Let's rock this 4 day work week!

6-29-15

4 days looks doable!

My weekend was busy, but quite good overall. Much of it was spent wearing my AYSO cap as we had registration on Saturday, followed up by 3 hours of working the Lomita Founders Day event handing out shirts and smiles. It wasn’t too busy, which only sucks because we need the signups.

Once we got home from Lomita park, we hung out waiting for the fireworks show. We were able to watch it from the back porch, which was cool. Since we are not planning on going to watch the fireworks in Redondo this year, we got our fix. I still maintain that we will end up seeing some on the actual fourth what with us normally seeing them around and it being a Saturday. But it will be so much nicer to hang out, swim at home and BBQ. My plan is to start marinating some chicken this week and grill that. My folks are coming over and we will have a good time.

Sunday could have been more productive, but we opted to use the day for rest. Bobby and I did spend some time in the pool, which was very awesome because we spent the time talking while I did what felt like quite the workout. Dax came in later and we played monkey in the middle for a while which resulted in gobs of laughs. The pups swam, too, which is always entertaining. I like how excited Luna gets to swim, and she truly enjoys it when we get a good whirlpool going so she can float along. Lily still isn’t keen on the actual swimming part, but she does love hanging out with us.

Bobby and I also hit up Savers to find him some more shorts. We were quite successful, although in some ways I should have waited until today what with everything being 50% off. Sadly, that would have required me going in the morning to really find the shorts before they all got scooped up. Sure, I would have saved $15, but the convenience fee was worth it.

I figure when I get home today I will have a little time before Ken and the boys get home. They start camp today, but since it is the first day, I kind of expect them to be a little later than normal. The first week only goes till 12:30, but I would imagine there will be a little bit of chaos and set up still needing to be done. They went on Friday and unloaded most of the bins. I came by to pick them up after work and helped a bit. The helpers will be there today, too, so I am guessing they will take some time to be prepared for the next 4 weeks.

I am not happy that my chores this afternoon will be tackled when it is going to be 80 degrees out with gobs of humidity. That being said, I have no plans on leaving the house so I should be able to be in tattered clothing and look all atrocious and not have to worry about it.

I also intend on cleaning up the yard a bit so that or BBQ on Saturday won’t be gross. In reality, it isn’t too bad. Lily did chew up something recently, so the debris from that needs cleaning, but I think I can get a lot of that done Friday. Ken and the boys have camp on Friday and I don’t have work. Woo for me!

I started my squat challenge today. It is for 30 days and I figure I will go as far as I can. So far this morning I have managed 20. I have to do 50. I have a feeling I can do at least 40 before I leave for the day. I would like to get Bobby to do this with me as he has a little pudge to get rid of. He passed the 100 pound mark yesterday which even though isn’t horrid, I figure between swimming and working all summer he will trim down. Plus, he will start soccer not long after, so I am thinking if I work with him, it benefits both of us! I am also hoping that over the course of the summer we can replace the boys’ bikes so that we can bike around a bit. If the boys start riding their bikes to school, it will mean when Bobby goes to Hull, he will feel more comfortable doing so. Sure, he can walk, but I would think it would be quicker and easier to bike there.

I have been self-conscious about my hair these last couple weeks. It felt too frizzy. I also have decided I really do prefer the purple color. This morning I brushed some good ant-frizz stuff through it and it looks so much better! I will start changing it over to purple soon. We are considering adding red to my blue touch up conditioner to see if that starts tinting it correctly. I can also just add purple to it to see how it goes. I think I just got a little jealous of folks debuting their new summer cuts and it makes me want to do the same. I am trying to stay strong and have long hair for a while. The problem is I end up putting it up because it’s too hot, so it feels like I don’t try to style it so I feel not as good about it. Hopefully a color change and this texture solution will make me feel better in the long run.

Sarah wants to start a book club with Alyssa and me. I think the first book looks to be Judy Blume’s new grownup book. Now I need to go get a copy. I will suggest the next book and will choose from my stack of books I have. This could be a fun venture. Stephanie and I have discussed starting a book club from time to time. I have never actually done one so I am unsure as to what one discuses after the fact. Then again, I think most of the time it is just an excuse to sit around and drink wine, which I gotta say is a damn good reason.

Ok, now I am working for the weekend. Once this three day weekend is over, I will look forward to the week off when we go to Salt Lake City. Should be an interesting next couple months!

Visit with Andy and Scott

6-25-15

It is proving to be a long week.

Ok, it has still been a fun week, but dammit if I am not already wiped out and it’s only Thursday. Much of this is due to staying up later than normal. It has been with good reason what with Andy and Scott having been in town much of the week. That has been nice visiting. I worked, also, but I did get to spend the afternoon and evenings with them, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

They brought down the new (old) desks for the boys. It all fit perfectly. There are still more pieces including another desk and a corner piece. I had intentions of putting it where the toys are, which will result in yet another purge. That being said, it sounds like the shape and sizing may be an issue for that corner. I may need to move the couch to the other end of the room, which in the past has not looked right. It may come down to just ridding ourselves of those additional desk sections and not worrying about trying to make something work that truly doesn’t.

That being said, the toy purge happens.

 I would really have liked to stay in bed all day. Of course, it would have been way too hot for that. I am considering going in the pool when I get home, but I have dinner plans so I may not do this. Of course, floating around in the pool for a bit and then taking a nice hot shower will help my back and I have plenty of time since I don’t need to leave the house until after 5. We shall see.

I am choosing to spend today working on Maryann’s accounts since she is out of the office. Yes, it is to be nice since I know she is in the midst of some personal issues, but also there is a selfish reason. My accts are amazing right now (oldest invoice is less than 70 days outstanding) so this gives me a bit of a challenge. Her accts look like crap compared to mine. I am much more strict on people, which I suppose is mean, but it’s my job so I do what I can. Plus, it will make my day go by rather quickly if I can email a bunch of customers.

Another full day of soccer is ahead of me. Registration takes place at Hull on Saturday, and then there is a promotional booth we will have in Lomita for their Founder’s Day celebration. That is for a couple of hours after registration. Not sure how long we will stay, but at the very least, it’s at a park so I can send the boys off to go play while we are there, which should be cool.

Holy crap, it looks like Friday is free! YAY! So is Sunday!!! Well I know that I will be chillin in the pool. I can start my toy purge project next week. 

It's Summer Time!

6-22-15

Once again, Pixar left me a blubbering mess.

When the flick was done, I was still unsure about how I felt. I still stand by my assessment that it isn’t in my top 5, but I think it is growing on me as I think about the film more and more. The view point of the inside of a person’s head based on the emotions involved was incredibly deep and certain parts really got to me. At one point, (SPOILERS!!!!!), the emotion consul goes grey, which signified the girl feeling nothing, which really hit me hard. It was truly a remarkable way to look at things. Oh, and don’t even get me started on BingBong. If I even think about him too much I will be unable to function today.

Saturday was spent at the Farmer’s Market for registration. We had about 30 signups, which isn’t as good as last time, but still not bad. It was crazy hot out, which did suck. That being said, the boys managed to have a great time. Tori and Angela’s sons were there too so the 4 of them went on some adventures. Brian is a teen and Chris is a year younger than Dax. The four of them get along amazingly well and went and rode the train, played at the playground and just wandered the park. I was very grateful to Brian. He so didn’t need to entertain the little kids, but he truly seemed to enjoy it which was nice.

This will sound strange but my proudest accomplishment of the weekend was having recreated the perfect Moons over my Hammy at home. Ken picked up some sourdough from Costco that was really good and so I set to work making my sandwich for dinner on Friday. Holy crap, it was phenomenal. I have made some just scrambled eggs with ham and cheese for work. I then ended up toasting the bread to make a sandwich. Not as good as the actual Moons or the one I made Friday, but still a nice and tasty breakfast.

We got the pool set up. These pools these days seem to not last too long. We will be impressed if this lasts the summer. The support beams are slightly bent (which happened when trying to take it apart last year) and sadly Lily also added some damage in the form of chewing on the straps. However, it should be ok for a while, which is the hopes. I know I intend on going in on these hot afternoons. I went in yesterday and found myself exercising in the pool. Walking in circles is a pretty good workout. It was also refreshing. Of course, the boys just love it and are quite content to swim for hours. Luna was sad that we didn’t let her in, but for now, it is for the best.

The boss is out of town for a sales meeting starting tomorrow afternoon. Sadly he doesn’t leave until after I leave for the day, but it is ok since I will be Trusty free for Wednesday and Thursday and much of Friday. It is like a small gift for my soul.

The only bummer of my week is that it is only the best of Kevin and Bean. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing gems to be able to listen to again, but their schedule for this tends to throw off my morning.

I now have a 4th and 5th grader.

6-19-15

At least I didn’t cry in the classroom.

Seriously, the school seemed to be the equivalent of a teary blood bath. I started off ok, mostly on Mary-Lyn’s orders. She came up to me before the start of the End of Year photo/video show and told me how she was nervous about the whole thing. When I asked her why, she told me that when the parents cry, it makes her cry. I knew it was my duty to stay dry faced in the room for her sake. Luckily, even though I got choked up at times, I kept my wits about me.

This would be short lived.

As we all watched the end of the year assembly, I glanced down at Bobby who was a teary mess, which broke my heart. He told me how much he would miss Miss Van Wie. She was truly so incredibly sweet when she turned to see this. She hugged him and assured him that she would still be around next year and would make a point of not only saying hello to him, but would be sarcastic because otherwise it wouldn’t be her. This teacher truly is amazing on so many levels.

Bobby was certainly not the only one crying. As a number of 5^th graders began their speeches, all but maybe 2 of them didn’t breakdown. This was tough to watch, and I didn’t even know these kids! Dr. Smart was having a hard time not breaking down while she tried to comfort each of them. Then slowly, I noticed other kids in the audience, both younger and 5^th graders, starting to succumb to their emotions. It was tough to be a part of.

I fished out some duckie kleenix I had on hand and handed some out. One boy, Nick, was inconsolable, which broke my heart since he is such a very sweet little boy. I was impressed, though, at how many of the kids who didn’t cry were so incredibly supportive of their classmates that were. It was charming and adorable and it made me so happy that my boys were a part of this community.

After the assembly, Ken went and collected Dax who also was crying, which set me off again. I kept joking with the kids who had started to recover from their breakdown that they shouldn’t feel bad since us grownups were crying too, but we had the benefit of hiding behind sunglasses. They laughed and I was happy to be able to provide comfort to everyone.

The boys did not want to stick around since they were both clearly drained from the crying and sad. We went and picked them up lunch and then relaxed at home the rest of the day. It was nice, and it meant we finished out Orange is the New Black. Damn that show is amazing. I do have some viewers remorse now since it is over, but it will be ok because I have books and other shows to get to and I don’t think I could bring myself to enjoy those until I was able to know what was happening in Litchfield.

I had plans on going to Target yesterday, but didn’t get around to it. I think I will go on my way home from work so that I don’t torture my housemates with said outing. Besides, they will all be happy to have an afternoon to continue their gaming. They plan on doing a Costco run and some clean up what with Andy and Scott coming next week, but ultimately it will be nice that they get some down time.

I am all happy that Poppy’s dad’s day present showed up yesterday. I was worried it wouldn’t arrive until next week, which would have been ok, but not ideal. This means I am actually all prepped for presents for Sunday, which makes me feel all organized and what not. YAY ME!

Sigh, now to deal with the rest of my work day.  

Stop the car

6-17-15

It’s my last day of dealing with homework until September!!!

My plan today is when I arrive home is to change into comfy clothes and to walk up to the park. The boys will both be there for their 3^rd and 4^th grade picnic outing. It occurs to me that I am unsure as to where the entrance is to said park what with it being one I have only driven past it. I suppose I will go down Walnut first and hope for the best.

Tomorrow my work is having some kind of lunch at a local restaurant. You would think I would be giddy at the prospect of a free meal, but really these sorts of things annoy the crap out of me. It means I have to drive elsewhere for lunch, which I don’t like to do. I also will be forced to make small talk with a group of people that I truly don’t care about. I am horrid at this sort of interaction and I already feel some anxiety bubbling up inside. I would totally take care of this with my standard method these days, but sadly I am thinking showing up even a teensy bit high to a work function is not a good plan.

Another busy weekend ahead of me with Registration at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday from 8 to 1 and some Dad’s day activities both days. I am looking forward to seeing Inside Out. When Pixar brings out a new movie, it is a big deal in our household. Ken and I have been seeing them since Toy Story, which was even before we were dating, so I like this tradition and am happy to include the boys as well.

I had quite the scare this morning when I backed out of the driveway. I don’t tend to park there, but Ken changed my brakes yesterday. As I started out, hit the brakes to slow and my pedal hit the floor and I wasn’t slowing down. It was terrifying! I luckily had the peace of mind to pull the parking brake and I came to a stop. It also was good that it was 4 in the morning so there was not the standard amount of traffic. My brakes had not been reset after the change and with a bit of pumping, they were back to normal, but holy crap! I almost didn’t need coffee this morning!

I have to admit, I am growing tired of the blue. I feel like purple is so much cooler, but I also hate how many people I have seen sporting the hue. I know that it shouldn’t matter what others do. Either way, I would really love to work on rainbow. I have seen some interesting approaches to it that don’t look as uniform and more like a cool oil stain on hot pavement. I think I could pull that off. In addition to this, I really am considering chopping the locks. I wouldn’t go super short, but it is appealing at times to have it about an inch above my shoulders. This is the longest I have had my hair in a while. I am going to attempt to be patient and see how I feel in a couple weeks.

This day truly cannot end soon enough. I guess I will attempt to speed it up by doing some work. 

Black or White

6-16-15

So what is an acceptable way to identify one’s self?

I will admit that right out of the gate I felt that Rachel Dolezal was a sad person. I felt that yes, she was deceiving people and it wasn’t right. I wasn’t sure that I was as pissed as so many others in the public, specifically the black community. That being said, I could understand their frustration.

Culture is an interesting dilemma. There are stereotypes, there is history, and there continues to be a push from many groups to embrace their backgrounds, good or bad. There is a black history month. There are Greek festivals. Hell, there is an Irish festival coming soon. America in particular doesn’t know what they want to be. As the global melting pot they like to tout themselves as, we sure don’t want to actual melt together. Instead, we are all multiple oils swirling around a pot of water in little bubbles.

My problem with Ms. Dolezal isn’t so much her desire to assimilate to the black culture so much as her omitting her past. Her ancestors are as white as they come, which sure isn’t a good or bad thing, but it is a thing and this woman has decided to make the prejudice that has taken place in that community her own plight, and perhaps that is rather insensitive overall.

I do have issue with the idea that the concept of race is being compared with one’s gender identity. I have gone back and forth, hearing both sides of this coin. The problem is making it simplistic to the point of saying that how you feel is how you should present yourself. Sure, there is that, but feeling truly that you are a woman is different from feeling you are a specific race. Race tends to come with far more baggage in the history department, whereas feeling male or female despite your packaging is a deep seeded identity.

Based on Ms. Dolezal’s history, she seemed enamored with black culture and specifically artwork done by black artists. In the same way you might emulate your favorite musician’s style, she started to dress and be more like her artistic heroes. She clearly stopped just short of blackface.

I do wonder if this had taken place 100 years from now what people would say. Would it be far enough away from the travesties of slavery that one might be able to look at it with less hate and more acceptance? Is it a case of imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? And my question to her, since every time she has been asked what her race is she pauses, is what does it mean to her to be black. What is that feeling? And why does she need to be black to feel you want to help the black community?

I don’t want to judge her too harshly. It is possible her being so enamored by the community she wants so badly to be a part of will actually destroy her identity, which is a shame for anyone. Feeling deeply that you are one person when in reality you are someone else entirely can cause anyone a great deal of internal turmoil and I hope that someday she figures that all out.

In an ideal world, though, it would be nice if no one cared. Man, woman, black, white, whatever! You are a person, which is what we should focus on. Sadly, we are just too young a species to get to that point.

So I leave this thought; haven’t we all had a time in which we decided we were something when we really were not that? I also wonder, how many people feel the need to label themselves so completely that they would forget their actual heritage. I would bet a lot of white families feel pretty bad about their great grandfathers owning slaves and have done everything in their power to distance themselves from that. 

So far, 40 is pretty damned awesome

6-15-15

All weekends should be 3 days long.

Friday morning I was able to spend on the John Adams field, cheering my greatest accomplishments on. Bobby ran the obstacle course while Dax opted to throw a softball. Neither child placed, but they gave it their all. I was quite impressed with how well Bobby did. I felt like he had improved so much from last year. They both ran races, with Bobby doing the 50 meter and Dax being leg 7 in the co-ed relay. They did very well. Dax even caught his team up significantly, although they still came in third.

One of the most awesome parts about hanging out at the school was getting to chit chat with other kids. Mary-Lyn came and hung out with me during the recess in between field and running events. That was so fantastic. I also loved seeing so many other kids I know from soccer or just the school and being able to cheer them on along with my own boys. I almost wish we had more co-ed soccer since I don’t get to talk with the girls nearly as much.

Ken was able to show up before the races, which was awesome. I was concerned he wouldn’t make it what with him conducting finals at Costa. Our plan had been to eat lunch at the school, but my menfolk decided we should just go and we ended up eating in the parking lot of Target. It sounds bad, but we had some things to get so we ended up eating our Subway sandwiches before we went inside.

Friday evening took us to Lazy Dog where we ate with my folks and brother. My mom made me the coolest set of presents. I had a great crown, that I wore throughout dinner. She also made me a list of 40 things they love about me. There was also a bag of awesome 40 themed items. One was a box of 40 glow sticks with the note-you have lit up our lives so here is some light back. One was a box of 40 bouncy balls saying to have a ball (40 of them). It was all around creative and fantastic and I hope that someday I can create a present as cool as this.

We spent some of Saturday morning prepping for visitors, which included waxing the floor. You would think wrangling 6 cats would be a little easier, but it turns out they are all little Houdini’s. Granted, I didn’t close the catio as well as I should, but once we got it handled, the floor was able to dry without the threat of tiny paw prints.

Dropping off Dax at the movies was hard on me. He seemed a little nervous, but once his friends were there I think he was better. Not only was the movie Jurassic World, which could be a little scary for him, he was going to be spending the night. This would be his first overnight adventure, and I gotta say, I was a little terrified. I managed to not cry, at least openly, and both Bobby and Ken only laughed at me a little when I admitted my issues.

My party was a lot of fun. We had waves of folks showing up, which was very cool since it allowed me to visit with everyone. Holy crap these people know me well! I got presents that had skulls, unicorns, cats and booze. I even got some pot! Yeah, my friends are well versed in my likes and dislikes. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Sadly, I would go to bed crying. At about 12:30 Ken got a call from Dax. He wasn’t comfortable and wanted to come home. Ken ran out to get him and I made the mistake of checking my phone. He had tried calling me twice, and left a message in which I swear he had some cry sniffles. My heart was broken since he was clearly trying to get a hold of me to come rescue him. I was thankful Max’s mom told him to try Ken’s cell, too, but the damage had been done and I was a wreck. Dax was chipped when he arrived home, but I was still sad for having let him down. He wasn’t upset, but I was.

In the morning he told me other kids didn’t make it, and he finally admitted he was a little upset. Luckily he was all better. I was also glad he was ok with calling us since it meant he didn’t just cry himself to sleep in a place he wasn’t 100% ok with.

Luckily I managed to get in about half the season of Orange is the New Black. I am trying to pace it a little since once it is gone I have to most likely wait another year for season 4. So far it is still quite great and I am happy with the direction it is going.

Now I have an actual full week of work, which I am not thrilled about. The plus side is Trusty is gone tomorrow. And next week Trusty and his faithful sidekick are gone most of the week. This is good for my morale.

Thursday is the last day of school. There are picnics and events scheduled for the days leading up, which hopefully will be fun for the boys. Mr. Chin has opted for no homework this week, but Miss Van Wie has indicated there will be work to be done. I don’t mind too much, what with it most likely only being a small amount and we have no practice of any kind this week to slow us down.

Andy and Scott are coming down next Monday and will be here through Wednesday. I haven’t decided if I will play hooky on Tuesday. I originally thought I had reports, but it looks like it is the following week. Once we figure out the game plan, I will go from there.

They are bringing desks that we are considering using for the boys. They may prove to be too big, but if they work out, they will be nice since they have more storage. It means I can organize office supplies for them in a better fashion. There also is a center table which will mean I can rid ourselves of the folding table we keep downstairs for homework.

They are bringing other things, too, some of which will most likely be sold at some form of yard sale. I like this idea, and perhaps we can purge some more of the toys they have. The toy corner is slowly becoming better, but we still need a better ball holder (which if done correctly might even be stored outside).

It was pointed out, also, that if we can replace the tv downstairs and set up the Tivo, I will be able to watch shows downstairs when Ken or the boys are using the main tv. Often they want to play the PS4, but then this means I am left to do something else, which a lot of the time would be me wanting to watch something else. Sadly, I would then have to go watch shows in my room. Sure, I adore our bedroom, but dammit, sometimes I don’t want to hole up in there. Having a downstairs sanctuary will be good for my soul.

July will be my month. I have a stack of books to read and shows to watch. With Ken and the boys at camp all day (they will most likely not get home until 5) it leaves me with 4 hours of me time for 4 weeks. Dude, that’s a lot of time. My concern is a bit of boredom. I can do some projects, but my attention span is all over the place a lot of the time. If we can get up the pool, it means I can swim with the dogs each afternoon, which sounds delightful.

Sigh, it’s time to get my ass in gear and do some work. Perhaps it will make the day go by.  

This is 40

6-11-15

I guess this is 40.

As silly (and maybe sad) as it is, I am grateful that there is Facebook as I do like getting happy birthday messages from folks. I got a card from Maryann at work so it sits prominently on my desk right now.

Sing dong that I am, I took yesterday off, and tomorrow, but not today. Eh, it wasn’t really for me, though. It was for school stuff.

Yesterday’s play was great! Dax did wonderful and it is always fun to watch a bunch of kids sing and dance. They all did a great job. I told Dax he will need to teach me some of the dances. I was really bummed that I ran out of room on all of my devices before Dax’s part came up. Luckily I did get lots of dance/singing footage, and really, his part consisted of 2 lines as a part of 3 students listing facts about a country, so it wasn’t exactly mind blowing. Still, since Ken couldn’t make it, I wanted to be able to show it to him.

Despite not really feeling like it, I managed to clean the catio yesterday. At this point, the house is ready for some people to come over. Sadly, not many can come, but it will be ok. At least the house looks great. I am also then more prepared for when Andy and Scott come down. I am very excited to show of Steve to them since they haven’t seen him in his full glory.

I am also quite annoyed at this stupid cold sore on my lip. Damn! Luckily I have my trusty tube of Neosporin today and I have been applying it constantly. It means that hopefully it will be cleared up quickly.

Trusty sent me an email yesterday evening asking where the aging was from yesterday. He didn’t even realize I was gone all day. Yeah, that happened. Sigh. How he stays employed is beyond me.

Dreaming of cupcakes

6-9-15

I do not care for bad dreams.

They are especially annoying when they happen not super long before I have to get up. This one happened at like 2:30 in the morning. This means I was frazzled awake long enough to have a hard time going back to sleep, so I end up tossing and turning in bed for an hour. Lame.

I was hopeful that I would crash out the whole night based on how much I accomplished yesterday. I managed to do the standard spots in the house so that it will really only develop some clutter as opposed to real mess. Today is a more intensive scrubbing and a reorganization of the catio. Not sure that I will accomplish both before the boys get home, so it may be one or the other.

Dax has another play practice today which doesn’t let him out until 4:30. I am not thrilled that the kid has to stay till 4:30 yet I have to take time off work to come see the actual play during the day. I hate that he gets home so late. I will most likely go pick him up. Hopefully Bobby gets most of his homework done in a timely fashion. Dax only has a poem to write, so that isn’t so bad.

I need to go get cupcakes this afternoon. Apparently our room rep for Mrs. Van Wie’s class is doing snacks tomorrow so I volunteered and the treat I need to get is sweet so I am thinking cupcakes. I will run over to the store either when I get home from work or maybe after the boys are home. I need to take the deposit for registration anyway, so it will be a good trip overall to get over with.

Now to make it through this work day. 

Run Dax Run!

6-8-15

Holy cow!

I am relieved that the track meet is over. I was such a nervous wreck about Dax running. I worried he would fall or not do well and in turn be upset. That would have crushed me.

Bobby and I got to West High super early and determined we couldn’t get in the track. The school told us that they wouldn’t be opening the gates until 3, which certainly would have caused problems for the spectators that had already started arriving. This would have been especially bad since the meet started at like 3:30. Luckily, the people inside who were setting up recognized this and opened up much earlier than that. Bobby, my parents, Matt and I all found a spot right by the finish line. Sure, we should have probably sat with more of our school parents, but I wanted to be where my boy would be running across the line.

Dax looked quite nervous at times. He of course sat in the field where his team was. There were so many schools! There were 17 total and the teams filled the football field. It’s funny how I had been looking at our track team and thinking it was huge, when next to other schools our team was tiny!

We went and watched Dax do his long jump. He wasn’t great at it, but he did it and was pleased with himself, which is all I care. I still think he would have done better at the soccer ball kick, but it was pretty apparent how unorganized our team was. All the other teams marched into the stadium in uniform, some even had mascots. Our team didn’t even have our track shirts yet.

His race was at 5:40, and they were probably about 30 minutes behind schedule overall. When I watched him go over to get his number and tracker for the race I am lucky I didn’t hurl. Ken and I made our way down to the fence around the track so that we were right there when he crossed.

Dax’s heat was the first one and the gun sounded the start. I watched my boy book it down the track with crazy speed. It being only 50 meters, it was a quick race, but I am telling you, watching him run seemed like it was hours. But then he crossed the finish line. The timer said 7 seconds, which was outstanding! He beat everyone in his heat. Now we had to watch I think 3 more heats before we knew his fate.

The time clock there indicated based on all the heats that Dax had the fastest time. Yet Dax won 2^nd place. Look, I am thrilled. I was especially happy that he looked so happy. He stood up on that podium, grinning proudly, which filled my heart with so much joy. Of course, there then was the picture.

They were selling pictures of the kids crossing the finish line. Our understanding is that these were the compilation of the racers over all the heats. It showed Dax was in first. Of course, we could be wrong, and this could have been just his heat, but there were also different times across the board. I hate to gripe, but if my kid won, he should be recognized.

Ken spoke to some officials, and they kind of agreed that Dax had the best time. Sadly, they had already handed out the ribbons. Look, I agree it would be a dick move to take back the kid who was awarded first place. However, if Dax really was the fastest, in ordinance with their whole good sportsmanship angle, they should give my kid a blue ribbon.

Of course, my mind wasn’t thinking this kind of rational at the meet. All I cared was how happy I was that he was so happy. I sat back in the stands, knowing that we would be there till the end even though Dax was done. But then it happened.

I watched the 100 meter dash and there was my kid, sprinting across the finish line!

Dax was tapped to fill in for another kid who didn’t show. He then brought his A game and kicked butt on that, too! I didn’t have time to be nervous, which was super nice. He placed second and once again got to stand on the podium.

Sadly, we bought that picture, too, and it showed Dax as the winner again! Dude!

The Torrance Rotary is the group putting this on, and they are supposed to be posting pictures of the meet soon. I am hoping that once they do, I can find a contact name to email so I can get some questions answered. I am not trying to rock the boat, but I want to make sure that in something like an official race, my child should be recognized correctly. If they say it was just the heat and he still didn’t have a better time over the 1^st place winners, no worries. I won’t even be a little upset. However, if he did have the best time, I would like them to just acknowledge it. Hell, they can send him the ribbon in the mail. It doesn’t need to be a big deal, just a quick shout out. It is the correct way to conduct themselves in this matter.

The whole meet was a lot of fun. There was one annoying chick who was sitting in front of me that was practically sitting in my lap which was rude, but I made do. I managed to get a little sunburned, and my tushie was sore after sitting on concrete steps for that long, but it was all worth it to see Dax walking proud.

Saturday morning was registration time. It was a shockingly quiet day. I wonder if the multiple tournaments for multiple sports going on that day was the cause for the low turnout. Then again, I wasn’t really too upset since we do tend to have a lot of fun hanging out.

Jimmy had ordered me a pin and patch that said Regional Treasurer, which made me all happy. It was perfect timing, really, since I was all frustrated at the board meeting when the travel coordinator was giving me attitude about my reports. Thankfully, even Jimmy noted this and felt it was out of line, so that was cool to have him concerned. He even texted me Friday to check on me, knowing that the line of questioning at the meeting would frazzle me. It made me feel much better and once again pleased to be a part of such a great group of people.

Saturday night took us to the StubHub Center to watch the Galaxy game. We went with Jerry, Nicole and Ally and we had a lot of fun. I didn’t expect to laugh as much as I did. Honestly, a lot of that was more watching the boys be all excited about the game. I feel bad because I made us lose, though. I happened to leave during the game so I could sneak off to get the boys each a Galaxy scarf. These scarves are apparently a huge thing and you need to hold them up during corner kicks and things like that. I wanted them to be a part of it, so I thought I would go right before the half and beat the crowds. Sadly, during that time, the other team scored. It was surprising since we were dominating most of the first half. They did not recover and the Galaxy lost 1 to 0. It was still a great time, and our seats were cool. We totally lucked out, too, since the bench in front of us ended up being empty, and no one sat on either side of our group which allowed us more room. Truly, it was a good time had by all.

You will all be shocked to hear that Sunday I didn’t do anything. Ok, I did some small things, but mostly I sat on the couch and watched tv all day. I forced myself to relax since let’s face it, I don’t do it enough. I know I should have worked on cleaning since my party is Saturday, but in reality, I do better work when no one is around, and I have much of this week to work on it. After work each day I will bust my butt for a couple hours and come Saturday, the place will shine. I will have extra time on Wednesday what with me going to Dax’s play in the morning and then having the rest of the day. Then again, I may be hanging around a bit to help out in Bobby’s class since apparently our room rep is in charge of the snack Wednesday and since I happen to have the time I would love to help her out.

I am glad I have a work week that is spaced out a bit what with me working two days, taking a day off, working, then taking a day off for the Olympics on Friday. The one thing I know for sure for Friday is I will slather myself in sun screen and bring my chair. Dax is running his race again and Bobby does the obstacle course. We are allowed to check them out at 12:30, which Bobby was quite anxious about whereas Dax wanted to stay so he didn’t miss recess. Those two are night and day.

Only 2 more weeks of school, so here’s to hoping there is very little homework or headaches.  

High Level of Snark

6-4-15

I know siblings fight, but dang sometimes it gets really freaking old.

They had been home from school for maybe 10 minutes when all hell broke loose. They fought about folding chairs. They fought about chips. They fought about singing. It was out of control. Needless to say, I was spent and computers were taken from them for the afternoon. Thank goodness they know when I mean business. They were both pretty tame while we went out and got them new shoes.

I feel a little crazed today. I know that there are busy days ahead of me, including the evening, so I am sure I have forgotten something. I know I have to get Dax prepped for tomorrow. He needs to have an extra sandwich and some water packed in his backpack for the meet. I can’t go on the field tomorrow, nor can he come to me, so I need to make sure he is covered. Since I am not home in the morning, I have to get this all done tonight so that I am sure it is good to go. Oh, and there is a board meeting tonight. Gah! I am not staying the whole time since the boys need to sleep, especially Mr. Dax.

Thankfully even though registration is Saturday, it is an organized chaos I am well versed in. The day goes by quickly, even when we are short volunteers. Sure, it is exhausting, but I know what I am in for.

Tomorrow night’s track meet also worries me for multiple reasons. What happens if Dax cries? What happens if we don’t get good seats? How do I keep Bobby occupied? I know when the race and jump events are, and really with it being a jump and a 50 meter sprint, they are not long events. But I would like to get some pictures. I don’t know how great they will be.

I would like to point out that the Duggar parents need to be smacked around with a tire iron. And not just one smack. They need to be hit twice for every kid they have. Then another one for every time they have indicated that all that they do is God’s will. Oh, and then throw in another half dozen just for good measure.  And just because I think it would be funny, shave the mom’s hair off.

My frazzle is turning into snark. My stress is becoming belligerent. I am frustrated I don’t know how to explain my state without sounding condescending.

projects

6-3-15

How is it only Wednesday?

In all actuality, I am pleased since I think this is our one quiet day. No track practice. No play practice. No board meeting. My only “must do” item is get those trash cans out since last week they didn’t. I sometimes wish there was two of me. I could have one here at work earning a living, and the other making sure the living is run smoothly.

Dax’s practice went well yesterday. I was happy to see him run a lot more than he did last week. His sprinting is good, but he still needs to work on running through the finish line. I also noticed that his tendency to look to his side to see who is next to him. He does this in the same way he does it for soccer. Hopefully it doesn’t slow him down too much. He is still one of the fastest in his school in terms of the ones he has been racing against. Let’s cross our fingers he rocks in on Friday.

Next week the play is in the morning. Look, I love an excuse to not be at work, but this thing with the schools doing things during the school day is getting ridiculous. I know teachers have families and blah blah blah, but dammit, you know what you were signing up for when you became a teacher. We want parents to be more involved, but how can they if you keep scheduling things during the times when most parents work?

Andy and Scott are coming down in a couple weeks. I am going to spend a lot of time over the next couple weeks making sure Steve looks his best. Neither of them have seen Steve in all his glory. Andy has been there during the makeover, and of course both have seen pictures galore, but I really want the place to shine. Perhaps time to poke Ken to get that painting done!

Of course, it means that next Wednesday when I am done at the school by like 10:30 I will have the rest of the morning and afternoon to work on projects! YAY!

Not much

6-1-15

We are in the home stretch!

Yes, these next 3 weeks will be busy, but hopefully things like the homework will be less crazy. There is the track meet this week and Dax’s play next week. Of course, there are practices scheduled for both of the course of the next couple weeks. Let’s cross our fingers that Chin understands the time restraints.

If course, on top of all this school stuff comes multiple registrations. The one this past Saturday went well. We had quite a few sign ups, which was fantastic.  The location was new for us, but it seemed to work out pretty well. This Saturday is at the normal location, so it will be slightly easier in terms of set up.

I feel like I accomplished a fair amount this weekend. Yesterday I organized the towel/bathroom closet. It had become a dumping ground for all bathroom supplies with no order whatsoever. I pulled everything and put everything back in their own buckets of organization. Yay! It is so much nicer. I should have taken my momentum to clean out my closet, too, but I didn’t. Such a shame since Ken added some cool lights in there so it seems like I should make it worthwhile.

Ken finished the side of the house and we worked on a little in the yard. I am hopeful that we can do something on the side of the house which would allow for us to move the dogs there if we had people in the yard or something like that. It also will end up being a nice walkway as the boys get older and their friends end up coming through the side gate. My hopes are to make my house the best hosting house ever.

Really, my project today after work should be my desk area. The couch has slid back towards our corner a bit more than I would like so I need to pull that up a bit and clean up all the paperwork. I may gather it all and bring it to work so I can work on some of that tomorrow. It makes for a better environment since I have all these office supplies at my disposal.

Toph will hopefully be out of the cone in another day or so. We took it off her, but only while supervising. She has licked it a bit, and really I can’t blame her. That being said, I want to make sure it looks a little more healed before she is released from lamp duty. Poor kitty is miserable in it, but truly, I can’t have her doing another surgery. She still has at least another week of meds. I am tempted to suck it up for the week and keep her in the cone until that time.

I have a full work week, but next week is only 4 days. I am using that Friday off as my momentum for these next 9 work days.