hey you

...you still make my heart skip when i look at you..... too bad you don't read this.....

not hard to please.....

I hate it when I get called difficult! I really am not hard to make happy. I am a simple person, to tell the truth. I think the things that make my absolutely happy are things that would work for most women. Very simple.

• Listen when I talk. Even if it has nothing to do with you.
• Once in a while do something that you hate just because I like it.
• Kiss me for no reason.
• Tell me you love me every day.
• Help me. This is huge. Men don't get this one simple fact----- do a household chore without being asked and NOT asking for a cookie and guess what? You might get lucky. Just sayin'- a tired woman= no fun! Having to pick up your underwear is a pretty big turn off.

It has been an awful week

David announced that he can't deal with anything anymore and he is moving out.  Then I find out from one of his coworkers that he had someone with him the last time he went out of town.  I started snooping around and found out that he has been seeing **** and took her to Dallas last month.   This is all so weird and unexpected.  I never thought this would happen.  They are  going to live together and he wants custody so the kids can all be together.  If you are reading this and believed it for a minute, then April Fool's to you!

One Day...

David and I have been talking about things we'd like to do- and the funny peculiar thing is none of it involves the children.  We both want a "tear drop" camper.  He's been trying to figure out how to design one that will hold both kids, but kept coming back to "why do we have to take them?"  We have both been taking more pictures- sadly, he never seems to take MY rolls to the graphics place.  So, if we ever "retire"  (as it stands our retirement will come with phrases such as "welcome to walmart.  do you want a sticker?" or "do you want fries with that?"), we will travel around in our convertible, pulling our teardrop camper and taking pictures with our crappy Chinese cameras.   But it is nice that we are looking to a time that we don't have to take kids everywhere we go (about 10 years, I guess) instead of fighting all the time.  

Unfair Division of Labor

To: Husband

From: Me

Re: Morning Duties

As it stands, I currently perform the following jobs on school mornings:

haul laundry basket to the basement

transfer laundry from washer to dryer

start new load of laundry

haul laundry upstairs

fold laundry

make coffee

unload dishwasher

make lunches/snacks for kids

put together any items needed for after school

carry laundry upstairs

shower and get myself dressed

make breakfast

let dog out

get kids dressed

if it is trash day- make sure trash cans are emptied

pack up any school items

pile everything by the door

clean up breakfast dishes

find shoes

do my hair and makeup

try to get children to the door before 7:30

You currently perform the following duties:

open kids' doors and tell them to get up (if I haven't already)

take a shower

get dressed

get on computer

drink coffee

drive kids to school

As you can see, you really don't do much to help with the children in the morning. This was understandable before I began work. However, next school year I will not only be working 40 hours per week, but will have to have the kids out of the house 20 minutes earlier than the present time. I refuse to get up any earlier than I already do, and I can only do so much at night. Due to this, you will be required to get up earlier yourself and help me. Please let me know which responsibilities you would like to assume. Please keep in mind that I also hold responsibility of afternoon activities, all housekeeping duties, kids' homework and any school papers, shopping for groceries and household supplies, most of the cooking, clearing the kitchen after meals, tucking kids in, reading to them, cleaning the gerbils' cage, and doling out required medicines. Add to this the school things that don't get done at school- IE entering grades into the computer, grading papers and lesson plans. You bathe Zachary and clean up after Ozzy. If a fair division or duty is not established, I will have no choice but to refuse to do them until resolution.

Sincerely,

The Wife

Living room........

the new carpet is here!!!!!!!!!!  David rearranged the furniture.   I kinda like it, but we will lose two pieces of furniture and some storage.  Coincidentally enough, they are the two things he hates- the green thing and the tv stand.  The green thing is NOT leaving my house.  Period.  I bought it in Boone, NC and it traveled to Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland.  It is not leaving.  I just don't know what to do with it or the things that were stored in it (board games and some large serving pieces).  Also, this means the fish tank will stay in the dining room.  Yuck.  We have had fish since Helen was a baby and I am so tired of the gosh darn fish.

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.

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...

the story of the army man

Once Zachary had a set of Army men and a tank. One day, he left them in the bath tub. When I got in the shower, there was Army man having inappropriate relations with Barbie, right there in the soap dish. After that, Army man got freaky with every Polly Pocket, plastic animal and Barbie doll left in the bathtub. He was also a great holder of toothbrushes and razors. Then one day I had to fly to Atlanta because my father was dying. I was a little frazzled and had to fly out of Richmond on a one way flight, which resulted in me having my bag searched. I was quite surprised to hear the security lady laughing and holding Army man (who had lost a leg by this time) in the palm of her hand. "Did your little boy pack this for you?", she asked. "Yes", I said, adding "my 38 year old little boy" in my head. Since that trip, Army man has lost his other leg and his head. But he has been to Boston, Atlanta, Richmond, Las Vegas, and Germany. He has been sited inside toilet paper tubes, glasses cases, pillow cases, coffee mugs, the washing machine, hair dye boxes...... He went to Ocean City last week, smuggled into David's pants pocket. This morning I went to make coffee and was greeted by Army man. God, I love my husband, freak that he is........ And this was emailed to him today:

down to the wire

Tomorrow is new teacher orientation. I am excited and scared to death at the same time. I have never worked and tried to juggle my very own spawn before. It makes me nervous. I know I am going to get no housework help, and when I do I will have to lower my standards considerably.

I am so darn stressed out. I need someone to tell me it will be fine, that I will do a great job because I always do. But compliments in my life have always been few and far between. If I have ever been called amazing, special, wonderful or any of those other fabulous adjectives, no one ever did it in my presence. What I want more than anything is to hear it from a certain man in this house. Instead, I get defied on every turn. It is like having a third child. I am overwhelmed by everything right now and it stinks. I cannot advance with my organizing project because the stupid locker wouldn't fit in my car and now I have to take David's SUV over to get it. But the back of his car is full of junk because he was too tired last night to get stuff out and that is the story of my life. Where to people put all their crap and why do I seem to have more than most people? I just want to scream right now. I just need everyone to go away for a day. I have had at least one kid up my butt since May and I cannot get anything done with them in tow. Run out for a minute- can't, got to go to karate (I love it that they get to go, HATE it that I have to sit there 4 DAYS A FREAKIN' WEEK).... Stop somewhere after that, can't got to make dinner. After dinner, got to get everyone bathed and in bed. After that, too tired...... Now I'll have 2 kids' homework and sports added into the mix, plus me working. Although, to be fair, I have gone and done things with my kids during the day on most days since they were born, so it isn't like I spent hours every day cleaning and being a house frau. Still. Honestly, I am never going to get anything done if I just sit here and write......

Ten years

I've been married ten years, as of the 16th of November. The in laws were sick, so we took our 2 kids to dinner with us. Actually, they were very well behaved. Not exactly a romantic evening, mind you, but still very pleasant. We still went out alone this weekend- I got 2 nights out!

We went to Fells Point and had Indian food (a great compromise for the vegetarian/omnivore couple). I had Aloo Gobhi (curried cauliflower and potato) and some awesome samosas. He had some poor mammal. We followed that up with a couple of beers at Bertha's (Eat Bertha's Mussels), where we met a guy in town from Atlanta for the Falcons game (they did lose, by the way).

So, that was my anniversary weekend- not too exciting, but then again being married that long has its pros and cons and "predictable" falls into both categories. I have been WITH someone since I was 18 (not the same someone, but still). I met my husband the day after my divorce was final. Funny, on the day I divorced my first husband, I picked him up and we drove to court. Then we ate a late breakfast at Shoney's and went to Best Buy to get a new VCR for me (he did take everything with a plug on it). That night we made a stir fry, ran into someone he met in the Navy and watched a movie on my new VCR. The next day I met my now husband. I never said my life was normal. Thankfully he was a patient man who tolerated it, but didn't understand WHY I continued to go hiking with my ex. He trusted me and let me have a friendship with someone who was important to me. My first husband and I were better friends than spouses. Once he couldn't tell me what to do we got along great. I think it was a relief for both of us.

My husband is currently downstairs playing a softball video game with both kids on our ancient PlayStation (I think we might be the only people in Maryland with the original PlayStation). I am sure he has a cat sitting on him and a dog on his feet. This is one reason I love this man.