Wacky Daughter was asthma-attacking at 4 a.m., pobrecita.

I was volunteering in her classroom last week, and one of her buddies couldn’t stop coughing.

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What does it take to get over asthma? We’re doing the inhalers, taking our vitamins, trying to avoid flu and colds, which trigger it, and keeping the cats and dog out of the bedrooms (i know, i know, we should get rid of them, but the allergist sez Wacky Daughter isn’t allergic to them, at any rate, so it might not even help). We’ve torn up some of the carpets — and the latest carpet we ripped out lead us to the discovery of the Tilting House (see old blog entry for details), which we’re now realizing will cost us probably tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

because one thing leads to another.

because “as long as we’re at it” are the most dangerous words spoken when remodelling your home.

because we need to have more beams put in under Tilting House, which may crack the ugly stucco, or at least make a space between House and Stucco thus creating an Entryway for Milew and Crap. So, stucco must go. Once it’s down, we will find dry rot (we know we have some, just don’t know how much), thus necessitating repairing that, and then painting the whole house, and while we’re at it, why not knock a hole in the wall of the office and put in the french doors, leading to stairs to backyard, leading to patio (uh, we don’t actually have a patio out there, just grass, so we’ll have to build one) and… there ya go. Tens of thousands of dollars on this old lady of a house.

i love my house. We’ll just eat burritos all the time now, eh? And no more dinners out.

Here’s a little story from Wacky Daughter, age 5 1/2:

“We were at the Winterhawks game tonight and me and K shaked our
booties! They showed us on TV!  We won the dance contest and we
won binoculars, a water bottle, Chalupa coupons, and a tote bag and a
T-shirt that said ‘Spice up the night’ from Taco Bell. It was great.”

Yes, it’s true, A, her husband J, Wacky Daddy and I encouraged our kids
to shake their little butts in front of 9,700 hockey fans to win a
half-dozen Chalupas and a gym bag with goodies. They call it “Dance for
Your Dinner” — it’s a little crowd-pleaser they do in between periods.
The kids stood on the chairs with their behinds facing the camera and
shook it and shook it. Every time we’d tell them “You’re on the big
TV!” they’d turn around and smile for the camera. They were about
adorable.

Wacky Daughter just corrected me: “We were adorable.” (No “about” about
it.) Every time the camera went to them we went nuts and everyone else
did too. My face is still hurting from laughing so hard.

And the Hawks won against Tri-City — 4 to 2. Rock on.

WM

I swiped this from the PTA newsletter — awesome list of books.

Teachers’ Fifty Favorite Children’s Books
 

1. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (9-12 years)

 
2. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (4-8 years)

 
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)

 
4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)

 
5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4-8 years)

 
6. Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch (4-8 years)

 
7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (All ages)

 
8. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Baby-Preschool)

 
9. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (Young Adult)

 
10. The Mitten by Jan Brett (4-8 years)

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In no particular order…

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So there I was at my dining room table, having breakfast with the kids and my mother-in-law and eating breakfast when WHOOSH there goes a streak of white. And again. And again. Yes, it was my Nekkid Neighbor in her panties, almost nekkid across the way, dashing around her dining room. Why won’t they get window coverings? Because we have them, so apparently they don’t
need them. Only, I don’t think I should have to keep the blinds drawn all the time. Children need a little natural light.

Only not so much “natural white,” if you know what I mean.

Her husband has been working on being “not so naked all the time,” as Nekkid Neighbor puts it. Neat.

One time when Nekkid Neighbor’s dad was in town, he wore a chicken suit while eating dinner. That was pretty funny, to me, Hockey God and the kids. I phoned the neighbors and said Never mind the window coverings if you’re going to entertain us like this. Goofy. But they rilly, rilly need to keep the clothes on.

Wacky Mommy A wrote in, waxing philosophical — here is her essay. Interesting reading…

Religion–March 12, 2005

“I was wandering around the house, doing a bit of Saturday cleaning, feeling joyful because the sunlight was streaming through the windows and children were laughing in another room. The sunlight and good cheer made chores a pleasure for a change. Getting lost in my thoughts, considering changes of spring and renewal I started thinking about Easter.

Easter is a holiday that I can get behind, not in the Christian way but in what it represents; newness, rebirth, the promise of life after the winter. The stream of consciousness went down the path of Church. Is my family going to Church on the upcoming Easter? My husband’s parents would like that. My grandma would like that, so would some of my aunts and uncles. But would I like that? Would I be going because it’s good for my family, good for me, for my “salvation”? No. If we went to Church it would be to please the family members.

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It’s almost time for the Friday Advice Column. Questions?

No time to blog — off to a v. important PTA meeting. OK, i have a
question for you all — why the hell can’t we drink at public school
PTA meetings? It seems only fair.

ttfn,

WM

A mommy writes and asks:

“Does anyone have suggestions on helpful books, websites, ideas, etc. to help parents ease into the ‘tween transistion?”

(For those of you who don’t know, ‘tween refers to “between little kid
and teenager,” ie hormones can be raging, along with mood swings, etc.
Wanting to snuggle, but wanting to seem “cool,” all that.)

Ideas???

I like the Family Fun website, they’ve got some good ideas for all
ages. At our school they’re big on having the older kids mentor the
younger kids — is she doing any kind of “big sister” stuff, with maybe
Girl Scouts or school? It helps boost their confidence, at a time when
they’re maybe feeling a little unsteady.

And keep her as busy as possible, cuz you know this is the age when
they want to “impress” their friends by doing exceptionally wacky
things.

Hey everyone,

Hope your weekends went well. We’re all fine over here, in spite of allergies, asthma attacks, runny noses and all that.

Read the “Recent Comments” section if you have a chance. Lots of questions. If you have any suggestions, post away.

Off to do yoga — buh-bye….

WM