Frosty the Electrician

Recently we have had this annoying little problem.  Water has been dripping from our freezer down into our refrigerator, and creating little puddles on shelves and inside bins.  It's even more entertaining when it refreezes and we have to chip ice off things.  Some foods don't like being in puddles, and spoil more quickly.  For instance, cucumbers get all mushy and gross.  Bleah.

Tonight, hubby took all of the food out of the freezer, with help from Son #2, to see whether he could find the drainage tube and see what was going on.  Sure enough, it was frozen solid.  He had the boy bring the hair dryer out of the bathroom to try to heat the tube...not good enough.  Finally they brought up the vacuum cleaner (we have a central vacuum system, which my friend T calls a 30 foot anaconda) and that did the trick.  We're going to see what happens over the next day or so.  No idea how old this fridge/freezer combo is; it was here almost nine years ago when we bought the house.  Wish us luck.

Enjoy the photos.  Note that the electrician does not have plumber's crack, or even electrician's crack.   :-)

World Before Swine

My seven year old was all excited because he was supposed to go to Schneider Children's Hospital for a health fair tomorrow (second grade trip).  This is the place that receives the afghans that Mommy and her friends at work make; they go to the children who receive treatments there, for cuddling and warmth.  But the trip was cancelled because some of the Long Island swine flu patients are being treated there.

A high school chum is coming in from Tucson to spend a few days here, including a lovely dinner with a dozen or so classmates on Saturday.  She's being warned by some people that maybe it isn't a good idea, but luckily she is in the health care industry and receives to-the-minute CDC info -- so can make her own informed decision.  However, I thought she had a good point with a comment she made yesterday:  she was just as afraid to venture into her local Wal-Mart.  

When my kids were in day care (through preschool age) they used to get all the germs because the kids were always in close quarters with bodily fluids mixing.  I guess some of the high school students are now at the age where they are again in the habit of being in close quarters with bodily fluids mixing...my oldest is not yet thirteen and girls are still yucky so I suppose we're safe as far as that goes.  

I have reminded the kids to stay away from anyone who is coughing, sneezing, or looks very pale or feverish...and to wash their own hands more often.  Apart from this, we're not at the point where we should put our lives on hold because of the swine flu.  At least I hope we aren't.

Aaaah...Spring!

Friday night I was out late with my best bud from childhood, her beau, and another childhood bud of ours...not like me at all to roll in at 12:30AM.  Last night I was out 'til 11:30 because the kids and I saw their cousin in the Suffolk Community College adaptation of Julius Caesar (she played a conspirator...go figure...heh heh).  Another late night, uncharacteristically.  So today, after I made the kids lunch, what I really wanted to do was take a nap.  But then I thought...why waste the most beautiful day we have had on Long Island this season?  So instead of taking a nap, I decided to take a walk.

Son #2, who is trying to nurture his health plan, opted to skip the first part of the Ranger game and come along with me.  (This turned out to be a good decision since they didn't win.)  We walked all the way over to the golf course, and took the road that runs through the middle of it.   When we'd almost reached the far end of the course, my son wanted to take the underground tunnel to get to the other side, just because, so we did that.  On the way back, we met five horseback riders...does that process release endorphins?  They were all very friendly!  My son was excited too because he found two golf balls...one white, one pink.  

We took the long way home, around the other side of the neighborhood, staying out an hour and a half.  Even I felt slightly sweaty, which says something about the intensity of the sun.  I was pretty tired while preparing dinner (meatballs, garlic mashed potatoes, and a casserole of spinach, rice, and cheese which was a new recipe I'd seen in Newsday).  I feel OK now but I just know I'll crash hard later!  So worth it, though, and I'd like to wish my best pal (who returned to Baltimore yesterday) a very happy birthday.  Hugs!

Necessary Risks

Son #1 was required to sign up for Google Docs by his English teacher, which necessitated his having his own email address.  I cloned him one from our optonline account this morning, under the condition that his dad and I know the password so we can check on things from time to time.  Friends of ours who have older kids have recommended this, as it's worked for them, and I've also read articles and blogs on parenting that say the same thing.  The first email he sent from his new account was to Mom, and it said "bite me."  Sigh, off we go into the wild blue yonder.  

Whole Hearted

OK so I'm a week behind on my Newsday cryptoquotes...we don't get the paper regularly except on Sunday so what can I say?  This is from last Thursday, which was my mother's birthday.

"I don't do things half-heartedly.  Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results."

Michael Jordan

Being a linguistics geek, I loved it that this short quote used 23 of the 26 letters...and I don't play sports, so I can't exactly understand the full context for myself.  But I do identify with it in terms of my emotions.  I have sometimes been hurt by loving people with my whole heart, but I have also gained rich rewards and fine memories from deep relationships.  

The quote also reminds me of the lyrics of the oldie "All the Way."  Who knows where the road will lead us -- only a fool would say -- but if you'll let me love you, it's for sure I'm gonna love you all the way.

Economics, When You're Ten

I had about five minutes to sit and chill with the kids this morning before taking Son #3 to the before school care center.  Son #2 was next to me on the couch, watching the local news, and the Economy In Crisis segment began.  Within seconds, the questions began.

"What's a stock market?"

"What are layoffs?"

"Why are business owners cutting jobs?  Shouldn't they be putting more people back to work?  How can they be so mean?"

I started to answer some of this, but how much could I do in a few minutes?  And how do I make a ten year old understand, when I don't have the best global understanding myself?  When I first became a parent, I was petrified about whether I had the skills to take care of an infant 24/7.  I didn't even conceive of this.  Oh, man.

Living Dangerously

When kids get older (say, double digits) parties can't just be running around for a little while and eating pizza and ice cream.  They have to have some organized activity.  Last year Son #1 did laser tag, and the year before that he went to Hit Kingdom for some dodge ball and crab soccer...of course this was followed by pizza and ice cream.  Son #2 has done bowling and slot car racing.  This year we had to have something different, and we have his 11th birthday coming up in a few weeks.  He had seen an advertisement for an archery place in Hicksville, so we went to check it out.

Each kid gets about 15-20 minutes of instruction, with dedicated professionals, before the whole group is allowed to begin shooting arrows at the bull's eye targets from a distance of five feet.  They allow ages eight and up because experience shows that they can usually listen and maintain focus in a safety conscious way.  The owner of the place confided to me that they've never had an accident during a kid's party, but there's no reason to want ours to be the first.  A bonus:  the Carvel near the archery place makes cakes with bull's eye decorations, and they deliver.  So we booked it.

I commented about this in my Facebook status and got a whole slew of entertaining feedback.  Various friends wanted to know whether we would also be going to the rifle range or sky diving.  One was kind enough to send me a graphic of a kid with an arrow through his head.  Another tried to tell me that everything would be OK as long as I didn't have my son place an apple on top of his noggin, a la the legend of William Tell.  Yet another said she'd be very happy to accompany us bungee jumping, as long as there would indeed be pizza and cake afterwards.

The clincher came yesterday.  We were all in the living room with the TV on, and a commercial for the archery place aired.  Naturally, Son #2 was excited.  Guess what the very next commercial advertised?  A fencing academy.  My son's Cheshire Cat grin spread across his face.  My parting shot?  "I didn't hear them mention birthday parties."  Whew.