crazy cat lady

10-31-12


Happy Halloween!!!!!

Oh, and a big fat ouch to go with that. My crazy cat lady costume is awesome and comes with an authentic limp. In my gobs of soccer playing and jogging last night, my right upper butt is sore. It means I kicked some serious ass, but even so, fucking ouch! I couldn’t get comfortable last night at all, resulting in little to no sleep. I am hoping that doesn’t keep me up tonight. I have another late night ahead of me this evening and tomorrow is even later what with the board meeting. Sheesh!!!!

Yes, this may some day result in my son yelling at me, but seriously, this made me laugh in a sweet way. So yesterday afternoon, Bobby and I headed out to the dentist with plans to meet up at the soccer field after. So it was nice mom/son time bonding. At one point, he proceeds to mention a super secret he has that he can’t tell anyone. Now, as a concerned mom, I tell him he shouldn’t keep secrets from me at this time. He doesn’t want to tell me, so I prod a little more. It becomes more apparent that it has something to do with his boy parts. Panic sets in as I try not to freak out and yet still ask him if some grownup was doing bad things. Not that I thought this was really happening, but the way he was acting made me worry. He even said there were grown ups involved and his privates. Holy fuck, the alarms were going off.

It then took a sharp turn.

He proceeds to tell me the grownups are on tv. What the what? In fact, the things that as he put it, “tickle his privates” were all in fact dreams he had been having. He had a handful of dreams where he was naked with a girl and they were kissing. At this point I relaxed a shit ton. I started asking him what the girls looked like and he seemed to enjoy telling me. They sounded like pretty innocent dreams, but he was I think worried it was wrong. I told him dreams are awesome since you can do all kinds of things you can’t do in real life. I also pointed out no one should be touching his privates at this point and he agreed. Don’t know if he heard me or just was agreeing to shut me up. LOL! Either way, I was happy he told me and hopefully I reacted ok so he doesn’t worry about telling me other things in the future.

Crud, I meant to rub the cats on me so I was covered in more cat hair. LOL!!!

Wigs are very hot.

This weekend looks to be quiet. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Game is early, but then I can go home with the boys and hang out until we need to go back to get Ken. I am thrilled about this. I need some down time.

my costume is pretty much complete

10-29-12


Well, at least all of my jewelry is clean and organized now.

I was out front with Bobby washing my car when Ken came running out telling me en emergency cleanup was needed in the bathroom. I knew he had been working on a clog in the pipes, but I thought it was under control. Sadly, it ended up resulting in the bathroom sink over flowing. The fluids not only got all over the bathroom floor, but ended up filling my two drawers that contain my jewelry and makeup. The runoff even filled one of my boots that happened to be in there. Yuck.

Luckily there were no casualties that were an issue. I spent the next hour sanitizing every piece of jewelry I have. It did allow me to organize again and as I pointed out to Ken, they were more sparklie now due to my efforts. LOL! Plus, Ken got me out a couple of new containers he had, allowing a better storage option for everything. It wasn’t the ideal way to do this project, but I suppose it worked out in the end.

My weekend was filled with lots of activity. Most of it wasn’t as dirty.

Friday afternoon was the Halldale Family Fun Night. We all put on our Avengers gear and headed to the school. Sadly, these are not the Halloween carnivals of my day. There were only 5 lame ass games and a lot of kids milling around doing not a lot of anything. We had some food and listened in for who would win the prizes the boys put tickets in. Dax won a lunch with Mrs. Fasheh and a couple other teachers, which is freaking awesome. He is going to take Bobby with him. They will go up to Louis Burger at lunch on some Friday. I thought this was really cool.

Boy, a lot of kids know that stupid Gangnam Style song. They played it like 4 times in a row. I do not care for it one bit, but I did enjoy a shit ton of 1st and 2nd graders dancing their asses off to it. Bobby marched around in his Thor costume to the tune, which was pretty damn funny. My baby is very white.

Our game Saturday morning started great. We were ahead 1-0 all of the first half. Even the third quarter went well. Bobby was goalie and he saved a ton of goals and did freaking amazing. There was a jumble right at the end of the quarter that resulted in a shot. Bobby snagged it, but it was apparently right on the line so they gave them a goal. I didn’t mind since really, this was the first game I felt we were finally evenly matched. We lost 2-1, but it was a fun game. Even parents from the other team came up and told us how fun it was. I liked that. A good day on the field!

The boys and I then set out for costume shopping. We hit up a Goodwill and I was able to find an ugly coat, which was perfect for the part. We had a leisurely lunch and then headed out to my mom’s for a bit. It was perfect, really, as I was able to leave them for about 20 minutes while I ran up to the Salvation Army quickly and find a skirt.

My costume isn't quite this cool, but the sentiment is there

We went back to the field to help in tear down. Boy, with the boys and I helping, they got out of there super quick. Yay Team Brenan!

A quick stop at the grocery store and the Redbox allowed us to have some homemade dinner and we watched the Muppets. Ken also picked me up 3 different kinds of hard cider to try. That was a fun treat!

I was neglectful in not having the boys do more homework, but I really enjoyed letting them run around with their friends for several hours on Sunday. I also felt guilty for dragging them all over town on Saturday, so I guess we should be ok. I need Bobby to do a bit more homework tonight than normal if only to be able to not do much tomorrow since he and I have a dentist appointment at 3 for our cleaning. The good news is that this shouldn’t be a problem.

Today looks to be sort of busy, what with me prepping for reports that happen tomorrow. My main issue is keeping focus. I have a new book that is sitting next to me, calling out to me.

family fun night tonight

10-26-12

Lateral epicondylitis.

In other words, I have a tendon that is a little out of whack right now and it is strained. It is often called “tennis elbow”. Ken has the same thing, so he feels my pain. The doc prescribed some cream that is supposed to help. She also told me to wear one of the straps that are everywhere that essentially keeps the muscle from tugging at that tendon while it heals.

When I told Ken he told me I will end up going back and I will ask for a cortisone shot. He had the same experience so far and since this is one of those things that hurts like hell and even the most patient person will finally get tired of waiting for the pain to subside. The only thing that truly helped him was the shot to the arm, and thankfully aside from the odd side effect of a funky skin patch where he got the shot, it has helped.

The good thing about the doc visit is that it allowed me to have the rest of the morning to myself. I headed over to the mall in search of Spanx to hopefully make me feel less like a grody sausage in my Black Widow costume tonight.

Turns out despite life being a pretty much 24/7 kind of schedule, Del Amo Mall does not adhere to this. I got there at 9:30, assuming I could do some of the shopping. Instead, the entire mall was still in shut down mode. There was a fair amount of people there, though. None of them were standing outside the shops, flashing their hands muttering “open, open, open.” They were made up of two groups of mall walkers; moms with strollers and angry Asian women.

I considered going and getting something to drink in the food court and just hang out to wait. Even the court was a ghost town. I opted to sit on a bench and wait it out.

The walking around the mall and wait resulted in finding a new shop that turned out to have quite a few cool items. When they finally opened, I ended up getting 3 small canvas prints with various skull pictures. I also found a travel mug with the Eiffel Tower on it for Dax. Yes, my random 6 year old has an odd fascination with the French landmark.

 

I went to Cacique and found the Spanx I was looking for. I also found a bra that was in the $20 bin. I am quite thrilled with this one. It is pretty and holds the girls up quite well. Yay!

Last night we went to go look at the convertible PT. Sadly, it was already gone. I am surprisingly bummed. I mostly just wanted to see if the boys would fit. I wasn’t going to get the car, but I hate not having the option.

Tonight is Family Fun Night at the school. I am looking forward to it. It is only 2 hours, from 4 to 6. We will undoubtedly stay the whole time. It should be interesting, especially since I am pretty sure this will be the first year that at the least, Bobby will probably leave us to go hang out with friends. That will be one of those bitter sweet moments.

Ok, am I lame that I thought Napoleon Dynamite sucked? I feel the same way about many of those smash hit movies.

80 today?? Fuck. The good news is that it is also windy, and by late afternoon the temperature tends to drop so my skin tight non-breathable fabric will not kill me. Sheesh.

heading out early

10-25-12


I am only bummed that I won’t be able to use the gym today.

My doctor’s appointment was changed from 4 this afternoon to 10 this morning. The only plus is that I don’t have to stress about homework and bringing the kids to the doc’s office. It also gives me some time in which I can go take care of some costume shopping and other outings that I can do by myself, which is kind of cool.

I think my plan will be to leave here around 8. That way I don’t have to deal with the boss. I am also hoping they can get me in earlier. I mean, the apt will probably be quick since they won’t be able to do much for me. I would imagine I will end up getting an X-Ray? But if it is just some kind of muscle or tendon strain, that would be referred to someone else, which from what Ken said, may take a few weeks before I can see someone. Lame.

Actually, the homework thing should be easy today. Bobby is done with his standard week stuff, so we can just do a bunch of book reports. I figure I have homework packets to staple and I need to help Dax, along with a quick visit by the RC for soccer, so we have a pretty easy afternoon ahead of us. Yay!

I already did my hair for Black Widow, so that part is set. I am planning on picking up some Spanx so I don’t feel so blobby in the costume. Not that the boys care, but I do. The costume is freaking hot, so I am hoping tomorrow afternoon isn’t one of the warm days.

Ken got asked to possibly play on an indoor soccer team. I am a little jealous. It is a men’s team, and truly despite my working out I don’t know how well I could hold up on an actual team, but still. I need to start busting my but some more. I gotta be able to handle playing on a team if they organize a co-ed one for the spring.

I have been looking at cars. It is still in the stages of wishful thinking, but with the van being paid off shortly, we can really start planning. I found a PT Cruiser convertible. I know, I already have a PT, but honestly, I have really loved my car. So here I would have the best of both worlds. I would like to go look at it this evening to see if it is even a viable option what with the two kids that would need a place to sit.

We also found some options, one in particular that would be great for Ken. It is one of those delivery style trucks complete with a lift in the back. It is only $5K and it would allow us to get rid of the blazer AND the PT. I would then go back to the van. I am cool with this. It isn’t a convertible, but I just need a car that doesn’t have the worst gas mileage EVER.

Dax’s writing assignment today is about his favorite singer. He was thinking about it yesterday and he really was torn between Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. So we went through their music catalogs and counted the number of songs from each singer that he liked. The winner was Ms. Perry. I am quite pleased that I just found out that it is her birthday today. This will make Dax happy and it will help add some fun content to his paragraph.

stop payment

10-24-12


I am looking forward to seeing the doctor tomorrow.

I did a decent amount of running last night at practice. Enough that I can feel it, so I will take that as I did the right amount. I would like to do more, but sometimes the practice is about the kids running, not me. LOL!

Tuesdays, despite being a soccer day, seems to really give us more time for homework. The boys get out an hour earlier, and with me not having to worry about things like dinner since that is after practice I have a couple of hours where we can really concentrate on getting ahead. And with our new way of doing things, we were kicking ass last night. If all goes right, we should be done tonight. Of course, he will still have book reports to write tomorrow night, but mostly those are just so he gets ahead on that, and so he does some homework. Yay!

Dax is frustrated since his name keeps being flipped in school, which essentially means he did something wrong. Nothing serious, mind you. Mr. Williams has a one warning system, and once you fuck up twice, you get your name turned, which means no prize box that afternoon. In all fairness, on Mondays especially, only maybe 2 kids stay good enough for the prize. That is the whole point. Mr. Williams is teaching them to really work towards being good.

Despite his being upset about this, he has been kicking ass on his educational game on his iPod. I had downloaded apps called Teach Me and they have ones for each grade level. I just downloaded the 2nd grade one which Dax is using and doing well. Yes, these are advanced concepts, but the app is great in not only rewarding them for knowing the answer, they help you figure it out if you are stuck, so in essence, he is learning how to do things we won’t be formally taught until next year. Of course, I think Mr. Williams teaches a very advanced 1st grade class, but much of the things like the math questions are what I see on Bobby’s homework, not Dax’s. I would have Bobby use the app more, but honestly, what with all his homework already, I am ok with him zoning out a bit while playing an actual game.

Sigh, now I have to make a phone call to USBank for AYSO. Bleah.

the bird

10-23-12


The raffle tickets have been purchased and are now sitting in the bins hoping that they will be drawn on Friday so the boys win something.

I am really only hoping for one of the prizes, which is 4 passes to Disneyland. That sounds like the only fantastic one, especially since if we really wanted to, we could even probably use these tickets towards the cost of season passes again.

The prize I know Dax is coveting is this giant stuffed animal which is in the shape of a Luna dog in a super hero costume. As much as it would be a silly prize to get in our already jam packed house, I would love to see his face if he did win that.

I was feeling all cocky about Bobby’s homework this week knowing that we should be a full day ahead having done what is normally one day’s worth on Sunday. Sadly, she actually put in more worksheets this week so it meant that we were ahead in some ways, but we would be hurting had we not done work over the weekend. It means really the only way to keep up with homework is making kids do work on the weekend, which is not right at this age.

I love that it was freezing last night. I slept fantastic and I was very sad when the alarm went off.

I discovered that the pain in my arm prevents me from flipping someone off with that hand. Yes, that motion hurts. Epic Fail indeed.

I am nervous. It seems that multiple people I know have hand foot mouth disease. I wonder if it is going around. I really don’t want the boys to have to deal with this. I am already sad that the kids I do know, one being my poor Sabrina, have to deal. I am going to ask the doc when I go on Thursday if he has heard anything.

I wonder if I can ride my bike in my boots.

I hope it is cold tonight. Soccer practice when it is cold is much nicer.

I am worried Dax is getting sick. He looked pretty tired last night, and he didn’t have much of an appetite, even turning down pumpkin bread, which is something he loves.

Need another weekend

10-22-12


I wish I could figure out what I did to my arm.

Another crazy hectic weekend at Casa de Brenan. I really wish I had a weekend for my weekends. We had a million errands on Friday night. I had planned on making cupcakes for the team on Saturday since I ended up being in charge of snacks this week, but Ken convinced me to just buy them. Probably for the best, really.

Saturday was a constant on the go kind of day. In the morning, I opted to drive Ken to the field since I had to go get ice anyway and I knew I would be at the field multiple times over the day and one car made more sense. Of course, the one day that I got up early so I could get out of the house by 7:30 with Ken, the boys opted to sleep in. I had to wake them up at 7:30. On the plus side, there is something to be said about being able to wake your kid up by crawling into bed with them and being silly.

The boys had a birthday party at 10. Luckily, it was across the street, but it still meant getting them ready to go and still give them a deadline of noon to come back since we had to head out to the game around noon thirty.

During this time I worked on laundry and other housework items. There was no shortage. Noon came quickly and I went to gather my kids so I could get them dressed for the game.

When I go to the field, I normally just have the coach’s bag and my bag. Really not a big deal. But with me having snacks, and Ken uber busy reffing all games on Saturday, I had to drag a cooler, cupcakes, the banner, the balls and my normal load. Yay wagon! Still, it was a bit of a pain.

The game was a blow out. It was awful, really. I honestly feel our team is pretty good. We just need to go to the ball more and honestly, it is hard to teach that. The other team was also amazing, so I don’t feel too bad. Still, I hate seeing our kids lose every game. Thankfully they are very happy kids and don’t seem to mind. We have told them that we see the improvement with each game, and they are all just pleased to be on the field. I like that.

Also, cupcakes will make ANY kid happy.

I gathered the kids and ran them back by home since they had another party at 3. The plan had been for both boys to stay since I had to go back to the field to take board member pictures and to get Ken. Instead, Dax flipped out about the idea of being left, so he opted to come with me. Thankfully Bobby didn’t care one way or another.

We went to the field only to be a part of quite a bit of drama. One of the other U8 teams has a coach that has multiple complaints about him. On Saturday he pushed a button of the team mom one too many times. As we were by the region canopy, she storms past us, kid in tow and tells us that someone needs to control that man. Turns out she pulled her kid mid game just because she didn’t want her kid around this coach.

It was crazy what happened. One of his team members got hit in the face with the ball. Pretty standard, and it is more than reasonable for said kid to sit out for a few minutes to get his bearings. The coach, however, decided that 15 seconds was too much and kept badgering the kid to go back in. Poor kid was still upset and hurt, and in the arms of his mother mind you. All the parents started yelling at the coach to give him a second, and the coach roared at all of them and told them that he wasn’t speaking to them. The AR told me when he heard it, had he had the power, he would have red carded him. Sadly, Ken, who was center, didn’t hear this exchange.

It was the last game of the day, which meant those teams, coaches included, were supposed to do field tear down. This coach was gone in seconds, and apparently this is his standard way of dealing with the end of the game. Not to mention, he has three practices a week, which is not allowed.

The good thing is that much of the board was showing up to the field and was able to hear quickly from the actual witnesses as to what happened. Needless to say, he is going to be probably banned from coaching. YAY!

Sadly, with all of this going on, it meant things were going to take longer at the field. I was able to keep Dax entertained by helping clean up the field, letting the parents and board members handle the issues at hand. That being said, my kid was bored. In all fairness, so was I.

We were able to get the pictures taken and then were able to set out for home. We opted to get Dax via bicycle since it was in the neighborhood. Plus, we decided we would ride up to Old Torrance and get dinner. We had planned on going to Buffalo Fire House, but it looked like they were having a private party. So instead, we took the time to ride up and drop off the game cards at a board member’s house, and then set out for dinner.

We couldn’t figure out where to go, and Ken suggested we finally try out the Korean BBQ place we always pass. It was shockingly good! You cook the food at your table and there was plenty of items that all four of us enjoyed. It was pricey, but a fun time was had. I was impressed with how much food the boys ate!

We got home and then the four of us worked on setting up the sets for Ken’s party on Sunday. Thank goodness the boys are really good at this Lego thing. Plus, they like to help.

Sunday was a day of clean up and grocery store outings. Ken and the boys headed out to the party around 2, but I had already started the housework process. By the time they got home, I had done all of the clothing part of laundry (I was still working on beddings), changed the bedding and cleaned up the boys’ room, cleaned the living room, entry way, kitchen, and our bedroom. I also managed to make a casserole for dinner, breakfast burritos for Ken and I all week, and a pumpkin bread loaf. Yes, I do indeed rock.

I am a little annoyed that I didn’t catch this earlier. We had gone to the store and pharmacy yesterday. The meds I needed were actually my crazy pills. They filled my Metformin. Crud. It meant by the time I caught this (Ken was picking up the meds so he didn’t know what I needed), the pharmacy was already closed. This means I am missing a pill. I will more than likely be fine, but it is frustrating.

I probably should not read the book I am reading before bedtime anymore. It is about a rather dysfunctional relationship, and I know that this is part of the reason for the random not great dream I had last night.

Dax is now using the pee alarm. I know he will be happy if he doesn’t have to wear his nighttime undies anymore, so this is around the time Bobby started using the alarm, so I figure we can start using it. Right now, it will be good to determine his patterns. Last night he peed around 3 this morning. Not bad, being that he lasted that long. I will be cutting him off from liquid earlier tonight, and hopefully with the nighttime pattern we have worked out, he will stay dry longer, and we can get his bladder stronger.

This Friday is the family fun night. I am looking forward to it. I need to do some things to get ready for my costume part of it, but I know the boys are jazzed that we are going in costume as a family.

I am also jazzed that the game this coming week is at 9 am. So much nicer of a day when we can go early and then have the rest of the day. Of course, when I say we, Ken is sadly not included since he is stuck at the field all day. But it does mean the boys can get home and play with their friends all day, which often is hard to do when it is game day.

My arm really fucking hurts. I just made an appointment for Thursday afternoon. Hopefully it is nothing, but then again, part of me wants it to be something so I can get it fixed. I am worried it is just some kind of tendentious that is from the arm circles or something like that. I know when I pick up my water cup here at work, it hurts like hell. Not happy making.

I am pretty proud of the breakfast burritos I made. They are about 320 calories each, which isn’t too bad. Super freaking filling, which is what I need. Lots of protein and quick to heat up in the morning. I made 10 of these things, which is cool since it means Ken and I have an easy breakfast each day. It will make my mornings much better, and I feel better about a small amount of calories. I am trying to cut back again and do more working out. I have not stopped moving since I got to my desk. I am doing all kinds of stretching and little exercise at my desk today.

My mom told me she is retiring this June! This shocked the crap out me. I know she gets frustrated with the people at work and actually, it sounds like she gets frustrated at the same kinds of things I get annoyed with, and she has finally just had enough.

Don’t you hate it when you absent mindedly scratch your arm and then notice a puddle of blood on your desk because you apparently put a small hole in your arm? No? Only me? Oh, ok.

There were a bunch of teens in formals on Saturday night when we were heading over to get Bobby. I swear, I am such a sucker for that shit. I actually want to go to my reunion just so I can get dolled up. I am always hoping for someone I know to get married and to invite me. I want so badly to get dressed up. LOL!

Ok, I have work to accomplish today.

dreamy

10-19-12


I have to admit, there are some dreams that make me giddy.

The dream started off pretty standard. I know that I was happy. I was with a lot of people that I have known or know still. Lots of old friends hanging out, just laughing, sharing stories. Much of the time I was curled up on a couch with Ken and it was truly a wonderful evening.

Then it turned into a show! When I get obsessed about a television show, I don’t make a secret about it. How I Met Your Mother is one of those shows that always makes me warm and fuzzy. I found myself in the midst of an episode. All I can remember clearly is hugging Barney (the sexy NPH) as he was all kinds of upset and finally being able to calm him down. It was crazy awesome, and based on all my dream states last night I am feeling pretty damn good.

We got Dax and Bobby their own light up hula hoops last night. Before bed, Dax delighted us all with his hooping talents while outside. Burning man, eat your heart out.

No boss man today, so I can assure you, this will be a great day to be at work.

My arm is still sore. It has been sore to varying degrees for some time. My original thought was that I pulled something. Then I wondered if I just slept on it wrong. For now, I don’t know what I did, but certain movements are painful, but in that sore muscle kind of way. I am not concerned. I find it to be more of a nuisance than anything else. Between that and the random pulled muscle in my thigh on the same side, I am feeling rather lopsided. LOL!

I do not care for how I look in the Black Widow costume. The boys disagree. They thought I looked awesome. So for Trick or Treating purposes (and the Family Fun Night next Friday) I will be taking on the role of Natasha Romanoff. For the costume contest at work, I will be donning something else. Only I get a wardrobe change for Halloween. Ha! For now, I may be rockin the giraffe footies that I have and somehow manage to pass if off as such. We shall see.

Ok, I need to find something to entertain myself with.

hoop

10-18-12


I am a well-oiled machine.

I got to the school with the assumption that I would gather the boys quickly and we would hunt down one of the ice cream vendors so I could finally get them a teenage mutant ninja turtle popsicle. Instead, I was treated to a French lesson!

Mr. Williams had invited a couple of people in to show the kids some French. He invited me in to sit and listen to the questions the kids were asking them. It was awesome. The young man was very sweet and I think he appreciated me occasionally interpreting the kids’ questions. At one point, one of them asked him how to say Sponge Bob, and he looked to me with confusion since the kid made it sound more like smunge sbob smare spants. I can assure you I can now officially say I am bilingual since I speak kid.

I ran off to get Bobby, and he also got to sit in on the question and answer session. It was so awesome! Mr. Williams only invited me in, telling me after that I was the only parent he knew would love this and he said that I was also the only parent who seemed to really enjoy life. I take this as a great compliment.

Although the late departure from the campus did mean we missed out on the ice cream carts, the boys were surprisingly chipper. We got home and set to work on homework. I was a little annoyed with myself when it occurred to me that we still had a book summary due on the story of Sequoyah, but with the pace we were setting, I knew that we would be ok to handle that tonight and still have time for a couple book reports. My hopes now is to get ahead of the game like this and even have Bobby complete a book report a night since we were able to do it pretty quickly as a team. If he does one a night, we can stock pile those things so we can turn them in each week to make it look like we are not just doing a shit ton of them all at once. It also means that if we build up a reserve, if one night we don’t get a chance to do a book report we will be ok.

I sent the kids out to the pool since it was miserable hot out. I should have gone in too instead of working in the hot kitchen, but sometimes cooking dinner takes president over swimming. It was ok, though, since their friends came over and played with them in the pool. I would have let them play longer, but there seemed to be more disagreements than normal so I called them in at 5 instead of 6.

They wolfed down my spaghetti. I was shocked! Bobby normally complains even at the sight of it, but instead, he ate a huge bowl of the pasta. YAY! I didn’t even have to change noodles this time. I was so impressed, and feeling bad about the lack of TMNT ice pops that I took them to Fosters for a cone. I was even good and didn’t get anything for me, which is a huge sign of self-control.

The boys were being quite well behaved. Showers and show later, we read a book called Little Bear’s Visit. I have a couple of these books that had been somehow nuzzled in between other books on the shelf and had been ignored until last night. It was a perfect book for us. It was mostly dull, but that being said, it was broken into 3 chapters, which is ideal having me read one, and each boy got to read a chapter. Yay!

Now I have a day ahead of me in which I am in pain. I seem to have slept on my neck wrong. Lame. It doesn’t surprise me, though. It was really hot and I had a hard time getting comfortable last night. I did like the sound of the wind this morning. That was nice. It would have been nicer last night.

I have to remember to place the last couple orders for the fundraiser today at the school since it is the last day. We also have the McDonald’s night, which is pretty cool. I would say we will ride up there, but I think a Toys R Us run in happening since Ken needs to pick up some Lego for the party this weekend.

Turns out Dax is a whiz on the hula hoop. He was borrowing his friend’s and he just started doing it with no effort. It was memorizing. Bobby and I just watched, dumbstruck. It was amazing! I will be picking up his very own hoop tonight as well.

debate schamate

10-17-12


Am I bad for not giving a rat’s ass about the debates?

I know the election is important. Trust me, I am going to vote and for good luck, the family is even going to eat dinner at the same restaurant while they tally votes. But until that time, I don’t need to hear anything else. My vote has been made.

I was pleased when I heard Romney did well on the first debate. I was feeling bad for the guy. He had been having a bad couple of weeks in the press. Look, I don’t hate the other candidate. He is a politician, just like Obama. Honestly, they both suck on different things. They both rock on different things. This being said, a bunch of talking in a big room with a moderator doesn’t do anything for me. It is all just, well, talking! I don’t need to hear it.

I realize this mini rant makes it sound like I am in a bad mood. On the contrary! I am actually feeling quite groovy this morning. I managed to get inside the building at a reasonable time because I entered the parking lot early enough to meet up with someone who could let me in. YAY!

Yesterday I feel like I was moving all day. With my exercises at my desk all day, the walk on the treadmill and then running a shit ton at practice I am a little sore. Woo hoo! At the end of practice, I had all the boys come up to me and I randomly broke into a run around the field with all of them trying to catch me. It was freaking awesome.

I have been using my new strategy on homework this week. So far, it has been good. It does mean I sit in the playroom during the entire process. It also means that homework is done quicker, and better and there seems to be less pissing and moaning. I keep them on task, while also having fun with the whole process. I have had Dax re-write things because the writing was messy. So I will describe it as the letters all in some kind of funky party, which makes him laugh and not balk at my request. It is a good thing. In fact, because of this approach, we are a good day ahead on Bobby’s homework. Tonight he will finish his packet, and have plenty of time to work on some book reports. Tomorrow, he can do the rest of the book reports due this month. YAY!

Wednesday is my day alone all afternoon with the boys. It means I am hoping to get some housework done after homework is complete. I think I will also make some spaghetti for dinner, which will be fun.

I enjoyed my Monday hooky day. I left work at 7:45 and ended up lying in bed with Ken for 4 hours or so. We listened to the rest of Kevin and Bean. We napped a bit. We also watched 3 or so episodes of Firefly, which was enjoyable. I didn’t go online during this time. I didn’t check my phone. I just relaxed, which I don’t do enough. It was super wonderful, and I am quite glad I did it.

I think I will need to go get snacks for the game this weekend. I didn’t realize how many more games were left, and ones that had not been originally scheduled. The family doing snacks this week is out of town, so I think I will cover for her if she can do them next week. I am considering using this time to make something fun for the kids, but I don’t know yet. Maybe some kind of Halloween goodies. I can make cupcakes I think without having to worry about any allergies and I can make them Friday night.

Ken and I ordered our costumes from Amazon. I am just crossing fingers mine will fit. I need to get some Spanx since I think it will make me feel better in my stomach area for the day. We also need to go get the costume for Luna and possibly one for a stuffed bear.

This weekend is going to be busy. Saturday after the game I take the boys over to a birthday party. It is possible I will once again have to stick around. Bleah. Sunday, Ken has a birthday party he is doing, which does mean in the next couple days the living room will be a staging area for the sets. It is possible the boys will go with Ken again, though, and be his employees. The nice thing with that is that I get a small break. Maybe I can take the dog to the park.

For now, I think I will focus on making it through today. The boss has Friday off which means he will be a total pill the next two days.

I need a break

10-15-12


My throat hurts.

Ok, that is all my doing. LOL! I was yelling and cheering so much at the game on Saturday, my voice decided to go all kaflooey. I sound worse than it is, though. I suppose it is good I have tea here at my desk.

We spoke to Ms. Jenkins on Friday. Ken and I went in and asked her what the policy was on the library books. She practically interrupted us with acknowledging that the letter Bobby wrote was quite harsh. Here is her side of the story.

When he didn’t have his book, he and other kids could not browse the books at the library that day. Instead, she had them write a note to remind themselves and their parents to make sure to bring the book back. She has always told them to keep the book either in their backpack at all times, or in their desk at school. Bobby penned the letter to us all on his own. He is the one who opted for tough love, apparently. I explained to Ms. Jenkins that not only did I get scolded in letter form, but I was verbally reprimanded. Turns out Bobby was not benched the first day. Plus, he wasn’t really in trouble. She tries to stress to them to be responsible, and if anything, she mostly goes kid by kid. This being Bobby’s first offense, he probably would not be benched every day. If it was something where he was doing it week after week, then further action would be taken. My guess is she used some pretty harsh scare tactics with the kids to hopefully put it in their brain to make sure to bring the book back each week. It worked, but sadly it was relayed to an over protective mama.

My plan had been to go out to dinner with the family when we arrived home from my parents’ house. Instead, minute after we showed up, their friends appeared and all the kids were out playing. I noted that I still had a lot of work in the house and we ended up just ordering take out. It wasn’t ideal, but then again, at least I could walk around in jammies.

Saturday was busy. Ken left early again for soccer, and I busted my ass on the house. I did a shit ton of laundry. I made the kids do their chores. I cleaned rooms that needed some serious help. Our bedroom no longer looks like a storage closet, which is a nice change.

We left for the game at about 1, as I had hoped to catch the game before ours. It was supposed to be the team that had the two rough players on it and I wanted to watch it from a different perspective. Sadly, Ken had been mistaken in what time that game was and it turned out I missed that game. No worries, as I still prefer to be at the field early.

The boys didn’t play as well as the week before. They all seemed sluggish. That being said, our two goalies for the first half were on fire! They were amazing! I was so freaking proud of them. Thankfully, they all seemed to perk up second half. Dax had an amazing break away at one point. It didn’t result in a goal, but it certainly lit his spark and he was on fire the rest of the game. The other team was fantastic. Actually, some of the players were quite remarkable to watch. I was impressed with their ball skills. They played fair and even though we were out skilled, we held our own.

After soccer, we headed home to the comfort of home. I was happy to walk in to a mostly clean house. After we put the kids to bed, we watched Clueless and determined it has held up remarkably well being something like 15 years old now.

Sunday we hopped on the bikes and rode up to Norms for breakfast. It was a nice ride, although a little too hot, really. Still, it was worth riding as I needed some exercise, and we are still working on getting the boys in the best shape they can be in. After breakfast, we rode up to the new Walmart and even went to Petsmart. It was a really fun ride. It ended up being about 12 miles, which I still determined wasn’t enough.

After we got home, I dug into laundry again. We let the dogs go swimming. The boys tried, but said the water was much too cold. Instead they played and we all hung out.

I had to have Bobby do some homework. He took it better than he could have. We got a night’s worth done. I also had Dax write a letter as practice. He wrote a note to Mr. Williams telling him that he hopes he feels better being that he was out on Friday. I am even having him turn it in.

Dax was on the verge of his Sunday night breakdown much of the afternoon. I kept him smiling most of the time, prepping things like a bath with a shit ton of ducks and having him help me pick out the stories for bedtime. Sadly, he did finally crack before he crawled up to bed. He didn’t want to go to school. After much comforting, I finally got him thinking with telling him how he needed to go to school each day so that he got his perfect attendance record. He seemed better with that, and Ken said when he went in kiss them goodnight. He was very tired and I think keeping all that emotion in all afternoon wiped him out even more.

For two weeks I have to park in the back lot. I don’t mind it so much but currently I don’t have a key card to open the gate, therefore I either have to hope someone shows up to let me in, or wait until 4:45 to get in, which sucks. I am tempted to ask for a card, but I am afraid that it will end up making some people start to question my arrival time. So for now, I am going to park in the lot I never use just so that I can still clock in at an early time. Stupid auditors. Apparently they need my normal spot. LOL!

I have bags under my eyes. My dreams have been filled with stress. Last night I had a mini breakdown. I felt overwhelmed despite technically having accomplished quite a bit. I feel like I am always moving. Even on a Sunday in which I should be just hanging out, I was taking care of chores and kids with bleeding knees. Sure, some of that is my fault since I was the one who insisted on a 12 mile ride. That being said, it is the only time I felt more at ease. It was forcing me to not do things like housework. I was joking with Ken about the idea of a spa day. I was wondering aloud how soaking in mud felt. I then realized I couldn’t do a spa day since it would mean I couldn’t multitask. That would be an epic fail on my part.

I really should figure out how to just be calm. Even sitting down to watch one of my shows is stressful since I feel like I am neglecting something else. I need to let shit go. But I feel if I do, it won’t ever get done.

I wish Ken could blow off classes today. Actually he only needs to blow off Costa. I could totally come home after he drops off the kids at school and he and I could just try to vege out in bed. You see, if I try to do this by myself, I will end up cleaning something. I need a person to help ground me!