Smellyann Strikes Again

Friday Fragments

Link up with Mrs. 4444 if you're torn to bits today!

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I hope all of you Americanos had a nice Independence Day! I didn't. It's my favorite holiday, but Hubs was being a jerk in the morning and ruined my day, along with my desire to go do anything celebratory. Humph. Didn't even see a single firework, though I heard plenty of kabooms near the house!

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Still not done moving. It's getting to be a big, fat joke, ain't it??

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New York was fun, yet fast and furious. Lots of work for me, yet lots of fun for the kids. Here's a quick sneak peek, since I have yet to write a post about it yet on the blahg:

Poor Jack, he loves being squididdled by his sisters SO much!! ;)

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After the theme park shops were done, we got to go see my sister and watch my nieces' soccer game. It was a good one, really exciting. They were by far the underdogs, but they lost 2-1 in double overtime, which was great for them. Here are some pictures, if you care to see her lovely ladies!

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After the game, we went back to Stacey's house and had dinner before heading back home to Virginia. They have SO many pets, most being bred for selling or feeding those that they're selling. We're talking, like, a hundred ball pythons in the basement, for starters. They won't tell Stacey the true number, so I could be way off in either direction, but a LOT!

Anyway, it was wonderful seeing my sister after 1½ years apart, which was the main perk for why I took a shop so far away. ;)

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I drove all night to get back in time to let Rob drive the van to work Monday, since his motorcycle ride didn't go too well last Friday after all. He's still too sore after quadruple hernia surgery. So now I'm way off my sleep schedule and have been up all night and sleeping much of the days since. Sucks, but I'm going to have to break this cycle starting TODAY and get back to moving, moving, moving...

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Guess that's all in my head right now. I don't have any license plate photos this week. Been too busy recuperating and hibernating myself!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

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Fin.

Wordless Wednesday: My Nieces Kicking Balls (AKA Playing Soccer)!

Other than to say that Niece 1 is Karen, #7, and Neice 2 is Hanna, #6, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Link up here if you're wordless today!

So proud of you, girls - great game!!

Fin.

Switch!

We learned this song in music class in elementary school: "I am slowly going crazy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - Switch!" Did you?

So both the crazy part and the switch part fit, in that this was another crazy evening, and I have switched something pretty insignificant but nonetheless mentioned here several times: My shower! Y'all might remember that I ♥ taking cold showers? Well, no longer! I have switched over to taking steaming hot showers. I don't know if it's because the weather changed, and I'll go back in the late Spring, or if it's because I get cold so easily now, but yeah. Hot showers for me!

Anyway, who cares? I only mentioned it because I needed a blog title. Hee.

I slept all day again today. Well, almost, it was after 1 when I woke up. I hadn't meant to do that, but it doesn't really matter, because I had nothing but more cleaning on my plate today. I think I'll do some later this evening... And I only woke up when I did because the Schwan's guy rang the doorbell. I was annoyed and foggy-headed, so I didn't even answer the door. I didn't want anything anyway, and he always tries to talk me into something. Can't stand that.

So, I promised bootie pictures:

I had planned on using clothespins to take a cute picture of the socks hanging from a tree branch, but I dug through all my yarn bins, where I know I put them, and couldn't find them. Okay, so I only pawed through the top three bins, and it's probably in one of the bottom three. So here they are on our front porch. Or stoop. Whatever it is.

So here they are! Aren't they cute? I messed up and made the cuff 5 cm instead of the prescribed 4 cm, but I figure that'll just help them stay up on widdle Baby Luke's legs better. Can you believe he's already a month old?!

Other than the cuff, I made no modifications to the pattern, other than to screw up the toe decreases on the second sock. It's minor, though, and I don't think baby boy - or his mother - will notice. (But if you do, tell me!)

And so they went. Hopefully I'll cast on for the pants before the weekend, knock them out before he grows out of them, and be on to something else. I'm ready for a new project!

While I was taking pictures of the socks, my reward package from the Nielsen Homescan program arrived, and I figured, what the hell? I'll throw pics of those on the ol' blahg, too. This here is a little something I redeemed my Homescan points for baby Luke. I'm calling it his Christmas present, although I'll give it to Steph as soon as I see her next, so he can start playing with it right away.

And this was a little somethin'-somethin' I picked up for Tiger Lily: a chew/pull toy by Coleman. Jack wanted to throw it around for her this afternoon, so I let him give it to her early instead of for Christmas. She seemed to like it. It held her interest, but only as a throw toy. When he stopped, she ignored it. But she's never been huge on toys, at least since she was a puppy. Seems pretty durable, though. If you want to become a Nielsen Homescan panelist, let me know and I'll hook you up with some linkage. They have decent rewards, and the points accrue quickly.

As I mentioned earlier, this afternoon & evening were crazy. Here was the schedule:

3:00 - 4:15 Math tutoring after school for Chloë

4:00 - 5:00 Brownies meeting for Chloë

4:30 - 5:30 Soccer practice, for Chloë!

5:00 - 8:00 Book Fair Family Night at school

6:00 - 8:00 Soccer party for Sophia

7:00 - 9:00 Cub Scout meeting for Jack

Well, we didn't make all of that, obviously. Some thing(s) had to go. At first, the only thing I crossed off was Chloë's soccer practice, since that's twice a week, PLUS a game on Saturdays, and other stuff is less frequent.

And so at 1600, the Littles and I went off to school to pick up Curls from tutoring and take her to Brownies. We didn't get there until 1630, so she missed half the meeting. I can't wait until this soccer bullshit business is over, and we can get back to our regularly scheduled lives! Not that it hasn't been fun. It has. It's just very take-overy, time-wise!

At the meeting, the girls spent time planning their holiday party. They're going to cook for us and entertain us, just like last year, so it should be fun. I let the Littles play outside while I talked to the parents about the soon-to-end Fall Product sale, and then I chit-chatted. I completely and totally forgot that I had two small children playing outside, in the near dark!!! OMG, as soon as I remembered, I raced outside to check on them. They were playing exactly where I told them to, calmly and mostly quietly, and were just fine. But dang, did I give myself a heart attack! Stupid, stupid, me.

One of the moms, who also had weight loss surgery before I did, gave me a bag of her grown-out clothes. I can't wait to try them on! I gave away my clothes to a different, pre-surgery? Brownies mom, so what goes around, comes around, I guess!

From Brownies, we raced over to the school to get in some Book Fair time before the soccer party. My plan was to let each of the kids pick out a special book, and then I was going to choose a book for each of them for Christmas, from their wish lists. And that's what we did. Sophie chose a Barbie book with stickers, Jack chose a Cars book about Mater, and Chloë picked something about Bad Kitty. I forget what it's called, but it's a chapter book. Then I sent them away to look at other stuff while I picked their Christmas gifts. And I got a few 99¢ stocking stuffers at the counter. Chloë saw me picking them out, the little stinker.

While we waited a few minutes for the door prize drawing - which we have won in the past but not this time - the kids harrassed Midnight the Panther, their school mascot. Sophie has historically been afraid of him, but not anymore! She was all over the poor blue beast.

We rushed clear to hell and gone for the soccer party at Chuck E Cheese, arriving only a few minutes late thanks to traffic. The kids played for 20 minutes or so before Coach corralled them to the table to eat their cake and get their trophies and certificates. None of the parents would move out of the freaking way so I could take a decent picture, so here's what you get - the side of Sophie's head and another parent's sleeve.

Yay, Sophie gets a trophy too!! She was so excited about it - much more so than soccer itself - and kept canoodling with it during the party.

The soccer cake - and is that Sophie eating her own cake, or a bite out of the main cake? Gosh, I hope it was the former, but knowing her...!

Soap pausing for a picture with her coach. Isn't he a cutie?

Sophie's soccer trophy, yay!

Our pizza took forever to come (yeah, they had cake first. Not my idea. Silliness), so I launched each of the kids into the play zone with their own cup of tokens. I only gave them five or ten at a time, so they wouldn't go crazy. It's a good thing, because once, I saw Sophie handing hers out to some other, random kids, and another time, I saw a little girl come along and dip into Chloë's cup. Um, no. My tokens!!

Sophie being Sophie

And a typical Chloë pose

Jack had a lot of fun tonight, and he scored the most tickets by far. One time, he came up holding a five foot long stretch of tickets from one token! I couldn't believe it.

This little teammate shares the same name as my kiddo, so they often buddied up together on and off the field.

No clue who this kid was. Jack just totally usurped his ride. He kept doing it to other kids, too. Every time I turned around, there he'd be, on this "ride"with some strange kid!

Jack was pretty pissed when I made them stop and come eat some pizza. "I don't WANT any pizza!" But when I told him he had to eat or I wouldn't give him any more tokens, well, boy howdy, he gobbled that whole piece down pretty quickly!

And then my camera died, so no more pictures. Really, how many do you need from CEC?

Oh, and both Jack and Sophie decided they wanted their next birthdays there (oh, yay), so I guess I'll try and throw them a joint one at the beginning of April or something. Of all the places...

By the time we got out of there, and would have made it to Cub Scouts, there would only have been about a ½-hour left, so we decided to skip it. Plus it was late, and Chloë still had a ton of homework! What the hell, she is eight, not sixteen!

We did Jack's homework, while I baked cookies for tomorrow's lunch snack, and sent the Littles upstairs for a shower before bed. Then Chloë, who had already done her language and spelling homework, sat with me to do her science work. We breezed through that pretty quickly, but only because I stayed right on top of her. Otherwise, she would have fooled around for an extra hour or two. That kid!

And so ends our busy Thursday night. I'm going to go clean up. And then maybe cast on for Luke's trousers. And then...

Slowly going crazy am I, 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1, Switch!

Fin.

P.S. According to Chloë, she only missed three on her math test! yay!

P.P.S. Unbeknownst to me, she also had a science test today. We didn't study for that, but she says she thinks she got those all right. We shall see, Mom can dream, right?

Life, Reactivated

You may have noticed the relative blog silence since Friday night. Well, that's because life has returned to Chez Odette with a vengeance.

This is the lake that was our street (making our neighborhood name, K. Lakes, extremely appropriate), right in front of our house, around 0600 Saturday morning. I never went to sleep that night (what the hell else is new?), so I waited until daylight to be able to hike my pants up past my knees, put on my Crocs, and wade out into the street to take this picture for you. Nice of me, huh? It was f-f-f-freezing, too!

Walking up the street the other way, which is the way to get OUT of our neighborhood, was another lake. And then another one up further that way, making it next to impossible for those with small cars to get out of the neighborhood at all.

But I had serious cabin fever, and I was determined to GO.

Eh, but not before making these terrible-looking blueberry pancakes for the children. Jack requested them as soon as he woke up at 0900, followed shortly by his sisters. The pancake mix was Aunt Jemima; the frozen blueberries were Schwan's.  I can't remember the last time I actually made pancakes - that's usually Rob's job. I added FAR, far too many thawed blueberries to the batter, I think, making them unable to really hold together. Plus the berries were huge, and the batter was too liquidy. And I had to use the crappy pancake turner, since I couldn't find the good metal one. And, well, I just suck!

Fortunately, they tasted great. I sampled. Heaven!

On the last set of three cooking pancakes, I finally got it together and was able to flip them all without ripping them all to bits. Chloë was so happy for me! It was funny. She high-fived me, cheered, and sang a little song about how proud she was of me for making decent pancakes - all in earnest.  I had to laugh...

After breakfast, the menfolk went out for the Tiger Cubs' visit to the fire station around the corner from our house.  Jack had a fantastic time, climbing into the truck, visiting the firefighters' sleeping quarters, and whatnot. He was full of stories when he got home. I had Rob take the camera, and there were more pictures, but, well, the combo of my crappy camera and Rob's photography is not a very good one. Oh, well.

Meantime, the girls and I went shopping. I had done my usual coupon blog reading, and found some really great deals at Target (where I almost never go, since it's a bit of a distance) and Wal-mart.  I got $28 off the Blu-Ray/DVD combo packs of the movies Up! and Monsters Inc., for instance, paying only about $19 for both! That was exciting, and I'm going to use those for their Christmas presents. I know we weren't going to DO presents this year, opting instead to go somewhere and make memories, but I don't think it's going to be able to happen that way this year. Instead, we'll have a sparse Christmas at home, I guess. Money just isn't there. Again, oh, well.

But something really nice happened at Tar-jay. I got a free $5 gift card with all the smelly-good Glade deals I was doing, but the cashier said I couldn't use it on that order. I was bummed, because like I said, I almost never go there and wouldn't be able to use it anytime soon. The lady behind me heard this and offered me five bucks in return for the card, so I could go ahead and use that money on my order. Random acts of kindness, people. I love them!

After Target, where I got the movies, we went to Wally World. We spent a couple hours there, finding deals, mostly on baking products. I got a crapload of stuff free there, too, as well as some boring stuff we really needed, like printer ink. The girls were excited seeing all the baking stuff going into the shopping cart, knowing Mama's going to be producing lots of yummy stuff in the kitchen soon!

I had just enough time to drop off the kids - and the food - before heading back out in the Great Lakes of Virginia Beach to get my hair cut. I'd made the appointment six weeks ago, after my last one. Only, this one didn't turn out as well as the first, and I was disappointed. I didn't cry or anything, but I very nearly went back to have them fix it. Rob didn't like it either, and kept telling me so. I know, I know, honey!  Last time, T. gave me an outstanding cut. This time, eh.

Before I went into the salon, I had about 10 minutes to spare and used them next door at the yarn shop, petting the pretty fibers. Ohhh, my, I do love me some soft fluff.It's pretty silly to be so in love with string, isn't it?

At night, we once again braved the floodwaters to go out and do a dinner mystery shop at everyone's favorite boobs-and-wings place. It was virtually empty, no surprise. The server was at our table almost constantly, giving attention to the kiddies and bringing them toys to play with and treats, so they had a good time.  

When we got home, I fixed Rob and the kids these mini brownies, with spray-on frosting, both of which I'd gotten for super cheap at Wal-mart.

The boy ate, like, three. Yum.

And that was Saturday.

Sunday was crazy! We did nothing but non-stop, back-to-back mystery shops all day.

Oh, and the sun was out, and the waters in the top pictures? All but gone.  It was amazing! So impressive, what a strong force the sun can be.

So first, we went out to Chesapeake, to another Boobs-and-Wings, for lunch. Another good time. Except they had us seated on stools instead of in a booth, and Sophie kept falling off hers. She was okay, but gosh, I was nervous!

After that, we went two seconds down the road for a well-needed car wash. Another mystery shop.

We went back home, so Rob and the kids could take my van out and do doughnuts in the mud while I looked up the location for the next car wash mystery shop. I offered him that car wash for his truck, but he didn't want it. Whatevs. When Vanna was sufficiently dirty, we took off and did that one. My van sure was sparkly!

We had just enough time to get home, shower, and get dressed up for our fancy dinner out. Another shop.  We dropped off the kids at Linda's house - always a thrill for them - and then headed to the restaurant. Dinner was fabulous. Except for the crappy pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, which was gummy and yucky. Just as well; I don't need to be sampling that anyway!

And after that, we had yet another dinner shop (hey, lunch for Rob the next day) at a Mexican food chain. Take-out, this time, so it was a quickie. Rob loves their food, so I jumped all over that, and it was just a hop, skip and jump away from the nice restaurant.

After we got home and the kids went to bed, it became really obvious that I wasn't going to make it to Tuesday, when my side-Effexor refill would be ready. I had run out on Thursday night and suffered more and more every hour since then with the withdrawal symptoms. It's really a terrible thing for me to be without. By Sunday night, after a great evening out, I was suddenly and inexplicably sobbing uncontrollably. I just couldn't stop. Rob rushed out to the hospital to get me an emergency supply to hold me over. I took two when he got back, the pain and agony were so bad. Oh, what a relief. Within an hour, I felt "normal" again.

And that was Sunday.

Monday, Rob got the kids off to school - after five long days away, phew - while I got ready to go to school myself. I had signed up to volunteer for the Book Fair for five hours, helping the preschoolers, kinders and 1st graders write down their wish lists for books. The first class in was Sophia's! I got to help her, and another little girl, with their lists. That was so fun. I love my little girl; she's so funny and cute, and it was fun seeing her with her class. (Holy cow, she actually behaves!)

Later, Jack's class came in, and I got to help him, too. He was cute, but the whole time, he kept coming to me and whining that (a) he was hungry and (b) he doesn't want to go to school anymore. Typical Jack! Rob asked me later why I don't pull him out and homeschool him now, to get ready for boat life, but the truth is, I'm just not ready! I want to do lots more preparation and research before I jump into it, and I haven't taken the chance to do that yet.

Everyone broke for lunch in the library's back room; I just stood around and drank a diet soda instead. Principal T came in, and it's the first time he's really seen me since my surgery. He complimented me on how good I looked, and said he liked my haircut. Hee. I forgot to mention, when I did it myself for Sunday night, it looked a lot better than when T. did it at the salon. So it's okay; I'm keeping it.

Anyway, for working with all those cute kiddies at the library - and it was really fun; I'm going to do it again in the Spring - my reward was a free $5 book. I chose an adorable one called The Pout-Pout Fish, which I read to the kids tonight after homework. They loved it, too. I really had a hard time choosing which one to take home; I wanted half of them!  But in the end, of course, I had to go with the fish. Right?

We didn't do much that evening, and that was fine with me. Well, we didn't leave the house, that is. After dinner and homework, the kids and I spent 2½ hours folding and putting away a massive mountain of laundry that I had been avoiding. They were out of underwear and socks, though, so I had no choice!

And that was Monday.

Tuesday was pretty nuts, too. Except that I got some much-needed sleep until noon, thanks to Rob getting up with the kids again. But then it was go-go-go!

First, I showered. Yay. Then I read all my shop reports. I was supposed to do five today, but I ended up having to cancel three. The first was because I was supposed to pay with cash when I thought I'd read credit was okay, and I didn't have time (or the inclination) to run to the bank first. The second was because my computer was being an asshole, and the third was because the mystery shopping company was being an asshole. Assholes all around.

But I did have two for lunch. I went to the Chinese restaurant first and did that shop. Pretty quick, pretty easy. Pretty yummy!

Only, I didn't realize until I was on my way to the drive-in fast food mystery shop, next, that I had eaten slightly too much. And needed to puke. And had nowhere to do so. So I had to hold in that puke all the way through the second shop, the drive to the post office to ship out the giveaway tutu, the line at the PO, and the drive home, before I could let it out. I was kind of surprised it didn't make its way down my pouch by that time, so it tells me there was probably a blockage from not chewing enough.Sometimes that happens. It hurts like hell, too!

I had just enough time to catch my breath before picking up Jack and Sophie from the bus.

They had a quick snack and relaxed for a few before it was already time to pick up Chloë from school. Tuesdays and Thursdays are math tutoring. And soccer practice, to which we rushed from the school, while she put on her cleats and shin guards. Soccer practices are early and short these days, because it gets chilly and dark in the evenings. We weren't there long, which is a shame, because it's not nearby at all.

From there, we raced home to get the kids a little something to eat - not much at all - before heading back to the school. It was Parent Math Night tonight, and I'd responded that we would all be there, so I could get a deeper understanding of what the kids are doing in math class these days.

It was cool, because the Assistant Principal, Mrs. P., and the guidance counselor, Mrs. H., watched all of the kids in the cafeteria while I went to Jack's class first, and then Chloë's math class, to learn more. The presentations were really fun and informative, and I learned a lot to help the kids along. Both of them struggle with math, so I plan to be a lot more proactive - when there's time, which unfortunately isn't often - in getting them to play math games and stuff. There are a lot of online resources, so I'm hoping I'll find lots of great things to use both now and when we homeschool on the boat in a few years. 

By the time that ended, it was about 8:00. Late! And we hadn't even cracked the books yet. I gave the kids another small snacky dinner and then we dove in. Jack really impressed me with his work tonight. I was ecstatic, actually. His printing was so neat and organized - usually it's a disaster - and he worked really hard to get things right on the first try. Normally, he's pretty careless. Way to go, Buddy!

Chloë's homework was to study for her math test tomorrow, with a big review paper. That took HOURS. By the time she finished that and started on her Language Arts homework, it was midnight. Freaking midnight, are you kidding me?? And she still had spelling and science homework to do! Forget that, I wasn't letting her stay up another minute. She's 8, FPS. So I wrote notes to her teachers and sent her off to bed.

And that was Tuesday.

Fin.

Contributing To The Deliquency Of A Minor

So I overslept this morning, and we missed the bus. It was completely my fault; I forgot to bring my phone to bed with me, and so I didn't hear it go off at 0700. I snapped awake at 0800, too late to get to the bus by 0805. And as usual when I oversleep, I closed my eyes up tight and, for a full minute, tried to ignore the fact that chaos was about to reign and pretended that I didn't need to be anywhere.

And then I woke up for real. Sophie was in the kitchen already, so I sent her up to get Jack an Chloë. I gave them bananas for breakfast and decided to let them buy lunch today, rather than scrambling to pack lunches. They were excited; they like to buy. And off we went.

No sooner did we get within 100' of school, than Chloë realized she had forgotten her backpack. Argh. I continued on, and stopped at the preschool in back of the main school. Sophia had picture day today, so I kept admiring my little dressed-up cutie while I led her by the hand into her classroom. She looked adorable in her red plaid dress and pigtails!

After signing her in, I brought the older kids to school and signed them in. Jack didn't even so much as wave, let alone say good-bye to me; he just walked away to his classroom. Chloë, of course, was all hugs and kisses.

I ran home and fetched her backpack and then back to school to drop it off. As soon as I got there, I remembered that I'd forgotten to give her an after-school snack before her first math tutoring session today! Jeez... what an idiot.

I went home and fully planned to do that. And fold the laundry. And go out and see Stephanie and Luke for a couple hours.

What I did instead, though, I lay down on the couch "for five minutes." Which ended up as a nap from 1000 all the way to 1500, when my alarm went off for the bus.

What?! I was in shock. I can't explain it; I slept a full night last night. Must be the iron. Three more days...

The Littles came off the bus and demanded to know where their Big Sister was. It amused me that they were only then aware that she was missing; don't they look for each other to get on the bus at school? I guess not.

We went home, got their snack (Jack insisted on popcorn, since I finally bought some in yesterday's coupon spree) and talked about their days. Picture Day went well, but she came home with a huge hole in her tights. Into the garbage they went. Jack didn't have a whole lot to say, but he was in a good mood, so I suppose the day was okay for him, too. Unless he was just happy that there's no school on Wednesday!

Soon, it was time to go pick up Curls from tutoring and take her to soccer practice. I brought along the soccer bag and a bottle of water, and l let her change in the back seat while we rushed over, late.

The sky was ominous, though, and soon tiny drops started to trickle onto my windshield.

Sure enough, we finally made it to practice, 15 minutes late, and everyone was heading to their cars. Practice was canceled due to rain. Well, I'm so glad I drove all the way out there for nothing! At least we made the effort, after Saturday's lame skippage of the games.

At home, Rob met us, having worked all day instead of going in tonight. It's really messing with his schedule, these crazy shift changes. I told him I'd make dinner if he'd clean up the kitchen first, so he did that while the kids and I hung out. Chloë was going to do her homework, but our pencil sharpener sucks and kept eating the pencil. It's very frustrating. I have nothing but ill will towards that damn thing.

The kitchen was clean, and so I cooked. Mashed potatoes with a whole package of goat cheese for me, inspired by our dinner at the Hilton the other night. Omagosh, it was yummy.  Pasta with sauce for the kids; no sauce for Jack, please. That plus sausage and onions for Rob. Oh, and a cauliflower/broccoli/carrot mix that inspired the following conversation:

Jack: What is this stuff? White broccoli?

Rob: No, it's cauliflower.

Sophie: What-flower? I don't see any flowers!

Rob: Not flowers. Cauliflower.

Sophie: What's cauliflower?

Chloë: It's the white broccoli!

I giggled. These conversations always tickle me.

Oh, and during dinner prep, the girls (later Jack and Rob) talked to their grandmother, my MIL, who turned 70 today! Happy birthday, Mom! They were so excited to talk to her. Chloë had a good long conversation, but Sophie handed me the phone after about two minutes, telling me "Grandma hung up." Which she didn't. Sophia was just DONE. (Note to self: Work on phone manners with four-year-old.)

Later on, I had the kids sit down with me in the office and make Thanksgiving cards for all their grandparents and aunts and uncles. (By the way, we pronounce "aunt" as "ant," but Chloë keeps saying it as "ont." What's up with that? Funny.) They actually really got into it and had a lot of fun. Even Jack, who I thought would give up after two minutes, worked hard on his pictures. I hope everyone likes their cards! They kept talking excitedly about their recipients opening the mail and finding homemade cards, so we'll have to do that more often. I think tackling my Christmas card list this way will be too huge an undertaking, though!

And I, I knitted. As you can see. I finally finished the first bootie for Luke. I'd have been done days ago, but I worked my yarn into the most horrible knot, and as you can see, this alpaca is quite the fuzzy stuff. More fuzz = more, and more stubborn, knots. I did a number on it!

Thankfully, I have a fresh, new skein for the second bootie, which I plan to begin tomorrow sometime. The little feller is not getting any smaller, and I want him to be able to wear them at least once! Then I'll have to see if I have enough alpaca to make the next size up in the trousers... eek.

So I'm out. My bed is calling my name...

Fin.

P.S. Buzz off, KS.

Mommology

Wasn't in the blogging mood yesterday, but there were some mentionable things there, so let's recap:

In the morning, I had my first-ever appointment with a chiropractor. I went in not knowing what to expect and became more skeptical as the visit wore on. But since my back spasms (from nerve damage in my lower spine, thanks to anesthesiologist error before my last c-section) have been plaguing me lately, I decided to check it out.

The "doctor," which term amuses me for this field - and I'm sorry if you're a chiropractor or married to one, but... yeah, let's leave it at that - was nice, and thoroughly checked all my reflexes and bones and range of movement. The idea that after studying how to press on someone's back in the "right" way means someone should be called a doctor, well, I don't think so. If that's the case, I have a degree in Mommology after some 8+ years of study, no?

(So now you know what my Facebook status was about yesterday, if you saw that!)

I'm a skeptic anyway when it comes to all forms of healing. Prayer, I know it works, but after growing up as a Christian Scientist whose religion failed my dying mother, I also know that it doesn't always work.  Medicine, of course, has crossed leaps and bounds through the years, but it still has many limitations. So does surgery. But perhaps the thing I'm most skeptical about is holistic healing methods, whether they be vitamins and supplements, massage, acupuncture/pressure, and... chiropractic.

Maybe it's just because it's not something I'm familiar with, or maybe it's because it's not as well understood in general, but holistics often seem kooky to me. I've even tried acupuncture, in my depression counseling after Robby died. I don't know where I'm going with this whole topic, really, except to say that if it heals my back and brings about the end of these awful, awful spasms, I will be quite surprised.

So we shall see. After the exam, they took several x-rays (and hey, I fit in the "large" shorts with no "X" in front of them, to take the pictures) and sent me on my way. I have to go back in tomorrow (Weds) morning to discuss them. Should be interesting.

I got home and immediately called the city people about signing up for the next substitute teacher training and orientation meeting, which is mandatory, obviously, before starting to sub. Imagine how disheartened I was when I found out that the next meeting isn't until January 21st!!! Guess I should have called sooner. Bah.

I spent much of the rest of the day after that making - and mailing - tutus for the shop and a couple custom orders, including the one 2nd down from the top. That was requested on Facebook for a blogger friend of mine in the UK, and I just loved her color combination of pinks, red and burgundy so much, I had to make a second for the shop! It's my new favorite. Or favourite, as she would say. ;)

In the evening, I gathered up the children to get to Chloë's 1730 dentist appointment. It was already dark and raining when we got there, so we had to dash into the building. And I am not a dasher. I even ran up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. I was kind of proud of that. You know, we skinnies who way under 200 lbs have to keep up our figures somehow. ☺

I had called the dentist for the appointment because - did I already mention this? - all of her teeth, especially the incoming adult teeth, were turning brown! It was disgusting, looked like she'd eaten poop. Of course, I wasn't going to sit idly by and let her teeth turn brown, and all the power brushing I'd made her do didn't make a dent in it. I thought it was either some kind of dietary deficiency or something in the water, but that didn't really make sense to me, since it wasn't happening to the other kids' teeth.

After what seemed like forever (and dodging the other waiting parents' dirty looks whenever Sophie or Jack coughed their nasty post-flu coughs), Dr. C. called me in. Turns out that some teeth, especially new ones, are more porous than others, and they stain very easily. He said brushing wouldn't take care of it, but that he was able to get it all off using his instruments. I checked; her smile is brilliant now! (Well, except for the four missing teeth.) If it happens again, I can either bring her back for another scraping, or do it myself with... now what did he say? Oh yeah, a toothpick. I don't really see a toothpick doing the job, though.

I was craving Boston Market like a madwoman, and I'd seen the signs for "Kids Eat Free" the other day, so I thought I'd stop there for dinner. The four of us can easily get by on one combo meal, especially the way the kids haven't been eating at all lately. We went in and waited in line - the first time I'd ever been in there - and looked over the menu. We got the 3-piece dark combo, with two sides and a mini loaf of cornbread, for I think $6.99. Perfect! However, it turned out to be twice as much after adding four drinks, so that would really only be cost-effective if we took it home and used our own drinks.

Chloë requested the mac-n-cheese for one of the sides, and I got mashed potatoes for the other. I was literally in shock when I set the tray down on the table, handed each of them a fork (because I'd forgotten to ask for exra plates), and watched Chloë lean over the plate and inhale every last molecule of macaroni and cheese. I about passed out, I was so excited to see her finally eating!! And then she asked for more! We finished up what we could eat, which wasn't much as I got full quickly and the other two still weren't up to it and then waited in line to get her another big bowl of the stuff. $5 for that! Crazy. So in the end, the meal didn't turn out to be the best value for us, but man oh man, was I delighted to see Chloë devour that food.

At the end of the night, after the kids went to bed, I sat and started knitting on Luke's booties while watching TV. Monday nights on CBS are my favorite right now... but anyway, I'd show you a picture of the knitting progress, except it looks exactly like the mittens so far! I'm only a little way into the first cuff. Then I got so tired, (and yet not sleepy), I took a whole sleeping pill (normally half if any) and went to bed.

********

Today, the children didn't have school. I don't know if it was for Election Day or what, but there were parent-teacher conferences scheduled. Some how, I didn't get notified about having any, so I didn't do that.

I slept way late, after that sleeping pill. Waaay late. The kids had helped themselves to cereal, banana bread, and yogurt, so they were calmly playing next to me in the living room when I finally came to.

It took me a minute to wake up, and then I surveyed the damage: minimal. Except in the kitchen, but I decided to close the imaginary doors to that room and pretend it didn't exist!

Then I surveyed myself: Hair still looked okay, makeup was coming off and rubbed under my eyes, and clothes looked good. Yep, I washed my face and went out in yesterday's clothes! I don't do that often, but I needed to get that UK box packaged up and shipped out, which we went and did, and then go vote.

The gubernatorial election was today, and it was really the only one I cared about. My guy lost. Oh, well. I don't really feel attached to this state, like I did to Florida, so I'm not broken up about it the way I was when Jeb Bush became Governor down there. I am SO not a fan of the Bush family!

Then I talked to my dad for a long time, after we went home to get Chloë ready for soccer practice. She missed all last week and was excited to get back. My dad was good... he's planning to get married for the 5th (??) time (wait, I have to count) (yes, 5th) in February and is planning to go on a honeymoon cruise. We are not invited to the wedding, but nobody is except one local couple they're friends with, to stand up for them. The cruise jogged my memory to ask him, since he is a cruise travel agent, about Rob and I maybe going on a short cruise to Bermuda for our 10th anniversary next (2011) January.  Seems there are no cruises to Bermuda until May, so we'll have to come up with another idea or delay the trip 'til after our anniversary.

And, I said, I didn't know about taking the kids with us or going alone, since our regular babysitter (Steph) has gone and had a baby, and I didn't know if she'd be up to watching ours for a few days with a 1½-year-old of her own. Well, he volunteered himself and Kathy to do the job. I've never met her, and I don't trust him on his own with them, so I definitely had to reserve my answer until after I've gotten to know her a little better! He seemed tremendously excited about the prospect of keeping the grandkids for a while, though, so maybe I'll have to loosen the reins a little bit, now that they're a little older, and let him try.

Eek, though! Eek!

But I digress.

We got to soccer, and I was wearing what I wore yesterday brown pants and a silky brown short-sleeved mock-turtleneck, with my brown Crocs. It was definitely a brown day. I looked good, but the weather had turned since we were out earlier, and it was COLD! The kids didn't have their coats, either, but at least they were running around the whole time and keeping warm. I shivered and held my nips in, since they were sticking out halfway to China. COLD! (And by cold, I mean it was like 60º, hehe.)

Coach cut soccer short, so it was only a half-hour long, and then we were dismissed to meet a half-hour later at the pizza place for the end-of-season soccer party. There are still 2 weeks left in the season, but apparently some people are going to miss it (as we were), so they held it early. We had to kick in $20 each for pizza and sodas, trophies, Coach gifts, and what-not. I thought that was a little steep, and then I had to pay for my food and the Littles' separately, too!

Well, just when I was getting ready to order for us three, Coach leaned over and told me and the other mom who was sitting at the same table with him (we were at about six separate tables) that we could just share with the team pizza, and not to worry about it. Which was a relief, since I didn't relish buying a huge pizza and none of the three of us eating much.

Only, Jack and Sophie ate! They ate and ate and ate, in fact. Jack ate two slices, and Sophia ate FOUR. FOUR!! That's more than she normally eats. I ate one, and a bite here and there of theirs. There was plenty of pizza for the team, too, so I didn't feel so bad.

Party time at the Y Not Pizza on Providence Road - their pizza is GOOD! I'd never had it before, but we'll have to go there again sometime.

Each of the kids was given a ball of dough to play with while they waited for the pizza to come out. Sophie was quite creative with hers.

This was supposed to be a cute picture of Sophia with her buddy, Coach Matt, but...

Chloë receiving her trophy. She was given the "Lionhearted Award," for always going back out there and trying her hardest. She got a certificate, her soccer pictures, and a goody bag filled with soccer-themed trinkets. Fun stuff!

The first trophy earned by one of our kids! I've never gotten a trophy either, so even though all the girls got one, I'm still excited by it. The even spelled her name right!

Coach Matt and his busy wife, Tina

A nice picture of Chloë and Coach - I think they are pretty fond of each other. He's a really nice man; I like him, too.

After that, we went home. The kids did their homework, and it actually got done quite quickly for once. Amazingly so, actually, now that I think about it.

Then they took a bath, while I took a break and farmed my crops on Facebook. :P

And then we folded and put away about six loads of laundry, plus a garbage bag full of clothes from Aunt Stacey that I'd brought home and forgotten about in August.

And then they went to bed. Yee-haw!!

Remember how I Swiffered and mop-Swiffered the floor the other day, and behold, it was good? Yeah, that was long since a thing of the past, and the place was covered in dog hair and muddy paw prints once again. So, I cleaned anew and got the place looking shiny and sparkly again. It feels so much nicer in here. Guess I better invest in a mop, since it looks like it's going to be a muddy winter.

And then do you want to know what nasty thing I did next? Do ya?

Remember when we went to Jack's Halloween party for Cub Scouts, and we had to take the carved pumpkins along with us? Well... I never actually took them back OUT of the van. Hee! I remembered them the other day and asked Rob to take them out, but he didn't, so I decided to go 'head and get that taken care of.  And this was the icky sight that greeted me: two rotten and moldy jack o' lanterns, grimacing up at me from the trunkeral portion of the van.

Eww, it left this behind when I removed it (to the street behind me, because I wasn't carrying that nasty thing any further than that)!

And the big guy, who was completely mushy through-and-through

The mold looked like snow inside! Delicious!

So I took those out, and then ran back inside for some heavy-duty cleaning supplies. I managed to get the stain completely out from the big pumpkin, but the dark marks were still left behind from the small one, above. Shoot. I'll have to try again tomorrow. Nasty, right?

And oh, I ran to the store too, for milk and OJ and, well, sushi, and these:

Tinkerbell decided to come up and nuzzle the matches just as I was taking the picture. Who can guess what I'm going to do with 24 boxes of matches? (No, I'm not an arsonist.)

So it's 0100 now, and still no sign of Rob home from work. Hmph. Guess I won't be seeing him tonight. Cheerio, then!

Fin.

Wordless Wednesday: My Baby's First Trophy

I was impressed, they even did the "ë" right in her name! For more WW, click here.

Fin.

My Body Is In One-Derland

Well, I've done it.

Remember a month ago, at my 8-month post-surgery mark, I said I was hoping to be in "one-derland" (ie, under the 200-lb mark) by my one-year surgiversary in January, 2010? (I didn't make up that term, just go with it.)

Well here we are, one day before my 9-month mark, and I just weighed in: 199.7 lbs, three months ahead of schedule!!!

I've lost over 141 pounds in 9 months, and it feels fabulous. I'm feeling pretty awesome, actually. Go ahead and congratulate me; I deserve it. Hahaha!! (kidding, kidding)

My new goal is to be at 175 or less by the one-year mark. Now that I'm back to regularly drinking my protein shakes, the weight loss that slowed down over the summer has kicked back up again. I think it's doable. I won't be upset if I don't make it, but I'll be thrilled if I do!

At my check-up on Thursday morning, my doctor told me that HIS goal for me was to get down to somewhere around 150-160 pounds, and that I would look like "death warmed over" if I got down to 120. So if I hit 175 by the one-year mark, I won't be that far off "goal"!

Fan-flipping-tastic. I am so excited right now. If only I could get this saggy baby belly removed...then I really would be in Wonderland!

(And I know you want pictures - nine more pounds to go until I take and share them, okay?)

********

Other bits 'n' bobs of late, since I missed Friday Fragments:

Please pray for Stim and Baby Luke. I don't want to share details that she hasn't mentioned on her blog, so I'll just ask for prayers. He's okay, but things could be going better for them.

Just a random silly picture Rob set up and took of Chloë wearing her hair on backward. It's an iPhone pic, so the quality... but I love all those healthy curls! Too bad she doesn't appreciate them; she's always asking me to straighten her hair. She wants "straight, yellow" hair like Sophia's. Tsk, tsk.

Neither girl did that well at soccer yesterday morning. I bribed Sophie into staying on the field by telling her if she did, we would go to Fall Carnival at the kids' school at night. So she literally planted herself on the field and didn't move, simply repeating, "Fall Carnival!" every time the Coach spoke to her and asked her if she wanted to run after the ball and play. *Sigh*

Chloë's game was at the same time, so Rob and Jack were on her field while I was watching Sophia. When I got over there, they had split the teams into two games, one on each half of the field, like they do with Sophie's games. That was new. Rob was up front... but Chloë was playing in the back! I asked him why he hadn't moved to the back, and he said, "Because I can still see her." Yeah, but... she can't see you, and she can't hear you cheering for her! That's important. Well, I guess I got to another mom whose daughter was playing at the back, too, because she got up and went with us to the back field! Haha.

We had to bring the after-game snack for Chloë's team. Everyone else brings cookies and junk, but I wanted to do something healthier, so we brought 100% juice boxes, bananas, and string cheese. It didn't go over well. Those girls wanted their cookies! We brought more than half of it home. Oh well, my kids will eat it!

We got a note from the Team Mom telling us when the end-of-season party was, and that we needed to kick in $20 for it. Twenty bucks?! That seems like a lot to me, after paying for the season, cleats, shin guards, socks, a ball, team snacks... .and now this. So much for soccer being cheaper than dance lessons. Sheesh.

We had to stop at Wal-mart after the games, as I was out of printer ink and needed something disposable to bake for the Fall Carnival - and all the kids suddenly needed to go potty. I shopped while Rob took the kids to the bathroom, and then we met up outside. On the way to the car, we spotted this "wind-up" SmartCar. Can you see the turny-thing? How cute! I just love those SmartCars. There is a SC dealership just down the road from us. One of these days, I'm going to go over there and take a test drive, just for kicks. I can't wait!

Steph called me on the way home, asking why we didn't come see her and the baby Friday night as planned. I was waiting for her to call me, and she was waiting for me to call her! Oops. I really want to see the little guy, so I'm kicking myself! They might stop by after church today, and if not, we may go over there. Pictures for sure, if we do! (Well, maybe... my new camera isn't holding a charge, so I might get one or two before it dies. WTF.)

As soon as we got home, I had to start baking. I'd promised one or two things for the Cake Walk at the Fall Carnival. My plan was to make two chocolate bundt cakes, but I couldn't find anything at Wal-Mart but foil cupcake pans, so, change of plans. In the end, I ended up baking four dozen cupcakes. They had to cool before I could frost them, of course, so I left them cooling on the table, with strict instructions to the kids to LEAVE THEM ALONE, while I went upstairs to shower and get ready for the carnival.

No, they didn't touch them. They were actually good. Phew.

My dad called me while I was upstairs getting dressed. He wants me to go the Christian Science, prayerful, metaphysical route in taking care of whatever this lump is in my right breast. However, sobbingly, I told him that I can't do to my children what my mother did to Stacey and me (she died when I was 7, at my same age of 33), and that I had to go find out what this is and treat it medically if necessary.

He understood that, but he suggested we work on it and get rid of it before I even go to the appointment, resolving things before they even start. As he said, what could it hurt? What do I have to lose?

Okay, but if it's still there, and this doesn't work, then I'm going the other way. He told me that the practitioner who worked with my mom before her very sudden death couldn't "get past Karen's fear," and so they weren't able to have the breakthrough they needed to save her life.

Really? Fear killed my mother? I think it was the untreated diabetes...

The whole thing had me extremely upset, and after I hung up with my dad, Rob was there, and he held me for half an hour while I cried. I gave myself such a headache! But really, it was so unnecessary that she died that way. I needed her. I needed her!! I still need her. It fucking hurts...

Anyway.

So I got dressed, and guess what? Move over size 18, because I fit into the nice, new size 16 pants that Linda gave me last week! I looked pretty good, too. Maybe I'll wear that when I take my 150-lb loss pictures for y'all. Hot Mama! ;)

I went downstairs and used my cake decorating stuff to swirly-frost the cupcakes. Some in chocolate, some in classic white (whatever the hell that is), and some in white buttercream. I just used what I had in the pantry. They looked really good, though. I even dreamed of eating them, which is sad!

I told Rob it was his job to figure out how we were going to transport the things to school - I mean, four dozen! -  We decided to stick a toothpick in each cupcake to keep the Saran wrap off the frosting, and then put two six-packs of cupcakes on each of four cookie sheets. Then, against our better judgement, we had Rob and each of the children carry a cookie sheet in the car, all the way to school, on their laps. Eek! We told them a million times not to touch the cupcakes, just the cookie sheets.

Well, again, they listened, the cupcakes made it to school in one piece! All 48 of them, all 8 separate pans.

We got there an hour early, because I never actually confirmed that I would be bringing anything for the Cake Walk, and I wanted them to know that I did follow through on my promise. They were thrilled, and I was too, because every single cupcake got there in one piece.

For the next hour, instead of helping out with setting up for the Carnival - during which time my kids would probably just get in the way - we walked to the back of the school and let the kids loose on the playground. They ran and ran and exhausted themselves thoroughly, racing each other around the field and just generally having a grand ol' time. I had my camera in my purse, actually, but I completely forgot about it, so I have no pictures of this or the Carnival fun. Dammit.

That hour would have been a good time to realize that I didn't have my wallet - with the Carnival tickets - with me! I didn't check until we got back inside and the food was ready. You have to purchase the food you want with tickets, too. And... I had none. Argh! So I sent Rob home to get them, giving up our awesome parking spot to the crowds who were starting to roll in. We sat with our thumbs up our butts and watched, and waited. Yay, fun.

Finally, he returned, and everyone had what they wanted: hot dogs for Jack and Chloë, pancet and lumpia for Rob and Sophia, and, well, nachos and cheese for me, because there was nothing protein-y I could eat otherwise. Just a couple for me, and then Chloë devoured the rest. No sooner did we finish eating, than Sophie got a funny look on her face. I've rarely seen that look on her, but I recognized it well from the weak-stomached Chloë. I got the foil wrapper from the hot dogs just in time to catch the puke. Boy, she really lost it. I think that's only the third time ever in her life that Sophia has thrown up! Poor kid.

Then she said she had to poop, and I was figuring it would be upset-tummy ucky poops (sorry for TMI), so I had Rob race her to the bathroom while I sat with the other two. During their absence, Jack said, very loudly for the whole room to hear, "Mom, what does 'pussy' mean?"

I gasped and said, "Jack!! Shhhhh! Don't say that!"

We went 'round and 'round, with him continuing to say "pussy" (What does it mean? Is it a bad word? etc) and me telling him not to say it... until we finally got to the point where he was remembering a kids' song on one of their CDs about a pussycat! Hahaha, I was so relieved.

Rob came back and laughed his arse off when I told him that story.

Well, Sophie seemed fine and insisted she wanted to stay and play the games, so... we stayed. And played the games. They won a bunch of prizes and had a lot of fun, and she really did seem fine. And we all did the Cake Walk together, but we didn't win. Jack was really pissed; he wanted some of those cupcakes!

And I was happy to see that all of my cupcakes went first! All of them were gone in the first half hour, and all the other baked goods were left. Yay, me! :D

We left after that, when all our tickets were gone, and I went home and crashed. I slept for 12½ hours. I've been so tired lately, so very tired... and I have a huge, unexplained bruise on my forearm. I'm hoping these are not symptomatic of anything, you know? Fear.

Well, I need to go clean, clean, clean... hope y'all have a great Sunday!

Fin.

Ayer y Hoy

Yesterday.

I woke up, sick as a DOG, man. I think I already shared that with you? I called into work and was told that, since I was possibly exposed to the swine flu last weekend, I couldn't come back to work until I had a doctor's clearance.

So I went to the doc.

They don't even test for the swine flu in the military system, which seems strange to me, but what do I know? And they didn't test for the regular flu either, maybe because I hadn't had any fevers. I sure did all day today, boy howdy. (If you're wondering why I say that phrase so much, being a New Yorker, it's because that and several other "South Carolina-isms"  rubbed off on me when I lived with my dad there.) (He's still there.)

Anyway, they checked for strep throat, which came back negative.  I did have a huge ton of fluid in my sinuses and ears and throat, and in my chest but not my lungs, so my official diagnosis was a sinus and bronchial infection. I got all kinds of prescriptions (Claritin, Mucinex, Tylenol, Tussinex) to "dry me out" and help me sleep through the night without coughing.

It was going to be, like, a two-hour wait at the pharmacy before my scripts got filled, and I did not have the physical fortitude to sit around for that, so I left.  I drove straight home and slept for the next three hours.

Thankfully, I did not miss the bus this time. I woke up with eleven whole minutes to spare. Phew.

When Rob came home, he informed me that (1) He wouldn't be able to get leave to go to Missouri for his mom's 70th birthday party next month and (b) He will start working nights on the 20th. Wonderful. (Mom, I'm assuming he called you and told you this already today, like he said he would, and if not and you're finding out this way, I'm so sorry.)

So that bites, hard. I guess they are way short-handed at work right now and he had to deny someone else's leave, and no one will get to take any until at least the new year.

I wanted him to go fill my prescriptions for me, since I still felt like butt, but he refused to take any of the kids with him. You know what? That didn't work for me, so we ALL went. And I drove the "new white car," as Jack calls the (awesome) rental. I sat in the car with the sleeping Sophie, and Chloë, while the boys went in. I think I dozed; I can't remember.

I can't remember what happened for the rest of the night. I took my Tussinex, which not only knocked me out for the night, but for the whole day today, too. Wow.

For the first time this school year, I just didn't have it in me to make the kids' lunches this morning. I fed them breakfast, but I had to sit down and put some lunch $ in their online accounts. That was such a relief. I'll only do that when I *really* have to, because at two bucks a pop, PLUS service fees, it's not cheap.

After they got on the bus, I went straight back to bed and slept from 0800 to 1415. I tossed and turned, waking up periodically, but falling straight back to sleep. I had a bad fever and was sweating buckets. I dreamt some crazy, medicine-induced dreams. Be glad I can't remember them, to share with you. (I like sharing my dreams, but I hate hearing about other peoples'! Selfish, I know.)

Chloë's soccer practice was blessedly canceled due to rain, but since Sophie's team was having their pictures taken, we still had to go that one. Only I forgot the form, so we had to run home while her pictures were taken, and I didn't get to snap any myself. :(

There was no practice after that, so we left to go to one of the furthest-away S***cs for a mystery shop I'd signed up for for tonight, before I got sick. And when we got there, I realized that I'd forgotten my wallet for the SECOND time, even after running home for it and the picture form.

Annoyance.

So that put me in a delightful mood, and I was already charming. Folks, when I'm sick, I hardly have the opposite of the patience of Job, whatever that is. Are you the same?

We went home, got the wallet and went back to do the shop. And since Rob was working way late, I accepted two more S***c shops - close by our house this time - when they called up and begged me. At least this way, I wouldn't have to cook the dinner I didn't feel like making.

Except I forgot that no one did their homework yet, because I sent everyone upstairs to play after school, so I could nap some more. Oops.

They're doing it now. It's late. Very late.

Fin.

P.S. Oh yeah, I completely forgot that it was Bunco night last night, too. I went, sick and all, since the doc said I was not contagious. If y'all get sick next week, don't blame me! I wish I had known that there would be an extra there, because I would have stayed home in my bed. But it was fun, as much as it could be when you don't feel well, and I enjoyed myself. Pretty much.

What. A. Day. ... What. A. Night!

Forewarning: This will be long!

I didn't go to bed 'til, like, 0200 or something, and I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn (0630) to wake up The Fam. I haven't stopped running since. Both girls had to be at their soccer fields at the insane-if-you-ask-me hour of 0745. Sophie's game was at 0800, and Chloë's was at 0830, but her team pictures were scheduled for 0745. How do they expect these kids to play when they are so darn tired?! Anyway, I managed to sneak behind the professional shutterbug and snap these pictures of my older soccer player. He requested she not wear her glasses - fine by me! Now you can see her face.

Here's the whole team of Purple Dolphins, minus one who didn't show. On the left is Coach Cam, and on the right is Coach Matt. I stayed and watched the photo shoot while Rob took Sophie to her game. They were short players - and therefore parents - and he ended up coaching Sophie's half of the team while CoachJohn took the other three girls. Glad it wasn't me!

They had one picture for being silly! Too cute.

Can you see my little Chlo running out there in the middle? Unfortunately, I forgot to put a memory card in the new camera, so these are all the soccer pics I was able to get next week. I have one now, so maybe more and better ones next week, after I've had a little time to learn the camera some more.

We're SO proud of the girls today. I first watched Chloë play, and she ran her little heart out! She even managed to steal the ball away from the other team and kick it halfway down the field before they stole it back. Then she kicked the ball and slipped on it, twisting her leg. She was just sobbing, and I held her and let her cry into my shoulder until snack time, when she was magically better. Jack and I left her then, running down to Field 3 from Field 5, to see Sophia play.

Now, Sophie was completely exhausted from staying up too late herself. She was sound asleep while I dressed her in her soccer clothes, and didn't really wake up until halfway to the Sportsplex! So I didn't expect much out of her for today's early game. But when Jack and I arrived to find Daddy coaching, Sophia was running clear from one end of the field to the other, with the ball in her control, and made a kick for the goal. She missed, but it's clear she could be really talented at this support if she would just apply herself.

She saw me, then, and left the field, refusing to go back. So I bribed her, telling her that if she would just stay ON the field - she didn't even have to play, just stay on the field with her teammates - I would take the kids to Linda and Tony's house later, at night. Of course, they were going to go anyway, so I was banking on the fact that they super-enjoy going there, and as I'd hoped, it proved to be enough incentive. She literally just stood there on the field, but at least she got out there!

Back to Chloë's game we ran. Just in time to see her put back in the game and take the ball away from the opposing team again! She only got a couple little kicks in, but I was so proud of her - and I could tell the other parents were, too! Several of them know she has a background in dancing, and everyone knows this is her first season playing soccer, so they were really shouting out encouragements to her. I guess it worked! I was elated. So  happy for her! Well, except when an opposing team member completely body-checked her, and she got hurt again. Ugh! Poor thing.

Jack and I arrived back at Field 3 just in time to see the game end, with Sophie standing there sucking her thumb. No matter. She stayed! Rob and I lined up across from each other, to make the tunnel for all the players to run through - Sophie's favorite part of the games after snack time. We grabbed her post-game snack, said sayonara to Coach John, and ran back to Field 5 with Daddy.  Chloë continued to run with the pack, really getting in there and attacking that ball whenever she had the chance. As Coach Matt said, she really showed some hustle today, and he noticed a major improvement over last week.

Good job, girls!!

After we again made the tunnel for the players and fetched Chloë's post-game snack, we finally headed home after 2½ hours at the Sportsplex. By now, the kids were pumped up and raring to go.

Rob again didn't get his motorcycle license today, because like the past three weekends, it's been too late after soccer ends to get in the DMV on time. Maybe next weekend he'll just have to miss a game, and make taking that test as high a priority as it is for me to stop paying a trillion dollars every three days to fill up his LandCruiser with gas. Know what I'm sayin'?

I had a lunch date with Steph for a mystery shop, and the girls were originally supposed to go with me while Jack and Rob sold popcorn. Their sale was canceled, so the four of them stayed home and cleaned the kids' rooms while Steph and I had a lunch date. 

I had a really nice time with her today! We had a great conversation over a very nice meal, and it was wonderful to be able to go without the kids hanging on our every word. She's really close to having Baby Luke now, so we talked at length about all things labor, delivery, and newborns.  I can't wait to meet the littlest Goetsch!

Let's see, let's see... what next? Oh, after lunch, Steph and I headed to Toys 'R Us to do a little birthday present shopping. Well, I did. She's 90 weeks pregnant and had to pee. Hehe. On Friday, Sophie was invited to a classmate's birthday party on Sunday. Hello, short notice! But I figure it's good karma to let them go to as many parties as they can attend and make the honoree happy. I bought an "I Spy" game and a reusable gift bag that I hope the mama, well, reuses.

We came home and chatted some more in our kitchen, and then Steph took her leave. Rob took some "before" pictures of me, since I was about to go get a haircut, but I hate them. I think I look a lot fatter in the pictures than I do in real life, so I don't want to show them. Oh, what the hell. This is today, at 130 lbs lost, but I'll take newer, better ones at the 150-lb mark:

Focus on the hair. There was a big change from that to this:

Which I just LOVE!

As for the clothes, I'm wearing a shirt and jeans that I've never been able to wear before. After my shower, I went through my whole wardrobe and dismissed everything that was a 2x or 3x (I only want ONE X in my clothes now; the others just hang off me and look ridiculous), or a 20+ size. It does me some mental good to get rid of those humongo sizes, and it does me some mental good to only have smaller sizes in my closet. Unfortunately, that leaves me with about three things I can wear, not including my work uniform, so I will need to head to the thrift store on Monday and take advantage of the 20% Military-Monday discount! They get some really good clothes in there and assign them awesome prices, so I should get some great deals.

Anyway, I went to get my haircut, and I knew exactly what I wanted. My sister gave me layer upon ridiculous layer, and I was so sick of it. It just did NOT look good on me. What was she thinking?!! So, I wanted a chin-length bob, angled toward my face, to get rid of the layers.

Tommy cut my hair; it was the first time a man has ever cut my hair before. He was the only stylist available on such short notice when I called earlier in the week, fed up with my tresses, but I wasn't worried, since he owns the place and has cut both Jack and Sophie's hair in the past.

He was a man of few words, being both tired and sore from working all day, but I rather liked it. I'm not really a big fan of all the hair salon chit-chat. I always feel like I have to come up with some juicy gossip or some really interesting tidbit about my life, and it's agonizing for me. I'd rather just sit quietly and enjoy the pampering.

At the end, though, I could tell he was just as pleased as punch with my haircut - as much as I was! He kept showing me off to other stylists and clients alike, and they all gushed about how great it looked on me. I have to agree - I felt rather hot and sexy with my new 'do! Rob also concurs. He's been all over me ever since I came home. Hee!

Rob and I had a dinner date down at Rudee's Inlet (a marina near the oceanfront), so we dropped the kids off at Linda and Tony's and headed out to another mystery shop. Our expectations were high, as I had a rather large dinner budget, but the place just did not meet our pre-conceived notions. By itself, it didn't suck, but it was not at all what we thought it would be. We were expecting something like the Ruth's Chris of seafood restaurants, and instead it was more low-key, casual, with a cafeteria-like feel. Lots of children. And we spent less than half of our budget. Which is fine, but it just wasn't the fancy night out for which we were hoping. Oh, well.

Rob took this picture of me at dinner, so I could put it up on Facebook as my new profile image. Not bad, but he never tells me when my hair is a mess or something needs fixing!

Not that I can complain much, because what the hell is he doing in this picture? I have no idea.

For an appetizer, Rob got a half-dozen oysters, and I chose the jumbo shrimp cocktail. I shared half of mine with him, because of course I couldn't eat it all. It was really good, though, as was all our food. The food wasn't the issue. It was the ambiance. Eh, well.

For an entrée, Rob had the tuna special, while I chose the crabcake combo, including broiled lemon-pepper scallops (yum), green beans and baby potatoes. I ate about two bites of that before I had to run to the bathroom and puke. I think I'm developing a problem with that, but I don't know. I have to make myself throw up, sticking my finger down my throat, to relieve the discomfort of too much food or something just not sitting right in my pouch. It happens an awful lot, and while I'm doing it to relieve pain and not to get skinny, exactly, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it out of habit or because I really need to. I think I should talk about it with my doctor, and also find a new therapist. Sigh.

Rob ordered the chocolate eclair cake for dessert. Apparently it was quite tasty but too sweet. He got an upset stomach after that and has been crapping his brains out ever since! Poor thing.

So after we picked up the children from Linda's, we headed over to HT where I work to get a few groceries. Little did I know what drama that would entail...

I didn't really know what I wanted, just that a lot of produce was on special. I was out of fruit for the kids' lunches, so I picked up lots of good fruits and veggies for next week: apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, grapes, baby carrots... and more. Some fresh baked bread, some cheeses and whole grain crackers for my own snacks, some Cokes on sale, but mostly good, fresh, healthy stuff. A lot of stuff, much more than what I'd expected to buy.

I'd never spoken to or really met the store manager, T, before tonight. He'd never introduced himself to me while I was working, or vice-versa. So when I asked a deli clerk for help with some cheese, she in turn needed help and called him. I told him who I was and that I worked there, and thanked him for the help. That was that.

But then, when we checked out, our order came to $160. I had $80 in cash and wanted to pay the rest on my debit card. You with me? Well, the cashier rang in the $80 cash twice, essentially paying for our order without allowing me to use the card. He proceeded to try to give me change to boot! I stopped him, of course, and told him that he had made a mistake. He refused to admit his mistake, but I wasn't going to allow him to be $80 short, so we called customer service.

The store got really busy all of a sudden then, so we waited and waited and waited until someone could help us. Finally, T, the store manager, took us over to the customer service desk to straighten things out. Unfortunately, something in their system changes at 10 pm, and it had just turned to 10 pm, and he wasn't able to fix the mistake. (I'm trying to make this long story short, so sorry if it's a little confusing!) Finally, in frustration I think, he said, "I just canceled it out. Go ahead, have a nice night."

Huh? What? I was like, "But, but..." and he insisted, "Go on. Have a good night!"

So what happened was, we got $160 worth of food for only $80, because he wasn't able to fix the problem. I was stunned. It wasn't my fault, but I still feel really guilty about it, like I was scamming my store out of food... but that's Harris Teeter for you! They really take care of their customers, and I was treated like one myself. I even offered to let him dock my pay for the amount, but he insisted we just go. Wow. Rob and I were both incredulous.

But that's not all. When we got home, we realized that Rob had had my wallet while this was all going on, and he'd forgotten to take it out of the cart and bring it in the van with us. We couldn't find it anywhere, and I was trying like hell to maintain my composure and not go ballistic on him. That wallet is basically my whole life; I'd be up shit's creek without a paddle if it was lost or stolen!

We got everyone back in the van and rushed back to HT, calling the store on the way to see if it had been turned in. The manager, T, was looking all over for my wallet in the shopping carts, while Rob and I searched the van. Finally, T came over and informed us that he'd found it! Thank God, thank God, thank God. I was sending up major prayers of thanks... until I couldn't find my debit card!

T took Rob inside to look at the security tape from our transaction at customer service, to see what happened to that red card. I stayed outside with the children.  They came rushing out to tell me that the tape showed I'd stuffed it in my purse with the receipt, and we instantly found it. So, more thankfulness!

I turned to T and told him, "Sorry about all the drama tonight! I think I'm going to reintroduce myself to you on Monday when I come in to work!" He laughed, told me not to worry about it, and again wished us a good night. He seems like a really, truly great guy, and I like him immensely. I just wish I'd met him on better terms!

I'd promised the kids a treat long before, when we were leaving Linda's house, and Chloë and Jack still wanted to cash in. Sophie fell asleep in the car, so Rob carried her to bed and tucked her in while I took care of the groceries and fixed their treat. Jack just wanted some of the honey sunflower bread I'd bought - easy enough. Chloë decided on some chocolate-dipped bananas, so I melted the chocolate wafers I'd just bought and dipped about five sliced bananas. I had to try one myself, of course - pure deliciousness! She popped four or five before deciding that she'd had enough. That kid is really good at regulating her intake of sweets.

The treats don't look quite as good wrapped in green cellophane, do they? No. But trust me, they are the shizznat, and you want one.

And that, my friends, was our crazy Saturday. I hope you had a good one, too!

Fin.

Eight Months Out

Friday night, I stayed up wicked late hosting my monthly online crochet-a-thon, so I was exhausted come Saturday morning. We had another early day, this time for Sophie's soccer game first. Chloë's wasn't until after noon.

Saturday was my 8-month surgiversary, so I weighed in - 127 lbs gone forever! And a lot of people have been commenting on it lately. At Chloë's math LD meeting at school last week, Mrs. P., the assistant principal, stopped me and said, "You look GREAT! Really GREAT!" I thanked her, and she said she hoped it was a planned thing and not that I was really sick or something. I told her about the surgery, and she asked me whether I was recovering well and all that. But it made up for no one saying anything at the back-to-school picnic!

That same day, I came home and my neighbor, Mr. C. told me that I must have lost a lot of weight. Again, I told him about the surgery, and he said, "Well, it looks really good on you!" And today, our neighbor on the other side, Ms. P., said, "You're doing great with your weight loss, it looks really great!" 

Oh, and last night at work, I ran into K, who used to work at the Farm Fresh around the corner from us. She was my buddy; I always went through her check-out line. But it's been so long since I've seen her, that I didn't quite remember where I knew her. Finally, she came up to me and asked if I was the FF customer who used to carry a ton of canvas bags and always had a lot of coupons. I laughed and assured her it was me. She said, "Wow, you've lost so much weight, I almost didn't recognize you! You look amazing!"

So yeah, 8 months out, and I'm doing fine. I can deal with all these nice compliments I'm getting lately! My goal now is to be below the 200-lb mark by my one-year surgiversary. That's only 14 lbs away, which is 3.5 lbs a month. I think I can do it! To get there, I'm amping up the protein intake and drinking as many shakes as I can stand. Working is going to interfere with that - I basically don't eat anything on my breaks, because... oh wait, I just remembered there is a fridge in the break room. Duh. I'll have to bring a shake to work for my breaks from now on. 

********

Anyway, back to Sophia's game: We had super-low expectations, based on last weekend's lack of play. Basically, we wanted her to go to the game and at least cheer her team-mates on from the sidelines. But then she said she wanted to go out and play, holding Daddy's hand. No sooner did they get on the field, than she changed her mind and balked. Rob refused to carry her around, so I carried her out to mid-field and plopped down with her. I tried again to get her to agree to run around holding Rob's hand, but this is what she did:

She hid under the watercooler chair for I-don't-know-how-long, until I gave up and just sat next to her, cheering on her teammates. She eventually came out and joined me, and then, surprising me, decided to go out and run with her Dad. I waved Rob over, and they went out and kicked the ball a few times with the team. Go, Sophie!

Mostly, she stayed on the sidelines with me, while her Coach (up there with the yellow shirts) tried to encourage her to play. Then, a second time, she agreed to run out there with her dad! Again, they only stayed for a few minutes, but she got a kick or two in and made us proud. Finally, in the last quarter of the game, she went out by herself without telling me she was going and stole the ball. She ran and ran with it toward the goal and very nearly made a goal, but missed. We were all shocked - Coach, Dad, and me! As Coach said, "I didn't know she had it in her!" Well, we did, but not during a game. Way to go, Soph!

During the game, while I was sitting mid-field (not in the way, the field halves are separated), I would talk to the other girls who were taking a break from play. One girl, Athena, told me all about her doggy who just went to heaven. Poor thing. And another girl, Alyssa, came sobbing into my arms to be held. I asked her if she was hurt, and she said, "No, my daddy says I have to do it right, but I just can't!" My heart broke for her. Hello, these girls are FOUR. It's about having fun, not excelling at soccer. I'd sure hate to hear that conversation on the way home, in the car. :(

Of course, Sophie's favorite part of the game is when it's over, and they get an awesome snack. Here, Coach J is telling all the girls (and their parents, since the kids aren't listening) what a great job they all did. I like him. I like both girls' coaches, actually. They really seem to care a lot about the girls' feelings as well as teaching them about the game. Unlike Jack's coach when he started at 4yo, who was a total dickwad!

After the game, we rushed home to get some lunch and have Jack get ready to sell popcorn again. He is getting so sick of it! He and Dad went off to their show-and-sell, where apparently he snapped back to life and did a really great job. They made a ton of money at that sale. Someone even bought Jack a $20 can of popcorn! Of course, that made his day. They worked the sale with a really nice father-and-son team, and the two hours went fast.

Meanwhile, we went back to the soccer field for Chloë's game. The prior game went way overtime, so the girls warmed up in a nearby area of the field for a while. I encouraged the hell out of my kid and even told her I'd give her, oh, I forget, maybe $10-15 Dad Dollars if she made a goal! In the end, I don't think I should have done that, because for her, it ended up being all about making a goal. She is very unsure, not confident, and intimidated by the other girls on her team - many of whom are practically twice her size - so she basically walked around through the whole game and did nothing. Sometimes she ran, especially when she caught my eye and I waved her on, but mostly she walked around, playing with her curls.

I could tell that she was just too afraid to get into the mix and try to get at that ball. So she hung back, afraid to get hurt or trampled, and did nothing. After the game, she came up to me, sobbing about not getting to make a goal. I hugged her tightly and, darn it, started crying myself.  I told her how proud I was of her just getting out there and running with her team, and that I knew how she felt. We went over and talked to Coach M, who hugged her and told her that she did a great job, showed some real hustle, and that he would put her in whatever position she wanted to try. She chose the middle, so I guess he'll put her their at the next practice. But he was very sweet and soft, and he encouraged her and made her - and me - feel better. I like the guy, gosh darn it.

Oh, and since there are only 7 teams, the Purple Dolphins didn't have another team to play against this week, so they split in half and played themselves. No win, no loss.

Here's where Sophie spent much of Chloë's game! She was cold and tired, so she huddled up in one of Rob's camp chairs. It was pretty cute. When she wasn't doing that, she ran around with our soccer ball and the other tag-along siblings, or catching bugs, or visiting the other parents and telling them her short life story. She's a charmer, that one!

We pretty much finished the game at the same time the boys finished the popcorn sale, so I wanted them to meet us at the S***c where I had a mystery shop. They never made it and went home instead, so the girls got to eat the lunch themselves. We missed church that night, because Rob was working on his truck. I don't know what's going on with his truck and his motorcycle - every other day, one of them has a dead battery and needs to be jumped. It's driving me nuts. But he doesn't think the batteries are the problem, so... I dunno. Whatever!

I took a nap and then did another S***c shop at night, by myself this time, since Rob had cooked a frozen pizza for the kids. That was Saturday.

Sunday, I worked 12-8. I gave Rob a honey-do list of things to work on while I was gone, and he basically got very little of it done. But never mind about that. At work, I spent the entire 8 hours on the computer, doing my cashier training. It was, eh, a little interesting, but mostly old hat, since I've worked so many years in grocery, already. The only things that really piqued my interest were the differences, like how to take the different tender forms. I'll have to unlearn my old ways as I'm learning the HT way to do things. And I was given a store tour with R., a teenager who is also starting as a cashier. Nice kid. I'll probably never see him, though, except on Sundays.

Today, I worked while the kids were in school. It kind of sucked! First, I had three more training sessions to do, but because I couldn't find where they were on the computer and decided to do the tests anyway, I failed them. Hehe. (It was non-intuitive stuff that I could never have guessed.) So I was locked out of re-taking them until tomorrow.

Then, because my trainer wasn't there, no one knew what to do with me. The other cashiers on duty were all pretty new themselves, since the store just recently opened, so they didn't want them to teach me. So I had to bag groceries all day. Boring! They told me it was good to get the practice, which is when I informed them that I actually have a lot of experience bagging and cashiering (and didn't say that I'm a better bagger than any other 10 actual baggers they have hired, thank-you-very-much)! That surprised them. And it's little wonder they didn't want the cashiers training me: I caught multiple mistakes and could have taught them a thing or to!

But lest you think I'm getting too cocky, I'll admit I made a couple major blunders myself: Not once, but twice, I forgot to give the customer a bag of their groceries! When that happens to me, and I get home and discover I'm missing something, I'm pissed! So, of course, I was very apologetic and felt shamed. I'm just not used to having four bag racks set up at once, and it's easy to miss the bags in the back. Something to work on, at least.

I carried out a few orders, and one lady insisted I take a tip. I kept telling her, "I can't, I really can't!" but finally, she just threw the dollar at me and said, "Oh, yes you can, the last guy did!" and walked away. Hee. I went in and reported it, and they told me just to say "thank you" and put it in my pocket when that happens. I am all about the honesty and rule-following, though. Something of a stickler!

After the kids got home and snacked, we went back to my store to get some groceries. I hadn't paid attention to the ads for this week, but there were some really great deals. For the most part, they behaved well - and I may have bribed them to do so with the free balloons and cookies HT offers the kids. Hey, whatever works, sometimes.

Rob was home before us, and I was really sore and tired by then. He gave me a lovely foot rub and then let me take a nap. Ahhh, what a nice boy. I can forgive him for not mowing the lawn, then. ;) The menfolk went out to Jack's den meeting for Cub Scouts (or is it a pack meeting? I don't know), Sophia colored half a coloring book all night, and Chloë and I worked on her homework and studying for tomorrow's Social Studies test. She knows the material pretty well, so I'm expecting good things. We'll study a little more in the morning.

And one more thing: I got my new camera in the mail today. I didn't pay a lot for it - less than it would have cost to fix the old one - and I'm happy with it. It will definitely do the job for now. I haven't figured out how to charge and upload it, but I've got a few pictures from tonight to show.

Maybe later. Hope you have a good week!

Fin.

Parent Night x Two

I had stayed up late Monday night for no good reason, so I was a sleepy, sleepy girl Tuesday. I napped all morning instead of getting the things done I needed to do, waking up just in time to go do my drug test at Harris Teeter. This whole getting-hired process is taking an annoyingly long time; I thought I would start working last Friday!  I didn't have to go pee in a cup for the test; instead, I had to stick a thing under my tongue for, like, 10 minutes until it turned blue.

And C., who was now in charge of hiring me, finally mentioned the nose ring. It had to go come out; I couldn't even cover it with a band-aid. I was worried about that. I mean, I really tried to get it out, but it wasn't budging. Eep. I was afraid I'd have to cut my nose!

Aaaaand, she told me that my availability basically sucked, and she was going to have a hard time giving me hours. I want to work during school hours, pretty much leaving nights and weekends for my family. In her words, HT is "a nights-and-weekends business," so there wasn't a lot she can do for me. I'm starting to re-think this whole working crap. Bah.

Back at home, I spent a half-hour trying to get that nose ring out. It was a major struggle, which I wasn't winning. It's a short post with an attached ball on either end, and they don't unscrew. So I had to shove one ball through the hole in my nose, which since closed up to be much smaller than the ball. Eventually, I worked it halfway through (I seem to have thick nostrils!), but it wouldn't budge the rest of the way. I grabbed my small sewing shears and tried to yank it, but that wasn't happening and just made my eyes water. Finally, I was able to snip right through the post with those dinky little shears! But then, I couldn't get the inside half out, so that was another fun challenge. Finally I pushed on it with the tip of the scissors and out it popped! I was so relieved. But now, I miss my little nosey bling. I liked it, man.

When the kids came home from school, I sent the Littles down for naps, because they were beyond tired and cranky. I had Chloë work on her homework until it was time to get ready for soccer. Daddy came home in time for me to get her to S***c for a dinner mystery shop to feed her little belly before soccer practice. She ate a ton, and then we realized that we never brought her a water bottle for soccer! Gah, that's not good. But the practice field is waaay far from home, so it was pointless to think about going home for one. She'd have to do without.

Other than that, soccer went splendidly, and they learned the "diamond formation," and practice lots of scoring goals using passing techniques. She's starting to pick up on things and spent an awful lot of time shouting, "I'm open! I'm open!" She even made two goals, and I could tell she was elated about that!

Meanwhile, Rob had woken up the kids and taken them to school for Jack and Chloë's Open House. They sat through the opening PTA meeting - which I was glad to miss, as it's always boring and disorganized as hell - and then waited for us to meet them in C's class. Mrs. B. was already in the middle of talking about their daily schedules, which is a hectic one for those gifted students! They are go-go-go, all day, every day. I hope she can keep up. She seems to be doing all right so far. Mrs. B teaches the language arts, and Mrs W. teaches science, social studies and math. The students switch classrooms halfway through the day.

So during the second session, Rob went with her to Mrs. W's spiel, while the Littles and I walked to Jack's first grade class. Only one other family was in there for the second session, so Mrs. J quickly ran through her little presentation and then I had a chance to talk to her personally, since the other family had already done so beforehand. I guess Jack is having a LOT of trouble catching up and staying focused, which is news to me. He's been doing SO well on his homework, not only with most comprehension but with sitting down and getting it done in a timely manner. Also, I thought he was getting pull-out services (for his IEP), but apparently they're only doing inclusion. Mrs. J is going to talk to his Special Ed teacher about the need for more services, especially if his attention problem continues and/or worsens.

On the way home, I discussed this with Jack, and he admitted he wasn't paying attention in class. What I can do about it from afar, I don't know, other than continually reminding him that he's got to pay attention and focus on his classroom. First grade just ain't like kindergarten, pally!

At home, I gave the kids a quick dinner and sent them to bed before I crashed myself - at 2130!  But if you saw today's Wordless Wednesday post, then you'll see the pictures Rob took of Sophie "playing" the violin at Open House, with the 5th grade music teacher. They don't start chorus/orchestra/band until 5th grade at this school. Seems absurd to me, but what do I know?

********

After a good, long sleep, I was raring to go this morning at 0630. The kids got up on time, so we had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and preparation for Picture Day. This was a nice switch from my usual let's-go-let's-go-let's-go chant every other morning!

Of course, I didn't think to get pictures of the kids, but you'll see them when the pictures come back. I only hope they looked half as decent by picture time as they did when they got on the bus! Chloë looked especially nice, with her hair in a pretty barrette and a Fall dress on. Jack chose a green shirt and green camo pants, and he insisted that's what he wanted to wear, so... we went with it. Why the hell not?

I spent the whole day unpacking and rearranging the office, since it has been full of boxes since the downstairs floor was installed. It's been driving me crazy not having my yarn and patterns and craft table accessible so I can work! Plus I just hate a mess. It took me the whole day, and a lot of sweat, but I got it done. It looks good; I'm happy!

And no, HT didn't call me with the results of the drug test like they said they would, so yet another day passed without working. Frustrating!

Right after school, the kids had their usual snacktime, then the Littles and I did a little clean-up while Chloë got ready for Jazz class. She couldn't find her ballet shoes and was in absolute tears. She still hasn't found the new ones, which is driving me mad.

Just in time, she found the pair of shoes, and we zipped off to class. Both Littles fell asleep in the car, so after I dropped her off and found myself starving from busting my hump all day, I decided to go to Sonic for my new favorite, the egg and cheese Croissandwich, or whatever the thing is called. Good stuff, aye. Only, I ate too much of it and, on the way back to dance class, ended up yakking it all up. Nice. Fun. Good thing I had the Sonic bag to use!

We drove straight to school after dance, this time for Sophie's Parent Night at preschool. Rob met us there. It was his first time at the preschool, so he didn't know where to go and parked way far away. Oh, well.

After a short discussion about the rules, regs and routines of the preschool, the children each took their parents around the different "centers" to show us what they do during the day. Sophie wanted to visit the "Library" first. She sat down to "read" us a story, which was absolutely the cutest thing ever. I wanted to cry, she was so adorable. Wish I could've taped it! I guess I could have, but I keep forgetting my iPhone has video!

She didn't want to go to the next center just yet, so she "read" us another book, which was just as sweet. After she finished that, she went back and "read" us the first book again! It was definitely her favorite.

The next center we visited was "Art." Here, the kids each colored a little wooden hand and put stickers on it, and then we put magnet tape on the back. Chloë did one, too, but Jack didn't want to. He wanted to skip ahead to the apple-tasting center with Daddy. There, the kids could choose to eat their apple slices plain, or with sugar, caramel or peanut butter, and then the class made a chart with everyone's choices. Peanut butter was the clear winner!

*Picture removed*

The next center was "Legos." That was Jack's favorite; after he discovered that, he did not want to leave, even when the whole shabang was over. He pitched a small fit about having to put down that airplane!

We visited "Manipulatives" next. Basically, they had to do puzzles. They were really simple puzzles, so I challenged Sophie to do them as fast as she could. She was super-fast! And proud of it, too. :)

*picture removed*

The last center we had time to visit was "Easel." We missed "Blocks," which was on our little passport to the classroom, although there are several more available centers that weren't on our little tour. Sophie painted a picture with watercolors - see? She's our little Southpaw!

This was her finished work. She was so proud of that sun! So was I. Now the picture is on our fridge, of course.

*picture removed*

At the very end, all the kids, along with Mrs. P and Mrs. S, got up and recited the little grace that they say before breakfast and lunch. (Sophie eats breakfast at home, so, I found out, when she gets to school, she eats half her lunch at breakfast time with the other kids! I have since started packing her bigger lunches, and she eats every last thing, unlike her older siblings.) It was really cute, and they all knew every word. I can't remember it, or I'd share it with you. Maybe I'll ask her for tomorrow.

When it was over, we had to run and do another S***c dinner shop, but we can only get one meal, so everyone was still hungry after that little appetizer. We drove home, where I got the kids started on homework while Rob cleaned up the kitchen a little so I could cook. Jack had mac & cheese (I had gotten a few free Easy Macs this past week for when I knew he wouldn't eat the main meal), and everyone else had a Schwan's chicken/rice/broccoli meal from Schwan's. I have not been sticking to our menu plan as much this week! But it's good for a guide...

After dinner, I helped Jack with his math homework. They're learning tally marks. He had a lot of difficulty with this, wanting to make the "slash" its own thing, and then do the five for the next set, and so on. I went over and over and over it with him, before Rob pulled me aside and said he thinks Jack has a math learning disability, like we think Chloë has. I don't know, I think he just wasn't paying attention! Once he really paid attention, he got it pretty quickly. He has a very hard time recognizing numbers greater than 10, so I had him write the numbers 1-30, and then I tested them on the numbers. And then we tallied some more. We'll need to review that a lot more to get him back to where he was at the end of kindergarten and catch him up to first grade level!

And that, my friends, is the end.

Fin.

Will She, Or Won't She?

Finish the sweater in time for Stephanie's baby shower this past Sunday, that is. That was the question all last week, remember? Let's recap since Friday, where I left off:

Friday

Can't remember much of the school day, other than that I ran to do a revealed shop that didn't go well, at lunchtime, but too late to bring the food out to Rob's base (Rob Bass, get it? Eh, I know) and get home in time for the bus. Afterward, one of the Brownies moms stopped by to pay her troop dues and drop of her Fall Product sale permission slip. Whatever else happened, I don't know.

That night, we went out to dinner for a steakhouse mystery shop. The kids love going there, and we had a lot of fun as usual. Jack and I ordered the same thing, though, and neither one of us liked our food. I yakked mine up, hard, at home later!

I wasn't too worried about the boy, because he filled up on peanuts throughout our time at the restaurant. He loves cracking and eating peanuts! He was feeling really giggly and playful, so he and I got into some fun mischief during dinner. Lots of tickles and laughs. When he is good, he is really great!

Rob took this picture of Chloë being extra silly. I forget why she was doing it, but she sure got a kick out of making the faces. And MAN, do I miss my real camera! :( :( :( These last couple of months are going to suck to scrapbook! 

I stayed up all night long Friday night to finish the knitting on Steph's baby sweater. And I did! There was a lot more knitting to do after the sleeves were finished, which I wasn't expecting. Many hours sped by, and I finished right when it was time to wake everyone up on Saturday morning. But finish I did!

Saturday

This was a crazy busy day. Instead of being able to sleep in, I got everyone up by 0700 to get ready for Chloë's 0830 game. None of the kids was thrilled about having to wake up that early on a weekend, and neither girl was very enthused at that point about having to play soccer! I couldn't blame them...

 

The Virginia Beach Sportsplex is a really big and confusing place, so we managed to get lost again on our way to the field. No matter, we were still there before almost everyone, including Chloë's coach.  Sophie's sucking down some water here in an effort to wake up - you can see her shirt's all went and dirty even though her game wasn't for another two hours! And no one told us that there weren't going to be any bleachers or anything to sit on but wet grass, so we were highly annoyed about having to stand around and watch the game. Some veteran soccer parents knew better and brought their own chairs. Finally, Rob decided to go home (which wasn't nearby at all) and get us some camp chairs. He missed most of Chloë's game - and she noticed. Bummer!

I know, you can hardly see anything but shadowy figures, but here is Chloë playing! She didn't get a lot of play time, as there are a few superstars on the team and most of the players are much stronger (physically and skill-wise) than she is. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a bit more equitable, but at her age, they keep score, and the other parents were all about winning. She was more interested in seeing if Mommy was watching her than getting down to business and kicking that ball. I think she's more suited to the dancer-cheerleader-gymnastics type of athletics than running around after a ball. But as her coach said, "She made a few things happen out there!"

 

Yeah, this picture's no better. So never mind!

In the end, her team won by a whole lotta points, no thanks to her lack of skill. She was VERY excited that they won, and everyone gave high-fives to each other and was a good sport about it. I was surprised by how much I, who have no background whatsoever in team sports, got into the game and was ecstatic when her team made a goal. I could get into this - but I don't know if any of my kids will!

 

After an hour or so of waiting, it was time for Sophie's first soccer game, just two fields down from Chloë's. We were there again before everyone else, so there was some confusion about where we were supposed to be. We ended up in the right place and were relieved when Coach John showed up. Instead of warming up, Sophie opted instead to chase and catch crickets. As Coach said of her, "Boy, she REALLY likes bugs!" That she does.

 

The opposing team and ours split up into two halves, and each half played on half the field, so that everyone could play at the same time. (Did that make sense? It's really late.) Only, while all the other girls were running around the field, Sophie just stood there and sucked her thumb. And then she refused to stay on the field at all. And then she said she wanted to quit soccer and go back to dance class. Rob was gone again at the time, having taken Jack home to get him ready for his popcorn sale, so I was at a complete loss! On the one hand, I don't want to force her to have fun, but on the other hand, there is a bit of money invested in her playing this season that we can't afford to just throw away, and I want her to understand that. Also, I wanted her to at least stay on the field and show some support and solidarity to her team, but she refused. It was frustrating, to say the least.

In the end, when the coaches announced during a break that it was snack time, she went back on the field and collected her snack! There's one child who can always be enticed by food.

They don't keep score at her age, so we don't know who won. Both teams did well. All the players got together at the end, and all the parents made a tunnel for them to run through. Rob and I held hands across the tunnel and watched our baby run through with the team.

Honestly, you know what I think it is that's causing her to be so... apathetic and lazy about playing soccer, which she clearly enjoys when she sets her mind to it? Being tired. She has a long week, and a long day, at preschool before her Thursday practices, with no break to speak of before we go over there. And Saturday, they got up super early to play. I think if she were well rested, she'd be a lot more inclined to get out there and kick some 4-year-old soccer booty! Just my guess...

As soon as her game ended, we headed over to drop the boys off at the popcorn sale. Only, we completely went to the wrong place, a good 15-minute drive away from where they were supposed to be! So I got them to their place really late, after a nice little shouting match about whose fault it was. Yeah. Don't mess with me when I haven't slept at all!

The girls and I drove home, and I sent them upstairs to either clean their messy rooms or take a nap, so I could, myself, take a short nap before we had to pick up our menfolk. Only, they did neither, and the entire downstairs was covered in dress-up clothes when I woke up almost an hour late to pick up Jack and Rob! No time to worry about that, they were walking home and we needed to rush out and get them. Poor guys. I guess Jack didn't fuss too much except when Rob tried to carry him on his shoulders, so his feet wouldn't hurt. I think he rather enjoyed spending time with his Daddy, doing something new and interesting!

So after multiple apologies, we went home again and got ready for the next thing: Rob's and my dinner date for another mystery shop, while the kids went to Linda's to be babysat. I didn't have time to cook them the dinner I'd planned, and they were starving when we got there. Fortunately, Linda was prepared - with doughnuts and brownies! It was a lucky thing no one got sick that night, after eating all that. 

 

Our dinner turned out to be a really nice one. Our service was excellent, and the food tasted great. There was nice, live piano music - and what can I say? The company was the best. I love, love, love having a night alone with my hubs. We always have a good time. Well, almost. My little nap did me a world of good, thank goodness!

The kids were surprised to see us just two short hours after we'd left them, and they did NOT want to leave. Jack begged me to let him spend the night at Linda's. She was willing, too - if I stayed with him. Not! Gonna! Happen!

Instead of doing the finishing touches on Steph's baby sweater (sewing on the sleeves, sewing in a million and one ends from all that colorwork, sewing down the folded collar, sewing on the buttons, sewing sewing sewing), I crashed around 2100 on the couch. 

Sunday

Time crunch time! I still had all that finishing work to do, and the shower was that afternoon! Rob woke me up around 0600 to get started. It took me, oh, four or five hours to get it all done (not that I didn't play around on Facebook and Google Reader intermittently), but I finally did. And behold:

I made it! It's finished, before the shower, and it looked, well, good! What you can't tell from this picture is how excessively soft it is. It's going to be so sweet wrapped up against baby Luke's skin. Oh, and the hat?

 

There they are together, looking good! I have a must-make tutu for Lisa's little Emilie-girl, and then I will dive right back into knitting the mittens, socks and trousers for this outfit. Stephanie has just over a month to go, so I must get busy right away!

After I finished, I had just enough time to shower, get dressed and wrap her presents - this sweater and hat set, the Bandaid Blanket, and a couple of cute Carter's onesies I'd picked up before we even found out he was a boy - in some baby fabric I had in the stash. I'm all about wrapping presents in fabric, lately. I think it's a cool way to use something that can later be used for something else, like maybe some diaper covers or burp cloths that Steph can cut out. 

Anyway, Chloë - who was thrilled to be invited - and I left to pick up Tabitha and her now-chubby baby Lily, before heading out to the shower in Suffolk. The shower was very nice, well-decorated with lots of baby-themed snackies, and low-key. Everyone just chit-chatted for the most part until it was present time, when the mother-to-be got loads of great clothes and gifts for her baby boy. The sweater set received heaps of praise; everyone loved it and was impressed. Yay! One woman asked for a sweater her size, and I wanted to faint! Then a discussion started about how a knitter/crocheter can't possibly expect to be paid what their labor is worth, which is completely true and totally sucks. But like I was saying, we had a good time. I even snuck in a small chocolate chip cookie and didn't dump. Just the one, though. Promise.

When we got home, I made dinner and fussed a great deal at my husband, who had obviously been asleep and let the children run amok in the house but refused to admit it. Why, then, would there be postage stamps stuck all over every surface of the kitchen? Oh, I was furious. I had just bought those stamps and needed every last one of them. Also, all my double-pointed knitting needles were all over the office, and a couple of them were broken in half. You could accurately say that I was not pleased. Not at all. 

I managed to calm down during the dinner-making process, during which I took a vow of silence until I calmed down. That helped, and dinner was pleasant after all. Jack didn't like it, Sophie didn't care for it but managed to finish her plate, but Chloë? She loved it and had seconds, thirds, fourths and fifths! Amazing. I don't know where she put it all - she out-ate her father! (Who liked it, too. I didn't eat but a taste of it, because I'd eaten my leftovers from our previous night out during the cooking process. Yum.)

SO. The evening was spent changing out the kids Spring/Summer wardrobes and replacing them with the Fall/Winter clothes. Of course, that meant trying on many, many things and took a half a lifetime to accomplish, so they went to bed really late. In the end, Chloë, 8, lost a bunch (but not all!) of her size-5 clothing to Sophia, 4. Sophie, in turn, lost all of her size 3T wardrobe and is now all in 4s and 5s, so hopefully I can sell those clothes and make a little money to round out their wardrobes. And Jack, 6, is almost entirely in 3T now - I got rid of almost all his 2T clothes after years of wear! Some of them still fit, but I was sick of them. Just so tired of seeing the same clothes year after year; others were so short on him, it was amazing to see he actually did grow since March or so when he wore them last. Yay.

Monday

Today has been another long one. The morning rush was uneventful, and I was tempted to go back home and sleep the morning away. What will I do when I start working, though? So I forced myself to stay awake and push through the sleepiness. I weighed in and was delighted to find another three pounds gone forever. I'm now down 127.1 pounds!

Then I started going through my CDs, importing all of them into iTunes so that I can sell my entire collection. Won't be room for that on the boat, and why bother having them when I'll have all the iTunes music on both my iPod and my iPhone?

While that was going on, I cut the last two Sundays' worth of coupons, which was a hella lot.  I filed them and then spent a ridiculous amount of time on the Harris Teeter website (they're still having triple coupons week), comparing my coupons to the store prices to see what I could get for free or almost-free. I had a good little pile of coupons going!

I showered and then spoke to Lisa about a bunch of parenting issues and advice, and it was good talking to her for once as the person of authority (not that I am claiming to be one, but it was a role reversal) instead of me always asking her the medical questions! Hopefully she got some good ideas, and either way, it helped solidify in my head what we are doing and trying to accomplish with the kids, their behaviors, their chores, etc. 

As soon as the kids got off the bus, I whisked them off to Harris Teeter to do some shopping. B, the girl who not-interviewed me, was there as usual and was happy to meet my kids. In the end, I got everything in the above picture for $4.43! Not a bad little haul, I think.

As soon as we came home, we had to get my mystery shop materials and rush, rush, rush down to the oceanfront to do another "reveal" dinner. The server was absolutely fantastic, so I was thrilled that I got to award her a hundred bucks. It turns out she was new, too, so when she saw me talking to the manager, she came over to Rob, really nervously, and asked what she did wrong. When she found out what a great job she did and that she'd gotten a prize, she came over and was compelled to hug me!! She was so excited. It was a really fun shop. Good food, too!

We drove around the corner and did a fast food mystery shop, which was good because the kids and Rob were still hungry. They hadn't wanted any of my wings but found they really liked his wrap, so I know he didn't get enough to eat. That shop didn't go so well, but we did manage to get a little free food out of the deal for the kiddos.

And then, home. Homework. Lots of homework for the kids this week. They both did well on it and worked quickly, so it wasn't stressful this time at least.

And finally, that's it! Busy, busy the rest of the week too, but I'm going to try to post every night so there isn't another huge, long one like this again.

Fin.

Led A Stray

Phew! We have been so busy, it's been wearing a poor Smelly out. The last two nights, I've fallen asleep around 2300 - prime blogging time. I know you missed me. Admit it.

Tuesday is kind of a distant memory, but I know these things about it:

• See that awesome leak on the ceiling? Rob couldn't find the source. Isn't it fun how everything in our house seems to be falling apart this year?! 
• I did about 9 mystery shops on the phone. They were boring and only paid $2 apiece, but hey. Eighteen bucks for sitting on my butt isn't bad.
• Chloë had soccer practice. Rob wasn't home from work yet, so all three kids and I went. It was good - she's getting better, little by little - and then on the way back to the car, she dribbled the ball across the field. I came and stole it away from her twice, and she stole it back from me twice! And I was really trying to keep it from her!
• Um, that's all I recall. There must have been more, because I was plum wore out, but who knows what it was? Oh, was that the day I broke my pinky toe again? Possibly. It's bruised and swollen and very sore. I'm such a klutz!
  

Wednesday was nuttier than your local psych ward.  I balanced it out by playing my two games I'm addicted to on Facebook, Farmville and Fish World, in between things. So long, Webkinz! I've barely played it in a month. Sadness, I know. ;)

Anyway.

Lessee, the first thing I did was two breakfast shops at S...  a fast food place I shop all the time. I was actually hungry for once, but so many foods I would eat there are not on the "allow" list, and no one was with me to consume the beef products we normally get. So I opted for something new to me, an egg-cheese-bacon sandwich on a croissant. I know, bacon again! I ate, like, five bites of that sucker before I got full, and it was soooo good! I had tater tots and a cherry limeade, and I had a second shop to go to, when it hit me: Rob never takes a lunch anymore! I should bring him the food!

And so, I called up his bitch-ass at work to see if he wanted the food, and he jumped all over that idea. I quickly did the second shop and then headed out to the base to feed my man.

Yes, I am a huge dork who has to take pictures of him eating, just because I have a blog. He refused to look at me, but I did capture that cute smile! Doesn't he look so handsome in his uniform? ♥ We had a good little mid-day visit (but not a nooner, darn it) before we said our good-byes, and I headed back home. I should have had that idear sooner, but now that it's almost time for me to start working, that'll probably be it for a while. Shucks.

Then I checked out the coupon match-ups for Farm Fresh and Harris Teeter. FF didn't have jack diddly, but HT was running triple coupons week once again. Woot! I managed to find a long list of free-with-coupon items, only I didn't have half the coupons for them. I did manage to get the above stuff free, which is good. I spent $101 (deli meat and cheese, a humongous bag of dog food, and $15 in sugar-free syrups for my protein shakes made up the bulk of that) and managed to save $93, so it wasn't too bad. Coupons are definitely the way to go - and I may make another run tomorrow!

There was a problem with my coupons at the check-out (something wrong with the way the computer was programmed, not my fault), and B, the girl who not-interviewed me, came over to fix it. She said, "Not even working here yet and already causing problems!" That's me...

Oh yeah, and I spent $9 at Walgreens and got THREE boxes of Revlon haircolor and three bottles of liquid hand soap!

By the time I got home, I had barely enough time to color my hair back to dark brown before it was time to go to the bus stop - but I did, anyway. I only kept it on just over 15 minutes, instead of the prescribed 25-30, so I didn't know if it would take. Boy, howdy, did it ever! It is way darker than I expected or wanted it to be. I can't win for losing! I haven't taken a picture of it yet to show you. Maybe I'll get Rob to do that tomorry night.

I raced through the shower to rinse it out and then, I was in such a hurry to beat the bus, I threw on a dress with no underthings! Hee. All was fine until the wind started whipping my dress around. Ruh-roh, Raggy!

At the bus stop, a little puppers ran up to everyone and started saying hello. I had watched her, on my way to the stop, run in and out of the street to get to everyone, so I snatched her up just as soon as I could to keep her from getting hit. Been there, didn't want to go there again. She was flipping a-DOR-able! Such a little love. Obviously cared for. A little stinky, with a crazy hair cut, but definitely someone's pet. She had no collar, so I couldn't take her home just yet. But that was the plan.

Of course, my kids - and just about everyone else's, too - went crazy when they got off the bus and saw her. She was only a six-pounder if that, about half the size of our kitty, Tinkerbell. Some kind of terrier mix. They all wanted to hold her and love on her, and aye, that they did. Somehow we managed to break free of the crowd and get in our house, where she visited with Tiger Lily (who was not thrilled) and Tink (who hissed. A lot) Puppers jumped up on all of us, wanting to be held and get non-stop attention. She sure got it!

Chloë quickly dressed for her jazz class, and we let the three animals hash it out while we went to dance. I had to stop at the 7-11, where there is no ATM fee for Navy Federal users in case ya didn't know, for some cash to pay for her lessons (um, and the bounced check fee... yay) for this month and October, so we left way early. I debated taking the puppy with us, but something stopped me. I forget what. No matter, she was fine - although she did take a chocolate-chip-sized dump upstairs while we were gone!

Rob was home when we returned from dance class, so we got everyone changed and went out for our dinner mystery shop at a local pizzeria. We've eaten there a few times before, and it's always been grand, so we had high hopes for the evening. Here's Sophie with a mouthful of mozzarella stick which, though burned, was still tasty.

I managed to catch Chloë not posing for the camera for once, but Jack ducked under the table as soon as the iPhone came out for pictures. He didn't come back up for at least five minutes, knowing I was waiting! So, none of him.

I caught Sophia watching the TV, not having any inkling that I was watching her. This face cracks me up - and she thought it was pretty hilarious, too!

This cannoli for dessert looks delicious, doesn't it? But it so wasn't. Way too much chocolate and caramel sauce, and the filling was entirely too sweet. Sickeningly so. I tried a bite - blech. Also, Rob's Arnold Palmer sucked, my Rum Runner tasted nasty, my pizza was burned, his pasta was horrible, and the service was abysmal. So, my report? Scathing.

It was almost 2100 by the time we got home, so we quickly helped the kids with their homework and then sent them to bed. I bent down to kiss Jack good-night on the head, and he jumped up at the same time - causing my tooth to go right through my lip! I bled like a stuck pig, and I made him get away from me before I accidentally hit him. I don't like people near me when I'm in pain, can't help it! He had wide eyes, but after I stopped the bleeding, I assured him Mommy knew it was an accident and it was okay!  Now I have a big gross brown slimy booboo covering on it today. Looks awesome.

I did a bunch of knitting, but I was too tired to blog or do much else. Craaaash.

Today was less busy. As soon as the kids got on the bus this morning, I took the puppy down the road to the animal hospital where I took Bounce - and where Rob took that other kitty we temporarily had, Blue - to see if she was microchipped. They fell in love with her immediately, too! I was really hoping by this point that we would never find her owner, because I was completely smitten. And she was not chipped. I took her home.

Then, because I had sooo much to do today, I ... took a nap. I was exhausted! And I slept for three hours. Probably would have slept more, but the doorbell rang. (UPS, delivering the package containing my replacement memory for the computer. Did I ever tell you about that?) So I got up and worked on the three reports from the day before that I never did, and the entire time, Puppy slept in my lap. She's so sweet! If I had kept her, I would have needed to get a puppy sling, because she wanted to be held non-stop. She slept tucked in next to me on the couch the whole night, too! It made me sleep funny and put my shoulder out, but it was worth it, I think. And I really needed more hurty things.

When I finished the reports, I gave the wee lassie a bath in the kitchen sink. Oh, my, she did not like that one bit!! Especially when I washed her teensy face. I had to hold her down with one hand and soap her up with the other, and in the process, I got completely soaked myself. it was good for a laugh. She was so happy when I wrapped her up, shivering, in a towel and dried her off. The scampers came back out of her, and she went whooshing all over the wood floor, up and down, up and down, wizzling on the couch (that's when they nose-down and scratch around all silly-like - my dad coined the term) and running up in my lap. Funny girl!

I tried giving her a haircut, because she had some short hair and some really long hairs, but she didn't like that either. I managed a few snips but mostly, she's still pretty scruffy!

I knitted until it was time to get to the bus stop, and when I walked out the door, darned if that little dog didn't just whisk past me and fly across the street! I had to chase her down all over again, so it's easy to see how she got out of her house in the first place. Stinker! I ended up just taking her with me to the bus stop, where everyone once again crowded around her and admired her post-bath self.

We had to rush right out after school, to get to Chloë's first Brownies meeting of the year. I had the presence of mind to bring Jack's backpack and homework box (where I keep his homework supplies like glue stick, crayons and colored pencils, sharpener, etc.), but I didn't get any busywork for Sophie. She was such a rascal during the whole meeting. Really, she just does not listen or behave well whenever we are there. The Troop Leader gave her a paper and crayons, which settled her down for maybe ten minutes of the hour. Jack quickly finished his work - and he did a really nice job, as he has been doing all week, I must say - and then they were begging to go outside.

Only, I couldn't take them outside, because I needed to stay inside and collect troop dues (I'm the treasurer) and get everyone to fill out their Fall Product Sale permission slips (I'm the Chair for that, too, and it starts this Saturday). Our Leader didn't have her dues money, after I sent at least three reminders out about it. Everyone else there did. Hi, set an example, please? That annoys me to no end. And no one seems very thrilled about the fundraiser, either. Looks like once again, Chloë will be "carrying" her troop!

We raced home, got the girls changed for soccer as fast as lightning, and then I took Jack to Chloë's practice while Rob took Sophie to hers for the first time. She did her own thing as usual, to his entertainment. Chloë did really well today - she scored a goal in practice! And I talked to the coach after practice. He said it was really obvious this was her first time playing soccer, but that when she got warmed up and ready to play, she was super fast! I don't see it, but maybe he was in the mood to hand out compliments. Or maybe she really is, because dribbling the ball back to the car afterward, she managed to steal it from me again!

I knitted during the whole practice, almost. This is where I am right now. I still have to pick up and knit the neckline, and then attach the sleeves. And weave in a billion ends. And block it. I should make it by the shower on Sunday. Fingers crossed!!

I made dinner as soon as we got home - frozen pizza tonight. Everyone ate well, and they all happily spent their Dad Dollars on root beer with dinner. Just the practice of counting out the bills is going to be good for them! I'm using $2 and $10 bills, too, and the $2 are really throwing off the little ones. They don't get it, yet, to count that as two.

So, now, I'm going to put up my Aloha Friday post and then get back to my knitting. No Fragments post for me this week, because I just haven't taken the time to write down all the crack-up comments they've come up with for me. Next week, for sure!

Fin.

P.S. Oops! I completely forgot to say that I called the neighborhood office and Animal Control to find the puppy's owner. No luck until we were on our way to Brownies, when the owner went to A.C. and got my information. We weren't able to cross paths until after soccer, when they came over to get Patty, the puppy. (She was born on St. Patrick's Day.) They were so excited and relieved to have her back! But darn, darn, darn for us! ;)

Let's Hear It For The Boy

I don't run. I don't believe in running. It's against my religion, except for exactly two cases: Someone bad is chasing me, or I'm about to miss a bus.

On Friday morning, I had to run.

For the latter reason, thank goodness, but still. Me running, with my shorts riding up on my thighs and boobs a-bouncin', is not a pretty sight. Or feeling.

And thus began my day.

The kids made the bus, and then Jack and I turned around and went home to get in Vanna and ride to his appointment with Jan, the physical therapist at the Pediatric Neurodevelopment clinic. She was going to fit his legs and feet for the braces he'll be wearing at night, to stretch his Achilles tendon.

We waited just a short time before Jan called him in. He played awhile while she and I talked about him, and about the four years that have passed since she last saw him for his late walking (20 months) and subsequent tip-toeing. She was so amazed at how he's grown long and skinny, and how he talks now (he was also in speech therapy back then, for his muteness)! Then it was time to make the casts, which will make the molds, which will make the braces.

 

He asked about a million questions during the procedure, during which Jan put socks on him to keep the fiberglass cast from sticking to him. The yellow thing was just a guide for cutting it off him without cutting him. She deemed his questions - not just about the braces but also about all the wheelchairs and other equipment in her room -  to be very smart, saying she has 25-year-olds who don't think to ask those things! She thought he was very intelligent and was surprised to hear there had been a chance he might be retained in kindergarten. Her thoughts? That he's advanced and was just bored! I don't know, but it'll be interesting to see what happens when he's tested for "gifted" later this year.

Making the casts didn't take long at all, and at the end, he was happy to post with his "legs". They looked enormous compared to him, but she assured me they'll fit just fine.  (And you can see here how crooked his glasses have gotten; I really need to take him in and get them adjusted.)

{Side note: when we did his homework the other night, he was able to read all the color words in the instructions, without help. Yay, Jack!}

The whole appointment didn't last terribly long, and we were home by 1100. I decided to make him lunch at home, and he wanted scrambled eggs. He quickly scarfed two and asked for two more, which he barely ate. (Lucky for the dog, who hardly ever gets treated to table scraps.) He sucked down some milk, and then we were off to school!

Well.

At school, my happy boy turned into a different creature. A clinging, crying, bashful little creature. His daily routine had been disrupted, and now he didn't want to go to school at all. He wanted to stay home with Mommy. The guidance counselor, Ms. Henry, came down to talk to him, and the security desk person, Ms. Woods, tried enticing him out of my arms with colorful pencils and other treats. He refused to budge. In the end, I had to kiss and hug him good-bye and push him off down the hall with Ms. Henry. He was sobbing. It was awfully hard.

Then I made a big mistake.

You see, I have used three Wrap-n-Mats for a couple years now, when I pack lunches and what-not, and they are really great for cutting disposable waste. I love them. So now that I have three lunches to pack, I ordered three more to have on hand. On the first day of school, with a reminder every day thereafter, I talked to the kids about making sure not to throw the mats away. (And as an aside, I really want to get some of the snack pouches when I can afford them, too!) Two or three days into school, Sophia's mat came up missing. I asked her about it, and she said her teachers had taken it away from her. Wha? So, anyway, after calling unsuccessfully to find out if they had the mat at school, I decided to stop in after taking Jacky to school, to see if it was there. I needed my mat, y'all.

Big mistake.

Sophie was ecstatic to see me. Though she's come home happy every day from school, I've been forgetting to post here that she's also said she's cried every day, wanting to be with me. (Breaks my heart.) She ran into my arms, hugging and cooing, and wouldn't let go, even after I determined from her teacher that they didn't have the mat. She sobbed when I tried to leave. Much coaxing, again, was needed for my child to let go that day. It was awful.

I was so stupid to go in there the first week, while she was still adjusting. Dumb dumb dumb! I should have waited. Poor thing.

So I went home and felt awful for the next long time, about both my children. I called and talked to Ms. Henry, who said Jack was fine after I left, and all the children greeted him at his classroom. And she checked on him later at lunch, and he was all grins and smiles. I'm sure Sophie was fine too, but still, it weighed on me.

Later, I got a call from someone at Harris Teeter, wanting to schedule an interview! I am going in at noon on Monday. I'm not really nervous about it - as I shouldn't be - except for the nose ring thing. I can NOT get it out. It won't budge. Shee-it.

The Schwan's guy had come Thursday night, but I hadn't put an order in (not in months, actually), so we didn't get anything. But I took a catalog and flipped through it, deciding it was time to restock the deep freezer. I called up our guy, and he agreed to deliver the order a few hours later! Sweet. And thank goodness for their delayed payment program, because I needed it this time.

While I waited for him to arrive, I cleaned out the freezer, deep freezer, and part of the fridge, taking stock of what we already had on hand. (I also did the dishes and cleaned out the dishwasher. Gotta be productive after napping Tues-Weds-Thurs!) Then I got my notebook and made a menu plan for the rest of September, to make sure we would have enough to eat. I never do this. It will surely help, not only in not running short, but in making life easier without having to think about what to make for dinner. I'm already liking it.

When Rob came home, he was excited to tell me the news: He'd been taking his motorcycle class on Thursday and Friday, and he passed this time!! The road test too!! He still needs to take the DMV road test, but this is great. Can I get a "Yay, Bob!"?

We got the girls dressed up in their soccer uniforms, and I took Sophie to her practice while Rob drove the other two to Chloë's. Jack wanted to be with his dad. Sophia must have been really tired, because she mostly just stood around with her thumb in her mouth, twiddling her hair, while the other girls played and ran drills. When she wasn't doing that, she was running around the field on her own, not listening or paying attention. I was thinking, great, he's going to think she's such a pain in the ass!

I wanted to gauge his opinion of Sophie so far, so I talked to Coach after practice about getting her used to playing soccer and what we can do to help her. He wasn't off-put by her behavior at all, having coached four-year-olds for several years and seeing the same in even his own daughters. So that was a relief, and I got lots of good pointers, too. Plus he's giving me a pair of cleats in her size that he can't use anymore. She already has some, but a spare pair can never hurt!

She played on the playground for a few minutes, and then we went home to start dinner. To make things simple - because I hadn't prepared Jack for what we would be eating, and he needs some forewarning to get used to the idea - I just popped in a Schwan's frozen pizza. We had some of their frozen apple blueberry cobbler still from the last time, so I decided to use that for dessert. Everyone ate well, including The Boy, and there were four single-serve cobblers in the box, so everybody got one. Only, nobody liked it! Rob ended up eating all of them while I gave the kids ice cream. Hee. Won't be ordering that again... ;)

Stay tuned for Saturday's update!

Fin.

P.S. We found that missing lunch mat today, under the kitchen table. Whoops.

Call Me Dolly

...since I must have cloned myself, having just about managed to be in two places at once, more than once today!

 

I woke up earlier, but I had to finally wake up the kids around 0830 so we could get to Sophie's preschool open house by 0900. I forget what I shoved in their mouths for breakfast, but it was surely nothing to write home about! At the preschool, which is part of and behind Jack and Chloë's school, we all listened to one of the teachers give a presentation about the class rules and daily routines. Each student stood up and introduced him- or herself, and Sophie would go up and say hi to each of them. She has gone from being afraid of school to terribly excited about everything related to it. She barely puts her lunchbox down!

After the talk, the kids were free to start playing with things in the classroom, and that they did. They made quick work of the neat and orderly arrangements. I filled out some more necessary paperwork for her to be in the program (there seems to be no end of it!), and after we'd been there for an hour, it was time to head out. Sophie hugged her new teachers good-bye, and we fled. But not before I made my kids put away their messes, natch.

 

We arrived at the hospital a half-hour later and actually found a decent parking space for once. The girls were cold, since the fall weather seems to be upon us this week, and I was glad to find a blanket in the waiting room of the orthopedics clinic. After Sophie cuddled up in it, another little girl sat next to her and started coloring. Well! Sophie, of course, made quick friends with her, as she is wont to do, and the little girl offered her a coloring book and crayons. In an instant, they were old friends coloring princesses. I hope she keeps this outgoing nature throughout life!

 

Before too long, we were called back to get Jack's vitals and wait in an exam room. Somehow, my tiny-kins managed to get up on the table by himself. He's been asking about this doctor visit for a long time now, every day. I've been telling him he might need braces for his legs, or casts, or I don't know what, to prepare him. He was seen when he was about two years old for his tip-toeing problem, indicating a tightness in his Achilles tendons, but he didn't need the braces then. The tip-toeing has since gotten worse, and it seems he's in pain sometimes, too. 

 

The girls did not like the sit-and-wait part, even though it wasn't very long. See how thrilled they look?

The doctors came in and gave him a thorough examination, making him walk and run up and down the hallway and bending him this way and that (which elicited a lot of giggles from the patient), before telling us that yes, he will need to wear braces in bed at night. He didn't sob, he didn't make any noise at all, but when he quietly said, "I need braces?" I looked up, and the tears were rolling down his cheeks. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it now. I hugged and consoled my bitty boy, telling him it was only at night, and he could run and play in the daytime, and they wouldn't hurt (gosh, I hope they don't!)... and he stopped.

Then the main doc told me that Jan, the person who fits the kids for their braces, was right next door, and she might see him. He popped over there and came back, telling me to meet her at her office in 15 minutes, and she would see him for the fitting.

This is the part where things got really frustrating. We had to walk over to the next building to get to her office. I had been there before, when he was seen at age two, but I couldn't remember exactly where it was. And Sophie's feet were killing her, because she was wearing the new sparkly shoes, and I was wearing flip-flops not made for lots of walking. I had to carry her half the time and let her go barefoot the other half, trying not to trip and fall myself. We went up to the fourth floor of the old building, where I thought Jan's office was, and I couldn't find it. We went back down to the 2nd (main) floor, so I could get my bearings and start over. Yes, the 4th floor, I was certain... We went back up, and it still wasn't there! (Imagine that.) Back down to the second floor, it finally clicked that it was just down the hall. At last. I was getting a little short with the kids by that point, but it wasn't their fault.

In the waiting room, I had the kids go play while I spoke to the receptionist about seeing Jan. I told her what the doctor had told me, that she would see him in 15 minutes in her office. She smirked unkindly and told me, "Uh, the doctor doesn't know her schedule, because she has patients sitting here waiting." I remarked that SHE had told him to tell me that, and she again said that patients were already waiting for her, and that I would have to wait and be "fitted in somewhere."

Oh, hell no. I had too much to do today to sit around for goodness knows how many hours at the hospital. I sighed impatiently, maybe twice, before saying I would make an appointment for another time. The soonest she could see me was next Friday morning, which means he'll have to miss some school in the very first week. Bah! Annoying. But whatever. I just hate when the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, y'know?

So then we headed over to the regular Pediatric clinic, to follow up on that physical form for Sophia. They'd told me Monday that it would be ready in two days, and that they would call when it was. Three days and zero phone calls later, I arrived at the clinic, and there was no sign of her form, completed or otherwise. I managed to hold in my temper and tell them that I had to turn it in today so that she could go to school next week. It was the truth, after all. The corpsman told me to sit down and wait while he tracked it down.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only 20 minutes (at least I had my knitting with me), the charge nurse came out with Sophie's completed form and shot record, telling me that another doctor had stepped in to fill it out. Her pediatrician was off today, apparently. I was so grateful, I could have kissed her!! So we left the hospital, and I refrained from skipping on the way to the van.

 

We rushed back, late now, to the kids' school for the Back-to-School Picnic. By the time we got there, it was PACKED, and I couldn't find a parking space to save my life. I ended up, like, a mile away in a church parking lot, ignoring the signs telling me not to park there. I had to carry Sophia everywhere on my shoulders, because of her poor feet. Seven months ago, my back never would have allowed such a thing!

The line for the picnic area was about three miles long (maybe I exaggerate), so we all decided to go meet the teachers first. Here is Jack in Room 10, meeting his teacher, Mrs. Johnson. She was really nice, if not a little flaky, as she told me it was her first year at this school and she was thrilled to be there. Jack was completely disappointed not to find all the toys and fun things he'd had in his kindergarten classroom, to which Mrs. Johnson replied, "Oh no, we WORK in first grade, honey!" Eek. Way to scare the kid off school before it even starts! He pretty much bolted for the door after that, no lie.

 

I chased after him, and we all made our way to Room 20, to meet Mrs. Bacle and Mrs. Weaver, Chloë's third grade teachers. One teaches spelling and reading and stuff, and the other teaches math, science and social studies. But hello, THIRD GRADE?!! What the heck? Didn't I just bring her to her first day of kindergarten yesterday? Holy COW, I cannot believe she is in Grade THREE!

I loved Mrs. Bacle right away, and Mrs. Weaver was really nice, too. I can't wait to see how things go for her this year. (Did I mention she stayed up really late, reading her library book by the bathroom light? She loves to read!) She's again in the gifted classroom, but after things get underway, we are going to have her tested for a math learning disability. Apparently being twice exceptional is not uncommon, and if she needs the help, I am glad she will have a way to get it.

After that, we found Jack's Special Ed teacher and chatted for a moment with her before going to the gym to see Chloë's favorite person on the planet, Mr. Rock. She loves that man, absolutely adores him. And he loves her, too. He was absolutely thrilled to see her. They have some kind of special friendship going on, and if you think I watch that relationship like a hawk, well, you better believe I do! (I don't get any kind of weird vibes or anything, but you can never be too safe, I think.)

Mr. Rock gave Jack a little foam airplane, and oh, boy, was that the highlight of his day!! It broke three times, and we kept having to tape it back together, but he didn't care! He flew it all over, everywhere, and was devastated when it could not longer be fixed. Until I told him I could probably get more for a dime the next time I was at the party store...

We saw lots of old friends, both mine and the kids', as we wandered the halls to get back up front for the picnic line. Not one person commented on my weight loss, which was a bit disappointing, but oh well. I know I look a lot better than I did, and that will have to be enough!

The line was still huge and slow-moving, but eventually we picked up a hot dog, bag of chips and Capri Sun for each of the kids. Nada for me. They ate their dogs (not without tears on Jack's part) and devoured their chips before I let them loose to run around and get the crazies out for a few minutes. Oh, and we ate with Sachi, our nice Japanese neighbor lady, and her three kids, which is significant because this is the first year that Felicia, the oldest, will be going to our school!! I guess they don't have a choice, now that the year-round schedule is gone. And Felicia's in third grade, too! A different class, but still, fun.

Sachi and I talked about my possibly needing her to put the kids on the bus in the mornings and get them off in the afternoons, if I start subbing. She immediately agreed, and I was thankful. Of course, I will pay her. I don't know what, but something, even if it's only five minutes each time.

I corralled the kids, finally, and we walked back to the preschool again to deliver Sophia's physical form. Ahh, at last, the never-ending paperwork is complete. Until school starts, that is. I carried Sophie on my shoulders all the way back to the van, and rubbed her poor little feeties when we got there. She loves those shoes, but I'm ready for them to be broken in, already!

After a couple hours' downtime, during which Rob came home from work, we got the girls ready for soccer practice. They both have practice on Thursdays at 1800, in completely different areas of town. It sucks, because that means I'll have to miss it and not know what one of the girls is doing, and I like to see all, watch all, know all.

 

 

 

 

I couldn't pick just one pose to show you, because hello? The cuteness!! Right?!

Rob took Chloë to her practice, and Jack accompanied me and Sophie to hers. Well, I'll be darned if Soap didn't dribble her ball all the way from the car to the field as if she'd been doing it her whole life! I was thoroughly impressed with her instant ability! She ran around the soccer field (we got there ten minutes early, with only two other girls and the coach already there), kicking her ball around like a four-year-old pro. I was just astounded.

Practice got started, and they were playing fun games and drills that she was totally enjoying. I could see the grin on her face from far away. However, she'd had an exhausting day, and not 20 minutes into practice, she just sat down, pooped. Poor little girl! At water break time, she came trudging over, telling me she was tired and wanted to go home. Ha! I managed to talk her into going back out on the field with the other girls, but she pretty much just stood there, sucking her thumb and twirling her hair, while they all ran around. At least she stuck it out. I'm thinking naps may be in order on Thursdays.

Rob and I texted each other the whole time, telling each other what was going on at our daughters' soccer practices. On Chloë's team, one of the girls kicked the ball into the coach's nuts! Excuse me while I stifle a giggle...

After practice, I let Sophie and Jack run around the playground next to us. (Jack was free to run back and forth between the soccer field and the playground during the drills, but mostly he sat in my lap and fiddled with his airplane.) They only lasted five minutes before telling me it was time to go home!

Home wasn't in the cards just yet, though. I had two shops that needed doing. I needed to buy a sub sandwich at each of them as part of the shop, and Jack started begging me for a ham sandwich with nothing on it. Rob had already decided on dinner, so I kept telling him no, you're having XYZ at home! Finally, I gave in and asked him what he wanted. Really, he wanted ham and NOTHING else, so I got one on the second shop. And behold, when we got home, he ate that ENTIRE sandwich in nothing flat. Wow!!

Tomorrow will be another busy day, so I'm off to get some shut-eye. Maybe. Possibly.

Fin.

In Which I Spent All Our Grocery Money On Other Stuff

And I thought Monday was busy. That was just the warm-up! Tuesday was just plain crazy.

We woke up around 0800 and got the kids fed, dressed and me showered. By the time the floor guy got here at 0900 (after Rob once again stayed up all night doing as much as he could to empty out the living room), we were about ready to embark upon the day's missions. And so we did.

First up, we went to the local Boy Scout council shop to get the rest of Jack's uniform. At the non-camp-out on Friday, the pack leader provided us with the Tiger Cub neckerchief, slide, handbook and a hat that was much too big. So I exchanged the hat at the shop for a Small and then started gathering the rest of his uniform pieces. The smallest shirt will probably be huge on him, but we'll make it work. The available pants and shorts (which are not required, but which were on sale) started at a 6, and since he wears a 2t or, at most, a 3t, that was a no-go. We got the belt and patches, and I scored two BSA car magnets for my car and Rob's for free! Rob has to sew on the patches at work sometime this week, so I'll take pictures of him when it's all put together - hopefully by his next popcorn show-and-sell on Saturday.

Second, we went to Pembroke Mall to get the kids some new shoes. Payless was running a BOGO-50% off sale, and I had a coupon for an additional 20% off that, so that's where we went. I was happily surprised to find Champion soccer cleats for both girls in just the right sizes there (9½ for Chloë, 10 for Sophia!). The minute Jack saw those black "boy shoes" on his sisters, he wanted to sign right back up for soccer! Uh, no. Too late for fall, buddy! All three kids got a new pair of sneakers for starting school, and Sophia got a pair of pink, sparkly dress shoes since her feeties have grown, and those are her favorites. They'll model those for you on the first day of school next week.

On the way into out and out of the mall, the kids insisted on stopping in at the pet store to look at the kittens and puppies, and though we had a thoroughly packed schedule, I obliged. They were very cute, of course, but I always feel so bad for them in there.

 

I really really really really want a chihuahua, but barring that, I'd take just about any little tiny schmoo. I wuv the widdle babies!

Our next stop was around the corner at Kmart, where I had called earlier and found out they had soccer gear. Well, that was a big fat LIE, because I found soccer balls and nothing else. Bah. That was annoying. But Sophie found a backpack for preschool that she liked: purple with a butterfly on the front, and it was 50% off. The girls needed new undies, so I bought them two huge packs each, also on sale. I picked up some composition notebooks that I remembered I still had on their school supply list, and then we were done.

By that point, the kids were seemingly beside themselves with hunger, so we stopped at the Kmart café to get them each a nasty Kmart hot dog. It came with a drink and a bag of chips, and they all ate every last bit. Except for a few chips that, wonder of wonders, Sophie of all kids didn't finish. Shocker!

Then we went around the corner to Dick's Sporting Goods, to see if we could get the rest of the girls' soccer gear. They were required to have cleats or sneakers (check), soccer shorts, shin guards, soccer socks, a size 3 ball (check) and, of course, a bottle of water for practice and game breaks. Everyone had to go potty as soon as we got there, so to Jack's enormous dismay, we had to ride down the highly-feared escalator to get to the restrooms. He clung to me and sobbed, his shrieks of fear echoing all over the store. As soon as we were down and stepped off, he breathed an enormous sigh of relief. At the bathrooms, I found an elevator on which we could go back up, and I breathed my own enormous sigh of relief! But, hello, doesn't she look so cute in her black, pink and white get-up? Sophie will model hers on Thursday when it's her turn to practice.

We had circled back around near home again by that point, so I stopped in to get my coupon for a desperately-needed oil change and my nailclippers, since I'd chipped a nail. Not that I'm whining about it; since it was pretty much the low point of my day, I can't complain!

We rushed to the Texaco around the corner for my oil change. I try to go there for them, because the price is right (and I had another $10 off, woot!), and they give excellent, fast service. Yesterday was no different, and I was pleased when I left.

We were in such a hurry because Up was playing at the dollar theater again - and this time I really could call it that, since it's only a buck on Tuesdays. I figured four bucks to entertain the kids in the middle of a busy day was a bargain, and since the movie was so spectacular, I didn't mind a bit. This time, I was able to catch everything I'd missed the first time, which was a lot. I managed to cry three times. Jack moaned the whole time about being staaaaaaaarving, so I broke down and bought them some cheesy fries. After such a good lunch, I was surprised when they all disappeared within a matter of minutes!

I had called Rob to come home from work during my oil change, because the floor guy was alone and couldn't move the huge TV and entertainment system by himself. So he was home after the movie ended, and we went over to pick him up and bring in our plethora of bags from the van. After getting Chloë all dressed out for soccer practice, we went right back out again, this time to Wal-mart to find a lunch box for Sophia. Kmart didn't have any, at least none that were kiddie and of interest to Soap.  So we got that, and I'd brought along the school shopping lists to finish the rest of the shopping. The school aisles were a freaking mad house! We managed to find everything except the folders with prongs, of which we need a LOT. So, shit, I'm still not done. Ugh. And I didn't buy any of the "optional" stuff like tissues and hand sanitizer, because I'll get that after the next payday when I have my coupons with me. They can wait a week, right? Maybe I'll write an explanatory note, just in case...

By that time, we had to race to get Chloë to her first soccer practice on time. I, of course, had forgotten the directions (I could get there from home easily enough but was confused on the route from Wal-mart), so once again the iPhone came to the rescue! I first used the Google voice search app to look up the school address, and then the Maps app to get the directions from our current location. Love that thing!!! We were on our way in no time. The only problem was, the school field was HUGE, and we ended up on the wrong side. We had to load everyone back up in the van, drive around to the other side and walk across another huge field to get to the right place. So we still ended up being ten minutes late. Bah! I hate being late!

 

Soccer practice went really well. For being easily the smallest girl on a team of 6-8 year olds, and most of them having prior soccer experience, my novice player did a great job! She worked really hard at following Coach Matt's directions, and she never gave up. I'm not saying she was great at it, but she wasn't terrible, either. She tried and tried. I was so proud of her!! ♥

When it was over, she was visibly exhausted, despite three breaks for water. The coach talked to us parents, and it was decided that their team name is the Purple Dolphins. (She suggested the Sparkles, but even she voted for the Dolphins instead!) Then the coach informed us that the practices will be every Tuesday and Thursday at 6... Well, guess what? Sophie also practices Thursday at 6, and Rob probably won't be able to get home from work on time. So that sucks. Anyone want to drive Chloë to soccer on Thursday? ;)

We got a bag full of loot, too: Chloë's purple shirt for games, a bunch of Rush soccer stickers, all kinds of information about soccer, soccer tattoos, a patch, and other fun stuff. I'm glad for the soccer rules, because I know virtually nothing about the game and will need to brush up.

Anyway, we still weren't done, although we were all tired by that point. I used my iPhone again to get us to my first shop at a convenience store, and I used it a third time to get us to the next one at a taco shop. (Heh heh). Those shops went by quickly, and we finally made it home at 2030. Dinner, baths, bedtime... well, I assume bedtime, since I fell asleep myself before 10 and didn't wake up 'til 0400. And even then, just for a short while, and I got about five more hours of sleep. And I'm still tired!

Now it's time to go start our Wednesday. The floor guy is here, the kids are corralled and restless, and I need to get them involved in something. Ciao, then!

Fin.

Soccer Mom

Oy. It's been a long day, and I'm tired. But for your sakes (hehe), I'll try and muddle through.

What sucks is, I slept right through my alarm, and we waaaay missed the bus this morning. And I had no van with which to carry the children to school. And Rob couldn't leave work to come and get them.  So we had an unintended day off, which I don't intend to repeat anytime soon.

What doesn't suck is, I weighed in this morning, and I've hit the 50-pound mark today! Yippee!!! It'll be a long time before I reach another level this big, so I'm reveling in the feeling.  I seriously can't believe I've lost fifty pounds, though, because I still can't see the difference. Where the heck did I lose it from?

I did a lot of knitting today, and now, as you probably could tell from the previous post, it's abundantly clear that I will run out of my good yarn. I have yet to find a source for more, so I'm going to have to do something drastic and finish with another completely different kind, I think.  I have more of the same yarn, but in a totally incompatible colorway, so that's out. Suck.

My children were constantly hungry today, and I couldn't seem to feed them anything that would sate their little appetites. They had oatmeal, they had cheesy broccoli, they had yogurts, sunflower seeds, etc. but were all constantly whining they wanted more. A very odd phenomenon, for all three of them to be like that at once. I blame it on the beautifully warm weather we had today.

Nothing really notable about the daytime hours, except that after my shower, I decided we needed a group cuddle on the bed together. They were SO cranky and whiny, I thought we should hug it out.  Once we were all lying down, Sophie sighed and said, "This sure is a big responsibility." Hee! The whining didn't cease, however, and the hungry-monsters persisted. So my dreams of all of us napping that way went down in flames.

We had a busy afternoon and evening. I had another Cookie pickup from our troop leader, and then had to hurry and get the girls dressed for dance class. It was at the very last minute that I remembered I needed to get Jack ready, too! Rob came home just in time, and off we took, only to realize that he'd forgotten his license plates.  I did a quick 180 and was annoyed to find that not only did he not bring them, he hadn't even taken them off the truck yet! So I pissed and moaned while he removed them, and off we took again.

Rob carried Sophia into the dance studio, where she didn't want to leave the cute baby in the waiting room and actually go into class. Then the rest of us drove around the corner so I could deposit some cookie money, before heading back to drop off us girls at the studio.

Chloë and I sat, her dancing around and chatting everyone up, and me reading my Martha Stewart magazine (I got a free subscription that just started, woot!), while the boys went to run their errand. Rob had to turn in the Land Cruiser's license plates to the DMV so I can finally cancel the $%^ing insurance on the thing. Without doing that, bam! An automatic $500 fine. Can't risk that!

They still weren't back, so I sat and waited with Sophia while Chloë danced. She was just as full of excess energy as her big sister, running and tumbling all over the place, while I attempted to read. It wasn't to be, as one of the other moms (of whom I'm not particularly fond) kept chatting me up about her daughter (equally unfond). I'd lift up my mag to read, and she'd bust in on me again. Aack.

 

At last, with 10 minutes to go, the boys returned. Sophia wanted to stay outside and play while we waited. Rob dug around in the dirt with her for a few minutes, and then she was on her own. Her little bum got so dirty, but she wouldn't let me wipe it off.

 

I got notice last night that Jack's first soccer practice would be this night (yeah, thanks for the warning, pal), so here's Rob using Vanna's air compressor to blow up his ball. We were supposed to have a #3 soccer ball, and this is a #5, but maybe we'd have had the right thing with a little more notice!

 

It's hard to capture a baby laughing and tickle her at the same time! (And yes, she is almost four, but she is still my baby!)

 

Jack waited ever so patiently, though quietly excited, to get his shin guards on and get out onto the soccer field. Finally, his turn!

 

Practice was already in full swing by the time we got there. I told Coach Mel that we'd be late pretty much every week because of dance class. The soccer practice is nowhere near the studio, unfortunately - it's in BFE. Jack was quick to jump in with his giant-for-him ball. He got in line to kick toward the little goal stand and was eager to give it a go.

 

He just looked so cute out there, finally doing his own thing, that I took a bajillion pictures and will probably share them all with you! Rob berated me a million times about not putting shorts on him but honestly? I haven't taken the spring/summer clothes out yet, so too bad! He was fine. Really. And we have the soccer socks... somewhere. I'll find 'em for next week.

At last it was Jack's turn to make a goal, and I almost missed it because Sophie was bugging me! You can see the grin on his face, though, even from the back!

 

Yeah! Coach Mel helps him get it into the goal. Way to go, Buddy!

 

For the rest of the hour, they were far off down the field, so I couldn't really tell what they were supposed to be doing other than kicking the ball around. He looked great doing it, though - like a natural! I'm sure some of these boys have been playing soccer since they were four, but hopefully he'll catch up and be an old pro soon.

 

Sophia found a thistle and was very intrigued by it. She and her sister were very antsy throughout the practice. They're used to being the ones rehearsing and having Jack wait for them; now they've got to get used to the other way 'round!

 

My little Beckham

 

This is where the team was, across the field, for much of the practice. I used my zoom a lot. :D

 

Yeah, her undies stuck out of her suddenly-skimpy leotard the whole time. We kept trying to fix it, and she'd shrug it off saying, "Eh, that's okay!" I love her muscular legs and the fact that her hair keeps on growing! (I've probably said that a dozen times, but I'm so excited to be able to put it up again soon!)

 

This picture of Chloë discovering her own thistle is kind of so atrocious that it amuses me. Hence the inclusion.

 

This was supposed to be a picture of the tiny flower she was showing me, but I think it just captures Sophia so sweetly...

 

... and on and on he ran, not even noticing others falling in his wake.

 

Time for a team huddle. Jack's the little shorty on Coach Mel's left.

 

Sophia had to go potty soooo badly. So Rob took her around the school grounds, looking for somewhere to "go." The found nothing. She was in agony! We were right off the highway and not anywhere close to anything we knew, so she was SOL, the poor kid.

 

Coach Mel kept releasing the boys to get their water fixes. Jack would run over so proudly, swig his water, and then take to the field again. He's so big!

 

Soap finally tuckered out, and I snapped this picture of her in my arms. It's supposed to be vertical, but I love it this way. See? She is still a baby.

 

The highlight of the evening, for Chloë, was finding and bringing home this ladybug. She was too thrilled. Any other bug, and there'd be a screaming fest, but ladies are okay.

 

Finally, practice ended, and Coach handed out the kids' home and away t-shirts. Jack was excited to get his, and he kept asking us if he could play soccer again sometime. I don't think he realizes that this time, he gets to stay in it for the whole season! (When he was four, he was signed up, but the coach was an asshole, so we quit after one session.) He was such a happy kid on the field and afterward, and it pleased me deeply. It's great to finally have something for the little guy to do that's "his." (Although Chloë said she wanted to quit dance so she could play soccer, too. Um, I don't think so! Not in the middle of March, anyway!)

We rushed to go get some gas, since the 'empty' light was on and going ding-ding-ding. Then to the grocery store to pick up some side salads for me to take to Bunco. I'd have made hummus, but then I realized we'd be in the car for three-plus hours, and that didn't seem like such a good idear.

I drove to Bunco then, and carried in my case+ of cookies to deliver to the ladies there, the money box in case they needed change (they didn't, of course), the food, and my purse. The fam dropped me off and went home to change clothes and pee before heading out to dinner at IHOP. *sniff* without me, but alas, there's probably not a whole lot I could eat there anymore, anyway!

Bunco was really super fun tonight. I was happy to share my fifty-pound-loss news and was in a really good mood after our fun evening together as a family. I felt "on" and was really silly, making lots of jokes that had us laughing. We all were. It was a good time, good time. And I got the last Bunco, so I got the prize for holding the Bunco Clip at the end. I chose a copper vase/bowl thing, because I lurve copper. One woman called it a "spittoon," which amused me, so when I won I requested the copper spittoon. I told them all to christen it so I could take it home to Rob to drink, and we cracked up.

The only thing missing was Stephanie. You missed a great night, yo!

Well, it's getting late, and I need to get my half-hour of Wii in! Good-night, my babies!

Fin.