Worth the run around apparently...

What not to wear...

It is suddenly rather warm again in Georgia, after some downright cold and nasty days.

After (illegally) filling up his paddling pool and going for a dip, Josh (who grows increasingly lawless in a mostly funny way... He filled up the basin on the bathroom with sand and made a large batch of mud, also yesterday, and when I hinted that he should stop, because he KNOWS what tomorrow is... He thoughtfully walked away saying, in a very small voice... "Hmmm... I think it's Montessori...") was marched upstairs for a shower.

He came down in a T-Shirt and undies, and proceeded to scamper out the front door, roaring loudly.


Tim: You need some pants!!!
Josh: RAAWWWWRRRRR! Dinosaurs don't wear pants!



Merry Christmas, interwebz

I know you love a little pre-Christmas Drama...

And I have some!

(Sorry - the blogging mojo is almost gone...)

So. Christmas. Josh has been requesting this one item. And I really didn't want to get it because it's noisy and obnoxious and expensive. Don't make me say what it is. Oh. OK. It's A VERY large, robotic dinosaur.

So I hemmed and hawed and eventually on the 15th, I decided to return the other things in favor of this ONE! BIG! THING!

And of course. Target was sold out.

!!!

Which meant that Amazon was sold out.

!!!

But I found it available online at Wal*Mart and ordered one to be shipped to the local store. Partly to save the shipping, but also to have some secure off-site storage of the Much! Requested! Present!

On the 19th, I get an email saying it's arrived, and for various reasons, Tim can't get to it until last night.

So he goes to the store. After Almost deciding to just wait until today.

And...

They can't find it.

!!!

His phone battery dies, and basically he comes home an hour later. Empty handed. We don't have anything to give to Josh, apart from stocking stuff.

In the meantime, I've called TRU and Target just to be sure. They are all out.

Then I call a couple of 24-Hour Wal*Marts.

No... No... No... YES!!!

There are two left in a store 35 minutes from us. No they won't take my credit card number, but Nicole promises of one sells, she'll hold the other.

Off Tim zooms into the night.

He calls when he hits the highway.

And then, when he gets to the store. Because there's no Nicole working, and no dinosaur being held. Do I know what the box looks like?

"Nooooooo! Just run and loooooooook!!!"

Minutes tick by...

He calls again. There was one on the shelf.

It is now in the garage. This misadventure began at 8pm, and ended around midnight, because you now the checkout process was a 45 minute experience.

*sigh*

If it's at all possible. I hate this toy even more already.

Merry Christmas.


PS(The store called this morning - they still can't find it. Glad we went with plan B.)

Implausible deniability

*Flush*

*Clink, clink*

*Whoooooosh*

*SMASH!!!*

*rapidly retreating three-year-old*


A: Josh!!! Did you just break the cistern lid?
J: Nooooooooooo.

That would be a falsehood. He did. After lifting the tank to observe the water rushing back in, his release turns out to have been not as gentle as the porcelain required.

No biggie, I think. So last night I sat down to Google a new lid, because my God, how I love to shop online.

Find a site. How odd, I think. They're kindof a salvage business. Perhaps these are just for rare and vintage lids. Holy cow. They cost $200 and up.

Try the manufacturer. Nothing

Poke around. Slim pickings.

Can't find anyone else selling lids...

Do a "can I buy just toilet tank lid?" query.



No.

Or at least, I can. If it can be found. From these salvage type guys. In California. For about $200.

I know what you're thinking. Replace the whole toilet. It will be cheaper. Well. There's labor. And then there's the fact that there's wallpaper on the wall, but I know it doesn't go behind the tank. And there's wood on the floors, so we'd have to match the footprint too. And from what I can tell, this toilet model is no longer being made...

So I send an email to one of the sites.

And he tells me he can't ID it. I need to trace my tank lid, and send it to some other guy who will ID it for me. And then I can see if anyone has one, or wait. They'll keep me on a list for two years.

Oh. My Ghetto Fabulous Bathroom.

So here's the PSA, people.

Unless you want to end up doing a full remodel of your bathroom... Make sure your kids do NOT bugger about with toilet tank lids.


And if you have a Crane one-piece in white with:

"Made in USA 4008 G78 Oct 7 '04" stamped under the lid...

I'll buy it.

Why it doesn't pay to tune out the three-year-old

So, I'm in the kitchen unloading groceries, getting dishes done and thinking about stuff.

Josh Mom... Oh mom...
Me: Mmmmm?
Josh: Waaah, waah, waaah, waaaah...
Me: Ahha...
Josh: Waaah, waah, waaah, waaaah...
Sam: Gurgle, shriek, giggle...
Me: Mmmmm hum....
Josh: Mom...MOM!!! Sam REALLY likes Skittles...


I think he only had one, and a I came skidding round the corner, I have to admit, that he certainly seemed to be enjoying it. Well. His introduction to HFCS came a whole lot earlier than I'd planned.



On the surgical front, it's the new guy in Savannah, and we're almost certainly not going to do anything. We will have the X-Rays done to get an assessment of the knckles of the ring finger, which may give an indication of whether further motion is possible or not...

I'm alive!

I was actually thinking of doing the anti-NaBloPoMo, but I messed that up but putting something up on election day, so I guess I can do another post.

We were all up at the crack of dawn to go and see Josh's platic surgeon to determine whether there's anything else we should do to try and improve the mobility in his ring and middle fingers which were separated about a year ago. At the time, he had mentioned that there might be something that could be done surgically. At least. That had been my recollection, so we went in expecting to make a decision on that...

Apparently not...

What IS it about the medical community that I feel CONSTANTLY blindsided on the matter of this child's hand?

Josh's pinky fingers curve inwards (clinodactyly - another dactyly to go and read up on).

It's always been apparent that they do.

No-one's ever mentioned this as an issue.

Until 7:45 this morning.

Surgeon thinks that straightening that one will force him to use the ring finger more. Ring finger is least mobile. Currently, Josh is able to curve the pinky under and use that, bypassing ring finger altogether.

So. We're off to have X-Rays to assess the joints and the clinodactyly.

And tonight I will talk to the Physio neighbor what she thinks.

A quick Googley WOogley suggests that while surgery is almost always successful, there's a risk of reoccurrence.

And as I said to Tim, I'm able to bypass my ring finger with my straight pinky. I think the reason the ring finger is being bypassed is that the damn thing doesn't move, and it's not moving any less because it's being bypassed.

Also - as he grows, there is a chance that the clinodactyly will become more pronounced, so this is something that is supposed to be monitored...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Go Blue...

Josh was very excited, because he thought we were going BOATING... Not voting. And actually - he went to preschool anyway.

It's looking good for my man.

Here is a cheesy little something tossed together on the fly.

Be the change...

One of the 20 semi-finalists in CNNs iReporter Film Festival.

I'm not a big fan of the iReport, "send in your cell phone footage and we'll run it on network news" philosophy, but I do like this song, and the message. Very, very much.

A conversation

*Josh picking his nose, with VIGOUR*

Me: What are you doing?
Josh: Chasing boogits. I will catch them. And I will eat them alive...



Thank you nature documentaries.


Life update: Sleep is going a little better by night. But Sam won't stay out for more than 40 minute stretches by day. I'm. Just. Tired. Could be my newly 39-year-old self. Birthday yesterday.