I got started thinking today about what is left ahead of me in terms of school and where it may lead me. I'm not far off from finishing my AA at SPCC, and I took a moment to check out the website for UNCC and see if I could figure out what's next. UNCC seems the most logical choice. I've never even been there, but as far as state schools that are convenient to my location, it seems fairly certain that is where I'll end up.
Since I've never done this before, I don't have anything to draw from in terms of how many and what kinds of classes I'll need to finish this process. It turns out that the good news is that if I transfer with an official Associate's in Art degree, they won't pick it apart. In other words, I'm good to go for all my general courses, and I can move on to the required course for the baccalaureate degree. For the English program, that means I'll need 33 credits in English (about 11 classes), a public speaking course (I think), and 18 credits (about 6 classes) for a minor of my choice. So that's 17-18 classes total!! That is so doable I can almost taste the victory! I know, I know. I'm getting ahead of myself. But remember, I'm 35, almost 36, and I never thought I'd see this in my life. So it's pretty exciting.
As far as a minor goes, I was thinking about either Sociology or History. Sociology has been a new favorite of mine, and I think it would be something that would help in my future studies as well as in my writing. I'm not a huge fan of history, but I see that as something that could only add to my general knowledge and also help if I decide to pursue any fictional writing as well as some non-fiction. My other choice would be to pursue a teacher certificate instead of a minor. I would be eligible to teach HS English, which is not where I want to be for good but would be something I could do in the interim.
This leads to the next point, and it is that we have decided that we would like to move back close to where we came from, probably somewhere around Maryland or Delaware. North Carolina has served it's purpose, but I'm really ready to move on. It won't happen until I graduate, but I'm hoping it does happen shortly thereafter. My goal is to be able to afford to move because I'd like to work, maybe teaching, after I get my BA while working toward my MA.
So there's the plan! I'll elaborate more as we go about some of the other stuff, especially about how sick of NC I am. Sorry, NC! You've been good to us, but I think we've overstayed our welcome. Anyway, I had to blog about this and put it in writing because I'll be excited to look back on it periodically to see my progress and which goals were met and which were changed. By the time we get to day 180, or however many days we've got, I will hopefully be a new UNCC student and preparing to move to the next step in this crazy process.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day 44 (eve)- Cool School and an Infection Injection
It's been a couple weeks since my last post so I'll start where I left off. The parent-teacher conference we had went great...not that I had any doubt. Veronica's teacher basically told us how wonderfully smart she is. She's not only way ahead of the class, but she's socially adept as well. Ms. Livesey said that she "gets it" right away whenever they are given a new assignment, and she helps the other kids that are having a hard time or struggling to understand. We were shown the levels in the different categories of learning they hope to accomplish by the end of the year, and Veronica has already mastered about 50-75% of it...2 months into the school year!! I'm so impressed with her abilities, and it's going to be exciting to watch her grow academically through the years.
My final class for the semester started a couple weeks ago. It seems like it shouldn't be too bad, so I'm hopeful about getting through the semester relatively well. My dreaded Biology class is going well, too. I've now taken 2 exams and done really well on both. On the other hand, I took my first World Civilizations exam and bombed. Well, my version of bombed, anyway. I got a 72% on it, and that's the worst test grade I've gotten since I started back to school. Thankfully, it didn't destroy my overall grade, but it certainly doesn't help. Hopefully I will fare better on the next one.
Evan seems to have found his groove at school. I've been getting good reports from the teachers, and he's been telling me about these two other boys in his class that apparently have taken over as the resident trouble makers. I'm just glad it's not him! I keep asking him how it feels that he's the good listener and has been getting popsicles at snack time while these other two don't. I'm hoping he understands how rewarding it is to be on the good side of things. Evan really impresses me in his own right, as well. I'm constantly amazed at the impressive train track configurations he puts together. He's always got this massive "town" running all over the toy room, and it even goes up and down from the couch to the floor. He figures this stuff out all by himself, and I'm convinced this type of thing is where he's going to excel. Move over, Marcus! There's another engineer in the making.
Last weekend Veronica started feeling sick and came down with a pretty high fever. She was looking really pathetic, and I started worrying about her. On Monday, it looked like she might get over it, so I cancelled the doctor's appointment I had made. By the next day, it became apparent that I was going to need to take her anyway. When I brought her in, the doctor said it sounded like she had pneumonia. They did a finger prick and determined her white blood cell count was really high, so he decided it would have to be treated aggressively. That meant that Veronica had to get a shot in the butt. It was horrible. I have never heard her scream so loud and violently. The nurse and I had to each take an end and physically drag her out of the corner and hold her down on the table. After almost 6 years of parenthood, this is the first time I lost it and started crying. I felt so bad for how sick she was in the first place, but to have to add insult to injury in the form of this shot just broke my heart. Anyway, we went across the street to have an x-ray taken that confirmed she did have full blown pneumonia. Luckily, the shot did it's thing, and we didn't have to go back for another. They started her on an antibiotic, but she still ended up missing school through Thursday. Friday morning was career day, and she was adamant about wanting to go to school. I checked her temperature when she got up that morning, and she was still a little elevated at 99.1 degrees. However, I just pumped her full of ibuprofen and figured she'd be okay for one day. Friday evening she started feeling bad again, obviously signaling that we weren't out of the woods yet. Saturday morning she woke up with a rash on her legs, so back to the doctor we went. It turns out she was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, so they gave her a new one. We did get a little good news though when the doctor listened to her lungs and said they sounded better. Today, she seems MUCH better, so I'm crossing my fingers that the worst is over.
Jon and I got to go on a much needed date the other night. We got our neighbor to watch the kids for free, and we went out to dinner for a belated anniversary celebration. It was simple but very enjoyable and relaxing. Also, we've started dedicating a couple nights a week to watching the series LOST. Yes, I just finished it myself, but I thought it was something that Jon would like and a chance for us to have some inexpensive quality time together. This past week we got through the first 4 episodes, and Jon loves it! We actually would have watched more but the disc we had only has those 4 on it. We go through Netflix, so we're waiting for the next one to arrive on Monday. Now that we realize there are only 4 episodes per disc, we'll probably just watch all four at once, and then get the next disc. Jon and I like some of the same movies and shows but not many. So I'm obviously thrilled that we are enjoying this together.
Tomorrow is back to the grind. Unfortunately, I missed my whole week of school last week because of Veronica's illness, so I'm hoping to be able to jump back in easily enough. Thursday I'm having a Pampered Chef party and hoping it turns out well. Then Friday the kids are leaving for another two week visit with their grandparents. It's Veronica's first long break in the school year, and Jan jumped at the opportunity for another visit. I'm excited to have some time to potentially knock out the majority of my major assignments for the semester. Also, this week it looks like we finally make it out of the 90's for the outside temp. I guess we've officially made it the whole summer without fixing our broken A/C. Yea!! I'm just waiting for the heater to go next. Damn! Why did I say that?!?
My final class for the semester started a couple weeks ago. It seems like it shouldn't be too bad, so I'm hopeful about getting through the semester relatively well. My dreaded Biology class is going well, too. I've now taken 2 exams and done really well on both. On the other hand, I took my first World Civilizations exam and bombed. Well, my version of bombed, anyway. I got a 72% on it, and that's the worst test grade I've gotten since I started back to school. Thankfully, it didn't destroy my overall grade, but it certainly doesn't help. Hopefully I will fare better on the next one.
Evan seems to have found his groove at school. I've been getting good reports from the teachers, and he's been telling me about these two other boys in his class that apparently have taken over as the resident trouble makers. I'm just glad it's not him! I keep asking him how it feels that he's the good listener and has been getting popsicles at snack time while these other two don't. I'm hoping he understands how rewarding it is to be on the good side of things. Evan really impresses me in his own right, as well. I'm constantly amazed at the impressive train track configurations he puts together. He's always got this massive "town" running all over the toy room, and it even goes up and down from the couch to the floor. He figures this stuff out all by himself, and I'm convinced this type of thing is where he's going to excel. Move over, Marcus! There's another engineer in the making.
Last weekend Veronica started feeling sick and came down with a pretty high fever. She was looking really pathetic, and I started worrying about her. On Monday, it looked like she might get over it, so I cancelled the doctor's appointment I had made. By the next day, it became apparent that I was going to need to take her anyway. When I brought her in, the doctor said it sounded like she had pneumonia. They did a finger prick and determined her white blood cell count was really high, so he decided it would have to be treated aggressively. That meant that Veronica had to get a shot in the butt. It was horrible. I have never heard her scream so loud and violently. The nurse and I had to each take an end and physically drag her out of the corner and hold her down on the table. After almost 6 years of parenthood, this is the first time I lost it and started crying. I felt so bad for how sick she was in the first place, but to have to add insult to injury in the form of this shot just broke my heart. Anyway, we went across the street to have an x-ray taken that confirmed she did have full blown pneumonia. Luckily, the shot did it's thing, and we didn't have to go back for another. They started her on an antibiotic, but she still ended up missing school through Thursday. Friday morning was career day, and she was adamant about wanting to go to school. I checked her temperature when she got up that morning, and she was still a little elevated at 99.1 degrees. However, I just pumped her full of ibuprofen and figured she'd be okay for one day. Friday evening she started feeling bad again, obviously signaling that we weren't out of the woods yet. Saturday morning she woke up with a rash on her legs, so back to the doctor we went. It turns out she was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, so they gave her a new one. We did get a little good news though when the doctor listened to her lungs and said they sounded better. Today, she seems MUCH better, so I'm crossing my fingers that the worst is over.
Jon and I got to go on a much needed date the other night. We got our neighbor to watch the kids for free, and we went out to dinner for a belated anniversary celebration. It was simple but very enjoyable and relaxing. Also, we've started dedicating a couple nights a week to watching the series LOST. Yes, I just finished it myself, but I thought it was something that Jon would like and a chance for us to have some inexpensive quality time together. This past week we got through the first 4 episodes, and Jon loves it! We actually would have watched more but the disc we had only has those 4 on it. We go through Netflix, so we're waiting for the next one to arrive on Monday. Now that we realize there are only 4 episodes per disc, we'll probably just watch all four at once, and then get the next disc. Jon and I like some of the same movies and shows but not many. So I'm obviously thrilled that we are enjoying this together.
Tomorrow is back to the grind. Unfortunately, I missed my whole week of school last week because of Veronica's illness, so I'm hoping to be able to jump back in easily enough. Thursday I'm having a Pampered Chef party and hoping it turns out well. Then Friday the kids are leaving for another two week visit with their grandparents. It's Veronica's first long break in the school year, and Jan jumped at the opportunity for another visit. I'm excited to have some time to potentially knock out the majority of my major assignments for the semester. Also, this week it looks like we finally make it out of the 90's for the outside temp. I guess we've officially made it the whole summer without fixing our broken A/C. Yea!! I'm just waiting for the heater to go next. Damn! Why did I say that?!?
Monday, September 13, 2010
Day 34- Falling into the Groove, Sans Peanuts
So it's day 34, and everything seems to be going smoothly. We've definitely found our groove, and although I wouldn't say I'm on top of everything, I'm doing pretty good at managing everything. Veronica has certainly found her groove. She is a happy morning girl every morning, and she walks down to the bus stop with a smile on her face and a "good morning" for the neighbors, which of course shows me up since I have that "Don't talk to me because I haven't had my coffee yet" look on my face. Anyway, she loves going every day now, and she even gets disappointed sometimes when she doesn't go on the weekends. Tomorrow is my first ever parent-teacher conference which is so surreal. Welcome to adulthood, Rhoda! It's official now.
Evan's school is going well too. The big drama with the preschool this year was the addition of the peanut allergy. Evan is attending the same school that he did last year. He's just in the older class with a different teacher, but it's a really small school with only a total of about 12-14 kids. So the classes are often combined, and he has interaction with both teachers on a regular basis. The point is that school for him--and me--is not much different than what he experienced last year. The big thing that I was looking forward to this year was having both kids in school every week for longer times. Evan's school hours are the same, but he now goes for 4 days instead of 3, and Veronica now goes all day every day. But the other thing I was excited about is that now that Veronica buys lunch every day, I only have to pack one lunch. And I wasn't worried about Evan because he is happy to eat PB&J every meal for the rest of his life. So I'm thinking that this is a perfect situation because all I need to stock is a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, and jelly. It's cheap AND easy. Needless to say, we found out about that there is a child in the school with a peanut allergy, and it was 6 o'clock the night before he was supposed to have his first day. This threw a major wrench into my system...as if I don't have enough on my plate. To make matters more complicated, apparently this child has such a severe allergy, they wanted to make sure we didn't allow any product that even contained a trace of peanuts, oils, etc into the school, and if our child ate breakfast in the morning that contained peanuts, etc then we needed to make sure they wash thoroughly so there are no traces on their hands. Aaaaggggghhhh!! I don't need this kind of stress right now! Anyway, I went to pack his lunch the next morning and realized that almost everything I had in our pantry either contained nuts, traces of nuts, nut oils, or was made in a factory that also produces things with nuts. WTF?!? I sent him to school with a slice of pizza and some juice. Thankfully, Evan doesn't eat much so he was fine. Since then, we decided to try bologna sandwiches, and luck was on my side because Evan decided that bologna sandwiches are his favorite now.
I am officially a quarter of the way through my fall semester, and it's going well. Thus far, my semesters have always gone well, but I put such pressure on myself you wouldn't think so. Anyway, my challenge of this semester is Biology 111. I HATE this class! I fully believe that my life will not be enriched in any way just because I have learned that we are made up of millions of microscopic cells. I truly do not care. There are other people who will make sure that all those cells are where they need to be and doing the jobs they are supposed to, and that person will not be me. The one useful thing I have learned, however, is that I was pretty sure that science was not my thing before, and now I know for a fact that science is not my thing. I am also taking a music appreciation class that isn't really making me appreciate music any more than I already do, but it is an easy A and something I do find at least mildly interesting--which is more than I can say for Biology, of course. Another class is Intro to Communications which is funny because I took Intercultural Communications last semester so this isn't really an introduction for me. Hopefully what it will be, though, is another easy A. Then there's World Civilizations 1. I enjoy history a lot more than I used to in high school, but there's not much about these early B.C. years in which we are studying currently that interest me much. I had wanted to take an American history class or maybe a World War I or II class to fit my history requirement, but unfortunately this one fit my schedule the best. I will say that my teacher is fun, albeit very nerdy/dorky, and I really like him. In my adult years, I don't really think of people in terms of being nerds as much anymore, but this guy really fits the bill. He's never been married, and he just seems like the kind of guy that loves World of Warcraft and spends time fantasizing about Princess Leia in her gold bikini. BTW, sorry if I just offended anyone. The fact is, I do think of that kind of person in those terms, but it doesn't make me like them any less. Anyway, he's a super nice guy and very upbeat, and for me, that's all that matters. The other thing about this class is that it consists of probably about 50% high schoolers. We have an early college program for high schoolers in my county, and they attend our college. I have lots of classes that have no HS kids, but it seems like the ones that do have them, they make up the majority of the class. In this class, they seem to know everything! I'm not exactly a history buff, and I definitely haven't thought much about the stone and iron ages throughout my years. But these kids seem to just pull facts out of thin air. Myself and the girl I sit next to in class--another 30-something--always look at each other like "where did that come from?" whenever one of them pipes up with some random fact. It's ok, though. They can have the Stone, Iron, and Bronze ages. I don't need them. I'm coming up on middle age anyway.
My last but not least class starts tomorrow. I've got one more to throw into the groove before the groove is hopefully officially closed for the next couple months. I'm kind of excited about it though because it is the second in a line of Sociology classes, the first of which I took last semester. I have the same teacher from last semester, and I found that not only did I really like him, but I also have a new appreciation for the subject. I find it very fascinating, so hopefully this class goes as well as the last one. Another easy A? *fingers crossed*
School is challenging at this point of my life, but not only am I doing it, I'm doing it well. I dream of graduating at the top of my class, and while I know that I am pushing myself really hard, I'm trying to find the balance between working to achieve that goal and not letting it consume me. My other dream just has to do with graduating, period. I'm so excited because I never thought I would see that day come in my life, but each semester it gets closer and closer. I may be getting ahead of myself here. After all, I do still have about 2 1/2 years to go. But other than the birth of my children, this is quite possibly my most amazing accomplishment. It is coming at a high price though. I feel pressured in all directions as well as financial stress. However, I will not give up! And when it's all said and done, my other dream is about the fantasy vacation that I'm going to reward myself with...aaahhhhhh!
Evan's school is going well too. The big drama with the preschool this year was the addition of the peanut allergy. Evan is attending the same school that he did last year. He's just in the older class with a different teacher, but it's a really small school with only a total of about 12-14 kids. So the classes are often combined, and he has interaction with both teachers on a regular basis. The point is that school for him--and me--is not much different than what he experienced last year. The big thing that I was looking forward to this year was having both kids in school every week for longer times. Evan's school hours are the same, but he now goes for 4 days instead of 3, and Veronica now goes all day every day. But the other thing I was excited about is that now that Veronica buys lunch every day, I only have to pack one lunch. And I wasn't worried about Evan because he is happy to eat PB&J every meal for the rest of his life. So I'm thinking that this is a perfect situation because all I need to stock is a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, and jelly. It's cheap AND easy. Needless to say, we found out about that there is a child in the school with a peanut allergy, and it was 6 o'clock the night before he was supposed to have his first day. This threw a major wrench into my system...as if I don't have enough on my plate. To make matters more complicated, apparently this child has such a severe allergy, they wanted to make sure we didn't allow any product that even contained a trace of peanuts, oils, etc into the school, and if our child ate breakfast in the morning that contained peanuts, etc then we needed to make sure they wash thoroughly so there are no traces on their hands. Aaaaggggghhhh!! I don't need this kind of stress right now! Anyway, I went to pack his lunch the next morning and realized that almost everything I had in our pantry either contained nuts, traces of nuts, nut oils, or was made in a factory that also produces things with nuts. WTF?!? I sent him to school with a slice of pizza and some juice. Thankfully, Evan doesn't eat much so he was fine. Since then, we decided to try bologna sandwiches, and luck was on my side because Evan decided that bologna sandwiches are his favorite now.
I am officially a quarter of the way through my fall semester, and it's going well. Thus far, my semesters have always gone well, but I put such pressure on myself you wouldn't think so. Anyway, my challenge of this semester is Biology 111. I HATE this class! I fully believe that my life will not be enriched in any way just because I have learned that we are made up of millions of microscopic cells. I truly do not care. There are other people who will make sure that all those cells are where they need to be and doing the jobs they are supposed to, and that person will not be me. The one useful thing I have learned, however, is that I was pretty sure that science was not my thing before, and now I know for a fact that science is not my thing. I am also taking a music appreciation class that isn't really making me appreciate music any more than I already do, but it is an easy A and something I do find at least mildly interesting--which is more than I can say for Biology, of course. Another class is Intro to Communications which is funny because I took Intercultural Communications last semester so this isn't really an introduction for me. Hopefully what it will be, though, is another easy A. Then there's World Civilizations 1. I enjoy history a lot more than I used to in high school, but there's not much about these early B.C. years in which we are studying currently that interest me much. I had wanted to take an American history class or maybe a World War I or II class to fit my history requirement, but unfortunately this one fit my schedule the best. I will say that my teacher is fun, albeit very nerdy/dorky, and I really like him. In my adult years, I don't really think of people in terms of being nerds as much anymore, but this guy really fits the bill. He's never been married, and he just seems like the kind of guy that loves World of Warcraft and spends time fantasizing about Princess Leia in her gold bikini. BTW, sorry if I just offended anyone. The fact is, I do think of that kind of person in those terms, but it doesn't make me like them any less. Anyway, he's a super nice guy and very upbeat, and for me, that's all that matters. The other thing about this class is that it consists of probably about 50% high schoolers. We have an early college program for high schoolers in my county, and they attend our college. I have lots of classes that have no HS kids, but it seems like the ones that do have them, they make up the majority of the class. In this class, they seem to know everything! I'm not exactly a history buff, and I definitely haven't thought much about the stone and iron ages throughout my years. But these kids seem to just pull facts out of thin air. Myself and the girl I sit next to in class--another 30-something--always look at each other like "where did that come from?" whenever one of them pipes up with some random fact. It's ok, though. They can have the Stone, Iron, and Bronze ages. I don't need them. I'm coming up on middle age anyway.
My last but not least class starts tomorrow. I've got one more to throw into the groove before the groove is hopefully officially closed for the next couple months. I'm kind of excited about it though because it is the second in a line of Sociology classes, the first of which I took last semester. I have the same teacher from last semester, and I found that not only did I really like him, but I also have a new appreciation for the subject. I find it very fascinating, so hopefully this class goes as well as the last one. Another easy A? *fingers crossed*
School is challenging at this point of my life, but not only am I doing it, I'm doing it well. I dream of graduating at the top of my class, and while I know that I am pushing myself really hard, I'm trying to find the balance between working to achieve that goal and not letting it consume me. My other dream just has to do with graduating, period. I'm so excited because I never thought I would see that day come in my life, but each semester it gets closer and closer. I may be getting ahead of myself here. After all, I do still have about 2 1/2 years to go. But other than the birth of my children, this is quite possibly my most amazing accomplishment. It is coming at a high price though. I feel pressured in all directions as well as financial stress. However, I will not give up! And when it's all said and done, my other dream is about the fantasy vacation that I'm going to reward myself with...aaahhhhhh!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Day ???- Not Sure, and Don't Care (repost)
This is one of those rare blogs where I won't write about the mundane life. But you will get a small glimpse inside me...like it or not. This past week has been all kinds of crazy for me. My semester started and quickly took more of me than I was prepared to give. I knew I had to make some adjustments quick, but the fact still remains that sometimes I step outside my life and wonder when I got here. Don't get me wrong...I wouldn't trade a thing. I love my husband more than ever, and my children are the biggest blessing I've ever been given. This life is something I've never thought I deserved or would ever have, but I'm thankful I've found myself here. But what exactly does that mean...
I'm someone who is always looking deep into the philosophical meaning of things, but I find religion hard to grasp. That's another blog for another day, but suffice to say that I'm constantly searching for the meaning of life. Anyway, it's 1 o'clock in the morning, and I'm listening to some inspiring music after watching one of my favorite movies, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I think I've come a long way, and I'm confident in the fact that I'm raising 2 wonderful children. However, I don't feel that far removed from the mixed up girl that once felt eerily similar to the girl in the movie.
"Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a fucked-up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind; don't assign me yours."
So much of this quote makes me hurt, but at the same time rejoice because I've moved past this point. Basically, I think I've finally found my peace of mind, and the only reason I'm sharing this online is because I don't actually think anyone is reading this.
Anyway, happy anniversary to the one guy that has been able to stick with me through the attitude and everything else. I once trusted no one and saw myself being able to not be with anyone for the rest of my life. Now I am with Jon and my 2 children, and I can't imagine who I am without any of them. I'm not sure which is worse...
I'm someone who is always looking deep into the philosophical meaning of things, but I find religion hard to grasp. That's another blog for another day, but suffice to say that I'm constantly searching for the meaning of life. Anyway, it's 1 o'clock in the morning, and I'm listening to some inspiring music after watching one of my favorite movies, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I think I've come a long way, and I'm confident in the fact that I'm raising 2 wonderful children. However, I don't feel that far removed from the mixed up girl that once felt eerily similar to the girl in the movie.
"Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a fucked-up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind; don't assign me yours."
So much of this quote makes me hurt, but at the same time rejoice because I've moved past this point. Basically, I think I've finally found my peace of mind, and the only reason I'm sharing this online is because I don't actually think anyone is reading this.
Anyway, happy anniversary to the one guy that has been able to stick with me through the attitude and everything else. I once trusted no one and saw myself being able to not be with anyone for the rest of my life. Now I am with Jon and my 2 children, and I can't imagine who I am without any of them. I'm not sure which is worse...
Friday, August 27, 2010
Day 20-New Friends and Playing Hooky
We find ourselves at the end of the fourth week of kindergarten. Evan starts his school on Monday and is thrilled! I'm pretty thrilled about that myself. This is the end of the second week of school for me, and it has proven to be intense already. My biology class might be the death of me, but I won't go down without a fight. I feel like I've gotten into a manageable routine, but unfortunately, I still have another class that will be starting in about 3 weeks that has the ability to throw a wrench in my system.
I'm especially happy that Evan will be starting school on Monday because that will be the end of me having to find someone to watch him on my school days. I had to play hooky from school this past Monday on what was only the third day of classes when I couldn't find someone for childcare. The funny thing is that it suddenly got me started remembering all the times I played hooky from school when I was a kid, and I called my mom to share some of these memories with her. I figured a safe amount of time had since passed that I shouldn't find myself punished for my actions. We ended up both having a good laugh over some of them. I told her about all the times that I would come home during our lunch period or go out to eat, and I had always said that we were allowed to leave during lunch. This was definitely not the case, and I stopped doing it when they threatened us a few months before the end of my senior year, saying anyone who was caught leaving would not graduate. I was also reliving the time that I had her write me a note in pencil because she kept refusing to tell the school I was sick when I had stayed home the day before. I knew the school would not accept her note saying that I was tired and needed a break or whatever she had written that was the truth, so I handed her a piece of paper and pencil, asking to be given a note for school. As soon as I got to school, I erased all of it except the signature and rewrote the note. I failed to mention that eventually I decided it would make more sense just to leave her out of it altogether, and I think my mom's official signature on record at school probably belongs to one of my friends. It's so funny to think back on these things. My ability to "think outside the box" has continued to be one of my strong points and has definitely served me well over the years. However, I'm bracing myself as I wait for it to come back on me in the years to come. Thankfully, I still have a little while to wait.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Days 8-11: A dose of college with a side of mold.
The good news for these past few days is the tears that come with school days seem to have finally stopped. Veronica's good friend, Abby, had her birthday party on Saturday, and I had resorted to threatening her with not going to the party if she couldn't get it together. Needless to say, she put her big girl pants on and had all good days at school. The weekend was fun, with Abby's party being Saturday, but when Sunday night rolled around and bedtime came, she started with the tears again. I quickly had to think of something else to hold over her head, and the tears stopped again. Thankfully, there have been no more bus episodes since the one. She happily boards the bus every morning, briefly turning to say "bye mom!" before hopping on and taking her seat.
Yesterday was the beginning of another college semester for me. I have 5 classes (16 credits) this time, and I'm eager to get into some sort of groove. My attitude toward school this time around has been less than desirable so I'm fighting to change that. Unfortunately, my day yesterday did not seem to go as well as I had hoped. My biggest issue is I'm still fighting to obtain all the books I need for my classes. I try to never pay full price for a book as they are so expensive, but buying discounted has it's challenges. I've had one book I paid for not show up at all, one book I paid for I have been informed is out of stock with a refund having been issued but will take a few more days to show back up in my account, one book I haven't been able to find that great of a deal on so I've procrastinated buying it, and one book I sold from last semester that supposedly hasn't been received by the buyer, so I'm waiting for the inevitable debit of the funds from the sale--no book and no money. In addition, the book that was refunded to me is the one I need the most, the first assignment being due tomorrow. While I'm busy stressing out about all this, Evan decided to have a bad day also. It seems nothing was able to make him happy yesterday, and he was arguing with everything I had to say. To top it all off, I was fighting some abnormally intense fatigue, and I finally gave up and decided to lay down for a nap. I was jolted awake when Evan came into my room screaming about something that he wasn't happy about and figured I guess I needed to get up and get back to my list of things to do. I noticed the "check filter" light on the A/C unit was on so I went to check it out. I was having trouble getting the door open on the front and kneeled down to have a closer look...and that's when I saw it. MOLD!!! Our unit in the bedroom was covered in it all over the inside. It was lining the vent where the air blows into the room as well. Instantly, I got online to research mold on A/C units and whether it's a normal issue and what to do about it. We've never dealt with window units before so I wasn't sure if this should be something to be expected or if we were neglecting to do something to prevent it. I also came across many articles detailing the symptoms of sickness caused by ingesting the mold. It seemed logical that the persistent cold symptoms and chronic fatigue I've been dealing with can probably be explained by our mold problem. I waited for Jon to get home, and we pulled the unit from the window and thoroughly cleaned it out. I thought a little too late that we probably should have worn masks while we were dealing with the mold, and I woke this morning with sinus problems, a massive headache, and some body aches. But at least the problem is taken care of, and we know to look out for it in the future.
Overall, things seem to have worked out. I was able to get my books straightened out, and my parents were kind enough to help out with the purchase of one of the more expensive ones. I was also very touched by their showing of kind support for this school journey I am on. Obviously, I'm not feeling very physically well this morning, but I'm glad we got the issue taken care of last night instead of putting it off. I got most of my "chores" done yesterday despite everything, so I should be able to focus on hopefully getting a little bit of a head start in my classes. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it seems like my summer break went by too quickly. I'm going to keep my eye on the prize, though. One day at a time...
Yesterday was the beginning of another college semester for me. I have 5 classes (16 credits) this time, and I'm eager to get into some sort of groove. My attitude toward school this time around has been less than desirable so I'm fighting to change that. Unfortunately, my day yesterday did not seem to go as well as I had hoped. My biggest issue is I'm still fighting to obtain all the books I need for my classes. I try to never pay full price for a book as they are so expensive, but buying discounted has it's challenges. I've had one book I paid for not show up at all, one book I paid for I have been informed is out of stock with a refund having been issued but will take a few more days to show back up in my account, one book I haven't been able to find that great of a deal on so I've procrastinated buying it, and one book I sold from last semester that supposedly hasn't been received by the buyer, so I'm waiting for the inevitable debit of the funds from the sale--no book and no money. In addition, the book that was refunded to me is the one I need the most, the first assignment being due tomorrow. While I'm busy stressing out about all this, Evan decided to have a bad day also. It seems nothing was able to make him happy yesterday, and he was arguing with everything I had to say. To top it all off, I was fighting some abnormally intense fatigue, and I finally gave up and decided to lay down for a nap. I was jolted awake when Evan came into my room screaming about something that he wasn't happy about and figured I guess I needed to get up and get back to my list of things to do. I noticed the "check filter" light on the A/C unit was on so I went to check it out. I was having trouble getting the door open on the front and kneeled down to have a closer look...and that's when I saw it. MOLD!!! Our unit in the bedroom was covered in it all over the inside. It was lining the vent where the air blows into the room as well. Instantly, I got online to research mold on A/C units and whether it's a normal issue and what to do about it. We've never dealt with window units before so I wasn't sure if this should be something to be expected or if we were neglecting to do something to prevent it. I also came across many articles detailing the symptoms of sickness caused by ingesting the mold. It seemed logical that the persistent cold symptoms and chronic fatigue I've been dealing with can probably be explained by our mold problem. I waited for Jon to get home, and we pulled the unit from the window and thoroughly cleaned it out. I thought a little too late that we probably should have worn masks while we were dealing with the mold, and I woke this morning with sinus problems, a massive headache, and some body aches. But at least the problem is taken care of, and we know to look out for it in the future.
Overall, things seem to have worked out. I was able to get my books straightened out, and my parents were kind enough to help out with the purchase of one of the more expensive ones. I was also very touched by their showing of kind support for this school journey I am on. Obviously, I'm not feeling very physically well this morning, but I'm glad we got the issue taken care of last night instead of putting it off. I got most of my "chores" done yesterday despite everything, so I should be able to focus on hopefully getting a little bit of a head start in my classes. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it seems like my summer break went by too quickly. I'm going to keep my eye on the prize, though. One day at a time...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Days 5-7: Meltdown Mania!
I'm about as independent as they come and always have been that way. So I'm not sure if it has something to do with my personality that has helped my children be that way or if they were just destined to be free spirits, but I have never had any problems with separation anxiety or anything of that sort since they have been born. Throughout the years of daycare, preschool, church sunday school, or babysitters, not only have they not been clingy, but they've often been excited for the "adventure" of something new. Kindergarten was no different, and Veronica had been looking forward to it for months...until Friday. And that was when the first "I miss my mommy!" meltdown began.
The grandparents had come to visit, and both kids were overly excited and fully energized on Thursday night. The crying started at bedtime because, grandparents or not, we were on a schedule. She immediately thought it very unfair that she had to go to bed simply because there was school tomorrow and decided she no longer wanted to go. I think it also added to the problem that I let Evan stay up longer due to the fact that they were sleeping in the same bed while our guests were here, and I thought it would make more sense to allow her to fall asleep before I put Evan in the bed. That, of course, was also VERY unfair! Even after all that, Veronica seemed to be in good spirits the next morning and was happy to have Nana walk with her to the bus stop. Needless to say, I was caught by surprise to get a phone call from the school counselor a couple hours later telling me that Veronica had been crying and upset in class and had to be pulled from the room and calmed down. The counselor was very kind and let me know that all was well, but she wanted to let me know what had happened. Thankfully, the rest of her day went well, and the weekend was upon us.
Saturday I cooked the pork shoulder that I bought previously. Wow, was it good!!! My neighbor was redoing the floors in his house all weekend, and that, combined with the fact that his wife had gone out of town, left him in need of some good food. I offered him some of the pork--it made a TON--and he was extremely happy to take some off my hands. He let me know later that he especially liked the homemade BBQ sauce that I made to go with it. I mixed half the sauce with the meat and left half out for people to put on their sandwiches as needed. Again, if anyone wants the recipe, let me know. It was a crowd pleaser, and I would say a 8-9 pound pork shoulder would amply feed at least 12-14 people, if not more. Not to mention, I only paid about $11 for the meat and the ingredients for the sauce were somewhere around an extra $6-8, maybe less. Add to that the buns, coleslaw, and other side items, and you're looking at a delectable meal for around a couple dollars per person. I'd say that is success!
The weekend was enjoyable, and Jon and I managed to escape for a little grown-up time while we had a cheap, built-in babysitter. The folks left early Monday morning, and although Veronica was upset to see they were gone when she awoke, she didn't let it ruin her morning and had a pretty good day...until last night. At bedtime, the dramatic tears started again, and nothing Jon or I could do would calm her down. We let her cry for a while, and then I finally decided to offer her a small bribe. I told her that if she could be a big girl, calm down, and show me she could bravely face the day tomorrow, I would send extra money for a snack with lunch to school tomorrow. That seemed to work, and she finally calmed down and fell asleep. This morning we immediately began talking about the impending snack. Will it be a cupcake? brownie? crackers? I made a face at the crackers thinking that must pale in comparison to a chocolatey cupcake, but she quickly assured me she really likes the crackers. Far be it for me to talk her out of such a sensible choice. By the way, she ended up choosing the cupcake. Anyway, it seemed all was moving along well until we headed for the bus stop. Our neighbor, one of Veronica's favorite people, was outside getting ready to leave for work and happily greeted Veronica, who returned his greeting with a scowl. She then did the same thing to our other neighbor who waved good morning as we went by. This is not normal behavior for a girl who usually considers herself the president of the welcoming committee. As soon as we got to our stop, she started clinging to my leg and telling me she would miss me. When the bus arrived, so did the full onslaught of tears. I walked her onto the bus--which I've never done until today, not even on the first day--and tried desperately to make her a friend. There was even a girl from her class that said hi as we walked by, but unfortunately she was sitting in a seat made for two that had three little girls in it already. We continued through the bus and found another kindergarten girl that only had one other girl sitting with her, but when I tried to encourage Veronica to sit with her, I was met with horrified looks from all of them. Not only did Veronica not want to sit, she was pitching such a fit that the other girls were hesitant to share their seat. Finally, I gave up and told the driver that I would drive her to school myself. The extra time it took to go back home and get us all together in the car allowed Veronica time to calm down, and she seemed agreeable enough when we got there to go to class with the promise that the school counselor would check on her later that morning.
I know this is a really big adjustment in her life, and I guess I shouldn't have expected to have things go so smoothly all the time. However, once again I have been thrown into one more of the great unknowns of parenting. Not only are so many aspects of this job very challenging, but every child is unique, and that makes it hard to tailor your particular responses to each situation. I was able to talk to the counselor for a few minutes this morning, and she reassured me that she thought I was doing a great job. I think she even used the exact words of "I wish all parents could be more like you." According to her, Veronica seems very happy and well adjusted, and this is just a normal part of adapting to life in school. And of course, the rest of Veronica's day went just fine.
So I guess all in all we're doing pretty well so far. It seems a couple bumps in the road are to be expected, but we've managed to stay on task, and her crying hasn't beat me yet! But, I started thinking as we were walking back from the dramatic episode at the bus stop this morning and Veronica asked me in her whimpering voice, "How much longer do I have to go to school?" I'm thinking, OMG, thirteen more years of this and all it's new and exciting challenges seems a little more than I want to think about either. So I just smiled at her and said, "It's ok, honey. We'll get through it." I'm just trying not to think about the fact that next year I have to send Evan. Only with him, I'm expecting more calls from the principle than the counselor...
The grandparents had come to visit, and both kids were overly excited and fully energized on Thursday night. The crying started at bedtime because, grandparents or not, we were on a schedule. She immediately thought it very unfair that she had to go to bed simply because there was school tomorrow and decided she no longer wanted to go. I think it also added to the problem that I let Evan stay up longer due to the fact that they were sleeping in the same bed while our guests were here, and I thought it would make more sense to allow her to fall asleep before I put Evan in the bed. That, of course, was also VERY unfair! Even after all that, Veronica seemed to be in good spirits the next morning and was happy to have Nana walk with her to the bus stop. Needless to say, I was caught by surprise to get a phone call from the school counselor a couple hours later telling me that Veronica had been crying and upset in class and had to be pulled from the room and calmed down. The counselor was very kind and let me know that all was well, but she wanted to let me know what had happened. Thankfully, the rest of her day went well, and the weekend was upon us.
Saturday I cooked the pork shoulder that I bought previously. Wow, was it good!!! My neighbor was redoing the floors in his house all weekend, and that, combined with the fact that his wife had gone out of town, left him in need of some good food. I offered him some of the pork--it made a TON--and he was extremely happy to take some off my hands. He let me know later that he especially liked the homemade BBQ sauce that I made to go with it. I mixed half the sauce with the meat and left half out for people to put on their sandwiches as needed. Again, if anyone wants the recipe, let me know. It was a crowd pleaser, and I would say a 8-9 pound pork shoulder would amply feed at least 12-14 people, if not more. Not to mention, I only paid about $11 for the meat and the ingredients for the sauce were somewhere around an extra $6-8, maybe less. Add to that the buns, coleslaw, and other side items, and you're looking at a delectable meal for around a couple dollars per person. I'd say that is success!
The weekend was enjoyable, and Jon and I managed to escape for a little grown-up time while we had a cheap, built-in babysitter. The folks left early Monday morning, and although Veronica was upset to see they were gone when she awoke, she didn't let it ruin her morning and had a pretty good day...until last night. At bedtime, the dramatic tears started again, and nothing Jon or I could do would calm her down. We let her cry for a while, and then I finally decided to offer her a small bribe. I told her that if she could be a big girl, calm down, and show me she could bravely face the day tomorrow, I would send extra money for a snack with lunch to school tomorrow. That seemed to work, and she finally calmed down and fell asleep. This morning we immediately began talking about the impending snack. Will it be a cupcake? brownie? crackers? I made a face at the crackers thinking that must pale in comparison to a chocolatey cupcake, but she quickly assured me she really likes the crackers. Far be it for me to talk her out of such a sensible choice. By the way, she ended up choosing the cupcake. Anyway, it seemed all was moving along well until we headed for the bus stop. Our neighbor, one of Veronica's favorite people, was outside getting ready to leave for work and happily greeted Veronica, who returned his greeting with a scowl. She then did the same thing to our other neighbor who waved good morning as we went by. This is not normal behavior for a girl who usually considers herself the president of the welcoming committee. As soon as we got to our stop, she started clinging to my leg and telling me she would miss me. When the bus arrived, so did the full onslaught of tears. I walked her onto the bus--which I've never done until today, not even on the first day--and tried desperately to make her a friend. There was even a girl from her class that said hi as we walked by, but unfortunately she was sitting in a seat made for two that had three little girls in it already. We continued through the bus and found another kindergarten girl that only had one other girl sitting with her, but when I tried to encourage Veronica to sit with her, I was met with horrified looks from all of them. Not only did Veronica not want to sit, she was pitching such a fit that the other girls were hesitant to share their seat. Finally, I gave up and told the driver that I would drive her to school myself. The extra time it took to go back home and get us all together in the car allowed Veronica time to calm down, and she seemed agreeable enough when we got there to go to class with the promise that the school counselor would check on her later that morning.
I know this is a really big adjustment in her life, and I guess I shouldn't have expected to have things go so smoothly all the time. However, once again I have been thrown into one more of the great unknowns of parenting. Not only are so many aspects of this job very challenging, but every child is unique, and that makes it hard to tailor your particular responses to each situation. I was able to talk to the counselor for a few minutes this morning, and she reassured me that she thought I was doing a great job. I think she even used the exact words of "I wish all parents could be more like you." According to her, Veronica seems very happy and well adjusted, and this is just a normal part of adapting to life in school. And of course, the rest of Veronica's day went just fine.
So I guess all in all we're doing pretty well so far. It seems a couple bumps in the road are to be expected, but we've managed to stay on task, and her crying hasn't beat me yet! But, I started thinking as we were walking back from the dramatic episode at the bus stop this morning and Veronica asked me in her whimpering voice, "How much longer do I have to go to school?" I'm thinking, OMG, thirteen more years of this and all it's new and exciting challenges seems a little more than I want to think about either. So I just smiled at her and said, "It's ok, honey. We'll get through it." I'm just trying not to think about the fact that next year I have to send Evan. Only with him, I'm expecting more calls from the principle than the counselor...
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Day 4: Blah...so far, anyway.
Kindergarten day 4 has been one of those days that, if my life were a reality show, the editors would be extremely thankful that they have a whole week's worth of footage to work with and not just today. In other words, not a very exciting day.
I did manage to do yoga again this morning so at least I got a good start. Another highlight of the morning was when I checked Facebook and had a friend request from some guy I went to high school with who I would swear can't possibly remember who I am. I do realize that even though he requested my esteemed friendship does not mean he actually wants to be friends with me or even really does remember me. I am on the high school list after all. What does amaze me is how I still find myself occasionally catapulted back to those days in high school and all the feelings that went along with it. It's crazy how those years are so crucial and can really stick with you for the rest of your life. I hope that Veronica and Evan are able to have good experiences and remember it fondly one of these days, and anything that I can do to help that happen is going to be my top priority.
I'd have to say the high point of my day was when Evan and I went to meet Jon for lunch at his work. One of the things I've noticed lately is that I really enjoy my children tremendously when I'm able to interact with them one at a time. These past few mornings with Evan have been very pleasant. At first, I thought he was going to be more high maintenance without Veronica around to keep him company, but overall, he's just been really cute and a lot of fun. It's kind of a shame that I haven't really had the chance to enjoy either of my kids on an individual basis very much, but it's nice to see that the "separation" between them that we were all kind of dreading is going to have many high points as well. Jon was very happy to have a midday distraction, and Evan was excited to welcome all the other children to the play area at Chik-fil-a.
I have been preparing all week for a visit from my parents and sister who should most likely be arriving very soon. I hope all goes well. Already I'm worried about the sleeping arrangements because, although we have plenty of space, we don't have plenty of air-conditioned sleeping space. Being a family with a broken A/C system and only one window unit upstairs cooling one small section of a 2-story house all summer, I'm shocked at the number of visitors we've had come hang out at our house, and even a couple over-nighters. But this is the first time we've had out-of-town guests come stay for any length of time. Although my family knows the situation they are coming into, and what they can do about it if they don't like it, I am the ever pleasing hostess and hope everyone is able to be comfortable. With that being said, I've at least planned a couple good meals--if I can't keep them cool I may as well keep them well fed-- starting with baked ziti and caesar salad tonight. This baked ziti recipe I use is the best I've ever had. If anyone wants it, definitely let me know. It seems to be a hit with everyone I've ever made it for as well. Then tomorrow, I think we're going to make pulled pork sandwiches by slow roasting a huge pork shoulder. I've never cooked a pork shoulder before so this will be interesting. I know that all my NC neighbors would probably have some choice words about my BBQ being cooked in the oven and not, well, BBQ'd or smoked. But, since I'm not from NC anyway, I'm just gonna do it my way, and I'll let you know how it turns out.
So anyway, here's hoping this visit is enjoyable by all and drama free. If not, I guess the good news is I might actually get my own reality show after all.
I did manage to do yoga again this morning so at least I got a good start. Another highlight of the morning was when I checked Facebook and had a friend request from some guy I went to high school with who I would swear can't possibly remember who I am. I do realize that even though he requested my esteemed friendship does not mean he actually wants to be friends with me or even really does remember me. I am on the high school list after all. What does amaze me is how I still find myself occasionally catapulted back to those days in high school and all the feelings that went along with it. It's crazy how those years are so crucial and can really stick with you for the rest of your life. I hope that Veronica and Evan are able to have good experiences and remember it fondly one of these days, and anything that I can do to help that happen is going to be my top priority.
I'd have to say the high point of my day was when Evan and I went to meet Jon for lunch at his work. One of the things I've noticed lately is that I really enjoy my children tremendously when I'm able to interact with them one at a time. These past few mornings with Evan have been very pleasant. At first, I thought he was going to be more high maintenance without Veronica around to keep him company, but overall, he's just been really cute and a lot of fun. It's kind of a shame that I haven't really had the chance to enjoy either of my kids on an individual basis very much, but it's nice to see that the "separation" between them that we were all kind of dreading is going to have many high points as well. Jon was very happy to have a midday distraction, and Evan was excited to welcome all the other children to the play area at Chik-fil-a.
I have been preparing all week for a visit from my parents and sister who should most likely be arriving very soon. I hope all goes well. Already I'm worried about the sleeping arrangements because, although we have plenty of space, we don't have plenty of air-conditioned sleeping space. Being a family with a broken A/C system and only one window unit upstairs cooling one small section of a 2-story house all summer, I'm shocked at the number of visitors we've had come hang out at our house, and even a couple over-nighters. But this is the first time we've had out-of-town guests come stay for any length of time. Although my family knows the situation they are coming into, and what they can do about it if they don't like it, I am the ever pleasing hostess and hope everyone is able to be comfortable. With that being said, I've at least planned a couple good meals--if I can't keep them cool I may as well keep them well fed-- starting with baked ziti and caesar salad tonight. This baked ziti recipe I use is the best I've ever had. If anyone wants it, definitely let me know. It seems to be a hit with everyone I've ever made it for as well. Then tomorrow, I think we're going to make pulled pork sandwiches by slow roasting a huge pork shoulder. I've never cooked a pork shoulder before so this will be interesting. I know that all my NC neighbors would probably have some choice words about my BBQ being cooked in the oven and not, well, BBQ'd or smoked. But, since I'm not from NC anyway, I'm just gonna do it my way, and I'll let you know how it turns out.
So anyway, here's hoping this visit is enjoyable by all and drama free. If not, I guess the good news is I might actually get my own reality show after all.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 3: Yoga, Breastfeeding, and Rachael Ray
Today is day 3 of Kindergarten, and it was another good day all around. Veronica was complaining last night that she didn't get any stickers on her chart yesterday (a reward system for good deeds), and she was the only one who didn't. I assured her that I doubted that to be true, but we talked about the things that she could do today to get some stickers. She was very happy to report, right off the bus, that she had received 3 stickers today, but quickly followed that with a frown because someone else got a piece of candy already (5 stickers=1 piece of candy). I just laughed to myself thinking, welcome to the rest of your life.
Backing up a little to the beginning of our day, I am happy to report that I was successful with my yoga this morning, and it really did make me feel good to start the day that way. Evan did wake up about 15 minutes into a 35 minute session, but he sat down on the couch and decided to watch me, quickly pointing out when he thought I was making a wrong move--and sometimes showing me. Maybe tomorrow I'll invite him to join me.
We got breakfast, and I sat down to my computer, turning the TV to Good Morning America. Right away, GMA started in with a story about supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her latest statement that she thinks all women should be required to breastfeed their babies. She even thinks we should make it a law. I understand that she probably never had any intention of lobbying for a law mandating pro-boob nutrition for babies everywhere. But seriously, why even say stupid things like that? It's bad enough that women already hate their bodies and get smacked in the face around every corner with pictures of the likes of Gisele, but now she's telling us how to raise our children too? And she further incensed pro-formula moms by referring to formula as giving your baby "chemical food." Moms have a lot of pressure put on them by society to always make the most informed and perfect choices they can, and with today's standards coupled with the bad economy, it is tougher than ever to balance what is right and what is doable. Basically, moms have enough guilt that we carry around on a daily basis as it is. We don't need new mom, Gisele, who apparently has it all figured out already, to tell us what we are doing wrong. In reality though, I promise I really don't care what she says.
After some mundane chores, and the addition of an extra child--childcare for my neighbor--I loaded everyone up to take my second trip of the week to Walmart. I probably would have saved it for tomorrow when I only would have had to bring Evan with me, but when we were there on Monday, I forgot to get my prescription I refilled. Since I had officially run out of pills yesterday morning, today it was. I took the opportunity to check out the dog food since Bailey was just about out. I normally buy dog food at Costco, but Jon and I had made the decision to switch her food to something more natural. After reading some disturbing things online, I decided I wasn't doing her any favors by giving her food with all those additives in them. After all, I wouldn't do something like that to my kids if I knew better, and she is just as important. After thoroughly perusing the dog food section, I made the choice to buy Rachael Ray's expensive creation. I hate the cost, but I feel good about what I'm doing. The thought has already crossed my mind that the food we were feeding our other dogs may have played some part in them getting sick and dying, especially Dolly who died prematurely. But, whatever. I'm not going to beat myself up about something I really know nothing about. So I bring the food home and immediately put some in her bowl thinking she's going to tear into it and devour the whole thing. She walks over and sniffs it, taking some in her mouth and gingerly spitting it back out on the floor. She did this a few more times over the next 20 minutes or so before I concluded my good deed was going unappreciated. Before I got too annoyed, I decided to walk away and do some other things. In the background, I heard her finally start eating, and I was pleased with myself until I came back a while later and found a ton of kibble scattered all over the kitchen floor. Dogs!
So as I'm taking a moment to wind down, I'm trying to think about what to make for dinner tonight and wishing I could just serve breast milk and not have to worry about it. I'll probably throw something on a plate and then send them off to bed. Somewhere in there Jon will get home to join us, but it's always tough to say exactly when that will be. Then it's a little trashy TV for me and off to bed myself so we can get up and do the whole thing over again tomorrow. Certainly not very exciting, but it works for us. I wonder what Gisele thinks about that?
Backing up a little to the beginning of our day, I am happy to report that I was successful with my yoga this morning, and it really did make me feel good to start the day that way. Evan did wake up about 15 minutes into a 35 minute session, but he sat down on the couch and decided to watch me, quickly pointing out when he thought I was making a wrong move--and sometimes showing me. Maybe tomorrow I'll invite him to join me.
We got breakfast, and I sat down to my computer, turning the TV to Good Morning America. Right away, GMA started in with a story about supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her latest statement that she thinks all women should be required to breastfeed their babies. She even thinks we should make it a law. I understand that she probably never had any intention of lobbying for a law mandating pro-boob nutrition for babies everywhere. But seriously, why even say stupid things like that? It's bad enough that women already hate their bodies and get smacked in the face around every corner with pictures of the likes of Gisele, but now she's telling us how to raise our children too? And she further incensed pro-formula moms by referring to formula as giving your baby "chemical food." Moms have a lot of pressure put on them by society to always make the most informed and perfect choices they can, and with today's standards coupled with the bad economy, it is tougher than ever to balance what is right and what is doable. Basically, moms have enough guilt that we carry around on a daily basis as it is. We don't need new mom, Gisele, who apparently has it all figured out already, to tell us what we are doing wrong. In reality though, I promise I really don't care what she says.
After some mundane chores, and the addition of an extra child--childcare for my neighbor--I loaded everyone up to take my second trip of the week to Walmart. I probably would have saved it for tomorrow when I only would have had to bring Evan with me, but when we were there on Monday, I forgot to get my prescription I refilled. Since I had officially run out of pills yesterday morning, today it was. I took the opportunity to check out the dog food since Bailey was just about out. I normally buy dog food at Costco, but Jon and I had made the decision to switch her food to something more natural. After reading some disturbing things online, I decided I wasn't doing her any favors by giving her food with all those additives in them. After all, I wouldn't do something like that to my kids if I knew better, and she is just as important. After thoroughly perusing the dog food section, I made the choice to buy Rachael Ray's expensive creation. I hate the cost, but I feel good about what I'm doing. The thought has already crossed my mind that the food we were feeding our other dogs may have played some part in them getting sick and dying, especially Dolly who died prematurely. But, whatever. I'm not going to beat myself up about something I really know nothing about. So I bring the food home and immediately put some in her bowl thinking she's going to tear into it and devour the whole thing. She walks over and sniffs it, taking some in her mouth and gingerly spitting it back out on the floor. She did this a few more times over the next 20 minutes or so before I concluded my good deed was going unappreciated. Before I got too annoyed, I decided to walk away and do some other things. In the background, I heard her finally start eating, and I was pleased with myself until I came back a while later and found a ton of kibble scattered all over the kitchen floor. Dogs!
So as I'm taking a moment to wind down, I'm trying to think about what to make for dinner tonight and wishing I could just serve breast milk and not have to worry about it. I'll probably throw something on a plate and then send them off to bed. Somewhere in there Jon will get home to join us, but it's always tough to say exactly when that will be. Then it's a little trashy TV for me and off to bed myself so we can get up and do the whole thing over again tomorrow. Certainly not very exciting, but it works for us. I wonder what Gisele thinks about that?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Just plain life...
I have decided that I'm going to try AGAIN to write more regularly in my blog. But with our schedules about to go into overdrive, I figured there would be plenty to blog about just by talking about my day. So this time, I'm just going to simply chronicle my daily goings on as our family moves into some new, some similar, and some "same ole, same ole" territory.
Veronica has just started Kindergarten, and this has been very exciting for everyone involved. Today was her 2nd full day of school. It makes me wonder how long it's going to take before it gets old. Already, it seemed the vibe here at 6am was less abuzz than it had been yesterday morning. But even still, the morning went well, and she was happy to get up, happy to get ready, and happy to be on the bus leaving for her glorious world of school.
Rather than wake Evan like we did yesterday--yes, we were that cheesy family of four walking our daughter to the school bus on her first day of school--I decided to let him sleep. When I returned from dropping her off, the house was peacefully quiet. A week ago, I had made a pact with myself that, with the beginning of Kindergarten, there would be a new beginning for me as well as I was determined to do something about my apathetic attitude around the house. Beginning yesterday, the plan was to put Evan on his bike and leave for a 7am, 3-mile walk around my neighborhood every morning--well, most mornings, at least. The theory behind this is that it will definitely boost my energy level and, in turn, boost my mood. Well, yesterday I made the excuse that it looked like it might rain--it never did--and Evan might get wet. So, we didn't go. This morning he was just sleeping so well, and it seemed like such a shame to wake him. Of course by the time he woke and had breakfast, it was just too hot and humid to go then. So, the lack of energy and dispassionate attitude live on as my record goes 0 for 2 successful days on the new plan.
About half way through the morning, as I sat trying to think of what I wanted to do with my morning, or rather what seemed to be the least of the evils, I decided to give my friend and fellow stay at home mom, Theresa, a call to see what she had going on. She, who has always run a daycare since I've known her and always seems to have between 4-8 children in her house at all times, was alone doing chores in a peaceful house and thought it sounded like a great idea for us to chat and drink some coffee together. It seemed so wrong for me to arrive with even one child to shatter the peaceful zen she had going, but she convinced me it was fine, and off we went. I really enjoyed our visit, and although 3 of her daycare kids ended up showing up about an hour after we got there, everyone played well, and Evan really enjoyed himself. Through our chatter, we both concluded that we share the same complaint regarding lack of energy and inability to stick with any good exercise regime. This fact, paired with the realization that we were both about to find ourselves with no children on somewhat of a regular basis, led us to set our "firm" plan of walking together 2 days per week, starting in September with Evan's pre-K schedule. On my way home, I remembered that I owned a yoga DVD--another plan gone awry from a year ago--and realized that my major excuse for giving that up no longer applied. My yoga tapes seemed best implemented early in the morning--I HATE mornings--and somewhere quiet with no distractions--I could never wake up before my kids. Suddenly everything seemed perfect! I have no choice but to wake and get Veronica on the bus by 7am. Evan seems to be content to sleep until at least 7:30 or 8. This small window of opportunity gives me time to find my chi, boost my energy level, and possibly improve my muscle tone. So, starting tomorrow, of course, that yoga tape is going to get a work out.
Anyway, Veronica came home, and she has had another good day of school. She still enjoys riding the bus, and since I really like the bus driver, and I happened to get her a little "thank you" gift on the first day--a little bribery of the bus driver is definitely in order when it comes to making sure my kid has the best, non-bullied experience on the bus--I think the bus will not be anything I'll need to worry about. We've made it successfully through 2 days of the next thirteen years of my oldest daughter's grade-school career. Thankfully, we have 8 more school days left to adjust to our new routine before I start my school hell--I mean, days--again, and then 3 weeks later Evan starts his. Whew! I'm tired already. Maybe this isn't the best time to be starting a new blogging project. I guess I could always cut back on the yoga...
Friday, June 11, 2010
Egg Salad
"There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul." ~Edith Wharton
There are certain people in your life that come along and make a profound impact that stays with you through the years, and for me, one of those people is my dear friend, Pam. That fateful day 16 years ago when I ordered egg salad for lunch, somehow my guard came down, and she stepped into my life. I was such a mixed-up, scared little girl running from the world but not sure where to go or who to run to. Somehow, she saw past all that and became one of the truest, most supportive friends I've ever had. As Toni Morrison says, "She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order."
Pam, thanks for always being there. I don't know where or who I'd be today without you. You've been a friend, a mentor, a mother-figure (don't kill me for that one), a guide, a fashion advisor (stock party outfits, haha!), art teacher (if anyone ever needs a picture of a squirrel hole, I've learned from the best), a therapist, a sister, and most of all just the one person for all those years that understood me when no one else even wanted to try. Look at us now! We've come full circle, and both of us have found peace in our lives. I'll never forget all the crazy times we've had over the past 16 years. Those were some of the best times of my life, but I can't wait to see what the next 16 has in store for us. Thanks for always being there. I love you dearly! Happy birthday, friend...here's to many more!
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