They actually expect me to work for a living

I'm swamped at work right now. I'm back doing proposal work this month, with all its pressure and deadlines, and am finding it hard to make that mental shift. I've gotten much too used to working at my own pace, with no one looking too carefully over my shoulder. I think this new division I work for is going to keep me on my toes a lot more than my work with corporate did.

And if we're being totally honest here, my flagging mental state is probably also influenced by the fact that I worked my ass off all day yesterday (without even time for a shower - blech!), then raced over to playgroup, then raced over to Itai's rollerblading class, then raced home for a conference call at 7:30 at night, then raced out to meet Jay for a friend's birthday celebration. We stayed out till nearly 1, then found out that a visiting musician had parked in a parking lot that closed at midnight, leaving his car stuck and him with no way to get home to Haifa (about 90 minutes away). He ended up coming home with us, where we then had to break out a bottle for a few drinks and conversation, and I finally dragged my sorry ass to bed after 2am, only to find myself up coughing all night long because I'd foregone my cough syrup in favor of a couple of drinks. Have to be a good hostess after all ;-). Can't have the guest drinking on his own... I think he had it worse though, he actually ordered a cab for 5:45 this morning in the hopes of making it back home to shower, change and get to work by 7:30! Can't say that would have been my approach...

Thank heavens it's Thursday, no work tomorrow.

Hey cool, Finland!

Wow, someone out there found my blog all the way from Finland. How cool is that! (Can you tell that I'm having fun with my site counter?) I'd love to go to Finland someday, but alas, I haven't gotten any closer than Norway yet. One day...

I'd love to hear from whoever's out there lurking, it makes blogging a lot more fun to know I've actually got someone reading (besides my star commenters Terri and Kim (who are nearly my only commenters, besides a very cute sympathy comment from Tertia - smooches right back atcha buddy)).

So come on, say hi. I double dare you!

Just sitting here starving

I'm starving, but can't seem to get it together enough to get off of this chair and go the 4 feet to the refrigerator to find some lunch. Part of it is that I'm stuck into a fairly complicated and nit-picky work project, and part of it is just (lack of) inertia. Either way, I'm hungry and this is getting silly.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this.

The Big Tooth Fairy Question

Itai's got a few more loose teeth, which is begging the question - what do we do about the Tooth Fairy? I love the Tooth Fairy, HE loved the Tooth Fairy, we were all quite happy with the idea that she slipped a little something under his pillow while he slept. Heck, he's even got a tooth fairy BAG that Grandma made...

Only catch? The Tooth Fairy isn't widely known in Israel. So some of those too-big-for-their-britches jaded older kids from his afternoon program some little darling has apparently told him that there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy!!! Now Itai has informed us that there is in fact no Tooth Fairy, that fairies in general are not real (and couldn't talk even if they were), and that he knows it's been us all along.

I'm SO disappointed. Being a Jewish kid in Israel, it's not like he gets Santa Claus, so I was hoping to at least be able to do the Tooth Fairy thing for a little while... Hmmm... maybe evil mom will plant the idea that if there's no tooth fairy then there's no money, and see if he regains his faith... *snicker*

And on another totally unrelated front, Miss Mouse a/k/a Maya seems to really be getting the hang of this potty training thing - woohoo! I thank her, her teachers thank her, and my rugs and couches certainly thank her! She's so darn cute about it too - she knows it's been hard for her and that she's finally done something really great, so each and every time she uses the toilet she jumps up and literally shouts at the top of her lungs "I DID it! Yayyyyyyy for Maya!!" and starts clapping madly. What a character.

The hunt for a decent picture for my cards

I want to send some holiday cards out (VERY SOON!) and as in years past I'd like to include a photo of the kids. Only catch - they are not feeling very camera friendly at the moment. This one could have been halfway decent if only dh hadn't decided to chop of the bottom half of their bodies. It's unbalanced looking the way it is, and I can't crop it any further because their heights are so different. Back to the drawing board methinks... (and this time I'll do it myself!)

I believe in gentle discipline, I believe in gentle discipline, I believe in gentle discipline...

And it's a damn good thing, or my son would be having a VERY bad day right about now.

Every single button I've got has been pushed today, and I have HAD it. The defiance, the talking back, the violent language, the entitlement... Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!! I have no freaking clue what has set off this latest round of beastly behavior, but by god it is going to stop. It's bad enough that Israeli parents tend to accept standards of behavior (or lack thereof) that make me cringe when looking at it from outside, I absolutely will not accept it in my own kid.

Ok, it's an hour later and we've all calmed down again. DH and I had a major talk with Itai, and it seems like at least some of it got through, for now anyway. We've kissed and made up and I've just finished reading him a chapter of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", and am now sitting here typing one-handed while sitting next to his bed while he falls asleep. It's a good thing he can't read yet, though I suspect from all the snoring going on that he wouldn't be paying attention anyway...