Yo Mama's Day--again

This turned out to be a better Mother's Day than I expected--since it's not such a big deal to me, and I try to enforce to my husband and the kids that fact. I'm pretty happy with the little hand-made gifts the kids make at school, and I couldn't care less about going out to dinner or anything.

Well, the celebration really started Thursday with Izzy's kindergarten class presenting their Mother's Day Garden Party. The kids sang to us and served us a snack (pudding cups--oh boy!), and we got a pot holder with the kids' handprint on it, and a little story they wrote. Very cute!

Mary talked to my garden-savvy neighbor the other day and walked away with a little fern which she potted for me (in my own pot, but hey, it's never had a plant in it, so she truly was giving me a gift!). She did this a week ago, and the plant has been thriving (while I've been carefully "ignoring" it there on our back porch!). She also weaved a little basket in school. It's a little lop-sided, but still cute.

Keith's class has been studying poetry this last month, so he wrote me a poem. Then the teacher had each kid record a podcast of their reading the poem and put it on the school website!

John surprised me most of all. He decided to get me my own little laptop! Now, it's a tiny, little thing, and it doesn't have a lot of memory, and it wasn't costly, but I'm thrilled all the same. He's been meaning to get me my own computer for a while now, and Mother's Day seemed a convenient time to get me one.

Really, the best part of my day, I already knew about and was in on. John and I decided to FINALLY get our kids a dog. OK, really, it's going to be OUR dog as we know the kids aren't really old enough yet to handle the responsibility, but since I'm home, it really is the perfect time to get a puppy (watch me finally find a job now!). Anyway, today we drove out to a breeder who lives about an hour away--and picked out this adorable little boy Miniature Schnauzer! I held and petted the puppies for an hour and didn't break out (well, I did have one itchy spot on my neck, but that could have been from my hair tickling me--but still it wasn't a BIG patch), and neither Keith nor I got sneezy or watery-eyed or anything. Picking a puppy out was almost impossible since they were all similar-looking and all really sweet and seemingly even-tempered. We finally picked the one boy that was available. The whole house is just a-buzz with the excitement of this new purchase. We will get to bring our new baby boy home probably Memorial Day weekend or the week after--depending on how he's maturing. I keep thinking, "Oh, WHAT have we done?!" but I'm also thrilled that we will have an adorable pet that won't make me sneeze and will be a good companion for us and the kids....

Here's the four-week picture of our new baby. We're still debating names. Right now "Zuko" seems to be the favorite:



I'm not sure if I've ever seen white Miniature Schnauzers before--pretty unique, I think. (And CUTE, of course!)

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite Mamas out there!

Opening Day Follies

I don't even know why I bother going to the Base/Softball Opening Day, anymore. In fact, John was smart and skipped out of the Opening Parade. He dropped the three kids and I off at the ball park and scooted off to Target "to buy some t-shirts." The man has TWO dresser drawers FULL of t-shirts!!! WT.... Well, whatever.

Anyway, I must admit that the day actually started out sorta OK. We all got up and dressed in a timely manner, and the three kids and I were ready well ahead of time (as opposed to years' past). Mary was a bit grumpy, AS USUAL, but she didn't sleep well the night before, and despite many, many recitations of the parade and game and events of the day the night before, the grumpy gus still managed to act SURPRISED that I had to drag her out of bed at 7:30 on a Saturday morning (really, kid? really?). Well, we got to the parade on time to actually get Mary and Keith lined up with their respective teams instead of shoving them in place as the parade went by. Go ME!

I got fooled by the weather, though. It's always cool in the house, and I have not wizened up to the fact yet that the temperature in the house does not necessarily reflect the temperature outside. Izzy and I had on jeans and sneakers and fleece sweatshirts. Immediately upon arriving I discovered my gaff--that it was a horribly humid day. Well, Izzy and I waited along the parade route (We got a GREAT spot this year--punctuality WORKS! Huh!)...and that's just about when all the fun got taken out of our day.

Izzy started whining. And Whining. And WHINING. She was hungry (they already had the free hot dog stand set up for the players and she wanted one NOW--at 8:45 on the morning, just an hour after she ate her breakfast--or her life was just OVER). She was thirsty. I'm assuming she was hot, but surprisingly, she didn't whine about THAT. And since I was there without transportation (it was at Target, remember?), I couldn't even drop off the fleece sweatshirts and had to lug them around with the whiny Izzy and my coffee (what a GREAT idea on a hot day) and my purse and my camera. And well, the whining was driving me NUTS.

Keith's team went by, and he was so clustered in with that group of goofy boys, that he didn't see nor hear me. The girls' team is always way, way, WAY at the back of the parade (last before the high schoolers!), so we had to wait and wait and WAIT until we finally saw her. She didn't wave at me, and I had no idea if she even saw me. *sigh*

Izzy and I then toddled off to the Opening Ceremonies--which seemed more lengthy than ever on this lovely humid day. I took pity on the Whiny One and got her a water bottle from the hot dog stand. Well, it just wasn't good enough, folks! Oh no, the whiny quest for the hot dog continued NON-STOP through all the speeches, the opening prayer (really? what year is this?), more speeches, and the national anthem, oh, and another speech). By this time, John has come back from Target (with a sharp, cool shirt, BTW--am jealous), and he's getting exposure to the blessing that is our lovely third child. Oi vey.

After the ceremony, I stuck John with Izzy and the fleeces while I searched through the hundreds and hundreds of sweaty kids and parents for my own two kids. I managed to find ONE--a very faint Mary who was just DYING of the humidity (oh! the drama!). I reunited her with her father while I kept up the search (Other mothers passing me by, "Have you seen my kid?" "No, have you seen MINE?"). The crowd has thinned out by now, so I met up with John again to finally see Keith getting deposited there by his coach. Whew!

We all head up to Mary's game, but Mary is still being the FOUL, I-had-to-get-up-early-and-now-I'm-hot-and-I-don't-want-to-play mood. John is helping to coach her team, so he got the brunt of it. My darling daughter has a tinge of the Stubborn Gene in her (thanks, Mom), and she was determined she was NOT going to have fun, and she was NOT going to cooperate with her father. Oi.

Meanwhile, Keith is popping heads off dandelions and getting grass stains on his brand-new uniform--and jumping off the highest step of the bleachers. Izzy.... Oh, God. She just...she got WORSE. The first inning of the game I got every rendition of "I want a hot dog!!!!!!!" and also "I want ice cream!!!!!" thrown in there, that she could muster.

Is this one of those times when a Mom should just give in? To let her hot, humid child have a hot dog at 10:00 in the morning when she just had breakfast and lunch is just a ballgame away? I decided to try to reason with her (b-der! idiot!)--to even cut a deal. "We can go to the concession stand after the first inning. I just saw Mary bat, I want to see her play second base. We will go after this inning. No, Izzy, just after this inning. Izzy, NO. We WILL get a hot dog, I promise, but can I PLEASE see your sister play second base?????" AUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

And that's when my head exploded.

I grabbed my hot Izzy and my hot self and told John, smellyalater, and Oh, guess I'd better grab Keith, too, and we went on our merry way home, Izzy crying and screaming the WHOLE way.

Oh God. WHY do I even bother??? One simply cannot enjoy one's kids' ballgames with one's OTHER KIDS IN TOW.

We got home. Cooled down in the cool house. Changed into cooler clothes (except for poor Keith, who had a game later), and then I extracted a promise from Izzy that her whining was DONE for the day, and we went back. All told, I got to see probably about two full innings of Mary's game. *sigh*

After the game, I find out about the nasty attitude Miss Hot Thing exhibited to her father, the coach. It was NOT pretty. John was NOT happy.

We made it down to the concession stand (FINALLY--the WHINY ONE got her @#$% hotdog! But NOT ice cream!), and we all actually had an enjoyable lunch. We went home and hung out for a little bit before Keith's game. John made the very WISE decision of taking Keith on his own and leaving me home with the girls. I really did want to go to Keith's game, but I was NOT going to sit on those bleachers with TWO whiny daughters. NO WAY. So I took them to buy some cheap summer sandals, and then we crashed at home.

Keith enjoyed his game, but he got very upset when he struck out all three times at bat. The poor guy got hit in the face with a pop up during practice a few weeks ago, and now he jumps back at oncoming pitches and is hesitant with his catching. We hope he grows out of it soon.... (Mary STILL won't take full swings from when she got hit by a ball, what...three years ago? URGH!)

Well, anyway, it was a very, very long and hot day. And I am bummed as it's pretty obvious that I will probably be missing quite a few games do to the Izzy Problem. (But what am I supposed to do on Thursday nights when Mary has games, and John has his golf league???????) Ah well.

Pictures:

I dunno--I think this might be Keith's team:



I mean, can YOU find him in this gaggle of goofiness?



Grumpy Girl--I caught her smiling!
(Yes, she did spot me, but she said she couldn't wave because she was HOLDING THE FLAG, MOM--DUH!)



The Local Celebrity made an appearance!!! I haven't seen him around the ballpark in three years, and THERE HE IS!!!! This was the best pic I could get of him without running back and making a total @$$ of myself. (He's holding a cute dog, BTW.) Anyway, HOW COOL IS THAT?



(Edited.... Hope I fixed that link.)

Spring Crazy

The madness is upon us! Baseball and softball and Girl Scouts, oh my! It kinda helps a little that I'm unemployed and have a bit more time to deal with it all, but I find that all is still not getting done in the best way. I mean, I'm home, and we're still eating McCrap food 2/3 times a week due to practices and such because 5:00 rolls around, and suddenly I go into a panic attack about how the CHILDREN HAVE PRACTICE IN AN HOUR AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S FOR DINNER.

Really, they've been practicing for a couple of weeks now, so I'm starting to get it down better (as long as I'm not distracted on the computer with zero-gratifying job searches and FB), but this has been a particularly crazy week since I somehow-or-another volunteered our house to host two different events two days in a row. D'oh!

Crazy or Super-Genius? I mean, it was absolutely insane--I did loads of cleaning over the dead-dull spring break (WHY aren't we GOING anywhere? Because Mommy doesn't have a job, and we're POOR!). I dragged out the REAL vacuum instead of the Bissell and vacuumed up all the dust and cobwebs (hey, maybe it'll be an allergy-free sping!) and got ALL my craft/GS clutter out of the living room, and even shampooed the rugs. (And you saw my debacle with the attempting-to-hem-the-curtains so that my den wouldn't look QUITE so trailer-park with one curtained window and one blinded one...!) But the GENIUS of it was that by the time I was done Monday afternoon (cuz, let's face it, there is NO POINT in cleaning the bathrooms until the last second since I have an eight year old boy in the house who has STILL not learned how to AIM properly yet), then I was basically ALL SET for the Tuesday gathering. Just a bit of sweeping of crumbs and...wow! My house STILL looks great!

In addition to all of that, I've been super busy helping to plan two major events for Girl Scouts (not to mention leading the two troops), and well, I think I've taken on just a wee bit too much. I was soooooo busy with all the cleaning and planning and getting parent registrations for one of the events and baseball/softball-readying of the children that I forgot to ask my own kindergarten troop's mothers if their daughters were coming to one of the events I was planning!!!! The event *I* set the deadline for! D'oh!

So, yes, things are crazy right now. And is it any wonder that I've yelled at the kids a tad too much lately? (Oh, goodness, I just HOPE they FORGET about all this, or at least UNDERSTAND when they get older!)

Showing My Roots

OK. I can't believe I'm admitting this on a public forum here, but I am a total idiot. Totally.

It started with Mary trying to pull down the blinds in the den--and ended up pulling them down off the window. *sigh* John bought a set of curtains to put up, but they were too long. "Can you hem these?" Sure. I've seen Trading Spaces. I know how to work a sewing machine. I can DO this!

So, I did it. I took the set of curtains, figured out what length I wanted them, measured them, cut them, ironed and pinned them, and sewed them--and they looked great! I was soooo stinking impressed with myself!

But...now the problem is that there are TWO windows in the den. So....after a brief period of time, we finally got around to buying a second set of panels for the second window. OK. Same curtains for the same sized window in the same room bought from the same store. No problem. I used the same measurements I'd used before and went to work.

I hung up the first panel of the second set and....it was blatantly SHORTER than the panels on the other window. Um...huh? How'd I do that? Oh! I must have measured wrong--18 inches instead of 16 (don't ask me how I figured on the two inches--it's just another case of dumb blondeness....).

I then took a several month hiatus trying to figure out if I wanted to a) completely rip seams, re-measure, and re-sew the two longer panels, b) just say to-heck-with-it and sew UP the edge of my hem two inches (the "magic number" I figured was the difference), or c) say to-heck-with-it and buy another set of panels to hem to the first set's length or d) ignore it, and see if it would go away.

Option "d" obviously did not work, so the other day I FINALLY pulled out the sewing machine again to shorten the first two panels and finally hem up the last.

So...I cut off 18 inches of the last panel and hemmed it up (you do know where this is going, don't you?). I hung it up next to that tricky third one and...it's SHORTER THAN THE ALREADY TOO SHORT PANEL. WTF?

I now realize that the ORIGINAL panels is where I mis-measured. I was apparently measuring longer than the 16 inches I calculated with them. I did it RIGHT the third time.

FINE! (Good thing I cut the first two so long, and these curtains are still covering window space!)

So...I hemmed up the first two panels another four inches and I hemmed up the third panel another two to match them all up. And then hung them up.

NOW, the first two panels are STILL longer than the second (now-matching) set. WTH?

And why no, I never bothered to actually compare panels together. WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT??????? GRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a sneaky suspicion here. I think...I think that when the curtains were bought at different times and after the packaging of the first set was thrown away...I think a different LENGTH was purchased the second time. I think...that instead of focusing on how much length was getting cut OFF, I should have been measuring how long I wanted the curtains to be in the first place. I think...I think I am an idiot.

And...I think that the first set now match. The second set now match. And...I think I'm DONE hemming curtains for a while.

Dumb Ideas During Spring Break

1) Taking all three kids to the mall as they all need new spring clothes. Gah! (Exit with NO purchases and permanent scowl.)

2) Trying to complete any errands in general. Bane of their existence and apparently a cause for mutiny.

3) Propose going to the movies only to find out that the only movie out there that is appropriate for the kids' ages is that wonderful Dragon movie that you LOVE, but you can't possibly afford to see again. Foul temptress!

4) When the kids WHINE about how it's SPRING BREAK, so we should be going SOMEWHERE, do NOT propose YET ANOTHER trip to Niagara Falls. Oh! The horror!

5) Suggest they finish their homework or practice their string instruments. YOU EVIL WOMAN!

6) Hmmm....apparently EVERY suggestion is the WRONG ONE. Take a shower? Ignored. Go outside? Not when MOM suggests it--only when it's DINNER TIME, apparently.

7) Completely clean the house the weekend PRIOR to Spring Break. Makes for demolished house in less than 24 hours and extremely put-out/frazzled Mom.

8) Baseball/Softball practice. WHO DO THESE COACHES THINK THEY ARE?????

Gah! It's only TUESDAY!

Pain

The weather is wreaking havoc on my sinuses, and I'm spending my days with varied degrees of headaches--from "annoying" to "teeth-hurting" to "drugs-won't-touch-it." Needless to say, it's not helping my moods much. The poor children. The poor, poor children. They just must think I'm a monster with all the mood swings and the yelling and the "OMG, PLEASE STOP WHISPERING--MY HEAD, MY HEAD!" followed by Apologetic and Ice-Cream-Giving Mommy. ugh.

Today took the cake as I was distracted and making some phone calls, then applying for jobs and then helping my poor panicked mother with her English paper at the same time that Izzy and her her little friend were here playing.... They asked if they could water my plant. Well...sure! After I finally got off the phone (I wonder if my mother got anything out of that conversation since I was trying to construct a job-specified cover letter at the same time?), Izzy runs upstairs with a PIECE of my plant. "We were ripping off the leaves and R broke your plant!" Um...WHAT? Down to the den I go, to find that those giggly little girls had REALLY watered my plant--it was monsooned in water and soil which had spread out all over the fireplace and the floor. The plant was completely BALD with just half of the stalk sticking out of the pot.

Now, really, I'm pretty terrible with plants. Especially since I've had kids (and--oh, when we had cats!), I can't keep them alive for anything. But THIS plant--this particular plant!--was the only surviving plant leftover from the ONE TIME my husband ever sent any kind of greenery to me at work--and it was from ten years ago. Yes, it survived the cats. It survived the kids. It even survived ME (mainly due to the fact that it stayed at my desk for most of those ten years). So...the brutal KILLING of a plant that was a rare plant-like gift from my husband (He sent it to me for Father's Day. That's right, Father's Day! And the note said, "Thank you for letting me be the father of your baby." AWWWWWW--am I right?) did NOT go over well.

I laid into those girls. And I made them clean up the mess (as well as five-years can clean...will be going back over that later, *sigh*). And I put them in time out. I admitted it was partly my fault--these girls have gotten into some messy mischief before when I was distracted, and I should have known better than to let them water a plant unsupervised--but I also realize that even five-year olds KNOW BETTER than to water a plant THAT much and to pluck ALL the leaves off of a plant!

I guess the worst part was having to admit to the little girl's dad that I yelled at his kid when he picked her up. You better bet I told him because who KNOWS what tales this kid might bring home without my knowledge or chance to admit/defend my actions! But...there's reality. It's bad enough being a yeller with your own kids, but it's even worse when you do it to kids that do not belong to you. Bad Parent to the Nth degree. And now it's Public Knowledge.

Crud.

And no, the drugs have STILL not touched my headache today.

Because my Grandma made the girls matching dresses

She's not just a quilt maker!







(She sent Keith a truck--and he enjoys it very much, thank you!)


And...a picture of the adorable "Wall-E" dress my friend and neighbor made for Izzy for her birthday!



And...a few pics from our recent (sad) trip to IN:

Keith and John



The two Keiths! Oh--and Monica and the girls and Brutus, too.



Stair-step children:



(My son is now OFFICIALLY shorter than my gf's son--who is a year younger than he is. My poor "barely average" boy.)

If it's too good to be true...

Nothing is more frustrating than sorting through junk/crap job postings and finally finding a posting for a job that sounds somewhat decent--only to discover it's spam/slam in disguise. And that it has almost the same exact typeface/heading/job description as the spam/slam posting I JUST saw! I'm getting pretty good at identifying them now, but YEESH.

I did miss out on a job interview/opportunity because of my father-in-law's funeral, but that cannot be helped. And except for another opportunity where the employer ended up finding an internal candidate, it's been all quiet on the job front.

Now I have two major events to plan for GS, and I really can't put it off much longer. I did take one step today of making a phone call that I've needed to make for ages--but the person didn't answer the phone. Great! That just means that I still have the same amount of work to do later!

And John's 39th birthday is tomorrow, and I am once again perplexed about what to get him for a gift. I know what I WANT to get him, but it's a tad expensive for our current means.... It may just be an "IOU--when I finally find gainful employment." Or--"Those concert tickets you just bought? Yeah--THAT'S your gift."

I'm in too much of a depressed fog right now to post anything else. The weather is supposed to get gorgeous in the next couple of days, so maybe that will help cheer me up a bit.

RIP Dad W

Bad news has been all around us the last couple of days. A friend's father died, and then an old acquaintance's daughter went missing, and well...it didn't end well. And then, my father-in-law passed away early Monday morning.

Dad had heart problems about 15 years ago, and about a year ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He lived in Florida, so we hardly ever got to see him. We were never sure if we was giving us full disclosure about his cancer treatments, but I guess he didn't want anyone to fuss or worry over him.

I'm sad he's gone. I wish we could have seen more of him.

SUN!

We've been enjoying some lovely, sunny weather 'round here. We still have huge piles of icky snow to dodge, but the SUN! and WARM air! AHHHH!!!!

It must be the weather that is helping me--somewhat--get out of my winter funk. I'm getting organized and writing lists and planning GS outings and GS events and cleaning out the basement and making some annoying phone calls I've been putting off and just GETTING STUFF DONE. (I think the fact that I finally finished Bowser's Inside Story may have opened up a bit of free time, too--heh.)

I realized yesterday that this is the longest I've ever been unwillingly unemployed. And THEN! I went and cleaned out my bedroom! Yes, MUST keep myself from the depths of despair, folks! Even it it means distracting myself with menial household tasks!

What else has happened? Hmmm....well, I took Izzy in and cut 10 inches off her hair. Oh! She looks lovely (and WHY does my camera never seem to work when I need it to?). I miss her long hair, but her medium hair is very nice, and she seems very excited about it.

The kids got their report cards, and they all did very well. Keith went down a notch in "organization," but I was surprised the teacher rated him so highly the last term and even told her so at our last conference. (I think she gave him a bit too much of the benefit of the doubt last term!) Izzy's teacher just couldn't stop singing her praises. Keith's teacher (despite his lack of organization) also only had really nice things to say about him. We won't have Mary's conference until next week, but her report card indicates another pleasing conference to come (she's...she's just kicking BUTT in fourth grade!). John and I couldn't be more proud and let them each pick out a new (*cough* USED) DS/Wii game to reward them.

Oh and I made an ass of myself at the dentist's office the other day. Really, though--those folks up front need to give me the WHOLE picture of what is going on with my son's teeth and the cost instead of giving it to me peicemeal and then try to force me to sign a statement of "refusal of treatment" when I was most certainly NOT refusing treatment, I just wanted to know ALL of my options before my husband and I made a decision. ANYWAY, after I got ALL the information, I had to admit my own foolishness and schedule the poor boy for a baby root canal. GRRRR!

(Frankly, it didn't help that I was already in a "dither" with those folks. You see, Keith's one front tooth was coming out of his gums practically at a right angle due to the already-dropping adult tooth pushing it out. Well, the boy refused to pull it, and he wouldn't let John or me touch it. Since I have already traumatized my oldest child about her teeth, I let it go. And I asked the dentist to pull it when we got there for the cleaning. WHY was I thinking this person would be kind and just yank out this little, innocent tooth for FREE? After insurance, I had to pay $28 dollars for this guy [new dentist, ours apparently hired a partner] to yank a tooth that was DANGLING in my son's mouth. So, yes, I was already in a pissy mood when the subject of the baby root canal came up. I HATE DENTISTS.)

Ah. Well. So! Um...I'm happy spring is making a bit of an appearance. Living in Western NY, I know better than to accept it as the full-blown spring season. SURELY we'll get another snow storm this month--it's only inevitable! But! I'm enjoying what I can, and I'm trying to channel that rare solar power into my own work drive. Got a LOT done yesterday in particular. We'll see if I can keep it up.

SNOW DAY!

We got a ton of snow last Thursday and Friday, so school was canceled on Friday morning. The district now has one of those robo-calling machines, so we got the call at 5:30 in the morning. I actually didn't mind--it was nice to know. And now I don't have to worry about school getting canceled, and I don't know about it since I haven't bothered to turn on the TV!

That was all fine and good--but the kids and I all had dentist appointments starting at 8:00. I looked outside at 7:00 and determined that it wasn't really that bad. It was still snowing, but the road in front of our house was well-plowed and looked quite drivable--and the dentist is only about eight minutes from the house (if that). I called the dentist around 7:30 and said we'd be about an hour late. The kids and I all got up and got ready, and then we piled into the mini-van. There was about 4-5 inches of snow in the driveway--still should be doable, right? Well, I forgot about the END of the driveway, where snow accumulates in great, gargantuan proportions due to the speeding snow plows? (HOW could I FORGET?) Yeah--we got STUCK.

John was working from home--but he was REALLY working. He was on an important conference call that he could not get out of. So I hustled the kids into a quiet room (Shh! Daddy's on an important phone call!) and suited up in my boots and snowpants and started trying to shovel the mini-van out (my wrist = OUCH). The neighbor across the street was shoveling out HIS car, too. He came over when he was done and started helping me out. Then ANOTHER neighbor saw my dilemma and brought over his snow-thrower. Oh! We're in business now!

The guys helped push the mini-van out, and then I parked in my neighbor's driveway while he finished clearing out the driveway for me. I did tell him he didn't have to help anymore. "John's gonna be so EMBARRASSED! He right in the house! He'll come and do the rest of the driveway just as soon as he gets off the phone!" But, my neighbor is just too nice of a guy.

Well, with about a quarter of the driveway left, John finally made it outside. "Hey! Stop that! I want to use my snow-thrower, too!" The two finished our driveway, and then went over to ANOTHER neighbor's house, and removed the snow for him, too.

Meanwhile, the neighbor's wife brought over their kids, and we had all five of them playing in the snow in our yard. The snow wouldn't support the sleds, but the kids still used little shovels to try to clear a path for the adults to drag the sled down the hill. Mary spent most of her time attempting to build tunnels in the snow. She actually had a neat little network of tunnels going--but they kept collapsing as the snow just wasn't quite packing right.

After all the snow plowing/fun, we all went to the neighbor's house and had hot cocoa with marshmallows, kisses, and mint M&Ms (the sugar! gah!). John and I invited them over for pizza and Rock Band that evening.

Well, we never got around to Rock Band again. Just too much chaos with all those kids in the house. Besides, the Globe Trotters were on TV, and we were all having fun watching them (especially Keith). (We're seriously thinking of getting a sitter for all five kids for the one house while we play with our Rock Band toys in the other house!)

It was an awesome snow day.

Lemonade

Instead of the phone call I was expecting confirming a tentatively scheduled third interview, I got a letter in the mail. *sigh*


So! Let's get on with the PLEASANT part of last week, shall we? It was winter break, so I had the kids home with me all week. And since we got our tax refund, and since we had the time, and since we had a little birthday in the house (My boy! My little boy is EIGHT!), John decided to schedule a very quick, mini-vacation to an indoor water park (we were barely there!).

Mary and I spent the evening we first got there going down all the big slides. John took Izzy and Keith through the kiddie slides. The next morning, John took Keith down the big slides. I managed to get Izzy down two of the tube slides (with her screaming in fright the whole way down!). Mary kind of tagged along with Izzy and me--we would get in the same set of lines and then wait for each other.

We beat feet back home rather early, but I think we got in enough fun time for all. It was a nice change of pace for me and my gloomies. And the kids had fun, too!



Another portion of the taxes went to a couple of new appliances. Of course, we were trying to cash in on the rebate program, but the stipulations were very difficult for what we actually NEEDED in this house. John and I went through our needs and wants and ended up getting a brand! new! DISHWASHER! Yay! Ours was probably over 20 years old, didn't seem to be cleaning too well, and had a piece that was continuously falling off and basically too difficult to snap back into place, and the dishwasher was almost impossible to even START. No rebate on that baby--it was ALL us.

Since John's been doing a bit more cooking lately, he has actually discovered an amazing fact--our refrigerator is TOO SMALL! (Really? Hmmm? Didn't I tell you that a while back? Hmmm?) So, we bought ourselves a really cheap model to put in the basement for a bit of extra beer and milk storage. At least that little baby got us a rebate.

(Other new gadgets acquired since John has started cooking more--new knives, new cutting boards, a compact food processor [I HATE the big ones and refuse to use them!], and new prep bowls!)

I didn't do any dishes Sunday as John pulled out the old one to be carted away, and we DO want dishes to try out on the new one, right? Well, I forgot how quickly dishes pile up in a household of five. I could barely get to the sink by the evening. And...John didn't quite finish getting the new dishwasher installed last night. He needs a different part, and it was too late to go out and get it last night. I rolled up my sleeves and tackled the pile in my sink this morning. We will fill the new washer soon enough!



And now...on to the birthday boy! Yes, Keith turned eight and was once again spoiled by family. He got a couple of choice DS games, another snap circuits kit (we love those!), and Mary made him some Mario characters out of clay (Goomba! Yoshi! Bob-bomb! Bullet Bill!) amongst other things....

We're hoping to try to get his school buddies together next month for a little "gathering." It's just too difficult for the poor guy when his birthday falls on winter break like that.


And...Keith's birthday presents have led to ANOTHER issue. I have replaced my reading obsession with a DS obsession! MUST. SOLVE. MARIO!!!! So...I am limiting my DS time just like I do the kids' DS time. Sheesh!


Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to put away that mountain of clean dishes. And do more laundry. And follow up on a job lead. And get some more resumes out. And go to the grocery store. And get the house picked up for Keith's playdate this afternoon. And...I still haven't had any coffee!

More Shaun!

I heart Shaun the Sheep!

Go enter!

Disability-Free

I went to the doctor on Friday. They removed the cast, zapped it with radiation to take their pretty pictures, and discovered...no break! Yay! But the wrist still hurts a bit, so the doctor put me on a brace. Oh! That's so much better!

So, now I'm back to typing and lugging laundry and maybe getting the house cleaned. (Um....MAYBE.)

The kids are home from school for winter break, so I'm trying to keep them entertained while trying to get stuff done and maybe put out a resume or two. The good news is that I got called in for a second interview from the place where I interviewed last week (WITH cast, thankyouverymuch!). Of course, when they called, the kids and I were at a playdate. We got home after 5:00, and I've called them back twice now, and the phone has not rung here again yet. So now my grand plans for the day are on hold while I wait for the phone.

It really shouldn't surprise me how much job hunting is like mate-seeking. You put your ad out there (resume) with your best traits in it (MSOffice instead of SWF) in dire need of seeking attention of the perfect mate (Family-friendly, good pay, decent benefits).

I just tweaked my resume per the Resume Workshop I attended. I do find it interesting that my out of date resume has gathered SOME attention, though. We'll see how it fairs with the new! improved! version.

We got our tax money back, so we decided to spend a little of it on an impromptu trip to an indoor waterpark this week. The kids are super-excited. And Keith's birthday is this weekend, and once again, it has snuck up on everybody. Poor kid. So...the waterpark is kind of a treat for him. Now...what to GET him?

...I've asked Izzy to get dressed at least TEN TIMES NOW!! She keeps taking advantage of my computer distraction! Ugh!

Oh, yes. Back to the job search. And the kid watch/entertainment. And trying desperately NOT to pick up that book I want to finish!!!

Tuning Out

Now that I'm "disabled," I find myself at a loss of what to do with myself during the day. Chores? Naah--cast gets in the way. Knit? HA! Look for jobs? Depressing. Get caught up on all that GS stuff that 's LINGERING and TAKING OVER the living room? Also depressing. Read? Oh...YEAH!

I picked up some books from the library when I had to go to help Mary research her Colonial Project (Oh! These projects! They are going to be the death of me!). THAT was a big mistake. HUGE.

I cut myself off from the books a few months ago--even before I lost my job. I found that I was cutting myself off from my family and daily life too much. The laundry never got done, I didn't bother eating breakfast or even, sometimes, lunch, and I guess the worst part--I just seemed so down, so depressed all the time. When I finished a book, I would clamor around the house, desperately seeking another one to help fill the VOID that was NOT reading. Pretty pathetic.

So...I stopped reading. And then, after a few weeks, after I "woke up" a bit, and started enjoying the kids and my life again, and things like Keith's not doing his homework weren't slipping by me anymore, I decided I was ready to slip the reading back in again--but in controlled, small amounts.

And it worked great. I was good and only read about 20-30 minutes a day--at night when the kids were in bed and didn't need my attention. And I felt like a responsible human being again.

Then I lost my job.

Let's face it, being unemployed now means that I have a LOT of time on my hands. And while I am busy and getting things done, I was starting to feel overwhelmed. ALL that "free-time" meant that I SHOULD be getting more things done. Dinner should be punctual. The dusting should be done. GS meetings should be thought out and well-planned ahead of time. No more incomplete homework should be slipping by my notice. I should be more organized. And...oh yeah, I should be looking for jobs now, too.

Oh! The job search! The depressing job search! It started buckling me down and wearing me thin. How many times have I been asked, "Are you looking for work?" The implication being that I'm just going to sit here and live off the government now. Um...YES, I'M LOOKING FOR WORK. I've actually looked a LOT. I've actually put some EFFORT into it. But...as the weeks go by, and the searches go on, and the choices are so bleak, and the phone does NOT ring, it's been bringing me down.

SO! Hey! Throw into that mix a busted wrist, and the inability to do a good chunk of the housework, and a tendency to get the winter blues, and a trip to the library, and what do you get? A girl hooked on reading again.

I pick up a book and can't seem to do anything else AT ALL until it's done. I am forgetting important things like meetings, phone calls, to check backpacks, and my own children (OMG! Is THAT the time! The BUS! Eek!). And...I forget to eat breakfast, or lunch, or both, and I seem to have lost all sense of routine/organization. I dipped right back into the book fog....

I'm glad I caught myself before I spent the whole winter like this. I am cutting the books out again, and I am getting myself back in the groove. I can't do anything about this depressing winter weather, but I can pick myself up from my bootstraps and clear the REST of the fog that's wearing me down.

And maybe I should start meeting girlfriends for coffee or something--something to get me out of the house and then maybe I won't feel so overwhelmed.

And maybe my wrist WON'T be broken, and the cast can come off, and I get at least get the laundry caught up again....

Other Happenings

• I can't write, and I can barely type.
  
• Other new challenges: washing my hair, shaving my pits (gah! have doctor's appointment tomorrow!), putting on clothes, lifting ANYTHING, finding warm clothes/coat that fit over bulky cast....
• Keith lost a tooth a couple of weeks ago biting into some tofu. The tooth fairy left $3. Obviously, the economy isn't affecting her, AND DOES SHE NOT REALIZE HOW MANY TEETH THERE STILL ARE TO LOSE IN THIS HOUSE AND HOW MUCH THAT WILL ADD UP? *ahem*
• Under the heading of "Acting My Age:" I finally solved Mary's Zelda game, and only had to cheat a few...well, WHATEVER, I solved it, OK?
  
• Mary is just behind me on the game. With much less cheating--although she does have ME there to help her....
  
• We put Mary and Keith in swim lessons again. And Mary is doing a volleyball camp, and Keith is starting basketball this weekend. Suddenly Saturdays are crazy again.
• They are both in chess club, too.
• I'm guessing I won't be able to knit for a while.
  
• John has started downloading and COOKING healthy recipes he's finding online. I think I just fell in love with him all over again. (I'm guessing it's been almost five years since the last time he cooked--and it didn't involve picking up the phone to call Pizza Hut.)
• And...wasn't that timing just perfect since cooking would probably be a bit difficult for me right now?
• Play Doh is my new playdate friend.
• And so is the new Bissell vacuum thingy John bought--to suck it all up off the floor!
• My little boy is almost 8! It's going to sneak up on me again this year, I can just tell!
  

Acting My Age

So! This has been a fun-filled week! I won't bog you down with all the details. Just...I was really, really busy and yet didn't seem to get a lot done?

We took Mary's troop ice skating on Sunday. For Mary and me, it was only the second time we'd ever been. Both of us were doing pretty well. Mary hugged the side so that she could "gently" fall onto the edge when she lost her balance. I was more brave--especially when I realized that it really is sorta like roller skating, and I'm a pretty decent roller skater.

I actually did take the time when we first got there to warn the troop about "falling on your butt." You see, I fell roller skating when I was a teenager and broke my left wrist trying to break my fall (OK--I'm a "pretty decent roller skater" except for THAT ONE TIME). Well...guess who fell and immediately reacted by throwing out her right arm? Yeah--that would be ME. *sigh* I even had to sit by the side of the rink for a few minutes as I got a bit faint--always happens to me with any sudden injuries.

Anyway, I braved it out (and even skated more--and no, I didn't fall anymore), but when I was still having some pain this morning, I decided to get in to the doctor just in case.

He sent me for x-rays, of course. We were hoping it was just a sprain. And after spending a good chunk of my afternoon getting x-rays--and another x-ray--and an additional x-ray--I...am still not sure if my wrist is broken or not!

The way the P.A. was talking, it looked suspect, but the bone she suspected may not show a break on film for 7-10 days after the injury. "So," she says, "we're going to cast you." Um...huh? Yes. A cast. For ten days. And then I'll get to come in again and have it looked at again. If no fracture shows, I get the cast off! Joy!

I was watching Izzy's girlfriend, so I had these two extremely-chatty five-year olds following me around through all of this. They kept the technicians and doctors and P.A.s in stitches. The girls wanted me to get a "lello" cast, but since I'm sort of in the hopes of maybe having a job interview, I went for a baby blue--should go well with my suit! LOL

So...there ya have it. Mrs. Q. should probably act her age and keep AWAY from activities like ice skating with a bunch of ten-year olds! OUCH!

Nightmares and Headaches

I have been helping Keith research his 2nd grade Animal Report. He picked tarantulas. Now, I don't mind spiders, for the most part. And I admit that when I was kid I always thought it would be kinda cool to have a pet tarantula. But I also must say that despite the fact that spiders in general do NOT cause me to run and scream from the room, and that I usually just scoop up the random spiders we find in the house up in a paper towel and then set them free outside--spending two weeks reading about, researching, and printing out pictures of tarantulas, CAN get a bit creepy. Even Keith got the shivers a couple times when we were readng how they capture/eat their pray ("SLURP, SLURP, SLURP" said one of the books... Gah!), and...well, I'm not putting the other creepiness we read about down here. You see, two nights in particular when Keith and I were fact-finding, and he was diligently writing in his BEST and NEATEST handwriting (*sigh*), I had DREAMS of tarantulas that woke me from a deep sleep at four o'clock in the morning, afterwhich I could NOT go back to sleep.

*shiver*

Mary came into our room at 6:30 yesterday morning complaining of a sharp pain in her right eye. Ho boy. I tried to get her to relax in bed with John and me, but it just wasn't happening. I finally gave her some Tylenol and then shipped the other kids off to school. Mary started getting nauseous and then she started vomiting. The poor kid puked most of the morning--and it was dry heaves all the way since she felt too ill to eat her breakfast. Finally, her stomach calmed down, and by the time Izzy got home, she was nibbling on toast and playing on her DS. I guess we can't blame math/school on THIS little migraine. Perhaps the change in weather--it was almost springlike this last week and then turned cold and snowy again overnight....

Other happenings. Um...well, I did have a job interview on Monday. It was the HR person from this company, doing a screening to see if I'm good enough material to move on to the next stage of interview which is the department and department manager. I could totally see myself in this position. Whether or not I was able to impress myself on this nice HR person, I don't know. I haven't been called back yet. She did say that she would not keep me waiting long, as she knows what it's like to be on the other side of the desk.... I did discover that I have a pretty good friend who works for this company, so I was kinda hoping the connection would help me out.

Ah well. If it happens, it happens.


The job market seems to have been particularly slow this last week or so. I've been hard-pressed to find jobs for which to apply. I'm getting nervous about that since I have to keep a log of all my job attempts for the unemployment office. Seriously, folks, I AM trying! Have you SEEN the want ads lately?

In the meantime, I have a resume "righting" workshop I have to go attend. Maybe that'll help.

Keeping Up Appearances

I've been busy around here.

I'm trying to keep up with laundry. I'm trying to finish up some very LATE baby gifts. I'm SEARCHING for jobs. I'm making rice krispie treats. I'm trying to figure out what's for dinner. I'm planning last-minute GS meetings. I got my first mammogram (the joy!). I signed up at a staffing agency. I'm freaking out cuz the printer ran out of color ink and WON'T print out a black/white resume for me to bring to the staffing agency (wth?). I'm looking into going back to school. I'm VAINLY searching for jobs. I'm stuck on filling out financial aid paper work cuz I don't know WHAT kind of degree or WHAT kind of major I want. I'm trying to visualize myself in certain jobs to see what might fit. I'm all nervous when taking the skills tests at the staffing agency, so my shaky fingers are making stupid mistakes. I'm freaking out about getting a phone call from the staffing agency about setting me up for a job interview with a job I don't have experience in, but the employer is still kinda interested since I have good Excel skills!

Yes, I've been busy.

The mammogram wasn't as bad as I feared. Just...uncomfortable. And not even the smushing part--the wrapping the REST of my body around the machine so the tech could force my girls into the right position part. I...can't even describe it. But it was quick and easy, and I was in and out in a half an hour. I didn't even have time to finish my complimentary (caffeine-free!) tea.

And...I'm intrigued about this job, and I am actually hopeful that my SKILLZ get me the position and yet then worried about actually getting the position and how the day care DRAMA will start YET AGAIN. Oh...I'm not ready for that.

Maybe I'll go bake some chocolate chip cookies and then try to eat my way out of this problem.

But hey! Here's some good news! Keith's car totally kicked butt at the Pinewood Derby last weekend! Second year in a row! And...he wasn't sick, so he actually got to participate! And...I need to go find the camera and see if I can manage to download pictures! (Wish me luck.)

Some old pics for your viewing pleasure on Delurker Day!

Cuz I have a scanner. And SOMETIMES it works!


Here is a picture of me as a brand-new baby--on my brand-new baby quilt! Ready to leave the hospital (and coffee rings on the picture??? ah well....).




And here I am at 11-months old.





I'm probably about four-years old here--with my brother in front of the ol' 442! My grandmother made that outfit. Yes, my mother kept it, and yes, Izzy got to wear it when SHE was four. (I misjudged for Mary--by the time I pulled it out of storage, it was too little on her.) Oh...I MISS that beautiful hair--and hair color!




Five-years old.




Kindergarten. Five-years old. My mother CUT MY HAIR. I bawled my eyes out. How could she? My ONE BEAUTY!!!! And...in such a horrible, page-boy cut, too! And I had a boo-boo on my nose. And I remember HATING that dress, too. It had Winnie the Pooh on it. Oh, I was SO over Pooh Bear by the time I was five! LOL




First grade. Thank heavens the hair was allowed to start growing out again!




Third grade. Mom learned how to french braid!




Let's see. This was my brother and me from my sophomore year--about 1988-1989. And my best hairdo for a picture EVER. (Don't ya just love the "door-knocker" earrings?)




The snowstorm of ALL snowstorms that hit the Midwest. The photo is dated January 29, 1978. Please note that the snow banks are TALLER than my 6-foot tall father!!! (He's the skinny one with the orange hat.)