I Made A List...Cookies?

I made a grocery list.

I never make lists. But this time, I made one.

Ari and Samara held hands when we walked down the street on the way to Trader Joe's, because I bribed them with cookies. But still, they did it.

When we got home, I asked Ari to help me put the groceries away to which he replied:

But then I said, if he helped me, after he ate lunch he could have MORE cookies. So he put 50 percent of the groceries away.

After we ate lunch he washed all the dishes (with assistance from me)  in the hopes of getting more cookies. Samara got up on chair and splashed hot soapy water all over his shirt and mine in an attempt to "help."

It turns out, she had consumed enough cookies and it was time for her to nap. She screamed in protest all the 12 feet from the kitchen to her crib "I want that!"

I just ate three Trader Joe's Oreo imitation cookies. They were really good. I would do the dishes for them.

Are You Kidding? Shiitake Mushroom Rash!

I'm used to having strange ailments, but this one belongs at the top of the list of "Weird things that have happened to me."

Yesterday the kids had already eaten dinner, so I made myself an exotic dinner consisting of catfish and mushrooms with soy sauce, canola oil and garlic. I thought I was so creative.

Later that evening, I noticed a strange rash on my stomach. A while later, the rash spread to my neck. 

I ignored the rash, thinking it was just a reaction to a new laundry detergent. 

However, the next day the rash had spread to my legs and back. 

Naturally, I did what you should NOT do under any circumstances; I consulted the internet. The internet thought it might be scabies, or perhaps shingles. Either way, it wasn't looking good for me.

I even had my soul sister Donna researching what on earth this rash could be. I was texting her pictures like this one:

I thought I'd better make an appointment to see my dermatologist. 

Today, I went to the dermatologist. My mom came along for moral support.

The medical assistant asked me a series of questions. One of them was: 

Did you eat anything unusual?

Well, I had some shiitake mushrooms. I've never eaten those before.

My dermatologist entered the room, took one look at my rash and smiled.

"This is a classic textbook case of flagellate dermatitis! It's incredibly rare and it's only caused by two things, one of them is shiitake mushrooms! Would you mind if I took some pictures of your rash for teaching purposes?"

"Go for it!" I said without hesitation. 

 "I almost want to quiz my residents to see if they know what this is." She said with a smirk.

"Why not? Send them in!" I proclaimed.

So the residents piled into the exam room asking me questions to try to figure out what caused the rash.

*This picture was taken by Elizabeth Fader while she was laughing hysterically and saying "only you!"

Here's what they were looking at up close:

Well, that was fun! If I see a shiitake mushroom in a dark alley, I'm running the other direction. 

Oh Sure! Come Over! Excuse Me While I Have A Panic Attack

I did it.
I invited Ari's friend from school over to my house.
But wait! That's the end of the story.
It began like this:
On Friday, we were leaving school.
Ari had been telling me he wanted to have a play date with a girl from his class. I saw the girl's babysitter, who speaks another language. I wrote the babysitter a note that said:

"Hi Little Girl's Mom,
This is Sarah, Ari's mom.
Would you like to come over for a play date at our house?
Here's my number ***-***-****!"

The babysitter smiled politely and took the note.
"I gave a note to your babysitter asking your mommy if you would like to come over to our house!" I said to Ari's friend. "Do you wanna have a play date at our house?" I asked her.

"Yes!" She exclaimed.
Little Girl and Ari laughed and jumped up and down together.

I got a text message the next day:
Hi Sarah,
This is Little Girl's Mom! We would love to come over for a play date. We're busy today, but how about tomorrow?

I sent her a message back.

Sure! Sounds great!

Then it occurred to me that my house was dirty.
 I had a panic attack.
"What are we going to do?!" I moaned to Wil. "Little Girl and her parents are coming over tomorrow and the house is so dirty."
"Don't worry babe!" Wil said "I'll clean."
Wil cleaned the living room and the kitchen, and I cleaned the bathroom.
"They can't come over! Look at the kid's room!" I exclaimed.
The kid's room was a mess. I panicked. Little Girl and her family would think we were slobs! But it was overwhelming! There was so much to clean!

I picked up a toy police truck and put it in the blue fabric bin.
I picked up a green polka dot ball and put in a container.
The more things I picked up, the easier it became, and all of a sudden I was cleaning.
"Ari, pick up all the cards from the floor."
"I don't want to!"
"Do you want Little Girl to come over tomorrow?"
"Yes!"
"Then you have to clean up!"

I kept reminding Ari that his friend was coming over every time he got distracted and (for the most part) he helped me clean. Meanwhile, Samara loomed in the background, took toys out of their bins and threw them on the floor. Thankfully, Ari ran after her  saying "No Samara," confiscated the toys and put them back where they belonged.

The house was clean! I couldn't believe it.
As I was falling asleep that night I thought What are they going to eat?! I thought and thought and then it came to me. Bagels! Everyone likes bagels right?

So first thing in the morning, I hurried the kids into their clothes and out the door. I zoomed the double stroller out the door and into the Bagel store. I got a dozen bagels and cream cheese. We back home with the bagels so I could start a pot of coffee.

Little Girl and her parents arrived. I was relieved. The house looked reasonably clean (and not like a bomb hit it) and there was food to eat!

The kids had a fun play date and I got to have actual adult conversation.

The most important part of this day for me were the events leading up to it. I was anxious about having people come over to my house and see it for the first time. But I pushed through that anxiety, and I took the steps to make a play date happen for my kid.