I am a 38yo wife, mother, friend & sister. I have been married for 17 years, and I have two children: Music (formerly Karate Kid) my 14yo son, and Drama Queen, my 12yo daughter.
I hate trying to think of titles for posts. I am usually doing good to even blog, as evidenced by my lack of posts for quite a while. Right now I'm just trying to keep my head on straight.
I can tell I am stressed because as I sit here, I am struggling to breathe. It's not an asthma-type of thing. I just tend to breathe very shallowly when I am stressed. I also have a tendency to hold my breath at times. Not good when you kind of need that oxygen to, I don't know, live or some such nonsense as that!
This week has held a lot of craziness, some expected and a lot not. I am a creature of habit. I like to do things the same way at the same time every day. I do not deal with change very well. I believe the technical word is "fuddyduddy."
This is my son's first year in the high school band. The last 2 weeks have been 7-8 hour practices, 5 days a week. Drama Queen's cheer practices started at the same time, so I've been shuttling kids back and forth or making plans for someone else to do it if I am still at work.
One morning we were getting ready to drop off my son at band practice, and his girlfriend called to see if we could meet them at the donut shop. That threw a wrench in my schedule, but off to the donut shop we flew (sans makeup). As we were heading there, another friend of his called to ask for a ride to practice. I ended up dropping my son at the donut shop, going to pick up his friend, dropping him off at practice and then flying home in time to throw on my makeup and head to work.
That afternoon I got a text from another mom who said that she couldn't go to the parent meeting that night and would I let her know of anything important. I didn't even know we had a meeting. The school assumes that everyone gets the local newspaper, apparently, because they did not even have it listed on the school calendar or website. That was over an hour of wasted time sitting on bleachers and hearing the same speech I heard 3 years ago when Child #1 was attending there.
I was exhausted when I got home and was ready to head to bed early until I got a call from my SIL telling me that my dad had been taken to the hospital. I'm too tired to replay all of that, so you can head over to my sister's to read more about it.
School started today. Dragging DQ out of bed at 6:30 was so. much. fun. I can't wait to do it again tomorrow. *snort* Music practice at church is tonight. Open House is tomorrow night at DQ's school (on the 2nd day of school?!). School pictures on Friday. Band, band and more band. An appointment with a counselor on Sat. (that's another post for another time). And we're trying to find a new vehicle before the Cash for Clunkers program runs out of money again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But you know what? I am incredibly blessed. I have 2 wonderful children that need to me cart them around to different activities. I'm not bailing them out of jail or calling the police because they ran away. I have a truck that gets me where I need to be. We just need to replace our old beast of a Suburban. If it doesn't happen, we'll miss out on a good incentive program, but we won't be walking everywhere we go. I am healthy and happy in spite of being frazzled from a hectic schedule. Life is good.
Posted @
8:31 AM ~
0 comments
Last week when I signed my daughter up for tumbling, she assured me that she would go every week. I know how my daughter operates, so I wanted a commitment from her before I signed her up. I just got a call from her:
DQ: I don't want to go to tumbling today. Me: I'm sorry, but you have to go. DQ: But I don't feel like going. Me: You still have to go. You told me last week that you would go every week if I signed you up. DQ: I meant that I would go every week when I felt like it, but I didn't have to go when I didn't feel like it.
My blood pressure began to rise at this point.
I then got a follow-up call:
DQ: Well, then I have to eat before I go. Me: Okay. There are hamburgers, hot dogs and ribs in the fridge. DQ: We're having that again? Me: No, but you can eat that before you go and then have dinner later. DQ: I'm not eating anything (apparently she expects this ploy to allow her to get out of going) Me: You need to eat something before you go. DQ: No, I'm not eating anything. Me: (now seeing red and not speaking very nicely) Fine, but if you get sick, it's your own fault. I don't want to hear about it, and I don't want a call. DQ: Well, it's your fault for not buying groceries.
This is the point where my head spun around and flew off my body. It is a very good thing I was at work and she was not.
Round 3 is up now since I have to call and tell her to get her clothes changed and get ready to go. Any bets on how this conversation goes?
Posted @
2:47 PM ~
1 comments
Last year I quit my job of 11 years as an in-home daycare provider and went to work as a customer service rep (Consumer Relations, if you want the fancy title). What an eye opener that has been! I had no idea that people make such huge issues out of such tiny things. It is so true that you can't please everyone. One person hates the product, the next one loves it. One thinks it's too sweet, the other thinks it doesn't have enough flavor. On and on and on. You get the idea.
But what really gets me are how many paranoid people there are. I don't know what is going on in these people's lives, but I can't imagine living like that. There are also people who are trying to prolong their life by eating well but are going to put themselves in an early grave if they don't stop obsessing and worrying about every little thing they put in their mouth! What kind of life is that? People need to just stop worrying and enjoy things once in a while.
Oh, the stories I could tell about the wacky people I talk to! What about you? Any good stories you'd like to share? There's a warm seat right next to me just for you.
Posted @
12:41 PM ~
1 comments
I'm on the verge of calling our pediatrician. My stomach has butterflies. I have been putting it off until I could do it without my co-worker hearing me, although she knows everything that's going on already.
My daughter is having issues. She's always been very nervous and anxious about things, but it is getting so much worse. She told me the other night that sometimes she wants to do something but is afraid something bad will happen if she does. The example she gave was that she wanted to give our dogs a bone, but her stomach dropped when she thought about it, and she was afraid something bad would happen. She also said that sometimes she wants to eat, but she's afraid she'll get sick, so she goes to bed hungry. These seem to be beyond the scope of normal, everyday tween fears.
I've suggested that she talk to someone, but she is so shy that she is scared to. I've taken the call-my-mom-and-sister-and-ask-for-advice routine. I've decided that I will talk to her doctor first and take it from there. Here goes...
UPDATE: I called the doctor and left a message. I missed a call from someone at an unavailable number almost an hour after their office closed. I'm sure it was them, although they never bother to leave a message. I guess we'll do this all over again tomorrow.
Posted @
3:06 PM ~
1 comments
Let me preface this by saying that I can't remember exactly how I found out about Mrs. Flinger's 30 Days of Blank idea. In any event, I know that I've read about it over at my sister's place.
When I first read about it, I thought, "What would I choose for my 30 days?" Several things popped into my head immediately, the first being related to weight loss. I'm sick of that always being the thing I'm focused on, though, so I scratched that idea. Don't get me wrong: I need to lose weight. I'm just tired of focusing on only one of the areas of my life that needs improvement. I, like my sister, need to focus on positive things about other people and not being so judgmental. But the one that has really been sticking in my mind is my habit of interrupting people. Bad habit. I never had a real problem with it until I worked at a particular job where all of the ladies there talked over each other. I quickly learned that I couldn't wait for a break in the conversation or I was never going to get a chance to say anything. And, thus, my problem was born.
Now I intentionally do it at times to hurry people along. I know it's wrong to do that. I am very impatient, and it drives me crazy when someone is talking slowly (like my daughter!) and I already know what they are saying anyway. It seems so much easier to just jump in and let them know that I understand and then take it from there. Easier, yes. Good etiquette, no.
So my 30 Days is going to be 30 Days of Not Interrupting. I wish it was 30 days of not interrupting my sleep or something fun like that. Because 30 days without interrupting another person is going to be quite the challenge. I'll be so much better for it, and I know that others that talk to me will be grateful to get to finish their sentence all by their little ol' selves.
My lips are zipped...
Posted @
1:53 PM ~
1 comments
There is a storm brewing. My daughter is blissfully unaware of it. It is not the weather kind of storm either. Let me lay a little groundwork...
Somewhere along the way, my children reversed what most people think of as the typical hygiene mindsets of boys and girls: my son takes 2 showers a day and Drama Queen tries to get away with going as long as possible without one. He will wear dirty jeans only out of necessity. Like when the dirty clothes pile rivals that of Mt. Rushmore and there's not a clean pair to be found. Drama Queen, on the other hand, will find something that satisfies her picky rules of comfort and then never want to wear anything else ever again. And she does not want it washed because it might shrink or somehow else alter the feel of the clothes.
We are sick of seeing her in the same outfit day after day. She is heading into the land of 6th grade this year. I have been trying to prepare her by telling her that now is the time to do her hair and change her clothes, else she will be eaten alive by those vicious little creatures known as tween girls.
I recently took her shopping for a few clothing items and told her we would be stocking up on more since the new rule is that she has to wear something different every day. I don't care if it's the same outfit every Monday, but not in the same week. So sad that I have to enforce a rule like that with my daughter!
The problem with fitting my daughter is that she is so skinny. In order to fit her waist, we have to buy a much smaller size. That's okay for some things, but not with skirts. Skirts that fit her waist just barely cover her hiney. We finally found an adorable little denim skirt at her favorite store. It is much shorter than allowed, so I told her she could wear leggings with it.
I ran into the principal at church last night and asked her to clarify just how long the skirts need to be. If she kneels on the floor, it can be no higher than 6 inches. Easy enough. When I asked about wearing leggings with skirts that are too short, my heart sank as she shook her head no.
Now Drama Queen very rarely wears skirts, so it's not that big a deal. Except that she is required to wear her cheer uniform every Friday during football season. And thus the dilemma. We ordered a new uniform this year. In April. Why we have to order so early is beyond me. I guess they expect none of these girls to grow at all during the summer. I know her foot grew since we ordered the shoes. She will be lucky to squeak by with that pair for the season. And the new uniform we ordered? Barely bigger than the one she used last year. I don't think those people knew what they were doing at all. I still need her to try it on and kneel down to see just how far from the floor it is.
Here's the real kicker: She gets a demerit if she doesn't wear her uniform on Fridays (too many demerits and she gets kicked off the team), and she can't wear the skirt to school if it's too short. Let the drama begin.
Posted @
12:57 PM ~
1 comments
I have issues. I tend to lean on the crazy side. If you met me, I could probably fool you for a while. I think I have most of my casual acquaintances snowed too. Those closest to me know better. I do okay talking to one or two people, but I am very shy in large groups. While my sister's goal is to arrive 15-20 minutes early everywhere she goes, I don't like to arrive in the actual location of the people until 1-2 minutes before the starting time. I will arrive in the parking lot 10 minutes early, but I don't go in until the last minute. I'm too scared that if I arrive too early, I will have to think up things to say to those around me. Kra-zee.
I also tend to hibernate after work. Once I'm home, I don't want to go anywhere else. On many occasions, I have actually cooked dinner (something I hate doing) just to keep from having to go pick something up at a drive-through when my husband refused to go. I'm not scared in that situation, just exhausted.
So tonight I'm combining the best of both worlds and heading to a Ladies' Bunco Night at church. I had no intentions of going until several friends started trying to get me to go. I still would have bowed out until a visitor mentioned it to me. How could I not go if a visitor to our class (the one my husband teaches) was asking me if I was going? Reluctantly I signed up and have acted excited to attend.
Now that the time is here, my heart is starting to beat a little more quickly and my hands are shaking. I have 11 minutes until it starts, and I still need to put my makeup on and drive to the church. So what am I doing? Blogging. See how that works? Once again I will arrive at the very last minute.
So here goes: several hours of dreaming up things to talk about with the people at my table. The people who will change every round.
