One down and one nice ego boost

Remember Matt? The guy who speaks French, Italian, Japanese, and of course, English? Well, we've decided to end it.

He called me this weekend to see if I was free on Monday, and I called him back, leaving a voice mail that I already had plans. Today, I got an email from him asking if my unresponsiveness was because I wasn't interested. I told him I did respond -- don't know why he didn't receive the message -- but I decided to be honest with him and told him I just think of him as a friend. He said he understands and since he's "quite attracted" to me, he didn't think he could just be friends. Oh, and "have a nice summer."

On another note, I invited Daniel to go dancing at my favorite club this weekend. He was impressed with the great music and, as he put it, so many cute guys! (Yes, he realizes that they are probably all straight and didn't approach anyone.) He's a great dancer, and it's fun just dancing and knowing that he's not reading anything into it. We also compared notes on the guys.

One REALLY cute guy started talking to me, and it turns out he's 25! Oh, so cute, but I think a wee bit too young for me. He kept trying to convince me he's not too young for me and that I look 26 or maybe 27. It was a great compliment since I just celebrated my 33rd birthday! Also, I could see he had a pierced tongue. That would be weird for me. I can't imagine kissing someone with something like that. Maybe I am all of 33!

Stepping Out of the Box

A couple weeks ago, I went to a happy hour for one of my company's VPs that is retiring. Not that he's old (everyone at my company is pretty young), but he and his partner have saved enough money to travel the world and not work for an indefinite period of time. Very nice.

Yes, I said his "partner." He's gay, so the happy hour was at a gay bar in the gay district of Dallas. I hadn't been there before, and I definitely wanted to say goodbye to Dave.

The most eye-popping thing was the shot guys! Out of the corner of my eye I saw flesh...a topless guy walking by with a tray of shots. Nice bod, but obviously gay.

Dave and his partner Don introduced me to a friend of theirs named Daniel. He's a sweet, innocent guy from Mexico, here to study at university. He had recently turned 21, (God, I feel old!) and we just hit it off. We exchanged phone numbers before I left because he said he'd go dancing with me, even if it was at a "straight club."

Daniel called me on Friday and asked me to join him and his cousin, who was celebrating her birthday. I paused when he told me where...2009. A club that was (in the 90s) known as 2001 and was an incredible country and western bar. I used to frequent it with my roommate Lauren, and actually met my second ex-husband there. Now, it is a Tejano bar, the huge parking lot packed to the brim each night with pickups and hoopties.

Telling myself I should be more adventurous and more accepting of others, I agreed to meet Daniel. I swear I was the only white face there, and I felt like I was glowing in the near-dark of the bar. Daniel's cousin, celebrating her 19th birthday, (oh, yeah, I'm old), went off dancing with her boyfriend, so I quickly saw why Daniel was oh so happy to have me for company. The music was like a German oom-pah song, and everyone on the dance floor was bouncing up and down to the tune. It was difficult to keep a straight face!

Daniel told me, "I hate this place. I never would have agreed to come here except it's my cousin's birthday. I hate all these Mexicans."
I said, "Daniel! You can't say that! YOU're Mexican."
"Yes, but this is a different class, you know? This is ghetto," he said with a laugh.

So I went to a ghetto Mexican club with a gay 21-year-old this weekend. Now I can cross THAT off my list!

Dating Pet Peeves

MSNBC and Elle magazine did a survey of 27,000 men and women asking them about their likes and dislikes of the other sex. The biggest turnoffs were reported as bad breath, bad body odor, unwashed hair and too much makeup. The article explains that a daily bath is important.

Do people (men) really need to be told this? Of course this is a minimum requirement!

I also like that while "too much makeup" is listed as one of the top turnoffs, on the room for improvement list, men mentioned "wear more makeup."

A friend recently asked me how the dating life was going (non-existent), and reminded me to be picky. Not a problem. I have MUCH higher expectations than lack of body odor. And I can't stand when men wear too much makeup...

The crud

I haven't posted in awhile. I've been recuperating from my Austin trip. Colin was so generous to share his cooties, and my body has obliged by producing excess mucus ever since. I didn't even do much this weekend, trying to get over it. But here it is Monday morning, and I'm still exhausted and sneezing.

My sneezes are quite loud. It's a family trait. Unfortunately, it can startle unsuspecting people, or cats. I sneezed and caused Sabrina to jump the other morning. Poor kitty. She looked at me like I did it on purpose to scare her.

Great moments

Yesterday, Anna gave me a big good-morning hug. She said, "you smell good." I said thank you, I took a shower the night before. "You smell perfectly wonderful."

Last night at dinner, we had pizza. Colin was so excited, he sat at the table for 20 minutes before I got home with the pizza. Then he entertained Nana and me after he finished eating by pulling his bib halfway off his head. (It's one of those bibs that has a neck like a t-shirt.) He pulled it up to his forehead and said "hat!" He was peeking out the side with the majority of the bib covering the left side of his face. So cute! He pulled it back down and the next time he pulled it up to his hairline with the bib tossed back over his head. He looked like a nun! Nana and I couldn't keep from laughing. Then he said "kiss" and I went over to him. He put his hands on either side of my face and gave me a sweet kiss.

Anna also told me yesterday that I am her BEST friend. I guess she's forgiven me for being firm with her.

Please leave comments

Ok, I just found out I can allow people to post comments anonymously, and I have turned on this feature. Now you have no excuse not to comment!

Lots of activities tires the kids and the auntie

I didn't post anything last night because I was too tired. I took Bev and the kids to the Children's Museum in the morning, and we ran around trying out all their exhibits. Bev would follow one of them and I would follow the other, and when we passed each other, we'd switch kids. Colin loved the train area. I think we spent 30 minutes there. They have a toy train that goes around the room and lots of buttons to push. Colin says, "I push! I push!"

Anna enjoyed all their dinosaur exhibits, and she was the best audience member for story time. In fact, she was the only child that stayed still for all three stories.

We left there to go to Central Market for lunch and the playground. We had saved bread bits all week for the ducks and turtles. And when we pulled up, I mentioned we would eat first, and then feed the ducks. "NOoooooo! I want to feed the ducks FIRST!" Anna didn't like my plan.

The kids eat a lot some meals, and other meals not so much. So I decided to order a small cheese pizza for me to share with Colin. Anna had a hamburger & fries, or I should say, fries and a little bit of hamburger. Colin must have been VERY hungry because he ate most of our pizza!

They both enjoyed running around the playground, and Anna enjoyed talking to her mommy when she called. Then we walked down to the bridge and threw the bread for the ducks and turtles. Colin and Anna chased the pidgeons on our way back to the store, shouting and waving their arms around.

I've learned everything takes a little longer with toddlers. We still had to get a few things from the store, and it was getting dangerously close to naptime for Colin. He had a meltdown in the bread section. We were almost done!

We finally got everyone and everything back in the van, and drove 3 blocks, and Anna says, "I have to go to the bathroom!" Again. We stopped at the first gas station I saw, and it was really disgusting. I tried to keep Anna from touching much of anything.

I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Nana arrived at 6, and Cinda & Lee arrived shortly after to pick up Beverly. Anna must have thought that since Nana was here, I was going to leave, too. (Since once I arrived, Oma left.) We had a rough night (many messy accidents).

Today is raining, so we've watched a couple movies. Colin is currently taking a nap, and Anna is dancing with Nana in the living room to Billy Joel. Colin told me while we were watching Finding Nemo, "I happy."

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah...

(referring to Anna & Colin's Muddah and Faddah) We haven't heard from you lately...

Anna only gets 2 milks a day. Does Colin have a limit?
If I run out of dog food, what kind should I buy? (There's a great special on Ol' Roy...)

Gross poopy stories:
When I took Anna to school, Bev stayed home with Colin O. Colin had gotten hot last night and had taken his footy pajamas off his body, mostly. They were inside out but still clinging to his feet. So when he got up, he just ran around like a white-trash kid in just diapers.

Bev was cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast when Colin came over, stuck his hand down the back of his diaper, and withdrew it, now covered in poop, to declare "yucky." Damn right yucky.

The past few days, I've been a little concerned about the cat, Claudio. I've cleaned the litter box every day as directed, but all I've found is clumps of urine. No poop. What do you do for a constipated cat? He seems happy enough.

As Bev and I were enjoying a appetizer in the kitchen while cooking dinner, Montana (dog) came in licking her chops. "What have you gotten into?" Bev asked. Oh, no. I suddenly realized what's been happening to Claudio's turds. Montana's appetizers. Yucky again.

Dinner is an ordeal. I think I don't like being the disciplinarian. I'd rather be the fun auntie. So after dinner, I asked Bev to take the kids outside while I cleaned the kitchen. It's funny how cleaning the kitchen seems like a respite.

Montana was outside with them and had to add to the land mines in the yard. Colin had to investigate. Bev brought him inside, insisting I wash his hands because he had "squeezed a turd." He also pronounced this poop "yucky."

Ok, enough about poop.

Colin is so sweet. He says hi and bye to strangers and things. When we were at the park this morning, he saw and identified a helicopter. As it was flying out of sight, he said, "Bye, 'copter."

I gave up on fixing nice dinners tonight. They had Morningstar Farms chicken nuggets and Ramen noodles, as Colin calls them "No-nos," with awe in his voice. (Bev and I had leftovers.) The noodleman asked for multiple servings, each one with a prompted "please," but several no-nos never made it to his mouth. They were all over his chair and placemat. Montana could tell it was a good night to be under the table...only she ended up with noodles on top of her, too.

Both kids have lamented that their mom and dad aren't here. They miss you guys. Anna and I are counting down the days.

Status Quo

Today was a little better. Both kids go to school for part of the day, and that was a welcome break. Also, Beverly arrived around 10 and was a BIG help. I also had 3 cups of coffee today, and that helped, too.

Anna is still testing me regularly, although no accidents today. Yea! They ate a little better tonight, although Anna REFUSED to try my mashed potatoes. She said she wanted regular potatoes, which of course was impossible as they were all mashed.

For lunch, Bev knew where the Freebird's is in Pflugerville, and Colin helped us eat our enormous burritos. He seemed very happy there, pointing out everything to us. And when we put him to bed tonight, you could hear him practicing his counting in Spanish, "Uno, dos, tres..."

That's about it. Chickens, dog and cat have all been fed. The trash and recycling are on the curb, and there is laundry running in the washing machine. All quiet for now.

First, do no harm

Today was my first day posing as a single mom to my sister's 2 and 4-yr-olds. Oh my God. My back and feet are killing me, I've hardly eaten anything all day, and I'm absolutely exhausted, and it's only 9:15. And did I mention I just now got a shower today?

It started innocently enough. Of course, my sister's mom-in-law was still here this morning. I took Anna to preschool on time and came back before she left. Then Colin and I had the day together. What to do... I decided to take him down to Austin's Central Market, which also has a nice restaurant and great playground.

I took a wrong turn and got lost on the way, so I think we were driving for 45 minutes or so. Colin's a trouper, though, and kept me entertained with his sightings. "Duck!" (truck) "BIG Duck!"

We finally made it and played on the playground for about an hour. By that time it was noon, so we headed to the restaurant. Uh, oh...the line is out the door! I thought Colin wouldn't do well waiting in a long line, so I decided to drive to Freebird's, a great burrito place on the way home.

Guess I missed the exit for Freebird's...not doing so well navigating Austin at this point. Now Colin is telling me he's hungry. I had the diaper bag with me and dug out a container of Cheerios for him. Only problem is, I forgot to bring a sipee cup of anything. I know, I know. BIG mistake.

About 5 minutes later, Colin asks for "mimi" (milk). I tell him I don't have any. "Juice?" Sorry, bud. "Water?" (sounding more desperate) I tell him I forgot. "You forgot?" I feel really bad, like a terrible auntie.

I took him to Rudy's, a BBQ place that's good and noisy and that he's been to before. I bought milk first off and thought we'd split beans, cream corn and chicken. He wouldn't eat any of it. All he would eat was the nasty white bread that would make his parents very displeased with me. They also didn't have high chairs, so he was on my lap or on the bench next to me. That didn't last long. "Down." No, I told him, you can either sit with me or sit here on the bench. Small whining episode ensued. I decided to pack up our lunch and take him home.

We weren't here long before we had to get Anna. She was happy to see me when I picked her up. A couple hours later, she was howling that she wanted her Mommy and Daddy home RIGHT NOW. She had 3 accidents (pee) tonight, one on my lap, thank you very much, and threw a really nice tantrum at dinner. I repeated all the phrases I've heard Jenn and Anthony tell her, and told her to go to her room if she was going to continue. She refused to budge, so I carried her to her room and shut the door. Howling ensued. I swear, if she knew how, she would have been cussing out her Auntie Emily.

Neither one of them ate much for dinner, and I'm concerned now that I didn't get enough of each of the food groups in them. I did manage to bathe and get them into bed pretty close to the plan. And as I was reading Anna her bedtime story, she alerted me that two of the chickens were out in the yard. Yes, my sister the vet has a dog, a cat and 5 chickens that I'm also taking care of. I had to chase the chickens around, grab them and put them back in their coop. They squeal like pigs when you pick them up.

Janet said I did ok because I kept the kids safe. They are still each in one piece. Tomorrow, my cousin Beverly (15) comes to help me out. Thank God for Beverly.

Another one bites the dust

Bart called me this week and was very supportive about my frustration with my work. I talked to him again on Saturday. Both times we had easy conversation and talked for quite a while.

Then, as I was walking into my favorite neighborhood club on Saturday, he was walking out. We stopped and talked, and he said, "I don't know if you noticed, but I've kinda been pulling away from you." I stifled a laugh and told him no, I hadn't noticed. (We'd only had one date, and I'd talked to him twice on the phone that week. I wonder what it would have been like if he wasn't "pulling away"?)

Anyway, he said it worried him that I had said I was a little freaked out when he told me he wanted to get married in a year. (He was also going on and on about how this could be the beginning of a great relationship...) He said the last girl he dated said she was freaked out and turned out to be emotionally unavailable. He also expressed concern that I had mentioned depression. I told him point-blank that I am an honest, straightforward person. I've been treating depression since '96, and as that's not something I can change, if he had a problem with it, he could walk.

He seemed surprised that I was so matter-of-fact and not at all upset. He said he was leaving because the band wasn't very good. (I could hear from the doorway that they were playing a great song, and I was trying not to move to the music.) I can't remember how we left it exactly, but I don't think I'll be anxious to pick up the phone if I see he's calling.