Just Heather

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
as read by Brenia Sokol

Hunry, hunry, hunry.
Hunry, hunry, hunry.
Hunry, hunry, hunry.
Hunry, hunry, hunry.
Duh en!

One of these days I’ll actually participate in ANBOW, but until then my Monday morning recaps will have to suffice. This one’s a doozy, so grab a cup of coffee and settle in. The weekend started like any other. If you hadn’t checked my calendar, you would never know a Super Family Fun Weekend was about to occur. We had our typical fast, cheap and easy Friday dinner, followed by my weekly sleep day. I get Saturdays; he gets Sundays.

As per our arrangement, Saturday starts with the kids waking me up and me kicking Spencer until he gets out of bed. Then I snuggle in for a few more hours of uninterrupted guilt-free extra sleep. This is the one day of the week I get to wake up, shower, and get ready without a tagalong. In fact, this is generally the one day a week I actually get to shower before naptime. While the sleeping in may not be all it’s cracked up to be, this is bliss!

After lunch, I run my weekly errands. This day was no exception. What made it so great was a serendipitous meeting with someone who works at the newspaper delivery station. I have been going through their old paper stacks for 6 months to get my weekly coupons. Last week, the station manager kicked me out, saying it was for employees only. The lady I met had spoken to me in the past, and even given me her extra Sunday papers. She told me on Sunday that she argued with him for 10 minutes after I left, and that she wanted to help. I typically pick up 15 papers each week. Some for my personal use, some for my sister, and some to get extra freebies for food banks. She is working out getting me way more than I could have ever collected in the newspaper bins.

After my errands, it was back home to prepare for the first phase of Super Family Fun Weekend—SuperCross 2005! This was my 5th SuperCross, and it started quite by accident. The first year my father-in-law was all excited because he was getting tickets for Valentine’s Day. He asked if we’d like to go. Spencer said sure, which made his dad very happy. A few weeks later, his wife calls me to make sure we really wanted to go before she bought tickets. I said if Spencer said we’d go I guess he wants to and double checked the calendar. Spencer’s sisters would babysit, so we were set.

Spencer had no idea what I was talking about when I told him we had tickets. No recollection whatsoever of the conversation. Since his dad was so excited about the opportunity to share this with us, we decided to go anyway. It was so cool! At least I thought so. Spencer? Not so much. He stays home with the girls now and his little sisters come along. There is just something so exciting about the buzz of all those motorcycles flying through the air. I look forward to it every year.

Ricky Carmichael is back from last year’s injury and kicking butt. As expected, he flew right passed the competition, including our Hoosier boy, Mike LaRocco.


And now, for your viewing pleasure, SuperCross 2005 pictures (click to bigify). And picture me right there in the middle!

To balance out the hick, I rounded out the weekend on Sunday with a Symphony Orchestra Concert. My Brownie troop finished up our Sounds of Music Try-It with the Family Fun Concert. The symphony opened with the Star Wars theme. I was still waiting for late Brownies, but rushed Stacia inside to hear it. After giving up on the ones who were now 40 minutes late, I joined the girls. Stacia leans over to me to whisper “They just played Star Wars! It sounded just like it!” We’re raising such geeks.

The orchestra went on to play some classics, like Beethoven and Pachelbel. The kids were invited onto the stage to hear the music from the orchestra’s point of view. I was concerned about the length of the concert (almost 2 hours), but by the time intermission came around the kids didn’t want to leave! Never fear, I came prepared with snacks—which could only be eaten out in the lobby! The second half of the concert was nice, but not near as interactive.

The orchestra had invited 2 local young musicians to play with them. These girls—one high school, one junior high— won an award and scholarship for their musical accomplishments. They were truly amazing, but did they really have to choose the 2 longest songs on the face of the earth?! After the concert, we stopped by the “musical petting zoo” so Stacia could try out a violin. I sure hope she chooses a different instrument. The hesitant, I-have-no-idea-what-I’m-doing sound of a new violinist is not something I’m prepared to tolerate.

I hope your weekend was a Super Fun as mine! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a nap.

Today is the third day in a row I have woken up with a splitting headache. When your day starts with pounding coming from inside your head, you know it’s all downhill from there. I’ve been sick as a dog for 5 straight weeks* and I—in all my brilliance—decide that this would be a great week to finish our Sounds of Music Try-It during our Brownie meeting yesterday. Can you say ouch? 23 1st graders pounding the shit out of homemade drums and maracas does something for a headache Tylenol will never touch.

*No, I haven’t gone to the doctor yet. It’s a freaking cold people. It started with an ear infection and slight cough after Christmas. Then the ear infection went away, but the cough lingered for a week. Week 3 brought a cold so the cough decided to hang out and help me expunge the phlegm. The cough tried to fade during Week 4, but the cold became sinus problems and another ear infection. The antibiotics for both—naturally—caused a yeast infection. All of which is forming a militia with which to hunt me down, but none of which is actually life threatening. Therefore, I will not be lugging a toddler into the doctor’s office when I’m tired, pissy, and over-medicated inviting further sickness into our home via the munchkin. /rant

My posts have been few and far between these last few weeks. I didn’t think you needed a series of long whiny posts about the amount of snot and phlegm being expelled from my body. The good news is that after an entire month of hacking pieces of lung, my cough seems to be waning. The bad news is Spencer is now joining me in my suffering.

On the upside, we should empty at least one more tissue box before my Brownie meeting on Tuesday. We’re making guitars!

Me (looking at a very tired little girl): Are you sleepy, baby?
Brenia: No, Brenia.
Me: Is Brenia sleepy?
Brenia: No. (long pause) Yeah.

Alternate Title: Things I would not have done if it had not been my daughter’s birthday.

  • Woken up early to dry her new favorite sweater and finish start birthday treats for school.
  • Left the house. For. Any. Reason.
  • Eaten half a tub of Rainbow Chip Frosting.
  • Almost hit a UPS truck because I couldn’t see clearly through the giant chunk of ice formally known as my window.
  • Climbed over the backseat to kick open the door so I could get my little one into her carseat.
  • Played “Heads Up 7UP” for the first time in 17 years.
  • Climbed into the backseat to kick open the other door so my birthday princess would not have to stumble across the car.
  • Cooked dinner—especially fried chicken.
  • Cried when I noticed how grown up she looks is.
  • Taken half a dozen pictures of my newly-7-year-old perfecting her “super cool grown up” look.

I have said several times recently—due to local events—that I really should start watching the news. Yet I still can’t bring myself to actually do it. It hasn’t affected me too badly so far. I get all caught up at PTO meetings fairly quickly. However, I might have seriously regretted it today if not for Stacia’s wicked cool teacher.

Today is the last day of triple coupons, which means I need to get my lazy butt in gear and pick up my free groceries. It is, afterall, my job. The plan was to clip coupons and take off after lunch, which is in about 5 minutes. Change of plans. Her teacher just called to let me know they were dismissing early due to the freezing rain. Stacia will be home in about an hour. And, now, so will I.

The night before Christmas Eve is a very special day. Because after the night before Christmas Eve is Christmas Eve. And after Christmas Eve is Christmas! I can’t believe Christmas is here. Can you? I can. Because on Christmas Day I get to stay with my family and my family is nice. And we all open our presents together. And we all have some hot cocoa and cookies. Sometimes. The end.