My week off has also been my week of disturbing dreams. Starting Sunday night, each night I've had a dream that startles me awake at 3am. It's really starting to tick me off.
Sunday's dream involved a crazy old guy chasing me and me trying to hide from him. At the end I also had the kids with me and was trying to hide them too. That was probably the worst one.
Monday involved a lion, Tuesday a ginormous wolf that was after me and Sis, and last night an angry mother bear guarding her cub. I climbed to the top of a dead tree and just when I thought I was dead meat, the bear spoke to me in proper English. I assured her I would no longer go anywhere near her cub.
So, what does it all mean? I wish I knew. Maybe it means I'm getting too much sleep. Now I just wonder what threatening critter awaits me tonight.
Showing posts with label Mi Vida Loca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mi Vida Loca. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Jump For Joy
Well, Friday was my last day of in-home daycare after 3 years. My family was very happy. Even though the kids were good friends with all the kids that came to our house, they were really tired of sharing their toys and their mom, and also really tired of other kids messing up their room and breaking their toys. Mike was tired of having the yard trashed, sprinkler heads broken on a regular basis, coming home to a chaotic and noisy home, etc, etc. Sis, well she was tired of it from the start!
I bought a fancy cake from the grocery store because if you read the previous post you can understand that I really didn't have much time for cake baking in the past week. I hated paying that much money for a cake, but I wanted it to be extra special plus it's a tax write-off. By the way it was chocolate with raspberry filling. Need I say more?
I also bought 2 huge beach balls and the kids reminded me of one of the reasons why I'm quitting when it came time to blow the balls up. I had one foot pump and eight kids who wanted to use it, so we had to settle for 10 pumps per kid. One of the boys got fed up and started blowing up the other ball by mouth. It was going so slowly that I told the kids to up the pumps to 20 each. One of the girls forgot her place in line and did two pumps before she remembered, so then when it was her turn the other kids made SURE that she only got 18 pumps. At other times arguments broke out when someone did half a pump and wanted a do-over. Does a half pump or slip of the foot count as a pump? Let's get a jury to decide. Sheesh! Well, due to all the referreeing and politics involved, the boy who was blowing up the other ball on his own finished long before I did with 7 "helpers" and a foot pump!
We did all have a good time though. The kids ran through the sprinkler, argued over, uh, I mean, played with the balls, played with the parachute, and enjoyed the cake and ice cream.
When it came time for goodbyes I kept it low-key. I was actually getting a little sentimental about it all. So I told everyone I wasn't going to actually think about it until Monday, and pretend like it was a regular Friday goodbye.
It was in some respects, a difficult decision to make. I was affecting a lot of families and affecting the kids of those families, so the guilt factor was extremely high. However, I'm really enjoying my new job. I get to work with actual GROWN-UPS and we talk about grown-up things. It's fantastic. Plus when I'm done I clock out and go home. Yay!
So today, I'm thinking about it. And...I'm ok with it! There are some kids I will really miss, but we will see them, and they can come for play dates and such. And...my other job doesn't have me scheduled until next Saturday, which means I have a whole entire week OFF! WOOOO! I'm not really sure what to think. We are going to work on getting this house back in order and getting rid of all the excess stuff, and we're going to make time to do some fun outings too. I'm SO excited!
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Week That Was
In addition to the usual stuff, my week was as follows:
Monday-pool party with Shelby's class
Tuesday-field trip with Nat's class, and started teaching my Bellydance Fitness class at the local health club.
Wednesday-pick up 3 year old niece and run errands while the other kids are in school, attend dance rehearsal in the evening, take girls to the park afterwards.
Thursday-pick up 3 year old niece, head to school to help with field day with Shelby's class, have hot lunch with Nat. Later take the dog to a Rabies Clinic at the local Moose Lodge.
Friday-help with the kindergarten barbecue, run to the local gift shop to grab a gift for a party the girls are attending tomorrow, go back to school to pick up girls, watch all the teachers, aides and principal do an end of the year dance in front of the loaded school buses (it made me tear up, goodness how sentimental am I?), then I gathered up the girls to race to the store to pick up the cake I ordered for THE LAST DAY OF DAYCARE WOOOO! and made it home 5 minutes before the bus unloaded my charges onto my front lawn. (I will write about the last day of daycare festivities tomorrow.)
I'm feeling a bit tired...I wonder why...
Monday-pool party with Shelby's class
Tuesday-field trip with Nat's class, and started teaching my Bellydance Fitness class at the local health club.
Wednesday-pick up 3 year old niece and run errands while the other kids are in school, attend dance rehearsal in the evening, take girls to the park afterwards.
Thursday-pick up 3 year old niece, head to school to help with field day with Shelby's class, have hot lunch with Nat. Later take the dog to a Rabies Clinic at the local Moose Lodge.
Friday-help with the kindergarten barbecue, run to the local gift shop to grab a gift for a party the girls are attending tomorrow, go back to school to pick up girls, watch all the teachers, aides and principal do an end of the year dance in front of the loaded school buses (it made me tear up, goodness how sentimental am I?), then I gathered up the girls to race to the store to pick up the cake I ordered for THE LAST DAY OF DAYCARE WOOOO! and made it home 5 minutes before the bus unloaded my charges onto my front lawn. (I will write about the last day of daycare festivities tomorrow.)
I'm feeling a bit tired...I wonder why...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A Teaching Moment That I Could Have Done Without
My husband is a barbecue caterer and because this is the weekend of the county fair, he is set up in the parking lot of a local bar selling ribs and tri-tip sandwiches. For some reason our fair draws a lot of bikers, and this bar in particular is a popular hang out for them. Mike usually sells out when he barbecues there.
Mike asked if we would like to come up and have lunch while he barbecued today. The girls always love to come visit dad while he's working. They feel privileged to be able to go 'behind the scenes', so to speak, and mess around near the barbecue equipment.
We were sitting away from the rest of the crowd, not only so we could visit with daddy, but so the girls didn't have to be exposed to the harsh language coming from the general population of bikers near the picnic tables. We were sitting next to the dunk tank however, and got to watch some good natured rivalry between some local guys as they tried to throw the soft balls at the target and dunk one guy in particular who was sitting on the seat egging them on.
Well that all changed when one of the biker women volunteered to become the dunkee and promptly took her shirt off. I told the girls, "Don't look", although they had already seen it all, and we made a hasty exit. Unfortunately the only way out was right through the center of the gathering crowd of men and the dunk tank itself.
I then got to spend the next 45 minutes fielding questions of why the woman had done that in front of all the men, and why the men were trying to take pictures, and did I think she got dunked, and did she put her top back on? This is not a lesson my girls needed to learn today, but I did my best to explain why some people have a lack of self respect, and a desire for the attention of men. Yikes.
So thanks a lot lady. You know if you want to pull a stunt like that after hours, that's your business, but to do it in broad daylight with two little girls sitting not 20 feet away was completely uncalled for. Sheesh. Shelby pretty much summed it up when she said, "That was really not appropriate."
And next year? Daddy can bring us home some left overs.
Mike asked if we would like to come up and have lunch while he barbecued today. The girls always love to come visit dad while he's working. They feel privileged to be able to go 'behind the scenes', so to speak, and mess around near the barbecue equipment.
We were sitting away from the rest of the crowd, not only so we could visit with daddy, but so the girls didn't have to be exposed to the harsh language coming from the general population of bikers near the picnic tables. We were sitting next to the dunk tank however, and got to watch some good natured rivalry between some local guys as they tried to throw the soft balls at the target and dunk one guy in particular who was sitting on the seat egging them on.
Well that all changed when one of the biker women volunteered to become the dunkee and promptly took her shirt off. I told the girls, "Don't look", although they had already seen it all, and we made a hasty exit. Unfortunately the only way out was right through the center of the gathering crowd of men and the dunk tank itself.
I then got to spend the next 45 minutes fielding questions of why the woman had done that in front of all the men, and why the men were trying to take pictures, and did I think she got dunked, and did she put her top back on? This is not a lesson my girls needed to learn today, but I did my best to explain why some people have a lack of self respect, and a desire for the attention of men. Yikes.
So thanks a lot lady. You know if you want to pull a stunt like that after hours, that's your business, but to do it in broad daylight with two little girls sitting not 20 feet away was completely uncalled for. Sheesh. Shelby pretty much summed it up when she said, "That was really not appropriate."
And next year? Daddy can bring us home some left overs.
Friday, May 9, 2008
The Waiting Was Killing Me
Some may recall that I took our county's correctional officer exam some 3 weeks and 1 day ago (but who's counting...). At the exam they said that those who passed would be contacted within 2 weeks by phone to schedule an oral interview, and those who didn't pass would receive a letter as such within 3 weeks.
Well my 2 weeks came and went with much checking and double checking of the answering machine and caller ID, and much anticipation when the phone rang, but the phone call never came. As I entered my 3rd week of waiting I began haunting the mailbox and waiting for the dreaded rejection letter. I began to beat myself up for failing a test I felt pretty confident about. I began reasoning with myself that if I failed the test then it must be a sign that I need to look in another direction, but I was having a difficult time with the concept of failure. When I put my mind to something I expect to do well, and I was not happy at all with the thought that I could've bombed this test.
Today, after my morning mail check, I decided to call the county HRC department and get the news of my failure confirmed so that I might go on with my life. Well, the nice lady told me that the rejection letters were sent out 10 days ago, so if I haven't received one, then I have surely passed the test! Yay! The self-flogging can cease now! She said due to key people's vacation times and the upcoming county fair, that they won't be calling to schedule interviews until sometime in July (let's hear it for our efficient county...). But, OK, I can deal with that. Whew!
Well my 2 weeks came and went with much checking and double checking of the answering machine and caller ID, and much anticipation when the phone rang, but the phone call never came. As I entered my 3rd week of waiting I began haunting the mailbox and waiting for the dreaded rejection letter. I began to beat myself up for failing a test I felt pretty confident about. I began reasoning with myself that if I failed the test then it must be a sign that I need to look in another direction, but I was having a difficult time with the concept of failure. When I put my mind to something I expect to do well, and I was not happy at all with the thought that I could've bombed this test.
Today, after my morning mail check, I decided to call the county HRC department and get the news of my failure confirmed so that I might go on with my life. Well, the nice lady told me that the rejection letters were sent out 10 days ago, so if I haven't received one, then I have surely passed the test! Yay! The self-flogging can cease now! She said due to key people's vacation times and the upcoming county fair, that they won't be calling to schedule interviews until sometime in July (let's hear it for our efficient county...). But, OK, I can deal with that. Whew!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
On the Hunt--for the Elusive "Real Job"
I took the Correctional Officer exam at the county today. It was a packed house. I would say at least 60 people showed up. They had to keep getting more tables and chairs out.
I was kind of on the fence about this, but now I'm feeling more confident that this job could work for me. I know it wouldn't be a cake walk, but I think I'm even-tempered and mature enough to deal with inmates on a daily basis.
What I really need is a "real job"--a career. Here I am at 43, with a 2 year degree in forestry, most of my last 20 years spent being a stay at home mom, and lacking any bookkeeping or office experience. I will be lucky to find a good job especially in this tiny county, so being a prison matron is looking pretty appealing to me, especially considering the starting pay and benefits package.
I think I did ok on the test. They said 80% of the people will pass it. From there it's onto the oral interview, and then from there it's onto background check, lie detector, medical and psych exams. They said today that they hire only one in every 60 applicants. That scared me, when I looked around the room and thought out of this whole group only 1 may be hired. They have 16 positions they will be filling over the next 18 months as the new jail facility is completed, and to think that they have to go through 636 willing applicants to find those 16 is a bit overwhelming!
I still think I may have a shot, but I am also willing to accept that if this isn't meant to work out for me, it won't. I'm putting my faith in God to lead me to where I need to be at this point, so wish me luck--one way or the other!
I was kind of on the fence about this, but now I'm feeling more confident that this job could work for me. I know it wouldn't be a cake walk, but I think I'm even-tempered and mature enough to deal with inmates on a daily basis.
What I really need is a "real job"--a career. Here I am at 43, with a 2 year degree in forestry, most of my last 20 years spent being a stay at home mom, and lacking any bookkeeping or office experience. I will be lucky to find a good job especially in this tiny county, so being a prison matron is looking pretty appealing to me, especially considering the starting pay and benefits package.
I think I did ok on the test. They said 80% of the people will pass it. From there it's onto the oral interview, and then from there it's onto background check, lie detector, medical and psych exams. They said today that they hire only one in every 60 applicants. That scared me, when I looked around the room and thought out of this whole group only 1 may be hired. They have 16 positions they will be filling over the next 18 months as the new jail facility is completed, and to think that they have to go through 636 willing applicants to find those 16 is a bit overwhelming!
I still think I may have a shot, but I am also willing to accept that if this isn't meant to work out for me, it won't. I'm putting my faith in God to lead me to where I need to be at this point, so wish me luck--one way or the other!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Ranting Ahead...Proceed at Your Own Risk!
What a week so far! Honestly, when it rains it pours, but some promising things happened too.
Yesterday one of the daycare boys slapped Nat on the tummy and left his hand print. I didn't see the altercation, so I'm sure Nat was annoying him to some extent. HOWEVER, when I hear, "Well, she was doing..." before I hear, "Gee, I'm sorry..." I get very frustrated. I see this a lot, where kids will always see themselves as the victim, and not take responsibility for their own actions. There's always some excuse for their bad behavior. I see it so often that it makes me afraid for this up and coming generation. How will they deal in the real world?
When Mike got home I was in the front yard cooling my self down, as it was just a trying day all around. I had a kid that was back-sassing me, the incident with Nat I had just dealt with, and one of my 3 year olds had a potty accident, so I was at the end of my rope. When he saw the welt on Nat's tummy, he went to talk to the young boy himself. He said in essence, "You don't hit girls, and you especially don't hit MY little girl." I was glad that Mike had a talk with him. I really think that's one thing that's lacking in a lot of kids' lives (the boys I see especially)---a strong male influence.
Our tax lady gave us bad news last night about how much we owe. This was going to be one of the first years in a long time we were going to be able to file on time, but now that we've heard how much we owe, we will have to file an extension instead. And we won't get the President's incentive either--it will just go towards paying our debt. It really doesn't pay to be self-employed. Bah!
I got a call today from a local Lodge saying they will hire me for the summer running the snack bar and waitressing, so some of my stress about supporting myself once daycare is closed has been alleviated. I've never waitressed in my life, so it will be a new experience for me. I do know enough to know that I will work my fanny off!
I will be pursuing finding a "real job" with benefits during the summer and hope that this fall I will have a more promising employment.
Mike and I had a big argument this morning. I feel bad that I can't find enthusiasm for his endeavors, but we are in a real financial bind right now, and if I don't see something actually happening, I can't get excited about it. In other words, he was telling me that he wants me to support his goal of going big with his barbecue business, and how it will solve all our problems, but I just feel we need to do something concrete now, rather than just talk about something that may happen. I'm feeling pretty low that I can't have faith in his dream. I think there's a good possibility it could happen in the long run, but I want to fix our present situation first.
This is also the week of the anniversary of my mom's death. I try not to relive those last days, and after 6 years, I thought I was getting past it, but I'm still finding myself thinking about each day leading up to the day she passed away. I always try to do something special to remember her on that solemn anniversary. I would rather remember, than to try to ignore it. I actually think the weeks leading up to her death were the worst, and the day that she died I felt a sense of relief and happiness that she was no longer being tortured to death by cancer. So I think part of my problem this week is that I'm also feeling highly emotional.
I'm still hopeful that this week will redeem itself. After all, it's only Tuesday... I guess it will either improve or be The. Longest. Week. Ever!
Yesterday one of the daycare boys slapped Nat on the tummy and left his hand print. I didn't see the altercation, so I'm sure Nat was annoying him to some extent. HOWEVER, when I hear, "Well, she was doing..." before I hear, "Gee, I'm sorry..." I get very frustrated. I see this a lot, where kids will always see themselves as the victim, and not take responsibility for their own actions. There's always some excuse for their bad behavior. I see it so often that it makes me afraid for this up and coming generation. How will they deal in the real world?
When Mike got home I was in the front yard cooling my self down, as it was just a trying day all around. I had a kid that was back-sassing me, the incident with Nat I had just dealt with, and one of my 3 year olds had a potty accident, so I was at the end of my rope. When he saw the welt on Nat's tummy, he went to talk to the young boy himself. He said in essence, "You don't hit girls, and you especially don't hit MY little girl." I was glad that Mike had a talk with him. I really think that's one thing that's lacking in a lot of kids' lives (the boys I see especially)---a strong male influence.
Our tax lady gave us bad news last night about how much we owe. This was going to be one of the first years in a long time we were going to be able to file on time, but now that we've heard how much we owe, we will have to file an extension instead. And we won't get the President's incentive either--it will just go towards paying our debt. It really doesn't pay to be self-employed. Bah!
I got a call today from a local Lodge saying they will hire me for the summer running the snack bar and waitressing, so some of my stress about supporting myself once daycare is closed has been alleviated. I've never waitressed in my life, so it will be a new experience for me. I do know enough to know that I will work my fanny off!
I will be pursuing finding a "real job" with benefits during the summer and hope that this fall I will have a more promising employment.
Mike and I had a big argument this morning. I feel bad that I can't find enthusiasm for his endeavors, but we are in a real financial bind right now, and if I don't see something actually happening, I can't get excited about it. In other words, he was telling me that he wants me to support his goal of going big with his barbecue business, and how it will solve all our problems, but I just feel we need to do something concrete now, rather than just talk about something that may happen. I'm feeling pretty low that I can't have faith in his dream. I think there's a good possibility it could happen in the long run, but I want to fix our present situation first.
This is also the week of the anniversary of my mom's death. I try not to relive those last days, and after 6 years, I thought I was getting past it, but I'm still finding myself thinking about each day leading up to the day she passed away. I always try to do something special to remember her on that solemn anniversary. I would rather remember, than to try to ignore it. I actually think the weeks leading up to her death were the worst, and the day that she died I felt a sense of relief and happiness that she was no longer being tortured to death by cancer. So I think part of my problem this week is that I'm also feeling highly emotional.
I'm still hopeful that this week will redeem itself. After all, it's only Tuesday... I guess it will either improve or be The. Longest. Week. Ever!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Name Change and Stuff...
I decided to change my blog name from "Something Clever" to "Define Normal". I just felt like I was misleading poor unsuspecting blog readers who visited my blog thinking they would read a very clever entry. Cleverness is a pretty concrete attribute, and though I have my moments, they are few and far between, I'm afraid.
However, "normal" can only be defined individually. We each have our own definition of what normal means to us. My normal life and emotions may be quite abnormal to someone else, but they cannot argue that their normal is more normal than my normal as their normal might be very abnormal from my perspective. So no more arguing. 'Nuff said.
Regarding my previous post, the dad finally came in and talked to me yesterday and we came to an agreement on payment. I also urged them to possibly look into our county's childcare subsidy program. I guess they knew they were pushing their luck with me. I will be happy if I can keep watching their boy until school is out without having to threaten to terminate our contract.
Then... I went to Walmart yesterday and found a blouse on clearance for $3, and went next door to Mervyn's where they were having a buy one, get one free sale on their clearance items. I ended up with the blouse from Walmart, 2 more tops, a skirt and a pair of slacks from Mervyn's and the total for all was just over $20. I can hardly do that well at a thrift store. I love a great bargain, Woo-hoo!
Yes indeed, yesterday was an abNORMALy good day!
However, "normal" can only be defined individually. We each have our own definition of what normal means to us. My normal life and emotions may be quite abnormal to someone else, but they cannot argue that their normal is more normal than my normal as their normal might be very abnormal from my perspective. So no more arguing. 'Nuff said.
Regarding my previous post, the dad finally came in and talked to me yesterday and we came to an agreement on payment. I also urged them to possibly look into our county's childcare subsidy program. I guess they knew they were pushing their luck with me. I will be happy if I can keep watching their boy until school is out without having to threaten to terminate our contract.
Then... I went to Walmart yesterday and found a blouse on clearance for $3, and went next door to Mervyn's where they were having a buy one, get one free sale on their clearance items. I ended up with the blouse from Walmart, 2 more tops, a skirt and a pair of slacks from Mervyn's and the total for all was just over $20. I can hardly do that well at a thrift store. I love a great bargain, Woo-hoo!
Yes indeed, yesterday was an abNORMALy good day!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Daycare Dilemma
I'm currently having a bit of a dilemma with one of my daycare kids. His parents haven't been paying me on time, they never really have from the get-go, but it's been getting progressively worse. They have explained that they are struggling financially right now-but sheesh, who isn't? I really should just give them a 2-week notice and be done with it.
But...I like this kid a lot. He's 9 and unlike most of the other kids I've had in my care, this young man is very respectful and polite. He always asks to get a drink even though I let all the kids help themselves. When one of the other boys called him on this, saying, "You don't have to ask, this is daycare." This boy said, "It doesn't matter. If I'm at someone else's house I always ask." He never misses a "please" or "thank you" or "goodbye" either.
He also gets along well with the other kids. He doesn't have issues of always having to be right, or trying to act like top dog, or setting bad examples for the others. In fact he almost always has his homework done before he gets off the bus, or does it immediately without being told. He will play just as well with the other boys as with the girls. He will even sit and play a game of Candyland with 5 year old Nat.
His parents however, will avoid coming to get him when they owe money, sending his older brother instead. They owed me 4 weeks of care and when they finally paid me, they were $20 short. They now owe me for another week and a half plus the $20. His dad told me how they're struggling, and how sorry he was he couldn't pay on time, but we're struggling as well and $30-$40 a week is kind of a big deal to me.
This boy has also been having migraine headaches and his folks have had to take him to specialists and get MRIs to find out what's going on with him so I know that's an added expense they're dealing with. This last weekend he went back to Stanford for test results, and on Monday when he came off the bus, he told me that the tests showed that he doesn't have a brain tumor. Gosh, can you imagine a 9 year-old boy having to comprehend something like that? And he was so grown up about it when he told me. I guess they still don't know what's causing the headaches though.
So here I am thinking, his parents have been flaky, non-communicative and avoiding, it's very likely that they'll string me along and throw me a bone once in a while, but chances are I won't ever get paid in full. It's the principal of the thing and I should just tell them I can't watch their child anymore.
But then, I'm quitting daycare come June, so even if I did quit watching this boy, I wouldn't fill his spot anyway. If this had been any other kid I would've canceled our contract long ago. I feel like I'm being used, but then on the other hand I like having this boy around. At this point I'm leaning towards just getting whatever I can out of his parents and writing off the rest on next year's taxes as a loss. Oh, well...
But...I like this kid a lot. He's 9 and unlike most of the other kids I've had in my care, this young man is very respectful and polite. He always asks to get a drink even though I let all the kids help themselves. When one of the other boys called him on this, saying, "You don't have to ask, this is daycare." This boy said, "It doesn't matter. If I'm at someone else's house I always ask." He never misses a "please" or "thank you" or "goodbye" either.
He also gets along well with the other kids. He doesn't have issues of always having to be right, or trying to act like top dog, or setting bad examples for the others. In fact he almost always has his homework done before he gets off the bus, or does it immediately without being told. He will play just as well with the other boys as with the girls. He will even sit and play a game of Candyland with 5 year old Nat.
His parents however, will avoid coming to get him when they owe money, sending his older brother instead. They owed me 4 weeks of care and when they finally paid me, they were $20 short. They now owe me for another week and a half plus the $20. His dad told me how they're struggling, and how sorry he was he couldn't pay on time, but we're struggling as well and $30-$40 a week is kind of a big deal to me.
This boy has also been having migraine headaches and his folks have had to take him to specialists and get MRIs to find out what's going on with him so I know that's an added expense they're dealing with. This last weekend he went back to Stanford for test results, and on Monday when he came off the bus, he told me that the tests showed that he doesn't have a brain tumor. Gosh, can you imagine a 9 year-old boy having to comprehend something like that? And he was so grown up about it when he told me. I guess they still don't know what's causing the headaches though.
So here I am thinking, his parents have been flaky, non-communicative and avoiding, it's very likely that they'll string me along and throw me a bone once in a while, but chances are I won't ever get paid in full. It's the principal of the thing and I should just tell them I can't watch their child anymore.
But then, I'm quitting daycare come June, so even if I did quit watching this boy, I wouldn't fill his spot anyway. If this had been any other kid I would've canceled our contract long ago. I feel like I'm being used, but then on the other hand I like having this boy around. At this point I'm leaning towards just getting whatever I can out of his parents and writing off the rest on next year's taxes as a loss. Oh, well...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ya Might Be a Redneck...
So my hubby was saving cans--not for recycling, but for a special project he had in mind that he (wisely) wouldn't tell me about.
Now I know why. Apparently this is an okie alarm clock.
He hung it in the girls' bedroom and told them he would knock it around in the morning to wake them up. It serves it's purpose. It's both loud and annoying. He says he used to string cans together like this when he was young and hang them from his own bedroom ceiling. Ah, nostalgia. I'm sure back then that his mom was just as thrilled as I was when I laid eyes on this. In fact, I was literally speechless, but not one to knock the wind out of hubby's sails, I kind of just wandered off mumbling to myself, "Why, oh why, oh why?"
The girls think it's great. Sis nearly laughed her fanny off especially when she saw the expression on my face. I am just biding my time until everyone kind of forgets about it. Then one day it will just mysteriously disappear...
Now I know why. Apparently this is an okie alarm clock.
He hung it in the girls' bedroom and told them he would knock it around in the morning to wake them up. It serves it's purpose. It's both loud and annoying. He says he used to string cans together like this when he was young and hang them from his own bedroom ceiling. Ah, nostalgia. I'm sure back then that his mom was just as thrilled as I was when I laid eyes on this. In fact, I was literally speechless, but not one to knock the wind out of hubby's sails, I kind of just wandered off mumbling to myself, "Why, oh why, oh why?"
The girls think it's great. Sis nearly laughed her fanny off especially when she saw the expression on my face. I am just biding my time until everyone kind of forgets about it. Then one day it will just mysteriously disappear...
Monday, March 10, 2008
Groggy
Honestly, why do we need to change our clocks twice a year? It's such a pain. I always spend the week following the change looking at the clock and thinking, "Well it's 10:00, but really it's only 9." I really have no desire to fall back or spring forward thankyouverymuch.
This change has got to be the hardest-when we lose an hour. The girls and I could not get to sleep last night. In fact it was 11:30 (really 10:30...) when we finally all got tired and went to bed. We do get that extra hour of sunlight in the evening which is cool, I guess. Then in the fall I love when we get the hour back, but then it gets so dark so early and that's depressing.
Does this make anyone else crazy, or is it just me? And do I need to move to Arizona (aren't they the ones that don't do it)?
---and yes I realize I should apply the previous post to my attitude, and I plan on that...eventually. I need to whine right now people, and I need to catch up on my sleep first!
This change has got to be the hardest-when we lose an hour. The girls and I could not get to sleep last night. In fact it was 11:30 (really 10:30...) when we finally all got tired and went to bed. We do get that extra hour of sunlight in the evening which is cool, I guess. Then in the fall I love when we get the hour back, but then it gets so dark so early and that's depressing.
Does this make anyone else crazy, or is it just me? And do I need to move to Arizona (aren't they the ones that don't do it)?
---and yes I realize I should apply the previous post to my attitude, and I plan on that...eventually. I need to whine right now people, and I need to catch up on my sleep first!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Thursday Thirteen #2
Thirteen things I have run out of this week.
1. TP--yes the dreaded running out of toilet paper happened. My husband "borrowed" a roll from an outhouse at a construction site across the street. It is like very thin, very white sandpaper. Nice.
2. Cascade--I perched my bottle of Cascade on the counter upside down for about 10 minutes and then shook it and squeezed it and got just enough to run the dishes. Yes, it made very rude noises at me, and no, hand washing the dishes is not an option!
3. Milk--there was just enough for me and Nat to each have a bowl of Life this morning (and just enough left in my bowl for my kitties to have their little treat too).
4. Mini chocolate chips--my old standby for a chocolate fix. I love to put a bunch of them in vanilla yogurt!
5. Grape jelly. And not just any grape jelly. I need Mary Ellen grape jelly on my PBJ's or it just isn't right!
6. Pearatin--the only hair product that stands between me and natural dreadlocks. I swear, without this I can barely get a comb through my hair when it's wet, and yes I use conditioner religiously, but this stuff is some sort of liquid miracle in an expensive little bottle.
7. Make up remover--I'm either going to adopt the "raccoon look" or figure out a different way to get the mascara out from under my eyes.
8. Girl Scout Cookies--yesterday. I still have one box of Thin Mints that I planned on sending to Cam. Any wagers if it will actually get to him or if it will be "mysteriously" lost in the mail? If I had my chocolate chips for backup this wouldn't be an issue.
9. Money. My account was negative $3 today. Gah! Luckily Mike has some money to do some grocery shopping after work today. (See items 1-5 for shopping list, above.)
And the last 4 in no particular order; these particular things run out, and are replenished on a daily or sometimes minute by minute basis:
10. Ideas
11. Energy
12. Motivation
13. Patience!!!
1. TP--yes the dreaded running out of toilet paper happened. My husband "borrowed" a roll from an outhouse at a construction site across the street. It is like very thin, very white sandpaper. Nice.
2. Cascade--I perched my bottle of Cascade on the counter upside down for about 10 minutes and then shook it and squeezed it and got just enough to run the dishes. Yes, it made very rude noises at me, and no, hand washing the dishes is not an option!
3. Milk--there was just enough for me and Nat to each have a bowl of Life this morning (and just enough left in my bowl for my kitties to have their little treat too).
4. Mini chocolate chips--my old standby for a chocolate fix. I love to put a bunch of them in vanilla yogurt!
5. Grape jelly. And not just any grape jelly. I need Mary Ellen grape jelly on my PBJ's or it just isn't right!
6. Pearatin--the only hair product that stands between me and natural dreadlocks. I swear, without this I can barely get a comb through my hair when it's wet, and yes I use conditioner religiously, but this stuff is some sort of liquid miracle in an expensive little bottle.
7. Make up remover--I'm either going to adopt the "raccoon look" or figure out a different way to get the mascara out from under my eyes.
8. Girl Scout Cookies--yesterday. I still have one box of Thin Mints that I planned on sending to Cam. Any wagers if it will actually get to him or if it will be "mysteriously" lost in the mail? If I had my chocolate chips for backup this wouldn't be an issue.
9. Money. My account was negative $3 today. Gah! Luckily Mike has some money to do some grocery shopping after work today. (See items 1-5 for shopping list, above.)
And the last 4 in no particular order; these particular things run out, and are replenished on a daily or sometimes minute by minute basis:
10. Ideas
11. Energy
12. Motivation
13. Patience!!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Can We Say "Overwhelmed"?
For the last week the kids room has been a disaster area. I haven't been able to face it. Without my help the girls can't clean it up on their own, so I have been just ignoring it.
Then the mess migrated to the living room because there was no room to play in the bedroom. A bit harder to ignore, but I tried.
Then the dishes didn't get done last night, which has been fairly common in the last week. They were calling to me. Stupid dirty dishes!
Today I finally felt I had the fortitude to start making a dent in my house of chaos and I did pretty well, I must say, but lately I have felt so incredibly overwhelmed I just don't know what to do. It is so incredibly hard to stay on top of the mess while doing in-home daycare. Even with getting the kids to help clean up, it mostly falls on me to keep things organized and put away, and with little bodies constantly on the move getting more stuff out it just gets to the point where I can't keep up and then to the point that I just say, "screw it", but then I cycle back around to the fact that it won't get done unless I do it, and the vicious little circle continues...
I decided that I'm for sure quitting daycare when school is out this year. It's a relief to know that in 3 months, give or take, I'm done. Stick a fork in me! I really couldn't even contemplate doing another summer of full time, full capacity daycare 10 hours a day, every day. My hat goes off to the women who do this for more than 3 years, but for me that's it.
I look forward to when I don't dread coming home after being out for the evening, and to when I can keep the chaos mostly under control.
So today at least, was a good day. I got things done and I don't feel like my walls are closing in on me. The beautiful weather helps too---if nothing else it keeps the kids outside!
Then the mess migrated to the living room because there was no room to play in the bedroom. A bit harder to ignore, but I tried.
Then the dishes didn't get done last night, which has been fairly common in the last week. They were calling to me. Stupid dirty dishes!
Today I finally felt I had the fortitude to start making a dent in my house of chaos and I did pretty well, I must say, but lately I have felt so incredibly overwhelmed I just don't know what to do. It is so incredibly hard to stay on top of the mess while doing in-home daycare. Even with getting the kids to help clean up, it mostly falls on me to keep things organized and put away, and with little bodies constantly on the move getting more stuff out it just gets to the point where I can't keep up and then to the point that I just say, "screw it", but then I cycle back around to the fact that it won't get done unless I do it, and the vicious little circle continues...
I decided that I'm for sure quitting daycare when school is out this year. It's a relief to know that in 3 months, give or take, I'm done. Stick a fork in me! I really couldn't even contemplate doing another summer of full time, full capacity daycare 10 hours a day, every day. My hat goes off to the women who do this for more than 3 years, but for me that's it.
I look forward to when I don't dread coming home after being out for the evening, and to when I can keep the chaos mostly under control.
So today at least, was a good day. I got things done and I don't feel like my walls are closing in on me. The beautiful weather helps too---if nothing else it keeps the kids outside!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Another Monday Mash
We ate Hamsters on Friday night and they were delicious. (Thanks, Holly!) They are actually shredded chicken mixed with cream cheese and veggies wrapped up in cresent rolls and dipped in bread crumbs. When you put the yummy cream of chicken gravy on top they taste a lot like chicken pot pie. They were a hit, except that Shelby was a little offended by the name since she has an adorable hamster named Baby. We took a picture (that's blurry, sorry) of Baby and an edible hamster for comparison, but as you can see, Baby turned suddenly cannibalistic and we had to trash one of the scrumptious morsels.
I have a new calling at church-1st Counselor in Primary. Which means instead of teaching the under 8's Sunday School, now I teach or conduct Sharing Time (when all the kids come together after their classes.) I was a little nervous, but everyone said I did a good job yesterday. Our Primary is extremely small, just 6 kids that come regularly, 2 of which are mine, and I really wasn't so much nervous about teaching to the kids, it was that the Primary President, the Chorister and Pianist were there too, and so there's a little added pressure I guess. After teaching Sunday School for the last 2 1/2 years I was ready for a change, so I think this will be good for me.
After church the girls wanted their friend (the Primary President's daughter) to come up to play. We often let the girls have get-togethers on Sunday, since we live in different towns and it's hard to get them together any other time. Her mom said that she had a huge crock pot full of chicken and rice and she would bring it up when she picked up her daughter. I said, "Are you going to stay for dinner?" Which was a stupid question I know. I was just surprised that they would want to come to our house for dinner. I really like her and her husband, and we all had a great time. The only other couple that ever comes for dinner is our niece and her husband, so this was a treat. They even talked about doing game nights together sometime. Wow, a couple our own age to get together with! Yay!
In other news....They're Here......
I won't rest until they're all gone too. I swear I would buy them by the case if my budget allowed. Yum!
I'm reading The BFG by Roald Dahl to Shelby. She and Nat are really enjoying it, and beg me for "one more chapter" every night. I was afraid it might be too scary for Nat because of the giant snatching the little girl from her bed, and the other giants who eat "human beans", but she's been ok with it. I remember reading it with Cam and Sis too, and how we all laughed at the silly things the Big Friendly Giant would say and do. It's definitely a good read!
Happy President's Day. I have the day off. No daycare kids. I got to sleep in and now we're going to try to figure out something fun to do. The weather is gorgeous so we need to figure out a way to enjoy it.
I have a new calling at church-1st Counselor in Primary. Which means instead of teaching the under 8's Sunday School, now I teach or conduct Sharing Time (when all the kids come together after their classes.) I was a little nervous, but everyone said I did a good job yesterday. Our Primary is extremely small, just 6 kids that come regularly, 2 of which are mine, and I really wasn't so much nervous about teaching to the kids, it was that the Primary President, the Chorister and Pianist were there too, and so there's a little added pressure I guess. After teaching Sunday School for the last 2 1/2 years I was ready for a change, so I think this will be good for me.
After church the girls wanted their friend (the Primary President's daughter) to come up to play. We often let the girls have get-togethers on Sunday, since we live in different towns and it's hard to get them together any other time. Her mom said that she had a huge crock pot full of chicken and rice and she would bring it up when she picked up her daughter. I said, "Are you going to stay for dinner?" Which was a stupid question I know. I was just surprised that they would want to come to our house for dinner. I really like her and her husband, and we all had a great time. The only other couple that ever comes for dinner is our niece and her husband, so this was a treat. They even talked about doing game nights together sometime. Wow, a couple our own age to get together with! Yay!
In other news....They're Here......
I won't rest until they're all gone too. I swear I would buy them by the case if my budget allowed. Yum!
I'm reading The BFG by Roald Dahl to Shelby. She and Nat are really enjoying it, and beg me for "one more chapter" every night. I was afraid it might be too scary for Nat because of the giant snatching the little girl from her bed, and the other giants who eat "human beans", but she's been ok with it. I remember reading it with Cam and Sis too, and how we all laughed at the silly things the Big Friendly Giant would say and do. It's definitely a good read!
Happy President's Day. I have the day off. No daycare kids. I got to sleep in and now we're going to try to figure out something fun to do. The weather is gorgeous so we need to figure out a way to enjoy it.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Brain Empty...Must....Fill...
Well I was on a roll on Monday with my "Brain Dump" and apparently I really did dump everything out of it because I haven't had a bloggy thought since then!
We've been dealing with snow storm after snow storm for the last 2 weeks. Got a bunch more last night and had yet another late start for school this morning. I think in the last 10 days of school we've had an unprecedented 2 snow days, and 5 late starts. There is another snow storm tomorrow night and then maybe it will quit for a few days. Sheesh! We usually don't get hit this hard all at once so I'm being a bit of a weenie about it I guess.
The girls and I attended the Chocolate Extravaganza tonight at church. This is undoubtedly the highlight of my week. Chocolate cake, chocolate candy, and all sorts of goodies to dip into a chocolate fountain. I even tried Nutella for the first time. It was darned tasty, I tell ya! I fed the kids dinner tonight before we left, but I didn't eat because I didn't want to spoil my appetite. I have priorities after all!
Tomorrow Sis and I will pack provisions and make the 2-hour plus trek to the biggest mall within a reasonable day's drive to continue our prom dress search. Last week we had Prauma (prom dress trauma) after a disappointing online and local dress search, so does that make prom dress shopping tomorrow Promping? I don't know...like I said my brain be empty!
We've been dealing with snow storm after snow storm for the last 2 weeks. Got a bunch more last night and had yet another late start for school this morning. I think in the last 10 days of school we've had an unprecedented 2 snow days, and 5 late starts. There is another snow storm tomorrow night and then maybe it will quit for a few days. Sheesh! We usually don't get hit this hard all at once so I'm being a bit of a weenie about it I guess.
The girls and I attended the Chocolate Extravaganza tonight at church. This is undoubtedly the highlight of my week. Chocolate cake, chocolate candy, and all sorts of goodies to dip into a chocolate fountain. I even tried Nutella for the first time. It was darned tasty, I tell ya! I fed the kids dinner tonight before we left, but I didn't eat because I didn't want to spoil my appetite. I have priorities after all!
Tomorrow Sis and I will pack provisions and make the 2-hour plus trek to the biggest mall within a reasonable day's drive to continue our prom dress search. Last week we had Prauma (prom dress trauma) after a disappointing online and local dress search, so does that make prom dress shopping tomorrow Promping? I don't know...like I said my brain be empty!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday Started Pretty, But Ended Ugly!
This is how Thursday started:
But how it ended was anything but pretty. We got so much snow again on Thursday morning that the school called a 2-hour late start. We, however, didn't make it at all because I couldn't get out of the driveway in my little Honda Civic. My husband is out of town until Monday doing a rib cook-off somewhere near the Mexico border, so I'm on my own without a 4 wheel drive vehicle or a manly man to shovel and do other manly winter chores.
The girls spent a lot of time outside playing in the new snow, I spent a lot of time outside shoveling the driveway, so as not to be completely snowbound for the next 4 days. I didn't really mind ALL that much, after all, shoveling is a great workout.
My mood changed a bit when the power went off around noon. But then it came on an hour and a half later. Yay! Then it went out, then it came back on-yay again! Then it went out....and no yay...just lots of calling the outage hot line and hearing that power would be restored at 7pm. Then more waiting and watching as 7pm came and went. Boo.
I really don't like power outages, give me my modern conveniences anytime, but this time in particular was especially difficult. Not only was it just me and my 3 girls, but we don't have heat in this house if we don't have power. Unlike most the places we've lived, this house has a kerosene heater instead of a wood burning stove. Let's just say things got a bit nippy!
The four of us bundled up in blankets and ate PBJ sandwiches, then about 8pm we decided that we would all pile into my bed with all the blankets and cats in the house on top of us and watch a movie on a (thankfully fully-charged) laptop then go to sleep with the hope that in the morning we would wake up to the sound of the heater blowing. No. Such. Luck.
I was up at 5am calling the power company only to hear that they had no estimated time to restore the power. Then the school called and said there would be no school because of the power outage. Then my daycare families called and I had to tell them I couldn't watch any kids today due to the frigid temperature in my home. At 7am I was completely depressed, frustrated and hopeless. Luckily, I have a fabulous niece who lives nearby who had a fully functioning home with a working heater who came down and rescued us from our miserable living conditions. We spent the day with her and my little grand-niece and it was wonderful.
Our power was restored this afternoon. The heater has been blowing full blast for about 6 hours and the thermostat just now hit 68 degrees. We are happy and tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep. And right now it's raining and not snowing anymore. Yay!
So Thursday ended badly, and Friday didn't start out well, but now things are much better. A little heat and light will do wonders!
But how it ended was anything but pretty. We got so much snow again on Thursday morning that the school called a 2-hour late start. We, however, didn't make it at all because I couldn't get out of the driveway in my little Honda Civic. My husband is out of town until Monday doing a rib cook-off somewhere near the Mexico border, so I'm on my own without a 4 wheel drive vehicle or a manly man to shovel and do other manly winter chores.
The girls spent a lot of time outside playing in the new snow, I spent a lot of time outside shoveling the driveway, so as not to be completely snowbound for the next 4 days. I didn't really mind ALL that much, after all, shoveling is a great workout.
My mood changed a bit when the power went off around noon. But then it came on an hour and a half later. Yay! Then it went out, then it came back on-yay again! Then it went out....and no yay...just lots of calling the outage hot line and hearing that power would be restored at 7pm. Then more waiting and watching as 7pm came and went. Boo.
I really don't like power outages, give me my modern conveniences anytime, but this time in particular was especially difficult. Not only was it just me and my 3 girls, but we don't have heat in this house if we don't have power. Unlike most the places we've lived, this house has a kerosene heater instead of a wood burning stove. Let's just say things got a bit nippy!
The four of us bundled up in blankets and ate PBJ sandwiches, then about 8pm we decided that we would all pile into my bed with all the blankets and cats in the house on top of us and watch a movie on a (thankfully fully-charged) laptop then go to sleep with the hope that in the morning we would wake up to the sound of the heater blowing. No. Such. Luck.
I was up at 5am calling the power company only to hear that they had no estimated time to restore the power. Then the school called and said there would be no school because of the power outage. Then my daycare families called and I had to tell them I couldn't watch any kids today due to the frigid temperature in my home. At 7am I was completely depressed, frustrated and hopeless. Luckily, I have a fabulous niece who lives nearby who had a fully functioning home with a working heater who came down and rescued us from our miserable living conditions. We spent the day with her and my little grand-niece and it was wonderful.
Our power was restored this afternoon. The heater has been blowing full blast for about 6 hours and the thermostat just now hit 68 degrees. We are happy and tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep. And right now it's raining and not snowing anymore. Yay!
So Thursday ended badly, and Friday didn't start out well, but now things are much better. A little heat and light will do wonders!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Snow Boots Are For Sissies
Sis and I went to the valley and did our Christmas shopping on Saturday and I splurged on myself and bought myself some new shoes. I don't think I've bought a pair of shoes for myself in at least a year, with the exception of flip flops. The shoes I had were a pair of slip-on clunky shoes, which I fondly referred to as my clown shoes. Let's just say they really didn't flatter my foot size, but hey they were super comfy. Kind of like baggy sweat pants for my feet.
So here's my new shoes:
My first pair of Chuck Taylor All Stars...ever. I'm very proud. And they are so darned cute that I don't want to take them off. Plus I got the coveted Teenager Seal of Approval so I know for a fact that I'm COOL.
So anyway, today we got a little snow. The first decent snow we've had this year, but only about an inch or so. I took Nat to school and proudly slogged through the slush in my new shoes, hoping everyone would notice that I wasn't wearing big clunky snow boots (or even my clown shoes), but that I was braving the elements in what may be the cutest shoes ever. Snow boots are for sissies people! True mountain women wear cute Converse sneakers and laugh at Jack Frost. Ha! Ha!
So here's my new shoes:
My first pair of Chuck Taylor All Stars...ever. I'm very proud. And they are so darned cute that I don't want to take them off. Plus I got the coveted Teenager Seal of Approval so I know for a fact that I'm COOL.
So anyway, today we got a little snow. The first decent snow we've had this year, but only about an inch or so. I took Nat to school and proudly slogged through the slush in my new shoes, hoping everyone would notice that I wasn't wearing big clunky snow boots (or even my clown shoes), but that I was braving the elements in what may be the cutest shoes ever. Snow boots are for sissies people! True mountain women wear cute Converse sneakers and laugh at Jack Frost. Ha! Ha!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sleeping In Your Clothes is Not a Good Sign
Last night I read to the girls on my bed, their daddy shuttled them off to their room and then after some tv, I pulled the covers up over my fully-clothed body and went to sleep. I had on socks, jeans, a belt, a long sleeved shirt, and a light jacket. When I woke up I realized that sleeping in your clothes is not a good sign, although it's very convenient to be fully dressed already! (Just kidding people!)
So, I began to think of what might have triggered my lapse in bed etiquette. What I came up with is that I have been feeling completely overwhelmed lately. I narrowed it down to Christmas and daycare taking a toll on my sanity.
I've had my boxes of Christmas decorations sitting in my dining room for 6 days. I did finally manage to finish decorating the tree---yesterday. I counted 15 boxes of stuff. Sis has her snow globe collection, and Cam has his lighted Christmas villages, and then there's umpteen other decorations. I usually do the whole village scene and do 3 mini trees (in addition to the regular one), one of mini ornaments, one of husband's fishing Santas ornaments and one of Cam's Star Wars ornaments. Even though the kids have lots of their own ornaments and decorations, the bulk of decorating and all of the putting away falls on me.
I kept looking at the boxes, and looking at my messy house, and thinking about all the work of decorating, and then anticipating the undecorating and decided, "I ain't gonna do it this year!" I got the kids' special ornaments on the tree, the decorations that they love to play with out, the nativity scenes out, and called it good. I felt so much better after I made that decision!
It seems with daycare my house is in a constant state of chaos, and is always, always a mess. Even when I have the kids pick up and put away, they only do it half-heartedly and someone is always coming right behind them messing things up again. Again the bulk of putting away and keeping stuff organized falls on me.
It is driving me out of my mind, and apparently making me feel so overwhelmed that even changing into pajamas was just too much more to do in a day. I can take a hint. Time to slow down, and re-evaluate.
Cutting back on the Christmas stress has helped, and I am starting to look for another job. I am looking into working at the Indian casino in the next county. Even part-timers get full benefits, but right now the hour long commute each way sounds like a daily 2-hour vacation to me! Where do I sign up? Yeah, I definitely need a change!
So, I began to think of what might have triggered my lapse in bed etiquette. What I came up with is that I have been feeling completely overwhelmed lately. I narrowed it down to Christmas and daycare taking a toll on my sanity.
I've had my boxes of Christmas decorations sitting in my dining room for 6 days. I did finally manage to finish decorating the tree---yesterday. I counted 15 boxes of stuff. Sis has her snow globe collection, and Cam has his lighted Christmas villages, and then there's umpteen other decorations. I usually do the whole village scene and do 3 mini trees (in addition to the regular one), one of mini ornaments, one of husband's fishing Santas ornaments and one of Cam's Star Wars ornaments. Even though the kids have lots of their own ornaments and decorations, the bulk of decorating and all of the putting away falls on me.
I kept looking at the boxes, and looking at my messy house, and thinking about all the work of decorating, and then anticipating the undecorating and decided, "I ain't gonna do it this year!" I got the kids' special ornaments on the tree, the decorations that they love to play with out, the nativity scenes out, and called it good. I felt so much better after I made that decision!
It seems with daycare my house is in a constant state of chaos, and is always, always a mess. Even when I have the kids pick up and put away, they only do it half-heartedly and someone is always coming right behind them messing things up again. Again the bulk of putting away and keeping stuff organized falls on me.
It is driving me out of my mind, and apparently making me feel so overwhelmed that even changing into pajamas was just too much more to do in a day. I can take a hint. Time to slow down, and re-evaluate.
Cutting back on the Christmas stress has helped, and I am starting to look for another job. I am looking into working at the Indian casino in the next county. Even part-timers get full benefits, but right now the hour long commute each way sounds like a daily 2-hour vacation to me! Where do I sign up? Yeah, I definitely need a change!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
My Thermostat is Broken
I'm freezing. My husband is toasty. I sleep in full flannel jammies under our comforter and an extra blanket that is only on my side of the bed. My husband sleeps in his undies with the sheet over him. My favorite number on the thermostat is 74, his is 67.
It's starting already. Every year we go through this. Me being cold, him being warm, me sneaking the thermostat up, him complaining and plunging it back down to indoor refrigeration temperatures.
I can't help it if I'm always cold. Heck, I even wear sweaters and long sleeves in the summer. It's not easy being constantly chilly. I wish I could get some sympathy around here.
My favorite thing is to be alone in the car and to crank the heat up to scorch. It's like driving around in my own personal sauna. It's all the better if the sun is shining directly in on me. Maybe I'm some sort of reptilian freak that needs the warmth of the sun to function.
It's really not even winter yet, and it's been unseasonably warm around here, but you'll still find me in at least 2 layers. Around the house. When winter arrives it will be my standard 3 layers for indoor comfort. You'll also find me in my usual spot. Perched right in front of our heater so that I can absorb as much hot air as possible as it blows out.
Yes, being me in the winter isn't easy. I really think my inner thermostat must be broken. Brrrrrr. Going to get my flannels on now and curl up in a ball under the blankies!
It's starting already. Every year we go through this. Me being cold, him being warm, me sneaking the thermostat up, him complaining and plunging it back down to indoor refrigeration temperatures.
I can't help it if I'm always cold. Heck, I even wear sweaters and long sleeves in the summer. It's not easy being constantly chilly. I wish I could get some sympathy around here.
My favorite thing is to be alone in the car and to crank the heat up to scorch. It's like driving around in my own personal sauna. It's all the better if the sun is shining directly in on me. Maybe I'm some sort of reptilian freak that needs the warmth of the sun to function.
It's really not even winter yet, and it's been unseasonably warm around here, but you'll still find me in at least 2 layers. Around the house. When winter arrives it will be my standard 3 layers for indoor comfort. You'll also find me in my usual spot. Perched right in front of our heater so that I can absorb as much hot air as possible as it blows out.
Yes, being me in the winter isn't easy. I really think my inner thermostat must be broken. Brrrrrr. Going to get my flannels on now and curl up in a ball under the blankies!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Road Kill
Road Kill. I know, kind of a weird topic, but it's been on my mind because we had a dead deer near our house. Someone had hit a deer Tuesday night just a few houses away so that I had the unfortunate view of it from my kitchen window. And I do get the irony of this post following the one about Bambi.
On Wednesday morning we discovered it as did our dogs. It was interesting to see the dogs slowly circling it at first with their fur standing at attention. They really were unsure about it and wondering if it still may jump up at any moment and kick their butts. After much circling, they finally inched in to have a sniff. Once they realized that the deer was not going to move then they went over and over it with a fine-toothed nose. I'm sure it must've been fascinating for them to get an up close smell, since usually they only get within barking distance of deer.
Our younger dog, Suey, eventually just sat near it. She would get up and sniff once in a while and then just sit and whine a little. It was almost as if she was waiting for someone to come do something. The guy who is building next door, said it made him sad to see her sitting there crying. I don't know if she is capable of feeling sympathy for the deer or if she was simply just a bit confused by the whole event.
As soon as the kids got off the bus they spotted it and went tearing over to examine it. You'd have thought someone dropped a carnival ride off on the street with all their enthusiastic yelling and running. I could definitely see the similarities between them and the dogs. They were anxious and unsure at first, but then interested in looking at a deer so close up. They got to see the texture of it's fur, its antlers (it was a small buck), and it's hooves. It was a pretty clean road kill, thankfully, but there was still lots of "eeeewww" and "gross" and "yuck" to be heard.
Like little CSI detectives, there was much to be learned by observing the deer. Nat came back and said, "Mom do you know how big deer poop is?" and went on to give me the details of deer excrement circumferences.
The day before this the kids had found a dead bat which they examined with the same zeal. It's funny how excited they get about being able to see an animal up close and personal. Because of our cats, we often have dead birds and mice in our yard and the kids like to have little funerals for them and make little head stones out of a scraps of wood.
Some time ago we had a skunk road kill that the kids found equally fascinating. With the skunk, I hesitated a bit to let the kids go check it out. I mean what would my daycare kids' parents think when they were told they had an outing to go see road kill? But like the deer it wasn't a mess, so I thought what the heck. The stinky skunk smell kind of added to the excitement of that one, and I even went and looked at it with them. Skunks really do have cute little faces.
While it's sad to see one of our forest creatures, and especially Bambi, dead on the road, I think the kids actually learn a lot from it. I think I may even have a great idea for a new business: Lesley's Daycare and Road Kill Expeditions. What do ya think?
On Wednesday morning we discovered it as did our dogs. It was interesting to see the dogs slowly circling it at first with their fur standing at attention. They really were unsure about it and wondering if it still may jump up at any moment and kick their butts. After much circling, they finally inched in to have a sniff. Once they realized that the deer was not going to move then they went over and over it with a fine-toothed nose. I'm sure it must've been fascinating for them to get an up close smell, since usually they only get within barking distance of deer.
Our younger dog, Suey, eventually just sat near it. She would get up and sniff once in a while and then just sit and whine a little. It was almost as if she was waiting for someone to come do something. The guy who is building next door, said it made him sad to see her sitting there crying. I don't know if she is capable of feeling sympathy for the deer or if she was simply just a bit confused by the whole event.
As soon as the kids got off the bus they spotted it and went tearing over to examine it. You'd have thought someone dropped a carnival ride off on the street with all their enthusiastic yelling and running. I could definitely see the similarities between them and the dogs. They were anxious and unsure at first, but then interested in looking at a deer so close up. They got to see the texture of it's fur, its antlers (it was a small buck), and it's hooves. It was a pretty clean road kill, thankfully, but there was still lots of "eeeewww" and "gross" and "yuck" to be heard.
Like little CSI detectives, there was much to be learned by observing the deer. Nat came back and said, "Mom do you know how big deer poop is?" and went on to give me the details of deer excrement circumferences.
The day before this the kids had found a dead bat which they examined with the same zeal. It's funny how excited they get about being able to see an animal up close and personal. Because of our cats, we often have dead birds and mice in our yard and the kids like to have little funerals for them and make little head stones out of a scraps of wood.
Some time ago we had a skunk road kill that the kids found equally fascinating. With the skunk, I hesitated a bit to let the kids go check it out. I mean what would my daycare kids' parents think when they were told they had an outing to go see road kill? But like the deer it wasn't a mess, so I thought what the heck. The stinky skunk smell kind of added to the excitement of that one, and I even went and looked at it with them. Skunks really do have cute little faces.
While it's sad to see one of our forest creatures, and especially Bambi, dead on the road, I think the kids actually learn a lot from it. I think I may even have a great idea for a new business: Lesley's Daycare and Road Kill Expeditions. What do ya think?
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