Labor Day Weekend

. . . not much a big deal around here.  Since we're in countdown mode for Micah's right ear (scar tissue revision) surgery, I made an appointment for him at Quest for his CBC.  The Jamesburg location was three miles closer than the one in Somerset, so even though it was uncharted territory, proximity won out.

The advantages of having blood drawn on the Saturday of a holiday weekend:  only one other patient at the lab.  We got checked in, Micah's blood was drawn and we were out of there in about fifteen minutes total.  The two phlebotomists were in, out and had the bandaid on Micah before he could say "I don't want a pinch!" (He asked me if this was like a shot and I told him it would be more like a pinch.)  Most of the whining seemed to be more for effect than actual pain.

Secondary gain from going to the Jamesburg Quest, it's nearby the Crate and Barrel Outlet.  I love that place, even just for looking around.

Following the 'pinch,' we had to make the obligatory pilgrimage to Target.  This was made more necessary due to the fact that Bunny Bear went missing earlier this week.  Really missing, not just misplaced and on a day where we made more than half dozen or more stops.  Problem solved by eBay, where there were vendors willing to sell their Bunny Bears for $30 (greedy mercenaries profiting from the suffering of others) to $99 (greedy b*st*rds with unreal expectations as to what a 12-inch polyester bear in a bunny suit is worth). 

There are variations of Bunny Bear on Amazon, but Micah's version is old school: the bear's bunny suit comes off, the newer versions the manufacturer (TY) cheaped out and made the suit part of the body, thus saving them 50 cents worth of fabric and labor costs.  The tale that we spun for Micah was that Bunny Bear went off to get a new bunny suit and would be coming home after he got his new outfit.  Thanks to package tracking from the USPS, I knew that as of Friday, the new Bunny Bear was in New Jersey, and by Saturday morning it was in Plainsboro.  What I didn't know was if it would actually be delivered.

So a decent bribe was needed to cover my  backside if the Postal Service failed me.  He picked out a stuff animal, a golden Labrador, who he named Lucky Bucky.  On the drive home from Target, Micah actually removed his bandage on his own - usually he whines about that almost as much as getting stuck.

His reward was the arrival of a small white plastic envelope which had his Bunny Bear.  The look of excitement and relief on his face was wonderful.  And no more midnight arrivals in our bed with the piteous announcement of "I miss sleeping with my Bunny Bear."

Thea starts school Tuesday; Micah has a short visit to his classroom on Tuesday, but this week is nothing but chaos as far as scheduling.  Micah's morning program at the Congregation Beth Chaim Preschool doesn't start until next week.  We still don't have a solid after school program for him:  the school district offers no aftercare for preschoolers, the Beth Chaim program does not want to take him back after school.  Underlying all of this is how do working parents with preschooler and kindergarteners manage in this throwback to a bygone era school district?

This past week the kids got their school physicals and immunizations, new shoes were purchase, haircuts gotten and school supplies collected.  Another reason to hate this school district:  both kids' teachers had marble composition notebooks on the supply list.  I have hated those things since 1970 when I was in Mrs. Isenock's 5th/6th combination class.  They are miserable for getting them to lay flat to write in them comfortably and I didn't think that they were even manufactured any more (and good riddance!)  Not only are they still made, but they are actually difficult to track down in the greater Princeton-Plainsboro area.

One day closer to the start of school. . . .