blog is a funny word

[peggyfromwastate]

I never understood where "blog" came from. I'm sure there's a reason, but it's just so random to me.

As this stage in my life seems to be another beginning, I think I will start to write my own little miniblog here. What a great idea! Too convenient, really. I have friends who have huge blogs out in cyberspace with pics and clever little titles to every day's events. That's just not gonna happen for me, and if I wait for it to happen, then I'll never write anything down.

This is a beginning in that Mac just started his intern year, and Kate just started middle school. It's so scary to think that I have a middle schooler. Especially since I still think of myself as a teenager. Am I quite as stuck on the high school era as many pathetic ones who sit around recalling the last great touchdown 20-odd years previously? No, I'm not. But in my mind, somewhere, sometimes, I still feel like a high schooler.

Kate is doing very well. I admire her bravery. She is starting a brand new middle school where she knew only 2 people (out of over 1200). And these aren't all sweet, midwest kids. This is a magnet school, so it is in a rougher part of town. They've had all sorts of problems. But she just walks in there, looking slightly intimidating, and joins the fray. Yesterday she said she had made 3 friends, and today she added one more. "I'm pretty sure that I'll have at least 10 by the end of the week," she says with determination. She is also, curiously, deciding not to hang with the neighborhood girl who was always a bit of a PITA. She would put Kate down for who knows what reason. Just because, I guess. She is a very lonely girl, though. Her parents work all the time, and buy her loads of crap to compensate.

Mac is enjoying surgery, but I can tell he's conflicted. Especially since Luke, who absolutely idolizes him, is doing so well. The world doesn't fall apart when Dad's not around. We knew this, but I guess it still rubs.

I am spending way too much time on my computer. No Carpel-Tunnel (sp??) yet, but there it is. I suppose that is what I need right now.

I am also finishing the wonderful Alexander McCall Smith books- the Isabel Dalhousie series... I love books by this author and save them as a special treat. Isabel is struggling with the philosophical implications of getting into a romantic relationship with a younger man. He is 14 years younger than she, and she's in her early 40s. It is a fascinating debate. Initially I did think that it was wrong, but why? I dont' know. I guess I'm very well programmed by social expectations (becasue a 20-something man with a 40-something woman would mean no children, unless adoption was an option; vs. the other way around, where children would no doubt work there way into the equation...).

I love these books!

Off to read some more!

[peggyfromwastate]

We did 3 errands this morning, not counting dropping Kate off to her bus stop at 7 am, and then walking the kids to school at 8:30.

We went to Target, Staples (when will the back to school shopping end?), and Safeway. I hate Safeway because they always have sales on ice cream. This time it was listed "buy one get one" (DH always says, knowingly, you mean "BOGO"?-- see he worked as a checker when he was in college -- the fastest checker ever so he says -- and feels compelled to give me the lingo of those "in the know".) Anyway, it really wasn't, and so when I was reviewing my reciet, I saw that I paid way more than I intended. I sat in the car for about 2 minutes debating... But then I went in to customer service and got my $7. I try to think of these things in terms of lattes. Would I go into the store for 2 free latte coupons? Even with a tired 3-year old? Yes? Then ok, go in the store.

My exciting life...

[peggyfromwastate]

I feel like a total idiot. I can not figure out this photo thing, and so I am very sorry but they are absolutely huge...

I think I mentioned that I am not computer savvy. The only one of my delightful siblings to have this problem. Why? It's just not fair! DH is sadly just as bad as I am, but he is MUCH more patient...

Anyway, the pictures I wanted to share had to do with our recent trip (past Memorial Day, which for me is recent since the pics are actually downloaded already. That is lightning speed for me.

I aspire to visit all the military resorts that I possibly can. One of those resorts is in Virginia Beach. We went there with my mom, so there were 7 in our party! It was fun, but Luke (the big chicken ) was very hesitant to get in the water.



After a couple of days, he gave it a try! His older bro, Steven, had no trouble. Even though he has no body fat and turns blue, literally, when he's cold, he jumps right in there! (Part of that is the fact that he's uber competetive, and wants to be first.)

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Then of course, my own "Little Miss Sunshine", aka Isabel. She loves life. She really does. She also loves to sing, hum, hug, tackle, kiss (sloppy!), draw, yell, scream... She is just so full of life. Sometimes it gets overwhelming!



Also on the trip was Kate, who at 11 is definitely not psyched to be with "the fam", but she still sparkles when she's at the beach. She really had a great time, and even enjoyed being part of the group! This picture is of her at the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. Incidentally, the military resort is in the same complex as this lighthouse. It's fairly interesting, BUT kids shorter than, I think it was 44", are not allowed in it at all. No backpacking, etc. Once you get in there, you know why.



Here are some random pics of having fun!





My mom and I came across this sign at the "historic Cape Henry lighthouse" visitor center. We thought it was hilarious. Of course, no one else knew why. I am not sure it is really hilarious, but anyway... This will be an enduring joke. (If you want service, you have to take off your shirt and your shoes! Hee Hee. I know-- we are DORKS but when you are in the sun that long...)



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[peggyfromwastate]

So, anyway, about the resort. It was nice, private, and off the beaten path. There are sand dunes everywhere, with about 1 sign per 10 feet telling you to stay off of the sand dunes... They are protected? Are sand dunes endangered? Anyway, we are obedient. (It was a miltary resort, after all!)

We liked Virginia Beach. It was a "happening town". Mac had been there before, and told me how disgusting the water was. But I didn't notice anything more disgusting about it than any other beach. Mind you, from the Pacific Northwest our beaches are... rocky! And soooo cold. But very dramatic.

Things we did in Virginia Beach:

ate seafood
played in the sand
walked on the boardwalk
found the starbucks
ate great mediterranean food
bought terrible family pics from some beach vendor
watched movies
stayed up late
went to Williamsburg
relaxed!

The most annoying thing we did in Virginia Beach:

Tried to return some skimpy and bizarre shirt Kate bought (with her Grandma there). It was hard to return it because there were 3 shops all of the same name, but Mom couldn't remember which shop sold them the shirt. So they went walking from shop, to shop, to shop, while I circled in a Suburban for 45 minutes! Should've just thrown the shirt away.


The most obnoxious thing we did:

We went to the store where they processed the "beach family photo" to look at our proof and decide if we wanted to buy the package. See, when they took the pictures while we were on the beach, they posed us all over, etc., etc, and then told us we had to put $10 cash down to be able to see the digital images later that evening. I said, yeah I don't think so, but Mom played along. Good little tourist.

Anyway, so we got to the shop, and we were in our little kiosk looking at the proofs and I swear, we were laughing so hard we were crying. The sweet little thang who took our pics apparently centered every picture on Mac's gut! It was so funny! Now, I am definitely not a swimsuit model and have about 25 extra pounds on me, but I had the good sense to cover up! Anyway, after shrieking with laughter for about 20 minutes, we finally just bought the damn package and left the place.

BTW, Mac has lost at least 20 pounds since then thanks to the "intern diet". Waiting for my pounds to drop off, but the "SAHM diet" is not quite the same deal...

[peggyfromwastate]

Here we go... The Disney Installment.

We took a family trip to the "world" this past May (May was a big month for us!) My family of 6 went, along with my sister's family (they have 2 kids), and my parents. We stayed at the Shades of Green (military resort). It was really great. The only thing I wish we'd done differently was to drive down there rather than fly. But at that point, we'd had about 4 trips in the previous 6 months, all involving flying. I was sick.of.it.

Family trips are stressful- mostly because I am very stressful. I am a schedule person, to the *minute*. Mac knows how to deal with this. He just sits back and lets me run around like a chicken with its head cut off. It happens every time. So, throw in my sister (type B personality) and my mom (type A with a sarcastic edge) and we have a recipe for... a really relaxing trip. But no one goes to Disney to relax, honestly...

I only had 1 major meltdown on this trip. It was at Chef Mickey's character breakfast. Now, understand that I was really really excited to eat breakfast with Chef Mickey. I had been planning on it 6 months previous to the date, as that was when I made the phone reservation. And Disney Dining for 12 people is a tiny bit complicated. So, I told everyone, be there 15 minutes early, or else: And I even went so far as to tell them an earlier dining time (by 30 minutes). I had written it on their schedules, I had reminded them the night before, and I had purposefully misrepresented our "magical dining reservation time" so that everyone could be there on time!

So, in the morning I took care of my crew, and my parents in the adjoining room, and I even called my sister to wake her up. It was so easy for them. I called them on the cell phones to tell them that we were leaving the hotel, that we were almost at the restaurant, that we were inside the building, etc. You see I am a very obnoxious person. That is just how it is. With all my nagging, of course, they were all 30 minutes late. Now I'm freaking because my DREAM of eating with Chef Mickey was in jeopardy. What if they didn't have a table for us? What if they said, Sorry, be more punctual???

Here is a picture of me looking disgusted with my family after chewing them out for making me wait to have my dream realized.



Here I am pretending to be happy to finally meet Chef Mickey but really internally seething at the great injustice that had been done to me.



I have other pictures too, but I'll add those in a bit after doing my motherly duties of picking the kids up from school, getting them a snack, cleaning up after them, getting dinner ready, then bath, then pjs, then stories, then bed, etc., etc., etc...

[peggyfromwastate]

No freaking way am I adding pictures of Disney now. I am not feeling magical today.

The stupid medical schedule is just really bugging me. I think I'm on the road to "let it go", but not yet there... I am resentful that DH has been gone for the past 2 years during the start of school, and now that he's here physically, he's not really "here" because he's working so much he can't even be bothered to look at the family schedule and notice when somebody's got something. It's so pathetic that he didn't even see his kids off to Kindergarten when they started... Shoot, he doesn't even know the name of their teacher this year. Let alone know jack diddly about Kate's stuff. Single parenting, *big sigh*.

I know that I'm really teed b/c I made a list this morning. When I am really sick of something, I make lists. It is just a compulsion I have, slightly more healthy than slashing tires. This one is for DH. It's called, "Mac's Chores". I won't give it to him or anything, because that was a rookie error I made when we were first married which didn't really turn out as I had planned. (Look what I did! I made you a list! Aren't you Happy! Isn't it GREAT??? Now we will have no more miscommunications EVER!!)

Anyway, I have my little list, and I feel *slightly* better in having made it.

[peggyfromwastate]

I'm still not all that "magical", but I'll just add those Disney pics since I have the time. Otherwise I may feel compelled to start cleaning, but I just poured myself another cup of java and so...

First, the family shots. We were on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Animal Kingdom. The bus we were waiting to get on broke down right before our turn. Which meant we kept being moved back and forth in the line. I remember thinking how confusing that was for the kids. They were in the turnstiles, ready to go, then moved back out of the turnstiles, etc., etc. But they are too short to see past most peoples' hips. Anyway, we survived.





Now, another big feature of our trip were the character meals. We planned those partly because my sister's son has autism and doesn't wait in lines well. And we also planned them because I get suckered into stuff like that- reading reviews at Deb's Unofficial Disney Site. And, since I was basically planning the entire trip, we did the character meals. Ad nauseum.

Everyone loved them. Especially Luke! Poor guy-- he was terrified!



THESE are the character interactiong Luke could handle:





My adventurous little Izzy (then 5, now 6) did the roller coasters like a pro. Here she is in line to ride "Goofy's Barnstormer" by herself! Mac took Luke duty, and I rode with Steven. Steven is a bit of a chicken when it comes to rides. But Izzy took on the Yeti at Animal Kingdom (that is scary ) and so the Barnstormer was no problem! Kate was off with other members of our party, most likely riding "Pirates of the Caribbean", which she went on about 7 or 8 times. :huh:





Finally, the kids got to meet Lighning McQueen and Tow Mater! How awesome! This was truly a highlight!





Ultimately, we really did have a memorable time, and the military resort was GREAT. I loved it, and the price was right!

Best things about Disney:

Doing things on our own as a smaller family unit, and then meeting up with "the group" for meals.
The Norwegian food at Epcot- Princess character dinner. I love Norwegian food!
Trading Pins! The kids LOVED it! It was so great. And I loved seeing what pins they treasured.
Kate had a fabulous time and got to spend one-on-one time with me, daddy, grandma and grandpa, and her Aunt! Great stuff!

Most Annoying Things about Disney:

overstimulation- for me and the kids. By the end of the trip they were scared to go on the "nemo" ride because they didn't even know what was going to jump out at them.
VENDORS. Holy cow. All over the freaking place. Luke, or someone, managed to pick up a nice little token of Disney's memorabilia- a keychain which I suppose was on stroller height. He grabbed it, and put it somewhere in the stroller. We found it when we got back home.
the Orlando airport. What a total drag. The idiots made us carry our bags from the check in to some other screening area. I Hate it when they do that.

Worst moment:

Yelling at Mac via cellphone for "ruining all of disneyworld for me and the kids forever" because he went to the wrong park one day. And I had the tickets, but he had the kids... I can't remember the details but just suffice it to say that he is one patient man. I would hate to be with me on a vacation!

[peggyfromwastate]

It's official: "I'm a soccer mom".

Yesterday I bought cleats, shin guards, and socks. I know I'll have to go back to get the right colors and styles and what not, but there you have it. I'm a soccer mom. I've avoided it for a long time, but no more!

Do you know how much it costs to become a soccer mom?
*the registration to the recreational league: $93
*cleats, on clearance: $24
*cheapo shin guards: $10
*cheapo soccer socks: $8

But think of the grandeur of joining the club! Carpool, here I come!

[peggyfromwastate]

Today I took Luke to a nature class about Ladybugs. The class consisted of storytime (read: kids squirming around while a sweet 'conservationist' attempted to inform them about ladybug spots), craft (read: moms attempting to help their 3 year olds construct ladybugs out of construction paper and pipe cleaners) and a nature hike (read: a walk outside the building to look for ladybugs). On the "hike", we saw a toad, a dragonfly, a fuzzy caterpillar (which I already forgot the name of, even though the conservationist said it about a million times), and various owls and birds. There was also the delightful episode where a little boy next to us stuck his finger into some goose poop. His mom said, with a smile, "did you go touching the poop again?" Ick.

The nature center thing was fun, though, and I was very impressed with it as a whole. It's like a little children's museum, really. We have several more classes coming up. My favorite time was as we were leaving we passed by yet another "owl habitat" (read: cage). There was an owl that was most likely sleeping and on the floor 3 mouse carcasses. Of course, what did Luke notice? Not the owl. He said, Mommy- what are those? Ummm, those are mice. Let's go. Seriously people, clean out the cages before the 3 year olds get there.

Ahh, here comes DH home after call. Now I can relax! I even have some fresh baked cookies for him. I am so domestic.

[peggyfromwastate]

Yesterday was Kate's first soccer practice. It was really *interesting*. I don't know how she's managed to get to age 11 without even knowing how to properly kick a soccer ball but I suspect it has something to do with me... Anyway, once they actually started playing, she was fine. She can run around just like the rest of them, but I'm glad it's a recreational league. I'm not sure how long this soccer career will last... For a while, I thought I was going to have to physically drag her onto the field. She was being so obnoxious. "I won't play. You can't make me. I hate sports. I hate soccer. This is all your dumb fault. Why won't you leave me alone." She chose soccer. She wanted to give it a try. But anyway, by some small miracle, there were 2 girls from her summer swim team on the soccer team! This is really a small miracle- there are so many teams, 100s, and for her to be placed with them! Wow. That made it slightly easier to get her on the field. When they were playing, the coach kept saying, "kick it baby. get it baby, run baby run!" I swear he called every girl "baby". Don't know if it's a cultural thing, but it was a little wierd. His wife and kid were there at the practice, and the other girls didn't even seem to hear him, so???

Then we had an interesting night. DH was post call so he decided he'd take the kids to a park. And then he'd wash the car, and fill it up, etc., etc. And then order $50 worth of takeout for us to eat. And then give one of the three kids a bath. All while I was taking Kate to soccer. It was utter chaos. But we survived. I did kind of yell at him: You can't make these decisions, it's a school night, we have a tight schedule, they have to get up before 7 am tomorrow and they need to be in bed and how can I do that with all this food??? Blah blah. I make home such a nurturing haven.

So, today I embarked on my favoritist of favorite chores: Costco. I do not really mind Costco, per se, but Costco in Maryland is... special. Maybe the people here are special. We made it through the whole store, to the checkout, and then as the checker was pushing the "complete transaction" button, I remembered I forgot to give her my coupons. I asked her if she could please just redo the transaction (seriously, she would only have to push like 3 buttons), but no, I had to go over to customer service to get my coupon money. *big sigh* She said, "What, it's easy, just go over there." It is NEVER easy. One of my versions of hell involve the customer service line at Costco. Anyway, we go over there, and stand in line. The lady in front of me is busy arguing with the agent over tax. If you make the fatal error of not giving the cashier the coupons before the transaction completion button is pushed, you can kiss your tax money goodbye. I've learned that lesson well. One of these days I'll actually remember to give them my damned coupons. So the agent goes to talk to someone else and push some buttons on a cash machine, and the customer is busy pushing buttons in her hot pink calculator (not purse-sized, by the way). I should have just offered to give her the tax money, since it was most likely 50 cents or so...

Anyway, we got out of there eventually, I got my cash (minus tax), and now I am trying to find my happy place before I babysit a couple of girls. Their mom has stuff to do for the church, so how can I refuse? I would, but I drop my kids off to her frequently as well, so... Anyway, her 3 year old is a real doll. She taught Luke how to climb out of his crib, open doors (including the front door), flush toys down the toilet, and various other antics.

*MMMMM*** happy place *****

[peggyfromwastate]

Today's activity is called: Waiting for the tree guy to come cut down our hideous tree. Again. I've done this activity already 2 days this week. :waiting:

I've been using the time to also try to brainwash Luke into being excited for Preschool to start. He says he wants to go to school. But... He wants to go to school with mommy. I tell him that Mommies don't go to school- just kids! Big kids! With play time, recess, snacks, stories! And teachers to take care of them. Then Mommies come back to bring the kids home... I am trying to stay positive, but honestly. I will be so surprised if preschool works out.

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: blog is a funny word

It occurred to me that I don't follow through with thoughts on my blog. This is true of me in life in general- for example, if I get bored with something I'm saying, I'll just drop it in midsentence. DH is used to it, but most people wait for me to finish my thought. People are so polite...

So, to touch base on some of the unfinished thoughts:

I am also finishing the wonderful Alexander McCall Smith books- the Isabel Dalhousie series... I love books by this author and save them as a special treat. Isabel is struggling with the philosophical implications of getting into a romantic relationship with a younger man.

I did love this book and there is another one in the series! I didn't have all my assumptions about the previous book right, but I don't want to spoil anything... Anyway, the next book in the series so far is delving into the issue of the man's natural desire to be a "provider", and what that means exactly. I would tend to think this is mostly a debate we have due to socialization (or roles in society), but then I've also been reading through "The Wonder of Girls" and the nature-based arguments in that book make a lot of sense to me as well.

For instance, if I feel unsettled in life, is it because I'm wishing secretly that I were out there climbing the corporate ladder? Is it that I feel like I've wasted my life and talents on the mundane tasks of raising kids-- where had I received a professional degree and/or pursued chemical research perhaps I would have contributed more to the greater good of society? I have wondered these things in the past, and just shrugged them off as useless debates. But Gurien's book makes the point that these goals are not so much "natural" aspirations of the female brain, but those imposed on us by a feminist agenda. Truly, I didn't feel the urge to continue in research, or to go after a high-powered professional degree. I just felt compelled to stay home and study my kids and try to understand them as much as possible. So that is what I did. There is time for a career later, although perhaps I won't feel the need to pursue one, and I suppose I shouldn't feel "guilty" for having "wasted" my potential and my education.

and now I am trying to find my happy place before I babysit a couple of girls. Their mom has stuff to do for the church, so how can I refuse? I would, but I drop my kids off to her frequently as well, so... Anyway, her 3 year old is a real doll. She taught Luke how to climb out of his crib, open doors (including the front door), flush toys down the toilet, and various other antics.

*MMMMM*** happy place *****

Another one of the random unfinished thoughts on this blog concerned the 3 year old coming to visit. She and her sis did great- the kids mostly played outside and although they were here during "nap time", it all worked out just fine. No big catastrophes- this time.

Today's activity is called: Waiting for the tree guy to come cut down our hideous tree. Again. I've done this activity already 2 days this week. :waiting:

I've been using the time to also try to brainwash Luke into being excited for Preschool to start.

And then of course, the tree guys did come, but they didn't finish. Now we have a ginormous stump in front of our house. The guy who does the grinding of the stumps is ??? Who knows. Busy I suppose. So I haven't paid yet, which makes me fairly confident that the job will get finished.

And finally, the results of the preschool orientation. Well..... It was going ok while the kids were playing with toys and what not. But a lot of kids had 2 parents there plus their camcorders, and so there were a lot of bodies in that room. When it came time for the "clean up" song, Luke didn't "get it". Some helpful girls knew what was going on, and tried to clean up his toys. He of course had a major meltdown. He's a little bit OCD and he was trying to fit those 5 zoo animals in that teensy little crate, but they just wouldn't go. And so he kept dumping them out, then a girl would put one in, he'd say NOT THE ELEPHANT and dump it out, so on and so forth. He was of course struggling through it on the rug where "circle time" is held. The teacher had to pry the crate away from him, then I carried him to a different part of the room where he was wailing and crying and carrying on. Then a couple of kids started crying, because I suppose they thought it was the thing to do. Meanwhile the teacher was reading "The Kissing Hand" and trying to get the non-distracted kids and adults to participate. Eventually Luke settled down and just stood in his corner, sucking his thumb. So then they had the goodbye song at circle time, and the party started to break up. This precipitated yet another round of hystierics when Luke realized he was going to miss out entirely on circle time. Finally I dragged him to the rug where he was able to look at a book on his own. He looked through it, then decided he was going to take the book home with him. So then we go through the whole, this is the preschool's book, you have your own books, etc. Finally we got out the door... to the playground area. Of course I had to let him play to try to give him a slight positive recollection of the day's events. There were lots of sympathizing moms there offering me helpful advice. I didn't tell them how many kids I had. I felt like a total rookie, but Luke is a child who has completely broken me. I don't know which way is North, seriously.

So my brainwashing of the other day wasn't completely (minutely) effective. I will have to pursue brainwashing with more intensity...

Or just stop the insanity and pull him from the program.

To top off the perfect day, I read that the cotisol that you create when you are stressed easily converts to fat that sits on your belly and gut forever. But not to worry! You just need to exercise SEVERAL times a day for at least 10 minutes each time!

I am going to go cry now.

[peggyfromwastate]

We just had a "kid weekend". First, on Saturday, DH was home in the morning! Yay! I got to sleep in until... 8 am!!! Then, we got ready for the first soccer game of Kate's career. She was so sporty-looking!



Anyway, as we were walking to the field we saw a girl who is our neighbor and went to Kate's school last year! On her team also! So that's nice- some sheer coincidence that she was placed on a team with 3 people that she actually knew, none of whom actually go to her middle school! The game was entertaining, and our other kids had a good time playing on the playground right next to the field. We were actually sitting in the opponent's team area- but that was where the shade was and where the playground was. There was a really competetive dad next to us, yelling and yelling. I was thinking, why doesn't he chill. This isn't even the SELECT league- just recreational and just for fun. And then, a girl on the opposing team totally flopped- I mean she tripped and fell on her butt and the ref called a personal foul on our team! Before I could help myself, I said, "Oh please! That was a total flop!" I think I'm going to need to watch myself! Anyway, at the end of the game DH told Kate congratulations for winning, and she said, We won? I guess she's one of those players who just shows up for the snacks.

Then we went home and did the regular Saturday stuff. DH cleaned up the yard, Luke took a nap, etc., etc. Kid stuff. On Sunday I took the kids by myself to a new church that we want to try out. I'm so proud of me! Taking 4 kids is no small feat, when it means registering them all for sunday school and what not. I got them all settled, and Luke did really well. He is my problem child, and he didn't cry or anything! I'm so proud! Had DH been there, it would have been a huge disaster. Luke can't be "dropped off" by DH. He just doesn't trust that daddy will come back. Kate did ok- she was in the middle school age with a group of kids whom she didn't know, and they didn't know her. But she made it, and when I asked if she wanted to come back, she said "I thought I didn't have a choice". Well, technically she could choose to sit up in the service with me, but she's not interested in that either. I think the youth group may end up being fun for her- but the jury's still out. I hated my youth group when I was her age. I was from the "rich snobby" school. It was a public schoo, but the other youth group kids went to the other two schools from our hometown, so... Anyway, the service was a riot. There was a healthy blend of contemporary and gospel (!!!) music. I loved it. It was so different from our old church- which we're leaving because of the lack of kids' programs beyond 4th grade. We know so many people from our old church, it's really disheartening to start over, but there it is! Our needs as a family changed, I guess! I never thought we'd still be here in the DC area for residency- Mac promised to get me outta here. But it's ok, we are settled.

Then, when we got home, DH was back from having done rounds, etc., so that was nice. He was able to take over kid duty and lunch! I just went upstairs to read my book. And then for dinner we took them to ChuckECheese. We haven't been there for over a year. It's just such chaos, and I hate goin gthere on a weekend. But we did it- we braved the crowds and the nasty bathrooms and the machines with no tickets left... Kate cashed in her tickets she'd been hoarding (over 1000 worth!) and got cotton candy and little toys for the kids. Then home, bath, bed, good night and good bye weekend.

Back to reality today... Sigh...

[peggyfromwastate]

It's raining today. That's OK with me. I like the rain- and maybe it will knock out some of the spider webs! August and September are big spider-web making months by the big spiders that hang out on my porch and front "stoop". I could use a broom to do that, but... I just never seem to think about it.

Luke and I went to the "worms" nature class today. There were about a million kids in there- way more than the Ladybug class. And the conservationist chose really technical books. Steven maybe would've been interested, but the 2s to 4s set was decidedly not. She kept shushing the kids and trying to show them pictures of the little hair things that are on the worms-- "you can only see them with a microscope-thingy!" Anyway, I did learn one thing: Worms were brought over to the Americas by the colonists! Before that there were no worms in North America. That, to me, was fascinating. It makes me feel like my ancestors contributed *something* useful to this country...

Now I'm busy neglecting my nightly duties. Mac has call tonight, and we don't have groceries. Should be fun!

Luke has preschool tomorrow. He practically starts crying when I tell him. I don't know why it's such a big deal. He just went to a totally new and different Sunday School class with absolutely no problem. I know that tomorrow I'm going to have to drag him in there. Why do I do this? Why???

[peggyfromwastate]

Preschool was a tentative... success. He cried in the car on the way there, but I think doing so helped him to work it out. I'm so proud of him! When I picked him up, he knew he'd done something big, because he did the shy, turn-the-head, smile-smirk that he pulls out when he's really pleased with himself. I'll have to get a picture of it someday- it's really quite a unique expression.

I just talked to Mac, and he's post call having worked (in direct patient care) for 34 hours. This is so stupid. I don't understand why anyone wants to go into medicine, but HooAh I guess??? I'm really glad I didn't tell Luke that Daddy would be home for lunch. I made that mistake one time. It was very sad for all concerned...

Steven and Isabel are doing well in school, except that I found out yesterday that Isabel had been sitting with the class at lunch, and so Steven had been sitting alone at the "peanut table". That's where the kids who have food allergies sit. I guess he's the only one in 1st grade. Last year, Izzy just automatically sat by him for lunch. This year, she wanted to sit with the class. It's good for twins to separate, but to me, I don't want him sitting there by himself at lunch. So I sent in a note telling the teacher to have Izzy sit with her brother. It's just too sad for me! Poor guy. Peanut allergies suck. Not to mention that I've had to train him to be able to self-administer the Epipen. He is so scared at the thought of it that tears well up in his eyes.

Kate continues with school. She doesn't like math because she doesn't "understand it". I don't know if there are many people who "understand" it really. I think that we just learn the steps to take to solve for "x". That's what I did- I didn't worry about the complexities or the theory, I just did the work, got my A, and moved on. That's how I made it through Physics too! DH used to try to explain things to me, but really I didn't care. I told him that I never would truly understand it, and that I was OK with that. "Just show me how to do the problem, I'll memorize that, and reproduce it on a test." Any "original" thought questions, I would miss. But never enough to affect the precious GPA. So, anyway, I finally convinced Kate to just follow the steps and not to try so hard to understand what was going on. She eventually did this, and has told me that now math is "easier". Go girl!