Birthday Countdown

Jack is so excited about his birthday. He mentions it almost every day. He talks about having a party, balloons, etc. I'm taking the day off on his birthday so we can hang out. He's getting a big kid bike, so I think we'll go and pick one out together.

Today Jack got a Toys R Us "Happy Birthday" card in the mail. It had a coupon that was "Take $3 off $3." Now he can't wait to spend his money. I asked him what he was going to buy and even suggested crayons (since he did only have $3 after all). But he insisted that he was going to buy a bike with it instead. Aren't birthday magical when you're young? I love it.

I'm headed to New York tomorrow for a work conference. I'm pretty excited about it, even though I'm not going to have time to really do anything in New York except to walk around by my hotel tomorrow night. Oh well. Maybe that will be enough to satisfy my NY craving.

Not much to report other than that. Jack is over the flu and Anna hasn't picked it up, so we're healthy once again. I don't want to jinx us, though. I'm going to say we might be well.

Up On My Soapbox

The headline is your warning. I'm about to rant about a few things, so get ready.

Jack has the flu. "What?!?" you might ask. "How could this be? Didn't he have a flu shot?" Well, yes. Yes he did. But somewhere in the fine print, I must have missed that you can still get the flu even if you have the flu shot. I feel so betrayed. Something about different strains of influenza A and influenza B. I don't know. I don't even want to know. I just want a moment to be upset because my baby has the flu, despite the fact that he got a flu shot! Thankfully, we've caught it early because it only started this morning. We have a fabulous doctor who even thought to test for flu (after the strep test was negative). Now we're on an antibiotic, and hopefully Jack will feel better soon. Poor kid. I've never seen him so sick.

So we went to pick up the meds, and the pharmacist informs me that we owe $50. Yeah, that's with our insurance. The fee without insurance is like $122! So this brings me to my next rant. Are you kidding me?!? I mean, seriously? This is a great example of why our country's health care system is screwed up. Luckily, we have very good health insurance. But what about the kids' parents who do NOT have good health insurance? I'm pretty sure a family on a tight budget is NOT going to shell out $122 for influenza meds. In fact, that family would probably never even make it to the doctor because a doctor's visit without health insurance is like $300 to $400. Instead, they'll probably end up in the emergency room once the flu is really horrible, at which the cost is thousands. Of course, taxpayers are the ones who absorb those costs, and the vicious cycle continues. Unfortunately, too many kids suffer because of this screwed up system. This is all I'm going to say on this topic, but I'll be voting in the Wisconsin primary tomorrow. You better believe I'll be voting for someone that has an actual health care plan. :)

I'll be staying home with Jack tomorrow, which brings me to my final rant. My company has this dumb sick policy that you can only take sick time for yourself. So, if your child is sick, you have to take a vacation day or have an understanding manager who will allow you to make up your hours at home or during the week. Thankfully, I have a very wonderful and understanding manager who had children herself, so I'll be working from home tomorrow. I don't mind this...I've always done some work at home when the kids are sick and I need to do stuff to stay caught up. But it's just the principle of the matter.

That's all my ranting for tonight. Don't get me wrong. I'm not always bitter. After all, we have meds, I get to vote tomorrow and I can do work from the luxury of my couch. But sometimes you just gotta let it out. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

We started this tradition back when Jack was a baby to take "kissy" pictures around Valentine's Day. We then send them to the grandmas in a card. So lucky you, you get to see some of our efforts this year.

The Good, The Bad and The Inappropriate

My friend, Amber's, recent post is prompting me to write this. She blogged about getting her first ipod and being excited again about music. Amber and I have known each other since we were in coach pitch softball together. It made me start thinking about some of the weird and crazy songs I've loved over the years, some from high school days and some not. So here are some on my "Good, Bad and Inappropriate" list. Sorry if any of these offend you.

• When I Think About You, I Touch Myself. This Blondie song became our "theme song" on our senior trip to Padre. We sang it loud and proud every time we crammed in the van. Oh, and the best part is that my mom was the van driver/chaperone.
• Pussy Control. Yes, this Prince song is a classic. I can't believe no one ever introduced me to Prince growing up. Then I met Steve, and he set things straight.
• Ghetto Cowboy. Is there a better song than Ghetto Cowboy? I don't think so. I can't resist singing along...."yeah, it's just me and my sawed-off shotgun..."
• I Think We're Alone Now. This Tiffany song is the best workout song. If I need a pick-me-up when I'm running or whatnot, I just bust out some Tiffany.
• Dancing Queen. Again, how did I not know any Abba as I was growing up. Thank goodness Mamma Mia changed that.
• Baby, Baby. Amy Grant rocks. I remember rocking out to this song in the 5th grade. We were all so cool, listening to it on our cassette tape in the basketball locker room.
• Fancy. I was a little girl, watching CMT on television when Reba McEntire's music video of "Fancy" came on. I was enthralled. I quickly learned every word and to this day, I can still belt it out with the southern drawl. "And Mama spent ever last penny we had to buy me a dancin' dress."
• California Girls. I discovered the Beach Boys from my dad. I memorized most of the songs, and then I used to play "California Girls" and prance around the room, pretending to be the girls that they sang about.
• Lullaby. This is a newer Dixie Chicks song, and I love it. The first verse is, "They didn't have you where I come from." It's a song about kids/babies. It's so great. It completely captures my feelings as a mom, and it's wonderful. I highly recommend it to any moms out there.
• Mmmmbop. I had to put the boy band, Hanson, on the list.
• Father of Mine. I know this isn't my song personally, but a boy once dedicated this song to my friend, Amber. He said it made him think of her. (!?!) It's such a great story, I had to steal it.
• I Wish You Would Step Back From That Ledge My Friend. This is for Ashley. It makes me think of her when I hear it.
• Strawberry Wine. This one is for Tina. It's the first thing I thought of when I imagined her.

That's it for now. I'm sure there are many others, but that will do for now.

Snow, snow and more snow

So the snow has mostly stopped by now. But there was a lot of it coming down today. Not a record by any means, but a foot of snow in a single day is a lot by any standard. I was at work today but then left around 1:30 to go get the kids. I couldn't even see any road where I was driving. It was just snow, snow and more snow.

After I picked up Jack and Anna, we were driving home and they were just watching, mesmerized by the snow. Pretty soon, Jack says, "Mommy, with all this snow, it's Christmas, right?"

Unfortunately, I had to tell him no, but those are the breaks. This is the same little boy who thinks Santa is going to bring him presents on his birthday. And, he also made himself a birthday card in anticipation of his birthday. (Yeah, he's excited, and there's still a month to go.)

Addictions

Hi. My name is Stacy, and I'm addicted to Coke.

This is where everyone is supposed to chant back, "Hello Stacy," in a mundane voice.

Specifically, I'm addicted to Coca-Cola Classic, the wonderful, carbonated beverage that is so glorious. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with being addicted to this drink. Honestly, I usually allow myself no more than 1 per day and on some days, I don't have any. But the real problem is that I'm addicted to Coke from McDonalds. It's so fizzy and carbonated and the ice is just the right kind of meltiness. It's sad that I'll drive out of my way and pay $1.50 just for a few sips of this beverage.

I don't know why I care so much. After all, this is my one bad habit. I rarely drink alcohol, I eat pretty good and I've never puffed a cigarette in my life. Having a coke addition really isn't so bad, considering all the things you COULD be addicted to. But it still bugs me. Before I had kids, I had pretty much given up coke altogether. It was this crazy thing I did in high school because my friend Tina did it. It wasn't that hard and I never craved it. But then I became pregnant, and I was suddenly craving Coke, one of the very beverages they recommend you DO NOT drink when you're pregnant because of the caffeine.

I only drink coke at night and I almost always brush my teeth afterward because I don't like that sugary feeling on them. And I refuse to switch to diet because really, it's not like that's a healthier option. It just has 0 calories.

So I continue my battle with Coke, reveling in its yumminess, while being bitter that I'm so attached. Stupid, silly, little thing. Do you think they have a support group for people like me?

On a completely separate note, last night I went in to check on Anna. It was about 9, and I always like to kiss her sleeping head at night. Well, I pulled back the covers and there my little girl was, butt naked and sleeping away. (Oh yeah, it was butt naked. Naked alone does not do this image justice. This little gal was butt naked.) She had completely stripped off her pajamas (footed and with a zipper) and then took off her diaper. Rest assured, we got her little tushie covered before we went to bed ourselves.