Getting kooky

My friend (who I will refer to as "Donna") texted me about a month ago and wrote, "If you promise not to laugh, I want to propose something to you."   Turns out she bought a Groupon deal for two for weight loss hypnosis and was looking for a buddy to go with.  She initially thought her husband would join her but he declined.  Heck ya I would go with her!  I not only didn't laugh, I was honored she thought of me.  As we approached our hypnosis session, I got very excited and couldn't wait to see what this was all about.  Who knows? Maybe they could put me in a hypnotic trance and leave me like that for 6 or so months.   You know, just long enough to lose 50 pounds.  Or, maybe I could be given the power of suggestion that every time someone snaps their finger, I reach for a piece of fruit instead of chips to eat.  Ah, the possibilities are endless!

The big day arrives and Donna and I make our way to Rockville.  We are signed up to participate in a group session.  There are a total of 8 of us, all here for the same reason; to lose some weight.  We are told in the introduction, once we are "under" we will be given the following suggestions: to eat healthier, eat less, drink more water and exercise more.

Right away, we are off to a great start as the woman running this session asks my friend, in front of everyone, if she is expecting.  Um, NO!!!  Seriously, you are going to ask someone who is already feeling overly conscious of their weight and here for a weight loss program too boot, if they are pregnant?  OUCH! 

The whole session is to last 1 to 1.5 hours.  We are in this room for over 3 hours.  Is this a sign things are going well or horribly wrong?  I am not sure.  We start (after Donna says, "No, she is not expecting") by going around the circle introducing ourselves and saying what we hope to get out of this.  There is a guy seated next to my left, named Gene, who is wearing baggy clothes and is acting like he is a reporter undercover.  I should note, he said he wants to lose 24 lbs by Wednesday.  But if you take away the baggy clothes, you can tell he doesn't have any weight to lose. All he really needs to feel better about himself is a hair cut.  He's got a piece of paper on his lap and is taking notes.  This rattles the hypnotist big-time and she keeps asking him what he is writing.  Finally, at the end of the evening she tells him to put the piece of paper down and says to him, "I don't think you are here for the reason you say your here." 

I've never been hypnotized before and am not sure what to expect.  We are told that EVERYONE is able to be hypnotized and it is a matter how deep you go.  After about an hour of discussion on how our brain works and is wired, we are ready to go under.  I ask a question - Will I be able to tell how deep I go?   Apparently this rattles her and she says that no one has ever asked her that question before and wants to know why I am asking it. 

We are finally ready to begin.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and what happens when we get hypnotized.....

Hmmmmm.

Driving in the car on the way to school, Sam asked me what is too dangerous to do while driving.  I listed texting, reading a book, drinking alcohol, etc.  Sam then asked if it is dangerous to be driving while flossing your teeth.  She has asked me this in the past and brought it up again.  How bizarre.  Makes me wonder what is going through her head sometimes.

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During our recent snow day on Wednesday, the kids' didn't have school and Jeff didn't make it into the office.  Jeff set himself up with his laptop at the dining room table and was able to work remotely.  After about 4 hours, Jeff finally gets up to take a break. Sam takes one look at him and says, "I thought that chair was going to be stuck to your bum you were sitting for so many hours." 

Learning some life skills

Ian is far from independent.  He is very content to let me pick out his clothes (not only in the stores, but what he will wear daily), get him his breakfast, make his lunch, dinner and whatever snacks are needed.  The only thing I don't do for him is brush his teeth. 

As Ian approaches his 8th bithday, I feel it is important for him to start doing some stuff for himself.  I found this list of what chores can be done by age.  For 6 to 8 year olds, the list is crazy long and I was shocked by some of the stuff.   For the past few months, he has been clearing the dinner table each evening and is working on getting his snacks/drinks throughout the day. 

I've decided to take it up a notch and get him to give the bathrooms a quick once-over each Saturday morning.  All I am requesting is no more than 2 minutes of work per bathroom - take Lysol wipes and wipe down the sink, toilet, and empty the trash can.  Believe me, this is a toned down version of what a 6 to 8 year old can do to a bathroom.

The first Saturday I told Ian my new plan was met with much resistance.  Ian was not happy and as we went from bathroom to bathroom, he got very grumpy.  I told him I would help him for the first few weeks until he got comfortable with my expectations (actually making sure it is clean and not just haphazzardly giving it a quick swipe) and then he'd be on his own.   We bumped up his allowance to $4.00 per week.
 
This past Saturday, we reached a new level of cooperation.  When Ian had woken up, Jeff and Sam had already left for Wegman's.  I asked him which he would like to do first -- eat breakfast, take a shower or clean the bathrooms?   Ian's answer...Clean the bathrooms.  Before I could smile my reaction, Ian had gone downstairs to get a trash bag and was already working on his first bathroom.  I simply observed and watched Ian do his thing.  He really worked hard and made me very proud.

As Ian was cleaning his 2nd bathroom (we only have 3), he lifted up the toilet seat, took one look and said, "I need a raise."  I had to chuckle and agreed with him.  Since he had a great attitude while cleaning and there was no complaining, I told him we will start to give him $5 a week.  This made him very happy.

I feel good that Ian is starting to do some things around the house to help.  He will take pride in earning that allowance each week, rather than simply being handed it.   I also feel great that he is getting some life skills that will serve him well later on.

And once I let Sam loose on the vaccum cleaner (this is her dream!), I will be sitting back and enjoying a cup of tea.

A tale from the Crypt

The month of February was relatively quiet.  The Crazy Man was down in Boca Raton vacationing with his girlfriend.  He left on February 2nd and was scheduled to come back on March 1st.  I only heard from him a handful of times with various requests.  Around the 2nd week of February he had me make reservations for a hotel in Naples and Sarasota.  Him and the girlfriend were planning to do a few side trips. 

The morning after the first getaway, he calls and tells me what a HUGE mistake going to Florida was.  I quote, "I am in emotional distress.  This is the trip from Hell.  I should have NEVER come down here with her."

The Crazy Man is literally stammering his speech because he is so upset and can't get out the words he wants to say.  It is all I can do to keep from laughing at his predicament.  He still had another 10 days with his companion before they were scheduled to fly back home.

With one week left to go in his vacation, he calls me bright and early on a Sunday morning and says, "You will never guess why I am calling.  What is the craziest thing I could tell you?" I wasn't in the mood to play games and said, "I don't know.  Please just tell me what is going on."

The Crazy Man replies, "We want to stay down here longer.  Can you please see if it is cheaper to change the return flight ticket or if it makes more sense to just buy new one-way tickets home?"

Seriously?  You've got to be kidding me.  Nope!  Instead of coming back home on Friday, March 1st, The Crazy Man and his girlfriend would like to extend their trip by four whole days and come back on Tuesday, March 5th.  When I researched his options and called him back 5 minutes later, I am put on hold, while I hear him argue with the girlfriend on what he wants to do.  Apparently she doesn't want to come back on Tuesday.  Monday, yes.  But not Tuesday.  O.M.G.!!

The Crazy Man gave in, agreed to coming back on Monday and the tickets were officially changed.  $204 later and they both can spend an extra weekend in Boca Raton together.

I am not sure Boca will ever be the same.

Hanging up the dance shoes

And in other news, I am working extremely hard at cutting back our activities.

I came to a decision that we will take a break from gymnastics, dance, swim lessons (and of course religious school) during the summer. Other than the trips that are being planned and camp, all extracurricular activities are on hold. Last Summer I managed to keep everything going (in addition to camps) and it was one crazy day after another. It got me thinking, if I am ok with taking a break during the summer, than why not start now?!?!!?

 So I told Sam that after this current session of dance is over (last class was on Wednesday, February 27th), we weren't going to go back.   Sam took one look at me and said, "Ok, I will do soccer instead."   Um, that wasn't the point!  I told her we can look at doing it in the Fall, but the rest of this school year was going to be one activity less.

The funny thing is, I thought it would be really hard to break the news that she wasn't going to keep her dance classes.  I was expecting tears and screaming from her on how important this activity was.  Fortunately, this couldn't have been further from the truth.

And, when I told the two other moms who send their daughter's (Sam's BFFs) to this class, both of them were more than ready to stop going too.  I think we all came to the conclusion that after more than two years of this, we were ready for a break.

The woman who teaches this dance class is amazing and really wonderful with the kids.  You couldn't ask for a better environment -- it is not competitive in the least, very laid back, lots of fun and no crazy recitals requiring expensive costumes or requirements.  This year we had the class evolve to half ballet, half tap.  The 3 girls do have a wonderful time.

Here's the icing on the cake -- Miss M. is not coming back either to teach the class.  She has many other obligations and won't be continuing.

How funny that it is over all around?  Not only are the students leaving, but the teacher is too. 

And with that, my week is suddenly getting a little less crazy.  Not by a ton, but Wednesdays aren't going to be my craziest day anymore.

This is one of my most favorite pictures I've taken at dance class -- April 2011
Sam is in the middle.

Heard and Observed #38

The other day, I said the following to Ian;

"Ian, you are CRAZY!"

His response? "Well, I am half Mazer."

Love it!

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Sam completed level 1 in gymnastics and was ready for the level 2-3 class.  The only opening for her new class that worked for our schedule was Monday evenings at 5:00pm.  Ian is there anyway from 4 to 6pm, so it allows me the opportunity to be in one place for an extended amount of time.  A win-win!  However, this is a very long day for Sam.  She has Pre-K from 9:00am to 1:00pm, Swimming from 2:30 to 3:00pm and then gymnastics from 5:00 to 6:00pm.  

Upon walking in the house at 6:10pm this past Monday, Sam took one look at Jeff and said:

"I had too much of a day!"

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While driving in the car:

Sam:  Can a girl marry another girl?

Me:  Yes, if they love each other.

Sam:  Can a boy marry another boy?

Me:  Yes, if they love each other.

Sam:  Can I marry myself?

Me:  No, that one is not possible.

Sam: Ok then, I am going to marry Grant.  He's already 5, you know.

I really think Sam was weighing all her available options before deciding that Grant would be the lucky individual.  For those that don't know Grant, he can scream with the best of them.  They would make a lovely couple.  :)

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Tidbits.

It was time for a change.  I cut my hair big-time!

Before:

A particularly bad photo of me, but its the most recent that shows my hair.  This was taken at the end of January.

After:

So much better!

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I was able to go down (all by myself!) to Orlando to hang with the family during President's day weekend.   I spent 2 days at the beach with my mom and sister, Lori.  It was a particularly memorable trip that I won't soon forget.  :)   I do have to mention, that I got one of the best night's of sleep I've had in months.  It really makes a difference when you get the opportunity to sleep and not have one ear listening for Sam to make some kind of noise.  Or, have to wake-up and face a day full of responsibilities.  The break was truly needed.  This alone made the trip worth it.

Unfortunately, my dad, Rita and Meghan were all sick and I stayed far, far, far away from their house.  I will get to spend time with them at the end of March when Sam and I go down for her trip.

I have so much love and adoration for my husband, Jeff who supports me 100% in being able to do these trips.  I miss not seeing my family. My parents aren't getting any younger.  I want to be able to visit as much as possible.  If Jeff wasn't as fantastic a husband or father as he is, I wouldn't be able to get on a plane and go.  I've said this before, but it bears repeating, I won the husband lottery. 

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