitive income level. For the last year or so we've been talking about moving closer to The Fruit's main campus. And it looks like, we're in agreement that unless there's some major

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-68593878812894112702011-09-27T19:26:00.002-05:002011-09-27T19:29:21.316-05:00

On Sunday, we took X-man to Curtis Orchard. I want to be very clear about this... I grew up near Rockford. I went to Edwards Apple Orchard. I have a die-hard loyalty to that orchard. It kicks ass. And people, you haven't tasted a decent apple donut until you've had theirs. They're ridiculous. They melt in your mouth and they're in such hot demand that on weekends they have to limit people to 2 or

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-79795083335864304642011-09-26T21:44:00.001-05:002011-09-26T21:46:56.403-05:00

Tonight, after my child had a tantrum of XL proportions about something at bedtime, I declared it facial mask and teeth whitening night. I don't know why. Maybe because when I felt better about myself, I used to do it once a week. You know, back in the days when my foot wasn't broken, when I wasn't eating myself into oblivion, and when I had a sense of time management about my days... Yeah, I

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-36578841059348045322011-09-26T11:56:00.000-05:002011-09-26T11:56:56.904-05:00

X-man's cold transitioned into a low fever and chills this morning, so I kept him home from school. MacTroll was on his way to Phoenix and then to D.C. for work. But he was here long enough that I could drop off all of my lesson plans for the week at school and halfway set up the room for my co-teacher before 8 a.m. Since then, we've been doing everything in my bed: reading books, playing some

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-71954744705862772412011-09-25T09:49:00.001-05:002011-09-25T09:51:04.752-05:00

Last night the Rotary of Savoy came over for a social. MacTroll made some Montreal Smoked Meat and some Vegetarian kabobs. He also made some of his salsa. We had spent the day sad over Nyssa, so we didn't get around to doing any yardwork to make the backyard acceptable for people, but the Rotarians are a pretty nice group and they didn't mind that things weren't picture perfect. I had had a crap

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-83746009713598182012011-09-24T13:42:00.002-05:002011-09-24T13:46:41.105-05:00

But we're a three cat family for the first time since August 2001. Today, MacTroll and I euthanized Nyssa. She had been steadily going downhill despite multiple different medical interventions and force feeding. She ended up dying, not so differently than Riley, our dog, who died in June. She had cancer. It messed up her neurological functions. And finally, she developed a mass in a very short

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-4917647641787788482011-09-23T21:40:00.000-05:002011-09-23T21:40:31.283-05:00

Tonight after I force fed Nyssa, she went to the litterbox and peed. Then she yelled at me and wandered into MacTroll's office. Talking from the kitten is never a good. We've learned that she only makes noise (other than purring) when she's really in need of something.  He started petting her and her skin slid off of part of her chest/neck area. Yes, it could be a cyst from some kind of random

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-71983431684004792002011-09-22T23:29:00.001-05:002011-09-22T23:29:39.855-05:00

So, this week: • I've been bitten by a child (not mine) and by a cat. One was just a bruise, the other broke the skin and went through my thumb nail.• I've suffered a minor, but bloody, head injury from a falling handicap sign.• My cat's life (Nyssa) is at a crossroads.• My gut says my child may be heading toward a diagnosis of ADHD (which isn't upsetting at all, but the daily communication with

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-81294409872198446602011-09-21T13:40:00.001-05:002011-09-21T16:58:14.291-05:00

I came home from work today to find MacTroll on the phone. This is not an unusual thing. I popped my lunch in the microwave, poured myself a diet coke and sat down at the computer. Then I heard, "Yes, they're observing if this is regular five-year-old boy behavior or if it's something else." Shit. Really? Turns out there was a sub at school today. The assignment the class was working on was to

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-57329151594162880832011-09-20T18:50:00.000-05:002011-09-20T18:50:08.328-05:00

Well, in my sea of randomness, one gold star came out of today. X-man got off the bus and said, "Mom -- I had a no checks day!" He did completely tear apart his left sock, but I guess it's way better to ruin socks than to not be able to keep his hands off his friends or backtalk to his teachers, right? He got his Legos back and went to a playdate/birthday party tonight. I'm so proud of him for

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-51602433447652472462011-09-20T12:19:00.000-05:002011-09-20T12:19:58.196-05:00

Only I could get hit in the head with a handicapped sign while actually having a handicap (broken foot). (It's okay to laugh -- it makes me laugh every time.) The injury bled a lot... I won't be wearing those clothes again. But I didn't get any stitches. I have a giant abrasion on my head and am not allowed to drive for 12 hours to make sure I don't have a concussion. But it might take a few

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-76152134564709115642011-09-18T07:48:00.000-05:002011-09-18T07:48:49.116-05:00

This weekend was the Savoy Orchard Days festival, a.k.a. the carnival in our backyard. We walked over at dinner time on Friday night and spent 2 1/2 hours in the cold watching X-man run around like mad using his $17 wrist band to its fullest on all of the rides. My favorite was watching him and his favorite neighbor on the Scrambler... They loved it so much they went twice -- not needing an

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-74178419328618594092011-09-16T20:43:00.000-05:002011-09-16T20:43:45.317-05:00

MacTroll and I made it to Carrie Busey today for their Pep Rally. They were celebrating raising over $8,500 for the Parent Teacher Association, so the whole school went out to sit on the playground and watch the teachers duct tape their principal to the wall before 11 kids got to throw whipped cream pies at him. Then after that, the music teacher and the P.E. teacher were in a trivia contest,

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-46585914705467529062011-09-15T14:42:00.001-05:002011-09-15T14:54:05.343-05:00

X-man got in a heap of trouble on Tuesday when he came home with his second note from his teacher regarding his behavior. We'd had a heart-to-haert after the first note, and he promised he would improve his behavior. Specifically, he's having issues listening, talking back, keeping his hands to himself and being respectful. Since this was the second note, I took him to the couch and I sat down

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-76836331342029728132011-09-13T15:41:00.000-05:002011-09-13T15:41:19.507-05:00

I've been mulling this one over in my brain for a couple of weeks, and I still don't know how to handle it. But it's just sitting on my brain and I need that space, so I'm going to let the issue occupy space here for people much wiser than I am to think about it. X-man knows that MacTroll and I don't believe in god. We're pretty much secular humanists. We've been that way for a very long time.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-16488172249842108012011-09-13T04:34:00.000-05:002011-09-13T04:34:03.691-05:00

As of August, MacTroll and I have lived in Savoy for eight years. So, when he comes home with thoughts every few months about how his job at the Fruit might lead him to live in California in the next few years or thoughts where maybe he's done what he can do at work and should look for something else, the hair stands up on the back of my neck. It used to stand up in anxiety. Selling a house,

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-86957556046061921522011-09-11T21:17:00.000-05:002011-09-11T21:17:02.787-05:00

Today, MacTroll, X-man, Papa and I got on a bus at the Savoy Recreation Center and went to watch a Cardinals baseball game. It was X-man's first St. Louis game and second MLB game. (The four of us went to see the White Sox last year.) This was a much more exciting game as the Cardinals won their 12th in a row. They're chasing a wild card entry into the finals and the team they beat (Atlanta

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-16361737091299526122011-09-09T23:57:00.001-05:002011-09-10T00:02:01.616-05:00

Today I had my make up appointment at Christie Clinic Podiatry. Normally, I'm a Carle Clinic patient, but for whatever reason (I'm blaming their new medical records issues), when I called for an appointment in early August, they couldn't see me until October. (Remind me to cancel that appointment, by the way.) I was going because although the Sports Med doc had said my foot issues were due to

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-12155028539495622752011-09-09T06:29:00.000-05:002011-09-09T06:29:45.534-05:00

I am a caretaker of wee small children. These are children who are just learning to drink from a big kid cup. Children who can't always communicate their thoughts and ideas in their limited vocabularies. Children who are in the throes of potty training, who are also still learning that unlike when they were infants and toddlers and people jumped at every cry and helped them get what they needed -

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-89154060855670229572011-09-07T20:47:00.002-05:002011-09-07T20:50:45.007-05:00

Yesterday, I wasn't really home. I was at work and then I had a meeting with a new personal trainer at 1 p.m. I got X-man off the bus and talked to him about his day. Then I went to the hematologist at 3:45 p.m. Then I went home and did some dishes and prepared for my Library Board of Directors Meeting which went from 6-7 p.m. Then I stopped by Wal-mart to pick up an iPod speaker system for $18

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-9166639917647521672011-09-06T16:38:00.000-05:002011-09-06T16:38:13.398-05:00

Six weeks ago, I finally got to go see Dr. David Graham at the Carle Cancer Center. He is an oncologist/hematologist. He took one look at my blood work numbers and gave me a new iron dosage to try. It was an insane number of supplements. But he is the specialist... so I did what I was told. I got my labs pulled last Thursday, and guess who has a "normal" iron count and a low (but normal)

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-51989340120788472892011-09-03T12:04:00.002-05:002011-09-06T04:31:36.089-05:00

We arrived after dark last night. I had called to let them know we'd be late, but check in was closed so we had to flag down a group of campers who spread out and chased down the supervisor. Our cabin was one of only two without a shared bathroom, but I find having my own is worth the cost. We paid $572 for four days, including lodging, food and activities. It's a much more modern camp than

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-294305564052917782011-09-02T14:03:00.000-05:002011-09-02T14:03:04.409-05:00

Thursday was a little crazed in the Clownfish room. We still have children adjusting to the new experience of school, so some tears were shed. But at two, we also have some very empathetic friends, so when one cries, several of them feel sad, too. Today, was awesome. None of our children were sad. In fact, they were super excited to be there, and Ms. Rachel and I were able to totally excited.

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-40366959323379655252011-08-31T20:59:00.001-05:002011-08-31T21:21:41.780-05:00

So tonight, during bedtime, X-man fessed up that he spent recess with his head down on a table in his classroom -- for making a series of bad choices. He earned three checks, he said, so he lost recess privilege. He said he wasn't alone, which doesn't make it any better. Then he said, "I already have two checks for tomorrow." I wondered how. "Did you misbehave while waiting for the bus?" "Yes,

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-17567997881074112392011-08-31T06:25:00.000-05:002011-08-31T06:25:15.115-05:00

Being at home alone has a couple of quirks to workout these days. Namely with Lily. She and I walk every day for around 30 minutes during my two hours of free time. Having her and X-man at the same time is a little difficult. If there were people at the dog park at 1 p.m., I'd take her there, but it's barren, so it seems silly to go. Instead we take little trips around the lake or around Prairie

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-80562168551012027322011-08-29T21:06:00.004-05:002011-08-29T21:34:51.751-05:00

This summer, X-man started to learn how to read. He's got all the words used in pretty much every Dick and Jane book down pat. And they are a sea of sight words. It's all good, until I show him them out of the Dick and Jane context and then he's like, "I don't know." Dude, watch. I highlight three words from the sight word list that his kindergarten teacher gave us at the Parent Teacher

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-50632211733790754602011-08-28T22:05:00.000-05:002011-08-28T22:05:09.857-05:00

X-man was supposed to go to the Airshow in Charleston with MacTroll yesterday, but because he had a roll of awful behavior on Friday night he lost that privilege and spent yesterday pretty much in his room. When I came back from completing my 5k on Saturday morning, there was a letter of apology written to me on the dining room table. X-man had decided that his big kid paper didn't have enough

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-80466753853227216082011-08-27T13:16:00.004-05:002011-08-27T14:19:50.109-05:00

It's a news flash, I know. But this morning I sought out my Green Flame Energy team tent at the Car-X Crazy K event, but no one was there. I knew I was the first to run, but the web site said to be there an hour and a half before the race. So, there I was with my bag sitting underneath our orange tent with green pom poms taped to it when a guy in the white tent next to ours said, "Are you part of

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-53578939030665011572011-08-25T22:57:00.000-05:002011-08-25T22:57:56.640-05:00

Tomorrow MMO opens for children and their parents to meet their teachers any time between 8:30 and noon. My co-teacher and I have spent the last three weeks getting ready for class. We have a class plan for next week, but failed to get planning done past that. But that's what e-mail is made for, right? A lot of our planning is actually dependent on the kids right now. The current project approach

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-8214587246315729582011-08-24T18:58:00.001-05:002011-08-24T18:58:19.168-05:00

I finally got a referral appointment to go see a podiatrist. The first one that was available during a "convenient" time was Oct. 6, so I guess that's when I'm going. :-) We'll see if I need orthotics or not. As it goes, I seem to be walking around fine (minus the first four minutes after I get up). And I'm great in the pool, on the bike and doing the Nike Training workouts. The elliptical also

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-8815517280728592632011-08-23T22:14:00.002-05:002011-08-24T07:05:20.964-05:00

X-man started kindergarten today. He had trouble falling asleep the night before because he was so wound up about it. I ended up lying down with him to get him calmed down enough to fall asleep. I hadn't done that since he was 3. This morning he was so amped and ready to go, he didn't want to eat breakfast. I made him eat his veggie sausage and a few bites of pancake. But because he didn't eat,

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-27229269281202871702011-08-21T22:32:00.003-05:002011-08-21T22:35:36.558-05:00

I made a comment the other day on Facebook that everything in the world is somehow being planned for October. The truth is that I'm finding September to have similar issues. I have to choose where I'm going and when. The good news is that all of it, so far, is really good stuff. In the same Facebook comment, I complained that I hadn't figured out teleportation yet. It was also funny that I was

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-46985693370576254372011-08-20T15:54:00.002-05:002011-08-20T16:05:25.612-05:00

This afternoon the boys and I took part in a Road Rally Scavenger Hunt with the Rec Center. We were each given packets with rules to follow and mystery directions to follow. Then we piled in our cars and went out in the countryside hunting down addresses and information. There were puzzle sheets to complete and trivia questions to answer. Winners weren't based on time, but on the number of

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-90613006043417279642011-08-18T16:36:00.000-05:002011-08-18T16:36:23.646-05:00

"This is what parenting is: shit and food, shit and food. Mostly shit. Wiping shit. Keeping them away from shit. Minimizing the external shit. It's parenting -- shit." -- Nancy Botwin, Weeds I once had a neighbor tell me that she and her husband weren't animal people -- because animals pooped. But one day, she hoped that she and her husband would have children. I'm sure there were a slew of

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-77998423201587578532011-08-17T15:42:00.000-05:002011-08-17T15:42:52.830-05:00

Today I took X-man to the Children's Discovery Museum in Normal, IL. We've visited every 6-12 months since X-man was 15 months old. In a way the museum has kind of grown with him. It was heavy in building materials when he was Bob the Builder Crazy. We used to have to tear him away from the train table when he was a toddler. They built an Avanti's pizza shop exhibit when he got into cooking when

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-55649657829707268322011-08-16T15:35:00.000-05:002011-08-16T15:35:37.428-05:00

In high school I read the book Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein. In the book, the main character Lazarus Long is the oldest living full human left in the universe. It's a sci fi book way, way, way in the future. Anyway, Lazarus has decided he's seen everything, done everything and he's ready to push his suicide button, but a young descendent of his is trying to discourage him from doing so

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-65745194514134459442011-08-15T14:53:00.001-05:002011-08-15T14:54:13.208-05:00

On Sept. 30th, I'll be on a flight to Florida. I am supposed to participate in the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon on Oct. 1. But I've got this injury. I have to call Disney tomorrow to finish my reservations. Since I have a non-refundable ticket and $250 into it, the least I'm getting is a vacation with my two other runner friends. My plan right now, since I'm totally fine walking. Is to

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-91964082545331755052011-08-14T09:06:00.001-05:002011-08-14T09:06:37.377-05:00

X-man has outgrown the Iron Man 16" bike we got him last year, and we know that riding a two-wheeler is coming down the pike. So we took him to Champaign Cycle to find him a bike that will be able to take the continual beatings of being put down when our child learns. When he first got his Iron Man bike, he fell off twice, and pieces of plastic snapped off and rolled away everywhere.  X-man was

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-42181280292359000202011-08-12T21:18:00.001-05:002011-08-12T21:18:24.669-05:00

 Right now at this very moment MacTroll is 4 blocks away at the park behind Head Start camping with X-man. There are 4 families and 1 Savoy rec center staff member there. When I left at 7:30, they had cooked hot dogs and were busting out the s'mores and the sun was setting. I am on dog duty. Speaking of, Lily's curled up on MacTroll's pillow and resting her head on my chest. It's kind of nice

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259669950649660344.post-223240192350282442011-08-10T20:11:00.000-05:002011-08-10T20:11:26.035-05:00

I have frequently have fantasies about living a life where I only take care of myself. 

Looseyfurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04899150174103143277noreply@blogger.com0