Wow.
This year's theme for the PTA's Reflections contest is "Wow."  I asked Scooter what makes him go, "Wow," and he said, "A beautiful sunset?"  I asked Fluffy the same question and without missing a beat, she stated very matter-of-factly, "Money."

This Dressing Room is Rated "R"
Mood:  mischievious

Overheard in the fitting room at Pac Sun:

"You want me to pull that for you?"  "That's HUUUGE!  Look at how much I can grab!"

I was trying to help Scooter pull the leg of his jeans over the cast on his foot.

Then he tried on shorts that were waaaay too big in the waist for him.

Pervert.

 

My Brother John and My Other Brother John
Mood:  d'oh
We were at physical therapy (PT) for Scooter's foot yesterday.  The PTs are John and Carol.  A patient named Don came in and sat down in the waiting room where you can't see around the wall if you're in the main therapy room.  Then a patient named John came in and sat down.  So Carol said to John, "Don's here."  And John said, "No, John's here."  And Carol said, "I know you're here.  Don's here."  And this went on for a while until everyone figured out that Don AND John AND John were all there.  And Scooter was trying so hard to stifle his giggles, he was practically crying.

McFluffy

Tonight Fluffy and I spent some time in the LCM emergency room after she swallowed a gobstopper and was convinced it was still stuck in her throat.  It wasn't stuck.  Or maybe it was and it unstuck itself by the time we saw the doctor (1-1/2 hours after we first arrived).

Her doctor was kind of a fluffy Dr. McDreamy.  I mean, he was kind of cute (even though Fluffy didn't think so) and he had kind of wavy, fluffy hair.  But the real impression he left on us was right before we left when he walked out of an exam room into the hallway, held up his rubber-gloved hands and clapped them, and exclaimed in a way too fluffy voice, "Okay, I'm sterile now!"

 

I Am Breaking Free

By Fluffy, June 2007

I am breaking free

to find a part of me

that I cannot see

 

I am in pain

to find that part of me

and everywhere I go

people think I am insane

 

And when I see a shooting star

I wonder about Mars

 

And when I wish up-on a star

I wish I could ride on a whale

and wonder why my skin's so pale

I love birds, especially quails.

 

On rainy days

I want to play outdoors

and try to make smores

and now I think

I've found the part of me

I cannot see

 

(she's a little nutty)

Maxiflo

 

It’s no secret that I LOVED my job at Pen Maker.  Not just because I finally found my home in a marketing department, or because I like writing, or even because of my love of pens and pencils.  I got to see first-hand how things get lost (or added) in translation within just a few days of starting, when the director of marketing explained to me how in a color marker the “tampon that is soaked with ink.”  The fun continued when Japan headquarters came out with a revolutionary new ink system that flowed effortlessly with no skipping, blobbing, etc.  My boss Jill had to explain to the company president why Maxiflo wasn’t a good name for a pen.

 

No topic was off-limits in that company.  I had to write a letter to the middle school principal asking why the director’s son didn’t get straight A’s and 5’s on his report card.  After the president’s wife had a doctor’s appointment, the personnel manager had to explain to him what a hysterectomy was.

The Zohan

We went to see "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" yesterday.  It was so funny and SO inappropriate for my kids, especially Fluffy.  Throughout most of the movie, Scooter had this embarrassed "I think I'm seeing something kind of naughty" smile on his face, and Fluffy probably didn't understand most of it.  When will I learn that Adam Sandler movies are NOT for kids?

Dinner was at Coyote Cantina.  I'm not sure if that's still Guido's favorite restaurant.  I think he really likes King's Fish House, but I couldn't afford it after that $400 birthday dinner at Water Grill.

Fluffy wanted chicken dumplings for dinner.  I said it might not be enough, because it was only an appetizer, and she replied, "Well, it's NINE dollars!"  Like, for that amount, it better be a lot of food!  Turned out it was only six potstickers.

Fight for the Zucchini
Mood:  surprised

It's probably not what you think...

Remember how my weird kids fight over who gets to go first at the dentist?  So now they're fighting over who gets to eat more zucchini.  I have to admit it's pretty good.  I sauteed it in garlic and olive oil, then Fluffy dumped about half a block of grated parmesan onto the hot zucchini so it became a huge, gooey, cheesy mess.  Usually, they try to fill up on the other stuff so they can avoid the veggies, but this time they said, screw the salmon and pasta, we want more zucchini.

Busy Times Ahead

Since I still don't have a full-time job, it's a challenge to find things for Fluffy that I can afford.  That's the down side.  The up side is that I can sign her up for things she never could take before.  She's got a week of tennis lessons before summer school starts.  Then it's four weeks of GATE summer school in the morning and swimming classes in the afternoon, possibly more tennis lessons, and maybe I can finally teach her how to sew!  She's going away for a weeklong camp in the mountains in August.  Then it's off to Vegas for the HDLV tournament.

Scooter on the other hand is having his foot operated on and will be on crutches for most of the summer.  Poor Scooter Bunny.

And before we know it, fall will be here and both kids will be starting new schools!

Tiger Tournament 2008

This is always an extreme weekend for us since both kids play in the tournament every year, AND it's on the east side.

On Friday night, Fluffy had her usual 7-9:00 practice (no break or time to rest up for the big weekend like the other teams), and it was her first day back since she broke her arm seven weeks earlier.  Scooter went to the movies with his buddies.

Saturday morning we had to be at Alhambra H.S. for a 9:00 game against the Venice Dragons, which Scooter's team won fairly easily.  Then we had to rush over to Elder Park for a two-hour shift of gym monitoring and Fluffy's game against the Bruins Keiki Ohana, which we also won.

I didn't expect them to win their Sunday games, because (1) the Dolphins are really good and it seems like we always lose to them, and (2) the dad who scouted the San Fernando Magic the day before said they were really good.  And yes, both games were very exciting, and we managed to win both.  Fluffy went bingo night with Danielle and family.  She had a great time, but I know she didn't get enough sleep that night.

Monday was our annual shaved ice sale, in addition to games in the final round for first place.  We had to be at East L.A. College by 8:00 a.m.  No time to make spam musubis this year, because I baked a couple hundred cookies the night before and went to bed after midnight.  Yawn!

It wasn't a very hot day, and we didn't sell very many shaved ices, but we planned ahead and sold Nachos, and chex mix, and cookies (the couple hundred I baked the night before), and I even sold a few sodas out of my personal cooler.

Guido doesn't share, which means I stay back with a few other parents to staff the booth while he goes to the games (or whichever is the more exciting game).  When they returned, I saw that Scooter was wearing a BLACK T-SHIRT (first place)!!  We had a play-by-play of the girls' game against the Jama Jama Girls (who hopefully don't lick anymore) via cell phone.  And sure enough, the girls came back in gray shirts (second place).

Fluffy's team went out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant whose name no one will remember, and by the time we got home it was 9:00 and time to flop into bed.

Scooter Turns 14
Mood:  party time!
Wow!  Hard to believe Scooter is almost done with middle school and will be a high school guy in the fall.  He celebrated his birthday with five friends at a video game night/sleepover.  We had two TVs and two xBoxes going in the living room (thanks to Austin for bringing his xBox).  The guys (Austin, Keith, Justin, Matt & Stefan) started coming over around 6:00 and played games as soon as they arrived.  Dinner and breakfast were in the back yard under the EZ Up (thanks to Vickey for the folding tables).  We had pizza, chinese chicken salad, spam musubis, fruit, and chips.  After dinner, they all run over to the park to play hide-and-seek, and came back when some older guys in the bathroom scared them (they're still cute little boys, especially Austin).  I bought a cake from Kings Haw'n, and Austin's mom sent over a coconut cream pie, and all the guys wanted pie instead of cake.  At some point they watched a few movies.  They all call each other "Dude."  They're so funny.

Soccer Moms

Highlight of the Day

I bought a bottle of wine at Trader Joe's and got carded again!

And I realized it might not be because I look so young.  The only people who would buy a $1.99 bottle of wine are (a) drunks, (b) white trash, or (c) really young and broke.

Brain Spill
Mood:  spacey

I just feel like typing, but I have absolutely nothing to say.

Fluffy and I got Disneyland passes for Christmas.  From January 2 to February 1, we went THREE times!  Lots of school holidays in January & February.

Scooter is taller than me.  I haven't measured him, but I think he's about 5'4".  I still weigh more than him.  Auuuuughhhh!!!!

And speaking of food, I found a great recipe for chicken cacciatore in Rachael Ray.  I made orzo to go with it, and I swear our dinner looked JUST LIKE THE PICTURE IN THE MAGAZINE.  I even showed Fluffy the two side-by-side and she agreed.

I need some new shoes.

I love shopping at  Ross.  I bought an embroidered denim jacket for fourteen bucks.

Did I mention that Scooter got braces?  Right after we got back from Yosemite.  Oh, I didn't mention that either.  Time to write some entries and backdate them...

Pizza at Midnight?

I really need to write down things as soon as they happen.  I had this really bizarre dream.  I know it won't sound weird now, because I've forgotten most of it, but the ending had Michael J. Fox's mom on a talk show, talking about her teenaged son MJF (so it had to be in the 70s when we didn't even know he existed), when she suddenly got up and left the stage and returned a couple of minutes later with a basket full of laundry and continued the interview while she folded socks.

I have no idea what I did to dream something so weird.  Whatever it was, I've gotta do it again!

What Writer's Strike?
Mood:  cheeky

I love "Big Shots!"  I've never really watched "Desperate Housewives," but I'm thinking "Big Shots" must be the male equivalent.  But instead of "Desperate Housewives," it's "Horny Bastards."

And I think I've been channeling "Ugly" Betty Suarez lately in my nerdy zip-up vest and bright pink tote bag that usually doesn't match whatever I'm wearing.

Scooter and I watched the season premiere of "Lost" the other night.  We're both confused.  Or should I say lost.

Worst Soccer Day in History
Mood:  down

I haven't mentioned the fall soccer season at all.  And it's not just because I haven't blogged lately.  It was a sucky season. 

Scooter got onto a pretty nice team, but I hardly saw any of his games, because Guido made me take Fluffy to her games whenever there was a time conflict, which was nearly every weekend.

Fluffy's team sucked big time.  Talk about unbalanced teams again.  While one team was full of select and club players, our team had four girls who had never even played AYSO before.  But they were an amazing bunch of girls (and parents) who faithfully attended practice and every game.  Toward the end of the season, we actually won a couple of games, although it wasn't enough to get us out of last place.  Even though this was Fluffy's worst season in terms of wins & losses, it was her best season.  She had fun, met all new girls (she was the only one from her school), and she's turned into a great defender, too.

So why was today the worst day ever?  Because although Scooter's team made it to the playoffs and even advance to the final round, we had such ugly encounters with an opposing team and even worse officiating, that our team has called it quits.  There is a possiblity that we could take first place tomorrow and instead we are sitting out.  Today was possibly Scooter's last soccer game ever.  He scored two goals in the second quarter and I missed it.  For years I've asked Guido to set me up with the camcorder to record Scooter's games and he's refused.  I may never see Scooter play soccer again.

Reflections 2006-2007: My Favorite Place
Mood:  special

My favorite place is home because it is close to school and close to my friends' house to play at.  I like to go to school because that's where I learn and get smarter.

My favorite place is warm and cozy, and people are there to protect me when I get scared.  We support each other like a family should.  It's comfortable because I'm used to it being messy and untidy.  It's a happy place, where there's a lot of love in it.  It's where we have family game night and where I learn to cook.

My favorite place is home because I have my own room.  I know where everything is.  I've lived here my whole life.  I had my birthday parties here and sleepovers and friends over.  When I get sick my mom or dad will take care of me.  I fight with my brother here.  I get my shelter and food here.

This is why home is my favorite place.

No Fluff
This is the fourth day that Fluffy has been gone.  I asked, "Does anyone miss Fluffy?" and Scooter said no and Guido said, "Who?"  Am I the only one who cares about her?

Camp Round Meadow
Mood:  caffeinated

Both kids went to summer school this year.  Scooter went to Marymount again, but I think it was more fun for him than in the past, because in addition to the usual math and language arts classes we make him take, he took ceramics and cooking.  So he got to make stuff to bring home and stuff to eat.  We decided to try the GATE program for Fluffy.  It was a really neat idea; the kids created a city, board games, art, etc., by reusing recycled things.  I wish all kids could go to a program like that.  Not only smart kids can/should benefit by being inspired to be creative.  (I just found this great show in PBS called Design Squad.  Check it out!)

This week, Fluffy is at Camp Round Meadow.  It's her first residence camp.  I hope she's having fun.  Thea went with her, and we saw a lot of familiar faces from school and Indian Guides at orientation so she shouldn't feel alone.  I've been mailing her all kinds of notes and postcards everyday.  Like Scooter's first (and only) Round Meadow trip, I made some silly postcards using photos I took.  I hope she likes them.

I have to drive up to Big Bear on Thursday to pick her up since camp ends on Saturday, but we need to drive to Las Vegas on Friday for a basketball tournament. Oh boy, I get to make a six-hour round trip on Thursday, and another long drive on Friday.