Yes, I'm Behind

It was a crazy weekend.

Friday night we Trick-or-Treated with friends/neighbors in a neighborhood adjacent to our own. It was PERFECT. Lots of kids, lots of lit-up houses, few cars. Once again, I am lacking photos as SOMEONE has not gotten around to installing our photo software on our computer. And SOMEONE will not let someone ELSE touch it. We can only hope it will happen before the next millennium.

So, yes, Mary was a cute little Devil, Keith was a very muscular Blue Power Ranger, and Izzy was the cutest little Super Girl. Except for a few forgotten "thank yous," they all did very well and had a blast. Also accompanying us: Little Bo Peep (So. Stinkin'. Cute!), a little Pumpkin, a Cat, a Cowgirl, a Witch, and Barack Obama. Really nice of him to join us on such a short notice....

We only stayed out just over an hour. Then the buckets were mostly full, and the little Pumpkin (who'd had his 18 mos. shots that day) started getting cranky and crying for his "jooooose!" so we called it a night.

Saturday morning Keith, Mary, and I got up extra early and went to the school to make the pizzas for his CS Pack. 1167 pizzas in three hours. Sorta. We ran out of pepperoni, and by the time more was brought in, we had run out of cheese. I spent the entire three hours spreading sauce on the pizzas. I probably did about a quarter of all of those pizzas--and my shoulder was killing me! Keith spent most of his time running completed pizzas from the assembly line to the distribution table--where they got shrink-wrapped and labeled, but he also got to help put on pepperoni. Mary spent most of her time throwing down the pepperoni. When it slowed down, Keith goofed off and blew up his gloves like balloons. Mary flirted with all the boys. Yeah. That one is going to be TROUBLE!

Saturday afternoon Keith and I drove around and delivered the pizzas--only six families not home (but we caught 'em on Sunday!).

Sunday I spent almost the entire day cleaning my scary, scary house. I am losing my mind with how messy it's getting now that I'm back to work. I'm not saying I was the best housewife with an immaculate house (ha!), but at least it was mostly "picked up." Now that I'm not there, it's just become a disaster area. I feel like crying every night when I get home, but I'm too tired to even do that.

Anyway, whilst wading through the mess, it suddenly dawned on me that I was not wearing my wedding ring. It wasn't in the typical places I keep it if I take it off. Uh oh. I did take it off to make pizzas on Saturday and put it on my watch strap in my pocket(we were wearing gloves, but I still felt "safer" with it in my pocket). I "sorta" remember pulling my watch out of my pocket when we were done to put my ring back ON, but I honestly cannot remember physically DOING it. Well, I tore through the house, and then looked in the mini-van (where I was when I pulled the watch back out of my pocket), and it's nowhere to be found. I'm worried that when I took my watch out of my pocket, the ring may have slipped off the strap and then fell to the floor--to then be kicked out by my feet during one of the 20 or so trips in and out of the car delivering pizzas--and going to the grocery store!--that day.

I'm not happy. :(

I have a GS meeting tonight (WHAT were we thinking?), so I got up at the crack of dawn and voted at 6:15 this morning. I only had to wait about 15 minutes and even managed to eat breakfast, get Izzy to daycare and get myself to work EARLY. Suspect I'll be up late tonight with my obsessed husband watching the returns. We'll see how long I make it.

My own PIF

I haven't won a SINGLE Pay It Forward contest yet! (Sounds like a conspiracy to me!)

SO, I have decided to STOP BEING SELFISH and just to simply HOST MY OWN CONTEST!

I'm not sure what the giftie will be yet, but let it be known that I DO have access to Target AND upstate NY's very BEST line of grocery stores that start with a "W."

So, while I spend the next week or so collecting random things here and there, you all can enter the contest! Don't forget that the point of the PIF is that you have to be willing to host your OWN contest on your blog.

Just leave me a comment, and tell me your favorite book as a kid and your favorite book as an adult. Deadline: November 8th at midnight.

(Crap! What am I getting into here?)

There! No more being selfish. I can spread the love and cheer and have fun shopping at the same time!

Ghosts of Halloweens Past

Halloween '04--nine months pregnant



Halloween '05


Halloween '06



Halloween '95 AND '97

Random H

1) Sitter says to me this morning, "Your child is really, really strange. You do know that, right?" Um.... Apparently D. noticed that Izzy was not at the table for snack on Monday and finally found her in the bathroom--making funny faces into the mirror. "She was gone almost 45 minutes! Making faces in the mirror! She missed out on snack!" Yes, she's a goofball...but did it really take you THAT long to notice she wasn't present at the snack table?

2) Also, D. has been taking care of her boyfriend's dog while he's out of town. Izzy will NOT let the poor thing alone. She follows it, and pets it, and apparently feeds it from the table--hardly eating anything herself (wait--you're ALLOWING that?), and won't play with the other kids if it's around. D. says, "You really should get a dog for her." Well, hey, if you want to pay for the allergy shots for me, then GREAT!

3) Went to one of those jewelry fix-it places in the mall to replace a watch battery. $16?! WTH? Guess I won't be going THERE again.

4) I got a mixed reception on whether or not to wear a Halloween costume today. Keeping in mind that this place doesn't even do jeans on Fridays, I decided to just keep it simple. I wore an orange sweater, black slacks, and the extra pair of Mary's devil horns. When talking to one of the execs about it this morning, he said, "THAT is perfect." Good call, me! Getting a lot of compliments on my horns (or "ears" as some people are calling them!).

5) We are going trick-or-treating in one of the sub-divisions of our town with my GS co-leader's family, AND we invited the neighbors across the street. Should be a lot of kids and a lot more fun than the Boring Halloween of two years ago.

6) Another Admin (the one with the AMEX card) was given permission to bring in donuts, cider, and candy for both main buildings. Guess who's desk the bulk of it is on? Thank goodness I'm not much of a donut fan. And I am fiercely reminding myself that I will steal PLENTY of candy from my kids' buckets tonight! (Crap! That reminds me! I forgot to pull the buckets out of storage!)

7) I actually got up at the 6:00 alarm this morning. Shaving emergency.

8) Due to slight weight loss over the summer, I'm discovering that many of my pants do not fit right. Can't decide if I should invest in more in my current size or just wait until after the holidays where I'll surely be back in the bigger size again? Meanwhile, my wardrobe picks are pretty limited. Annoying!

Woo Hoo!

Just want to give a shout out to my buddy Dave, who FINALLY got a job, ya slacka!

Thank goodness. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to clean out the spare room to put you people up for a while (just kiddin').

Welcome back to the working world. Your Mr. Mom days are now OVA!


Sending those new jobs thought over to mdh, now. You got some catchin' up to do!

Routine

5:45 Alarm. Hit snooze.

6:00 Alarm. Ponder if I need to shave legs? Naah, I'll wear pants. Hit snooze.

6:15 Up and shower!

6:30 Figure out what to wear (it's always different than what I planned the night before). Get dressed. Maybe have time to dry hair.

6:45 Wake up Izzy. Who then wakes up Mary with her whining/grumbling (Keith is usually awake before me or at my alarm and has usually already eaten his bowl of cereal by now).

7:00 Izzy MIGHT be dressed. Give her breakfast and finish my hair (if I manage to get up at the 6:00 alarm, I will eat also).

7:15 Get panicked and start the Shoes and Coat ON! drill with Izzy. Hurriedly pack my lunch.

7:20 Intended departure time.

7:30 Typical departure time. On to the sitter's.

7:38 Depart for work.

7:56 Get to work (on non-snooze days I get there much earlier). Rush around to drop off newspapers, grab a cup of coffee (might have to make it), and a cup of water, and race back to desk before....

8:00-12:00 Answer phones. Do that admin thing. Maybe get a chance to go to the bathroom once if co-worker is not in training and is available to back me up.

12:00 Sort and deliver mail.

12:20-1:20 Lunch. Usually go walk the mall. Usually get back a few minutes early to heat up lunch and maybe go to the bathroom. Fill up water cup. Eat lunch at desk while answering....

1:20-5:00 Phones, phones, phones. Maybe more admin stuff. Maybe another bathroom break--if I'm lucky.

5:00 Run like hell.

5:25ish Pick up Izzy.

5:33ish Get home, change (maybe), start dinner, try to say hello to kids and make sure they've started/finished their homework.

AND THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BECOMES A BLUR

5:33-8:30 Dinner (rushed if activity, more "homemade" if not, Pizza if Friday!), maybe some kitchen clean-up (but so, so tired by this point), Rush to activity and back (GS, CS?), Double check homework, Shower/Bath night for kids, Fight Izzy to get her jammies on, fight other two who are fighting with each other, Kiss kids goodnight and tuck 'em in. If I have energy (ha!) I make sure to read to Izzy.

8:30 So exhausted that if I try to sit down, it'll be the end of me. But I try to have some sort of conversation with my husband. Maybe throw in a load of laundry and rescue the so-close-to-stinky clothes out of the washer. Maybe fold a load (doubtful). Try to set out clothes for the kids and myself (ha!) for the morning. Try to pack my bag and decide what's for lunch tomorrow.

9:00 I get on exercise ball and try to bounce my way to 10,000 steps on my pedometer (my company is participating in a "Live Well, Eat Well" program) while watching TV shows I've missed on the computer. Curse stationary job for keeping me from reaching it sooner--especially when I am walking during my lunch hour!

10:30 Finally reach 10,000 steps. Crawl in to bed. Read for 5 seconds before I fall asleep.



Something seems lacking here. Besides bathroom breaks, I mean.

Oh yeah--TIME. Gah!

I'm just so effing tired. And cranky. Yet thankful that I'm working so that my family can actually afford to eat this winter. Sort of. :-(

Slow Out There

After I got this gig, I decided not to tell the one staffing agency in which I had applied. I was just curious how long it would take before any other job offers came up from them.

So THREE weeks after my disasterous, puke-contained (thankfully), non-professional, non-polished job interview (where the interviewer spent the whole time telling me about the job's hours/benefits/dress code and complaining about the workmanship of the new carpeting they had just had installed and asked me absolutely NO questions in which I could attempt to dazzle him or even PRETEND to be professional/polished--as if it were an ORIENTATION and not an interview!), and just shy of three weeks after I accepted the first freakin' offer around, I got a phone call from that staffing agency asking my interest in a different job.

THREE WEEKS. And that's for simple admin/office-type work.

Dave--seriously. The job market SUCKS, dude.

Now you know.

Apparently I'm a Hufflepuff?

I guess 'cause I'm a loyal reader. But I certainly did not read the books SLOWLY (well, not the first three or four times, anyway).

I honestly find it hard to believe that these seven books will be considered a "fad." I mean, yeah, I do get his point, but I think the series appealed too much to adults for it too go away very soon.

My opinion, I know, but I find these books MUCH more entertaining than Roald Dahl's.

Why Ranting Is Necessary

My husband is paranoid. Well, actually, that's kind of an understatement, but what I MEAN to say right NOW is that he's paranoid about his extremely talkative wife. And I'm not even talking about my tendency to blurt out really dumb/inappropriate/blonde things at all the most embarrassing moments (it's a sickness, and I apparently can't help myself!). I'm talking about his paranoia of what I say. to my friends. ABOUT HIM. when he's not around.

John doesn't like to be NOTICED (well, unless he's drinking, of course!). Why on earth he married (or was even ATTRACTED to) a loud, obnoxious woman is beyond me.

So anyway, John is under the impression that when chics get together, all they do is sit there and bash their husbands. And he's just plain FREAKING OUT about what I might say about HIM.

First off, we chics do NOT just bash our husbands when we get together. We may also rant about our bosses, our inconsiderate neighbors, some teacher who seems apparently clueless about the personality of our child, some inane policy at school or work, a friend-of-a-friend who also seems clueless, other friends who could not show up that night (heh!), our mothers/fathers, in-laws, sisters/brothers, obnoxious and unfair banking fees, the idiotic clerk at the store, our weight, and our depressing wardrobe--JUST TO NAME A FEW THINGS.

Um, but yes, our husbands may perhaps be in the *cough* top three spots (depending on what dumb-ass thing he may have done that day).... heh.

But here's what he just doesn't get. We NEED it. Read any article about women getting together over coffee, and it'll tell you. We really, truly NEED it. John does NOT want to hear all my inane verbalizations about every minute detail of every person and/or thing that is bugging me. Not to say that he doesn't listen when I DO choose him as the person to whom I spew--just that it DOES get old to him after a while, and I get that and don't really hold it against him. And I realize, as a some-what rational adult human being, that he does NOT need to be subjected to every tiny little thought about what bugs me about HIM--that, my friends, is called NAGGING. And I do my best NOT to be a nag (yes, I know there are days where I fail, but we're not all perfect, OK?),

So that stuff gets pushed back into the "Let-it-out-at-the-next-coffee-hour" vault and dumped open at that very next opportunity.

OK, finally onto "the benefit" of the rant. After I've spewed what's bugging me, I listen to what my other friends have on THEIR minds. And an interesting thing occurs. Stuff that seems SO ANNOYINGLY NIGHTMARISH to me before the purge, is suddenly NOT SO BAD. At least among the group of friends *I* got, we all seem to be pretty much complaining about the SAME things (Which makes me think--Whew! So it's a GUY thing, and I can just LET IT GO). Every now and then someone will come up with a doozy about THEIR guy which makes me think, "OK, so John can get annoying, but at least he doesn't do THAT." Which isn't to say that my friends' husbands are worse than mine. There is a certain level of "I'll put up with 'X'" that we've all got. And I'm pretty sure we are ALL walking away with that, "OK, so I really AM at the right level with the husband *I* picked," feeling. We're good. We're good.

It's a give-and-take purging session where all the annoying things in my life just simply BALANCE OUT, and I can go back to my husband, and when he asks me what-all terrible things I said about him, I can truly, honestly say, "Nothing."

Get over the paranoia, dear. No one's going to think any worse of you for the purging (which REALLY does NOT happen as often--or with as many gory details--as he seems to think). We're all too busy worrying about the housework, what to cook for dinner, the next load of laundry, whether or not the kids got their homework done, will Johnny need braces, WHEN is this kid going to stay dry through the night, where on EARTH did I put my glasses, is that sales price still worth purchasing that new skirt, what's for dinner, OH DEAR GOD, WHAT'S FOR DINNER!!! to give you or our friends' husbands' annoying habits any second thought.

Picture Sunday...and a Quest

Sunday I FINALLY got little Izzy in for her THIRD birthday pictures. What? She's turning FOUR in a month, ya say? Um. WHOOPS!

So, yeah, I went out shopping and found her an adorable pink and brown jumper to wear. Then went all "Clueless Shopping Spree" on her and got matching pink/brown spotted tights and even some pink/brown plaid shoes (trust me, it was adorable). I pulled her hair back into a cute pink bow, and we were off.

There was a wait, with some impatient, hungry kids, but the photo shoot wasn't too long, and of course, the pictures were adorable. The pictures won't get emailed to me for eight more days, so I got NOTHIN' to show ya.

After the glamour shots, I went through a drive-thru to feed the starving masses and then decided SINCE WE ARE OUT....we should go find our Halloween costumes.

So, onto FIRST poor-folks store. I had seen a couple decent costumes there a few weeks ago--ah, but there was NO Power Ranger, NO Spiderman, and we only found the horns and trident of the Devil costume.

OK! Onto SECOND poor-folks store. Nope, the bargains I had seen a few weeks ago were GONE (should have bought them then, but I wasn't 100% sure what the kids wanted to be). So....

ONTO Walley World--where I know there isn't the biggest selection, but I'm running out of stores conveniently located close to the house. After digging and digging and digging and digging, we finally found the Power Ranger costume (Blue!) for Keith. The Spiderman costumes seemed to be either too little or too big for Izzy. It took a while, but I finally talked her into being Super Girl (at least now you'll be able to see her face!). Poor Mary. No devil costumes to be seen. More tridents, more horns, and even a tail, but no costume. SO...Mary decides she wants to be a witch instead. After looking and comparing over and over and over again, she finally picks the "Teal Witch." Lovely. Let's GO!

Not home five minutes and the costumes are ON. Power Ranger looks AWESOME. Super Girl is ADORABLE. Teal Witch is TOO FREAKIN' BIG. Poor Mary. The costume was just hanging on her petite little figure. "I look stupid!" she cried. I looked it over and decided that even wearing a shirt underneath it wouldn't help.

So I calmed my child down by telling her that I would continue the quest for the Devil costume on my lunch hours from work.

I found one yesterday, but the costume was a size smaller than I ordinarily would have bought her. Double-checking on their return policy (I had until Friday!), I went ahead and bought it. (Just a note here to mention that I KNOW I should not be surprised, but it simply blows my mind how skanky costumes--FOR EIGHT-YEAR OLDS--are. I mean, they have FRENCH MAID costumes in my daughters'--yes, that's right, even for the three-year old!--sizes! SERIOUSLY?! Um, so part of the Devil costume Quest was finding one NOT skanky and mother-approved.)

Well, Mary tried it on last night, and the skirt is a tad short (but she'll be wearing shorts and red tights), but the sleeves are actually too long. She was ecstatic.

So Mary is actually going to be wearing a costume one size SMALLER than her brother's. Huh?!

Quest: successful. Sorta.

Like it's 1999

Last night we FINALLY had the neighbors over to play. Who knew that organizing having people walk across the street could be so difficult? I mean, they invited US over for dinner LAST SPRING, and we still haven't made it. Sad.

Well, I got up Saturday, spent an hour or two on the computer and drinking my coffee (I'm now only drinking coffee on the weekends, I've managed to completely cut it out during the week). Finally just after 10:00, I got out the cleaning supplies and got the crew to work.

I sprayed down the bathrooms with foaming bubbles and got Keith to wipe it up (he LOVES doing this). Mary got to clean up the toy den and of course the bunny cage (the former really suits her I'll-work-alone-and-get-everything-put-away-just-right style, the latter she HATES, but they are HER rabbits, and that's part of the DEAL, lady!). I gave Izzy a wet washcloth and had her wipe down every wall/surface within her reach. She loved it. And she kept finishing before I was ready, "What now, Mama?" Um.... Everyone picked up their rooms (well, a little). I focused on cleaning the kitchen, sweeping and mopping all the floors, getting some laundry caught up, and picking up some of the clutter. Keith was supposed to pick up the toys in the living room, too, but this was apparently just TOO MUCH for him. He kept getting distracted and IN TROUBLE, and that's when I sent him to pick up his room (which didn't really get done, either, but at least he was OUT OF MY WAY for a while). I decided Mary was old enough to start using the vacuum, she did NOT like it and complained, "I'm never doing this again!" Well, it IS still a bit too heavy for her spaghetti arms right now, but oh yes, child, you WILL become acquainted with the vacuum again!

The house looked smashing. Except for the fact that I forgot to finish dusting. Ah well.

The neighbors called while I was in mid-purge and invited us to go down to the garden store three houses down for their "Family Fun Day" around 4:00. Sure! So after the house was done, and John was on his way to pick up our copy of Indiana Jones and all the groceries for the hors d'oeuvres-only party, the kids and I got our jackets on to see what all the fuss was about.

Well...I'm not going to kick up much of a fuss about that Family "Fun" day. Not only were the pony rides a whopping $4 (we carefully distracted all the kids away and didn't walk by them again!), but even the bounce house and the lame hay ride was $3 a piece! There is also a Haunted House that the place runs (we hear the "screams" and "yowls" on most evenings while sitting in our living room), but we weren't sure if it would be "scared-down" enough for our little ones and didn't go in (gee, wonder how much THAT was).

So we're not COMPLETELY cheap, we did let the kids in the bounce house, but THAT WAS IT. And then we went in the awning which had samples and coupons and FREE EAR BUDS (but, for what?).

John caught up with us as we were picking out pumpkins. John and I have found that this place is overpriced ALL YEAR LONG. I mean, it's sad when there is a garden center down the street from you, but you go to one across town to get your mulch because its cheaper--EVEN THE DELIVERY. We have found that the pumpkins are usually "pretty reasonable" and usually do get them there. So the two families walked home with four pumpkins, and the promise to meet up after we fed the kids (and I got my cheeseball and other foods prepared).

Around 6ish, the neighbors came across the street bearing their pack'n'play for the 18-mos old (BTW: JJ, I gave ours to my friend L, as I figure the next time you all visit Christopher will be WAY TOO BIG for it, and no other visiting families I know are planning more kids soon--and I can always borrow it back if they do), a sleeping bag for the three-year old, and some kick-@$$ dip.

After the dime tour of the house, we settled the kids into the den, and the adults tried to play some games.

Our first attempt was Beyond Balderdash--for which we had no instructions. Um, OK, let's play our electronic Scattorgories--which has never even been opened. Upon reading directions, it seemed it would be kinda dull with only four people. Ah well, then, the ol' fallback: EUCHRE!

Even with crappy hands all night, Brittni and I managed to barely scrape a win from John and Bill. Lucky. I hardly ever win when I'm playing against John.

We did get the instructions to Beyond Balderdash from online and played a few rounds. But everyone's brain cells seems to be sluggish (maybe it was the beer?), so we decided to put the games away, lay the kiddies down in their sleeping bags with a movie in the den, and get out the ROCK BAND.

Brittni and Bill took to it like ducks on water. But the noise was keeping the kids up. The baby did pretty well in his pack'n'play in Keith's room, but little M just would not stay down! Brittni finally gave up after a while, and let her sit with us on the couch and watch us rock out. We would finish a song and she would clap and say, "Play 'nother one?" Finally at midnight, all adults decided that it was time to clear out and maybe get the little three-year old in bed--in her own house. Our three had finally fallen asleep without the distraction of little M downstairs with them!

Thankfully, the kids "sorta" slept in this morning. And I'm expecting a visit from B&B sometime this morning to pick up the pack'n'play that we told them they could leave here last night instead of dragging it back across the street (um, but they did take the baby out of it FIRST).

I'm glad we've finally got some neighbors with young kids to do stuff with (if we could possibly get our act together and DO the stuff more often). Good times. Good times.

A Long Over-Due Post

OK, with the craziness my life has been lately with the whole job search, interviews, puking day, and finally GETTING a job, and starting that, and just general pulling my hair out stuff, I kinda just glossed right over the fact that MY FATHER VISITED ME LAST MONTH.

OK. First off, Dad, you need to plan your visits better. Come while the kids are OUT OF SCHOOL so that you can spend more time with them! Please!?

Oh....sorry....anyway, Dad and Ruth visited about a month ago. I got my house beautifully cleaned in time, and the kids were beside themselves. Especially my most-excitable Izzy.

Ruth and I spent the first morning buying all the fixin's needed for the picnic Dad brought to share (OMG--it was soooo good, and the kids just ate it up!). Dad took Izzy to the park down the street.

We spent Friday at the museum with Izzy, where Dad and Ruth FINALLY got to see the old toy collection upstairs (when we attempted this when Mary was a toddler, she went into one of her full-fledged temper tantrums, and we had to leave). Izzy got spoiled by a ride on the carousel AND the train there. I was happy to take Dad and Ruth there as the museum had been majorly overhauled since we took them all those years ago, and there were many new things to see.

Mary got to show off her violin skills. Keith got to show off--his cello. Um, he hadn't started lessons yet, so well, here's the instrument he WILL be playing, um, once he learns how!

John got out the Rock Band Friday night, and we all got to show off our jamming skills. BTW: Mary is really mastering those drums. I sense a change of musical instruments in her future? After some persuasion (and after the kids had finally gone to bed), we got Dad and then even Ruth into the action. We had our four-piece band going, and we were ROCKIN'!

John and I meant to take Dad and Ruth downtown to see the Upper Falls, but John ended up swamped at work and had to work late both nights they were in town. Then Dad ended up having to leave a day earlier than we wanted as he was told by his boss to report to Chicago for a last-minute training.

The visit was way, way too short. And I wish Keith and Mary could have seen more of them. And I am glad that I hadn't found a job yet and was able to spend more time with them.

I'll be sad when his visit comes again next year, and I'll be stuck at my job all day instead of visiting with him. :-(

I'd like to admit...

...it's getting better.

Someone must have put Izzy's switch back on to "Good." She has been getting up in the morning ALMOST with a smile (and a tired, "See, Mommy. I'm not crying!"). She gets dressed mostly by herself (she just needs to do it more quickly!). She has been putting her shoes on by herself. She has MOSTLY been getting her jammies on without a fuss (it DOES take her a long time as she keeps getting distracted with her TALKING). She greets me at the day care with a "Hello, Mommy!" and might even come and hug me if she's not too busy playing. This morning she was so happy and cheerful as I dropped her off at daycare, I got a million hugs and kisses goodbye--and well, I just feel like my sweet little Izzy is BACK.

Now we're working on her getting her own socks on--correctly. Socks are just so darn tricky! She can pull them on, but they're usually backwards or crooked across the toes. And then she comes to me to fix them. And up to now, I've been a LAZY mommy and just said, "Oh, let me do it!" as then it gets done quicker.

Yes, it's MY FAULT she doesn't do some of this by herself (er, well, more accurate to say, "seems to depend on so much help"). So I'm trying to LEAVE THE ROOM while she gets dressed ("I'll be back in a minute, honey!"), so that I'm not there to inhibit the "independence progress" and be so readily available for "help." I find that she does dress quicker (albeit still BACKWARDS) when I'm not there.

That being said, I still won't send my kid to daycare if I notice her underwear/jeans/shirt/socks are on backwards.

Hmmm.... I may just have to wake her up EARLIER to give her more time to do all of this.

As for myself, I've been working now for just over a week, and I've got the messy house to prove it. I've mostly kept the kitchen SOMEWHAT clean, but the rest of the house just looks SCARY. Toys and clothes and papers and the guts of backpacks and dust and CLEAN laundry and DIRTY laundry, and oh GOD.... It's simply a mess. I'm too tired to deal with it during the week. And then on the weekends, it's just so overwhelming (and then the thought of the kids just trashing it again) that I just IGNORE it.

No more excuses THIS weekend. I invited the neighbors over for a game night on Saturday. So now on Saturday morning everything HAS to get done, or I face major shame and embarrassment.

It's just like my mama taught me--just live with it until company comes, and then CLEAN LIKE THE DEVIL.

We need to have people over more often.

Taking Requests

The requests are coming in on what to get the Evil Izzy for her birthday. Listen, folks--I really don't know! She plays with EVERYTHING and just has NO preferences! Dolls, stuffed animals, little pieces of lego that she wraps up in jump ropes--there is NO main obsession like the horses for Mary or outer space for Keith. She just PLAYS.

So, I've started throwing a few things together I thought she might like. The link is on the right. -->

She seems to be more interested in puzzles lately, so I threw a few of those on there. She likes her dolls, but I don't think she plays with them enough to justify buying a new one--or even a ton of accessories for them. She's still really into stuffed animals/dogs, so if you want to save time, you could send her a gift card to Build-a-Bear.

She definitely needs clothes. I've been buying her 4T pants and 5T shirts. 4/5 shirts would probably work, too. We're really looking for simple clothes that she can wear to day care, and I don't mind her ruining (like knit pants).


...So, uh...anyone got any ideas of what to get a four-year old for her birthday? 'Cause *I* still gotta go shopping!

The Evil Within

I know that my going back to work is going to be a bit of an adjustment for our little family. I expect crazy mornings, super-fast, probably not-so-healthy cooked dinners, lagging housework and laundry, and quick tempers. I did not expect my darling (almost!) four-year old to turn into Evil Incarnate.

Let me be fair--we seem to have ironed out the crying jags when Mommy picks her up at daycare. And I really don't think her behavior is MUCH different than it was before I went to work--I think I just have less time/patience to deal with it now and rules have to be reinforced.

So lately we're having a problem getting the Beast up in the mornings again. And I feel as if I'm being pretty patient so far since I know it's hard for this NON-morning person to get up and get dressed (SO like her father!). But last night at bedtime it was an absolute NIGHTMARE.

She refused to put on her pajamas. Such a little thing, right? Well, it turned into a BIG thing with a huge temper tantrum that culminated in my putting her in bed without jammies and not even her pull-up (which she SO still needs). The anger in this child! She did her usual temper tantrum fare and pulled all the stuffed animals/babies off her bed--but then topped that with yanking off the comforter, sheets, AND the shower curtain I have on there as her "wetness" barrier. A poltergeist in the makings here, folks!

When I went in to check on her and hopefully calm her down and put her "properly" to bed (that's when I discovered the destruction of the bed), she yells at me, "Put my sheets back on!" What--Didn't you WANT them off?! I finally made a deal with her--if she managed to calm down and stop screaming for 15 minutes (I know! But this had been going on for a LONG time!), then I would put her sheets back on.

INSTANT quiet.

And ten minutes later, I went in, put her bed back together, and she put on her jammies.

Izzy and I had another talk about the kind of behavior I expect of her. She needs to get up and get dressed in the morning WITHOUT a temper tantrum. She needs to put her OWN shoes on (suddenly she "can't do it"). She needs to greet me with a smile and say "Hi" to me when I pick her up from day care--and NO temper tantrum. She needs to put on her pajamas at night--again, WITHOUT a temper tantrum.

It's a lot, no? But I guess we can boil it down to the simple: Do what you're told and stop fussing about it! Grrrrr!!!!!

*sigh* I hate having to be even MORE mean than I really am.

P.S. She got up like an Angel this morning--a somewhat groggy Angel, but STILL....

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Devan recently posted a delicious-sounding whole wheat brownie recipe, and it put me in mind of this one. Amusingly, I got this recipe out of a set of Sesame Street books I've had since I was a kid (Number 14). And amusingly, I never did make the recipe as a kid--and forgot all about it until I started reading the books to the kids as an adult.


Whole Wheat Banana Bread
3 peeled, ripe bananas
3/4 Cup honey
1/4 Cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour

Mash the bananas in a big bowl. Add the melted butter. Add baking soda, flour, and honey. Stir until mixed together. Pour into greased bread pan. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Check with toothpick. Let cool before slicing.

**And of course, I throw in like a half a cup of mini-chocolate chips 'cause that's the way my kids like it (I LURVE banana bread without the chips myself).

Mary just helped me whip up a loaf, and it's in the oven now! Mmmmm! Enjoy!

Completely Exhausted

Well, I'm back to the grind. I must say, I do like my new company and my new job. Very friendly folks. And then I discovered that someone I knew from my former company is also now working here! Too funny!

Izzy did pretty well her first day back to day care. I woke her up ultra-early, and she did NOT cry (she promised me she wouldn't), and she apparently had so much fun at day care that when I came to pick her up last night, she did NOT want to leave. She threw a complete screaming temper tantrum all the way home. Unfortunately, I did not have time to deal with her properly as I had about 20 minutes to get ready and out the door for our GS meeting. I had Mary make herself a sandwich while I changed and checked that I had everything I needed for the meeting (with Izzy whining and following me around the house). Mary and I got home late (had to finish cleaning up and HAD to get gas before work in the A.M.), so I didn't even get to kiss Izzy goodnight. Poor kid.

This morning when I got Izzy up, she said, "Where are we going?" "To day care." "AGAIN?!" Um, yes. EVERY DAY now.

I've only burst into tears twice: during both morning commutes.

SCORE!!

Got the job! Starting TOMORROW!

Spent all afternoon confirming child care. What a pain in the butt. I think I've talked my neighbor into taking Keith and Mary from after school till 5:30. Izzy is going to an at-home women around the corner. She's not our first pick, but most of the day care centers around here are booked, or can only accommodate us a couple of days a week, or are just WAY TOO FREAKING EXPENSIVE for the ONE HOUR my after-school children will be there (after the hour-long shuttle ride to the center due to its being zoned for a different elem school) (and let's not even TALK about how much they want for Izzy).

Um....on to more pleasant thoughts.... My new job is a bit farther to drive then I was hoping, but they're paying me what I asked, and they were really, really friendly and ENCOURAGE promoting from within. In fact, they only wanted to hire someone who wanted to try to move up within the company. AND...it's practically right across the street from where John works. Maybe he and I can do lunch sometime. (Too bad we can't carpool, but John is putting the kids on the bus in the mornings, and that's too late for my 8:00 start.)

Thanks for all the well-wishing and prayers. Dave and MDH--your turns are next!

The stolen mimi

Thought this was cool, so I stole it from Shelly.

Take the list and bold what you HAVE done.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped (watched) an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band(orchestra)
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone kayaking in the ocean
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem not for school
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Gone deep-sea fishing
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Commented on a stranger's blog

...A Window Opens

Got an interview for 4:00 tomorrow now. A little farther than I really wanted to drive....but if they like me, I may get to start as soon as Monday.

One of their requests was for an "energetic" person. I SO fit that description better than "polished."

Just keep smilin'....

Nope

I wasn't "polished or professional enough."

Which doesn't surprise me. In my efforts to be less sickly and more cheerful--and in my nervousness, too, I'm sure--I KNOW I came off even more goofy than normal.

BACK to the jobsites!

What Happens When Mama's Sick

I dragged myself to my interview and put my best effort into NOT looking like death warmed over. I think it went pretty well. Of course, I was their only recent applicant, so if I don't get it, they REALLY didn't like me (oh dear!). I should hear something today. Cross your fingers for me.... (And all I can think of now is how this nice guy shook my hand and took my pestulant germs home to his twin sons and expectant wife last night. OH, I hope not!)

When I got home from the interview I said to John, "Can I go crash now?" I greeted the kids as they got off the bus, pulled on some comfy clothes, and delegated myself to the bedroom. I did try to come out once, but John insisted I keep my germs to myself. I had a slight fever by this point, anyway--so back to bed!

The house is a complete disaster. I was getting behind on housework anyway due to all this job hunting and interviews, but yesterday....ugh. The garbage was over-flowing and the sink was full of dirty dishes (and probably residual puke), but every time I entered the kitchen...BLEH...I had to run back out. I felt better around 6:30, and washed a few of the dishes and soaked the rest. It's all I had the energy to do. John took out the garbage--SHOCK!

John cooked dinner--which means that he ordered a pizza for himself and the kids. My diet for the whole day consisted of several cups of tea (minus the one that ended up in the kitchen sink), three pieces of toast with jelly, and a half a stack of crackers.

We skipped Keith's first CS meeting (John said he wasn't feeling too well either).

The kids kept popping their head in the bedroom door to say hi to me. "Are you feeling OK?" They don't see Mom sick very often, I could tell they were a bit confused about the whole thing.

I finally went to sleep around 10:00. John decided to steer clear of my germs and slept on the couch. Good thing. I woke up at 1:00 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep for a quite a while. The aches and fever were back, and it seemed to take the Advil FOREVER to finally kick in. Miserable.

Woke up this morning feeling 110% better. Still don't think I'm going to water aerobics, though--too tired. And I doubt much of the housework will get done either. And now I'm trying to decide if I want to bother signing up for this other staffing agency today at 3:00. They didn't have any tempting jobs posted on their website the other day....

Woe is Me

The position at my former company is NOT appealing. If I get desperate.... God, I hope I don't ever get that desperate.

I have a "real" interview today at 3:00. And at 9:00 I was making a run for the kitchen sink to purge the cup of tea I had just swallowed...(no way I could have made it to the bathroom).

Good news is that there has been no further purging since the incident this morning. But I haven't attempted to eat lunch yet....

Oh dear. This could be bad.

What would YOU do? Cancel the interview in the hopes that your possible new employer will be "understanding" and not consider this a Bad Mark? Or choke down the bile and perhaps contaminate your possible future employer and co-workers?

I'm going with the contamination. And I'm bringing a big purse.

Urp!

Help! Ideas for Interviews!

What do YOU usually say when they ask you for your weaknesses????

Little Bites: REVISITED

9:00 this morning: Went to a Community College to discuss options for Medical Billing field. (TWO YEAR PROGRAM! Are you @#$% kidding me? I already HAVE a Bachelor's [that I'm STILL paying for]--why on EARTH would I want an Associates? I just want a CERTIFICATE!)

3:00 today: Sign up with staffing agency for Admin Assist job.
Complete waste of time! Only job they had available was for $9.50/hr. Hello! This is not 1996 anymore! But I completely SMASHED their typing and Excel tests! Go me! Maybe something else will come up soon....

8:00 Monday: Sign up with ANOTHER staffing agency for another job for which I've applied (probably Admin Assist also--sad that I don't really know as so many resumes have gone out now).
Had to reschedule to Thursday at 3:00 due to conflict with JOHN'S schedule. Having kids while looking for a job is a PAIN IN THE BUTT. But I looked on their website--nothing they have posted really looks too appealing, anyway....

11:00 Monday: Phone interview for Exec Assist position that my FIRST staff agency set up for me (first I've heard from them in over two weeks).
Interview lasted six minutes! But I must have done OK, 'cause I scored a "real" interview next Wednesday!

4:00 Tuesday: Interview for contract position with FORMER EMPLOYER. (Too bad it's not my former JOB--but we'll see what happens.)
Scheduling conflict AGAIN! And when I called to reschedule, I got an ATTITUDE and that there were NO OTHER OPEN TIMES. Guess I'll ask the neighbor to watch Izzy and get Mary/Keith off the bus.


Hmmm....Maybe I should slow down the resumes for now.

Speaking of things Lost

'Round about the time of the mysterious missing pajamas, I also misplaced a book. Actually, it's inaccurate to say *I* misplaced it. Izzy is to blame for THIS Bermuda Triangle incident.

Ya see, I was on the phone (probably with my mom or dad) and also picking up the house (I simply can't get on the phone without also walking around the house picking up clutter. Sometimes I purposefully call people--like JJ!--because then I know I'll have X amount of minutes that I WILL get the dishes done or the pile of crap picked up off the coffee table. Of course, all the walking around almost always guarantees I will lose connection at least ONCE. Ah well.). Um...anyway.... I had been reading a book, which is in a SERIES of sci-fi books that I own and love and usually read AT LEAST once a year. And it had in fact been TWO years since I last read them 'cause they were "lost" in one of the boxes of books stuck down in the basement. BUT! I had JUST re-discovered them and was enjoying our reunion when the phone rang.

So...while I was wandering around the kitchen, I see Izzy with the book I had just set down. She was PUSHING it across the kitchen floor. I finally had to stop and ask her what she was doing? "It's a boat, Mommy!" Ah! I see! And I had quite a chuckle about it with whichever parental unit I was talking.

Well, I got off the phone and caught up with the Iz-meister so that I could start reading my book again. She didn't have it anymore. I checked the kitchen. Hmmmm.... I wandered all through the house. Um...."Izzy, where's my book?" "You're wipe [white] book?" "Yes, where's Mommy's book?" The two of us looked in the kitchen more diligently. It was NOWHERE.

I've looked and looked and looked for that book. I didn't want to read the next book in the series until I had finished THAT one. It doesn't matter that I've read the book at least five times! I HAVE to finish it!

I never found it.

And after a while, I DID finally decide that the book must be permanently lost and read ON (Gasp! Can you believe it?!).





Yesterday, Izzy was playing with her babydoll; she decided to wanted to feed her. I got out the toy diaper bag and dug up the bottle and baby spoons for her. While I was at it, I started collecting all the other baby doll clothes/paraphernalia from the toy basket and shoving them "away" into the bag. I checked the little front pocket...

...and THERE was my book.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cracked up and showed Izzy. "You're wipe [white] book!"


Indeed.

[Brat!]

That was weird

Whilst visiting the H clan last summer, we harassed JJ into purchasing some new D-store jammies and t-shirts for the kids with her employee discount (they were super cheap already!). Well, somehow or another, the bottoms to one set of Izzy's got misplaced. I recalled that I threw the bottoms into the laundry basket after a "EEEEEWWWWW!" moment when her pull-up leaked the previous night. And then I sorta lost track of them. The top got washed just fine....but the bottoms did not miraculously "show up" as I figured they would.

I started casually going through all the laundry bins, all the piles in the basement, the garage sale bags, and even Mary's dresser looking for those darn PJ bottoms. What the....?

Fast forward about six weeks later. That would be, um, yesterday. I am folding the latest load of the umpteen-million loads of laundry I do each week. And guess what? Yup--THERE THEY WERE.

Where the FREAK did they come from? I do NOT recall throwing them in the wash, nor putting them in the dryer. I have not seen them in ANY of the multitudes of dirty clothes piles hanging around the house. Where the heck were they, and how the heck did they manage to get CLEAN again without my knowledge? Did they hitchhike across the galaxy with the old towel and their electronic thumb?

And I don't fret so much about lost singleton socks. It happens, folks, so I just deal with it. But WHY and HOW is it that in a house where laundry is washed at LEAST four times a week--and usually EVERY DAY--is Izzy suddenly completely OUT of socks? I'm serious! All that is left in her sock drawer are the pairs of ankle socks I don't like and don't put on her. Where did the other TEN PAIRS of simple, white bobby socks GO? And why did they suddenly start disappearing the VERY WEEK of the return of the pajama bottoms!!!!!

I think I need a job just so that I have other, legitimate things to complain about.

Old Haunts

I had several errands to run today, and since a few were on the other side of town, I fit in a visit to the ol' workplace. All those people for which to perform? Izzy was IN her element.

While Izzy showed off her repertoire of "Pterodactyl" and "Dragon" impressions, I caught up with the crew. Here's what I heard a lot: "Boy, you look really good!" "You look so relaxed!" "You look great!" "Bet you're not as tired now!"

Makes me wonder--how was I looking a year ago when I quit? Tired? Stressed out? Apparently not as well-groomed?!

Yeah. That last two years I was working WERE tough. I knew it was getting to be a little too much, but I didn't understand HOW much until I finally got to quit. And actually take a breath. And not have to drive across the city every day. And....

Well, it's just a shame I have to go back to work, that's all. 'Cause I doubt if a year off is really going to be enough.

But here's some good news I noticed at my annual this morning: I've apparently lost weight. I don't typically weigh myself, so I had no idea. So water aerobics twice (er....sometimes only ONCE) a week DID help! Still doubt I could fit into my old "interview" suit, though. *sigh*

TWINS!

My cousin's babies are HERE! And oh, how I wish I could fly to OK to go visit! MUST. HAVE. BABY. FIX!!

Congrats Mary Anne and Jon! Welcome Elena and Ryan!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Dear MR

Just 'cause I can't find a job doesn't mean I'm not busy!

Let's see....not only am I spending all this time looking for jobs, completing applications, emailing resumes, and banging my head against the desk at the lack of opportunities, but I have also been Organizing GS recruitment events, attending said events, registering folks, setting up troops, finding leaders for said troops, answering a million emails a day from new leaders AND planning GS meetings, answering a million emails a day from co-leaders, attending meetings--with ALL THREE KIDS due to other half working late--helping 12 girls (plus 5 tag-a-long siblings) make messy s'mores, pouring juice, and keeping the pack at safe distance from the fire. Oh yes! I also took my middle child to school one evening to sign him up for CS--and now I somehow have to fit in the time to get him HIS uniform. AND THEN to top it all off, I had the impending visit from my father and his wife for which to prepare--with the cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, washing of linens, and clutter control. Not to mention the water aerobic class I'm still trying to attend at least twice a week.

So if I'm not putting enough posts out there, WELL EXCUSE ME!

Sincerely,
Q2

I can't even get into customer service!!!

Dear Carrie,

Thank you for your interest in the Emergency Dispatch Operator/Customer Service Representative position, reference number **-****. We appreciate your consideration of A** Security Services, Inc. for future employment.

At the present time, we are considering candidates whose experience and skills more closely match our requirements. We will keep your application in our active files in the event that a suitable position becomes available.

Please note that though this position may not be a fit, you may still be in consideration for other openings you have applied to.

Again, we thank you for your interest and wish you every success in your future endeavors.

Respectfully,

A** Security Services, Inc.

NOW I'm starting to get worried....

My first time

I did it for the first time. Got on eBay. I know, I know! I've been avoiding it for all these years, and I can't even tell you why.

I decided to take the plunge because I noticed that my swimming suit is starting to get a bit stretched out from all the water aerobics I've been doing (And John never liked the color anyway--said it made me look to pale. When I saw pictures of me in it, I had to agree.). And my tankini "spare" suit just isn't conducive to water aerobic activity (the material swooshes in the most annoying ways).

I've been casually glancing at the racks this summer, but not whole-heartedly. I usually have a kid or three with me--and no one would want to try on swimming suits with THAT lot around. Especially since I seem to be "between" sizes and would probably have to try on a million before I found one that fit (and it'd probably be the wrong color, too).

So I surfed the net. And found that even clearance racks online usually had suits that were WAY to expensive for my taste, or WAY (and I mean WAY!) too big. *sigh*

So, onto eBay! I found a nice, brand-new fitness-style suit (and really, who cares about the color if I'm just using it to work out in?), placed a decent bid. Waited ALL day for the bidding time to stop. But THEN had to go to a meeting. And THEN had to go out AFTER the meeting. And THEN went to bed. Checked my account today: OUTBID! NO WAY!!! @#$%!!

So I did what any frustrated not-too-keen-to-shop woman would do--I searched again and found a suit to BUY NOW, and whipped out the credit card.

Seriously! I don't have time for all that bidding and suspense! I just want an inexpensive, durable swimming suit!

Oh God. I hope it fits!

Grief

Sometimes it just takes a nice long talk with my friend S to put my idea/thoughts/emotions in perspective. She takes all my whining and complaining and sums it up for me in a concise, neat, little package. I feel bad because no matter how much I tell myself I will focus on HER when we talk, I always seem to take over the conversation about what's going on in MY life. She just helps keep me grounded.

So when I was trying to report to her all my frustrations of the lack of stay-at-home working options, and the unfairness of what a little bit of miscalculation will do to push the need quite SUDDENLY from part-time to full-time work, and, well, I just don't want it get into it all here--she summed it up for me perfectly. "You are grieving. And you have the right to grieve."

Oh, S. Thank you for putting it in perspective. And here I was trying so, so hard to be brave and OK! about this and...well, now I understand why I'm having such a hard time doing all that despite my best intentions.

Give me time to grieve. And I'll be OK.

And S, I promise, our next conversation, I'll keep my mouth shut and try to listen to YOU more.

First Day: Ah, the serenity!

Today was Mary and Keith's first day back to school. They were soooo excited that they had their lunches packed YESTERDAY afternoon, and they were dressed and out the door waiting for the bus by 8:04 this morning--and the bus doesn't come until 8:24.

After they were gone I faced my first day alone with just Izzy. It was so...strange. I casually finished my breakfast and then started cleaning up the breakfast dishes and dutifully picking up the house. But! What should I do with this special time alone with my little girl? (Knowing it'll be one of the last days alone with her IF I get lucky enough to finally become gainfully employed again.) So, she and I sat on the couch and read a couple of Dora books, and she quizzed me on my alphabet sounds (I did pretty well). And then we went outside where she played in the sandbox and tormented some potato bugs. Then it dawned on me: we have a lunch date!

Yes, some other SAH friends of mine try to get together every year on the first day of school for lunch at Panera's. I don't typically frequent that place (just too darned expensive), but I decided to go for the first and last chance I'd ever get to join in on the tradition.

Izzy and I ate our $15.00 lunch (Seriously!) and got caught up on some local gossip. Then I took the Iz-meister across the street and bought her a new pair of shoes (her heels are actually starting to hang over her sandals!). THEN I remembered our cereal-depletion problem in the cupboard, and we went to the store to stock up on Frosted Flakes and other goodies for the kids to pack in their school lunches.

We came home, and I relaxed on the couch (is it the weather that is causing me to have a headache EVERY SINGLE FREAKING DAY? or perhaps my sinuses? or the STRESS of not having a job and not seeing ANYTHING even REASONABLY palatable in the classifieds?) while Izzy did NOT take a nap in my bed. Ahhhh....

The bus was 25 minutes late coming home (My mantra: FIRST day of school--they are ALWAYS behind on the first day of school! Surely they would call if....FIRST day of school!). Mary and Keith were STARVING--just as I expected them to be. All the kids ate raisins or what was left of their school lunches (I have a feeling Mary socialized more than ate today), and now they are playing and making SO MUCH NOISE that I did NOT miss today.

Yes, I enjoyed my brief respite as a mother-of-one again. Too bad this peacefulness will (hopefully!) soon be replaced by extremely-stressed-out-mamma trying to get three kids ready and out the door and on her way to work. (I have tears in my eyes just thinking of it).

I did have a job interview yesterday, but I doubt they call me back (lack of experience), and I don't think I'd even take it if they did (lack of $$$!). I think if this were 1995, and I had just recently gotten my diploma, I would SO take this job. But as a tired, worn-out, old, Mother, it just isn't too terribly appealing. Especially for the rate of pay--insulting, really!

So, if you'll excuse me, I must get some sort of dinner ready. And I must take some time to get on the classifieds again. And see if I can find where John hid my resume when he re-imaged this @#$% crappy computer. (It could probably stand to be re-done, anyway).

Where is the love?

I got NO callback.

Feeling rejected and unloved.

(Probably asked for too much money.)

I hate this.

Well, THAT was fun

Last week is now a complete blur to me. Not only was I contending with the job search and interview and online evaluations (Lord Have Mercy! NOT fun!), I also took part in a multi-family garage sale the next-door neighbors were having. So in between tests (and agonized tears and frustrations and calls to my husband and tech support when the tests weren't WORKING properly) and interview wardrobe check, I was rifling through the Goodwill corner of the basement sorting the sellable from the crap and MARKING 50 cents on EVERYTHING. The kids just went on auto-pilot and fed and entertained themselves (while I screeched at them if they made a whimper of a noise while I was taking that @#$% math test).

First off, let me allay your fears. Despite the slight breakdown and technical difficulties, I apparently passed all my exams "well above level." I didn't even have to give the prepared speech about the lockdown of my computer during the last five questions of the Excel exam (I didn't call the hiring company and request a new test as tech support suggested as I figured it may make me sound like a "whiner." Not to mention that I honestly felt that even if one truncated the last five questions off the final score, I probably showed my Excel prowess quite well. Wudyaknow? I was right!). So, less said the better about my testing difficulties...now I guess everything rests on my interviewing capabilities. I should actually know by TODAY if they're calling me back to consider me for a second interview. Cross your fingers, folks! If they LOVED me and my test scores and experience and actually want to pay me what I WANT, I won't have to post for ANY MORE jobs. (*sigh* I'm sure it won't be that easy.)

...Back to the garage sale. UGH. I had been thinking of putting one on this summer, but I could never get up enough gumption to do it. Just too! much! work! But the neighbors did the advertising and so I figured that was at least ONE step I didn't have to do. BUT THE GOING THROUGH THE CRAP!!!! I mean, I knew the Goodwill corner of the basement was growing and growing, but not until I had to unbag and start labeling did I realize how much crap I hadn't gotten around to dropping off yet. Basically ALL of Izzy's clothes for the last two years, and boxes and BOXES of toys I had secreted downstairs when the wee ones weren't looking. (Every now and then the kids traverse downstairs and spot a previously-not-played-with toy and haul it back upstairs. Then the Goodwill elves quietly tip-toe into their rooms and snatch it BACK! Ha!) The garage sale was on Friday and Saturday and all told I made about $49.00. It's already been spent on part of the grocery bill the other day.

Friday I had to close my portion of the garage sale early to go to the interview. Saturday, I only had to bow out for about an hour to take the kids to their second-to-last swim lesson. It ended up being a very hot, sunny day. I was lazy and didn't use any sunscreen, figuring that I'd just stick close to the shade and inside the garage. SILLY woman. I got a LOVELY sunburn to add some color to my farmer's tan I'd been accumulating this summer (was wearing a tank top on Saturday).

The kids and I jumped in the neighbor's pool after we closed the doors on the garage sale. COLD, but lovely after being out in the heat all day. We went back inside, and I completely CRASHED the rest of the day, totally EXHAUSTED.

I woke up Sunday to find the house was a complete, FREAKING mess. Basically, I'd been so busy with job-posting, test-taking, interviews, swim lessons, the garage sale, and pool-dipping that NO housework was getting done. It was QUITE scary. The kids and I (more like MARY and I) got a bulk of it straightened out on Sunday afternoon, and I feel I can breathe again (and CPA won't be showing up on the doorstep).

...Now I guess I'll get around to seeing what new jobs may be posted online in case my ship does not come in for my first "real" interview in YEARS. GAH! I HATE job-hunting!

Job Hunt

I'm stepping up the job hunt process now that school is just two (short!) weeks away. I tweaked the hurriedly-crafted resume I regurgitated a few weeks ago, and then I posted online for a particular job. Within TWENTY MINUTES I had a phone call on it.

Yikes!

So...I have to take a couple online evaluations (wow--welcome to job hunting in 2008!), and I have an interview next Friday.

I'm completely freaked out.

I've got several other jobs I'm about to post for, but it's difficult to get in the "quality" computer time I need while the three-year old is up and about.

I guess I forgot to mention here (er, well, more like never found the computer time to make a post about...) the fact that I had an interview a few weeks ago. It's a part-time position that will probably not even be worth my while, but I thought I'd give it a go. Of course, at the 11th hour, I decided to finally try to find the outfit I was going to wear.

Oh dear. NOTHING fit. Absolutely NOTHING.

See, I had a CASUAL job for nine years--I could (and did!) wear jeans to work every day. So all my interview-quality clothes are NINE to TEN years old! And guess what? I've had THREE KIDS since then! I may be still considered "thin" in some people's opinions, and may even "technically" weigh the same I did back then, but my body is SHAPED differently now. So after not being about to get into the two suits I still owned, and not seeing anything too desirable that I could "throw together" (keeping in mind that it had been in the '80s, and most of my nicer clothes are more fall/winter oriented) I finally faced the facts that I just HAD to go shopping. Of course, it was 7:00, and John was out of town, so I had all three kids with me! Well, ha, ha! Shopping we all go! I went to three different stores and managed to find a decent dress, a nice shirt to go with a black skirt I owned, and even a new interview-appropriate purse--and had the kids home by 8:30.

Oh God. I really HATE having to do this.

Cheap Vacations

We rather enjoyed our visit from the H's. For detailed description, see Dave. It was a somewhat cheap vacation for the H's, as we cooked from home/packed our lunches as much as possible. Saved that much more money for the Cheesecake!

OUR cheap-ish vacation took place the following week. John and I spent two days after the H's left going back and forth about what to do with his week off. We wanted to do something fun, somewhat close by, and somewhat cheap. We finally decided to take the kids to Cedar Point.

So we left Tuesday afternoon (after Mary's last painting class) and got to our hotel in decent time (AMAZING how much simpler a 5 hour trip is as opposed to an 8 hour trip!). Wednesday morning we got up, hit the continental breakfast bar, and then hit the coasters. Well, John and Mary did, anyway. Mary, being 47 inches, could now go on most of the coasters. Myself and the wee folk, Keith and Izzy, stayed closed to Kiddie Korner for those first four hours (and had a sit-down lunch, too). John texted me throughout the duration.

We picked an excellent day to go to Cedar Point. The weather was only in the upper '70s, so it wasn't too hot. It was a Wednesday, so the crowds were thin, and John and Mary hardly had to wait more than 15 minutes each ride. Exception: The Millenium Force. They ended up waiting for two hours for that ride. Mary was completely bored and annoying throughout the wait, and we decided not to torment her with the wait again.

After the family reunited, and Mary and John had a bit of a snack, we all went back down the line to all the coasters. This time, Mary and I hit the ones she wanted to ride (she was adamant NO upside-down roller coasters!) while John would take the wee ones to whatever kiddie rides were close by. Still only 15 minute wait--heaven!

John and I paid an exhorbant fee and had caricatures done of the three kids. Keith's wasn't so great, but Mary and Izzy's were quite like.

Twilight came, and we decided to hit the games on the way out of the park. The kids were ALL exhausted and Mom and Dad weren't doing so well either. After a couple of breakdowns over games not won and tickets stuck in pockets and therefore not turned in for crappy prizes, we stopped for a breather (Oh! The humanity!) and then headed out the gate.

It was a great time, seriously. We just pushed it too long at the end with hungry, tired parents and kids!

Next day we drove to Cleveland and John and I finally made good on a years-long threat: we stopped at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The kids were completely bored, and Izzy was a complete brat (wanted to be in the stroller, DIDN'T want to be in the stroller, had to go potty, DIDN'T need to go potty, WANTED TO DRINK FROM EVERY FREAKING FOUNTAIN IN THE PLACE...). I basically spent my time attempting to read a few things here and there while mainly keeping Izzy out of John's hair so that he could take in as much as possible. We just need to go just the two of us sometime....

So we then headed home and got in around 7:30 Thursday night.

Cheap(ish), but fun.

Impending Arrival

I've been pacing myself this last week getting ready for the upcoming visit from some FTW friends. It's the third "friend" visit we've received since we moved here TEN years ago--and the second one that involves JJ. I'm thinking our other friends kind of OWE us a visit or two. *cough*

So, anyway, I've actually been keeping up with the housework quite nicely lately. I guess after almost a year, I've finally got this whole "housewife" thing down. Gee, just in time for me to go back to work, too. Greeeeeeeat. So, I'm putting some extra elbow grease into the cleaning and picking up a bit more clutter, and screaming at the kids to STOP MESSING UP THE HOUSE!!!

And since we have an infink arriving, I dragged out the pack 'n' play, the bouncy seat, and the high chair. And then cleaned them. The high chair: GROSS. I THOUGHT I had cleaned it before I put it in the basement. The year and a half's accumulation of mold and dust told me otherwise. Thankfully, since JJ and co. had done the same thing with THEIR highchair, I knew JUST how to clean it: vinegar. And I took it outside and sprayed it down with the water hose. Dang! It looks like new! (But I did have to cut off the straps. They were a LOST cause.)

I went to the ol' warehouse today to stock up on Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops for the H's. I figure we'll do the rest of the shopping after they get here (tomorrow!), and we all figure out the menu for the rest of the week that they are here.

John was supposed to clean out the spare room so that we could set up the spare bed again, but he's been too busy with work, then his weekend romp, and then work again. He promises he'll do it tonight; he'll just stay up late. We'll see. The H's may have to sleep on the pull-out after all!

So have fun going down the highway tomorrow, folks! The kids are excited to see you. I'm intrigued to see my house full of 10 people!

Congrats to SaLy!

Welcome "Olivia!" Can't wait to see pics!

The Deceiver

Remember a while back when my innocent little Mary became a thief, and then taught her little brother the trick? Well, she took a brief hiatus from her life of crime--and is now back on the rampage.

She must be bored this summer--and very hungry. Just since we got back from our vacation she has eaten WITHOUT permission: ONE whole ziplock bag full of the chocolate candy left over from Halloween (she found the stash in the freezer and just went to town), ONE piece of gum--while being grounded from candy due to the freezer candy incident from five days prior, ONE peppermint patty just the DAY after the gum incident and barely a week after the original crime(seriously...she is just NOT a smart candy thief--you expect me NOT to notice the minty freshness?), FOUR--maybe FIVE--soft chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen cabinet (ignorantly leaving the empty bag behind apparently thinking that her parents would just NOT see it), AND THEN BARELY 24 HOURS LATER, she ate a Slimfast bar and threw the wrapper on the floor of her bedroom where GOSH, no mother would just EVER find it!

Her ineptitude and clumsiness astonish me. I'm sure I was MUCH better at hiding things when I was her age.

I actually knew she had taken candy out of the freezer. I wasn't going to say anything about it. After all, it's basically partly HER candy, and a piece here and there isn't going to hurt. I was being all Zen about it and just "letting it go." BUT to open the freezer and see a bag COMPLETELY empty (and in just a week's time) was just too much. The point, my darling child, is that you are SUPPOSED to ask. AND I don't want you to become a glutton just for the SAKE of becoming a GLUTTON!

And in actuality, I wouldn't have cared about a piece of gum or a mint here or there either. This was ALSO her candy which she got from kids' birthday parties (and THIS is one of the reasons I put MAYBE one piece of candy in the goodie bags I hand out--WHY mothers? Why put SO MUCH candy there? Are you emptying your house of all your excess Halloween/Easter CRAP? Why the compulsion? Seriously?). Um, anyway, the POINT was that due to her gluttony of the week prior, we grounded her from treats for a week. So no lesson learned from the punishment--not even better ways to sneak it so that her mother wouldn't find it.

Chocolate chip cookies are the devil's food and so that incident may have been more readily forgiven--if not attached to the three previous, and if she hadn't eaten the REST of the package leaving NONE for Dad (who had BOUGHT the cookies and ended up with NONE). Once again, no lesson learned yet. She also did the unforgivable act of ALMOST letting an innocent victim take the blame for it. See, I'm not as naive about all this as I used to. Keith knew where the cookies were and had just as much access as she did. We asked SOMEONE to step forward and admit their mistake, but the innocent faces abounded. I finally pulled aside the person I was 90% sure was guilty of the offence and got her to fess up. How DARE you throw your poor brother under the bus like that?

The Slimfast bar is an enigma. She maintains that she actually did this offence "sometime last week" (YES, while STILL being grounded from treats, folks). But as her mother, I'm quite intimate with the state of her room, and I'm sure I would have noticed the half-hazardly thrown wrapper that wasn't even CLOSE to the trash before now. Maybe some of her dirty clothes were on it.

I have obviously failed as a parent. My eldest is not learning to ASK. She is not learning to CONTROL her chocolate (or sugury) urges. She is also not learning to OWN UP to mistakes she has made. And grounding her is laughably ineffective. I finally told her that she could not have a play date this week. THAT brought on the waterworks. WILL it bring on the other lessons needed to be learned? I sure hope so. Otherwise the rest of her summer is going to be Awfully Dull.

God. Now I think I know why she had so many cavaties all of a sudden.

The End is NEAR!!

Well, my year off is almost over. The checks will run out soon. It's time to get off my butt, brush off the resume, and get a job.

Oh, God.

My year off has been a good one. I really enjoyed being home with the kids. I didn't accomplish hardly ANYTHING I wanted to, and I should have spent more of this "free" year starting a business from the home. But I didn't. I still can't think of anything to do out of the home that I would like. And I'm in deep envy of my lucky friends who have the free daycare arrangements so that they can work part-time jobs and not have the whole point/check be wiped out with their daycare costs.

Ideas: home daycare (too many issues), tutoring (have to have a LOT of clients to make it feasible), medical transcription (schooling too expensive right now), editing from home (takes a LONG time to build up a client base which could come close to helping with all the bills).

Um.....

The good thing is that if I'm forced to go back to work full-time (which seems likely at this juncture) than I will only have to pay for childcare for one child full-time in the fall. And the year after that....Look out! Izzy will be in kindergarten (still can't believe it).

Time just goes by too darn fast....

Think I'll go cry into my cup of tea now. And maybe start looking at the want ads. Or maybe I'll just put that off for another day....

The Heartland Trip

It took longer than normal to get to The Crossroads as John, the techie, decided to make a few stops along the way in the process of converting his laptop into a DVD player for the kids (SaLy we spent quite a bit of time there in Buffalo!). The kids were excited when he finally got it running right and watched several episodes of the Avatar. We also stopped to eat at a favorite restaurant in Erie that we don't have here in upstate New York. ("Bean Crock")

Finally, we got to Indy, where we had a nice cookout with family and friends we hadn't seen in years. And got to meet a hs friend's fiance (the whole point of this trip). Sorry I can't come to the wedding, folks!

We made it to FTW in good time--after a slight detour to the old Alma mater. The kids just did not get the same awe-inspiring vibes that John and I did. Not even, "You know, if it weren't for this place, the three of you would never have existed" got much of a response. Can't please everybody. John and I did get a kick out of visiting one of our favorite stores--they had different merchandise (no more previously owned CDs!) BUT the store SMELLED EXACTLY THE SAME (incense). I bought a new BSU sweatshirt and enjoyed the stinkyness on me for the rest of the day.

On to FTW, where we drove around, took over the H's house, drove around some more, saw family and a softball game, drove around, went to the zoo, and then had a party where we saw more friends and cute babies who are just getting too, too big too soon. Also, Izzy did a face plant off the swing and cut her lip and proceeded to bleed all over one of my favorite t-shirts (and I can't get it out).

We decided to cut the rest of our vacation shorter than we originally planned so that the kids would not have to miss two swimming lessons (and for Keith--karate). Sadly, we didn't see everyone we intended/wanted to see. Perhaps our next trip will focus on those we missed THIS trip. We're not sure if we'll be back at Thanksgiving time as we usually try to come--we'll let you all know!

Anyway, it was a nice visit with our family and friends that we DID get to see. The kids were exhausted from all the driving and late nights. Ah well. Summer has officially started, and we're going to try to make the most of what's left of it!

I am really, really sad that I missed out on all those PIF contests. Maybe I can try to get in on the second or third rounds???

SCHOOL'S OUT!!

Yesterday was the LAST day of school! GAH! The school year just seems to last so LONG here! But now I'm faced with my first ever summer home with the kids! OH NO!

Well, we've already signed Mary and Keith up for swimming lessons at the Y, and Keith is also going to take Karate (wonder if that's a good idea?).

We will miss the first two lessons due to our upcoming trip, but at least we'll have something to keep us somewhat busy the rest of the summer.

Today I wanted to pick up the house a little, but I decided to be nice to the kids for their first day of summer break. We went to the park this morning and then I let Mary and Keith play the Wii while Izzy took her nap. Keith and Izzy and I were back outside after she got up. Mary decided to stay inside (Is she MAD? It was GORGEOUS out there!) and READ. Great. I guess I'll have to work on getting my little bookworm outside....

Actually, Mary and I did go camping this weekend, and she absolutely loved it. Well, except for that sleeping-in-a-tent-in-the-middle-of-a-rain-storm part. She spent most of the weekend stalking butterflies, moths, lightning bugs, and bunnies. So, she's definitely a Nature Girl--just not when she's in the middle of re-reading the fifth Harry Potter book.

(I've let her read Book Six. I'm still debating on whether or not to let her read the seventh. I figure she won't understand most of it anyway....?)

THE NEW ROOF IS HERE!

Last Monday I heard a strange noise. It sounded as if someone was walking around our house. I kept expecting John to walk upstairs, but he never showed--and the footsteps kept getting louder. And THEN I heard a big, big boom. Hmmm.... I opened the garage door, and there was a huge truck backed up to our house with two guys throwing shingles onto our roof. OH! The roofers are finally here! (Let's just ignore the fact that we'd been trying to get a confirmation of the exact day they'd show up, and kept only getting a vague "maybe next week," or "we'll call and let you know." So....surprise! Time to get the roof done!

The roofers finished dropping off their tools on Tuesday and then went to work on Wednesday. I took this opportunity to start using our renewed Y membership in earnest and spent most of the mornings in water aerobics while the kids played in the child care center. (LOVE water aerobics, BTW!) In the afternoons, I tried desperately to get Izzy to take her usual nap, but with all the horrific tearing-off-the-roof and nailing-down-new-shingles sounds, it just wasn't happening.

The guy in charge thought they would be done by Friday, but John and I looked up on Thursday and had our doubts. Then on Friday, we had a little workman's drama right in my driveway. One of the workers showed up late every day (When I described the guy to John, he didn't even recognize him--John hadn't seen the guy all week since he hadn't shown until John had already left for work AND the guy was leaving early, too). Well, apparently he got "talked to" on Friday. His excuse was that he had to take his baby to the pediatrician because the baby-mama was sick--and he even brought the mom and the baby along to collaborate his story. Dude--that's all fine and good, but if you didn't clear it with your boss first AND because you were late EVERY OTHER DAY THIS WEEK, you're boss isn't going to fall for that! How did I know about all this drama? Because while I was going in and out of the house packing up the car for my impending GS camping trip, the guy kept talking to me and trying to me into his sympathies. With a few more trips to the car, I got to hear the boss's replies. The worker was finally sent home. The other workers, seeing that they were NOT going to get everything done, finally packed up and left around 4:30. Not 15 minutes later, he comes Johnny-come-LATEly looking for the crew (with his gf and kid in tow). THEN I got to hear a whole diatribe about how these guys are trying to get out of paying him, blah, blah, blah. "Um, well, they are supposed to come back tomorrow," I tell him. "Yeah, well, that does me no good. The mortgage is due tonight, I gotta have my money tonight." The guy was STILL working his mouth the whole time they were waiting to back out of the drive-way. Good grief.

The roofers didn't come back on Saturday; they came back on Sunday instead. They finished up the roof, but then they had to come back on Monday to do more clean-up. I didn't see the guy, but John told me our Mortgage Man was back with the crew on Monday. Well, good. I'm glad he's still got a job, but....DUDE! You need to open up those lines of communication with your boss if you want to work for him much longer!

Despite the drama, all of our roofer were actually quite nice and courteous. Even the neighbors were impressed.

And the roof looks GREAT. I guess we'll see how great it REALLY is after we get our first big rain--and first big snow.

Grade A Prime WUSS

I took Mary to the dentist this morning for her poor toothache. And proceeded to WUSS out beyond belief.

We got there, they called her name, and she went back by herself. First act of wussiness--not going back with her to make sure I knew what was going on. In my (lame-ass) defense, I had the other two kids with me. I know they can sit quietly in a waiting room for a little while unsupervised, but it truly is hard for the mother duck to walk away from her ducklings--especially when there are other folks in the waiting room. Besides, I am a smart enough parent to know that my kids can handle hair cuts and dentists much, much better when I'm not hovering around. Anyway, I figured the dentist and his team would understand my duckling predicament and just come and see me after they checked out the offending tooth and tell me my options.

Well, no one came and got me, and I was kind of distracted keeping the other two some-what quiet and off the floor and from ripping pages out of magazines and out of other folk's hair, so I just dismissed it. I mean, John told me to just go ahead and get the tooth filled, so I decided to just let them do their thing and not pry my nose in. Wuss act #2.

Well.....when Mary was done (and she was a brave, little soul right up until she saw me in the waiting room and then just burst into tears), I actually had to ask, "Um, what did you do?" Oh! So the hygienist took me into another room and explained that they had to do a pulpectomy and that if the tooth gets infected, they will just have to remove the tooth and put in a spacer(!). Then she mentioned that they also filled the tooth next to it.

Wuss act #3: Here's where my brains/emotions got a bit scrambled. I got so hung-up on that "have to pull and put in a spacer" message for a while in my head and how upset I was that I didn't just have them DO that in the first place that nothing else really registered.

At first.

But then it started sinking in.

Wait. They performed this procedure on my kid, and DIDN'T EVEN ASK ME whether or not I wanted it.

WAIT! They ALSO filled the tooth next to it and DIDN'T EVEN ASK ME whether I wanted it!

I guess part of the problem is that Mary was so upset that I was kind of focusing in on her....and honestly not wanting to cause a scene. But THEN, the hygienist looks at my poor crying daughter and says sweetly, "So! No more candy and soda, right?" I instantly retorted, "Um, she hardly EVER has candy OR pop! I contribute this all to just poor, rotten luck!" And then I got all apologetic and make a feeble remark about how she DOES need to floss more often. (Somewhat wussy act #4--I retorted, but wussed out at the end.)

I got out of the wussy vapors just long enough to stop the receptionist while she was trying to make Mary an appointment for ANOTHER filling that they want to do. Then I paid and left. While seething.

My problem (or curse) is that I've always been the type of person to look at BOTH SIDES of an issue. Anytime someone says or does something, I don't always react, I chew on it for a bit and try to see where that person was coming from. The good part about all this is that I get along with most people. Even really emotional, tough-to-manage people I can usually be on friendly terms with. I've been in a few pretty hostile work arrangements and have managed pretty well--always the peacekeeper, always the middleman, and always the person others knew that they could "vent" to and I wouldn't gossip or necessarily hold it against them.

The problem is that I can be taken advantage of. This used to hurt quite badly when I was a kid. Now I'm smarter about seeing it coming and avoiding it. I may get used, but I wise up and get out of it quicker.

My rationalization (and wuss act #5) through this situation was that this dentist has been wanting to fill this tooth--and the others--for six months now. He already had a plan of attack built in the computer. SO when I finally called, the office assumed I was OK with what we tentatively discussed last winter, and just set it up and hit the "go" button.

SO, I only have MYSELF to blame if they did work I didn't necessarily want performed. I should have followed dear Mary to the back and TOLD THEM my expectations and INSISTED that they tell me if other issues were at stake (like the baby tooth NEXT TO the offending tooth). Can I honestly call and harass those nice office people (cause they really are all nice folks--well, except for the stupid "candy/soda" comment--and I really contribute that to stupidity and her not thinking before she spoke), when *I* was the one who dropped the ball here?

John says maybe it's time we switch dentists, but I don't think so. They all seem to be about the same to me. And despite my rage at this hygienist pushing me into doing a procedure that I didn't think necessary, I know that this dentist has been honest with me before. I've had cavities that he did not fill and just "kept an eye on." If he was that much of a blood-sucker, he would have insisted on filling them anyway (and guess what, at least one of those teeth never got filled, because my tooth actually did get better).

So, in my wussy, rationalizing ways, I'm willing to give the guy another chance (besides I didn't even talk to him today--just the hygienist). But I think that maybe when I go in for Mary's cleaning next week, I just may go back there (three kids and all) and mention that from now on, whoever does work on my kids needs to discuss it and GET PERMISSION from me before they do it.

Let's hope I don't wuss out.

I'm not sure about this new template.....

But I KNOW most of you are NOT surprised by the new blog title! I just think it was ordained by the stars, ya know?