A list of loose ends

• Genoa and I both woke up with crusty eyes this morning.  FUN!  I swear we haven't spent a single day in good health in over a month.  Apparently, the incubation period on pink eye is pretty long.  It took Dave six days to catch it from Alex and then it took Genoa and I ten days to catch it from Dave.  I immediately started us on the antibiotic eye goop, but this means we have to cancel our play date, which I already canceled once before because I was sick.  Alex is SO disappointed.
• Also?  My cousin had a baby TWO WEEKS AGO and I STILL haven't gotten to lay my grubby mitts on her!  By the time my family is healthy enough to be around a newborn, she won't even be a newborn anymore!  Gah!
• On Monday, after having her wallet stolen and then waiting in line for two hours in the early/sun-ain't-up-yet morning to register for preschool, I treated my friend Tana and her kids to a romp at Cafe Sip 'N Play.  We were having fun chatting and playing with the kids when Austen, her baby, climbed up and then fell off the slide.  It was one of those little plastic play structures and he didn't fall more than two feet or so.  I saw it happen and rushed to pick him up and he was a bit more fussy than usual, but we didn't think anything of it.  Later on when he didn't stop fussing, Tana took him to the ER and found out that he broke his arm!  I feel horrible.  Poor Tana!  I'm sending all my good thoughts her way.
• So the $6,000 in closing costs wasn't as far off as I thought.  For whatever reason, they had us paying interest on our current loan from February through the middle of March, even though I've already made the February payment.  They also included a semi-annual property tax payment that I hadn't expected.  Most of this will end up coming back to us after the close of escrow, so we went ahead with it.  Only hindsight will be 20/20, but I'm pretty sure it was the right thing to do.
• I got the word from Alex's school and we can pull him out at the end of this month after all.  I'm totally conflicted about this, but I know it's the right thing to do.  More of my kvetching about it is over at the Mom Street Journal.
• Also at MSJ is a post about my New Budgeting Plan.  Go read it if you're interested.  Mainly it involves shopping for food only once a week and avoiding Target as much as possible.  Also?  Not spending money after we've already spent our budgeted amounts! 
• Alex is TOTALLY on the verge of reading.  I'm so excited about it.  One of our disappointments with his current school is that Montessori has this big CHILD-LED progress policy.  So if Alex doesn't want to sit down and get touchy-feely with the sandpaper letters, he doesn't have to.  He gets to chose.  And he always choses to wash the dishes or practice grating nutmeg instead of learning to read.   Anyway, I'll have five months home with him to encourage it and I'm really looking forward to it.  Green Eggs and Ham here we come! (That was the first book I ever read cover to cover and I still remember how proud I was).
• Last week, I accurately predicted which two guys would go home on American Idol (because I'm not a rock star for nothing!).  This week, I'm less sure.  The performances were all pretty good.  Standouts were David Hernandez and David Cook and not just because I'm partial to men named David.  If it were up to me, we'd lose Chikezie (no last name?!) and Luke Menard (would it kill him to shave?!), with Danny Noriega coming in close to the bottom.  He has a decent voice, but everything he sings is far too campy for me.
• Carol is in the throws of moving as we speak.  She's driving up on Saturday!

Comments

[Amber]

I'm sorry you guys have been sick after sick after sick, but THANK YOU for looking out for Sabrina's health.

[Jenn]

Just a note from a child development standpoint: it's absolutely appropriate for his stage of development that Alex be allowed to make those choices. If he IS on the verge of reading, choosing not to work with letters/books/writing will not stunt his growth in that area. It's the best thing for his overall development academically that he be able to make those choices and have them respected. I totally understand your enthusiasm as a mom :), but just proceed with caution. He will come to it.

[Scissorbill]

Cash in envelopes can accomplish all of your budgeting goals, it's impossible to spend what you don't have with cash. I'm very very close to cutting up my last credit card.

[Lisa]

The best gift my son ever got was the Hooked on Phonics kindergarten set from his grandparents. It has flashcards with corresponding CD's for learning letters and letter sounds. It has a ton of books, short and easy to read. And it has a great computer game my son loves. Whenever you close the game, it tells you how many words your child can read. Very cool.
It sounds like Alex would be ready for this set, so I would skip the preschool one.
Educational play is so fun, and important! Congrats on stimulating your kids and expanding their knowledge!

[Jennifer]

"Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go NOW!" was the first book I could read cover to cover. Yes, I was proud. Yes, I still love the book. Dr. Seuss was the cat's meow in my book!