Ringadingding

Tice, you are such a good blogger. Your entries are always so enTICING.

Jane was talking to me the other day and asked me if boys have babies. I said no. She then preceded to tell me that she would marry her friend Makenzie (who will be the boy) and Jane will be the girl. Then when it is time to have the baby, Makenzie will be the girl and Jane will be the boy. After the birth they would switch back to the original gender. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Jane really wants to be a boy. She likes dressing in her "handsome" clothes which means boy pants and boy shirt. She is very particular. Even the shoulders can not have "puffs" but be very masculine. I think I am going to start shopping for her in the boy section. Boys clothes are usually cheaper anyway.

Hurray! Ethan's sneakers finally came in. I got an e-mail saying they had arrived at Payless. So I proceeded to walk to Payless. Not this Payless. The one you want is on 105th and 3rd avenue. Great. Only 22 blocks north and 3 long blocks west. Not to mention that is a scary neighborhood. Needless to say I waited until morning to walk to Payless. Then when I get there the lady says that they e-mail first and then the next day they arrive. I know this can't be true because this was the second day after the email. So I stick around while the other woman was in the back looking for the shoes. Guess what. They were there. Glad I waited. Of course I then bought two pairs of shoes because of the buy one get one 1/2 off sale. They had these gorgeous sling-backs that I wanted but of course they only had them in the size above and below my size. So I bought espedrilles and so these cool looking sneakers.

Today went by so fast. I cant believe it. I didn't really do anything fun or that productive. I never understood why my parents said time goes by so fast when you get older. Now I understand.

The Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet was Friday night. Can I just say I hate being a cub scout leader. About 3/4 of the boys are completely out of control. I spend most of the time keeping them from tackling each other or destroying things. We can't go outside to run because that would mean running in the street. I absolutely hate being responsible for kids. Kids are fine at a distance. I just don't like being around them.

Any way our pack was in charge of the flag ceremony. Lorinda, the leader, (I'm assistant cub scout leader) was reading off a paper how to do it. I've have never seen her lose her temper before but she did then. That is how bad the boys behaved. Ethan did a good job calling out the color guard directives. The other three made a game out of marching and hitting each other along the way to the front. The other packs don't act this way.

My greatest fear is that Lorinda is going to move away and I'll take over her job. There is a good chance that she will move because her husband was fired. There is no one else to take the job. Three of the boys are non-members. A fourth is Lorinda's son. There's Ethan. And the last boy's father was the leader but then he was called to be elder's quorum president. Even so they said that at this age they need a woman to guide them. Bull! They need a man to straighten them out. The other packs have male leaders.

I have my surgery Thursday. I'm worried about insurance, not the actual surgery. Insurance better pay for it since it is necessary. Hopefully, in about 2 weeks I shouldn't have double vision anymore. I hope.

I am so grateful for friends. Thanks for sending goodness my way.

Jane somehow popped her zipper head off and we can't get it back on. So, today we went to four stores to buy a new one. The first store had one kind of jacket, not very warm for $99. The second store, a thrift store had a two jackets a size to big for $25. The 3rd and 4th store had no jackets at all. So I ordered a jacket online but it won't be here for two weeks. This is a good example of what it is like living in an urban jungle.

I am so glad Ethan finally agreed to have a playdate with his friend. His friend has asked several times and Ethan has said no. I can't understand this because when I was his age nobody asked me to play. Maybe it is a boy thing.

Do 4-5 year old girls go through a contradictory stage? No matter what I say Jane says the opposite even if it means it is something she really doesn't like. I get so irritated when she does this.

Carlos has a concert tonight. I am glad he is pursuing his singing but all the practices and performances get to be a bit much. At least he is happy. He is really enjoying his work now that he has a new job. He is not working for Mt. Sinai anymore. He got a job at New York State Psychiatric Institute. It is on the other side of the island from where we live so his commuting time has increased but not too significantly.

I just bought about $95 worth of paper punches and adhesive today. I can't seem to stop buying things. I've wanted these punches for years now but I still shouldn't have purchased them. I'm afraid to tell Carlos. Actually, I don't know why. He buys several hundred dollar glasses even though his old frames are only a year old. Plus he buys expensive sunglasses. He is a big spender too. He eats out for lunch every single day. I don't get to do that. Well, I just convinced myself that I shouldn't feel bad about buying these punches.

Carlos is getting ready right now. He looks so cute in his cumberbun (spelling?).

Enough avoiding for tonight. Back to my reality.

I'm feeling kind of blah the last few days. Antsy. I feel discontent but I do not know why. I hope I figure it out soon.

Today Janie and Ethan had total breakdowns. The frustration tolerance in both of them is near zero. I don't know how to handle it. I try to comfort Jane but she doesn't accept it like she did before. She doesn't want me to hold her or talk about what is bothering her. What am I going to do?

Not much has changed. Still dealing with a bunch of problems, some big, some small. Still at a loss as to what to do about most of them.

I hope I will feel better soon.