The Days and Nights at Hotel de Mama Mia Maria

Booger Blog

2010-07-28T21:03:00.001-07:00

Any of you with sensitivity to gross topics may want to skip this blog post. But when you are raised in a medical family where illness, blood, stool cultures and spiders coming out of people's tracheotomies was dinner conversation, boogers rank pretty low on my grossness scale.

My daughter tends to produce a fair amount of nose mucous. In fact, her nose seems to be leaking like a sieve, or be so crusty she can barely breath. She refuses to blow her nose and multiple family members have worked with her on how to blow her nose. So many of us have taken to cleaning out her mucous filled nose.

The last cleaning was a whopper. I have pulled many of boogers from her cute little orifice, but these two boogers take the cake. After we all starred in amazement at the sheer size of these things, her Aunt decides to make a booger jar for her and they proceed to name these two clumps of dried mucous. They are now know as Dora I and Dora II, with the jar finding a home in her bedroom.

She will now call Aunt Di when there are more boogers that need attending to, so they can find a new home out of her nose and into the jar. The next booger will be name Sophie.

Really, All in A Day

2010-07-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Where do I even start? I am not sure the trauma of yesterday is even over yet. Yesterday was quite an ordeal. It started on a high note, not realizing that it was all downhill from there. We started with a 1200 square foot house and five kids, all playing while my sister got a makeover. She looked fantastic!

Then as we were rushing through the drive thru for lunch, late to violin lessons, I said to my mom who was driving, "the curb!" Bump, crash. We were in the parking lot and she was looking at a group of teenagers and hit the curb. We pulled over and yes, it was a flat tire. Luckily we were just across the parking lot from the tire shop. I hauled the hot, hungry kids out of the car and we had lunch in the tire shop lobby, having to have cancelled violin lessons.

Since we missed violin, my mom decides to go to Target since a friend had gotten such great deals there. I swear she bumped the cart into multiple things and was dropping clothes.

left and right.

Then came the evening, camera shopping with my dad. My dad is a man who reads every consumer report, thoroughly researches every option, goes to multiple stores and talks to multiple sales associates, in the end not to buy anything. So to say to me that he wanted me to go camera shopping, it was dread.

We get to the store and I present him all his different options based on camera features. A salesman came by to help us and he had a horrible stuttering problem which made my dad's incessant question answering almost painful. He decided on a camera. We pulled out everything from the box to check that all was included before he even made the purchase. To top it off we decided on a case and an SD card (won't even go in to that story). I felt at peace, he made the major decisions, and I heard the scanning of the items. Then, our poor sales associate asked if my dad wanted the 3 year warranty. I just almost fell to the floor. My dad asked every warranty question imaginable, which this fellow so graciously answered. Dad of course declined after the long explanation.

We are half way there I thought to myself, now I just have to teach him to use the camera. But before leaving Target, dad decides he needs a few toiletries for his trip (which is why he was buying a camera in the first place, thanks to me. Set myself up for that one). We went to the travel size section and it caused dad distress that he could not find the same type of matching shampoo and conditioner, so we pulled bottle after bottle out of the little silver bin until we found two sets of matching shampoo/ conditioner combos. Next we were on to deodorant. And a fate worse then death, they did not carry "ban roll on" deodorant. "I just cannot try a new product on a trip" says my father. We walk to the woman's section and low and behold "ban," on sale at that. He asked me if I think he will really get the "price cut" price. "Well, of course" I say, "it is on sale." He grabs 2 and lets me know that if they are not on sale at the register he will just put them back. Really, dad, your going on a trip to Europe, just bought a $300 camera and you will squabble over a$1.45 on your deodorant?

Bags in tow we left the store, he took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, then proceeded to tell me he was full and tired. Could I teach him to work his camera tomorrow? I told him I would charge it, and program all of his settings. "Can you make sure each picture will have a date on it?" Sure dad, see you tomorrow night for your lesson.

Love my dad and all his quirky qualities !!

Part 1 Transformation

2010-07-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Why did I not think to have a before and after picture of my new hair extensions? After almost a five hour process my hair stylist said, "why did we not get a picture?" Well, that would have been nice. I can't even think of the last time I was actually in a photo that I can post. But, I do plan on posting a picture of the long locks soon.

Extensions are sure the process. Rows of beading and sewing, then cutting and styling then coloring, blow drying, wow. When we finally left the salon at 11 pm we were exhausted. My head was hurting for obvious reason, and my tushie was sore from sitting so long.

The best part the next day was that my coworkers did not notice till the end of the day when another co worker came later in the day. People knew something was different but could not put their finger on it. Which, is just what I wanted. A natural, subtle look that was not a total shock.

Long Locks

2010-07-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Friday I hope to have a new look. I have really only had one or two major transformations, going from long, long hair to short and shorter hair styles. A few months ago I decided that after 2 years of a short haircut I wanted to grow my long hair back. Of course when I decided that was what I wanted to do, I wanted instant long hair. Months down the road and my hair is not growing fast enough. So, Friday night I am going to have extensions put in my hair. Can't wait to have the hair out of my face and off my neck, especially in this summer heat.

The second step in my transformation is to have my every five year eye exam and new eye glass frames. I have worn glasses since I was 10 and finally came to the conclusion that if I had to wear glasses everyday, why could I not have more then one pair? Maybe, more like a few pair to match with a few different outfits? People have multiple pairs of shoes, whose to say I can't have multiple pairs of glasses?

Not only for an alternating look do I want new eye glass frames, but I have these wonderful cholesterol deposits that "deposit" in my under eyes and have slowly moved up my eyes under my eyebrows. I truly dislike them and unless I have plastic surgery they are here to stay, so I hope to find frames that help to hide these nagging deposits. On another note, why did my body have to make my cholesterol deposit on my eyes? I am really not that vain, I know I could stand to lose some weight, perk up my boobs, get rid of varicose veins in my legs, but I am not really bothered by that, but I loved my blue eyes, and now the plan is to hide them. Kind of depressing.

But, I will see how my new look goes. Pony tails here I come!

Life Plan

2010-07-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Life does not always turn out like one has planned. I figured if I did everything the way it should be done and in the correct order, life would proceed according to the order in my mind. So here is what I did. I graduated high school and went to college, then got my graduate degree, got married, bought a house, bought a dog and then had kids. I figured since I had done everything in the "right" order, the money, the big house, the vacations and fun adult toys like boats and skis would simply fall in place like it looked like it had for my parents.

Well, that did not exactly happen. The housing market totally crashed our "big home" dream, were driving 8 year old cars and have health care bills that seem to keep piling up. Forget about the vacations and ski trips. Our annual Disneyland trip has even taken a back seat the last two years.

How is it that my husband and I have Masters Degree's and are financially squeaking by? This was not supposed to be the case, you go to college to have dreams of good jobs and financial stability. My husband and I both work in heath care and recently my husband has moved into the teaching arena. I feel bad when I think about the future of my children and discourage them from going into the human service industry. My husband cringes when I tell him I don't care if our kids go to college. Did it really work out for us? I certainly don't want my kids to be in the same spot that my husband and I are in.

Stories

2010-07-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

As a child therapist, I have hopefully helped many children to cope with not only traumatic life events, but assisted them to cope with everyday situations and enhance their daily functioning in the world. I have heard many stories of abuse, neglect, death, bully's, and accidents. But two for sure hit home this week.

The first was a six year old boy who was hearing 5 voices in his head that were telling him that he is weird, and funny. He was also seeing a "kid" that appeared throughout his day, and could describe what he looked like, and also his unique layers of clothing he was wearing. This young boy stated they were getting annoying, all the voices and the "kid" showing up.

The second story I heard today, and have not been able to let go of. This young client of twelve year old and I were talking about his depression, what it is like for him, when it started and a few other symptoms. I asked if he thought of self harm or suicide when he was in a depressed state, and he said "not anymore, but when I was younger." As I probed him to elaborate on this he explained to me when he was 5 years old, on multiple occasions, he would go outside and lay in the street hoping that someone would run over him. This is at age 5!! I was astounded that a five year old could experience a depressed state like that in the first place, and then actually be able to follow through with a plan.

I am still tonight, having a hard time wrapping my brain around it.

Attitude

2010-07-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

The summer is at its half way point. I was so excited at the beginning of summer to have time to do activities with my kids, go fun places and enjoy my time off with the kids. But it feels that I have not accomplished any of that.

Maybe, I am just in a mid summer funk, and am not clearly recalling things at this point. But I feel that summer has been full of many obligatories and have to's. A family wedding started the summer. It was fun to see family, but was a long travel time for our short stay. Then family was in town, which we loved, but was all consuming for almost a week. Next was violin camp, everyday for 5 days. I must say by the end of day 3, I was ready to strangle many ill behaved and disrespectful children. Next week starts dance camp for two weeks and swimming lessons for two weeks.

Could it also be too, that our friends were here on vacation and I still want to be on vacation with them? So everything feels obligatory because I rather be on vacation? We had a wonderful time with the S. family. The kids made memories that they are all still talking about, and crying about. I had so much fun with Mrs. S. sitting by the pool for hours talking about our families and parenting. She truly seemed to love my quirky family stories, and took an interest in my life. That is very rare to find once people find out that I am a therapist. When people find out I am a therapist they get into talking mode and it may never occur to them that I have not said a word about me or my life. Thanks Mrs. S. for taking an interest and acting like a "real" friend.

So, we will forge on with our summer, my pity party will come to a close, and I will re adjust my attitude and have a fantastic end to our summer.

Times

2010-07-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there just are no words to describe life.

4th of July

2010-07-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

4th of July was a spectacular day.

It started with a family boat trip out to Lake Mead. The kids were more then excited as we launched the boat and headed to a spot where we could do cannonballs off the boat, make sand castles and throw rocks. We found a great cove for all our activities and even had a picnic on the boat.

Later that evening family came over and we attempted to devoure a 30 inch pizza. Can I even begin to tell you how huge that was??? It was like the Paxinos circus as usual with all of our family chaos. The horrible headache that was behind my eye was killing me though, I could not even read the pizza menu out of that eye. But the evening must go on.

We ended the evening with the fireworks display in Boulder City. They started out pretty bleak, but the grand finale made up for the slow start. In true Paxinos style, we were waiting in an enormous traffic line to get out of Boulder city, and the low fuel light pops on. The kids both worried and went through every possible scenario of what we would do "if." But we did make it to the gas station in a timely fashion, filled up and had two kids asleep before he hit the freeway.

Who's loosing it?

2010-06-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Is it me or my mom, who is the one loosing it? I believe in the last 2 weeks my mom feels I have not remembered anything she has said, done or mentioned. Apparently she tells me her schedule, and I don't remember it or I forget that something a week from now is scheduled. Well, maybe she is right. Maybe I don't have the memory I used too.

Could it also just possibly be that I have a full plate?

I have two busy children to raise. Dance class once a week, violin every morning plus lesson and group class every week, school homework, projects and PTSA commitments.

I work and emotionally draining job as a child therapist part time, trying to assist children and their families to more fully function in everyday living. I also work a contract job every other Sunday, and a per diem social work job.

I have a mother, whom of course has her issues.

I try to keep track of my father and invite him to family functions and dinner (oh, and I seem to be his mail carrier as he has mail delivered to my house instead of his).

A sister who is in an intensive graduate school program, who has a dog with multiple health problems.

My husband has his issues too, I tend to lovingly tease him about his attention deficit disorder and the fact that some days he must not have "paid his attention bill."

So, maybe, just maybe mom, if I don't remember your exact schedule, if I don't realize what is scheduled a week out, please just cut me a little slack. Being the family "den mother" is sometimes just a lot to juggle.

Good Bye's

2010-06-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Our summer is almost at the half way point. We have had many fun adventures with family and friends thus far, but it has also been a summer full of good bye's. As many of you are aware, Carson has such a hard time with that. It breaks my heart and totally reminds me of me when I was a child and my heart just aches for him.

Here is our list of good bye's:

Grandpa

Cousin Ali

Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Sam

School friends and teachers

Aunt Michelle

Cousin Mikele

Friends, the S. family including their two children

Carson has cried at every parting and Adeline had her times also. We love and enjoy all our friends and family, but the good bye's are getting tough.

Commonalities Across the Country

2010-06-16T15:52:00.001-07:00

Recently our family flew across the country to attend a family wedding. We were at one of the family /friend dinners where a lady was telling us that she had grandchildren who were my kids age and they lived part time in the same city we did. How interesting I said, and we continued on with our conversation and found out we actually not only lived in the same city, but were literally in walking distance to each other. At the next dinner, the lady gave me her daughters phone number and said "please give her a call."

As I said I would, I gave this mom a call. We scheduled a little pool party with lunch. Amazingly the kids hit it off big time. There was not one issue between the kids, no refereeing, no behavioral disruptions, sharing and manners were displayed throughout the day. Icing on the cake was us mom's even had a great time. We were actually able to have uninterrupted conversations about parenting and life in general.

What a great day! Who would have ever known we would travel cross country to find a friend and neighbor in our own backyard.

Hotel Needs Help!

2010-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

My young son told me one night that he wanted to stay at a hotel. I replied, we sure can, you can stay at the Hotel de Mama Mia Maria. You have a chef, a maid, a chauffeur, and activities coordinator an educational tutor, and talent coordinator (hence the name of my blog, described on my very first post).

Well, the satisfaction survey from the owner of this hotel, me, believes it is falling in the category of "dissatisfied." The maid is falling behind on her duties, the chef has not cooked a real meal in who knows how long, the chauffeur is hating the heat, the activities coordinator is exhausted, and the talent coordinator cannot hear Minuet 3 on the violin one more time!!!!

Maybe these people are feeling under appreciated, or under paid, who knows. But, this family is turning into co-owners of this hotel, and it will be a summer full of learning to take responsibility, pitching in and helping each other out.

First Week of Summer

2010-06-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have sucessfully completed the first full week of summer vacation. Let me tell you, it was a rough one. This picture described how I felt for the first three days. I don't know if I was extra worn out from a very fun trampoline party we went to where I bounced and raced myself silly with my kids on 50 yards of trampolines (such a cool place), or if it was post school let down. Anyhow, I was wiped. I was so tired that I did not want to pry myself of the couch. I only did the necessities in life, and sadly to report, let my kids watch a bunch of cartoons.

This was all fine and dandy until it was time to return to work on the 4th day of summer break. I actually had to be there and be productive in my tired haze. It was also a day where I had all 6 of my clients show in a row. The next day was the same and Saturday I had 8 clients in a row with no break. I was lucky to be able to take a quick restroom break.

So, I am now done working for the week. I am totally emotionally exhausted. I thank my lucky stars that my kids can act 100 times better then the kids I see in my office.

The Heat

2010-06-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

I always forget that living in the dessert is great in the winter, but is a completely horrible experience in the summer. In two days, the temperature seemed to go from the upper 80's to over 100 degrees! That gives the body no time to gradually adjust to the heat and makes it feel extra hot.

I was so excited my kids were out of school, I wanted to be out at the water parks, the pool and have fun in general, but I think all the heat has taken every ounce of energy from me. Even going to the pool to cool off seems like so much effort in the blazing heat. I have to mentally decided if whatever we are going to do is worth the burning heat. I guess the plus is the kids don't seem to be too affected by the heat. They will swim anytime, want to go to the park, and water park even when their little faces are beet red.

Here's to another hot summer.

Self Worth

2010-06-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

Adeline had a little preschool graduation, although she still has another year in preschool. Anyway, it was a darling little ceremony. The kids sang songs and received certificates for participating in the school year.

The most wonderful part of the program was this great song about loving yourself. The teacher gave an introduction to the song by emphasising the importance of developing your child's self worth.

After this song I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. I still continue to watch this video at least three times a day.

If only as adults we could still maintain the self worth that a mentally healthy 4 year old has.

Home Sweet Home

2010-06-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

We are home! I slept in my own bed, with my own blankets and pillows. It was a whirlwind the last week. It started with Adeline's preschool graduation, then 4 hours later jumped on a plane to North Carolina for a family wedding. We arrived in NC at 2:30 in the morning. We were at the zoo by noon after our few hours of sleep, walked and took in all the wonderful animal exhibits and kids area.

Our family visited the Natural Science Museum which was phenomenal, and two botanical gardens which were so green with colorful flowers, so different then our desert of rocks and cactus. We also had 2 family diners, and of course the wedding.

The wedding was at a beautiful hotel with a ceremony in the outdoor garden which seemed so magical.

Our last day we drove 2 hours to the airport, a delayed flight, more trips to the restroom then I can count (my little kids and their pooping) then sitting on the tarmac for 40 minutes. Late to our connection, yet another delay, another round of trips to the restroom, get on the plan and sit on the tarmac for 15 minutes. Finally landed at home at 9 pm instead of 7, and up at 5:45 am to start the last week of school.

I won't even begin to discuss the mass of laundry that I need to address.

Men and Women

2010-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

I have finally come to the conclusion that men and women view and interpret their world very differently from each other.

The other day I posted on my facebook status that my goal of the day was to get the laundry put away. My husband comments on my post and said that he had put the laundry away yesterday.

I then replied that when putting laundry away you have to empty the basket fully to see the bottom.

The picture above was his retry later that day to put away the laundry. It was stacked on our bed (he apparently could see the bottom of the basket) and the kids laundry was stacked on their dresser.

Is the laundry put away? Not according to my standards, but maybe in man land!

The left not the right

2010-05-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

I woke up on the left side of the bed this morning for sure. If I would have woken up on the right side of the bed, the day would have gone "right." Instead, I have been irritated and annoyed by every minor occurrence. Starting with.......

Laundry piled- kid that did not want her hair brushed- sponge bob-

kids in no booster seat (in other cars)-

kids in the front seat (of other cars)-

my son's school- being interrupted a number of times-

criticised for my child's lack of fruit intake at my house-

"did Carson practice the violin" question-

no show clients- "did you fix him" comment from clients parents-

paperwork-

rude Starbucks barrista- lack of consistency in my Starbucks frappacino

playing phone tag with my friend in Hawaii and my sister in Utah-

Walmart-Walmart-Walmart

Well, there may be more but that hit the highlights. There is always hope for tomorrow that I will wake on the "right" side of the day.

Papa

2010-05-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

My dad has a tender spot for his granddaughter. I love to watch them interact. We went to a classical concert this weekend with Papa and I could just see the joy on his face that he had his grandchildren with him to share in one of his favorite activities.

Adeline was dressed in her concert attire looking cute as a button, she would reach over during the concert and touch Papa's hand and either point out what she saw or was hearing. Adeline was mesmerized by the organist sparkly silver shoes. As Adeline commented, I would watch Papa's face light up.

After the concert we all took a detour through the beautiful rose garden where I was able to snap my new favorite pictures of Papa and Adeline.

Toilet Trauma

2010-05-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are long time followers of mine, you are well aware of the constipation and battles over poop that I face with my kids on a daily basis. We buy Miralax like it is going out of style. We have pediatric suppositories, enemas and a box of rubber gloves ready at a moments notice. Carson and his battles with constipation has improved quite remarkably, my little Adeline still battles the rocky pebble poop.

Last night we happened to be out at a local open air mall enjoying a nice family dinner out. I could tell she had to use the restroom, but declined the multiple times I had asked her. After dinner we decided to walk around as our weather was so wonderful. When we got to the furthest point away from a restroom, Adeline states that she has to poop.

We start in a full blown speed walk to hopefully make it on time. The clothes come off, she sits on the toilet, puts her finger on her belly button (why? I don't know, but she always does), grunts, and.............

the automatic toilet flushes. Tears immediately start streaming down her face as she hops off the toilet trying to cover her ears. Well, thanks automatic toilet flusher, you ruined a good thing. If you only knew what we go through on a daily basis to accomplish the task of pooping, then to actually do it in a public restroom. Why oh why did you choose to go off at that precise moment?

An "I needed it" Day

2010-05-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today was great. It was rejuvenating. I had my kids, my sister and was armed with my camera. One of my great joys in life is taking pictures of my kids. I have been known to take over 400 pictures on trips and vacations. When I started this whole "real" work (working outside the home), life became very chaotic, busy, frustrating, stressful, and a whole other list of adjectives.

So today we took a breather. We jumped in the car, with a location in mind and set off for the afternoon. We went to an old mining town where we roamed around all the antiques, and continued further along the road where we were able to do a little mountain climbing. All of us had a great afternoon. The kids got to run and climb, my sister got to relax after taking her last final and I got to take pictures.

I need to remember to do that more often. What a fun day.

Adeline and Mom

2010-05-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

This was an Adeline and mom day. It was so overdue and so fun. We dropped brother off at school and headed to an outdoor shopping area. Adeline and I started with chocolate milk (with whipped cream of course), I had coffee and we shared a butter croissant. After chatting over coffee we went and had fun running and talking and playing games on the grass while waiting for story time in the park to begin. Adeline got some cool prizes at story time and was most impressed with the giraffe balloon the clown made. We finished our girls day out with a lettuce and bacon pizza, two of her favorite things in the world. I know, it sounds odd but it is actually a BLT pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. Adeline and I had a great time, and shared fun moments together. Hopefully she will remember these occasions of her and I and our girl time.

Today

2010-05-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmm......

How would I even describe today? The only reason I think I can put it in words is because the kids are at an activity with their Nana and I have 5 minutes in my quiet house to think. The day started off with a PTSA meeting at school. A big thanks to Ms. Angie who helped to start it off right with my Dunks iced coffee. Then it was off to do a home care visit for my per diem job. Of course that was a nightmare and I had left messages and follow up call all afternoon. Had to call Senior Protective Services and file a report.

In between all this I had my own doctors appointment for my "old lady "bladder. Hopefully new medication will work. I was a little apprehensive to try new medication because it is a newer medication, and I can get my generic medication for $4, but I decided if it works it is worth it. I take care of people everyday and make sure their needs are met. I have medical bills that come in monthly between my asthmatic children and my husband, so why scrimp on me? It will hopefully be nice to feel like I don't have to urinate constantly, or have to find a restroom right away.

The day was not through yet, I get a call from my primary job and they state that my billing has to be in this afternoon by 5 instead of the 10th. The Mac won't send the e -mail, I finally attach the invoice to another of my e-mail accounts, only to have the office not be able to open the Mac document. So as I am creating a whole new invoice on my husbands computer I am getting calls from Senior Protective Service to clarify my earlier call. My billing is sent off, all state agencies are closed for the evening, and now I have a few minutes of quiet time left before my kids come home.

Then dinner, homework, chores and reading. Does it ever end?????

The Triangle

2010-05-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

Some people name their dogs, other people their cats or their cars. I have decided to name our house. It is amazing how things can disappear into the abyss of our house. I can be using it one minute and the next it is nowhere to be found.

I also have electrical issues that are mysterious. All of a sudden electrical outlets will not work, our light on our family room fan will not function with the remote, or worst of all, I will turn off the family room light and my sons bedroom light will illuminate. The dishwasher will function fine for one load, then the next load leak water all over my kitchen floor. The previous post shared our back patio home improvement project where jack hammering concrete lead to a new $6000 air conditioner, and then was discovered that the heating system was caving in.

The worst is how is it causes computers and printers to malfunction. My husband and I are fairly computer literate. We are not by any means computer geeks, but we are not novices either. My husband and I have been through about 5 laptops in 3 years. Ok, the soda that my son spilled on one laptop should not really count, but maybe a house that had better juju jibes then our house, the computer could have maybe been salvaged. Trough all of the computer issues and repairs my sister talked me into trying a Mac. Everything is so easy, you won't have any trouble were her words. I believed her, for I have an iphone and I do love it. Well, here we go setting up the Mac and I am now having issues with my itunes account, in fact it has deleted all my music and videos into the abyss of itunes somewhere. I was still holding out hope, trying to think positive. The rest of the transition went smoothly until we try to install the printer. Could it be? Another problem????

I have decided my house is like the Bermuda Triangle, thus the new name of my house. We will lovingly now refer to our home, our sanctuary, as "The Triangle."