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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

My Dear Children...

...you know I love you, or at least I hope you do. I know it's hard to tell when I'm harping on you to do your homework, finish your chores, please do your homework. It's hard to tell I love you when I'm yelling at you, for the 100th time, to quit hitting your brother(s)/sister, please do your homework...DO YOUR DAMN HOMEWORK. I love you even when I'm saying, why isn't the dishes done, how am I suppose to fix dinner(or insert meal here) when I have nothing to cook on(serve on, eat with) or when the stove is pile 10 inches high with pots and pans (but yet the sink is empty). I love you even when I'm screaming at you, trying to figure out why you feel it's okay to do everything I tell you (and that you should know by now ) not to do. I love you, even though you cannot go to your friend's house/birthday party/ Chuck E Cheese/get that game, etc...
It's hard for me to realize you love me sometimes as well. When I ask if your homework's done and you give me that what-are-you-talking-about look. I'm sometimes not sure you even care when I wash/fold/put away 6 loads of laundry only to find it all over the floor of the bedroom and your telling me you have nothing to wear. Do you care when I make cinnamon rolls and bread and cookies and when I ask for help in cleaning the kitchen you look at me like I just asked you if the moon was really made of cheese.
I wish you could feel how much I hurt emotionally and physically after a night like tonight when I've begged, pleaded, screamed, bargained and done nearly everything I could think of to get you to do an hours worth of schoolwork. Which, my dear daughter, you took 4 hours to complete. My dear middle son decided to waste that four hours and not even finish a third of yours. You make me feel so overwhelmed and stressed out that my gut hurts and all I want to do is crawl into bed and escape. Even now, an hour and a half passed your bedtime, you are giving me grief. Please explain to me why you cannot just simply go to bed when told. You know that 5 days a week you have to get up early in the morning and go to school. You know that 5 days a week I have to get up early and go to work. Yet you keep getting up and playing, asking for one more drink, having to bathroom for the umpteenth time, bothering your siblings, having to tell me or your father something that really could of waited till morning. You know that mommy doesn't seem to feel well most days lately, and still you go out of your way to push buttons. You cannot just simply do what your asked to do. Simple jobs. I try to never give you more then I think you could handle. Which means I never give you something to do that cannot be finished in no more then 20 minutes. Not counting homework...but one worksheet, one chapter, maybe two worksheets...should not take you more then an hour to complete.
I love you, my dear children. I really hope I can figure out a way to make ya'll listen to where we can have a harmonious household. I'm tired of yelling.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

My To Do List

I want to post something, but don't really have anything interesting in mind. So I'm posting a to do list of sorts of things I want to get done on my days off. Well since today is more then half over it might be moot, we'll see.
Here's what I would like to get done:

  1. Clean den
  2. Clean kitchen ('cause I know I have countertops in there somewhere)
  3. Clean off desk (so that I can put the top part on well top)
  4. Catch up laundry (including going through the kiddies clothes and getting rid of too small, too stained or just plain too ugly to wear to school clothes)
  5. Clean living room (may just let the kids do this one)
  6. Dig out woodworking/burning stuff and finish one or two
  7. Watch movie that I borrowed from coworker last week
  8. Clean my bedroom
  9. Bake something
  10. Have Ed McMahon show up with a million dollar check (shoot a 10,000 dollar check would work as well)

So far today I have finished...let's see...umm... nada, nothing, not a dang damn thing. I'm always so lazy on the first day when I have two days off. Then when the second day is a payday I end up spending half the day running around doing errands and usually there's a meeting to attend at work. If you see my house you'd agree that I really, really need to break this habit. In which Hubby has been doing as well. We both work a minimum of 40hrs a week and just get plain wore out. Kiddies are at school just as long and don't want to do much on their days off either. So we leave and go fishing, driving around, shopping anything to avoid the housework. It's a bad habit. I think I'll try to break it, but don't have no promises that I'll actually do it. I think I'll put the roast I have thawing out in the oven, start the movie and dig out my wood stuff. If I'm feeling real ambitious I could start a load of laundry...don't know about finishing it though.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Downtown Memphis....from my Hubby's point-of-view on the top of The Peabody Hotel.
For more Wordless Wednesday go HERE

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Just Thought I Would Share

I got this in an email and even though I'm not homeschooling right now, I thought I would share it for people reading my blog who are.

I WILL SURVIVE (homeschool version)Originally written and produced by Freddie Perren and Dino FekarisOriginally performed by Gloria GaynorMercilessly altered with apologies by Natalie Criss
First I was afraid
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never teach'
Cause I'm not certified.
But we spent so many nights
Reteaching homework that was wrong
.I grew strong,
so now I teach my kids at home!
We study math and outer space.
I just kept on despite the fear with a big smile across my face.
I bought a set of Base Ten blocks.
I bought books with answer keys.
My parents think we're nuts,but they don't even bother me
Come on, let's go
walk out the door.
We're on the road now,
'cause we're not home much anymore
My friends would laugh and say we'd be unsocialized.
I heard one mumble that I'd give up by July.
Oh no, not I!
I will survive!
As long as I know how to read
I know we'll be alright.
I've got all my life to learn.
I've got energy to burn.
and I'll survive.
I will survive.
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart.
Decided to attend a play date at the local park,
and I met oh so many moms
who offered eagerly to help.
They used to cry.
Now they hold their heads up high,
and so do we!
My kids are cool!
They're not those chained up little people
stuck inside at school.
So if you feel like dropping by
and just expect us to be free
you'd better call ahead first
'cause we're probably busy!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Sorry Kid, No More Peanut Butter for You

They have banned peanut butter at my kiddies school. Really sucks because probably about 3x a week my kids bring pb&j sandwiches or those pb&j crackers to school. Before they just had all the allergic kids sit at their own table away from everyone else. Now everyone must do with out it.
Yea I know it won't kill my kiddies to not eat pb on their pb&j sandwiches (it'll kill my wallet trying to find other acceptable foods and makes the pb&j just a "j" and less nutritious but ya know regular people don't count anymore). It sucks, money is tight right now. We send our kids with sack lunches 'cause it's cheaper then the school lunches and we don't qualify for any reduced lunch this year. I don't think they should stop at peanut butter though...I have a sister who is allergic to berries (eating just a few blackberries sent her to the e.r.), so based on that, I know there has got to be more people allergic to berries and so we should no longer allow any berries in the public school system. Oh and tomatoes...I've known several people who are allergic to tomatoes, so no more tomatoes or tomato products either. There are also wheat, gluten, yeast, corn and more allergies. So sorry kids all you get at school is water.
I know that's somewhat unreasonable. I know that just a trace amount of peanut butter can kill some people who are allergic (maybe they should all live on their own island...no no that's bad thinking). I just get tired of the whole catering to everyone thing. Before long peanuts, walnuts, cashews and every other type of nut will be eliminated from all stores, restaurants, home kitchens, etc... It doesn't seem unreasonable to not allow kids to bring in peanut butter products from home for their own, personal snack at school. But, if we are going to do that there then maybe people shouldn't bring peanut butter from home for work. All the restaurants, bakeries, fast food joints should stop using peanut/nuts and peanut oil. Then it continues and when does it start to become unreasonable. When do we decide that it's too much. I know parents of children who are allergic to food items think it's never too much. If I was one.....no I wouldn't, I wouldn't want to cause that much trouble for everyone else because of my kid. I would educate the teachers, schools, friends and so on. Most importantly, I would educate my kid. That is all you can do and is what you should do.
This is mostly ranting. I understand the reasoning, totally. I just don't have to like it. So I feed my kids peanut butter at home. They can have all the pb&j crackers, sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, bread, pancakes they want at home. They can have plain bread at school ( no meat, no cheese 'cause then I have to worry about refrigeration and bacteria and last I looked lockers are not kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit and I don't trust ice packs). Yea this all just rubs me the wrong way can't ya tell. It'll be okay. I'll get over it and go on my own happy way.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Back-to-School

Today was the kiddies first day back to school. Well it's more of a registration day, they send all the kids for a half day to meet their teachers, find their classrooms, etc... Some people bussed their kids in for this, I drove mine in (along with my neighbor and her daughter).
We went in and found my dd's classroom first. Her teacher seemed nice if not a little standoffish. That was probably due to all the parents coming in and wanting to be able to say hi to everyone and show kids where to put their stuff and so on.
Next came my middle son's classroom. His teacher seemed okay. I think she was a bit disappointed that I had to take his folder with me. Darnit though I had to be at work as soon as I could and just did not have time to sit and fill out all those forms x4. Yes I know other parents were setting in the tiny desks doing it but I still had two other teachers (one of them in a different school) to meet. So I took the folder, let my son introduce himself to his teacher and find his seat. Gave him a hug bye and went on to find my youngest son's class.
His class was down this hall, across this hall, and up this hall. Hey there it is. His teacher was one of those overly happy type of teachers that little kiddies like but you wonder what exactly is in their drink on the desk. She seemed nice enough though.
Now we go to the after school area in the cafeteria to figure out how oldest son is suppose to get to the after school program. She smiles and says she doesn't remember the bus number. So we go to the table designated as the bus table and ask there. We find that out and shuffle out to the van.
We pull out of the parking lot take a right then a left go around the corner and up the hill. Pull in to the parking lot of the middle school, very slowly. See lots of trucks and suv's parked up over the curb in a grassy area. Say my van is not a truck so we're not going to attempt that and go on to find a parking spot in Australia (okay maybe not that far away...it was probably New Guinea). Go in to the great wall of print outs to search for oldest sons name. Find it and go down the nearest hallway assuming that this is the way we should head. After days of walking (okay so it was just a minute) we come to a crossroads. My neighbor and I and our kids look down one hall, then the other. We must of had that "I don't no where in the Hell I am and where in the Hell I'm suppose to go look" 'cause two or three people came up to ask us if we need help. We say we are looking for such and such room number and two people give us the answer. So we follow the pointing fingers and come to the end of the other hall. We must of still had the look 'cause another person asked us if we know where we were suppose to go. Of course now we confidently could say yes and found the classroom with no other problems. Oldest son's teacher seemed a little frazzled. She handed us a stack of papers, thanked us for coming, I left my son with a good bye have fun (can't hug middle schoolers ya' know...even though I almost made the faux pas of holding his hand in the parking lot, but quickly righted it before anyone saw).
Then I went and dropped my neighbor/friend off and her daughter off at their house and zoomed on in to work. To sit and worry hoping that the kiddies and their teachers remembered that they were suppose to go to the after school care and not ride the bus home. That's one of my fears...that the kids will be sent home and neither their daddy nor I will be there to meet them. So at about 12:30p I call my neighbor friend to see if the bus has gone by and if she saw the kids. She said it went by a long time ago and no sign of the kiddies so they must of gone where they were suppose to. Sucks to be a work away from mom sometimes. I don't know how many times I have fretted over things like that. Oh well, such is life...right.
Thursday is the first full day of school...they'll be riding the bus that day...so a little less worry.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

I Need a Vacation

I work all day in a breakneck run
Just to come home to another pile of work to be done
And all I wanna do is flop on the couch and die
Baby comes in he's give out too
I say "It's pizza or nothing.
And Trixie's all outta dog food"
I could just break right down and cry

I need a vacation from my life
Me and my husband we need a wife
Somebody who's sole ambition is laundry
I wanna fall asleep on "MY" patio swing
While somebody else does the dishes and cleans
Mariachi's could stroll through the yard and play softly
Wouldn't even have to leave 2523 General George Patton Drive
And I need a vacation from my life

Don't even get me started on Saturday's
All I do is rearrange the clutter
Hey, I invented shabby chic
Who wants to mow when it's so dang hot
Me and baby got a theory about our little half acre lot
If it blooms, it's not a weed

"OH" I need a vacation from my life
Me and my husband we need a wife
Somebody who's sole ambition is laundry
I wanna fall asleep on "MY" patio swing
While somebody else does the dishes and cleans
Mariachi's could stroll through the yard and play softly
Wouldn't even have to leave 2523 General George Patton Drive

Oh, I need a vacation from my life
Me and my husband we need a wife
Somebody who's sole ambition is laundry
I wanna fall asleep on my patio swing
While somebody else does the dishes and cleans
Mariachi's could stroll through the yard and play softly
Wouldn't even have to leave 2523 General George Patton Drive
I need a vacation from my life
"Oh i need a vacation from my life"
"that's Right"
I Need a Vacation...Rebecca Lynn Howard
This song as been going through my head over, and over, and over again lately. I work forty sometimes more hours a week...Hubby works closer to fifty or more hours a week. Kids are at daycare 3-4 days a week, depending on my work schedule. My house is a mess 'cause noone is ever home to clean and when we are home it's the last thing we want to do. With the temperatures in the triple digits, yard work not getting done. Yep this song just so suits my current mood. I would love to have someone come in and clean my house, do my mountain of laundry, mow the yard, weed the garden and flower beds so Hubby and I and the kiddies could take a trip and get away from it all. The beach is only about an 8 hour drive away. I would also like someone to watch the kiddies a couple evenings a month so Hubby and I could go out. Shoot one evening every couple of months would be more then enough. We could go out and see what Beale street is all about (I've lived around Memphis for nearly ten years and have never been to Beale Street...can you believe that). We could stroll down, check out the pubs, bars, restaurants and stores, get mugged (well it IS Memphis, lol). Or we could go down to Tunica; to the casinos; eat dinner, lose some money...rent a room...mmmm. I would also love to take a riverboat ride. The possibilities are endless with the time and money and usually we end up with never having enough of both at the same time, it's either one or the other. So do I get any volunteers? Any one want to come and clean my house and babysit? Hmm? ((listening to the deafening sound of silence...and crickets chirping))