This is a clip straight out of my life (Thanks Johnny!):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkp4QF3we8&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

But it jives perfectly with the topic(s) of this post. I woke up this morning feeling much better but I think I may have overestimated my level of recovery. As good as it felt to be up and outside in the fresh air, I felt a little woozy, and ended up taking a long nap this afternoon. I woke up with my throat on fire again and feeling a little flushed. What’s my temp? I wish I knew.

I am a HUGE fan of order. I REALLY like to know where certain things are. I used to know where each and every thing I owned was (no lie), but I had to loosen my grip when Ben entered my life. As each kid came along it got looser until now I’m pretty happy if I know the location of my keys, wallet, computer, camera, phone, daily prescription medication (no, it’s not Prozac), toothbrush, my personal multi-tool set (inscribed, “Seriously, Do Not Touch.”) and the thermometer. Everything else I can pretty much work around, but I need to know where those things are. It’s scary how often those items go missing and how much time I spend looking for them.

Predictably, now that I feel flushed and Norah’s cheeks are pink and she’s complaining of being cold, the thermometer is gone. We’ve looked everywhere and Ben is headed to Target to buy a new one and stock up on Children’s Motrin. I hate re-buying something I already own!!! Whatever. I’m over it.  That’s a tip though…Motrin helps a lot with the flu symptoms. 

So on to the other topic of this post – Hulu.com. I heard about it a while back but I have been so overloaded with STUFF TO DO that I have not watched ANY TV for months. NONE. Now that I’m beyond the worst part of the flu but still prone to spending hours in bed, Johnny’s clip reminded me to go check it out. I’ve been catching up on all of my favorite shows and I now realize how much I missed my old friends from Seattle Grace and Wisteria Lane.

And today I found a new ABC show on Hulu that’s right up my alley since I like to sob through entire TV shows – Find My Family.  You can watch the first episode here (get the tissues):  http://www.hulu.com/find-my-family.  I think the “family tree” on the majestic hillside is a little hokey, but I’m a sucker for reunions so I can look past the tree.      

If you haven’t had enough swine flu information yet, here’s a personal account that’s very accurate:  http://hubpages.com/hub/H1N1-Swine-Flu—a-personal-account.

At least, that’s what I’m assuming has kept me in bed for the last 4 days.  I started with a slight sore throat on Tuesday, and I took some Airborne to try to knock it out before it turned into something.  Wednesday I still had the sore throat and I had to lay down in the afternoon.  I thought the fatigue was a result of the morning’s session at Portrait Simple, but apparently not.  Ben went all the way to Newton to get me some Pho, which is so delicious and also good for cold/flu symptoms, but it didn’t work its magic this time.  That night I had an extremely sore throat, a slight fever, a bad headache and backache, and post nasal drip which kept me up all night.  I never have trouble sleeping but I swear I didn’t sleep for more than a few minutes at a stretch.   

Thank God we weren’t hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I just had to give Ben instructions on making rum cake and send everyone over to Lana and Larry’s for the afternoon.  I’m really disappointed that I missed it, but at the time I was just very relieved to have a few hours of quiet.  Throughout my illness, it seemed like every time I got comfortable or fell asleep, someone would burst in with an emergency like “ADLANI ATE THE LAST DONUT!” or “I CAN’T FIND THE HEAD OF MY LEGO POWER MINER!”  Lana sent home a giant platter of food for me but I could only get some tomato soup down.  I don’t remember ever having such a sore throat in my life.

Friday was supposed to begin my 3-day weekend of painting, but that didn’t happen.  I don’t even remember Friday, honestly.  By the end of the day I was able to take a shower and watch all of the episodes of the Amazing Race online, but that’s about all I could handle.  I think I ate some ice cream.   

Today I am much better – just a bit of a sore throat and headache.  Ben made me a smoothee for breakfast and I was able to do some Christmas shopping online.  I’m really bummed that I will miss a Girls’ Night Out tonight, but I’m not back to 100% and I don’t want to infect anyone.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the kids don’t get it because IT SUCKS!  On the bright side, 4 days of not using my arm has really helped with my shoulder pain, and I think I lost a few pounds.  yay.     

I think I need to go back on bus duty so the bus driver doesn’t have a chance to chat with Ben.  It’s not that I hide things from Ben [all the time], but I think I have a better way of phrasing things so he doesn’t overreact.

Today’s bus report was actually about Aliya.  Shocking, but true.  The bus driver told Ben that there was some discussion about a belly button between Aliya and a very nice 5th grade boy, I’ll call him “Fabio.”  I’m not sure how the belly button conversation began, but Aliya said that Fabio had a big belly button and someone asked how she knew and she said that she had touched it.

First of all, belly buttons are technically not in the much-discussed *private area.*  Second, Aliya demonstrated how she had poked Fabio in the belly, with his shirt down and covering said belly button.  Third, Fabio is a REALLY NICE BOY.  He’s a 5th Grade Helper, for crying out loud.  The last time I saw him at his bus stop around the corner, he was wearing a flourescent orange bus patrol sash!

So the bus driver told Ben that she was going to have to tell Fabio’s parents about the incident.  Ben has now instructed Aliya that she’s not to sit with any boys, play with any boys at recess, look at any boys, and especially not to touch any boys’ belly buttons.  Am I crazy or is this ridiculous?!?  I mean, just because she gave Fabio a Pillsbury Dough Boy poke in the belly, does that mean that she’ll be forever on a quest for the most poke-able belly button, unable to resist the urge to poke?

Or maybe she’ll become obsessed with her own belly button, and incorporate it into body art, and then wear revealing clothing to show it off.  COME ON PEOPLE!  IT’S A BELLY BUTTON!  Since when did poking one become a reportable offense??  Is this going on her permanent record??

A couple of weeks ago when I had my teeth cleaned, my dentist’s insurance lady/business development manager mentioned that I had benefits left and suggested that I get started on one of the last two crowns I need (for now).  I made an appointment for mid-December so I had plenty of time to prepare myself for one of my least favorite tasks.  Last Friday the same insurance/business development lady called to say that since the insurance companies go by the “insertion date” (sounds more fun than it is, believe me), I should get the crown started sooner so it would be done by the end of the year.  She happened to have an opening today, giving me only 2 days to obsess about it.

I spent 2 1/2 hours in the dentist’s chair today with Dr. Arora and her helpers.  The crown is on my back left bottom molar, so it was really hard for her to get in there and not slice my cheek open with the drill.  At one point they had so many instruments in my mouth – two mirrors pulling my cheek out, two of those flat things to protect my flesh, Mr. Thirsty, both of Dr. A’s hands and half of her nose, the rubber thing you bite on to keep your mouth open, and a drill, I started to laugh.  I was really afraid that I was going to head off into hysteria, as I’ve been known to do.

As crowns go, this was a bad one.  The tooth had such a large filling that it ended up below my gumline by the time she cut off the remaining tooth and the filling.  At one point, Helper-Adam told me to “open,” and then said, “Oh boy!  Give me Mr. Thirsty!”  Considering that I have fainted at the sight of blood before, that kind of reaction makes me a little uncomfortable.

I survived, although it was one of the most uncomfortable dental experiences I’ve had.  My jaw is really sore so hopefully Dr. Gensler can prod it back into shape when I go tomorrow for my spinal tune-up.
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Before I begin, let me state for the record that I have Aliya’s permission to publish the following, since I don’t think any moms of the boys on the list read this blog.  If you have kids that go to our school, Aliya requests that you not draw their attention to this entry.

So, last week at an evening event for school, I noticed that Aliya was hanging out with a certain boy with the initials JCO.  After the event she mentioned that he looks a lot like a boy she has had a crush on since she was 4 years old and they were on the same YMCA soccer team – J.A.  She was going on about J.C.O. so I asked if she liked him now, instead of J.A.  She thought for a moment and then proclaimed, “He’s ON my list!”

“The List” is entitled, “boy’s I have a crush on,” and includes 13 names.  #12 has an added notation that he’s in 5th grade!  Apparently the Drama Club is the place to meet *older boys*.  Some of the names have Xs next to them but they’re in pencil so they can be removed and rewritten as needed.

Tonight Aliya brought me a note that she wrote to J.A. (J.C.O. currently has an X), and she asked for my advice.  The note says, “Dear J**** I now I have always acted like I heat you but the trooth is I have a big crush on you.  And I keep hearing from diferent peaple that you told them you have a crush on me.  So pleas dont get mad and crumple the paper just tell me if you realy do like me.”

Awwwww…

My advice was a) she should rewrite the note so it’s not so messy, and b) I wouldn’t reveal my crush upfront.  When she was agonizing about whether to give him the note or not, and how she was going to catch him alone as he came out of the boys’ bathroom, I said, “Why don’t I just write him a note?”  I meant it as an incentive for her to stop dilly-dallying and either do it or don’t.

Well, she thought it was a pretty good idea!  She said to make sure I include her full name since there are other Aliyas at other schools, and that I should say “from Lori G / Aliya’s mother,” not “Love, Lori” (my trademark signature since junior high).

I don’t think she has made the final decision on what her plan is going to be, but I’m glad she hasn’t reached the age of parental disdain because then I wouldn’t have this picture for posterity.  I just love how she decorated the envelope with math problems!