Dear ****,

Why?
Why did you call MY husband to ask how he and the kids (pointedly leaving me out) are doing? (do you think he wants to talk to you-he took my side)
Why did you file criminal charges against your husband for taking things that belong to him?
Why did you tell the neighbors he abandoned you and doesn't pay the bills? (why do you still have a car and a house)
Why did you take away the cell phone your husband bought for your daughter as punishment for her being disrespectful to you? Wouldn't it make more sense to take away something YOU gave her, rather than her only communication to her father? (taking the other parent away is piss-poor discipline)
Shouldn't your child's chores be age appropriate rather than the tasks you could never seem to get done in the past twelve years that I have known you (scrubbing the kitchen floor??!)?
Once again, you're an idiot. I can't stand the thought of you. Are you going to ruin my birthday again this year?
Sincerely, Susan

I am shocked.....

Clay Aiken is gay. Didn't he come out already? More to the point, did he really need to? Add that to the list of celebs that "came out". although no one was surprised- Carey Grant, Michael Stype (of band REM), Rosie, Ellen........ Truly, what is the point, any way. He said he could raise his child with a lie, but is it a lie? He never said one way or the other. Now, Mr. Jackson- he's a liar...

Thursday......

New season of The Office! I am living for Thursday.............

I thought Friday was my day off

So far I have only had one. Last Friday I had to set up for he book fair. The Friday before that I subbed for another teacher. This Friday I have to pack up the book fair...... Next Friday I start painting the living room. After that I am going to try to talk David into new carpet. Maybe I'll "kick over" a can of paint in the middle of the room. "Whoops- is it on the sofa, too? Right where you sit, hon? I don't know how that happened." It was installed in Jan. of 1998. So 10 years old with 2 kids, 3 cats, a dog, a nasty man and MANY, MANY spills (not just children, either) it is no longer green. It is more a very weird grey. And the sofa has seen better days. I would love to make over the room. I saw an ad in a magazine- the walls were yellow, the sofa was black and the chairs were a b & w check. I loved it, until I thought about black sofa + silver, black and white Husky= fur covered sofa. So I guess I need to stick to a multi floral.... Or brown. That can hide dirt. Solids are OUT. And I am the pickiest sofa person: no loose cushions on the back, no really big arms, no weird head rest thingies, no leather, no "snaggy" fabric, no light colors..... If I ever have more than 10 minutes, I will post pics of the bathroom. I also need to paint the kitchen. Which will just make my floor and counter tops look worse.....

well.....

I finally finished painting the bathroom cabinet (it only took 4 months, lol). Now I need to clean the bathroom so I can post a picture- it's really not that bad, I just want to get a "stylist" shot to avoid the "why did I post of picture with a box of tampons on the counter?" afterthought.

Soccer has started, and to my surprise, it has not been stressful. Gone are the days where I am struggling to put shin guards and tight socks on a wriggly, screaming 5 year old who doesn't want to play, but won't quit, either. Gone is the 4 year old who decides he wants to be on the playground rather than goalkeeping. Helen actually stays on the field kicking the ball around during half-time break, rather than coming over to complain. She has definitely improved skill-wise since 1st grade (we took last year off). She is definitely defense rather than the big goal getter, but that is fine, too. Her dad was a lacrosse goalie and I always did better at defense positions, no matter what sport. I told her last night that if she keeps making saves like that (she has about 5 saves), I don't care if she never makes a goal.

I just feel like I am always telling her to do something and I feel like a nag. If I could just give her a list and tell her to get it done, I would. But she is still unable to manage her time (I guess most 8 year olds are that way). Zachary says his homework is boring. I have to admit, he has been doing the dinky worksheet material since he was 2 1/2 and wanted to do Helen's homework. I bought him a workbook then. The resource teacher is giving me a first grade book so he can get some extra at home. He was the first child in class to count to 100. They get to write their name on a poster when they count to 100 (this is to prepare for 110th day, which is a big deal in K and 1st grade).

So that is the update at my house. I will post pictures of my bathroom tomorrow......

Can it get any crazier?

It is Thursday. Which is my Friday. So far this week, I have had:

1 very long meeting

Girl Scouts

3 karate classes

2 soccer practices

1 soccer game

10 library classes taught

1 dead computer (which holds the data on the entire library catalog)

1 pair of lost glasses

1 staph infection (which we originally thought was MRSA)

I have a stack of things I need to mail, karate and a soccer game tonight, phone calls to return, a filthy house.....

I haven't gotten the knack of being working mom yet, plus David has been away and I've had to shoulder everything myself. If I didn't have him, there is no way we'd be doing much of anything besides school/work. I've always said, some help is better than no help. Having David means one less bath I have to give, a little help loading the dish washer and picking up toys at the end of the day. It means both kids don't have to be dragged to everything that another one of us must do (it was 10:00 by the time we got home last night). It means I can run to the store and grab milk after the kids are in bed. Those little things are such a help. Plus I just don't feel so alone. I still have to do pretty much everything, but at least I get a little bit of help. So, to those moms that say their husbands don't do anything- how true is that really? Mine doesn't do much MORE than nothing, but it is SOMETHING. If he didn't, I'd probably have to set the sofa on fire.

Open Letter to ****

Dear ****,

Grow up. Mature people do not place their children in the middle of their problems. Your kid is still a kid, who loves the people you have decided to hate. It is not to spite you and you will not turn her against anyone but yourself. Why can't you be happy that she has so many who love her? Do you really think that because YOU and only YOU labored for 30 hours to bring her into this world, YOU and only YOU are allowed to care about her, give her a birthday gift or make her a cake? Well, OK, then no one else can do anything for my son because I am the one who went into preterm labor, took about 427 shots of insulin, checked my blood sugar 1120 times, sat through 20 biophysical profiles, two amnios, a c-section and 7 days on life support. Oh, don't forget the twice daily meds for the past 5 years. I am the only one who did that, so no one can look at him. Or talk to him. He's mine. See how fucking stupid that is? Grow up.

Susan

Birthday WIshlist

1. Adam & the Ants- Kings of the Wild Frontier cd
2. $ to go buy some pants or a long sleeved dress (or two)
3. An interesting silver pendant on a long chain
4. Cupcake cookbook from Target
5. Season 2 of The Office
6. a couple of "fun" t shirts to go with jeans

And a key lime pie. No cake this year. My birthday was marred by a very inconsiderate person last year, so I have to make up for it this year.

Song Lyrics according to Helen and Zachary

Trading sorrows- "yes Lloyd, yes Lloyd, yes yes Lloyd..."

Sweet Home Alabama- "Sweet Home Hamma Hamma"

Leavin' (Jesse McCartney)- "I wanna take you out on a panty raid" and "you're too fat, too fat"

Holla Back Girl- "I ain't no hollow fat girl"

Party Started-' "potty started"

Paradise City- "take me down to the very next city"

There are many, many more- but that is all I can remember tonight........ And for those of you who listen to Kid Rock- has anyone else noticed that the male back up singer sounds like those beer commercials "here's to you, Mr. Rolling Cooler Guy"......

too busy

I am single mom again this week. And I had two kids take karate lessons yesterday, didn't get home until 6:30. Today it was girl scouts til 4:30, followed by soccer practice at 5:45. I had to talk to another parent/teacher (she is also the school's IT chick) about my computer problem (the main computer with all the library data will not even power up). Then we head to McDonald's. Arrive home at 7:25 and still haven't touched homework. On top of all this, I have a soccer game tomorrow, immediately followed by a HSA (Catholic PTA) meeting, that I still need to prepare for. Thankfully another parent is picking up some slack for me (thank GOD!). I also need to take care of my house and tie up some craft fair business, plus mail birthday cards and thank you notes to people (part of my secretary position). YIKES!!!!! Times like this I really need David to help me. I guess I really appreciate him most when he isn't here. Late night for me tonight......... I am hoping he is home early enough to come to the school and get the kids so they can go to bed. We are skipping karate tomorrow and making up on Saturday...

our fodder...

"our fodder, who aren't in heaven
Howard be thy name
thy kingdom come
thy will be fun
on Earth as it is in heaven......"
Zachary, age 5

Interesting point.....

Just read this article about the recent escalation in natural disasters. In a nut shell, it indicates that perhaps it isn't global warming that is causing this. There aren't really more disasters than there were 100 years ago. Humans are just flocking to water and living crowded into flimsy houses. So, that is driving the cost and impact of a storm to increase. Actually the worst storm in history was in 1926 and by today's standards could have cost around $157 BILLION in damage. Katrina "only" cost $1oo billion. So you have it, there are not more storms. There are not stronger storms. Simply more people living closer together in a risky location. Ta da. As my son likes to say, "Al Gore is an idiot."

Yuck

My 8 year old has BO. Her shirt from yesterday about knocked me down. And she is not the only one. That group of third graders I had on Wednesday afternoon come to me straight from recess and boy, were they ever R-I-P-E! Must be the age. So, now Bean has some Tom's of Maine deodorant (apricot scented) in her locker. That way I can remind her to put it on. She also informed me that she scrubbed all her "stinky parts" in the shower and used Dad's soap last night. BTW, do you know how hard it is to find just deodorant, not anti-perspirant that is not MANLY scented? Hence, the choice of Tom's of Maine. But at Target, it was about the same price as the Teen Spirit.....

She is still putting up a bit of a fuss about the karate, but not as bad, especially when we "ground" her until her day's boxes are checked off. Grounding at our house means no TV, no friends, no games, no computer, no music, no outside. Actually, I won't even talk to her. Not having me to argue with takes the fun out of not listening, it seems. Eventually she gets bored enough to get up and do whatever it is we asked. So, she can choose to be grounded for 15 minutes or three (or more) days, until she gets her work completed- this applies to homework, cleaning her room, etc. and has, so far, been effective- but we've only been grounding for a couple of weeks. We'll see.

Yeah, Friday

My first "day off" without kids. The school was closed last Friday, so I had kids on what was technically my day off. My plans today are:

1. mail craft fair applications

2. put away laundry

3. drop off stuff at Goodwill

4. pick up 2 dozen paint stirrers at Lowe's (these make great shelf markers in the library, btw)

5. prime the cabinet in the bathroom

6. clean the bathroom

7. take movies back to Blockbuster

8. drop off papers at pediatrician's office

9. take meds to school

10. go down to library and spend 30 minutes trying to figure out how to check out books

Do I have enough time? I doubt it. What do I really want to do? Spend about 4 hours stamping and making cards, then go to a movie before I pick up the kids.

UPDATE-

what DID i get done today? 1,5,7,8,9. so i guess 1/2 is better than nothing. i could have gotten more done if i hadn't slept late and had to spend 30 minutes on the phone with amex. everything is ok, but let me just say be careful what you click on when you buy on line. apparently one does not have to enter billing info to get enrollled in some crappity scam that charges $12 every month. amex removed the charges and i called the "service" and canceled. i shall not purchase movie tickets on line again. period.

dear....

Dear teacher's of my daughter,
Please do not talk about hurricanes and natural disasters. Most children may regard weather with a passing nod. Not her. She makes evacuation plans, she religiously checks the weather channel. She has the weather report saved under favorites on the computer. She worries. She has had a headache for two days because of Hanna and Fay. Leave the weather report out of the day's curriculum, for the sake of sanity.......Duh.

Dear Post Office lady,
If the woman standing in front of you is mumbling, pointing and desperately trying to see your face when you are talking, she IS deaf, not merely trying to annoy you. If I noticed standing three people behind her, why didn't you? I cannot imagine how frustrated your customer must have been. Maybe someone needs to give her a pin that reads, "If I can't see your lips, I can't read them". Duh.

Dear dumb ass in the parking lot,
If someone in a Buick is parked between two MONSTER SUBURBANN SUV'S, that someone cannot see you when he/she is backing out of that parking space. You have the advantage of SIGHT, use it and be courteous. No one can see through metal. No one trying to drive a car in reverse can look 4 ways at the same time. Use your noggin. Would you rather be safe or "right". (Actually, once a driver has begun to back out of the space, they have the right of way, not you. Duh.

Thank you.

Crazy day

5:30- wake up, make lunches, have coffee
6:15- shower, dry hair, get dressed
6:50- start waking up kids
7:00-still waking up kids
7:07- Drag kids out of bed
7:10- start shoving karate uniforms, soccer gear and changes of clothes into tote bags
7:15- throw nuked oatmeal at kids
7:17-take out trash and take totes to car
7:24- start working kids toward the door
7:32- let dog in
7:34- put load of clothes in the wash, take load out of dryer
7:35-8:00- stick return address labels on craft fair envelopes
8:15- leave
8:20- run into to Target to find soccer cleats and shin guards and pony tail elastic and end up wandering through shoes, purses and books
9:13- pay for cleats, etc. (no I didn't buy a purse)
10:00 to 3:00- teach 3 classes, set up book fair web page, do lesson plans for this week.....
3:00-4:00- homework, snack etc. in classroom
4:00- start for the door, get stopped 5 times, find out that girl scouts started this week (NOT my fault, btw- she didn't call me), have to stop by the bathroom, get to car and drive to karate
4:30-5:20- sit through Helen's class with Zachary sitting on me twisting my bracelets and watch band (he does this constantly and it drives me crazy)
5:20-5:30-get Helen to change her clothes, take Zachary home so he can go to the ball field with David
5:38- slap two slices of cheese into a hamburger bun for Zachary because he is hungry
5:40-back in car drive Helen to soccer practice, handing her new cleats and shin guards to put on while I drive
5:55- arrive at school, have to go in for Helen to pee, walk her back to field, introduce to coach
6:10- get to meeting 10 minutes late
6:10-7:55- HSA (Catholic school version of PTA) meeting
7:55- realize I still have to pick up Zach
8:00- hit McDonald's drive thru, drive to baseball field
8:25- beg Zach to come home with me
9:00-arrive back at home with two sleeping kids who decide they need baths, let dog out
9:20- kids in bed after he world's fastest baths
9:24- put clothes in dryer, let dog in
AHHHHHHHH! Get ready to do it again tomorrow!

This is the same thing far too many other people did today. We lead crazy lives. I'm so glad we only go through this 6 weeks in the fall and again in the spring- I couldn't do this year round.....