You see, although I really want to curl up in a blanket and sob for a few days screaming, "WHY ME?? I HATE MY LIFE!" It's not at all true. My life is wonderful. Almost. All I need is a visit from my fairy godmother. All I need is a little family of shoe elves to put everything right again while I'm sleeping peacefully.
Every year I think about how tough it's been, and Thank goodness it's going to get better soon. And then, without fail, it gets worse, and then I have to adapt myself to the new low.
What is this "it" that has been preventing me from relaxing and enjoying my nearly wonderful life? Money, of course.
I have two children. They are smart and charming and sometimes they are even good. I have very stubbornly insisted on doing things my own way. They stay with me, they don't have cable TV, they're not allowed to work the computer/DVD player/VCR controls by themselves, they are expected to use good manners... Now I leave them at my in-laws' place on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the profanity and the satellite TV. I feel like I'm breaking promises all over the place.
Yesterday, I called my dad. He's a pharmacist, you know. On Monday, I noticed, because it was hard not to, that Grant's left cheek was swollen. A lot. I called the dentist, hoping that they could tell me if that was maybe more Grant tooth weirdness, or if I needed to take him to the doctor. The office didn't call back until after 4, and they prescribed an antibiotic for him and said if it didn't work after a few days, to call back. Don't deal with a lot of mommies of sick kids, do they? So I looked on the Internet, and I called my dad. What could this be? Do you agree with the dentist? After Dad talked me off the ceiling with a, "If it works, then there is no reason to actually know which kind of infection it is, and this will probably take care of it. If not, you can take him in, which is what you would have done without the antibiotic anyway, right?"
Then, he asked about Josh. I told him what a rough time this is for Josh, and that I've been making him goodies, like little cups of cheesecake flavored pudding with chocolate syrup on top, but that I wish there was some way to really help. Bad idea. Dad's suggestion: get a job.
Hello, heartbreak.
Did I tell you about the last window replacing appointment I had at Josh's mom's? It was raining, and I had changed into my taiko practice clothes, just in case the guy came out at the end of the time window instead of the beginning. (He said between 1 and 3, and if he started at 3, I wouldn't have much time to go home and change before going right back to the same house to drop the kids off.) Repair Guy thanks me for coming out and letting him in, looks at my oh-so-cute sweats and says, "Sorry I had to drag you out in this rain today; it's such a great day to sit at home and do nothing." Sounds like my job description to me. I was too embarrassed to hint that maybe I had changed INTO those clothes, or that I did more than sit around. I just told him it was no trouble. Which wasn't even true. He was only trying to be nice, after all.
Anyway...I've written out checks for the bills, but Josh says I can't mail them yet. I've been using my own money for the apple picking, and dinner after and will be for the zoo this weekend and pretty much anything that isn't a bill, so how am I going to afford our Home Owner's Association fees? Or Christmas presents? Or Grant's real dentist appointment in November? Or anything he or any of us might need sooner than that?
So, if you don't mind, I'd just like to borrow some shoe elves. If they could just make the gas card bill disappear, and the house and car notes for the next two months, that would help so much! Or mow the lawn for Josh and replace the shower curtain rod and fix the broken pipe to the hose attachment or put the Explorer back in fully working order, and replace at least one of our broken DVD players...
I always thought I would be putting money aside for my children's college educations.
Grant's cheek is still huge. If it doesn't improve today, I'm calling the doctor in the morning. Might make a cake today. I haven't done anything in the way of using those apples. Yellow cake was on sale again for 88 cents, so I might cut some apples and roll them in cinnamon and sugar and bake them in a regular yellow cake. Maybe in the fancy bundt cake pan.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Them Apples
Okay, so I was actually sick, and just didn't know it yet. I had a wicked fever on Friday. Let me tell you how much fun it is to be sick when the kids are fine. Not at all - that's how much. But mine are at the age at which you can explain and make requests. "Mommy is very sick today. I'm going to set some snacks out for you, but I won't be able to get up for a long time after that, okay? Please be good. Mommy's going to get rest now so she can get all better." It kinda worked. I had to fuss at them a few times from the bed for fighting, and I was dead asleep at one point when Abbie woke me up to change her diaper. Otherwise, they were very reasonable.
I felt so much better yesterday I was convinced I was healthy again, but I think what it really was, was that the fever dropped down to a low one like I get with head colds. Then, my big worry was the children getting sick. I have been planning for weeks to go apple picking, and it is scheduled for this afternoon. We're going with the Pelikans and the Macneils. Doesn't that sound wonderful?!?!?! Well, I was afraid that even though I'm better, the kids would get sick and we'd have to stay home. Amazingly, they don't seem to have caught it. Part of me wonders if maybe they already did have it, only their fevers were so low I didn't catch it. Grant was cranky this past week, and I kept thinking he seemed like he needed a nap. Sometimes these things affect children differently than adults.
Usually, I would be at practice right now. And I'm probably healthy enough. But then I might not be too worn to go to the orchard. I feel very selfish. Plus, Eddie just called to say that his wife is bringing cookies! I am the un-coolest of all.
But I get to pick apples! Nyah.
My grandmother wants the butternut squash recipe at Thanksgiving. It turns out that she loves squash. And she told my mom that she's very excited about my coming sometime in November to help her go through old pictures. That makes me feel very happy. I will bring some jasmine tea.
Brother's visit and Halloween are the next big things, though, right? Apple picking, then Carter's birthday (so exciting!), then Brother. And with Brother come the pumpkins. I should cook something. What have I not made for Brother lately?
It's all coming so fast. I should start making Christmas lists. What should I get the kids?
Wow. I'm tired already. This being sick thing is no joke.
Anyone know the volume of a cone? Josh was wondering. He's doing homework, of course. Last night he stayed up trying to fix his mom's laptop. Bad hard drive, it turns out.
Did I tell you that I saw Phoebe in Wonderland? If you are like Josh and my brother, and like your ending to be so happy that it eclipses all suffering presented in the first hour and a half, you don't want to see this movie. It ends on a lighter note, but it doesn't make up for watching a 9 year old girl struggle with "I can't help it" and self-loathing and general misery, even accidental, for the entire movie. It doesn't even promise a Happily Ever After for any of the many characters. Just a warning.
Not reading anything, and we haven't finished the end of LWW yet. I need a book pretty bad. You know it's bad when you consider reading Twilight again!
I hope that today you have a wonderful and beautiful day! I'm going to hunt up some sunscreen. Isn't it ironic that the day I do my most autumnal activity, summer would insist on a reprise?
I felt so much better yesterday I was convinced I was healthy again, but I think what it really was, was that the fever dropped down to a low one like I get with head colds. Then, my big worry was the children getting sick. I have been planning for weeks to go apple picking, and it is scheduled for this afternoon. We're going with the Pelikans and the Macneils. Doesn't that sound wonderful?!?!?! Well, I was afraid that even though I'm better, the kids would get sick and we'd have to stay home. Amazingly, they don't seem to have caught it. Part of me wonders if maybe they already did have it, only their fevers were so low I didn't catch it. Grant was cranky this past week, and I kept thinking he seemed like he needed a nap. Sometimes these things affect children differently than adults.
Usually, I would be at practice right now. And I'm probably healthy enough. But then I might not be too worn to go to the orchard. I feel very selfish. Plus, Eddie just called to say that his wife is bringing cookies! I am the un-coolest of all.
But I get to pick apples! Nyah.
My grandmother wants the butternut squash recipe at Thanksgiving. It turns out that she loves squash. And she told my mom that she's very excited about my coming sometime in November to help her go through old pictures. That makes me feel very happy. I will bring some jasmine tea.
Brother's visit and Halloween are the next big things, though, right? Apple picking, then Carter's birthday (so exciting!), then Brother. And with Brother come the pumpkins. I should cook something. What have I not made for Brother lately?
It's all coming so fast. I should start making Christmas lists. What should I get the kids?
Wow. I'm tired already. This being sick thing is no joke.
Anyone know the volume of a cone? Josh was wondering. He's doing homework, of course. Last night he stayed up trying to fix his mom's laptop. Bad hard drive, it turns out.
Did I tell you that I saw Phoebe in Wonderland? If you are like Josh and my brother, and like your ending to be so happy that it eclipses all suffering presented in the first hour and a half, you don't want to see this movie. It ends on a lighter note, but it doesn't make up for watching a 9 year old girl struggle with "I can't help it" and self-loathing and general misery, even accidental, for the entire movie. It doesn't even promise a Happily Ever After for any of the many characters. Just a warning.
Not reading anything, and we haven't finished the end of LWW yet. I need a book pretty bad. You know it's bad when you consider reading Twilight again!
I hope that today you have a wonderful and beautiful day! I'm going to hunt up some sunscreen. Isn't it ironic that the day I do my most autumnal activity, summer would insist on a reprise?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
In a little box labeled....
Something is not right with this week. It's sort of a personal disaster kind of week. Several people I know have been/will be going to funerals. Poor Jenn's lab passed away, too. And Baby Jeremiah, only a few days old, has some sort of infection, and has been re-hospitalized.
Cross your fingers!
And put me in a little box labeled "So Lucky."
Speaking of disasters, though, I am about to complain about my husband. He gives Grant oatmeal for breakfast, cereal with milk for Abbie, and then walks off. So, I came back from walking the dog to find Abbie with milk in her hair and Grant's mostly empty bowl turning into cement. And last night he spilled lemonade on the floor, and now it's sticky. Kind of like Abbie. Now for the punchline. 10 to 1 if I were to mention any of this, his response would be, "I was trying to help!" Therefore, the new definition of help is to make 3 times more work for me, and then leave.
I had nightmares last night. And today I have a horrible headache. So, the thought of going to the grocery store is making me less than cheerful.
Just put me in a little box labeled "Ow".
Did I tell you that Ms. Penny asked if I was going to homeschool my children? I said no, and probably wouldn't have thought too much about it, but the subject keeps coming up. In the beginner taiko class, one of the beginners mentioned being a homeschooling mom, and another young lady commented loudly to her boyfriend that she also was in favor of such practices. (It wasn't a stage whisper so much as a stage yell.) And Natalie, it seems, was homeschooled. And then I got asked again yesterday. Can't remember if it was my mother-in-law or Deanna.
Hmm. Well, everyone knows that I am not impressed by this country's educational system. And everyone knows that I am staying home with my kids right now. So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I get that question occasionally. But I'm not good enough to teach them anything, really. Besides, our family needs me to get a job. Sadly, I am the only superhero we have any reason to expect. After having surgically removed myself from my own life, pursuits, and interests for what will end up being 7 years in exchange for witnessing my children's babyhood and knowing that they are the victims of my mistakes, as opposed to those of a stranger, my reward is that I get to put Josh through school (and pay off the debts he forgot to tell me he was accumulating). Fun.
What would be my ideal choice for my kids' education? I think, if I were financially independent, I would probably try to put them into a private school. Then, they would really be taught how to learn, and how to study. Possibly, I would re-enter them in public high school and maybe a junior college at the same time. The point is, their jobs would be to be students. Which is a job. Not a non-job. Not a free ride. Not a time with all freedoms and no responsibilities. I want them to come out of all of it having actually learned something. Knowledge is power, etc. In addition to all of this, I would probably have several lists of books for them to read at home. Aloud, sometimes. And I would make sure they learned to write letters, and in nice, neat handwriting. My parents tried to get me to do that, but my handwriting is nothing short of scandalous. Well, until you see Josh's. Then mine suddenly becomes consistent and legible.
Poor Josh. I don't mean to be so cranky about him. He's had a rough month, too. But it was as he chose, not me. I even gave my own little page of demands, none of which have yet been addressed, so occasionally I get a little bitter. And I promise I'm being very nice to him.
Maybe the country will magically get its head on straight before my kids start school. But I doubt it.
As for the family update, Abbie is wearing a pink dress, and has agreed to use the potty chair "next time" (don't hold your breath). Currently, she is singing a song to my right arm. Grant is "reading" a book, and has requested the Harry Potter movie. A safe guess at his mood would be "Hungry". It's pretty much a constant. Josh is at work, of course, and has class tonight. He is very unhappy that he got a C on his calculus test, and that he can't remember any trigonometry. I pretty much never see him except when he is doing homework, or when he randomly runs off to do something like go to picnics or pirate festivals. But no home time, and no conversation. This makes me pretty much hate my life. That, and I never cook real dinners, so I never know what to buy when I'm shopping. Brother will be coming to MO on October the 18th. I'll be missing a taiko performance to get him from the airport. We always carve pumpkins when he comes in October. He's really good at it. My mom is actually taking her mom to Brother's house between now and his arrival. "Didn't she just come back from a long car trip?" Why, yes - she did. Obviously, I'm the appropriate one to be driving my grandmother places, but when I offered....they both declined.
Josh told me I should buy a lottery ticket today. ...Maybe I will.
You can put me in a little box labeled "In Your Dreams, Kid".
Yes. In the good dreams.
Off I go to find a little box labeled Ibuprofen.
Cross your fingers!
And put me in a little box labeled "So Lucky."
Speaking of disasters, though, I am about to complain about my husband. He gives Grant oatmeal for breakfast, cereal with milk for Abbie, and then walks off. So, I came back from walking the dog to find Abbie with milk in her hair and Grant's mostly empty bowl turning into cement. And last night he spilled lemonade on the floor, and now it's sticky. Kind of like Abbie. Now for the punchline. 10 to 1 if I were to mention any of this, his response would be, "I was trying to help!" Therefore, the new definition of help is to make 3 times more work for me, and then leave.
I had nightmares last night. And today I have a horrible headache. So, the thought of going to the grocery store is making me less than cheerful.
Just put me in a little box labeled "Ow".
Did I tell you that Ms. Penny asked if I was going to homeschool my children? I said no, and probably wouldn't have thought too much about it, but the subject keeps coming up. In the beginner taiko class, one of the beginners mentioned being a homeschooling mom, and another young lady commented loudly to her boyfriend that she also was in favor of such practices. (It wasn't a stage whisper so much as a stage yell.) And Natalie, it seems, was homeschooled. And then I got asked again yesterday. Can't remember if it was my mother-in-law or Deanna.
Hmm. Well, everyone knows that I am not impressed by this country's educational system. And everyone knows that I am staying home with my kids right now. So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I get that question occasionally. But I'm not good enough to teach them anything, really. Besides, our family needs me to get a job. Sadly, I am the only superhero we have any reason to expect. After having surgically removed myself from my own life, pursuits, and interests for what will end up being 7 years in exchange for witnessing my children's babyhood and knowing that they are the victims of my mistakes, as opposed to those of a stranger, my reward is that I get to put Josh through school (and pay off the debts he forgot to tell me he was accumulating). Fun.
What would be my ideal choice for my kids' education? I think, if I were financially independent, I would probably try to put them into a private school. Then, they would really be taught how to learn, and how to study. Possibly, I would re-enter them in public high school and maybe a junior college at the same time. The point is, their jobs would be to be students. Which is a job. Not a non-job. Not a free ride. Not a time with all freedoms and no responsibilities. I want them to come out of all of it having actually learned something. Knowledge is power, etc. In addition to all of this, I would probably have several lists of books for them to read at home. Aloud, sometimes. And I would make sure they learned to write letters, and in nice, neat handwriting. My parents tried to get me to do that, but my handwriting is nothing short of scandalous. Well, until you see Josh's. Then mine suddenly becomes consistent and legible.
Poor Josh. I don't mean to be so cranky about him. He's had a rough month, too. But it was as he chose, not me. I even gave my own little page of demands, none of which have yet been addressed, so occasionally I get a little bitter. And I promise I'm being very nice to him.
Maybe the country will magically get its head on straight before my kids start school. But I doubt it.
As for the family update, Abbie is wearing a pink dress, and has agreed to use the potty chair "next time" (don't hold your breath). Currently, she is singing a song to my right arm. Grant is "reading" a book, and has requested the Harry Potter movie. A safe guess at his mood would be "Hungry". It's pretty much a constant. Josh is at work, of course, and has class tonight. He is very unhappy that he got a C on his calculus test, and that he can't remember any trigonometry. I pretty much never see him except when he is doing homework, or when he randomly runs off to do something like go to picnics or pirate festivals. But no home time, and no conversation. This makes me pretty much hate my life. That, and I never cook real dinners, so I never know what to buy when I'm shopping. Brother will be coming to MO on October the 18th. I'll be missing a taiko performance to get him from the airport. We always carve pumpkins when he comes in October. He's really good at it. My mom is actually taking her mom to Brother's house between now and his arrival. "Didn't she just come back from a long car trip?" Why, yes - she did. Obviously, I'm the appropriate one to be driving my grandmother places, but when I offered....they both declined.
Josh told me I should buy a lottery ticket today. ...Maybe I will.
You can put me in a little box labeled "In Your Dreams, Kid".
Yes. In the good dreams.
Off I go to find a little box labeled Ibuprofen.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Ah, life!
Good morning? Are you having a wonderful, beautiful day? I am. Just took a short video of my children fishing for shoes. The part of Fishing Pole was played by a really long and skinny stuffed dragon. Classic.
I still have a haircut. HA! Did I mention that I was excited about the haircut? I've been wanting one since about April. And it's not my usual "The Same Only Shorter" one. When I came home I loved it. Then, the next morning, Josh cracked up when I came out of the shower. Never a good sign. I looked and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Just really curly. Josh took a picture. He was quite amused. But when I tried to fix my hair, a concept I'm out of practice with lately, it didn't turn out. Then, I was worried. But Dawn had said I would need to replace my flat iron with the newer kind. Josh must have thought I looked awful, too, because he bought me one. (Thank goodness it was cheap.) Now I can make it look just like I want...which is pointy!! Hee hee hee hee heeeeeeeee! So fun.
Anyway, Josh came with us to the Pirate Fest instead of studying. Well, the way I phrased that was a little misleading. Josh finished his homework early, and was able to join us at the Pirate Fest. There. That's more accurate. It was fun. We saw Ms. Penny at the petting zoo. We watched the Danger Show, and some Gaelic musicians, some belly dancers and the harp lady. We didn't do any shopping, but Josh did con me out of all my money so he could have funnel cake AND fried oreos. We had to drag Abbie away from any music or dancing. I asked Ms. Penny about local dance opportunities, but I'm not going to hold my breath for a response.
Then...beginner class! I picked Brandon up on the way. The one condition to picking him up, was that he would have to get good directions for me, because I tend to get lost. And the directions he gave me were very clear and simple.
And wrong.
So, lost in the rain on Lindenwood campus = not my favorite way to start the day. We still made it on time, because I was expecting rain-induced traffic accidents and left extra early.
The beginners seemed pretty okay to me. I am quite fond of them already. And I'm pretty sure of which ones I'll never see again. I made it through the jumping jacks and the arm circles and all the regular stuff, although there were so many people, my patience was suffering through the crab walk.
My neck is a little sore today, but nothing like I expected and nothing like last year.
After I dropped Brandon off at Lindenwood, I rushed over to Fifth Street to the Denny's there for the tail end of Josh's parents' birthday brunch. I looked terrible. Probably smelled, too. But that's what they wanted. Then we all went to Foundry Art Center to see some of my niece Sydney's drawings. Sydney was a little disappointed. It was an old picture, and whatever one she was expecting wasn't up yet. Then we walked by the studios upstairs. We were rather a noisy party and got a petulant look from one of the artists.
Then Josh dropped me at the car and I drove back home. Abbie rode with me. We spent the evening at home.
Tuesday is the meeting. That's good, I guess. Everything is getting complicated. My in-laws have new issues with watching the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have to be there for another go at the window repairs on Thursday...
But I won't think about all that now. I'll think about it tomorrow. At Tara.
We did a really bad grocery shop this weekend, and I think I'm going to have to go again. But not today. It's Monday, and since I don't get Sundays off....or any days, really, I am not doing any housework on Mondays unless I can't avoid it.
Do you think the weather forecast will stay the same? I hope it does. As it is, it is just right for our apple picking adventure next Sunday. So I hope that Sunday remains cool and rain-free. Otherwise, I'm not particular.
My mother is planning another trip to Colorado. More on that later.
So, what will you be doing this week?
I still have a haircut. HA! Did I mention that I was excited about the haircut? I've been wanting one since about April. And it's not my usual "The Same Only Shorter" one. When I came home I loved it. Then, the next morning, Josh cracked up when I came out of the shower. Never a good sign. I looked and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Just really curly. Josh took a picture. He was quite amused. But when I tried to fix my hair, a concept I'm out of practice with lately, it didn't turn out. Then, I was worried. But Dawn had said I would need to replace my flat iron with the newer kind. Josh must have thought I looked awful, too, because he bought me one. (Thank goodness it was cheap.) Now I can make it look just like I want...which is pointy!! Hee hee hee hee heeeeeeeee! So fun.
Anyway, Josh came with us to the Pirate Fest instead of studying. Well, the way I phrased that was a little misleading. Josh finished his homework early, and was able to join us at the Pirate Fest. There. That's more accurate. It was fun. We saw Ms. Penny at the petting zoo. We watched the Danger Show, and some Gaelic musicians, some belly dancers and the harp lady. We didn't do any shopping, but Josh did con me out of all my money so he could have funnel cake AND fried oreos. We had to drag Abbie away from any music or dancing. I asked Ms. Penny about local dance opportunities, but I'm not going to hold my breath for a response.
Then...beginner class! I picked Brandon up on the way. The one condition to picking him up, was that he would have to get good directions for me, because I tend to get lost. And the directions he gave me were very clear and simple.
And wrong.
So, lost in the rain on Lindenwood campus = not my favorite way to start the day. We still made it on time, because I was expecting rain-induced traffic accidents and left extra early.
The beginners seemed pretty okay to me. I am quite fond of them already. And I'm pretty sure of which ones I'll never see again. I made it through the jumping jacks and the arm circles and all the regular stuff, although there were so many people, my patience was suffering through the crab walk.
My neck is a little sore today, but nothing like I expected and nothing like last year.
After I dropped Brandon off at Lindenwood, I rushed over to Fifth Street to the Denny's there for the tail end of Josh's parents' birthday brunch. I looked terrible. Probably smelled, too. But that's what they wanted. Then we all went to Foundry Art Center to see some of my niece Sydney's drawings. Sydney was a little disappointed. It was an old picture, and whatever one she was expecting wasn't up yet. Then we walked by the studios upstairs. We were rather a noisy party and got a petulant look from one of the artists.
Then Josh dropped me at the car and I drove back home. Abbie rode with me. We spent the evening at home.
Tuesday is the meeting. That's good, I guess. Everything is getting complicated. My in-laws have new issues with watching the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have to be there for another go at the window repairs on Thursday...
But I won't think about all that now. I'll think about it tomorrow. At Tara.
We did a really bad grocery shop this weekend, and I think I'm going to have to go again. But not today. It's Monday, and since I don't get Sundays off....or any days, really, I am not doing any housework on Mondays unless I can't avoid it.
Do you think the weather forecast will stay the same? I hope it does. As it is, it is just right for our apple picking adventure next Sunday. So I hope that Sunday remains cool and rain-free. Otherwise, I'm not particular.
My mother is planning another trip to Colorado. More on that later.
So, what will you be doing this week?
Friday, September 18, 2009
New beginnings start with change.
Time to pretend that that last post just didn't happen. I was in a strange and not particularly good mood. But I cut that mood off with my hair this afternoon. Ho, ho!
Yes, I got a haircut. I look way snazzy. I think it's a good cut, but I won't really find out until tomorrow when I wash out all the salon products I don't own. And, boy, did she put plenty of them in! I think I counted 5 different bottles of...stuff...before the humidity resistant hairspray. Or maybe she used one of them twice. It's all a blur. She always does my hair all fancy, since she knows I'm a mommy and won't have much occasion to get cute. (And that I don't have anyone to do the back for me.) But she knows my hair! Today she said, "Okay. Here's what I'm going to do: I want it to flip out, so I'm gonna curl it under. SHH!" She cracks me up.
It was about then that I realized something. I wonder sometimes where Abbie gets her willful, uncooperative behavior from. She gets it straight from my hair!
And while I was doing that, the kids were walking the aisles of Michael's. When I was done, we had ice cream at Culvers (okay, I know that technically it was yogurt) and walked around Petsmart. No kitties caught my eye this time, but there was a chinchilla. I bought Heather some frisbees for her dogs. Then we sat in my car and gossiped and laughed and talked until Grant said, "Mommy, can we please go back to our house now?" As it was, I don't know if Heather beat her daughter home from school. (Oops.)
When I told Heather that I might be too poor to host a barbeque this fall, she said I should have a potluck one. I just don't know....I wouldn't feel like much of a hostess if I gave orders with my invitations. But I do want to see my friends, though.
Miss Heather is in a very serious relationship, and I still haven't met the guy. I want to. If the stories give an acurate depiction, he's a great guy and he suits her. But the stories are coming from her, of course. And her last...well, he was a nightmare. He wasn't good to her and he abused one of her most lovable qualities: her consideration. She always tries to think of what the other person wants or would be made happy by, and she does more of these things than anyone has a right to expect. But he did. And he made her feel like it wasn't enough. When she finally kicked him out of her home and her life, he had persuaded her into 3 maxed credit cards and a loan in their names which he never thought about again. I am not like her. As much as I want to help people, I'd like to think I'd be indignant long before any of that.
On the other hand, Cahen, your brother got a month's rent out of me once, and I wasn't even living with him! Oh, the power of pity.
So I want to see for myself if Heather's new beginning, and possibly her last one, is as good as advertized. I expect to be extremely critical.
Speaking of best friends named Heather - Heather Chaney S. has a brand new nefew! The first boy in the family! Yay! Her mother is my friend on Facebook. *giggle* Well, actually so are her two sisters. And Heather, too, but it doesn't count since she won't sign in.
Back to the boyfriend thing. Recently, I've seen quite a few of my friend's boyfriends. (No girlfriends this month.) You know, sometimes the mind set with which you receive the addition depends on what you think of your friend's ability to choose. I have a friend who tends to fall EXTREMELY fast and EXTREMELY hard. I don't really know why her relationships don't last, not being in her confidence on that, but when she had another new guy to introduce, I wasn't planning to get to like him, or even know him much. But I did like him! Now, I'm secretly rooting for him, and hoping that they last as a couple. She has finally found a truly kind and pleasant person to dote on. Another friend hasn't had a guy in a while, but I don't think the one she's with currently is good enough. Just me.
And I have this taiko friend who shall remain nameless who is in a relationship with someone wonderful for her. I decided immediately that they are my friends, but I don't see much of both at the same time. I am impatient for some time in the future when I am able to see them (okay, everyone, really) in a social context. Barbeque?
There is a birthday party for both of Josh's parents on Sunday morning, but Josh will have to take the kids without me. OH! And the Vancouver guy wrote me today to ask if I'll pick him up on Sunday. Can't say I found him charming when we met, and I REALLY can't say that Josh is a fan of my giving rides to strange men who have no ties to the area. Grumble, grumble. If I didn't owe Eddie a favor....
..Okay I'd probably still help him out.
Speaking of things Josh doesn't like, he complained about my cooking on facebook yesterday. Who does that?
Rrr. Children in the evening. Where is Josh? It's late. I'm going to go investigate that. Have a good evening.
p.s. I have a new haircut!
Yes, I got a haircut. I look way snazzy. I think it's a good cut, but I won't really find out until tomorrow when I wash out all the salon products I don't own. And, boy, did she put plenty of them in! I think I counted 5 different bottles of...stuff...before the humidity resistant hairspray. Or maybe she used one of them twice. It's all a blur. She always does my hair all fancy, since she knows I'm a mommy and won't have much occasion to get cute. (And that I don't have anyone to do the back for me.) But she knows my hair! Today she said, "Okay. Here's what I'm going to do: I want it to flip out, so I'm gonna curl it under. SHH!" She cracks me up.
It was about then that I realized something. I wonder sometimes where Abbie gets her willful, uncooperative behavior from. She gets it straight from my hair!
And while I was doing that, the kids were walking the aisles of Michael's. When I was done, we had ice cream at Culvers (okay, I know that technically it was yogurt) and walked around Petsmart. No kitties caught my eye this time, but there was a chinchilla. I bought Heather some frisbees for her dogs. Then we sat in my car and gossiped and laughed and talked until Grant said, "Mommy, can we please go back to our house now?" As it was, I don't know if Heather beat her daughter home from school. (Oops.)
When I told Heather that I might be too poor to host a barbeque this fall, she said I should have a potluck one. I just don't know....I wouldn't feel like much of a hostess if I gave orders with my invitations. But I do want to see my friends, though.
Miss Heather is in a very serious relationship, and I still haven't met the guy. I want to. If the stories give an acurate depiction, he's a great guy and he suits her. But the stories are coming from her, of course. And her last...well, he was a nightmare. He wasn't good to her and he abused one of her most lovable qualities: her consideration. She always tries to think of what the other person wants or would be made happy by, and she does more of these things than anyone has a right to expect. But he did. And he made her feel like it wasn't enough. When she finally kicked him out of her home and her life, he had persuaded her into 3 maxed credit cards and a loan in their names which he never thought about again. I am not like her. As much as I want to help people, I'd like to think I'd be indignant long before any of that.
On the other hand, Cahen, your brother got a month's rent out of me once, and I wasn't even living with him! Oh, the power of pity.
So I want to see for myself if Heather's new beginning, and possibly her last one, is as good as advertized. I expect to be extremely critical.
Speaking of best friends named Heather - Heather Chaney S. has a brand new nefew! The first boy in the family! Yay! Her mother is my friend on Facebook. *giggle* Well, actually so are her two sisters. And Heather, too, but it doesn't count since she won't sign in.
Back to the boyfriend thing. Recently, I've seen quite a few of my friend's boyfriends. (No girlfriends this month.) You know, sometimes the mind set with which you receive the addition depends on what you think of your friend's ability to choose. I have a friend who tends to fall EXTREMELY fast and EXTREMELY hard. I don't really know why her relationships don't last, not being in her confidence on that, but when she had another new guy to introduce, I wasn't planning to get to like him, or even know him much. But I did like him! Now, I'm secretly rooting for him, and hoping that they last as a couple. She has finally found a truly kind and pleasant person to dote on. Another friend hasn't had a guy in a while, but I don't think the one she's with currently is good enough. Just me.
And I have this taiko friend who shall remain nameless who is in a relationship with someone wonderful for her. I decided immediately that they are my friends, but I don't see much of both at the same time. I am impatient for some time in the future when I am able to see them (okay, everyone, really) in a social context. Barbeque?
There is a birthday party for both of Josh's parents on Sunday morning, but Josh will have to take the kids without me. OH! And the Vancouver guy wrote me today to ask if I'll pick him up on Sunday. Can't say I found him charming when we met, and I REALLY can't say that Josh is a fan of my giving rides to strange men who have no ties to the area. Grumble, grumble. If I didn't owe Eddie a favor....
..Okay I'd probably still help him out.
Speaking of things Josh doesn't like, he complained about my cooking on facebook yesterday. Who does that?
Rrr. Children in the evening. Where is Josh? It's late. I'm going to go investigate that. Have a good evening.
p.s. I have a new haircut!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
A Scary Crime and Punishment Soapbox (Beware)
Here's one. Picture a man saying the following:
"I'm in favor of capitol punishment. While I agree that a single person should not have the right to decide whether another person has the right to live or die, I think that a government institution should be able to end the life of dangerous persons. In fact, in the environment of maximum security prisons, I think they should have a rotating lottery, like a roulette. Keeping prisoners who are too dangerous to have in society (or are incorrigible repeat offenders) is expensive and wasteful. Facilities are crowded. Besides, what deterrent is there to crime when you know you are going to get free room an board? If this roulette concept were instituted, there would be less over crowding, less paying for medicine, food and television for low lifes, and a lot more to risk when one is plotting law breaking."
Okay. Describe the man. (Personality, appearance, all of it.)
Did you do that? Oh, good.
Now for the other shoe:
Describe what woman would say it.
Hmm.
To be honest it was a man who said that, but the point (at least at the time) was that you can think a person is a nice and good person, and then find out some political view like this and your perception of the entire person is altered. Is that fair? Or maybe we have pre-conceived notions about what "kind" of person thinks certain things. But men always get away with more. I don't really have many gender gripes. I don't believe in the equality of the sexes. I believe that men are not naturally superior of intellect. A person doing a great job could be of either gender. But we all have our natural tendencies. How does this apply here? Does it mean that a woman who expresses this view is somehow more shocking than a man, because she is meant to be naturally warm hearted? Is someone who agrees with this guy cold-hearted? Hard to decide.
Here's the problem. It's all well and good to want world peace. I WANT IT, TOO! I want all people to be good without fear of punishment, and treat others with kindness and tolerance. But people aren't like that. They never have been. They certainly aren't now. So, when reality walks up and introduces itself, how do you react? Turn the other cheek? "Abuse me more, I like it." Personally, I'm more of the Don't Start Nothin', Don't Take Nothin' kind of viewpoint. I'm not going to randomly be mean to you, but if you are to me... Okay, maybe I just like the sound of that and the truth is that I let a lot slide. But be prepared for me to not be in the mood to allow it. (Just in case.)
Actually, I just believe in consequences. If you speed, be prepared to receive a ticket, and to pay it with good grace. It's the price of your actions. And so on. I'm with the guy that there aren't any significant consequences to crime, even as a repeat offender. So...should we execute? Hmm.
What do you think?
And another gripe I have is this: There is a certain young adult I know who is doing some protesting and speech writing. I think it's cool, even though some of the people she's targeted are those who are already trying to do their part. Oops. Do we discourage the young, just because they aren't so good at finding significant issues? Another relative was telling me she's just wasting her time. But she is learning, and taking a stand, and good grief - she's still a dependent child. How is she supposed to magically know what most effects the life of an adult or family?
True, I'm against complaining, but educating is not the same thing. Um..right? Or am I a complete hypocrite.
Your thoughts?
Lastly, something more personal.
There is some sort of little commercial building going up on the way to my house from 70. Looks about fast food/small shop sized. And the workers are striking. They're sitting in chairs by the road with picnic lunches under little umbrellas with their gripes written across the top.
This is what I feel like saying to those guys:
"You have a job, you lucky son-of-a-bitch. You don't like it? Get another one. Are you telling me that you have issues that can't be resolved in a meeting? You gotta resort to vacationing on the street, you poor thing? My husband makes just over 12 dollars an hour, then goes to school in the hopes that someday we'll be able to afford things like health insurance and the bills we already have. He doesn't even have time to mow the lawn! So, you tell me what it is they are PAYING you to do here, and I'LL DO IT. Since you have nothing to do, meanwhile, you can watch my kids. Take care you don't teach them to be anything like YOU."
Okay. I get the crazy mean lady vote for that one, no matter what I decide about the rest. But I don't take it back. So there.
Please forgive my outburst, and profanity.
What have we learned today? 1. Sometimes it depends on who is saying it. But it shouldn't. 2. Let the kid try, for Pete's sake! 3. Work hard. Or else.
And now...I go to take care of my children.
"I'm in favor of capitol punishment. While I agree that a single person should not have the right to decide whether another person has the right to live or die, I think that a government institution should be able to end the life of dangerous persons. In fact, in the environment of maximum security prisons, I think they should have a rotating lottery, like a roulette. Keeping prisoners who are too dangerous to have in society (or are incorrigible repeat offenders) is expensive and wasteful. Facilities are crowded. Besides, what deterrent is there to crime when you know you are going to get free room an board? If this roulette concept were instituted, there would be less over crowding, less paying for medicine, food and television for low lifes, and a lot more to risk when one is plotting law breaking."
Okay. Describe the man. (Personality, appearance, all of it.)
Did you do that? Oh, good.
Now for the other shoe:
Describe what woman would say it.
Hmm.
To be honest it was a man who said that, but the point (at least at the time) was that you can think a person is a nice and good person, and then find out some political view like this and your perception of the entire person is altered. Is that fair? Or maybe we have pre-conceived notions about what "kind" of person thinks certain things. But men always get away with more. I don't really have many gender gripes. I don't believe in the equality of the sexes. I believe that men are not naturally superior of intellect. A person doing a great job could be of either gender. But we all have our natural tendencies. How does this apply here? Does it mean that a woman who expresses this view is somehow more shocking than a man, because she is meant to be naturally warm hearted? Is someone who agrees with this guy cold-hearted? Hard to decide.
Here's the problem. It's all well and good to want world peace. I WANT IT, TOO! I want all people to be good without fear of punishment, and treat others with kindness and tolerance. But people aren't like that. They never have been. They certainly aren't now. So, when reality walks up and introduces itself, how do you react? Turn the other cheek? "Abuse me more, I like it." Personally, I'm more of the Don't Start Nothin', Don't Take Nothin' kind of viewpoint. I'm not going to randomly be mean to you, but if you are to me... Okay, maybe I just like the sound of that and the truth is that I let a lot slide. But be prepared for me to not be in the mood to allow it. (Just in case.)
Actually, I just believe in consequences. If you speed, be prepared to receive a ticket, and to pay it with good grace. It's the price of your actions. And so on. I'm with the guy that there aren't any significant consequences to crime, even as a repeat offender. So...should we execute? Hmm.
What do you think?
And another gripe I have is this: There is a certain young adult I know who is doing some protesting and speech writing. I think it's cool, even though some of the people she's targeted are those who are already trying to do their part. Oops. Do we discourage the young, just because they aren't so good at finding significant issues? Another relative was telling me she's just wasting her time. But she is learning, and taking a stand, and good grief - she's still a dependent child. How is she supposed to magically know what most effects the life of an adult or family?
True, I'm against complaining, but educating is not the same thing. Um..right? Or am I a complete hypocrite.
Your thoughts?
Lastly, something more personal.
There is some sort of little commercial building going up on the way to my house from 70. Looks about fast food/small shop sized. And the workers are striking. They're sitting in chairs by the road with picnic lunches under little umbrellas with their gripes written across the top.
This is what I feel like saying to those guys:
"You have a job, you lucky son-of-a-bitch. You don't like it? Get another one. Are you telling me that you have issues that can't be resolved in a meeting? You gotta resort to vacationing on the street, you poor thing? My husband makes just over 12 dollars an hour, then goes to school in the hopes that someday we'll be able to afford things like health insurance and the bills we already have. He doesn't even have time to mow the lawn! So, you tell me what it is they are PAYING you to do here, and I'LL DO IT. Since you have nothing to do, meanwhile, you can watch my kids. Take care you don't teach them to be anything like YOU."
Okay. I get the crazy mean lady vote for that one, no matter what I decide about the rest. But I don't take it back. So there.
Please forgive my outburst, and profanity.
What have we learned today? 1. Sometimes it depends on who is saying it. But it shouldn't. 2. Let the kid try, for Pete's sake! 3. Work hard. Or else.
And now...I go to take care of my children.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Whales, mostly.
Well, hello there. How are you? Did you have a good day today? The weather wasn't bad at all. Did you eat your lunch outside? Next week might be even better for that sort of adventure. I didn't look at the wind predictions, so keep hold of your napkin, just in case.
I believe last you heard from me, I was veneering the reality of my moody and disobedient children with stories of their charm. They got better, of course. They're not nearly so crazy this week. Over the weekend we did some cleaning, and Grant and Josh got haircuts.
HAIRCUTS! I can't forget that I have an appointment for mine on Friday.
Well, anyway, while the sheep were being shorn, Abbie and I went shopping. I like saying that. It sounds so cutesy and suburban. Here's the reality: Abbie loves dresses and it's not worth the fighting to get her into pants. Often she wears the dresses I wore as a child, but several of them aren't so washable and so Josh and I decided that maybe I could check out the dollar store next to his haircut place. Well, that particular place doesn't sell clothing of any kind. Happily, a Wal-mart was a few doors down, and dresses were on sale. I got her 3 for under 10 dollars. I am so good.
That was Saturday. Sunday, we were supposed to borrow a truck from Josh's dad and take a few mountains of old stuff to Goodwill. I am a fan of donating. However, Little Chris wanted to play, and we ended up having a picnic with him and his 3 girls, and then we went to his house to watch the first half of the Rams pathetic attempt at playing football. Josh gets zero sympathy from me for not having his homework done. Slacker. And I still want to donate that stuff. It was fun, though. Our kids get along really well, so we can really send them downstairs and just check on them every so often and it works great! And sometimes the little girls come up and make Chris help them get Barbi into her biker shorts, and that's always funny.
The theme of this week is, "Rosemary, can you do me a favor?"
I've watched a house already, and today I spent the afternoon at my in-laws' place while the glass repair guy installed the replacement windows. Well, at least that was the plan. One of the windows was the wrong size, so I get to have a reprise next week-ish. I drove all the way home and was just getting comfy with the last of a bag of sour cream and cheddar Ruffles (Not usually a big chip fan, but those are way yummy.) when I remembered that I hadn't gone to the grocery store. Woops. So we did that. By the time we were done shopping, I was just done. And so were the kids. They've been pretty rotten since we got back. Though, I should tell you, they were perfectly charming in the store and the entire day until then. When I was cutting up Abbie's super gourmet Totino's triple cheese pizza, I knocked it off the counter and caught a hand full of hot cheese trying to rescue it. It's still red, but not too bad for a burn.
The Parents As Teachers lady was here yesterday. I have to re-do a lot of paperwork because her new supervisor said they've been doing it wrong. (Kind of a relief to me. Seemed funny before.) She is also doing the petting zoo at the Pirate Fest this weekend, and she gave me some comp tickets. At first I thought we'd all go, but I think Josh would rather get some homework done, so I'm gonna try to find someone else to come. I'll have to get directions, too. I'll probably get lost.
Then comes the first beginner class. (Help!) Then, the next weekend, apple picking! Yay for apple picking!
Did I tell you I bought a squash today? I've been looking at this Pioneer Woman butternut squash recipe so often that when we were at the store Grant said, "Mommy!!!!! A peanut butter squash! Please, can we have one?" How could anyone resist? So...I'm going to try the recipe. Maybe it will be Thanksgiving-worthy.
And yes, I told him it wasn't a peanut butter squash...after some deliberation.
Grant: Abbie, today we're going to learn about Sperm Whales.
Abbie: Oh!
Grant: I think they blow bubbles out of that hole right there. It measures 7 feet.
Josh accidentally ran off to work with my cell phone. I think maybe I dropped it in the car. So, if you've been trying and trying to call me.....
I bought a chocolate bar at the store and haven't eaten it yet. Hope I'm not coming down with something!!
Requests for LWW!!! *Insert mommy victory dance here* Have a pleasant evening!
I believe last you heard from me, I was veneering the reality of my moody and disobedient children with stories of their charm. They got better, of course. They're not nearly so crazy this week. Over the weekend we did some cleaning, and Grant and Josh got haircuts.
HAIRCUTS! I can't forget that I have an appointment for mine on Friday.
Well, anyway, while the sheep were being shorn, Abbie and I went shopping. I like saying that. It sounds so cutesy and suburban. Here's the reality: Abbie loves dresses and it's not worth the fighting to get her into pants. Often she wears the dresses I wore as a child, but several of them aren't so washable and so Josh and I decided that maybe I could check out the dollar store next to his haircut place. Well, that particular place doesn't sell clothing of any kind. Happily, a Wal-mart was a few doors down, and dresses were on sale. I got her 3 for under 10 dollars. I am so good.
That was Saturday. Sunday, we were supposed to borrow a truck from Josh's dad and take a few mountains of old stuff to Goodwill. I am a fan of donating. However, Little Chris wanted to play, and we ended up having a picnic with him and his 3 girls, and then we went to his house to watch the first half of the Rams pathetic attempt at playing football. Josh gets zero sympathy from me for not having his homework done. Slacker. And I still want to donate that stuff. It was fun, though. Our kids get along really well, so we can really send them downstairs and just check on them every so often and it works great! And sometimes the little girls come up and make Chris help them get Barbi into her biker shorts, and that's always funny.
The theme of this week is, "Rosemary, can you do me a favor?"
I've watched a house already, and today I spent the afternoon at my in-laws' place while the glass repair guy installed the replacement windows. Well, at least that was the plan. One of the windows was the wrong size, so I get to have a reprise next week-ish. I drove all the way home and was just getting comfy with the last of a bag of sour cream and cheddar Ruffles (Not usually a big chip fan, but those are way yummy.) when I remembered that I hadn't gone to the grocery store. Woops. So we did that. By the time we were done shopping, I was just done. And so were the kids. They've been pretty rotten since we got back. Though, I should tell you, they were perfectly charming in the store and the entire day until then. When I was cutting up Abbie's super gourmet Totino's triple cheese pizza, I knocked it off the counter and caught a hand full of hot cheese trying to rescue it. It's still red, but not too bad for a burn.
The Parents As Teachers lady was here yesterday. I have to re-do a lot of paperwork because her new supervisor said they've been doing it wrong. (Kind of a relief to me. Seemed funny before.) She is also doing the petting zoo at the Pirate Fest this weekend, and she gave me some comp tickets. At first I thought we'd all go, but I think Josh would rather get some homework done, so I'm gonna try to find someone else to come. I'll have to get directions, too. I'll probably get lost.
Then comes the first beginner class. (Help!) Then, the next weekend, apple picking! Yay for apple picking!
Did I tell you I bought a squash today? I've been looking at this Pioneer Woman butternut squash recipe so often that when we were at the store Grant said, "Mommy!!!!! A peanut butter squash! Please, can we have one?" How could anyone resist? So...I'm going to try the recipe. Maybe it will be Thanksgiving-worthy.
And yes, I told him it wasn't a peanut butter squash...after some deliberation.
Grant: Abbie, today we're going to learn about Sperm Whales.
Abbie: Oh!
Grant: I think they blow bubbles out of that hole right there. It measures 7 feet.
Josh accidentally ran off to work with my cell phone. I think maybe I dropped it in the car. So, if you've been trying and trying to call me.....
I bought a chocolate bar at the store and haven't eaten it yet. Hope I'm not coming down with something!!
Requests for LWW!!! *Insert mommy victory dance here* Have a pleasant evening!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Foolish Fond
Well, it's been a very aggravating week since the routine started back up. All the little annoyances are piling up and threatening to crash through my armored defences. For instance, our "new" DVD player is broken. Things like that. And the kids. I can't even describe the level of torment they have used to crack my happy shell over and over....
But instead of talking about all that, I have decided to tell you some nice stories instead.
While at my mom's house this weekend, Grant found a turtle. According to my mom, he was super happy and came running up to tell her. I have an uncle who refers to Grant as Turtle Boy, because they once found one together. According to the story, Grant ran up to my mom saying he was really a turtle boy, because he found another turtle! The turtle was putting his head in and out, and my mother told Grant that it was probably the first time the turtle had seen a little boy. So, Grant (and this is typical of him) went up to the turtle and in a very friendly way told him that he was a little boy named Grant, introduced his sister Abbie ("She's a girl.") and proceeded to line up toys in front of the no doubt fascinated turtle, carefully explaining what each one was. "I'm a carrot! This is really just a toy carrot. He doesn't really talk." (Because we all know that only real carrots talk.) Mom says he was out there conversing with the turtle for half an hour at least. Did I mention that Grant is not shy?
Abbie loves dresses. In the morning when I suggest that it is time for Daytime Clothes, Abbie also requests a dress. "Oh, yeah. My flower dress, Mommy?" She has a jade green dress with a polo shirt collar and long sleeves, but it has no flowers, and thus is quite inferior. Sometimes she wears the dresses I wore when I was little. A few of them have rust stains and have been deemed Playclothes.
When she is tired, or just feeling snuggly, Abbie crawls into my lap (usually with little consideration of my comfort) and either puts her hand inside my sleeve, or plays with my ear. Lately, we have been reading our chapter book, you know, and have all been piled into my bed. Abbie is in the middle, and Grant on the oposite side of her. Last night she put her head on Grant's shoulder and grabbed his ear. He smiled. Yay for Mommy paychecks.
For our neighbor Bree's birthday, the kids picked out some Spongebob bubble bath and a scrubby thing shaped like an octopus. They drew pictures for her, too. Abbie requested for me to draw a Girl Dancing, and then she added some colors. Grant drew a scene from Shaun the Sheep. He drew the dog holding a frisbee, and he drew "The sheep who eats everything" with something hanging out of his mouth.
Last night for dinner we had pork ramen (had to make 2) with egg and chopped Lil' Smokies. And some canned pears. Abbie, my non-eater, had 2 plates of it. Grant had 4. Tonight, we're having sloppy joes.
The bruise on my arm is at its peak, color-wise. Abbie calls it my Green. "Oh, you have a new Green." She gives it lots of very violent kisses. Ow.
I'm going to practice tonight, and I think I'll even be on time. There might not be much for me to do, but I don't mind. I need a break.
I love my children. Even though they are in their rooms for the 4th time already. Maybe I just need to turn them loose in the back yard for a few hours. We'll give that theory a test after lunch.
Hope you are having a good Thursday.
But instead of talking about all that, I have decided to tell you some nice stories instead.
While at my mom's house this weekend, Grant found a turtle. According to my mom, he was super happy and came running up to tell her. I have an uncle who refers to Grant as Turtle Boy, because they once found one together. According to the story, Grant ran up to my mom saying he was really a turtle boy, because he found another turtle! The turtle was putting his head in and out, and my mother told Grant that it was probably the first time the turtle had seen a little boy. So, Grant (and this is typical of him) went up to the turtle and in a very friendly way told him that he was a little boy named Grant, introduced his sister Abbie ("She's a girl.") and proceeded to line up toys in front of the no doubt fascinated turtle, carefully explaining what each one was. "I'm a carrot! This is really just a toy carrot. He doesn't really talk." (Because we all know that only real carrots talk.) Mom says he was out there conversing with the turtle for half an hour at least. Did I mention that Grant is not shy?
Abbie loves dresses. In the morning when I suggest that it is time for Daytime Clothes, Abbie also requests a dress. "Oh, yeah. My flower dress, Mommy?" She has a jade green dress with a polo shirt collar and long sleeves, but it has no flowers, and thus is quite inferior. Sometimes she wears the dresses I wore when I was little. A few of them have rust stains and have been deemed Playclothes.
When she is tired, or just feeling snuggly, Abbie crawls into my lap (usually with little consideration of my comfort) and either puts her hand inside my sleeve, or plays with my ear. Lately, we have been reading our chapter book, you know, and have all been piled into my bed. Abbie is in the middle, and Grant on the oposite side of her. Last night she put her head on Grant's shoulder and grabbed his ear. He smiled. Yay for Mommy paychecks.
For our neighbor Bree's birthday, the kids picked out some Spongebob bubble bath and a scrubby thing shaped like an octopus. They drew pictures for her, too. Abbie requested for me to draw a Girl Dancing, and then she added some colors. Grant drew a scene from Shaun the Sheep. He drew the dog holding a frisbee, and he drew "The sheep who eats everything" with something hanging out of his mouth.
Last night for dinner we had pork ramen (had to make 2) with egg and chopped Lil' Smokies. And some canned pears. Abbie, my non-eater, had 2 plates of it. Grant had 4. Tonight, we're having sloppy joes.
The bruise on my arm is at its peak, color-wise. Abbie calls it my Green. "Oh, you have a new Green." She gives it lots of very violent kisses. Ow.
I'm going to practice tonight, and I think I'll even be on time. There might not be much for me to do, but I don't mind. I need a break.
I love my children. Even though they are in their rooms for the 4th time already. Maybe I just need to turn them loose in the back yard for a few hours. We'll give that theory a test after lunch.
Hope you are having a good Thursday.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Happi Labor Day weekend!
I know. I'm so funny.
My lateness induced hypertension peaked on Saturday morning, when I knew that my mom would get here at 8am to pick up the kids. We were going to meet close to 10 at the garden, and I was told to expect 20 extra minutes of traffic. Ack! Time crunch! Then, it rained. And I got a call that we needed to get to the garden at 9:30 to load. Double ack! Mom came, we loaded the kids, Josh and I hopped into the car, and my heart started to race. We were halfway there when Andrew called to say that the opening ceremony was cancelled and we wouldn't be needed until evening.
For a minute, we didn't know what to do. Go home? Go to the garden? Stop somewhere in between? We stopped and got some snacks and bottles of water and I changed out of my performance black, then we did end up going to the festival. We hung out in the maintenance building for a while, and did some shopping, and walked around in the rain a lot.
It was very rainy. I had my little black umbrella. I bought it for the New Orleans trip, because the only other umbrella I have is big, and difficult to pack. But the third time I tried to open it...it wouldn't. Josh had to rig it and tie it for it to stay open, but then I couldn't close it. Jaci suggested I get a new one at the gift shop, so we headed that way. While he was in line buying me a new- and, I must say, expensive umbrella - I went to throw my old one in the trash. At the trash can I scowled at my black umbrella and said, "Okay, this is your last chance," and pushed the button. It opened perfectly. As the guy standing behind me giggled, I rushed back to Josh to tell him I didn't need the new umbrella....but it was too late. I still haven't taken it out of the box, but I am the proud owner of a lovely pink flower umbrella from the MO Botanical Gardens.
For Grant and Abbie, I got little red rubber ducks with ninja face masks and numb-chucks (hope that is how you spell that). Yay for ninja ducks (as if turtles weren't bad enough)! I bought tabi socks for myself, but I count that as a uniform item and not so much a souvenir. I wanted to get a present for our neighbor, Bree, but I couldn't find anything she'd like. For lunch, we had some wonderful sushi. Mine was eel. SO tasty!
I also played the taiko in the dashi with Eddie for a while, and with Helena, and with Junsei and several combinations. It was actually a lot of fun. Josh wandered back and forth. It wasn't very long after that when we found out the evening show was cancelled, too. The ground was just too wet for the audience to walk back and forth on. Josh and I toyed with the idea of going to a movie, but ended up grabbing Sonic (I had been craving a cherry limeade for over a month, but the two Sonics closest to us closed) and watching our Netflix movies at home. Ever seen 27 Dresses? Not nearly as pointless as I expected. Cute in fact. The dialog is well written, which is a very major point with me.
When I got to the garden on Sunday I knew right away that all shows had been approved, so it was a lot different. I got ready early and we did lots of loading, went to the stage, and discovered that we were super-punctual. In fact, we were way early. I found that highly entertaining, and a lot restful, too. But I think it was so restful that our energy for the first performance was only adequate. But we had fun. I was with the group that paraded with the dashi after the show, and that was also much more fun than I had anticipated. So I stayed and played a few songs with Maki and Andrew before I went back and changed. Lots of us ate together after that, and I had more sushi - shrimp tempura this time. Also very yummy! Plus, we got green tea ice cream. For a while, our friend Jocelyn and her not-so-appetizing looking fish cake sat with us, too. Good times.
The second performance was better and worse. In both performances, we had a lot of trouble with the drum movements. I found out later that it was largely due to a single person, but it doesn't matter much. During the second performance our energy was better. But Junsei had been drinking all day long. That's all I have to say about that. Jaci helped by adjusting our drum as she went by for Zoku, but I didn't start the song exactly on time. I don't mind that, so I hope no one else did. When Julie and I were moving the big Oodaiko stand up the hill, the large beam across the top fell on my arm. Okay, it's oak and 4x4. Yes, it hurt. But mostly it scared me to death, because it very easily could have broken my arm. During the performance I didn't feel it at all, but as soon as we were done, and I was helping put things away, it started to throb uncomfortably.
Helena's boyfriend, Kevin and I stayed the night at her house. I am very grateful to Helena and her parents for that. They are so generous. First, though, I waited in the maintenance building while the happy couple did the moonlight walk. A sweet little security guard came and locked up, and he was very polite and considerate to me. May good fortune follow him. I was starting to be impatient and cranky, when Laura showed up at the door, looking desperate. She's left her keys inside. I let her in so she could get them, and then I felt that my being there had served some purpose and I was perfectly happy. Later, Helena and Kevin showed back up and it was time to go to her place. The only major hitch in those proceedings was when we walked all the way to the lot where Helena's car was parked and it was gated and locked. We had to push the call button and ask to be let out.
Helena has a little black kitty who is very sweet and friendly.
Monday we all arrived and I got changed for pictures. In the between time, I did some more playing in the dashi, this time with Julie and Eddie. The kids were so funny. Some of them didn't want to leave. Helena was going to do my hair, but she and Kevin still wanted to do some shopping, so she did it after the pictures instead. Josh came and joined us, too. He "helped" take pictures (never allow Josh around a camera - he takes stills when no one is ready, and his videos will make you seasick) and he was a great help loading. He even passed out programs for a while. My cousin and our friend Molly came to the show. Mackenzie only saw the first half, and Molly only saw the second, but at least Josh always had someone to sit by. Show went well. I made one actual mistake in Drive, which I never have before, so I was temporarily bummed about that. Otherwise, it was just lots of fun. I got cornered by a journalism student afterward, so if any of you read the newspaper at SIU, be sure to look out for that article!! And if your name happens to be Julie, I asked Joel how to spell your last name perfectly, just to make sure, when I was siting your amazingly choreographed dance for Run To You.
Then comes the part where we go to UMSL and unload, right? Wrong. Josh didn't know how to get there. He threw a map booklet at me and then was mad when I didn't immediately tell him where to go. Well.....first I had to find out which page we were currently on, and then find the page with our destination and then find out which way to go to get there, because he didn't even know if we were East or West of UMSL. So we spent a long time in the wrong place, and then he insisted on taking Hanley instead of 170... So we missed everyone. Skipping the Josh and Rosemary near-divorce....we all had dinner together. It was fun. We were late and left early. How rude! But I had to get home to meet my parents. I was super nervous that I'd be late for that, too, but we drove like the wind and beat them here with 12 minutes to spare!!! So I cleaned the bathroom and picked up toys until they showed up.
And then...I was the most perfectly happy and content human being ever to exist. AH! My babies had been good and were home, my mommy was there, my husband and dad were happily looking at the entertainment center project, I had happy stories to tell, and ninja ducks to pass out, my tummy was full of good food, and my pictures were freshly uploaded. Yay for life.
If your Labor Day weekend was half as good as mine was, then yay for you! And if your name is Eddie, thank your wife again from me. Those cookies were the only breakfast I had on Sunday. She's my hero.
My lateness induced hypertension peaked on Saturday morning, when I knew that my mom would get here at 8am to pick up the kids. We were going to meet close to 10 at the garden, and I was told to expect 20 extra minutes of traffic. Ack! Time crunch! Then, it rained. And I got a call that we needed to get to the garden at 9:30 to load. Double ack! Mom came, we loaded the kids, Josh and I hopped into the car, and my heart started to race. We were halfway there when Andrew called to say that the opening ceremony was cancelled and we wouldn't be needed until evening.
For a minute, we didn't know what to do. Go home? Go to the garden? Stop somewhere in between? We stopped and got some snacks and bottles of water and I changed out of my performance black, then we did end up going to the festival. We hung out in the maintenance building for a while, and did some shopping, and walked around in the rain a lot.
It was very rainy. I had my little black umbrella. I bought it for the New Orleans trip, because the only other umbrella I have is big, and difficult to pack. But the third time I tried to open it...it wouldn't. Josh had to rig it and tie it for it to stay open, but then I couldn't close it. Jaci suggested I get a new one at the gift shop, so we headed that way. While he was in line buying me a new- and, I must say, expensive umbrella - I went to throw my old one in the trash. At the trash can I scowled at my black umbrella and said, "Okay, this is your last chance," and pushed the button. It opened perfectly. As the guy standing behind me giggled, I rushed back to Josh to tell him I didn't need the new umbrella....but it was too late. I still haven't taken it out of the box, but I am the proud owner of a lovely pink flower umbrella from the MO Botanical Gardens.
For Grant and Abbie, I got little red rubber ducks with ninja face masks and numb-chucks (hope that is how you spell that). Yay for ninja ducks (as if turtles weren't bad enough)! I bought tabi socks for myself, but I count that as a uniform item and not so much a souvenir. I wanted to get a present for our neighbor, Bree, but I couldn't find anything she'd like. For lunch, we had some wonderful sushi. Mine was eel. SO tasty!
I also played the taiko in the dashi with Eddie for a while, and with Helena, and with Junsei and several combinations. It was actually a lot of fun. Josh wandered back and forth. It wasn't very long after that when we found out the evening show was cancelled, too. The ground was just too wet for the audience to walk back and forth on. Josh and I toyed with the idea of going to a movie, but ended up grabbing Sonic (I had been craving a cherry limeade for over a month, but the two Sonics closest to us closed) and watching our Netflix movies at home. Ever seen 27 Dresses? Not nearly as pointless as I expected. Cute in fact. The dialog is well written, which is a very major point with me.
When I got to the garden on Sunday I knew right away that all shows had been approved, so it was a lot different. I got ready early and we did lots of loading, went to the stage, and discovered that we were super-punctual. In fact, we were way early. I found that highly entertaining, and a lot restful, too. But I think it was so restful that our energy for the first performance was only adequate. But we had fun. I was with the group that paraded with the dashi after the show, and that was also much more fun than I had anticipated. So I stayed and played a few songs with Maki and Andrew before I went back and changed. Lots of us ate together after that, and I had more sushi - shrimp tempura this time. Also very yummy! Plus, we got green tea ice cream. For a while, our friend Jocelyn and her not-so-appetizing looking fish cake sat with us, too. Good times.
The second performance was better and worse. In both performances, we had a lot of trouble with the drum movements. I found out later that it was largely due to a single person, but it doesn't matter much. During the second performance our energy was better. But Junsei had been drinking all day long. That's all I have to say about that. Jaci helped by adjusting our drum as she went by for Zoku, but I didn't start the song exactly on time. I don't mind that, so I hope no one else did. When Julie and I were moving the big Oodaiko stand up the hill, the large beam across the top fell on my arm. Okay, it's oak and 4x4. Yes, it hurt. But mostly it scared me to death, because it very easily could have broken my arm. During the performance I didn't feel it at all, but as soon as we were done, and I was helping put things away, it started to throb uncomfortably.
Helena's boyfriend, Kevin and I stayed the night at her house. I am very grateful to Helena and her parents for that. They are so generous. First, though, I waited in the maintenance building while the happy couple did the moonlight walk. A sweet little security guard came and locked up, and he was very polite and considerate to me. May good fortune follow him. I was starting to be impatient and cranky, when Laura showed up at the door, looking desperate. She's left her keys inside. I let her in so she could get them, and then I felt that my being there had served some purpose and I was perfectly happy. Later, Helena and Kevin showed back up and it was time to go to her place. The only major hitch in those proceedings was when we walked all the way to the lot where Helena's car was parked and it was gated and locked. We had to push the call button and ask to be let out.
Helena has a little black kitty who is very sweet and friendly.
Monday we all arrived and I got changed for pictures. In the between time, I did some more playing in the dashi, this time with Julie and Eddie. The kids were so funny. Some of them didn't want to leave. Helena was going to do my hair, but she and Kevin still wanted to do some shopping, so she did it after the pictures instead. Josh came and joined us, too. He "helped" take pictures (never allow Josh around a camera - he takes stills when no one is ready, and his videos will make you seasick) and he was a great help loading. He even passed out programs for a while. My cousin and our friend Molly came to the show. Mackenzie only saw the first half, and Molly only saw the second, but at least Josh always had someone to sit by. Show went well. I made one actual mistake in Drive, which I never have before, so I was temporarily bummed about that. Otherwise, it was just lots of fun. I got cornered by a journalism student afterward, so if any of you read the newspaper at SIU, be sure to look out for that article!! And if your name happens to be Julie, I asked Joel how to spell your last name perfectly, just to make sure, when I was siting your amazingly choreographed dance for Run To You.
Then comes the part where we go to UMSL and unload, right? Wrong. Josh didn't know how to get there. He threw a map booklet at me and then was mad when I didn't immediately tell him where to go. Well.....first I had to find out which page we were currently on, and then find the page with our destination and then find out which way to go to get there, because he didn't even know if we were East or West of UMSL. So we spent a long time in the wrong place, and then he insisted on taking Hanley instead of 170... So we missed everyone. Skipping the Josh and Rosemary near-divorce....we all had dinner together. It was fun. We were late and left early. How rude! But I had to get home to meet my parents. I was super nervous that I'd be late for that, too, but we drove like the wind and beat them here with 12 minutes to spare!!! So I cleaned the bathroom and picked up toys until they showed up.
And then...I was the most perfectly happy and content human being ever to exist. AH! My babies had been good and were home, my mommy was there, my husband and dad were happily looking at the entertainment center project, I had happy stories to tell, and ninja ducks to pass out, my tummy was full of good food, and my pictures were freshly uploaded. Yay for life.
If your Labor Day weekend was half as good as mine was, then yay for you! And if your name is Eddie, thank your wife again from me. Those cookies were the only breakfast I had on Sunday. She's my hero.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Frantic
I have this phobia about being late. It started when I was shy. When you are late, everyone turns around to see who came in. A vision from Hell itself. But as I grew up, it became its own animal. I hate being late. Hate it. So, this week has been difficult for me. And it's a good thing I'm not prone to ulcers, because I would have quite a collection.
Take today. After practically begging (another thing I HATE) for help from several of Josh's family members, I was left with the option of showing up halfway through the practice or bringing Grant and Abbie with me. That's the headache I woke up with today. Fortunately, a friend of ours has volunteered to watch the kids until Josh can fetch them. He lives in Lake St. Louis, but has moved since I saw him last. His son is still a baby, but that will be great for my kids. They love babies. They have a big dog, which will be a small problem for Abbie, but on the whole, I am so relieved that I am willing to work with all kinds of difficulty. So...hopefully not late tonight. I can drop them off after 4:30, so I'll miss the loading, but it's the best I can do.
My new issue is Saturday. My mom is coming to get the kids at 8am. Then, we are going to grab Eddie and head to the garden. I am SO worried that I won't get there in time to be "on time". I've seriously almost cried over this lateness thing this week. When this weekend is over, I don't even know what I'm going to do.
But-I'm doing okay with getting ready, I hope. I've set out my uniform stuff and some clothes. I packed clothes for the kids' trip to my mom's, and washed and ironed my happi and wrote down directions to the garden from here.... I still need to do Abbie's hair, and get them an early dinner and call Johnny for directions to the new place.
I got a notice in the mail that one of my bills was late. I called, as usual, armed with the check number, etc., but couldn't resolve anything because Josh hadn't included my name on the account. Grr. So I had to call him at work and give him all the information. Then he called and said it was all fine. But I'm annoyed that I couldn't get it done, ya know?
Well, now I am off to get the kids fed and ready to go visiting. See you after all the festival-ing!
Take today. After practically begging (another thing I HATE) for help from several of Josh's family members, I was left with the option of showing up halfway through the practice or bringing Grant and Abbie with me. That's the headache I woke up with today. Fortunately, a friend of ours has volunteered to watch the kids until Josh can fetch them. He lives in Lake St. Louis, but has moved since I saw him last. His son is still a baby, but that will be great for my kids. They love babies. They have a big dog, which will be a small problem for Abbie, but on the whole, I am so relieved that I am willing to work with all kinds of difficulty. So...hopefully not late tonight. I can drop them off after 4:30, so I'll miss the loading, but it's the best I can do.
My new issue is Saturday. My mom is coming to get the kids at 8am. Then, we are going to grab Eddie and head to the garden. I am SO worried that I won't get there in time to be "on time". I've seriously almost cried over this lateness thing this week. When this weekend is over, I don't even know what I'm going to do.
But-I'm doing okay with getting ready, I hope. I've set out my uniform stuff and some clothes. I packed clothes for the kids' trip to my mom's, and washed and ironed my happi and wrote down directions to the garden from here.... I still need to do Abbie's hair, and get them an early dinner and call Johnny for directions to the new place.
I got a notice in the mail that one of my bills was late. I called, as usual, armed with the check number, etc., but couldn't resolve anything because Josh hadn't included my name on the account. Grr. So I had to call him at work and give him all the information. Then he called and said it was all fine. But I'm annoyed that I couldn't get it done, ya know?
Well, now I am off to get the kids fed and ready to go visiting. See you after all the festival-ing!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
And the Countdown Continues
Josh is dying. For those of you who are not married and/or male, I will translate: Josh has a head cold. I feel for the guy, but if he gives me sick cooties right before J-Fest, I'm going to have to make him miserable for the rest of his life. Which will be short.
Josh's parents have decided that they want to leave town early for the weekend, and are unavailable now to watch Grant and Abbie on Friday. This leaves me sitter-less. I am toying with the idea of dropping them off at Josh's work on my way on Friday. I wonder if the girls in the front office would agree to keeping an eye on them for Josh's last half hour of work. Just picturing myself asking is giving me guilt ulcers. Next year, if possible, I'm going to send my kids to Rolla on THURSDAY. That is...if that's okay with everyone. I feel that no matter what I pick, I'm being horribly unfair to someone. If I could get over the logistical stress, I'd really be enjoying this.
I'm also looking forward to a time in my life that doesn't have major instances of TMI. Josh got drunk dialed by his best friend's little sister while I was coming home from taiko on Tuesday. And she was DRIVING. So he called her back to make sure she made it home. Then she called again after I was home, and wanted to talk to me. (It was nearly 1am at this point. Practice ran late.) She was pretty gone...and sad. I don't know exactly what prompted her to get SO drunk on a Tuesday night when she had work the next day, but she gave a few hints. She's a nice girl, and I like her, but she never would have said half of that if she were sober. I'm actually worried about her. Josh's solution to my being worried is, "You should give her a call." But I don't know her that well, and it would probably just embarrass her. What would you do?
It's a beautiful day again! Very autumn-ish. I'm not sure how I'm going to spend the day time part. I need to wash a load of towels. Then, practice tonight.
Grant has been seeing how many words he can make with the letters of his name. I gave up on trying to keep him from being bored in kindergarten. Let the poor guy learn while he is still interested. And Abbie should be in dance. She loves dancing, and she jumps up and dances to songs on WALL-E or Shaun the sheep. But my recent lottery ticket didn't win. Sometimes my life frustrates the hell out of me.
The kids love LWW (Trish, I'm stealing your abbreviation!) and are understanding it very well. We read some last night. We're at the part where Edmond found the witch's "house". So exciting.
I can't remember if I washed my happi after the last performance I was in, so I'm going to wash and iron it today. Might as well start out clean, even if I'm going to be pungent by Monday afternoon.
Hope your Thursday is a good one!
Josh's parents have decided that they want to leave town early for the weekend, and are unavailable now to watch Grant and Abbie on Friday. This leaves me sitter-less. I am toying with the idea of dropping them off at Josh's work on my way on Friday. I wonder if the girls in the front office would agree to keeping an eye on them for Josh's last half hour of work. Just picturing myself asking is giving me guilt ulcers. Next year, if possible, I'm going to send my kids to Rolla on THURSDAY. That is...if that's okay with everyone. I feel that no matter what I pick, I'm being horribly unfair to someone. If I could get over the logistical stress, I'd really be enjoying this.
I'm also looking forward to a time in my life that doesn't have major instances of TMI. Josh got drunk dialed by his best friend's little sister while I was coming home from taiko on Tuesday. And she was DRIVING. So he called her back to make sure she made it home. Then she called again after I was home, and wanted to talk to me. (It was nearly 1am at this point. Practice ran late.) She was pretty gone...and sad. I don't know exactly what prompted her to get SO drunk on a Tuesday night when she had work the next day, but she gave a few hints. She's a nice girl, and I like her, but she never would have said half of that if she were sober. I'm actually worried about her. Josh's solution to my being worried is, "You should give her a call." But I don't know her that well, and it would probably just embarrass her. What would you do?
It's a beautiful day again! Very autumn-ish. I'm not sure how I'm going to spend the day time part. I need to wash a load of towels. Then, practice tonight.
Grant has been seeing how many words he can make with the letters of his name. I gave up on trying to keep him from being bored in kindergarten. Let the poor guy learn while he is still interested. And Abbie should be in dance. She loves dancing, and she jumps up and dances to songs on WALL-E or Shaun the sheep. But my recent lottery ticket didn't win. Sometimes my life frustrates the hell out of me.
The kids love LWW (Trish, I'm stealing your abbreviation!) and are understanding it very well. We read some last night. We're at the part where Edmond found the witch's "house". So exciting.
I can't remember if I washed my happi after the last performance I was in, so I'm going to wash and iron it today. Might as well start out clean, even if I'm going to be pungent by Monday afternoon.
Hope your Thursday is a good one!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Mystery Poop
Grant: Mommy! There's some poop here!
This is not what you want to hear when you are reading a nice book to your children in your own bed.
Me (buying some time): Grant, go and get a Kleenex, please.
1. Josh. Mostly potty trained. I would be surprised. Although, it is on his side of the bed....
2. Grant. Not one for asking about something he'd done, unless it was unconscious.
3. Abbie. Leaky diapers happen. But she was right next to me, and I had time to ascertain that she was clean.
4. Jake. Due to his Basset Hound heritage, getting up on my bed for any reason would be a huge effort, which goes against his nature. Besides, he'd make a lot of noise trying, and I would have heard.
Enter Grant and Kleenex.
Brave mommy that I am, I picked up the mystery particle and examined it more closely. Giggles followed. The culprit turned out to be a crumb of Ding Dong that fell, probably on Josh's shirt, and then got into the sheets when he went to sleep.
We did some weeding in the yard last night. When will I learn to put on my gardening gloves? You'll be glad to know that the swelling in my fingers has gone down. Josh hasn't even looked at the lawnmower since he started calculus. The lawn is only bad in the shady places, but the trim was embarrassingly long, so I grabbed the kitchen shears and did it by hand. Not super fun, and it was getting dark when I finished. Another thing I noticed while I was out was that our siding has little grayish dots of mold ALL OVER IT!!! I'm floored. I have no idea what I can spray onto it that won't run down and kill my yard. Maybe I can ask at Lowe's or something, next time I'm near one.
We went outside today, too. We played in the yard, and went to Bree's house and pet Shadow. Jake was tethered to the porch, but he we could hear him woofing at us. He's very jealous that he didn't get to visit with Shadow, too. He and Shadow are buddies. I always thought he was chasing cats because he wanted to eat them up. Shows what I know. The kids brought me lovely flowers: clover in white and red and a cheerful yellow dandelion.
We also did some dusting and sweeping today, and danced in the kitchen with our dusters. I ran the dishwasher, but haven't unloaded it yet. And I'm behind on the laundry, too. Hmm.
I made my Indonesian Roast Pork yesterday. Every time I've made it since I moved into this house, I've burned it. How can you burn something that's cooked in a LIQUID??? This time, I went into it with great suspiscion. The roast was about 3 times bigger than the ones I'd had before. (A gift from my mommy.) Plus, I cooked it at a slightly lower temperature. I checked it at about half way through the recommended cooking time, and it was done. So I made rice and turned it off. Perfect-o! The kids each had three plates, and I had two. Poor Josh had class, but there is enough to have it again tonight. Can't wait! I'm considering it a great culinary success! I scribbled my changes down on the recipe, of course.
Tonight - TAIKO! And then some more taiko, and probably some more taiko. Mere days until the J-Fest! The plan, in case I should forget, is that Josh will come with me on Saturday, and we will probably pick up Eddie, too, as he is on the way. Josh will stay home and study on Sunday. Sunday night, I will go with Helena to stay at her dad's, and ride with her Monday morning. Then, Josh will come and see the show at 2, and I will go home with him. Confusing? Yes. Not at all the original plan? Also yes. Going to be fun anyway? Why, of course.
And now...about that laundry...
This is not what you want to hear when you are reading a nice book to your children in your own bed.
Me (buying some time): Grant, go and get a Kleenex, please.
1. Josh. Mostly potty trained. I would be surprised. Although, it is on his side of the bed....
2. Grant. Not one for asking about something he'd done, unless it was unconscious.
3. Abbie. Leaky diapers happen. But she was right next to me, and I had time to ascertain that she was clean.
4. Jake. Due to his Basset Hound heritage, getting up on my bed for any reason would be a huge effort, which goes against his nature. Besides, he'd make a lot of noise trying, and I would have heard.
Enter Grant and Kleenex.
Brave mommy that I am, I picked up the mystery particle and examined it more closely. Giggles followed. The culprit turned out to be a crumb of Ding Dong that fell, probably on Josh's shirt, and then got into the sheets when he went to sleep.
We did some weeding in the yard last night. When will I learn to put on my gardening gloves? You'll be glad to know that the swelling in my fingers has gone down. Josh hasn't even looked at the lawnmower since he started calculus. The lawn is only bad in the shady places, but the trim was embarrassingly long, so I grabbed the kitchen shears and did it by hand. Not super fun, and it was getting dark when I finished. Another thing I noticed while I was out was that our siding has little grayish dots of mold ALL OVER IT!!! I'm floored. I have no idea what I can spray onto it that won't run down and kill my yard. Maybe I can ask at Lowe's or something, next time I'm near one.
We went outside today, too. We played in the yard, and went to Bree's house and pet Shadow. Jake was tethered to the porch, but he we could hear him woofing at us. He's very jealous that he didn't get to visit with Shadow, too. He and Shadow are buddies. I always thought he was chasing cats because he wanted to eat them up. Shows what I know. The kids brought me lovely flowers: clover in white and red and a cheerful yellow dandelion.
We also did some dusting and sweeping today, and danced in the kitchen with our dusters. I ran the dishwasher, but haven't unloaded it yet. And I'm behind on the laundry, too. Hmm.
I made my Indonesian Roast Pork yesterday. Every time I've made it since I moved into this house, I've burned it. How can you burn something that's cooked in a LIQUID??? This time, I went into it with great suspiscion. The roast was about 3 times bigger than the ones I'd had before. (A gift from my mommy.) Plus, I cooked it at a slightly lower temperature. I checked it at about half way through the recommended cooking time, and it was done. So I made rice and turned it off. Perfect-o! The kids each had three plates, and I had two. Poor Josh had class, but there is enough to have it again tonight. Can't wait! I'm considering it a great culinary success! I scribbled my changes down on the recipe, of course.
Tonight - TAIKO! And then some more taiko, and probably some more taiko. Mere days until the J-Fest! The plan, in case I should forget, is that Josh will come with me on Saturday, and we will probably pick up Eddie, too, as he is on the way. Josh will stay home and study on Sunday. Sunday night, I will go with Helena to stay at her dad's, and ride with her Monday morning. Then, Josh will come and see the show at 2, and I will go home with him. Confusing? Yes. Not at all the original plan? Also yes. Going to be fun anyway? Why, of course.
And now...about that laundry...
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