Damn that Pinocchio!

Back when GIRL was almost 4 years old, she suddenly developed a fear of Pinocchio. In her imagination, he could be anywhere. In her room. The hallway. Around the corner...

It all started when she overheard a conversation at her preschool, between a teacher and some older children. The talk of donkey ears, a whale, and a boy turning into a doll, let alone his nose growing longer and longer every time he lied... scared her. Who wouldn't be? It's a gruesome tale.

She worried about him for a few weeks. The fear finally faded away. But, she never forgot.

Remember when I used to be scared of Pinocchio, Mommy?

Yes....

GIRL is basically a court reporter. If something happens, she'll tell you about it in every glorious detail. She's so earnest, it is hard not to smile during the telling.

This morning she called out to me....

GIRL: Mommy, you know what's changed about what I do in the bathroom?

JCK: What, sweetie?

GIRL: Well, I used to plug my ears when I flushed the toilet.

JCK: Because the noise was too loud?

GIRL: No. I thought Pinocchio was coming.

Damn that Pinocchio!

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Thus ends JCK's saga with NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November. She didn't always do it well, but she did it...

JCK's pie in the sky illusions...

When all the pie comes to settle in the mid-section, it is to be noted that JCK reached for a bit of Pie in the Sky illusions this month. JCK appears to often set her sights a bit too high. Without the fun of actually being high. The eighties are gone. *sigh* Somehow in her dreamy little mind JCK imagined that this month of NaBloPoMo would accelerate her writing. Indeed...not.

This month has not been about much writing. It's been about throwing something - anything, on the page. However, JCK CAN SAY that it has been about persistence. Of that, she appears to have some mojo. Which has not always been the case. There have been many examples of What Ifs? And..If Onlys leading up to JCK's life of middle years. So, NaBloPoMo has not beaten her yet. But, then...there IS one. more. day.

The last time JCK did NaBloPoMo was in 2007. Three years ago. She recalls one weary night in which she told NaBloPoMo to just...well, BLOW. It wasn't pretty. JCK is not proud of this break-down. It was not very classy or polite. But, JCK was out of juice. Flat out.

NaBloPoMo is a brilliant concept. And introduces wonderful writers to the blogosphere and ...beyond. JCK has realized that NaBloPoMo is best taken on with a theme. She, of course, did not realize this until...now.

JCK has enjoyed reading other bloggers who participated in NaBloPoMo this year. She expecially loved the blogs participating in the 30 Days of Thankfulness for November.

JCK is thankful. Yes, she is. JCK is Thankful that NaBloPoMo is almost over....

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Looking forward to some peace and quiet tomorrow...

How to make a LEGO Block Cake

Use a large (3quart) glass casserole pan & 1 cupcake tin of 6. After cake cools, transfer upside down onto large piece of cardboard covered with tin foil. Cover top of cake with a thin layer of chocolate frosting.

Add cupcakes, cutting off rounded muffin top edges and placing upside down, resembling Lego Block pegs. Cover all in chocolate. A butter knife works great for spreading frosting. Write Happy Birthday on the tin foil.

I used both the chocolate cake recipe and the frosting recipe from my new favorite recipe site: Allrecipes.com

Both use unsweetened cocoa powder. The cake is so moist you could leave the sides bare and just frost the top. A chocolate lover's dream. Delicious....

Because that is what moms do...

JCK is starting to resemble Dorothy Parker...in her latter years. Only, not so witty. Or flush with hair dye. Indeed JCK is bushwhacked, depleted, and done in. It's been quite the week of BUSY. Can we BOLD that please? BUSY.

It being BLACK FRIDAY, JCK wanted to avoid any retail establishment. JCK isn't too keen on screaming throngs of rabid purchasers. However, JCK did have to enter a pharmacy today to pick up some T.P. As she stood in line with her daughter, a little boy in front of them stepped on her daughter's foot. And, then he did it again. JCK said NO, and moved her daughter behind her. Then the boy punched the package of T.P that JCK was holding. Yes. He. Did. Obviously said boy meant business. After raising her voice to say: NO SIR! to the little bastard, he tried to kick her. At this point, the oblivious grandparents who were stocking up on liquor, finally saw that the boy was perhaps...out of line. JCK is thinking the boy has some serious anger issues and should steer clear of any...people.

JCK's family celebrated BOY's 7th birthday on Tuesday. Tomorrow is a Lego Party for BOY. 5 boys are attending. 5 boys are attending. 5 boys are attending. Does JCK need to repeat it another time?

JCK cooked up a storm between Wednesday evening's chocolate pecan pie, and yesterdays' turkey glazed with rosemary, olive oil, basil, & garlic, sweet potato casserole, corn bread stuffing, gravy, and homemade whipped cream.

Early tomorrow morning....JCK will be seen in her kitchen attempting a chocolate LEGO shaped cake. Legos shmegos...aren't they those little objects that thrust themselves between ones toes inadvertently? Aye, captain..those be the ones.

Sunday evening there is no elaborate cooking involved, but BOY & GIRL are singing in an Advent choir concert at church. JCK is sure they will be irresistible in their red choir robes with white collars.

And then, on Monday? The children will return to school. JCK will collapse. And then rouse herself. Because that is what moms do...

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

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Photo of Dorothy Parker courtesy of Google Images.

Thanksgiving Blessings...

Happy Thanksgiving! May your belly be full of good food, your heart full of laughter shared, and a decadent nap (fishnets optional) be in your future. Not necessarily in that order...

Our day

Today was a good day. This morning there was an alliance between the Polly Pocket dolls and the good clones from Star Wars. I'm not sure who the enemy was, but they were in it together to fight forces of evil.

Then came the testing out of BOY's birthday vehicle, a remote control car. Local cats were wise and stayed in the bushes as the vehicle careened around corners and up driveways on our street. GIRL worked on her project that is due next week - meticulously decorating the outside of the box in streamers and beads.

Later we headed out to the Y where GIRL swam laps for several minutes, on her own, and then joined BOY to play in the water. BOY managed to tell every life guard and swimming teacher...and a teenage boy whom he had never met before that he had turned 7. When I took BOY aside to remind him not to talk to strangers, he stated that the boy he was talking to worked for the FBI.

Then while BOY had his swimming lesson, GIRL and I went out on a quick shopping jaunt. It was fun to browse with her, noticing all the pretty things. She helped me pick out some new linen napkins. I love spending time like this with GIRL, and we don't do it often enough...

Tonight after baths, E read BOY and GIRL stories while I made pie dough. Right now I sit here taking in the delicious smell of chocolate pecan pie as I type. More cooking tomorrow....

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Thinking outside the box. It is how you are made.

Dear BOY,

Today is your 7th birthday. You continue to inspire me with your huge spirit of good will. You woke up this morning with a smile on your face. IS IT TIME TO OPEN MY PRESENTS!!? It was 6:15am. Of course...You've always been my little Rooster.

When it was finally time to wake your sister (6:50am), you went in to receive your birthday hug. I'm going to open your present FIRST, GIRL! She then bolted out of bed to quickly get the card and her present to you organized.

Wow, how did you make your letters so fancy, GIRL? That is really nice. You are the best sister in the world. And you hugged her again...

You are well loved. Always by your mommy & daddy, and so deeply by your sister.

I see you handling your frustrations better, just in the last week! This morning, when you found out your new remote control car couldn't be used right away...because the battery had to charge for 8 hours. And then ...when we were right in the middle of building your Star Wars Lego project, and had to stop because a piece is missing. Both times you handled it so calmly. I was a bit stunned.

As is always true right before you have a birthday, you seem to go through growing pains...challenging us at every turn. But, then it shifts. Even through those tough times, your heart beams through. You are a happy boy.

Your imagination continues to soar. I have no doubt that someday you will be some kind of creative inventor/thinker/builder. Thinking outside the box. It is how you are made.

Yesterday, I loved what you said to the dentist when he told you that you looked like a young Leonardo dicaprio, with that (impossibly, thick) blond hair and those big blue eyes (the color of the sky.) He said, BOY, maybe you'll be an actor. And you said, naah...I'm going to be a Lego Designer.

I love you with all my heart.

Love,

Mommy

Dreaming Big...

The small moments are really the big ones. If you are lucky, you see them... They catch your breath and slow you down, capturing an imprint deep within your heart. It feels as if my children are on the cusp of being much older. Morphing before my very eyes.

GIRL wants to be a Kindergarten teacher. BOY, a Lego Designer. I wish for them to follow their dreams...

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Thankful for staying home this year...

We will be home for Thanksgiving this year. I will be cooking turkey and stuffing, sweet potato casserole and pecan pie. We'll share our feast with good friends. I'm looking forward to the feasting, the laughter, the wine... and the children running amok.

Thankful for staying home this year...

Remembering summer on a cold, rainy November day

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Wordless Weekend - JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, 30 posts in 30 days, for the month of November.

JCK is desperate for household organizational tips...so fess up!

JCK appears a bit confused in this picture, doesn't she? She's got her feather duster off the shoulder...like a boa. And, of course The Fishnets...but, gee whiz... they are on her hand. Poor JCK is a bit bamboozled by life. Can't You help her?

JCK is tired of going to the grocery store, and later that day drawing a blank on what she's preparing for dinner. She has the lowest amount of energy at the end of the day, and yet she keeps setting herself up for making it more stressful than it needs to be. There are only so many Jack O'clocks that can make it better...

And then it starts all over again. JCK's very own Ground Hog Day. A few years ago she wrote a post asking for tips from people on how to save money with grocery shopping. It was really helpful and sparked a whole community discussion. This time JCK would like to ask everyone how they organize their household. Tips on time management are what she's looking for.

Here are some questions to get the discussion started:

Do you plan your menus weekly? When? How?

What are your favorite cookbooks for creating quick meals?

When do you grocery shop? How often? Do you use a list?

What's in your pantry?

Do you buy in bulk & freeze?

What are your tips on preparing dinner ahead of time? That day? A few days earlier?

Do you schedule different days for different tasks: clean house, grocery shop, paying bills, laundry, etc.?

Please jump in with any extra tips that you'd like to share. JCK appreciates you saving her from a mental breakdown.

JCK will now kick back and sip a bit o'whiskey while your wisdom unfolds.


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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Apparently the nutty butter has been smeared on JCK

Pssst.... This could be potentially serious. JCK. Has. Discovered. Bidding. On. eBay. There could be trouble due to JCK inhaling too much victory air. Indeed. JCK is floating from the sensation of outbidding someone else for 5lbs of LEGOS. She won!

JCK has decided that eBay is like Vegas. Only without the smoke or having to go anywhere. If anyone had told JCK she would be feeling triumphant for outbidding another person for LEGOS, she would have thought they were nuts. Now? Apparently the nutty butter has been smeared on JCK.

All is good. JCK got a great deal. LEGOS will be arriving at her door. Just in time for her son's 7th birthday. Things are fine in her little world. Except that she keeps heading over to eBay to see if she can outbid someone else...


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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.


**Image of Lego catwoman from Google Images.

like a miniature Princess Leia

Oh...how I love having a little girl... Today my daughter wanted a hairdo like her teacher's. She has a crush. She had two little circles of hair atop her head on the sides. Like a miniature Princess Leia. I added polka dot ribbons. And, then I was mush...

BOY's Special Person

JCK's children do not have homework per se. However, they do have family projects every trimester. It's a wonderful thing, but it kicks JCK's ass. And, the derriere is flat to begin with...

This year, BOY's project is to choose a "Special Person" who interests him. This person can be a friend, relative, artist, fire fighter, police person, athlete, president, business owner, co-worker, grandparent, etc. He is to interview and research that person, and the family will create together a poster board with details, photographs, images, drawings, and facts about this special person.

JCK: BOY, you need to decide who you would like to interview and do your project on.

BOY: On you, Mom. I want to do it on you.

JCK: Well, that is very sweet BOY, but I don't think you are supposed to do it on your mom. What about an E.M.T. or a firefighter? It can be anyone! A grandparent? You can even interview them on the phone. It doesn't have to be someone you know. It could be someone you don't know. I can help you.

BOY: I want to do it on you, Mom. I choose you.

JCK: Well...

BOY: I'm just going to say this for my project: She is a BLOGGER. That's what she does. She blogs .....I hope my friends don't think that is boring.

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Mama Explosion, entry discouraged

There are some days in which JCK would like to hang up a sign. Around her neck. The verbiage varies, but here are a few variations:

JCK is not here
JCK is done in
JCK is frightening; do not approach
Walk, do not run, toward JCK
Mama Explosion, entry discouraged.
Brain splat. No visuals recommended.
JCK is closed indefinitely
JCK has gone home...to a different abode.

Sometimes this fantasy of signage occurs before the noon hour. Definitely well before Jack O'clock can be declared in JCK's village.

The truth today is that...JCK is tired. Plumb tuckered out. Her children refuse to eat their vegetables. Her mother needs JCK to let her know her arrival/departure date at Christmas. Immediately. Today. In this conversation. And, sadly, JCK does not even know when her next trip to the bathroom will occur.

JCK is DONE.

Thank you. And good night...

God, if you're nice, you'll throw JCK a Jon Hamm sandwich

for dreamland tonight...

Guilty pleasures...

JCK is late to the party, but enjoying the ride. Thank you Netflix multi-episodes.

Wordless Weekend- NaBloPoMo

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

all it takes is a resting period

A friend of mine recently decided to participate in a community delivery of fresh organic produce. Every week you get a box of something in season. A huge box. So big that she offered to share some of it with us each week. She's lovely, my friend. One of the most generous women I know.

Today, I picked up a brown bag stuffed with collards and turnip greens, a sugar pumpkin, and an acorn squash. The greens were wilted, but I put them into a large stew pot full of cold water. A couple of hours later they were bursting up out of the top of the pot. Gorgeous in sheen and color. All they had needed was water.

I was reminded of myself. Often, I allow myself to grow so...depleted, that I feel shriveled and wilted. And, sometimes, all it takes is a resting period with plenty of water to infuse myself with fresh energy. I just have to remember to do it...

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

State of grace...

There is much I'm grateful for today.

That I live in a beautiful land... where my children can

create make-believe worlds...

GIRL, as teacher, wrote out her Rowl (Role) call.


Today, their entire student body was stuffed animals...


I am grateful that my children love to play together...


I am grateful for my family, friends and readers.

Thank you for supporting me.

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

A mama's poem about her boy...

finding a different boy

i sat and watched you
yesterday, do something
that you couldn't do
this time last year.

finding a different boy
whose time had come,
eyes and body following
where he was led.

your attention riveted
on the choir teacher
feet on floor, and hands
moving in cadenced time.

being still is not
your nature, you
of moving limbs
in perpetual motion.

there was a moment...

the tempting bait of

a hand drum, and

the hunger to bang it.

once, you looked over
to see me watching
and smiled, proud
i could see you shine.

your sweet voice rose

in scales and song
inside a cohort, happy
to have you there.

i felt the mama tears
just on the edge
yet I held them in my
breast, so you could fly.

By JCK

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

A sign...

JCK and her family recently visited a lovely little town called Julian. While they were dining, JCK and her husband stopped to look at all the signs on the restaurant wall.

E: There's a good one for your blog!

JCK is not taking it personally. Yet...

my Flying Fish

In the beginning she clung to me. I was her ship at sea. We took swimming class together, so that she could be with me. Ever cautious of strangers, she refused to swim from me to the swimming teacher. Even though she could...

That first time she swam away from me to someone else was a victory. For us both! When she returned to my arms, she wrapped herself around me, but the newly gained confidence was in her eyes.

Then she gradually inched away, to sit on the "floating duck pad" with the other children, and to paddle a couple of feet to the teacher and back to me. Each week she grew more and more comfortable.

Then, it was time for her to take a swimming class without me. It was hard... She cried the first couple of lessons. The teacher was male, and she was used to a female teacher. He let me sit off to the side, so she could see me close by. A few lessons in, she was able to let me go to the waiting room. She could see me watching her through the glass.

She was a great student. Her focus and determination quite extraordinary.

She continued to have challenges along the way. Not with swimming, but with change. A different teacher. A different time. Any change would throw her.

She quickly joined her brother's class. They progressed together.

A few months ago it shifted. She started advancing past him. Now she is two levels ahead. Sometimes it is awkward. Usually not. BOY knows that swimming is GIRL's thing.

My little tadpole is now my Flying Fish! She is the youngest in her class. Only two levels away from pre-competition.

I am letting her steer this journey. I am there by her side, in the buffer zone. She is aiming for the swim team. I am so proud of her.

Some days, as I watch her saunter away from me, in her bathing cap and goggles, I can just...glimpse the tiny girl who clung to me, only to me, in the pool...


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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Daylight WhoopAss Time

Whether the clock moves backward or forward, every parent recognizes that time when clocks change as THE CURSE. Some sicko without children decided that Fall Back and Spring Forward were brilliant little gems of ingenuity. JCK begs to differ. In fact, JCK calls this Daylight WhoopAss Time.

For some reason JCK never learns. Much is made of the extra hour she will get. Extra hour her ass. That "extra hour" can be seen as children awakening at 5am, because they are still on the old time. Even the cat starts his morning prowl, bellowing to all and sundry.

Indeed, JCK is perturbed. Perturbed!

It's 7:40pm (new time!) and her kids are asleep. Lovely...that extra hour, ripe for savoring a glass of wine, snuggling up with her book, or awaiting the return of her husband. Alas, no....with Daylight WhoopAss time retreating, JCK finds that she is also on the old time. Hence, JCK is falling asleep over the keyboard of her notebook computer.

So, now we have arrived in Daily Standard Time. JCK's standards fall in a completely different zone. In fact, JCK believes that there is nothing normal, familiar, or usual about a time change that causes all havoc for smaller people in her household.

JCK believes she is not alone in this sentiment. JCK is clinging. Clinging, people! To the hope...that others have opened up this can of WhoopAss, and are living in a current state of smack down...too.


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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

**Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Even Laura Ingalls Wilder had body issues...

I have been reading the Little House books to my children. We just finished "Little Town on the Prairie," which is the 7th of 9 books in the series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's been an enjoyable journey, especially for my daughter.

I have written several pieces on women and body issues here at Motherscribe. Perhaps my most disturbing post, is Will they wonder why we didn't stop the make-overs at 5... In it, I talk about the growing acceptance of a trend, where we are responsible for sexualizing younger and younger girls in our culture and media.

Lacking a positive body image is something that many of us have attributed to a modern culture. Imagine my surprise when coming upon these passages written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, as she is preparing herself for her first evening party.

"She could not sit still. She took one more look into the looking glass that hung on the wall. She wished so much to be tall and slim that she almost hoped to see a slender, tall girl. But in the glass she saw a small, round girl in a Sunday-best dress of blue cashmere.

Laura could not find one fault with the dress. But, oh! how she wished she were tall and willowy, like Nellie Oleson. Her waist was as round as a young tree, her arms were slender but round, too, and her very small hands were rather plump and capable-looking. They were not thin and languid like Nellie's hands.

The eyes, Laura thought, were too far apart, and they were a softer blue than Pa's. They were wide-open and anxious. They did not sparkle at all.

At least, her hair was thick and very long, though it was not golden."**

Although Laura Ingalls Wilder was in her sixties writing these autobiographical stories, and reflecting back on her girlhood, it only reinforces how insecure and self-critical she was of her physical form. The story took place in 1882.

This leaves me with the thought that a girl's dissatisfaction with her body lies much deeper than damage inflicted by the advertising media. Yes! We should hold the media to the fire for the harm they are causing to our girls, but we should also dig down into our own feelings of body self-hatred. Really question WHERE our own thoughts and views come from. Perhaps most important, is to think about what we can do to empower our daughters, and how we can bring about change for the future generations to come...


**These quotes from "Little Town on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder are not sequential, but within the same chapter.

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JCK is participated in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

Organization is SEXY. Who KNEW?

JCK is exuberant! JCK is ECSTATIC! JCK is feeling fiiiine. In fact, JCK may be a wee bit...high. Is it the chocolate, you ask? Well, there's that. Is it perhaps a bit of CAFFEINE? Well, yeees... JCK insists that both are needed to stoke the fires. But... why is she feeling like a frisky filly? Because... JCK is floating in her own bubble of an Organizational Orgasm. And, it's not even Jack O'clock. Damn, girl!


**SQUEEL!!!**

You see, JCK started getting overwhelmed several years ago. Really, ever since she happened to have two babies in 10 months. JCK had this fantasy that being a SAHM would enable her to have time to work on home projects. JCK will now pause while you try to contain yourselves....

BAWHAHAHAHA...

Indeed, JCK wishes that someone had told her that not only would she not have time, but that she would be lucky to enter the bathroom alone...for a few years.

But, JCK digresses. JCK is FEELING SO RIGHTEOUS, BABY! Yes, she IS. AhhhHUH! Because, her office is now organized!! Whoohoo!! She has spent the last two days, over 8 hours - heaving, sorting, shredding, and filing. Because. She. Can.

JCK is feeling a sense of accomplishment. A little RANDY. Yoohoo...RanDY!! Organization is SEXY. Who KNEW? In fact, JCK might ....pull out the ol' fishnets tonight.

After she organizes her email inbox which is currently sporting 3,344 messages....


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JCK is working on getting her writing groove back. She is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

My loyal reader...

BOY: Daddy, why are you on Motherscribe?

E: Because I read everything Mommy writes.

BOY: You want to see what she's up to?

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

the stories that enter his brain somewhere left of outer space and beyond

My son is blessed with a vivid imagination. This is both a blessing and a curse. He can create elaborate tales that weave in and out and go on and on AND ON...until you are not sure where the story begins and ends. And, sometimes I'm not sure he does either.

He struggles with writing. At first it was because he couldn't actually do it. Now he just doesn't like it. Someday I hope he decides to write down the stories that enter his brain somewhere left of outer space and beyond.

BOY finds the tales of ordinary school days too pallid for consumption. He likes to pad them a bit.

Yesterday he announced that they did an experiment to see how fast liquid travels down the esophagus.

55 miles an hour, Mom. FIFTY-FIVE MILES AN HOUR DOWN THE ESOPHAGUS!

Really....

Yes, Mom.

That sounds really interesting, BOY. I wonder how they figured out how fast liquid travels down the esophagus.

Well, first Miss C put gauges down our throat. Testers. And, then we drank the liquid and it was FIFTY-FIVE MILES AN HOUR DOWN THE ESOPHAGUS.

Really?

Yes, Mom. I'm serious. Totally serious, mom.

55 miles an hour?

FIFTY-FIVE MILES AN HOUR, Mom.

MMmmmm... I'll have to ask Miss C about this amazing experiment.

Well. Well... That was another class. We didn't have time to do it in my class.

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Apparently Miss C's class is the class to be in. Last year she got up on the roof with all the children in BOY's class, and they swung by ropes from one building to the next, played tag, rappelled down, and on and on and on and on and on....


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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.

because JCK would like to continue smiling

It's been JCK's personal experience that dentists tend to be a bit nerdy, dare she say...Goofy. As in the Disney character. For a while JCK had a dentist in Beverly Hills. He was very wooden in form, with big white teeth. But, still nerdy and goofy.

In the last year, JCK switched to a new dentist. A middle-aged Russian guy who told bad jokes while he examined her teeth. Nerdy, a bit goofy. The exercise in yawn, yawn... continued.

That was until Dr. D dropped into the practice. Dr. D with his manly manness. Looks like a jock, yet went to BU. Easily a decade younger than JCK, he makes her feel ...like a girl when she is in his chair. Which is good, considering he's been wielding long ass needles, drills, and lasers in JCK's direction.

As JCK drools out of her lips that have been socked silly with Novocaine, Dr. D pats her arm reassuringly, letting her know that she is in good, strong, gentle hands.

Dr. D came up with THE PLAN to get JCK's teeth repaired and "aesthetically pleasing". It is important to him that he perfect her teeth. JCK is not exactly clear why it is vital that the teeth in the very back of her mouth be aesthetically pleasing, but she's going along with THE PLAN. Because JCK would like to continue smiling.

During one of their conversations, before the drooling started, JCK confessed that her fillings were ancient.

Well, you've had a good run, Dr. D said. And, then he moved on.

JCK wishes she could move on as quickly as Dr. D does. She's still trying to wrap her head around words thrown at her like "crowns, and lengthening crowns, and hopefully not a root canal."

This morning, JCK tried to smile at Dr. D's enthusiasm through her bloated lips, which were not unlike Cher's.

Did you have a chance to see your new crown, JCK?

No, Dr. D, I haven't yet.

Well! Come right in here. I'll show you in the BIG mirror.

The mirror is so large, JCK imagines that Dr D might like to do a little Saturday Night Fever dance in front of this mirror during his down time.

Dr. D is a proud man. As, he should be. Even JCK was impressed with his mastery.

It looks GREAT! JCK blurted.

Dr. D almost hopped up and down. He was that pleased that JCK was pleased.

JCK admires people who have a passion for their work. She just wishes she could admire from a distance... without it involving the emptying of her piggy bank, or nursing a sore jaw.

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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo, (30 posts in 30 days), for the month of November.


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Photo credit: toothpastefordinner.com

JCK kicked the Candy Fairy to the Curb

Halloween was a little different this year. JCK's husband was away, and JCK had to make all the important CANDY DECISIONS. You know the ones. How much candy do you allow your 6 year old children to eat on Halloween? How much after that, and... what do you do with the leftovers? A candy haul that screams of American Excess.

In past years, BOY & GIRL were allowed to eat the same number of candies as their age. Then last year, JCK was introduced to the concept of the Candy Fairy. Basically how it works is that your children eat some candy on Halloween, pick out a few pieces to save, and leave the rest to be picked up that night...while they are asleep, by the Candy Fairy. In exchange for the candy, the fairy leaves a small toy.

Why not? Too much candy, and the Candy Fairy takes it away. Saving young children's teeth and the ripening waists of their parents. All is well!

This year JCK considered her options. And surprisingly, the Candy Fairy didn't sit well with her. JCK started thinking about it, and decided she didn't want to have yet another time when fairies were flying into her home space. And, toys mysteriously turning up for her children who don't really need another toy. Especially not from a fairy who glorifies candy. JCK pondered... just what kind of relationship must this Candy Fairy have with the Tooth Fairy. Surely, they must battle each other to the death. Teeth or candy? CANDY OR TEETH?

Lest you think JCK was over thinking this a bit...well, she was. And, then she made a decision. JCK kicked the Candy Fairy to the Curb.

Instead, JCK decided to talk to her children. Explain that she thought they were old enough to decide how much candy they wanted to eat that night. But, to remember two things. If it looked like they needed help with that decision, JCK would step in. And...too much candy can make you throw up. Always good to throw in a little dramatic visual for good measure.

And, so... BOY & GIRL ate some candy. And some more. GIRL carefully chose each one, savoring every bite, and lining up the next choice. BOY figured that if he was allowed to decide how much candy he was going to eat, he would try everything. And, he did. Like a true candy aficionado, BOY took one bite of each one, and moved on. GIRL stopped on her own after several pieces. BOY needed a couple of prompts to wind down. Total consumption? Not extreme. And, then they were done. Teeth brushed, ready for bed.

Today, they had one piece of candy after dinner. And, have not asked where JCK has hidden the great stash. Fortunately, some of that stash has been devoured by JCK. It goes well with a little whiskey on a November evening...


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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), writing 30 blog posts in 30 days.