gift ideas

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Sick Kid, Craft Project, and Another Garbage Disposal Incident

Carla got sick this past Saturday afternoon, right before her beloved grandmother was set to arrive. Fever around 103, achy body (why doesn’t the word “achy” have an e in it????), headache, sore throat, the whole thing. She woke up in a panic at midnight, sure she was going to throw up. (Tell it to the toilet, Carla, do not run into my room to alert me in advance!) She did not throw up, but she did lie on a makeshift bed in her bathroom for an hour, and then finally moved to her bed around 2:00. She was unable to take Tylenol because it made her stomach “feel weird,” so she just lay there until eventually she fell asleep. (I couldn’t sleep, of course, with Possible Imminent Barfing. I went to check on her around 4:00 and she was lying on her back, very still, and I thought she was asleep but then she waved at me. Sigh. Poor child.)

The next day, fever. (Which is, perhaps, why I was able to be awake by myself to write a blog post? After being awakened by a vomit alert, it is very hard to fall back to sleep. Also I was deep in denial on Sunday morning that this was a 24-hour bug.) Sore throat. Movies and TV and popsicles. No grandmother. No special dinner at her favorite restaurant. 

Monday, still fever. No appetite. No energy. No school. I posted my Dinners This Week intentions even though I only finally made it to the grocery store yesterday. She continued to test negative for Covid, but I called the pediatrician and learned that he likes to see a child who’s had a fever for three consecutive days. So we went in. He was SURE it was strep but the rapid test was negative. (This is all sounding extremely familiar; I swear we went through this entire rigamarole just a few weeks ago, although there was vomit that time, so this was an improvement.) 

Tuesday, her fever was very low. In fact, it was so low that it might not have existed. When our thermometer said she had a fever of 100.6, the pediatrician’s thermometer said it was 99.3. Low enough for her to go to school Wednesday???? Hard to say. But not low enough for her grandmother to feel comfortable staying at our house, so it seemed pretty wishy washy to allow school. I don’t know. PCR test for strep was negative. Still a negative Covid test. 

Her doctor acknowledged it could be flu, but usually kids with flu were “much more miserable.” She has had very low energy, which is significant for my go-go-go high energy child. But he’s the expert. He said strep is extremely prevalent in the community right now – “the diagnosis of the day,” he said – but also suggested adenovirus, which sounds to my inexpert ears like a fancy way of calling it “just a cold.” She was able to go back to school on Wednesday, and you have never seen a kid happier to be going to school. She woke up promptly, ate nothing (I forced her to eat a small amount of ice cream, just to get some fat/calories into her), and was cheerful and singing all the way to school. I am so glad she is feeling better (although as of this morning, her appetite remains very slim).

But I admit, it was kind of nice to be together. We made the best of our forced period of restfulness. I did lots of laundry. I addressed and stamped our holiday cards and put them in the mail. I wrapped some presents. (My office is turning into Box Central, but I suppose it is only temporary.) I cleaned Carla’s craft area in the basement; she didn’t want to help me, which meant that I had carte blanche to throw away anything and everything I wanted to. This reminds me that I never showed you the After of the craft area we created in the basement last winter. Is that something you would be interested in seeing?   

While we were at home together, Carla and I worked on a (very expensive) craft project. She is making hand-decorated drinkware for her family members. They are turning out SO well. (But seriously, until you make like, 50 mugs, the cost per mug is astronomical.)

We are using her Cricut to print vinyl objects (hearts, stars, bears) and words, and then we are affixing everything to the mugs with dishwasher-safe Mod Podge.

The recipients’ names are on the backs of the mugs. They have to “cure” for 28 days, which we did not know at the beginning of the project. So we printed out little labels to alert the recipients not to get them wet until the 28-day deadline. Into some of them, depending on the recipient’s other gifts, we are tucking hot chocolate bombs and/or Starbucks gift cards.

Part of the process involves dumping swirls of nail polish into a tray of water and then dipping a ceramic mug into it. The polish adheres to the mug and it looks so lovely and marbley and gorgeous. And every single mug is unique and special.

Apparently, if you turn a bottle of nail polish upside down to dump its contents into a tray of water, the ball bearings that are inside to mix the polish come out, too. I was pretty glad I noticed that because I’d been pouring the pans of water into the sink after each dip (and after using a paper towel to remove any excess polish). 

Only after I dumped out an entire tray of inedible Trader Joe’s microwave salmon did I discover that I had not, in fact, noticed the ball bearings in time. I did not want to chance breaking my disposal after the last incident!

At least I knew the cause of the horrendous crunching noise my disposal made. I used – what the heck are they called? pinchers? tweezers? oh right! tongs! – tongs to remove the remnants of salmon and spinach and very poorly textured orzo from the disposal. But the tongs were too bulky to pull out the ball bearings. And no way in any universe am I sticking my hand down my garbage disposal. No. Way. 

Carla does, however, have an ancient magnet set. My First Magnets or something. Why we still have it, I do not know… but I’m grateful. I requested that she find me her most powerful magnet – she was of course happy to comply – and used it to fish out the two ball bearings. The disposal works once again. And now Carla knows a) mistakes happen and b) creative thinking is the key to a smoothly running life (and disposal). 

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Tuesday Randomosity: Bugs and Holiday Frets

Well, I am sitting here waiting for the exterminator to come do our quarterly bug roundup (I like to picture him ushering a bunch of creepy-crawlies down the stairs and out into the street and off into some buggy wonderland, Pied Piper style), and I neither feel like emptying the dishwasher nor trying to plan our meals for the week, so randomosity it is!

  • Speaking of our bug guy: I am mad at our pest control service. They are constantly bothering us to sign up for this quarterly “deal,” wherein you get a discount per service. And my husband and I had figured that we were calling the pest control on an as-needed basis about three times per year, so the math didn’t work out for us to do the quarterly plan. But, for some reason, we decided to sign up the last time they made their sales pitch. I don’t remember why, but it must have involved math. ANYWAY, we signed up in June, for the quarterly plan. They sent the bug guy, invoiced us… And the amount was DOUBLE what he’d quoted me. I emailed him back and said, “I thought the quarterly plan cost $X. Or is this invoice for the entire year in advance?” And he CALLED ME. I could not answer at the time, so emailed him back, reiterated my question, and said that email is much better than calling. He called me AGAIN. I remember I picked up the phone because I was waiting for another call, but there was some incredibly stressful thing going on, and he was being super confusing and not answering my questions directly, so I started frustration-crying on the phone. It was awful. The upshoot was that he didn’t want to submit a specific quote in writing, because “their rates change based on unpredictable factors.” *Picture me right now, sitting at my desk, blinking slowly and taking multiple deep breaths.* Anyway, because I cried at him, he emailed me this: “as discussed on the phone. The current charge is your initial charge with a discounted rate. 3 months after your initial treatment we offer a discounted quarterly rate ~$X + tax on a regular quarterly basis.” Which, I have to say, STILL MAKES NO SENSE. Does that mean that the quarterly discount only kicks in… later??? And also, I want to know what we are going to pay, every quarter!!!!! “~$X” is not specific enough!!!!! I immediately started asking my neighbors who they use, even though we have used this particular service multiple times per year for over a decade. The only reason I have decided not to switch services is that I adore the man who does the actual spraying of the bugs. He is a lovely, kind, gentle man who asks about my kid and is always super flexible about timing and is very efficient. He is the kind of guy you could call to come over IMMEDIATELY and take care of any issue. Plus, he is getting up there, age-wise, and I just picture us canceling our service and him being out of a job. (This is ridiculous; they have other customers.) So we are, for now, keeping our service. But I am STILL MAD. In fact, I feel riled up enough that I am once again thinking of finding a new service. EDITED TO ADD: I asked our bug guy if he knew what today’s appointment was going to cost me, and he said he didn’t; he leaves that to the other guy, who will send me an invoice. So I still have no idea how much it cost. I DO NOT LIKE THIS.
  • It is a good time for the bug guy to come, because it is Spider Season. And I know that spiders are good and lovely and take care of other bugs, but during this time of year they get very bold and decide to break the Spider Covenant of out of sight, out of mind. Do they think they add to the Halloween ambiance? There was a spider in Carla’s room the other day, and she came shrieking into the living room to have one of us rescue her from its clutches, but then my husband couldn’t locate the spider to remove it. (I would have squished it. Am mean.) Carla KNOWS that the spider is still there, probably on her bed, maybe building a little web inside her pillowcase. She does not believe us that the spider has likely moved on. She has been sleeping in our room ever since.
  • Oh, speaking of stupid things that make no sense (yes, I am still exercised about the bug service situation): Do you remember I told you, a long while ago, about this absolutely RIDICULOUS bank situation? In short (or, as short as I can very wordily go), we have a loan through a bank, and the bank is holding a big chunk of our money as collateral against the loan. This bank has a policy stating that you (we) need to add some nominal amount of money to the account annually, or you (we) are charged an inactive fee. Even though I don’t WANT to add money, not even $5, to that account because we cannot touch it until the loan is paid. And even though I don’t have any sort of bank card that would allow me to do so without going, in person, to the bank. And even though the bank is nowhere near my house or any place I ever go. So every year I get a statement charging us an inactive fee, and every year I call the bank and ask them to remove it, and they give me a spiel about how easy it would be to avoid the fee, just by making a single annual transaction! And how it could just be $5! And how they have all these branches! (None nearer than a 30 minute drive.) I persist, getting louder and more strident, and finally they agree to remove the fee, and I ask that they make a note for next year, and they say they can’t. Remember when I whined at great length about that? Well! Last year, we got a statement that showed the inactive fee… and then showed an instant refund!!!! I did not have to call! SOMEONE MADE A NOTE! That is my hope, at least. I suppose it could have been a Pandemic Nicety. Anyway, I’m waiting for the statement to show up this year, just to see what happens. I know you are on the edge of your seat.
  • I got myself a jump rope. Carla has one and it seems fun. Plus, it reminds me of middle school gym class, and how Jump Rope for Heart! was a big health movement back then. It IS good exercise, I think. I don’t know for sure because I have yet to try it. I’m… nervous? Afraid of hitting myself in the face? Or… enduring excessive boob-flop pain? Or… having a heart attack? I don’t know. Also, I am pretty sure this is an Outdoor Activity, so that’s another hurdle. The jump rope is currently on the floor of my office. Do you jump rope? And if so, how do I begin my jump rope journey? Perhaps I shall begin by taking it with me to Goodwill and leaving it there?
  • Listen, I KNOW it’s only October, but I also know that you are aware – as are we all – that shipping and supply chain issues are causing delays and snarl-ups all over the place. So I am thinking about Christmas. Fretting is a more accurate word than thinking, except there is also a lot of inertia because it is sooooo far away and I am just coming out of a four-family-members-have-birthdays period over the last six weeks, with the fifth still to come. I persuaded my husband to order a couple of things for Carla already (thank you, Target, for having a “buy $50 in toys, get $10” promotion at the exact right time). (We got her a carnotaurus and an LOL OMG doll that she requested.) But literally no one else in my family is thinking about the holidays right now, except maybe my parents whom I have already bothered on the topic. And lord knows WHAT I will get my husband; I just had to buy presents for his birthday and it was rough. I ended up buying him a couple of things I’d purchased previously, that’s how out of ideas I am. Well. At least Santa Claus will have something to deliver to Carla. If the rest of us get nothing, that’s fine. We need nothing anyway.
  • This Christmas situation illuminates one of the Major Differences between my family of origin and my husband’s. I emailed my mom and asked her to start thinking about Christmas, and she happily complied. In fact, I had received an email previously from my dad, asking what we want to eat for Christmas dinner. They are Plan Ahead People. They have everything planned out for the next… nine months, I’d say. While I am not (always) that much of a planner, I do prefer to know what’s coming down the pike. My in-laws, on the other hand, are Spontaneous People. (This is why I end up wrapping so many gifts that they send us at the last minute grumble grumble.) They are also Christmas List People, who prefer that we all submit and choose from a list of specific items. (My parents are Money Gifters, who then also usually wrap something small to accompany the money.) My in-laws also live in a different state, so we have to ship all gifts to them. (And I prefer to buy them and wrap them before shipping them.) This is a bad combination, even in years without shipping and supply chain issues (not to mention all the health issues that are obviously and justifiably requiring significant attention). But this year it may be that everyone gets a Suzanne Hopes You Will Like This But Maybe You Won’t present.
  • Do you have a go-to gift that you send to people who have everything/people who are difficult to shop for? There has to be a Good General Gift that most people enjoy, right? Except I can’t think of one, outside of consumables like chocolate/wine/cheese.
  • And also, what would YOU, personally, like to receive as a gift? Like, right now, what is the thing that you are coveting most? For me, it is a citrus squeezer. Mine broke, and I use a citrus squeezer ALL the time, so I have been mourning its loss near-daily. Okay, after writing that, I just ordered one – it’s stainless steel, so the paint won’t wear off and it’s dishwasher safe! It will arrive on Friday. SORRY, PEOPLE WHO BUY ME GIFTS.
  • I really, reallllllllly wish that we could alllll agree that we are grown ups and do not need gifts anymore. Seriously. We can get the kids presents, if we want, but no one else needs anything. I just don’t know how to broach that topic. Like, it seems like one thing to say, “I would like you to stop buying me gifts; I have everything I need” but a whole different thing to say, “I would like to stop purchasing gifts for you.” Yeah. Makes me sound like a dick. *Resigned sigh of gift anxiety forever and ever amen.* 
  • At least I don’t have to worry about Thanksgiving! My in-laws are hosting Thanksgiving at their house, in a different state, despite the fact that it is their year with us, and despite the fact that my husband and I established nearly a decade ago that we will not travel on holidays, and despite the fact that there is still an ongoing global pandemic that makes travel – especially crowded holiday travel – unideal. (And lest you think I am being heartless, they made these plans before all the health turmoil.) (I am still being a little heartless, but the whole thing irks me.) So! It will just be the three of us, here at home! My IDEAL! I suspect I will still need to make turkey and stuffing, since my husband likes those things. (Bleh.) I can probably get away with a small turkey breast, though, which will be nice. And I am delighted that I get to make a big vat of garlic goat cheese mashed potatoes to slowly coat myself in.
  • OMG I usually tip our bug guy but I FORGOT to get tip money and had none. He said goodbye at the front door, but then his shoes were at the back door, so we trekked through the kitchen, saying things like “keep safe!” and “see you next quarter!” But then at the back door, I had to wait as he put on his shoes and tied them and tried to make small talk about the weather while I was very blatantly NOT giving him a tip. And then he got his shoes on and walked through the garage and reminded me to close the garage door and we must have said goodbye/take care to each other at least four times all while I was not giving him a tip OMG it was so awkward. I hope he knows I will get him next time.

That’s it from me, Internet. After that grueling interaction, not to mention the anticipation thereof, I need to lie down for the rest of the day. (Kidding. Mainly.)