Yesterday wasn't the best of days for me. At least it didn't start that way. I had a lot on my plate and an itchy, numb, spider bit hand. My annual observation was scheduled, and it was supposed to be horrible weather. Well, it all turned out all right. I ended up not taking the benadryl, I just used cream. I really needed to be awake when the principal observed. It went pretty well. I got some really good feed back, and some areas to improve upon. She said I need to be more detail oriented. Well that is no surprise to anyone who knows me. I am totally NOT a detail person. I have always been a big picture, let the chips fall where they may sort of person. She was right though, I do need to be more detailed in my planning for my classroom. I will be moving grade levels again next year, so I will be learning a whole new curriculum again. It will be really important to focus on the details when I plan. I volunteered for the move, there are 4 second grades at my school and 6 third grades. I may not be a detail person, and math isn't my best subject but I can figure that math out. Someone is going to need to move. We also have 5 first grade classes and 5 fourth grade classes right now. In any case, there will be some shifting in our building. I wanted to have some sense of control (you know me, I have to be in control) of what I was doing. I wanted to know early where I would be. Switching in August was not easy for me. Thankfully I have been blessed with the most amazing team of coworkers anyone could ask for. They have helped me all year and made the transition so much better for me. Now it is just a little while till I find out where I will be next year. Oh, and I am sure I will get to relocate my classroom yet again- That will make 4 moves in 2 years. I am getting to know lots of new parts of the school building this way!
The spider bite is much better. My hand has been hurting but it finally dawned on me that in my panic to get the spider off my hand (even though it was thouroughly smashed at that point) I whacked it on the garbage can. I think I bruised it and that is why it is sore. It isn't red, itchy, swollen, or anything else but sort of sore. I am a total mess about bugs and I tried to be calm, but I really freaked out about it. In any case I think that it is good.
Belle did get to Med Express. She was diagnosed with a mild case of pink eye and given drops. They do not offer frequent flyer miles, but they do recognize us when we come in now. I am not sure if that is good or bad.
Moose said his knee was better last night. We got his FAFSA and financial aid app. for VMI finished and turned in. Not that it matters, according to the government I can afford to pay $35,000 a year for tuition. I guess they don't think we need to eat, wear clothes, or pay the mortgage. Thankfully he will qualify for a small loan and we are still holding out hope for some football scholarship money.
I did have somewhat of a repeat of last week where I got excited about tomorrow being Thursday and then realized that today is only Tuesday so I have a ways to go. I don't know why I do that every week now. I also thought that it was going to April tomorrow, that doesn't happen until Friday. I am dreading Friday, it is the last school day before Spring Break, it is April Fool's Day, and the Librarian told me my class all wanted to check out books about pranks and practical jokes. I think I am in trouble. If I had any sick leave left I would call in sick, but the flu and all of Belle's appointments this year have wiped it out. Think of me and wish me luck. Maybe I need to think of a really good prank for them. Google here I come!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
I Really Hate Mondays!
Well Monday has rolled around again. As usual it is starting off with a bang. Here is my list of Monday issues this week:
*At the rink this morning I stuck my hand in my sweater pocket. I felt a piece of lint so pulled it out and started to roll it up to throw it away only to realize that it was not lint but a spider. The spider didn't really like this way of being greeted so returned the favor with a bite. Now my finger is itchy and burning and sometimes it gets sort of numb. Time for Benadryl (or instant zombie inducer).
* I don't have any Bendadryl. I stopped by the Super K-Mart next to the rink to get some. They don't open until 8 AM now. I guess the 24 hour Wal-Mart a block away finally has taken a toll.
* I had to go to the Wal-Mart. I hate Wal-Mart at any hour!
* Belle thinks she has pink eye. She wants to go to Med Express! Does anyone know if Med Express offers frequent flyer miles?
*Peter Pan had a minor fender bender on his way to work. His foot slipped off the brake and he bumped the car in front of him. It was Belle's cross country coach. There was no damage to her car so that was good, but he is having a bad morning too and he is very cranky now.
*Moose called Saturday. He wanted money. He hyper extended his knee at practice and missed lunch icing it. Of course now he needed to go and get food (I love that a full meal plan still isn't enough food for this kid). When I pressed further about the knee I was told to calm down and that I always over react and panic. I asked Peter Pan if sounded like I was being wild or over reacting? I just wanted to know what was up. Peter Pan agreed (possibly just to humor me) that I was normal. Once Moose was satisfied that he had money he couldn't hang up fast enough.
* While I am on Saturday issues (I realize I said Monday, but these couple of things are still nagging at me!) how come I spent over an hour on my taxes and then closed it all without saving. Yep, it is all gone, I get to start all over again!
*I asked the principal to come and observe my class this morning at 10:15. What was I thinking? Monday morning?
* There are supposed to be snow showers off and on all morning, there will almost certainly be one while the principal is observing. Have you ever seen a roomful of third graders when snow starts falling? It is not a pretty sight.
* Why is it snowing at the end of March? I want it to be spring. I want to wear short sleeves and capris. I don't want to wear this lovely sweater with a spider in the pocket!
Maybe the problem really isn't Monday at all, maybe it is just my attitude on Monday mornings. Hmmmm, I am going to think about that for a minute or two until the Benadryl knocks me out. Happy Monday!
*At the rink this morning I stuck my hand in my sweater pocket. I felt a piece of lint so pulled it out and started to roll it up to throw it away only to realize that it was not lint but a spider. The spider didn't really like this way of being greeted so returned the favor with a bite. Now my finger is itchy and burning and sometimes it gets sort of numb. Time for Benadryl (or instant zombie inducer).
* I don't have any Bendadryl. I stopped by the Super K-Mart next to the rink to get some. They don't open until 8 AM now. I guess the 24 hour Wal-Mart a block away finally has taken a toll.
* I had to go to the Wal-Mart. I hate Wal-Mart at any hour!
* Belle thinks she has pink eye. She wants to go to Med Express! Does anyone know if Med Express offers frequent flyer miles?
*Peter Pan had a minor fender bender on his way to work. His foot slipped off the brake and he bumped the car in front of him. It was Belle's cross country coach. There was no damage to her car so that was good, but he is having a bad morning too and he is very cranky now.
*Moose called Saturday. He wanted money. He hyper extended his knee at practice and missed lunch icing it. Of course now he needed to go and get food (I love that a full meal plan still isn't enough food for this kid). When I pressed further about the knee I was told to calm down and that I always over react and panic. I asked Peter Pan if sounded like I was being wild or over reacting? I just wanted to know what was up. Peter Pan agreed (possibly just to humor me) that I was normal. Once Moose was satisfied that he had money he couldn't hang up fast enough.
* While I am on Saturday issues (I realize I said Monday, but these couple of things are still nagging at me!) how come I spent over an hour on my taxes and then closed it all without saving. Yep, it is all gone, I get to start all over again!
*I asked the principal to come and observe my class this morning at 10:15. What was I thinking? Monday morning?
* There are supposed to be snow showers off and on all morning, there will almost certainly be one while the principal is observing. Have you ever seen a roomful of third graders when snow starts falling? It is not a pretty sight.
* Why is it snowing at the end of March? I want it to be spring. I want to wear short sleeves and capris. I don't want to wear this lovely sweater with a spider in the pocket!
Maybe the problem really isn't Monday at all, maybe it is just my attitude on Monday mornings. Hmmmm, I am going to think about that for a minute or two until the Benadryl knocks me out. Happy Monday!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Career Day, or What I Want to Be When I Grow Up
We had career day at school this week. It is always an interesting afternoon of hearing about how other people fill their lives with work and satisfaction. Typically the presenters are parents of students in our school, but there are usually a couple of other people who just volunteer their time to help out. We had some really fascinating jobs this year. Maybe I am just getting older, but a lot of the careers sounded really intriguing to me. Of course when I really think about it, I love what I do. I was meant to teach. It is in my genes. I think what caught my attention with each presenter was their passion for their career. I don't actually want to go back to school and change professions, I really don't want to be a pharmacist, analyst, dj, scientist, or therapist. What was fascinating was how much each presenter loved their job. One presenter actually said that "if you have a job that pays the bills, you like, and you are good at you have found your dream job!" Thanks Martha!
Of course I also spent a lot of time thinking about my family members on career day. Peter Pan may not have a job after April, we are waiting to see who the new company hires to fill the contract and it looks like only 2 of the 3 contractors are going to be hired. I have always said he would be a great Wal-Mart greeter, now he may get the chance. I am hopeful he will be one of the 2, but he has the least seniority so if that is the decision maker we are in trouble. On the upside he is more qualified, and he is an amazing instructor! So who knows. This is one of those times when I have to toss it up to God and let it go! However, I will be having a long chat with Belle and Moose about the difference between NEEDS and WANTS! That is a whole other blog!
Moose is actually in the process of changing majors. I don't think he has a clue what he wants to do. He went about choosing school in a backwards fashion, he chose the best football team he could play for and then went from there. He didn't consider what to major in until he was at VMI, which is an amazing school, but has a more limited range of majors. He has been there for 8 months and has already been through about 6 different career options. One of the great things about VMI is that you can directly commission into the military. Sadly, Moose is in Air Force ROTC and has recently found out that he is too large to commission in the Air Force. How wierd is that? He is thinking about switching to Army, but all his friends are in Air Force ROTC. Oh to be 19 and make decisions that way. In December he told me he wanted to be a detective. The child can't find his glasses on his face, the milk carton in the fridge, or his shoes on the floor in front of him. How could he ever be a detective? He argued he could find all that stuff if he wanted to pay attention and look for it, it is easier to ask me to do it!
Belle is sort of all over the map, she wants to coach skating, own a restaurant, be a chef, be a trainer, who knows. It changes from year to year. She is also looking at colleges in rather a backward fashion- where is there a good rink? What school is near there? This is not normal. I thought you were supposed to have a career in mind, then choose the best school you could get into and afford to achieve that career goal. To be honest, Belle will probably make more money coaching skating. Maybe she doesn't need college? She wants college, and I want her to have college! I personally bet she will end up in education. I don't think she will be able to help herself. She is amazing with children. She is patient and calm. She is firm and fair. She has been babysitting since she was 11, she works with special needs children, she teaches skating to tots. She just doesn't realize that she is going to teach. She swears she won't. So did I when I was in high school. I was going to change the world, I was going to be a politician! Hahaha! Well, I think I do impact the world, just in teeny, tiny increments. Each time I help someone figure out how to divide or draw conclusions, or even just to treat others the way you want to be treated.
Moose and Belle will find their path. It may not involve the NFL or the Olympics. In fact, I am pretty certain it won't. It may not even relate to sports. They will be amazing and find their greatness at whatever they choose to do!
Of course I also spent a lot of time thinking about my family members on career day. Peter Pan may not have a job after April, we are waiting to see who the new company hires to fill the contract and it looks like only 2 of the 3 contractors are going to be hired. I have always said he would be a great Wal-Mart greeter, now he may get the chance. I am hopeful he will be one of the 2, but he has the least seniority so if that is the decision maker we are in trouble. On the upside he is more qualified, and he is an amazing instructor! So who knows. This is one of those times when I have to toss it up to God and let it go! However, I will be having a long chat with Belle and Moose about the difference between NEEDS and WANTS! That is a whole other blog!
Moose is actually in the process of changing majors. I don't think he has a clue what he wants to do. He went about choosing school in a backwards fashion, he chose the best football team he could play for and then went from there. He didn't consider what to major in until he was at VMI, which is an amazing school, but has a more limited range of majors. He has been there for 8 months and has already been through about 6 different career options. One of the great things about VMI is that you can directly commission into the military. Sadly, Moose is in Air Force ROTC and has recently found out that he is too large to commission in the Air Force. How wierd is that? He is thinking about switching to Army, but all his friends are in Air Force ROTC. Oh to be 19 and make decisions that way. In December he told me he wanted to be a detective. The child can't find his glasses on his face, the milk carton in the fridge, or his shoes on the floor in front of him. How could he ever be a detective? He argued he could find all that stuff if he wanted to pay attention and look for it, it is easier to ask me to do it!
Belle is sort of all over the map, she wants to coach skating, own a restaurant, be a chef, be a trainer, who knows. It changes from year to year. She is also looking at colleges in rather a backward fashion- where is there a good rink? What school is near there? This is not normal. I thought you were supposed to have a career in mind, then choose the best school you could get into and afford to achieve that career goal. To be honest, Belle will probably make more money coaching skating. Maybe she doesn't need college? She wants college, and I want her to have college! I personally bet she will end up in education. I don't think she will be able to help herself. She is amazing with children. She is patient and calm. She is firm and fair. She has been babysitting since she was 11, she works with special needs children, she teaches skating to tots. She just doesn't realize that she is going to teach. She swears she won't. So did I when I was in high school. I was going to change the world, I was going to be a politician! Hahaha! Well, I think I do impact the world, just in teeny, tiny increments. Each time I help someone figure out how to divide or draw conclusions, or even just to treat others the way you want to be treated.
Moose and Belle will find their path. It may not involve the NFL or the Olympics. In fact, I am pretty certain it won't. It may not even relate to sports. They will be amazing and find their greatness at whatever they choose to do!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
It Should Definitely Be Friday Now!
Just a short postscript to yesterdays post. I did get to bed early. I fell asleep in record time- I would try and tell how fast, but I remember laying down, setting the alarm, telling my husband to stop talking I was tired, and then the alarm was going off. I was absolutely sure I had somehow set it wrong, but no, it was time to be up. I had an early morning chug of diet coke- which I NEVER do. Then headed to the rink where I had 2 more cups of coffee. I was starting to feel somewhat human. The only thing I can compare the way I felt to was a hangover. I had a headache, I was tired, and I was way cranky. I finally got one more giant diet coke on my way to work and by about 8:30 things were coming into focus. Still, it was a really long day.
Since I am writing, I have decided that my family needs names beyond, son, daughter, and husband. To that end I am rechristening them as follows: my son will now be known as Moose, my daughter as Belle, and my husband is Peter Pan (if you actually know him you know that is true of him, the boy who would never grow up.) I don't know or care if they like these new names, but it will make writing a little easier. I am always nicknaming people/pets anyway. I drive them all crazy. I never call the dogs by their names. I have all sorts of nicknames for them. Lately I have taken to calling the little one by various villains names. This is greatly amusing to my students. They will ask me, what is your dog's name this week. She has been called Satan, Tillly Pox (I made that up, don't ask how or why I don't know), Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange (I was reading a Harry Potter book those couple of weeks), Satie (short for Satan), and this week I am calling her Darth Vader. It is actually sort of hard to find appropriate villain names for her. I have given the job to my class for the duration of the year. Someone suggested Cruella DeVille, but that seems a little ironic. In any case it makes Belle crazy. She just doesn't get the humor in it.
They forget that they have all sorts of wierd nicknames too like "Ickle" and "Potato". Moose was actually Boo Boo for many years. We tried to get him to nickname Belle "Kiki" after she was born but he kept calling her "Kika" it sounded wierd and never really caught on. It makes my husband a little batty too, he thinks I am nuts. I don't care. It is a small bit of humor and happiness in my day. He is lucky he ended up with Peter Pan in here- there were other options...
Since I am writing, I have decided that my family needs names beyond, son, daughter, and husband. To that end I am rechristening them as follows: my son will now be known as Moose, my daughter as Belle, and my husband is Peter Pan (if you actually know him you know that is true of him, the boy who would never grow up.) I don't know or care if they like these new names, but it will make writing a little easier. I am always nicknaming people/pets anyway. I drive them all crazy. I never call the dogs by their names. I have all sorts of nicknames for them. Lately I have taken to calling the little one by various villains names. This is greatly amusing to my students. They will ask me, what is your dog's name this week. She has been called Satan, Tillly Pox (I made that up, don't ask how or why I don't know), Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange (I was reading a Harry Potter book those couple of weeks), Satie (short for Satan), and this week I am calling her Darth Vader. It is actually sort of hard to find appropriate villain names for her. I have given the job to my class for the duration of the year. Someone suggested Cruella DeVille, but that seems a little ironic. In any case it makes Belle crazy. She just doesn't get the humor in it.
They forget that they have all sorts of wierd nicknames too like "Ickle" and "Potato". Moose was actually Boo Boo for many years. We tried to get him to nickname Belle "Kiki" after she was born but he kept calling her "Kika" it sounded wierd and never really caught on. It makes my husband a little batty too, he thinks I am nuts. I don't care. It is a small bit of humor and happiness in my day. He is lucky he ended up with Peter Pan in here- there were other options...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Is it Friday Yet?
I am exhausted, completely exhausted. I was eating my dinner of leftover pasta and thinking I can make it through one more work day, when it dawned on me that it is only Tuesday, it isn't Thursday! Wow, I was devastated. Let me back track a little...
Yesterday was mostly good, annoyances aside, it ran pretty smoothly for the most part. I had to take #1 son back to VMI and I didn't leave until around 4:00. The drive there was nice, I was a little tired so I got a peppermint mocha, and a "Venti, unsweetened black ice tea" which pretty much got me to Waynesboro where the boys (I was driving a couple other guys back as well) were ready for dinner. One Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and large Diet Coke later plus a lot of food for my son and we were back on the road. I want to state for the record that I advised against the chipotle bbq wings, but he didn't listen. We didn't get 5 minutes from the Wendy's when he had spilled the bbq sauce all over his uniform. What a mess. At least it was his grey uniform, not his white pants. I finally dropped the boys off, got ready to leave and realized I still had my sons phone charger in the car with me. It took a couple of tries but I managed to get him back down to pick it up. By now it was after 8:00 and it was very dark and VERY stormy. The lightning was beautiful, but it wasn't the best for driving. I tried to talk to my Mom, but had to hang up quickly because the weather was so bad.
Right after I got back over the mountain I realized that of course I had to go to the bathroom, I needed gas, and I was out of diet coke. Well, I made it just past Charlottesville, and made a stop for all three. Just in time for the first two I have to add, but all was well. I called my husband and he was shocked that at 9:30 I was still over 2 hours away. I told him I was staying caffeinated and felt good. It dawned on me that I might be sorry when I got home, but I still needed to be awake to drive. He assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. I don't trust him- he once drank 2 super big gulps of Mt. Dew on an overnight drive to Atlanta and didn't sleep for 3 days, what does he know.
Back to the highway, I cranked up the classic rock station on my radio, and drove. Radar Love is a great driving song. There was mist on the highway, lightning was zigzagging across the sky. It was all sort of apocalyptic, but I was awake. I made it home by 11:45, got into bed, and stared at the clock. The caffeine did me in after all. I don't know when I went to sleep, but I got up at 5:50. I was good until about 4:30 this afternoon and then I decided I was done. I am blowing off the meeting I was supposed to be at- snoring in public is never good. My poor little girl that I tutor on Tuesdays was very tolerant of the repeated yawns and eye rubbing. We played a lot of phonics cards games today- I had to so I could be awake!
It is almost 7:30, #1 daughter is just making her dinner, the dogs are fed, and I am in my PJ's ready for bed. I think I will be asleep by 8:00, or at least I hope I will. Tomorrow is another busy day, and it starts at 4:00 AM so I need my sleep.
On a really happy note, however, #1 daughter is now allowed to start light running again. She ran for 3 minutes on the treadmill at physical therapy last week. This is a huge breakthrough. She has also started to jump again. Monday it was singles only, but today she threw a few doubles out there. Nothing was great she said, but she was able to do most of them. The stupid double flip is very tentative and will need working on again! I wonder how much I have paid for that stupid jump! But, doubles are a step in the right direction.
#1 son starts spring football practice on Thursday and is looking forward to showing his stuff. He is really motivated! We will be going up to watch him scrimmage several times in April. I will keep you posted as to his progress!
Yesterday was mostly good, annoyances aside, it ran pretty smoothly for the most part. I had to take #1 son back to VMI and I didn't leave until around 4:00. The drive there was nice, I was a little tired so I got a peppermint mocha, and a "Venti, unsweetened black ice tea" which pretty much got me to Waynesboro where the boys (I was driving a couple other guys back as well) were ready for dinner. One Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and large Diet Coke later plus a lot of food for my son and we were back on the road. I want to state for the record that I advised against the chipotle bbq wings, but he didn't listen. We didn't get 5 minutes from the Wendy's when he had spilled the bbq sauce all over his uniform. What a mess. At least it was his grey uniform, not his white pants. I finally dropped the boys off, got ready to leave and realized I still had my sons phone charger in the car with me. It took a couple of tries but I managed to get him back down to pick it up. By now it was after 8:00 and it was very dark and VERY stormy. The lightning was beautiful, but it wasn't the best for driving. I tried to talk to my Mom, but had to hang up quickly because the weather was so bad.
Right after I got back over the mountain I realized that of course I had to go to the bathroom, I needed gas, and I was out of diet coke. Well, I made it just past Charlottesville, and made a stop for all three. Just in time for the first two I have to add, but all was well. I called my husband and he was shocked that at 9:30 I was still over 2 hours away. I told him I was staying caffeinated and felt good. It dawned on me that I might be sorry when I got home, but I still needed to be awake to drive. He assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. I don't trust him- he once drank 2 super big gulps of Mt. Dew on an overnight drive to Atlanta and didn't sleep for 3 days, what does he know.
Back to the highway, I cranked up the classic rock station on my radio, and drove. Radar Love is a great driving song. There was mist on the highway, lightning was zigzagging across the sky. It was all sort of apocalyptic, but I was awake. I made it home by 11:45, got into bed, and stared at the clock. The caffeine did me in after all. I don't know when I went to sleep, but I got up at 5:50. I was good until about 4:30 this afternoon and then I decided I was done. I am blowing off the meeting I was supposed to be at- snoring in public is never good. My poor little girl that I tutor on Tuesdays was very tolerant of the repeated yawns and eye rubbing. We played a lot of phonics cards games today- I had to so I could be awake!
It is almost 7:30, #1 daughter is just making her dinner, the dogs are fed, and I am in my PJ's ready for bed. I think I will be asleep by 8:00, or at least I hope I will. Tomorrow is another busy day, and it starts at 4:00 AM so I need my sleep.
On a really happy note, however, #1 daughter is now allowed to start light running again. She ran for 3 minutes on the treadmill at physical therapy last week. This is a huge breakthrough. She has also started to jump again. Monday it was singles only, but today she threw a few doubles out there. Nothing was great she said, but she was able to do most of them. The stupid double flip is very tentative and will need working on again! I wonder how much I have paid for that stupid jump! But, doubles are a step in the right direction.
#1 son starts spring football practice on Thursday and is looking forward to showing his stuff. He is really motivated! We will be going up to watch him scrimmage several times in April. I will keep you posted as to his progress!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Annoyances
It's Monday morning. I am not a Monday morning person, so I am sure that is why I am easily annoyed right now. Having said that here is a list of my grievances:
*VMI always ends its furloughs (breaks to us normal people) on Mondays. Don't they know that people have to work on Mondays? This means that either my husband or I have to work all day and then drive a 6-7 hour round trip to get our son back to school. It is a pain!
*My son didn't wake me up when he came in last night. I trust him, I know he needs/wants to go out with his buddies. All I ask, and I ask it repeatedly, is that he wake me up to let me know he is home safe. There is nothing worse than waking up at 3:22 and not knowing if your child is home or not. I got him back this time, I went in at 3:22 and woke him up!
*Why do I always get stuck behind a school bus on the last quarter mile before my turn?!
*If Zuca bags (my daughter has this sort of bag for her skates) are supposed to be so amazing how do we keep breaking them? And why do I still have this broken one? And how come it snagged my sweater this morning?
*Why is it cloudy and 48 degrees this morning? It is Spring for goodness sake. Bring on the warm weather.
*Who turned the magnets upside down on my car?
*Why did I email the Mom whose blog mentioned a partnerless skater at her rink? Am I that crazy and desperate? Apparently yes!
* Why did I schedule a parent conference for 8:00 this morning? Am I insane? And knowing that I have this conference at 8:00 why am I still at home now sitting on the computer?
* Why does the dumb dachshund have to hide on the heater when it is time to put her in the crate? Doesn't she know my knees are really old?
So that is what is bothering me this morning. I have to tell you though that even with all that I noticed the most beautiful bed of daffodils on my way home from the rink this morning. There were white and yellow blossoms all mixed together. The trees are all blossoming. The birds are chirping. It may be a beautiful day after all!
*VMI always ends its furloughs (breaks to us normal people) on Mondays. Don't they know that people have to work on Mondays? This means that either my husband or I have to work all day and then drive a 6-7 hour round trip to get our son back to school. It is a pain!
*My son didn't wake me up when he came in last night. I trust him, I know he needs/wants to go out with his buddies. All I ask, and I ask it repeatedly, is that he wake me up to let me know he is home safe. There is nothing worse than waking up at 3:22 and not knowing if your child is home or not. I got him back this time, I went in at 3:22 and woke him up!
*Why do I always get stuck behind a school bus on the last quarter mile before my turn?!
*If Zuca bags (my daughter has this sort of bag for her skates) are supposed to be so amazing how do we keep breaking them? And why do I still have this broken one? And how come it snagged my sweater this morning?
*Why is it cloudy and 48 degrees this morning? It is Spring for goodness sake. Bring on the warm weather.
*Who turned the magnets upside down on my car?
*Why did I email the Mom whose blog mentioned a partnerless skater at her rink? Am I that crazy and desperate? Apparently yes!
* Why did I schedule a parent conference for 8:00 this morning? Am I insane? And knowing that I have this conference at 8:00 why am I still at home now sitting on the computer?
* Why does the dumb dachshund have to hide on the heater when it is time to put her in the crate? Doesn't she know my knees are really old?
So that is what is bothering me this morning. I have to tell you though that even with all that I noticed the most beautiful bed of daffodils on my way home from the rink this morning. There were white and yellow blossoms all mixed together. The trees are all blossoming. The birds are chirping. It may be a beautiful day after all!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Are You Kidding? Apparently Not.
It seems like these conversations all start innocently enough. Mom, can I borrow/have/get _________. I need it for __________. We have all had them with our kids, over and over again. Most of the requests are innocent enough and usually we are able to help them out. Sometimes they are ridiculous (as in can I take the car for the weekend and go to the beach, or my personal favorite will you give me money for a hotel room) and we decline then laugh behind their backs. It seemed like my entire day yesterday was filled with requests of one kind or another. I was trying to clean the sofa and the carpet (thanks to my daughter's naughty, stinky dachshund), and it seemed like I was just spinning my wheels. I did understand the requests for food, I guess that is sort of my responsibility. However, they are old enough to feed themselves. As the day continued it just seemed to get wierder and wierder. Some were just unusual/wierd (in that they don't normally occur at our house) and others I will admit were downright bizarre! Here are a couple of examples- "Mom I need that passport/wallet that goes around my waist for my trip!" "Mom I need more juice!" (He got to go to Food Lion himself for that one.) "Mom, the dog stinks and needs a bath! Her hair looks stupid too, she needs a haircut!" "Mom where are the q-tips?" "Mom, remember last time I was home and I stuck the q-tip to far in my ear and got the wax stuck and couldn't hear? I did it again. I need to go to Med Express!" and the wierdest of all- "Mom will you shave my back?" You heard me right, he wanted his back shaved. Ewwwwwww! Why? However, since the bright boy had already attempted to do it himself, resulting in some lovely cuts, I took pity and helped him out. After all the dog needed a buzz cut too. So, I did get the rug and sofa cleaned, the dog got a buzz cut and bath (she only has a couple of bald spots), and the boy got his back shaved. I wonder what today will bring? Since we have started with "Mom, I just saw there was a bug in my cereal! I was eating it!" I am not holding out a lot of hope.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Milk, Milk, More Milk, Oh and the Tryout
My son is home for spring break this week. I had forgotten what it costs to feed him! I spent more at the grocery store last weekend for his week of food than I normally spend in a month without him! I can't believe what he will consume! Last night he ate 2 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese! At first he said he wanted a grilled cheese sandwich with it, but I told him to see if he wanted the sandwich after the double serving of Mac and Cheese. And then there is the milk. During a normal week my husband, daughter and I may finish a 1/2 gallon or so. I am on the third gallon since Sunday and I think he is the main consumer. He gets these enormous plastic cups I have (I use them for ice water) and fills them with chocolate milk. This week he has decided he has to have Nesquik, which he adds by the 1/4 cupful. "It's sugarfree Nesquik Mom" is his healthy reasoning! I am sorry that it is almost time for him to go back to school, but my wallet is ready for a break.
I promised updates about the partner tryout. I will start off by saying it was a really good experience! I mean that sincerely, but having said that it was not the easiest of experiences. It was apparent to both my daughter and I that she is not far enough along to be remotely ready to skate with this young man right now. He was a beautiful ice dancer, the coaches were great. She just isn't there yet. She needs a lot of work to get there. At the end it was left at "I still have a couple other tryouts", in other words don't call us, we will call you. I am not expecting a call. She just has too far to go to be ready for this one. We walked away with a new appreciation for what it takes to be an ice dancer, some new things to work on, and I think she is really motivated to improve herself which is always good. The really great thing about ice dancing is that you can be a little older and still be successful. For now I am praying that the right path continues to be placed before us, so far it has, I have to trust it will continue to be. Remeber though, I hate to not have control. It is a constant battle for me. I think I will go and see how much milk is left, I'm sure I can distract myself with a trip to Food Lion for more!
I promised updates about the partner tryout. I will start off by saying it was a really good experience! I mean that sincerely, but having said that it was not the easiest of experiences. It was apparent to both my daughter and I that she is not far enough along to be remotely ready to skate with this young man right now. He was a beautiful ice dancer, the coaches were great. She just isn't there yet. She needs a lot of work to get there. At the end it was left at "I still have a couple other tryouts", in other words don't call us, we will call you. I am not expecting a call. She just has too far to go to be ready for this one. We walked away with a new appreciation for what it takes to be an ice dancer, some new things to work on, and I think she is really motivated to improve herself which is always good. The really great thing about ice dancing is that you can be a little older and still be successful. For now I am praying that the right path continues to be placed before us, so far it has, I have to trust it will continue to be. Remeber though, I hate to not have control. It is a constant battle for me. I think I will go and see how much milk is left, I'm sure I can distract myself with a trip to Food Lion for more!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Road Trip
I have a room, the car has been cleaned out (well the trash is out of it anyway), the bags are packed, and my daughter and I are almost out the door. This will be an exciting, but nerve wracking couple of days. We are headed off to do a partner tryout. This is still new ground for us so while it is a very wonderful opportunity it is still extremely anxiety ridden. To top that off somehow my daughter managed to drop her hair straightener on her ankle last night and burn about a quarter sized chunk of skin right off. Well, nothing can stop us now, so off we go, onto the road. Wish us luck! I will keep you updated!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Who is Reading This Anyway
So I have been writing this for a while and I know that some of my friends are reading it. They will send me messages and encouragement, which I love!!! I don't really know who else is reading it. I have gotten a couple of comments. I think I know who they came from, well one I was sure. I was trying to reply to it and with my great technological know how I managed to delete it. Oops, but that is not unusual for me. Anyway that is off topic. It made me realize I don't really know who sees this. To that end I am careful what I post. I intentionally have not used the names of my children. I realize most people reading this know exactly who I am talking about, but it just seemed the right way to go. I also don't write every thought I have. Yes, I edit my thoughts before they go out into cyberspace. As much as I want to vent every thought right from my brain I stop myself. Most of them need to vent from my brain into the garbage can. They don't ever need to be heard from again. I wish I didn't even think them! That is why it is good to get rid of them. If you know me you know that I have a rather short memory and attention span, so once I have vented I usually forget all about whatever it is. I really want to share some experiences I have had and maybe make a few people smile. But print is always limited in scope and can be misinterpreted. This was made rather clear to me this week. Someone really misinterpreted something I wrote. It was perfectly clear to me, even on repeated readings. Of course I knew what I meant. It is a definite drawback of printed communication. It is an issue with email and text messaging too. The bottom line is that it did make me think about my audience, and how what I say is received. So, for the record this is really a story of my experiences. I know I talk about my kids and sometimes I have to refer to other people as well, but it is a selfish expression of my crazy life. I am not always right, in fact my kids will tell you I am almost never right. Hopefully in years to come they will look back at my blog and appreciate what I went through as a mom. Oh, who am I kidding, I just hope they don't use them at the committment hearing.
Oh and as a final note, my daughter upon hearing of my woes with this blog and the misinterpretation said, "You have a blog?" I guess she blocked me from her facebook news feed.
Oh and as a final note, my daughter upon hearing of my woes with this blog and the misinterpretation said, "You have a blog?" I guess she blocked me from her facebook news feed.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Priceline is a Necessary Pain!
In the process of setting up tryouts with dance partners we will have to travel. Traveling is very expensive if you are not careful, well it is very expensive even if you are careful. If you are not careful it can be ridiculous. So I always use Priceline to book my hotel rooms. I almost never have any problems with Priceline and I usually save a lot of money. Now, I know this sounds like a bad commercial, but it is true for me. You just have to be a little bit flexible about where you are going to stay. When you name your own price you never know exactly what hotel you will be getting before the price is accepted. This is a little nerve wracking. I have learned to be very careful about where I choose to do this. Once we ended up almost an hour from the competition rink and that was a major pain. I don't mind a little driving, but an hour is a bit excessive. The competiton on this occasion was in Pennsylvania and our room was in New Jersey. My daughter for some reason (she wasn't too old at the time) got it into her head that our room was in Tennessee and kept telling people at the competition that we were staying in Tennessee. That was a great conversation starter and got a good laugh everytime. For whatever reason she never did get it straight for the whole 4 days we were there. I now use it as sort of a euphimism for being really far away, as in "Oh your hotel is in Tennessee" or "I had to park in Tennessee." She never laughs!
I have also found that you get cheaper rates near airports and also downtown on weekends. I usually get at least 50% off my room which is a big help when I am traveling. The one place this doesn't seem to work is in Lexington, Virginia. I guess they don't need to discount rooms because they can book them at full price if there is a home football game or a horse show (almost every weekend there is a horse show in Lexington). I have used Priceline a couple of times there and I have had major issues both times. The hotel has been fair (they call it a 3 star hotel, but it is nowhere near that), and they don't know how to work with Priceline. This is terribly funny to me because I have stayed at much nicer hotels and paid much less and not had any hassle. In any case the Lexington Hotel always tries to charge me for my room again and I have to fight with them about paying for it. It always gets worked out, but it is not an enjoyable way to spend 1/2 an hour.
So tonight I needed to get a room for us for the next tryout she will be doing. I spent forever because I just couldn't get Priceline or my computer or both to work right. Then I had credit card issues. I really need to remember to cut up the expired one and get rid of it. It just seemed to take an inordinate amount of my evening! Although I didn't really have any other plans, but spending 45 minutes getting a hotel room for 2 nights was not on the to do list. I finally ended up with a room at what seems like a really nice hotel. I saved a LOT of money and that makes me very happy. In fact if I look at it as an hourly rate I did pretty well! As always I am the littlest bit nervous about going to a new hotel. Will it be nice? Will it be clean? Please don't let it be in a horrible part of town!! (We have had that experience as well with Priceline.) The website for the hotel looked good, it seems very new, and I believe it is reasonably close to the rink. I just hope it isn't in Tennessee.
I have also found that you get cheaper rates near airports and also downtown on weekends. I usually get at least 50% off my room which is a big help when I am traveling. The one place this doesn't seem to work is in Lexington, Virginia. I guess they don't need to discount rooms because they can book them at full price if there is a home football game or a horse show (almost every weekend there is a horse show in Lexington). I have used Priceline a couple of times there and I have had major issues both times. The hotel has been fair (they call it a 3 star hotel, but it is nowhere near that), and they don't know how to work with Priceline. This is terribly funny to me because I have stayed at much nicer hotels and paid much less and not had any hassle. In any case the Lexington Hotel always tries to charge me for my room again and I have to fight with them about paying for it. It always gets worked out, but it is not an enjoyable way to spend 1/2 an hour.
So tonight I needed to get a room for us for the next tryout she will be doing. I spent forever because I just couldn't get Priceline or my computer or both to work right. Then I had credit card issues. I really need to remember to cut up the expired one and get rid of it. It just seemed to take an inordinate amount of my evening! Although I didn't really have any other plans, but spending 45 minutes getting a hotel room for 2 nights was not on the to do list. I finally ended up with a room at what seems like a really nice hotel. I saved a LOT of money and that makes me very happy. In fact if I look at it as an hourly rate I did pretty well! As always I am the littlest bit nervous about going to a new hotel. Will it be nice? Will it be clean? Please don't let it be in a horrible part of town!! (We have had that experience as well with Priceline.) The website for the hotel looked good, it seems very new, and I believe it is reasonably close to the rink. I just hope it isn't in Tennessee.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Another Day, Another Doctor
Today was a follow up visit for my lovely daughter at the rheumatologist. She had some abnormal bloodwork back in December that earned us a referral to the rheumatologist. So far all the test results done since have come back normal. So, I was expecting a really routine visit with a perfunctory check up, a how have you been, everything looks normal and it was nice to see you. Much to my surprise she got a very thourough check up. The doctor was quite personable and spent a lot of time delving into her medical history and how she has been doing. We updated her on our most recent visit to our orthopedic doctor and our most recent diagnosis of apophysitis (I have no idea if I spelled that right, and to be honest I don't have the energy tonight to check.) She has ruled out the initial concern which was scleroderma, but now she has some concern that it might be spondyloarthritis. She ordered xrays and blood work to further diagnose this. Wow! I was completely surprised, in a good way. We have dealt with so much disbelief of symptoms for so long it was nice for someone to actually look further for a cause. Typically we get, "well, she is an athlete and she does workout a lot. Athlete's have pain." I don't disagree with that, but she has a lot of pain, a lot of fatigue and it has all sort of hit the fan, so to speak, this year. I am not sure if this will be the answer we are looking for. The description the doctor gave does fit with much of what has gone on for the last couple of years. The best thing is just to be believed that there is an issue. I get that it is hard to believe, she has a lot of sort of non-descript pain that seems to limit her at the most inconvenient times. If I were her coach or teacher it would be frustrating to me. Shoot, there are days as her parent when I wonder if she just doesn't want to work at something so she feigns illness or pain. It is so frustrating for me, and I think it is for her too. She is actually very stoic about it all. She doesn't really like to complain most of the time. It is a puzzle. I hope today we got some more pieces into place. I really want to know what is wrong and how to deal with it. I want her to be able to fulfill her dreams. Most of all I want her to feel good!
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