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?

Slacka

Er, Um....Hi! Guess it's been a while, huh? Didja miss me? Wait! Don't answer that!

Where have I been? Well, I was a bit "off-color" and not feeling well for a while and then I got busy with errands and then we got this horrible heat wave which makes me want to just sit in my quiet and cool den doing absolutely NOTHING. So, yeah. I've been slackin'. Sorry about that.

In case you were wondering, I got the house quite sparkly for my mother's visit. And it only took a few days for it all to get all non-sparkly again. See reasons for non-blogging for explanations....

I went on a field trip with Mary. We saw the community college's production of "School House R o c k Live." I felt exhilarated and OLD all at the same time! It was quite fun.

Keith gets to go to school ALL DAY today, and his class is taking a field trip to the local H u m a n e S o c i e t y. Keith was super-excited about getting on the bus this morning with Mary.

John and Izzy and I met the bus at school this morning for Mary's "Portfolio Day." Mary got to show us samples of all the work she's been doing all year. AND they had coffee and doughnuts. Mary was so proud.

My GS troop is going camping in two weeks, and so I've been forced to turn on the computer to finally start getting messages out about the permission forms and menu and foods we will need for the trip. SLACKA. Should be a fun trip. It's being sponsored by some older girls, so at least I didn't have to do most of the planning!

Mary's cavity that I refused to pay money to fix (as it was on a baby tooth) has finally gotten deep enough that it's starting to bother her. So now I had to try to get her in for an emergency appointment to get it taken care of (the best they could do--one week). This just goes to show everyone at that office what a bad mother I am, I suppose. I AM going to try to get the dentist to pull the tooth and put in a spacer instead of filling it. I just don't see the sense of filling a tooth which will be GONE in two years. (Then again, two years IS kinda a long time.....maybe I'll just see what the cost is....hmmm.....)

FAMILY: We ARE planning a little trip to IN the week of the fourth. We will head to Indy on June 28th and go from there. I'm also trying to figure out a way to convince John to stop outside of Cleveland on the way home to visit a cousin I haven't seen in 7 years who will be there visiting HER in-laws. It's going to be a tight trip again. I'm already exhausted just thinking about it.

Let's see, what else?

Mary is doing pretty well in mini-league. She is catching and throwing well, but she needs to work on her batting. They've starting pitching to the kids now, and we're hoping she'll get a chance to pitch this weekend--she has a pretty accurate, strong throw (she even struck a kid out at practice last night). We warned her she'll walk more than she strikes out, though....part of the learning process.

Keith is just ENJOYING his tee-ball. It's nice to watch him play because he doesn't get all frustrated and upset if he messes up like Mary does. (She's just too hard on herself.) It will be interesting to see what his attitude is like when he's gets into the tougher leagues.

We've contracted someone to put up a new roof (finally), and he's hopefully going to start next week. That will be ONE LESS thing to worry about....