Found Ric Rac Nirvana...

So I ducked into what I thought was a teeny weeny fabric store today right next to our Barnes and Noble/Starbucks. Needless to say we were heading to SB for coffee while we were waiting for Tom to get his car inspected. We never made it to SB. I walked into what I thought was a small fabric store. i didn't see a register anywhere and only one employee. The room was about the size of my living room - not very big for a fabric store. So, the little boys and I were peeking at the Halloween fleece (it's cold here - fleece is always on our minds!) and I noticed a woman going down an escalator. So, we followed her downstairs and WHAM! This place is HUGE! It's basically a little tiny place on top and on the bottom is underneath the Barnes and Noble and about five other small shops. It has all kinds of upholstery fabrics and stuff for sewing and ROWS AND ROWS of ric rac. There were all kinds of sizes, all kinds of colors and some cool sparkle ones too! And this was just the ric rac aisle. I was simply amazed by how large this place was. And they say everything bigger in Texas...I beg to differ after seeing this place!

So, now I'm loaded up on some basic colors of ric rac and know where to find all the ribbons, ric rac, and other types of sewing themed embellishments that I will ever need for my scrapbooks - right under Barnes and Noble!

AAARRRGGGHHHH!

Decaf coffee may still pack a mini-caffeine punch

By Anne Harding

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Decaf coffee is often not totally caffeine-free, a new study shows. In fact, while these beverages have far less caffeine than a cup of regular coffee, they still may have enough of the stimulant to cause physical dependence on them.

As Dr. Bruce A. Goldberger of the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville told Reuters Health, "The concentration of caffeine in these brewed decaf coffees does have physiological and behavioral effects on a person."

Goldberger and his colleagues tested the caffeine content of decaf from 10 different coffee establishments. Only one -- Folger's Instant -- contained no caffeine. The rest contained anywhere from 8.6 milligrams (mg) to 13.9 mg for a 16-ounce cup, the team reports in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.

The researchers also tested six samples of decaf espresso and six of decaf coffee from Starbucks, and found a wide variation in their caffeine content. Decaf espresso shots contained from 3 mg to 15.8 mg of caffeine, while decaf coffee ranged from 12 mg to 13.4 mg.

A previous study by Goldberger and his colleagues found caffeinated specialty coffees contained an average of 188 mg per cup.

While the decaf tested in the current study contains only a small fraction of the caffeine found in a regular cup of java, Goldberger noted, the amount could be harmful for people who must restrict their caffeine intake for medical reasons. That might include people with a type of kidney disease, individuals with anxiety, or those taking certain types of drugs.

Also, he and his colleagues point out, people who drink several decaffeinated beverages daily may wind up taking in a considerable amount of caffeine.

"For people who need or want to abstain from caffeine, they should also abstain from decaf coffee," Goldberger advised.

SOURCE: Journal of Analytical Toxicology, October 2006.

Handwriting Analysis - DO THIS!

One more thing for today while I'm thinking of it. Go check this out when you have a minute- very funny handwriting analysis and one of the best marketing tools I've seen in a while: http://www.tul.com/

To costume or not to costume?

Well, Halloween is creeping up on us again. For some reason this year I'm seriously tempted to wear a costume. Who knows why, but the thought still lingers in my head. I really dig these two costumes over at the Disney Store, but not really sure if I want to wear them or if I just like the idea of wearing a costume. The boys have already told both Tom and I that we will be dressing up, but Tom has already bowed out of that semi-gracefully. I guess the figure that since they are we should too. Again, I like the idea, but am not really sure if I actually want to dress up or not. Guess I'll see as it gets a bit closer and will run out at the last minute if I'm moved to do so.

Sam's Pants

We were at the Silver Diner tonight after Max's soccer game as it is Sunday and it is breakfast for dinner night. Dr. Auntie Ray was there with us - she's visiting us until Wednesday. So we're sitting there and Ian announces that he needs to go t the bathroom. So he and Tom head out. Then, Sam starts digging in his pants and As I'm telling him to get his hands out of his pants I notice that it looks like he has underwear on. Well, after a quick realization that Sam doesn't wear underwear yet as he's not anywhere near potty trained, Max announces that Sam has underwear on. I feel the front of his pants and while it feels dry, I realize that it must have been wet and dried as he's been without underwear for at least two hours and he's never successfully worn underwear for more than 20 minutes. So, we head quickly to the bathroom and I put him in front of the potty and tell him to pee. He does not, but explains that he doesn't have to right now. I warn him that he should not pee in his underwear and we head back to dinner. We make it through dinner, through the drive home and play for about 15 minutes before a bath without any accidents. Who knows. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of diapers for Sam! Ian's good to go with only one accident in the past week and a half (he was in the bathroom and was washing his hands between eating and peeing and just didn't quite make it), so we count him as potty trained - he goes by himself and hasn't needed any reminders other than to wash his hands. So, two down, one to go!

...shiver...shiver...

Here it is quite cold and me without a warm coat. Actually I have several varieties of coats that suited my needs in Texas, but now I find that they are just not enough. Tom told me today that 30 degrees was about the coldest that it gets here....yeah...he was kidding...I know. But, my lovely jacket that's carried me through so many winters in Texas really doesn't fit. It fit before I was pregnant (with the little boys I should say...) but hasn't really fit since. It's the ideal coat but not the right size. Then, I have a nice new trench coat that I wore in New York in February (in the snow I'll add). It was nice and fit the bill at the time, but how odd is it for me to go out of the house in sneakers a ball cap and a trench coat. The other jackets that I have are all too light. I have those great coat that Becky's mom passed along that looks great on me and keeps me warm, as long as it doesn't get too cold. I wore that one today and was quite comfy, but the sun was out and it was hovering in the 50's.

So, I guess I'm off over the weekend to find that just so perfect coat. I dislike clothes shopping not because I dislike clothes shopping, but because I dislike trying on three thousand different ________ (shirts, jeans, pants, jackets - you fill in the blank) until I find the one that fits me properly. Same problem with the coats. I need one that covers everything properly and does not bind, but at the same time doesn't make me look like a little girl wearing her momma's clothes. So, the hunt is on, and hopefully it will be a quick (and not too terribly expensive) one. I won't even go on my whole buying a coat at the beginning of the season tirade....I'll save that for after I find the perfect coat.

A Cautionary Tale

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

That was the story in our house, and here's a picture of the sad little monkey:

Then, of course, there's Battleship on Mom's PDA while we wait for the anesthesia to set in:


And the finale to this tale are the SEVEN staples in the little monkey's head,

and of course the wise words from the doctor, the nurse, the triage nurse, the children's triage nurse, the patient services lady, the nurse's aide, Mom, Dad, and the discharge lady " NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!"


-Suzie (the sad little monkey's mommy)

Robot Chicken

I have found that one show that puts me to sleep. Regularly. Funny thing is, it's a fast paced animated, slightly off color humor show that is only about 10 or 11 minutes long - Robot Chicken. But, every time I turn it on I fall right to sleep. Tom has to wake me up to get me to turn the TV off. I guess I should preface this by saying that I generally only watch this with Tom, as it has to be one of his favorite shows (right up there with Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, and that animated show Tripping the Rift). So, there's the problem of me being tired and it being the end of the day when we are settling into bed, but it happens pretty consistently. As Tom said last night after I told him i had a new Robot Chicken "What, you're going to turn it on and fall asleep?" Yup. Again. At least I've found my answer to sleepless nights...

One More Thing

So Ian is wearing underwear today. He has peed in the potty several times over the past few days and he has also gone #2 twice in the past two days, on his own, in the potty. So, I told him that instead of tearing through diapers (he wants a new one each time he goes to the bathroom) that he needs to wear underwear. He's fine with it and seems to understand that he's to go tot he bathroom and not in his underwear. So, Ian was sitting on the potty and Sam was keeping him company. Sam says 'Mommy, diaper LEAKING down my leg!" with a BIG grin. I see that he is correct and wonder why the heck his diaper is leaking. He pulls his short down and he's got NO DIAPER ON. He says again "Mommy, diaper LEAKED!" a bit more insistent this time. In an attempt NOT to burst out laughing I go get him another diaper then calmly explain to him that he cannot take his diaper off and then pee on the floor. If he wants to pee in the potty, he can wear underwear like Ian, but for now he has to wear his diaper. Guess it's just one of those days.

A Max Funny

So every day after school I ask Max how his day was and what he did in class that day. He always spits out all the things that he did in Spanish class (which is his math and science class) and periodically pops out that he read with a partner in his English class. This immersion program is a partial immersion program, so he spends half the day in Spanish and the other half the day in English. He's picking up the Spanish very quickly and hasn't had any trouble understanding the teacher nor has he complained once about the stuff that he's learning in there.

So, I asked him last week what he did in his English class, because I suspect that he does things in there too but that I rarely hear about them. He pipes up and replies "Nothing! We don't do anything in there!" Knowing full well that this isn't the case (and that's he's 6 and this is what six year olds reply to just about any questions that you ask) I pushed him a bit further. He then went to to describe reading partners and his journal. I asked him what he writes about in his journal and he says...SPANISH CLASS! He absolutely cracks me up!

Thinking back I realized that most of what he does in his English class he doesn't see as work. They read, they write, and he is really enjoying himself. The reason that the talks about the Spanish so often is that a) it is a novel thing still, and b) it's science and math and he really seems to enjoy learning all about that stuff.

So thus far this year Max is having a stellar time in First Grade!